Hey lover why you gone?
Hold on, I'm almost there
It's too late you've killed the trust
Don't act so unaware so
Why are you so destructive?
Do you realize what you've done?
You can't bring it back to life now
What are you running from?
Peek in, sneak about
I'm gonna snoop and call you out
I've caught you, you're hands are red
Now I'm your broken hearted detective
I don't like the way it feels
I just want you to be real
Hey girl, save the liar
Can't you see his pants on fire?
I'm rummaging through your closet
Imagining all the worst thoughts
The apartment was incredible. The salon space below it was also completely amazing but she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that it was all hers. For now she was focusing on the three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a full kitchen! What was Genna supposed to do with all this space to herself?
Certainly not fill it up with the few purchases she had made in Iziz. She laughed uproariously when she and Sloan managed to get everything up the stairs and the boxes of waiting to be assembled furniture barely made a footprint in the floorplan.
Technically he did all of the heavy lifting while she had to grasp the handrail and force her legs to do the work. This was exactly the sort of thing that her physical therapist had suggested would be good for her to build up her endurance.
So the first thing she did, after she commed the landlord of the other place she had looked at and listened to him grumble about returning her deposit, was to use those credits to buy the adorable little antique sofa she had seen in the window of the upscale second hand store and have it scheduled for delivery later that day. Then the two of them set to work deciphering the instructions for all of the other purchases she had made.
Genna and Sloan joked that what they really needed were Tech's translation and mechanical knowledge and Ellie's agility and insight to do the job but they made do with their own half-shebed efforts. And then while the sofa was being delivered Sloan offered to go and grab them something to eat and came back with a couple of bottles of a lot better wine than he usually purchased when he was drinking alone.
Then the party began.
"Here's to your move up in the Galaxy." Sloan lifted his glass. "Although, I totally knew my way around that other neighborhood from frequenting it during my pre Ellie days."
Genna gasped a laugh and snorted a bit of her own wine, coughing. She had realized that the apartment she had thought she was able to afford was in a dodgier area but she hadn't known it was quite the red light district. "At least you had the Lord's daughter to come and fish you out and get you shipshape for duty after your carousing."
"Aye, my baby sister came more than once to douse me over the head with a bucket of water to get me on my feet." He took another drink. "You know I think she's a bit jealous of you."
"Jealous of me? With her posh upbringing in a castle and her crates of credits?" And her living family that she can visit anytime she likes .
"You're free." He added wistfully. "Free to do whatever you want with your life, to love whoever you choose."
"Can't she? I thought the days of arranged marriage are over."
"When you've been told that one day your marriage will strengthen the north and ensure political stability, love doesn't really enter the equation. She dated Lux because they thought they could unite the north and south. You know what she told me one night? Love isn't meant for people like me. Like she didn't even deserve it." He snorted in disgust but remembered where he was and changed the subject. "And you got to go on an adventure with her favorite big brother while she had to stay home and mind the store." He winked or is it considered a blink if you've only got one eye?
"You're a brilliant ori'vod . She's lucky to have you." She took a long drink. "And so is Ellie."
Before either of them could dissolve back into melancholy he jumped up, poured himself and her another glass of wine, and rubbed his hands together. "What do you say we take a stab at that armoire before we're both too sloshed to see straight?"
…
Omega gazed with wonder at all the Senate pods that were now empty and asked, "why are you doing this for us, for all of the clones, I mean?"
Riyo sighed. "Back during the war there was a trooper who…"
"Did you love him?" Omega guessed from her tone.
Riyo was speechless.
Omega spun around to face her with a grin. "Did you want to marry him?"
"Marry?" she choked. "I didn't think that was possible."
Omega leaned in closer and whispered, "you see when two people love each other very much…"
"Yes! I know about that part of it! I just… Marriage is a legal contract and I thought with the clones' legal status…"
Omega shrugged. "Tech is married."
Again the senator was rendered speechless at the revelation.
