SAVE OUR SONS FROM WAR WE PRAY

There are times where it appears that Sawyer Drokko Gerrera does not have brain cells. This, to everyone's chagrin, is one of those times. -LS

...

"You would be Thias' brother." She should have started her list of reasons with "you would be Thias' brother"!

Dalla mentally kicks herself for thinking of the perfect thing to say after Saw's already turned her down. Of course she should have mentioned her family. Of course she should have told Saw how they'd all love him and Steela. Heck, Aunt Shara married Sanjay Rash partially to have his sister as her own. Dalla can't see any reason Saw wouldn't go with it.

But that's not going to help anyone, at least not now. Instead Dalla winds her borrowed scarf around her head and steps out of the base into the rain to help move the crates of supplies.

Ahsoka and Steela stand outside, directly in the downpour, to direct the movements. At least, that's the stated reason. They seem to be pretty wrapped up in their own conversation.

"As soon as Lux heard he said it sounded fishy. It just didn't sound like something they would do."

"Oh gods no. A highborn lady would never do that. I thought I was going to have to kill Saw for a second, but it sounded weird."

"And Hutch and Hero? Holy force, they wouldn't stop."

"Hutch isn't looking Saw in the eye at the moment. Hero says whatever she thinks. I'll have to talk to her; I think we both thought Dalla was going to punch her."

Saw and I are never going to live that down as long as I'm here. It must be awful luck to kiss a sailor.

Ahsoka sees her coming before she can reply to Steela's comment and quickly changes the subject. "Okay guys," she says to the two men carrying in a crate of supplies. "Put it in the back with the rest."

"Are there any more I can help with?" Dalla asks.

"That's the last of them," Steela says. "We're about to go sort them in the back and we'll need help."

"We'll need to dry off first," Ahsoka points out. Rivulets of rainwater run down her montrals, soaking her clothes. It looks like someone threw Steela into the river, and Dalla can already feel the rain soaking through her scarf.

"I'll get Thias to help. He should be done eating breakfast by now," she says. "If you can call cheese curls breakfast."

Steela closes her eyes. "Please tell me you didn't just say cheese curls."

Dalla nods gravely.

"Saw?"

"Saw."

"Some days I think he has pudding for brains."

Dalla would bet on today being a pudding day. She's about to go fetch her brother when Dono shouts from around the corner: "Steela!"

All three girls snap to attention as Dono races down a staircase, dropping a packet of holodisks in her hurry. "They're executing King Dendup tomorrow in Yolahn Square."

"Where did you hear this?"

"Malagan Market. The merchants," Dono pants. "The Separatists are saying he's behind our attacks."

"More lies," Steela scoffs. She pushes past Saw, who apparently came to the door to investigate Dono's shout. "They're making him an example, to humiliate us."

"Maybe," Ahsoka muses. "But their efforts could work against them; executing him would only make him a martyr."

"If we don't have a king to declare for, we'll all become martyrs for nothing," Dalla points out.

Lux backs her up. "Nobody would declare for a group of bannerless rebels, not when there's someone sitting the throne already. If we don't have a king, then we have no pieces on the gameboard."

"So we can't let him die!" Saw implores. "We have to break him out somehow."

Tandin said Kason was being kept in Dendup's chambers. If Saw breaks him out...

"No," Steela quashes Saw's idea and Dalla's train of thought. "We should wait until he's in public, at the execution."

"That's where they'd expect it!"

"I know. But this is our moment. We'll save him for all of Iziz to witness!" Steela explains. "We don't have much time."

"They're counting on us to show up!" Saw shouts and looks desperately to Dalla for backup. "Dalla, your cousin is there."

"I want nothing more than to rip the palace apart brick by brick until I get to him." She weighs her words. "But I waited until I thought he was in public too. There are too many risks charging in there blind."

Saw glares at all of them and then starts for the door.

"Where are you going?" Steela demands.

"Trust me."

But Steela is well-versed in Siblingese. She knows that trust me, when spoken from one sibling to another, means I am about to do something incredibly stupid. "Stop!"

Incomprehensibly, Saw stops. "Let me take care of this."

Steela shakes her head. "This isn't about you."

Lux steps up. "We can't afford a reckless move right now."

"Yeah?" Saw snorts. "Go write a speech about it."

Lux's face darkens and Thias peeks his head into the main room. "What are you guys doing?"

"Thias, go back to the kitchen," Dalla orders.

"What's-?"

"Now, Thias."

Thias slinks away, leaving them in silence until Ahsoka looks at Saw and says, very quietly, "You have to weigh the risks."

"That's why I'm going alone."

And without even flipping up the hood of his cloak to shield him from the rain, Saw walks out the door and melts into the street. Dono steps forward and raises an eyebrow at Steela.

"Follow him," Steela orders. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that none of them can actually stop Saw, but this way they'll at least know he's safe.

"Remember what I said about pudding?" she mutters under her breath. "Today is one of those days."

Dalla wants to check on Pudding Brain No. 2 as soon as she can, both to calm the situation and ensure he's still here. She comes beside Lux and Ahsoka. "I'm going to talk to Thias. Will you fill me in if Steela gives orders?"

