Imperial Garrison, Daro

The downloaded images of Kamino's destruction made for macabre viewing; that the Empire could obliterate a culture was obscene, and whilst she had no great love for the place, prompted by Kal and the Null's feelings, and cemented by her own visit. She wondered if some of the clones would have mixed feelings about its destruction. She was not sure if they all knew.

Ryssa couldn't drag her eyes away, as its demise played out on the screen, huge pulses of energy rained down on the city structures; she'd despised Nala Se, Taun We and Lama Su but they all weren't like that. She wondered if Laun Se had survived, she was slightly different. Another thought hit her, if it clones firing those weapons that effectively destroyed their own world.

She didn't hear the door open, she was so transfixed by the images.

"Lieutenant!" EmDee announced the visitor.

"I just wondered….." Coric stopped mid sentence, as he saw the screen, "is that Kamino?"

She twirled around.

"Lieutenant….." she looked back at the screen. It was pointless turning it off now. He had seen it. "Yes—I'm sorry."

"It wasn't the best place to grow up but it was where I was decanted, where I met my brothers, where we grew up and trained, together." He leaned on the chair back, arms braced. "So many of them gone, Jesse, Kix, Fives, Hardcase and even Rex. Now…." He wiped his hand over his face. Ryssa moved closer to him, wanting to tell him, to ease the pain; she wasn't certain if Rex had survived but his distinctive helmet hadn't been there, otherwise EmDee would have found it.

"Who ordered it and why?"

"Rampart, I think. Could just be part of his plan—their plans. I don't know."

She felt his hands squeeze hers, tight, in a vice-like grip. She hadn't realised he was holding them. She squeezed back.

"They're getting rid of us, Ryssa. All of us, all trace of the clones, wiping us out." he was looking over her shoulder, still watching.

The images had frozen on one where the Kaminoan city was exploding. He stared at it. "I know you want out of here, so do I. We'll find a way. Together."

"Yes, we'll find a way!" she echoed him.

.

Kyrimorut.

Besany watched her husband struggle. Each time he did, it ate away at her. In some respects he was so confident, so intellectually perfect, he was frightening; in others he was flawed. It was the flawed part that she loved most of all, when he looked to her, when he needed her. Nobody had needed her in that way before. He was struggling now and it was time to step in. To give him that nudge, that support then he could take the next steps himself, he learned so quickly. A tiny part of her wondered what would happen when he no longer needed her but she quickly dismissed that notion.

Together they were stronger.

She stepped up to his stooped shoulders, pressing her thumbs deep into the tense muscles on them; she felt more than heard him groan. Rubbing deep circles into his muscles. After a few minutes she slowed and planted a gentle kiss on his neck.

"I don't know what to do with A'den. I said nothing to him yesterday and the longer it goes on…" he finally admitted what was causing the stress.

"The worse it gets." She finished the sentence for him.

"Buir was so worried about him." Always back to Kal.

"Kal has Ny now." she reminded him.

Ordo stretched his neck out.

"Yes. She is helping him."

Besany dug deeper and was rewarded with another groan. Her husband took on so much responsibility, always there with Kal. At first, it felt as if there were three in their marriage. Now she was grateful to Ny for just being here. And for Kina Ha, she was a confidante, a fountain of knowledge and on things that you would never expect from a former Jedi but then she had been alive a long time.

Besany continued with the massage. "It's good he's found Ryssa. I miss her too."

"I know, you said but I didn't know about the meetings."

"That was the idea." she smiled.

"I mean, I knew about the meetings you went to but I didn't know who with, at first. I thought you were cheating on me. I was ready to kill whoever it was." Besany choked a little, knowing Ryssa's background, they could have been. That would have been awkward.

"I don't know what to say to A'den." he continued.

"What did you do when you were children and you had a disagreement?" She returned to the original subject.

Ordo thought for few seconds, yes they had argued, not often but they had, all children do. And despite being mini genius's they were still children.

"When we only had each other, we…."

"Go on then."

