Dedication: This chapter is hereby dedicated to laloga, author of the Eye of the Storm trilogy, All Or Nothing, and other fantastic fanfics (be sure to check her out, if you haven't done so already)! Because of events going on in my life, I would have abandoned this fanfic...here's a new chapter, because of her amazing revies of ATS: Redemption, her steady encouragement, and her gracious hospitality (the majority of this chapter was written on her couch). May this story be a continuing source of friendship and inspiration.
Credit: I would recommend listening to the following songs/artists: "The Bonnie Ship the Diamond" by The Corries, "Heart of the Ocean" by Gaelic Storm and "Winterborn (Subway To Sally Remix)" by The Cruxshadows. These three songs have really helped me shape the personalities of the two characters that make their appearance at the end of this chapter. :) Lyrics from "The Bonnie Ship the Diamond" and "Heart of the Ocean" are featured in this chapter; the music also provides a large part of the "mood" that dominates the pub scene.
"Come down / Far below / We've been waiting to collect / What you've let go."
"Blackout"
Linkin Park
"C'mon you two lovebirds," Saa's impatient rap at the bedroom door had the desired effect of distracting Cody from stealing yet another kiss. "You've had all night for whatever nonsense you're up to."
Tay's lips twisted against Cody's as she tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. The feel and sound of her giggling against his mouth prompted the clone to cup her chin in his hands and press his lips against hers. Her amusement gave way to a soft sigh of desire and if it weren't for another indignant pound against the door, he might have been tempted to push Tay back down on the bed for a third and thorough exploration of her body.
"Cod'ika...!" his name was a threat growled through the door.
"Why do I get blamed for being late?" Cody huffed theatrically and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling as he finally untangled himself from Tay's tempting arms.
He shot Tay a long, lingering look from head-to-toe that clearly conveyed his firm opinion that it was her, not him, that had contributed to the postponement of the inevitable. The impertinent Jedi just giggled, having felt – Cody was sure – his scorching, pointed gaze, or at least, having properly interrupted the intention of his sudden silence.
"Will you two -" Saa started to gripe again, but Cody cut him off by slamming his hand against the door panel.
The force he had used surprised him a bit – he hadn't meant to hit the open button quite so hard – but, then again, Tay had managed to work him up into a fine mood. And, if he was honest with himself, Cody was a bit exasperated with himself at how successfully she had managed – not once, but twice – to distract him from reality.
Saa took one look at him and arched an eloquent eyebrow; Cody flushed and fumbled as he suddenly remembered to finish buckling his belt.
"Having fun?" Saa slowly crossed his arms over his thin chest and his lips pursed together in a rather peculiar expression; it was almost as if he were trying notto laugh.
Cody noticed a bit belatedly, that Saa already had a dark blue chest plate strapped over his upper torso. There was armor of a matching color on his arms and his legs as well - all that was missing was Yln's distinctive buy'ce. A slight pang shot through the clone commander's conscience as he realized that, while he and Tay had been satisfying their urges, Saa had been preparing for their impending departure.
"We were," Cody admitted slowly as his dark eyes drifted up to meet Saa's piercing greens.
There was another moment of awkward silence, during which Tay slipped up behind Cody and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her fingers picked idly at the fabric of his tunic, but she behaved herself otherwise, thankfully. Cody wasn't sure if he could withstand another "distraction"; as it was, her breath was soft and warm against his arm and he was tempted to just close the door in Saa's face.
Had circumstances been different, he would have chosen to spend all day in bed...
"You better rescue me from this sex fiend, Saa," Tay suddenly stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips teasingly against Cody's rough cheek, as if she'd just been reading his thoughts. "Or you two will never get anywhere today."
The clone was absolutely staggered by her unexpected choice of words and he could feel his face flush a brilliant red under his dusky skin. The grin that suddenly lit up Saa's face only added insult to injury - torn between a sense of bemusement and masculine pride, Cody impulsively reached up and slapped the door controller for a second time.
The door slid shut soundly, but it only served to muffle Saa's laughter. Cody thought his ears would catch fire from the heat that suddenly flushed his face from neck to scalp.
"'Sex fiend'?" he whispered hotly, his eyebrows arched in mock-indignation toward his darker hairline as he turned his head to fix a stern gaze at his giggling lover. "Really, Tay?"
"You, sir, haven't been able to keep your hands off of me since last night!" she countered back with a laugh.
Her voice became a bit breathless, though, as Cody twisted his body around in her arms and grabbed her by her waist. The pale-haired Jedi uttered the most adorable little squeak as Cody turned her around and backed her firmly into the door.
"I'm not the only one with wandering hands," he tried to scowl at her as he grabbed her wrists and pinned them firmly up above her head.
Tay titled her face toward his; a fine flush was creeping up the gentle length of her neck and her full lips were parted in a perfect "o" of surprise. Cody leaned his body in toward hers and groaned at the soft contact of her curves against his more angular muscles. He bent his head to kiss her, but paused at the last moment to murmur suggestively - and a little more loudly than he intended - against her lips:
"I think if you're going to sling a name like that around, I better earn it first," her breath was warm and Cody didn't care that they were making Saa wait. "Let me show you 'sex fiend'..."
"I think I'll be in the kitchen, while you do that," Saa's voice cut briskly through the door and Cody's fog of desire.
The amorous clone could only thump his forehead against the cool dureplast door with a groan of deepest humiliation.
"I guess I better get going, huh?" he mumbled toward the door.
There wasn't any part of him - emotionally, mentally, or physically - that had any desire to leave his current location. Tay was a haven, in all senses of the word, and Cody had grown comfortable in her companionship over the last three weeks. He had savored every moment of their gradual build-up to the night before, he had certainlyenjoyed the evening spent in her bed, and he had treasured the exquisite sense of "belonging" that he had felt waking up beside her. It was all so much to take in and all of it now seemed to have happened too quickly.
He sighed, his chest rising and falling heavily against hers; Cody held his breath experimentally for just a moment and felt her heart beating against his through the thin fabric of their clothes. The clone squeezed his eyes shut and tried to capture the moment as best he could - the soft silence, the feel of her breath against his neck, the warmth of her body against his. He let go of Tay's wrists, threaded his fingers between hers, and let them fall to her side against the door.
"You'd better go, Cyanamid," Tay's gentle voice solemnly urged the moment to pass.
Cody sighed again and he lifted his head to look down at her. He lingered a moment more, just to admire her beauty, her quiet strength. For a moment, he wished that he had the Force, if only so he could fathom what she was feeling beneath her seemingly inextinguishable serenity. He was starting to suspect that that serene exterior was just Tay's own Jedi-trained "default" response to those things over which she had no control.
