Chapter Sixty: Attacking Umbara
The Force was trembling with darkness, but I couldn't tell what was causing it. It could be the death that surrounded our Star Destroyer as we finally broke through the Seperatist blockade. It could be the war that still raged around us and on the surface of the planet below. Or it was the Force warning me of something horrible that was coming.
I shifted uncomfortably in my beskar, teetering nervously as I joined some of the 501st for a briefing with Obi-wan and Anakin. My armor was painted 501st blue again, as per request of the men. They allowed me to keep the kyr'bes in red, though. I stopped between Rex and Fives, still unused to the new style of their new armor. We were gathered near a gunship with what looked like a Boga painted on the nose.
"Masters Krell and Tiin will be supporting my troops to the south," Obi-wan briefed us, pointing at the map R2 projected for us. "While Anakin's battalion comes in from the north and takes out enemy reinforcements." My eyes scanned over the hologram of the planet's battle zones, noting how difficult it was going to be to take any ground. "It is imperative that we conquer the capital city as quickly as possible and hold it." Wonderful.
Anakin stepped up to join the briefing, hands folded calmly behind his back. "Our biggest problem is going to be the local militia." I nodded silently, still scanning the holographic map. "The Umbarans have aligned themselves with the Separatists and are heavily armed." My eyebrow quirked. This was just laying itself out nicely from start to finish, wasn't it? Maybe this was why the Force was unsettled. Nothing about this was going to be easy. "ARC Trooper Fives will be assisting my units on special assignment."
I smirked, glancing sideways at the ARC trooper as he snapped to attention. "Ready to do my part, General Skywalker."
"Nice to have you on board," Rex said past me to his brother, his words genuine.
I felt Fives' smile behind his visor. "Just like old times, Rex."
"And Kida will be joining us this time," Anakin teased gently, giving me a look.
I rolled my eyes with a grin. "Hey now, that underwater nonsense on Mon Cala was no place for me," I joked back easily. They'd asked me to join, but I'd declined. I had no equipment or training for underwater combat. I wasn't about to sign up for a job with the absolute certainty I'd die. "But I'm glad to be along to keep you boys out of trouble this time," I added, crossing my arms as they chuckled with me.
"Remember Anakin," Obi-wan interjected, returning our focus to the mission. "Cody and I will be 12 klicks to your south. We're counting on you to take out those local fighters or, I'm afraid, the capital will never surrender."
Anakin sighed heavily. "Does my battalion have to do everything?" I cracked a grin, enjoying watching the Jedi bicker. They were more like brothers than friends, really.
"You seem to always volunteer," Obi-wan replied easily with a glimmer in his eye. He turned and left with Cody and his troops, making their way towards their own transport.
Anakin couldn't fight the grin on his face while he nodded at us, hopping aboard the gunship. "All right," Rex called to his men, "Let's go!"
We boarded the gunship after Anakin, the Star Destroyer trembling slightly as we entered the atmosphere of Umbara. The hangar doors hissed open, revealing a terrible dark sky. The engines of the gunship engaged, the pilot slowly guiding us out.
My eyebrow quirked slightly when I saw Tup wrap both his hands around the railing above, gripping for dear life. "Not a flyer?" I asked, teasing.
"Just like you're not a swimmer, miss," the young clone replied easily, catching me by surprise. I blanched before breaking out in easy laughter. I gave him a nod through my shaking shoulders. Fair enough.
The gunship shook in the air, the doors opening to let the wind whip past us. I wasn't afraid of flying….but I could understand Tup's tight grip. Mine got a bit firmer when the ship took a particularly hard pitch to the side to avoid damage.
The air was crackling with energy as bombs burst around us, the local militia somehow having anti-aircraft weaponry. "There's a lot of surface fire," Rex said to Anakin beside me, both of them peering towards the mist-covered ground.
Hardcase chuckled on the other side of Skywalker. "They ain't got nothing we can't handle, sir."
The hair on the back of my neck prickled as the clone spoke, my eyes lifting to watch the side of Rex's helmet. Despite getting new armor, Rex thought the new visor design made it harder to see. So he welded the two designs together to get the better air filtrations and seal, but keep the good vision. He lost the HUD upgrade, but he didn't seem to mind.
He'd been doing fine without it so far.
As if in a daze, guided by the Force's warning, I reached out and wrapping my fingers around Rex's wrist. He turned immediately, panic flaring in his mind.
