Walon had been waiting for this; he heard the steps coming up the ramp, as he completed his last few checks. Kal's footsteps, though his signature limp had disappeared.
"Did it have to be him, you shabuir."
He waited for the shorter man to launch himself at him. That was what he had come for.
"It was an agreement we had."
He could see the muscles in Kal's cheek twitching, as he was grinding his teeth.
"Sev deserves a chance like any other clone. He shouldn't have been left behind." Vau added, not saying anything about the Jedi who made the decision.
"I'm not saying that, just why A'den and why now?"
"He's best suited and the Intel is time sensitive."
And I want to get to know him. I've sacrificed years to protect her and I don't want that damaged.
Kal looked at Vau, convinced there was something else. He'd known the man for years.
"Quick in and out, based on the Intel."
"You know that hardly ever happens. Are you certain it's Sev?" Kal pushed. He knew he would have done the same for his boys in a hearbeat.
"Enacca says it's a clone and she should know."
Vau was a stubborn shabuir and Kal knew the only way he would stop him would be to kill him but Sev deserved a chance.
"There's more ordnance if you can fit it in." He said before he stomped down the ramp.
.
A'den was fully armoured except for his helmet; the black armoured Mandalorian, stood next to his ship, waiting. He never said she knew him or not. In fact he barely acknowledged her; she accepted he was worried about his Commando.
She hooked her fingers around Den's chest plate and pulled him down. "Promise you'll come back to me."
Her eyes were burning their view of him into her memory, frightened that if he didn't return she would forget him.
"You know I will. Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum."
She frowned her vocabulary not yet up to speed.
"I love you." He whispered, before pulling her tighter to him, forehead to forehead. They had said their full goodbyes earlier. This was just the last confirmation. Finally he turned away and strode to Vau's ship. The Strill, Lord Mirdalan, loped towards her and rubbed around her legs; she absentmindedly scratched its head, as it's drool dripped down.
"Mird. Come." Vau called, it raised its head to Vau, then back to her as if undecided, then it slunk back to him. Vau saluted her before they entered the ship. She didn't know why. She squinted from the back draft of the engines, in seconds they were a speck in the sky, then gone.
Feeling lost, she walked towards the med centre, keeping busy helped her and she found she retained her medical knowledge and expertise, even though it was pre clone wars. Mij was talking about letting her loose on basic stuff now.
It was full, Levet was there, a couple of the Yayax boys, Den had called them and a woman, who looked familiar and appeared to be with Cov, by the way she was standing next to him.
"Su'cuy!" She said to everyone, a few replied but not everyone. She ignored it, thinking she was imagining it.
"What can I do to help?"
"We've got this." Mij answered. "Qail needs some help checking some of her samples."
"Okay, give me a shout, if you need any help." She said brightly.
She went though to the lab, stopping with Levet to ask about a plant pot and the best soil to grow fruit trees in. He agreed to get some for her. Then she went through the double, entrances that Qail had set up when she was working on the anti virus to protect them against the Empire. Ryssa had checked out for the antibodies, when she first came here. Mij said it was highly contagious so must have been from Coric or one of the other Stormtroopers.
She heard the mutterings as she left the room and was beginning to think she was paranoid, as well as amnesiac, as she left, she let the bright façade drop.
"Hello or do I say Su'cuy gar?" She asked Qail.
"Hello is fine by me."
Ryssa glanced behind her.
"Ignore them, they'll get used to you. They did me and I was making a targeted virus to kill them all."
Ryssa was shocked, she hadn't known that.
"Yeah but you're helping to extend their lives now. Me, I'm just the weird woman who may or may not have lost her memory conveniently and may or may not be spying for the Empire; so I've heard."
"We'll you're helping them now, by helping me."
"Pfft. I may have lost my memory but I am not deaf. I hear what people are saying, but only when A'den's not with me."
"Not everyone."
"No. Not everyone. But if something is said often enough, doubt sets in."
"I'm no lover of the Empire but I deal in hard facts, so only when someone shows me exactly what you've done for the Empire, against us, or me, will I accept what they say."
"I thought you…."
"Give me the hard facts, otherwise make yourself useful."
"So what am I looking for." She asked, relieved to have something to concentrate on.
Qail brought up the information on her datapad.
"This." She pushed the image in front of Ryssa's face.
Ryssa studied it. "Exactly this or variations.
"Exactly. Then we check it chemically".
"Okay. Point me to it."
"Knew you'd be right for this." The woman smiled. "There you are. Once those have been checked we have another batch to prepare."
