A/N: I first encountered this arc's chapter quotes on the Linkin Park album "A Thousand Suns" (from which this and the last story get their names); these quotes do indeed come from the track entitled "Wisdom, Justice, and Love." However, I think it's important to point out that these quotes actually come from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a historical hero of mine. These words, in turn, originate from a speech he delivered in 1967, at the Riverside Church in New York City and are part of his famous Declaration Against the Vietnam War.
Dedication: This story, and all stories to come that pertain to this series, are dedicated to the men participating in the QUEST and REEFS programs at my local county prison. May Cody's story of redemption become their own one day.
"I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight, because my conscience leaves me no other choice."
"Wisdom, Justice, and Love"
Linkin Park
Ferro was not one for lengthy conversations – in fact, Cody's first impression of him was that the clone was not one for conversation at all. The well-armed brother just tucked his rifle into the crook of his arm, pointed the muzzle toward the snow, and stepped to the side in order to allow Sheresh and the rest of them to pass.
"Thanks, Ferro," Sheresh reached out to pat the clone on the shoulder as she shuffled by.
Cody was mildly interested to note that Ferro wasn't wearing any sort of armor – not on top of his clothing, at least. He sported a thick, hooded, fur-lined snow parka, a pair of gloves, and thick working boots. It was strange seeing a brother in something other than armor or GAR issued fatigues; Cody tried to search his brain for a memory of seeing any brother in something other than his bodysuit or his armor, and came up blank. Dressed as he was, Ferro could almost pass as any normal civilian – if his face wasn't shared by half a million men scattered throughout the galaxy.
Ferro caught Cody looking at his clothes and something like a smile lifted the corners of his mouth, as if he knew what his brother was thinking. The plains-clothed clone surprised the former commander by turning his attention back to Sheresh, however, and murmuring softly into the morning darkness -
"It's been a long night for all of us, I think."
His abrupt attempt at conversation appeared to surprise Sheresh as well, because she pulled up short and looked quickly over her shoulder to fix Ferro with wide-eyed alarm.
"What's wrong?" the paranoia of the evening had left her – and the rest of the group – hardwired to suspect the worst.
Ferro just smiled slightly again; this time, something undefinable flashed through his light brown eyes. He even tucked his chin in toward his chest a bit and let his eyes slide over the rest of the group that was trying to straggle past him. His eyes lingered on Fives' and Cody's uncovered faces, but if he was surprised to see other brothers, he didn't show it.
"You'll see when you get to the vheh'yaim," Ferro's attention moved back to Sheresh as he shouldered his rifle and hooked a thumb into his belt. "But, it's a good day. Sol will be pleased to have you back again."
"Speaking of Sol..." Sheresh's voice trailed off as she turned her head to and fro, as if looking for something. "Where is he? He said he'd make sure to stand watch until I returned, so no one accidentally shot us," the female Mandalorian eyed Ferro's slug-thrower and then offered him a rueful smile. "No offense to you, of course, but Tor can be a little trigger-happy."
"Sol's in the vheh'yaim – family business," that mysterious little smile returned and Ferro shrugged, as if to indicate that he had taken no offense to Sheresh's question. "And Tor's why I'm here. That and I'm not family."
"Well, not being family is no reason to exclude you -" Sheresh bristled slightly on Ferro's behalf, but the clone just shrugged again and waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh trust me, I don't feel excluded. I'd rather be out here," his smile turned into a chuckle. "It's safer here, at any rate."
"Yeah...say that when the storm troopers come knocking on the door," Fives grumbled under his breath and Kil nudged him with her elbow, as if to remind the ARC of his manners.
The clone shot the former Jedi a sour look, but thankfully, he kept his tongue. Ferro eyed Fives curiously, but kept any thoughts that he might have had to himself. Cody was silently thankful for the new brother's obvious self-containment – Fives' emotions were frayed to the last nerve and the last thing they needed was for the ARC's boisterous temperament to override his better judgment. Especially since they were just yards away from what Cody hoped would be hot food, warm beds, and relative safety.