The Force pushed harder and I heard the engine of the other gunship that was beside us in the air. I let go of my own handhold and pulled Rex hard, twisting him to be on my other side. Wind whipped past the back of my head, gently tugging at my ponytail as the piece of shrapnel flew through the passenger bay.
The gunship beside us had exploded, debris flying at us. Most bounced off harmlessly, but one particularly nasty piece hurtled through our area. It hit no one, managing to just miss Fives' helmet, but it did take out the handhold Rex had been using a moment before.
They group stared at me for a moment before Hardcase let out a loud laugh. "See? Nothing we can't handle!" I knew it was a way of smothering the grief of losing that gunship. The clones around me were already making mental notes, deep down beneath the strategy of the battle, of each brother they lose so they can recite the names in remembrance.
"You hanging in there, Tup?" Rex asked after muttered me a thank you. I felt his gratitude in my mind, since he couldn't express it here. Still, through our time together it had become easier for me to feel our connection and link our minds easier.
Tup, who was behind us, was still holding on with two hands. Still, he gave us a firm nod and sounded confident. "So far, so good, Captain."
Anakin's wrist comm pinged. "General Skywalker," the pilot said. Hawk, I think. "I'm turning the lights out. Our night vision sensors are having a tough time in this chop. I hope we don't overshoot the landing site." He sounded worried.
"Just get us as close as you can," Anakin responded.
Beside him, Hardcase cheered, pumping his fist. "Time to lock and load!" The gunship began to dip lower, approaching the landing zone.
I let my eyes slide close, doing my best to ignore the explosions outside the ship and focus on centering myself. Flying didn't bother me like it did Tup, but I certainly wasn't loving the whole 'doors open while we're being fired on' thing. At least, not when I wasn't in the pilot's seat.
Speaking of, I let my mind reach out and feel the nervous tendrils of Tup's mind. I mentally took my hand and smoothed it over the harsh lines of worry, soothing him while we shook in the air. I could feel Rex's gaze on me, prodding me to open my eyes again. He was glancing between Tup and I, likely seeing some of the tension melt out of his brother. He said nothing, but I knew the Captain's wheels were turning and connecting the dots.
The reverse thrusters whirred, the back hatch opening to allow our AT-RT to drop. We were now only about 20 feet above the ground. Both my and Tup's tension melted away. We'd survive this fall.
Hawk brought our gunship down after the AT-RTs took out the anti-aircraft cannons, our group leaping out to begin our strike as planned. Both my pistols and my lightsaber were on my belt, but I'd planned ahead for the conditions of Umbara.
We were launching into an upfront charge in low-visibility. As I stepped slowly forward from the gunship, I lowered my goggles, the HUD engaging with a soft greeting from Apex in my ear. Drawing the modified rifle I'd brought from over my shoulder, I activated thermal imaging and began scoping out the Umbarans hiding in their tricky landscape.
The feeling of...death….was almost too much. I had to physically pause in the battlefield and close myself off in order to stay focused. Resisting the urge to keep a part of my mind on Rex, I put all of my focus into my place in the battle.
The feelings of the clones and Umbarans faded away, as well as the deafening sound of explosions. Slowly, I felt things moving slower, my rifle never missing. I heard the pull of the trigger mechanism and saw the barrel flashing. I never stayed looking at one target long enough to see the blast hit, though.
But I knew it did.
I slowed on the next hill as Anakin and Rex took cover there. Scoping over the top of it in a crouch, I listened to the captain report to his lightsaber-wielding general. "This map has a ridge at 23 degrees north, northwest."
"Good, we can use it as a staging area," Anakin replied, easily blocking fire for both him and Rex.
They advanced, Rex calling over his shoulder at his men. "Keep moving! We gotta claim that ridge! The other battalions are counting on us!" He was met with a chorus of cheers and battle cries. I couldn't help but crack a proud smile as I moved forward as well, still using the thermal scope on my rifle.
"Don't stray too far!" Anakin yelled as he ran alongside an AT-RT. "The enemy could have the whole place rigged with traps."
It was in that exact moment that I realized I had never seen all-out war. Not until that moment. I'd been in countless fights with the clones and Jedi...but they'd all either been space or in relatively close quarters. They never had the chance to get massive.
And bounty hunting never featured a full-out battle unless you were a mercenary, which I never did.
