A/N - To reiterate... of course, much of this belongs to Lucasfilms LTD, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - episode 'Trespass'.
Orto Plutonia arc
Orto Plutonia - IV
Fierfik, muttered Echo, closed channel to Fives, Chopper and Kev. "Not good. It's an internal problem of Pantora but we're the ones fighting."
Ice pinnacles whipped by their visors. Large flakes of snow shattered into ice crystals against the bubble canopy. The whine of the CK-6 swoop was dimmed by his helmet baffles, but Echo could feel the vibration to the core of his body. Ahead of them were the Chairman and his two men, Kenobi's troopers and the captain.
"Sergeant Jester's on closed channel," called Chopper, letting the others know Jester could hear their discussion and they'd hear the echo of his words through Chopper's linked helmet. Echo nodded to himself. Cross-company closed channels were rare in a trooper's helmet and too many connections could crash the helmet's system. That Chopper did so with Jester was a mark of his esteem for his brother.
Echo accepted it unconditionally and Fives probably did as well; not only because Chopper was a good judge of clones but because a cross-company channel just might prove useful. Fives was always of the opinion that more people were always better; larger knowledge base, larger skill base. Echo had once retorted, 'even in bed' and Fives had gotten a satisfied grin on his face.
Maybe even Kev accepted Jester through Chopper's helmet, though Echo wasn't sure. He'd ask Fives later. Kev seemed to be either sulking or settling in as part of them, occasionally a bit of both. Fives would know from Kev's body language; Fives was the very best at that.
If he survived, Echo amended. Echo glanced at the CK-6 his brother was guiding smoothly through the wind-blown snow and over ice-covered boulders. If they both survived which was never a sure thing.
"Sergeant Jester," called Fives closed channel through Chopper's link, "have your men give Captain Rex a little more room. Their positioning is good, but they're crowding him. He likes lots of space. Then go open channel." Fives gave a laugh of pleasure at knowing. "Echo will give us a quick briefing on narglatch and Talz."
Almost immediately, the squad hard on Rex's tracks eased back, shot forward or slid sideways a bit, giving the captain more maneuvering room.
"Thanks, Fives." Captain Rex replied over open channels. "Echo. Go ahead." His words were a bit disjointed and Echo had no doubt he was reporting to the generals and keeping an eye out for hostiles as well as tracking the Chairman's swoop as it traveled the icy snow.
"Narglatch are apex predators," began Echo, open channel and the men lapsed into silence as they listened. "They're tough, near-sentient and have claws the length of your hand from palm to fingertip. Fifteen to twenty meters from a standstill is not a hard leap; top speed is 80 kph."
One of the men laughed, open channel. "They can't keep up with the Freecos. We can catch up if we wish or outrun them."
Echo frowned. They'd be respectfully silent for the Jedi or the commanders; prepared to ask questions after a captain's briefing and ask short questions during if a sergeant was speaking. For another trooper, a clone of no different rank, it was just banter. Their treatment of him didn't bother him as much as their treatment of the information. The information was important; the information could save their lives.
"CK-6 swoops have neither claws nor hunting instincts," continued Echo as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Preliminary attack mode is leap and grab with front claws; back claws come up to disembowel."
Someone made a noise at that which Echo ignored.
"They're very quiet for 500 kilo killing machines and agile, using the tail for a rudder. You'll probably need only one shot to take it down, but actually landing that shot is questionable. Keep firing. The Talz," continued Echo. "Sentient,"
"Of course," muttered another voice. "Or we wouldn't be..." He dropped silent; perhaps he'd been given the order for quiet by his own sergeant.
"Up to three meters tall with corresponding exceptional strength and speed. Their agility is no more than human except for their mounts. Two sets of eyes; night vision and day vision. Don't think you can burrow into the snow to hide like they did at the meet. No blasters or high powered projectiles. Club and spear are their main choice of weapons as well as their claws and strength. A blaster shot may or may not kill one, but should put him down for the battle. If you down the narglatch, forget the Talz unless it's in-fighting up close and personal. End brief."
