Author's Note: This one is for shakespeareaddict, who requested Cut's response to Order 66. Hope you like it!
News.
Leaping off the tractor, he ran.
Shaeeah was screaming, waving her hands frantically and running towards him at full tilt across the field. The wheat rose up to her waist, and she was leaping up and down among the tawny sheaves as she ran, peach-blue spangled lekku bouncing wildly behind her.
It only took Cut a few seconds to reach her, extend his arms and try to scoop her up. She resisted, squirming away and down while grabbing at his hands and arms, trying to get a grip. One of her little hands finally wrapped around two of his fingers, and she began to pull. "Dad, you've got to come see! Come on!" Both hands were wrapped around his wrist now, tugging hard towards the house.
"What happened?" he asked harshly enough that Shaeeah nearly stopped her pulling to stare up at him. In the distance, he could see the house. No smoke. He began running again, this time with Shaeeah desperately trying to keep up while he scanned the horizon. After a moment, two small figures could be seen rushing across the yard of the homestead, straight from barn to house, one small and orange, the other bright pink and tall. Jekk and Suu. He breathed a little more easily. No one hurt, nothing on fire, no hostiles running around with blasters. He cut his stride slightly shorter and slowed so that the girl could catch up. "Shaeeah, what's going on?"
"The radio," she gasped as she fell into step beside him, legs still pumping rapidly to keep up with Cut's longer stride and rapid pace. "It just came on the galactic radio, Jekk and I had the holoproj on too, and there was this guy, and he's all melted, and the announcer's saying they're all dead, and the war stopped because everyone's dead!"
Cut faltered for a moment. The war stopped? The war stopped. The war, stopped! The possible joy of that statement was outweighed by the addition of the words "because everyone's dead". He stretched his legs again, Shaeeah panting just behind him as they raced across the yard towards the house, bursting in the front door with a bang and clatter.
The shelf that usually held their small radio was empty, as it was now sitting on their kitchen table, the holoprojector and volume on at maximum. The sound of thundering applause filled the room through its' speakers, though the four members of the family were silent. Suu had her hands on Jekk's shoulders, and was holding him tightly against her. They both looked up as he burst into the room, Shaeeah skidding into place just behind him.
Near to life size, the pale blue projection of a man flickered eerily over their dinner table. His face was shrouded by a heavy hood, but as he lifted his hands and called out to the unseen crowd around him, it tilted back enough to reveal his face, twisted and frightening, melted, as Shaeeah described. He cried out, in resolute, undulating tones,
"The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger. The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled."
Beneath the figure ran a ticker, two dimensional and flat compared to the man. "Republic falls in the aftermath of Separatist defeat! Newly formed government foils Jedi coup...Separatist leaders missing and presumed dead...Former Republic forces sweeping into Separatist held worlds. Banking Clan and Techno Union concede to Imperial forces. Just in: Utapau, Raxus concede to Empire...Utapau, Raxus concede to Galactic Empire...Emperor Palpatine addresses Senate. Republic falls in the aftermath of Separatist defeat!"
Cut's eyes snapped away from the ticker, back to the man.
The Chancellor. The melted man was the Chancellor? He straightened automatically, body snapping to attention at the specter hovering before him, calling out that clone troopers would now be titled Imperial stormtroopers. Stormtroopers. The Chancellor's arms were stretched out, emulating an embrace. No longer would they be defined as clones.
"Cut?" Suu's voice was quiet, but it cut clearly across the ringing tones of the Emperor. She slid her hands off of Jekk's shoulders to reach for him, placing a hand on his shoulder before sliding it down his arm. "You do not need to stand at attention. He is not here." Harsh blue light from the holoprojector reflected in her face, washing out the brightness of her skin. She took his hand and squeezed it. He did not respond at first, so she squeezed again, somewhat harder, enough to shake him.
Cut twitched, blinking up at the image of the Chancellor before turning away to see Suu's worried expression. Jekk shuffled up behind her and peered around Suu, as he would do during times of uncertainty. "Dad, are you okay?"
Dad. Cut shook himself visibly. His head was starting to hurt and he ran a hand over his eyes, digging a finger and thumb into each, as though to clear out any bad thoughts. "Yeah, I'm alright." He stared up at the Chancellor again. The Jedi attacked the Chancellor? Why? He was the leader of the Republic they claimed to defend.
He did not feel Suu release his hand, but he did notice when the Chancellor abruptly flickered off, plunging the kitchen into shadow and silence. Suu was frowning now, worried still but unhappy about something. She took his hands again and pulled him over to one of the table's chairs, urging him to sit. She pulled another chair around so that she could take a place just beside him, the two children hovering closer, making a little family huddle.
"Will the Republic come to Saleucami?" Jekk asked, breaking the silence and leaning against the back of Suu's chair. "Will the Techno Union leave?"
Cut leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and looking down. Suu answered, "I don't know, Jekk. Maybe the Union will leave. But it looks like there is no more Republic."