I was thankful that I was never exposed to it before understanding my connection to the Force. If it had been back when I was just scratching the surface of understanding who and what I was….I probably would have lost the battle the darkness long ago.
And I never would have found my way back.
My heart ached for the clones. I knew they were trained and battle-hardened for this very reason-to deal with the trauma of war. But I knew that they felt loss, even if they hid it well. I knew they grieved for the senseless death of their family.
"I can't even see the enemy," Tup yelled beside me as I continued to pick off the Umbarans with thermal. The clones weren't given that gadget, unless they were specialized.
Jesse ran up beside us, still firing his rifle, despite the fact that I could see he wasn't actually hitting anything. I couldn't hold it against him, though. I'd be hitting nothing either without the thermal….and the Force. "That's why they're called the Shadow People, Tup," he teased, making me chuckle as I took aim again, never ceasing in walking forward.
"You did your reading," I joked, my eye still at my scope. "Keep studying hard and you'll be an ARC in no time."
"Yeah, in his dreams," Fives yelled from somewhere in the mist and hellfire.
It was weird….to joke while men died around us. While we took the lives of our enemies with the twitch of a finger. While we ran through fields of death and destruction. But somehow, it helped. It made the horror bearable. Reminded you that others were experiencing the same thing as you. You'd have people who understood later.
So long as everyone made it out, that is.
The Force whispered, tickling at the hair on my neck. My scope lifted obediently at its call, spotting what it wanted me to see. "Cannons!" I cried, temporarily deactivating thermal to save my retinas when they fired.
"Everybody take cover!" Rex ordered as the first cannons began to rain explosions over us. We pushed on, taking as much cover as we could while running. Stopping meant certain death, so this was the only way.
Other than going back in time and telling myself to not get out of bed the morning before leaving.
My heels dug into the ground when I heard screaming. Hardcase, the Force whispered. I turned, seeing what I had thought were vines begin to lift into the air. They were tentacles-attached to a rather angry looking mouth. My first thought of recognition was that it resembled the Sarlacc on Tattooin. The second thought was that we were all screwed if we didn't handle that right now.
I threw my rifle over my shoulder in its sling, goggles sliding up on my forehead and drew my lightsaber without a thought. The blade ignited under my touch as I leapt into the air, slicing through the tentacle that was trying to feed Hardcase into its mouth.
He fell to the ground beside me as I landed on the balls of my feet, the white blade extended at my side. By the time I looked up, though, the creature already had four more clones in its grasp, one going down its gullet.
"That's not right!" Hardcase yelled with disgust, resetting his grip on his rotary blaster. Fives was suspended in the air, but I saw him drawing a detonator from his belt. I shifted sideways, slicing through three more tentacles to free clones. Fives tossed the detonator like a treat, the creature happily eating it up.
Only to blow up from the inside.
Fives, being the only clone left suspended, was the only one to fall hard on his ass. Hardcase was there, helping him up in a moment. "Nice work, Fives."
"You're welcome for saving your life," I joked to Hardcase, giving them a roll of my eyes as I tossed Fives his dropped blaster.
The tattooed clones returned the expression before cracking smiles. "Thank you for saving my life, Kida," Hardcase called as we went back to pushing our front line forward. His voice was comical, but I heard the wince he tried to cover. The creature throwing him around certainly hadn't felt good.
We moved up to join the group, finding them closing in on the cannons. Lightsaber still in hand, I rushed the front line with Anakin, slicing through a cannon with him. It was all we needed. The single explosion created enough of a hole in their lines that it allowed our forces to flood through like a raging river. We worked methodically, groups splitting off at every destroyed cannon to establish control over the ridge. When enough were destroyed to prod Umbaran retreat, we finally let ourselves have a minute to rest.
The Umbarans had dug a trench across the top of the ridge, giving us perfect cover from their forces that now resided on the opposite side. The men immediately posted up as lookouts, the AT-RTs stationed before us for extra cover.
I'd made sure to find Hardcase, finding him resting beside Fives, Jesse, and Tup. They all had their helmets off. I sat beside him, feeling out with the Force to find him hurting. Trying to be discreet, I put my hand on his shoulder. "How do you feel after taking a beat down from that thing?" I asked with a smile, hiding the fact that I was willing the Force to heal him. At least a little.