"It's not technology," Captain Rex's voice came on the line. "We're heavily outnumbered and they know the territory. Good brief, Sergeant Echo. We follow the Chairman; keep him alive at all costs. We do not repeat not not not make initial engagement. Second squad, surround the Chairman for his protection."
Echo blink and almost lost control of his swoop. What did the captain just say?
There was a whoop in his helmet, closed channel of course, from Fives. "Congratulations, Sergeant," came Chopper's voice followed by Kev's offering the same.
"Sorry, sergeant," It came from three voices, staggered one after another, in his helmet. The men who'd interrupted the briefing.
Sergeant. Echo grinned. Now he just had to live long enough to have General Skywalker sign the flimsi-forms.
"If the Chairman doesn't see a Talz, he can't attack them," offered a trooper open channel. "Shall we surround him, sir? Crowd him? Keep his attention on us?
"Decent idea, Coop, but I don't think we can hide him from the Talz. The aggression runs both ways." Jester's voice was doubled in their helmets, open channel then a moment later, muted as it came through Chopper's closed channel.
"Perhaps we can speed up, sir," came a hesitant voice, so obviously a newly assigned trooper. "Maybe he'll get tunnel vision from the speed and the Talz won't be able maintain a chase."
"Five hundred fifty k?" Captain Rex made a noise that his men recognized as humor. "First squad, you have the go to push the limit," he ordered. "Good call, trooper. If you don't have a name yet, I'd suggest Speed."
Immediately the swarm of bikes that was First squad, leapt forward. It was only natural for the Chairman and his men to follow their actions, speeding up. The remainder of the troopers followed in their wake.
Jester laughed, closed channel to Chopper but they all heard his pleasure. "He's been looking for a name. I guess he just found it."
"Sergeants, close channel," Rex ordered. "You can maintain other links." He gave them a moment. "If it comes to close quarters, I'll take Chairman Cho. Who would you suggest for his two men and for my backup?" His words came through Chopper's helmet linked to Jester's and Echo's.
"Ferritin, sir, as your backup." Jester's voice came through Chopper's closed channel. "He's good with double blasters like your set-up and he's a medic."
"Assign him to me to my left flank. Who else?"
They heard sounds but couldn't make out the words filtered through first Jester's then Chopper's helmets. Then Rex was speaking again. "Do it."
The swoops ahead of them shifted as their sergeants relayed the captain's orders.
Then Rex was close channel to them. "You're still my second for this assignment, Chopper but Echo's in charge of the squad now."
"No problem, sir. He'll make a good sergeant; one of the best," replied the taciturn trooper with pleasure in his voice.
"As will you, Chopper, when the time comes. Echo, you and your men take back-up. When we're attacked, see if you're clear enough to sniper." He was silent for a while, though they could hear his helmet hum with activity, then a pause.
"When we're attacked, sir?" Kev's voice was hesitant. He hadn't spoken to the captain since being assigned to Chopper's barracks and hoped the captain wasn't still angry.
"We're being funneled, Kev. Chopper, explain." Again came the humming noise of Rex's helmet. Then he closed their private link and went to open channel.
"Turn on your mid-IR interface, Kev," said Chopper. "You'll see heat spots on the hillsides where the Talz are burrowed under the snow. But they aren't attacking us. Yet."
Captain Rex came back on the line, open channel to all. "The Talz are funneling us somewhere, gentlemen. If possible, be prepared to avoid them and increase your speed. The generals and the senator are working to obtain authorization over the Chairman's to make peace."
"We're not cowards, sir…" This was another trooper's voice, one of Jester's the way it came through open channel, then through Chopper's closed channel link.
"This isn't our battle, trooper." Captain Rex's voice was firm. "These are all civilians and it's an internal matter."
"This is it," muttered Echo open channel as the swoops took a long curve then dipped into a valley between two cliff faces perpendicular to the valley floor. The wind had picked up again, carrying old, drifted snow along with the new falling flakes. "Perfect place for an ambush." He dropped his speed, Chopper, Fives and Kev following his lead. An instant later, there were three figures, Talz on narglatch, far before them under a rock bridge.
"Here they are!" Chairman Cho's voice was eager. "Fire when you're in range!"