"Well, in any event," Sheresh shot Fives a look as well – one that clearly conveyed her disapproval – and then turned her attention forward, past Ferro and toward the smoke that curled lazily above the rose-tipped treetops. "We'd better get going. Stay warm, Ferro."
"I think I'll manage," Ferro's voice was faintly tinged with humor; he turned away from the group and added thoughtfully, as if remembering something he'd rather forget - "At least it's not Ambria."
"At least Ambria is dry," Rowin puffed out his cheeks and blew into the cold dawn air; a puff of "smoke" drifted up in front of him and he wiggled his whiskers reproachfully at the snow-covered view around them.
"We're freezing our shebs out here, standing around talking like total idiots, and you're worried about it being dry?" Saa's mood was decidedly sour, but Cody had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
It wasn't amusing in the slightest, when the pragmatic mercenary pointed his pithy opinions toward Cody. But, watching someone else take the brunt of Saa's sharp tongue was positively hysterical.
"Hey! This snow business is wet," Rowin protested with considerable verve.
Sheresh sighed and rolled her eyes, as if she had finally reached the end of her patience. To her credit, however, she said nothing; the orange-armored Mando merely turned around and started trudging through the snow. Ferro took his cue to leave and practically melted into the tree-line; one minute he was standing just in front of Cody and to the left slightly, with his rifle at rest against his shoulder. The next minute...he was simply gone.
The former commander raised his eyebrows in silent regard – he had only ever seen that kind of skill demonstrated by the spec ops clones, like Fives and Korbin. Ferro had certainly caught his interest, but there was no opportunity at present to ask questions about his brother's training. The group moved slowly forward and Cody joined the snow-impeded shuffle as they all made their way along a narrow path that took them winding through the trees.
"The cold doesn't bother you?" Saa continued to bicker with Rowin; it seemed as if the merc had decided to pick on the Lepi for sheer entertainment value, as there was little hostility in his voice.
"Naw," Rowin played along – either blissfully or on purpose, Cody couldn't tell. "Cold is what the fur's for. Not to mention, it snows like this on Coachelle Prime, too. It's the wet I can't stand."
"Not one for baths then, are you?" Saa quipped.
"That's what sonic showers are for," Rowin volleyed back, his tone lively, as if he hadn't just survived a night of Imperial bombings and double-crossing assassins. "All the hygiene – none of the wet!"
"You're as bad as a kriffin' Togorian," Saa's gruffness was an amusing contrast to the Lepi's boundless perkiness; Cody rather suspected that the merc meant it that way, if only for the momentary distraction of the others.
The trees abruptly ended and several yards of clear, level ground opened up in front of them. Cody recognized the geographical tactic immediately – the clearing was sentient-made, in order to provide a fire zone for defense. The open space stretched out in what appeared to be an equal distance all around a large, rounded complex that dominated the view in front of them. If hostile forces ever tried to approach the buildings, they wouldn't be able to fire effectively from the cover of the tree-line; the minute an enemy stepped out of the woods, he or she would be a clear and immediate target.
Cody suddenly understood why Ferro hadn't looked particularly concerned when Fives had scoffed at his brother's confidence in their relative safety. A large invading force could overwhelm the outpost, most certainly, but not without the locals first taking a large number of troops down with them.
The large, circular "yard" had also been cleared of snow; shoveled banks surrounded the perimeter, just along the tree-line and only one opening had been made through the piled up mush. That opening yawned ahead of them and it was only just wide enough for them to slip through single-file. Fives hesitated a moment, however, when it was his turn to move out from under the safety of the trees into the open expanse.
"Ferro would have already commed Sol of our arrival," Sheresh seemed to sense the nature of the ARC's hesitancy.