"Like I just came out of my incubation tube," the clone winked.
I needed more time. I traced my fingers over the few sharp lines in his shoulder guard that the sharp vines left. "It was like the Sarlaac on Tatooine," I mused absentmindedly, focusing on healing.
"Vixus, actually," Jesse said over a bite of his ration, flashing me a crooked grin. He lifted a single finger and tapped it against his temple. "I did my reading."
I laughed, the light feeling bursting forth from my chest and down my arm. I felt it work within Hardcase, healing him slowly. My hand left his armor, knowing it would continue to help him for a bit, while he rested.
"General Kenobi's battalion, sir?" My head lifted at the sound of Rex's voice without the modulation of his helmet. I found him in a moment, seeing him standing beside Skywalker as they examined the battlefield through electrobinoculars.
Anakin looked away from the Umbaran line to address his captain. "They're pushing towards the capital. We'll need to move out as soon as the men are ready."
I sighed, looking down. I wasn't too tired, just yet. And I knew Jesse was only munching on his rations because he could and didn't know when he would be able to again. Still, I wasn't looking forward to more of the bloodbath we just got through. And that was just the outside defenses.
A young clone I recognized raced by, the tattoo clear on his face. "All platoons have reported in, General," Dogma said, his back rigid.
I watched Anakin fight a small smile. "Get some rest," he ordered gently.
"Thank you, sir," Dogma replied evenly, before adding. "I'm fine." My eyebrows lifted, even Fives turning where he was resting to look over my shoulder with me.
Rex stepped towards his brother slowly. "The general's given you an order, Dogma."
"Of course, sir." The young clone was quick to respond, running off to follow the order immediately, I'm sure.
"He's wound tight," Rex allowed, returning to Anakin's side. "But he's loyal."
Skywalker chuckled. "He kind of reminds me of you." My lips quirked, Fives watching my face. My elbow jabbed into his side gently, making him laugh.
"Maybe," Rex sighed, his voice deepening while he looked over the battlefield. "Back in the day."
"Ah," Fives whispered so only I could hear, our faces beside each other as we eavesdropped. "I wonder why our good captain isn't wound quite so tight these days, huh?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Maybe he has some….biases when it comes to the fairness of our rules?"
I chuckled, but my face grew stoically cold when I turned to him. I put my finger in his face, speaking as quietly as he had. "If you ever even think about telling Dogma anything-"
The ARC lifted his hands in a mock salute immediately. "I'd rather die."
"Thank Ka'ra," I laughed, earning a playful shove from my friend. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized he was the brother I wish I could have had with Boba. Able and independent, but playful and loving, too. I trusted him to take care of himself, but knew we'd take care of each other if we needed to.
And then my laughter stopped, my eyes going distant as a cold washed over me. A darkness of foreboding. Like someone was whispering, "look out" down an abandoned hall. Fives frowned at me, concerned coloring his features.
"Kida?" he asked, knowing I never wanted him to call me 'Miss.' "What's wrong?"
I shook my head, my gloved fingertips touching my brow gently. "I don't know." There was the sound of gunfire, all of our heads turning.
"The enemy's circled behind us," Fives announced, pulling on his helmet as we all raced to join.
"Everybody," Rex called, gathering the troops, "We must defend our backs!"
"What the hell is that thing?" I heard as we ran, my legs slowing to see a tiny bug-like creature, completely encased in electricity. It leapt onto a clone, the man screaming in anguish before falling dead.
My nose crinkled as I snarled, saber igniting in my grasp. I leapt forward, easily slicing through the bug. The Umbarans were attacking us from behind, hidden in the same trees we had used for coverage to take the ridge. I switched back to my thermal-imaging rifle, doing my best to pick them out of their hiding places. Sliding into cover behind a dip of the landscape, I set up my rifle over the lip, laying fire over any Umbaran who dared to pop out of their cover.
"I've called in an air strike on the enemy positions," Rex reported to his general, his back against the rocks.
"Let's hope they're not too busy helping Obi-wan," Skywalker replied. In the madness of our battle, I'd almost forgotten that there were countless others just like ours going on all around the planet. The planet was already one of darkness...but all this death would likely create festering holes for the Dark Side.
"There's an opening to our south," Rex continued, ever the planner. "I recommend we move all platoons off the ridge in case the air strike overshoots." That was an incredibly fair point. I was glad for my good, handsome captain's presence. I liked having him fighting at my side.
