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sunflowersteves · 1 year

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forehead kiss || d.d.

chapter one of partners in crime

pairing || din djarin x f!reader

summary || With a bounty on the loose, you and Din are off on a chase.

author's note || i can't wait to get more into this series, i have so much planned!! also i promise next chapter will have smut ;)

warnings || angst, insecurities, fluff, lowkey slowburn, canon-typical violence, eventual smut, no moff gideon plot, din in love, mutual pining

series masterlist || masterlist

Beads of sweat run down your forehead as a defeated sigh leaves your lips. Your muscles were screaming at you for an ounce of a break. The bounty was supposed to be easy, incredibly easy—but it felt like you had been chasing him for hours on end.

You huffed in annoyance, while the Mandalorian just stayed silent and calculating.

Greef had offered you and the Mandalorian a hefty bounty since the last one he slid over was almost nothing—only about fifty credits to be split between the two of you. A Prince from Toydaria had lost his way in the depths of the galaxy after pirates had attacked his ship and held him for ransom.

From some unknown sources that Greef gave, you were able to find information that the Prince was alive and hiding on Tatooine. The King and Queen placed a bounty on him, unharmed, in hopes to find their son.

You figured he would want to return back as quickly as possible—no doubt missing his family and the luxury life as royalty. What you weren't expecting, though, was how good the Prince was at hiding. He never seemed to ever want to return.

He was quick and cumbersome—any trail that you and Mando left behind, he was able to sniff the two of you out. He somehow knew each and every time you were nearby as he ran through alleyways and hid in crowded markets.

He out ran the two of you all around Mos Eisley. First, you went through a cantina. Then a guild, and then some poor woman’s home. You three scared the living shit out of her as she flung a greasy pan into the air. You and the Mandalorian even dodged the soap bottle she threw at you.

Unfortunately, though, the Prince was also exceptionally great at dodging your attacks, which only made you groan in annoyance even further. The last time the two of you saw him, he had headed straight for the busy markets. So, the two of you sat tight—shoulders nonchalantly leaning against the cantina wall while the Mandalorian stood rigid.

“Still no sign of him yet?”

An exasperated sigh buzzed through his modulator and it was the only signal he gave to you that there was no sign of him. You knew how stressful some of these hunts could be. He didn’t want to stay on this planet for long in fear that someone might stalk near the ship as the kid was fast asleep.

You and the Mandalorian are partners in crime, of sorts. It was the closest thing you could call whatever was happening on the Razor Crest. One day, you were both after the same bounty and you fought tooth and nail for them.

Your lip was bloody and your stomach was bruised, his head swirled slightly to the right—his balance a little off. You could tell by his dazed stare that you had only a few seconds to grab the bounty and go—and you almost did until you saw a pair of green ears poke out from under his bag.

The Mandalorian tried to shove the kid back into his brown pouch, but you had already seen him. You opened your mouth, but nothing came out—a swirling of thoughts crossed your mind. Then, unexpectedly for the Mandalorian, you let the harsh grip that you had on the bounty’s arm go, and shoved the tied up man toward the Mandalorian.

“Here.” You said. “For the kid.”

The Mandalorian didn’t say a word as he shoved the bounty over his shoulder and started to walk away. Almost ten feet passed you, though, he stopped. He turned around and nodded his head toward you—inviting you to come along. You, confused, stayed silent as well, but followed the strange Mandalorian and his green baby.

You would help around the ship with the baby. You would give him aid in catching bounties. You would tinker around on the ship, despite his first panicked expressions.

Sooner or later it made Din realize that he never wanted to let you go. You were his family. His clan. He had finally found his purpose. Little did he know, you sought the same visions too.

So ever since that day, you never left.

You scan the crowds and search for any signs of the Prince. Your hand traced the blaster that sat right in its holster. It was something you did when you needed to concentrate. Din, personally and secretly, took note of the little details of you. “Maker—where is that fucking kid?”

He turned slightly to look at you, watching as your fingers glided over the barrel of the blaster once more. He could feel his heart thump loudly against his armor—pressing against his ear drums.

“He’ll turn up soon.” He breathed in deep, trying to stay focused on the task.

Ever since the two of you met, he had always been so enamored by your presence. There was just something about you that had him aching to know more, to know every single detail about you. Yet every single time, he would push those feelings down to the bottom chasm of his mind.

Every laugh, every smile, every kick and punch, every soft touch, every star-crossed glance, every little thing he compartmentalized inside of his head. He couldn’t get you out of his mind if he tried.

He was in love with you, that much he knew. His mind was constantly clouded with thoughts about you. His mind was becoming antsy—itching to press his fingertips against the soft plains of your skin. He wasn’t sure just how many more times he could pass you in the ship without wanting to kiss your cheeks.

“Mando! There he is!”

You don’t even wait for an answer as you race down the middle of the market. The kid turned around with bright wide eyes at the sight of you bolting towards him.

You could see his chest start to come closer and closer, your arm reaching out as far as you could to snatch the kid. You could hear Din’s heavy armor clunk behind you, the fast speed of his legs carrying him.

Suddenly, the Prince cut a corner and ran into a small area of jorgan fruit stands. Your body almost crashed into a handful of crates, but you still chased him nonetheless.

The kid looks back at you and sticks his tongue out, teasing you for being slower than he was.

“Oh for—this fucking kid!”

Your eyes widened slightly as an old man started walking right in front of your path. You panic at the thought of hitting some poor old man until you feel a sharp tug at your waist, and you flung forward, soaring over the old man. You were able to catch yourself from falling, and you continued to run after the Prince.

You turn your head back around and see Mando’s grappling hook start to sling back towards him. He gives you a small nod before you turn back around, trying to focus on the hunt.

To your luck, the kid finally starts to get tired from all the ducking and dodging, and his speed starts slowing down. Your heart is racing as you stretch out your hand once more. You were so close, fingertips just barely touching the leather. You try to pick up your pace a little bit, your legs tensing rapidly from the hard ground.

You smile in victory as your hand encloses around the jacket, your whole body leaning forward to snatch him. The two of you tumble forward and roll onto the hard ground, sand flinging around in a dust cloud.

Your hands immediately wrap around the bounty’s arms, while he pushes his arms against you in an attempt to get out of your grasp. Shiny armor beamed in front of your eyes as the Mandalorian approached the two of you. He reached down and cuffed the squirming Prince.

He held out his hand to you, one which you gladly accepted. Din’s heart skipped as he watched your smile beam up at him. His body becomes rigid and still as your hands find themselves perched up against his chest.

His ears almost warmed at your excited laughter from finally catching this simple bounty. Out of all the problems of today, he wasn’t expecting to feel the soft warmth of your skin radiate onto his beskar. He wasn’t expecting your touch to be so soft or the smile on your face to be so contagious.

He found himself smiling wide, one hand reaching down to capture your wrist. What stole his breath away, though, was when your hands moved up to his helmet, slowly making him lean down to touch your foreheads together.

He whipped his head backward as fast as he could, his heart slamming against his ribcage.

“W-What was that?” He breathed heavily.

You didn’t dare move out of his arms at first, not wanting to make any sudden movements. Although, he didn’t move either, so you both stood there with your arms secured around his forearm.

“On my planet, touching foreheads is a greeting but it can also be a way of celebration.”

There was a small pause as you hear Mando’s chest rise and fall hard like he couldn’t quite breathe right. Your eyebrow twitched in concern. “Why? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”

His head moved down to stare at the way your hands rested upon his forearm, squeezing the indestructible metal.

“I- No.”

When his visor made its way back to your face, you didn’t look too convinced. He wanted to snap his eyes close and retreat to the Razor Crest. He wanted to let the ground swallow him whole. His hands started to become clammy, while thoughts raced against one another.

He couldn’t tell you that what you had done was a kiss. A Keldabe kiss that he has seen many of those in his covert do with their clans.

“Okay.”

He watched in agony as that bright smile you wore started to fade, your arms slowly retracting themselves. You still weren't convinced, that much he definitely knew.

“I’m sorry if I disrespected—”

Before his brain could really catch up to his heart, Din interrupted you by pulling your wrists forward, and you crash into his arms. Your hands were bunched up on his broad chest, and your heart thumped against your chest. Your eyes start to flutter close as his head leaned down to touch yours.

You could hear the long breaths leaving his modulator, and you could feel his shaky hands move up and down your back, soothing the rough outlines of your shirt.

Finally, Din's heart felt calm. He could feel the warmth that spread across his body at the feeling of your head pressed against his helmet. His hands squeezed your wrists even tighter, as if he never wanted to let go.

“Thank you.”

You swallowed, only allowing yourself to nod as a response. Mando was trying—an attempt to make amends and follow the culture of your own people.

However, the tranquility only lasted for so long as his brain panicked and his heart thumped across his chest. His ears almost not able to catch the sound of your breath as it flowed through his modulator. Just as quickly as he had done earlier, his body retracted itself from you.

You almost shiver at the lack of warmth that surged through your body from the mere touches he gave you. You looked down at the golden sand, awkwardness filling your stomach. You knew Mando wasn't telling you something.

You could tell that it must have been something important from his reaction and silent glances he had been giving you after you parted from him.

Mando says your name, the modulator picking up the confusion in his voice.

"Yeah, Mando?"

He looks around, then turns back to you. "Where's the Prince?"

“Oh—fuck—maker—where did the kid go?”

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x y/n #din djarin #the mandalorian x y/n #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian fanfiction #star wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars x reader

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justagalwhowrites · 10 months

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Beskar Doll - Ch. 30: Out of Reach

You and Din start your hunt for the syndicate. A continuation of Beskar Doll Ch. 1-29 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Female Reader

Warnings: Light smut; canon-typical violence. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI, 18+ Only.

Length: 4.1K

“This is a lot of ground to cover, Mando.”

You were standing next to the massive skull of a Krayt Dragon, the canyon wide and deep. There were pockmarks of caves and caverns, outcroppings and ledges. It would all need searching.

“It’s going to take some time,” he said, looking around.

“How do we want to do this?” You asked, looking up at him. The kid bobbed in his pod nearby, watching the Mandalorian with curious intensity. “Split up and clear the caves one by one?”

He looked down at you.

“My hunt,” he reminded you. You rolled your eyes. “But no. You’re going to go up there,” he pointed to the top of the canyon, the side opposite the skeleton. “And keep watch.”

“What!” You gaped at him. “No, absolutely not.”

“My. Hunt.” You could feel him glaring at you. “You will sit up there and monitor the entrances. You’ll need your rifle, I’ll be relying on you to thin out any aggressors coming in, and send me a message on the com when you see them coming.”

“Is a com link even going to get through that much rock?” You asked, frowning. “I don’t like this…”

“You don’t like it because you’re not the one going into the caves,” he replied wryly. You glared at him. “You’re only happy if you’re the one taking the risk. But if the com can’t get through, all the more reason you should stay topside and take out who you can if need be.”

“So you want me to just sit on my ass for who knows how long while you do the actual hunting.” Your voice was dripping sarcasm. Din didn’t care.

“Yes.”

Your eyes narrowed.

“Are you getting back at me for saving your life on Toydaria?”

“No,” he replied, his voice even. It made you madder, that he was just cool and calm when you could . “I’m telling you to do what I need you to do to complete this job. This was the deal, Doll. You’re welcome to take the kid and go wait aboard the Razor Crest if you disagree.”

You glared at him for a moment before manipulating the control at your wrist, linking the child to you and stalking over to the canyon wall, climbing the steep path to the top.

It took you an hour to make it to the top. Half way up, Din’s voice - almost amused - came through the com.

“You know there’s a speeder bike,” he said.

“Fuck off, Mando,” you griped back, breathless and sweaty. He laughed. You glared down the cliffside at him but kept climbing.

“Tomorrow you’re taking the bike,” he said. “You’re taking too long.”

“You could climb this and I could go searching caves,” you snapped. “Happy to trade.”

“I’m sure you are.”

You made it to the top of the canyon and perched at the edge, rifle on the ground beside you, the kid peering out over the side of the pod and down into the canyon’s depths. Mando’s armor glinted in the sun.

“We’re in position,” you said over the com.

“I’m starting with the lower most cave on the end,” he replied. “Only shoot if you see them going in the same system, don’t give away your position otherwise. Stay put unless it’s unsafe to do so. If something happens and you can get back to your parents’ house safely, we’ll rendezvous there. If you can’t, get to Mos Eisley and back to Peli and the Crest. Understood?”

“Understood,” you rolled your eyes and watched as the glinting beskar went into the cave. You sighed and looked at the kid, his eyes wide.

“Your dad is a piece of work, you know that?”

He cooed.

“We’ll try to keep you from inheriting that trait.”

Sitting on the top of the canyon watching the horizon was… well, boring. You spotted dewbacks in the distance, banthas too. Some signs of the Sand People you used to trade with now and then. You noticed the different colors in the rock, the streaks of pinks and whites blended with the orange and yellow. You wished you knew more about what caused things like that. Wished you knew about things beyond politics and manipulation and how to kill people. There’d never been room for things like how canyons were formed when you were studying. You wished you’d been something besides a tool.

You worked with the kid the best you could, moving on from trying to let him into your mind and shifting to what he could do physically.

“Think you can catch it?” You asked, holding up the small, silver ball from one of the levers on the Razor Crest’s dash that he was so attached to.

“Patu,” his eyes met yours and you felt just how much he wanted the ball.

“OK buddy,” you said as clearly as you could. “I’m going to drop the ball. You try to catch it before it hits the ground, OK?”

His eyes met yours, the wanting still there with some kind of understanding. Whether or not he actually understood you was another matter but it was a good enough place to start, you supposed.

“One, two, three!”

You dropped the ball and it fell to the sand. He started toddling for it but you picked it up and held it up high again. He frowned.

“You have to catch it before it hits the ground to get it,” you said. “Like this.”

You dropped the ball with one hand and caught it with the other.

“See?” You said. “Do that, but with the force. OK?”

“Patu.”

“You’ve got this, Kiddo,” you held the ball up again. “One, two, three!”

You dropped it and it fell to the sand, but it seemed to go a bit slower right at the end. Or so you thought. Maybe you were imagining things.

You did it again and again and - on the 11th drop - the ball stopped about two inches above the sand, the kid’s face scrunched in concentration, his little hand outstretched.

“You did it!” You clapped your hands and smiled at him, broadly. He squealed and the ball dropped to the sand. He toddled forward and grabbed it. “You little jedi you!”

He clambered onto your lap, ball clenched tightly in his tiny fist and you held your arms up to keep him from falling off as he got settled.

“Doll?” Din’s voice was scratchy on the com link. “Do you read?”

“You’re hazy but I copy,” you replied, putting one hand in front of the child for him to hold and play with. “What’s up, Mando?”

“Heading up now,” he said. “Nearly there. No signs of them here. Start heading down to meet me.”

“Yes sir,” you said, a teasing edge to your voice. You gathered up your things - and the kid in his pod - and started the trek down the canyon. He reached it just before you did.

“Did you ignore a com from me today?” He asked by way of greeting.

“No,” you frowned. “Why?”

He sighed.

“We’ll be running silent for a lot of this,” he said. “The com can’t get through the rock once I’m about halfway into the caves.”

“Shit,” you sighed.

“It’s not ideal,” he agreed. “We just have to be diligent.”

You climbed on the back of the speeder, the kid tucked in between you, and the Mandalorian took you back to your family home.

The small house on the dunes still gutted you when you saw it. You knew what it held, what had happened in its walls. Why you’d ever lived there to begin with. You tried to put it out of your mind, passing the kitchen with its blood splattered cabinets and disturbed place settings and heading straight for your room.

You got out rations for you and Din, crackers and jerky for the kid. You tucked the baby onto your lap and faced a wall so the Mandalorian could eat something, too. The meal passed in silence. You didn’t really feel like talking. When the helmet had returned to his head, you handed him the child.

“I’m going to go watch the sunset,” you said, not waiting for a response.

You rushed past the kitchen and out the door, going to the side of the house where part of the wall had worn away and you could get an easy foothold. You scaled the wall to the roof, clambering up to the apex of the dome. You tucked your legs against your chest, resting your head on your knees as the sky changed colors. Vibrant oranges and purples and red met the sand. You watched them slowly shift and change, the light growing dimmer by the minute. The suns were almost down when Din joined you on the roof.

“I always wanted to paint the sunsets here,” you said after a moment. “They’re so beautiful. All the color, the two suns, the way the sand plays with the light…”

“Why don’t you.”

You almost laughed. He so rarely actually asked.

“I don’t know how,” you sighed. “Wouldn’t even know where to start. Wish I did but…” you shrugged.

“Didn’t teach you that in queen school,” his tone was light but still curious.

“For the people who might actually be queens,” you said. “I was too busy learning how to protect one to learn something like art. But I’d like to learn.”

You kept watching as the last sliver of sunlight dipped below the horizon, the galaxy spilling out overhead.

“We can find a new place to be,” he said after a moment. You could feel his eyes on you but you kept watching the horizon.

“No,” you shook your head. “No, I want to be here. I need to be here.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Can I help you?”

You turned your head to him then. There was something about his armor, the gentle arcs and contours of it. It was graceful and lethal even in stillness. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. Even if you never saw his face you knew he was beautiful.

“Touch me?” You asked, voice quiet.

He didn’t answer, just wordlessly moved so he was positioned behind you. He pulled your body back against his and removed his gloves, sliding his hands down your body. His fingers skimmed over your skin, leaving a trail of pebbled flesh in their wake. They worked their way down, one stopping at your waist, wrapping around you below your shirt, fingers splayed wide against your flesh. The other slipped into your pants, two fingers finding your clit.

He worked you over slowly, gently, gradually building your orgasm until you were aching and desperate for it.

“Din,” you whimpered, two of his fingers deep inside you, his thumb slowly, firmly working your clit.

“I know, Doll,” he said gently. “It’s OK. I have you. You can let go with me. I have you. Just let go.”

You came with a choking sob, all the tension leaving your body in a rush as he pulled you tighter against him.

