Chapter Fifteen: Fearless

When Kali's sword bit into the back of the demon's knee the creature let out a keening, almost human wail. As she pulled the blade out and ducked out of the way of the flailing arms, she felt a grimace of determination cross her features; dropping to her knees once more she rolled out of the way and came up in front of her foe. Their eyes locked for a split-second as Kalinda gathered up what strength she could and leaped forward.

The blade sank home and the demon gave a final shriek as it collapsed to the mud, its body twitching once and then going still even as Kali's chest was heaving from the effort. Sweat trickled down her back and arms and she looked up to see that the fire was growing closer. Time to leave.Kali turned to go, taking one final look at the creature but was stopped as the features of the demon seemed to change, to melt away into a familiar face.

Her face.

Kalinda stared at herself; her own dark eyes looked back at her though they were sightless and empty. The features were still twisted, contorted in a grimace of fear and pain even as her hands – just two hands now – were limply clutching the swords. No coherent thought formed in Kali's mind as she fell to her knees beside the demon – beside her own body – and smoothed the matted hair away from the face. Her hands were shaking. It's a dream or a vision, nothing more. Get a hold of yourself.

Despite the fact that the air was now swollen with heat it was several moments before she was able to stand upright again. Her feet stepped backward and she all but fell over herself to get away from the demon. It's not real, she told herself again as she turned. I don't need to be afraid anymore. A deep breath steadied her a little bit, enough so that she was able to survey the field around her, looking for any sign of life. The fire continued to reach for her and there was also a new tremor in the ground as she made her way back to where she'd seen the others fall.

But there was nothing.

It was like they had never existed in the first place and though Kalinda searched and called out their names, she soon realized that she was alone again.

The fire crept towards her, the heat rippling her vision. As she turned to flee, she heard her own name being called, as if someone was shouting in her felt as though she was slipping through the mud and mire, losing her footing and falling to her knees even as her name was called again and again.

With a gasp, Kalinda awoke from one nightmare into another.

"Why are we stopping?" Sita's voice was quiet as she looked up at General Kenobi.

Crest thought that the Jedi looked wan and exhausted as he nodded to the viewscreen. "The avalanche, your majesty. We're going to try and clear the road, if we can."

Sita nodded and looked down at her folded hands; she was seated beside Crest at the ship's table, a glass of water in front of her that she had only sipped from once. He looked up at the Jedi and cleared his throat. "Sir? How are we going to do that?"

"Tractor beam," Weave replied from the helm. "Won't be pretty, but it should work if my estimations are correct." No one said anything for several moments as the Jedi moved to stand at the helm; he and Weave spoke quietly while they worked to move the rocks and debris out of the road. Beside him, Sita glanced at Stonewall, who was still leaning against the bulkhead, his helmet concealing his features. As if on impulse, she made a motion to get to her feet but Crest placed a hand on her arm, shaking his head when she looked back at him.

"He needs to be alone right now," he said as she settled back in the seat. He nudged the glass of water towards her. "Here...you must be thirsty."

She studied the glass, watching the tremor of the water within from the ship's vibrations, though the container itself was still. Finally she looked back at Crest. "I would like to apologize," she said in soft voice. "For how you and your brothers were treated...and for how I treated you."

Feeling heat creep to his cheeks again, Crest shrugged. "We're used to it, your ma – Sita."

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "No, that's not how it should be. You are men, more so than those who had sworn to protect me after the death of my husband and you did not deserve such treatment. Perhaps I can change things for the better when we return home." Her tone had grown thoughtful and she smiled at Crest's expression of surprise. "Something that Kalinda talked to me about," she explained. "Something that needs to happen before Aruna can move forward."

At this he gave her a nod of understanding. "I think I agree with you."

The young queen straightened in her chair, her features smoothing as she reached for the water and took a deep drink before passing the glass to him. "Drink up, Crest," she said with a smile. "You must be thirsty."

When they returned to the palace, Obi-Wan realized two things, the first being that he still had his work cut out for him as there was quite a mess to clean up in the capitol city. It had only taken a few hours for Marut to disseminate the vid footage of Neerja and the traitorous guards, thus revealing the treachery of the high priestess to the Arunai. This, combined with the swift confessions of the guards and other Arunai that Obi-Wan and the clones had brought back meant that the next few days were filled with chaos and confusion, exacerbated by the presence of so many people in the city for the approaching festival.

