Disclaimer: No, I still don't own anything Star Wars
Note: Thanks again to my reviewers/subscribers/readers and to Liisiko who has continued to be an amazing help in my story writing.
CHAPTER 17 - Resolute
Location: Selonia
She held it together for him, training her face into that emotionless mask that had served her so well in her past as an Imperial pilot. Even PROXY – normally so chipper – had dropped into silence, the working of his mechanical limbs the only audible sound he had made since getting them back onto the Rogue Shadow.
She brushed away the curtain of blonde hair that had fallen across her face to peer across at Galen. He was sat low in the co-pilot chair, staring but not seeing, his hands curled lifelessly on his knees; palms down.
How much more pain could he handle before it all became too much to bear?
He'd not said another word to her since his admission of failure and she'd opted not to press him on it. Galen had never been good at dealing with his emotions, and grief like this was a relatively new thing to him. He'd need time to work through this and find closure.
And so would she.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she brought up the communications interface and attempted contact with the Armistice. Thankfully it didn't take too long, though getting through security took more patience then she felt she had left. Eventually the defensive Lieutenant, who had quizzed her on security codes and personnel detail, patched her through to the bridge.
"Apologies for the delay, Captain." Viedas' distinctly accented voice came across the channel with surprising clarity. "We had a close run in with an Imperial owned freighter in the last hour. Security is on high alert. I take it you have good news for me?"
"Are you alone, Commodore?"
"I am."
"It's not good news." Juno replied without any hesitation. She worried that if she paused to give her words any thought she might not be able to speak them. She put on her 'business' voice and began to ream off a brief report. "We managed to locate and infiltrate the XF-32 above the planet of Selonia, as was thought to be the most likely location. Unfortunately, the Star Destroyer was knocked off course during the confrontation between the clone and Starkiller, resulting in a crash landing in the seas of Selonia." She pushed on, barely taking a breath. "Earlier today, with help from the locals, we organized a storm of the XF-32 to bring down the target. Dividing into two teams…we…" Then, at last, she struggled to maintain her voice as the horror of what had happened loomed closer. The pause was agonizing and she battled with herself to keep going.
As if sensing her growing hesitation, the Rodian Commodore urged her on with a kindness in his voice that seemed to only make things worse. "Go on, Juno."
The lump forming in her throat was hard to speak around, but she managed it. "Fatalities during this attempt were high. None of your men survived." None of the Selonians had, either, though she didn't see any point in bringing that up now.
There was a long pause, and then: "Grave news, indeed. But, they were aware of the risks. None of us can ever be certain of our safety. They died honorably in the line of duty and their sacrifice will not be forgotten."
But they would, in the end, Juno thought silently. Not by their families or friends, but to everyone else, they would just become another number; additions to an ever increasing figure of those who had died opposing the Empire.
"We'll send a shuttle to retrieve the bodies."
"Wait. That's not all, Commodore."
"Captain?"
"We lost General Rahm Kota during the assault." The words were out before she could even consider the implication of them.
There was a horrible, prolonged silence and she clasped her hands tightly together to keep them from trembling.
"I see." The tone of his voice was clipped and professional, but she could well imagine how his heart must have sank as he realized they'd just lost one of their most important allies.
Then, he ventured; "What about Starkiller and the Sith?"
"Starkiller is injured, but alive." She drew in a short breath, closing her eyes. "The Sith escaped."
"This is truly dire news, Captain. We've all put ourselves on the line for this mission. The Senators will not be happy that we've taken such a risk and failed. And to lose the General…no, they will not be happy at all."
"We're not giving up, Commodore." Juno replied firmly. "I'm contacting you to inform you of the possible danger to your ship and crew. The clone escaped in the shuttle piloted by your men. He may be able to access the co-ordinates to your last location. With all due respect, I think you should see about getting yourself somewhere safe." Otherwise this mission could very well go down in history as one of the worst blunders the Alliance ever made.
"The likelihood of him coming here is low, but we were scheduled to make a jump to Corellia for upgrades." Viedas responded. "I'll look into bringing that forward. Is that all?"
Is that all? As if the death of a Jedi was not enough?
"No." Juno bit back her words. Viedas was only doing his job, just as she should. "I did have one last request."
"Go ahead."
"The shuttle that brought your men here; is it fitted with a tracking device?"
He needed no other elaboration. "I'll mark that a priority, Captain Eclipse. We'll let you know as soon as we can get a lock onto his position. I take it that means you intend to pursue?"
"The Rogue Shadow has sustained some damage, Commodore. PROXY is running the analysis now. But yes, that is the plan." Or so she hoped. A quick glance at Galen told her very little about what he was thinking. Perhaps he wasn't even listening. There was no indication to say otherwise.