Ordo stared at his wife for a few seconds, then rose and kissed her. She was perfect. Perfect for him. He went to look for his brother.

A'den sat in the Ops room studying the star maps in front of him. The bastion had been quiet since his return. Buir had been fine with him, more than fine, as had the rest of his brothers, except Ordo. He and Buir had a long talk with Ny hovering in the background but it felt good to talk to him.

"So Daro is on the edge of wild space. Is she definitely there?"

He stopped, Ordo had entered the room. They hadn't spoken once since he returned. A'den rose waiting for the explosion. He turned ready.

Ordo stepped forward, A'den instinctively braced himself but was surprised when one of his brothers hands grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a bone crushing embrace against his shoulder. Momentarily shocked, he eventually wrapped his arms around his brother, it felt good. That had not happened for years. Not since before the war. Not like this.

"We missed you, I missed you, ner vod. Let's see if we can find her."

A'den slapped his brothers back, the feeling returned of being fully part of this family again and they both turned to the star maps as A'den outlined everything he had found so far.

As they worked, more and more of his brothers entered the room to help, even Corr and Jilka.

.

Imperial Garrison, Mandalore.

"Commander. We've had another tip from the same area as before."

"Continue."

"This time they say the traitor is a female Doctor, has ties to some deserters, living on Mandalore and the informant has a request."

"Let's look at what they say."

He looked over the shoulder of the intelligence gatherer, to see exactly what the request is.

"So they'll give us the full name of the traitor and more if we can get them off Mandalore and back to Imperial City."

He tapped down the screen.

"Oh dear, they really don't like it here do they." the Commander commented.

The junior officer smirked.

"We can't make the agreement, it will have to go to ISB. They'll decide if it's worth the hassle for what we get in return."

.

Medbay, Daro

He's dead!

It was all she could think about. The big red cross striking through his name, rank and designation; there was no picture or description just "clone". Deceased, it said underneath the entry. It was brutal. She flicked frantically through the screens. It was the same for all his brothers and his father.

"They're not looking for any of them any more, they're all dead." She said to herself, the med bay was empty.

"I…am… sorry….." EmDee actually sounded it.

She leaned into the countertop in the storeroom again; the initial waves of shock had stopped, leaving her whole body numb. If she couldn't feel, she couldn't hurt.

She had checked the lists daily since they were parted, her only link with him. Now they confirmed her worst fear; a fear she had been living with for years. He was gone.

She had thought it would be her, that this charade of hers would end up getting her killed, not him. He was safe with his brothers and Father, now they were all gone.

There's nothing left.

No family.

Nothing.

She didn't hear Coric enter the store room but felt him as he moved behind her, she started, startled; his hands closed over hers. They stood there, the time not registering with her until he said, "Come on, sit down." He moved her, holding her by the shoulders, to the small desk and chair; he pushed her into the chair and presented her with some water in a beaker. He had checked the warrants every day himself and when he saw today's update, he came straight here. EmDee was keeping watch, droning to itself with a small humming sound.

"I'm here for you, you know that don't you?" Just like she been for him. Kamino had hit him harder than he thought.

He checked for surveillance; just as he thought, there was none or it had been disabled. He studied the droid, it was humming some kind of soothing tune; it wasn't one he recognised.

"Fekking things defective." He muttered and turned back to her. The wanted lists this morning made for depressing reading; the ones he had thought most likely to survive had been marked as deceased. Since she had decommissioned his chip, since the destruction of Kamino that sense of brotherhood had returned and this made him angry, even more angry than before.

She would need him now and he would be here for her.

Ryssa sat at the desk feeling nothing, glancing up, Coric was there watching her. She was at a loss what to do. Everything up until now had been geared up to surviving, so that she could find him. Now that need was gone.

What do I do?

Survive?

For what?

Finally he spoke, "Do you need anything else?"

She shook her head.

"I have to go— a briefing, more trainees."

She nodded.

"I'll be back later. We can talk. Decide what to do now. Where to go.

She nodded.

