Barton IV

Rebel Base

"Tell me more about Hela?"

Mayday turned and looked straight at Donca, she looked tired, there was tightness around her eyes, probably not sleeping well. He could relate to that but he shouldn't. He spoke despite that.

"When I came from Kamino. I was a soldier, a good soldier. It was all I knew, what I had been bred for. It was all I was going to be. I fought battles with my brothers because they were all I had."

Donca nodded, this nothing new.

"The Jedi?"

He looked at her, "Having a Jedi General changed a lot of us, not all."

The Jedi purge had been well publicised, she had never met one so couldn't comment.

"Then I met this crazy girl. At first she was irritating but determined. Then—she changed my life."

Donca thought she was finally getting through to him. The Jedi were a mystery to most people and to her but she could understand having someone you loved.

"She gave me somewhere to come back to, away from the war."

"And you didn't have that before?"

"Only barracks, and although we called Kamino our home. She taught me it wasn't."

"Sometimes, home is not a geographical place." Donca replied, she understood that.

"I tried not to. Tried not to encourage her but she dreamed, I dreamed, of a day when I didn't have to be a soldier just following orders. When I had a choice, to be one or not and who to fight for. When we could just please ourselves and be together. She could retire from the singing and buy something away from Coruscant, another planet altogether. A farm, a shop or a bar, anything, just so we could be together."

"You and Hela?"

"Yeah. Me and Hela. It took my mind off the war. I didn't really think it would ever happen but when I said this to Hela, we argued. It upset her. I backed down, let her have her dream. Is that so bad?"

Donca sat on a stool.

"No, it isn't. She doesn't sound crazy."

"No. She just felt crazy to me. She decided she wanted me and that was it. I stood no chance."

"You said she was a singer wasn't she?"

"Yeah. And when she sang, you listened. You name it, she could sing anything, from High Opera to Tatooine Blues. Her range was amazing. I had never thought much about music and singing until I met her and then….. a whole new world opened up for me. It kept me going through the bad times, because there were some really bad times."

Donca saw how his face lit up when he talked about her, "How long were you together?"

"A couple of years. Every Leave on Coruscant, apart from…..."

"I bet that was difficult; the battles seemed relentless."

"It wasn't easy. Sometimes all we had was a few hours."

"That's a soldier's life."

"She was living a double life, we kept it secret from the—from most people."

"Most people?" She asked, he had stumbled over the reply.

"High Command. There didn't appear to be anything in the regs but it was probably overlooked, when they were set up. They engineered us to be sterile, they said, but we weren't. The Orders reflected that but they didn't tell us, only High Command knew. No Clone was supposed to know. Apparently eliminating Factor H, as they called it, caused problems."

Donca noticed a sadness that flashed across his face for a second.

"That must have been difficult, living a lie, for both of you."

"It was but she said she would give it all up for me."

"All?"

"Everything she had worked for. She trained for years to get where she was. The Lead singer in the Galaxies Opera House Company. Toast of Coruscant in other musicals. She'd give it all up"

Donca thought she may have him now.

"She sounds amazing." Donca said.

"When the war was over she wanted us to go back to Naboo first. Her dream, it's where she came from but that never happened. I was sent here. Then the Order came through."

"Order?" she asked, frowning.

"Sixty - six. I…" He stopped and looked at her, "Very clever. You got me talking." His voice changed, becoming slightly harder.

"Perhaps you need to talk— about some things."

She saw him close down, turning away, "Talking's over rated."

Donca cursed to herself. She had pushed too far again. She left, still disappointed with this outcome but she wasn't done with him yet.

.

Hyperspace.

En route to Ossus

"Sir?" Mayday stood to attention, waiting for the General to speak. Baylan looked concerned, studying the information that had just been relayed to his datapad.

"I'm sorry Mayday. I have some news, which is disturbing." He looked up, "at ease Mayday. I had hoped by now, that you would feel able to stand at ease when you come to my office." He looked around dismissively at his small quarters, "You know you can be at ease as soon as you walk through the door."

"Habit sir. Bad news?" He ventured.

"General Kenobi. He's been killed. I thought you should know."

"Killed? How?" Mayday had seen him fight, he thought him almost invincible with a lightsaber and the force. It was a loss. Baylan was a close second with his expertise but as Mayday noticed he had a different technique, it looked more brutal. Although a lightsaber was a dangerous weapon in anyone's hands.

"Sniper!"

"Shabuir!" Muttered Mayday; that would be the only way anyone could get near him to cut him down.

"Exactly." Baylan had picked up a smattering of Mandoa from the men, who had in turn picked it up in their training, including the younger members of the squad.

"Do we know who?"

"A bounty hunter—Rako Hardeen. He's already been arrested."

Mayday wanted to speak to Hela, check on her, see how she was coping with the news, he knew how fond of General Kenobi she was but they were in communication silence.

"Are you okay Mayday? I know you served with him for a while."

"Yes sir. It's a shock. He was a good General, exceptional fighter but we were engineered to cope with this sort of thing."

He would say his remembrance tonight, out of respect for his General.