“I have you,” he said softly. “I have you.”

When you went to bed, you gently pulled the child from his pod. You felt bad disturbing him, his eyes cracking open as he gave a tiny yawn, but you were too desperate to feel close to him and the Mandalorian. Din removed all his armor but his helmet and you held the child gently between you. He nuzzled into your chest and easily calmed and you fell asleep there, Din’s arms around you as you held his child close.

Searching the canyon was time consuming. The next few days were more of the same. Din deposited you early at the top of the canyon and then he went to the bottom. On the second day, he was able to clear three smaller cave groups. On day three, just one. You kept working with the child on his force abilities, coaxing him to use his skills, build them up.

You were practicing more of his skills with reading minds and projecting his feelings when you saw something on the horizon. You quickly put the child back in his pod and got out the binocs. It was a hoard of speeder bikes, a few dozen at least, racing towards Beggar’s Canyon.

As you grabbed your rifle, you tried to calm yourself down. It could be anything. Kids liked to race the canyon, shoot womp rats from their speeders. Hell, they could even just be headed for Mom Espa. But something in you told you that wasn’t the case.

The speeders came to a stop near the skeleton in the canyon, everyone dismounting. They were armed to the teeth, large and intimidating. You watched them, waiting to see where they were headed. Your stomach sank like a stone when they went into the same cave the Mandalorian had disappeared into hours before.

“Dank farrik,” you muttered, readying your rifle.

You started with the ones closest to the cave’s entrance, hoping to draw them away. They reacted immediately, your shot landing smoothly. They started to scatter, you saw them calling out on com links. You fired again, looking for those with the least cover. It took you a few shots but you felled another one. You fought to focus as they looked to find where to shoot, figure out what to do.

“Mando, Mando, come in Mando,” you said into your com. There was no response. “Fuck.”

At least three had made it into the cave. It wasn’t until the kid squealed that you realized you had a whole other set of problems.

There was a second group of a few dozen men on speeders, racing up the canyon toward you.

“Shit,” you muttered, still aiming for the people outside the cave. You felled another one. One leaned out to talk to some others, pointing in your direction. It exposed four of them and you got off four rounds, one right after the other, each shot landing and dropping one of them. You could hear the speeders now.

“Mando, Mando, Mando!” you said again, lining up another shot. It missed. You fired again, hitting this time. Din didn’t respond. The child sent a wave of terror at you. “I know kid, I know! I’ll keep you safe…”

You thought, as quickly as you could. There wasn’t a way you were getting out of this, that much was clear. You tried not to think about that right now, you’d have the luxury to break once you got through this part. You could get the kid out, get Din out. You couldn’t risk them, they were too important, you had to keep them safe, if anything happened to them you couldn’t live with it. You fired two more shots, dropping two more near the cave entrance, before yanking the control cuff Din had just given you off your wrist. You flipped the comm function to record.

“Din,” you said quickly. “I’m overrun. I’m sending the kid to you, take him and get the fuck out of here. If I live, I’ll get to you when I can, I’ll get to Karga and send word through him. Take care of yourself, take care of the kid….” You paused for a moment, knowing you didn’t have the time but not able to say it without it feeling like there was a fist in your chest. But you had to. If you weren’t going to get another chance, you had to say it, you couldn’t take it to your grave. You had to say it. “I love you, Din. So much. Stay safe.”

You quickly set up another shot and fired, quickly following it with another, killing two more before you tossed the cuff into the pod with the kid.

“I love you, little guy,” you said, holding his gaze. He felt so scared. “I’m going to keep you safe, OK? I’m sending you to your dad and I’m going to clear a path for you. You’ll be safe with your dad. Try to remember that I love you, OK?” You kissed his tiny forehead. “I’ll keep you safe.”

You pushed the button on your cuff, switching control of the pod to Din, quickly sealing it before it started racing for his last known location inside the cave. You immediately dropped back onto your stomach, firing shot after shot, watching for anyone who noticed the pod and taking them down. You’d killed 20 men when the first one reached you.

He grabbed your shoulder and you flipped onto your back, kicking him in the stomach and sending him stumbling back. You ripped your sidearm from its holster and shot him point blank. He dropped like a stone.

The others you had about 30 seconds on. You quickly rolled back to the rifle, assessing where the child was. You fired another shot as the pod disappeared into the cave. More hands were on you.

“She needs to be alive!” Someone yelled. “The boss needs to know who she’s with, we need her alive!”

You adjusted your grip on your rifle, wielding it almost like a staff, swinging the butt of it around and hitting one of the men touching you in the face. It caught him off guard and he stumbled. You took advantage of it, sweeping his legs out from beneath him. The other man tried to rip the rifle from your hands but you held firm, slamming your head into his nose. He yelped and released your gun, stumbling back from you. You took advantage of him being off balance and swung your gun into the side of his head. It was just enough to send him over the edge of the cliff. You scrambled to your feet, dropping the rifle and pulling out your blaster, gasping for breath. There were dozens of them, dozens, and they had your back to a cliff’s edge.

“Don’t make this worse for yourself,” one moved toward you, cautiously, a knife in their grip. “You can’t escape us.”

“No,” you panted. “But I can take some of you with me.”

You shot him and he dropped. One rushed you from the left and you tried to get a shot off but weren’t fast enough, missing the person moving for you and clipping another on the shoulder instead. He grabbed you around the middle and you brought your elbow down into his liver. He groaned but held you tight. You slammed your head back, catching his nose and feeling it collapse below your skull. He released you, stumbling back from you and you took half a second to grab the vibroknife, stabbing it into his ribs as he went. He went down with a scream.

While you were distracted with him, two more came for you, overwhelming you. You thrashed in their grip, trying to get off another shot or bring your knife down, but they held you firm. A third person appeared over you, a sickening smile on his face as he brought the butt of his blaster down against your skull, knocking you out cold. Your last thoughts were of Din.

***

He heard the threat before he saw it.

This cave was the most promising yet, signs of regular movement through the system, especially as he got deeper. Of course, by the time he tried to tell you this, there was too much rock between you for the message to get through. He was getting close to what he thought was a storage site when he heard a voice - faint, in the distance. He drew his weapon and turned to meet them head on.

There were just three at first. He kicked the first one in the chest, sending him flying back into the other two before he shot each one, leaving them on the floor of the cave. If there were people getting through…

He started running for the cave entrance. Two more made it through and he killed them, too. Five more after that, their blaster bolts bouncing uselessly off his beskar as he shot them one by one.

“Doll!” He was still too deep in the cave to get word to you by com but he had to try. “Doll, come in, Doll…”

Three more this time. He killed them. He pressed on, running as fast as he could, the cave seeming so much longer now than it had when he had been finding his way through the first time. The next thing the cave is what terrified him.

He went into one of the larger antechambers and the kid’s pod whisked over to him, sealed tight. There was a chime at his wrist. The pod had been switched to him.

He opened it, the child safely inside, his eyes wide and ears low. Your cuff was inside, too. The kid whimpered. Din’s hand shook as he pulled the cuff out, and indicator light showing there was a recorded message. He pressed play.

“Din, I’m overrun. I’m sending the kid to you, take him and get the fuck out of here. If I live, I’ll get to you when I can, I’ll get to Karga and send word through him. Take care of yourself, take care of the kid…. I love you, Din. So much. Stay safe.”

His stomach dropped. His head spun.

“No.”

He dropped the cuff back in the pod and ran. He wasn’t sure for how long.

There was no one left alive outside the cave when he got there but he could see a body lying at the base of the cliff you’d been camped out on. He jumped on a speeder bike, quickly attaching the pod to the back, and raced up the cliff to where you were.

You’d been more than overrun. There was evidence of dozens of men up here. There were a few dead and the signs of a scuffle. You were gone. You loved him. You loved him and you were gone, they’d taken you…

There was a groan to his left. A man he thought was dead was still hanging on. He knelt beside him, looking the man over. There was a gaping knife wound at his chest, his nose broken.

Din tried to focus. They had you. He needed to get you back. To do that, he’d need information. Which means this man needed to live. For now.

He slapped the man’s face and he groaned, his eyes fluttering open.

“Shit,” he breathed, eyes ranging over the Mandalorian.

“The woman who was here,” he said, trying to keep his voice flat. “Where did they take her.”

“Sure you’d like to know,” he laughed, gurgling on his own blood. Din growled, straightening his glove before he thrust two fingers into the knife wound you’d left on his chest. The man screamed, thrashing and wailing. He kept his fingers inside him.

“Tell me,” he growled. “Now.”

“Fuck you,” the man spat.

Din’s free hand went to the man’s face, gripping his chin, forcing him to look at his helmet.

“You can tell me now,” Din said. “Or you can tell me later. One will hurt you much, much more.”

“Fuck. You.”

Din’s fingers spread inside the cut. The man screamed as his flesh tore. Din didn’t care.

“Where. Is. She,” his voice shook. His fingers spread more. The man’s skin gave way so easily. Or, at least, it felt easy. He couldn’t tell how much strength he was using. Everything was numb, every part of him doing anything but screaming to find you had no feeling.

“There’s an old palace!” He cried eventually. Din’s fingers stopped spreading. “In the north, in the Dune Sea. Abandoned years ago, that’s where everyone goes, that’s where she’ll be….”

Din pulled his fingers from the man’s injured side. The man was gasping, panting for breath. He looked the Mandalorian up and down and smirked, blood sticky between his teeth. “They’re going to interrogate her. You’d better pray you find her before they do or you might not want her back.”

Din stood up, looking down at the bleeding man.

“She is the only prayer I know,” he drew his blaster, aiming it at the man’s head. His voice was calm. Inside, he was raging. “And you took her from me.”

He shot him. He holstered the weapon as he went to the speeder bike. He wasn’t going to do what you told him. This was his hunt. He wasn’t going to leave you here. He was coming for you and it was the syndicate who should pray.

#fanfic #mandalorian fanfic #smut fic #enemies to friends to lovers #din djarin #slow burn #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x female reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x f!reader

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chocmarss · 19 days

Note

Cody TBB deaged? oho?

WIP Folder post

Thanks for the ask! ✨

This was the initial WIP for Cody day but then I decided to swap it with the other one. It’s basically Cody being forced to take care of deaged TBB and being the most reluctant person when being in charge of a whole squad of Clone Force 99 babies. Also because I was inspired by them referring themselves as Cody’s.

Here’s an excerpt:

Ord Mantell gets dangerous nowadays.

Cody says so when Echo suggests Sid’s old place; it’s empty, it’s old, and it’s shut down. She won’t miss the place as much when she’s got something bigger in the backend of Toydaria, which attracts more of the unsavoury customers like flies to dead meat than this place ever did. She won’t miss it, and she definitely doesn’t need to know.

“She’ll charge us if she did,” Echo dryly tacks on, earning a snort from Wrecker somewhere off holo.

It smells of old, wet animals and damp carpet. The first time Cody steps into the place, taking in the dark room and the empty shelves, he thinks there are better places to wait.

Still, the office light gets switched on, Cody finds the small bottle of Riosan mead that should be far too expensive for Sid’s little claws to have or left conveniently behind the trapdoor under the chair, and props his feet against the edge of an empty crate.

#wip #wip game #ask game #commander cody #star wars #the clone wars #marswrites

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photogirl894 · 1 year

Text

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 16

"Circuitry and Assets"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Aaahhh, sorry this took forever! I'm to a point where there's going to be a break in the canon (cuz there's a small time jump between episodes 6 and 7) so I'm back to coming up with original stuff and man, that's hard sometimes! This chapter might not be much, but things will pick up in the next one!

Also a big thanks to the lovely @l-lend for a good chunk of Rina's dialogue in this chapter, too 😊

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @cole-kenxbi , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter

《 Chapter 15

》 Chapter 17

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The Bad Batch and the Koriena Force adjust to being on Ord Mantell and a new mission comes to them from Cid...involving both teams.

Aboard the Aurora, Lex was sitting on a sofa in the back room, staring down at her gloved hand and flexing her fingers in and out. It was strange not being able to feel the movement in her hand like she used to. Even though the pain wasn’t as serious this morning, there were still some dull, pulsing aches she was experiencing. Unfortunately, she couldn’t use any of Kida’s bacta salts to help with that. It wasn’t exactly smart to submerge her new mechanical arm in water for too long. It had only been over a week since she’d lost her real arm and she was slowly getting used to this new one. It still wasn’t the most comfortable thing, though, and she wondered how long it would take before it just felt normal.

“I know you hate it right now, but you can’t view your arm as a hindrance or a separate piece of equipment you wear. It’s a part of your physical body now; an extension of yourself. The more you reject it, the harder it’s going to be for you to get used to it…I see you, Lex. I do. I’ve been through what you’re experiencing now. The agony will go away, I promise you.”

She could hear the echoing words of a certain Clone by the same name in the back of her mind, his comforting voice putting her thoughts at ease. She knew he was right. Now that things had changed, she had to adjust her thinking in order to adapt to that change. She couldn’t look at her arm as an obstacle to overcome, but rather a new part of her body to put to use. That was the only way she would be able to properly overcome this new difficult predicament she found herself in. Eventually, things would be better and she wouldn’t be in pain anymore.

Despite how terrified she’d been at Echo discovering her secret at first, Lex was glad that, of all people, it had been him to stumble upon her crying. He was probably the only person who fully understood her situation and he was willing to help her adapt to her new cybernetics. That at least spared her having to randomly approach him, explain everything and then ask for help, which she wasn’t always good at doing. That was certainly due to her Zabrak stubbornness, for sure. She had felt nervous before at the thought of asking Echo for help and, in hindsight, she couldn’t fathom why. He was an understanding and compassionate person who cared a lot about other people. She knew this from briefly getting to know him before on Toydaria when the Koriena Force and the Bad Batch had taken some downtime a long time ago. Why had she thought he would be different this time, especially when this was something she knew he would understand? She had been afraid over nothing.

A flash of his handsome, smiling face and his bright brown eyes crossed her mind and she found herself smiling, too. Though, the moment she realized that, she shook her head and pushed that thought away. What was she doing? Why was she thinking about Echo like that? All he was doing was being a guide and a friend for her in her time of need. Not to mention they were all on the run from the Empire. There wasn’t any room for any sort of frivolous imaginings like that. Besides, it wasn't like Echo would remotely think of her like that either. She was a woman who came from a sketchy background while he was a noble soldier. Those two things didn't ever coincide.

Then again…despite that, he still chose to help her anyway.

It didn't matter. She wasn't going to let her thoughts regarding him get carried away. Just because he was the first man who showed her positive attention didn't mean she was going to let herself get attached like that. He was just a comrade giving her friendly advice. Nothing more.

“Hello, Lex.”

Lex was broken out of her thoughts by the lovely lilt of Kimber’s voice and she looked up to see Kimber coming into the room, dressed in her red and black civvie dress again.

“You’re up early,” Kimber remarked.

“I could say the same to you,” said Lex.

As she sat down on the sofa next to Lex, Kimber said back, “I honestly half expect Cid to have a mission for us again, so I want to be ready this time. Is everything okay? You looked lost in thought.”

Initially, Lex wanted to react on instinct and tell her everything was fine so they could just move on, but then she couldn’t help but feel guilty at keeping such a huge secret from her leader and friend. It had felt relieving to share her secret with Echo, even if it had been inadvertent, so maybe it was time that Kimber knew, too.

“Actually…there’s something I need to tell you about,” she told Kimber.

Kimber tilted her head curiously. “What is it?”

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Lex went on to explain to Kimber everything that happened back on Pantora up until the explosion, where her voice began to falter. Kimber patiently waited for her to continue, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“I activated the explosive…and it went off prematurely…resulting in this,” said Lex as she then slowly removed her full arm glove and revealed her robotic arm.

Kimber gasped in shock and her hands flew up over her mouth at seeing what had happened to her friend. “Oh Lex!” she cried, reaching out and tenderly touching the metal arm as if to see if what she was seeing was real. “Oh my…I am so sorry this happened to you. Are you okay?”

With a nod, Lex answered, “I’m getting by for now. I’m still adjusting to it all. It’s a good thing Irys knows people because that’s the only reason this happened.”

“You should talk to Echo when the lads come back,” Kimber suggested right away. “He can help you with this transition.”

A shy, knowing grin crossed Lex’s face upon hearing that. “About that…he already knows,” she admitted.

“What? How?” Kimber asked, rearing back a bit in confusion.

“Your boys actually got back in late last night when you all were asleep,” Lex explained. “I couldn’t sleep because I was in pain and went outside. Echo actually found me and ended up learning my secret. He and I talked for a little bit about it and he gave me a lot of comfort and advice.”

A glad smile tugged at Kimber’s lips and she chuckled. “Yeah, that sure sounds like Echo. Of all the people to find you, right?”

Lex hummed in agreement and once again smiled timidly. “Yeah…of all the people to find me.”

The smile on Lex’s face did not go unnoticed. “What is that smile I see?” Kimber asked, smirking mischievously.

“Nothing. I just thought he was very kind and he helped me feel better about my situation,” Lex replied.

“He’s quite good at that,” said Kimber. “He’s helped me quite a bit, too. More than I can ever thank him for.”

Lex grinned pleasantly as she pulled her glove back over her cybernetic arm. “That explains why you two are so close.”

“I do adore him very much,” Kimber said back. “I think the two of you will get along very well, too. He’ll do whatever he can to make sure you adjust well to having a new arm.”

“Though, I feel bad because mine has a hand and his doesn’t,” Lex commented, her face falling ever so slightly.

Kimber, however, just shrugged. “That doesn’t seem to bother him, though, and he’s learned how to manage with it. He’s told me that having the scomp has proved beneficial on missions several times and that’s why he prefers to keep it as is. That way, if we’ve needed to retrieve information or get systems working or our hyperdrive needs fixing, we don’t have to worry about having an R2 unit or anything like that. He can take care of that easily.”

“He really doesn’t mind?” Lex questioned.