Her serenity was really no different than his own blunt predisposition toward decisive action in moments of crisis. She turned passive - he turned active. Though, for once, it seemed that even he lingered, in a futile attempt to hold onto the fleeting tranquility that surrounded them.
"I don't want to," he admitted softly - so softly, in fact, that he thought at first she hadn't heard him.
But, he should have known that the ears of a blind woman were as sharp as any Togorian's. Tay merely stayed silent a moment or two, as if thinking over her response. Then, she lifted her face and their lips met in a slow, tender kiss. Passion stirred lazily in Cody's blood and it was hard for him not to give it full reign.
"Saa's waiting," was all she said, her words as hushed as the wings of a Koros butterfly.
It seemed that no matter where his choices led him, Cody could never quite seem to escape that one thing for which he had been born -
"Duty calls."
And he could do naught, but answer.
After a filling breakfast, Saa and Cody made quick work of all final preparations. There wasn't that much to do, as it turned out - Saa had packed two saddlebag-type canvas kits, before coming back to check up on Tay and Cody's progress in making it out of bed. All that was really left was for Cody to strap himself into his armor - in the weeks since returning from Bellassa, he had settled on an appropriate color scheme and had repainted all of the mismatched bits of armor that he had salvaged from the Ijaa's cargo hold.
He had painted the main pieces green, for duty. Always duty - that one thing that had steered him so wrong at Order 66. That one thing that had steered him back to a better path when he had finally collided with Obi-Wan. His shoulder, forearm, and knee pieces were all painted gold for vengeance - in the memory of Chan-Dar and in memory of the vow he had made among those hallowed gravestones.
"I'll kill him."
Gold was for Appo. For the Temple. For Bellassa.
On his chest plate, Cody had painted the very markings he had once worn so proudly - three straight gold lines radiating up from his stomach toward his neck and shoulders. A matching gold stripe cut across his left thigh.
As the former commander finished strapping on his newly-painted armor, he felt something like his old pride settle back around his shoulders. The armor was now his - his colors, his design. While painting his gold stripes, he had debated constantly with himself about whether or not he wanted to wear those markings again, or if he even should. But, now, as he stood in Tay's living room and looked himself over one last time, he was glad that he had made the choice to reclaim some small part of who he had once been.
It was true that now he was a changed man, a different man. But, CommanderCody would never fully fade, no matter how quickly he aged, no matter how removed he became from the galaxy at large.
Cody gave Saa a lop-sided grin as the old merc brushed past him in the archway between the kitchen and the living room. The two men considered each other for a moment, each in his own armor; when Saa returned his smile, Cody felt a sense of camaraderie that he hadn't felt since the last days of the Wars. What the clone felt in that moment for Saa was different than what he had once felt for his brothers - but not too terribly so. It was almost like what he still felt for Obi-Wan - a sense of companionship, respect, and deference - but it was more familiar than what he had shared with the Jedi general.
It was what Cody thought one might feel toward his father. The thought tempered his smile, but only because it came with a complex and sudden realization.
As much as he already missed Tay...as much as he was loathe to leave her home and her bed...
Cody had found something of himself to be proud of; he had found a part of himself that he had once thought buried underneath the twin weights of depression and addiction. He had rediscovered the will of a warrior, redefined as something more than just a simple soldier, as something almost-Mandalorian. And he had found it through the guidance of the limp-legged, worldy-wise, steely-jawed merc who now shared a profound moment of silence with him.
Tay had given him back his heart, his soul. But, Saa had given him back his pride, his dignity. Tay had taught him how to love again, but Saa had shown him something more concrete to give her than just the shards of his broken past.
True, the lifestyle of a Mandalorian mercenary - and a fugitive to boot - meant that Cody would stand in Tay's archway like this many more times, with his armor on his back and his pack in his hand. It meant that he would probably spend more nights away from her bed than in it. It meant that as the years went by, they would spend more time talking over a long-distance holo-com than in person. It meant that he would always run the risk of never coming back home, or of bringing danger back to her sanctuary doorstep.
But, it also meant that he could stand proudly once again, on his own two feet, as his own man. It meant that he could provide for her. It meant that he could live what was left of his short life with both the love of a woman and with a final acceptance of who he had chosen to become.
And in the end, Cody knew it was worth it. Despite the dangers, and the fears, and the uncertain separations - it was all worth it to finally know who he was and to know where he belonged.
When an hour passed after breakfast and no word had come from Hella, Cody began to wonder if he had missed some small detail the night before. He had expected her to show up with the Ijaaat any moment, since that was the only means of transportation he had become acquainted with, thanks to their earlier expeditions Tatooine and Belassa.
So, it was with some surprise that Cody went with Saa to answer a knock on the front door and found Sazenstanding on the other side, with his eldest nephew and two speeder bikes in tow.
"You know I won't ever ask you what you're up to, Saa," the stalwart Zabrak softened the severity of his blunt introductory words with a brief smile.
He patted the seat of one bike as he glanced from Saa to Cody and then back again at the older merc. The farmer arched one eyebrow and his nephew watched with undisguised curiosity, but otherwise, Sazen stayed true to his word.
He didn't ask any awkward questions as he handed over the bikes to his two armored neighbors.
"But, do me a favor and take good care of these. My nephews are rather fond of them."
"I know," Saa responded gruffly - Cody could tell that he was touched by the Zabrak's generosity and by the depth of his trust. "I've caught them both cutting a little too close to Tay's nysillin fields a few times too many recently."
Sazen's nephew's face flushed a bright red as his uncle glanced over his shoulder and fixed him with a stern glare.
"Well, in that case, perhaps losing them for a while might teach them a good lesson in appreciating what they have. Having to walk around everywhere might help realign their perspective," Sazen paused and glanced back at Saa.
Curiosity lit up the farmer's face, though it was clear that he was trying to bridle the worst of it. His voice dropped a few octaves lower, until he was just shy of a whisper.
"Do you know when you'll be bringing them back, old friend?"
There was a tense moment, during which Saa chewed the inside of his lip and Cody tried not to make eye contact with either Sazen or his nephew.
"I'm afraid I can't say, Sazen," Saa finally responded quietly, honestly.
He reached out and grasped the Zabrak's burly shoulder, his grip firm, but friendly. The two males met each other's gazes straight-on and Cody was humbled by the trust shown by both toward the other.
"But you have my word we'll be back as soon as we can," Saa patted Sazen's shoulder once, twice, before pulling back and letting his hand fall to his side. "With everything in once piece."
"I will be quite upset if you don't," it was Sazen's turn to reach out and he grasped Saa's forearm firmly in farewell; Cody could tell by the look in the Zabrak's eyes that he wasn't talking about the speeder bikes.
