Hello!

*ahem* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATHEBADBATCHSEASON3TRAILERAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

My fear for this season knows NO bounds. But Phee is back! And Fennec! And MY GIRL VENTRESS LET'S GOOOOOOOOO. Ugh I'm just so devastated for everyone. (also Tech lives I will die with him on this hill)

Please, please, PLEASE let it end with SOME semblance of happiness.

Now that's our of the way, back to the fic!

merelmoujke: Thank you! I should be pretty much back on my regular schedule now, so I'll be a bit more consistent. Also, it's coming! Maybe!

bsmith1138: Well, I aim to not disappoint! And I continue to not say anything.

Bvadams: I think he'll care a bit more in this chapter….

Peachpopsicle: Thank you so much! I think you'll enjoy this chapter! Tech is currently shoving those emotions down and dealing with OTHER emotions. And more sassy Obi Wan incoming! And more Maul!

ZabuzasGirl: you have no idea

Mind the 'Canon typical dismemberment' tag for this chapter.

Mando'a translations at the end!

ABSOLVED: Chapter 39

Cody, once again dressed in the terrible TK armor, hurried against the flow of troopers in the former GAR headquarters. They were attempting to hold against the clones who, like Cody, had their minds again. The Empire's soldiers wouldn't succeed. They weren't half the soldiers the clones were. And the clones were angry.

Cody still needed to get to Senator Amidala. These nat borns might decide that it would be better to kill her instead of letting her fall into enemy hands.

The nat born manning the security desk barely had time to look up before Cody shot them through the glass. The two other guards stared for a moment too long. Cody dropped them easily. He shot the window between him and the security console a few times before taking a running start and bursting through. The alarms were already on, so no one knew to come confront him.

Senator Amidala's cell was guarded by only two troopers. Cody shot one, but the other threw caution to the wind and tackled him. They hit the ground hard. Cody grappled with the nat born. The trooper was more skilled than Cody had expected. Cody struggled to get a hold on them. With a twist, he found himself pinned with the trooper's hands around his neck. Cody writhed and grasped at their grip. He squeezed, even as his vision blurred. They finally gasped and let go. Cody managed to grab his vibro knife. He hesitated. He'd never killed someone with his knife. At least, not while free from the chip.

The trooper made a grab for the knife and Cody was forced to plunge it into the trooper's arm- and then neck. They went limp and Cody sagged for a moment, breathing heavily. Then he forced himself to his feet and opened the cell door.

Senator Amidala stood, eyes wide. Her gown was rumpled, her makeup smeared, and hair loose with strands falling around her face. Her eyes were red.

Cody took his helmet off before she could panic.

"It's me, ma'am." He said. "I think it's time we get you out of here."

To his surprise, she rushed forward to hug him. He froze stiff in her embrace.

"Thank you." She said. "You're Cody, right? Obi Wan's Commander?"

Cody nodded, feeling a twinge at the mention of his general.

"We need to go." He mumbled.

"My children-" Senator Amidala said.

"Someone's attacking Coruscant." Cody said quickly. "From what I can tell, it's clones. I think your husband is behind it."

Senator Amidala flushed. Cody wanted to roll his eyes. His general and Rex had complained enough for him to figure out the nature of General Skywalker and Senator Amidala's relationship.

"He's likely to send someone after them." Cody went on. "Please, we can't do much with just the two of us."

To his relief, she nodded, but the hard glint in her eye worried him. She let go of him and passed him to pick up one of the fallen trooper's blasters. Then she turned and shot a trooper running towards them.

"You're right, Commander." Her voice had taken on a cool, determined tone. "Lead the way."

"The entire HQ is under siege by the clones." Cody said. "For starters, we need to find an alternate route out."

Senator Amidala nodded. To Cody's horror, she began ripping at her gown, tearing off most of the skirt and leaving her in her leggings.

"What are our options?" She asked.

"Front way's not one." Cody thought aloud. "Neither is the hangar. There are a few emergency exits, but they're probably guarded."

"Cody?" A voice called.

Cody whipped around, but didn't touch his blaster. It was a brother's voice. A group of troopers in the newest armor was heading towards them. The leader took his helmet off, revealing a beaming clone.