The second thing that Obi-Wan realized was that he himself was exhausted with a kind of bone-deep weariness that he hadn't felt a long time; it was unsettling, especially when he couldn't draw himself out of it even with the Force. As if on its own accord part of his mind instinctively sought Kalinda, but he tamped the feeling down, refusing to be lost to grief again. Instead, he allowed the pain to wash through him before he took a deep breath; when he exhaled he released it even as he stood beside the queen in Parliament the morning after her return. If she taught me anything, it's that I need to move on to move forward. A hard lesson, indeed.

Sita was resplendent, a goddess walking on the earth, though it was not the fine silk dress that draped across her body or the golden headdress that aureoled her face which made her appear so. "To all those who would say that change is unnecessary, that we should remain mired in the ways of the past, I would remind you that there are those among us who are even today being oppressed by an antiquated system that should have no place in our thinking any longer. Without their aid, I would not be standing before you." As she looked at the members of Parliament, her eyes fell on Danu and several of the other untouchables and she nodded to them.

As she continued, she gestured to the clones and their shoulders straightened. "Given recent events, I seek to end the segregation that has long plagued our world. These soldiers, these men-" she smiled here and Obi-Wan realized that she was looking at Crest. He chuckled to himself as he felt a flare of embarrassment from the bald clone, for all that he remained still. "-saved my life and uncovered evidence of Neerja's treachery. Were it not for their actions, things would be far worse than they are. They have been named 'untouchable' by us; I move that such a designation no longer exists and that all denizens of Aruna are given a voice in this august body."

Neerja was in the custody of the clones and had gotten more than a few disdainful looks from the audience members. "You will ruin us all," the priestess spat even as Obi-Wan watched as Traxis' grip tightened on her arm. "Our world will collapse in on itself. The gods have spoken to me."

"There has been talk of seceding from the Republic," Sita replied as if the high priestess had not spoken. "But it should be apparent now that the Separatists have no real interest in the well-being of our world. Through the Republic's aid we have uncovered the treachery of those who would spread dissension and fear." She spoke in a clear, ringing voice as she leveled her gaze at Neerja, who flinched. "Long has Aruna stood with the Republic and while I am around it shall continue to do so."

At these words the audience erupted into a frenzy of shouts, both in support and opposition to the queen's speech. Obi-Wan glanced up; her face was calm and her hands were still. It will not be an easy task, he thought as he listened to the members of Parliament argue. But I think that she is up to the challenge, at last.

Around him the citizens of Aruna spoke and debated but he smiled despite it all.

Change was in the air.

For every moment of his short life, Stonewall had never once been without a purpose or a plan; there were always decisions made in split seconds and an ever-present need to continue on, to keep going, to fulfill whatever would pass for a soldier's destiny. Though he realized that his life experience was not what most others in the galaxy would call "a great deal," he always had known just enough to see him through to the next day, to allow him to carry on even in the face of certain hopelessness.

All of that changed as his world collapsed beneath a pile of flame-colored rock and when a blast of hot air burned away his certainty and seared his hope to ashes.

He was dimly aware of being pulled back on the ship and then being back at Rudral; if not for his brothers and Obi-Wan he wondered if he would have remained frozen in place, a statue on the mountainside. In the aftermath he'd felt empty, though gradually the sensation had shifted to a biting sense of sorrow. It was not a feeling that he'd been trained to deal with, this sharp ache of loss that cut so deep he thought his body should be scattered in pieces on the ground.

When the Parliament session ended he followed his brothers as they took Neerja to the prison cell with the rest of the traitors; luckily the woman had not gotten to all of Sita's people and the Jedi was able to ascertain the loyalty of those who remained. Other than a few select members of the priests and priestess, her influence did not seem to have spread too far.

Small comforts, to be taken where and when they could.

"Did you see?" Crest sounded excited as they left the prison and made their way back to the palace proper. "In the Parliament session...she looked right at me."

Traxis snorted. "Yeah, Crest. You're going to be the new king of this planet. I'm sure that's the first thing on her mind right now."

