Chapter Twenty-One: Rise Up Singing

1090 days ABG

A glance at the ship's chrono indicated that it was technically the day after, but the Jedi sat in numb silence for a long time before Kali was able to speak again. "That list." The others met her eyes and she clarified. "We have to get on that list of deceased Jedi. If what the Chancellor-" I refuse to say Emperor "-says is true, then they'll never stop hunting us, or any Jedi, while we're thought to be alive." While she spoke, a frown crossed her face as she considered the problem.

Honi shook her head. "How is that going to work, exactly?"

"We don't know everything that's happened, but we do know that being a living Jedi right now is dangerous." More so than being a clone, I'd wager, especially since the Empire should still need an army. At least the guys should be okay. It was a small bit of comfort that also gave her strength. She glanced out the viewport and noted that it appeared to be the thickest part of the night. "But you do have a point. How can we go about such a thing?"

The red-haired Jedi snorted. "Perhaps you really should ask the clones. They seem to be rather knowledgeable." Her face stilled as she and Kalinda shared a look. "No..."

"Honi, I don't like it either, but I don't know what else to do."

"I've never had a problem, but you always refused to do those." She sounded skeptical and Kalinda couldn't blame her.

Zara had sat up and was glancing from one to the other, confusion written on her face. "What is it?"

"It's insane is what it is," Honi muttered, shaking her head. At Zara's look she sighed. "She wants to do a mind-trick on the clones. To make them think they killed us, I suppose?"

Kalinda nodded. "I know it's a long shot, but perhaps with both of us we can manage it. That way, they'll report that we were killed and we can...go about our lives." Though what will be left of our lives after this, I have no idea.

But Honi was still shaking her head. "Kalinda...it won't last, you know that. At the most it will only work for a few months."

"Even so, I don't see that we have any other options. At least it should buy us some time." Kali sighed and smoothed out her hair, noting in the corner of her mind that her braid had long since come undone; when she pulled her hand back, it was coated in ash and dust. "Of course, it would be easier if they were...cooperative, but that's not likely to happen." Her tone was dry.

The Nautolan girl's expression had grown speculative, but her lekku were quivering with excitement. "Do you really think it will work, Kalinda?"

"I hope so," Kali replied with a frown. But they're not stupid or foolish, just young. Perhaps a simple mind-trick won't be enough, even for a short time. We'd need to provide some kind of tangible proof...Her eyes fell on Honi's lightsaber, clipped to the red-haired Jedi's belt. "But just in case, we'll need more evidence for them. I doubt that a planted memory will suffice on its own."

Following the direction of her former Master's eyes, Honi frowned and shook her head even as she unclipped her saber hilt and gripped it with white knuckles. "No."

"Honi-"

"This weapon is my life," Honi replied. "Kalinda, a Jedi's lightsaber is a symbol. It's an extension of ourselves and everything we are. You know that."

Kalinda reached for her own saber and ignited it, the yellow glow filling the cabin and coloring their faces. The audible hum had always been a comfort, but now she only heard the conflicting sounds of something she wanted neither to lose, nor keep. "This weapon is not your life, Honi. It's a tool. Your life is infinitely more valuable than a collection of metal and crystal, no matter how much worth has been attached to it." She deactivated the blade and clipped it back to her belt. "And it's a symbol of something that we must be prepared to let go of, if we want to survive this. Things have changed; I don't know why or to what extent, but we must change ourselves along with them." She met Honi's gaze and after a moment the other woman sighed and looked at her saber with remorse.

"Very well."

Nodding, Kali looked at Zara even as she began to unfasten the greaves that Weave had made for her, setting them on the floor. "Stay here and get the ship prepped; I want to leave as soon as we're done." And she doesn't need to be a part of this.

But Zara shook her head. "I want to help."

"You can help by prepping the ship." Off came the gauntlets as well, and she tried not to look at the Jedi symbol with longing. I should follow my own advice.

