Five
Coric woke the to the scarred face boring down at him.
"Fek! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Is it true?"
"Huh?"
"Is-it-true?"
"Is what true?"
"That Rex is dead?"
Finally someone brave enough to say the words.
"Yes, yes he is." Coric lifted himself up and sat propped against the wall.
"Well? What the fek happened?"
Chopper never did mince his words.
Coric sighed. He had mentally relived every step of the rush at the Temple during the night.
His mind not allowing him to switch off, even after a mild sedative.
He ran his hands over his eyes in an attempt to wake up and watched as Chopper sat at the end of his bunk, eager for the full report on what had happened to the revered captain of the 501st.
"I don't know where to start?"
"Oh for feks sake! You medics are all the same; fekking drama queens. Just tell me what went down ok?"
"Ok," Coric replied, mildly pissed at Choppers demeaning manner.
"Skywalker killed him. In the Jedi Nursery. Rex was even holding a kid, he - "
"Who's kid?"
"How the fek should I know?" His voice rising, "what does it matter anyway? Skywalker just pierced him and Kix with the kid through the chest. The window cracked and they fell through. End of story."
The two stared off at each other, then Coric rubbed his eyes, wiping away the tears. Chopper could see the pain was still raw and Coric was disappointed in the way he had reacted.
"So Kix bought it?"
"Elek. Skywalker killed a woman as well, sliced her open with the glow stick."
"Which one?'
"Oh for the love of the stars Chop, I don't know!"
Chopper stared him down. He had always been intimidating, but he seemed even more earnest now. "Where's Jess?"
"He got him too," Coric whispered.
"What?"
"Jesse was thrown across the room in one of those Jedi throat holds. Slammed up against the wall dead."
"Fek." Coric saw it then, the flash of hurt, and as quickly as it was shown, it was gone.
"Yeah, fek."
Coric had checked the KIA list and the Coruscant Guard had been efficient in their recording of the numbers killed on the night of Order 66.
"We had no time to react."
Chopper then looked uncomfortable and went to leave.
"Hey, where were you anyway? We hear Kenobi got away."
"I didn't have a clear shot. No point wasting ammo," Chop didn't make eye contact.
"Yeah," Coric replied, a light bulb in his mind switching on, "no point wasting ammo."
.
"… what we are witnessing is the total annihilation of the Jedi Council. For the past three hours, the centre of Coruscant has been in military lock down as soldiers from the 501st, the specialist troopers under the leadership of General Skywalker were given the all clear to execute an order from Chancellor Palpatine and stop the Jedi from taking control of the Senate. Warning, what we are about to transmit is a live feed from the Temple that some of our viewers may find disturbing."
Fives watched, agog as he was transported back to the Temple on Coruscant.
To his previous life.
There he watched as troopers continued forward, carrying out the order to take the Temple at all costs. Bodies were strewn on the ground and anyone could see that there were children amongst the dead. Smoke obstructed his view as he scanned the markings on the troopers that had been killed during the surprise attack. Fives blew out a long breath and became agitated that the cameraman didn't have a clear view.
Then he saw the pattern on the armour and his blood ran cold.
"… citizens are advised to stay in doors until the all clear has been given and to report any suspicious activity near their place of abode to the relevant authorities. For more now, we'll cross to our political correspondent Augie Wright. This is Elin Andersyn, HNN, Coruscant."
Fives leaned forward and turned off the screen. Tash didn't say anything and waited. She knew he had recognised something and needed time to process the enormity of what they had just watched.
She waited until she thought the time was right.
"Fives, did you know those soldiers?"
"Yes." He wasn't about to divulge anymore and she noticed his cheeks turn bright red.
"Fives? What does it all mean?"
He turned and looked at her, "nothing. I'm dead remember? I need some fresh air."
Fives took his walking cane and slowly left the room. Tash watched as he made his way outside and sit awkwardly at one of the chairs by the swimming pond.
Here must I sit and stare
Withered and wrinkled;
Knowing the spaces there
With blood are sprinkled.
Up until five minutes ago the war had almost been forgotten.
Almost.
They had the ideal existence, almost the one they dared dream of.
She had a job in a mental health clinic in Longinnes on the other side of town. Fives would often come with her to work and spend the day walking through the picturesque gardens, reading and slightly dozing in the sun.
The rehabilitation had been lengthy and Fives was frustrated with his lack of physical strength. But that wasn't her speciality: Tash was wary of the effect his injuries were having on his mind.
Why in the smoky sky
Missed I the sad truth?
Why did I not die
Young with the blood of youth?
She would be wrong is saying that the accident hadn't aged him. His hair was now quite grey and his skin lined and he had visibly aged from the repercussions of chronic pain.
Why did I not die
Hot in the heat of noon?