"As were we, the Jedi, in a way. Our non attachment doctrine. But sometimes that's very difficult to adhere to."

"Yes sir."

Mayday waited, the general seemed to be pondering on something.

"Sir?"

"Call me Baylan."

"Yes sir— Baylan."

"Sit. Let's go through what we know about this mission and find the parts they have left out."

Baylan switched on the holo projector.

"Ossus. What do you know about it?"

"Early in the War, the planet fell to the CIS who established a base on the planet, but it was retaken after the Battle of Rhen Var. The information as to why they were interested in it is very sparse."

Baylan smiled, "You mean not readily available."

"Yes sir."

"It was a popular location for archaeological teams during the time of the Old Republic. Studies and many excavations of the ancient ruins were sponsored. The reason the Separatists were interested in it, bearing in mind their Leader is Count Dooku, was that it supposedly held the secret to a Sith Super weapon."

"And they're still looking for it."

"All the Intel we have points to that."

"What kind of weapon are we looking at."

"It's called the Dark Reaper. A weapon of mass destruction, it was created by the Sith in an armoury on Thule during the Great Hyperspace War and used against the Galactic Republic. It draws it energy from the living Force—"

"I beg your pardon— Baylan— but I'm a soldier not a Jedi. I can't do the Force thingy." he waved his hand to demonstrate.

Baylan smiled, "I know, I'll do the Force thingy, if it's needed. You and your squad do what you do best."

"Agreed!"

"We need to infiltrate here!" Baylan pointed to a building near some ruins, "Observe who is entering the building, identify but if we can get in— that would be better."

Mayday leaned over focusing; this was what his ARC training prepared him for.

"What exactly are we looking for?"

"Whatever the Seppies are looking for. We think they are still trying to get the secret of the Dark Reaper despite Skywalker and Kenobi destroying the site. And if they are, do they know something we don't and how far they have got."

"Can't say I understand it sir, but if it's a danger to the galaxy, we're your men to stop it."

"Well said, Mayday. Now let's brief the men."

.

Coruscant

Hela pulled herself from the warm waters of the heated pool, letting the water fall from her body back into the pool and acclimatising herself to the feeling of heaviness after being cushioned in the water. She had taken to swimming more, when Mayday wasn't here, it helped relieve the stress.

The door shushed open; it was usually empty at this time of day, as the building's occupants went about their daily roles, whatever they were. She looked up to find Zur standing at the door, holding up her towel and gown, an odd look on his face. She hadn't seen a look like that before; it was bad news.

She was tempted to drop back down in the water, to not face what he obviously had to say.

Instead she pulled herself fully out and walked towards him.

"It's not Mayday." He knew he had to put her out of that particular misery immediately.

She couldn't help the sigh of relief she let out, "Who then?".

"Obi Wan Kenobi has been shot. He's dead."

"What?" She didn't believe that; he was a Jedi, a fearless warrior despite that.

"He can't be." She stumbled forward and he caught her, as he always did, wrapping her in another towel and dressing her in her gown.

"I spoke to him yesterday." She murmured.

"I know."

"He commed me, checked how I was doing."

"I know. Let's go home. I'll explain it all."

"Where? On Coruscant?"

"Yes. But now let's go home first."

He ushered her to the door pushing her the final few steps, as her feet seemed unable to move her.

.

She stood at the large transparisteel windows looking out at the Jedi Temple; she took a sip of the Corellian brandy. It burnt her throat.

She shook her head, "I still can't believe it. Not Ben." She took another sip, "Anakin will be devastated."

"I thought the Jedi didn't have—attachments." Said Zur, standing next to her.

Hela looked at him for a few seconds before replying, "Anakin and Ben have been together since before Naboo. Anakin was nine and had just left his mother. They're like brothers and just as close."

She took another sip, "I ought to call Padme. She was close to him as well."

"Close? That's the first I've heard of that." He'd heard Obi Wan give vent to his feelings about politicians.

"They respect each other then."

Zur handed over her wrist com. "Call her!"

She drained the dregs of the glass and grasped it, hesitating before inputting the code.

"Padme?"

Zur left them to talk. He had to check in, report this change and how it had affected her. He poured himself a drink, he was needing more to cope with what he was doing and walking this fine line.

.

Palpatine's Office

"My dear. It's so good to see you." The chancellor held out his hand.

Hela walked over and took it, he wrapped his own hands around her, in support but also it gave him a greater sense of how she felt, although the sadness radiated from her, another loss.

"I know it's been difficult for you, with Master Kenobi's death but I have a favour to ask of you,"

"Yes of course." It was what she always said, automatically, when he asked for a favour. She never thought about what it would entail. There had been once when she refused, she thought but she could not remember exactly what happened.

"I would like you to accompany me to the Festival of Light and sing at the opening ceremony there."

"But surely you're not going. The kidnapping threat?" The worry he felt from her sometimes surprised him but he could use it.

"I cannot be seen to be frightened in the face of the Separatists. Besides Anakin is searching for the kidnapper and the Jedi Council have a plan, they tell me. So we will be safe. Would you do me the honour?"