"We're not supposed to tell Phee about it. We like her but we're not quite sure who she works for. But you work for Rex and for our rep-re-zen-ta-shun!" Omega pronounced each syllable of the word as if it tasted good on her tongue and looked out again over the gathering place of the Galactic Senate. "I think he wouldn't mind if I told you."
And then Riyo couldn't help but laugh. "I think that you would make a very good senator, Miss Omega."
"You don't have to worry about my brothers getting that data about Rampart." Omega assured her with a grin. "Maybe they can find out where your boyfriend is, as well, and then we could be sisters!"
…
The first thing Genna noticed when she forced her eyes open was that the armoire was still in pieces on the living room floor, halfway assembled before it had been abandoned. Maybe she shouldn't have drank all that wine last night. She and Sloan would have gotten so much more done if they'd been sober.
Instead, Genna remembered stumbling around the apartment laughing and trying to find food, then doing something that involved running water and a chemical smell, before she stumbled onto the couch next to …
Her eyes snapped open and she whipped around. Sloan Murphy lay draped over the back of the couch, his mouth open in a snore. Did they -? Genna looked down and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw all her clothing was still in place. At least they hadn't completely lost their inhibitions. Still, sleeping on the same couch with a man not her husband was not going to go down on her list of proud accomplishments.
"Sloan, wake up."
Sloan snored in reply and Genna was about to try again when the wine she'd drank last night decided to make a reappearance. She bolted for the fresher and just made it to the toilet in time.
Her hair flopped in her face (gods, please let the pink color be a trick of the light and not permanent hair dye that would explain the chemical smell) and she fumbled for a hair tie. What had they gotten into last night? She was no stranger to hangovers but they usually weren't this bad.
Just to illustrate that point a knock on the apartment's front door took on a volume comparable to a blaster cannon.
"Genna?" Shara Blackwell called and Genna slumped over the toilet, unable and unwilling to move. Of course Shara was going to show up now of all times. Maybe if she stayed put she could pretend she wasn't home and then -.
There was the sound of boots hitting the floor and some unintelligible muttering about "Dal" and "Ellie" and "too early for this osik" and before Genna could make a move she heard her apartment door opening.
"Morning, Aunt Shara," Sloan said thickly. "What are you doing over here?"
"I brought Genna one of my fruit cakes for a housewarming gift." Genna didn't have to see the older woman to know her eyebrow was raised. "I can't say I expected to run into you."
"Genna? What's Genna got to do with …" Sloan trailed off and then swore under his breath. "Kriff! It's - it's not like that, I swear. Genna's, Genna's uh…"
Genna vomited in reply and two sets of footsteps pounded through the apartment until Sloan and Shara appeared in the 'fresher behind her.
"Are you alright?" Sloan dropped to his knees beside her.
Genna nodded, the nausea abating. "I'm never drinking again."
Shara smoothed her long skirt and set down the basket containing the housewarming gifts. "Perhaps I should have thought of bringing a pregnancy test?"
"And that would be my cue to exit," Sloan said.
…
"Get this to Senator Chuchi! Hurry!" Rex handed off the data to Omega and watched her run back into the building with the senator's guards on her heels.
Echo shifted the speeder into gear to take them back to meet the others at the Marauder. "I hope we got the proof they needed to the senator on time."
Rex patted his shoulder. "Riyo Chuchi is one of the good ones. She'll do everything she can."
"I have to say, it feels good to be doing something useful again." Echo admitted. "Not that I haven't done my part with the squad."
"I know what you mean. Their priority is Omega and keeping a low profile…"
"They saved my life, along with you and the General!" Echo shifted the speeder into park at the side of the traffic lane letting another impatient driver pass him by.
Rex sighed. "That doesn't mean you have to go into hiding with them if there's somewhere else you feel you need to be."
Echo gave him a stiff nod and reached for the control for the radio on the dashboard. "There's a channel that broadcasts the Senate sessions, isn't there?"
"I believe so." Rex had never tuned in to such a thing but it would be interesting to hear what was going on.
