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Chapter Text

Before time began, we know not what existed. What happened to bring about the galaxy at large now. There are legends, stories, and tall tales from some of the most ancient races.

 They call those that came before the Architects. The builders of the galaxy. The binders of the Force. 

It was they some say, that created the rules by which our galaxy now functions. Gravity, hyperspace, balance. They created a complex and amazing galaxy, set it to work on its own, and vanished. 

Some say they moved on. Some say they died off. Some say they are still watching. Some say that the race no longer exists but lives on in every force user alive.

 They left clues to the great mysteries of the galaxy they made, waiting for others to find them. To hear their long-gone tales. To WAKE. 

Sajuan Ka awoke to the sound of alarms blaring. Very specific alarms.

 The sound reverberated through the crystal glass halls causing her anxiety to skyrocket. Launching off her seat at the plated bronze table she'd fallen asleep at, Sajaun scrambled across the slick marble floor and out of the exodus period library room and bolted down the glass ring that looped down to the gold ring above it. Above that was the outermost loop where she stored her hyperlinks so they wouldn't impede the rings that all rotated against each other like orbiting an atom or planet.

 She hopped from the glass ring to the gold one, booking it so she could get to the outer stone ring. Out here, she had her fleet docked and could get incoming signals from the galaxy at large. 

She rushed over to the bank of holo screens she had hooked up to an ancient-looking systems array. 

"Oh no. Nononono." She murmured under her breath, pulling up the alert and hoping for the best. 

No go.

Definitely worst-case scenario. 

She silenced the alarm and was already moving to shut down the operations in her rooms. It would take her two months of regular time to shut everything down and another six to get her shop primed and ready for exit. Give or take. By the time she got there, she'd be too late. 

She took a moment to pause and soak in the warmth emanating from the core that the rings orbited, bright and warm and welcoming and oh so dangerous. She wasn't sure how long she would be gone. 

A Jedi on Kamino was never a good thing.

Chapter Text

Cody silently walked down the halls of Kamino on full alert. They'd driven Grievous and Ventress out, but there were still lingering droids in Tipoca City. There was no way Cody or his brothers were going to let anything else happen to the Cadets or Tubies.

 "All clear here, Commander." One of the Shinys Cody hadn't caught the name of yet reported.

 "Copy that. Let's head back." Cody motioned the men to head back to Command set up in the center of the city, "I'll alert Command."

 His men passed him by heading back as he switched channels to Command, "This is Commander Cody to Command. The West sector is clear. Coming back now."

 "Acknowledged. We can continue the rearranging of the barracks when you get back." His General's voice came through in his crisp tone. 

"Copy that, General." Cody signed off and realized his men were already all the way down the hall. 

He was about to break into a jog to catch up when a voice stopped him, "Hello." 

Cody whipped around, blaster at the ready to find a young woman in shining silver Mandalorian armor and billowing white robes. There were strange designs on her armor that reminded Cody eerily of Ventress and a pike on her back that shown like her armor. Her skin was a deep brown that reminded Cody of space, and her violet eyes were freaking him out. She definitely wasn't one of the trainers. "Who are you?" Cody demanded, aiming at her head. 

"Sajuan Ka. You working with Obi-Wan Kenobi, yes?" She wasn't threatening, more like confirming what she already knew. 

"Yes. What do you want?" Cody snarled uneasily at her interest in his general. 

"Excellent. I want you to take a message to him." Sajuan said with a kind smile.

Cody raised an eyebrow inside his helmet, "How about no. How did you get in here anyway?" 

"I go where the Force wills it. It willed me here. So here I am." Sujaun shrugged. 

"You're a Jedi?" Cody asked skeptical. 

"You could say that." Sujaun smiled like she was in on a joke only she knew.

 "Then why don't you just go into Command and ask for him yourself?" Cody asked suspicious.

 "Because I'm not ready for the rest of them to know I'm here." She said it like it was the most obvious thing. 

"And why do you want to talk to the General so bad?" Cody asked, lowering his blaster marginally. 

"Because he's the only one who can hear reason." Sujaun said with a shrug, "And he accidentally got us into this so he's going to help me get us out." 

"Got you into what?" Cody demanded defensive of his General. 

"The war." Sujuan said seriously, "Jedi are not made for war." 

"They are great General's. They protect us and the innocent." Cody argued.

 "Yes. But they have been put in an impossible situation." Sajuan agreed, "The war is slowly killing them and their way of life. But they care too much about you and your brothers to stop. It is an admirable quality if it wasn't a slow death." 

Cody jerked and stared at her in shock, "What do you mean?" 

"What?" Sajaun smirked, "You really thought the Jedi could make it in a war? You know best they're not ready for it. Especially with an army of darkness with them." 

"What do you mean darkness?" Cody asked, watching her for any sign of attack. 

"Don't tell me you can't feel it." The woman smiled slow and wide like a predator, "The violence in your blood. Let's face it, you and your brothers aren't made for peace or life. You've got darkness in your souls. It's the way you were built. The only way. The Jedi thrive on life. Being surrounded by darkness and death, even inadvertently, will kill them. Now or later. Like putting a frog in a pot of cold water and turning on the heat slowly. They don't realize they're dead until it's too late." 

Cody reeled. The Kaminoins had taken pride in the fact they were made for the Jedi. Had boasted about it for all to hear. Pursued perfection because they want to set the president. But Cody had also known the Jedi. Learned their principles from them. Darkness was the fog that covered their lives, the blindfold that covered their senses. It was the thing that drowned them slowly so that when you succumbed, it felt like a welcome. So when you succumbed, you didn't even notice who you'd become.

 "What proof do you have of that?" Cody demanded. If this was true, they could be unknowingly poisoning their Generals. Killing their leaders slowly. So slowly, they wouldn't notice. Didn't notice. If word ever got out, the expectations from the Kaminoans would change also. This could get the Cadets or tubies decommissioned. This could decommission the whole army. This could change everything. 

 "Take my message to your general, and I'll tell you everything you want to know." Sajuan offered. 

Cody growled under his helmet. He wanted answers. What she was suggesting would change the dynamics of the war altogether. It would change how they were viewed, valued, even used. But to get the answers that could protect his vode he'd have to risk his General. His alor. The only natborn commanding officer he'd ever respected. A vod in a different way. Cody balanced the risks in his head. He had no choice."Fine."

 Sajuan smiled, "Wonderful. All you need to do is get him alone and do this." She held up her hand and placed the length of her thumb against her forehead, "On your face, though, not your helmet." 

"How do I know you'll stay here?" Cody asked, not wanting to look like a complete fool.

 "You don't. You'll just have to trust me." Sujaun said with a smile, "I won't leave." 

Cody grimaced but didn't say anything, just turned to go, "You better not."

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan watched the death toll keep rising as they calculated the casualties the invasion had wrought. So many gone. So many that this would be all they knew, white walls and loveless hands. It was wrong. 

But they were stuck in a deadlock with the Senate. The Kaminoins were unwilling to release their 'products' because the cost wasn't worth it. Obi-Wan soothed his anger at his thoughts. There was nothing they could do about it, no matter how much they wanted to, so there was no use getting angry about it either. The Jedi needed to do better. They could not free the clones, not yet, but they could try and protect them. 

He tore away from the death toll and looked over the structural schematics for Tipoca City. Commander Bly had suggested they rearrange the barracks to try and limit casualties if an invasion ever happened again. It was a good idea. Now they were just waiting on Cody to begin work on it. 

Speaking of Cody, Obi-Wan spotted his sweep team with them but no Cody. He was most certainly still alive, his force signature hummed when Obi-Wan reached for it. He wasn't in distress either, just mildly annoyed.

 Obi-Wan was about to comm him to make sure he was still on his way when Cody swept in. "Sorry I was late, General. I just wanted to double-check the grates." 

Obi-Wan silently chafed at the formality all the troopers had revered to when in the Kaminoins' presence, "Of course, Commander. Shall we get started?"

 "Of course, Sir. I did find something I was hoping to brief you on before we began." Cody said stiffly. 

"Certainly." Obi-Wan allowed, curiosity spiking. They stepped to a concealed area where Cody took his helmet off.

 "What is it, Cody?" Obi-Wan asked.

 "I was late because I met someone while I finished sweeping. She claims she's a Jedi, but she's wearing Mandalorian armor. She said to give you this message." Cody put his hand up to his forehead with the length of his thumb pressing up against his forehead. 

Obi-Wan's eyes widened, "Sajuan Ka." 

"That's what she said her name was. She didn't tell me what that meant." Cody confessed. 

"No, it's just a greeting. Where is she?" Obi-Wan shook his head, trying to run through all the possible reasons she could be here.

 "The West Sector end of hall four. Why?" Cody asked with a tone that said he knew exactly what Obi-Wan was going to do and disapproved. 

"Because I need to return the greeting." 

Smoke filled her lungs as she stared over the scorched battlefield in silent horror. 

The ground was covered in bodies of the dead and the dying and those who had lost their minds. She could see some struggling to stand on the other end of the field, the soulless. She needed to leave soon, nothing would stop them, she knew that. All the others with her were dead. 

Her chest ached from the near-fatal blows she had received. Her back screamed in pain and wrongness as her bones ached with absence. The sure weight that used to comfort her on her back was gone, making her unbalanced and vulnerable. It felt like nothing was right, safe, or assured anymore. 

But there were still survivors from the soulless' attack, she could feel them, panicked, scared, but alive. She needed to get to them, to escape this nightmare of a planet and figure out what happened.

But just for the moment, she looked over the carnage in horror and sadness and let herself mourn. So many dead. So many gone.

 "What have we done?" She breathed. "What have we done?"

Chapter Text

Cody didn't like this at all. His General was just going to walk into a meeting an unknown party had orchestrated without telling anyone. Cody had insisted on coming since the General had decided not to tell his fellow Generals where he was going. It was stuff like this that made Cody swear his General was going to be the death of him. 

"Lighten up, Cody. We're not walking to our deaths." Obi-Wan teased.

 "You don't know that, Sir." Cody grit out, "She could be trying to kill you." 

"Nonsense. If she wanted me dead, she'd have had an easier time when I was eight." Obi-Wan scoffed.

 Cody's brain sputtered, "You've met her, Sir?" 

"Yes." Obi-Wan nodded, "She teaches a class to the initiates, padawans, and anyone else in the order who has not heard her class. Once every few years." 

"But why is she here?" Cody asked, trying to wrap his head around the new information.

 "I don't know, Cody, " Obi-Wan sighed, "She never stays long with the Order. A few weeks at most. No one really knows her. I'm not sure why she's here, but something tells me it's important."

 "What do you mean?" Cody asked as his General slowed to stop. 

"It is the Force, that I know, but it's different than I've ever felt it. It's like a feeling, an ache in my bones, that I'm standing at a crossroads, a precipice, and whatever I do next, whatever I choose next, is going to change everything." Obi-Wan shook his head, "It's probably nothing but-" he sighed like he didn't have the words. 

Cody knew it was hard to explain what the Force felt like to someone who could not feel it, but Obi-Wan had always tried to varying degrees of success. But this was important, especially if Obi-Wan could feel it. "If it's important, don't ignore it, Sir." 

Obi-Wan smiled, "Thank you, Cody." 

They continued on to the hall as the air got colder. There was a breach in the building, and the cold, wet Kaminoin winds were whipping through the halls. They turned to the last hall, and true to her word, the woman was still there. She was facing away from them, staring out the window at the destructive, near-never-ending storm raging outside on the planet's surface.

 When they came closer, she turned, "Kenobi." 

Obi-Wan raises his hand to his forehead in greeting, "Sajuan."

 She smiled warmly, taking in the General with a happy smile like an ori'vod would, "Well, come. We must hurry if we want to escape detection." 

Cody stiffened; what did she not want anyone else knowing?

 "Go where exactly?" Obi-Wan asked with the calm, unflappable demeanor that gave him his famed nickname, The Negotiator.

 Sajuan grinned, and it made Cody tense. She reached out and pounded the wall next to her. It slid back seamlessly to reveal a dark hall. Without a word, she entered the hidden corridor first, clearly expecting them to follow. It was a show of faith, Cody realized; she was putting her back to them and trusting them not to turn on her. 

When neither of them moved to follow, she turned back to them and grinned again, an action full of danger and threat but also daring and excitement, "Well? You coming?"

Chapter Text

The growing annoyance and distrust rolling off his Commander is enough to make Obi-Wan sigh. If it were anyone else, he would likely agree with Cody. Then again. Obi-Wan dodged another low-hanging pipe that was aiming for his face. Sajuan was still practically skipping down the cramped, dark hall without a care in the world that they were drifting into trespassing. She probably didn't.

 "Watch your head, Cody." He warned before his Commander smacked face first into a solid surface. 

For all his great directional skills, Obi-Wan had no idea where they were. They had twisted and turned in the dark depths of the city that he was thoroughly lost. Sajuan didn't seem to have the same problem as she took another turn with a jump in her step. 

"Where are we, Sir?" Cody asked, voice strained ever so slightly, betraying his fatigue. 

"If I knew we wouldn't be here." Obi-Wan huffed tiredly. They turned the corner and came to an open door.

 "Where'd she go?" Cody asked, looking down the dark hall.

 "I think she went in here," Obi-Wan said, stepping through the dark doorway. The hall they stepped into was even narrower than the passage before. Squeezing past, they stepped into a low-light room. 

Obi-Wan blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim blue light that bathed the room. Filling the room were rows and rows of bacta tanks. Inside each one was a clone of varying ages. But none of them were moving or twitching like was normal in bacta; they were all just, still. 

"What's wrong with them?" Cody asked quietly, horrified.

 "I don't know." Obi-Wan said as quietly, "They are- Sleeping is not the right word. They are unaware of anything, but they are still alive."

 "It's called cryostasis." Sajuan's voice made them jump.  She stood at the other end of the room, white armor glowing in the blue light, "Where a subject is put in such deep hibernation, not even the Force can sense them right." 

"Why?" Cody asked, looking at all his brothers that were there but not. 

Sajuan snorted a dry bitter scathing sound, "Experimentation probably."

 "But why these clones?" Obi-Wan asked the true question, "Why not the others? Why don't we know about these?" 

"Because you cannot find what you cannot sense." Sajuan said simply, "These are the clones labeled decommissioned. Clones with unique qualities the Kaminoins find distasteful. Independent thinkers. The stronger. The smarter. The dangerous." She tapped the glass of one of the tanks next to her thoughtfully.

Obi-Wan felt the anger he'd stifled earlier rise again at the treatment of the clones. The inhuman flippancy directed at them. But he forced it down. There was something else here that Sajuan wanted them to see, to understand. Anger would only blind him to it. "The Republic ordered them to cease all decommissioning months ago. Why are they here?"

 "Because the best way to keep a secret is to make sure no one knows there is one." Sajuan said, "Tell me, Obi-Wan," Suddenly, he is eight again and watching Padawans Mace and Plo play some form of dejarik while in detention. Or at least Vos had told him they were in detention for crashing one of the Master's speeders. But they didn't look like they were in trouble. They were laughing and playing a game Obi-Wan suspected they weren't supposed to have. He was about to say something, go find the crechemaster or find one of the two padawan's masters to tell them about the breach of directions, when a warm hand touched his shoulder, "What are you doing, Youngling Kenobi?" A warm voice asked, and a young woman he'd never seen before knelt down next to him. 

"Watching Padawan's Windu and Koon Master," Kenobi answered honestly. Vos hated that he didn't have a sly bone in his body. Asajj thought it funny and still hasn't given up trying to teach him.

 "I see. And what have you found out?" The older Jedi asked.

 "They're playing games and don't look like they're in trouble or taking their punishment seriously." He'd said with all the seriousness an eight-year-old could. 

"Ah, yes. Tell me, Obi-Wan," She said it like she did now, sharp and intelligent, "What is the best way to keep a prisoner from escaping?" 

Then he had frowned, "I don't know. What's it matter?" 

Now with age and learning, he knows the answer. But it is Cody who says it before he can. 

"By never letting them know they are in prison in the first place," Cody says, sure as he always is outward calm, masking his internal turmoil. Fear, anger, and suspicion, but also curiosity, roll in him like the violent storms of the planet.

 Sajaun nodded, looking grimly pleased with the answer, "This is the price of cloning. The lies behind the veneer. Underneath the pretty picture is a kingdom built on blood." 

Cody snarled at her words, "You can't do that, then can't! We're people!" 

"They don't care about that. All they care about is the money and their reputation." Sajaun said scorningly, "There's a crime behind every great fortune."

 "This is illegal," Obi-Wan said, forcing himself to be calm. This was wrong, on so many levels. 

"And what," Sajaun fixed him with a piercing look, "Does that tell you?" 

Obi-Wan thought back to that moment when he was eight, the lessons she'd tried to teach him then. He hadn't understood it then, the urge to understand, the bonds no man could see. He would understand till he was eighteen, and she'd come again and sit him down and explain how politics and motives worked. But now Obi-Wan knows. The joy of learning. The thrill of the chase. And here in this room, surrounded by the greatest violation of ethics he's witnessed, he feels it again. The thrill of discovery. There is something to be learned here, and he is eager to reach for it.

 "They are lying to us to make more money." Obi-Wan surmised. 

Sajaun tilted her head, "It could be money. It could also be something else more dangerous."

 "Secrets." Cody blurted, "That's the only other reason they'd hide something like this. They're protecting knowledge that they need but could ruin them if it got out." 

Sajuan nodded, "Yes. But knowledge can set you free." 

"What knowledge do you have to offer?" Obi-Wan asked as they neared her. 

Sajuan gestured in an elegant motion to the tank next to her, "Tell me what you feel. And you don't." 

Obi-Wan frowned at her words. What he didn't feel? No one ever asked for that. The Clone in the tank looked normal, no visible defects, no scarring, and a tattoo running up his right arm. Obi-Wan reached out in the Force and staggered with what met him. Cody braced him as his balance reoriented, "He's, gone." 

"He's dead?" Cody asked, horrified. 

"No." Sajuan said firmly, "He is not dead, but he is gone. You have found what isn't there. Tell me what is." 

Obi-Wan braced himself and reached out again, "There is a hole where the clone's consciousness should be. There is no personality, no thoughts, no individuality." 

"But is left?" Sajuan prompted. 

"There are remnants from where the person was torn out. His choices are his own, but they are clouded in some way. His ability to plan, to think strategically, is still there, but it also is clouded. There are no choices, no free will, without something prompting it." Obi-Wan let go and opened his eyes, leaning into Cody, who was standing next to him, bracing him, "There is no soul."

 "No, there isn't." Sajuan agreed sadly, "He has been reduced to no more than a highly intelligent droid."

 "But how?" Cody demanded, anger righteously rising in him so fast and strong it stunned Obi-Wan, "How can they do this? We are people, we are unique even if they can't see it. They can't just make us meat droids!" 

"Oh, but they can. Stealing one's sanity is easy. If you've planned for it." Sajuan stepped back to the wall behind her and pulled out some sort of electrical slicer. A door slid open to an elevator next to her. She turned to them with serious eyes, "Let me show you how they do it."

Chapter Text

Cody could feel unease growing under his skin as the three of them packed into an elevator made for one Kaminoin. The elevator descended into the darkness of the water below and Cody got the distinct feeling he would come up a different person. Sajuan thoroughly freaked him out but even though she frustrated him to no end he trusted her. What she said, it all made sense. It also helped that Obi Wan seemed very open to what she was saying. 

The elevator opened to a bright sterile lab that was not unlike the ones of Cody's childhood. The one was smaller and more personalized, color themed floors. A painting on the wall. 

"What is this place?" Obi Wan asked, looking around with caution.

 Cody's eyes caught the symbol that was etched on the elevator door as it slid closed after them, "Nala Se's personal lab."

 "She the head scientist?" Sajuan asked, poking around one of the consoles. 

"Yeah." Cody said, repressing a shudder thinking of her large cruel eyes. 

"Then it should be here." Sajuan said attaching a slicing device to the console's junction. 

"What should be?" Obi Wan asked, turning from the small empty decanting tree in the corner. 

"The truth." Sajuan said simply pulling up a list of project files as Cody glanced over. B99, ZB special project, Alpha, Omega, Operation Knightfall, Commando units, Alpha ARCs, Operation Cinder, and the Plagius Program. More project names filled the screen as Sajaun plugged in her slicer. 

"Did you all really think this wasn't super fishy?" Sajaun asked, glancing over at Obi-Wan who was peeking behind a target in the corner, "I mean when something just falls out of the sky don't you, you know, ask why?" As she talked she plugged into the database and began decrypting the security and downloading the data. 

"About what?" Obi-Wan countered looking truly confused. 

Sajaun fixed him with a glare, "The clones. I mean, did no one ask how that one came to be?" 

Cody kept listening but began rifling through the paperwork drawers behind Sajuan. He doubted there was anything there but one had to try.

 "Ah, Master Sifo-Dyas ordered the army over ten years ago for the Republic without the Council's permission or knowledge." Obi-Wan explained moving to the notebooks Nala Se had on a table, "He died shortly after. We looked back at his records and it seemed he was suffering from visions at the time that caused him to order the army. The clones were created knowing they were made for the Jedi. We found them by sheer chance." 

"Sheer chance?" Sajaun snorted, "Fat chance. Besides, there hasn't been a Jedi on Kamino until eight months ago. Not even a year and definitely not a decade."

 Cody turned and looked at her in confusion. That couldn't be true. Kenobi beat him to the punch pointing that out.

 "What." Obi-Wan whirled around, "Why do you say that?"

 "What?" Sajaun looked at him incredulously, ignoring his surprise, "You did come to Kamino about eight months ago as the war began, didn't you?" 

"How do you know that?" Cody asked, doing the math in his head. If Sajaun hasn't been in the near galaxy for at least a decade then she'd have no idea when Kenobi had arrived on Kamino and certainly not so exactingly.

 Sajaun leaned back in the chair so she could see both of them, "Better question, how did he pay them?"

 Cody wants to cite that as an evasion but that's a really good question. The Kaminoins wouldn't take a job without getting paid and the Jedi didn't have that kind of money, especially one working alone. Obi-Wan opened his mouth and then closed it a few times, deflating, "I…don't know." 

"And you say this whole thing isn't sketchy." Sajaun said with a smug look. The counsel dinged. She turned back to look at it and frowned, "Huh." 

"What's 'huh'?" Obi-Wan asked coming over. 

"Well I've got the data off the drives but there's a hidden file embedded. It has to do with the brain chemistry of the clones." Sajaun said, driving her chin into her hand that she propted on the desk.

 "Why would they need to hide that?" Obi-Wan asked, leaning over her shoulder. 

"Well it says here their testing for brain competency for embryo implants." Sajuan said, reading off the holo screen. 

Cody came over so he could see, "What do the implants do?" 

"I don't know. But I mean you put an implant in all 3 million of your army before they're even technically born? That defines sketchy." Sajuan said, typing a command into the counsel, "I'm gonna see if I can find out what." 

"I bet you what went wrong in those tanks up there." Obi-Wan said slowly stroking his beard thoughtfully, "When brain implants degrade there are side effects. In war there are a lot of factors that can cause it to degrade. It dies or blows and it renders the person vegetate." 

"That's murder!" Cody snapped. This thing was in every last one of his brothers, just waiting to have something go wrong and the long necks were hiding it. They needed to stop it. What if it spreads? It was an implant, what if it could become infected like a real illness and they'd never know before they were brain dead. Cody tried not to think about what it would be like. One second fine and the next second your brothers just dying around you for no reason. For any of the Vode to. Before he could demand answers or how Sajuan knew all that an alarm began to sound.

 "Stang! That's our cue to go." Sajuan unplugged her datapad and slicer and ran over to the elevator. 

They all piled in and whizzed back up to the secret bacta tanks and out into the maze of halls. Sajuan's white armour and robe made her easy to follow through the dark pipes and passages. They skidded out into a different hall than they had entered from but Cody knew where they were, near the docking bars. 

"I'll explain more later. Go now, act like nothing happened. Go." Sajuan ordered. 

The General bristled as did Cody. "You can't honestly expect us to-"

 "There is a reason the Kaminoins are hiding those clones, Kenobi." Sajuan cut him off leaning closer, "You let this slip, we could all go down. I will explain but until then, keep your mouth shut. You have no idea what clones are capable of." 

Cody almost cut in, she was disrespecting a High General, but Obi-Wan pressed his lips together in a tight line, "I expect a thorough answer." 

Sajuan grinned eyes dancing, "But of course." She pulled her hood up, swallowing her face in white cloth, "Nothing else would do." And with that she vanished before their eyes.

 Cody gaped. Jedi in his experience could not do that. Kenobi just heavily sighed, "Karking Wayfinders."

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan could feel a headache coming on. Sajuan Ka had that effect on people, or so he'd been told. But straight up disappearing , that was a new one. He didn't have time to dwell on it since they were leaving Kamino.

The war had picked up in Geonosis again, and soon it would be the 212th's problem, but before that happened, the Jedi Council was convening in person aboard the Negotiator.

 Because of the emergency on Kamino, all the Masters had agreed to come to them instead of abandoning the planet just yet. All the Masters had happened to be in the area or close enough to meet in person, which was getting rarer and rarer these days. 

Obi-Wan had offered to host since he had the biggest meeting room. The Vode had knocked out the walls during a previous assignment that involved the whole entire legislation of a planet in one room, not on the planet. So now his meeting room was the biggest.

 It also meant his first guest would arrive in about thirty minutes, and his mind was still reeling from Sajuan's jaunt through the inner workings of Tipoca City. That freaked Obi-Wan out more than he'd like to admit. 

His Commander was summarily shaken. He could feel the cracks growing in the normal calm of Cody's mind. He was deeply troubled by what they'd seen, and Obi-Wan could agree. The Vode were slaves in all, but name and this development threatened something larger. If there was a flaw in the cloning tech and the Separatists found it, it could wipe out the GAR. And that was just one of the many possibilities. It went against everything the Jedi stood for. Force, how did we let it get to this? 

"General." Cody's voice yanked Obi-Wan from his musings, "General Koon just arrived." 

Obi-Wan sighed but straightened. He'd apparently been caught in his thought for those precious thirty minutes he'd had to center himself. Cody, to his credit, didn't comment on Obi-Wan's distraction. Good man. "Thank you, Cody. I suppose I should go greet him." Obi-Wan rose from his meditation mat he had not used and shrugged on his outer robe. 

"I would suggest you stay in the hanger bay. They just keep coming." Cody warned as they exited Obi-Wan's quarters. 

"I suppose they would. Thank you for the warning." Obi-Wan sighed. Today was going to be a long day. 

"The boys took the liberty of putting refreshment stations in the meeting room. I know that's not Jedi Council protocol, but I figured I'd leave it since they were so excited. Who knows, maybe some caff will do General Windu some good." Cody mentioned. 

Obi-Wan snorted. Mace had the tragic habit of not getting enough sleep ever. Caff was the last thing he needed. But he heard the message behind the words. The station was also equipped with tea blends and hot water to sustain him through the coming meeting. Leave it to the Vode to find an over-the-top yet subtle way to show their care. "Thank You, Cody. On another note, tell Waxer and Boil to steer clear of Ponds. Mace is something of a chronic insomniac and caff addict." Obi-Wan warned, amused. 

Cody sighed heavily the way only an older brother could, "Do I have to?" 

Obi-Wan let out a surprised laugh, "No. But you might want to hear the warning yourself if he hears you let it happen." 

"Dank Ferrik, good point." Cody huffed, "Suppose I'll go warn them then." 

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded as his Commander started to peel away from him, "I'll see you later, Commander." 

Cody nodded, "Sir." 

And then Obi-Wan was alone on the hanger deck. Well, not completely alone; as he passed, almost all the Vode he passed greeted him with the respectful, 'General.' Force, he hated that title. It brought back too many bad memories. Pair that with all the young hopeful faces, and the first weeks of Command had been littered with sleepless nights and nightmares. Did they know they had worth? Did they realize they should want more than to die in glory? Did they ever dream of life without war? Could they imagine it? So many questions it would be inappropriate to ask.

 "Master Kenobi." Plo Koon greeted with a bow. 

"Master Koon." Obi-Wan reciprocated the gesture. He pushed away his dark thoughts though he knew he had an ally in Plo, "How was your flight?" 

