War - Part 1
Perhaps that had been a poor choice, in hindsight. Boba had been able to goad her into showing off when she was really meant to be keeping her head down. She'd forgotten where she was, and that despite having moved to a private training room, there were railings at the very top of the room, having allowed for multiple witnesses to her own endeavours, it's wasn't quite the same as the gauntlet but she'd displayed some of her prowess in target shooting and knife skills against a significant amount of training droids. At one point she'd forgotten where she was entirely, the green magick igniting in her hand as she tore into one of the droid's chassis. The cry of surprise from above had her rescind the green glow and return to just the weapons in hand.
It was after this that the rumours had started, she only caught whispers but in just under two weeks, apparently her skills were exaggerated, turning her into some kind of Jedi witch in the eyes of the clones. Well, better a witch than an angel, she supposed. Boba was pleased with their private training sessions and as promised she taught him a little about her people, given him some holo-books to read and taught him as many curse words in Huttese she could remember. By the time Jango was due to come back, she was sure the kid had the hang of it.
As it happened, the elder Fett was due back within the cycle, and last she had spoken to him… he didn't sound so good. There was something bothering him, and she figured he might tell her later. Though she couldn't shake that feeling, it was like the calm before a storm. That heavy sensation when the temperature would drop and there was a looming sense of danger, static in the air. Something was coming, but she didn't know what.
Most things had been relatively normal, still running the training sessions, pushing the men to be better and better. They were always dead on their feet by the end but it was no different to when Talzin had trained her. She'd collapsed several times before training was done back then but she was sure these fully grown men would be able to handle it.
None of the men had brought up the angel incident again either. Clearly they could at least follow those orders, but she noticed there was a lot of whispering going on just before she stepped into a room before it would fall silent as soon as she entered. It was like they gossiped more than the Sisters. Zaiya did her best to ignore it, there was no point in adding fuel to the fire. She was however enjoying the questions whenever a cadet would ask about her eye, she was getting some rather creative answers and the confused expressions were rather endearing.
For the moment, Zaiya had a small break in the training schedules, and was returning to check on Maul. It was difficult to check on him while she was so busy, and Boba had said he would be alright for a short time, just reading. There were a few private labs Nala Se had back there, the one Maul was connected to was locked by a keycard that only Zaiya or Nala Se herself had copies of. So when the Nightsister heard sounds in one of the labs nearby she grew cautious. Someone was here. Maul was still in the tank and in his meditative state, so she knew he wasn't crawling about anywhere. And Nala Se could not hide behind any of this equipment. Nor did she even need to. Then who…? It took her a second to realise she knew the presence in the lab with her.
"You can come out," Zaiya called, turning her back to the door she was about to enter, "I won't bite." There was a little more shuffling and Zaiya folded her arms as the little blonde child peeked out from behind one of the empty pods. "I'd been wondering where you'd got to," she smiled and the little tawny brown eyes of the girl lit up as she hurried over.
"Tahn'ti!" Omega cried and hurried over. Right, she'd asked the girl to call her that too. "I was hoping you'd be back!" she grinned and Zaiya chuckled.
"It's been a while since I've been here, have you been spying the whole time or just been kept busy?" the older woman asked.
"Nala Se has me learning a lot about medical stuff and helping her on things," she replied vaguely. Likely it meant Omega was a test subject and little more than a backup of DNA or perhaps some amusing creature to the disdainful Kaminoan. They didn't show their emotions much, if at all, but they certainly had them. Much more dismissive of an unmodified being, and seeing themselves far superior, from what Zaiya could tell. Though the witch was not about to talk about that to the child, even if she had eyes that seemed older.
"I see, so you are a very important little assistant?" she said instead with a grin and lowering herself to the girl's level. Omega seemed to like that and she hoped that it would keep the girl's spirits up. "What are you sneaking about for?" The older female tilted her head, and a slow smile crossed her lips, "are you trying to get inside?" She gestured with her head to the door behind her. Omega looked back a little guiltily. Ah, so she was curious about what Zaiya and the Chief Scientist were up to in the very secure lab.
"Nala Se won't let me help in there," Omega admitted and Zaiya nodded.