"Yes." She trusted the Jedi as well.

"The Chief will arrange everything for you."

"Of course."

Naboo was the last place she wanted to go.

.

Hela's

"You're going where?"

"You heard me."

"But why?"

"The Chancellor asked me."

"The Chancellor?"

"You've started answering me with a question. You need to see a Doctor about your hearing." She snapped back.

Hela strode past him into her dressing room and started sorting through some outfits. She picked a dress up.

Zur shook his head "Not that one, not for Naboo."

"This one?"

"Better." He sighed, "Let me do it!"

Hela watched as he quickly picked out the matching and mire suitable outfits for her.

"Put some things in for me to relax in." She prompted

He nodded, "I assume I'm not coming."

"You assumed correctly. The Senate guards and Coruscant Guard will be overseeing the security and it's restricted on the numbers attending. Then there's the Jedi and the Naboo forces. I'll be safe but then no one is threatening to kidnap me."

"I know but you'll be near the Chancellor, that's enough of a threat if people start blasting."

"I'll be fine."

"Didn't think you wanted to ever go back?"

"I don't—didn't but perhaps it's time. I could check on the Cabin and the Apartment."

"Check if the old crone is looking after them properly you mean."

"She will be."

Zur made his final choice and added it to the rail, hesitating before speaking again, "I worry about you." He finally admitted.

"And I worry about you. You'll be okay on your own?" She asked, teasing.

He snorted, "I'll be fine. I'll find something to do."

Hela walked up to him and suddenly pulled him into a hug, "Now. Don't go too far or I may have to call a doctor." he muttered over her shoulder. Secretly relishing her hug.

.

Theed

Hela stepped off the shuttle provided for her and manned by members of the Coruscant Guard and separated from the Chancellor. They escorted her through the old city, as they travelled she watched the familiar buildings roll by; she had forgotten how beautiful it was compared to Coruscant. Her balcony with its trees, plants and water features were an unconscious attempt to recreate the feeling.

Finally they reached her family's old apartment. She had not been back for years and the Chancellor had tried to persuade to sell it but she couldn't.

The Apartment looked just the same from the outside.

The main house was gone, she had sold that to buy her own apartment in Coruscant.

"Hela!"

She recognised the voice immediately, Nola. A family friend for years and now living here in semi-retirement. It was also part of the reason why she couldn't sell this place; it was Nola's home until she no longer needed it.

"Let's look at you!"

The older woman grabbed her firmly by the biceps, her sharp grey eyes looking over every part of her.

"Hmm too thin. Are you eating properly? Sleeping well?"

"Yes, normally."

"Normally?"

"Ben."

"We heard. Another loss." The older woman said, sympathetically.

She looked past Hela to the Coruscant Guard standing to attention behind her, her eyebrows raised in a question

"They're just a precaution. Can—"

"I'll get a couple more rooms ready."

"One will do ma'am."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am, sure. Then can you give us a tour of the Apartment to ensure it's secure."

"Of course, however, I'm sure you'll find it would be secure even for the Chancellor himself. In fact he had been here before he became Chancellor."

Hela frowned; she couldn't remember that.

She turned back to Hela. "When you were a tiny baby. I've put you in the main bedroom and then we'll get some food ready."

She turned to the CG troopers, "There's plenty for all of us."

"In the kitchen please Nola." Requested Hela.

"Of course."

She had always loved eating in the kitchen.

.

Hela walked slowly down the staircase to the kitchen, looking at the family portraits lining the walls, they had been removed from the main house to place here. She had let Nola do what she wanted with everything. It had been far too long since she was last here and when she last spoke to Nola.

Now she felt more able to cope with the memories.

She heard clone voices coming from the kitchen interspersed with Nola's; they appeared to have settled in already. Surprised when she finally reached the large kitchen to see Nola teaching them how to prepare vegetables. They stood to attention when they saw Hela.

"We didn't introduce ourselves, ma'am."

Nola stood behind them smiling; Hela assumed she had taught them manners as well. They had been ominously quiet on the journey and she assumed they were talking on their helmets, while she sat unusually silent, at the prospect of going back to her planet of birth.

"That's okay, neither did I. Call me Hela." she brightened slightly.

"This is Knox and I'm Ammo."

She looked past them to Nola, who looked pleased with herself.

"Apparently their Commander gave them some duff Intel."

"Oh? What was that?"

"He advised that they shouldn't speak to you, unless it was an emergency. They were told not to—what was the phrase he used?" she asked the troopers, who looked embarrassed.

"Fraternise with the natties." She smiled widely, "I've put them right."

"You have?"

"Yes. This isn't fraternisation. This is helping."

Hela rolled up her sleeves, "What do you want me to do?"

"You can make the Theedian Crème."

"Ooh, My favourite."

Hela retrieved all the ingredients from the conservator and cupboards and started measuring out all the items. She could do this from muscle memory—almost— a favourite from childhood, easy and delicious.

The troopers watched her closely, as she warmed the milk up. They glanced at each other—It wasn't blue. This was high end milk.

They were fascinated.

.