"Uneventful. I am sorry to see Kamino in such distress." Plo said honestly. 

"Yes. It was a disturbing aftermath." Obi-Wan agreed, trying not to think of the wreckage in the decanting nursery trees. 

"I'd imagine. I've seen the numbers." Plo nodded, "There is no love lost for the Kaminoins, but the death rate for the Vode, it's tragic."

 "Yes. Will your Commander be joining us?" Obi-Wan asks, seeing the flash of gray in the LAAT that came in. 

"He wanted some time. I believe he'll be seeking out your Commander. Or I hope he will." Plo sighed. 

Obi-Wan could share the sentiment. The attack on Tipoca City had been an attack on the clones, but Cody had yet to release the emotions that would no doubt be gathering in him. It was concerning.

 But Obi-Wan didn't have time to dwell on that as two more LAATs dropped into the hangar. It was Mace and Allie. Then it was Yoda. The Oppo. And so on in a steady stream until all of the Council was present.

 "Begin we should." Yoda finally said after they had mingled for longer than usual in the hangar, "Shall we?"

 "Of course Master Yoda." Obi-Wan nodded, "Follow me." Leading them to the meeting room was a formality since they all had or had been on Republic destroyers before, but Obi-Wan still led them toward the meeting room. It didn't take long for them to all settle in.

The meeting began, but Obi-Wan had no room in his head for it. All he could think about, all he could see, was that cold blue room and those near-lifeless clones and that feeling crawling up his spine that something was changing . He couldn't figure out what, and the Force was as clouded as ever, but he could feel something. Like the wind stopping before it changed. Like the world holding its breath. Like-

 "Obi-Wan?" Mace's expectant but concerned tone brought him out of his thoughts. 

Obi-Wan realized all the Councilors were looking at him with varying levels of concern and expectancy. "I'm sorry, I have a lot on my mind. I'm not sure I'm in the right headspace to discuss this right now." Obi-Wan admitted. 

"I'd imagine not considering the reports." Plo agreed supportively. 

The subtle reminder that he had bared witness to the aftermath of the invasion against children had not gone unnoticed as the rest of the room eased off his case. 

"I understand. I dare say none of us are in the right mind to have this discussion. And I must say there is not much we can even do in this situation. I suggest we all focus on our men. Following an attack of this size, I doubt any of them have come out without scars. They all probably knew someone who died. And this is their home, if nothing else, where they house their younger brothers." Mace said firmly, "all we can do is be there for them. Let them be with each other and help repair the damage done with the facility, the defenses, and the emotional strain." 

"For our men, a lending ear they need, go be." Yoda agreed. And with that, the council broke up. Obi-Wan rose to go when a gentle claw on his shoulder stopped him. 

"My friend." Plo said gently, "You seem very troubled." 

"Koon's right. Something's up, Kenobi." Mace agreed, coming over as the rest of the Councilors left.

 Obi-Wan smiled at the two older men. They'd become good friends when he was a senior padawan and them fresh knights. The three of them had worked together to better the whole order in a way that would forever mark them as some of the greatest Councilors of this Era. Not that any of them would ever admit to it or use the title. The Grandmaster, the Protector, and the Negotiator. The three were known through the Core worlds and into the Mid Rim. They balanced each other out, Obi-Wan calm when the others were given to emotion. Plo forgiving when others found it hard to see and empathize. Mace logical, when others were given to panic or outrage. It was a friendship that was as sure as the stars. They knew him better than many others did. Sometimes it was a problem. Today it was a problem. 

"I'm fine, really, Mace. It's just, hard to be in war." Obi-Wan evaded, "Jedi are not made for War."

 "No, they're not." Plo agreed quietly. 

"What's really bothering you, Obi-Wan?" Mace asked gently, "If it was the aftermath of the battle, you won't find a soul here who doesn't agree with you."

 "It's not that." Obi-Wan said and then winced, "I mean, it's not just that. The aftermath of this attack is tragic, but there's something else. It's like the Force is holding its breath. Like something's about to change everything depending on what I do, and I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing."

 "I have had similar feelings of something like foreboding but not. Like the seasons have changed or the deadweight feeling when you dive a ship." Plo agreed.

 "Do you have any idea where these feelings are coming from?" Mace asked seriously. 

"No." Plo shook his head, "Nothing has happened. The feeling had been growing since the war began, but it-" 

"Came to a head today." Obi-Wan finished Plo's thought. The blue chamber flashed in his mind again. 

Tell them the truth. Sajuan's voice whispered in his head, her cool but comforting Force signature brushed up against his shields. 

"There is something." Obi-Wan admitted watching both men turn and look at him with interest, "When I was on the surface cleaning up, I ran into an old acquaintance of ours. Sajuan Ka is back."

 "When did she get back?" Plo asked, signature lightening at the thought of meeting their dear teacher again.

That was the other reason the three had bonded so well. They had all been taught by Sajuan Ka when they were senior padawans. The two older had crashed into her parked speeder in a quest to escape the temple for the lower levels after curfew. She saved their lives, and as punishment, the Council placed them on a two-week suspension under her care. She taught each of them the arts of Electric Judgment and Shatterpoints. The Council had been outraged, but she was gone before they could do anything about it.

20 years later, on a week when Qui Gon got sick, she had helped Obi-Wan learn how galactic politics worked. She also taught him the art of manipulation of emotions to slant the deck in his favor during negotiations. So far, no one had noticed save Plo and Mace. Their gray powers opened their reach into the Force and their connection with each other. Meaning trying to hide things from each other was the blazes. 

"Why is she back?" Mace asked next, fixing Obi-Wan with a piercing look that says he knows that Obi-Wan has the answer. 

"She's found something. Something in the clones. It feels like the roots of a conspiracy so big it will change the fabric of the galaxy forever. She won't say what, though." Obi-Wan admitted. 

"And how do you know this?" Mace pressed.

 "She came to me when we were planetside. Showed me. I don't fully understand it yet, but it's, unlike anything else I've ever seen. She's still near. I believe she will explain more with time." Obi-Wan said.

 "Well, keep us updated then. Perhaps the winds of chance are changing in our favor." Mace decided. 

"What do you see?" Plo asked quietly, watching Mace carefully.

 Mace was silent for a long moment before answering equally as quietly, "I see our current future teetering on a shatter point so vast and delicate it's like balancing on a spider's web." He looked up at Obi-Wan and Plo, "The future is uncertain, and about to change beyond repair. What we do next, will write the titles for the eons."

Chapter Text

Cody had expected Obi-Wan or an empty room when he entered the General's ready room that served as his office and was attached to his suite. He had not expected Sajuan Ka, lounging at the table Obi-Wan used as a desk that was better described as a dining table with a pot going on the water heater and something positively amazing smelling from Obi-Wan's rooms. 

"He's not back yet." She started glancing up from her collection of flimsi and datapad spread across the table.

 "I can see that." Cody snapped back harsher than he intended, "Why are you in here?"

 "I got tired of waiting in his suite, so I made dinner, and then I couldn't find a burner for a kettle, so I came in here to heat up water for tea. The table seemed as good a place as any to lay out my research." Sajuan shrugged, "Feel free to wait with me."

 Cody had no clue how to respond, and he dealt with Skywalker on the regular. Settling on the safe bet of making himself a cup of caff from the hot water, he took a seat at the table not covered with research. "Did you get everything you were looking for?" He tried.

 "I wasn't able to finish decrypting that hidden file, but I have a lot of code fragments from it that I'm hoping to piece together," Sajuan said, consulting a flimsi book as she typed on her datapad. 

"Is that hard?" Cody asked, unsure of the correct terms she was using. He'd never been very good at slicing or holonet things. 

"Seeing as how the Kaminoins are a stingy paranoid bunch, it's not a walk in the park." She looked up at him with a huff, "What about you? You staying for dinner?" 

Cody blinked, "What."

 "Dinner? I made a ton, and he's gonna make me explain everything, so this way, I only have to do it once." Sajuan said, seeming almost amused with his surprise, "Like a working meal?" 

"Seeing as how work is a battlefield, I'm not familiar with the term." Cody finally said diplomatically. Cody made it a point not to be super close with the General when people, not the Vode, were around. The General was a good friend, and the Vode had a very intense way of showing that, which Cody was pretty sure the Jedi Council would frown upon. That and dragging your General to relax time, where they all piled into one room to watch cheesy holos while basically sitting on each other, wasn't very, military. Getting invited to dinner in the General's quarters was toeing Cody's we're-around-civies-or-other-unfamiliar-Generals line.

 Sajaun tilted her head, considering his words before nodding, "Fair point." 

The keypad on the other side of the door beeped and then swished open, and the General, followed by Generals Koon and Windu, swept in. 

"Sajaun!" Koon grinned behind his mask and evolved her in a hug almost before she had risen from her chair. 

Sajaun grinned as she embraced Koon and Windu in turn, "It's good to see you too! You all look like you're doing well."

 "Yes. But I'm more concerned about why you're back a decade before you're scheduled to be." Windu said in an oddly amused way. 

A flash of something crossed her features before she waved it away, "Nothing that can't wait till after dinner. I hope you don't mind. I invited Commander Cody to join us."

 "I have no objections." Kenobi shrugged, putting some datapads into his desk. 

"What a fantastic idea!" Koon beamed, "We can regale him with tales of Obi's misspent youth!"

 Sajaun burst out laughing with Windu as Koon grinned like he'd won something, and how fast Obi-Wan's head snapped around was concerning. "I have one objection." He quipped, realizing he was on the end of a losing hand. 

"I'm pretty sure misspent is the wrong word; perhaps misguided?" Sajuan giggled as they headed for Obi-Wan's room and the food there.

 "How about, so-unbelievable-it-had-to-be-true?" Windu offered grinning. 

"Or it-could-only-be-Kenobi?" Koon added, clearly enjoying this. 

Cody's General sighed long and slow at the others' words, eyes closed but lips fighting a smile, "You are all menaces."

"Aw, but we're your menaces," Sajaun said playfully, pouting as she stirred something on the stove.

 "The gall of you calling us menaces when your padawan was Skywalker ." Windu shook his head, "Outrageous." 

Cody found himself agreeing with that internally. He also found himself wondering when the three Jedi Masters had become such good friends. He knew that Kenobi spoke highly of Windu and Koon. But this level of intimate teasing and camaraderie was reserved for the few clan mates Kenobi had mentioned or his lineage. Windu and Koon were neither. 

And Sajaun was another fathomless mystery to him. He'd never heard of a General Ka, and yet all the Jedi she encountered trusted her completely. She treated them all like old friends. It was as baffling as it was delightful. Cody slowly sat down on one of the chairs as the three masters playfully bickered and Sajaun dished up food. It was some sort of noodle soup that smelled divine. 

After a lifetime of eating rations, the exotic foods the Jedi brought with them were like a whole new world. Cody eagerly accepted his steaming bowl and two matching eating sticks that he clumsily tried to copy the Generals' form as they deftly began to use the eating utensils to eat.

 "Here." Sajaun held out a brightly colored piece of plastic and an oddly shaped spoon. Cody took them slowly and watched as she carefully fitted both rounded ends of the sticks into her own brightly colored plastic and pinched them together like tweezers. She then filled her deep angular spoon with the broth and pinched a few noodles into the spoon, making a perfect bite before eating it. 

Cody carefully copied her and took a bite. It was heavenly, warm and savory, and slightly sweet while salty and crisp. The noodles tasted light and airy and bright and not at all heavy like other noodles dishes Cody had sampled. So much all at once, and yet it worked. Each bite was better and different, and Cody couldn't stop eating it.

 "You like it?" Koon asked in a warm tone, making Cody look up. Koon was drinking the soup through a wide straw that fit into his mask and was pressurized as he slumped his broth and noodles. Cody realized he had already downed the bowl while the others were savoring. 

"Well, he knows good food then." Windu waved his utensils in a shrug at Koon.

 "Yes, thank you, Sajaun." Obi-Wan acknowledged nodding at the woman, "Thank you for the meal. It is beyond comparison as always."

 Sajaun smiled widely at the praise, "Of course, food is made to share. It's a lonely experience by yourself." 

"And we are grateful for it!" Koon declared, slurping the last of his bowl.

 "It was very good, Ma'am," Cody said quietly, embarrassed at how fast he'd eaten it. 

Sajaun laughed brightly, "You can have more so long as you never call me Ma'am again." 

Koon was already moving for the pot on the stove, and Cody had a feeling that if he didn't claim his seconds now, he might not get any. He filled his bowl as full as he dared and savored it instead of drowning it. 

The talk around the table lulled as they ate, the silences being filled with humms of pleasure and the feeling of fulfillment. And when the bowls began to empty for the second time, stories began being exchanged, from Obi-Wan's misadventures with pathetic life forms to Plo's slip-ups with his adoption urge.

 All shatteringly different from the hardened Generals or controlled Masters Cody had seen so much of. These were friends, family even sharing a meal together they did not often get to share.

  Jedi are not made for war. Sajuan's words rang in his head as he listened to Obi-Wan tease Mace about his start in theater. This table, the very essence of the room, confirmed that. Cody's chest ached painfully as he suddenly felt so disconnected from his General.

 He was made for war, bred for it, born for it. The Jedi were the farthest thing from it. And yet here they were, together. Yet he felt as though he would forever be the outsider to this. Forever missing something everyone else had. Forever separated from everyone else, forever, less. 

But then Plo turned to him and asked him for stories about his brothers, and the ache lessened. Perhaps they were meant for war. But couldn't they be meant for more? Couldn't they learn? 

All too soon, dinner was over, and the dishes were taken to the sink, and mugs of tea and caff were brought out, and the comfortable silence turned serious. 

"So," Mace took a long sip from his caff before fixing Sajuan in his gaze, "You want to tell us what's going on?" 

Sajuan sighed heavily and looked down at her tea in front of her, "Do you remember learning about the last Sith and Jedi war about 3000 years ago?"

"The one that had four chapters on it?" Plo asked. 

"Yeah," Sajaun said, looking down at her cup with this look on her face that reminded Cody oddly enough of a cadet about to explain a minor mistake they'd made. 

"Yes. It was directly after the last Mando Jedi war. The Sith saw that the Mando had weakened the Jedi and struck hard and fast. The devastation from that particular war was horrible. It's what wrecked Concord Dawn. It's the last of the Jedi Sith wars, and it heralded in an age of fairly good galactic peace." Mace said, looking confused, "Why?" 

Sajaun hesitated chewing on her lips for a moment before looking them dead in the eye, "You know all those history books that teach you all that stuff? The ones we've been using for generations?" 

"Yeah?" Plo said, sounding unsure. Cody had a very uneasy feeling in his stomach as the three vest masters in the order shared unsure looks with each other.

 "They're lies." Sajaun said bluntly, "At least the part about the last Sith and Jedi war is." Of all the things Cody had been expecting, that was not it. 

"Excuse me?" Mace gaped at her.

 "You heard me. That whole unit is just a bunch of made-up falsehoods. A fabricated story we wrote to hide the bigger truth. A story so grand and so huge that no one would even think to doubt it. Though I suppose one day, someone would have had to notice." Sajaun shrugged.

 "I think we're getting off point here. Did you just say you FAKED A WAR?" Mace reiterated. 

"Technically, no " Sajaun met Mace's outraged gaze, "There was a war, just not one we told anyone about."

 A cover-up to end all cover-ups. If Cody wasn't so shocked, he'd be impressed, "So what really happened?" 

Sajaun's face twisted up in a mix of regret and pain, "Cloning happened."

"What." Cody felt the air leave his lungs. By the look on everyone else's faces, they were as shocked as he was. 

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked gently, sensing the fragility of the subject. 

Sajaun hesitated, "I haven't told this story to anymore. We buried what happened so deep and so hard. We thought we never would need to speak of it again."

 Plo leaned forward and took Sajuan's hand, "Tell us, what really happened?" 

Sajaun looked down at their joined hands and closed her eyes, "The Order was different then. We'd just made it into the Core, and we were more of nomads at that time. We had yet to set up the Temple as it is now on Coruscant. We moved as large bands from planet to planet, going where we were needed and requested. I was 17 and finishing my apprenticeship when we were asked to come to a planet known as Kapino."

"And they had a problem. Their oceans were rising at an unprecedented rate, the water needed to reside, or they needed to build homes above the waves before it wiped them out. We were able to do both, build them cities on stilts miles above the waves and stop the rising water that had been caused by a crack in the planet's core. They were ecstatic. In return, they offered their planet for our use. With the linear Jedi festival coming, we accepted." Sajaun said a ghost of a smile came across her face.

"Now the traveling bands didn't come together often, just about once a year for the Trials. Back then, we'd have the Knighthood Trials and knight all the elder padawans at once while having the older initiates take their Padawan Trials to become eligible to be padawans. Masters would knight their elder padawan on the first week and take on their next padawan by the end of the second. It was a big deal. A coming of age. It was also very hard to find enough space to do it. We took the Force's blessing." Sajaun shrugged, staring idly at her mug smile fading. This was hard for her, Cody could tell. Like an ori'vod speaking of the death of vod.

 "What happened then?" Mace asked, sounding much softer than Cody had ever heard the man.

Obi-Wan wordlessly slid a new cup of hot tea in front of her. Sajaun gave him a half heart smile in acknowledgment as she wrapped her hands around it, shoulder hunched as she stared at her reflection in the liquid, "There were two species on the planet. Both mammals, but one lived mostly in the water while the other lived on land. The land ones were all genetically identical. We assumed it was asexual reproduction like you see in certain cells in almost every living organism all over the galaxy. We were wrong." The sinking feeling in Cody's gut is back. He's never heard this story before, but the way she's telling it leads him to believe this isn't a good story and the outcome will directly affect him and his vod. 

"What really happened?" Obi-Wan asked as she took a sip to steel her resolve the way Obi-Wan did when about to begin a strategy meeting.

 "I'm still not sure. One moment we were celebrating and joyous, and the next-" Sajuan shuddered and squeezed her eyes closed, "Everything happened at once. The land-faring species shuddered and then died, or corrupted or became diseased I-I'm not sure. And then the soulless bodies that were left turned and slaughtered us all with their bare hands and mouths and limb without warning or remorse. It was like a wave of death and dying and nothingness and drive."

"There were 15,000 Jedi there, most of them elderly or younger than 13. Within 24 hours, we were less than 5000. We didn't know what to do. They were mindless husks roaming in swarms to kill us. The water species begged us to fix it. But we couldn't stop it. We didn't know how." Sajaun shrugged, anguish, coloring her voice, "But then someone suggested the unthinkable, reverse the crisis we'd fixed. Flood the planet. It would kill the soulless and not affect the sea-faring species. It was unthinkable. But we had no choice. So we banded together and reached out. And pulled the patch we'd put in. But there was such chaos and pain in us that we went too far. We didn't just flood the planet. We broke it. The planet fell into constant storms and the sea-faring people felt angered by our actions. They now had no way to cultivate food. The pressure was too much for their pressurized cities underwater. We left before they could turn to drastic measures fleeing the planet with only the clothing on our backs. We were shattered." 

The room was dead silent at her confession. It sounded like the events of a deranged holo film. To even think that an entire species would become so completely lost and die all at once only to reach out through death to kill everyone, it was a horror story. To think the Jedi would willingly break a planet to save themselves was even more unthinkable. But Cody considered, to save the galaxy from the hoard, they might if pressed. 

"But why hide it?" Mace asked finally, "Why lie about the war?" 

Sajaun shook her head, "We were so vulnerable then. We desperately needed the protection the Republic offered. But to show that much weakness- they never would have let us in. Our numbers had dropped in one week, so drastically we would be useless as peacekeepers to the Republic. So we lied. We said we had clashed with the Sith in the far outer reaches of space. Over the next few years, we sowed enough evidence to support the idea we had gone to war and vanquished our enemies. So when we came home to Coruscant, we were seen as heroes, not victims. And welcomed with open arms."

 "And the planet?" Obi-Wan asked softly. 

"We labeled it a class 5 disaster zone that was simply too dangerous to visit and erased all records of a sentient species." Sajaun shrugged, "It was so far out that lie worked for 3000 years. Until Yan Dokuu just erased the whole thing from the archive. Like the lie we made wasn't good enough." 

"Oh, Kark." Mace swore, going an ashen unhealthy gray, "You're saying…." 

Cody looked around seeing matching looks of horror on both Plo and Obi-Wan's faces. Whatever they had all just realised was not good.

"Kamino." Obi-Wan whispered, horrified, "You buried Kamino."

 Cody had thought he couldn't be more shocked today. He was wrong. It felt like the floor had been pulled out from under him as he tumbled entirely out of control in the vast void of shock. Kamino .

 "We buried our dead and secrets on the planet that would eventually be known as Kamino." Sajaun nodded in agreement, "That's why I'm here." She looked up at them seriously, looking at each of them in turn, "No Jedi was supposed to set foot on Kamino ever again. That's how I knew something was wrong. I felt it. And when you drown a dead soulless cloned species on a planet and have cloning reappear from the planet, well, you get worried." 

"You think they retrieved cloning flawed technology from below the oceans." Plo understood slowly.

 "Yes. But it's bigger than that. No species should suffer like that one did. You could feel their pain and hunger, even dead. Restless and wanting and unable to die. Like a disease." Sajaun shook her head, "If the Kaminoins are using that technology, I'm worried that the flaw might carry over."

 "What are you saying?" Cody asked, sick in his stomach, "That were going to turn into mindless beasts?" 

"I don't know." Sajaun said earnestly, "And that scares me. There are any number of things that could happen to you and your brothers none of them good. But to even begin to address the problem to figure out what we're dealing with, I needed to come see for myself." 

"Do really think you can find the truth all this time later?" Obi-Wan asked seriously. 

Sajuan looked his dead in the eye, "Yes." 

"If it is as intricate a plot as you say, you're going to need help." Mace said firmly, rising, "I'll see what Jedi shadows are available to help." 

"No." Obi-Wan said, rising also, "If it is indeed a plot, someone with a lot of power has hidden it. We're all high Generals. Anything we look at or request gets flagged and looked at. We need someone everyone would write off."

 "The Clones." Plo stated simply, "Natborns tend not to consider the clones much more than droids. Their underestimated and more tenacious than most consider. And plus, if you're trying to find the truth behind the clones, it might help to have some with you." 

Sajaun seemed doubtful, "That's great, but you do recall our jaunt to Takonada back when you were teens, right?" Mace and Plo both winced. Obi-Wan snickered. "The only reason you two aren't dead is because you are highly independent and trained not to consider a fail scenario. The clones have been trained in military strategy; they rely on a win-lose mindset, on chain of command. It's how they operate. If I'm going to even consider bringing anyone along with me, I need people I don't need to worry about. I'm not trying to endanger any clones just because I went and did something insane." 

"Like taking an eight-year-old into the black bottom districts of Coruscant to bluff a ton of criminals out of their credits to teach me how to negotiate?" Obi-Wan pointed out blandly.

Sajaun sent him a deadpan look while Mace and Plo snickered, "Yes, like that." 

"What do you think, Cody?" Obi-Wan asked, looking over at him, "Have any brothers that would get a thrill at skirting the law?" 

Cody smiled slowly. Vod who were down with throwing off authority and taking on the insane missions with glee and great success? "As a matter of fact, I do."

Chapter Text

The Havoc Marauder just broke orbit from an old moon from a training mission when their comm unit pinged.

 "You better check that before we jump," Hunter advised as Tech finished the jump calculations. 

"Punch these coordinates in," Tech ordered, handing Hunter his datapad before exiting the cockpit for the communication relay. Hunter carefully punched the string of numbers into the hyperdrive. 

"Where's Tech? Shouldn't he be doing that?" Crosshair asked, stepping into the cockpit. 

"He's working with the communication relay, so I'm punching in the coordinates," Hunter said, double-checking the numbers.

 "He trusted you with that?" Cross asked with a hint of surprise. 

"Apparently." Hunter sat up, satisfied the numbers were right, "Everything secured back then?"

 "Wrecker's double-checking the ammunition cabinets, but we should be good." Cross said, looking out the door towards the relay, "What's taking him so long?" 

Hunter frowned and got up, "Hey Tech, I got the coordinates inputted. What was the transmission about?" Tech didn't respond, just stared at data streaming across the relay screen, silently reading.

 "Hey, what's up with Tech?" Wrecker asked, watching Tech work. 

"Not sure. What's going on, Tech?" Hunter asked, watching the data stop rolling. Tech reached out and shut off the relay before yanking out the transponder. 

"Tech! What in the blazes are you doing?" Cross snapped, rushing forward as the relay crashed and sputtered and then stopped working.

 "It would seem," Tech began inspecting the transponder he was holding, "We have been assigned a Jedi General." He dropped the transponder and brushed past Hunter into the cockpit. 

"What?" Hunter reeled.

 "The long necks finally deemed us worthy of a Jetii?" Cross sneered, but his eyes were alight.

 "No, they did not assign her. Commander Cody did." Tech corrected laying down under the flight council and pried it open. 

"He doesn't have the authority to do that." Hunter shook his head, "What are you doing?"

 "Taking out the transponders. This assignment is not sanctioned; we are going to disappear. We will meet with the 212th." Tech explained matter of factly, "I suggest collecting all your things. We won't be coming back for a while."

 Hunter dropped into the co-pilot's chair, "What do you mean off the books? How can Cody assign us?" 

"From what I understand, none of this is by the books, GAR or Jedi Code," Tech said, shimmering out from under the console. 

"What makes you say that?" Wrecker asked, sitting down in his seat.

"Cody's exact words were 'she does what she wants,''' Tech quoted, inputting new coordinates and kicking the second transponder over to the side. 

"But he knows weren't meant to serve under the Jetii. We're too different, too independent. What is he thinking?" Hunter murmured, shaking his head.

 They'd always known they would never be good enough to serve with a Jedi General. They were defective, wrong. The only reason they hadn't been decommissioned was that their defects were 'desirable.' That was basically code for Nala Se wanted defectives to experiment on. 

Hunter watched as the space melted into the blinding blue of hyperspace and wondered what they had just gotten thrown into. The Jedi were legendary on Kamino. The stories were impossible, and the way the Kaminoins talked about them, they also sounded like they were perfect. But also cold, aloof, and untouchable. Unfeeling. 

Hunter watched as Wrecker packed Lula and his ammunition while Crosshair carefully packed his rifle up and a few of his belongings. They were excited; Hunter could tell. Tech was, too, in his own way, but all Hunter could think about were the stories of clones sent back from the front by their Jedi for being defective. They were never seen again.

 Hunter couldn't protect them once they were under this new Jedi. He could, to an extent, from the Kaminoins, and from the regs, but this was one higher power Hunter couldn't screw with. He couldn't lie, he couldn't coerce, he couldn't distract. He'd be utterly powerless. For all the good it might do them, it would eventually kill them. No one wanted a defective clone, let alone a squad of them, and even Nala Se couldn't get them out of decommissioning if a Jedi ordered it. They'd just been ordered to their eventual deaths, and they couldn't say no. 

"Perhaps you can ask him why when we meet up with him," Tech suggested, jolting Hunter back to their previous conversation as he got up and headed to gather his things. 

Hunter carefully collected his gear, double-checking his knives and placing everything in his pack. Hunter checked to make sure the others weren't looking and lifted up his mattress, and pulled out his spare sensory reducers. Tech had realized a long time ago that he would need something to dampen all the input if Hunter wanted to stay sane and survive. So he'd created dampeners that were hidden in Hunter's bandanna. But their new General might not approve of his bandanna, so it was best if he had an alternative solution. 

Hunter also grabbed their squad picture. All of them were looking at the picture and grinning. Well, Cross wasn't grinning, but his smirk didn't look like a sneer, so it was a close thing. They were his family. His only family. They would need to prove their worth, prove that they were too valuable, even with their mutations, to be decommissioned, Hunter realized. They'd managed to do it with the Kaminoins; they could do it again with their new Jetii.

 Hunter slid the picture into his pack and stood; they could figure this out. They were Bad Batch 99. They could do anything. Hopefully.

Chapter Text

Hunter wasn't sure what he was expecting, but five destroyers orbiting together over Kamino was not it. Tech had blocked their transponders from working, so the only way anyone would see them was if they managed to look out and spot them. With the riot of LAATs, Command shuttles, and fighters swarming around with activity that was doubtful. 