The Zabrak was no fool and Cody knew that he had some idea of what Saa truly was - if he hadn't known before, the merc's dark blue armor silently gave away the truth. Sazen knew they were up to something dangerous and that they were leaving Tay behind only because something greater demanded their presence elsewhere. The farmer didn't pry, didn't ask - but it was clear that he wanted them both to come back safely. Speeder bikes be damned.
"Watch after Tay while we're gone?" Cody suddenly piped up - his only contribution to the conversation came on suddenly and surprised even him.
He stood his ground beside Saa, in the open doorway of Tay's little house, and looked Sazen full in the face. The Zabrak seemed surprised by the usually silent clone's sudden demand, but he nodded slowly and reached his hand out to grasp Cody's arm as well, as if to seal an unspoken pact.
"I would never think to do otherwise."
The two shook on it and that was that. Sazen collected his nephew, and both Cody and Saa watched for a moment as the two Zabraks walked slowly down the rutted country road toward their own home. After the two forms had disappeared around a bend in the road, the former clone commander turned his attention toward the speeder bikes.
"I guess we won't be borrowing the Ijaa from Hella?"
"Cree'dee is an unruly city and full of brigands, bounty hunters, and mercenaries," Saa began by way of explanation - at first, Cody wasn't exactly sure what the state of the city had to do with borrowing two bikes instead of a fully functional ship. "The arrival of a ship the Ijaa's size would draw unwanted attention to us. It would single us out as outsiders. Plus, Cree'dee is a border-town; we'd be expected to declare our cargo, our names, and our business. With the Empire snooping around, it's best we enter the city with as low of a profile as possible."
"Can we get there on speeder bikes, though?" Cody was still a bit dubious about Saa's choice of transportation.
Spring had arrived to Anobis in full swing, but Cree'dee was farther north, which meant it would colder than it was in Mydwyth and probably still coated by several inches of mush-mingled snow. Cody wasn't exactly keen on a cold ride - especially not if it meant riding straight into ice-cold rain (which was frequent this time of year) or an impromptu blizzard (which Tay had admitted wasn't uncommon in the more northern regions).
"It'll double our travel time for sure. But as long as we get out of here in the hour, we should arrive just before sunset. Hella couldn't leave the capitol if she wanted to, anyway. She commed me this morning to tell me that the flight routes out of the city have been grounded indefinitely. And a blackout's being enforced as well. So, trying to sneak out at night is a no-go."
"A blackout?" Cody questioned this new piece of information with raised eyebrows; he wasn't exactly sure what the Imperialists hoped to accomplish by locking down an entire city's energy grid.
"That was my reaction," Saa noted Cody's expression and shrugged as he shut the front door behind them; the speeders could wait while they collected the rest of their things for the trip north. "Hella says it's a mandatory curfew, but the locals are calling it a 'blackout'. I suppose the Imps are trying to flush out any fugitives by controlling the streets at night? Who knows," he shrugged again as they meandered down the short hallway toward the kitchen.
"The Empire will do whatever it can to assert its authority," Cody felt the sour taste of experience in his words. "Locking down cities is a common enough tactic," he paused and then added, slowly. "Seen it done plenty of times before. Keeps the population cowed."
Saa snorted at that.
"Clearly, they've never dealt with Anobians before," the merc stepped aside to let the younger clone pass through into the kitchen. "We're a stubborn lot."
Like before, their goodbyes were short. This time, though, the parting from Tay was a little sweeter - or, at least, a little less awkward. Cody kissed her thoroughly for several long minutes while Saa finished tying down their bags on the back of the bikes. He was determined that, this time, he wouldn't regret the manner in which he left and he gave Tay no reason to believe that he wouldn't strive to be back by her side as soon as he could manage.
They were both a bit breathless once they finally stepped away from each other; Cody kept her face cupped in his hands, though, even though their lips and bodies had parted. He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed heavily.
"Be safe," he whispered with all of the conviction that he could muster; if she had had eyes, he would have held her gaze with as much intensity as he could manage.
"I'll do my best," Tay promised him softly. "Hella says she'll try to come by and check up on me, but she can't promise anything for sure right now. Even if she manages to find a way out of Korynth, she doesn't want to risk leading them here."
"Tell her she's smart, then," Cody lifted his head and kissed Tay gently on the forehead as he took a step away from her. "Sazen says he'll be by to check up on you."
"See? Then I'm in good hands," Tay tried to smile as his fingers fell away from her face; she reached out and grasped his hands before he could further the distance between them. "It's you I worry about, Cody."
"You've got a good feeling about all this, though," he reminded her gently.
For a moment, her smile wavered, but then she lifted her chin at his words and he could tell that she was doing her best to put on a brave front for him. The sight touched his heart in a way he had never quiet felt before - it was bittersweet and precious.
"You'll be bringing others back with you," the creases around her lips softened and he could tell that, for just a moment, she was connecting to the Force and seeing a possibility beyond what he himself could fathom.
Her smile was warm as she squeezed his hands and slowly let go of him. Her promise would echo in his ears in the days to come and lend courage to his heart.
"I'll be waiting..."
The trip was cold, as Cody had grudgingly anticipated. Even the warm spring sun rising higher toward the apex of the sky wasn't enough to cut the chill of the wind that whipped against his face. That wind only grew frostier as the two men traveled steadily north; Saa set a grueling pace and even the tinge of a lingering winter didn't slow him down as they pressed onward toward Cree'dee. By the time the sun slipped toward the horizon, Cody's cheeks felt like they had been whipped raw. He also couldn't feel his nose, or his fingers, and as the lights of the steadily nearing city began to eclipse the dying sunlight, he wasn't so sure that he'd be able to get off of the bike.
The two had traveled for the better part of a day and they had only spared themselves three fifteen-minute breaks. Once to eat some sandwiches and cold fruit that Tay had packed for them; twice to relieve themselves, and to "walk it out" before locking their knees and shoulders back into the half-bent position on the speeder bikes. Traveling in the Ijaawould have been more comfortable and it would have made the journey far more pleasant. But, when Cody could finally make out the detail of Cree'dee's outlying buildings, he suddenly realized the wisdom of Saa's choices.
It was a seedy town, nestled into the foothills of an impressive mountain range that dominated the twilight skyline. It had the feel of some of the spacer ports Cody had visited during his time in the GAR and the Imperial military - but as they approached the outskirts, he realized that Cree'dee proper was not built to accommodate much in the way of air travel. There appeared to be a small docking area on their side of the city limits, but the largest hull he glimpsed was a small agricultural freighter at best. The Ijaa would have stood out - especially since Hella kept the ship in pristine condition and everythingabout Cree'dee screamed "run-down" and "forgotten."