"EmDee...look after her, keep her safe."

"Of course, Sir, always."

The droid seemed different when faced with this. An unsettled Coric left, vowing to be back soon.

.

The briefing led to a training exercise with the latest recruits on a simulated Beskar mine out in the wilderness. The Empire was obsessed with getting their hands on as much as possible. The scenario: Imperial scientists on a fact finding trip had been held hostage. The Mandalorians were protective of their Beskar ore and the metal workers that worked with it. The simulation had been a disaster; these recruits would be massacred on Mandalore if they ever got that far. He wouldn't be displeased with that.

They would have to face Fenn Shysa, the Mand'alor and numerous clans. Coric had never seen him in person but when he was based on Mandalore, he had studied him. He was a quietly spoken deceptive man, charismatic but obsessed with having a 'Fett', any 'Fett' as Mandalor; Coric was impressed, not with that part but he could understand why the Mandalorians followed him.

The simulation ended up taking nearly the whole day and when he returned, he de-briefed and rushed to her.

She was not in the med bay, not in any med bay.

He still had something in his pouch that he had picked up from the market, on Mandalore weeks ago. He didn't know why but when he saw it he had thought of her.

A pale blue malrieux rose trinket box, carved out of some kind of mineral; it fascinated him as when it was closed you could not see how closed. The rose petals split apart when opened to reveal the small trinket box.

Checking his HUD, there was no trace of her on the base. "EmDee. Where are you?"

There was no answer. He made his way to the Medbay.

Where the Fek is it? Coric paced up and down the room, his stomach churning. Where the Fek is she? He stopped pacing, his mind doing the pacing instead trying to think where she could possibly be. Not that there was anywhere to go on Daro, finally the Medbay door opened.

"TK94322, sir. Do you know where Dr Baey is, I'm due for a medical." Coric looked at him uncomprehendingly. He shook his head, to clear it. "She's had to check something. I'm waiting myself. She said something about rescheduling her appointments. She'll contact you with the time."

"Yes, Sir….sorry…sir."

"Hrumph."

The trooper turned and left accepting his explanation. Coric ground his teeth, he didn't like this, not one bit.

"EmDee?" He tried again.

"Sir?" Finally, the droid answered.

"Where are you? Is she with you?" Coric was out of the door before EmDee had even replied even though he didn't know exactly where he was going. He strode purposefully through the Garrison tracking the droid; it was in the main medical store, alone. It was rolling along the aisles taking a careful inventory of the supplies and ordering any top ups. A manifest droid could do it just as well.

"EmDee, where is she? Where's Dr Baey?"

"I couldn't possibly say." The droid affected a patriarchal Coruscanti accent this time.

Coric was having none of it, "Cut the osik! I need to know where she is."

"Not here." It moved along the storage compartments.

"Is she on the base?"

The droid stopped in front of an empty storage compartment, scanned the code and put in an order, "Where else would she be? Dr Baey indicated that she had some personal business to take care of and that I should leave her alone for a while. She sometimes does that."

"I'm worried about her. Was she acting strangely?"

EmDee stopped again, this time there was no storage compartment to scan. "She did seem distracted, certain of her brainwave patterns had changed indicating an emotional disturbance. I pointed this out to her and she acknowledged it. Dr Baey has always been fully aware of her emotional states. She then stated that was why she needed to attend to some personal business."

The droid waited for a further query from the stormtrooper.

She's not thinking right, she's upset."

"Dr Baey was perfectly logical when she asked me to complete a stocktake of the medical equipment on the base. It had not been done for a while."

Coric snorted, "How many times has she actually asked you to do that?"

"This is the first time. It had not been done for a while."

Coric paced up and down in front of the droid and finally said, "Can you still track where she went?"

"Of course. But she specifically said to leave her alone to conduct her personal business."

"EmDee, this personal business may put her in danger."

The droid whirred; he had not been in full protection mode since Raxus and then for only seconds before being told to stand down. Pathways that had once been used on a daily basis had become corrupted through lack of use and various "patches".

