"Get down / And obey every word. / Steady getting mine if you haven't yet heard; / Wanna take what I got, / don't be absurd! / Don't fight the power – / nobody gets hurt."
"Wretches & Kings"
Linkin Park
Fives was the first to break the incredulous quiet.
"You," he pointed at Cody; the gesture was authoritative, but Cody knew his brother's voice too well.
There was an unspoken question poised in just that single word; a note of dubiety quivered in his delivery.
"You," Fives repeated, as if he was trying to wrap his own mind around the improbability of Saa's statement. "Were in Healer Marr's bed this morning?"
"Ah..." Cody swallowed reflexively and felt a deep blush creep up his neck into the bottom of his cheeks; he shot Saa glare as if to say "how could you have said that?" "Um...yes."
"Healer Marr," Fives repeated, still not entirely convinced of the truth. "Miraluka? White hair? Altisian Jedi?"
"Ah..." Cody cleared his throat and paused to catch his breath; he wished desperately that his ears would stop burning. "Yes."
"You've...slept...with...Healer Marr?"
"Ah..."
"As in..." Fives paused and Cody could almost imagine his brother narrowing his eyes at him through the dark visor of his helmet. "Sexually?"
Cody coughed and reached for his own helmet – it was time to give himself some sort of reprieve from the gazes that were all currently fixed at him. If Fives could hide his eyes, well...Cody slammed his "bucket" down on top of his head...so could he.
"Not that it's any of your business," the former commander addressed Fives stiffly as soon as his helmet was locked into place. "But...yes."
"But..." it was clear that Fives was having considerable difficulty wrapping his mind around the sudden shift in his paradigm. "She's married!" he turned his head as he moved his shuttered gaze toward Saa.
"Not any more," Cody didn't need to look, to hear the quiet sobriety of Saa's reply.
"What about Del?" Fives hesitated a moment before adding cautiously. "He didn't..." his voice trailed off uncertainly.
"We're not sure what happened, Fives," Saa's voice was barely above a whisper and Cody glanced up in time to the see the older merc sigh and lift his gaze up toward the ceiling. "But...Tay felt Del pass shortly after the execution of Order 66. We can only hope that..." he paused and shrugged, his gaze still stubbornly lifted toward the darkness above them. "He died true to her."
"Del was a good man," Fives, too, whispered; his voice was thick with emotion and Cody was suddenly very thankful for the privacy of their respective helmets. "It was an honor to know him, if only for a brief time."
"He was a good brother," Saa nodded slowly; he lowered his head, but still refused to meet anyone's gaze. "Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum," he added the Mandalorian remembrance softly, as if to himself.
"I thought Healer Marr died on Medstar Five," the ARC slowly sat down on a large chunk of duracrete as he seemed to realize that the current conversation was going to continue for some time.
Cody glanced toward Sheresh; she, too, had taken a seat, though she seemed to be following the conversation only peripherally, as she typed frantically into a larger model datapad. With her helmet on, it was hard to determine if she was following the conversation at all, but Cody had been around Mandalorians long enough to know that they were masters of multitasking. Rarely were a Mando's ears not tuned in to a nearby discussion.
"She probably would have, except that she was down in the holding cells with me when the Order was given," Saa explained as he folded his arms over his chest and finally turned his face toward Fives. "I take it you were there as well – on Medstar Five at some point, that is?"
"I was there when the Order came through, too," Fives nodded slowly. "On Level Six in the Physical Therapy Ward," the ARC reached down and rapped his knuckles on his right thigh. "I was still learning how to walk again."
Cody's eyes widened behind his visor.
How extensive are Fives' injuries? he wondered; it was a sobering question to ponder.
"I managed to get Chiyou out – she was with me when the Order came through. We ran into Kil and Rowin on Level One; Kil had just watched her twin brother get killed in his bed. We were all trying to get H-level – Rowin had a light freighter docked in the hangar, so we joined forces," he paused and turned to Sheresh, the scowl evident in his voice. "I thought we were all in this together, too...until now."