"Fives?" Cody asked.

"You're alive!" Fives said. "Rex will be-"

"He's okay?" Cody demanded, grasping at Fives' arm.

"Rex is fine, at least last I saw him." Fives said. He peeked over Cody's shoulder. "What- is that Senator Amidala?"

"What are you doing here?" Cody asked, bewildered.

"Took our natborns here and snuck in for intel." Fives said. "Well, until the vod'e got free and started trying to get in. Kriff, I've got to get a hold of Jesse and Tup. They've gone to the prison looking for you, Senator."

"We need to get out." Cody said. "It's only a matter of time before those TKs decide to kill her."

"They already have." Fives said. "We were sent to execute the prisoner in there. I figured we'd want them on our side."

"I appreciate you not fulfilling those orders." Senator Amidala said. "Do you have any suggestions for escape?"

Fives hesitated and then shook his head.

"We'd be out of here if I had."

Cody blinked as he remembered a possible solution.

"Rampart had a private landing pad." He said. "He had it installed recently, so the clones wouldn't know much. And he wouldn't be telling many people about it."

"Rampart?" Fives asked.

"A vice admiral, lackey of Tarkin's." Cody said. "Piece of scum. Killed him an hour ago. No one knows he's dead."

Senator Amidala nodded grimly, while Fives whistled slowly.

"Senator, you may want to disguise yourself." Fives said, gesturing to one of the fallen troopers.

The Senator needed a hand getting the armor on, but soon a group of faceless troopers made their way through the HQ. With the chaos and Cody confidently leading them, they weren't questioned. Rampart's door was unguarded.

"I've gotten ahold of Jesse." Fives said as Cody entered the code. "He and the other ARCs can pick us up from the landing pad."

Cody nodded. The door slid open. Rampart still sat slumped at his desk. Cody eyed him with satisfaction. The man had had it coming. Cody took a data stick from the corpse's pocket and stuck it into the desk. A panel on the wall flipped to reveal a lift.

"After you, Senator." Cody said.

The sky was chaos as they stepped out onto the roof. Fighters darted around each other and in between sparks of red and green light. There was a small, two man ship parked on the tiny landing pad.

Cody caught sight of the waves of white outside the main HQ entrance. He thought he saw flashes of a green lightsaber.

"Fives." Cody finally said, though he dreaded the answer. He'd had nightmares about the confused look in his General's eyes when he'd turned his blaster on him. He didn't even know if General Kenobi had escaped to safety. "Is General Kenobi-"

"He's okay." Fives said quickly. "Jesse will have contact with him. He's got his own mission."

Cody let out a long breath. His General lived. But there was a nagging feeling as they waited, that General Kenobi still needed his help.

Tech worked as his little sister haunted the back of his mind. Hunter's words tormented him. She's not all right. What did that mean? Physically? Mentally?

Tech longed to abandon his and Echo's post at the old transponder and find out what 'not all right' truly meant. But his mission here was just as important. He would not say more important, though this had the potential to improve the lives of millions, if not billions.

Tech's comm flashed. Not an incoming transmission, but a signal. Tech activated the device that General Skywalker held. Then, he transmitted that signal to each of the holonet and news channels that he had hacked into.

The screen next to him on the console flashed to life. Echo and the regs they'd freed came to watch. The monitor showed General Skywalker's perspective as he walked into Palpatine's office.

Tech prepared to fight for control. If things went well, Palpatine would not know of the small transmitting device that Tech had given the General.

"Palpatine!" General Skywalker's voice was strong, if not somewhat tinny.

Palpatine looked at the transmitter, or rather, slightly above.

"Anakin!" The man said. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't play coy, Palpatine." The General growled. "I know what you are."

"I know what you are!" Palpatine retorted. "A traitor, along with all the Jedi! I had thought you better than them!"

"A traitor to you, not the Republic." General Skywalker said. He walked forward a few steps, the transmitter bobbing. "You tried to kill Rex. You framed Ahsoka. You experimented on her with a device created by the Separatists!"

"You cannot believe that, Anakin." Palpatine said. "And neither should anyone believe you. You are a traitor!"

"I can believe anything of you, Sith." General Skywalker said.

Tech could not quite read the expression on Palpatine's face, but when he spoke, his voice was- different.