Shaking her head, Kimber told her, “No, not at all. Though, using it did used to mess with his head a bit to where it was getting painful, so that’s why Tech made Echo the cybernetic headpiece he wears. It helps control his modifications and regulate his brainwaves when he’s using the scomp. That way, being connected to a computer of any kind doesn’t hurt him too much. It makes using his arm much easier.”

“I see,” Lex simply said. She appeared indifferent, but in her mind, she was intrigued. She’d wondered before why Echo still had a scomp and why he didn’t get a different arm, but it hadn’t occurred to her how useful the scomp had to be to him and the Bad Batch when on missions. It all made sense now why he chose to keep it.

Then she spoke up, “I’m sure having the scomp can’t be easy on a daily basis all the time, but if Echo sees the value in it for other things, then good on him for finding the positive in a possibly negative situation.”

“As long as I’ve known him, that’s how he’s always been,” Kimber stated with a sure smile.

Lex found her thoughts were drifting to Echo again, so to deter that again, she gave a slight shake of the head and said to Kimber, “What are you doing wasting your time with me, princess? Hunter’s back from the field, you should be with him right now.”

A giddy smile slowly crept up on Kimber’s face at the reminder that Hunter was back. Before leaving, she stood up and once again laid a hand on Lex’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you went through something so awful,” she said, “but I know you’ll get through this and Echo will be an amazing help to you. I promise you that.”

Waving a dismissive hand, Lex just replied, “Forget about me, go be an armor chaser and get your Sergeant.”

“You’re starting to sound like Rina,” Kimber pointed out teasingly.

“I know, I think I need to go wash out my mouth now,” said Lex with a roll of her eyes, but still with an amused grin on her face.

With a hearty chuckle, Kimber jogged out of the back room of the Aurora and made her way to the exit, hitting the button on a console to activate the ramp. The ramp lowered in front of her and as she hastily went down the steps, she was surprised to see Hunter was already outside, sitting on the steps to the Marauder, and was looking in her direction. Neither of them said anything and just smiled brightly at seeing each other. Kimber broke into a run towards him and Hunter stood up, making his way to her, as well. She practically leapt into his open arms and he swept her off her feet to spin her around gladly, his deep, happy chuckle sounding in her ear.

He set her down and, to surprise her even more, simply told her, “Kiss me. Right now.”

Not needing to be told twice, she grasped the back of his head with both hands and crashed her mouth against his. He kissed her fiercely and needfully in return and nearly crushed her in his arms against him as if trying to absorb as much of her as possible. It seemed like he missed her a lot more than she thought.

When they came apart, gasping for breath, Hunter asked her heavily, “Have I told you how much I love you…and how amazing you are?”

“Not today, no. What’s brought all this on?” she replied through a snicker, now curious about what was going on with him. “You were only gone a day yet you kiss me like you haven’t seen me in years and then you say that? What’s going on?”

“I know it was one day, but it felt like forever,” he said back. “I had to deal with the most infuriating woman on Corellia and it just made me miss you even more. You would’ve hated her.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. She was ungrateful, fought me at every turn and tried insulting me a couple times, too. Sometimes, I think I should’ve let the guard Droids shoot her.”

“That wouldn’t have happened…because if I had been there, I would’ve shot her first. Nobody gives my Sergeant trouble like that and gets away with it.”

That brought an amused grin to Hunter’s face. “That’s my girl. I missed you,” he sighed, lightly caressing her cheek and giving her a kiss where his hand had been. “It wasn’t the same without you there.”

“I missed you, too,” she said. “Were you successful?”

He heaved another heavy sigh and shook his head. “Thanks to that woman and her meddling sister, no, we weren’t. As you can imagine, telling that to Cid didn’t go over well.”

Kimber reached up and tenderly ran her hands through Hunter’s hair to soothe him. “I’m sorry to hear that, darling,” she replied.

“You seem to be doing better,” he observed.

She nodded. “I am. Kida is a miracle worker.”

"Remind me to thank her then," he said.

Then they both heard the boisterous voice of Wrecker call out behind them, "There she is!" They looked and saw he was bounding over to them, where he proceeded to scoop Kimber up off the ground, causing her to let out a small yelp, and hug her tightly. "You can't ever sit out on a mission again!" he exclaimed. "Hunter made me the lookout because you weren't there and I had to get up real high. I don't ever wanna do that again! I even hit my head real hard because of it."

"Oh Wrecker, that's terrible," she said apologetically, kissing the top of his head comfortingly. As he set her down, she looked to Hunter. "Why would you give lookout to the one squad member who's afraid of heights?"

"I didn't have much choice," Hunter said indifferently.

"He still managed to perform well, given the circumstances," then came the voice of Tech as he, Omega and Echo were exiting out of the Marauder and coming over to them. Omega went up to Kimber and hugged her tightly around the waist.

"Good to have you back, Omega," said Kimber, ruffling her hair.

"Good to be back," the kid replied.

Then Echo asked, "How are you feeling, Kim?"

“Much better,” she said. “If you guys are all up, why don’t you come into the Aurora? It’s quite nice and there’s plenty of room for all of us. I’m also sure I could smell something cooking inside.”

That, of course, got Wrecker’s attention as he beamed excitedly. “Oh good, because I’m getting hungry!” he exclaimed.

“Getting?” repeated Echo.

They all filed into the Aurora where Kimber led them to the back room where she had previously been with Lex, who was still sitting on one of the sofas, now twirling her vibroblade around. Lex saw them come in and gave them a wave with her knife. Her eyes found Echo in the back and he grinned warmly at her, making her slightly blush.

“Welcome back, guys,” she said, hoping no one saw her reaction just then. Then she sniffed the air, a sweet scent in the atmosphere of the ship. “You made good time, too, because it smells like Rina’s making breakfast.”

Wrecker’s eyes and grin widened. “Rina cooks? Oh yeah!” he cried, pumping his fist.

With a snicker, Kimber leaned in next to Hunter beside her and whispered, “I think Rina just won Wrecker over even more.”

“If her food is good, then there will be no turning back for him,” he quietly replied.

Then they heard Rina’s voice call out, “Good, the boys are here, too! Come get ‘em while they’re hot, everybody!”

Hearing both his favorite girl’s voice and the fact that there was food, Wrecker went bounding further into the ship to find her, Omega right on his heels.

“Are Irys and Kida up?” Lex called back as she stood up.

“They are. Kida’s been up for a while because of the smol. Little guy’s an early bird,” Rina yelled back.

All of a sudden, Irys appeared from another corridor and stated, “Yes and she is trying to get Kori back to sleep. Your yelling is certainly not helping.”

While Kimber, Hunter, Tech and Irys made their way into the ship to eat, Lex lingered towards the back and was approached by Echo, who gently touched her arm and said to her, “Hey…how are you feeling today?”

“I’m…better, thank you,” she told him. Then she moved her arm up and down to test if the aches were still there and she winced a little. “There are still some aches, but it’s not nearly as bad as last night.”

“Mind if I take a look?” he inquired.

She stiffened slightly. While she wanted to accept his help, she was afraid of any of the others walking in and finding out about her secret before she had a chance to tell them. She held up a finger to Echo and then moved over to the doorway that led to the hall everyone had gone into, pressed a button on the wall console and the door slid shut. Then she pressed another button, locking it.

“I don’t want anyone to walk in and find out before I can tell them,” she explained.

“Understandable,” he replied as he went and sat on the nearby sofa.

Lex went and sat next to him, pulling off her arm glove as she did so. She held up her arm to Echo and he pried open with his scomp the panel in her arm where the wires inside were connected while bracing her arm with his real hand. Once the panel was removed, he took out his torch, turned it on and handed it to Lex, asking her to hold it over her arm so he could see. She did as he asked her and held the light up. He peered carefully inside, inspecting the wires in the mechanical arm. He was careful and attentive to how he handled her arm and a tiny smile formed on her face.

“I see the problem,” Echo then declared. “Some of the wires are not connected properly, so it’s sending electric shocks into the remaining nerves in your shoulder, which is what’s giving you pain. Whoever assembled this did a terrible job, but I can fix that for you.”

Before Lex could protest at all, he pulled out a welding pick and started using it to fix the wires, tiny sparks emitting from the tip of the pick’s needle. He was so focused on his work that she swore he didn’t blink once. Here he was, helping her yet again when he didn’t need to.

About a minute later, she felt something click in her cybernetic arm that sent vibrations and a quick jolt of electricity up into her shoulder, eliciting a startled gasp from her, but right after, she could feel immediate relief where there used to be aching in her muscles. She gave it a couple seconds and found the aches were actually starting to fade away.

“Oh…wow!” was all Lex could manage to say. She found herself dumbfounded that what Echo did actually worked.

“I take it that worked,” he stated with a grin as he closed up the panel in her arm and took his torch back from her.

“Yeah…,” she said, still in disbelief, looking down at her arm.

“I’ve had to rework the circuitry in my own arm before, too, so I know exactly how to deal with it,” he explained. “It’s not easy by myself sometimes, so Tech’s had to help, too, a couple times.”

Lex offered him a small yet grateful smile as she pulled her arm glove back on. “Well...thank you, Echo. I already feel way better. I…I really appreciate your help.”

Echo grinned back at her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I was glad to. If you ever need anything more, you always know where to find me.” Then his eyes narrowed slightly and his head then tilted to the side as he looked at her curiously.

"What?" she inquired, wondering why he was looking at her like that.

Then he gave her a light smile as he told her, "I don't know how I haven't noticed…your eyes are violet. They're unique…and I like that."

Warmth sprung up into her cheeks and the tips of her ears and timidly, she averted her gaze for a moment. That wasn't what she expected him to say and she was caught a bit off guard.

"Thank you. No one's ever commented on my eyes before," she admitted, looking back up at him.

"That's a shame," he said. "They're lovely."

Why was he being so sweet to her? She didn't deserve such attention, especially from him. Feeling the heat rising even more in her face, she quickly changed the subject by gesturing back with her head and saying, “Come on, let’s get some breakfast.”

With that, the two of them stood up from the sofa and left the room. However, unbeknownst to them, in the opposite corridor, Kida had stood on the other side of the wall and had both seen what had transpired between Echo and Lex and overheard their conversation. She’d heard their voices after finally having gotten Kori to go back to sleep for a while and stopped to listen in, even though she knew she probably shouldn’t have.

A pleased smirk crossed her face once she knew they were out of the room. “Well now...that’s a new development I wasn’t expecting,” she said quietly aloud.

She’d seen a kind of smile on Lex’s face that she hadn’t seen from her in a long time and it had been because of Echo. It seemed that his kindness was beginning to make Lex’s walls crack just a little and it intrigued Kida. She figured she’d have to keep an eye on those two, wondering how things between them would start to change.

“And just who are these ladies?”

The Bad Batch and the Koriena Force were now standing before Cid in her parlor and the female Trandoshan was certainly less than pleased to see a new group of people in her establishment. Kimber had mentioned to the girls that maybe they could look into working for Cid, as well--albeit begrudgingly since she still didn't fully like or trust Cid--since they too were in need of some extra money, so she and the Clones had brought the ladies to Cid's place to introduce them. Things were off to an…interesting start.

"This is my squad, the Koriena Force. This is Rina, Lex, Irys, Kida and her son, Kori," answered Kimber, gesturing to each one as she said their names.

Upon seeing Kori, Cid's mouth curled up in disgust. "Ugh…babies. Ugly creatures," she stated distastefully.

Kida glared at her and shot back, "You're not exactly a beauty yourself, Trando."

Cid just glowered at her.

In response, Kida kept a firm focus on Cid and stated with a slight icy undertone, "I know multiple ways to make you disappear and the authorities will never find your body…so if I were you, I'd think twice before badmouthing my son again."

Everyone all exchanged wide-eyed, nervous glances. Omega looked downright intimidated. This was not what they expected from the girls' first meeting with Cid and now, they were apprehensive as to how the rest of this was going to go.

However, Cid surprised them by grinning deviously and saying back, "I like you, Bluey."

"Oh trust me, those are pleasantries for Kida," Rina put in. "I sometimes miss how she used to threaten me....Kida, how'd it go?"

Kida rolled her eyes with a grin and replied almost fondly, "I believe it was 'I'd blend your corpse into paste, fly out to the nearest Hutt-controlled planet and offer your slurried remains as a delicacy for their prized rancors'...respectfully."

Rina just nodded as she turned back to Cid and stated, "See? Very creative."

Cid just gave Rina a stoic look and then diverted her attention back to Kimber. "All right, cut to the chase, Dollface. What's the deal with these ladies and why are they here?"

As Kimber opened her mouth to answer, Rina stepped up and said, holding up a hand, "I got this, boss lady." She placed one foot on the bottom of a barstool and leaned her elbow on her propped up knee. "It's simple, Cid: you want money and so do we. The girls and I are here to work."

"I already have strays," replied Cid, casting a side eye at the Clones, which earned her displeased looks from them and Kimber.

"Well, we come with experience in this line of work....and we're cheap. Here's the deal: first five missions, we split eighty-twenty, house's favor," Rina said back, gesturing to Cid. "If after that you don't like our results, we'll call it even and walk away, but if you like how we operate, then we renegotiate the cut: sixty-forty, house's favor. Just need enough to feed mouths here, especially the smol's."

With her arms folded, Cid eyed her curiously, contemplating the offer before her. "And if I got no work for you?" she asked.

Pursing her lips in thought, Rina glanced around until she caught sight of the slot machines on the other side of the parlor. Then she turned back to the others and said, "Hey, Irys, think you can reconfigure the odds on those slot machines for the boss?"

"I can do that in my sleep," Irys answered confidently.

Rina glanced back at Cid and just raised her eyebrows while motioning to Irys, needing no other words to convey her point.

"She's good," Wrecker commented proudly to Hunter next to him, who also looked impressed.

Cid drummed her clawed fingers on her arm, carefully assessing Rina and the rest of the Koriena Force. "Actually, I have a job that could work for all of you," she said, motioning to everyone in the room. "It'll work out better with some ladies on the job."

"We're listening," said Hunter, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's a simple intel extraction, but from a high-security home of an Imperial higher-up. I think he's a scientist or an engineer or something," said Cid.

"Nothing about that sounds simple," stated Echo.

Ignoring him, she withdrew a data card from her pocket. "All the info is on here, but I will say this: I hope you ladies know how to work your assets, if you know what I mean."

All the girls and even the Clones exchanged confused glances as Cid tossed the data card over to Hunter, who caught it with ease. Once that was done, Cid just turned and walked towards the back in the direction of her office.

"Well, let's take a look at the details," said Kimber, motioning with her head to a nearby holotable.

Everyone gathered around the table as Hunter put in the card. A holographic blueprint of a large domicile appeared.

"This is the residence we will be infiltrating. However, the name of the scientist or engineer who owns the property is not listed," stated Tech, looking over the information.

"Convenient," said Lex, rolling her eyes.

"It says the residence is on Balmorra," then said Echo.

"Looks like we're going back, girls," said Kida. "Irys, you still have access to the house?"

With a nod, Irys answered, "It's my house, so yes."

"Good, we can use that as a base of operations for the mission," stated Kimber.

Then Tech pressed a button and two areas of the house, one near the top and one near the bottom, were highlighted red and a projection of a case appeared. "The intel we're retrieving will be in a special locked case, stored in either his private office on the topmost floor or in an underground facility below the residence. Most likely a laboratory or work station of some kind," he informed everyone.

"So what's our play here?" asked Hunter.

Tech then went on to say, continuing to read the information, "In three rotations, our target is hosting a sort of social gathering. However…the guest list is comprised of mostly female attendants."

"Oh, so that's why Cid said it would work better with us girls being on the job," Lex commented.

"And why she made the comment about 'using our assets', too. Clearly, we're not needed for standard mission procedures here," added Rina. Then she pointed at Kimber and declared, "The Koriena Force is claiming Boss Lady for this one."

"Excuse me?" Hunter asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"No offense, Sarge, but you, Echo and Tech don't exactly have the legs to pull off a mini skirt," said Rina.

All of them looked down at their legs and then back up at Rina, even more puzzled than before.

"Wait, what about me?" inquired Wrecker.

Rina looked him over with her eyes and grinned a bit mischievously. "Hey, your thighs don't lie, big guy," she responded with a wink.

Wrecker just beamed with pride at the compliment, making all the ladies giggle.

Seeing the rest of the Clones still didn't understand what they were getting at, Kimber snickered at them and Kida stepped in, stating, "The play is obvious, gentlemen: the Koriena Force will get in undercover as guests or entertainment and distract the target while you boys sneak in and recover the data we need." Then she snickered deviously. "Ooh, I've got some good outfits we can use that'll really make things fun."

"You just want an excuse to wear a scanty outfit again since being pregnant," said Rina, smirking.

Kida simply grinned smugly.

"What about me?" asked Omega.

Irys spoke up, "You can help me keep an eye on surveillance. I could use a second set of eyes."

With a determined grin, Omega stated, "Got it!"

"Well…what if we need Kimber?" Hunter asked, looking conflicted as he went back to the previous subject.

Kimber turned and laid a hand on his shoulder. "No, they're right, love. It would be better for me to go with them and ensure the target is occupied while you guys make the extraction. You'll be fine without me."

At first, Hunter looked like he was going to disagree, but acted against it. Instead, he sighed and responded, "All right. Let's head out, we'll get to Irys' place on Balmorra and work out the finer details there over the next couple rotations until the gathering."

"Now you're talking," said Rina.

"We can take the Aurora, it'll fit all of us," suggested Kida. "We can take time to…better know each other since it's been a while." She cast a sly grin at Lex as she said that.

Lex's eyes widened ever so slightly. Why was Kida giving her that look? Was it just her being her flirty self again? Most likely. Though, her mind betrayed her and her eyes wandered over to Echo…just as his eyes found her.

"Karabast! What am I doing?" she thought, immediately turning away as her body stiffened.

On the other side, Echo saw Lex quickly turn her face and a small grin crossed his lips. He found her shyness amusing…and a bit attractive, too.