"That's because it could be dangerous, there's a lot of things that could happen," she explained. Omega seemed confused so Zaiya elaborated. "My friend is in there, and he was seriously injured,"
"Like you?" Omega asked and it took Zaiya a second to remember her eye. She'd grown so used to the green and enhanced vision of her Nexus eye, she would occasionally forget what she looked like. Until she saw the faces of others reacting in fear or disgust to her appearance.
"Hm, yes, but much worse. He was bifurcated, do you know that word?" Zaiya asked and Omega frowned as if trying to remember.
"Bi means two so two… pieces?" she frowned, clearly she was not completely foreign to the word.
"Yes, he was cut into two pieces," she nodded, and the blonde looked shocked.
"And he's still alive?!" she gasped. Zaiya nodded again.
"Oh yes, he is very strong, so he has survived. We are trying to heal him, but he is powerful so he isn't fully asleep," she continued, "because of that, if you were to go in there, he might hurt you because he isn't fully conscious and will act on instinct. You know this word too?" she checked and Omega nodded this time. Zaiya smiled, "of course you do, you're a clever one. So because of that, I can go in there, and so can Nala Se because he knows us, but he hasn't met you while awake so he might think you are there to hurt him."
"I wouldn't do that!" Omega insisted, it was very sweet actually.
"I know, miye wahca, but he isn't able to tell that while in this state."
"How is he able to do that?" Omega asked, ever curious, she reminded Zaiya of Boba in a way. She did look like him too, was she a clone as well? Zaiya could only assume so, she wondered if Jango knew about her, and decided to sneak into the files to look into the girl's origins, she was sure there was something there. It would take time though… she wondered if Tech might be the one to help her with that.
"He can do special things with his mind, moving things without touching them and the like," she explained.
"Isn't that the same that the Jedi can do? The holo-files say that they can do that," Zaiya nodded and shifted her weight uncomfortably.
"They can, though he is not like they are, he is different," she didn't want to say too much but Omega didn't seem to be fully satisfied with that answer, though she was clever and came to a conclusion on her own.
"So the people that hurt him, and you… you're angry about it." Zaiya smiled at the child's response, and nodded in the affirmative. Omega then looked sad and her big amber eyes because sorrowful, "I'm sorry that happened to you," she said gently,
"Oh don't you worry about us," Zaiya tapped Omega's chin with the crook of her finger, "We look after each other, and I have ways to heal him. But for your safety, you must stay out, arlight? I wouldn't want anything to happen to a sweet thing like you," the Nightsister grinned. Omega giggled and nodded, seemingly placated, at least for now.
"Alright, I'll make sure he is safe," she said and Zaiya was once again struck by the similarity of the two children.
"You just worry about keeping yourself safe, but let me know if anyone other than Nala Se or myself come here, alright? You tell me right away." Omega nodded again, looking like she'd been given a serious mission and the white haired woman was both amused and impressed by her tenacity.
As much as she liked the girl, she did have to speak with Maul in the meditation so she couldn't linger too long. Zaiya excused herself and told Omega her comm frequency in order to chat more later. She seemed a little sad to leave so soon, but admitted Nala Se would be looking for her, and she headed back out. Once Zaiya was sure Omega was safely away, she headed into the lab, and locked the door, moving to sit, legs folded beneath her, on the table opposite Maul's bacta tank. Much of the ragged scarring was far less inflamed and his torso seemed longer… Was it actually growing from the cut off point? The progress was not obvious at first but as she leaned closer it seemed there were protrusions subtly growing, she supposed would become his new legs. It was exciting and she hoped that the process would go smoothly. But for now, she could only speak to him in one way, and so closed her eyes to do so.
"Things are progressing?" he asked, the scenery around them was similar to her office on Kamino, though far darker, bathed in his colours. He was sitting opposite her in one of the chairs, one leg propped up while the other stretched out before him. Zaiya sat with both legs curled under herself, it seemed neither of them liked to sit properly in a chair.
"As well as can be expected, making friends, babysitting… eating the most detestable foods, if you can call what they serve here 'food'," she grumbled.
"Be glad they allow you to eat," he scoffed.
"Oh for the days of a scolye skewer, hm?" she asked, referencing their time on Coruscant when she would bring him just such a treat. His sour expression faded and a wistful smile crossed his features.