"You threaten me boldly, when I have your wife's life in my hands."

Tech frowned. General Skywalker had not actually threatened Palpatine. He hadn't even taken out his lightsaber.

The Empire had begun pushing against Tech's control, so he had to return to his work. He could still hear the exchanges.

"I'm not here to threaten." General Skywalker said. "I'm here to purge you from the galaxy."

"And that galaxy will turn against you." Palpatine said.

"It already has." General Skywalker said. "It can't get much worse."

Tech glanced up to see the blue buzz of a lightsaber. The transmission blurred as the General rushed forward to strike.

And another lightsaber ignited to meet him. There was a flash of red and Palpatine's snarling face. His eyes had gone yellow.

They had done it. Tech had transmitted Palpatine revealing himself as a Sith to 3,279,487 channels across Coruscant.

Echo glanced at Tech with a grin.

"I'll be honest, didn't think it would go this smoothly."

"We are not done yet." Tech replied. Some of the attacks against his control had lapsed. "Ideally, General Skywalker will be able to dispose of him. What is being said on the holonet?"

"People are shocked." Echo reported after he scomped into the transmitter. "And a lot are getting angry. People still remember General Skywalker as the Hero with No Fear. The news is getting offworld, too. I don't think Palpatine is going to be able to recover from this, not completely."

Tech nodded, glancing up at the screen again. He could only glimpse flashes of the fight, but it was clear what was going on. He paused, running his eyes over his data pad. He was still defending his control, but the attackers were lessening. And- others were defending the broadcast now, even spreading it to more networks and channels. Tech raised his eyebrows. Unexpected, but not unwelcome.

Besides, the damage had been done. The galaxy knew what Palpatine was.

"We will be able to go with Hunter when he comes." Tech said.

"Oh? I thought the plan was to stun him until we were done." Echo said.

"We are receiving help from the civilians." Tech said. "I can do some work remotely and they will be able to pick up the rest."

Echo blinked and glanced at the flashing screen.

"Kriff." He said. "The galaxy is turning on Palpatine faster than I thought."

Tech nodded. But the duel was still not won. Things could still go very poorly.

Hunter knew that he should go, but he couldn't. The sight of Omega clinging to Wrecker as the medic scanned her kept him by their side. Her hand clamped onto Hunter's painfully. If she was this bad with Hunter's presence, he couldn't imagine her panic if he was gone.

He couldn't even see Crosshair, who'd been whisked away to surgery as soon as they'd arrived. But Hunter didn't want to leave his brother alone either.

"She's got bruised ribs." The clone medic finally said. He wasn't the original medic assigned to them. The first had been a nat born. Omega had not reacted well. "Dehydrated, malnourished, and exhausted. Her heart rate is erratic as well."

"They were testing on her." Hunter said. "Can you tell what it did to her?"

The medic shook his head.

"We'd need more tests." He said. Omega made a small, terrified whimper. "For now, wrap her ribs in bacta, get her oral pain meds, and then get her to drink and eat something. I would have liked to give her an IV, but-"

He glanced at Omega. The nat born medic hadn't been her only bad reaction. They'd tried to give her an IV when they'd first arrived. The medic had a black eye now.

"We've got more injured coming." He said. "Let someone know if she changes, but just keep an eye on her for now."

He left and Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega were alone in the small room formed of curtains. The strength Omega had shown when treating Crosshair on the ship and hitting the medic was gone. She was now curled in Wrecker's arms as he stroked her shorn head, staring with dull eyes.

Hunter wanted to go and burn that medical facility to the ground. He wanted to erase everything to do what Omega had gone through from the galaxy. He wanted to rip apart every being involved in doing this to her.

Instead, he picked up the bandages and bacta the medic had left.

"Omega," He said in his softest voice. "I'm going to get some bacta on your ribs, okay?"

She nodded slightly. Hunter and Wrecker helped her sit up before Hunter gently peeled the top of the flimsy medical gown to the side. He tried not to grimace at the reddened injection points up and down her arms and on her neck. Her ribs were dark red, nearly purple and she winced as Hunter wrapped them. Surely she hadn't been this pale and skinny even when they had taken her from Kamino. Hunter gently ran his hand over her head. Was it his imagination or was she feverish?