As towns went, it covered a lot of ground - but as they decreased their speed and cautiously negotiated their way through what was best described as a shanty town along the outskirts, Cody noted that the only truly built-up and maintained part of the town was toward its busy center. Old warehouse-like buildings, abandoned hovels, decrepit lean-to's, and cobbled huts dominated the architecture of most of outlying Cree'dee. The streets were narrow lanes of churned up, half-frozen dirt and every eye that turned toward them was wary at best and hateful at worst.
The cold set into Cody's bones for good, as they drifted slowly through the pedestrian traffic. As they traveled closer toward the town's center, the buildings became more established, though they were still marked with graffiti, wear, and age. Cody noticed more and more shops and the looks that were tossed their way became more curious and a little less hostile. There was an air of edginess about the small city, though - the natives looked restless and skittish.
His soldier's senses screamed at high alert, even though the locals kept their distance. Yet again, Cody thanked the powers that be for the anonymity of a helmet and the inherent intimidation factor of full-body armor.
Saa had insisted that he wear Yln's buy'ce, even though the red and gray was out of place with the repainted green-and-gold armor. The older merc had suited up in his Miralukan disguise and they were once again "Jaos Kel" and "Fallon Marr". Cody was - as always - thankful for the disguise. It hid his own nervousness and hyper-vigilance as he kept a wary eye on allangles thanks to his built-in HUD, and his armor seemed to keep some of the more bold types from looking at them too seriously.
Saa had mentioned that Cree'dee had its fair share of Mandalorians and as they cruised into the most populated - and "respectful" - sections of the inner city, Cody began to notice other armor besides their own. He could tell by shifts in posture, in the subtle movements of hands toward hips and the wary tilts of helmeted heads, that their passing was duly noted. But, no one made a move toward them and the potential for any sort of trouble passed them by.
It was exactly as Saa had said. From the back of a speeder bike, they were just any other Mandalorian to the non-Mando population. To the local vodthey were definitely "new", but their arrival was inconspicuous - and that seemed to be enough to keep any forceful expressions of curiosity at bay.
Just when Cody began to wonder how much longer Saa was going to meander through the streets, the older merc finally slowed to a stop in front of a well-lit and surprisingly reputable-looking establishment. According to its blinking, glowing street sign, the place offered food and the smell of something savor and fried wafted across the sidewalk toward them. The clone's stomach growled hopefully - it had been quite some time since those homemade sandwiches and Cody was used to eating a small meal every couple of hours. His high metabolism forced him to forage constantly for food and skipping meals never went over well...
"Will the bikes be fine out here?" Cody continued to sit on his speeder, though, as he watched Saa climb stiffly off of his.
The former commander rolled his shoulders slowly underneath the comfortable weight of his armor. His back and legs were stiff; he hoped a hot meal, a climate-controlled climate, and some good stretching would spare him the worst of the pain that was sure to set in by morning. Even sitting, Cody's knees bluntly reminded him that he wasn't getting any younger.
"For where we are in the city, they'll be safe enough, I wager. They're not the only vehicles parked here along the street, so that says something," Saa answered back through his subcutaneous link, which was connected to the comm system in Cody's helmet. "In any event, we need something hot in our bellies and I don't know about you, but my old joints aren't going to hold up much longer in this cold."
Cody just nodded slowly and took a quick scan of their surroundings as he slowly eased himself off of the bike. He was stiff - achingly so - but his dismount wasn't as rough as he had feared. His left knee popped and something in his lower back twinged as he pulled his stretched his shoulders. But, other than that, he felt okay; the hope of hot food certainly motivated the restof his body to cooperate.
He took a moment to stretch and ignored the curious glances he received from passerbys. As he arched his back and pulled his arms over his chest to ease some of the stiffness between his shoulder blades, a flash of white caught his eye. Cody watched with idle interest, as an armored figure ducked into an alleyway across the street.
"This part of town certainly has a strong Mandalorian presence, doesn't it?" he commented to Saa as they both finally turned to enter the restaurant behind them.
"Strong enough. This is a border town - business for bounty hunters and mercenaries is good around here," Saa watched as the establishment door slid open; he stood aside to let Cody enter first.
"What is the deal with Anobis, anyway?" Cody wondered as he took the lead; he paused long enough to take stock of his surroundings.
The interior was dimly lit and smoky, but not grungy as he would have expected from past experiences with that combination. The lower half of the walls were made from some sort of dark, age-polished wood; the upper half of the wall was painted a slightly brighter green. Booths lined the wall along the perimeter of the large, rectangular room; to Cody's left was a full-length bar, built in the same dark wood as the walls and the booths. Circular tables dotted the wider space between the booths and the bar; the establishment seemed to consist of that one room, though a flight of stairs tucked away in the corner by the bar suggested a second story up above.
The place appeared to be doing a brisk business; the bar was full and most of the tables were occupied. The booths were tall enough that Cody couldn't see where patrons were sitting, but he spotted the odd foot, or shoulder, or arm, or leg peeking out here and there around the edge of the tall wooden divisions. The floor was wooden as well and if he focused past the noisy murmur of the room, he could hear the sound of his armored boots thump against the scuffed surface beneath them.
If Saa had heard his question over the sound of the other patrons, he made no indication. Instead, the mercenary tapped Cody's armored shoulder and nodded his head toward a booth at the far end of the room. The two threaded their way around tables and chairs; the occasional eye lifted to follow their progress, but no one seemed to take any particular interest in them. Most of the clientèle appeared to be human and of that, nearly all of them were dressed in varying interpretations of beskar'gam. Those patrons who weren't Mandalorian, looked to be the type one could find in nearly any galactic cantina - mercs, bounty hunters, smugglers, pazzak players, entertainers, and travelers.
One thing Cody did notice, though, was that while most everyone else in the place had the air of one's average cantina patron, they didn't necessarily look the part. The bar-and-restaurant was a little shabby, but well-kept otherwise; its patrons looked about the same. It was an oddly reputable place and the atmosphere was open, easy, and comfortable.
"Where you askin' what was up with this place?" Saa wondered as the two slid into a booth across from each other.
"No...not exactly," Cody shook his head; his attention was on the plate of food sitting at a nearby table and the smell of a glorious heap of fried something was distracting. "But...now that you mention it," he reached up and popped the seal on his helmet. "Yeah...what is this place?"
"An Alderaanian pub," Saa's eyes ghosted warily over their immediate surroundings, but when no one seemed to pay them any mind, he nodded his head ever so slightly.
Cody took his cue that it was okay to remove his helmet. While he was comfortable enough with it, he still sighed a bit in relief as he pulled it off and set it to the side of the table by his left forearm, up against the wooden half of the wall. He didn't think he'd have been able to bear the torture of sitting so close to food and not being able to order or eat any of it, because it wasn't a safe enough environment in which to take off his helmet. A large part of him was relieved and secretly delighted, when a waitress took note of his uncovered face and hurried over with a datapad in hand.