"You did all these yourself?" Ryssa pulled out the first one to look at under the electron microscope, to check if it had acted as the computer programme predicted.
"No. Scout normally helps me but she's busy now, first with you and now the chips."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Not your fault. It's Palpatine."
Ryssa couldn't miss the hate in her voice, even though it was commonplace now.
"What did he do to you?"
"Killed my planet."
Ryssa pulled the first specimen up under the microscope and started to examine it. What could you say to that?
.
"Take a break!" Qail's voice broke through her concentration. She had been losing herself in the work; it was easier than facing some of her problems.
"Go and get something to eat. There's always something in the kitchen."
Ryssa turned to go, "Aren't you coming?"
"I'll just finish this, then I'll follow."
"Want me to get you something?"
"No, it's okay, see you there."
Ryssa wandered through to the Kitchen, it was easy enough to find, since she had been going in there a little more often.
"Ad'ika!" Kal shouted out to her as she entered, "Come over here." It didn't sound like an order but she treated it as one, just like everyone did, and headed over to him. Almost as soon as she sat down, Laseema appeared with caf for both of them and a sandwich for her.
"A'den left strict instructions to make sure you ate something."
"Thank you."
"So Ad'ika, how are you feeling?"
"Still a little lost at the moment. I miss him already."
"I heard you two were getting on better."
"Yes. We're working on it. I still can't remember, things, situations and people. But the feelings. They're still there."
She felt comfortable sitting talking to him; she must have known him and felt the same before.
"Good, good." He patted her hand. "You can always come to me you know, always." He had lost one daughter in law, and didn't want to lose another. He could see Ny watching him out of the corner of his eye. She had warned him not to pressure her, not after he'd almost lost A'den.
"I can't believe how much I miss him."
"Come here." Kal gave her a hug, she tensed up but he ignored that; she would get used to him.
"It was one of my dreams for my boys that they would have someone waiting for them at home. I thought three of them had managed it."
She wasn't sure what to say to that; she had never thought of herself as someone who sat at home waiting.
"So what are you doing?" He continued, "Helping in Medbay? You're going to be a great help to us, with clones, if they're injured. You're used to treating them."
"I'm helping Qail at the moment. They didn't need me in Medbay. Or rather some didn't want me."
"Hmm. Jaing, Maze and Coric are bringing your droid back." he changed the subject.
"The last time I had a droid was when I was ten, or so. Then He disappeared."
"Coric said this was yours and it has some information we could use."
"The chips?"
"Yes. They need taking out of any newcomers. We have Force Sensitives on site here. We can't risk them."
"You want me to work with Jaing?"
"Yes, Ad'ika."
She nodded, before she bit into the sandwich, even though she wasn't hungry.
.
Ryssa woke up, it was still dark; she hadn't had a nightmare, something else disturbed her. Her window was open slightly, the cooler air helping her sleep, and now she heard voices outside.
"A'den." She smiled, pleasure at the thought of seeing him swept through her. She slipped her shoes on, threw on a coat and went to look for him.
She was disappointed, seeing Maze, Jaing and Coric alight from the speeder but then it had only been a few days and he'd not been able to say when he would be back. Coric headed towards her.
"You okay?"
"I thought…. Never mind. You all want a hot drink?"
"Get the water on, vod'ika, we'll unload everything then come inside." Jaing said, untying straps holding the crates on the speeder.
Ryssa went to the kitchen, filled up the large kettle putting on to boil. She found the mugs. The kitchen was huge and linked to the dining room with the magnificent wooden table in the middle. She rubbed her hand down following the patterns in the wood. Natural things were beginning to fascinate her even more than when she was young on Coruscant.
"It's Veshok." A clone voice said from the corner of the room; she hadn't seen him sitting there in the darkness. He rose to join her.
"Prudii. You're up late."
"Couldn't sleep."
She got the name right.
He nodded, looking at her hand. "There's a lot of that wood around here, most of the trees nearby. It's species is slow-growing, large, evergreen."
She traced her hand along the patterns of the wood grain; they were so random, none repeated.
"It's beautiful."
"It's hard wearing and plentiful."
"It can still be beautiful."
He smiled, his brother knew how to pick them. Yes. They were well matched. He knew A'den liked the natural side of things. The kettle whistled, as it reached boiling point.
"Shig?" She asked. The water had to be boiling for it to brew.
"Please."
The door opened letting in cold air and the clones walked in; the shig was ready brewing in the mugs now. She looked for cake or cookies, opening cupboard doors at random; there was always some around.
"Pantry." Said Prudii, "I'll get them."
"Of course." She should have known.
.