"I'll need to report this back to the Senators, you understand."
"Do what you think is right, Commodore."
"I'll have the co-ordinates to the shuttle sent as soon as they come through, Captain."
"Thank you. Eclipse out."
Silence descended. PROXY paused in his monitoring to throw her a glance. There was no movement at all from Galen's direction.
"What's the damage?" Juno asked the holodroid quietly.
"Minor damage, Captain. Outboard, port side. Some scoring on the bodywork. Laser cannon two working at sixty-eight percent."
"Thanks, PROXY. We'll get her down and I'll see what I can do with the wing." She thought of the Selonians, holed up in their dens, waiting for news. She fumbled at the controls as she swung the ship around and brought it back over the shore.
The warriors who had fought alongside Galen seemed to understand that the danger was gone, but that was all Juno could get across to them before the language barrier kicked in. She was partially thankful for that. She wasn't sure she had the energy to do much explaining.
She left them to the long process of opening the doors – a task much more difficult when the use of the Force was not implemented – and trudged across the miserable grey sand towards the ship. She circled it slowly, letting her eyes wander in search of any damage that might need to be patched up before they could be on their way. Only one score looked big enough to be a hindrance and, hefting the required tools, she set about with the repairs. The damaged outboard flap was the most pressing need, the teeth on the joint no longer lying flush against the main wing panel.
As she worked, her thoughts constantly flicked between the unexpected and sudden loss of Kota and Galen's impenetrable silence. She had left him in the co-pilot chair with a few words of comfort and a gentle touch, but it hadn't provoked any reaction in him at all. So she had decided, in the end, to leave him there. After all, he knew where she was if he needed her.
Juno was already well under way with the repairs when Terreef found her.
The elderly Selonian regarded her with weary eyes. "Where is the Jedi, Kota?"
Juno allowed the numb feeling to wash over her and, as she replied, found comfort in the odd sense of detachment that seeped through her. It was in this state that she relayed the information to Terreef. Of Giles' brief report on the trouble the Selonians had gotten into. Of the lack of life signs on the scanners. Of their failed attempt to catch the Sith. Of the death of her brave people sent out to sacrifice themselves for the good of their den. And when she was done, their eyes met and silence reigned heavy. As heavy as the cold heart in her chest.
"Maybe still hope." The old female replied. "The ship is now safe?"
"Unstable in structure, but no more droids and no more Sith. If you intend to retrieve bodies, I believe a Rebel shuttle is being sent for the men that came with us." There might have been survivors but she didn't see how.
"And Jedi. Yes. If we find, we will bring them here."
There was another awkward silence and then, finally, Terreef continued. "What will you do now?"
"We will go after the Sith." Juno replied. "We will stop him."
"The Sith would have destroyed us with that bomb." Terreef continued lowly. "You prevented it."
"Not me. All of us."
"I offer our thanks on behalf of our queen." She dipped her head respectfully. "I will send engineers to help fix your ship."
"Oh, no that's—"
"—I insist." Terreef interrupted.
"Then…thank you."
And then she was left alone, standing in the dying rain. She turned slowly back to regard the ship and lifted the wrench to continue her work. Except that she suddenly couldn't think past everything that had just been said. There was so much pain and death and then there was Galen's haunted eyes; so dark and empty.
Grief snared her; the wrench in her hand coming in sharp contact with the side of the ship, denting the panel – her cry of grief transforming into the sound of a muffled cry. There, alone in the haze, she broke; smothering her sobs into a hand, struggling to breathe past the welling hurt in her chest.
A touch on her shoulder was quick to snap her out of it, drawing back in horror at having been caught in a moment of weakness. She turned, stuttering to compose herself, and found herself looking up into the face of one of the Selonian engineers. Her large eyes were wide and sorrowful, the whiskers on her long snout wilting. The clawed paw remained on Juno's shoulder and there was a gentle understanding in that expression. Perhaps this one had also lost someone she had cared for on that ship. A dear friend. A sister. A colleague. Or, more likely, she simply grieved because so many Selonian lives had been lost.
"I…I'm alright now." Juno rubbed at her face shamefully.
"Alright now." The echo of her words was said with some sadness and took Juno by surprise. "Alright…later."
Juno looked up and felt the tears gather again. She shook her head and, with a watery smile, turned back to her work.
A few moments later and another engineer joined them; the two Selonians working on closing over the score in the ship's angular side.
It was strange to think of such a primitive looking species as being technologically advanced. And yet, above the tunnels of their dens were grey cities filled with factories that brimmed with advanced knowledge. Appearances could be so very deceiving.
Juno stood back to admire her handiwork and took a moment to thank the pair of engineers for their aid. They give her polite smiles that suggested they could make a guess at what she had said but weren't quite sure.
