'ello, peoples of the earth!
So this is the second-to-last chapter in this installment of the Kira saga, the official title of which I will reveal next chapter. The poll is not yet closed, so if you haven't voted yet, hurry up and get your votes in!
Today I get to thank Zenkid100, katierosefun, Lux's Sister, and CaylithTheGolden for reviewing. Thanks again for keeping up with these stories and faithfully reviewing - you guys are fantastic.
Now, without further ado, I present Chapter 9 of Style. Hope y'all enjoy!
"Hands up, Jedi." The droid aimed the blaster, and Kira found herself staring right down the barrel.
Depa didn't glance at either Padawan when she whispered, "Do as he says."
Kira's eyes widened. "But Master Billaba, we still have a chance to get through. Shouldn't we take it?" she whispered back.
This time, Depa's cocoa eyes flicked over to meet Kira's ice blue ones. "As I've said before, I have no interest in delivering news of your death to Obi-Wan, nor would I like to lose Caleb. The best option at the moment is to stay our hands and follow the orders." With that, she lifted her hands and placed them on her head.
Kira reluctantly followed Depa's lead and raised her hands to her head. Caleb stared at both of them incredulously before doing the same. Uncharacteristically, he didn't say a word.
The droid cautiously stepped forward and, when Kira made no move to stop him, swiped the lightsaber from her belt. It moved down the line, taking Depa's and Caleb's lightsabers as well. Kira cringed at the sight of her lightsaber in the droid's metal grasp.
The first droid handed the lightsabers to a super battle droid nearby. "Now, move it, Jedi scum," it barked, brandishing its blaster.
They moved it.
As the Jedi were led away, Kira overheard two droids talking to each other. "I'll contact the Count," one droned. "He will be very pleased with our new prisoners."
"Maybe we'll even get promotions," the other replied gleefully - well, as gleefully as a droid can be.
Kira bit her lip so hard she tasted blood in her mouth.
Down in the detention levels, the droids separated Depa from Caleb and Kira and threw her into her own cell. They detained the Padawans in another cell a little ways down the hall.
Once the door closed behind their captors, Caleb began to pace. His nostrils flared as he did so, and he tugged at his Padawan braid. The Force around him surged with anger.
At last, Kira had to stop him. "You're not helping," she said tiredly from her seat on the bench in the cell.
"Well, there's not really a lot more I can do, is there?" Caleb slumped onto the bench next to Kira. "Do you ever have those times that you wonder what in the universe goes on inside your Master's head?"
Kira shrugged. "I guess," she said.
"We could've gotten out of here," Caleb went on. "We could've escaped this entire mess if Master Depa hadn't made us surrender!"
Kira laid a hand on Caleb's arm. "It was the safer option," she said quietly. "Someone would've gotten hurt if we'd tried to get out that way."
Caleb abruptly stood back up and began to pace again. "Did you hear those droids back there? They're going to turn us over to Dooku. You've met Dooku before. Surely you can guess what he would do to us?" Without waiting for Kira to answer, he continued, "He's going to torture us. He's going to get all the information he can from us, and then he's going to kill us. And if he kills Master Depa, or you..." He stopped to stare at Kira with an intensity that made her lower her eyes. "I would never forgive myself."
"Yes, you would. If you didn't, I'd come back as a ghost and haunt you until you moved on." Kira tried to muster up a smile for Caleb's sake.
He didn't smile back. "It's not a joke, Kiki." He sat back down on the bench beside Kira. "I would think you'd have figured that out by now."
"Figured what out?"
"That you're not a joke to me."
Kira raised her eyes, and ice blue irises met flashing cerulean ones. Her heart pounded in her chest so loudly she was sure Caleb would hear it. "Stop that," she murmured.
The faintest glimmer of a smirk appeared on Caleb's face. "Stop what? I'm not doing anything."
"Stop looking at me like that."
"Why?"
Kira abruptly slid over to the other side of the bench. "Because it's making me feel uncomfortable," she answered honestly. Raising her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and leaned her head against the wall. She closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep despite the chill in the cell. A shiver ran down her spine, and she curled tighter into her little ball.
Something touched Kira's hand, and her eyes snapped open to see Caleb's fingers curling around her hand. "You're cold," he said. It wasn't a question.
Kira had been on the verge of pulling her hand away, but she looked up at her fellow Padawan at his statement. He looked concerned. "Maybe," she said, perhaps a little sharper than she needed to.
Caleb's eyes flicked from Kira's hand to her face. Suddenly, he let go. "Come here," he said.
Kira shook her head.
"Come on, Kiki, it's practically a freezer in here," Caleb joked. "You don't want to freeze to death, do you?" He slid over to Kira's corner and put his arm around her shoulders. He gently pushed her knees down so her legs were hanging off the edge of the bench, then he reached for her hand again. "Better?"
Kira had to admit that their new position was much warmer than her little ball had been. Caleb's hand warmed her cold one, and his body heat helped make her drowsy. Almost automatically, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah," she sighed. "Better."
"Then go to sleep," Caleb said.
Kira smiled a little as she closed her eyes again. She nodded off within minutes, the feeling of Caleb's thumb lightly stroking her shoulder lulling her to sleep.
When Kira woke up, she nearly fell off the bench. The booming of explosions a few levels above rocked the base, and plaster fell from the ceiling. The lights flickered, then turned off. Red emergency lights came on after a couple seconds. "What's going on?" Kira mumbled, still drowsy.