"Nothing's changed, Fives," Sheresh lifted her head up from her datapad, her own voice soft but assertive. "No one here means you or yours any harm."
"I'll believe that when the Rabbit convinces me otherwise," Fives replied sourly.
"He's about ten minutes south-west of here," Sheresh confirmed Cody's suspicion that the Lepi had commed in from the space-port. "The Imperial bombardment is beginning to move south-east; he's going to give it about five minutes to let them move a sufficient distance from the port, before he starts moving this way," she glanced up from her datapad, which she'd been typing on even while talking. "He'll meet us here – but we need to figure out where to go once our forces all join up. The Imps will move ground troops into this sector before too long."
"We've got a while to go," Cody interjected with his experience; it made him uncomfortable to realize just how much he did know about Imperial tactics – and why – but he wasn't about to be silent, if it meant that his knowledge might give them an advantage. "It's standard Imperial procedure to bomb a city, then move in troops, then force it into blackout. As long as we can move before the blackout is established," he paused and glanced at Fives. "We should be able to move our group with some amount of speed and safety."
"Move them where?" Fives challenged, his back straight and his fists clenched on top of his knees.
"Our only option is Mydwyth..." Saa managed to start before Cody cut him off.
"We can't make that distance quickly on foot," the former commander vetoed the idea before it could even begin to take shape. "Especially not if we have a ten year old child with us. We need transport," he, in turn, looked toward Sheresh.
"The Daa'sun's Kryst'shun is a lost cause," she shook her head slowly, even as her fingers continued to move over the 'pad in her hands. "It was already damaged after its encounter with the Imps on Ord Mantell and in Korynth; after the bombing raid here, it would take a miracle to move it again."
"I wonder who's fault that is," Fives grumbled loudly, but Sheresh continued to ignore him.
"Rowin and I came into the city on speeder bikes, but those are probably smoldering heaps of slag at this point."
"I thought Hella made contact with you two in Korynth. Surely the two of you didn't travel over the mountains on speeder bikes," Saa frowned as he gently ferreted out the further truth of Sheresh's conspicuously absent transportation.
"We left our ship in the care of vode from Clan Kelborn," to her credit, Sheresh didn't try to evade Saa's silent request for the truth; she lifted her head and jerked her armored chin vaguely toward the north-west. "They have a large vheh'yaime outpost in the foothills – just four or five families and a few Anobian locals."
"Ah," Saa nodded thoughtfully and Cody could tell that he was trying to place the location in his memory. "Sol'yc Kelborn's family, is it?"
"Yes. We made arrangements with Sol'yc before traveling down here to Cree'dee," she glanced toward Fives. "We had hoped to bring the fugitives back to his outpost until we could come up with a good plan for relocation."
"Good man, Sol'yc," Saa spoke rather quickly and Cody suspected it was to cut off anything Fives might have wanted to say; he rubbed his well-trimmed goatee thoughtfully. "Him and I were partners once or twice in our youth. No love for the Empire there, I'm sure."
"None whatsoever," Sheresh confirmed in a rather dry tone that Cody was sure had been directed toward the silent Fives. "We arrived in his vheh'yaime just in time to witness a funeral. His eldest son was just recently killed during in a skirmish with the Imperials on Mandalore. The Kelborns are all staunch supporters of the Mand'alor and his stand against the Empire."
There was a profound silence, during which not even Fives spoke. Cody fiddled with the strap of his canteen and mused over the wealth of information that had been exchanged in just mere minutes. His ruminations were interrupted, however, by Fives, who wasn't about to let all of his questions go unanswered.
"I thought the title of Mand'alor died with Jango Fett," the name was practically a curse on his lips.
"Rumor has it that two ARCs like yourself have since revived it," Sheresh replied quickly – this was clearly a topic of considerable interest to her. "I don't know all the details about that and perhaps they're simply rumors. But, Fenn Shysa is our Mand'alor now and his stance against the Empire is particularly unapologetic. Though...I will admit that news of his resistance on Mandalore hasn't yet traveled to all of the clans."