Tech carefully slid into the blind spot of one of the hulking ships, "Negotiator, this is the Havoc Marauder over." 

There was static then, "This is the Negotiator Havoc; you are to magnetically seal to our outer hull over the trash compactor. We will cut open a door adjacent to your hatch so the seal will remain intact. Do you copy?" The reg ordered cooly.

 "Copy that." Tech agreed, killing the engines and angling the sunlight thrusters to gently push them to the underbelly of the trash compactor. The magnetic seal hissed as it activated, and they jerked and stopped moving. "We are secured over." Tech began shutting off the systems.

 "Copy that. Our people will be down in a moment. We'll let you know when it's clear to open the hatch." The bridge acknowledged. 

Tech shut off the rest of the systems, and they were left in the darkness, watching ships swarm to and from the surface to the destroyers.

 "I wonder what it looks like down there," Cross said quietly in an uncharacteristically vulnerable moment. 

Hunter stared down at the gray cloud cover that obscured the rioting seas of their home and silently agreed. Kamino was their home more so than any of the other clones. For the regs, home was with their brothers. For Batch 99, home was the squad room they'd made their own and the halls where they'd learned how to be better than the best just to survive. 

But the regs were still their brothers even if they didn't have the same dynamic. Cody was an example of that. He'd taken them under his wing, taught them things the Command classes and Prime had taught him. Showed them how to be better and how to find individuality and brotherhood in a sea of the same face.

 Cody was one of the few reasons they hadn't turned their backs on the regs completely. They were all trying to survive, all trying to prove themselves. Hunter could respect that. But this, an attack on their home, a strike at the heart of the Clone army, was both smart and devastating. 

"The death toll has risen above 17,000, not including the undecanted," Tech said, much quieter than he would have.

 Hunter's heart ached. The regs didn't understand them, but that didn't mean he loved his brothers any less. So much death. For many, that would be their only battle. They would never know what the sky looked like. 

"Did 99-" Wrecker hedges to ask. 

Cold fear strikes through Hunter's chest. 99 is one of the few brothers it would hurt to lose. Hunter had never even thought to worry for 99's safety, he being permanently stationed on Kamino in a no-risk assignment, but now staring down at the dark cloud that is most certainly hiding horrific wreckage, Hunter feels fear wrap around his throat. 

"I do not know," Tech says quietly, sounding so small.

 They all sit there in silence, and Hunter realized that he felt very alone, one in the midst of thousands of ships and stars. 

A loud shrieking sound comes from the hatch that makes them all jerk. This was it. Beyond that hatch was a shadowy new assignment and a new Jedi General. 

"Do you think she'll like us?" Wrecker asked as the vibrations shook the whole ship. 

Hunter grit his teeth as everything turned into a harsh, painful blur from the hatch cutter, "We'll have to prove ourselves either way." 

"Prove that we deserve to be serving with her. Prove we aren't a waste." Cross spat in agreement. 

"The odds we survive the coming assignment are slim if we don't secure our Jedi's support." Tech informed them, "We need her to like us." 

"Oh great. We have to be nice." Cross sneered. 

Hunter would have corrected Cross but the vibrations ripping through his body made thinking straight hard. Wrecker placed a hand on Hunter's neck to limit some of the vibrations. Hunter closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain. His squad cared in their own ways. He could only hope the Jetii would as well. The vibrations stopped, and Hunter slumped in relief.

 "Havoc, you are cleared to open your hatch; our people are waiting. Over." The bridge informed them. 

"Are you ready, Hunter?" Tech checked. 

Hunter shook out the last dregs of uncomfortability from his bones and nodded, "Open the hatch, Tech." 

Wrecker let go of Hunter's neck, and they all stood as Tech opened the hatch. They were met with the bright grey halls, not unlike Kamino, and four regs with bright gold painted over their regular white. 

"Welcome aboard the Negotiator." The one with a mustache greets, bucket under his arm, "I'm Boil. That's Waxer. Command Cody sent us to greet you."

 "I'm Hunter." Hunter returns the greeting as they step into the bright halls, "If you don't mind me asking, "Where is Cody?" 

"Babysitting the Jetii." Waxer grins, "We should hurry if we don't want to miss it." 

"Miss what?" Wrecker asked excitedly.

 "The fights. Hurry." Boil said as if it was an explanation. The two who weren't under Commander Cody's welcoming committee ran ahead down the hall, excitement evident on their faces. 

"What fights?" Crosshair asked with an almost sneer but interest lacing his tone. 

"Some of the Jedi Council members came out of a meeting, your new Jetii spoiling for a fight. From then on out, the Jedi you're gonna serve under has been kicking their butts." Boil said speed walking down the hall. 

"And she's gonna fight our General next, and we wanna see." Waxer finished the thought.

 "I thought fighting and anger were not part of the Jedi philosophy?" Tech questioned.

 "It isn't, but the war has made them have to bend their ways. I honestly don't understand it." Waxer shrugged.

 They turned down a hall, and now Hunter could hear the sounds of cheering and yelling. 

"Well, this should be interesting." Hunter hedged as he came to a crowded cargo bay where a sea of gold and white was screaming and cheering and yelling. Over the racket, Waxer and Boil guided them over to where Cody was standing on top of some crates, watching what was happening. 

Cody had his helmet on and gripped Hunter's wrist in greeting as they claimed up. Hunter put on his helmet, and instantly all the noise melted away. An internal comm request popped up from Cody, and Hunter accepted. 

"Welcome to my crazy life." Cody greeted. 

Hunter looked around the mass of brothers, all vying to be able to see into the empty area set up for the fight. He could clearly see contraband being passed around and bets being made. Chaos was the word that came to mind. "Wouldn't want your job," Hunter said bluntly.

 Cody laughed, "To be honest, I'm not sure I'd want yours either." Cody opened up their comm channel to the rest of the batch. "See that woman in white armor over there?" Cody asked, gesturing towards where all the Jedi were gathered. In a sea of browns and white, the short woman in silver stood out. "That's your Jedi. Her name's Sajuan Ka. And normally, I'd say no one is better than my Jedi, but she shut down two of the senior members of the Jedi Council in the meeting earlier. She's something else." Cody shook his head. 

"She doesn't look like a fighter," Cross observes as she and two men stepped out onto the mat. 

Cody snorted, "Just wait." 

The Jedi in dark colors ignited his blue lightsaber and took an offensive beginning stance. The red-haired Jedi took a defensive stance. The woman wasn't armed with a lightsaber, but she slid into a fluid defensive stance facing her two opponents and motioned with one hand for them to come at her. 

The one in black jumped and swung down with vicious intent, only for her to step to the side at the last moment. He landed, and she lunged, wrapping around his back, throwing them both to the ground. 

His lightsaber skittered away as they grappled, only for her to catch him in a headlock. He's clawing at his arms, but the gleaming armor she was wearing limited the usefulness of the action. 

Hunter idly wonders why she hasn't wrapped her legs around him to seal the headlock. But when the redhead moved closer to assist his friend, she released, placed her hands on his shoulders, and kicked her legs up and over, throwing herself feet first at the red-headed Jedi.

 In a whirl of white, her legs wrap around his throat, and they go down. She pops back up, leaving the redhead on the ground dazed as her first opponent gets back up, Saber in hand. 

He lunges, and she kicks out a leg tripping him before throwing herself closer and ramming her elbow into his gut. Grabbing his Saber hand, she spins and pitches the black-clad Jedi into the red-haired Jedi who has just gotten back on his feet. 

They went down in a tangle of limbs and Sabers, furiously cursing. The room exploded into chaos and yelling. 

"Wow." Wrecker said quietly. Hunter could share the feeling. He watched as she helped both Jedi up with a smile.

 "Is that General Skywalker?" Tech enquired. 

"Yeah. He heard Sajuan was dueling and broke like five laws to get here." Cody nodded, "He's the one in black." 

"Does that make your general the redhead?" Cross asked. 

"Yep. General Kenobi is the best I've served with." Cody agreed.

 "The Kenobi and Skywalker team is almost unbeatable. She is impressive." Tech decided, watching her check both for injuries. 

"Your general got soundly beat," Hunter commented.

 "Yeah, normally I'd be offended, but I just watched her take out General Windu and Plo earlier, so I'm not surprised." Cody shrugged, "Let's get you down there and meet her." 

The old fear clawed up Hunter's throat, and he grabbed Cody's arm, stopping him. For a moment, he felt like a Little again, not understanding why no one liked him and he was different. "Is she a good leader?" Hunter asked quietly. 

Cody turned to face him, "All the Jedi are good people. There are outliers, they can change, but you'll figure out pretty quickly if they're not. Let me know immediately if she starts treating you like the Kaminoins did. As for leadership, they haven't been trained to be a leader. They don't understand war, but some are natural-born leaders, strategists, and warriors. I'm not sure she's a leader, but she certainly is an operator."

 His words didn't ease Hunter's anxiety, but it painted a clearer picture, "Okay."

 "This isn't like Kamino Hunter. Everything we were ever told about the Jedi was wrong." Cody said, putting his hand on Hunter's shoulder to emphasize the point, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

 Hunter wasn't so sure, but he followed Cody across the area to where the three Jedi were standing. 

"How do you do that? It was so fast." Skywalker gushed. 

Sajuan smiled, "Lots of practice." 

"You sure you couldn't teach me?" Skywalker practically begged.

 Sajuan shook her head, "No. That would take too much time."

 "But you taught Obi-Wan and Mace and Koon something!" Skywalker pointed out, heat lacing his voice. 

Sajuan frowned and reached out, grabbing his arm for a moment before pulling away. In her hand was an angry red orb that seemed to hold a storm as vicious as Kamino's. "Just because I don't have the time to teach you doesn't mean you need to be angry," Sajuan said quietly, looking at Skywalker seriously.

 Skywalker huffed and walked off. Kenobi and Sajuan shared a long look before the ginger Jedi followed Skywalker off. Sajuan sighed, looking down at the orb floating in her hand. With a snap of her fingers, it was gone.

"Ma'am?" Cody said gently. 

Sajuan turned to face them with a smile, "Yes, Cody?" 

"This is the Batch I arranged for you to work with. Batch 99?" Cody reminded gently.

 Sajuan blinked in confusion and then smiled, "Ah, yes. Apologies, my mind is somewhere else." 

Hunter shoved his fear down and stepped forward, snapping to a salute, "Sergeant CT-9901 of Batch 99 reporting for duty General Ka." 

Sajuan raised an eyebrow, "Pleasure to meet you. You can drop my title. I am not a General, and you are no longer in the GAR." 

Hunter froze and spoke before he could stop himself, "What?" 

Sajuan sighed and looked over at Cody questioningly, "You didn't tell them?"

 "It was unsecured," Cody explained. 

She sighed again but nodded, "Alright, well, I guess you get to explain that one since I see my lecture coming."

 Hunter followed the woman's gaze across the room to a dark-skinned bald man in a Jedi robe marching toward them with a look of annoyance on his face. There was a Kel Dor following also in Jedi robes. Generals Koon and Windu. Hunter straightened while Cody had an odd look of exasperation come over his face. 

"Come for another round?" Sajaun asked, grabbing a water bottle, clearly acting innocent. 

"Care to explain your flight plan?" General Windu growled, to which General Koon seemed interested. 

"What did you do now?" Koon asked, sounding almost amused. 

"What's up now?" General Kenobi asked, coming back over, looking between the irate Windu and the innocent-looking woman. 

"Her flight plan is straight to Morband." Windu spat.

Plo let out a sound that Hunter would guess was his species' version of laughter as Kenobi gave Sajaun a bland look. "And that's why we call you crazy." 

Sajaun snorted, "You say that like I don't already know that." 

"You're going to take a group of force nulls you've never worked with to Moraband for the first thing?" Windu snapped, serious in comparison to the others, who seemed amused. 

Sajuan's amusement faded as she raised an eyebrow at Windu, "Im at keel foelu zera foh myyhoyth. Chinyth eel jinosh keel nev get foh pauruyth. Solahyth keel nak epal aunyth. Ol Im. Foh sahrhiiji im keel aunyth ikioyth im tepet. Obi-Wan kawayth Cody. Cody  kawayth tepet. Foh kawayth Obi-Wan. Pauyth maijahru kat kati nepa foh eelyth tuyh’au. Ol tepet ve tikab. Yhuayth." Her words made Windu twitch and Koon and Kenobi snicker. 

"I'm leaving for Moraband in two hours," Sajaun said in Basic with a tone that booked no argument. And with that, she swept off, leaving them all standing there. 

"That woman is infuriating." Windu huffed, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. 

"And right," Kenobi said, amused. 

Windu glared at the ginger General, "Stop enabling her."

 Kenobi and Koon looked at Mace in unison. Hunter didn’t know Kel Dor's facial expression, but he'd bet good credits it was a mirror of Kenobi's. 

"Tython," Koon said primly as Kenobi grinned manically at Windu.

 Windu's face turned a color Hunter wasn't aware humans with his melanin composition could turn as Kenobi, and Koon made quick escapes, "Menaces, both of them, undeniable-" the General huffed and walked off muttering in the language Sajaun had talked to him in earlier. 

Hunter looked back at Cody, who just sighed, seemingly resigned to the chaos, "Well, that was not at all helpful." 

Cody sighed again but did crack a small smile, "Come on, I'll explain the assignment."

 "What'd she say?" Wrecker stage whispered to Tech as they exited the hanger bay. 

"I do not know. The language is not in any of my databases." Tech responded, sounding puzzled. 

Cody ignored them like he hadn't heard, and for that, Hunter was great full. Cody led them into a conference room out of the way and flipped off the recording devices in the room before facing them, "What I'm about to tell you is entirely off the record. That woman you just met is not officially part of the Jedi Order and, therefore, not in the GAR structure. She's investigating a possible flaw in the cloning technology that dates back longer than the Jedi Order has been on Coruscant. High Generals Koon and Windu are requiring her to bring a squad of clones to back her up. I chose you." 

Hunter absorbed this information slowly, "Why us?" 

"Cause she's a good level of insane beyond the normal Jedi. Like you." Cody grinned, "She also specifically requested clones that wouldn't need her telling them what to do. Independent thinkers. People that could get themselves out of any mayhem that happened. That and you're skirting the law with this one. You'll be put down as MIA if you take this gig. You'll disappear. And there's a good chance you'll break some serious laws. You might not be able to come back when it's over."

 "So let me get this straight," Crosshair said slowly, "We do this job, complete this mission, and we're free?"

 "If you still wanna split when it's over, yeah," Cody nodded, "You are."

 They all looked at each other quickly. This was almost too good to be true. "No catch?" Hunter clarified. 

"Nope." Cody shook his head, "You just have to keep up." 

"Done." Hunter agreed instantly. 

"Alright. Her ship is docked in bay 4. She'll get your ship before she leaves. There's no clearance for this or data trail, as long as you're all on board." Cody reminded them. 

"As long as we get our freedom when this is over," Crosshair stipulated, "We're in."

Chapter Text

Plo watched in amusement as Mace and Obi agreed over Sajaun's competence in bringing Force nulls to Moraband. An unusual choice, to be sure but not completely out of the question. 

"It's like she's trying to hinder her escort's efficiency on purpose!" Mace groaned.

 "You say that like you didn't expect her to do something completely irrational." Obi pointed out calmly.

 "I didn't expect her to do it first thing!" Mace snapped back. 

"They do realize I'm right here right?" Sajaun whispered to Plo standing next to him at the galley door of her ship. Plo had guided the two Councilors on board to her lounge area as their argument had begun disrupting the clone's work and had been watching ever since. 

"Oh yes. I don't think Mace cares, and Obi is having too much fun." Plo nodded chuckling. 

Sajaun snorted, leaning against the doorframe, looking out into the open room that was both dining room lounge and sitting room in one, "You would think you'd be used to my insanity Mace." 

"Woman, you're so unpredictable no one's used to it." Mace snapped, "You start with cloning technology and then somehow jump to the Sith homeworld."  

"It is a bit of a jump, I'll give him that, "Obi-Wan reluctantly agreed, shifting so he was looking over at them, "Anything to say about that?"

 Sajaun winces at the question, which makes them all iron-focused on her, "Yeah, about that."

 "Something you wanna share with the class?" Mace asked, eyeing her resolve. 

Sajaun hesitates before finally speaking, eyes on the ground, not looking at any of them, "I meant what I said about a flaw in the cloning technology, but we also must consider the origins of cloning." 

"What do you mean?" Plo asked softly, watching as she shuffled her feet on the floor. It was a jolting reminder of how young she really was. No one knew for sure, but she was in her mid-twenties, a good decade younger than them.

 "Cloning was originally a Sith art." Sajaun said softly, "They were trying to crack immortality and tried to create bodies to move their consciousness into but instead created a clone with their own consciousness."

 "So this isn't just a breach of ethics or genetics," Obi-Wan said slowly, "You think it's a Sith plot?" 

"I don't know." Sajaun sighed looking up as she leaned her full weight against the door, "It's not outside the possibilities but I wasn't about to bring it up with Cody there. But with the gray area of how the clones were commissioned, there's a lot of things that slip through the cracks."

 The weight of what she was implying fell on them all heavily. Plo trusted his men, and loved them like sons. The mere idea that they were somehow inherently evil went against everything he knew about them. It was just so, wrong.  

Sajaun stiffened suddenly pushing off the wall, "They're coming. You two can it. And not a word of this to anyone." 

There were moments when Plo noticed how young Sajaun was. But there were also moments when he was reminded she might just be the most powerful force user of this Era. And the way power crackled off her in her signature like the air during a lightning storm, left no doubt. Mace and Obi-Wan both respectfully sat up and quit arguing. 

"Are you going to visit more often now that you're in the area for a bit?" Plo asked starting a new conversation for them so they weren't awkwardly sitting in silence.

 "Possibly. I doubt it though. I've got a list in my head of possible destinations, and it should be, interesting to say the least. Not something the GAR should be involved in." Sajaun shrugged, "But if I'm in the area or if I feel called, then yeah, I will." 

"Well, the joy of your company would not be amiss," Plo said encouragingly. 

There was a trill of an access request from the ship's operating system and Sajaun flicked her wrist popping the door open with the Force. Cody stepped through first followed by Batch 99. When Cody had warned they weren't normal clones Plo hadn't been sure what to expect but this wasn't exactly it. They were all varying heights and sizes, and the unease coming off them in waves was palatable. 

"Ah, so I see you've decided to join me." Sajaun said casually pushing off the wall and standing up, "I trust Cody explained it all to you?" 

"Yes, Ma'am." The leader with a full half-face tattoo.

 Mace snorted, "At least someone's got common sense here." 

Sajaun kicked his foot, "Just because you don't have it doesn't mean nobody does." 

Obi-Wan barked out a laugh as Cody was clearly silently laughing also as Mace glared. 

"Apologizes for them." Sajaun said, ignoring Mace and Obi-Wan as they started squabbling again, "Would you like to get settled in your quarters?" 

"Yes, Ma'am." The leader agreed, eyeing the two squabbling Masters hesitantly. 

"Alrighty," Sajaun said brightly turning and heading down the hall next to the kitchen. Plo stood to the side and let the group pass with their bags and gear before trailing after them.

 "I didn't know if you wanted one huge room or four separate ones so I equipped the room with riser walls," Sajuan explained opening the door to a huge room with four built-in bunks in the walls. She tapped the controls, and the walls rose up to knee level before she switched the controls back and let them settle back to the ground, "Feel free to mismatch it any which way." The clones filed in and quickly claimed bunks. 

There was a crash from the living area and Sajau flinched before turning and yelling down the hall, "So help you Mace if you break anything I'll cut you off from my jerky!" A moment later, there was a second crash, and Sajaun was already marching away, threatening Obi-Wan next.

 "Why don't you get settled and then come back to the common area within the hour so you can get going?" Plo suggested backing out of the room as all the clones stared in varying degrees of concern at the hall. 

Plo went back to the living area to find Sajaun brandishing a towel whilst lecturing Obi-Wan in Dai Bendu and Basic, who looked rightfully abashed. "I leave you alone for five minutes- less than five minutes, and you pillage my tea cabinet!"

 Mace just sat there and laughed as Obi-Wan tried to apologize but failed. 

"You scared them," Plo warned fondly. 

Sajaun turned, shrugged, and grinned at him manically, "I'm dealing with a weasel over here." 

Plo chuckled, "I can see that." 

"Make her stop!" Obi-Wan whined from his spot, standing on the counter. 

"I told you not to do it," Mace said, clearly enjoying himself. 

"I didn't think she'd booby trap it!" Obi-Wan shot back. 

"What did you think I was gonna do?" Sajaun challenged hands on her hips, "With you and Mace both here you better bet I locked up the tea and art!" 

"Hey!" Mace gasped, faking offense.

Sajaun rolled her eyes, "Be honest. You would have if you weren't too entertained by this." 

"Ha!" Obi-Wan crowed triumphantly from the counter. 

Sajaun whipped back around, "Don't think you're off the hook either you thief." 

Plo's comm buzzed in unison with Mace's and Obi's. Plo checked it quickly, "Well, we all might be." 

"Orders came in." Mace said softly, looking up at Sajaun, "We're heading out at 0600. The war hasn't stopped." 

"No." Sajaun corrected firmly, "It's just begun."

 "For what it's worth," Obi-Wan said quietly, hopping down, "I hope you're wrong about this plot of yours."

 Sajaun nodded solemnly, taking Obi-Wan's hand, "Me too." 

She straightened up and faced Obi-Wan with an air of gravitas, and he did the same. She pressed he thumb to her forehead, splaying out her fingers, "By the way of the Jedi." She placed two fingers over her heart, "By the will of the Force." She placed her hand next to her as one would with an oath, "By the balance between." 

All three of them repeated the actions solemnly. She then placed her hand over Obi-Wan's heart, and he crossed his arm over hers and did the same. "Do not lose your heart, Ben." She whispered softly. Obi-Wan nodded wordlessly. 

She turned to Mace and repeated, putting her hand over his heart, "Do not lose sight of the goal. Don't lose your vision." 

Mace nodded, "Yes Madame."

 She turned finally to Plo and placed her  hand over his heart and looked into his eyes for a long moment, "Do not lose your compassion. Let it guide you." Plo nodded, emotion thick in his throat. 

She stepped back and place he'd hand over her own heart, "Ikio enoah breikoyth sehn enoah uu get." 

They echoed her words in Basic, "May we meet when we are One."

 Sajuan nodded firmly, letting her hand fall and swallowing back emotion, "You better hurry now." She said in a soft strained voice, "You wouldn't want to be late."

Mace and Obi-Wan embraced her quickly and bid her goodbye before leaving.

"You are not as thrilled as you normally are to embrace a new venture," Plo observed quietly, looking Sajaun over as she watched Mace and Ben move away.

"No." Sajaun agreed softly, looking away, "There is no pressure to this. No thrill. Only bad and worst."

Plo gently grasped her shoulders, turning her to face him, "Even so, you always looked after us but do not forget, you have limits too. Whatever path you are on, whatever mission you undertake, do not forget your limits. No secret is worth your life."

Sajaun reached up to rest her hands on his claws and looked up at him, "No. No secret, but all love and duty is."

Plo sighed knowing it was useless to talk her of what she'd already decided as he engulfed her in a tight hug, "Be safe Je." Je, Keeper or  Mystic. A tilted she no longer went by, one that was indeed completly out of use it was so old but was more a pet name these days.

Sajaun hugged him back tightly for a moment before stepping back and smiling tightly, "See you around Koon."

Plo nodded catching sight of Wolffe waiting in the hanger and knew a farewell when he heard it, "May the Force be with you, Ka."

She grinned at him, a true smile now, "It always is."

His comm buzzed again instantly, and he turned and went down the ramp and joined his Commander as they exited the hanger silently wishing Sajaun Ka, Kyber Keeper, good luck.

Chapter Text

Tech was utterly fascinated with General Ka's ship. An antique Cibola brand luxury museum ship in the mid-size freighter class in perfect condition, considering it'd gone out of commission three thousand years ago. Cibola had gone out of business two thousand years ago, so the cutting-edge upgrades and mods he'd spotted on her ship were nearly unheard of. It was both the oldest ship Tech had ever seen and the most cutting-edge. It was fascinating. 

They'd had very little with them to fill the massive luxurious space Ka had given them, so they had ventured out back to the living area they'd entered in time to see Ka's smile fall as the last Jedi she'd been entertaining left. Without her smile with no one watching, she seemed, unsure, forlorn even. Hunter cleared his throat, and she turned and blinked as though remembering they were there.

 "Ah, I don't believe I know your names." Tech looked quickly over at Hunter for guidance. Natborns typically did not want their names. 

"That's Crosshair, Wrecker, and Tech," Hunter says, pointing to them in turn, "It'll be a pleasure working with you, Ma'am." 

"Yes, so long as you don't call me General or Ma'am." Ka nods with a smile. 

"Why not?" Wrecker asks, unheeding the fragility of the moment.

 "I'm not a General." Ka shrugs, "And Ma'am makes me feel old." 

"Then what title should we call you?" Hunter asks, "it's only proper." 

Ka makes a face that says she doesn't like that but banishes it after a moment and thinks, "Madame in place of General if you insist. I would much rather we use names." 

"And in place of Sir?" Crosshair clarified. 

She thought again, brow furrowed before smoothing out when she smiled, "Je." 

"Je?" Hunter repeated. 

"Yes. It's a shorthand for a title in the old Jedi language. And besides, I already go by it in some circles. It will be easy to adapt to." Ka shrugged, "Now, I'll give you the tour is hyperspace, but let's get her in the air first." 

She motioned for them to follow and led them out the other side of the living quarters, up a level, and onto the large cockpit. There were five seats on the bridge, one at the head, obviously, the pilot's seat as it was cushioned and sunken into the ground, and the other four behind it were basic crew stations with a variety of stations at them each. Each faced a separate station, but on swivels so you could turn. Even there, with the functionality of the space, it was luxurious. 

The whole thing was encased in glass and supported by near-invisible swirling crystal supports. The seats were upholstered with fine fabric, and the underglow lights illuminated the polished silver floor.

 "You'll want to strap in." Sajaun advised, "This might be a very nice ship, but it's still older, there's still turbulence on take off." 

Tech took the seat closest to the readouts and watched as Ka put the ship through flight checks with practiced ease. 

“Brace for take off,” Ka warned as she keyed the engines online. True to her world, the whole ship shuddered as it lifted off and jolted again as the landing gear stowed before shaking violently as she exited the hangar and left atmo joining the flight patterns around the Negotiator.

  “This is the Hyperion. Do  you copy bridge?” Ka asked as she flew parallel to the side of the destroyer headed for where they’d secured the Marauder. 

“Copy loud and clear, Hyperion. We see you on the radar.” Cody’s voice came over the intercom, “You’re clear.”

 “I understand these two ships are sealed together. Have you secured the breach on your end?” Ka asked, slowing the Hyperion. Out of the window, Tech could see the Marauder hidden by the shadow of the ship and sealed to the Negotiator . 

There was a beat of silence on Cody’s end before, “Copy that we are secure on our end. Vacuum sealed on our end and hatch remotely sealed on the Marauder .” 

“Copy that. Stand by to remotely disconnect the magnetic seal.” Ka acknowledged switching on the tractor beam the Hyperion had and getting the Marauder in her sights. “You may release.” 

“Copy. Release in three, two, one.” Cody said calmly. 

A moment later and the Marauder floated free into space. Ka initiated the tractor beam, and it stopped floating listlessly, “Copy that bridge. I have the Marauder under my control.” Ka acknowledged toggling her control of the beam and selecting one of the hangers, “Bringing it in now.” 

“Copy that, Hyperion . Your flight plan checks, and the jump point is empty for you.” Cody acknowledged.

 “Happy hunting Sajaun.” General Kenobi’s voice came over the intercom.

 Ka smiled a little as she finished securing the Marauder in her ship, “And to you, Ben.”

“Do me a favor, eh? Don’t end up on the front page of any holo news channels.” General Kenobi joked lightly, “I got enough on my plate.”