So she repeated herself. "Thank you for your help."
The one who had comforted her before laid her paw on Juno's shoulder, patting it in a soothing gesture. Then Juno watched them go with a sinking heart, turning reluctantly back to the open loading ramp when they were out of sight.
The Rogue Shadow had always been something of a marvel to her; filled with memories both good and bad – not to mention being a technological phenomenon. To be piloting it again had been tarnished with the extra cargo she had been taking to Dantooine, but she could not deny that she had yearned to be in that cabin again. Yearned for the freedom it gave. It had been…home.
Her mind's eye conjured the ship hovering, Galen perched on the edge of the loading ramp and her, leaning towards him with her hand on his waist…
She touched her mouth with her fingertips.
Juno had clung to that memory for so long; that last shared moment between them before he had left to drag the Rebellion out from the jaws of the Imperial dragon.
But now she was almost afraid to go inside that ship. Afraid of being the one to pull him back from the after-effects of his so-called failure. Afraid that she, too, would fail in her duty to him.
She cut off those thoughts with a vicious mental swipe and strengthened her posture. She was Juno Eclipse. Captain in the Rebel Alliance…well, maybe ex-Captain in the Rebel Alliance. She was not weak. She was strong enough for this and he needed her.
Retying her hair into its ponytail she smoothed the collar of her jacket down and stepped up into the ship, following the corridor around to the bridge. PROXY looked up as she entered. The co-pilot seat was empty.
"Ah, Captain, repairs complete?"
"As well as they can be." And without pause. "Where is he?"
"I'm afraid my attempts at cheering him up failed rather miserably, Captain."
At Juno's sharp look, he lifted a placating hand. "He is still on the ship."
"Run the diagnostics again, PROXY."
He replied, but she didn't bother waiting around to hear it. She left him chattering away to himself as she headed back down the corridor, stepping into the training room which, at first glance appeared empty – until she realized that the light was on in the small storage area on the far side of the room. Drawing in a breath to hold back her nerves, she crossed the floor of the training room and approached the doorway. Galen was slouched down in the far corner, his back pressed against the wall to keep him upright. One of the sabers was being turned restlessly in his hands.
Wordlessly, she entered and knelt down at his side, taking him gently by the arm. His body tensed immediately – as if to resist her touch – but her grip tightened with silent warning. She wasn't leaving and nothing he could say or do would have her doing otherwise. She'd had her thinking time – and so had he. Now it was time to talk, no matter how painful doing so would be.
"What are you doing way back here?" She asked softly.
She was actually surprised when he replied.
"He wouldn't shut up. I wanted to shut him up." His tone was so matter-of-fact that it scared her. She remembered his hand reaching for the saber to strike down another enemy—only to find her there instead.
Shoving the thought away with some irritation, Juno cleared a space for herself and sat next to him, her side pressed close to his.
"Talk to me."
"Kota is dead. What else is there to talk about?"
She frowned "Kota…said something to me once. Back when you were—well, you know—gone." Or dead, if she was going to be more blunt. "He said to me that you were at last one with the Force. I didn't really understand what he meant. How could I? I couldn't understand how you did any of the things that you did. But the Force can't die, can it?"
"No." Galen replied quietly.
"Then…Kota isn't really dead." He just wasn't there anymore.
"What are we going to do?"
Juno blinked, utterly surprised. "You're asking me?"
He looked up at her and she saw the complex emotions blazing there in his eyes. Grief, traces of anger and hopelessness. She supposed, thinking about it, this was the first time there hadn't been anyone there to direct him. Vader, the Senators, Kota. Now it was just the two of them and giving him direction was the last thing on her mind. He needed to make this decision and take control of his life. He needed to choose his own path without any outside interference.
"I can't do this alone." He admitted finally.
Her heart clenched. So he had already made his decision then. He was going to go after the clone. She had known that chasing him would have been Galen's first choice, so then why was he worried about having to do it without her? When had she ever let him down on a mission? "You won't have to." She replied firmly. "I'll be with you every step of the way."
"He can't be allowed to live. Striking him down in hate isn't an option, either, not if I want to retain my sanity."
"How do you intend to do it, then?"
"I'll finish what Kota started. We've already got him on the run. He's angry and afraid and he can't even rely on his master to help him. He's on his own and that puts him at a disadvantage."
"And if Commodore Viedas can't track him?"
"Sooner or later something is going to go wrong. A volatile clone like him can't stay hidden for long."
"But if we're forced to wait until then, innocent lives could be lost." Juno pointed out worriedly.
"Innocent lives are always being lost." Galen snapped, though he immediately seemed to regret those words. "It may come to that."