Cody listened to the current turn in the conversation with no small amount of fascination. This was the first time that he had heard anything about current Mandalorian politics; by the look of surprise on Saa's face, it was the first time he had, as well.
"How do you know about it, then?" Saa quirked an inquisitive red eyebrow and then added – "Besides finding out that Sol'yc's son was killed in a skirmish?"
"That's is actually how I found out," Sheresh shrugged and finally set her datapad down on her armored thighs. "Because of the Empire's strict censorship, reliable news is hard to come by these days. If you don't get it from the source, you can practically bet that you won't know any truth at all. It's unfortunate that Sol'yc lost his son, but in some ways, it's good to know the truth so that we can pass it along to others. I think several of the Mando clans around Cree'dee know about our new Mand'alor and his political position – but only because they had representatives at the funeral. I don't think the news has traveled far outside of Mandalore."
"That's a mighty important thing to know, though," Saa frowned deeply and Cody could tell that something of a plan was beginning to lay root in his fertile mind. "Might be advantageous for some of us alor to send members of our clans to Mandalore to find out what's going on."
"It would, indeed," Sheresh agreed, but then she held out her hands wide, as if in hopeless supplication. "But, all the clans that I've met in my travels are short on funds and even shorter on cohesiveness. Many of our alor died during the Wars and the influence of the Empire's greed has overwhelmed some of our better values. There are still many who think that we are without a Mandalore and have resorted to lawlessness as a result. The Empire's censorship doesn't help matters. As small as Clan Par'jain is, it's one of the few clans outside of Mandalore that still answer to any leadership at all and one of the few who might still prove loyal to the Resol'nare."
"Ffft," Saa pushed a sigh of aggravation out between his teeth and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Well, I suppose I can't worry about the state of other clans at the moment. But, I think a long talk with Sol'yc is long over-due. He's next-in-line for Kelborn alor isn't he?"
"When his uncle dies, yes," Sheresh nodded.
"Perhaps I should have a talk with his uncle, too. Or tell Hella to pull him aside – I think Beviin lives in Korynth, doesn't he?"
"I don't know," Sheresh shook her head and shrugged. "That'd probably be a better question for Sol'yc or Hella."
"Noted," Saa rubbed his chin again, a far-away look in his dark eyes. "In any event...we should probably send word to the Mand'alor and soon. Let him know that Clan Par'jain is loyal to the Resol'nare...and to him."
"Against the Empire?" Fives piped up, his tone bordering on incredulous.
"Yes," Saa suddenly fixed the ARC with a look that Cody was quite familiar with; a part of him chuckled inwardly to see the Mandalorian's paternal side surface in authoritative opposition to Fives' belligerence. "Amazing what you find out when you decide to listen, isn't it, ad'ika?"
Fives growled and Cody started to laugh – a fact, he was sure, wouldn't put him in any better stead with his brother. But, it was strangely nice to see Saa pick on someone else. He couldn't help a chuckle or two at Fives' expense - though, his mirth cost him, as it made him short of breath and caused a web of pain to flare throughout his chest.
"Really, Fives," Cody decided it might be best to accompany his laughter with words; he paused to catch his breath, grinned beneath his helmet, and waved his hand toward Saa and Sheresh. "You're among friends."
"You said you don't and never would hold loyalty to the Empire," Fives' tone was just as abrasive as ever; his words were back to being both direct and combative.
He was also back to hounding Cody about his past, having decided, apparently, to ignore the former commander's insistence that he was safe. There was certainly one thing that could be said of Fives – he was persistent in ferreting out the truth.
"And you've confirmed that you have at least a physical relationship with Healer Marr – a Jedi and wife to one of the ARCs I've ever had the honor of meeting," the ARC added, his tone as hostile as ever.
Cody felt a pang shoot through his heart as Saa dipped his head at Fives' high – if indirect – praise.
"But, I know about Sarrish. And Utapau. And Bellassa," Fives practically spat out the last planet's name and Cody winced underneath his borrowed buy'ce. "How can you possibly disavow loyalty to the Empire?"