A frisson of alerts went through its protection programme, analysing what the Stormtrooper had said and he deduced the object of his protection programme may be in danger; 35% probability of injury or death at this moment but there were too many variables to give a full assessment.

I have potentially failed.

My systems needed upgrading.

I will do a diagnostic.

"She's currently on the South landing pad."

"I'll go and check on her."

She has been found. Danger reduced.

His photoreceptors, normally a pale blue colour turned yellow, as the diagnostic mode took over.

.

The South landing platform was high up, next to the top level.

"Ryssa?"

There was no reply. She was looking outward.

"Can you come away from the edge?"

Again no reply.

He moved quietly and sat next to her, legs hanging over the edge just like her. Fek! They were high up. He didn't look down.

"You know," what he was going to say was a long shot, and it may backfire in the future but he was willing to try anything, "sometimes, the persons on the wanted lists are marked as deceased, not in error, but to flush them out. It makes them less wary. They become more confident, take more chances and then they can be caught easily, especially if there are only a couple of teams on them. It reduces the number of Bounty hunters, especially if they are wanted alive, by the Emperor, Bounty hunters aren't so careful. It's easier for them to bring them in cold."

"Are you sure?"

"Did it myself, a couple of times."

"So, they could still be alive?" There was a tiny sliver of hope pushing through in her voice. Her shoulders raised a fraction.

"Yes— definitely— could still be alive."

"But in more danger?" She moved back further.

"Possibly. There were some Death Watch members around on Mandalore. It could be something they would do."

"Death Watch?"

"A faction of the Mandalorians, well more like gangsters. Like Crimson Dawn, they have their fingers in everything. Obviously with the Empire they're chancing their arms again."

She had moved away from the edge. He still didn't look down.

"What you said about getting off here?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes. I want off."

"Gregor did but someone extracted him."

He'd heard about that, it happened just before he arrived. He would have loved to meet Gregor. He'd heard Rex and Cody talk about him.

"We'd need to do it ourselves." he wanted to make sure she knew what it involved.

"Can we get to Mandalore? I need to know if he was there."

"Kal Skirata was. I saw him."

"What? Why didn't you say?"

He shrugged.

"We can get there, we'd need the right ship." he was planning already.

"Small freighter?" she suggested.

"Could work."

"What are we doing here then? Let's get back inside."

Coric pulled away from the edge; he still didn't look down.

Ryssa stood at the entrance, "I wasn't going to do anything you know." She nodded towards the edge.

"No?"

"No. I was born and grew up on Coruscant; I spent my childhood in those tall buildings and on those walkways, of travelling along the skylanes. I just had to get outside, upwards. To think."

"Yeah." he wasn't sure about that.

"Besides if I'm dead, how can I get justice for them if it wasn't a mistake?"

Yes, she had changed.

.

"You sure about this EmDee?"

"Of course." He put on his best affronted reply. He had run his diagnostics and made the appropriate upgrades. It wouldn't happen again. He was built to learn from his mistakes. He had removed the 'patch' which had interfered with it. He was now fully functional.

"Are all the deliveries made at night to the North Landing platform?"

"That is correct. Every second rotation. Between 21:00 and 01:00."

"Small freighters?"

"Yes. Otherwise they cannot land and it has to be by shuttle or LAATi, which is less efficient and takes up valuable training time."

"Are they fully automated?"

"Yes. That allows life pods and crew quarters to be converted into additional cargo space…"

"Can you hack into one?" Coric would be uncomfortable but they usually left the cockpit unaltered for organics in case something happened. He could fly most ships given the chance.

"Of course." EmDee's photoreceptors flashed. "I detect someone in the corridor."

Coric put his fore finger to his lips; they went quiet. He jumped on the gurney, pulled off a greave and parted his blacks. "Bacta bandage quick." Ryssa pulled one out and attached it. The door shushed open. Revealing two Commandos blasters raised.

"Captain Neryssa Baey, come with us. You are under arrest for treason against the Empire."