"Sounds like a plan," said Kimber in response to Kida's suggestion. "Let's get going."

Tech withdrew the data card from the holotable and they all made their way out the door of Cid's parlor.

"You all right?" Kimber asked Hunter as they walked out.

Knowing she was referring to the Koriena Force's plan, he replied, taking her hand, "I trust you, sweetheart, and I know you'll be taken care of."

She squeezed his hand back. "Thank you."

Behind them, Echo came up beside Lex and said to her, "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" she questioned.

"I didn't mean to stare at you," he answered.

"Oh...it's okay," she said back.

Then he inched up just a little closer and said, "I'm glad you ladies are coming with us. It'll be nice seeing you in action again and helping us fight against the Empire this time."

She scoffed in amusement. "It's just gathering intel. That's not really much."

"It may not feel like it now, but it's the small steps we take first that can lead to something greater," he told her. "In the fight against the Empire, the little things we do can make all the difference and that intel could very well help us."

"Well, I guess we'll see if you're right," she said back.

He gave her a nod, a pleasant grin and continued further ahead, moving alongside Kimber. Lex watched him walk away, not even realizing the smile that was appearing on her own face.

"I haven't seen you smile like that in a while," she suddenly heard Irys speak beside her.

"What?" asked Lex.

"I've known you for a long time, Lex, and I know your smiles," said Irys. Then she said in a more hushed tone, "You have your eyes on Echo…and rightfully so."

Lex repeated, "Rightfully so? What does that mean?"

Irys shrugged. "It's obvious, isn't it? You both have shared trauma that you relate to and he's the only person who can fully understand you, even more than I do. You see the promise of something better in him...and possible redemption for yourself after what happened with Dune."

"I highly doubt it," said Lex dejectedly.

"Don't be so sure. Echo is ten times the man Dune was. He won't hurt you," Irys tried telling her.

However, Lex just shook her head and said dismissively, "I don't want to talk about that now, Irys. We've got a mission to focus on."

"Very well," Irys simply replied.

With that, they continued all the way to the Aurora and soon, the Koriena Force and Clone Force 99 were on their way back to the planet of Balmorra.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and rain fanfic

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lamaenthel · 5 months

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Tivaevae | Chapter Three: Paper Piecing

Still struggling to emotionally recover from Master Obi-Wan's deception, Ahsoka discovers in the aftermath that twelve-year-old Boba Fett has been locked up among adults in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. After convincing Chancellor Palpatine to grant him a pardon, she manages to secure his release on the condition that she serve as his legal guardian. Now, with the help of Master Plo and the Wolfpack, she vows to help him track down what family he has left.

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Fandom: Star Wars Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CC-1119 | Appo, Dexter Jettster, FLO | WA-7 (Star Wars), Shaak Ti, ARC Commander Blitz (Star Wars), CT-6922 | Dogma, Original Clone Trooper Character(s) (Star Wars), CC-3636 | Wolffe, Clone Trooper Sinker (Star Wars), Clone Trooper Comet (Star Wars), CC-2224 | Cody, CT-5597 | Jesse, CT-4860 | Boost, Aurra Sing, Tobias Beckett, Null-11 | Ordo Skirata, Kal Skirata, Original Mandalorian Characters (Star Wars), Original Droid Characters (Star Wars), Original Jedi Character(s) (Star Wars) Total Word Count: 123,000 Chapter Word Count: 7,367 Chapter TW: CSA Mention Chapter Summary: Anakin returns to Coruscant with a new initiate, Ahsoka discovers a horrifying truth about Boba's past, and Boba tries to reconnect with Rex.

Anakin had been on Coruscant for a grand total of six hours before being gravely approached by Master Yoda with a solemn request; hurry to unstable Toydaria and retrieve a Force-sensitive toddler. Toydarian was his first language, after all, and perhaps the old toad had sensed that he wanted to be on the opposite side of the galaxy from his lying, backstabbing, heartbreaking, dick-for-brains Master.

Padmé, ever the opportunist, had jumped to offer her diplomatic cruiser for the mission. Since they had just averted the assassination of her mentor and oldest ally, it was the least she could do. It could fit a grand total of fifteen passengers; two pilots, three navigators, four guests, and six guards. They'd passed on the guards and had instead taken Dormé, Moteé, and Ellé along with Artoo and Threepio.

And, of course, little Taarak Na'Hane-Bata.

Anakin had been shocked upon landing when he discovered that instead of a Toydarian baby, he was collecting the adopted Togruta son of a pair of Toydarian physicians. They'd been devastated, despite having been the ones to contact the Temple in the first place, and the goodbye had lasted so long that even Padmé was creeping out the door in an effort to finalize their farewell. Now that he'd spent some time with the boy, though, he couldn't blame them. He was kriffing adorable, and well-behaved to boot.

Obi-Wan had once warned him about how dangerous Togruta toddlers were. They were thick with pheromones and notorious cuddlebugs who loved nothing more than to stare adoringly at their caretakers, hypnotizing them into catering to their every whim with their big sad eyes. Taarak certainly had those.

Though the two year old had cried pitifully for his parents until he had passed out from overexhaustion, when he awoke he seemed to have accepted the separation and allowed Anakin to comfort him. They sat in the lounge now at the padded bench surrounding the dejarik table. Padmé had turned it on to amuse him; he was frightened at first, but he'd quickly become fascinated with the tiny figures. He ran his little fingers up and down Anakin's tabards like he was typing on a keyboard as he stared at them, singing a nonsense song to himself and purring just like Ahsoka did when she was content.

He even looked similar to her; his skin was more blood than orange and both his lekku and eyes were a darker blue, but the resemblance was close enough to make Anakin's heart ache. He wished he could have seen Snips as a baby.

"Wanjala?" he asked Taarak with a smile.

The boy looked away from the figures on the dejarik table and nodded, grinning a wide grin that made his dimples pop. He had a blunt chin with a deep cleft that was visible even through the baby fat.

"Ndimatafuna, Taarak, inde?" Anakin popped a nuna nugget from the pile Padmé was busy unpeeling the breading from into his mouth. If Yoda had warned him ahead of time instead of just giving him a name and a pat on the ass to go get him he would have stopped at a butcher first. The nuggets were the only thing they had on board that was animal protein besides Ahsoka's carnivore rations, but Anakin didn't want to feed rations to a baby.

Padmé rested her chin on her folded hands and watched Anakin spit out the chewed-up nuna nugget and feed it to the toddler. "That doesn't seem sanitary," she said mildly, wearing an expression that looked torn between amusement and disgust.

"He doesn't have molars yet," Anakin said defensively, taking another nugget from the pile. "Their parents chew their meat for them for the first three years."

"So you said," Padmé replied, watching Taarak swallow enthusiastically.

Anakin fed him the second chewed nugget. "He also has to have Togruta formula until he's five. It's critical for their hearing development, Togruta breastmilk is very high in collagen and if they don't get enough of it the resonance chamber in their montrals won't develop properly. And we don't want that, Taarak, inde? Nyanga zathanzi, Taarak, inde, inde mwana–"

Padmé threw her head back and laughed, delighted. "Ani, I know you did research for Ahsoka, but my goodness."

"I didn't just do research, Obi-Wan made me take four different trans-xenoparenting modules on Togruta younglings. I'm pretty sure that I am the most qualified person at the Temple to take care of one." He didn't mention it was a direct consequence of almost killing Ahsoka that one time that he forgot to order her carnivore rations and she got enterocolitis from eating the troops' fungus-based nutrition bars. She'd gotten so sick that Kix had to collect a liter of Anakin's blood, mix it with red bacta, and flood her digestive system with it.

He still liked to occasionally pretend to open a vein for her when she complained about being hungry. It made her stripes turn black every time.

"I have to admit, seeing you like this is…" she smiled at him. "Intriguing."

Anakin frowned. "Like what," he asked, trying not to sound too annoyed. "Capable? Knowledgeable?"

Padmé shook her head and gave him a soft look. "Paternal."

Anakin looked at Taarak's montrals instead of his wife with a cold feeling in his stomach. "We agreed we'd talk about it after the war," he said quietly.

Padmé grasped his hand. "I want this with you, but I agree. After the war."

"I just can't bear the thought of you having to go through a pregnancy while I'm on a siege, or, or–" his vision got a little blurry and his eyes stung, " –raising one without me. And that's not even taking into account what you said about your mom–"

"Ani," she tried to interrupt.

" –how she had to use surrogates because the last try almost killed her, and you have the same mutation and I-I… Force, Padmé, if something happened to you because of it I don't know what–"

"Anakin!" she said urgently. "Taarak is getting upset, love. Please take a breath."

Taarak was squirming in his lap and his big eyes were fully porged out. Anakin centered himself in the Force and imagined the feeling of Ahsoka's aura, that calming projection she did so well; soft, silky rain riding a cool desert wind, an alkaline shower that quelled the rising acid in his blood. It worked. Not nearly as well as the real thing, of course, but enough for Anakin to bolster his shields and stop disturbing the baby. "Pepani, Taarak, pepani mwana. Chapino mwana."

Padmé reached for the bag of temperate formula bottles, shook one, and handed it to Taarak. "I didn't mean to upset you, love. I'm sorry."

Anakin huffed. "Let's blame it on the baby pheromones. They're giving us mommy brain, or whatever."

Padmé rested her head on his shoulder and watched Taarak contentedly suck. "After the war, yes, we'll talk about it. But I want this for us. I want a piece of our love to take on a life of its own. And I just know that you're going to be an amazing father, Anakin. Every second I watch you with Taarak proves that."

Anakin closed his eyes, unable to comprehend how it was possible for someone to own his very soul in the way that Padmé did. She knew exactly what to say to make him feel like the most treasured thing in the galaxy. He didn't know what he did to deserve it, but he'd do anything to protect it.

"My lady, I'd be happy to give the two of you a break if you'd like," Dormé called from the base of the ladder that led from the lounge and into the guest bunkrooms.

"That would be a good idea, I think." Padmé held her hands out for Taarak.

Anakin glanced down and met Taarak's giant eyes. He didn't really want to give him up.

"Hey now." Padmé snapped her fingers and giggled. "Don't get hypnotized again."

Anakin sighed, booped Taarak's nose, then handed him over. Padmé walked the suckling toddler down to Dormé and Anakin slumped on the bench, suddenly feeling very cold and unsnuggled.

His wife climbed back up the ladder and promptly took a seat across his lap.

"Oh," he said, blinking, then slipped his hands under her dress and up her thighs.

Padmé giggled and put a finger on his puckered lips. "I was asked to tell you that Obi-Wan has commed now for the eighth time, and is saying he urgently needs to speak to you about Ahsoka."

Anakin sat frozen for a few seconds. "What about Ahsoka?" he asked, trying to sound normal and not like he had guilt and panic writhing together like dying worms in his stomach.

Padmé raised an eyebrow. "That's all I know, love."

He reached around Padmé and brought up the message center on his commlink. He had thirty-six unread messages from Obi-Wan. Reluctantly, he slid out from underneath his wife and started paging through them, full of dread and praying to the Force that it wasn't about what he feared it was.

– [𝟶𝟷:𝟶𝟻:𝟿𝟾𝟶] – [𝟷𝟸𝟺𝟼] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙰𝚑𝚜𝚘𝚔𝚊'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎. [𝟷𝟸𝟻𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟹𝟶𝟸] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟹𝟶𝟾] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟹𝟺𝟷] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎, 𝚝𝚘𝚘. [𝟷𝟻𝟶𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> 𝙰𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝. [𝟷𝟻𝟹𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟼𝟶𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟼𝟹𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟽𝟶𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> ~~ [𝟷𝟽𝟹𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝙿𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚗. [𝟷𝟽𝟹𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟹𝟶𝟸𝟾𝟸𝟻𝟸𝟶!𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙾𝙱𝙸> 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜. 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢. 𝙰𝚑𝚜𝚘𝚔𝚊'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕.

Anakin kept scrolling. Nothing indicated Obi-Wan knew. He exited Obi-Wan's message log and went to Ahsoka's. There was nothing new from her.

– [𝟶𝟷:𝟶𝟻:𝟿𝟾𝟶] – [𝟸𝟶𝟺𝟽] 𝙹𝙶𝟾𝟷𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟺!𝚂𝙺𝚈𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁> 𝙰𝚁𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙾𝙺

Ahsoka's typing dots appeared after a few harrowing seconds.

[𝟸𝟶𝟺𝟾] 𝙹𝙲𝟽𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟻𝟶𝟿!𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙾> 𝙸'𝚖 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝚠𝚑𝚢? [𝟸𝟶𝟺𝟾] 𝙹𝙶𝟾𝟷𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟺!𝚂𝙺𝚈𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁> 𝚆𝙷𝚈 𝙸𝚂 𝙾𝙱𝙸 𝚆𝙰𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙼𝙴 [𝟸𝟶𝟺𝟾] 𝙹𝙶𝟾𝟷𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟺!𝚂𝙺𝚈𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁> 𝙰𝙱𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄 [𝟸𝟶𝟺𝟿] 𝙹𝙲𝟽𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟻𝟶𝟿!𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙾> 𝙷𝚎'𝚜 𝚞𝚙𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖. [𝟸𝟶𝟺𝟿] 𝙹𝙶𝟾𝟷𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟺!𝚂𝙺𝚈𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁> 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙴𝙻𝚂𝙴

Anakin's finger hesitated above the straight-line-dot key and the curly-line-dot key, suddenly unsure of which one was for questions.

Padme gingerly reached over the hologram and pressed curly-line-dot.

"Thank you," he said, his cheeks burning.

[𝟸𝟶𝟻𝟶] 𝙹𝙶𝟾𝟷𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟺!𝚂𝙺𝚈𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁> ?

Anakin watched her typing dots linger for a concerning amount of time.

[𝟸𝟶𝟻𝟷] 𝙹𝙲𝟽𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟻𝟶𝟿!𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙾> 𝙲𝚑𝚞𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚊 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚖𝚒.

Anakin frowned; was that Huttese? It took him a second to sound it out, but then he huffed a laugh. He'd never seen the saying spelled out in Aurebesh.

"What does that mean?" Padmé asked, squinting at the holographic interface.

[𝟸𝟶𝟻𝟸] 𝙹𝙶𝟾𝟷𝟷𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟺!𝚂𝙺𝚈𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁> 𝙱𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙾𝙾𝙽 [𝟸𝟶𝟻𝟸] 𝙹𝙲𝟽𝟿𝟷𝟿𝟶𝟻𝟶𝟿!𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙾> 𝙾𝚔𝚊𝚢 :)

Anakin closed his message center after recieving his response. "She said 'his tail is on backwards' in Huttese," Anakin smirked, then wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Means he's got his panties in a twist. She's fine, he's just throwing a fit about her giving him the silent treatment. Now, where were we?"

"I think," Padmé began, running her fingers through his hair, "You were about to give me a kiss."

"Sounds about right." Anakin leaned forward but she stopped him again.

"Actually," she breathed, then traced his bottom lip with her thumb. "Let's take this to the– eep!"

Anakin had already lifted Padmé, planted her bare ass on the dejarik table, and thrown her skirt over his head before she could finish her sentence.

"You know you have to name him Robert, right?" Ahsoka joked. She bumped Boba with her hip. They had stayed uncuffed on the ride home and Boba finally seemed at ease, far more than he had been since they'd left the prison. She held his visitor's pass up to Disk and he unlocked the gate for them with an eye-roll.

Boba's aura rippled with the tiniest ribbon of golden humor and he tightened his arms around the rancor plushie. "I was already going to name him Robert," he snapped. "It's not because you said it." His aura went a little yellow with embarrassment.

Ahsoka put her hands up. "Hey, name him whatever you want. I probably picked up on your thought and didn't realize it."

Boba snorted. "You reading my fucking mind, Tano?"

"Only if you think really loudly," she grinned, then stuck her tongue out at him.

He stuck it out right back.

"Alright, we're gonna bunk in the rec room tonight." She took a chance and gave him a pat on the back, which he didn't flinch away from.

"Fine."

"We leave for Tipoca City first thing in the morning."

Boba stumbled and his aura flashed lily-white with panic.

"Boba?" Ahsoka asked.

"Why the fuck are we going there?" Boba snapped. His breathing sped up and she could hear his heart pounding. Why would he be so scared to return to Kamino?

"Kamino is the only place I know of where we might be able to find information on the Cuy'val Dar," Ahsoka answered, frowning. "Is there a reason you don't want to go back?"

Boba looked down, clinging to Robert like a lifeline. "Are you going to make me donate?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

Ahsoka's heart sank. "No. No, Boba, that's not why we're going there." She took another chance and put a hand on his shoulder, projecting soothing green calm-serenity towards him. "I give you my word as a Jedi, the Kaminoans will not take a single hair from your head. Okay?"

Boba bit his lip and nodded. He looked so young in the dim, ambient light of the barracks hall. "They take bone marrow," he mumbled. "That's where the best cells are, Dad said. They'd drill into his hip and he would walk funny for a week."

"Well, they're definitely not going to take that." She patted him on the back instead of hugging him like she desperately wanted to and started walking. "Plo got us a Consular cruiser, but it's halfway through a module conversion so half of the bunks were taken out for dual laser cannons. We'll have to double up."

Boba's lip twitched. "Great, I gotta listen to your snoring the whole way there?"

She laughed, relieved that he hadn't shut down. "I don't snore, but even if I did it would be better than listening to Plo all night. He whistles if his mask slips down."

They reached the rec room and Boba plopped himself on the couch. Ahsoka stayed standing and crossed her arms. Logically she knew that she shouldn't leave him there alone, but she felt oddly certain that he'd still be there when she returned. It was the same certainty that she'd felt in the diner right before she uncuffed him. "I've got to get some stuff together. Are you going to stay put, or do I have to lock the door?"

Boba stretched out like a cat, his bruised patches making him look like a calico. He waved a dismissive hand at her and crossed his legs at the ankle. "I'm too tired to run."

"I'll be right back with some pajamas for you, then." She winked at him. "And I'll grab some pillows and sheets. We can make a fort and have a proper sleepover."