"Kalinda...you'll need all of us if you think to pull this off." The Nautolan girl had straightened in her seat and was giving Kali a very adult stare. "I can help. I need to help." Her voice was firm and the dark-haired Jedi sighed after a moment.

When did she start growing up? It was Kalinda's turn to acquiesce."Very well."

"Where are you going?"

Stonewall paused at the infirmary door and turned to see Drake just beside him, watching him with a concerned expression. "I have to talk to Master Altis," he explained. "Let him know what we intend to do and see if he has any ideas of his own." And maybe see if he can teach me some special Force tricks in thirty minutes or less.

The boy nodded, though he hesitated as well before taking a breath and looking back up at the captain. "May I come?"

"Are you sure?" Stonewall looked back at the room, where his brothers were finishing up the repairs on their armor; the other lads, Trax and Ares were still at the Twi'lek's ship.

"I want to help," Drake replied.

I know there's more to it than that. However, Stonewall lacked the time to try and figure it out, so he nodded and the two hurried off into the main body of the ship. Though he could have used his comlink, Stonewall didn't have to; he could sense the Jedi Master's presence on the bridge of the Chu'unthor with ease.

It was a bit of a hike, but thanks to Altis' instruction his injuries had almost healed completely and he was able to move with haste, such that Drake had to take two strides to his every one. After a few minutes, Stone glanced at the boy, noting the edges of worry that were trailing from his mind. It's not for himself, or even for his brothers. It's for...He paused and gave a mental sigh. Should have seen that coming, I guess. "You're worried about Zara." It seemed silly to call her 'Commander' now, all things considered. About as silly as calling myself 'Captain.'

Drake knitted his brows and said nothing. They reached a turbolift, rode to the appropriate floor and exited at the command level before he spoke. "Yeah."

Stonewall nodded. "I don't blame you for the way you feel, Drake. Attraction isn't something you can help." The boy looked at him with wide eyes and Stone gave a sigh. "But I'll be honest: caring for a Jedi is not a way to live a peaceful life. I worry about Kali all the time." More so now than ever before, which is saying something.

"You're right, I can't help it." Drake shook his head as they passed a series of wide windows. They were nearing the bridge and their footsteps hardly made any noise against the smooth floor. "But she doesn't..."

"Don't worry about that," Stone replied. "How about for now, we just focus on getting to them and making sure they're okay?"

The boy nodded and took a breath before glancing up at the elder clone one more time. "So it's true? You and Kalinda...love each other?" He paused; his eyes shifted to one of the windows. "The others don't really get it, but I remember how you looked when you told me."

I guess we never really established that with them, did we? It's been so hectic...Stonewall paused at the entrance to the bridge and knelt before the younger lad, noting how there was only a tiny bit of pain in his muscles from the motion. "I love her very much, Drake. But it didn't come without a cost – to both of us – and very often it's terrifying."

"But is it worth it?"

At this, Stonewall smiled. "More than I can say." It was enough to bring him a bit of calm as he stood up and activated the door. The bridge was in controlled chaos; it seemed like every member of Altis' group was present and performing some task or another. The Jedi Master himself was at one of the consoles by the navacomputer, speaking with a Sullustian female as she gestured to the comm station. At Stonewall's approach, Altis turned and regarded him.

"You look like you have a plan, Captain." His voice was calm and his eyes flicked to Drake. Stone nodded and told him of the clones' idea, as well as what they'd heard on the HoloNet. Altis gave a deep sigh at the news. "We heard the same. But this list of Jedi and their collaborators...that's troubling indeed. I'd like to see it." Turning, he murmured something to the Sullustian, who nodded and raced to another console.

"Seb will be able to slice into the GAR channels." Altis sighed again and shook his head, his face dropping into a frown. "Many, many Jedi have been killed in the last several hours," he said in a quiet voice as he moved to another station where a Human man was pouring over a screen. "An Empire ruled by a Sith lord...I honestly thought I'd never see the day." Agitation rippled off of him and his gaze was distant even as he dealt with his crew.