Cut frowned and shook his head. "The Chancellor is the same. The Senate is the same. The GAR is the same, except for titles." His brow furrowed. It was all the same, except in name. Why, though, did something feel wrong?
"I don't like the melted man, he's creepy," Shaeeah declared.
"The Chancellor is the leader of the Republic and is to be respected and given obedience," Cut stated, then made a face, biting his tongue, the words slipping out by rote. Suu was staring at him openly, her lips slightly parted in surprise. Shaeeah looked both vaguely chastened and vaguely disgusted, her head tucked down and nose wrinkled, as she stared at the now-empty space the Chancellor occupied over the table. He ran a hand over his face again, brusquely. "No. Shaeeah, you don't have to like him if you don't want to. His leadership caused a lot of people to die."
"Then why obey him?" Jekk asked, confused. "He sounds bad. And he looks like something out of a horrorvid."
"The Chancellor is the leader of the Republic and is to be..." Cut grimaced, making a frustrated noise. Suu took his hand in hers again, holding it tightly.
"Cut," she said gently, "you're not in the army anymore. You do not need to defend him."
"I know." Cut stared down at his feet, trying to sort through his thoughts. He didn't want to be a soldier. Never wanted it, though he was just as skilled as any other trooper in the GAR, just as well trained. He'd long since chosen where to give his loyalty, and he made that decision freely, on his own terms. His duty was here, with Suu, Shaeeah and Jekk. Still, he was raised as a trooper, with the ideals of the Republic drilled into him from the moment he was decanted. The Chancellor was the Republic.
Or was that just what he'd been taught to believe?
His head hurt.
"Cut, do you know why the Jedi would try to overthrow the Chancellor?" Suu's hand was cool against his cheek, and he closed his eyes, allowing her presence to soothe him. Suu had little love of the Republic, seeing them as only slightly better than the Techno Union itself. She would be somewhat more objective, even if she was skeptical. "The Jedi work for the Republic, as special guards, don't they? Why would Palpatine's most trusted defenders turn against him?"
"I don't know."
A Jedi coup, a Jedi rebellion. The Supreme Commander of the Republic - the Chancellor - would have had to order the troops to turn against the Jedi. A single Jedi was powerful, but no matter how skilled a Jedi was, they would not be able to face an entire battalion of trained clone troopers alone.
Why would the Jedi turn against the Chancellor? Cut had never met any of the Jedi, not personally. But he had been at Geonosis. He'd seen what the Jedi could do, individually as well as in group. He'd seen them tear into Separatist lines with a grace so deadly it was frightening. They'd been outnumbered and outmanned in that arena, or so he'd heard, but once they'd been given freedom to move and the support of his brothers - Geonosis foreshadowed much of the rest of the war. Bloody, violent, terrifying and, for those who survived, thrilling - until the death counts began to roll in.
Training taught him the Chancellor was the Republic. Without him, the Republic would fall, and that could not be tolerated. He was the Supreme Commander, the highest authority, demanding of obedience and respect. But training also taught him that the Jedi were near superbeings, to be followed into battle and obeyed without question.
Unless they were traitors. Unless the contingency orders came into play. Unless they turned against the Republic. Unless they turned against the Chancellor.
But it did not answer why. Or who? How many of the Jedi were dead? The leaders? All of them? They were sworn to uphold the same Republic as the clone troopers. He needed to watch more of the news, to try and understand what was happening, to sift through the remains of the bias that infused the media of Separatist-held Saleucami.
He had no way of knowing what political machinations were going on. No way of knowing how far the ramifications would reach.
"Are you okay, Dad?" Shaeeah asked, hovering beside him, trying to peer around into his face. Shaeeah had her hands clasped together, her brows drawn in concern, her lekku curling slowly upward as her apprehension grew.
He should be happy. The war was over. His brothers would be unlikely to be free to make their own choices, but there would be no more war. No more battles, no more constant threat of death. And yet, there was a warning in his heart that he could not ignore. Something was wrong. Badly wrong.
Cut drew a smile to his face, though it was wan. He tried to give it more energy, to encourage Shaeeah, reassure her. She was nine, and a normal nine. She shouldn't have to be afraid of the melted man who had declared himself Emperor. Cut wrapped an arm around the girl and gave her a quick peck on the forehead. "I'm okay. The war's over. This is great news."
Shaeeah looked up at him, skeptical, and Jekk's expression was no different. His gaze softened a little and he smiled more genuinely. Shaeeah and Jekk were bright, and knew something was wrong. At least, unless things changed very drastically, they were safe here in rural Saleucami. He would watch, and he would listen.
Suu's hand tightened around his again, and this time he returned her grip with his own. He'd decided his own path, years ago. This was where his duty lay. This was his home, and his family, and he would hope that his fears were unfounded.
He feared for the future, but he smiled to give his family strength.