 Ka shook her head, sealing up the hanger and flipping the engines back to active instead of idling as she pulled away from the Negotiator , “Now, where’s the fun in that?” 

“Very funny.” General Kenobi huffed, “But good luck. Kenobi out.”

 The intercom went dead as the Negotiator disconnected, and Ka shut it off. “Switching to fusion drive.” Ka warned, “That’ll make it smoother.” The ship shuddered once more but did indeed feel much smoother.

 Tech looked down at the readout on his screens, “Fusion as in nuclear fusion drive?” 

“Yep. I upgraded the ship recently, so it runs hybrid. It uses less fuel that way; I don’t have to stop so often.” Ka nodded as she slowed down and neared the hyperspace lane entry point.

 “So you have standard scramjet, fusion, and hyperdrive engines?” Tech double-checked, amazed.

 “And then some. She’s got quite the kick.” Ka said proudly with a smile. 

Tech watched as she imputed the hyperdrive coordinates and let the drive spool up before killing scram and fusion and initiating hyperdrive. Instantly real space bled away to bright blue hyperspace. Their new leader was even more fascinating than he'd thought. 

Ka put it on autopilot and double-checked everything before turning around to face them, "Alright before I give you the walking tour, I thought I'd show you the basic layout of the Hyperion. " A holo mode of the ship flickered to life from her vambrace. 

"The Hyperion is a mid-class Cibola manufacturered museum ship. She has three levels. The bottom level we won't won't be using as much. It's engine rooms, life support hangers, and things like that. The 2nd level is living arrangements. Your rooms, my quarters, meeting room, sparring rooms, kitchen, pantry, etcetera. The 3rd level is where I keep my museum collections of different things. For now, you won't have access to that. I need to clean it up and make sure everything that could harm anyone is locked up." Ka explained.

 Tech thought that sounded unsafe but kept it to himself. 

"Your biometrics will be inputted into the ship's system for easy access." Madame Ka continued, "If the door doesn't open to you, then you're not allowed in. Any questions?"

 "How long until we arrive?" Hunter asked. 

"About 2 hours." Sajaun answered, "Any other questions?"

 Silence met her.

 She smiled kindly, "Then let's get started on that tour."

Chapter Text

The planet was dead. 

Hunter stared out of the window, silently taking in the dark red planet. There was no life. It had all died eons ago. No plants, no animals, and certainly no beings. 

Sajaun Ka set down the Hyperion with a small jolt. Hunter unhooked from his seat quietly and went down to the living deck to gather his gear in time to see the gangplank slide open. The wind howled, but the dirt didn't move. Hunter can feel it pushing at him, but it is neither hot nor cold. It whispered in a way he felt he should respond to, listen to, understand. But it is just the wind. 

Sajuan stepped out onto the planet, and all at once, the whispering stopped. She is in white, and the landscape was so dark red it was almost black, and it almost seems to swallow her up even though she stood only five feet ahead of them.

 The wind whistled short then long as if greeting, or warning, or perhaps speaking. It whipped past her, and her cape spread out behind her, tugging with the wind, billowing elegantly in the harsh landscape. She was like a beacon in the night. The place where you were finally safe after a mission fraught with danger. A sanctuary. She whistled back. 

The wind swelled, and Hunter couldn't feel a thing through the vibrations of the planet, but in his bones, it felt as though the wind was crackling like electricity. All at once, the swell died.

 They are all at the door now, watching silently as she seemingly converses with something none of them can understand. She jerks her head to them as if to say come . 

The ground makes no indent when Hunter stepped onto it. It barely made a sound. All around him, it was now eerily silent, and all the noise there is now in his ears is his own breath reverberating through his helmet. It is sacred. It is scary. 

"There is nothing physically alive on this planet, but it was home to the Sith for so long that it is still imbued with those qualities. Think of them as ghosts." Sajuan warned, breaking the silence. 

"No evidence suggests ghosts are real," Tech informed them. 

Sajuan inclined her head, "Seeing is not always believing." 

"What are you saying?" Cross demanded.

 "Stay close, and don't touch anything that looks like it can do anything." Sajuan directed, avoiding the question, "Also," She unhooked her staff from her back, "Take my lightsaber; your blasters are no good here beyond angering them." 

Hunter put his foot down at that, "No, those are the weapons of the Jedi. We couldn't take it from you. We'll stick to not touching anything."

 Sajuan stopped, and Hunter would bet good money she was staring at him before she shrugged and put her staff back, "Suit yourself." 

They began across the desolate landscape and into the deserted town. The wind was back now, whispering again as it wound around their ankles and into the abandoned structures. Sajuan's words about ghosts echoed in Hunter's brain as he jerked to look at a shadow in his peripheral that he swore looked like a person. It was just dust.

 The wind whispered what sounded like words of an evil language, and Hunter decided Sajuan might be telling the truth that there were ghosts. He could feel eyes burning into him from behind. There was no one else there.

 "Where are we going?" Wrecker asked, voice booming in the landscape. 

"Where the planet wants us to go," Sajuan said, looking up at the old structures. The wind wound its way to the left, and she followed. Hunter was not so sure the Jedi were that crazy anymore. They wound through the old city and came to a stop where the wind died, in front of a huge temple-like structure.

 Sajuan stared up at it before sighing, "Well, kriff."

 "What is it?" Cross asked, staring up at the red stone structure. 

"The architecture and old Aurebesh suggest it is a Sith temple," Tech said, consulting his datapad. 

"They had temples? I thought they killed each other off?" Wrecker asked, confused. 

Hunter winced at the volume, "This was probably from before they got to that point."

 "Ah." Wrecker nodded. 

"I kriffing hate Sith temples." Sajuan sighed again, still staring at the temple with disgust in her body language. 

"I take it there isn't another way to get the answers you want?" Hunter guessed. 

Sajuan sighed again, "No." She turned to face them, "I'd suggest you all stay here so I could take care of this, but I have a feeling you're not gonna go for that." 

Stay alone without a force user on this creepy planet imbued with ghosts? Hard pass. "Not a chance. We have an obligation to stay with you." Hunter lied. 

Sajuan huffed out a laugh, "Then you should understand how a basic Sith temple works. It's not like the Jedi Temple back on Coruscant. It's not a place of living and community, that was out here." She gestured to the dead city around them, "Sith temples are made for the keeping of information, secrets, knowledge, and weapons, housed in the heart of the temple. This Sith mindset was only the worthy; only the strong could know what lay at the heart. So they devised a way to whittle out the weak. First part is situational awareness; it varies by don't step or touch the thing that will kill you. Basic booby traps. Then it's facing your fears or an obstacle you invent. It taps into your imagination or fears to create a foe you must defeat. Then it's the battle of the wits, where you go up against a keeper to test your intellectual strength. Then it's probably a deep ravine that separates you from your goal with like a lava moat or something 'cause the Sith were into that." Sajuan listed. 

Hunter could see where the dislike came from, "I take it you have some experience?" 

"Unfortunately." Sajuan sighed, "So stay close, stay calm, and use common sense, and we should be fine." 

Wrecker raised his hand. 

"Yes, Wrecker?" Sajuan asked patiently.

 "How will it be for us non-force sensitives?" Wrecker asked. 

"Good question. Not a clue. I've never taken a group of non-force sensitives into a Sith temple. The one Mandalorian that went once described it as, 'disconcerting and horror-ish.' My guess? Very trippy in an evil way." Sajuan shrugged, "Feel free to stay outside." 

Wrecker shifted his weight from foot to foot, deciding. The wind came back, curling dust around his feet. Wrecker looked down at it for a moment, "I'll come." Hunter couldn't blame him. 

Sajuan led the way in, up the red steps into the darkness. The night vision in their helmets kicked in immediately, showing a narrow rock-hewn passage. Sajuan ran her fingers over the carvings and runes chiseled into the walls lightly. 

The passage wound into the rock structure, and the temperature dropped. They came to a cavern that glowed red from the glass skylights above, illuminating the empty space.

 "I take it this is the situation awareness part?" Cross asked, looking at the empty area suspiciously.

 "Yes, it would." Sajuan agreed, looking at the floor.

 "Well, what are we looking for?" Wrecker asked, examining the walls with a keen eye. 

"I'm not sure," Sajuan admitted. 

"Structure scans say that the floor is highly unstable," Tech informed them, reading off the info from his datapad. 

Sajuan looked down at the floor and then looked up at the ceiling, "I think I know how to get across." She reached out, and the rock rumbled. Above them, slabs of stone slid over the skylights, plunging them into darkness. The floor below began to glow, and soon the floor was illuminated by lava flowing around and under the stones on the floor. "Now we find which ones can support our weight," Sajuan said, looking at the floor. 

"And how are we gonna do that?" Cross asked, staring at the burning floor. 

"The runes." Sajuan pointed to the strange glowing writing on the floor, "If we follow the Qotsisajack written on the floor, we can get across."

 "The what now?" Hunter tried to say the word but failed.

 "The Sith code." Sajuan explained, stepping up to the glowing floor, "Peace is a lie; there is only passion." She steps out onto the rocks, and it glows and solidifies under her as she glides onward, "Through passion, I gain strength," she spins and picks her way across the stone, leaving a glowing steady trail in her wake as she recites. Hunter hurries after her on the solid stone trail. "Through strength, I gain power." Sajuan continues. They are now in the middle of the floor, and Hunter eyes the unsteady ground around him carefully. "Through power, I gain victory." They are so close now to the other side. "Through victory, my chains are broken." Sajuan elegantly leaps to the other side and turns back to them, letting a normal beat pass as they scramble onto the solid ground. "The Force will set me free." Sajuan finishes grabbing Wrecker's arm and pulling him solidly onto the other side as the trail flashes and sinks into the lava and then solidifies into a black track through the lava. 

"Well, it wasn't that bad," Tech commented. 

Sajuan sighed, and her helmet retracted, "Famous last words Tech. Now we have to get through the part where the biggest problem is your imagination." Sajuan looked over at the new hall that was empty save for what looked like what was once a skeleton over in a heap, "You're about to meet your greatest fear. Just try not to think too hard about it." 

Hunter looked over at the cooling lava and then froze. Stang . "Uh." Hunter whipped around to find his brothers hurrying across the large hall. 

Sajuan had stopped in the middle and turned back towards him, "Hunter? Are you coming?" 

"Uh." Hunter tries to get his words out, but it dies in his throat. The ground begins to shake and groan. 

"Hunter." Sajuan's voice goes serious, "What did you imagine?"

 Hunter can't get the words out even if he wanted to. All he can see is his brothers and his new officer in the way of the growing monster he created coming forth. "I'm sorry," is all he manages before the rock that has tumbled from the sides bursts upwards from the floor, lava giving it life. The lava monster lurks over them, glaring down at them with orange eyes. 

"Kriffen karken Corellian blazes!" Sajuan swears softly. The monster jerks and turns to her. It swings a huge fist down, and Sajuan sheds her cape before launching up and over the incoming fist.

 There are yelps of surprise, and Hunter rips his gaze away from Sajuan in her dance of death to his squad that is battling smaller but quickly growing lava monsters. Their blasters do nothing against the growing monsters. What had he done? 

Sajuan cries out, and Hunter turns back in time to see a glowing blade of magenta light fly toward him. It flies past his head, and Hunter feels a thrill of possibilities in its wake as it embeds itself into a growing monster's head behind him. Sajaun's lightsaber is he were to guess. Hunter turns and finds his brothers were also saved in a similar fashion, each with their one individual saber. Hunter looks back up and finds Sajuan leaping from place to place five stories above them, barely avoiding the deadly arms of lava the monster battles her with. 

There is a rumble, and Hunter whirls to find a new monster growing two feet from him. He has only seconds to decide his course of action. Your blasters are no good here beyond angering them.   Sajuan's voice echoes in his head. 

Hunter reaches out to grab her Saber, and it fits in his hand perfectly like it was meant to be. It loses its bright magenta color and turns almost translucent. Hunter doesn't have time to ponder the change or worry he just broke a Jedi's weapon when the monster is upon him. 

There is no weight in the blade like all the melee weapons he's ever trained with. No heft. No physical power. Just purpose. He swings like he's been taught, and the blade cuts through the rock monster like it is nothing. No resistance, no struggle. The rocks and lava tumble to the floor, no longer alive. 

Hunter turns towards his brothers to find that they have followed his lead and are wielding the lightsabers with sheer force and no artistry. But it gets the job done. They cut down the last of the baby monsters before turning to the large one Sajuan is battling. 

She is jumping from boulder to boulder, dodging lava, and swinging rock arms as the monster shrieks in frustration and anger. She lands on the ground and spares them a look, "Go!" 

"But your sabers!" Tech points out. 

They are all holding one. Hunter looks down and realizes they are all holding a translucent Saber. She isn't wielding any. Hunter would think that an angry lava monster seven stories tall would call for lightsaber usage.

 "I don't need my Saber to take this on. Go!" Sajuan orders. Her eyes go from lavender to deep dark purple, and Hunter is transfixed as power spews from her hands in deep purple, slamming the monster backward. 

Tech had made them look over basic holos of force usage. This is not that. This is beautiful and delicate and powerful and something completely other. Her hands glow with it like she has dipped her hands in fire and pulled out handfuls of it.

 She leaps upward, throwing a blast into the monster's face making him stumble back before landing a blow like a hammer into its chest. The rocks crumble away, and the glowing orange heart is exposed. 

She leaps away and scrambles up the monster's shoulder. Her hands gather the purple power again, and her eyes bleed purple light like smoke. She runs down the arm as it moves up to try and squash her and jumps. She throws out her hand, and Hunter knows before it connects that the blast will hit true. 

Time seems to slow; she is reaching, reaching, reaching, for a ledge of stone above her, so she does not fall. The monster swings as though to smack her out of the sky. The blast hits true. The monster screams as it dies. The body begins crumbling feet first. The hand is now detached but still swinging. She is so close. 

The hulking hand catches her leg, and she is no longer leaping; she is falling. She tumbles like a ragdoll, head over heels, as boulders rain around her as she falls. Hunter can hear nothing over the crashing of rock as he watches his commanding officer fall to her death from a monster he created. She vanishes into the pile of rubble as the rocks come raining down, and Hunter can't breathe. 

The dust settles, and they are all rushing to the pile of rocks. The lava is cooling and solidifying, and it is a solid mass.

 "Correllian blazes. What happened?" Cross growled as they all began trying to make the rocks move.

 "I don't know! I didn't mean to make this!" Hunter snapped, staring at the boulders in horror.

 "We need to get her out!" Wrecker insisted, cutting off whatever Cross would have said next.

 "She is likely already dead," Tech said quietly. Hunter flinched. He was trying not to think about that how he'd gotten his commanding officer killed within 48 hours of getting her.

 Wrecker slowed to a stop, "No." 

"Hunter, what did you do?" Crosshair's voice was laced with anger and fear, "We'll all get decommed for this!"

 "It's not like I meant for this to happen!" Hunter snapped, anger flaring, "I didn't ask to be the one who imagined that!" 

"Stop it!" Tech snaps. 

Cross ignores him, "Are you sure, Hunter? You sure it wasn't because you wanted to lead and not have to follow?" 

Hunter snarled, feeling his rage burn in him, "I could ask you the same you-" 

"SHUT UP!" Tech yelled. Hunter and Crosshair both snapped to face a very angry Tech. "Would you both shut up long enough to listen?" Tech hissed. 

They descended into silence, and the Hunter heard it. The chirp of a comm. Hunter looked around, but none of them were sending anything, and they were too deep into the rock caverns to receive any outside communications, which meant only one thing. 

Hunter opened the channel immediately, "Sajuan?" 

"Present." Sajuan responded, sounding strained, "Do you think you could get me out any time soon?" 

Hunter whirled around to look at the mound of rubble relief flooding him, "Any idea where you are in it?" 

"I'm guessing in the middle. I don't think I'm in that deep. I've made it safe for me for now, but if you could hurry…" Sajuan trailed off, coughing harshly. 

Hunter scrambled up onto the pile to the top. The others followed. On the top, Hunter spotted that purple power glowing out from under the rubble. "I see something. We're coming." Hunter motioned for Wrecker to begin pulling up the rocks over the glowing area. 

They all began digging and pulling rubble off. Slowly they found a purple dome that was supporting the rubble around it. Sajuan lay in the middle; hands shoved in both directions feeding the dome. Her legs were bent in the wrong direction, and her arm was clearly broken, but she gave them a shaky smile when they were able to see each other. "Hi."

 "That's different." Hunter nodded at the bubble she'd made as he brushed his hair out of his face, "You're gonna be alright; we're gonna get you out." 

"Thanks. I see you ditched the helmet." Sajuan commented. 

"Yeah. Any suggestions of how to get you out?" Hunter asked. 

"My staff." Sajuan winced as she shifted a little. 

Hunter looked around, "I don't see it." 

"No. My Sabers. They fit together to make my staff. I can grab that, and you can pull me out." Sajuan corrected. 

Hunter looked over to the pile of gear they'd pulled off to dig her out, "One sec." Hunter scrambled down and found the four Sabers in the pile, "Tech. Can you look at this for me?" Hunter laid the pieces out as Tech came over. "Sajuan says these fit together to be her staff. Any idea how?" 

Tech examined the prices carefully so as not to turn them on, "If I was to guess…" He clicked the four pieces together to be her beskar staff. 

Hunter grabbed it and climbed back to the top, "Alright, we got it."

 "Good. When I release this dome, the pile is gonna collapse, so we need to be clear when that happens." Sajuan warns. 

"Okay. Can you hold it till we get you out?" Hunter asked. 

"Maybe?" Sajuan offered before wincing again. The dome flickered. She couldn't hold it forever.

 "Wrecker!" Hunter called. 

"Yeah, Serg?" Wrecker asked, coming over. 

"Alright, we're gonna pull her out with this." Hunter handed Wrecker the staff. 

"Okay," Wrecker said, carefully lowering the staff. It penetrated the dome smoothly, and Sajuan reached out and grabbed one end of it. 

"Ready?" Hunter called. 

"Yeah. Let's go." Sajuan said, strained. 

"Alright, Wrecker, on your count." Hunter nodded. 

"Alright. One. Two. Three!" Wrecker pulled up quickly and smoothly.

 Sajuan was dead weight as Hunter carefully grabbed her from Wrecker. The shadows had obscured the true damage, but now Hunter could see the dark red that stained her white robes and smeared across her armor. He carefully climbed down partway but found he couldn't go further without jumping down. 

Crosshair was there instantly without prompting and gently took Sajuan from Hunter with care that was unusual for the sniper. He set her down so she could lean against the wall so Tech could hover over her.

 Hunter had thought it was bad holding her but now seeing her sitting there showed how very bad it was. Tech made a sound looking at the scanner in his hands. Hunter caught a glimpse. Shattered ribs. Broken limbs. Burst up insides. Severe internal bleeding. Not good. 

Sajuan put her hand on her chest and began pulling her hand outward. Hunter watched as her hand filled with inky blackness from within her. 

"What are you doing?" Crosshair asked, watching her with a critical eye. 

"Pulling my pain out so I can use it later. I'd rather not feel what happens next." Sajuan responded, not opening her eyes. When she was finished, her hand was filled with a moving, almost liquid substance. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. She squeezed her hand into a fist, and it condensed into an orb, not unlike the one she had pulled from Skywalker. "Now comes the less enjoyable part. Tech, I need you to reset my limbs. It will make things easier." Sajuan said, shifting the orb to her uninjured hand.

"I'm not sure that would be better." Tech hedged. 

"Just do it, Tech." Sajuan sighed, tiredness evident. 

Tech carefully placed his hands on her broken arm and reset it with a squish. Hunter flinched at the sound, but Sajaun didn't bat an eye. The orb in her hand pulsed, growing bigger. Tech repeated the action with her legs, and Hunter fought a wave of nausea.

 "I can't do much about anything internally, but I've done what I can." Tech finally said.

 "That's alright. You've done more than enough." Sajuan smiled, spinning the orb over her knuckles. 

She began murmuring as the orb spun in her hands in a language that sounded eerily like the whispering of the wind outside; her eyes went deep purple again, and Hunter watched as the orb changed from black to white slowly. When it was fully white, Sajuan's eyes changed to an odd yellow as she crushed it in her hand and then shoved the power into her chest. Most of it vanished inward, but some wound around her arms and legs, gathering at her wounds and healing them. Her color got better as the power dissipated. 

Her eyes flashed white, and then she sighed, "That's better." 

Tech stared at his scanner in the closest thing to shock as Hunter had seen him come to. "What did you do?"

 "I healed myself," Sajuan said, simply trying to wipe the blood off her armor but only succeeding with smearing it. 

"But how? That's not how the Force healers do it." Tech insisted. 

"Ah, I guess I had that coming for me. Glad you did your homework, though." Sajuan nodded, giving up on her armor, and instead stood up slowly, "To be honest, I don't use normal techniques for using the Force in any capacity. I'm not a Jedi. I don't do things the Jedi way." 

Hunter opened his mouth to ask what in the world she meant when her eyes flashed again, and she grabbed her Saber and rapped it against her forearm. It instantly transformed into an energy bow as she aimed into the darkness they hadn't entered yet. Her eyes were glowing white as she squinted into the darkness, magenta energy pulling silently as she aimed. She fired, and the bolt lit up the space illuminating a lurking being in black robes. 

"Who comes here to test their metal?" A deep voice growled.

 Sajuan lowered her bow and rolled her eyes, "Never mind, it's just you. Here I thought it was something bad." She strapped her staff back to her back and murmured a few words before a bright green fire erupted In her hand, lighting up the room. 

The figure stood menacingly in front of them, mask gleaming in the low light, and Hunter wasn't sure why she was so dismissive of it. It seemed to grow and bellowed, "State your-" 

"Move." Sajuan interrupted impatiently

 "Excuse me?" It asked less loudly. 

"You heard me. Scoot. I don't have all day, Revan." Sajuan jerked her head, indicating it move. 

"I am the Darth Revan, the greatest-" the being began to lecture in offense.

 Sajuan sighed and waved her hand through the being's chest, "Very interesting." 

The being folded in on itself and tumbled out of the way like smoke. Hunter stated at it for a moment before realizing, "It's a ghost." 

"Yeah, these temples don't house intellect testers anymore with the Sith gone. Now they're just sorry souls stuck at their posts. He's mostly harmless." Sajuan waved the hand holding the unnatural fire, now purple, not green.

 "Is that Sajaun Ka?" The being suddenly asked, floating back over to look, inspecting Sajuan's hand as she looked over the runes and architect of the room.

 "Yes. How have you been, Revan?" Sajuan said distractedly.

 "Oh, you know. Very boring here all alone. Last time I saw you, 16 years?" Revan changed his toon.

 "34." Sajuan corrected, "Roughly." 

"I almost didn't recognize you with your group. What is he-?" Revan jerked back from Tech, who was leaning in, attempting to scan him.

 "Don't mind him. He's curious." Sajuan said dismissively. She headed down the last narrow hall from the other end of the chamber.

 Hunter followed behind the ghost, careful not to touch it. This was not what he had had in mind when he'd been given a Jedi General. 

"Watch your step," Sajuan warned as they came to the last chamber. Hunter changed his footing just before he put his foot through a corpse's chest. 

"How long has he been there?" Hunter asked, aghast. 

"About 13 years. Darth  Plagueis. The elder in the rule of two until well that." Revan answered. 

"So that sniveling brat of his actually did something with his life. Who would have thought?" Sajuan sniffed, circling the dais of a reclined rock-hewn chair with intended crystals that vibrated. 

Hunter could hear the vibrations, almost like a song in his bones. It was both disturbing and alluring. Part of him wanted to touch the crystals sitting at the ends of the armrest, but Sajuan's warning made him stay where he was. 

"Not a very impressive child, is he?" Revan agreed. 

"Don't discount him yet. He's got a mind sharper than a sword on that spineless neck of his." Sajuan scoffed, "How long has this been here?"

 "Oh, about 20 years. Fairly new for you." Revan shrugged.

 Sajuan crouched next to the chair and looked up, following the angle the chair was tilted at, "It's an Observatory." Her tone washed over the title in reverent awe. Revan nodded in agreement silently. 

"What's that mean?" Hunter asked, feeling very dumb.

 "There's a system of places like this in temples all across the galaxy made to look into the futures reliably. To see the truth in all its facades. To guide." Revan explained, gesturing to the chair. 

Sajuan illuminated the ceiling above them to reveal huge element rings and circles carved into the ceiling, "Observatories were built in conjunction with the Gates of Time, entrances to the World Between Worlds. A place where one could reach through space, time, and the Force itself. Like Hyperspace jump points, these gates were jump points across the galaxy. You could enter on one side and come out on the other, sometimes in a different age. A web of portals across the galaxy." 

"Who created them?" Tech asked, staring up at the ceiling. 

"There's stories, legends, ideas. No one knows for sure." Revan said, floating up to the ceiling. 

"What do you think?" Hunter asked, examining the matching circles on the floor. Not perfectly lined up, not the same size or organization but still beautiful. 

"The Architects created the galaxy, but they also created a race of beings less than them but greater than us. These beings understood the Architects better than we do or perhaps ever will. In an effort to protect the knowledge and creation of the Architects, they created ways to safeguard it, the Observatories. The Gates. The Library of Time. Over time they died off, and we were left with the clues. Every species has its name for them. Gods. Idols. Ancients. But their old writings call them Mortis." Sajuan said softly, tracing the circles lightly on the walls, "Seerers of the world as it is. Not how we want it to be. Truth. There are not many left." 

"Then how did this one get here?" Crosshair asked, looking over the engravings.

 "The systems shift and change like the tides of an ocean. Not often, but at times of importance, you don't find what's built there originally but what you need to find." Revan explained, floating over one of the figures sketched on the ceiling.

 "So you're meant to sit in the chair?" Wrecker asked slowly.

 "So it would seem. But not today. I used a lot of energy dealing with the previous two obstacles. Let's rest. Then tomorrow, we'll see what I'm supposed to see." Sajuan decided. 

"Are we staying in here?" Wrecker asked, voice going up an octave. 

Sajuan chuckled, "No. None of us would sleep." 

"Oh, good. That'd be bad." Wrecker relaxed. 

Sajuan ran her hand over the back of the chair and then yanked her hand back, "It's cold."

 "So?" Crosshair frowned.

 "A dark kind of cold. The Observatories are mostly neutral spaces; this one's been dipped in darkness. It's wrong." Sajuan shook her head.

 "Yeah, that would have been  Plagueis." Revan nodded.

 "So I have a date with a darkly corrupted Observatory that's deep in a Sith temple?" Sajuan deadpanned, "Lucky me."

Chapter Text

Crosshair couldn't help but be suspicious as he watched their new commanding officer move around the kitchen on board the Hyperion like it was a battlefield. Fluid and graceful. 

They'd pulled out rations to eat when they'd gotten back and she'd taken one sniff and demanded they let her cook for them. Cook. Like with real pots and pans and foods he'd never heard of and spices he had no idea where they were from. 

It did smell good though. It smelled better than anything Crosshair had ever smelled before in his life. The smells made him want to come closer and inhale it deeper and try to pinpoint what smells he'd known before that moment and the ones he hadn't. But he kept his feet firmly planted where they were, safely across the room from Sajuan. 

That was another thing that rubbed Crosshair the wrong way. She'd insisted they drop all her titles. Hunter had negotiated her up to Ma'am or Madam informal situations. But it was still too informal and it rubbed Crosshair the wrong way. He'd been trying to avoid calling her anything. 

And then there was that lovely bombshell of the fact they were no longer in the GAR. Crosshair was still trying to come to terms with that one. In the last 56 hours, it felt like his world had been flipped on its head, violently shaken, and then set down at a precarious new angle. Cross was still dizzy from it. 

The other thing he hadn't expected was how loud cooking was. The screeching sound from a pan where she had meat cooking. The hiss of the closed pot that was cooking some sort of starch. The hum of a pot that had aligned boiling. Everything had a sound and together it was all very loud. But it got quieter as she pulled the meat off whatever had cooked it and turned off the boiling pot. She'd taken their rations and chopped them up when she started now Cross was pretty sure they were in the dark sauce she had bubbles quietly. 