"Indeed…" the lighting of the room began to change and they were suddenly on the rooftop, golden light of the upper districts falling across them. It was slightly different to how she remembered it, but this was his dream-state.
"Amazing the two of us were never caught here," she mused, looking around.
"I should have listened to you," he spoke quietly, "I was so lost, so suspicious that I didn't see you properly, I should have listened… I knew the truth and yet-" He shook his head. The space between them was only small so she reached across to lay her hand on his arm.
"Sire… you weren't ready. You weren't ready yet to see that you deserved far better than what that monster did to you. In a way… the Jedi did you a favour-"
"He what?!" Maul snapped. He lurched forward and glared at her with a vicious expression, "I should be grateful for the loss of my legs?! To have lost my destiny?!"
"It wasn't your destiny!" she cried and immediately regretted it for the way he leapt up and one hand closed around her throat.
"You would dare presume to know my fate? You think you can sing a few songs and control me?!" he spat. Zaiya struggled to breathe but took a ragged breath to calm herself all the same, she held up her hands.
"I am merely saying, sire, that a destiny at the foot of an old man that treated you that way is not a destiny, its subjugation… you deserve a better fate than to serve," his grip loosened as her words soothed him, "I do not mean that the Jedi ought to be forgiven, either, but it is through those actions in which you are free of your former master, and I will not allow him to control you again," she was steadfast and calm now and his hands dropped to the sides of the chair, his head bowed forward and rested on her forearm.
"I… I cannot forgive him," he said in a whisper.
"I do not ask you to, sire," she rested one of her hands on the back of his neck gently, "I merely ask that you consider your freedom as a better than merely a loss," she paused. "Or do you mean to say you would prefer to return to that time and I to not be here-?"
"No!" His head snapped up, with his immediate response, his eyes wide and she had learned such a look. She had seen it in the nights after Lotho Minor, the fear in his gaze that he would be alone again.
"Then perhaps it is not all bad?" she suggested, and he let out a sigh, shifting to kneel before her and rest his head in her lap.
"Perhaps," he replied.
Zaiya returned to the living quarters after hearing the comm from Jango, he was back! She would be glad to see him, though she had indeed seen the younger version of his face everyday. She approached the door to the 'apartment' and paused. Something felt off. There was an oppressive feel to the air around that room and she was hesitant to knock. Before she had made up her mind on whether to even announce her presence, the door shot open and little Boba stood there, tears threatening to spill from his big brown eyes. Zaiya looked at him in alarm, and then up and into the room, Jango stood there, somberly removing his armour.
"What's happened?" she asked, immediately concerned. It seemed this was the tipping point for the boy and Boba flung himself at her, arms wrapped around her middle in an almost iron grip. She froze, unsure what to do and just cautiously laid a hand on his back, her thumb stroking back and forth slowly in an effort to comfort him. What could he be so upset about? Clearly something had happened while Jango was away to make the news so upsetting, and he was running away from Jango so… she guessed he'd done something that Boba was upset about? She managed to coax Boba back into the room and found a spot to sit, the boy leaning on her, sniffling a little. Boba was hardly the type to get emotional easily so she was concerned.
"It's… Zam," Jango began and settled against the nearby table, "the job went a bit awry… First attempt failed, Zam was helping me with it, and during the second the Jedi got involved-"
"The Jedi?" Zaiya hissed, "they are bad news, Jango, you are far better to avoid them completely,"
"I'm not scared of some high-and-might Jetii," he scoffed, Zaiya just shook her head. She had a bad feeling about this.
"So what happened then?"
"The Jedi chased Zam down after the second attempt failed…" Jango continued.
The Jedi would have taken Zam into custody, she realised, especially if they were attempting to kill a senator.
"I did what I had to," Jango muttered bitterly. From what Zaiya knew, Zam was one of Jango's closest friends, she didn't know if there were 'benefits' involved in the friendship but at the very least, Boba knew her, which was telling of how much he valued the Clawdite. Zaiya looked down, realising how hard this must be for both of them.
"I'm sorry," was all she could say. Jango just nodded and after a minute turned away to remove the rest of his armour.
"I still don't understand…" Boba shook his head.