The Talz turned their narglatch, disappearing into the wind-blown snow.
"He's so battle-hungry, he can't see a trap," muttered Jester.
"Space out," shouted Fives. "You're clustered."
"Sir, with all due respect, we're only here to protect you." Captain's voice was reasonable, repeating the order his general had given over the swoop's communications. Then he switched to open channel making Fives' observation and information an order for those few troopers who hadn't spread out.
Talz and narglatch burst from the snow among the swoops of the Chairman and the troopers.
"Ambush! It's a trap! Kill them," shouted the Chairman.
One of the forerunner swoops swerved around the Talz, easily avoiding the swing of a Talz club with the speed of the bike.
"Fierfik," shouted the trooper. "They're big enough to take down a swoop with that!"
There was the blast of a laser cannon, the shattering of a canopy, the scream of a trooper abruptly cut off. One of the Freeco bikes, hit by a Talz and off-balance careened into the wall of the cliff, bursting into flame.
"Inker's dead," came a clone voice.
Two mounted Talz headed for the Chairman's swoop, attracted by his unarmored appearance and dark blue coloring.
Another trooper called out. "Bell's gone."
"They know their enemies," said Fives as he took aim at one of the pair. Kev, on the inside of Fives, fired his cannons at the other.
"Red's incapped."
Echo glanced to see a narglatch leap at the captain and land on the forward part of the bike, biting and clawing at the canopy as the swoop carried Rex, narglatch and Talz forward a hundred meters. The captain stood as he opened the canopy, then took a single jump backward to land in the snow. The swoop continued onward, carrying the Talz and his mount, crashing into the snow and immobilizing the narglatch. Quickly Rex had his blasters out and he was running to reclaim his swoop.
"Left, captain." Echo's voice was strained as he aimed for a Talz, then another. "They're behind us as well."
"We're surrounded. Defensive formation!" Captain Rex ordered, swinging one of his blasters above his head showing the formation to use. The troopers circled, slipping off the swoops to use them as cover.
"Not in the middle," shouted one of the men to the Pantorans, even as Chairman Cho stood toward the middle of the circle.
"Chairman," shouted one of his own men who was moving to defend, "Get down!" A Talz had come up from the snow, leaped onto the Freeco and used its bounce-back to land a deadly against the Pantoran bodyguard.
"Keep cover," shouted Rex, open channel and external audio for the benefit of the Pantorans.
"Chairman's no cover," shouted Kev at the men in the circle, but there were too few men to cover the Pantoran official. High above them, they could see some Talz but the canyon walls were too steep for the swoops to climp. Spears rained down into the circle.
"Aver's down."
"Keep moving, Kev." Chopper's voice was low and rough.
Fives spoke. "Our speed is the only thing keeping them from taking us down. It looks like the hidden Talz have all been taken care of."
"We've got to hold out!" Captain Rex's voice called.
"They can just stay up there and kill them all," grumbled Echo.
"I don't think so, look!" It was Kev's voice, hard and brittle and afraid; a shade from cracking.
Four lines of Talz on narglatch stormed down the hill, single file. In attack formation and moving downhill, the narglatch seemed to move much faster than 80kph.
"Get out," Echo shouted over closed channel to the captain. "There's too many for defense. Get on the swoops and go!"
"Echo, get us breathing room," called out Rex open channel and external audio. "First squad, cover the retreat."
"Squad, do it," ordered Echo to Fives, Chopper and Kev. "They're coming straight down, we'll go straight up." The second wave had just started coming down the hill and his squad moved into position.
"Chairman's down," came Rex's voice, open channel. "I've got him. Give the word, sergeant."
"You're covered; move, move, move!" Echo yelled above the high-pitched whine of his swoop as it pulled against gravity trying to climb the steep canyon walls.
From the corner of his helmet's visor he could see the swoops coming out of the defensive circular formation and heading rapidly back toward the droid base. So few men, he frowned to himself. His own CK-6 swoop stalled out so he turned; letting the speed from moving downhill, catch the engine as he primed it. The back of his neck itched as he could almost feel Talz targeting him.