Boba stilled. His aura hardened and lost the tint of green that was so faint that Ahsoka hadn't even noticed it until it was gone.

"What's the matter?" she asked, furrowing her brow. His aura was going staticky with anxiety around the edges.

"Nothing. I-I just didn't realize that Jedi did that." Boba shrugged. "I don't give a fuck. Fine by me. I haven't gotten laid in a minute."

Ahsoka stared at him, sure that she hadn't heard him right. She rubbed her montrals and shook her head to make sure. "What?"

"What's wrong, tailhead, is it your first time?" he sneered. He hopped to his feet and swayed toward her, full of false bravado and his aura a staticky thunderstorm of flashing green disappointment and gray anxiety and yellow embarrassment and underneath it all, a familiar shade of bruise-dark violet sadness-guilt.

She stood still, warily watching Boba approach with her brow raised until he was close enough for her to smell his breath. There was no way he meant what he'd just said to sound that suggestive. He was just hopped up on sugar from dinner or something, he couldn't possibly be propositioning her.

She believed it up until he grabbed her by the lekku and yanked her down into a sloppy kiss, all clumsy tongue and teeth. She squealed and shoved him back, spitting and sputtering in panic and revulsion. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shrieked, wiping her hand across her now-wet mouth.

"You just said you wanted a sleepover!" he barked, quickly backing up with an aura cringing in on itself with neon orange-yellow mortification-anger. "Make your fucking mind up!"

Ahsoka's jaw dropped to her chest. "What part of sleepover said 'shove your tongue in my mouth?' "

"The sleepover part, you stupid cunt!" Boba shouted back. "The fuck do you think a sleepover is?"

"What do you think it is?"

"It means you want to fuck!"

"No it doesn't!" She was going to be sick. Boba was twelve, he was twelve. "Who told you that?"

Something switched off in his eyes. The bravado drained out and left him looking smaller than ever. The backs of his knees hit the couch and he curled up on it in a ball, hugging Robert the Rancor. "Aurra," he mumbled. His aura was dripping yellow with humiliation.

"That's… that's not what it means," Ahsoka choked. "It just means that you sleep in a place that you normally wouldn't, with a friend. Just sleeping. L-Like a slumber party."

Boba tucked himself deeper into the sofa and stared at Robert. His aura was drawn so close to his skin that she could barely see it, but the humiliation and hurt she saw there cracked her heart like an eggshell.

"I'll be right back. Just– just stay here. I'll be back." She paused. "I'm not mad. It was a misunderstanding, okay? Please don't run away."

He nodded without looking at her.

"I'll just be a few minutes," she said, backing out. "I'll be right back." She activated the door panel and hesitated with her finger over the lock; it was unintentional but she had just hurt him deeply, and she no longer had the certainty of a few minutes ago that he would stay.

"I'm trusting you, kiddo," Ahsoka muttered to herself, then walked away with her hands balled into fists. She wasn't going to lock him in. Boba would stay put on his own. He wasn't going to run, he was going to stay with her and his brothers where they could protect him.

Her blood was boiling. Aurra Sing was a monster, a demagolka, sgudal fhaighean, hule lopusa, a demonic, piece of shit nonce–

"Bad time?" Cody joined her power walk to the bunkrooms, his aura bright orange and blurry around the edges. He was visibly tipsy and he stumbled a little trying to keep up with her.

"Very," she said, looking him up and down. Cody had only one reason to be waiting for her in the 501st's barracks and she didn't have time for Obi– damn it, Kenobi's banthashit. "I'm guessing that he sent you?"

"No, I'm here on my own." He threw his arm around her shoulder. His breath smelled like tihaar and caf. "You gotta make up with him, 'Soka. He's driving me up the wall with his moping."

"Not my problem." She shrugged his arm off like a big, heavy slug.

He frowned at her. "He apologized, didn't he?"

She snorted. "Yeah. It was very touching and heartfelt. Totally made up for making me go to his funeral."

"At least you got to go," Cody mumbled, his aura flooding with purple grief.

"Why are you even here?" Ahsoka asked, exasperated. "He lied to you too."

"It's called being an adult," he grouched. "Try it sometime."

"Maybe he should try it."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Listen, it was a karked thing he did and we both know it, but you can't hate him forever."

He said it like Obi-Wan had forgotten to show up to her saber demonstration. He had no idea how hard she'd had to cling on to Anakin to keep him tethered to reality and safe from his own grief, how she had to constantly glean off the dark miasma that infected his aura like poisonous black oil.

She had felt like there was something watching him curiously from the shadows, like a patient nexu waiting for its prey to tire and fall from the tree it was hiding in. She refused to leave him, no matter how many times he'd tried to force her out of his quarters. She wouldn't abandon him to that hungry shadow. She'd rip and tear it up with her teeth if she had to, but she would not leave Anakin.

She had the bruise to prove it.

And then Obi-Wan Kenobi had waltzed out of the Royal Palace at Theed wearing the face of his own killer like nothing had changed and it was all a grand ruse that they were in on. Like he hadn't triggered the most terrifying crisis of her life. Like she hadn't spent three days in the darkest hell she'd ever been in, drowning in the icewater of not just Anakin's grief but the grief of every Jedi who knew him.

The only time she'd been able to mourn Obi-Wan were the pitiful few seconds she had been alone before Anakin had shown up, begging the bastard to open his eyes. He'd hid his aura so well from her, blocked their bond, he'd even projected a fake aura as Rako Hardeen in that motel room. That was a skill that he'd learned specifically to fool her, because it had absolutely no other practical application in the entire universe. Nobody else could bloody see it.

Ahsoka stopped in front of the bunkroom door. "How have you forgiven him so easily?" she demanded. "I ate a few of your jerky sticks on the way back from Geonosis and you didn't talk to me for an entire day, but he fakes his death and you're trying to rebuild his burned bridges for him?"

Cody's already pink cheeks flushed puce and his hands found his hips. "I'm a clone, Os'ika. I don't have the luxury of holding a grudge."

She mimicked his pose. "Well, I do."

"Come on. Just talk to him so he stops whining at me about how unreasonable you're being."

"I'm being unreasonable?" Ahsoka asked in disbelief. "Oh that– no, you know what? I'm done, I don't have time for this. I've got more important things to worry about than bandaging the wounded ego of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Goodnight, Cody."

She spun to leave and he grabbed her left arm to stop her, right over where the bruise was deepest. She gasped as pain shot down her arm, and she barely resisted snapping her teeth at Cody like a massiff.

His mouth hardened into a grim line and she realized that he'd done it on purpose. "What happened to your arm?" he asked harshly.

"None of your damn business," she snapped. She spun her arm out of his grip and slapped away the wrist that moved to replace it. "Stop it!"

"Commander Tano!" Cody barked, his aura flaring silver with authority. "I am ordering you to tell me what happened to your arm."

There was no arguing with that tone, even if he was half off his shebs from the tihaar she smelled on his breath. Ahsoka stood at attention, inwardly seething at the gall of him pulling rank on her now of all times. "Training accident, Sir."

"What sort of training?"

"Mechanical ordnance, Sir." It wasn't technically a lie.

"Conducted under who?"

She glared at him. "That's classified, Sir."

"I've got higher clearance than you."

"I cannot release classified information without General Skywalker's permission, Sir."

"So Skywalker knows." Cody's eyes narrowed. "Was it him?"

"I didn't say that, Sir," she snapped.

"Then who?"

"As I said, Sir, that's classified."

Cody's eyes softened and his aura went teal with protection. "Ahsoka, did Skywalker hurt you?" he asked gently. He wasn't asking as her commanding officer, he was asking as her vod. It infuriated her and made her want to cry at the same time.

Why couldn't he just mind his own shabla business? Why did he have to be the concerned big brother now, of all times? "Are you accusing General Skywalker of abusing me, Sir?" she asked, forcing her voice to sound cold so she wouldn't lose her nerve.

Cody stared at her, both of them knowing damn well that he couldn't outright say yes without crossing into insubordination. He blew air slowly out of his nose, his aura humming and glowing neon chartreuse with annoyance-anger at being outmaneuvered. "No, Commander."

Ahsoka nodded and kept her face neutral. "Was there anything else, Sir?"

Cody jerked his head. "You're dismissed," he muttered.

"Goodnight, Cody." She slipped into the bunkroom and closed the door behind her, trying not to grieve the damage she knew that she'd just done to their friendship. It would be nice if everyone would just leave her the hell alone for five minutes and let her take care of Boba instead of obsessing over something they didn't know anything about. He needed to be mothered a lot more than she did.

The bunkroom was virtually empty. The majority of the guys were out carousing at 79's and making the most of their shore leave but Jesse, Kix and Tup were squished into Kix's bunk watching Daiun's Anatomy on her holoprojector. "Hey," she greeted them.

"We're leaving as soon as this episode is over," Jesse said, holding a preemptive finger up. "Calliope's pregnant again."

"And she just did a tracheostomy on herself with a droid scomp. Her speeder crashed after she was stung by a spider and her throat closed up," Kix said in a monotone. "Which is shabla impossible, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." Ahsoka clapped her hands together. "I need the projector, though. We're sleeping in the rec room tonight."

"We?" Tup blinked at her.

"Yeah, me and Boba. We're in–"

"You and–" Jesse reared up and sent her holoprojector flying. She barely caught it before it hit the floor. "I thought Appo was joking when he said you adopted that little shabuir, Commander." Jesse's aura quickly flooded with red anger.

She took a step back in shock, not expecting another argument immediately after the last one. "Woah, Jess–"

"Tell me you're joking, Commander," Jesse said, his face all scrunched up in anger. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes; not to intimidate her, that wasn't it at all, he was begging her with his eyes to tell him that she wasn't serious.

Her heart sank. She really hadn't thought through any of the consequences of springing Boba, had she? Jesse was fanatically loyal, almost to a fault; of course he was going to hate the boy who attacked a Republic ship and killed hundreds of their brothers in the process. He was a traitor to both the Republic and the vode, and Jesse had no reason to feel sympathy for a traitor.

"I couldn't leave him in there–" she started, but she stopped when Jesse's shoulders sagged and his aura darkened to deep purple with sadness-disappointment. "Jesse, I couldn't!"

"Har'chaak!" Jesse broke away, pressing his palms into his eyes.

Kix and Tup hadn't yet moved from the bed, but their eyes flicked between Ahsoka and Jesse like they were watching a limmie match.

"He's so little, he–"

"I don't care how short he is, he killed three hundred and four of my brothers," Jesse said harshly. "And trust me, he doesn't look at us like his brothers."

"Jesse–"

"No. You're not thinking clearly. All you see is a little boy but he's manipulating you, Commander." Jesse took her hands and squeezed. "He's a killer. He used you to get out of prison, don't make the mistake of thinking that he cares about you even a fraction of how much we do."

"I know he doesn't. That's not why I did it." Ahsoka gave Jesse a pleading look, begging him to understand. She expanded her aura with a gentle, flowing wave of sage-green serenity so he'd calm down a little. "Boba was manipulated by a disgusting, evil dalgaan into doing what she wanted by promising him revenge for Jango. She was evil, Jesse, please believe me." Ahsoka swallowed hard. "I'm not saying he had no agency or was incapable of making different choices, but he's–"

"A killer," Jesse repeated with a growl.

"No– yes, but Aurra Sing, Jesse, she…" Ahsoka bit her lips, hesitating. It was Boba's truth to tell if he wished, not hers, but it would help if Jesse understood just what a hold she'd had on him. "She abused him," Ahsoka said quietly, saying the truth without actually saying it.

Jesse was smart. His face scrunched up even further, his aura went sick-green with disgust, and he looked away.

"He needs you," Ahsoka continued. "All three of you. He needs his brothers, even if he doesn't realize it." She turned to Kix and Tup and gave them a pleading look. "Please, he's barely holding it together." She didn't add that she'd made it worse. "I can see how badly he's hurting. Please, Jess." She laced her fingers with his and squeezed.

Jesse glowered at her. "You know, you're going to try to help the wrong person someday, and they're going to go for your throat." He pulled her into a spine-cracking hug.

Ahsoka relaxed, nearly dizzy with relief, and buried her face in his neck. "Thank you," she said in a muffled voice.

"Yeah, yeah." Jesse pulled back and touched her forehead with his own in a gentle mishmure'cya, then looked over her shoulder at Kix and Tup. "You two are coming, right?"

"I am!" Tup said brightly. "It'll be nice having a cadet around again. I miss being around them on Kamino. I always liked being asked to fill in for rec supervision."

Ahsoka couldn't help but smile. Tup had such a gentle spirit. If he'd been born a Jedi he would have made a natural Crèchemaster. Maybe if the stupid war ever ended he'd have a chance to live a gentle life. She could easily see him teaching younglings.

"He's not staying, Tup," Ahsoka said apologetically. "We're leaving for Kamino tomorrow."

"Wait, really?" His brows went up. "Can we come?"

Ahsoka bit her lip. "Unfortunately, because I'm a Padawan Commander and not a CC, I don't actually have clearance to authorize off-world missions."

"Aww."

Kix started yanking sheets off of random, unoccupied beds.

"That a yes for you then, Sarge?" Ahsoka asked.

Kix shot her a look over his shoulder. "Obviously, Sir."

"Anyone seen Rex?" Ahsoka asked, accepting a pile of pillows from Tup.

"Oh, he's in the commhub. He got called in by General Kenobi."

"You have got to be kidding me." Ahsoka tossed her head back and groaned aloud. "Why won't he just leave me alone?"

"He'd be a shit ba'buir if he did," Kix shrugged.

"He's a shit ba'buir regardless," Ahsoka snipped.

"Alright, alright. One problem at a time." Jesse physically turned her and pushed her towards the bunkroom door, carrying his share of sheets draped over his shoulders like an ancient Onderonian pharaoh. "You can bitch to me about Kenobi later, I promise."

Cody was thankfully gone when she opened the door. She led the boys through the empty barracks at a pace just under a jog, painfully aware that she'd left Boba alone for sixteen minutes, then bumped the door panel open with her hip since her arms were full of pillows.

Robert the Rancor sat abandoned on the couch. Boba was nowhere to be found.

Tup craned his head over her shoulder. "Uh, Commander? Where is he?" he asked, confused.

"Fuck," Ahsoka said faintly.

Boba hadn't realized that water showers were a luxury until he'd left Kamino for good. Sonic showers were easier to install, easier to clean, faster to use, and didn't use up water rations. He wasn't sure if the troopers actually had water rations, but if they did then he'd used up at least half a battalion's worth. He'd been steaming for half an hour.

"Fierfek," Tiarek cursed from around the corner. "You done yet? We're locked down again, which means Ahsoka thinks you ran for it."

Boba's stomach seized up at the Tog's name. He felt so fucking stupid, but she was the one who'd started it. Why'd she have to push? He'd actually been thinking about something besides how much he fucking hated being alive for once, and then the jetii had to go and ruin it because she didn't know what a fucking sleepover was.

Or he was the one who didn't know. It didn't matter now. He looked like an idiot and she pitied him now, and that pissed him off even more. He didn't need some do-gooder's pity. He was a man, damn it! He was a beroya and the only living son of Jango Fett, the greatest bounty hunter that had ever lived. He didn't want the Tog bitch to sit blinking her big, sad eyes at him like he was a pathetic, three-legged street pup covered in fleas.

"No, I've got him, lift the lockdown. We didn't mean to be this long. Go ahead and get started, we'll be there soon." Tiarek was on a holocall with somebody but Boba couldn't hear the other side. "Come on, Bo'ika, time to go."

"In a minute!" Boba yelled back.

"Now." Tiarek turned the shower off and threw a scratchy towel at his face.

"Shabla bev'kovid," Boba mumbled under his breath as he toweled off.

"I heard that."

Boba toweled faster then wrapped himself up when he was done. Tiarek patted him on the back and led him out to the lockers. A set of Kaminoan cadet blues sat waiting for him on the bench.

Boba glared up at Tiarek. "Didn't have any blacks in your size," he smirked at him. "Hurry up. Ahsoka's having a heart attack."

"I don't care," Boba said darkly.

Tiarek looked at him, disappointed. "I do," he said softly.

Boba dropped the towel and reached for the blues. They were too big for him, he could already tell. He knew he was underweight but more importantly, without all of the genetic upgrades from the longnecks, he was just plain smaller than the other clones at the same physical age. Dad was half a head shorter than the grown-up troopers, and Boba was a perfect copy of him.

"What's that?" Tiarek was frowning at him; specifically, his ass.

Boba quickly yanked the oversized drawers up. "Nothing. Don't be bloody nosy." He hadn't meant to let him see the scar.

"Then why are you being cagey about it?" Tiarek asked with a raised brow.

"I sat on my knife, alright? It's embarrassing." Boba slipped his shirt on.

Tiarek leaned against the lockers. "Look, Boba, I know you've been through a lot since Jango died, but–"

Boba flinched at his dad's name.

Tiarek softened. "Just promise me that you're going to try. Nobody expects you to be a model cadet, but at least stop cussing her out every time you open your mouth."

"Fine," Boba mumbled. He tugged at the bottom of his tunic, trying to make it hang less awkwardly on his narrow shoulders.

"You can trust her. I promise you can. She's the best, right alongside Skywalker." Tiarek smiled sadly. "We're not just numbers to them. They truly do care for us. Ahsoka is my vod'ika, do you understand? You trust her just like you trust me."

Boba scoffed. "So much for vode an. You know, the meaning of the word doesn't change just because you use it to bloody adopt each other."

"Of course not." Tiarek blew air out of his nose hard, frustrated. "It just means I watch out for her, I teach her, I keep her alive. And she has my back in return, no matter what."

"Whatever," Boba said, looking away. Tiarek wasn't going to let it go until he agreed. "Fine. I'll stop being a dickhead to her, alright? Doesn't mean I trust her."

"Good man." Tiarek clapped his hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the door. "Let's go."