Their relationship had changed also. Gone were the wild nights they used to spend together in the throws of passion. In its place was a new level of intimacy, one he had never allowed her to see before.
One of weakness but also of undeniable love.
She didn't care as long as they were together.
Sometimes he would be moody, and on those days she would steer clear, giving him the space to work through his disappointment.
But what had he seen that made his heart rate rise and his face prickle with realisation?
Tash would never know that he had recognised a symbol on a piece of armour.
A felled trooper. The mark on the chest plate a reminder from a previous battle.
One he had seen before.
On Umbara.
A lone stand maybe, or just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Fives' mind was whirring with the possibilities and ramifications of such a campaign on Coruscant. Difficult, being in a largely civilian population, dangerous launching an attack against the Jedi.
Even the peace keepers would fight for their lives if they had to.
Would Rex raise a blaster?
Not without questioning it's legitimacy surely?
But in amongst the images of the 501st moving through the Temple, Fives never saw his old captain. He recognised a few others from his old unit, but not the notorious Jaig eye's.
They weren't the ones walking behind the general.
No, the marking that had brought his previous life rushing back was a symbol of hope.
"Kix'" he whispered silently as he watched the sun set, casting an eerie glow over the tranquil water.
Today, he felt a little more alone in the Universe.
Today he lost a true friend.
Here must I sleep and lie
Under the cool moon.
Here must I die acage,
Pale in the light
Cold in my icy age,
Cold in the icy night.[2]
.
Reed went to all the medical centres in the area. Making an estimate of the time they left, coupled with the fact that they were injured and now in civilian clothing, he made a map of the most likely places and visited them in order.
The first four were dead ends and he became anxious at the thought of not finding them.
Reed had made a decision to leave with Skylar Gem and trooper designation CT-5597.
He had nothing and no one to go back to now the Empire had been formed and his relationship with Cariss was over.
He planned the escape.
They would head to the Outer Rim where he would get a job as a contractor on the massive plantations of Ilbeos; no one would question him as long as he did the work.
And work was something the clones could do.
There, she could finally mourn the death of her husband and daughter.
Jesse could heal and they would become a, a new family of sorts.
Yes, all he had to do was find them.
The last surgery was the furthest from his apartment, and the last place he calculated they would have made it to. He walked into the medical centre and waited patiently for the nurse to look up from her data pad.
"Can I help you?" she asked, taking in his armour.
"I am looking for two people, one male and one female. The male looks approximately like me but is unable to talk. The woman, about the same height has brown - "
As Reed continued to describe his two friends, the doctor listened behind the door to the room that had both Jesse and Gem hidden. They were both sedated and sleeping and the doctor, true to his word, never did disclose their location.
"I'm sorry sir," he said as he closed the door quietly behind him, "we have had no one of that description in here today. I'll be sure to contact the relevant people if they happen to come in," he smiled all the time, making a believable argument to the pilot.
"That's not necessary," Reed said handing him his card, "just contact this number and I will personally collect them."
"Thank you, I'll be sure to contact you, if, as I said, they turn up here. Good day to you sir."
Reed left and headed back to the barracks to await news from any of the medical suites he attended that morning, his initial optimism beginning to wane.
It was 2100 when he was recalled back to Coruscant.
Apparently Cariss hadn't taken his decision to end their relationship well, and had taken it upon herself to contact the Coruscant Guard, reporting what she had seen in another apartment the night before.
.
Reed lifted off Corellia for the last time and fed in the co-ordinates to Coruscant. Sitting back he let the craft do the work when an incoming message came through the comm.
"Lieutenant Reed this is Commander Fox."
"Copy that Commander." Reed immediately straightened in his seat; he wasn't expecting to hear anything from Fox considering the events of the past 24 hours.
"Reed, I'm just letting you know, unofficially, that you will be receiving a personal escort into Corsucant once you hit Empire air space. Do-you-understand lieutenant?"
The lieutenant got the message loud and clear.
"They're gone."
Fox's voice softened slightly, "now you have to be also."
"Understood Sir."
There was a moment's silence. There were so much both wanted to ask, to say, but there was no time. The communiqué could have already been corrupted and intercepted.
"Good luck lieutenant."
"Copy that Commander."
Reed quickly went to the ships emergency beacon and pulled a wire from their housing, rendering the signal dead. The Empire would not be able to trace his flight path as he re set the navi computer for the planet in to the outer rim that Mav used to bore him senseless about.
"… the trees Reed! They have these amazing trees you have to climb and cut down. Harness work. We'd be good at that. And look! Look at all that blue sky," his eyes glistened with excitement as Reed smiled from the co-pilots seat, "and not a cloud to be seen..."
...
[2] Songs of a campaign, Leon Gellert 1918