"Keep on the outskirts of the group," he ordered his squad. They were picking off Talz and narglatch with the laser cannons of the Freecos, but they were heavily outnumbered and troopers seemed to be going down with each swing of a Talz club.
Rex was surrounded by the troopers; the Chairman draped over the casing of the Freeco, the canopy broken off. Fives and Echo, the perfect pair of brothers, were sweeping behind the main group of troopers, picking off the Talz coming down the hills to attack. Kev and Chopper, slightly inside and taking whatever targets Fives and Echo missed. There were still too many.
"Outrun them," Captain Rex ordered and the men pushed the swoops to full speed.
Riyo could hear the noises of conflict in the background as she waited for a reply from the Assembly; some of the troopers had external audio on; likely for the generals' information.
There was the squeal and sharp cough of a narglatch, a shout in the background, 'I'm hit,' and the sound of blaster fire. "Chairman, get down!" She distantly identified Kal'f's voice.
Other voices marked other losses.
"Weaver's down."
"Beam is gone."
You have your war, Chairman. Why? Senator Chuchi still didn't understand. She would demand to know; Primary Fighting Confrontation. The Assembly had not gone against a Chairman more than four times in the last century. If they folded again to the Chairman she, Riyo Chuchi of Clan Cho, would speak with the Chairman in Primary Fighting Confrontation during the Assembly. He'd kill her, but it would start questions and more, it would break the Cho clan from politics until all the questions had been answered. Someone would know and understand.
Behind her, the troopers closed the doors of the gunship, granting privacy and quiet to speak but silencing the informative flow. She rubbed her wrist where the Chairman had grabbed her earlier; it wasn't broken but it was bruised and sore.
On the holo, the Speaker of the Assembly voiced the decision of the Assembly. "Senator Chuchi, you're given the authority to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the sovereign planet of Pantora and the Talz." He'd been in Primary Duty mode inflected with sufficient respect to make it more of a request than an order. A favor asked from her rather than an order demanded; an admission of 'better you than I'. He had been the Economic Minister when the first exploration had come to Orto Plutonia. He knew its lack of value better than anyone else on the planet.
Riyo hoped the loss of men was... minimal.
The high walls of the canyon broke and quickly sloped down to level ground for a short distance before narrowing and once again become high, perpendicular walls. The Talz had taken advantage of the territory. As the troopers came up to the small break, they were attacked from both sides of the canyon.
"Here they come," Rex warned the troopers. The swoops speed worked against the men this time. The Talz came in at a downward angle and, as the Freecos were speeding by them, attacked.
A big Talz slammed one trooper off his swoop then twisted on the narglatch, swinging his heavy club in a backhand as the Freeco started to pass him. The blow caught Kev full in the chest and he was slung from the speeder bike to smash into the canyon wall.
There was the hard, biting sound of armor cracking in Chopper's helmet; the sickening thud of body meeting with solid, immoveable object and giving way.
"Kev, play dead!" Chopper's voice yelled through the channel even as his Freeco was passing the Talz on the other side. But he was afraid Kev didn't have to play at it.
Chopper glanced at the indicator light in his helmet, pulling his eyes from the tunnel vision of speed and target. Though it flickered, Kev's indicator didn't fade to dead black; the closed channel didn't cut off.
"Fives, Echo. With the captain," Chopper ordered through the helmet comm, closed channel, before one of them stopped to assist Kev. They were getting ready for ARC training, Echo'd just made sergeant; they couldn't afford to disobey an order. It wasn't his order to give, but he gave it anyway. Echo and Fives continued on without a word. No one understood better than Chopper that sometimes there were no words.
He pulled the bike to Kev's side, skidding two hundred seventy degrees to end with the bike laser cannons aimed outward toward the Talz and the tail fins crumpling against the icy stone of the cliff face. He watched as the Talz and the troopers continued on then leapt off the bike to Kev's side.
He didn't see a riderless narglatch at the back of the pack as it slowed and paused, turning a sharp-fanged head behind him, toward the sharp, copper tang of blood.
Crash.
Chopper remembered asking one of the Kaminoan teachers long ago; before he developed an aversion to them and he'd gotten an unsatisfactory answer.