Stonewall didn't know much about the Sith, but he knew enough. "A Sith? Are you sure?" The implications of such a thing were staggering. Palpatine was the Sith that they were looking for? It was too much to take in, right now, so he pushed the thought away to deal with what he could.

Altis gave him a bitter smile. "I knew what I was looking at in that Senate, and I knew that the Council suspected such a thing was in the works; they just didn't believe that Palpatine was..." He frowned again. "But I don't know who this 'Vader' is. I cannot tell..." He shook his head and put a hand on the shoulder of the man at the console. "Niel...have you been able to..?"

The Human furrowed his brow but nodded. "Our transponder codes were already pretty encrypted, Djinn, but I think we'll be able to stay out of sight from...the Empire. For a while anyway."

"Good. Thank you." Altis looked back at Stonewall. "I wish I had something to offer you besides words of good luck, but I'm afraid I don't."

The clone nodded. "I'll take what I can, at this point, sir. But thank you for everything. I'm much better now than I was, thanks to your teaching." Despite his words he thought that his voice sounded uncertain and the Jedi Master put a hand on his shoulder.

"You have everything you need already, Stonewall. Now...go to her. Bring her back safely, if you can."

"I intend to."

Kalinda's knee was worse than she was letting on, which Zara realized only when she caught Honi's worried glance at the dark-haired woman several times as the three Jedi made their way from the Wayfarer to the commandos, who were still unconscious thanks to her master's talents. Kalinda's really hurt. I hope she'll be okay. Zara took a breath and pushed her anxiety aside. Now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. The ship was as ready as it could be and they had discussed their plan – such as it was – regarding the commandos.

I'll be sorry to give up my saber, but she's right. It's just an object, after all, and I can always make a new one. But for now she felt reassured by its weight at her side. The night was thick and a little too cool to be comfortable; the stars above seemed stuck in the sky, and the sound of their boots on the sand was the only noise while they crossed over the Ambrian dust. The air was far too dry; she found it difficult to swallow.

Finally they reached the clones. Helping Kalinda to sit before Ferro, Honi and Zara took their places on either side of her and they meditated for a few minutes in silence, gathering what strength they could. It had been decided that they should focus the bulk of their efforts on the leader of the group, though they did plan to alter Archer's memory as well.

Kalinda regarded the clone for a moment before lifting her hand and touching his forehead once. His eyes opened and darted to each of the women; his gaze was steel but Zara could taste the metallic tang of his fear. The dark-haired Jedi looked stricken as she took a breath and began to focus, Zara and Honi following her lead.

"You made a distress call that the Jedi answered," Kalinda saida moment later, her voice lilting and calm as she kept Ferro's gaze fixed on hers; several seconds into her speech his expression grew limpid as he became entranced by her words. "They were unable to save Exer. As your ship was damaged, they made plans to take you and Archer with them to Coruscant the next morning.

"When you received the order, you were wounded by the clone who was with them, whom you killed in self-defense. Per your intel, you struck down the Jedi Knight Kalinda Halcyon, first in her knee, after which you were able to kill her with a thermal detonator. From there you and Archer fought the remaining Knight and her Padawan. It was not an easy battle – as they attempted to perform mind-tricks on you to erase your memory – but you were successful in the end, again with your detonators. Their bodies were destroyed in the battle, so you took their sabers as proof before re-activating your distress beacon and awaited rescue."

It was not a fool-proof story, by any means, but Kalinda had hoped that the presence of their lightsabers would back-up any holes in the narrative. It's clever in a way, to tell them about the mind-trick, as it will explain any gaps in his memory. Honesty is always better than deceit, even if we are twisting the truth in his mind. As Kalinda spoke, all of the Jedi concentrated on the clone's consciousness, laying their wills against his and attempting to fuse words into memories.