"I ran into Tay in Korynth – Saa brought her here to his home planet after the fallout at Medstar Five," Cody replied to Fives in a rather round-about way after several moments of contemplative silence. "I deserted after Bellassa. I couldn't live with myself – with what I'd done. She found me and cleaned me up," he shrugged and opened his hand wide, palms up. "She gave me a choice to stay in Korynth, slave to my addictions, or to go with her to her home in the countryside. I made my choice and this is where it's brought me."
The ache in his chest grew with each breath, with each word. But, as Cody reached up and rub the dented armor over his heart, he wondered if there was another layer of pain that had nothing to do with the duracrete that had slammed into him earlier. There was a pain deeper than what was physical - it was a raw, aching, oozing wound that no amount of time had managed to fully heal. Fives' interrogation seemed to rip the pieces of Cody's past apart and left him breathless.
"Addictions?" Fives cocked his head to the side and for once, his voice wasn't one of condemnation; rather, he seemed genuinely curious.
"When I deserted, I found employment with the Anobis Mining Company. Fell into an abusive cycle with stims and alcohol. Tay found me in a bar – in Saa's bar, actually," Cody nodded toward the older merc, who stood silent, his head bowed. "I'd still be there still, if it weren't for her."
"So...you basically deserted because of a guilty conscious?" Fives was back to being condescending and judgmental.
Cody just nodded. It was the truth and he wasn't going to deny it. He hadn't deserted for any noble goals, for any lingering loyalty to the Republic or to the ideals of freedom. "Commander Cody" had deserted because he hadn't been able to live with himself; he hadn't been able to wake up each morning and look himself in the mirror. He had made something noble of himself since then – but the beginnings of his path toward rebellion were anything but honorable.
"And I'm supposed to trust you?" Fives hissed – clearly, the ARC's forgiveness was not going to be as easily given as Obi-Wan's. "A man who deserts simply because he can't face what he's done?"
Cody grimaced beneath the security of Yln's buy'ce. He rubbed his chest again, and tried to collect both his breath and his thoughts. Another voice piped up on his behalf, however, sparing him the agony of speaking of again - for the moment, at least.
"Cody might not have been able to face what he had done at the time of his desertion," Saa surprised Cody by suddenly lifting his head and fixing Fives with a stern gaze. "But, he's been forced to face himself since then."
"How?" Fives was ever the challenger, unwilling to accept anything that was said at face value.
Cody actually had to respect that about him. He had never known Fives to be truly naive – easygoing once, perhaps. But never, ever, naive.
"I met General Kenobi on a trip with Saa to Tatooine," Cody answered after a brief pause; he met Fives head-on, through the darkened visors of their helmets. "He boarded our ship for passage to Bellassa. We went with him; fought with him; protected him."
"General Kenobi's alive?" Fives' voice changed yet again – this time, incredulous hope crept into his voice, a note of disbelief. "I thought you'd killed him!"
Cody frowned behind his helmet. He supposed it couldn't be helped – the Force only knew what rumors abounded throughout the galaxy at that moment, thanks to the chaos of Order 66 and the enforced silence of the Empire. But, it still irked him to know that the truth of Utapau wasn't wide-spread knowledge.
"Haven't you seen the Wanted Lists? Of course he's alive – he's one of the most Wanted sentients in the galaxy!" Cody huffed a bit despite himself.
"I haven't been able to see the Wanted Lists," Fives shook his head, his voice dark again. "I've been too busy keeping my crew and myself alive to worry about about anyone else. We've had to run on silent communications for almost a year, to avoid detection from the Imps."
His head swiveled toward Sheresh and Cody knew where the conversation was now headed. Truth be told, he was a bit curious himself to hear what the Lepi, Rowin, had to say about the current state of affairs between Sheresh, him, and Fives. There was bad blood between them, that was for sure – but whether it was warranted or not, seemed to be under quite a considerable amount of debate.
Fives, however, surprised Cody, but not getting distracted by a verbal bunny trail; he persisted with the current line of conversation. The ARC's next question was rather hard-hitting.