Boba felt his banzaii burger start to work its way up his throat as they walked back to the rec room. Should he tell Tiarek what he'd done? Boba didn't want him to hate him too, but he wasn't sure what he'd be angrier about; kissing Tano, or lying about it.

"What?" Tiarek was looking at him with those same knowing eyes Dad had when he knew Boba was squirming about something.

"I kind of…" Boba hesitated. "Fuck it. I kissed Tano and she's gonna make it sound like I just made a move on her out of nowhere and–"

"Hold on, hold on!" Tiarek went to one knee so they were eye level. "What are you on about?"

"Tano," Boba mumbled. "I kissed her. I thought she wanted it."

Tiarek was staring at him with his mouth open. "You did what?" he asked sharply.

"She said she was gonna go get pillows to have a proper sleepover, so," Boba shrugged. "Obviously I thought that meant she wanted to fuck. But she didn't know what that's what sleepover really meant because she's a Jedi, I didn't mean to piss her off."

"She… she didn't–" Tiarek stood and turned away, his hands on his head. "Boba, no." He turned, and Boba felt his heart sink into his guts at the look on his face.

"I didn't hurt her! I just kissed her, she didn't want it so I didn't push it–"

"Boba, who told you that a sleepover meant that?" Tiarek's voice was so sad that it made Boba flush, embarrassed all over again.

"Fuck, not you too." Boba turned away with a groan. Why was everyone so damn stupid? Why was he the only fucker under the roof who knew Basic? "Sleepover is when you want someone to sleep in your bunk, it's not a fucking slumber party like she thinks. Aurra told me what it meant when some asshole asked me in a bar on Nar Shaddaa–"

Tiarek sighed and huffed out a relieved laugh for some reason.

" –and then, you know, I started having sleepovers with her–"

Tiarek's face fell and he turned away with his fists balled up.

"Oh not you too, why is everyone such a damn prude?" Boba moaned, rolling his eyes. "I'm a year away from doing my verd'goten, I'm not a fucking baby."

Tiarek turned and he almost scared Boba with how angry he looked. "Listen to me," he said, going back down on one knee. "People might say sleepover to be cute, but that's not what it means. And if Dad knew that Aurra had done that to you he would have taken her skin off slowly, do you understand?" Tiarek grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. "She never should have been allowed within a mile of you."

Boba bit his lip. "You called him Dad," he said quietly. "You haven't called him that in a long time."

"I meant to say your dad." Tiarek flushed and looked away. "Not… I know, trust me."

Boba looked up. "Don't you remember–"

"There's nothing to remember," Tiarek said quickly. "It was just a few weeks, Bo'ika, okay? Don't get it mixed up again. We've been through this."

Yeah, they had, and every time Tiarek was more and more certain that whatever lie he'd been fed by Kal while he was recovering was the truth. "So I'm old enough to wet my blade, but not my dick?" he asked crudely, changing the subject.

Tiarek turned purple. "Yes," he growled.

Boba waved a dismissive hand at him. "Whatever you say, Tiarek."

"Come on." Tiarek stood. "And I told you to stop calling me Tiarek. That was never my name."

Boba resisted the urge to argue. It was pointless. If any part of Tiarek remembered, it was buried so deep down under the lies that it may as well have never existed at all.

"Now behave," Tiarek warned him, then opened the rec room door. Three unarmed clones sat lounging in their blacks inside a pile of pillows, couch cushions and sheets that had been built up into a tent. One of them was the medic that had rubbed that stink-ass bacta gel on him. Tano sat on the edge, cross-legged and pinch-faced. As soon as the door slid open she popped to her feet and rushed to Tiarek.

"Gar ru'hibii ner ad? Ne'din'kartay?" she snapped. "Rex, do you have any idea how scared I was to find him gone again?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize he was–"

"Gar johaar'i Mando'a?" Boba interrupted, stunned.

She raised a brow marking. "Waad'choruk," she said wryly. "Rex taught me."

Boba flushed and looked down. He should have expected that, if Rex had adopted her as a little sister.

"As I was saying, Boba here needed a shower, but I didn't know he was going to use half of the monthly ration for the whole GAR." Tiarek popped him gently in the shoulder.

Tano's shoulders slumped and she took a deep breath. "I'm sure he was just happy to take a water shower. I know the prison only has sonics." She bent down and looked him in the eye. "So. Ready for bed?"

Boba peered around her to look at the troopers reclining in her pillow fort. The one with the Galactic Roundel tattooed on his face looked unimpressed, the medic looked bored, but the final one with a tear on his cheek sitting cross-legged was practically beaming at him through his long hair.

"Why're they here?" Boba asked suspiciously.

"Well, since you've never had a real sleepover, I thought it might be fun to have one. And for a real sleepover you need friends, but you also need a pillow fort–" she turned and gestured to the limp tent, " –holofilms, and snacks." She held up a projector in one hand and a bag of nerf rinds in the other, smiling like an idiot.

Boba looked up at Tiarek, who shrugged. "Fine," Boba said dismissively.

"Great!" Tano dove into the tent between the long-haired one and the one who looked like he'd just bit into an unripe meiloorun. "I've already got the holo loaded. Get the lights, Rex."

Boba glanced at Tiarek, who did as he was told with a soft smile for Tano.

"By the way this is Jesse, Kix, and Tup," she added, pointing to each clone as he and Tiarek crawled inside the pillow fort. She and the three troopers were already squished together, cuddling like sleepwalking tubies. Tiarek stayed on the outside and Boba ended up sandwiched between him and the medic, Kix.

"Wizard," Boba said in a bored voice. "What are we watching?"

"March of the Porgs," Tano said cheerily.

"Finally!" Tup crowed.

"What do you mean finally? We just watched that on the way home from shabla Naboo," Jesse grumbled.

"Language," Tiarek drawled.

Boba snorted. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." Tiarek chuckled and pushed Boba's head down to his chest.

"Wait, Commander, you're sleeping over here?" Tup asked, looking confused. "You always sleep with Rex."

Boba froze. Wait, had he kissed Tiarek's girl? Why hadn't he shabla said that, why'd he go through the vod'ika banthashit instead of just saying he was screwing her? And where did Tiarek get off telling Boba that he was too young for it if he was shagging his own al'verde? Boba was older than all of them, except for Tano.

"Not tonight," Tano said nonchalantly. "Oh, by the way, Boba, you forgot somebody." Tano tossed Robert the Rancor at him over Kix, then started the projector.

Boba cleared his throat. "Thanks." He hugged Robert to his chest and adjusted a little so that he could fit the plushie in between him and Tiarek, hiding a small smile.

"There is a mysterious ritual that dates back thousands of years. No living creature has survived it, except the porg. They have wings but can barely fly. They're birds without beaks that act like clowns. And every year, they embark on a nearly impossible journey to find a mate. For twenty days and twenty nights, the porg will march…"

Notes:

MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS ba'buir: grandfather Os'ika: Little shit (Cody's [affectionate!] nickname for Ahsoka, a pun on her normal diminutive of Ahs'ika [Little Ahsoka] ) dalgaan: bitch Har'chaak: damn it mishmure'cya: brain kiss, aka keldabe kiss shabla bev'kovid: fucking dickhead Gar ru'hibii ner ad? Ne'din'kartay?: You took my kid? Without telling me (lit. no sitrep)? Waad'choruk: Obviously (lit. diamond, colloquialism for "crystal clear") Al'verde: Commander TOYDARIAN TRANSLATIONS Wanjala?: Hungry? Ndimatafuna: I chew it Inde: Yes Nyanga zathanzi: Healthy horns Mwana: Baby Pepani: Sorry Chapino mwana: Okay baby Hule lopusa: stupid bitch HUTTESE TRANSLATIONS Chupanka keepa manmi: His tail is on backwards (Huttese colloquialism for someone acting irrationally) MAOR-GRÁSTA TRANSLATIONS sgudal fhaighean: garbage cunt OTHER NOTES I just really like it when Anakin speaks Toydarian okay. Also I mentioned this in another fic but he didn't learn Aurebesh until he was ten and he hates it so he types in all caps and doesn't like punctuation Yes, Boba refers to Rex as Tiarek in his head. We'll find out why just hang in there lol

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @soliloquy-of-nemo Dividers: @saradika-graphics

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ailani-reillata · 3 months

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The Acolyte - Chapter Fourteen: The Beast

Oc Centric - Multichapter - 9.7k - Rated T

Summary: The Separatist Crisis has reached its peak. War looms throughout the galaxy, casting a dark, bloody shadow over the thinning ranks of the Jedi Order. The end of civilization has already started. This is the story of Jedi Acolyte Ailani Réillata. Her end has just begun.

Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen,

AO3 Version

(Please see the AO3 version for the full list of tags and warnings BEFORE reading.)

———

"The most dangerous beast is the beast within."

The war passed by.

Months came and went with little variation, and sunrises and sunsets melted into each other. Endless orange filled the sky and faces blurred together.

Where she had once felt listless, Ailani now felt firmly planted. Her routine and reality had fallen into place, and normalcy grew in her heart, twisting with horror and sadness. She had little confidence or control, but she did have a routine.

Wake up. Take stimulants. Play tag with R3. Run around the training room. Attend Senate sessions. Eat lunch with whoever was back on base—usually the 104th but occasionally the 501st. Run around the training room some more. Attend Council meetings. Stretch aching joints. File reports. Call Ahsoka. Eat dinner. Stretch again. Call Wolffe. Talk with Wolffe. Take more stimulants. Go to bed. Dream.

Ailani didn't belong; she would never belong, but she did know. She knew the rules of her day and the rules of her new normal. And she knew that this was all wrong.

The endless echoing of the Senate Arena wracked around Ailani's head, sending her thoughts pinging around the walls of her mind. The headache she had awoken with got worse with every tinny speech, and her body ached with boredom and fatigue.

Though she had improved dramatically in recent months, wisps of the Virus still haunted her body, as did remnants of her careless tumble. Senate meetings only seemed to worsen the chronic pain; the noise, the lights, and the stupidity were too much to handle. Not even endless stimulants could cure that.

Didn't any of these worthless politicians understand how pointless their petty arguments were? Couldn't any of them see how uselessly they spun in circles? They had the minds of children, unable to perceive the truth for longer than mere moments, blind to reality, and unable to comprehend it.

Now, the war had come here, and still, they were blind. A few blocks from the Senate lay the real war, the true war of humanity, and yet, in this room, the senators debated credits. Something about clones costing too much. How ridiculous. How petty.

Ailani tried and failed to ease the tension on her face, thanking the Force that her expression was hidden under a low hood. She would not be a pretty sight on camera, and it had nothing to do with the bruising that still healed around her face. Ailani knew that she probably looked resentful and bitter, and even if she was those things, the Senate did not have to know.

None of them even cared what she thought or knew she was alive. Even now, as she accompanied Bail Organa himself, no one noticed her. But then again, no one ever saw her.

Ever since Toydaria, an understanding had grown between her and the politician. Neither of them openly acknowledged it, but whenever Ailani observed the Senate, Bail allowed her a place in his booth, and she was always welcome to join him and his staff for a meal afterward. The light chatter gave her time to review the session and discuss ideas, though Ailani mostly observed. Listening to casual conversations over meals gave her more political insight, for words spoken over soup were less hidden by the lies of the Senate Arena. A good meal made people honest, and true honestly was so rare these days. It was refreshing.

But not even the warmth of Senator Organa's booth, nor the promise of lunch afterward, could not ease the tension on Ailani's face. At least not today . She picked at the red ribbons that adorned her arms, fiddling with the soft fabric.

She kept hearing low growls in every spoken word, and when she closed her eyes, Ailani saw glowing orbs staring back at her—flickers of scales and shades of smoke.

The Beast of Malastare.

The very thought of the creature hung over her like a dark cloud, and the furrow in her brows had not eased since its arrival. Why had the Chancellor insisted that they bring the Beast here? Why had they insisted on the open secret of it all? They could have gone to some far-off world in the Outer Rim if they desired secrecy. Yet instead, the Chancellor insisted that they parade the creature out in the open and study it within the capital. How long did they expect that charade to hold?

Ailani didn't mind secrets. The war was built on them, but this was reckless and foolish.

Not that she was one to complain about those traits, either. The scars on her back said foolish, and the crack in her ribs said reckless. It had been almost two months since her fall, yet a place in her lower ribs still ached from a hairline fracture—a memory of her mistake that would never fully heal. But when had she ever recovered in the past? When had she ever gotten better? When had she ever been strong enough? This was not new. She was still haunted by the remnants of the Blue Shadow Virus, and she was still chained to Coruscant. None of this was new.

Yet the Republic was supposed to be better than some stupid girl, better than some failure of a Jedi. Her Order was supposed to be better.

War did not allow for the better.

They had given up so much freedom, and yet Ailani found herself no more secure on Coruscant than she felt on the battlefield with a blaster aimed at her head. Dreams of the Beast had plagued her for two nights now, though it never came to her as an antagonistic force. Instead, she dreamed of its glowing eyes staring into hers. Her lingering form reflected in the Beast's gaze, loneliness mirrored in loneliness.

She wasn't supposed to speak to anyone about the Beast, but the restlessness of her dreams had led Ailani to confide in Wolffe.

Since that night outside the medical center, Wolffe had marked himself as her only companion who knew of prophecy. He hadn't told on her, and he hadn't looked at her like she was crazy. He listened, asked questions, and pulled her back from the deep end. But he had no answers either. So they merely drank coffee on the barracks' roof until the sun rose and tried not to look toward the lab.

All Ailani knew was that the Order was supposed to be better. Better than her, better than restless dreams. Yet, the Jedi did not speak for themselves anymore. They fell to the law of the Chancellor. And he wanted the Beast on Coruscant.

Even though Master Windu and Anakin had captured the creature in the first place, and even though Master Windu seemed to share Ailani's opinion on freedom and individual rights, none of it mattered. None of it mattered because the Chancellor was above them now. He was above everything. How many emergency powers had they granted him in the past six months alone? How many of their freedoms had they given away? What little power did the Jedi even possess anymore?

Even Anakin didn't seem to care. At least, he seemed to care little in his incident report. The man who treated his droid like a stray cat paid no heed to the Zillo Beast, a sentient creature. But then again, who was Ailani to judge? The Beast had not almost killed her. Perhaps that changed one's mind.

After her conversation with Wolffe had gone nowhere, Ailani had desired to talk to Rex about the Malastare mission, but the 501st had been so busy lately. And in honesty, Ailani had been afraid.

Her friendship with Rex and the 501st was not built on deep conversations or personal feelings, rather, their relationship was built solely on their mutual care for Ahsoka. They hid it behind teasing and jokes, but the Padawan had drawn them together, and they had little else in common. At least, Ailani thought they had little else in common. She hadn’t really asked. They hadn’t really asked either. But she liked being included, and she didn't want to ruin it, the same way she ruined everything.

Ailani shifted her gaze to Senator Organa and found him staring thoughtfully into space. Did he know?

She knew senators liked to talk, and some on the Coruscant Guard may have spilled their guts about the creature's transfer, but Master Adi's network reported no rumors, which, in honesty, worried Ailani even more. How could people not be talking? Didn't they realize what a delicate situation they were in? Had they no sense at all?

Ailani grimaced as she caught the corner of Bail's gaze. He smiled at her in an exhausted, worn way, and she suddenly felt guilty for the senseless words she had been throwing. Senator Organa wasn't like those insults. He wasn't like the rest of the mindless politicians. He wasn't senseless or stupid and…and…

He must have been the same age as her Father. The thought twisted Ailani's gut. Her Father had been constantly on her mind since Naboo, and even more so since memories of his training had saved her from Cad Bane.

Bail only made those memories sharper. Streaks of gray in his dark hair, eyes that saw all, and a steady strength like the mountains of Mandalore—Alderaan. She meant Alderaan. Ever since her mind had insisted on the parallel, finding comfort in the House of Alderaan had been easy. The warm chair. The meals. The conversations. The amount of childish ease she felt around Bail was akin to how Ailani felt about some senior members of the Jedi Council, but they had taken years to earn that place in her mind. Bail had made home there in a few months.

Senator Organa wasn't sharp like her Father, and somewhere deep in Ailani's mind, she knew he was nothing like her Father. But his dark hair with streaks of gray and his knowing smile made it easy to pretend.

Perhaps it was because he expected nothing of her. Though he knew her last name and no doubt recognized the beskar on her belt, he never brought it up. He merely waited and asked questions about Jedi life. But most importantly, he asked Ailani for her opinion. He asked for her observations, her insight. He was not ordering her to watch as the Council did. Instead, he seemed to ask because he wanted her point of view, not some unbiased observation. It felt nice to be asked what she thought, emotions and all.

Of course, she had found other bright spots, but Bail wasn't like the others. He wasn't a soldier.

Ahsoka prompted honesty and even jest from Ailani, but the Padawan's actions also left her feeling unbearable pressure as Ahsoka yearned for battlefield approval.

Barriss and Ailani didn't talk anymore, though Ailani supposed that was mostly her fault. But when they spoke, Barriss greeted Ailani's wounds with compassion, even though the warmth had burned Ailani's heart.

Rex was a great companion, as were many in the 501st, especially Kix and Fives. Training with them and making light conversations over meals added some light to Ailani's mundane routine. But the group shared a tight bond. And Ailani was outside of it. No matter how hard she tried. She couldn't get it right. Most of them were funny and friendly, but she was just…wrong.

The Wolfpack was another situation entirely. Where she had once felt so at ease, Ailani could feel a strange strain forming, and she knew it was her fault.

Something had happened that night after the holocron theft, and it was something she could not repair. None of them ignored her or stopped reaching out, but there was tension, especially with Wolffe. Every joke seemed laced with something deeper and every meal felt like the last. They all seemed to watch her with calculating eyes, picking apart something she didn't understand.

Sure, they let her sleep in the barracks sometimes because Master Plo insisted that company might ease her nightmares. But that wasn’t kindness, that was duty. The Pack were merely humoring her, letting her sleep in Plo's bunk whenever he slept at the temple.