The young clone had no idea what to order, but Saa seemed to have a comfortable familiarity with Alderaanian pubs. The waitress had brought them water and Cody sipped gratefully at it while his companion ordered for the two of them. After she left, they sat in silence for a few minutes, each wrapped up in his own thoughts. For his own part, Cody was thankful for the warm atmosphere and the sense of security he got from the place - even as full as it was, there was something about it that curbed his tendency to keep one eye warily fixed over Saa's shoulder.
Saa, too, seemed relaxed, though he seemed interested in something behind Cody. They were seated next to a corner booth, which was built to curve against the angle of the two walls. The older merc also sat closer to the opening of his seat than Cody did his, so Saa was able to lean slightly to the side and look around the edge of the booth. At first, the clone resisted the urge to look himself, but then he heard a few notes of music strummed lightly on some kind of string instrument; it wasn't loud enough to compete against the noise from the bar to their right, but it was just enough to stand out from the aural ambiance in general.
Curious, Cody leaned forward against the table and glanced behind him as best as he could without drawing too much attention to himself. All he saw was a boot - a single boot - propped up on the edge of the table behind him. He shifted back into his seat after a second or two and frowned slightly at Saa.
"A boot?" was all he could think to say; a sudden, quirky smirk flashed across Saa's lips.
"It's a very interesting boot," the merc shrugged and leaned his elbows on the table.
His smirk turned a bit mysterious - as if he knew something Cody didn't - but by now, the former commander had seen that look on Saa's face enough times before to know that it would do him no good to press the issue. So, instead, Cody glanced around the pub again and expressed his surprise that no one seemed to be paying them any mind - not even surreptitiously.
"That's the nice thing about Alderaanians," Saa took a sip of his water and shifted in his seat so that he could no longer be distracted by the boot behind Cody's booth. "They keep to themselves and expect the same of everyone else. Very live-and-let-live attitude. Kinda' nice to find that in the middle of a place like Cree'dee."
"Kinda' unexpected, though," Cody kept scanning the room every few minutes - it was too deeply ingrained a habit to resist, no matter how comfortable the surroundings may have felt. "How'd you know about this place?"
"I didn't," his words were accompanied by a slow, casual shrug. "I've been here to Cree'dee once or twice before, on business," he paused a moment to sip his water and his attention focused on Cody with a brief and roguish smile. "But, I was always just passing through. Never really explored the inner city - kept to myself and my ship, I have to admit."
"So...why are we here?" Cody's own eyes traveled toward the plate of nearby food, which was being throughly enjoyed by what looked to be a Mandalorian Ferroan. "Is this where we're supposed to meet up with our...ah...vod?"
Saa just nodded. Cody assumed by his body language, that the merc's attention had slipped back past him toward the source of the music that was still strumming along quietly behind him. Saa's disguise was not as easy to abandon in public, so he still had his eyes covered by the thick dark glass of his headband.
Their waitress reappeared a few seconds later with two large plates piled high with food that looked vaguely familiar to the ravenous clone. She set the plates down in front of them, flashed Cody a particularly winsome smile, and asked if she could refill his glass of water.
Cody, who was more interested in figuring out what was on his plate than anything else, just nodded. and was taken by surprise when Saa started chuckling. The young brunette waitress had moved away - Cody assumed to find a pitcher of water to fill up his glass - and the clone glanced toward her and the bar, in vain hopes of finding out what it was Saa found so amusing. When nothing unusual caught his eye, he frowned and shot his traveling companion a look of sheer confusion.
"What's so funny?" Cody picked up his fork and dug it into the mound of fluffy mashed vegetable on the left side of his plate.
Saa puzzled him - and often, at that - but the clone saw no reason why he had to refrain from eating while trying to get to the bottom of his companion's random amusement. When it came to food, Cody was a consummate multi-tasker - most anything could be done while eating. It was simply a matter of having one's priorities straight - food first, everything else second.
"You really don't know a thing about females, do you?"
"Huh?" Cody glanced up from his plate and frowned.
He paused, fork half-way to his mouth, but only for a moment. Remembering that his priority was food and only then figuring out what made Saa tick, Cody closed the gap quickly between him and his fork.
"She's trying to flirt with you," Saa jerked his chin toward the young waitress who was now starting to make her way back with a pitcher of water.
"What?" a look of panic chased itself briefly across Cody's face and he eyed the waitress a little more warily as she approached their table.
She was a pretty little thing, if young and distinctly not-Tay. Her spattering of freckles stretching across her nose and cheeks seemed to accentuate her youthfulness. And even Cody could pick out the shy innocence of her spirit expressed so clearly in her dark, expressive eyes. He could feel the tip of his ears flush a little darker as she paused uncertainly at his side; he mutely handed her his glass to be refilled and glanced at Saa as if for help.
Saa, on the other hand, had decided that moment was the perfect opportunity to devote his sole attention to his food. That left Cody completely on his own and the clone could only stammer his thanks as she set his glass back down on the table.
"Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you," her smile was almost bashful, as she reached up to tuck a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear.
"Uh..." Cody could only squirm, as he tried to find some way to not look her in the eye - or at her bosom, or even in her general direction.
"Thank you," Saa piped up; Cody shot him a glare mingled with relief and indignation. "We'll be sure to do so."
There was an undercurrent of amusement in the older merc's voice that Cody didn't miss. The clone's expression turned sour as the waitress flashed them both one more parting smile and moved away to wait on other patrons.
"Was that really necessary?" he hissed at Saa over the breadth of their narrow table.
"You're a good-looking man, ad'ika," the older male seemed completely unmoved by Cody's consternation. "Learning to flirt with a female can be a valuable social skill. For one thing, it makes you stand out less. Manda knows I've had my sorry shebs saved more often by females than by other males. Learning to talk to a female can take you a long way - this isn't just a male's galaxy," Saa punctuated his words with a particularly forceful wave of his fork in Cody's direction.
"But...flirting?" Cody shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Flirting is an art. And it'll win you more friends than enemies. Nothing will lower a female's defenses faster than giving her a few moments of your time."
"But...Tay...!" Cody sputtered - a part of him couldn't believe that they were sitting in an unknown bar, in an unknown city, waiting on an unknown contact, and Saa was lecturing him on flirting.
"You can flirt with a woman without having - or even wanting - to take her to bed," Saa snorted as he picked up his knife and began to cut into a particularly tasty looking sausage.
"Is there a reason we're having this conversation?" Cody was getting uncomfortable and getting uncomfortable was distracting him from his food; he drew the line right there.