"Everyone move out now!" Anakin's order was obeyed in seconds, the clones pulling off the ridge. Rex waited a moment for most of his men to pass before following Skywalker. His hand touched my back as he went-a silent signal for me to follow sooner rather than later.
I listened, throwing my rifle over my shoulder and racing through the trenches. We had to make our way down the opposite side of the ridge, ducking into the scarce cover the open landscape offered down there. It was covered with a thick veil of mist, but the ridge was still clearly swarming with Umbarans.
"All here, sir," Rex said a minute later as he reported back to our group.
"Stay covered," Anakin ordered from where he looked out at the ridge. "We have to hold the position." We all shifted, pressing our backs against the cover to stand in wait. I closed my eyes, trying to ease the anxiety from myself and the clones. With our backs pressed against the base of the tree, no one saw Rex's fingers brush mine, gently squeezing them behind the cover of our bodies. It was nice.
And reassuring that the beautiful dream that exists in my apartment on Coruscant is, if not actually real, at least a dream we share.
"Are you sure those bombers are coming?" Tup asked after a few moments of painful silence.
"Patience," I hummed immediately, earning a low chuckle from a few of the clones. A moment later, the low roar of engines sounded over the rolling hills. Two bombers came into view in the sky, dropping bombs perfectly where they were called in.
"Good old OddBall," Jesse cheered, seeing the ridge ignite in a flurry of explosive colors. "Always on target."
Anakin chuckled when we all finally moved out of cover. "Glad we got off that ridge."
"Yeah," Hardcase chuckled as he walked up behind us. "Ha! That'll teach 'em!"
I sighed gently, my eyes looking over the ridge as we began to set up a new staging area. "Or it could just piss them off."
Rex glanced sideways at me before peeling off to begin setting up our staging area. Helmets came off as Anakin went back to planning.
"So," Hardcase said as he slouched along the ditch beside me, helmet in hand. "You're using a lightsaber openly now?"
I raised my brow at him, giving him a smirk. "Don't pretend Fives didn't already tell you."
He laughed. "Fair enough. It's cool. You look like a genuine Jedi out there." His eyes glanced over my attire. "Minus the guns, of course."
"Well, I'm not a Jedi," I responded easily, rising from his side. "So I have no code against punching you."
"I'd believe her, if I were you," Jesse called as he walked over to join us, touching his nose sadly.
I waved my hand at him dismissively. "Would you drop that? That happened forever ago and your nose looks fine!" There were some confused looks between the newer additions to the 501st, such as Dogma and Tup. I lifted my brow, smirking. "You didn't tell them."
"Tell us what, sir?" Dogma asked, his back rigid. I gave him a once over, but ignored him.
"During my first-ever run-in with the 501st, I happened to punch Jesse in the face," I admitted, more gloating that shy, to be honest. The younger clones looked shocked, making me laugh.
"No, no," Jesse laughed, coming over and throwing his arm over my shoulders, catching me in a headlock. "She didn't just punch me. She broke my damned nose."
I struggled in his grasp while the clones laughed at us. Finally getting leverage beneath him, I planted my feet and twisted in his hold. His arm came with me, his wrist clenched in my fingers. In a moment, I was above him, holding his arm behind his back. "And it healed great, don't you think?" I asked jokingly as the clones guffawed at their struggling brother. "It could have been so much worse."
"Alright," Jesse practically whined below me. "I get it, I get it!" I let go, the clone rolling his shoulder and casting me a sad look. I only smiled at him, moving to sit back down.
I stopped, though, my ear pricking up at the sound of a gunship engine. It was coming closer. My gaze lifted, the clones around me beginning to sober from their laughter as they followed my line of sight.
Fives got up and followed me through the mist of Umbara to get closer to where Anakin and Rex were still planning. The gunship's floodlights washed over us as it landed, revealing an imposing silhouette. The Force rippled with power around him, but it wasn't like Anakin's. Anakin's Force signature was mesmerizing in its blinding light. This figure's made me recoil from its power, but also its mystery.
It worried me. The Force was often hard to interpret...but this almost felt blatantly mixed up messages in order to remain a mystery.
The figure hopped from the gunship, his heavy feet thumping on the dirt. As he approached, he became more visible. He had four arms and a prominent three-pronged head crest-A Besalisk.