She reached out and took his hand, wanting to calm that storm inside of him.
"I'll…try and meditate. Maybe that will bring something to light." He was pulling himself to his feet now and Juno struggled to join him, her legs already falling asleep from the cramped, curled position on the hard floor.
He tried to step past her but she halted him with a hand pressed flat to his chest. "Not so fast. You need to get yourself cleaned up and into some dry clothes."
He looked down as if realizing, for the first time, the state of his garb. Though his clothes were no longer dripping wet they were still cold and damp, mottled with stubborn sand. If he had turned around, the back of his shirt would be stained with blood from the shoulder wound he had torn open during his attempt to bring the clone's shuttle crashing back down.
He regarded her tiredly.
"Go to your bunk. I'll bring the supplies."
The gash on his shoulder was bloody and inflamed; the edges of the torn flesh swollen with the beginnings of infection. Even so, the tension slowly uncoiled from his shoulders as she applied the salve with gentle fingers. The faint, sweet smell of the bacta was just potent enough to deny her the clean scent of Galen's freshly washed skin.
"Sorry, can you just pass me the dressings?" She asked, reaching out to take the roll of off-white gauze from him.
She thought back to a time long ago now, it seemed, to when she had first taken on the job of flying Starkiller from place to place as he hunted down his targets. Not once had he returned without some injury or other. She could remember – quite clearly – feeling a desperate urge to be able to help him but never having the courage to ask. He had been so sure of himself, so fiercely guarded against her that he would have shot her down in an instant even if she had offered. But now, here he was, trusting her with this; allowing her to help him when, before, he would have insisted on struggling by himself.
She patted the neatly placed bandages, checked to make sure it had been tied securely and then set about binding his ribs, taking care not to pull the gauze too tight. On second thoughts… "Breath in a little bit. I'm worried this might be too loose otherwise."
He drew in a breath and she continued, biting at her lip as she concentrated on her task.
"Still no word from Viedas?" Galen asked.
"No. The more time that passes the more worried I get. The longer he's in hyperspace…" She trailed, shaking her head as she fastened the bandage firmly. "I know…worrying is pointless. Whatever happens will happen. There's nothing we can do until we know more. I just wish we knew more now instead of being left hanging like this." She sighed, patting him tenderly on the uninjured shoulder. "Okay, all done."
"We could make some logical guesses." Galen replied; standing and rolling his shoulders tentatively. The bandages held true.
"I'll make a start on the guesswork." Juno replied, already picturing the holomap in her mind's eye and calculating possibilities. "You: get some rest."
She stood back to give Galen room as he pulled a harvest-gold tunic over his head. The fabric was thin but coarse, the sleeves flaring before being tamed into cuffs that came just short of his knuckles. It was perhaps a little too big but the color complimented the dark-brown of his eyes. She smiled at him as she handed him the dark, leather tabard. Their fingers touched, eliciting sparks that fluttered through her heart. Then she was leaning against the door frame, watching as he shrugged carefully into the garment – the act made awkward by his injured shoulder.
"Don't split the wound again." Juno warned. "I might not be so gentle with patching it up the second time." Her eyes softened. "Get some rest. I'll come and find you the moment we have any news. I promise."
"I told Kota I would go back for him."
"Don't worry." She assured. "The Selonians are going to retrieve their people. Terreef told me they would bring our people out, too." She paused. "The Commodore is sending a shuttle to take them away, back to their families, to be buried, I should think."
"What about Kota?"
"He was good friends with Senator Organa. Perhaps they will take him back to Alderaan?"
"Maybe."
"Galen?"
"I won't be welcome."
Her eyes burned. "Even if you're not, we don't need to be at his funeral to say goodbye, do we?"
"Kota would want us to finish the fight first."
She nodded firmly. "Then that's what we'll do."
His hand came up, brushing blonde tresses of hair behind her ear. She looked up and without warning, he leaned in to kiss her; his mouth firm and resolute on hers. And then his arms were around her waist, her back pressed up against the door frame as she slipped a hand up to the nape of his neck.
And as suddenly as it began, he ended it, pulling away just enough to free his mouth to speak; his lips still brushing over hers. He whispered that he loved her, but gave her no chance to respond, covering her mouth with his again, pulling her tighter against him.
And then, with miraculous timing, the intercom came to life with the sound of PROXY's jovial voice. "Captain? Transmission coming through from the Armistice."
They broke apart with some reluctance; their eyes filled with longing. And then Galen's arms fell away and he took a step back.
"Go on through." He urged. "I'll be right behind you."
And as she turned to leave, she saw him securing the belt – sabers already in place – around his waist.
There would be no rest for any of them.
To be continued...
Next update: 26th November