The result of immediate deceleration of an object traveling at high speed due to interface with an immoveable object.
Kev's body was all wrong; his limbs twisted in unlikely angles. There was no blood on the white armor, almost invisible in the snow except for blue shoulder strips, but Chopper knew that for an illusion. Kev's breastplate had a starburst crack from the Talz's club. That kind of force traveled from the armor into the body; into the chest. Chopper remembered his own broken ribs when his fore had taken only a single linear crack. Nothing like this.
Kriff! I'm not a medic.
The blood would be pooling in Kev's body; moving from broken, torn organs and blood vessels; crushing, pressing against others organs. Blood loss would lead to hemorrhagic shock and brain damage; then death.
You're too slow, Chopper. Your brothers can't trust you. Too slow, Chopper. It's why you have scars. Slick laughed.
"Medic support," he called over his helmet, open channel; asking a medic to link up with him, to look through his helmet and tell him what to do.
"Ferritin's dead," called an unknown voice to him, one of the 212th troopers.
Osik. Chopper's mouth went dry.
Slick laughed harder. Too slow.
Chopper went to his own experience; remembering waiting, feeling. What the medics had done, had said to him.
What did blood do? Carry oxygen. Without the blood moving oxygen into the brain it died. Kev needed more oxygen to improve the efficiency of the blood that remained where it was supposed to be doing what is was supposed to do.
Chopper's hand moved toward Kev's life support, sealing him in the suit and ensuring his helmet seal was good as he changed the ratio, increasing the oxygen content. He fixed his own life support, prepared to shunt more oxygen to Kev and vent the rest of the air. It was a short line and once Kev's own oxygen ran out, Chopper would have to stay close to Kev, have Kev in his arms for that to work.
Chopper ran through his and Kev's med kit, pulling the blood substitute from both kits, he didn't have to read the included instructions to use these. Coric had a habit of talking while he medicated and he had medicated Chopper more than several times. Some of this Chopper could do, had done, half-conscious.
It was possible that Kev was starting to drown in his own blood. Chopper would have to watch out for that. That would required some kind of stent into the lungs and Chopper mentally ran through a trooper's gear to determine what he could use.
"Jester's down," came the voice of one of his squad, the shiny who might take the name 'Speed'.
"Jester, you'd better not be dead," Chopper growled roughly. Absently. He was already losing Kev. He hadn't realized his comm channel had been open until there was a hasty, breathless, thinly-weak answer.
"Down not dead." Jester's gasped over the channel, his voice racked with pain.
Chopper stilled, suddenly alert. Battle reflexes that weren't under his conscious control kicked in. Had he heard something – the slight breathing pattern of a large predator? Had he seen something – a movement from the corner of his eye?, Had he felt something – the vibration from a large animal moving on the snow?
Chopper swallowed as he grabbed Kev's blaster in one hand, his own in his other and turned, firing both as the big shape of threatening death leapt at him.
All the gunships were quickly underway. Riyo wasn't certain how they'd find the battle, but certainly the Jedi had a sense about these things. She glanced at General Kenobi. He was in Confrontation mode as was General Skywalker.
"Senator," he was saying, "now that you have the authority." He raised a hand in Conciliation. "How do you plan on making peace with the Talz?"
"Actually, Master Jedi, since you are far more experienced," Riyo dropped her head in the soft bow of Secondary Respect. "I was hoping you could negotiate on Pantora's behalf." She looked hopefully into Kenobi's eyes but saw only fierce anger. He was losing men as they spoke due to the Chairman's obstinacy.
His body told her the answer before his words. His glance at General Skywalker told her that she would not be able to convince him otherwise. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Senator." General Kenobi was in Tertiary Confrontation, outright refusal of terms.
She stayed in Peace mode and Conciliation. She had the authority to order him, but she wished to do so with respect. "The Jedi serve the Senate. I must order you…"
"Senator," his body mirrored hers in Peace and Conciliation, adding minor modes of Information and Observation. He added a gesture she'd only seen the Jedi use; a gesture of self-referencing information, truth. "It is your people the Talz are at war with. If the violence is to stop, it is you who must represent your people."