"General Krell's here?" Dogma said, approaching us from behind. I jumped, my focus having been on the approaching figure. So the Besalisk was a Jedi. A well-known one, at that.
"Something big must be going on," Fives muttered back, glancing between me and his brother.
I ignored the clones, stepping a bit closer to listen as the Jedi approached our own General. "Master Krell," Anakin greeted formally, "My thanks for the air support."
"Indeed, General Skywalker," Krell responded, crossing one set of his arms across his chest. His voice raised the hairs on my neck immediately. I wasn't sure why, but something was...off.
Maybe It was just my natural-bred paranoia.
"The locals have proven to be more resourceful than we anticipated," Krell continued, his voice lightening in tone.
Anakin nodded slightly, but his face was solemn. "But that's not the reason for your visit," he guessed.
"No," Krell confirmed. "The Council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effective immediately." Shock rippled across the clones, even flashing across Rex's face.
"What?" Anakin exclaimed, equally as confused. "Wh-why?"
Krell's signature-which I was watching very closely-never wavered. "I'm afraid a request was made by the Supreme Chancellor and the Council obliged." Krell shrugged slightly. "That is all they would tell me."
Ah. So that was the reason for the weird feeling. Krell's presence was because he was taking over for Anakin. Anakin must be in danger, in some way. I was still wary of the Chancellor, despite doing my best to support the Republic. Maybe he was the weird feeling I was getting from Krell.
A residue from the creepy old man.
"Well, I can't just leave my men," Anakin argued. The clones all seemed to straighten a bit at his words. I smiled. They were proud to follow Skywalker into battle. They were proud because he was proud of them. He fought with us, every time we went into battle. Fought for us.
"I'll be taking over in the interim," Krell assured. I worried silently. Would I be going with Anakin? I had no issue with Krell taking command, as the 501st would handle everything anyways. But I didn't want to leave Rex alone without myself or Anakin there. Especially since Ahsoka wasn't on the ground with us.
"Don't worry about a thing, sir." Rex's voice drew my attention back, seeing him trying to reassure his general. "We'll have this city under Republic control by the time you get back."
Skywalker seemed soothed, even just a little. He grinned, looking up at the interim general. "Master Krell, this is Rex, my first in command. You won't find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere." I smiled, feeling my captain's chest inflate slightly from his general's praise. I could compliment him all day, but it was nothing compared to Anakin. I understood. I was like that with Jango.
"That's good to hear," Krell replied curtly, looking over the clone captain with a hard eye.
"And I should introduce Kida," Anakin continued, catching me by surprise when he picked me out where I loomed in the mist. I stepped forward, putting on my bounty-hunty face. "She's under contract with the Republic and a good friend of mine. I'll be leaving her here to assist you."
"Yes," Kreel responded, almost droning. "I have been briefed on young Miss Fett's….abilities." He cleared his throat slightly as I fought the urge to scowl at him. "As well as the concerns of the Council. But rest assured," he smiled at me, as if giving me a compliment. "I know what is cause for concern and am confident in my ability to detain you, should you become an issue."
I crossed my arms over my beskar, giving the Jedi a glare. "I'm so glad."
"Of course," Anakin leapt in, doing his best to defuse a situation before it arose. "That won't be necessary. I trust Kida with my life. She's incredibly talented and I advise you use those abilities during the taking of the city. There's a reason we brought her along."
Master Krell gave us all a smile, his shoulder relaxing. "Of course. I wish you well, Skywalker."
Anakin gave us all a final glance before walking past Krell and into the gunship that dropped him off. It took off, our general flying away. I glanced at Rex, cutting my eyes to Krell's back with question. Rex rolled his shoulders slightly before stepping forward.
"Your reputation precedes you, General," he commented, "It's an honor to be serving you."
"I find it very interesting, Captain," Krell replied, my hackles raising immediately at his tone. "That you are able to recognize the value of honor, for a clone."
I watched Rex's face warp in sad recognition, glancing sideways at the Jedi. My heart ached. He'd seen this before. In other Jedi. Bounty hunters. Civilians. Senators. Everyone.
"Stand at attention when I address you," Krell snapped, the captain immediately stiffening...as well as all the other clones.
I moved to step forward, but stopped, feeling Rex quietly wishing for me to stay back in his mind. I obeyed, for his sake, rather than my own. Still, I wasn't going to stand at attention.