She stopped in the middle of the clearing and faced all of them, her back purposefully turned toward the vheh'yaim. The female bounty hunter was in a clear line of fire and Cody noticed a subtle movement from around what appeared to be a covered doorway. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he had seen the muzzle of a blaster rifle disappear behind an animal-hide curtain.
"You don't have to be so suspicious, Fives," Sheresh rebuked the ARC gently and was rewarded with a particularly scathing glare – which she ignored, as she shifted her attention to the rest of them. "Welcome to Vecuyan, vode, an outpost of Clan Kelborn."
"Why, Sher'ika, you didn't tell me that you were bringing your alor along for a taste of Kelborn hospitality!"
Cody stared in wide-eyed fascination as an enormously muscle-bound man guided his power chair through the small crowd that had gathered almost instantly around the weary party of refugees. The male who approached them had skin the color of ebony; his teeth flashed bright against his dark face and that seemed, somehow, to make his jovial welcome more reassuring. Already, the former commander could feel some of the tension in his shoulders abate – though, he kept a wary eye on the wild-haired Zygerrian holding a blaster rifle behind them by the door.
"Well..." Sheresh shrugged and offered a weary smile. "I figured the less you knew, the better. To be honest, I wasn't sure who I would come back with."
"Do you have everyone you set out to gather, at least?" a note of worry tinged their new host's voice; he raised an eyebrow toward his nonexistent hairline.
"Yes," Sheresh's sigh was one of much-needed release. "Rowin and I were able to rescue everyone."
"Almost everyone," Fives interjected sullenly. "My crew is still short by two."
"That, vod'ika, is something that will have to be addressed in due time," Sol leaned forward in his power chair and fixed Fives with a firm, but earnest, look. "But, not this morning," the Mandalorian waved a hand at those gathered around Fives. "You and your party look like you're in sore need of good food and good sleep, before any other challenge is considered."
"We need a medic, too," Saa reached out and touched Cody carefully on the shoulder. "Not all of us made it through the bombings unscathed."
Sol's sharp, dark eyes were immediately drawn to Cody's dented chest-plate. The Mandalorian's eyebrows rose slightly toward his smooth forehead and he puckered his lips in unspoken concern.
"A medic, we have. Unfortunately," a mixture of excitement and apology flickered across Sol's face as he turned his head briefly toward a covered doorway across the rounded room to their left. "Our medic is currently doubling as a midwife."
"Oh!" a wide, if weary, smile lit up Sheresh's heart-shaped face and she clapped her hands together in wordless congratulations. "Is Can'ika having her baby?"
"She's been in labor since early last night – her contractions began right after you and Row'ika left, actually," Sol looked something like Sazen in that moment, with his chest puffed out in pride and his eyes shining with a grandfather's warmth. "We've all been awake since then," he waved a hand toward the room at large and toward all of the sentients who had congregated around their little crew. "And it's why I wasn't outside to greet you, like I promised."
Sol's last words were spoken a bit ruefully and the look he gave Sheresh was appropriately apologetic. Sheresh just chuckled and waved her hand dismissively, as if to convey to her fellow Mandalorian that there was no need to worry about her opinion of his priorities.
"Don't worry about it, Sol'buir," Cody watched with interest as the female bounty hunter limped past Sol's power chair and lowered herself carefully onto a particularly inviting cushion that lay on the floor nearby. "At least you sent Ferro out to stand guard and not Tor," she waved her hand toward the Zygerrian in the corner and her smile was accompanied by a playful wink.
"You'll be thankful for my quick trigger finger one of these days, Par'jain," the Zygerrian snorted, but Cody thought he could detect a tinge of humor in the rugged sentient's rough voice.
"Oh, I have no doubt of that, Tor," Sheresh laughed; her ease with the present company was obvious and it helped loosen some of the wariness in Cody's own bearing. "Until then, though, I'm still going to give you grief."
The Zygerrian just grunted, as if torn between amusement and disapproval. He did, however, lean his rifle against the door frame and cross his arms over his broad chest, as his yellow eyes roved over Cody, Sheresh, and the others.