It was difficult for Zara, for she had never attempted anything like this, but in the end she realized that it was similar to taking away another's pain. The perception in one's mind was the fulcrum around which that being would make their choices or form their beliefs. With the Force, the Jedi could influence that perception and, in this case, cause the commando to believe that he had committed the acts they were describing.

Even though she could tell that her own efforts were dwarfed by those of the other Jedi, she did her best. With each word, Zara attempted to picture everything exactly as they had discussed, and after what felt like hours, she could feel the clone's mind starting to shape itself to the words. She could feel him believing, though there was still skepticism in his thoughts. A streak of determination emanated from Kalinda as she pressed her own will even harder against Ferro's, until at last Zara felt him relent.

It was over.

She was exhausted; a glance at the others showed that they felt much the same way, but Kalinda nodded to Archer. "Next one."

It was difficult, requiring several more minutes of mediation, but they managed. Honi collected their sabers and clipped them to Ferro's belt, then reached to help Kalinda to her feet. Zara stood as well and helped the dark-haired Jedi support herself while they watched the clones, who looked like they were sleeping. A strange movement caught Zara's eye and she turned to see that Kalinda's cheeks were wet; after a moment she ducked her head and tried to wipe her sleeve against her face. When she looked up again, her expression was blank.

"Come on," she said with a glance at each of the others. "Let's go."

The middle section of the Stark Raven was a little crowded with six adults and five kids, but all of the clones were used to tight quarters and Ares didn't seem to notice from his place at the helm. "So, are we just going to walk up and knock on their door?" He glanced at Traxis, who was in the co-pilot's seat.

"Weave's working on it," the scarred clone replied as they awaited clearance from the Chu'unthor to exit the hangar. "There are individualized codes in our armor that can be scanned to see who we are; they're not that difficult to change with the right know-how."

Ares flinched as something crashed in the wide cargo bay behind them. Twisting in his seat, Traxis sighed when he saw Crest leaning against the bulkhead, a pile of once-neatly-stacked armored plating at his feet. Unlike Stonewall, the bald clone did not have the healing powers of the Force to assist his recovery time and obviously still found walking to be a bit difficult. "Sorry...I'll clean it up."

He probably shouldn't be up and about yet, but he never would have stayed, even if we'd asked him. I know I wouldn't have. "It's okay, vod," Traxis replied, glancing at Finn and Keo, who were already moving to assist the older clone. "Just see if you can't help Weave." Their medic was seated on a crate in the cargo bay in the center of the transport, where he'd laid out the electrical components to everyone's armor and was presently tinkering away with the captain's bucket. Crest joined him, sitting with a grimace on another crate, and the adults continued to repair the plastoid pieces while the younger clones were cleaning the armor as best they could in an attempt to return it to its former sheen. Stonewall had said something about meditating, and was alone on the upper level.

After receiving clearance to leave, Ares nodded to Traxis, who entered the coordinates for Galaris, watching as the stars stretched and began to shoot past them like blaster-fire once they cleared the Chu'unthor. "I have to say," the Twi'lek said after a minute. "You fellows have some pretty big...ah, moxie. I'll give you that." He shot Traxis a crooked grin and the scarred clone pretended to check the navacomputer again, trying to ignore the heat that had crept to his face.

"Thanks." Keep your focus, you di'kut. This is not the time for any distractions.

Several hours into the journey, the armor was ready. Stonewall had rejoined the group, looking oddly calm and focused despite their dire situation. Someone had turned on the latest HoloNet feed, though it was filled with depressing stories about the Emperor's new and exciting plans for the equally new and exciting government. Traxis had offered his seat to Crest, as much to let his brother rest as to take himself away from a very awkward situation, and was currently fitting his body back into the armor that – until several days ago – he'd never imagined that he'd be without.

As he fastened the rerebraces to his upper-arms, he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a nearby viewport. I look the same, but everything's changed completely. I never thought I'd end up like this...ever since Teth, I always imagined I'd wind up blistered to bits in a mud-hole somewhere. Beyond him, the lads were laughing about something; he looked over and saw that Levy had placed Weave's bucket on his head again and was doing a fair approximation of a parade march.