Kashyyyk
"Enacca's Intel good?" Asked Aden, she was more Kal's associate than Vau's but she had responded when Vau reached out. They also had a hold full of blasters and explosives, as per her request.
"It has been so far." Vau confirmed. "I'll confirm the landing coordinates, when we drop out of hyperspace.."
"What are we?"
"Traders."
"Traders? In what?"
"Anything and everything."
"Everything?"
"Kashyyyk's been opened up by the Empire to slavers from neighbouring Trandosha and Mytaranor, and it appears anyone else prepared to do the work and there are plenty. The Zygerrians are wanting to make a comeback. I think they sensed the credits. The Shabuir'e."
"Trandoshans and Zygerrians? That's going to be bad."
"You have a way with words young man."
"Given the Empire's apparent xenophobia, I'm surprised they've allowed them, although as you say— credits. I'll bet whoever is in charge is human."
"You'd win." Muttered Vau. "Here, Enacca's latest transmission." He held out a datapad.
They dropped out of hyperspace, just out of scanning distance. It was busy around this planet, with a large Imperial force planetside.
An automatic beacon warned them they were approaching 'Imperial territory G5-623', and to ensure they had the correct clearance codes.
"What?" Asked A'den. He saw Vau's frown.
"They've even renamed the planet." Whispered Vau, his voice icy cold.
"This Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck…. "
"Nasty piece of work." Interrupted Vau.
A'den turned to look at him.
"Worse than me." He added, "Don't have any background Intel on him other than what Enacca's sent."
"I'll send an encrypted request to Jaing. See what he can find out."
He read a little more of the Intel and pursed his lips.
"Wookiees reclassified as non-sentient? They aiming for another genocide? Palpatine is one fucked up Force user." A'den used an aruetii curse, it seemed appropriate.
Enacca's call sign came through, with a set of coordinates. Vau cloaked his ship, always useful thought A'den, although it stopped them using other tools. Then gently nudged it towards one of the freighters awaiting clearance. Moving slowly they came to a stop underneath. The Empires sensors shouldn't pick them up. They were much smaller than the freighter they were next to and cloaked.
They waited.
The Empire worked no faster than the Republic in certain things.
.
The clearance came through; Vau matched the freighter's speed and trajectory as it moved towards the surface. At the last minute he broke away, taking his craft to the coordinates supplied. As they headed towards the surface, A'den saw a small clearing, amongst the huge trees and Vau dropped down into it, settling the craft carefully in the middle.
They walked down the ramp, blasters drawn, followed by Mird who was taking an inordinate interest in the smells of the planet, his head held high, nostrils flaring.
"Mird. Stay close." The strill looked up at Vau, and steadied itself. A few seconds later the undergrowth parted, revealing three Wookiees. A'den recognised Enacca, who gave small greeting in Shyriiwook towards them. Behind her were two huge, armoured males, one of which had a nasty looking fresh scar running down his face and a Bow-caster, slung across his back. The other had two blaster rifles, which A'den recognised as remnants of the recent war.
She introduced them, in Shyriiwook, at least A'den hoped she did.
Bow-caster pointed to their helmets; A'den's Shyriiwook was rusty and he hadn't had time to brush up on the dialects but he got the gist, so did Vau. They carefully removed their helmets.
Bow- caster lunged at him, growling something, and picked him up in an unfriendly hug; already he couldn't breathe. He may be bigger and genetically enhanced but he couldn't take on a Wookiee.
Enacca growled so fast he couldn't keep up, she explained, he was not an Imperial. He had deserted, and his whole family. His mate had been taken by the Empire. The Empire had killed members of his family.
Eventually, the Wookiee let him down and growled, low and sad and he turned away.
Enacca explained slowly, Kriwoho had been fighting with General Yoda and when the Empire came they rounded them up. Inserting inhibitor chips in the back of their heads to control them; he managed to escape before they did his but he could not reach his mate and pup.
A'den looked at Vau, who was impassive, but it was a rerun. Almost as if they had been practising on the clones.
In the meantime, the clearing had been camouflaged and their cargo pulled out ready to leave.
They followed Enacca through the undergrowth, a safe path she said; cleared of the Empire and slavers. A'den saw the remains of Stormtroopers, Trandoshans and Zygerrians strewn at the side of the path. He wondered if they were clones and quickly checked for ID tallies but there were no breast plates or buckets on the ones he saw. He scanned further into the undergrowth; they were being watched, non sentients, avoiding them because of the Wookiees. An angry Wookiee could pull even Trandoshans apart at the arms, with no problem. The deep seated hatred between the two species had gone on for generations. Vau was silent on the coms but he could not have missed seeing the remains. There was nowhere safe on this planet for any species who were against the Empire. Sev needed to be gotten out quick.