"I didn't realize Mandalorians allowed slavers into their clans," Fives piped up; Cody was beginning to think his brother had a sick sixth sense for what not to say, as Sol's body language stiffened abruptly.
"We don't," the outpost chieftain was calm in his reply, but his tone was distinctly cooler than it had been with Sheresh. "Tor is not a slaver."
"Nor have I ever been," Tor spoke up for himself, his own voice impressively measured for one who had just been insulted.
He uncrossed his arms and extended a hand toward a female Twi'lek who was standing near to him. She saw him reach out and immediately slipped her own arm possessively around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder in a comfortable display of intimacy. The Zygerrian's harsh, angular visage softened for a moment, as he met the cream-colored Twi'lek's eyes for a moment or two.
"The Zygerrians are known for enslaving their own kind, too," Tor lifted his head away from his partner and fixed Fives with a fierce scowl, as if to dare the clone to make another stupid verbal move. "You would do well to remember, human, that I am not Zygerrian. I am Mandalorian."
"I found Tor and Ala when they were just children," Sol added, his voice a little softer than Tor's, but just as staunch. "Tor had been sold into slavery by his own parents, for trying to help Ala escape from her masters. You should learn, ad'ika, not to make assumptions of a Mandalorian's past," Sol abruptly leaned forward and held Fives' eyes with his own; Cody unconsciously held his breath, uncertain of what the mercurial ARC might do.
Surprisingly, Fives said nothing. He held Numa – who had nodded off in his arms, her head nestled against the ARC's pauldron – and watched Sol with what appeared to be something like uncertainty.
"I see you have your work cut out for you, Saa'ika," Sol quirked an eyebrow and shifted his gaze knowingly toward the merc; Cody watched his mentor's mouth curve upward in a tight, brief smile.
"He'll learn of cin vhetin soon enough." Saa's own smile mirrored Sol's and the two leaders shared a knowing look.
Cody bowed his head and rubbed his hand absently across his dented chest-plate. He had caught some of his breath back while they had all been standing in what he assumed to be a gathering room of some sort. The pain hadn't yet subsided, however, and he grimaced slightly as he looked around. The clone's eyes fell on Sheresh, who had propped her right leg up on another cushion seat. The female bounty hunter was gingerly unbuckling the armor strapped to her shins and the intent to free her injured leg was clear. The former commander rubbed his chest-plate a second time and started looking around for a cushion of his own – Saa seemed familiar with the Kelborns and there didn't seem to be any indication of hostility toward them that he could observe. As far as alternative activities to standing about and talking went, Cody was of the opinion that getting off his feet was a definite priority.
Sol apparently noticed him looking around, because the Mandalorian moved his power chair back with a quiet whir of gears and motioned toward the room at large.
"Where are my manners? Please, sit all of you. And let us share our hospitality."
Even Fives looked grateful for the opportunity to get off of his feet, though sitting down without waking up Numa looked to be a rather tricky affair. The ARC managed, however, and the young Twi'lek barely stirred as Fives gently transferred her sleeping form to a large cushion next to his. Numa immediately caught Ala's attention and the cream-colored adult smiled brightly in the face of Fives' over-protective glower, as she moved from Tor's side and knelt on the ground beside the youngling's impromptu bed.
"You have a beautiful little daughter," Ala reached out and brushed a gentle, slim-fingered hand across Numa's turquoise cheek.
The youngling stirred and muttered something in her sleep, but if anything, she seemed to nuzzle into the warmth of Ala's hand. A tender expression passed over the older Twi'lek's face and Cody was surprised to see something like loss flicker in her deep green eyes. When she addressed Fives again, her tone was wistful, as if she were remembering a similar youngling from her past.
"You rescued her?" her question was hopeful, but the ghost of a memory seemed to weigh down her words.