She dishes up the white starch and puts the red vegetables next to it. She cuts up the meat and puts it on top of the starch and then puts some sauce over the meat. "It's not my best work and I haven't been able to restock but it should be adequate," Sajuan said apologetically as she set down the five plates.

 "It's very thoughtful of you," Hunter said neutrally.

 Cross could tell this seemed to be a very nat-born custom, cooking a meal for others. One that they couldn't relate to. He tried not to think about that as he shoved some of the meat in his mouth.

 It was heavenly. Tender and juicy and unlike anything he'd ever tasted. It had a taste that reminded him of the smoke of battle and the sauce was salty like the seas of Kamino and the warmth of the spices was like the glow of a warm sun hitting your skin when it was peaceful. It was the warmth of being with your brothers after a long terrifying day of testing. Of piling together to feel each other's warmth and heartbeats. To know that you are here. You are safe. It was the feeling of home that natborns talked about. It made Cross want to cry. The others are having similar reactions to the food, Wrecker is actually crying. 

"Food does not normally cause such an emotional reaction," Tech commented, staring at the piece of meat on his utensil intensely like it could tell him all the secrets of the universe before shoveling it into his mouth. Wrecker nodded in agreement as he shoved the food in.

 "I think it's 50/50 you've never had a home-cooked meal and half you've never had Force-infused food," Sajuan said, amused. 

"I think I died," Hunter murmured, eyes closed as he nibbled on the vegetables. Sajuan snickered quietly as she began eating. The meat is warm in the depth of his chest, and the sauce is like the refreshment of the sea while the vegetables are the taste of discomfort in your stomach if discomfort or embarrassment were a flavor, and the starch is sticky and neutral but comforting in a way a soft hug was. It is confusing but comforting, and Cross never wants it to end. They eat in silent enjoyment together as equals, and Crosshair finds himself relaxing slowly.

 "What is this dish?" Tech asks once they are almost done. 

"A version of bulgogi from Kimiji." Sajuan said, "Hallmarked by salty meat and pickled vegetables. Over rice." Her words answer so many questions and make a thousand more.

 "Pickled?" Hunter questioned.

 "Yes, left in sour vinegars until they take on that flavor. It used to be used to preserve food before we found modern preservatives." Sajuan nodded. 

"Sour? Was that the nauseous flavor?" Wrecker asked, cleaning out his bowl.

 "I thought it tasted like embarrassment." Tech shrugged. 

"Or discomfort." Cross agreed.

 "I didn't know you all wouldn't like it. I'll remember not to put in anything sour next time." Sajuan commented. 

"Oh no, I liked it." Hunter quickly corrected.

 "I did too. I'm just not sure how to describe it." Tech agreed. 

Sajuan looked stricken for a moment before looking thoughtful, "I've never thought of how someone would describe flavors without ever knowing them. I suppose that's actually a pretty good description." 

"It was very yummy. Thank you." Tech said politely.

 "You can have more if you'd like. I'm sure you all burn more calories than normal people." Sajuan waved casually at the kitchen where dishes of the leftover food were. 

They all froze. Extra portions were unheard of on Kamino. You ate what was engineered to be both tasteless and have enough protein for you, and that was that. (Crosshair thought idly that he'd forever be dissatisfied with rations from now on after tasting the glory that was home-cooked food. Even the better-tasting ones.) 

"We can have more?" Wrecker asked eagerly but cautiously. This was an unheard-of territory.

 "Of course. I can't eat all that food. I made more because I figured I was with five super soldiers; I had better make enough food." Sajuan shrugged, "Unless you don't want it, cause then gotta figure out what to do with all that food." Her tone is amused, and she full-out laughs as Wrecker bolts for the leftover food. The four of them have another round of food as she chuckles at them.

 "It's like you've never seen seconds in your life." She says, grinning innocently. 

Crosshair freezes up immediately, looking to Hunter for direction. He'd known the Jedi were clueless, but this one was boarding on naive. 

"We normally don't get, seconds," Hunter admitted using the new word.

 "It's all measured out for us, so we get optimal nutritional intake with only one meal." Tech states. 

"But aren't you enhanced beyond their standards?" Sajuan pointed out, "Doesn't that mean you need more calories?"

 She said it so innocently, like she had no clue how Kamino worked, like she had no clue what parameters the Jedi had ordered for them.

 "What we need and what we get are often different," Hunter said quietly. 

Sajuan's face twists in something akin to disgust before it smoothes back out. Cross felt icy fear grab at him. This was it, this was when the other shoe dropped, when she realized just how imperfect and flawed they were, and the caring tune changed. "Well, feel free to eat whatever you want. I always keep it well stocked so I can cook whatever I want when it hits me." Sajuan said, waving at the kitchen. 

 "I'm afraid we don't know how to cook," Tech said, snapping out of their momentary shock first.

 "Oh well, that's easy," Sajuan grinned, and Crosshair could only see the innocent littles and Cadets grinning at him, unaware of how dangerous he was on Kamino, "I can teach you."

 "Why are you so nice?" Crosshair blurts it out before he can stop it, before he can save them the pain of the words, but it's eating him . How casual she is, how kindness is as normal as breathing and looking at them not with disgust or fear like the vod do or with fascination and cold calculations like the Kaminoins and natborns do or even the neutrality of the Jedi or civilians. It's interest. It's seeing them because they are them . She looks at them and wants to know not perfection, but their imperfections. Thir dislikes, their preferences. Things that do not make them work well with others. She doesn't care. It is different, and Crosshair is suspicious. 

Sajaun looks at him for a long moment before shrugging, "Why wouldn't I be?" She rises and collects their dirty dishes from their now finished meal and moves back unto the kitchen as she turns on the water and begins to clean, "Kindness is a virtue of which the majority of the galaxy finds important. Those that don't see it as a sign of weakness. Are you of the second mindset, Crosshair?" 

Even now as she is challenging him, perhaps even getting ready to punish him, she is curious. It's wrong. It reminds Crosshair of Tech. 

"No." Crosshair couldn't imagine kindness as a weakness, not when his brother’s arms after days of experiments were all the solace he got. Not when Hunter puts himself between Cross and the older batches when they decide to pick on them. Not when Tech's quiet, tactful, but kind words were what encouraged Cross to keep getting the top scores in the sniper class even though the abuse from classmates skyrocketed. Not when living in a world of perfection or death as the imperfection had been all he'd known. Kindness was how he'd survived, how they'd survived. "No. I don't believe kindness is a weakness, an inconvenience sometimes, yes. But not weakness." 

"Then why do you ask?" Sajaun has her back to them, but she glances over her shoulder to punctuate her words. 

Cross looks around the table at his brothers for guidance. Tech looks for once confused while Wrecker and Hunter both look helpless. They can't help him, Cross realizes; the question is for him. This is his fight.

 "Because kindness has no place in war. It is an inconvenience, a hindering factor when what needs to be done comes. Yet in the depths of war, as you hunt for the biggest conspiracy in modern history, you still are stunningly kind." Crosshair said, processing his thoughts aloud, "I want to know why. No one does something for no reason."

 Sajuan hummed, "Perhaps you don't have a problem with my kindness at all. Perhaps you want to know why I am so different from the rest of your experience of life. My kindness is suspicious to you because you know very little of it. So then the question is," She turned around, leaning against the counter, hands braced behind her, "Why do you fear it?"

Crosshair opens his mouth to refute that statement, but Sajaun cuts him off with a smile and a wave of her hand, "I've watched you all dance around me for the last day and a half, and I think I've finally figured it out." She comes back over and sits back down, popping her feet up on the chair next to her, "You don't trust me."

Hunter rushes to object, but she raises her hand to stop him, "To save your lives and be truthful? Yes. But to care, to not be cruel or cold, or send you back to Kamino because you are different? No. You don't trust me not to do that. And I understand." Sajuan shrugs like her realization is an easy one, "Life has not been kind to you. It has been downright cruel. And you have learned that distrust is the key to your survival. You've only ever had each other. You do not trust me because I am not one of you. Because I do not understand the shared scars you have. And that is okay."

Sajuan looks at each of them slowly around the table, "Trust in the normal everyday things will come with time, or it won't. That is natural. But as long as you back me up out there," She gestures to the creeping deadwood outside that is now howling, "We'll do just fine." 

"But that's not normal!" Wrecker insisted, "Other Generals don't have to wait for the regs to accept them! We're not normal!" Don't you want that? Went unsaid. 

Sajaun looked at them all for a moment, face filled with both equal wonder and horror before she threw her head back and laughed, "Ha! Perfection is a lie the galaxy has been trying to attain for eons. It has ruined civilizations and killed billions. The sooner we reject it, the sooner we thrive. Our imperfections are what made us unique. Or differences are what make us us. If we were all the same, there would be no discovery, no growth. Nothing new. As for how we work together, I don't care. I'm not like other Jedi," She shrugged, smiling, "Why should the squad I serve with be any different?"

It was so simple when she said it like it was perfectly normal. Like they were perfectly normal. And perhaps by natborn standards, the kind of were. But the way she said it, Perfection is a lie, was so radically different from what they'd been told their whole lives. Cross wasn't opposed to it. 

"But why now?" Hunter asked, "What's so important that you've come all this way to a place that doesn't want you to work with a group of clones no one else wants to do, what?" 

Sajaun sighed and leaned back, "We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?"

It was an evasion, to be sure, but for the first time, Crosshair found he didn't find himself suspicious at her lack of an answer. She trusted them. The least they could do was try and trust her back.

Chapter Text

Sajuan had suspicions, research she could prove, piles of flimsi that were a bunch of unconnected dots to someone not looking for it. As certain as she'd been with Obi, Plo, and Mace, she only had an assumption to go on. A truly awful assumption but an assumption nonetheless. 

But as she walked into the dark rock-hewn room with the Observatory, it felt like everything was coming to this, meant to be; whatever happened next rested on this moment. Here would hopefully tell her if her assumptions were right or hopefully wrong. But the closer she got to the crystal throne, the more she got a sinking feeling it wasn't going to be what she hoped. 

"Are you ready?" Revan asked, looking at her expectantly.

 Sajuan gave him a small smile; Revan had been a good friend and teacher, and having him here with her now, even in spirit, was strengthening. "No, but I doubt I'll be better prepared." 

"Is there anything we can do?" Hunter asked, nervous energy oozing off him in waves. They were all nervous, and from what Sajuan had gathered about the Kaminoins, they had pretty good reason to. There were very few species Sajuan despised as a whole, but the Kaminoins were up there.

 Sajuan tried to smile reassuringly, but it had been a long time since she'd tried to do that for someone not able to feel her Force signature, "Not really. I'm not sure how long or what I'll see. I could be fine; I could come out screaming. We'll just have to wait and see." Hunter paled a bit at her words, and Sajuan inwardly flinched.  She was terrible at reassuring. 

"That sounds peachy." Crosshair rasped out with a frown. For all his gruff, Sajuan had to admit he was growing on her, especially with an attitude like that. 

She gave them a small smile and then turned back to the throne. The crystal was humming intoxicatingly; she could feel it in her soul, in her mind and heart calling to her. Come, it whispered in a thousand voices, Come and see . 

Sajuan sat slowly, and the cool crystal seemed to welcome her. Her arms rested on the inlaid Kyber crystals, and she leaned back as though almost reclining. The patterns on the ceiling depicted a Gate in rude carvings, but it was beautiful in its own way. Sajaun grasped her saber staff in her two hands like a safety bar and forced herself to relax. She settled reclining in the chair, Saber resting on the armrests with her, and let go. 

She was falling and still all at once, a jolting feeling that made her gasp. The circles of the Gate above began to lift up and hum to life and rotate as it opened. The ceiling broke away, cracking open like hangar doors, and the stars greeted her. The Temple fell away as she floated up, still in a reclining position but weightless. 

You wish to see the future? A feminine voice asked. 

I wish to see the truth of what is and possibly what is to come. Sajuan answered without speaking. 

A being materializes from the endless stars in front of Sajuan, tall, slender, an odd white color with a mask for a face. She considers Sajuan for a moment. The future is unwritten and your own. But it can be guided, molded. 

Our actions now write the future of tomorrow. Sajuan agreed. 

You wish to see what is being written? The being asked. 

Yes. 

Be careful what you wish for.

And suddenly, Sajuan can see . 

She is standing on Felucia, in Utupua, on Geonosis on Kamino on Cate Neomin, and on thousands of other planets all at once. She is flying, and she is running, and she is standing, and she is swimming, and she is everywhere at once. She can see the Jedi, faces she knows, and hundreds she doesn't hope for the end of the war, and it is close, somehow she knows this. They are turning to lead, trusting their clones completely. And then the brilliant river of life in the Force just, stops. 

Something breaks. 

                              Something shudders. 

                                                                 Something screams. 

And the clones, millions of them, are gone. 

The clones, millions of them, turn robotically towards their Jedi and fire.

 The waves of agony and death ripple outward and rip Sajuan from one scene to the next, falling towards blue water, burning towards acid oceans, shot in the back, and dying protecting her padawan. It's all too fast to comprehend or focus as Sajaun lives through and witnesses the executions of thousands of Jedi in a blink of an eye, and some part of her wails in pain as the Force shrieks. She is falling through pain, dying thousands of different deaths at once, and then it is gone. 

Sajaun jerks up with a sob to find the marble halls of the Temple. There is an eerie silence, and she struggles to understand why as her body finally syncs together after being in everyone else's dying ones. She rolls over and just about screams. 

Staring at her is the glassy unfeeling eyes on and initiate. Sajuan scrambles to her feet and chokes back a cry of pain as she is met with the sight of the Temple covered in too-small bodies. Padawans, Initiates, and Younglings are all strewn about the floor dead. Their masters and crechemasters were slain on the floor with lightsabers in their hands still.

 Blaster bolts scorched flesh and the walls, and Sajuan knew, the clones had done this. She was running as soon as she was on her feet for the creche, the nursery for the children and the babies. 

She flew past so many more dead bodies as she ran. The Temple no longer felt safe. No longer felt secure. Like the foundations it was on were sliding away under her feet.

 She burst into the nursery as the clones did. She reached out in the Force to feel the clones, to figure out what was wrong, and was met with a gaping maw of nothing. It was an empty jagged hole in their conscious filling with monotone good soldiers follow orders. 

They fired, and Sajuan screamed as they murdered defenseless babies who could do nothing but lay in their cribs. They are not here . Sajuan acknowledged numbly as the clones scanned each scorched crib.

"Traitors terminated. Comm command, Order 66 complete. There are no survivors." One of the clones said in a dead voice.

 Sajuan followed the clones numbly as they picked through the wreckage callously. The dead were strewn on every floor, eyes staring in shock and pain, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.

 Sajuan floated away from the halls numbly as she floated over the courtyards and training stalles and meeting places and up over the spires as smoke from the bombs triggered at the entrance to the Temple filled the skies like a beacon of pain. 

She found herself in the Council room, high above the bustling city and the utter devastation as the brilliant orange of sunset illuminated the room. Sajuan wept quietly at the sight of Initiate bodies on the grown, cold and lifeless. 

It was wrong. Something about it was so wrong .

 They were almost all gone; when Sajuan reached out in the Force to the others, she was met with a screaming black void where life should be. 

Kneeling on the floor, legs refusing to work, Sajuan looked out over the skyline to the setting sun that painted the planet red and gold and orange and noted that she'd never seen one so beautiful. It was as if the sun itself also knew and, in its own way, said goodbye to that wonderful age of Jedi. 

What did we do? Sajuan mourned, closing her eyes to the sun's farewell and the mangled bodies of children. Where did we go wrong?  

Did you find what you sought? The being's voice asked gently. 

Sajuan opened her eyes again, and the being was there, standing across from her in the Council room, now empty. Outside the ancient windows were endless stars. The bodies were gone, the scorch lines and blaster marks on the walls vanished, and Sajaun was standing now. Her head pounded, and her mind felt fractured, and nothing made sense, and everything felt wrong, and yet within her muddled brain, something had finally clicked into place, what she couldn't tell. 

 Sajuan considered, mind reeling, heart numb as she found to understand, Almost .

 The being seemed spoiled. What more do you seek? 

Why did they do it? Sajuan asked, looking up at the being in curiosity. Did they want to? Choose to? They did not feel like it. 

The being stared at her for a long moment. No. They did not choose. 

Relief flooded Sajuan. How certain is this future?

 You know the saying, Fate, Free Will, and Destiny. The being pointed out. This is not Fated; this is not certain. But every day that passes, it grows more and more likely. It is Destined, but Destiny tomorrow can be rewritten by Free Will today. 

How can I change it? How can I save them? 

It is harder than it looks and tricker than it seems. You are caught in a web a few million strong, and one weak link will break the chain of a mighty dynasty. It is not just written into their biology or their minds but in their essence. They are killers. They just don't know it yet. The being said cryptically. 

Sajuan struggled to comprehend the words. But can it be changed?  

The future is uncertain and growing darker. Even if you do succeed, things will get worse before they get better. The being looked down at her. The cycle of time is growing closer. If you cannot learn, you will die. 

Sajuan opened her mouth to ask what the being meant when she fell. She screamed as she plummeted, visions of darkness and light and balance flashing through her vision. Futures that were uncertain and endless possibilities flitted through her mind as she fell. But it came down to the simple facts. Darkness was growing, it could and probably would get much worse before it got better, and the key to every future, good or bad, was the clones. 

There was a cackling laugh that chilled Sajuan to the bone, and gleaming yellow eyes appeared in her mind's eye. 

"You cannot stop what's coming! I hold the power! The future is mine!" A male voice shrieked in evil glee. 

"Sidious." Sajuan acknowledged understanding nothing but that.

 The man loomed closer, breath ghosting over her collarbone, "You cannot stop it because it's already begun. It's in them already. It's only a matter of time."

 And then Sajuan saw it, a massive web of links drawn across the galaxy connecting every clone to another, and in its center, at Courcsant, it was bleeding a dark, horrid red.

And then Sajuan landed in the Observatory chair, hard. 

The absolute wrongness of the chair almost strangled her as she came up for air. It felt like she'd been run over by a mudhorn and her limbs felt like lead and wouldn't respond as she struggled out of the chair, desperately getting away from the way the chair felt like it was eating her, swallowing her up. 

She was hot and cold all at once, and her legs were too weak to support her as she collapsed as soon as she stood. There were lights and voices and sounds, and it was too loud and too bright, and it was everything everywhere all at once, and Sajuan wanted to scream and puke and make it all stop. She settled for puking. 

A cool cloth pressed against her forehead as strong hands rightened her away from her sick. "Shhhhh. Just breathe." A voice said, pressure pressing against her wrist.

 Sajuan's world slowly stopped spinning, and she could feel her body shutting down for sleep as she tried to focus on who was talking, "Hunter?" 

"Yeah. You scared us there for a sec." Hunter said calmly. 

Sajaun could quite get words out, so she grunted, closing her eyes as her headache got worse. 

"You get what you need?" Crosshair's voice, unusually gently asked from somewhere above her.

 "Mmmh." Sajuan nodded slowly. She was gonna pass out soon; she could feel it. 

"You cried out when you woke up, and Hunter caught you," Tech informed, her voice a bit too close to her ear for her liking. 

"Mmh?" Sajaun tried to convey the question.

 "Yeah." Wrecker acknowledged trying to make his voice quieter but failing, "Ya grabbed Hunter with wild eyes and said 'It's begun,' and then you fell down and puked." 

It's begun. Sajuan turned over the words in her head as she began to drift off. 

It was fitting.

 It had.

Chapter Text

Sajuan was surprisingly light even with her armor. Wrecker was surprised as he carefully picked her up and carried her back to the Hyperion . 

She slept through the whole ordeal completely dead to the world. Tech said it was because she had acquired two months' worth of memories in two hours. Wrecker could understand, he'd be tired if he acquired that much in such a short time too.

 It had been scary though, she'd sat down in that black chair and then gone stiff and hadn't responded to anything in anyone for two hours. She'd come out with a scream and Hunter had barely caught her in time when she tried to launch herself out of the chair. 

She wasn't like them, and that kept becoming more and more evident. She had power in her, greater than any Wrecker had ever seen but she had very little physical heft as he and his brothers did. Compared to them she was fragile. 

Her eyes had been so wild and unseeing when Hunter caught her and she had violently flinched at his touch but was too weak to fight him off. It was like she'd seen something that made her terrified. Her wide eyes had landed on Hunter like it was seeing his soul, like seeing his future, and said in a soft but firm and scared voice, "It's begun."

 Her body had gone even more limp after that and then she'd heaved over and puked. Now she was asleep in her bed and Tech insisted they keep a continuous watch on her in case she woke up in a panic. 

Wrecker agreed and settled into his own bunk to sleep since he had the early morning watch. Sajuan was different from his brothers and the Regs and not at all like the Kaminoins but Wrecker liked her. She didn't look down on them and seemed to value what they had to say. She wasn't as close as a brother but she was close. 

Wrecker pushed his thoughts away and focused on going to sleep. It came easily, too easily.

 Wrecker was standing outside where the red sands howled. Everything was quiet. The wind howled and the voices in the wind whispered and cackled but his head was silent. Wrecker just knew he needed to go forward. 

Execute the traitor . 

Wrecker came forward quickly clearing the streets as he headed for the Temple. He spotted Hunter and Cross doing the same. Eerily silent as they stalked through the dead city. 

There was a flash of white over their heads and Cross opened fire. There was a yelp and a thud and adrenaline flooded Wrecker's head. 

The traitor was wounded.  

His pace quickened as he hunted through the streets for the wounded traitor. Harsh breathing and the smell of blood found the traitor in a side alley trying to stem the bleeding from Cross's shot. Sajuan's head snapped up when Wrecker came into view.

  Wait, no. 

Wrecker shook off the silence in his brain.

  She's not a threat.  

He could feel himself grinning and some part of him felt, eager as anticipated filled him.

His feet were still moving at an unrushed pace toward her. 

Good soldiers follow orders. 

Wrecker's blood went cold as his own emotionless voice hissed in his head. 

He thumbed the safety off his blaster. 

Wrecker panicked as he began to realize he couldn't control his own body. 

Sajuan's breathing was rapid as she tried to move away from Wrecker but was too injured to scoot far. A blaster shot sounded and Sajuan went sprawling with a cry. Satisfaction filled him and Wrecker wanted to puke.

 "Good soldiers follow orders," Crosshair said in a dead voice coming up next to Wrecker. 

We're not good soldiers! We're defectives! Wrecker screamed in his own brain. 

"Execute Order 66," Hunter said equally as dead voice passing Wrecker and yanking out his vibroblade. 

Every fiber of Wrecker's being was screaming and straining for it to stop. The other part of him bounced on his heels in exhilaration as Hunter drove his knife into Sajuan's chest and cut out her beskar plating. 

Sajuan gasped and whimpered as Hunter's blade went too far as he cut away her impenetrable armor. Each sound made Wrecker want to scream and made the thing in his body enjoy the experience more. 

Hunter ripped away her breastplate, throwing it to the side leaving blood everywhere. The pain in Sajuan's eyes burned into Wrecker's head even as he lost control of his body and it raised his blaster at her. 

"Good Soldiers follow orders." Wrecker's voice sounded so dead even to him as he tried to claw control back. 

Sajuan's eyes widened in fear as she choked up blood from Hunter's stabbing. 

No! Stop! This isn't right! Wrecker shrieked from inside the glass cage he couldn't seem to break. 

His body pulled the trigger. 

BLAM! Sajuan fell backward, still eyes staring unseeingly up.

 Joy filled Wrecker's chest and he'd never been so disgusted before.

 "Mission accomplished." Tech said, sounding terrifyingly proud as he came over to stand next to them, "Order 66 executed." 

Wrecker woke up screaming. 

"What is it?" Hunter was at his side in an instant, "Wrecker breathe."

 Wrecker squeezed his eyes shut and reached for the horrifying images- and came up short. He couldn't recall what he had been dreaming, just the innate feeling of wrongness. "I-I don't know." Wrecker gasped weakly. 

Lula landed in his lap and Wrecker looked up to find Crosshair watching him closely, "It had to have been something for you to wake us up like this." 

"I don't remember. It was a terrible horrible dream but-" Wrecker shook his head pulling Lula closer to his chest.

 "I heard someone scream, is everyone okay?" Tech asked coming in from Sajuan's part of the ship. 

"We're fine." Hunter sighed, squeezing Wrecker's shoulder as he rose, "Wrecker just had a bad-"

 "Dream." Sajuan finished making everyone jerk around. She was leaning against the doorframe behind Tech and looked like she'd just woken up, eyes still crazed as they zeroed in on Wrecker, "Terrible horrible dream." 

Wrecker nodded numbly at her words feeling the weight of them. For some reason, it felt like she was the only one that truly understood how horrible it was or felt like.

 She pushed off the wall and staggered over to Wrecker's bunk holding out her hands, "May I?" May I see? A cool calm feeling washed over Wrecker making him relax. Will you allow me to see? Her voice echoed in his head as she sat on the edge of his bunk. 

She wanted to look in his head, see what he saw. 

Wrecker considered. "I don't remember the dream."

 "That's okay," Sajuan said gently. That won't be a problem for me. Will you let me? 

Wrecker closed his eyes and considered, did he really want to let her into his brain? Into his mind? But she was asking so did that mean he had to since she wasn't forcing it? Did he want to know what the dream was? 

Wrecker considered the last one for a long moment. Something was tugging at him telling him that the dream was important but for the life of him Wrecker couldn't figure out why. If he reached for the feeling it vanished like smoke in the air and if he reached for the dream it slid out of his grasp like a fish. But he needed to know he knew that in his gut. 

"Okay." Wrecker agreed quietly looking up at her, "I'll let you see."

 "Wrecker," Hunter said firmly, "What are you doing?"

 "Letting her see the dream." Wrecker said looking up at Hunter, "In my head."  

"In your head?" Cross asked voice becoming grating, "You're letting her Jedi mind trick you?"

 "I do not think he means a trick," Tech said, "I think he means just letting her see into his brain. Not changing his will."

 "Yeah, that." Wrecker nodded. 

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't think it would help." Sajuan said softly looking at Crosshair and then Hunter, "I would not do it if he didn't agree." 

Hunter shared a look with Crosshair and Tech before looking at Wrecker, "Are you sure you're okay with this?" 

Wrecker nodded, he knew they didn't trust Sajuan yet. He didn't trust her like a brother yet either but something in him told him this was right , "Yeah Serg I am." 

Hunter stared at him for a long serious moment before relenting, "Okay. If you're sure." 

"Alright." Sajuan smiled gently, slowly putting both her hands on either side of his head, and closed her eyes.

 The cool presence filled Wrecker's head like cool water after a long training session. Like the cool air from the storms outside when you had a growing fever. Like relief. Wrecker's eyes slid closed at the feeling.

May I? Her voice seemed to echo in his mind like it was a rock cavern. 

Wrecker had a flash of Cross pressing his forehead to his own in a keleba . 

It helps the connection. Sajuan explained. 

With her in his mind Wrecker could feel her in a mixed sense. Something about her presence shifted like ripples in a perfect pool of water. She was nervous, Wrecker realized, to ask to keleba . It was a special almost sacred thing in Mando and by extension clone culture. A sight of acceptance, love, and brotherhood, one of the most powerful signs. She knew and understood that and was asking if he was okay with that. She'd saved his and his batch's life already so in Wrecker's book she was already family, which qualified.

Sure. Wrecker responded instinctively. 

Her presence swelled and faintly Wrecker felt her forehead pressed against his and suddenly she was there. It was like they were floating in a blue and purple galaxy. Sajuan had a first hand on Wrecker's vambrace as they floated. 

That is your consciousness. Thousands of thoughts, memories, ideas all at once. Beautiful isn't it? Sajuan nodded toward the galaxies and stars and eddies around them.

  Yes. Wrecker agreed, Very pretty. Which one do you need? 

You said you could not remember? She asks gazing out over the swirls and eddies of moving stars over a purple-blue sky. 

Yes.

 Then that is where we will start.  

Suddenly they were flying, memories flashing past them as Sajuan sailed through his mind with Wrecker in tow. It was a dizzying experience, seeing moments of his life fly by as he held onto Sajuan's hand.

 His first time off Kamino. The first time he'd tasted anything other than rations. Intro to explosives. So many moments slipped like sand past him.