"Oh, it'll all make sense eventually, I'm sure," Saa was irritatingly breezy as he stuck a forkful of sausage into his mouth; he waved his now-empty fork at Cody one last time. "Just keep what I said in mind. "It's always better to make a friend first, before an enemy. A little kindness never goes forgotten."
Cody just stared at him for a moment and then shrugged. He really didn't understand Saa some times, but he had learned to just let those moments pass and not ask too many questions.
The clone turned his attention back to his plate and considered it for a moment.
"What is this, anyway?" he wondered, as he picked up his fork again and poked thoughtfully at one of his own sausages.
"An Alderaanian dish," Saa shrugged; Cody gave him another dour look.
"I could have figured that out on my own, thanks."
"It's popular in the northern regions, if memory serves me right," Saa just chuckled and explained a little more as he cut another piece of sausage and moved it around quickly in a pool of dark brown sauce. "Fried pork sausages and mashed potatoes, all smothered in a Lakir mushroom gravy. Good stuff," his teeth flashed white in a smile, before taking another bite. "Sticks to your ribs."
"S'not too different from some of the stuff they used to serve in the galley," Cody mumbled around a mouthful of his own, as his thoughts wandered briefly toward his days on the Resolute.
It seemed like all of the food they'd been served in orbit had been fried, mashed, or smothered in unidentifiable gravies of one sort or another. He had to admit, though...this combination of mash, fried meat, and sauce was a lot more tasty than anything he'd ever encountered on board a naval vessel.
"So, what do you know of Alderaan?" Cody mused a few moments later.
He was slightly distracted by the music that still drifted along in bits and pieces behind him. When the music had first started, it had sounded like the individual behind them had been tuning his instrument - a few notes here, a pause, a few more notes on a different string. Now, though, it sounded like an actual song was being played; it had a certain repetitive rhythm to it and a twangy quality that kept catching his ear.
"Nothing much, really. I've never been there, believe it or not. I've picked up on a few things in my travels, though. Pubs like this one aren't as common as your average cantina, but you can find them here and there wherever there's a community of itinerant Alderaanians."
"'Pub'?" Cody turned the unfamiliar word over thoughtfully; he realized his foot was tapping slowly in time to the music behind him and he was finding it a little hard to concentrate on what Saa was saying.
"A bar, or a cantina, in other terms, I suppose," Saa, too, seemed to hear the music and a strange mischievousness crept into his expression. "It's uniquely Alderaanian, though - specifically, to the continent Lir Lakir, in the planet's north-western hemisphere."
A low voice threaded its way into the conversation - Cody realized that it came from behind them and he was a little surprised to discover that the identity behind the music was female. He couldn't pick out her words over the general ambiance, but the tone of her words was rich and smooth. His foot continued to tap underneath the table.
"There's a community of Alderaanians here on Anobis?" Cody's interest was beginning to attach itself to the discussion at hand and he was finding himself a little less distracted by the music behind him.
"Apparently, there's a small community here in Cree'dee," Saa shrugged and pushed his empty plate away from him, so he could rest his elbows and forearms on top of the weathered table. "Unusual, I'll admit. But that's par for the course here on Anobis. You never know what you'll find, or where."
"What's up with Anobis?" Cody remembered his question from earlier and took the opportunity to ask.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...why does it seem to have such a random population? And why so many Mandalorians?"
"Well, the Mandalorians are part of the reason we have such a random population. Many of the Mando'ad who settle here, bring their indigenous cultures with them. Like I've told you before, becoming a Mandalorian does not mean one must abandon the culture he or she came from originally. Most do...but not all. Some aspect of where you've come from creeps in, especially in food and music."
"Is that an Alderaanian song, then?" Cody glanced over his shoulder at the wooden division at his back and then back at Saa.
"Hmm," the older merc nodded and the edges of his lips quirked up in something of a smile. "A sea shanty if I remember correctly. I've heard it once or twice before."
Cody listened for a moment and he started to pick out some of the words being sung softly behind him -
"The Diamond is a ship, my lads, for the Dayvys Strait she's bound,
And the quay it is all garnished with bonny lasses 'round;
Captain Tuum'su'un gives the order to sail the ocean wide,
Where the sun it never sets, my lads, no darkness dims the sky..."
"Catchy," the clone shrugged after a moment or two of eavesdropping.
He frowned for a moment, a memory tugging incessantly at the back of his mind.
"It sounds vaguely familiar..."
"Hmm," Saa's attention drifted lazy across the length of the pub, but Cody wasn't fooled.
"You know something," the clone's mouth turned down in a suspicious frown.
"I suspect something. We'll see if I'm proven right," his companion just shrugged and flashed another maddening grin.
Cody rolled his eyes and sighed. When Saa made up his mind to be cryptic, there was nothing anyone could do to shed further light on the issue. When Saa was ready to spill what he knew, he would. And not a second sooner.
"So...Anobis," Cody leaned his back against the wooden division and reached across the table to fiddle with his half-empty water glass. "Why so many mercenaries?"
"Anobis has always been in the flux of civil war - at least, for as far back as I've ever been told," Saa relaxed his posture as well and the two settled in to enjoy a good conversation while they waited. "This whole planet is rich in fossil fuels, minerals, and precious metals. The settlements of the northern hemisphere discovered this and learned to build their economy on mining. Their geography lends itself well to this, since agriculture can't make much headway in such cold, mountainous terrain.
"The southern hemisphere is flatter and much warmer. Our soil is richer as well - all of this lends itself well to agriculture and husbandry. For generations, the south has fed the north and the north has fueled the south. Trouble started when the outside galaxy wanted to intervene - our southern farms hold no interest off-planet, since there are plenty of worlds available to provide agricultural gains for the galaxy as a whole. But, the northern mines attracted considerable interest economically from outside worlds; mainly, because we've been mining the mountains of the north for centuries and not a single mine has yet has run dry.
"Outside forces wanted to contract with the miners - and the north accepted pretty much all of those offers. Trade was established in the north and with trade came politics. Other races began to travel through our orbit and population booms in the cities drove a lot of native Anobians south. Most of those, though, had been miners for generations, so they tried to take their skills with them to the south. About four or five generations ago, some prospectors from up north discovered oil in the south. Our agricultural plains grow over a vast network of underground oil fields - the geological assumption is that Anobis went through an extensive ice age several millennium ago that killed off what ever native species existed at the time. Glaciers moved down from the mountains and carved out the plains, trapping fossils and other organic matter underneath. Centuries later," Saa paused and shrugged. "Oil."
"So, outside contracts wanted to dig for oil?" Cody grasped for the next logical step in the story.
Saa nodded.