"I didn't," Fives shook his head and honorably refused to take any credit for Numa's presence. "But, my brother did. He saved her during a battle on Ryloth during the Wars when she was just five years old and then again, most recently, from slavers," the ARC's dark eyes flickered toward Tor, who had been watching the exchange with undisguised interest.
Cody ducked his head at the indirection mention of Boil and tried to redirect his attention to unlatching his chest-plate. As long as Fives was with them, it appeared that the sins of Sarrish wouldn't ever leave him alone.
"Zygerrian slavers?" Ala glanced toward Tor, as she seemed to make a connection between her clan-mate and Fives' bristling hostility.
"No," the ARC had the decency to look mildly abashed and he didn't quite meet Ala's eyes as he shook his head. "Weequay, actually."
"Well, lucky for you and your youngling, we have no Weequay here," Ala gentle smile was gracious and so were her words, as she moved her hand from Numa and patted Fives boldly on his arm. "Your reaction to my husband is understandable considering the circumstances," the Twi'lek's smile widened, belying the seriousness of their conversation. "But do try to get along while you're here. You will find that Tor means your youngling no harm and that he meant what he said – he is not Zygerrian, but Mandalorian."
"As are all of us," Sol's rich voice chuckled over the room; Cody watched as the Mandalorian settled back in his power chair and folded his hands over his stomach. "It might surprise you, young Fives, but look around you," Sol's dark eyes drifted over the gathered sentients and even Cody was surprised to suddenly realize that they were in considerably mixed company. "Not a single one of us in here share blood, but we share clan and by doing so, we share family. Being Mando'ad transcends the culture one may have come from before vowing loyalty to the Resol'nare; we leave our pasts behind us when we take up our armor."
Fives' attention was suddenly and surprisingly directed at Cody. The two brothers considered each other from opposite points of the room and the former commander didn't miss the calculating look Fives gave to his beskar'gam. The ARC's eyes lingered on the orange stripes radiating from Cody's stomach plates and his gaze followed the tell-tale marks up toward his brother's face.
"Is that what you've done, Commander?" the title was still a pointed mockery, but Fives' tone was thoughtful and remarkably bland in its delivery. "Left your past behind you?"
"I've tried," Cody couldn't help quirking his lips in irony, as he finally finished unbuckling his dented chest-plate; he paused to take the first decent breath he had been able to manage since running afoul of that flying duracrete. "But, it keeps hunting me down, it seems."
Cody thought that maybe Fives would have more to say to that, but the ARC merely pursed his lips, as if silently considering the sincerity of his former commander's words. The clone then surprised Cody by turning toward Ala and sticking his hand out abruptly over Numa's sleeping form.
"I'm Fives, by the way," his eyes still flickered suspiciously around the room, but it was obvious that, for the first time that night, he was making an attempt to be civil. "They used to call me 'Captain', once, but I suppose that doesn't matter anymore."
"Su cuy'gar," Ala flashed a pearly smile and startled Fives in turn by ignoring his offered hand and grabbing a hold of his wrist instead. "Welcome to Vecuyan. I hope you and your youngling can find a little bit of peace among us."
It was a strange thing, hearing a Mandalorian speak of peace, but Cody thought that it applied to what he had observed so far of the outpost's occupants. The faces gathered around them were curious and some were a little wary, but all expressions were open – even the Zygerrian, for having been so rudely singled out by Fives. It was a refreshing change, to feel truly welcomed to a place; Cody didn't even think twice of setting his chest-plate aside, along with his buy'ce. Saa, too, had settled down on a cushion next to the clone and, like Sheresh, had propped his bad leg up on a matching pillow. Seeing his mentor settle himself down so comfortably was all the reassurance that Cody needed, to know that Sol and his clan were safe.
Fives' spontaneous introduction triggered a chain-reaction around the circular room. Sol and his small family waited politely as their guests introduced themselves; Cody was mildly relieved to discover that his own named didn't seem to generate any sort of animosity or hostile interest. He had begun to feel in Cree'dee that his name was a jinx – an omen of bad luck that seemed to summon only the past.