 Sajuan doesn't pause to look at any of them as she weaves and swoops past nebulae and stardust as she aims for the dark space where no stars are. The ride finally stops at the other end of the galaxies as they float in black murky space. 

Every thought leaves a trace. Subconscious thoughts do as well, they're just harder to find and recognize. Sajuan lets go of Wrecker's hand and he is floating free it's a terrifying and terrific feeling.

 Sajuan reaches out and dips her hand into the murky darkness and pulls out fog or smoke or stardust like it is cloth. It is simmering and gray and translucent as it runs like water in her hands. Mesmerizing.

She holds out her left hand to Wrecker, Hold on tight.  

Wrecker grabs her hand as Sajuan winds it around her hand like cloth and pulls . 

It's a strange sensation, her yanking on his subconscious. He can feel her forehead on his and her hands on his temples if he focuses on the real world and he can feel her hand in his just as real and he can feel that tugged sensation in his head, crawling up his skin like an insect. 

As Sajuan pulls the area around them fills with fog and stardust and Wrecker can smell the smoke of a battlefield as it fills the space around them. Suddenly the mist and smoke fabric pulls taunt and they are surging forward headfirst into the abyss.

 It's like hitting ice-cold water and being dropped in the hottest desert all at once as they rush into the black space where no stars are. It's a deafening clash of noise as vode scream in agony and explosions rip through ranks and someone screams in terror as they move through the black area. It's like liquid, the darkness surging forwards to drown him in the screams of the dead. 

And then it's over, they fall out of the darkness into waves of smoke, mist, and stardust so thick and distorting that Wrecker cannot find up from down or left from right. Sajuan has no such problem as she propels them deeper into the gray. Just when Wrecker is about to ask if she knows where they are they collide with a wall. 

It's not liquid like the black of space was nor completely solid as it moves when Sajuan touches it. It reminds Wrecker of the gelatinous cubes they used to have on Kamino the way it jiggles.

  This should not be here. Sajuan said, pressing on it. Wrecker feels nothing in his head when she does. 

What are you going to do? He asks, reaching out and touching the gelatinous wall. It's bone-chillingly cold and slimy.

  Beyond this are the answers we seek. Sajuan said tapping the wall as though checking for weaknesses, the only way there is through.

 Will it hurt? Wrecker asks nervously. 

Sajuan is quiet for a long moment staring at the gray wall, I don't know. 

She looks at him and he nods, they've come this far, they might as well finish it. She puts her hand flush against the wall and closes her eyes.

 Nothing happens for a moment and then this static feeling fills the air around them, like charged energy. And just like that the wall begins to swallow Sajuan. Her hand vanishes into the gray and pulls her body with it. Wrecker inwardly panics but tightens his grip on her other hand as he too is sucked in. He squeezes his eyes shut as the gray creeps toward his face and then- 

It's quiet.

 Wrecker opens his eyes to find them standing in the halls of Kamino, bright lights and white halls. It's dead silent though, which Wrecker has never seen happen. 

What is this? Wrecker asks, stepping over to the windows that show the trying ground below. 

Your dreams. The ones you can't remember. The ones all clones have. Sajuan says cryptically. 

There are people below, vode, but they are not moving as they normally would. There is no comradery, no excess movement. Straight lines, sharp angles, all at perfect attention but there isn't a Kaminoin, GAR official, or politician in sight.

 The sound of footsteps makes Wrecker turn as a squad marches by in perfect precision that none of the clones have without a reason. Sajuan floats after them and Wrecker follows her.

 They're in the upper levels of Tipoca where the Kaminoins, and trainers are. Clones are rarely allowed up. Only Shaak Ti allows them up whenever they wish to meet with her. That's where the squad heads, to her quarters.

 They are met by Clone Force 99 but Wrecker doesn't recognize his brothers. They move like droids, like robots, as they march down the hall toward Shaak Ti's quarters. 

The door slides open and the Torguta Jedi steps out looking confused, "What is going on?"

 "Execute Order 66," Hunter says in a dead voice.

 "Execute the Jedi," Crosshair says in an even deader one. 

In a flash, all the clones are raising their blasters. Wrecker can hear Sajuan gasp as Shaak Ti's eyes widen and she ignites her lightsaber to defend herself. 

The clones fire at once and keep firing. All of them, his vode and the regs, shoot Shaak Ti without explanation. Only when she is blackened and unmoving on the ground do they stop.

  "Good Soldiers Follow Orders." They all say in sickening unison. 

Wrecker can only stare in horror as his dream form picks up the mangled body of the Jedi Master and walks off like nothing happened to dispose of the body. 

So it's true. Sajuan's voice is so loud and yet so small in the silence and horror of what had happened. She is not looking at him but rather after the retreating clones with a withdrawn look on her face.

  We- we wouldn't. We would never! Wrecker says, desperate for her to understand. 

Oh, Sajuan turns and looks at him slowly, her eyes as dead as Hunter and Crosshair's voices had been and the grim set of her mouth made Wrecker's stomach drop, but your dreams say otherwise. 

The scene shifts faster than Wrecker can blink and they are on Geonosis and there is fighting everywhere as the vode fight off the bugs. General Kenobi is there with his golden 212th as they crush the flying pests. 

Something blows up next to them, Wrecker's not sure what, everything not essential to this small scene is blurred, and Clone Force 99 is there. They are winning. 

Wrecker can hear Kenobi saying something but it is lost in the roar of battle and in the cold hard "Execute Order 66." That booms like it were said over a loudspeaker. Like a switch flipping, the clones are turning on Kenobi and firing. 

They don't stop until he's dead and Wrecker is screaming for them to stop even though no one hears. Sajuan looks strangely resigned as she watches. 

The scene melts and it's General Yoda now who is fleeing plasma bolts aimed at his back. Wrecker watches in horror as Crosshair clips the tiny Jedi making him fall from his jump. Hunter is there when the ancient being lands with his vibrobblade and guts him. 

I somehow doubt it would be that easy to kill him. Sajuan says faintly watching the dreams with a stony expression. 

Because we would never do that! Wrecker says fear grabbing at his throat.

  Never say never, Sajuan said coldly, things can always change. 

The terrifying thing is Wrecker knows she's right. They could do this and in certain circumstances, they would in a heartbeat. To protect themselves. To protect their vode. But there's no sense in this, no protection, just senseless murder. 

 The scene shifts again and instantly Wrecker recognizes the alley they are in. Sajuan turns away from where her dream form lies, floating off the ground and towards the red sky. Wrecker turns away also ignoring the sounds of pain behind him unwilling to relive this dream.

 Sajuan reaches out into the sky and Wrecker feels a pulsing in his head. Her hands wrap around something solid and she tugs on it.

 Wrecker bites back a grunt and behind him, he hears dream Sajuan yelp in pain. Sajuan frowns, readjusts her grip, and yanks. 

Wrecker lets out a small shriek as pain floods through his head making all his thoughts foggy and dull. The pain makes him stagger and fall to his knees, cradling his throbbing head in his hands. 

Sajuan is next to him in an instant pulling his hands from his head. It's okay. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Her cool presence washes away the pain slowly. 

I'm sorry. Wrecker blubbered back, sure that if he could he would be sobbing.

  Don't be. Sajuan says gently ignoring the dream two feet away, you've done nothing. Your dreams do not dictate reality.

  Wrecker almost believes her until he looks up and is met with her face staring back at him lifeless, Hunter's damage carved into her chest as they leave her body in the alley in the dream. Sajuan is staring at it too in silent horror and he can feel her fear like a ghost out of reach. She's scared of them, of him. 

We would never. Please, you have to believe me. Tech thinks you're amazing, Hunter respects you, and even Crosshair is warming up. We wouldn't. Wrecker begs voice breaking.

 He could hear his brothers, demanding to know what is going on in the real world if he focuses. Just like he can taste salt on his lips and feel wetness on his cheeks and Sajuan pressing against his face. He's crying as is she. Beyond the fear he can glimpse sadness in her emotions, she's opened to him. Those are her people Wrecker reasons, she's witnessed a version of their murders, it's justified. But it feels deeper than that. He pushed it away for now.

  I know. Sajuan said softly like a gentle breeze as she pulled his head away from the gruesome scene and mind from its thoughts, I know you wouldn't. 

We wouldn't. Wrecker whispered as she leaned her forehead against his and put her hands against his temples and they were falling falling falling.

 They slammed back into their real bodies with a jolt. Being without her calming presence makes the dream all that more vivid and terrible and Wrecker sobs as they pull apart. 

"Wrecker? Are you okay?" Hunter kneels so they are face to face as he tries to soothe what he cannot see.

 "The Regs-" Wrecker gasps trying to make sense of what he saw now that he is no longer in it, "The Jedi-" 

"What are you talking about?" Crosshair asks before whipping around to Sajuan who is sitting on the other end of Wrecker's bunk staring blankly at the floor, "What is he talking about?" 

Sajuan looks up at Crosshair slowly blinking owlishly like she's just awoken and is too tired to understand and they are all staring back at her asking the same question. "He's dreaming of the end." She finally says like it explains everything.

 "The end of what?" Tech asks, sounding shockingly confused as Sajaun stiffly gets up like her whole body aches. 

Sajuan looks at them all from where she stands and the sinking feeling in Wrecker's gut that's been growing since first seeing the dreams drops further, "The end of the Jedi."

Chapter Text

Hunter gaped, "The what?!" 

Sajaun paid him no mind, her eyes taking on a vaguely distant look as she stumbled away from them and into one of the halls fumbling for the light switch. Hunter frowned following her slowly. She seemed like she was in her own little world almost tripping over her own feet as she bumbled towards a set of controls on the wall. 

Her movements were sluggish and haphazard sloppy like a cadet that had just gotten out of interrogation 1 class. All the fatigue and wear and tear crashing into her now it seemed as she thumbed at the buttons on the panel.

 Hunter bit back pointing out that she'd been unconscious thirty minutes ago and recovering from getting crushed 12 hours ago as a tilted staircase lowered from the ceiling. 

"What are you doing?" Tech asked from behind Hunter, his voice laced with alarm. 

"They answered, I- I-ve seen it- the causation-" Sajaun stumbled over words even as she pushed on grasping the railing with white knuckles.

 Hunter had a feeling she wasn't supposed to be on her feet right now let alone vertical the way she was swaying. His brain noted that she'd warned them not to go up to the third floor but when she swayed dangerously to the side and almost fell down the stairs Hunter moved without thinking to steady her. 

She slipped out of his grasp and continued towards the door at the top of the stairs unheeded of him or the others onboard. It was like she didn't even register that they were there. Hunter shoved the part of him that said he shouldn't follow upstairs to where he had been told not to go and scrambled after her. 

Entering that third floor was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It was floor-to-ceiling shelves where they came up, items of both value and unknown origin filling the shelves. Sajuan's words that there were dangerous things up here rang in Hunter's head as picked his way through the halls of artifacts as he tried to find Sajaun. 

For someone who was teetering on passing out or having a mental breakdown, she was fast . 

Hunter finally found her a row over craving her head up murmuring over and over again in that language she'd spoken earlier. They really needed to learn that. 

Her eyes traced over the shelves with unnatural precision considering her unsteady state. She was looking for something, Hunter realized. The word she was mumbling was probably the name or the ID tag and the way she was scanning, it was somewhere on that shelf.

 "Sajaun?" Hunter asked quietly, unsure if he would get a response. He didn't. 

He looked over his shoulder to find his brothers standing there with varying looks of worry on their faces. Sajaun stopped murmuring and scanning. Hunter looked back and traced her gaze to one of the top shelves, a large wooden black box. 

She reached out and grasped the shelf in front of her and put her foot on the bottom shelf- Hunter grabbed her shoulder quickly, " Sajaun."

 She jerked in surprise at his touch and haltingly looked over at him, eyes glazed over in some sort of hazy disconnect. Hunter waited a moment trying to name sure she was comprehending him, "What do you need? One of us will get it. You shouldn't be climbing." 

She blinked at him and for a moment he thought for sure that she hadn't heard a word he'd said but then she let go of the shelf and pointed up at the box tucked behind something that looked like a backpack with metal tentacles coming out of it, "Box." 

"I got it," Tech said quickly scrambling up the support of the shelf and grabbing the arm-length box, and handing it carefully down to Wrecker.

 Sajaun's limit seemed to be reached as she sagged against Hunter, energy draining away. The adrenaline from whatever she'd done with Wrecker was finally fading.

 "Come on," Hunter said softly, guiding her body which was now nearly completely limp against him back towards the stairs, "Let's head downstairs." 

She still wasn't completely acknowledged in them but at least she wasn't fighting them. Getting her back down to the 2nd level and into the living area was concerning easy. It was like she wasn't even fully there.

 Hunter carefully sat her down in the booth area around the table and put a blanket around her as he would with one of his brothers before looking over at them. 

"What was that?" Crosshair hissed, sounding no small amount freaked out. 

"I believe it was a product of Force exhaustion." Tech said quietly consulting his datapad, "At least the unresponsiveness. The other symptoms are not listed here."

 "I'd say she'd be exhausted." Wrecker said in a stage whisper as he set the box down on a chair trying to be quieter, "What she did seemed tiring."

 "What exactly did she do ?" Cross asked suspiciously. 

Hunter cut in quickly, "We can deal with that in a moment right now we need to figure out what to do with her. I don't feel comfortable putting her to bed the way she is." 

"I'm pulling up her medical file she gave us," Tech decided typing away, "Perhaps that will be of use." 

"And I'm okay." Wrecker said looking at Crosshair, "Promise." Crosshair didn't seem pleased with the answer but he didn't push.

 "Got it." Tech said looking over what Hunter assumed was Sajuan's medical file, "It says here that her force exhaustion varies in intensity. It also says that to help we need tea, headphones, a weighted blanket, and in the case of extreme fatigue Force dampeners."

Hunter thought the list sounded very strange but didn't mention it and instead looked around, "She's got the blanket, any ideas about the other stuff?" 

"Tea should be in the kitchen," Crosshair reasoned, "That's what the other Jedi were arguing about earlier right?" 

"It says here spare headphones are in the cockpit and Force dampeners are in the medbay." Tech read off. 

"Wrecker, stay with her. I'll take the medbay." Hunter ordered. Tech and Crosshair shot off also for their destinations.

 Hunter punched the medbay level on the lift and waited impatiently for the left to come to life. Over the years he'd gotten good at taking care of his brothers. Seeing their weaknesses and covering them with his strengths. Knowing their ticks, habits, and dislikes. 

But now with Sajaun, he felt wholly out of his depth. He was starting from scratch learning her ways. In the short time he'd known her she had somehow endeared herself to him as his brothers had. He wasn't saying it was anywhere near as protective or familiar with her as he was with his vode, but seeing her listless and unresponsive sent a shot of concern and panic through him that he didn't have with just anyone. 

The lift let him out onto the sterile white floor of the medbay. Suddenly at a loss of where to look Hunter began methodically ruffling through the drawers. Medicine, bandages, IVs, surgical tools. 

He finally found a box labeled Force Meds. Ripping it open he found a bunch of different items, blankets, tea, a zipper case of syringes prefilled with a yellow liquid, Force dampening bracelets, and much more. Hunter replaced the lid and took the bin back up with him. 

"Found this." Hunter said quietly setting the box down on the kitchen counter where Cross and Tech were rummaging through the cabinets, "Any luck?" 

"I found the earphones but we are unable to figure out which tea to use," Tech explained nodding at the basket overflowing with numerous different teas. 

"Well I found this," Hunter popped the lid off, "And it has tea in it."

 Tech was next to him in an instant looking over the bin's contents carefully, "And directions." Tech took the lid which Hunter then noticed had writing on it. "It says to start with a warm blanket, hot tea, and earphones." Tech read off. 

Hunter carefully pulled the provided blanket out of the bin and spotted a dial on the edge of it, "Heated blanket. Huh."

 Flipping it on low he turned to find Sajaun leaning on Wrecker who was sitting stone still eyes wide. Smiling a bit at the show of trust from Sajaun, Hunter leaned over and tucked the blanket around both their laps. 

"What do I do? " Wrecker hissed in Hunter's ear. 

Hunter smiled trying not to be amused with the situation or Wrecker's panic, "You're doing fine Wreck. Just relax." 

Cross had found an electric teapot that was bubbling away getting the water boiled while Tech scanned the rest of the directions. "It says to plug the headphones into this music storage device." Tech held up a small electronic box, "And select 'soothing tunes' before putting it on shuffle."

 Tech followed the directions and then reached over Wrecker to put the earphones in. Sajaun blinked after a moment when they were in like she was waking up. 

"What's it say about the tea?" Cross asked, holding the now boiling hot kettle. 

"It says one bag in boiling water for three minutes." Tech read off. 

Crosshair carefully followed the directions before setting the sweet-smelling cup in front of Sajaun. 

She blinked down at it face first, getting the brunt of the steam as inhaled the faint smell of flowers and fruit. The tension in her shoulders eased and she was clearly much more aware with each second the earphones and tea were working as she slowly looked up. 

"Sorry." Her voice was barely a whisper and Hunter could tell she was very tired. It reminded him of when he got an overload the few times he'd been without his bandanna. 

"What was that?" Hunter asked as quietly as possible.

 Sajaun still winced at his words and pressed her earphones deeper into her ears, "Feedback. Like when you electrocute yourself. First, you touch the live current and then it flows into you and hurts. Just give me a minute. I'll be okay." 

Hunter couldn't help but look over at his brothers as she sat there, eyes closed, earphones in, nose practically in her mug as the tension slowly melted from her. He felt like he was at a loss of how to help or what to do but she sat back up soon after sipping her tea like she hasn't just been unresponsive a moment ago.

 "You said feedback," Tech said slowly, "Like Force exhaustion?" 

"Yes." Sajaun nodded, "Very good. When we Force users access the Force we literally reach out and become a conduit for the flow of energy. And the same way electrical conduits become taxed so do we. But with training, we bounce back faster. I'll be fine tomorrow morning." 

"What was so taxing?" Cross demanded harshly. Hunter knew it was just the concern talking but for those who didn't know it sounded threatening. 

"Well, I went straight from the Observatory into Wrecker's dream without enough rest. And I haven't dealt with the trauma of healing myself from 2 days ago. Really this was my fault. I know my limits and I pushed them. I should have warned you that might happen." Sajaun shrugged, already looking a lot better if not tired. 

"Anything else we should know?" Hunter asked filing all the information she was giving them away for later. 

"Alright," Sajuan nodded, setting her mug down, "What do you want to know?" 

"What do we do if it happens again?" Tech asked pulling up a list on his datapad to take notes. 

"Right, so this wasn't a very bad moment. They can get a lot worst. But the key to remember is that when this happens all my senses are dialed way high, beyond what normal beings can comprehend. So I use different things to try and distract my senses." She held up the edge of her blanket, "Weighted blanket to ground my touch." She held up her tea, "light tea for taste and smell." 

"Earphones for your hearing," Cross nodded, catching the drift. 

"And the Force Dampeners?" Hunter asked, "Wouldn't think you'd want to be cut off from the Force." 

"No, they don't cut me off from it, they just, muffle it. Like how the earphones made it seem quieter but still there. The Force is like my sixth sense and the dampeners are what keep it from overwhelming me. So no, I don't like using them that often but yeah if it gets really bad, I'll use them." Sajuan explained, "The blockers cut you completely off and they are not fun." 

"Anything else we should do?" Tech asked, taking notes rapidly. 

"The basic list is: earphones with music, blanket, food, water, and sleep in that order and in large amounts for how exhausted I am. The Force Dampeners are a last resort." Sajaun listed. 

"I take it you don't need them now?" Hunter asked, holding up the bin. 

Sajaun smiled, "No I'm good. I think I'll finish my tea and then go to sleep." 

"Alright." Hunter nodded, putting the bin under the kitchen island on a shelf. 

"Can I ask you a question?" Tech asked, frowning at his datapad. 

Sajaun raised an eyebrow over her mug, "You already did but sure, let's hear it." 

"What did you mean, you're not like other Jedi?" Tech asked bluntly, "When you healed yourself you said you weren't one. So what are you?" 

Sajaun smiled, "Ah, an interesting question." She grabbed the spoon she had used to stir her tea with and balanced it on her finger horizontally, "The Force exists in balance, the Jedi are one side of this balance, the Sith the other. I'm the one in between. Bendu." 

"I'm confused," Wrecker said. 

Sajaun chuckled, "As many are." She grabbed a paper cup sitting on the table and cut the bottom ring off it with a knife Hunter wasn't sure where it came from, "Some of the greatest Force wielders to ever live don't understand it. But I've lived longer than many eons and I've figured it out." She rolled the circle of paper down the table only for it to fall over, "But to explain it you must understand the basic laws of motion. Something in motion will stay in motion unless a greater force stops it. Something at rest will stay at rest unless something changes that. It's a balance. Just like how a wheel works."

Hunter handed her the circle of paper as he sat down at the table and she placed it on its side so it stood without help, "Think of this as the universe. The motion of going forward," She brushed it and it rolled a little before it fell over, "Is time." 

"It doesn't keep going that well," Tech commented, engrossed with her words as he leaned forward in his seat eager. 

"No. It doesn't, not without two opposing forces pressing it from both sides." Sajaun agreed. She gently rolled the circle in front of her, gently tapping it on each side to keep it upright. This way it kept rolling off the table.

"Those two forces are called Ashla and Bogan. The ancient name for the type of force the Jedi and Sith use. And that conflict is what causes the universe to go on. It exists without beings even influencing, life and death, creation and destruction. But it exists in a perfect balance of all these forces working together to keep it going. Balanced. Bendu. The one in the middle."

I am not a Jedi, I do not believe peace and denying oneself emotion is right. But I am not a Sith, I do not believe actions filed by anger are right. You cannot be caged by tradition, you cannot be ruled by rage. You have to be something in between." Sajaun said simply. 

"But then how are you part of the Jedi Order?" Tech frowned puzzling over the facts at hand. 

"I was part of the Order generations ago before I realized we were not what we should be. But the Sith are gone and there is no one left to check in with as the years fly by. And beings need companionship." Sajaun said softly. 

"Yes," Crosshair agreed softly, "They do." 

"Then what is the Force?" Wrecker asked, "I mean I get it's an energy but what does it do ?" 

"That's a very big question Wrecker. It had a slightly confusing answer." Sajaun picked the paper circle back up, "But the best way to explain it is with the types of energy. What are some types of basic energy you learn about in science?" 

"Light?" Wrecker tried. 

"Yes," Sajaun nodded, becoming more animated, "Light is one kind. We also have potential energy and kinetic energy, right?" 

"Right, basic Physics." Cross agreed, putting his elbows on the table, watching intently. 

"And with those types of energy they change from one kind to another, never adding or subtracting, just changing, right?" Sajaun explained with the ease of someone who'd given the same speech a thousand times. 

"That would be correct." Tech agreed. 

"Right, so there are four types of energy we call the Force. And they are all connected, changing into each other constantly like a cycle. There's the Physical Force, which is things like the Midi-Chlorians in Force user's blood, and the active parts of Force relics, the part that actually does things and shows up scientifically." Sajaun rolled the circle a little moving it along.

"That when used cycles into the Living Force which is in everything, a baseline current in everyone and everything. And when someone dies that energy goes into the Cosmic," She rolled the circle again.

"That's the stuff that acts like gravity holding the galaxy and universe together. Then it cycles into the Unifying. Now Unifying is a bit tricky but the best way to describe it is the flow of time. Past present and future being held together. It's what gives certain Jedi different abilities depending on how they can access it. What makes them unique. Psychometry, the ability to see the past of objects, or the tendency towards visions of the future, that's the Unifying which gives over the Physical when it manifests itself and the cycle starts again." She rolled the paper circle through a full loop. 

Hunter's brain hurt.

 "So it's an energy flow that constantly cycles and thus holds everything together while doing so which is what holds the balance of the universe rolling?" Tech summarized. 

"Yep." Sajaun beamed. 

"I'm glad you got that 'cause I'm not sure I did," Hunter admitted. 

"I think I did?" Wrecker said hesitantly. 

"Don't worry if you don't get it." Sahaun said gently, "It takes Masters years to understand. That's just the short and dirty version." 

"So what part of that had to do with Wrecker?" Cross asked sharply, breaking the gentle moment. 

Hunter wanted to glare at his brother but Sajaun just smiled bittersweetly, "Wrecker is dreaming about the end of the Jedi that will come to fruition at the end of the war unless I stop it." 

Hunter's blood ran cold at the near thought. If the Jedi were destroyed then the Republic would be too and then any hope of escape would be up in the air. Wrecker looked strangely ill at Sajaun's words though and it made Hunter's brain stop churning out backup plans. 

"Why is he dreaming about it?" Crosshair demanded. 

"Because all the clones are." Sajaun said simply, meeting Crosshair's cutting gaze unflinchingly, "You're not made to fight in this war. You're meant to end it." 

Hunter's brain kicked into high gear at her words shifting what she'd said around to fit together.

The end of the Jedi. 

                                The end of the war.  

                                                                 The end of the Republic. 

                                                                                                         'You're meant to end it.'

                                                                                                                                                    Oh KARK . 

Hunter's head snapped around before had even fully made the connection to lock eyes with Sajaun who was calmly looking at him like she hadn't just discovered the biggest genocide plan this millennium.

 "The clones aren't meant to serve the Jedi," Hunter whispered, realizing dawning. 

"No," Sajaun agreed softly, eyes alight with some sort of burning drive he understood now, "You're meant to kill them."

Chapter Text

Knowledge was important. Ordered facts made life simple and understandable. Statistics made abstract ideas quantifiable. They were the basis on which Tech had built his understanding of life. 

But now, in this moment, they all failed him. It was like the floor was sliding out from under him. Like his brain had simply stalled out. Like the math didn't connect. Like nothing worked as it should. 

"But- why?" Crosshair asked, looking vaguely ill. 

Sajaun shrugged, very nonchalant and flippant about what could be her death, "Oh there are many reasons. None I'm willing to put credits on yet. The question we should be asking first is how?" 

Tech's brain spluttered back to life at that trying to churn out an answer, a pattern, something from the mess of data imputed, "Perhaps a hive mind?" 

Sajaun tilted her head and leaned back into her seat, "Perhaps, but it would have shown up in med scans even the Kaminoins would have a hard time lying their way out of that."

 "Is that what they box's for?" Wrecker asked, reaching out and pulling the old wooden box closer.

 "Yes." Sajaun set down her cup and popped open the box, "You see this isn't the first time this has happened." 

"The attempted genocide of the Jedi?" Hunter asked, frowning. 

"No. The artificial creation of an army for the purpose of the genocide of the Jedi." Sajaun corrected. 

Tech frowned, taking in the implications of what she was saying, "There was an army created in the past to kill the Jedi?" 

"Yes. But don't worry if you don't know about it. We lied to keep it hidden," Sajaun explained with a flippant wave of her hand as she pulled pieces of some sort of old medical device out of the box. 

"How did you beat the army last time?" Crosshair asked, "Wouldn't the mechanics work the same again?" Tech could see the point of that. Even if the solution needed to be updated a bit it would be better than nothing. 

Sajaun jerked and stilled for a moment, face pinching, "We didn't. Last time. We didn't beat the army."

They didn't win. Which meant they lost. 

Tech took in the implications of that silently as he watched her solely focusing on putting the pieces from the box together face now closed off ignoring them for the moment. The subject was painful for her, understandably. But unfortunately, they could not avoid it. 

But what to do next without distressing her more he wasn't sure. Hunter leaned forward and Tech was relieved they had at least one person in the squad who could work with human emotions without kriffing it up. Force knew the rest of them couldn't. 

"So what's in the box?" Hunter asked gently. 

Sajaun blinked rapidly before looking up, "A scanner. Old school. After it happened the first time we tried to figure out how." She held up the now assembled device. It looked like a gun with a screen muzzle instead of a barrel. "As best we could tell it wasn't a hive mind or viral but something having to do with brain activity. We created this. It's a scanner for brain activity. Everything from the electric pulses from your brain to force residue, it can detect." She looked up at Hunter, "It might be nothing, but it's a place to start." 