"I think I found it."
Echo tweaked the dial until the static reduced and they could hear Riyo Chuchi's voice speaking out proudly to the entire Senate.
" I assert that the Kaminoan cloning facilities were intentionally eliminated! "
There was a clamor from the gathering and then Rampart's response. " I will not dignify such baseless accusations with more of my time ."
Echo swore and then apologized, "sorry, Captain."
"No, I agree."
Then they both went back to listening.
" If there are no further issues, let us proceed with this vote ."
" I motion that Senator Chuchi be removed from these proceedings, and she be censured for her misconduct ."
This comment elicited a similar curse from Rex. "Where is Omega with that data file?"
He didn't blame her of course, only worried that something might have held her up.
" I second the motion ," another delegate wheezed.
But before they could take action Bail Organa's voice rose above the tumult. " Senators, new evidence has come to light that must be considered ."
Echo gave Rex a nod and a smile of relief.
" What so called proof do you have? "
Riyo announced victoriously, " the recovered command log from Admiral Rampart's Venator. Which indicates his own ships caused the destruction of Tipoca City ."
The two clones could not of course see the images that were played before the Senate but they could hear the audio and Echo remembered what it had been like to witness the event from inside the cloning facility.
Rex noticed his brother's distress and placed a hand one again on his shoulder. "She did it! Rampart will be brought to justice."
The Senate seemed to be in an uproar but after a moment the audio of the bombing cut out and an alarm sounded. Gradually the noise from the broadcast quieted.
A new voice, that of Mas Amedda, the Emperor's Grand Vizier, spoke to the assembly. " It would appear that Senator Chuchi's horrific assertions are correct ."
The crowd gasped.
" This unprovoked attack on Kamino was a cowardly act by Admiral Rampart to further his own personal agenda. Guards arrest and detain the Admiral ."
Rampart's voice could still be heard as he was taken into custody. " I was just following orders !"
That sounded a little too uncomfortably familiar.
But Amedda continued, " Order! We shall have order! "
Suddenly there was silence from the Senate chamber and a voice spoke that was all too recognizable.
" I am deeply troubled by this recent revelation. My gratitude to Senator Chuchi for exposing a rogue element in our ranks. Many lives have been lost. But I assure you, Admiral Rampart will face the consequences for his treachery. However, he did not act alone. The fact that the clones under his command so blindly followed orders, inflicting such carnage without hesitation, gives me pause. Perhaps it is time for a change. Now more than ever, building a strong galaxy requires protection and security. Due to the nefarious actions of Admiral Rampart and the immediacy of the bill on the floor today, it is my opinion that this legislation is our future. With this momentous act we shall usher in a new era heralded by the Imperial Stormtrooper ."
"Dank Ferrik!" Rex sat back in his seat as Echo pulled heedlessly back into the traffic lane.
"We have to tell the others."
…
"This is very interesting." Tech's goggled eyes flew over the text of the document on his datapad.
Hunter tossed his knife in the air and caught it between his fingers. "You found CG-0113?"
"Yes, although I am afraid I do not have good news to relate to the Senator."
"Killed in action? Aww that's too bad." Wrecker hung his head reverently.
"Apparently so." Tech continued. "A member of the Coruscant Guard called Nova made a request to participate in the mission to liberate an Imperial governor from a faction of Separatist holdouts on the planet Desix."
"Least he went out blastin' droids."
"Yes, but that is not what I found intriguing. This report was filed by CC-2224."
"Commander Cody?" Hunter ceased his knife tossing and leaned in to take a closer look at the report.
"It would seem to be the commander's final report before he went AWOL. And that is not all." Tech held out the datapad for his brother to see. "Also mentioned in the dispatch as having taken part in the mission…"
"Crosshair."
Hunter raised his head at his advance notice of the speeder approaching.
Tech's discovery could wait for the news that Rex and Echo had to share.
"It is an unfortunate development but not entirely surprising," Tech ruminated when they had finished divulging the details.