"Hunter." She said as he helped her get the gown on again. "Hunter, where's Tech and Echo?"

"They're still on their mission." Hunter said.

"Please, go get them." Omega said. "I want to go home."

"I know." Hunter said. "I know."

But he still didn't move.

She needed him. Tech and Echo were clever and skilled. They had the ability to get themselves to safety, though Hunter still worried. Omega was defenseless.

Omega looked at him and cocked her head.

"I'll be okay." She said.

Then she managed a small, shattered smile and it broke Hunter's heart. He put his hand on her cheek.

"Okay." He said, his throat constricting. "Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can. Make sure to rest and do what Wrecker tells you."

"All right." She murmured. "Be safe."

Hunter looked to Wrecker, who nodded. He'd make sure she was taken care of. Hunter pressed his forehead to Omega's for a second. Then, trying very hard not to think about Crosshair, he stood. He would bring their family back together. And he would do everything in his power to keep it from being broken like this again.

Obi Wan twirled his lightsaber and took his usual defensive stance: blade held over his head, pointing along with his outstretched fingers at Maul. He glanced briefly around. He wouldn't put it past Maul to set up an ambush within an ambush. Ahsoka had reported that Maul had acted with honor before, but Obi Wan knew that when it came to him, Maul would abandon any code.

Obi Wan thought he could perhaps sense something here, but no malintent. Well, besides the hatred radiating from Maul.

Maul leapt from the top of the junk heap, skidding down its length. He jerked out a clawed hand. A rusty piece of durasteel flipped from the pile and shot at Obi Wan. Obi Wan saw it for what it was: a mere distraction. He slapped it aside with his own Force push and easily parried Maul's strike. He twisted and aimed a blow at Maul's side. Maul pulled his blade back to block it. They broke away from each other. Obi Wan met Maul's rancid yellow gaze.

"I thought your goal was to bring Palpatine down?" Obi Wan asked. "You're doing a great job, attacking your ally."

"Skywalker is enough." Maul hissed. "He will bring justice to Sidious. I will bring justice to you."

Obi Wan didn't bother retorting. Maul was mad. There was no logic or reason that could change his mind.

Obi Wan waited for Maul to strike again. This would take time. Maul had been forged to be a weapon. Obi Wan needed to be careful and defensive to be able to overcome Maul's aggression.

Unless-

That hadn't been how he'd defeated Maul the first time.

Obi Wan lunged forward before Maul had time to attack. Maul batted Obi Wan's lightsaber away, but Obi Wan could see the surprise in his eyes. Obi Wan didn't waste time in whipping his blade up again in a back handed swing. Maul jerked back.

Obi Wan pressed the attack with a flurry of thrusts and slashes. Maul was forced back. His skills had decayed, Obi Wan realized. He wasn't quite the warrior Obi Wan had faced almost fifteen years ago.

But Obi Wan- he had fought a war, trained a man that pushed him to his limits, been sharpened by his life.

Obi Wan caught Maul's blade with a brief, but powerful Force push. He ducked inside Maul's guard and buried his saber in Maul's side.

Obi Wan barely saw Maul's widened eyes before something slammed into him. He felt himself go flying, falling in a dizzying tumble.

He landed with a shocking crack against a rigid surface. Obi Wan gasped as he felt his ribs fracture. He collapsed, coughing. What had happened?

"How dare you?" Maul's voice echoed across the junkyard.

Obi Wan managed to lift his head. Maul, somehow still standing, loomed over a shorter figure in dark robes.

"Lord Maul," A timid, familiar voice said. Was that Barriss Offee? "Forgive me, I feared for your victory."

"You have so little faith in me?" Maul hissed. "Your disobedience will be dealt with later. For now-"

Obi Wan's pulse quickened as Maul began stalking towards him. He struggled to his knees, but he had lost his lightsaber and his breath came in pained gasps. Maul reignited his saber as he stood over Obi Wan. Obi Wan closed his eyes.

"Justice." Maul crowed. "My enemy, left for dead among trash."

Obi Wan's eyes flew open. Left for dead-

Maul plunged his blade down into the back of Obi Wan's knee. Obi Wan's vision whited out at the searing pain and he screamed. He screamed again as Maul repeated the action on his other knee.