"In many places in the southern hemisphere, they have. But every oil drill has been met with fierce resistance and in the case of my own native town, bloodshed," a dark shadow chased itself across Saa's face and for a moment, his eyes went distant. "But, oil equals money, which equals self-sufficiency for the north - something that they've always struggled with, because of harshness of the mountain climates. And as the north grows stronger, the south grows weaker. We've been self-sufficient for all this time, but the one thing we depend upon the north for is trade. Trade equals money, and without them both, our economy will collapse," Saa sighed and rubbed a hand across his goatee, his expression troubled. "The constant wars between our two hemispheres have brought famine and disease to some very major parts of the south. We can't recover from those without trade."
"What about the borderlands? Places like Cree'dee?" Cody looked away from Saa - it was distressing to catch such a raw glimpse into Saa's inner worries.
"Places like Cree'dee have popped up over the centuries as northerners have drifted south and southerners have drifted north. These are the no-man's lands - where the dispossessed gather and scrape together what they can. Most places die out and become ghost towns after a generation or two. Places like Cree'dee, though, have learned how to survive by building up along trade routes. Cree'dee is unique in having its own port, so it's become a stop between the hemispheres for farmers and miners who are still willing to do business with each other.
"Other border cities have survived by building up their manufacturing capabilities. Factories are becoming an important source of stabilization to both the north and the south, though the north has more to gain from them. The mines exist almost solely on manufactured labor - but the factories still rely on sentient strength. Many farmers have been lured into steady work at the factories, just to end their lives there in poverty and constant drudgery. Meanwhile, the northerners profit and build companies on the backs of barely compensated labor."
"Sounds grim," was all Cody could think to say.
He'd never had to think about how a planet fed itself, or about the internal politics of an indigenous people. This conversation with Saa was eye-opening, to say the least, and he glanced around the pub again, uncomfortably aware of its shabbiness. Now that he'd learned something more of the borderland economy, the clone was suddenly conscious of the outward wealth of the patrons around him - or, rather, the obvious lack thereof.
"It's the future of Anobis, if we're not careful," Saa scowled into his water glass and Cody could tell that he wished it was something a little stronger. "The arrival of the Empire in Korynth bodes ill not only for your own...concerns," he paused and glanced over at Cody for a moment. "But, for Anobis as a whole. Now that the Empire is here, there's a grave possibility that they may become aware of the potential of our mines. And the hopes of trade with a 'unified' galactic market would be too much of a temptation for corporations like the Anobis Mining Company."
Cody winced at the mention of his former employer. He remembered well his days working in the mines under Korynth, alongside other sentients and mining droids. It had never occurred to him to think past the drudgery of his day-to-day existence, but now he found himself wondering about his fellow miners. How many of them would never see the light of day, or the hope for a better tomorrow? The AMC had been notorious for its "employee incentives" - things like room, food, and board that came out of one's wages. Such incentives were just enough to keep its workers working, but without enough monetary compensation for those workers to ever hope for financial independence.
It had been a miserable existence - no better than the factory life that Saa described. Suddenly, Mydwyth seemed like a paradise - a haven of greater importance, and in greater danger, than Cody had ever imagined.
"We can't let the Empire stay here," Cody shook his head - the seeds of rebellion that had been slowly forming in his mind over the last several months, suddenly blossomed in brilliant clarity.
He looked across the table and met Saa's hidden gaze. The two men shared a moment of silent intent.
"This is bigger than us, isn't it? Than a handful of fugitives?" the crease between Cody's eyebrows furrowed as his mind began to race.
This was what he was born to do - to consider possible futures, theoretical permutations. His mind had long been shaped to consider strategy and tactics, even over the smallest things. As he turned over Saa's words and considered the scope of Anobis' history and economics, Cody realized anew that Order 66 had altered the futures of a million innocent lives. The crippling legacy of the Empire wouldn't be written just in the fate of Jedi and clones - it would be written in the fates of civilians like Sazen, like Saa.
"And what of the mercenaries? The Mandalorians?" Cody recalled a third faction which they hadn't yet discussed; he glanced at the table closest to them, at the Ferroan's black-and-blue beskar'gam.
"The criminal underworld will thrive at it always has. Bounty hunters will pray on the weak, and places like Cree'dee will continue to encourage the presence of slavers and thieves. As for the Mandalorians? I see us losing our honor," Saa scowled and shook his head, as if to steady himself against a grim reality. "We have traditionally made our wages by selling our strength and skills to those with the highest amount of credits. If the highest bidder becomes Imperial bought in turn, well..."
He left his thought unspoken, but Cody knew where he was going. If the Anobian Mandalorians took Imperial-funded bounties in order to live their own lives as they always had, then they would be selling out to the enemy. His lip curled up in disgust.
"The Mandalorians would become lackeys of the Empire."
"By extension, yes," Saa, too, looked like he had just swallowed something particularly distasteful.
"How many of the Mandalorians on Anobis are Clan Par'jain?" Cody suddenly made a leap in logic and he lifted an eyebrow in alarm.
"Most," Saa sighed; he suddenly seemed old and weary, as he leaned back and turned his face up toward the dark wooden ceiling above them. "Anobis is also home to members of clans Kelborn, Ward, and Tervho. But, most are our own aliit."
"So, the Empire could affect the future honor of the clan?" Cody's voice was suddenly as soft as the music that still played behind them.
The song had turned pensive and thoughtful; whoever was playing, was playing a little louder now. The haunting melody that drifted along in the background gave the conversation a sudden heart-breaking quality. A pall seemed to have fallen between Cody and Saa; something like a chill crept up Cody's spine as a female's voice gently filled the silence between them.
"Now I'm bound for the heart of the ocean;
I'm riding the sea in my soul.
In the dark and the deep,
She will rock me to sleep,
Down below, where the black waters roll..."
"The Empire could destroy us, split us apart. Crush us, enslave us," Saa looked very, very old, as if all the weight of his leadership was suddenly bearing down upon him. "Under my leadership, and Hella's, I would like to think that us Par'jains would continue to hold our honor dear and stand up against the tyranny that threatens us. But with enough pressure, even good men fail. On our own?" the old alor shook his head slowly. "I think the clan would shatter. We're too small, too isolated. Our numbers too thinned."
He groaned and rubbed his forehead; Cody could see the lines of worry deepen around his mouth.
"The fragility of Clan Par'jain is something that I inherited from my buir. Togorians take a long time to mate and when they do, their litters are small. A female might give birth once or twice in the course of her life. But, they make up the majority of our numbers, since the clan was originally formed inTogoria. Yln saw where the unintentional selectivity of the clan was taking it and tried to alter the course by being more proactive in adopting me and other non-Togorians. I, too, have tried to do the same."
A shocking vulnerability opened Saa's face and Cody watched uncomfortably as he saw his mentor's heart bared. The moment was echoed in the solemn melody behind them and it was humbling in its intensity. Never before had Cody seen another warrior set aside his defenses so completely.