"By the sound of it, I would say help has arrived," Caleb replied, grinning down at Kira. With a pang, she realized she was still snuggled up to him, but her head had dropped onto his chest and both of his arms were curled around her.
The base shook with the weight of another explosion. Hurriedly, Kira wriggled out of Caleb's arms and raced to the door. "What if they don't know where we are?"
Caleb stood and went to stand beside Kira. "Where do the Seppies always put their detention levels? This level will probably be the first place they look."
Sure enough, the door opened minutes later. Three clones in gray-marked armor entered the cell, and Kira recognized them as members of the 41st Elite Corps, Luminara's unit of troopers. One of them spoke to the Padawans. "Commander Dume, Commander Narro, are you alright?"
"Just fine, trooper," Caleb replied. Kira only nodded in reply.
"That's good to hear," the trooper said. He procured two lightsabers from his belt. "We found these on the way in. I believe they belong to you."
Kira eagerly accepted her lightsaber from the clone and gripped it tightly, happy to have it back. "Where's General Billaba?" she asked, sure Caleb was wondering the same thing.
"A squad is getting her out as we speak, Commander," the trooper answered. "Our orders are to get you to a transport as soon as possible."
"That's the best news I've heard in days," Caleb commented.
Kira grinned. "Lead the way, troopers."
Chaos reigned all over the base. Droids shot blindly at the troopers, who hid behind conveniently placed boxes and shot back with accuracy that the droids lacked. Caleb cut a trail through the clankers while Kira defended their rear, deflecting blaster bolts back at the droids.
"Should have known," Kira quipped as they went. "Everywhere you go you bring trouble, Master Dume!"
"I thought the ladies liked a troublemaker, Kiki," Caleb shot back, plainly enjoying himself.
More explosions almost threw them all off their feet. Caleb was able to get his balance first and went for the droids in front of him, his blue saber swinging through the air. Kira found herself protecting his back, going for the droids he missed.
"We're almost to the hangar!" one of the troopers called. He threw a small bomb at a group of nearby droids, and the squad went up in flames. More shrapnel rained down around the Republic forces, who ducked behind any cover they could find to shield themselves. Some of the droids were too slow and were knocked down by the heavy metal.
Up ahead, the doors to the hangar doors were sliding shut to separate the Republic forces from their transports and their way out. Troopers used the droids for a little extra target practice before they jumped through the gap.
Some of the troopers were a little too far away to make it. Kira knew she could easily cut the doors open with her saber, but that would waste time. Instead of waiting, she dove behind a box and called on the Force to hold the doors open and leave a wide enough gap for the troopers to get through.
Another explosion interrupted Kira's concentration, and she lost her hold on the doors. A glance around the corridor revealed that most of the Republic forces had made it into the hangar, much to her relief. Still, she had to get herself out of danger as well. She made a run for the doors, activating her lightsaber again when the droids' laser bolts whizzed too close for comfort.
When Kira reached the doors, she jumped through the narrow opening just before they shut. She tumbled onto the floor and landed in an untidy heap on her stomach. Force, she was tired.
A strong hand grasped Kira's shoulder and rolled her onto her back. She looked up to see Caleb and a trooper at her side, and she sat up. "I'm fine," she said. It was a small lie. She was a bit lightheaded, but she was certain she could handle a walk to the transports.
"Take it easy there for a moment, ma'am," the trooper said. "You're injured."
"I'm not-" A stinging pain shot through Kira's upper arm, and she looked down to see her sleeve already becoming stiff from the blood soaking through it. She guessed the injury had been caused by a stray piece of shrapnel. "Oh," she said, trying to ignore the sting and the metallic scent of blood. She glanced at Caleb as he and the trooper helped her up. "I guess this means another trip to the medbay, huh?"
The older boy smirked amusedly. "Yes it does, Kiki."
Kira sighed. "Thought so."
Caleb walked Kira to the nearest transport, where a trooper used the emergency medical kit to clean and dress Kira's wound as best as he could while they waited for more troopers to board. Soon enough, the transport was filled, and the pilot took off.
Kira grabbed the strap above her head with her good arm and held on tight, as the pilot had not yet closed the blast doors. She was happy to see that the Separatist long-range cannon had been reduced to a smoldering pile of scrap metal. Republic bombers flew over the base, preparing to drop the bombs and let the base meet the same fate as the cannon.
Happy as Kira was to have discovered that weapon before it caused massive damage to the GAR, she was even happier to be leaving that uncharted planet and returning to the Fist.
She had a sneaky feeling Caleb felt the same way.
So I'm sure some of you (or many of you) are pleased to see that, despite my implication in the previous chapter, no one died. I must say, some of your reactions were IMMENSELY entertaining. (Especially yours, Lux's Sister. :))
Kira: Thanks for injuring me again. -_-
Caleb: On the bright side, at least she likes you!
Kira: And explain how injuring someone all the time shows affection?
Me: Writers have weird ways of expressing themselves. Don't judge.
Caleb: At least you didn't lose your arm.
Kira: Yeah, I guess there's that. It still hurts!
Me: I'm sure it does. Maybe picking the song will help?
Kira: If it helps you sleep at night. *presses button*
Tablet: I know that I'm rich enough for pride, I see a billion dollars in your eyes...
Me: Caleb, your turn to give the review notice.
Caleb: Ugh, fine. Review if you liked it, hated it, or wanted to light it up and watch it burn. Thanks.
Me: Thanks for clicking in, peoples, and may the Force be with you always! Kira, turn that music up, will you? I love this song.
Kira: Roger that. :D
Caleb: *sigh* Girls. -_-