It took several hours, trudging through the undergrowth on the ground; the Wookiee's normally lived in trees but that was too dangerous now, apart from some of the outlying areas. Finally they reached the small rebel cell.
.
Kyrimorut.
Coric knew something had happened, when he came back. She was different and yet she never said anything about regaining her memory. He stomped off to the training room; this was one thing the Nulls and Commandos had set up that he appreciated and there was everything you needed to to get a good work out or let off steam. Looking around he thought there was plenty of letting off steam happening. There was already a few in there lifting some impressive weights. He stalked over to the punch bag and pulled some gloves on, there were several pairs of varying sizes hanging there. He strapped them on tight and started.
Thwack! The bag swung up 90 degrees and more. He dodged the downswing.
"Coric?"
"Yeah." He turned to face a Null, still taller and broader than him but not quite like A'den or Ordo, or any of the others. He had soon decided they were all slightly different builds but only in the way a brother could see.
"Mereel." He introduced himself, "Let me hold for you. Don't want the ceiling damaging. We've only just finished it."
Coric nodded.
Mereel hugged the bag. "Ready when you are."
Coric let fly, getting rid of all his frustrations.
"Cross trained ARC, eh?" Mereel commented.
"Yeah. What of it?"
"Nothing. All the better, you trained and worked for what you had. The Kaminisii didn't tinker with you too much. Should be proud."
"I kriffing am."
"Good."
"Who trained you?"
"Wad'e Tay'haai."
"Good Mando'ade."
"'Lek."
These nulls were totally Mando and it was catching.
"You still have feelings for my vod, Ryssa, don't you?"
Coric stopped punching.
"Yes. A'den knows. Why?"
"He'll never let her go. Right from the beginning he's been obsessed. It's him."
"So? It's up to her isn't it?"
"He can be persuasive. They've already spent a night on the mountain alone and they share the same bed again. They're back together but then they had never really been apart. Had they?"
Coric thumped the bag harder than he had before. He was right.
She had changed.
.
Kashyyyk
Vau was mentally pacing; although Enacca had more Intel and she had seen Sev, there was someone who had seen him more often and had some up to date information. This mission was like many of his others. Hours of boredom then minutes of adrenalin spiking action. He was waiting for that.
Enacca suddenly stood up and growled under her breath; someone was coming but a friend, she thought. A man with a scruffy, sandy beard and civilian clothes including a very scuffed Bantha hide waistcoat appeared, armed with several knives and at least two ancient looking blasters that A'den could see.
"Rrrrugh arah-ah-woof?"
How do you take your coffee? A'den could have sworn that was what the man said, unless his pronunciation was so bad. He unclipped his blaster and heard Vau do the same.
"Uoo waa gaa moo." Enacca replied.
It is mealtime. A'den understood now — passwords.
"Wyaaaaaa. Ruh ruh."
The man came forward and hugged Enacca, them turned and looked at Vau and A'den, "So you're the ones looking for the wild man."
A'den was surprised by the Coruscanti accent.
"Professor Gilad Mefrid." The man introduced himself and held out his hand. Both Vau and A'den hesitated,
"Okay." he said as he pulled his hand back, "I understand you don't know me. And these days it pays to be cautious.
"We're always cautious." A'den replied, watching the man carefully.
They were ushered towards a wroshyr tree.
"We need to get off the ground." Mefrid advised, "We're in the path of the arrawtha-dyr, the herd doesn't stop and you'll get impaled on the Alpha males antlers." A Wookiee arm dropped down to pull him up, as did one for A'den and Vau, both accepted the pull up.
They were soon the equivalent of several storeys up in the tree canopy, when they came to a halt.
"Normally the houses are higher up but can't risk the Empire scanning and finding them now."
They were shown into a small room built into the tree and others led off it.
Vau pulled off his helmet, "So. You have the info on my boy."
"You don't look like him." The professor commented, "But he does." He pointed to A'den, who had removed his helmet again, his hair plastered to his head. The climate was giving his armour and flight suit problems. "His brother clone?"
"Pfft." Huffed Vau. "So you've seen him up close and lived?" Asked Vau.
"He's only interested in killing Imperials or so it seems. But that's put him in Moff Tolruck's sights both figuratively and literally."
"He's hunting him?"
"Literally. He likes hunting, especially sentients."
.
Wyaaaaaa. Ruh ruh. ("Hello. How are you?")