"And what did General Kenobi do when he ran into you again? I'm surprised he didn't kill you."
"He almost did," Cody replied with quiet honesty. "Ironically enough, it was mention of Tay that stayed his hand. As for what he said when it was all said and done...well..." Cody paused, the weight of Obi-Wan's memory both a comfort and a curse to him. "He forgave me."
This didn't appear to be the answer that Fives was expecting, though the ARC rolled with the new-found information rather well, considering the circumstances. As it was, he said nothing about Obi-Wan's grace; Cody was privately thankful for his brother's silence. The General's forgiveness was a highly personal thing to him and it was almost painful to share it with a brother who was so determined to distrust him.
"And Tay...does she know what you've done? About Bellassa? About Waxer?" Fives was almost mocking in his persistence.
"Yes," Cody was humbled by his own admission; the forgiveness of Jedi would forever be his salvation and his simultaneous condemnation. "She knows about everything I've ever been."
"And she still allows you to sleep in her bed?" Fives was both derisive and disbelieving.
"Well, our physical relationship is a rather new development," Cody reached up and ruefully rubbed the back of his neck. "But...yes..."
"Tay had a heart for Cody when he was nothing more than a drunk dar'manda," Saa spoke Cody's old nickname for the first time in months; the merc's mouth quirked upward in a dry smile. "If you know anything about Tay – as you claim, ARC – then you'd know that she has the power to see sentients for who they can become and can then inspire then to become that better vision."
A distant rumble echoed lazily through the earth beneath their feet, reminding them all that the Empire was still circling around them, that it was still trying to flush them out. Cody lifted his head toward the ceiling out of sheer habit, even though he couldn't see the fires or the fighters beyond their duracrete shelter. Fives was oddly silent and Cody turned his attention toward his brother just in time to see the ARC run his mechanical hand thoughtfully over what Cody now assumed was his prosthetic leg.
The former commander didn't need to be psychic in order to know what could possibly be going through Fives' mind in that moment. His brother was, no doubt, remembering the moments when he didn't have either his arm or his leg – the moments when surely he had met Tay himself on Medstar Five, when she must have inspired him to hold onto life and to forge himself anew.
"I know what Healer Marr is capable of," Fives' solemn admission proved what Cody suspected. "I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her."
"Neither would I," Cody struggled to take a breath and to keep his voice steady in spite of his pain.
His words, however softly spoken, echoed Fives' own sentiment; the two brothers lifted their armored heads to consider each other silently through their tinted visors...
And, in that moment, they finally found the tie that bound them.
A/N: I was going to wait until tomorrow to post...but then decided I was too impatient. LOL So, here's the fruit of my NaNoWriMo labor, folks - a fast update (and more to come!). I've added 12,691 words to "Rebellion" since the start of this month, and there's already another finished chapter waiting to be posted (I'll probably post Friday or Saturday). If I keep this up, I should be ahead about two chapters or more through this month...which means you can probably expect updates about twice a week.
A LOT of love and thanks to laloga - without her help and encouragement, I would be doing NaNoWriMo at all and "Rebellion" would probably still be struggling. You've got a lot to thank her for, folks! (And who am I kidding? I have a lot to thank her for, myself!) Our happy coincidence of living in the same town has really helped my Muse come back to life. laloga - expect a big ole' random hug one of these days! LOL
Lots of thanks and warm hugs to those of you who keep reading and reviewing. You, too, keep me going, so please keep those reviews coming in! Thanks to Codywolf, LongLivetheClones, laloga, and Admiral Daala. I hope this story continues to delight and deliver up to your expectations!
By the way...there's a LOT of dialogue in the next chapter or so...and a lot of little plot twists! I'm trying to keep everything straight WHILE writing at NaNo speed...so if you spot any inconsistencies, let me know. Also...if you haven't read the "Fidelity" chapter of "Virtues From A Certain Point of View", I would do so before I post the next chapter. ;-)
Love it? Like it? Hate it? Lemme know...!