"Of course, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen." It doesn't. Steela plops herself down in a chair to massage her temples and probably get her thoughts in order. "I'll stay around, just in case."

Ahsoka lightly touches her arm to get her attention. "I'll go with you. I have experience talking down stubborn mules."

"Thank you. He sure can be one."

"Of that, I have no doubt."

"I don't even know why he's stayed in here as long as he has." Dalla shakes her head and reaches for the control panel on the kitchen door.

The door opens and answers Dalla's question. Thias is currently wiggling out the window above the sink, half his body already outside. He freezes for a second when he hears the door open, and then doubles his efforts.

Dalla lunges forward to grab his legs and haul him back in, but Ahsoka beats her to the punch. The Jedi advisor closes her eyes in concentration and then closes her hands as if grasping something. Thias stops.

"What's going on?" he demands. "Hey - hey!"

Ahsoka telekinetically pulls him out of the window and settles him safely on the floor, opening her hands and her eyes to release him from her grip.

Woah. Neither of the Blackwells have seen a force user wield their talents before - not in person, at least. No one can remember the last time a force-sensitive baby was born in the North, which means no Jedi came to take them to the Temple. As her father says, Aloysius and his followers came north to get away from dark magic; they must have willed it out of their blood.

But magic or not only one thought crosses Dalla's mind while she watches Ahsoka handle her brother from across the room: wow.

"Thanks," she whispers.

"Not a problem," Ahsoka cracks her knuckles as if to warm them up after disuse. "Well, I think that's why he stayed in the kitchen as long as he did."

"Yes, it seems like it." Dalla glares at Thias. "Care to explain why you didn't use the door?"

"I was just going to go find out where Saw's going," he grumps.

Ahsoka looks to her and Dalla suppresses a sigh. This is going to go over like a lead balloon, but if she doesn't level with her brother then he's going to find it out from someone else.

"Saw's off to the palace for a self-proclaimed mission. He doesn't have a plan, and it's risky business."

"Wait, the palace? Like where Kason is?"

She nods. "We heard that Rash is planning to execute King Dendup. It's a rescue mission, but -."

"Well why aren't you with him?" Thias jumps to his feet.

"Thias, he's going in blind. Everyone else tried to stop him, his chances of success aren't good at all."

"But there is a chance. He could find Kason and rescue him and then Rash wouldn't have any leverage on us."

"If it works. The odds of that happening are practically nil."

"Practically nil isn't nil. If he had backup, then I bet his chances would be even better. Salt gods, Dalla, I can't believe you didn't go with him! Don't you care about Kason?"

"Yes Thias, I care about him. But I'm not about to risk all our lives on a reckless mission!"

Ahsoka intervenes. "Thias, I understand you're worried about your cousin. But charging into a situation like this blind - it's unwise."

"So you're not going to help him either,"

"It isn't so black and white."

"Yes it is," he snaps. "Kason needs help, you have a chance, and you're not going to take it. Fine. If you won't, I will."

"Uh, no you're not." Dalla informs him and immediately blocks the door.

"Oh, really?" Thias challenges. "What's stopping me?"

Dalla and Ahsoka look at each other with raised eyebrows.

…

It isn't really that hard.

The two girls carry Thias like a sack of flour, Ahsoka holding his arms and Dalla his legs, down the hallway toward the storeroom.

"Put me down!" he yells and wriggles again, but it's no use. Thias is no match for Ahsoka's iron, probably force-assisted grip or Dalla's adrenaline-fueled one. "I'm just trying to help!"

"Then stay put!" Dalla orders and releases one arm from his legs to open the storeroom door. It's the kind that swings on a hinge, and that's exactly the reason she chose it.

"I'm not doing anything by staying put!"

Dalla decides not to glorify that with an answer and instead lets go of Thias' other leg and holds the door open for Ahsoka to muscle Thias into the room. As soon as he's in and Ahsoka's out, she shuts the door and jams a chair under the knob.

Thias slams into it two seconds later.

"It's not going to work," Ahsoka informs him.

"Did you lock the door with your stupid chair again?"

Dalla throws up her hands. "Thias, I can't babysit you. Not during a civil war, not with Saw running off on an insane mission."

"You did!" He shoves against the door again. "Let me out! Someone has to go save our family, if -."

Steela speedwalks around the corner. "What's going on here? I heard shouting."

"Thias," Ahsoka explains and shakes her head.

"Steela, there aren't any vents in there he can fit through, right?" Dalla pleads the answer's no.

Steela shakes her head but before she can say anything Thias starts up a new wave of shouting. "Saw's the only one who's actually doing things. Let me go with him! Let me go with him, so I can make Sanjay Rash pay for what he did!"

Steela closes her eyes and starts walking for the briefing room. "He's not getting out of there," she says as she walks past Ahsoka and Dalla. "I'm going to … strategize, or something. I can't do the yelling right now. I just need to be alone for a while.

When the next wave comes from Thias, Dalla doesn't hear it. Instead of responding she looks at the chronometer in despair.

It's not even noon, and already she feels like she needs a freaking drink.

…

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