It was, she assumed, a kind way of saying 'your chairman declared this an internal affair'. Riyo knew it was true. She had always lived her duty. She bowed her head in the acquiescence of Duty mode. "Of course, General Kenobi."
She moved back to the hold where she could listen to the troopers' helmets.
"Sarge is dead."
"Medic support," called out a clone's rough voice. She thought it was Chopper.
"Ferritin's dead," came the reply.
"Jester's down." That was Chopper's friend. Did they all chance losing everything each time they went into battle?
"Weather is getting worse, General" It was a quick report from the pilot.
"Keep going," ordered Skywalker, his foundation of Confrontation shifting slightly to Respect. "We've still got men out there."
Riyo saw them, a small band of troopers isolated on the edge of a precipice, as the gunships landed defensively between the Talz and the defenders. The line of Talz stretched as far as she could see in both directions. There were only a handful of troopers. Even with the fresh men from the gunship, if the Talz attacked they would all be swept over the edge into the canyon without a pause.
As she stepped out of the gunship, Riyo saw a wounded man in blue trim leaning against one of the bikes – one of her protectors – and she wondered which one, Fives or Echo? Then she recognized both men against one of the bikes; Fives standing, favoring one leg and Echo, seated, who had an arm clutched around his ribs. Both set of white armor were blood-streaked. For all that they were wounded and leaning against the bike for support, their blasters were in their hands and their attention was to the Talz. She glanced around but the rest of the troopers were marked in patterns unknown to her; Chopper and Kev weren't in this small band of survivors.
Chairman, what have you done? She cried inside.
Captain Rex was reporting to his generals; eleven dead? So many? There had been less than twenty troopers with the Chairman. Even the captain had a streak of red running from his shoulder down his arm. Riyo glanced down to a man at her feet, a spear buried deep in his armor.
Senator Chuchi turned to the Chairman against one of the bikes. He was wounded, on his hands and knees, unable to stand and too proud to fall to the ground. In the distance she heard the growls and chuffing noises from the Talz and nargatch they were mounted on.
"Chairman, can you hear me," she reached for the Chairman's shoulder. She was in Secondary Confrontation. She wanted to shake it and scream at him. Do you see what you've done? You've killed your grandsons, you've made war on a people wishing peace, you've killed troopers who were only to defend you. Why? What did you wish to gain?
"Senator. Good." His hand clasped her shoulder and she winced at the pain. Wounded or not, his grip was steel. "You must avenge me. As my final command as Chairman of Pantora, I order you to destroy the Talz." He'd gone to his Foundation and it was no longer Duty. He'd been Chairman for so long, pride was now his Foundation.
It was an order of rank; from Chairman to Senator. She looked down. If he had asked as a relative; if he had only said, 'As your grand-uncle and the head of your clan', she might have considered it, if only for a moment. But he hadn't. She had never been anything to him; no kin at all.
He must have mistaken her Primary Confrontation as being for the Talz instead of for him.
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Chairman." She wondered if she was pleased to deny him his final request but couldn't find that in her heart. She was numb. "The Pantoran Assembly has called you out of order. I am to negotiate peace." It was odd that she was in Primary Confrontation mode as she moved his hand from her shoulder. She changed her mode to Conciliatory; both for him and for the Talz, and held his hand in comfort.
"No. Impossible!" His dark eyes went wide in surprised shock. He jerked his hand away from hers.
Do you deny me or have you been Chairman so long you have forgotten rules of order?
"Peace? Never." His breathing was raspy and she pitied him. "I died for our people."
It would make an excellent rallying cry and his eyes glinted for a moment as he recognized this. If she reported this then all Pantora would take arms against a race that had only wanted to be let alone on a planet with so little value.
"You died for your vanity," she murmured to his final breath. "People died for you," she whispered to his corpse. Later she would find other, more suitable, words for his final ones.
"Senator," Kenobi caught her attention. "Now is the time."
Gently she moved the Chairman's helmet from his head, so his spirit could move on in… relative… peace. She pulled a spear from the snow. She glanced over to where Echo and Fives had been to see the blue streaked troopers being aided to a gunship. Two fresh troopers took up their positions. Other troopers were grabbing downed men, corpses. She decided she would attend their burials; they'd been brave men.