Everything is different. We're different, and I have no idea what the next day will bring. But I do know one thing: it's the right choice that I'm making. For the first time in my life, I think I've found something worth fighting for. He took a deep breath and checked to see that the pieces were secure before clipping on his gauntlets and sliding his hands into his gloves. The bucket was last, sealed with a familiar hiss and bringing him back to the environment with which he was most comfortable – at least, that's how it used to be. Even as he scanned the room the thought occurred to him that he preferred looking at the world through his own eyes rather than the digitalized gaze of the HUD.

I think, when all this is behind me – assuming I'm still alive – I don't ever want to wear this kriffing thing again.

While Zara moved to the ship, Kalinda and Honi took one last look around Ambria, the latter dusting off her hands. "What about Milo?" The red-haired Jedi's voice was solemn and Kali again had to push aside her sorrow in order to deal with their current situation. She was leaning against Honi, looking at the remains of their makeshift fire. Milo was still there.

All that was Mi is gone...luminous. But it seems wrong to just leave him here, alone. She swallowed. "I don't know. I want him to have a proper funeral, but..."

Honi startled her. "No. We're not leaving him." With that, she helped Kalinda back aboard the ship, sliding the dark-haired Jedi into the co-pilot's seat and nodding to Zara, as both Jedi rose and slipped back down the loading ramp. Kali craned her head to see what they were doing, but she couldn't make anything out in the darkness. Finally she heard their approach and watched as they carried Milo with them aboard the Wayfarer; they brought him to the cargo bay and Zara fetched some blankets to cover his body before the two returned to the helm.

"I'm flying, and Zara needs to be where you are," Honi said, bending to help Kalinda out of her seat.

"Honi..."

But her former Padawan shook her head. "No pulling rank when you're injured and I'm the supervising healer. You're going to rest and keep off of that knee." She moved two chairs from the common area to rest behind the helm, one for Kalinda to sit in and one on which she could extend her legs, helping the dark-haired Jedi into the nearest chair. "Remember to keep it elevated."

"As you say, doctor," Kali replied, smiling as Honi sighed and shook her head before sliding in the pilot's seat and nodding to her apprentice at the nav.

"Ready Zara?"

The Nautolan girl nodded; her voice was calm and clear, her shoulders were straight. "Yes, Master Tallis."

At this, the red-haired Jedi shot Kali an amused glance before looking back at her Padawan. "Why don't you call me Honi, from now on?"

A slow smile appeared on Zara's face. "Okay, Honi."

"Are we ready?" Kali lifted the detonator in her hand and the others nodded. "Great. Take us out."

The ship began to rise; once it was clear, Kalinda pressed the device and the three Jedi leaned towards the viewport to watch the crimson and orange blossom of the thermal detonators' explosion, set off in the space where their ship had been only moments ago – far enough away from the commandos so that they wouldn't be harmed by the blast – obliterating any trace that the Wayfarer had been there at all. The final piece of evidence. I only hope it will be enough to convince them. She dropped the det as her hand crept to her side, where her lightsaber used to be.

That will take some getting used to.

Together, they watched the planet of Ambria grow smaller and smaller while the swathe of black space above their heads seemed eager to swallow them whole.

They were off.

Wow...only three more chapters to go! There is a tie-in ficlet that I'll post once this story is done, and I'll probably wind up posting a "teaser" for Alchemy because I can't help myself. Once Bastion is over, there will be about a month-long gap before Alchemy is ready, so look for a short story featuring - gasp - a canon character I've never written!

In other news, Bastion is the first one of my stories to break 100 reviews, which delights me to no end. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers; you guys are incredible! I always look forward to your comments and feedback! :D

One last thing: in lieu of a new "Misadventure" this week, look for a special chapter of Born to Die, featuring everyone's favorite "shiny."