Hunter took the scanner, bulky and clearly a much older piece of tech, and turned it over in his hands examining it carefully as he thought. Tech impatiently waited until Hunter finally handed it to him. 

It was heavier than Tech expected and very intricate. It had a readout and a lot of plugs for attachments Tech wasn't sure what they exactly were. Thumbing it on it lit up as a thermal scan on the readout as he pointed it at his arm. It was already reading off energy, temp, blood pressure, and heart rate. For as old as it was it was impressive. Like everything else about Sajuan. 

"Last time," Hunter began softly, "How many died?" 

Sajaun shifted uncomfortably looking down at the table before finally meeting Hunter's eye, "Thousands." 

Tech put the scanner down gently and watched as Hunter sighed heavily. He had already made up his mind, Hunter could tell the way Hunter set his shoulders.

 Hunter looked up and looked at Cross, then Wrecker, and finally turned to Tech. Not saying anything. But asking non the less. 

They could walk out right now. Back to the war and Kamino. Or away into the outer Rim and disappear. 

But right here. Right now. Hunter was silently asking them if they wanted to choose this. 

This that was not part of the war. This that was so much bigger than them. This that was beyond what any of them had ever trained for or prepared for or even imagined. This that could change the foundation of the galaxy. 

This that could be their freedom forever. 

Tech nodded. He could feel it in his bones, the burning urge to know, to discover, to open more about this world and culture he knew nothing about. To unravel this mystery and understand everything about it.

 Hunter turned back to Sajaun, "What do we need?" 

Sajaun smiled slightly despite the situation at their show of trust, "It'd be better to do this in the medbay."

"Alright then."  Wrecker got to his feet and offered his hand to Sajaun, "Then that's where we go." 

Sajaun took his hand and let him pull her to her feet, steadying herself against his arm as they all made their way to the lift. Tech made sure to grab the scanner and Hunter had the box as they all piled in. 

It was a tight fit but they all squeezed in. Tech would say it was a relief when they all piled out into the medbay though. It was well-kept and nicely lit for a clear sight of everything going on. 

"Alright," Sajaun said, sinking into a hover chair by the medical bed, "Let's hook the scanner up to the holo screens so we can see the readouts better." 

"Are you sure the ports will work with the older tech?" Tech asked eying the newer unlink lines. 

"There're adaptors in the bottom right draw next to the sink." Sajaun nodded to the other side of the room as she turned in the counsel next to the bed and began giving it instructions. 

Sure enough, there was a whole box of neatly ordered and labeled adaptor cords for a wide range of types and times of tech. Tech hooked up the scanner to the holo counsel as Hunter attached two other monitors that were measuring something else.

 Sajaun finished setting up three slightly different holo outputs for all the different inputs the scanner was giving them. "Alright, first screen has basic medical readouts, heart rate blood pressure etcetera. Second one has an electric scan to map out the brain via brain waves. Third one is Force related. Anything different than the baseline in your brains and it'll light up." 

"So what next?" Hunter asked while body tense as he watched her fiddle with the screens. 

"Now we scan. The scans will record but I think it might be good if Tech scanned while I monitored the feed. That way we'd have finer control over the scan." Sajaun motioned to the screens. 

"That's a good idea." Cross nodded stiffly, "Here." He handed Sajaun the cup of tea she'd left upstairs. Tech was surprised it was very, unCrosshair-like. 

Sajaun blinked, clearly surprised also but smiled, "Thank you Crosshair." 

"I'll go first." Wrecker said quietly, making them all turn to him, "I want to know what those dreams meant." 

"You sure?" Hunter checked. 

"Yeah Serg," Wreck nodded more sure than Tech had seen him in a long time, "I am." 

Whatever Wrecker had seen in those dreams had shaken him. Tech wondered if he could remember his own if they would have the same effect. 

"Alright. Ready Tech?" Sajaun held out the scanner to Tech. 

"Yes," Tech said taking the scanner and carefully holding it so the cords were out of the way. Wrecker sat down on the bed in front of Tech and Tech carefully lined up the scanner with the base of Wrecker's neck, "Starting at the base of the neck over the spinal cord." 

"I have picture. Just don't move too quickly." Sajaun acknowledged. Tech began methodically moving back and forth up Wreck's neck and into the base of his skull. "Slow down just a bit. Picking up some extra input on the electric waves, let's see if we can't figure out what." Sajaun advised. 

Tech dutifully slowed but scanned almost Wrecker's whole head in silence. It could be what Sajaun had seen was just residue from their defective experimentation. Same with the dreams. It could all just be a glitch-  

"Stop. What the- Something's there." Sajaun said voice edged with something hard.

 Tech froze, scanner poised over Wrecker's right temple. Carefully craning his neck around so he could see what was on the screens. Pulsing from a spot directly under his scanner was a pulse on the electric scan screen. It also glowed faintly on the Force scan but was a void on the basic health scan. 

"What is that?" Hunter asked, staring up at the screens. 

"I have no clue." Sajaun murmured as dumbfounded and unnerved as Hunter, "Tech, make sure to get a scan of as many angles of that spot as you can. Then complete the rest of the scan." 

"Yes, Madame." Tech agreed, already moving. He quickly finished the scan and finally got over to the screens to watch as Sajaun flipped through frame by frame. 

"That's in my brain?" Wrecker asked, subdued and shocked.

 "It would seem so." Tech agreed, looking over the three scans. 

"Why's it not showing up on this first scan?" Cross asked, pointing at the screen where it was a void.

 "Not sure. Best guess is it's not his DNA. If it's not his tissue it's not gonna show up." Sajaun shrugged zooming in on the area, "I mean that's the same way implants show up. You can see they're there but since they're not part of you there's no monitoring it." 

"What's up with the Force scan?" Hunter asked, looking up at the dark gray spot in the sea of pink on the Force scan.

 "The color change is showing it's above baseline Life Force. The shade denotes where it falls on the Bogan-Ashla spectrum. It's certainly not light." Sajaun explained motioning with a cursor on the screen, "See now it seems to be cycling and churning?"

 "Yes. What does that mean?" Tech asked, eyeing the ordered rotation of the current in the Force scan. 

"Okay now see how it's running on a minimum level on the electric scan?" Sajaun asked, pointing to the electric scan. 

"Yeah? So?" Wrecker asked.

 "It's dormant. Like how the energy slows down when it's not on like in a power grid. Right now whatever it is is off. It's running higher than natural levels but nowhere near high enough to get flagged. No one would have caught this." Sajaun shook her head.

 "But what is it?" Crosshair asked forcefully. 

Sajaun shrugged looking lost, "I have no clue. I've never seen anything like it. It's like it's waiting for something." 

"Like a transmitter." Hunter said standing straight suddenly, "Look at how the electric current is cycling, it's a receiver. It's waiting to get a transmission."

 "Oh Force you're right." Sajaun murmured, staring at the scans, "It's a one-way receiver. It can't broadcast." 

"But what is it receiving?" Tech asked frowning at the scans, "It's what? Gonna speak into our brains? Like voices in our heads?"

 Sajaun sat bolt upright at his words, eyes going very wide, "Not voices. Orders ."

Oh, Tech really didn't like the implications of that.

Chapter Text

Crosshair couldn't even comprehend the words coming out of Sajaun's mouth; they were so surreal. 

 "Of Kark," Wrecker murmured, sinking back onto the bed, now a good deal paler. 

"What makes you say that?" Hunter asked, turning to face Sajaun, who was looking at Wrecker. 

"Wrecker's dream." Sajaun said slowly, looking ill, "All the clones in the dream kept saying 'good soldiers follow orders' and kept justifying their actions by saying the order demanded it." 

"Are you saying these chips are going to deliver orders into our heads," Hunter repeated carefully, "And we're just gonna obey them?" 

"Hypothetically? Yeah, exactly." Sajaun nodded, typing something into the counsel and pulling up another holo of a human brain, "The area it's in, here." The area lit up where she pointed, "The Frontal lobe. It's executive functioning and memory and emotion and personality and impulse control and literally almost everything that makes you you. If they were to hinder or hijack that area somehow, I mean, you could do anything ." 

Crosshair could feel the rage building in him, "Like we're karking droids ."

 "I mean, that's a very rude and cruel thing to say," Sajaun said delicately, exhaustion lacing her tone, "But yeah." 

Hunter and Tech, and Sajaun were all talking together, but it became white noise in Cross' head. They were supposed to be different, better , than the clankers. Independent, creative, and more than the droids could ever be. But here now, it seemed like it didn't matter. In the end, they were still just things . Commodities to be used and disposed of. Like blasters. Like ships. Like kriffen toys .

 Cross hadn't even noticed he let out a feral scream or punched a wall until Hunter's concerned face swam into his view holding his fists that now ached in his tight hold. "Crosshair! Breathe!" 

Crosshair tried to, but all of a sudden, it seemed like his lungs wouldn't work, and there was something squeezing his lungs to death. They were cannon fodder made to live and die for the stupid useless Republic, and even that wasn't enough that they had to go put in chips to make the kriffing droids-  

A cool, calm feeling washed over him, not washing away his thoughts or panic but making them a little less loud. Breathe. Sajaun's voice said softly. The feeling slowly washed away, but it did leave Crosshair able to breathe deeply and think clearly. 

When he opened his eyes to find himself sitting back against some built-in cabinets, Hunter was kneeling next to him. "You good, Cross?"

 Crosshair nodded weakly, looking over to find Tech hovering over Hunter's shoulder with his med scanner. Behind him, Wrecker was now on his feet, looking concerned. Crosshair's gaze finally fell on Sajaun, who now looked even more exhausted as she sagged into her chair. She gave him the slightest glimmer of a smile and nodded slowly. 

Crosshair waved off both Hunter and Tech and stood nodding his silent thanks to Sajaun, "How do we get it out?"  

"Ah. That will prove to be tricky." Sajaun sighed, closing her eyes and leaning dangerously far back in her chair, "I can't use any Republic equipment or med droids. Those records can be hacked. I want to do it right, so doing it on the stuff I've got now by myself is possible but not ideal. We need someplace off the books where no one's gonna rat on us with high-tech equipment for brain surgeries and someone who won't ask questions to assist me in doing surgeries on defective clones that aren't supposed to exist. Yeah." She nodded, sitting up, "That's what we need." 

"And where exactly you gonna find all that in one place?" Wrecker asked. 

"And on short notice." Tech reminded. 

Hunter didn't say anything but looked uneasy and concerned as Sajaun swung herself to her feet and swayed a little. Crosshair instinctively put his hands out to catch her if she fell. 

They locked eyes, and suddenly all his fears about being meaningless flew out of the window. Our imperfections make us unique . Sajaun had said it with such conviction, and now looking her in the eye, he could see her resolve. So long as they trusted her, Crosshair suddenly had a good feeling she could get them out of this.

 Sajaun nodded once sharply, grinning like a predator would, "Takonada. We need Takonada."

Chapter Text

Takonanda, home of the Pirate Queen, floated below, a glistening green jewel in a sea of black stars. And about the last place, Hunter had ever expected to visit.

 It had taken them thirteen hours to jump there, and Sajaun had slept through all of them. Hunter felt slightly bad as she shuffled into the common kitchen that he'd had to wake her. From what Tech had gathered off the holo, rest helped Force Exhaustion most.

 "Sleep well?" Cross asked, roughly shoving a cup of caff in Sajaun's hands.

 Sajaun blinked down at it, clearly unused to coexisting with others, "Yes." She downed the whole cup of caff like a weathered soldier downed alcohol before eyeing them all with eyes that were slowly waking up, "You all wouldn't happen to have civie clothes, would you?" 

Hunter looked over at the rest of them, all in GAR blacks, "Why?" 

"Because we're about to go into a pirate den crawling with crime and possible debauchery, and I'd rather we not get jumped before we make the front door in GAR outfits," Sajaun said, slowly getting herself another cup of caff. 

She had a point. Hunter had been so busy wrapping his head around the whole mind-orders-genocide thing that he hadn't even thought of it. He felt a pang in his chest at his lapse. "No. We don't." He finally admitted.

 "Alright," Sajaun drained her second glass and pushed off the counter she had been leaning on, "Let's fix that." 

Hunter shared a look with Crosshair as they followed her back down the hall she'd come from and entered her quarters. It was a spacious and cozy room painted light purple and blue with a large bed flanked but small nightstands next to a wall of windows that showed the stars beyond which they faced when they came into the room. 

To the right was an odd circular bulging wall, and to their left was a desk; beyond it, a door Hunter assumed went to a private sonic and bathroom. Hunter noted that there was quite a bit of empty floor space, as he ideally took a seat on the circular sitting ottoman as Sajaun vanished into the bulge by a door next to a vanity. 

A moment later, she returned, arms full of clothing, "Crosshair." She dumped the pile of worn and simple clothing in the sniper's arms. 

"Wrecker." She dropped a startling large coat in his vod's arms along with some other pieces of clothing. 

"Tech." She dropped his outfit next to him for inspection before dumping the last of her finds in Hunter's arms, "And you." She vanished back into the walk-in closet before Hunter could find his words.

 "What is all of this?" Wrecker asked, holding up what looked like an oversized vest.

 "Spacer clothing. Regular work clothing that makes you all look less like GAR soldiers." Sajaun said, coming back out with more clothing in her arms, "You put it on over your blacks." 

Hunter slid on the green poncho she'd given him carefully. It was well-worn and cozy, "Where did you get this stuff?" 

Sajaun laughed, tossing an odd-looking hat at Crosshair, "I'm not giving up all my secrets yet. Get dressed. I'll meet you in the kitchen."

 Hunter shrugged helplessly at his Vode, who were all sending him questioning looks as soon as Sajaun was gone. "She's got a point." 

"Unfortunately," Tech commented, eyeing the jacket Sajaun had given him critically. 

All in all, Hunter decided they didn't look at all bad once they were all changed into civie clothing. 

Sajaun nodded decisively as they filed back into the kitchen, "Better." 

"So, who exactly are you looking for here?" Hunter asked as they headed for the cockpit. 

"Maz. Kanaz." Sahaun said, stepping into the cockpit. 

"The Pirate Queen?!" Hunter gaped. 

"Yes. She's been around for a few hundred years, and I left some of my stuff with her. We're gonna pick it up." Sajaun said like she wasn't calling on the most notorious Pirate in existence. 

"Pick it up?!" Hunter repeated, feeling a headache coming on, "You don't just 'pick up' things from the Pirate Queen!" 

"You do if you've known her since she was in the single digits and have a contract with her." Sajaun grinned over her shoulder as she flipped the autopilot off.

 " CONTRACT?" Hunter hissed. 

"Relax. We'll be fine. Just keep your hands to yourselves, and don't stare." Sajaun rolled her eyes as she navigated out of orbit and into the atmo. 

"At what?" Tech asked, watching as she flipped through the control and slid through the atmo with little shuddering. 

Sajaun grinned, not looking away from the blue sky and green fields reflected off the clear lake water as she veered towards an old stone castle, "Anything."

 Sajaun set down the ship in a cleared area, a good walk from the castle. "What exactly are we supposed to be picking up?" Crosshair rasped as Sajaun shut down the engines and pulled up the security measures.

"Maz is the only one I trust to assist me in the surgeries right now. Plus," Sajaun spun around, facing them, and hopped out of her seat, "She's got the good gear." 

"She's a pirate ." Hunter said slowly, hoping the weight of those words sank in, "She isn't trustworthy!"

 "She's got a code and can't be bought." Sajaun countered along the security system before exiting the cockpit, "Right now, that's all we've got."

 Oh, this was a horrible idea, and she had a very valid point, making this a smart horrible idea. Hunter groaned and followed as she led them off the ship. Once they were off, the gangplank slid back in, and a shimmering screen flickered to life around the ship. 

"Don't go back to the ship without me." Sajaun warned, turning and walking towards the castle, "The security is no joke."

 "What is the security?" Tech asked, hurrying after her datapad in hand, scarf flapping behind him.

 It was odd looking around and finding them all in civies. They didn't look like clones or soldiers. They looked normal, like  civilians.

 Hunter paused his stride, looking at them all. Tech in a long coat and scarf, Cross in a smuggler's jacket, Wrecker in a huge worn trench coat. This was the life they wanted. It didn't feel right.

 Hunter watched as they tried to get used to the feel of clothing instead of armor and saw how they all failed. The void of weight on them was off-balancing. This wasn't who they were, as hard as they tried. 

Hunter pushed the thoughts away and jogged to catch up as they reached the courtyard. It was ancient old stone towering over them and a sky full of flags hanging above in all different shapes and colors. This place had been here generations before them and would be generations after. Hunter marveled for a moment how different it was from war and Kamino. He could get used to this.

Sajaun paused at the high old stone doors and looked back at them, "Remember, keep out of trouble, and don't stare. And if anything happens, I'll take care of it." And with that, she pushed the door open. 

The first thing that hit Hunter was how loud it was. The next thing was how many beings there were all stuffed in the huge hall. Sentiments of every race and age, and gender filled the castle's main hall, all shouting and cheering and talking. It was nearly overwhelming, all the scents, sounds, and sights filling his head. He was very glad he'd doubled up his dampeners when getting dressed. 

Sajaun led them to a back table where it was slightly quiet, next to an open window letting the fresh air in. "Wait here. I'm gonna get us some drinks and info. We need to blend in." 

Hunter looked around, and sure enough, almost every sentient was drinking. "I'll come with you." He said over the racket. 

Sajaun sent him an amused look but got the other three settled at the booth before going over to the bar. Hunter eyed the sentient all around them. He didn't feel comfortable here, and he certainly wasn't comfortable with Sajaun by herself in this crowd. He wasn't about to let his superior officer get pickpocketed or drugged. 

Sajaun flagged down the bartender droid and ordered quickly before looking over at him, "Loosen up. You look like you're at attention." 

Hunter forced his shoulders to relax, "Sorry." 

Sajaun sent him a concerned look, "Your bandanna not enough in here?" 

Hunter blinked in surprise. They hadn't told her about his dampener; how had she-? 

Sajaun suddenly straightened up, eyes going cold, "Whatever you do. Don't do anything." 

Hunter frowned, "What-?"

 He saw a moment later what she meant as a leering man came hulking over to her back since she was facing Hunter, "Hello, don't think I've seen you before." Hunter winced; he could smell the alcohol off the man from here.

 "Not interested," Sajaun said firmly, not even turning. The droid dropped off their drinks, and Sajaun grabbed the small tumbler full of clear liquid as Hunter grabbed the tray. 

"Oh, come on now," Hunter spotted the man's hand land on Sajaun's waist, "I'll be nice." 

Every fiber of Hunter's being wanted to jump in and defend her, but she shot him a look that said don't you dare . "Remove your hand," Sajaun said calmly, turning slightly, so her back was now against the bar. 

The man held on tighter, "That's just being stubborn now-" the man droned on, and Hunter was quickly losing his patience as Sajaun downed the glass swiftly. 

Then she turned and spewed the liquid into the man's face. He screamed, stumbling back from the spray. 

Sajaun hooked her foot behind his, and he collapsed backward, crying about his eyes. "I said no you gundark."

 "I was just being nice!" The man cried, rolling on the ground. Hunter seethed, stepping forward to show what he thought of that. 

"And you know the rules." A new voice stated coldly as a short orange alien woman marched up to the pathetic man shaking in the fetal position on the floor, "No means no. Get off my floor and out of my castle. You're no longer welcome here." 

The man babbled incoherently about how it wasn't his fault as two huge Trandoshans of all beings picked him up and proceeded to throw him out.

 All the while, the chaos around them barely paused.

 The small woman turned to face them, hands on her hips, staring up at Sajaun, "Sajaun Ka." 

"Maz." Sajaun nodded, signaling for a refill of the drink she'd spit in the man's face. 

Maz Kanaz, the Pirate Queen, stared up at them, both eyes piercing and sharp, "Since when did you travel with clones?" 

Hunter jolted a bit. They didn't look like regular clones, and with the civies on, you'd be hard-pressed to figure it out. And yet this woman had just known. How? 

Sajaun shrugged, "Since Mace became a worry wart." 

Maz let out a huff smiling, "Bah. These children start worrying about us like we're made of glass when they get older." 

Sajaun sighed, accepting her refill, "Don't I know it." 

Maz grinned at her, "You gonna tell me why you're here?" 

Sajaun sipped her drink before turning to face Maz, "You know that thing I left with you a while back?" 

Maz's eyes widened a fraction in response. 

Sajaun took another sip, "I need it." 

Maz stared at her a moment before smacking her lips, "Well, you better tell me this one. Come on." 

Hunter watched as she shuffled towards the booth in the back, where Tech, Crosshair, and Wrecker were all staring at them with wide eyes.

 "Well, we better hurry now." Sajaun said gently, nudging him, "Wouldn't want to keep her waiting." 

Hunter sighed and followed the Pirate Queen back to their table just when today couldn't get more bizarre.

Chapter Text

The Pirate Queen was a tiny orange alien woman. Wrecker had not expected that. He also hadn't expected Sajaun to humiliate a random drunk. But from what he'd seen, Hunter had been seconds away from clocking the man himself before Sajaun knocked him over. 

The Pirate Queen hopped up onto the seat next to Wrecker with surprising ease and observed them all with a slow peeking look as Sajaun and Hunter came over. The tiny woman smacked her lips, "Well, this outta be good." 

"When did I ever give you anything different?" Sahaun asked warmly, sitting next to her, though Hunter remained standing.

 "An interesting group you are." Maz Kananz nodded, eyeing them all again, "What are your names?"

 Wrecker looked quickly around the table. Hunter looked torn, Crosshair looked suspicious, and Tech was studying his drink with what looked like single-minded focus. Sajaun more his gaze with a blank unhelpful look. She wasn't going to make him say anything. He didn't have to give his name. But when he met Maz's huge eyes in her fisheye glasses, he found he wanted to. "Wrecker." 

Crosshair jerked, rattling the table as he looked up at Wrecker in nothing short of shock. His brother was always the skeptic, suspicious one of their squad. But sometimes, Wrecker had found it paid to show some kindness and trust. 

"Yes. A good name. For a good man." Maz nodded, staring at him with keen interest like she could see his soul through his eyes. The moment was broken off as a server came over and deposited many steamy dishes onto the table in a while of arms and spices. 

"Oh no- Maz!" Sajaun laughed as more dishes landed on their table. 

"Nonsense! You are in my hospitality, so you receive food!" Maz beamed, opening her eyes wide, "We feast!" 

"What is it exactly?" Tech asked, eyeing the brightly colored dishes.

 "The protein is poultry of some sort baked in a seasoned tart dairy sauce. The carbs are grain cooked in a bright yellow seasoning that tastes like-" Sajaun paused, thinking, "Like soft music floating in from another room." 

"And the veg?" Crosshair asked, poking the bright purple puffs on a tray. 

"Ask Maz." Sajaun chuckled, filling up her plate.

 "Roasted different types of veg with different seasonings!" Maz explained with a grin, "It's traditionally called Yogurt Chicken with saffron rice and roasted vegetables. An old native Scarif recipe." 

"But the protein isn't chicken this time, is it?" Sajaun chuckled, eying the lightly green protein as she ate. 

"No. I'm not sure what Cookie picked up. But it's poultry close enough to chicken." Maz shrugged, filling her own plate. 

Wrecker watched as Hunter and then Tech, and then finally, Cross caved in and filled their plates. The food was not nearly as tantalizing as the food Sajaun had cooked them earlier, but it was just as delicious and filling. 

The protein was smooth and slightly tart but still savory. The carbs were warm and subtle, and the veggies were crisp and crunchy and a harmony of spices in his mouth. 

This was more than fuel; Wrecker mused as he purposefully slowed his eating to match Sajaun and Maz's unhurried pace. It was a shared experience.

 "So," Maz finally said, licking her fingers clean, "What exactly is the venture you've undertaken this time? And why in the blazes do you need the old vaults opened?"

 "You remember when you were a child, and I told you the story about the Sith and Jedi wars?" Sajaun asked, putting her cutlery down and turning to face Maz.

 "Yes. You regaled me with tales that a hundred-year-old me probably shouldn't have heard." Maz chuckled, remembering. 

"Yes, well, it seems the sins we buried during those wars have followed us home," Sajaun said tactfully. 

Maz hummed thoughtfully, nodding, "And you need the bio uplink." 

"And an extra pair of steady hands." Sajaun agreed, sipping her drink.

 Maz blinked, "You found it?"

 "Yep. A biochip in their frontal lobe." Sajaun nodded.

 "And you need my help to cut it out," Maz turned and looked back at Wrecker and his brothers, squinting at them, "Which one?"

 "All of them." 

" ALL ?" Maz sputtered, looking frantically between Sajaun and the Vode in shock, "By all you certainly don't mean-?" The whole army. Hung in the air silently. 

Sajaun knocked back the last of her drink with more force than necessary, "One thing at a time. Let's start with the vault." 

Maz stared at her a moment longer in shock before shaking her head, "You are a wily one, Ja Ka. A wily one indeed." 

Sajaun simply grinned and shrugged, finishing off her plate of food, "Shall we?" 

They stacked their plates together on the serving tray before following the funny little orange woman down the spiral stone steps and below the hall. It was much quieter down below the loud hall, Wrecker noticed; only their footsteps sounded as they passed a few well-lit halls before turning down a much darker hall. 

Sajaun lit the way with that green fire of hers, with a flick of her wrist illuminating the hall. In front of them lay a huge rock tumblers layer within each other—an old-school vault. 

In unison, Maz and Sajaun held up their hands, and the tumblers rumbled, rolling against each other as they shifted the combination into the vault. The stone tumblers rumbled to a stop, and the center slid forwards this a hiss of stone scraping against stone, and the whole vault door rolled to the side in one chunk. Inside was a clean and sanitary surgical suite.

 "What is this?" Hunter asked, frowning at the state-of-the-art area. 

"This is the Vault. For a fee, people can use this room, no questions asked, with medical services provided. It's always clean, and it's one place that you can go where there is no danger of someone stabbing you in the back." Maz explained, waving her hand around.

 On one side was everything one would need for medical care; on another, there were weapons lockers and some very clean tables. Beyond that was another hall going farther back but blocked by an inlaid steel door.

 "What's back there?" Tech asked, examining the door and the keypad. 

"That's where the items people pay to house in the vault stay." Sajaun said, hanging her cape over the back of a chair, "Let's get started."

 "Who is first?" Maz asked, climbing up onto a hover hair and floating over to the sink to wash up. 

First, Wrecker blinked, suddenly understanding, the medical suite, the secrecy; they were going to remove the chips here, right now.

 "I'll do it." Hunter said before Wrecker could jump on the chance, "if we're gonna do this, I'm going first." 

Wrecker knew that tone; it's the Sergeant tone, ironclad and booking no argument. It didn't matter if he was scared, and by the way, Hunter's hands were firmly clasped behind his back in paradise rest; he was; Hunter would set up and do his duty first, an exemplary leader for his brothers. Or so the long necks said.

 "Alright. Lay down on the table," Sajaun nodded curtly and turned her back to them, giving them a moment of privacy, "Maz, would you be so kind as to man the bio scanner?"

 "Certainly." Maz nodded, floating over to the large scanner dome, hands now freshly washed and in medical gloves, while Hunter hopped up onto the bed and laid down.

"Is that a Nabooian bio uplink scanner?" Tech asked, amazed, "It's cutting edge, state-of-the-art, rarely seen off Naboo!"

"Yes, it is. Alright, we're gonna start with a scan to ensure what we know, and then we're gonna surgically remove it. Alright?" Sajaun said calmly, booting up the surgical bot. 

"How long will I be out?" Hunter asked, voice devoid of emotion. 

"Most likely a few minutes to a half hour," Sajaun said, programming the bot now.

 "Please lie still," Maz warned as she flipped on the scanner. 

Hunter closed his eyes as a blue scan light passed over his face twice. Wrecker watched as the inner circle in the scanner whirled around a few times before it flipped off.

 "Alright, there's a micro biochip in the frontal lobe on the right side," Maz said, pulling up the scan that confirmed the one's Sajaun had already done. 

"Alright. Hunter, I want you to count back from 5 as the anesthesia takes hold." Sajuan said, placing a small tab on Hunter's neck.