It was nice to be "faceless" again; Sol didn't even blink as Cody introduced himself and no one else made any indication that they knew anything more of him than his name. It was a welcome respite and one that put Cody further at ease.
Rowin was the last to introduce himself, but, as he pointed out, everyone present knew him already.
"It's kinda' hard to forget a Lepi," he quipped with a playful waggle of his lopped ears. "'Specially one that looks outta' place, even on his own home planet."
It was at that moment that Cody suddenly realized several very important things about the sentient in question. One, was that Rowin's fur did not sport the customary colors of the Lepi Cody that had seen before on the holonet and in alien species manuals. It took him a moment to recall all of the details (after all, he was no Gree), but he was able to pull up, from sheer memory, the manual specs on Rowin's peculiar race.
Lepi were usually green or dark blue – perhaps, rarely, shades of white and gray. Rowin's fur was the color of durasteel, with a blaze down the center of his forehead, which ended in a point at his twitching nose. Cody didn't know if color variation was normal for a Lepi, but he was willing to bet that it wasn't. In all of the pictures that he had seen, the featured Lepi were one solid color – once again, usually some shade of green or blue. All the Lepi he had seen possessed straight ears, as well – Rowin's laid flat against the side of his skull and brushed against the tops of his shoulders. The former commander also recalled that most Lepi had red eyes – but Rowin's were a startling shade of blue, as bright and clear as the Naboo summer sky.
The peculiarity of Rowin's appearance was not helped by the fact that he wore what looked to be storm trooper armor which had been modified to fit the Lepi's taller, thinner build. The rabbit had painted it a light gray – a shade similar to one he could have made if he had mixed the white of his face blaze in with the darker gray of his fur – and there were little yellow tick-marks on his left vambrace that Cody immediately recognized as kill counts.
Cody lifted his eyebrows a bit in unabashed curiosity. There was a story behind the Lepi's statement concerning his home world...and there was definitely a story behind the storm trooper armor. The armor did, however, bear silent testimony to the fact that the Lepi had killed at least one of Cody's former brothers. The clone silently hoped that it had been a brother like Appo – one who had sacrificed his honor, one who had justly earned the death that had been dealt to him. It was a morbid thing to hope, but Cody could justify the death of another clone, if that brother had executed Order 66. In that respect, the former commander would never begrudge Korbin his grim sense of duty; brother or not, there were some clones who deserved to pay for their transgressions.
Even he didn't hide his face or his crimes from Justice. Cody did understand, however - in a way that Korbin didn't - that Justice came in many different forms, in many different faces. Sometimes, Justice came in the paws of a Lepi with a quick blaster. Sometimes, Justice came in forgiveness, in the unconditional love of a Jedi.
Cody also understood – and accepted – that those who had been complicit in Order 66 could not pick their own Justice. It came to them in the form that fate determined, some to death, some to forgiveness, some to the hells of their own making.
A/N: I feel as if I've ended this chapter at an odd point, but it was either stop it here or post a 17-page chapter. I thought perhaps you might appreciate a shorter read, Dear Reader. ;-)
Having said that, the next chapter is already written and ready to go. This week was a difficult one for my NaNoWriMo goals and until tonight, I fell a bit behind the power curve. It doesn't help that I started volunteering at a prison this week, or that this happens to be my midterm week. I've been a little swamped. T_T So, instead of sleeping like a normal person, at a normal hour, I've been trying to catch up with my writing and my posting. It's taken nearly three cups of coffee, but I'm pleased to say I'm almost caught up (on my word count, at least, LOL).
Much love and thanks to my faithful fans, LongLiveTheClones, Codywolf, Kiana Tavers-Mereel, laloga, Nae, and Admiral Daala. You guys rock and you have no idea how treasured your reviews are. You guys keep me writing - never doubt that!
Love it? Like it? Hate it? Lemme know...!