"That's the nature of bounty hunting, ad'ika, we know what we are getting into, and sometimes, a job has the risk that we cannot be captured. Zam knew this, she is- was clever, and she understood," Zaiya soothed him, "but it's alright to feel sad, Boba, or angry or anything else, your feelings are what separates you from a droid," he buried his head into her chest, and just hugged her.
"I see you two got along well," Jango began slowly, in a tone of warmth, clearly he hoped to turn the conversation to one less depressing, "Did you get any trouble while I was gone?"
"No, this one is a darling and a brilliant shot… the boys didn't grumble so much after I put them through their paces," she chuckled.
"I hope it wasn't too much more than what you were doing before," he said, "They'll drop like flies at that rate and I'll get the blame for poor DNA," Jango rolled his eyes. Zaiya frowned slightly.
"I think they can handle a little training," she replied dismissively, "Nothing I wasn't taught to do." She shrugged but something gnawed at her.
"What, Bane had you running constant drills all day?"
"No, on Dathomir, before I met them, I ran the tests til I dropped, these boys at least get breaks," she joked but Jango was giving her a concerned look.
"Before…? How old were you then?" he asked slowly, his brows furrowed.
"I'm not sure? Boba's age?" It was then Jango's eyes widened and his brows shot up toward his hairline.
"They had you doing more than the ARC troopers when you were a child?!" he gaped. Zaiya was confused and tilted her head, what was so shocking about it?
"It wasn't the same kind of training… Anyway, I just did what I had to do," she said uncomfortably. Why was Jango bringing this up? What did it have to do with anything? But he sat back down, looking at her for a moment before running a hand over his face.
"So let me get this right, they trained you to run drills like the troopers?"
"No," for a moment he looked relieved… until she continued, "I had to fight against bane back spiders and nydaks… well and the battlemaster…" A small smirk crossed her lips.
"What's a nydak?"
"It's like a rancor but much smaller and more aggressive," she shrugged, "And of course there were the magick lessons, those were…" she made a grimaging expression then looked at him, she was startled to see him looking at her in abject horror. She glanced around the room nervously. Damn it, she'd said too much again. Adaji and Hondo used to do the same thing. Even Boba had shifted back to look at her with worry. She wasn't sure what to do, but Jango shook his head in dismay.
"Zaiya… that's not normal," he insisted and she frowned.
"Dathomir is hardly orthodox-"
"No, kid, that's…" he let out a huff of frustration and stood, abruptly, "it's damn abusive is what it is!" he snapped, "if Temuss- he would never have let you-!"
"Well, he wasn't there, Jango, what happened happened," she sighed, the emotions in the room were draining her.
"Are you alright, Tahn'ti?" Boba suddenly asked in a small voice and Zaiya let out a long breath.
"Of course I am, all that happened a long time ago and I needed to do that, It wasn't so bad," she shrugged. Compared to the treatment of the Nightbrothers she was sure this was nothing. Compared to her life on Zygerria, it was easy. Sure, she didn't like it much, and she went hungry often and was left battered and bruised, and in pain all the time, but she'd had a goal. She'd had to find Maul. It was worth it. But it brought up more questions. Was she really pushing the soldiers too hard? They were grown men… though human, would the training affect their physiology differently? Her initial dismissal had given way to something more worrying. Was she… like Talzin? The thought horrified her and though she tried to assuage and comfort Boba… this dark feeling gnawed at her insides.
After some time of talking, Jango seemed insistent to not hide anything from Boba, despite his age, and discussed the job, though it was still a little vague. Apparently Lord Tyranus has been insistent with this one, and that feeling of unease she'd felt before began to grow. She didn't say anything of course, how could she? She'd assured the Kaminoans, Jango and Maul that she could do this, that there was nothing to worry about… but doubt clawed its way to the forefront. She did the only thing she could for now, she pushed it down.
Notes:
We have snuck well into the canon events now, friends! Already, Maul has been found something like two years before canon and Zaiya is interfering on Kamino. So what's next? What will happen on Geonosis? Put your suggestions in the comments and let me know your thoughts! Any and all feedback, comments, recommendations etc are most welcome. I love reading them and they seriously make my day. I hope you enjoyed this chapter... next week, Kamino shall have a visitor! (I think we know who!) Til then, have an amazing week - stay safe and be well! 3