"Your flattery is duly noted, but it will not be rewarded. There's a reason my command is so effective and it's because I do things by the book." He was walking amongst the clones now, glaring in their faces.
I stepped up next to Rex, my gaze dark as I watched the Jedi's back. Rex's hand brushed mine for only a brief moment, but I got the message. He wanted me to cool it. Respect the chain of command. Fine. I'd listen.
For now.
"And that includes protocol," Krell continued ranting as he walked amongst the clones. "Have all platoons ready to move out immediately. That is all." He strode away, disappearing into the mist.
I expected the clones to be livid, like I was. Instead, they just seemed annoyed. Fives looked over at us with a dramatic roll of his eyes. Rex only sighed, stepping forward to organize his men. He said nothing to me, putting his helmet on as if to try and block me out. I pursed my lips after him, but didn't follow.
"Sometimes they're like this," Fives sighed as he fell into step with me, his helmet still under his arm. "It's something we have to...get used to."
"That's not right."
"Oh?" he laughed, nudging my shoulder slightly. "There aren't many fighting for us in the Senate, Kida. We aren't...human to a lot of them."
I stared at the ground as we walked, my thoughts teetering on darkness. I did my best to steer them away. "Well I'm going to have to find some kind of silver lining to this situation."
Fives shrugged. "Winning?" I lifted my brow at him, but didn't get the chance to say anything.
"Fett," I heard Krell call from somewhere in the mist. I winced, my hackles raising again. He didn't call again, and I had a feeling he wouldn't.
"Better go," Fives whispered, putting on his helmet. "Have fun."
As I walked, I could feel the Jedi prodding at my mind with the Force. I recoiled slightly, immediately building a mental wall. I'd gotten pretty damned good at it, considering I'd taken to spending my time with Jedi. Of course, Yilria had taught me a lot when I had to hide my conferring with her from Darth Bane.
"In the future," Krell said, still turned away from me as I approached, "You will not keep me waiting when I call." I didn't respond, standing in silence behind him. "You will reply when I speak to you, Fett."
I swallowed, biting my cheeks to refrain from saying something bad. "Understood." He looked over his shoulder at me, raising his brow implicatively. I knew this game. It reminded me of how the Zygerrians would treat slaves. Taunting us with their power over us. I swallowed thickly again, lifting my chin. I knew the game, and I didn't want to play. But I knew the deal with the Republic. "Sir," I bit out.
Krell accepted it, turning to face me fully. "I've read all the information the Council has on you to prepare myself," he launched right into it, making my eyebrows raise in surprise. "And my decision is that I don't trust you." He waved one of his hands when I opened my mouth to argue. "Not for your heritage or profession. I look down on you for both, but neither hinder my trust." I gaped but said nothing, too shocked to form words. "Your track record shows an incredible amount of free-thinking and disobeying orders. That's not how my command works."
I swallowed, glancing over the imposing Besalisk. "I've only disobeyed orders when I knew they were wrong."
"That's not your right," Krell growled lowly, my lips smacking closed immediately. That was annoying. It was a knee-jerk reaction I developed from my time as a slave. I usually schooled it down quickly, but most of my competitors weren't Force-sensitive and endlessly battering at my mental walls. I had to constantly block him mentally and verbally….simultaneously.
It was hard.
"You don't have the qualifications as a bounty hunter," he spit the word like it was sour on his tongue, "To question my orders. Is that understood?"
I swallowed for a moment in silence, earning a hard look from the general. Finally, I sighed, feeling the tension of the clones around us. If I denied the Jedi, he'd either kill me or have me taken off the mission. Then I wouldn't be around to keep an eye on my boys.
It was true, I knew the game. And I didn't want to lose it. But….sometimes you had to appear to lose, in order to win in the long-run. Breathing slowly, I solidified the mental wall I built against the Jedi, planting myself firmly. I looked Krell in the eye, showing the fire I was containing in my eyes, as if warning him to set it loose. When I spoke, my voice was deceptively even, almost completely hiding the bite in my words.
"Yes, sir."
Author's Note:
Watching Umbara is making me want to have Kida just stab Krell and move on. Of course I can't for both canon and character development reasons. But it's SOOOOO tempting. Might write alternate ending for my own pleasure lol.
As always, reviews/likes/comments/shares are appreciated and encouraged!
-Ryder