Senator Riyo Chuchi walked halfway out to meet the Talz then further because her people - the Chairman - had been at fault. The protocol droid followed behind her. She stood in front of Thi-Sen, his headdress marking him their leader.
Absently, she wondered if he would merely split her with his spear. Then her spirit could catch the Chairman's. See, Chairman, she would speak in whatever way the spirits spoke; I too would die for our people. More than that, I give my life's work for our people. Beyond that, she would seek Chopper's spirit, the spirits of those men who had died here and apologize to them for her own fears of confronting the Chairman. She stood in the mode of Conciliation modified by Duty further modified by her own Foundation of Peace.
Even the Talz had enough 'human' in them to understand she did not bring continuation of war and Thi-Sen had not split her on his spear. Riyo couldn't understand why General Skywalker thought it 'most impressive'. She'd simply spoken peace and Thi-Sen had agreed.
They were in the gunship, Riyo numbly contemplating the Chairman's life and death. He'd never been anything other than a warrior and he had needed war to define him. She had never been anything to him except a clan orphan. When he had declaimed his brother, her grandfather, all those years ago, he had included her father and her years before their births. She had been seeking the great-uncle Cho of her family's stories; he had only seen an orphan of the Chuchi clan and not his brother's granddaughter. He had done his duty and nothing more. Old wounds left deep scars.
"We have to pick up some men, Senator Chuchi." General Skywalker broke her reverie.
"Of course, general. I am terribly sorry for their deaths. It was thirteen men too many to die for one man's obstinacy."
"That may be, Senator, but two of the men we'll be picking up are alive." His face darkened with anger, though not at her, not at anyone really other than fate. "So far."
"I'm glad, General." She was at one of the gunship's windows and began looking out among the snow and ice like all the troopers, trying to spot the men. They'd be in white, but perhaps she'd be able to make out a streak of color or the shape of the motorbikes they'd been riding.
"There." Unsurprisingly it was one of the Jedi who spotted them first. General Kenobi pointed out to Captain Rex.
"Got them," said the pilot over the gunship speaker as he began a descent. She still couldn't see the man or men; only torn up snow and the corpse of a narglatch.
"I don't see how he's still alive." It was quietly voiced by one of the troopers with a magnifying lens on his helmet.
No one contradicted him. She was oblivious to something so obvious to them. Another trooper moved toward the back of the gunship, pulling out an on-board medical station; flipping down a stabilized stretcher, opening cabinets and pulling out soft liquid packets. "Blankets," he said to no one in particular and another trooper moved to assist him, opening a panel in the gunship and pulling out thermal warming blankets.
Riyo Chuchi saw them now; one man in plain white armor, holding his brother and not moving, ignoring the gunship as it slipped next to them.
The troopers were quiet, silent ghosts, as they moved out to assist the remaining trooper and his wounded brother held in his arms. Riyo realized they'd gone to internal audio. She saw the blank white armor of the trooper who'd been trying to keep the other alive.
Blank armor.
She blinked then blinked again and swallowed.
Chopper.
Riyo moved forward, her gloved hand reaching out to aid him. Silly, she thought, those other hands are stronger, more familiar. Slowly his hand reached out and clasped hers. She drew him onto the gunship, his armor as cold as the ice he'd been in, but his gloved hand beneath the armor was warm. She guided him to a bench in the rear of the gunship; near where they were quickly and efficiently working on his wounded brother.
"What do you need, Chopper?" He was probably thirsty; perhaps he was injured in some small way.
He waited a moment, his helmet visors facing the fallen man. Then he turned toward her and removed his helmet, setting it into his lap. Pain and sorrow etched his face; his bleak eyes seemed to beg her, as if she had the power to grant his every desire.
"For him to live, my lady Senator."
She looked and saw the blue shoulder strips of Kev's armor.
Wordlessly she put her palm to his gloved hand, slightly squeezing. His hand circled around hers. His face shifted, becoming his mask; stolid, sure, patient. His hand trembled.
One of my personal favorite chapters!
Read and review and enjoy... next chapter maybe as early as Sunday.