"I had so many sons, Cody. So many. I thought, once, that Clan Par'jain would grow the hope of new blood - strong, brave Mandalorian blood that had merely strayed because of circumstances a million men couldn't control."
Cody stilled, his focus riveted, as he realized that Saa was talking about the clones that he had adopted - about his own brothers. And something else stirred in his heart - a sudden, unspoken hope.
"I saw the darkness coming and I thought we could stand against it like a thousand suns - like heroes in Mal's old Shistavanen legends."
Cody was suddenly unable to look his mentor in the face and he turned his gaze down toward the scarred wood underneath his own scarred hands.
"But, when I think of Del and Ka'rta..." Saa's voice trailed off for a moment and he cleared his throat before speaking again.
A female's voice whispered in the momentary lull -
"I can still hear your voice on the trade winds.
I can still taste your tears on the foam.
But the lure of the tide that I'm feeling inside,
Will not rest till my heart finds its home."
"Even I lose hope, at times, Cod'ika. I look at what stands before us, I wonder if the fate of this galaxy can ever be saved. The Empire threatens to black every bit of hope left, it seems. I fear for the future of Anobis, of Clan Par'jain - I fear we're heading toward a darkness that we as mere mortal sentients can never reverse."
Cody finally looked back at Saa and for a long moment, neither man spoke. Listening to Saa share his fears so openly was intensely awkward, but Cody was touched by the gesture all the same. They had come a long way, him and Saa, and the clone recognized the trust it took to voice such fears to him.
So, when Cody finally spoke, it was to echo the last man who had shared such trust with him.
"There's still hope in the galaxy," Cody insisted earnestly, softly.
The side of Saa's mouth quirked up and some of the sadness seemed to lift in the face of a better memory.
"Because Obi-Wan says so?"
Cody thought about that for a moment, before shaking his head resolutely.
"Now my heart is the heart of the ocean
There are storms from the sea in my soul
I'm restless and deep
And before I can sleep
I must go... where the black waters roll..."
"No," he said firmly over the sound of the music and the pub. "Because I say so."
A smile brightened Saa's face. The merc leaned forward across the table, as he reached out to grasp Cody's forearm in a strong grip.
In that exact moment, a thunderous explosion rocked the ground beneath them. Glasses fell from the bar, crashing brightly against the wooden floor and Cody felt something wet spill into his lap as his own drink toppled over.
Voices shouted, chairs scraped and fell as half a dozen Mandalorians lept to their feet and reached for their weapons. Cody and Saa looked once at each other; without a word, Cody reached for his helmet and Saa for his blaster. The door to the pub slid open and Cody had just enough time to process a figure standing against the gathering darkness in hauntingly familiar armor.
In white armor. Clone armor. With two pauldrons, a kama, and blue markings that Cody could never - would never - forget.
"Traitor!" a voice identical to his own cut sharply through the pandemonium that was beginning to build inside the pub.
Another explosion - closer, this time - rocked the building. At the distinctive sight of Phase II clone armor and 501st blue, Cody had slammed his helmet onto his head and clambered to his feet. The explosion knocked him back, though, and he hit his lower back painfully on the edge of the table.
He grunted in pain and noticed movement to his right. The majority of his attention was on the front of the pub, on the man standing there, but even so, the commander's sharp eyes didn't miss the armored hand that raised dangerously. A blaster pointed steadily down-range.
Toward him. Toward Saa.
Another explosion - a little more distant, as if something outside of the pub was hitting randomly in order to eliminate targets - nearly covered the bright flash of a discharged blaster that went off nearly next to Cody's ear. The clone dodged to the left out of reflex, knocking into Saa and pushing both of them down toward the floor.
A blaster fired again and Cody rolled onto his back just in time to see the boot that had caught Saa's attention so thoroughly, standing firmly next to another, just inches away. His eyes traveled up quickly and Cody was just able to process the sight of an armored woman standing strong above him, her eyes narrowed dangerously and her own weapon leveled toward the door.
The air crackled with ozone and she fired her blaster again, her lips pressed into a grim, deadly line.
And in the wake of a shocked silence, the pub was plunged into complete and irreversible darkness.
Author's Note: *insert dramatic drum-roll...!*
So, it's been a while, huh? I think the last time I updated was back in June; unforutnately, for reasons far outside of my control, live has been nothing short of insane. I started a new job at te end of July and it hasn't been until the last three weeks that I've had a break between that and school (it helped I decided to put of graduating another year and go part-time so I could retain what precious sanity I have left). In the last few weeks, I also discovered that another writer here on - the lovely laloga - resides in the same town as I and she's been instrumental in helping me pick this labor of love back up.
Since I now have someone to pester me, bounce ideas off of, and pester me (do we sense a theme, here?), there's hope for future updates to this story! Not so much any of my others at the moment, since I only have so much time and energy these days, but if laloga has her way, ATS: Rebellion and its subsequent sequels will see the light of day. LOL So, send her much love and thanks, peeps...I don't think I could keep doing this without her cheering me along. ^_^
Hope you all liked this chapter - it's a heavy one, but I think I've succesfully worked out the issues with the future story-line that have been holding me back for so long. (it REALLY helps to have someone to talk to about such things, face to face, let me tell ya'!) This chapter and the next chapter-arc are pivotal in the rest of this series (yes, I said it - series) so I've daunted by the task ahead of me. I've never written consecutive stories, nor anything that juggles several different plot lines at once. I think I've got a handle on things, though...and we'll see where it goes from here!
Also...I'm discovering that I really like Anobis. I've studied the American Civil War quite extensively and actually grew up in Gettsyburg (one of the most defining battlefields of American history), so I realized while I was writing this that some of my observations and studies on the antebellum period (pre-Civil War era) was creeping through. I really enjoy the history of the Industrial Revolution, which contributed to a large part of America's post-colonial development, especially in the northern states. I'm probably going to delve deeper into developing Anobis' history and culture as this story progresses, so expect to see some real life American history creep in as a strong influence. I grew up in the American north (in actual coal mining country, no less), but have spent most of my adult life in the American south, so a lot of my own personal observations between an "industrial north" and an "agricultural south" will probably shape Anobis' own history/cutlure/economy/etc.
A ton of love and thanks to TheFiresofHope, NoxUmbra, Admiral Daala, nat13cat, TheRazzleDazzleDame, and of course, laloga. I'd also like to thank everyone who's favorited ATS: Rebellion and ATS: Redemption. It's really bolstered by desire to keep writing, to know that people are still reading, reviewing, and (hopefully) enjoying. All of you who share your thoughts, who favorite, who keep reading, keep me writing. Thank you. 3
Love it? Like it? Hate it? Lemme know...!