"I'm not listening to you," the bald clone replied. He inhaled deeply and looked around at the bustling city. "Have I mentioned how much I love this place?" More and more people were coming to Rudral for the spring festival, which was supposed to take place in a few days and it was growing difficult to move through the crowd, especially since many of the citizens had seemed to forget the clones' former status.

The captain didn't make any indication that he'd heard the conversation of his brothers; his gaze was fixed and straight as he walked, though he saw nothing that was in his field of vision. Rather, in his mind's eye he was with Kali in the garden, the last time they'd spoken. His own words came back to him. As different as a bird from a fish. It was a dream. It wasn't real. It was difficult to breathe. It felt like something heavy was pressing on his chest and he wondered if his ribs were going to crack from the weight.

But still, I would give anything to speak to her again.

"Hey, brother," Crest said in Mando'a, a hand on his shoulder. "Let's not go back just yet...I think Danu and the others are having a pre-festival celebration at that old temple. Should be an all-nighter."

Stone shook his head. "No...no thanks, Crest. I'm not great company right now. I think I'll just go back to our quarters."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Stone looked up and met his brothers' eyes. "Thanks, though."

"Do you...Is there anything we can do?" Milo asked. Stonewall shook his head, though he gave Milo's shoulder a pat before the others moved off through the city.

As he turned to go, he heard a throat clear behind him; Traxis had remained behind. "What's up?"

The scarred clone paused and shifted, his eyes skimming the buildings around them for several moments before he spoke. "I was wrong." This caught Stonewall off guard; he raised his brow and regarded his brother, though he said nothing as Traxis took a deep breath and continued. "About what I said to you when we first got here...about you and the General. I think I made a mistake and for what it's worth – which probably isn't much at this point – I'm sorry."

"Vor'e," Stone said after a moment. "Thanks, Trax."

Traxis nodded. "It's the very least I could say."

After several moments they parted ways at the steps of the palace and Stone began the climb. When he reached the top of the stairs he stood for several moments, swaying in the stiff afternoon breeze that held the promise of spring before he made his way to the garden; he came to the bench by the small pond and sat down. It was good to take the weight off of his legs for a moment and he allowed his mind to wander. All around him signs of the changing season were beginning to show: buds of almost-born flowers pushed their way through the stems; bright green tips of shrubs and bushes rose above the older, dull leaves; a soft, sweet wind lifted the edges of the ribboning branches of the willow tree.

But none of it offered him any consolation alongside the realization that the woman he loved was gone.

Fire.

It was all around her; the air was dense with smoke and heat, causing Kali to start coughing the moment she opened her watering eyes. Someone said her name again and she whirled around from her place at the feet of the goddess statue to see the old woman standing by the door. "Come, child," she said, her voice quiet but urgent. "You must leave." As the words left her mouth, Kali heard a tremendous booming sound in the distance and nearly fell to the ground as the temple shook from the impact.

After a moment Kali was able to struggle to her feet and make her way to the blind priestess. "How?" She coughed again and looked around the room, which was inflamed and livid. The floor was sticky with melted wax from the candles and Kali felt the hair on her arms starting to singe from the heat. It was almost impossible to breathe. It was so hot Kali thought her eyes were going to burn out of their sockets even as she looked at the doorway. "The door...it's blocked." Indeed, the only way out was covered in flames that reached above her head.

The priestess shook her head and pointed to the doorway. "You have to go" she said. "This place is no longer safe for you."

Another booming sound; the room shuddered and Kali felt bits of rock land on her shoulders. She coughed and shook her head. "But you...what about you? You'll die here...you'll be burned alive," she called over the roar of fire and the rumble of the temple itself. "Come with me."

In response, the priestess laughed. "I will not be harmed, child. My place is here," she said. "It's time for you to move on. You must not be afraid any longer."

Kali stepped towards the door and looked back. "I won't make it."

"You certainly won't survive here," the priestess replied in an amused voice. "But it's your life."

The flames were high and furious; on impulse, Kalinda reached within herself and felt for the Force, thinking that maybe, by some miracle if it had returned she could create her shield. But there was still only emptiness within her, an echoing chasm in her heart where the well of energy should have been and she realized that she had nothing left to lose. Another explosion; more rocks clattered to the floor and she took the deepest breath she could before she closed her eyes and leaped through the fire.