Obi Wan heaved a coughing breath and looked up through pain blurred eyes. Maul was staring down at him, a musing expression on his face.

"No," He said. "No, not enough."

He slashed. Obi Wan flinched. There was another burst of burning, intense pain across his thighs and Obi Wan collapsed back to the ground. The pain faded quickly, leaving Obi Wan dazed and confused. He could feel the original wounds more than this new one. Maul kicked something from behind Obi Wan and it went tumbling with a wet sound down the slope. Obi Wan risked looking backwards and went cold.

His legs- Maul had-

"Like me, Kenobi. You must become like me." Maul whispered. "I would shear you in half, but you do not have the hatred to survive."

Maul turned as if to leave but paused. As if as an afterthought, he swung downwards- and through Obi Wan's forearm.

Obi Wan did not scream this time. His mind had gone blank, save for the pain. It was greater than his legs, somehow.

Maul laughed.

"Poetic, is it not?" He jeered. "But you would not know the beauty of this moment, not in this life."

Obi Wan stared at his arm. For some reason, all he could think of was Anakin. Maul moved, and Obi Wan tried to follow him with his eyes. Maul backed up and thrust his hand out. The junk pile trembled and collapsed. Pieces of scrap thundered down on Obi Wan and his cry was lost in the roar. Soon he was half buried, weight pressing down on the lower half of his body. He groaned and Maul laughed.

"No quips, Kenobi? I have defeated you."

Obi Wan struggled to look up. He tasted blood on his lips.

"Come- come now, Maul." He rasped. "You've had help."

Maul's nostrils flared and he kicked Obi Wan in the chest. Something cracked and Obi Wan coughed weakly.

"Rot, Kenobi." Maul snarled.

And- he left, collecting Offee. Obi Wan was surprised. Maul- Maul really was determined to make Obi Wan suffer as he did.

Phantom pain pulsed in legs that were no longer there. The stump of his arm still burned. Breathing became difficult. The pressure on his back grew more oppressive by the moment. His thoughts seemed to fuzz as time went on. He distantly realized that he was going into shock.

Not good. He thought.

Surely- surely his men would realize he was missing. Cody would come. Cody always came.

No- no, Cody was gone. Stolen by Palpatine. But his other men-

Maul was still nearby. Obi Wan could sense him. He would kill Obi Wan's men. That could not happen. Obi Wan would rather die.

He was going to die, a part of him thought. His thoughts drifted to Anakin. He wished he could tell his apprentice how proud he was. And Ahsoka too. And Obi Wan had forgotten to tell Anakin to take Cody back from Palpatine when he fought him.

Anakin. Obi Wan called in his mind. Anakin.

But he was too far away.

They were all too far away.

Mando'a

vod'e: brothers

Okay, from the top!

Yay Cody! Do your thing! I seem to enjoy having clones rescue someone and then being hugged by that person, as that has happened at least twice in this fic.

Fives is here to bring Cody back into the fold and tell him that he did not murder his General.

I realized that one of the biggest challenges one faces when trying to bring down Palpatine is that no one knows what he is. Well, Tech has figured the same thing, and so people are gonna know. I think that part of people being so angry is less that he's a Sith specifically, but that he's been hiding that he's practically a Jedi. Come on Palps, we need transparency!

Is this scene with Hunter, Omega, and Wrecker necessary? Probably not, but I wanted more Hunter's reaction to Omega's state and describing more what's wrong with her. For some reason, having her head shaved makes me so sad.

Maybe y'all shouldn't have given Barriss to Maul, you guys.

Okay DISCLAIMER, blame my editor for what happens to Obi Wan! I wasn't really happy with the chapter, she looked it over for me, and was just like 'I think Maul should cut his legs off' and DANG IT it made sense. And then, since Maul in this fic has seen the Canon timeline through the Force, his dramatic butt of course thought it would be poetic to parallel what Obi Wan does to Anakin on Mustafar. So uh, Obi Wan's arm had to go too. Sorry. But this direction really does make the chapter better.

Well, that should be everything! Enjoy the cliffhanger!

Stay safe, remember to review, and see you all in February!