Echo's next pronouncement, however, came as an even bigger shock. "I'm going to stay with Rex. I think I can be of more use to our brothers than just pulling jobs for Cid."
Silence greeted the declaration until Hunter stepped forward and grasped his brother's shoulder. "We always knew when you joined up with us that you might find a better fit. Rex is lucky to have you on his team."
"It's not because I want to leave the rest of you." Echo frowned.
"Of course not." Wrecker gave him a hard pat on the back. "Who'd wanna leave us?"
But Tech had still not yet spoken so Echo went to him. "You could come with us. Your forging skills would be invaluable to get new identities for our brothers who need to start over."
"You are just as capable as I am at creating chain codes from the algorithm I created." Tech snapped. "I will stay with the squad and…" He looked Echo directly in the eye, and then, avoiding the discomfort of eye contact, looked away. "In your undertaking with Rex you may have the opportunity to come into contact with Mollymauk."
Echo brightened. "I had never thought of it before but, you're right, with her network she might be a powerful ally to our cause!"
"That is not exactly to what I was referring." Tech dithered.
"You meant if I run into Genna."
"Will you pass on a message to her for me?"
"Surely you'll go to see her yourself. The Empire still thinks we're dead, right?"
Tech shook his head. "I want you to tell her that she is free to find someone else, someone who does not put her into danger by association."
"You're not serious."
And then Tech told him all that he had found out about CG-0133, finishing with, "Senator Chuchi has chosen this fight. Genna did not. She should have the opportunity to…"
"Genna chose you."
"The stakes are higher now. She may wish to change her mind."
…
"Is it Sloan's?" Aunt Shara asked gently, laying a hand on Genna's shoulder. She didn't need to see the actual result of the test since she could read it plainly in the younger woman's expression. "I thought perhaps since the two of you met in Iziz and now since you've been here and he has been so attentive."
"No," Genna shook her head, still processing the information. "He and Ellie… he's a friend. Actually my husband asked him, both of them, to look out for me." She lifted the cord out from under the neckline of her top and held out the ring that was tied to it for the other woman to see.
"Your husband?" She seemed to relax a bit at the revelation and wrapped an arm around Genna.
"He's a soldier on a mission."
At this Aunt Shara tensed again and resisted making a sign to the salt gods. "Imperial?"
"No, quite the opposite actually." Genna gave a halfhearted chuckle. "It's why I have to keep his location, his identity even… Aunt Shara, how am I going to tell him?"
"Oh my dear girl," Shara fully embraced her. Being called by her chosen moniker seemed to have unlocked the permission for her to do so. "We'll find a way to contact him and tell him the wonderful news!"
"These missions he goes on though, they're so dangerous." She hadn't really allowed herself to consider how dangerous and she couldn't now especially with the added certainty that if he didn't come back he would never meet his child.
Genna shook her head. "I don't know anything about being a mother. I flew away from my own with my brothers when I was four."
"Did I ever tell you that my mother died when I was about that age?" Shara soothed her and brushed the now strikingly pink hair out of her face. "But maybe you'd rather have some time to yourself to process?"
Genna nodded. "Could you come back another time maybe so we can talk about what I need to do and get ready and…"
"There will be plenty of time for that." Aunt Shara patted her hand and then made her exit.
…
Riyo made her promise to keep fighting and then she stepped back to let the clones say their goodbyes. With all that had happened it wasn't until they had taken off that she remembered her own inquiry. "Oh!"
"Is everything alright, Senator?" Echo asked. "I mean besides the obvious."
She wasn't going to say anything but then. "I completely forgot to ask him if he found out anything about my... friend."
Telling the next of kin about the death of a soldier was not something their training on Kamino had prepared them for. The clones were their own next of kin and other than a few training sergeants and Generals and Commanders who got more attached than their own temple training dictated there was no one else to tell when one of their brothers fell on the battlefield.
Riyo wept quietly at the news and Echo hesitantly embraced her while she cried.