Boost only helped Ailani upgrade R3 because she was useless on her own, and Comet probably only showed her how to paint armor because he felt pressured to amuse her. Even when kindness and friendship was woven into things, Ailani could feel the strain. They were hiding something from her, something terrible.

And it was worse when Wolffe was around.

The entire mood of the group shifted, as if every conversation were made of glass. It made her chest tight and her cheeks redden. And it was even worse when she was alone with him. Sparring sent her skin crawling whenever they made contact, and all conversations with him made the pit of her stomach feel hollow. Sharing secrets with him made her heart race painfully, but she couldn't stop. It was unlike the social discomfort she had grown accustomed to, granted by shyness or lack of ability. Instead, this was something entirely new, and Ailani's heart told her that it was something she had caused by showing her cards.

That night at the medical center would not leave her mind. He looked at her as if he had known her for lifetimes. The way he had seen her. But the seeing felt different in daylight, making her palms sweat and her muscles tighten whenever he was around. But she couldn't stop. She looked at him, and everything spilled like guts in the snow.

What she wanted was something wholly forbidden. That is what she had thought that night outside the medical center. She had wanted something wholly forbidden. Ailani swallowed hard, pushing the idea below the waves of her heart.

The point was that conversing with Bail had none of these downfalls. There were no red strings or places to hide. No worries about things becoming too complicated or confusing. He did not push their friendship with overly optimistic or heartfelt words and did not bother Ailani when she wished to be alone.

Bail Organa was simply there.

Even when she kept secrets from him and lamented over the waves of his hair as she tried to remember the curl of her Father's.

The Zillo Beast returned to Ailani's mind at the mention of secrets, and she pulled herself back to that horror. What was she going to do? How could she keep her mouth shut around Bail? This matter would eventually concern the Senate, that much Ailani was sure of, but if Bail found out from someone else, what would he think of her?

This was all the Chancellor's fault, Ailani thought. She had compassion for the man due to their shared history, yet that only went so far. War was straining them all, but this felt like reckless abandon.

She knew something about clone armor, which played a significant role in studying the Beast, specifically its scales, but was Coruscant really the best place to conduct such research? Was it even safe?

And then Ailani remembered Wolffe's helmet from all those months ago, melting and smoking, burning like fire. His armor needed to be stronger. If it were stronger, maybe he wouldn't have—

And she was thinking about Wolffe again.

Ailani melted into her chair, covering her face with her hands. She was hopeless, and this Senate meeting would never end, and she would die here from boredom and overthinking.

At least the overthinking made her less bored.

"Marshal Commander Cody is here for you, ma'am." A voice interrupted Ailani's thoughts. Sheltay Retrac. Bail Organa's aid.

Ailani sighed, rubbing her eyes, "Alright," She said, prying her hands away from her face, before directing a quiet apology to Senator Organa, "Excuse me."

He nodded in understanding, and vaguely, Ailani could see that his eyes looked just as glazed over as she felt.

Removing herself from the Senate pod, Ailani made her way to the main hall, willing herself not to overthink this as well. She often met with the Marshal Commanders to discuss battalion issues, but Cody…

Marshal Commander Cody was effective, efficient, straightforward, strategic, and intelligent, and most importantly, he did not like Ailani.

As desperately as she tried to retrace her steps and find a misgiving, his open dislike of her had seemed to appear out of thin air. Their first meeting was slightly cold, but they were under immense pressure then, so it felt... understandable. Yet, every moment they interacted was still stained by that same energy. Straightforward and distasteful.

And the more Ailani hung around the 501st and the 104th, the more Cody’s distaste seemed to grow. He shot her disappointed looks every time he saw her, and no matter how hard Ahsoka tried, Cody would never say anything more than a basic greeting to Ailani. Once, Cody had come to Wolffe's office in the early hours, and when he saw Ailani sleeping in the spare bunk, he had slammed Wolffe's door shut so hard she swore the ground shook.

Why would he possibly want to see her now? He almost always left messages in her comm, apparently never wanting to talk in person. Not that she wanted to talk, either.

Commander Cody stood in the hallway, absentmindedly scrolling through a datapad as he awaited her arrival. His armor was clean and shining, the golden lines burning her eyes like harsh sunlight.

"Good evening," Ailani tried, feigning casualty. Was it even evening yet? How long had she been in the Senate? Her throat felt funny.

"Is your comm broken?" Cody said, not even acknowledging her greeting. He never had malice in his tone, but there was always an edge—his words short and precise. It made Ailani feel so impossibly small, though that was probably the intent.

She stood up straighter, trying to slip past the implication that she ignored his calls, "I was in a meeting. If you needed me, I would have seen your message after. "

He didn't respond. Instead, Cody held out the datapad he had been observing and motioned for her to take it.

"What's this?" Ailani asked, reaching for the device. The last thing she needed was another datapad to stare at for hours on end. Her eyes hurt enough, and the constant headache left by the virus did not help.

"The murder investigation," Cody said absentmindedly, "Into that Jedi General."

Murder?

Ailani furrowed her brow, confusion filling her features, "I thought that was an accident."

'Accident' was a word Ailani had come to know like the back of her hand. It was an easy excuse for any unexplained incident on the battlefield, and in a galaxy caught between fact and fiction, accidents happened.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Cody pulled the device away, prying it from Ailani's hands, "Who told you that?"

The mechanical filter on his voice made chills run up Ailani's spine, and she swallowed hard. Oh. Guess she wasn't supposed to know about that.

Ailani's mind flickered back to last week, eating lunch with Wolffe on the training room floor. Earlier that morning, she had heard something about a Jedi dying during a standard mission, but the lack of details had made the story fuzzy. The military record was clean, so Ailani had asked Wolffe if he knew anything about it.

He had shaken his head, "Some freak accident. Weapons misfire."

Wolffe had refused to explain beyond that, and Ailani had dropped it to make him happy.

"No one." Ailani lied, "I just assumed."

Even with his helmet on, Ailani could practically feel Cody's eyes burn into her skull, "Tell Wolffe it's none of his concern."

"I'm not a messenger." She retorted. Too defensive, too fast. She could have kicked herself.

"But you did hear it from him?" Cody countered.

Caught. Ailani gritted her teeth and tried to squeeze confidence from her soul, "I don't see how that's any of your concern."

"My men are my concern." He shoved the datapad back into her arms, the device thudding against her chest. "Indiscretions are my concern."

"I have clearance for matters like this. I'm not a civilian." Ailani said, huffing slightly.

Who did he think he was? He was constantly pushing, always superior, always better, always knowing. Always. Always. Always. It was almost as if he thought of himself as her Mother—

"I wasn't talking about the report," Cody said—his voice even and deadly cold.

Ailani felt the blood drain from her face, and all comments and thoughts faded to oblivion.

Wolffe. Concern. Indiscretion.

Her.

Cody spoke again, but Ailani felt the words wash over her like the tide, "Contact me when the session is done. I want to be there when you bring this before the Council."

He turned and walked away.

Ailani stood in the hallway, completely frozen. She felt like she had been stripped clean and laid bare, picked apart like some animal on the operating table.

Indiscretion.

Wolffe.

Concern.

Her.

What could Cody have possibly meant by all of that? How dare he assume…What did Cody know? More importantly, what did he think he knew?

Questions and answers flickered through Ailani's mind before she could name them, and the sickness in her stomach threatened to appear as vomit. The thought of Wolffe made her sick now that Cody's words rang in her head, yet he would not stop appearing in her mind.

Eyes staring at her outside the medical center. Hands-on hers during training. Ease and strength in his words whenever he spoke to her. And that one time…That one time during a sparring session, she had thought about kissing him. Ailani's mind reeled at the suppressed memory and felt her legs buckle.

Indiscretion.

She was merely sick that day, and her concussion had overtaken her thoughts, and she was being so emotional, and she had taken too many stimulants and…and….

Indiscretion.

Wolffe had just been so close to her. So close she could feel his breath fan across her face, so close she could hear the shake in his every exhale. He was so warm, and Ailani had been freezing out in the cold for as long as she could remember.

And she had thought about leaning forward and finally tasting summer thaw.

But it was only a thought, and she had quickly banished it, stumbling backward and away from him. But she had thought about it.

In fact, Ailani had thought about it more than once since that night outside the medical center. If she was being completely honest, she may have almost thought about it before then, too, even if she refused to admit it to herself.

But how could Cody know any of that? Ailani had not admitted that to herself, much less to anyone else.

A memory resurfaced, that first time she had met Cody. The strange tension between him and Wolffe, the knowing eyes she felt even through his helmet—the tilt of his head.

"What is he, your older brother or something?" She had asked.

Wolffe was silent before replying, still and observing, "Or something."

Or something.

Ailani did not have much experience with siblings or even family. But, Master Adi Gallia and Master Stass Allie were cousins, and sometimes, Adi would look at Stass with this expression that Ailani could never name. It wasn't precisely scolding, but it was something close. It was a knowing look that went deeper than familiarity. The look held all the years they had shared together and all the years Master Adi had lived before Stass was born.

Was that the look Cody and Wolffe shared in the Council room?

Or something.

Rex and Ahsoka often spoke highly of Cody, and Ailani knew their bond was like siblings. But Wolffe had never spoken of Cody, much less in a way that would imply they had a close relationship. In fact, Wolffe never spoke much of anyone besides the Pack and Master Plo. Sometimes he talked about Neyo, apparently the two of them were close, but Wolffe never elaborated on those stories. Her and Wolffe’s relationship was built on the present, beyond that…

Well, maybe Wolffe did speak about other people, just not to her. Maybe he talked to all sorts of people about all sorts of things. Maybe he…

A sickening twist hit her gut again, but Ailani ignored it and kept looking for answers that would not come.

The role of Marshal Commander was a complex one. That much was clear to Ailani, but she only recently noticed some of the finer details. The unbalanced relationships they had to navigate. The truth of it had been proven on Khorm when Wolffe buried his nameless brother. A brother. A nameless man. Commanders had to see all other clones as both. Brothers and nameless soldiers. One and the same.

But was Cody acting as a Commander when he spoke to her, scolding her for getting too close and breaking her code, or was he acting as Wolffe's brother, warning her against ruining his perfect little family? How did he even know? That thought sunk like a stone in her heart. How did he know? What did he know?

Sirens were going off in her head, blinding out all other noise.

No. No, those sirens weren't in her head.

Ailani looked up, blinking away her thoughts, and watched the red emergency lights swirl around the chamber.

She still felt paralyzed into place when suddenly Bail was at her side, "We are being asked to evacuate to the underground shelters." The Senator's face was grave, but he did not look confused or questioning. He accepted reality and sprung into action. He was certain.

"Why?" Ailani replied, but her legs were already moving to follow the crowd.

Bail shook his head, the lines in his face deep and shaded, "No idea, it could be anything."

Ailani's mind was still reeling, but she tried to refocus herself. If there was an emergency, she should have been told. Ailani pulled out her comm but saw nothing besides missed calls from Cody.

Nothing.

"I need to get back to the temple." She said, shoving the communication device back in her pocket.

In emergencies, she was always to report to the Council Chambers. That was her safe haven, her shelter. But no one had told her anything. No one had even reached out. If Cody had known anything about this emergency situation, he would not have felt compelled to share. Even worse, it seemed everyone had thought the same. No one had reached out to her. No one had ever considered her. She had been left here to fend for herself in a sea of politicians and their petty affairs.

Indiscretions. The word sang louder than the alarms. Indiscretions.

If Cody knew something, did that mean he had told others? Is that why no one had contacted her? Was she being punished?

Bail stopped, touching Ailani's arm gently, "That might not be the best idea."

She knew he wouldn't stop her from going, but the look in his eyes said he desperately wanted to. She would be safe in the shelter; clearly, she was not needed for whatever sent the Senate into an uproar. If she were required, the Council would have contacted her.

Right?

Indiscretions.

"I'll be fine," Ailani replied and turned away.

A massive tremor wracked the building before Ailani could reach the main doors. The ground shook, and the walls shivered, straining under weight and movement.

For a sickening moment, Ailani feared that the entire complex might collapse onto her, but she pushed away the thought, not daring even to debate it. Earthquakes had not wrecked Coruscant for generations, but with all the extra construction maintenance and stress on the planet, it would not be a massive surprise if such disasters started again. Yet, that was a frightening prospect. The core of the Republic crippling under the weight of the capital felt like an omen, or at least, a very unfortunate metaphor.

At the mention of metaphors, Ailani's mind briefly flickered back to the holocron of prophecy. The holocron she had thought was lost. The holocron that had been safe all along. She had nearly died for the stolen artifact, and it wasn't even the right one. She had chased a memory file containing the names of force-sensitive children. Her holocron had never left the temple.

She had been tricked.

But by whom? The holocron of the thief?

Since her fall, Ailani found the prophecies within the holocron somewhat lacking. The words seemed less like guiding stars now and more like taunting puzzles, sending her on chases with no real solution. Not that she hated a hunt, Ailani liked the thrill of it all, but something about the orange glow had lost its spark. She was not intent on giving up mysticism and had not lost faith in her dreams, but the holocron felt less like a map and more like a tool. It had not saved her during the chase, which made Ailani feel as if she had been praying to a dead god for months.

She would rather dedicate herself to the living. Deep brown eyes that saw through her. Hands that brushed hers. Warmth breath and the soft sound of whirling cybernetics.

Ailani burst out the doors of the Senate building, and screams of terror and the smell of desperation and destruction greeted her every sense.

Beings stood around the Senate building, pointing and screaming, running and waving their arms frantically. Ailani followed the trembling hand of one bystander, and the reality of the situation hit her like a brick wall.

The Zillo Beast of Malastare stood in all its glory, slowly reaching the Senate building with booming, decisive steps. Its arms were extended, running and crawling, pulling its massive body forward and crushing anything that stood in its way.

It was even bigger than Ailani had understood before. No sleeping creature could even allude to the presence and energy that stood before her now. No dream could capture the cold-blooded fear that engulfed her. No nightmare could even come close to how vulnerable and bare she felt before the creature's shadow.

Ailani was frozen. Her blood was frozen, and her legs were frozen to the ground. Her very soul was frozen.

And the Beast roared.

For an instant, a mere moment, the fear crawled up her limbs and engulfed her heart, stopping all signs of life in her soul.

Ailani was awake again, hyper-aware and desperately alert like a hunted animal. She began running. All fear inside of her had been morphed into the primal need to survive. The instincts of prey overtook the body of an Acolyte. The hunted fled with the rest of the desperate pack.

Crowd control would do little now, yet Ailani fell back onto the rules and regulations she had been raised on.

Civilians out first.

"Get out of the way!" She shouted, gesturing wildly to the crowds, her heart beating rapidly. So many around her remained trapped in the cold-blooded fear, unable to turn it into drive as she had. "Move, move, move!" Ailani screamed, but her voice was lost in the shrieks of terror and the monster's roar, "Get back!"

Her throat was raw, and no one had even seemed to notice. The beings around her acted recklessly and disorganizedly, tripping over each other as they screamed and yelled senseless things. They were going to get themselves killed. It felt like Ailani and her overworked heart were only out there to watch. They looked just like the senators inside. Senseless, running around unknowing, and only making things worse. They saw the Beast, they saw the horror, and yet all they could respond with was listless fear.

A man tripped over a child, and the girl's mother screamed at him even as he fled. A different being stood frozen, staring at the crawling creature with cold-blooded terror. Even more, people ran in uncoordinated circles, seemingly caught between two routes for fleeing.

Where were the Corries? Wasn't this their job? Managing the Senate, looking after the people who gathered outside. Where was everyone? Why was she alone out here?

Ailani eventually found herself directly below the Beast between trembling ground and even shakier legs, watching it crawl up the Senate building above her.

Gunships were swarming now, their lights focused and blinding the beats, and Ailani knew heavy weaponry was not far behind. She could probably get up there with a speeder. She could help. But where were the Corries? She was not progressing with crowd control down here, but she couldn't just leave these people.

A massive tremor shook the ground as the Beast roared again, cracking windows and breaking walls. Then, there was a sickening creaking from below her feet.

The ground was breaking.

The reality of the situation only arrived to Ailani in desperate fragments, shards of thought. She was running before the noise even set into her mind, even before the full distress of the situation revealed itself.

The Beast had ruined the platform's integrity, made some foundation crack, or pulled one support beam too far out of place. Or perhaps he was just too heavy. They were at the top level of the planet. If the ground below them broke, how many levels would they fall? How far did the damage go? Would they sink to another level or fall into some broken basement?

Ailani had fallen a level and a half only months ago, and she had been so confident she would die. It had only been through a blessing from the Force that had saved her—a helping hand.

Deep brown eyes.

These civilians and politicians did not stand a chance, not with their screaming and their trampling, useless legs.

Ailani was scrambling now, running away from the building and towards the thinning crowds. She screamed out another order, another pleading cry to flee or follow her, but her throat seemed empty now, the words coming out cracked like the ground below her feet.

The platform behind her was sinking. Even without looking, Ailani could feel the pull of gravity worsen from behind her, and soon, her run became more of a scramble against the leaning ground.

The woman and her daughter from before were beside Ailani, the Mother carrying her screaming child. Her face was terrified and yet determined. Ailani imagined she must look the same: wild eyes and frantic heart.

The mother tripped. It all happened in slow motion. Her daughter flew from her arms, landing a few feet in front of them, and the woman fell backward, slipping into the ground behind them that was quickly melting. Ailani reached out without thinking, grabbed the woman's sleeve, and pulled her harshly, practically tossing the woman forward and towards her child. The woman caught her daughter, and they rushed forward, not even looking back

Even that one second had cost Ailani too much time. Her feet stood on moving rocks, slipping and tripping over the fragmented pieces of permacrete as they dropped into the now chasm that grew behind her.

She was slipping. There was no doubt about it. First, her left leg sank, and her right leg followed.

She grasped at the ground with her arms, but all forms of purchase were sinking with her, and soon, Ailani's feet dangled in the air, her entire weight balanced on her fingertips. And that, too, sunk down.

And Ailani fell. Again.

The world was covered in shadow.

And Ailani was drowning in it.

It was as if the entire galaxy was covered in an endless dark fog; wherever her eyes went, they were only met with eternal shade. She could barely make out her own trembling hand in front of her face. It was getting hard to breathe, as if the air was now thick with darkness, catching in her throat and choking in her lungs until the void of the universe sat in her chest.

Someone was screaming her name.

"Ailani!"

The sound was different than it had been every night; however, the voice was lower and…more familiar.

"Ailani!"

Who was that? What did they want?

"Ailani!"

Three times, and then it would be over. She needed this dream to be over.

But the dream shifted.

In her dream, Ailani was now seven years old and staring up at the clouded sky.

Every breath burned through her body, the aching sensation rolling deep into her bones. It was as if her very existence meant pain, as if she had been born for pain and from pain, and nothing else was real beyond that. Nothing else was real beyond the pain.

The pain and the wind.

The stinging air pricked at cuts on Ailani's face, whipping her hair across her cheeks and pushing at soft skin. The clouds above moved with the quick breeze, the scene above ever-changing and shifting.

Smoke lines trailed through the sky, waving between cloud and clarity, twisting and shimmering in the daylight.

Smoke lines…

In the back of her mind, Ailani knew that the smoke lines meant something, but it was so hard to think about the ache that consumed her.

Then the yelling started. The call came from far away, too far to understand its meaning, too far to comprehend the words.

But Ailani didn't need words. She merely needed the yelling.

Her Father was up there. Her Father was yelling.

Ailani's dark eyes scanned the trees, looking for the shine of his armor. He was up there somewhere, lost in the lush green branches and the endless gray sky. He was somewhere high above her. Somewhere better. Somewhere yelling.

Glimpses of wind and clouds flew through Ailani's hazy mind, the feeling of a summer breeze on her cheeks, the whipping of her hair against her ears. They had been flying. Soaring like starbirds and singing in the wind. She could remember the feeling of flight, the weightlessness of it all, the burning power…

Burning. The word struck a chord in Ailani's tiny heart. Burning. Rising phoenix. Yes. That had been it. They had been training in the ways of the starbird—the rising phoenix.

Jetpacks. They had been flying in their jet packs. Weightless and wonderful and—

She had fallen.

The yelling was closer now, but Ailani still could not spot his shape in the sky. Where was he?

Why was he so angry?

She had only fallen. It was an accident. She didn't mean to lose control. It was only an accident. It was a mistake. She had only fallen.

He shouldn't have been so angry. She had tried her best.

The Father fell into view a few moments later, sailing on wind and cutting through it like mere water. The metal of his helmet gleamed with the moment, reflecting painfully in Ailani's eyes. He seemed to burn with the sun's light, imposing and all-powerful.

He was still yelling down at her, saying things that didn't make any sense. Every word he said sat outside Ailani's mind, unable to sink in. He must have been speaking Mando'a, a language that had been lost to time in her, a language she had never been able to find again.

She couldn't move. Her eyes kept staring at him uncomprehendingly.

It was an accident.

She didn't mean to be bad.

It was an accident.

He kept yelling at her.

And she couldn't move.

When Ailani's eyes opened, she was met with hazy darkness. Shapes moved about her vision, formless and floating—blobs of light and spots of darkness. Her head pounded, making a thundering beat in the back of her skull. Everything smelled like lavender and orange blossoms.

What happened?

She was vaguely aware of something on her chest, heavy like her weighted blanket but uncomfortable like a pressing. She was sore, but the feeling was not immediately painful or sharp. She mostly felt slow, restrained in her movements by heavy weights or a tightly wrapped sheet.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Ailani remembered that certain snakes slowly crushed their victims to death by wrapping their bodies carefully around their victims and applying even deadly pressure. Perhaps she was the victim now, and the fatal snake was nothing more than the rubble of Coruscant.

Rubble.

That thought made her blink memories forward. She was on Coruscant, and the remnants around her were once a street. She had fallen because of…because of…

The Zillo Beast.

Ailani's heart jumped into her throat, and she blinked harshly, straining to take in her surroundings. Her vision was still blurred, but as memories entered clarity, so did her surroundings.

A pile of debris and rubble surrounded her, and many large pieces were laid directly above her. The weight she felt earlier suddenly became heavier with understanding. Her torso and legs were trapped but strangely not crushed. She was merely pinned between the ground and weight that was resting a hairbreadth above her form.

Ailani felt so dizzy that not even panic could break through the storm of exhaustion, and so she merely pulled and twisted her limbs, tugging her legs and praying for relief, yet none came. Her movements were restrained, and she was stuck.

Stuck.

She should feel something about that. Anything. Stuck should make her afraid. Stuck should make her worried. Ailani merely felt tired as the foggy memories fell into place and the strange dream faded from thought.

She looked up towards the sky again, blinking clarity into her blurry eyes. For a moment, Ailani swore she could see her Father floating amongst the clouds. One blink, and he was gone.

She hadn't fallen that far, only a few meters, perhaps into some maintenance tunnel, and could still make out the clouded sky. The screaming of civilians had stopped, and though a haze covered the sky, all seemed quiet. Perhaps too quiet. How long had she been out? Was it still night, or was it the next night? If it was already the next night, why had no one found her yet?

Were people even looking for her?

If no one had been concerned enough to tell her that the Zillo Beast had escaped, did they feel concerned enough to look for her corpse? Why had her Father been yelling at her in her dream? Why was everyone always leaving her in the dirt?

So many people had died during the war, and now, as she lay in the dust, Ailani found herself reflecting on all the faces that had fallen across her desk. Jedi who choked to death on their own blood. Clone troopers who were crushed to death under the feet of walkers. Padawans who snapped their necks falling from skyscrapers. Collateral damage. Everything was collateral damage; everything was merely a cog in the endless blood machine.

What would her death warrant say? Crushed by rubble. Asphyxiation from swallowing her hot blood.

Collateral damage.

Was that what her Father had been yelling about? Did he think she was merely collateral? Even as a child, had she always been this? Her head was swimming between past and present. None of it made sense.

The debris above her creaked, and Ailani suddenly felt more weight descend on her as chunks shifted with gravity. A gasp was pressed from her chest, a horrid and painful sound, shaking a bloody cough from her lungs. The iron against her lips felt cold and sweet, and the taste pulled Ailani to full consciousness.

The blood meant pain. She still felt none. She should have been in pain. Why wasn't she in pain? Sometimes, her increased use of stimulants made the line between pain and numbness blurred. Perhaps this was one of those moments. How many painkillers had she taken this morning? Or was it yesterday morning?

She needed to get out of here.

Why hadn't anyone come looking for her?

Where was her Father?

Was she alone down here?

For a moment, all Ailani could do was strain against the ground, her weak muscles shaking and her chest heaving against the weight as she pushed at the permacrete. It didn't move. She had to get out of there before the pain set in. She would be useless once the pain set in. Ailani pushed again, yet the debris wouldn't budge. If anything, it only seemed to sink deeper into her chest.

Briefly, Ailani entertained the idea of reaching for her lightsaber, but her torso was stuck so tightly it would have been impossible to reach her belt. So Ailani let her hands strain against the rubble and heaved in deep breaths.

She could do this. It wasn't even that much. She wasn't even injured. She should be able to do this. She was pinned, not crushed. She could do this. She should be able to do this. All Jedi can lift stupid rocks. Why couldn't she do this? And why hadn't anyone come for her?

Where was her Father?

Ailani squeezed her eyes shut tight, dismissing the thoughts as she retreated into the depths of her mind. She could do this. She was strong enough now. She was better. She was strong enough. She was strong enough to call if there was a crisis. She was strong enough not to be forgotten below wreckage and rubble.

Wasn't she?

Ailani took a deep breath and tried to think back to Geonosis, the last time she had felt stable in battle. The first and last time, she had felt capable. Until, of course, even that victory had gone up in sand and smoke. Ailani huffed, forcing herself to focus on her strength and not her failure.

The Force was strong, strong enough to cover her error. On Geonosis, she had survived against all odds in that arena. She had fought, and she had won. Ailani tried to think back to that feeling, forcing herself to recall it. How easily the Force had flown on that battlefield. How quickly she had taken to it.

Be with me. Ailani thought. Please be with me. She called out to the Force, straining and searching.

Yet, when her mind yearned for familiarity and strength, it was not a mantra of lavender and orange blossoms that returned, nor was it the comforting pull of the Force in her gut. Instead, Ailani found her heart sinking into memories of dark eyes and the smell of rain.

Hands that brushed hers and whispers of understanding below neon signs. Snow caught in her eyelashes and soft blinks that made her face warm. Shaking breaths and lips that had almost touched hers. Warmth that finally granted her rest.

Wolffe.

Ailani's eyes shot open, and with the light, she dismissed all thoughts of him. Her hands were shaking. She was shaking. No. No. No. Her heart suddenly felt so overwhelmed that Ailani feared it might burst, exploding in her chest with agony and effort.

She was pushing again, breathing hard and pressing up against the crumbled street, forcing her body to obey. No. No. No. Her moments were frantic now, pressing desperately against the burden. No. No. No.

Indiscretions.

Cody's face returned to Ailani's mind, staring through her soul and burning holes in her heart. His gaze was melting her, reducing her to ashes, taunting her with whispers and warnings.

Indiscretions.

No. No. No.

Ailani pushed harder, her limbs shaking. Hot tears burned trails down her cheeks, though she couldn't quite place the panic in her heart, nor the reason for tears. She wanted to run. She wanted to cry and scream and hide, and she wanted her legs to carry her so far away she would never see another Coruscant street again. The desire to flee was back, that same hunted animal feeling she possessed on the platform when she first saw the creature. That primal urge to survive and run until one burned up and burned out.

Brown eyes and hands that met hers. Warmth that glowed like the sun.

No. No. No. Her heart was beating restlessly against her rib cage, fluttering like a caged bird and tossing wind out of her lungs.

The rocks above her creaked at her straining, and Ailani channeled her frantic, primal need to survive into every muscle strain.

"Come on, Ailani." She said to herself, but her voice shook, her arms trembled, and she couldn't stop crying, "Come on."

Even as she tried to ignore the memories, shards of Wolffe replaced the pieces of lavender and fragments of faith she tried to cling to. Warmth she gravitated towards—whispers of breath on her face. Hands tangled in hers. Conversations she memorized. Eyes that saw her and believed in her.

Believed in her?

Before Ailani could even question the idea, the debris shifted, lifting with her hands, but only mere millimeters. Ailani shuffled her body, pulling herself away and—

Believed in her?

The wreckage fell back down and caught her right leg. Black spots exploded in her visions, and Ailani faltered as a gasp exploded in her throat.

Suddenly, it was as if she was watching her body from the heavens, staring at her form as it struggled against the rocks and rubble. Pulling and straining.

She had managed to free most of her body but was too slow to finish the job. Not strong enough to hold the rubble any longer. Not good enough to master the strength that the Force granted to its worthy.

Trapped. Again. Caught by her leg, struggling against the ground.

Was this what her entire life had looked like from the outside? An endless battle hidden underground where no one else could see. A pathetic fight against the immovable. Small accomplishments and devastating losses stung worse, with the taste of victory lingering on her tongue. So close and yet so far away from everything. So strong and yet never quite strong enough.

She was hopeless.

Her Father knew that, even in dreams. How long before Wolffe knew that, too? What circle of hell had she trapped herself in now? How did she always end up here? Scrapping at the ground, desperate to prove herself and utterly unable.

Ailani's mind wandered back to places she had tried to forget, moments she had twisted and broken in her mind. Rain against her face. Her small hands grasped a hunting knife. Bloody knuckles and a Father who was proud but never quite proud enough. Cold as beskar and twice as strong.

Her original failure.

Her failure as a daughter.

Had she ever stopped living in that place? That forest where she trained for a verd'goten that would never come. Practiced skills and painful lessons she had tried to forget. Her Father was a good man. She wanted to remember him the way she remembered lavender and orange blossoms. She wanted to know only of the warmth she felt in his arms and the wonderful glint of joy that whispered in his eyes.

She wanted to remember that. She wanted to remember him like Bail Organa. She wanted to remember him warm and kind.

Yet, trapped below stacks of streets and crumbled buildings, Ailani could only remember the man who had taught her that she could be strong, stronger than all who came before, stronger than all who would come after, but she could never be strong enough.

In her mind, he kept yelling at her.

Ailani pulled her leg again, the fabric of her pants digging into her skin and rubbing below the weight of rock and stone. Hot tears were running down her face. Her leg would not move. She felt no pain, no pull, no strain of her muscle, but she did feel eight years old again, lost in the woods and out of her depth. The anger and frustration she felt suddenly became replaced with a horrible sense of pity and great sadness, and as she looked down at her body, all Ailani saw was a child crying for help.

Weren't adults supposed to help? Weren't people bigger than her, stronger and smarter than her, supposed to help? How did she always end up alone in these pits of despair? Why hadn't anyone looked after her the way she had needed them to? The girl she had been, didn't that child deserve a shoulder to lean on?

Wolffe came back to her mind, and all at once, Ailani melted into uncontrollable sobs. The exhaustion and the ache and the hurt were all-consuming.

The training sessions, the conversations between meals, the shoulder she had cried on. She had wanted those things her entire life. It had taken twenty-two years for someone to look at her and know exactly what her heart had been begging for.

Brown eyes bored into hers, and the neon lights of Coruscant reflected against his face.

And he had seen her.

Ailani knew that she needed him more than she had needed anyone else before. The need in her heart had a different name, a more dangerous name. And she almost called it love. The instant rejection of the word and denial in her mind made Ailani cry all the more.

By the time Ailani had stopped crying, her trapped leg had gone numb. All tingling sensations and aching were gone from her nerves, but she could hardly care. It didn't hurt. It just felt heavy and useless. She felt much the same.

Her hands trembled too heavily to use her lightsaber, and even attempting to turn it on had failed. The metal merely clattered in her hands as she uselessly and weakly pressed buttons. Maybe the Force had left her, and the kyber refused to respond, or perhaps she was too weak to press a hairpin trigger.

Maybe the Force hadn't left her. Perhaps she had left the Force. The beskar seemed mocking as her dream lingered. Or perhaps the cold of the depths was starting to show its teeth.

How could she let herself need Wolffe? How could she have replaced that memory of lavender and strength with the deep color of his eyes? Had she forgotten herself completely? She lay numbly on the ground, staring at the beskar blade beside her.

Useless. Utterly useless. What would her Father think of her now? Ailani wasn't sure she even knew what she thought of herself anymore. What was there to think of? What horrid trait or terrible misstep was worthy of even pondering?

Love.

How could she even think that word? How could she even let her mind imagine such a horrid thing? Beyond the code, how could she even let herself pretend that someone had looked at her with…People didn't look at Ailani with love. Not the kind of seeing love she was describing. People tolerated Ailani. She amused them. But people didn't love Ailani.

In history books, love, all-seeing love, all-consuming love, the kind of love she wanted was the kind of thing people started wars over. Love is what drove beings mad. Love was bloody enough to stain the galaxy six times over.

And yet…

Wolffe believed in her. At least, Ailani thought he might. For Wolffe had let her rest when the entire galaxy had forced her into endless strain. She wanted to love him for it.

There was stirring in the distance, and Ailani peeled herself from the ground to meet the sounds: shuffling feet and mechanical voices. Ailani felt her heart leap into her throat, and she screamed before knowing what she wanted to say. The sound was strangled and raw, but instantly, she knew it was heard.

Flashlights turned a corner and shined in her eyes, sending bright spots and floating dust through her vision. Instinctively, Ailani raised a hand to shield her face. The figure moved towards her, haloed by light. For a sickening moment, Ailani's heart hoped it was her Father, and even worse, her mind hoped it was Wolffe.

It was neither.

Red markings. The symbol of the Senate.

"Fox!" Ailani screamed, though she did not even know he was with them. Her voice was shrill and desperate, searching for the sight of his familiar helmet. "Help me, help me get this thing off of me, please help me—" Her words fell from her lips like water, disjointed and desperate. She pressed uselessly against the rocks, bloody hands slipping on the dirt frantically.

The lights grew closer, and suddenly, Ailani found herself surrounded by the bright glow of their helmet lights and the crimson red of armor.

They sprung into action instantly.

As her eyes adjusted, Ailani found that her instincts had been correct, and the known markings of Fox's armor faded into view, slipping past the tears and dirt that covered her face. A few other guard members accompanied him, but names did not enter Ailani's mind at the sight of them.

Their armor was shrouded in an equal layer of grime and blood, and some pieces of their gear had even been removed.

How long had she been out?

Someone came up beside her face, shining a light in her eyes and asking questions she couldn't comprehend. Are you okay? Are you awake? Can you tell me your name? Do you know your name? Do you—

The remainder of the guard crouched beside her trapped leg, observing the situation with blinking lights and strange devices. Their evaluation was only seconds but felt like endless, grueling years.

Help me. Help me. Help me.

Ailani found she was still crying and prayed that the dust on her face hid it.

"On three." She heard Fox say, and her heart did backflips in her chest.

Her breath was trembling.

"One."

She thought about deep brown eyes staring into hers.

"Two."

Her hands were shaking.

"Three."

They lifted, and Ailani instantly ripped her leg from under the rubble. She scrambled away, her hands grasping and scraping against the ground as she fled from the wreckage and her saviors.

She didn't feel thankful. She didn't feel free. She didn't feel safe.

Despite removing the physical weight, Ailani found every breath she gasped in was heavy and staggered, trapped between her throat and her lungs. Stuck somewhere inside her heart, wedged between her ribs.

The word love came to mind again.

The heaviness turned to heaving. She was writhing against the ground, dirt, and dust sticking to her wet lips and clinging to her face as she tossed and coughed relentlessly.

What an awful thing, Ailani thought, to realize that you need someone.

#ailani réillata #writings #begged and borrowed time

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