 "5, 4, 3… tw-" Hunter trailed off and went limp on the bed, dead asleep. Wrecker shifted, an uneasy feeling rolling in his gut at Hunter's unnatural stillness. Serg wasn't supposed to be that still. It wasn't like him. 

"Alright, Maz, continue the scan. I want a complete record of this to study later." Sajaun ordered, securing Hunter's bed, so it didn't move, "anesthesia is taking hold."

 "Alright, scan good," Maz nodded, eyes now huge through her glasses as she watched the scan, "Let's begin." 

Wrecker watched, still uneasy, as the droid floated forward, blade extended. This was it. No going back. 

Sajaun stepped into his line of view to watch the bot work. Not even two minutes later, the bot floated off, and Sajaun stepped back, placing a small metal petri dish in a bio holder, leaving a clean medical patch over where the scar would be. 

"How is he doing?" Cross asked, concern softening his voice. 

"He's holding well. Brain activity is perfectly fine. No hindrance whatsoever. It was completely unnecessary." Maz motioned to the brain scan.

 "He feels good to me. Let's let him wake up on his own; we'll go from there." Sajaun said, peeling the anesthesia tab off Hunter's neck.

 "How long will that take?" Tech asked, uncertainly.

 "Couple minutes, probably," Sajaun said, going back over to the petri dish that held the chip. 

"You gonna tell me what that is?" Maz asked, leaning back in her chair.

 "You gonna get me that thing I asked for?" Sajaun countered playfully.

 Maz rolled her eyes but floated over to the steel door and punched in a code, "Cheeky cheeky." 

"What are you going to do with that?" Tech asked, coming over to look at the chip.

 "Run scans on it. See if we can't figure out how it works. Then we can reverse engineer it to make it stop." Sajaun said, placing the dish in a different scanning device. 

"The scan is spiking," Crosshair warned, looking up at the holo screen readout. 

"He's waking up," Sajaun said, turning back to face Hunter. Wrecker reached out and gently took Hunter's hand. Hunter had always hated waking up alone. 

"Hunter, can you hear me?" Sajaun asked gently but firmly. Hunter twitched and shifted a bit at his name before opening his eyes slightly. 

"How do you feel, Serg?" Wrecker asked, anxiety washing through him. Force, he hoped this worked.

 "Fine." Hunter said slowly, stretching his neck and gripping Wrecker's hand reassuringly, "Everything's fine." 

Wrecker exhaled in relief: one down, three to go.

Chapter Text

The other surgeries went well. Easy even. Very easy. It made Cross uneasy.

 Doing something like this, disrupting something as huge as this, shouldn't be so simple. But it was. 

He stared down at the tray that now had all four of their chips lying sealed in bioplastic in a neat row as he gently ran his fingers over the bacta patch on his right temple. So small and yet so powerful.

 "Huh," Sajaun said from where she was staring at the holo screens. 

"What?" Cross couldn't help but ask, crossing over to stand behind her. 

"Well, I had Maz leave the scanner on when we did the surgeries, and I found something interesting," Sajaun said, leaning back in her chair, letting Cross look at the screens. 

While he didn't know what it meant, he could see the difference. Tech and Hunter's brain scans were significantly less affected by the removal of the chip. Nothing bad but when comparing the four scans, theirs' didn't fluctuate almost at all when it was removed. In comparison, his and Wrecker's activity dipped and then spiked before leveling out again.

 "What is it?" Cross asked, uneasy, feeling rolling again. 

"Not completely sure," Sajaun looked over her shoulder at where Wrecker and Hunter were waiting for Tech to wake up; Maz had yet to return from the depths of the second vault though the crashes and swearing every so often meant she was probably fine, "Hey Hunter come look at this."

 "What am I looking at?" Hunter asked, looking up at the scans.

 "You said that the Kaminoins did enhancement experiments on you all, right?" Sajaun asked, spinning her chair to address Hunter. Crosshair could see fear trying to claw its way up out of his chest and into his throat. She wouldn't really turn on them now, would she? 

"Yeah, why?" Hunter asked, clearly confused. 

"You mind telling me what exactly you each have?" Sajaun asked, no hint of maliciousness in her tone.

 "Uh yeah. I've got enhanced senses down to the vibrations in the air. Tech's ability to compute facts and equations is like a thousand times more than anyone else's." Hunter shrugged as he spoke, clearly confused 

"And Cross and Wrecker?" Sajaun asked, curiosity filling her tone. 

"They juiced us up good." Cross cut in, unwilling to hear himself spoken of in the third person, "They messed with my eyes and then trained me until I couldn't miss even if I tried."

 "And Wrecker?" Sajaun asked, giving him her full attention.

 "They gave him growth stimulants and drugs to bulk him up," Cross explained, trying to fathom where she was going with this. 

"So they screwed with you and Tech's brains," Sajaun clarified, addressing Hunter before turning to Cross, "But not yours or Wrecker's?" 

"No?" Cross couldn't help but let it out as a question. 

"That's what I thought." Sajaun looked back at the scans, "Whatever they did to Hunter and Tech, it fried the chip." She pointed at the way the rain reacted around the chip as the scan image looped again, "Here, when it's removed, Hunter and Tech's brain barely reacted while Cross and Wrecker's reacted quite a bit more." 

"So you're saying that Hunter and Tech couldn't have been triggered?" Cross asked.

 "Possibly; the only way I'd know that is if we get a reg and do surgery on them. But that's a problem for another day." Sajaun clicked the scans closed and spun to face them all, "Today's question is, do you want to continue?" 

"Continue what?" Tech asked groggily, now awake and sitting on the bed, tired.

 "Continue this mission." Sajaun said honestly, "You all are free now, and I will not assume that you wish to stay on with me. You could go now, go on and never look back. Never go back. You don't have to stay with me."

 "But if we do, we'll be ending this war," Hunter said, stunned she'd even insinuate they'd ever just leave. In Cross's book, it wasn't a bad idea. In Hunter's, it was unthinkable. 

"If you want to, Yes. But I will not make that decision for you. What we're about to do," Sajaun shook her head, getting a faraway look in her eye, "It's going to be far different than what you trained for and far more difficult. More dangerous even." She looked up and met Hunter's eye, "If we fail or get caught in the process, we'll be branded as traitors for the rest of our lives."

 Not like their lives were long enough for that to matter, Cross mentally pointed out. Their lives weren't long enough for that to matter. Her's maybe, theirs' not so much. 

"But if we do do it, we're the saviors of the clones." Tech pointed out. 

"What have the Regs ever done for us? Or the Republic, for that matter?" Cross snapped. They were free, and yet the others were actually considering this! 

"Then what are we if we don't?" Hunter snapped back, "Hmmm? We're free because this," he pointed at the surgical scanner, "set us free! Maybe they're not our brothers. Maybe we're all just cogs in a machine, but don't we owe it to Cody, to 99 to try ?"

 That was a low blow; they all knew it. 99 had died in the Invasion of Kamino. It had taken four days to confirm it in the rubble. They'd gotten the news while in hyperspace, and Cross had been trying not to think about it too hard. 

99 had been their protector, their mentor, their friend. In natborn cultures, he would have been their parent. And now he was gone. 

Gone trying to prove himself as useful. As one of the regs. Had seen them as more than just experiments and defectives. Had believed in them. And now he was gone just like that.

 And the horrible thing was Hunter was right, and Crosshair knew it. 99 had believed anyone and everyone had potential to be more. Not just them, but the regs too. Saw greatness in every last cadet and Clone and pushed to make it seen.

 To him, it hadn't mattered. They were all Vode .

 "The Regs do not often treat us civilly," Tech agreed, standing and adjusting his glasses, "But does that mean that they all deserve the fate set before them?" 

Crosshair growled in the back of his throat; it didn't matter that they were right; it mattered that this was their lives they were risking to do it! " Fine ." He snapped, turning to Sajaun, "Say we do it, what then?" 

Sajaun looked at him for a moment, face carefully blank before clicking open a new holo screen that showed a 3D rendering of the chip, "Then we start by discovering where this came from." 

"Tracing the source to find the maker." Hunter nodded.

 "How does that help us?" Wrecker asked, frowning. 

"After we discover who made the initial one, we will be able to run it through a slicer program and discover how exactly the chip works. Then it's figuring out how to reverse engineer it." Sajaun explained. 

"That doesn't sound too hard." Hunter shrugged.

 "No, that's not the hard part." Sajaun agreed with a sigh.

 "Then what is?" Wrecker asked, confused. 

"The hard part will be shrouding out actions from whoever holds the trigger." Tech said calmly, "We'd be running head-on against whoever implemented these in all the clones." 

"That would have to be somebody very high up." Cross pointed out, turning Tech's words over in his head, "To put it in all the clones and get away with it, they would have had to have been a part of this plan from the beginning." 

"But then why were we told we were created for war?" Tech pondered aloud, "If we are simply meant to kill the Jedi, why are we being placed in a war to begin with?" 

"The Jedi are leading the war, aren't they?" Wrecker pointed out, "Isn't that why we'd be there? To kill them?" 

"Sure." Hunter shrugged, "If we were the opposing army."

 "But we're not." Crosshair blurted the pieces clicking in his head, "We're the allies, and outside of this room, no one knows about the chips. If it were to go off right now, no one would know why. It would look like betrayal." 

"Wait," Sajaun stared at them with huge eyes, "Are you saying this whole entire war is a sham? That it's all an elaborate trick to get the Jedi to expose their weakness?"

 "But why?" Wrecker asked, puzzled, "What good would killing the Jedi do?" 

"It would destabilize the Republic." Tech said quietly, "The Jedi are the peacekeeping force in the Republic. Negotiators, rangers, healers, planet populators. If they were to all die, the Republic would be left utterly defenseless and unable to cope. I mean, one-third of the Republic's food supply comes from the Jedi AgriCorps." 

"It's not just a plot to end the Jedi," Sajaun whispered, eyes growing wide, "It's a plot to end the galactic political stage as we know it." 

"And without the Republic in power," Cross said quietly, understanding now how enormously this touched his life, "There'll be no safe place in the galaxy to go."

 Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Nothing safe. 

Even if he and his Batch left today and never looked back one day or another, the galactic balance would end, and they'd be unsafe again. It was only a matter of time. 

Unless they said yes. 

Crosshair didn't like it one bit. But there were no other options. So he straightened his shoulders and looked Sajaun in the eye, "So what do we do, if it all goes wrong?"

Chapter Text

If it all goes wrong, Cross's words rang like a gong in Sajaun's head, echoing loudly in her ears. If it all went wrong, the fallout would wipe everything out. The Republic, the Jedi, the GAR itself even. If it all went wrong, nothing would be left.

 She closed her eyes and, in her mind's eye, could see the web of red culminating on Coruscant. Whatever this was, it all related to Coruscant. She opened her eyes and pushed away the thought for a later time. 

"If it all goes wrong, we'll likely already be dead." Tech pointed out bluntly. He wasn't wrong. 

"But we won't be mindless drones, so what's the plan?" Cross presses, looking at her with knowing eyes, "You have one don't you?"

 Sajaun gave a half-shrug; she really hadn't expected to get to this point this fast with them, "Kinda." She had a concept of one. Ideas that could maybe work. But now they were asking her to bet their lives on it. It was a big thing to ask. 

Maz chose that moment to come tumbling back in carrying a case that was almost as big as her torso, "Finally! Getting that down was like pulling gundark teeth!" 

Sajaun couldn't help but stifle laughter at Maz's comparison, "I could have just gotten it for you."

 "But where is the fun in that?" Maz grinned, hefting the case up onto one of the tables. 

"What's that?" Hunter asked, looking at the sealed case with both curiosity and trepidation. 

"It's something for you all," Sajaun said, getting up slowly and stretching her sore muscles. Healing oneself was a pain.  

She grabbed a blood draw case and spun the case around. She put the small blood draw disk on her arm and waited a moment for a small amount to pool in the top of the disk. Once it was done, she detached the disc leaving a neat bacta patch behind. 

"What are you doing?" Tech asked, leaning over on her left to watch.

 "This case is locked by Dathomirian magic and needs blood and fingerprints together to unlock," Sajaun said, carefully dipping her thumb in the case of blood before pressing it down on the case. It popped open with a hiss. 

She quickly cleaned her hands and sealed the dish of blood before pulling open the case. Inside were Dathomiran blades and beads and carved pendants. Odds and ends, all full of the nightsister magic, she'd picked up in her many travels. 

"These are for us?" Hunter asked, sounding equal parts shocked and wary. 

Sajaun smiled slightly, pulling out five pendants and a pair of knives, "Yes. We're going to be doing very dangerous things. I thought having some extra protection would be warranted." 

"What are they?" Cross asked, eying the heavy carved stone pendants carefully.

 "Dathomirian pendants filled with protection magic." Sajaun said, holding them out to the squad, "When you wear them, they bolster your ability to shield against Force intrusion. It's kinda like a booster but for the Force. Since you're all Force null, this will give you the ability to recognize the Force in play where you otherwise wouldn't notice it."

 "You sure about that?" Maz asked from the other side of the room, where she examined the chips. 

"About what?" Sajaun frowned as she watched Maz poke the chips curiously. 

"Them being Force nulls." Maz said, turning around, hands on her hips, "These things could very well screw up the midi-chlorian production and count."

 Sajaun blinked. That hadn't even crossed her mind. But Sith did have the habit of recreating the same concept but better, and they created Force Dampeners, to begin with, so it wasn't that huge of a stretch. 

"Well, it's worth a check." Tech offered, shifting as he looked between Maz and her with a hint of nervousness. 

Sajaun shook off her surprise, "Yes. It is." She quickly resealed the entire case and put the pendants and knives on top before taking the Midi-Chlorian test case from Maz. 

"How does it work?" Wrecker asked as she set up the testing module.

 "I use a drop of your blood to read the count to tell how strong you are in the Force," Sajaun explained, testing it with a drop of her own blood. It registered fine, and she quickly cleaned it, "Who's going first?"

 "I want to," Wrecker said before Hunter could get the words out of his mouth. 

Sajaun chuckled at Hunter, who snapped his mouth shut, looking pensive. "Alright, it's like a slight blood test. Completely harmless. You're gonna feel a slight pain, and then you can put bacta over the cut." Wrecker extended his hand as instructed and jolted a bit when the test pierced his skin but otherwise was unfazed. 

"And?" Maz asked eagerly, handing Wrecker a tube of bacta lotion.

 "In the low hundreds. Certainly not enough to do much with, but he's certainly aware of it now." Sajaun  nodded, looking over the readout.

"There's also a chance the number may grow too." Tech added, looking at his datapad, "If the chip was hindering the growth, then it might take a while for our levels to bounce back."

 "Yes," Sajaun murmured, cleaning the testing area, "Hunter?" 

Hunter blinked at her, confused as to why she was extending her hand to him, "Why do you need my blood? Our blood work is all the same."

 Sajaun raised an eyebrow, "The Force does not recognize clones. It recognizes life. You are all unique beyond what you look like or what your DNA says. You think differently. Feel differently. Your Midi-Chlorian count will most likely not be like your brother's." She had thought she had explained this lesson to them with Cross quite well, but she could always explain it again until they got it. 

Hunter seemed torn but let her take his hand and prick it. "Slightly higher than Wrecker's but still below true use." 

"May I try?" Tech asked curiously. 

"Certainly." Sajaun handed it to him. 

"What does that mean, 'true use'?" Hunter asked, spreading lotion on the cut.

 "It means you won't be able to move things or bond with a crystal, but you'll definitely be aware of the Force moving around you, maybe even to tell what people are feeling in it." Sajuan tried to explain, "It's like being able to see but not very well." 

"And the pendants act like glasses?" Crosshair reasoned, putting lotion on his own pricked finger. 

Sajaun stared at him. That was a very good explanation, "Yeah, pretty much." 

"Alright." Crosshair nodded, sounding certain but looking vaguely nauseated, "How do you put it on?" 

Sajaun handed him one of the pendants, "Put it on, and then I'll activate it. It'll boost your ability to recognize the Force and give you slightly more reach." 

Crosshair stared at the innocent-looking pendant, hesitating, before snatching it out of her hand and slipping it over his head. Sajaun decided it was best not to sound patronizing and congratulate him on being brave and instead swiped the dot of his blood he'd used from the midi-chlorian scan and rubbed it on the pendant. It immediately heated up and glowed slightly green as it turned on. 

She carefully drew the activation symbol on it, and it flashed before cooling a bit but now at the same temperature as Crosshair's skin. 

" Wow ," Crosshair mumbled, reeling physically as he could suddenly sense everything around him.

 "Yeah, it's a bit of a headrush." Sajaun chuckled, easing him into a chair.

 "Is this what you feel like all the time?" Cross murmured, eyes wide.

 "How's it feel, Cross?" Hunter asked with a smile. Sajaun did not comment on his wary gaze. 

Cross hummed, eyes looking up at the Force currents running through the room off of all of them, "Powerful." 

Sajaun chuckled, "Yeah, it's all a bit intoxicating until you get used to it. This is only a fraction of what we Force users feel, but I'm told it's quite a head trip for someone who's never touched the Force before."

 "Mmhhh yep, that's a word for it," Cross mumbled, head lolling around, seemingly unable to focus on any one thing.

 "Is he drunk?" Tech enquired, staring at his brother with a look of fascination and horror.

Sajaun could help but laugh, "No. His body is just adjusting to everything he can now sense. The dopey drunk-like part will wear off in a few minutes." 

"Alright, let's get it over with then." Hunter sighed, motioning for her to put one of the pendants on him. She quickly placed the pendants on all four of them, leaving them all sitting dazed and dopey in chairs staring in wonder at the new world they could see. 

"Are you quite certain," Maz said quietly, coming to stand next to her as she watched them drink in their new power like children seeing the sea for the first time, "That that was a wise idea?" 

Sajaun reached out gently, monitoring their progress, as they greedily drank in all their new sense had to offer, "Yes. Why do you ask?" 

Maz frowned, coming over to stand next to Crosshair, who was now staring intently at the foreground in front of him, unaware of anything else, brow furrowed in concentration and focus, before speaking very softly, "Because power often corrupts."

Chapter Text

The feeling of being aware was nearly more than Wrecker could handle. It was like everything was far more colorful and bright and real than it had been. Everything felt different, and wasn't that a kicker? It was like having an extra sense he couldn't even begin to quantify. His brain felt bigger, and that was weird.

 "You good now?" Sajaun's voice sounded almost like an echo as she swam in his vision, looking both amused and confused.

 "Ghhhh." Wrecker groaned, even that feeling loud in his ears, "No." 

Sajaun laughed loudly but still so far away, "That's alright, lay back down. You'll be alright." 

Wrecker hadn't even realized he'd sat up. He laid back down and closed his eyes, losing himself in how big his head was. When he finally focused back in on the world around him, and didn't feel so unreachable. 

He wasn't in the castle anymore, was his first realization. He was now lying on his bunk back on the Hyperion . He didn't even remember getting up. 

He slowly sat up, feeling oddly disjointed from reality. Testing his balance, he slowly got up and found he was fine. His body was perfectly fine; his mind was still trying to get used to getting in a too-big frame. 

He was still in the civies Sajaun had given them and figured they were fine. He slowly made his way out of the batch's quarters and followed the sound of voices to the kitchen. 

His vode were sitting at the table murmuring over a map of the galaxy while Sajaun was across the room from them, standing in front of the stove stirring a pot of liquid that smelled tantalizing.

 "Good morning Wrecker." Sajaun nodded, looking over at him with a smile, "How do you feel?"

 "Like my mind's too big for my body," Wrecker grumbled, shuffling over and pouring himself a cup of caff from the already-made pot. 

"That sounds about right." Cross grumbled from where he was sitting, "You've been out for like fourteen hours, by the way." 

"What?" Wrecker gaped, looking between his vode and Sajaun, "It's tomorrow? !" 

"Technically, that would be today." Tech pointed out unhelpfully.

 "Well, we did the surgeries and Force sensory test at about six yesterday, and then it knocked you all out for about 12 hours. The others woke up in the last 2 hours." Sajaun explained, setting aside the large wooden spoon she'd been stirring the pot with, "We were just chatting while we waited."

 "Sajaun had some truly fascinating war game scenarios for if the war ends again out favor," Tech said, attention glued to a datapad Wrecker was sure wasn't theirs. 

"Yeah? Like what?" Wrecker asked, interest piqued. War games were always fun as long as Tech could explain them the way he could understand them.

 "Like blowing up the Banking clan's vault and stealing all its nonexistent funds," Crosshair said smugly. 

Wrecker whirled around to Sajaun, who just looked amused, " What ?" 

"It's just a thought exercise." Sajaun soothed with a smile, "We're just playing with some ideas."

 "More like theorizing about crime," Hunter chuckled, getting up from his seat, empty mug in hand, "but sure, we can call it war games." 

"What one are we working on right now?" Wrecker asked, sipping his caff. 

"How we'd break into Kamino and take over the whole city with minimal personnel." Tech said, "So far, we've figured out we'd need two teams plus an extra pilot." 

Wrecker switched the holo screen over to a blueprint of Kamino, "What's our way in?" 

"We drop in almost two miles out into the western sector of the ocean. We'd need dive kits and thermals cause we'd drop down to the ocean floor." Hunter explained, coming back over with his mug full of caff. 

"After that, we'd take a nonlinear route to the coolant intake so we look like a pod of juvenile kamoradon." Tech continued. 

"We'd trigger the cleaning system for the coolant and swim in. We'd have around a 2-minute window to get in, and we'd get spit out here." Crosshair pointed at a spot deep in the facility, "Then we split up one team to take over the security offices and systems and another to take out the trainers and Kaminoins."

 "We'd have to do that at night cycle then." Wrecker noted, "Only way we could get them all in one place." 

"Yep." Crosshair agreed, "That's the plan." 

"Now we just have to figure out how to ensure all the regs don't kill us," Tech said bluntly.

 Sajaun laughed from over in the kitchen, "That's a way to put it. Why don't you all take a break and come eat?" 

Wrecker was never going to turn down food. Sajaun had made some sort of carb stew that smelled faintly like the oceans of Kamino. 

"Poor man's porridge from Kimiji." Sajaun said with a smile labeling it in, "They call it joouk. Cooked wetland grain in extra water to make a stew, then flavored with fish and a story fermented bean paste. There's some toppings on the counter; otherwise, it's not super flavorful." 

Wrecker took the bowl of white soup and eyed the many little dishes of toppings. He put some hollow green circles and crunchy brown bits.

 The soup was warm and tasted like warm sunlight breaking through the air when you stood outside over the crashing sea on the rare days it wasn't raining in hailing torrents on Kamino. Fairly salty but altogether near flavorless. 

The green circles were crisp and were spicy in a way that was like the tang of fresh cold air. The crispy bits tasted like inhaling dust and tasting the sweat on your brow, like hard but happy work.

 It was warm and cozy and took the edge off his disconnected Wrecker felt. Now that he could feel the Force, the food felt. It felt like warm sailing through a hall or the quiet togetherness of family—calm, collective peace. Wrecker decided feeling wasn't all that bad.

 They ate in silence for a bit, enjoying the food and each other before Sajaun finally spoke, "So, you wanted to know the plan, for if it all went wrong?" 

"And you have one?" Cross asked skeptically, "You weren't very keen on sharing earlier." 

"Well, I wasn't sure we were ready for this plan when we were getting to know each other still," Sajaun admitted with a shrug, like she was trying to sound nonchalant about the subject.

 "'Getting to know each other?'" Cross repeated with a near laugh, "I think that defaults after your first near-death experience together."

 "He's right," Hunter nodded with a smile, "You're one of us now." 

Sajaun looked oddly touched by that, "..thanks."

 "So what is the plan?" Tech asked straight to the point. 

Sajaun sighed big and heavy, "Running by the assumption the whole army will turn on us; I built the plan so that it should run without me."

 "That's why you wanted independent clones." Wrecker realized, "So that if you got killed during the coup, the plan would still work." 

"Yes." Sajaun smiled bittersweetly at him, "That's right." 

"So, how does it work?" Hunter asked. 

Sajaun took a pendant that matched their own and took the galaxy holo in her other hand, passing them across each other the holo map lit up with thousands of red dots scattered across the map. "These are the Jedi. All of them all across the galaxy." Sajaun said solemnly, "And if the coup comes to fruition, then I want you to save as many as you can. Any of them close to you. You'll need to take them by surprise and incapacitate them before the regs get to them. I'll slice the recording in the Temple to direct them to a safe location, and then comes the tricky part." 

"The tricky part?" Tech asked skeptically, "Compared to the first part that involved taking out a near superhuman warrior while an army tries to kill them?" 

Sajaun looked at them, deadly serious, and dryly said, "Compared to sneaking onto the military headquarters planet swarming with the military force sneaking into the sanctuary of the enemies base stealing all its proprietary and costly artifacts before reducing the traitors and blowing up their treasures trove and galactic symbol? Yes. The easy part." 

Wrecker turned her words over slowly. Complex concepts were not beyond him; it just took a while for him to compute. A side effect of a mishap with explosives training when he was a cadet. He was pretty sure he understood her, and he did not like it , " What?"

"You want us to sneak onto Coruscant after the military coup, sneak into the Jedi Temple, steal all its valuables and whoever is still inside, and then blow it up?" Hunter clarified. 

Wrecker stared stunned at Sajaun, so he had understood that right, "That's crazy!"  

"Why would we do that?" Cross shook his head, stunned, "We'd be doing our work for them!"

 "No." Sajaun said softly but firmly, "You'd be stealing their prize." 

"She's not wrong." Tech said equally quiet, "The Temple houses the greatest wealth of knowledge and artifacts in the galaxy. Millions of credits worth, invaluable information. It's a gold mine."

 "Doing this preserves the Jedi culture or, at the very least, saves it from being desecrated and used as propaganda ." Sajaun spat the word out like a vile curse. 

Hunter rubbed his face and looked like he had a headache, and oh, could Wrecker relate, "You want us to destroy a galactic monument and millennia' worth of history and data all to what? Get some kind of vindication?" 

"No," Sajaun said, eyes smoldered with something dangerous. "Not vindication. The only reason this plan will go into effect will be because the chips trigger. The Jedi will be dead . As will the Republic. And something darker will rise. I'm not asking you to fulfill a personal vendetta. I'm asking you to put cracks in the narrative that the story will tell. Either we will have it." Sajaun looked up from the mid-ground that had been on none of their faces but the wall behind them and looked Hunter dead in the eye, voice ice cold, "Or no one will."

Chapter Text

Hunter was still trying to wrap his head around the implications of an action that big when the proximity alarm went off. "What?"

 "Ah, we're about to drop out of hyperspace," Sajaun said, standing easily. 

"We left Takodana?" Tech asked, surprised. 

"Yes. I made the jump while you were all out. I didn't want to waste time." Sajaun admitted as she headed for the bridge. 

"Maybe wait next time," Hunter said, uneasy with the idea of being in transit without being aware or consulted on it as he followed her up. 

"Certainly." Sajaun agreed easily.

 "And where are we?" Cross asked, taking one of the bridge seats as they came to the crystal and glass bridge illuminated by the swirling blue of hyperspace. 

Sajaun smiled and flipped a few switches on the controls before the ship shuttered as it came back into real space, "Welcome to Daiyu."

 The planet below was a sickly yellow with swirling gray and yellow and tan smog below broken up by only the sight of dark miserable-looking cities with a steady stream of air traffic in and out. 

"It looks miserable," Wrecker commented, staring down at the planet as Sajaun joined the landing pattern. 

"It is. It's a haven for drug runners and debauchery." She smoothly shifted the ship towards the surface in tune with the rest of the air traffic and taking in the landing instructions. A ship nearly as big as a barrack, and she maneuvers it with the ease of a starfighter with lightspeed engines.

 "And why are we here?" Tech asked, looking up Daiyu on his datapad as far as Hunter could see from behind him. 

"To get some new supplies and to go hunting for some info," Sajaun said, sending over confirmation of landing instructions and flipping off the different sets of engines easily. 

"And how exactly are we doing that?" Hunter asked, eyeing the city below uneasily as it got closer. 

"Sometimes, the best way to get information is to go to the other side." Sajaun explained as her hands danced over the controls landing the Hyperion gently at its assigned spot, "Outside of Kessel the biggest growers of spice lay securely in the Separatist territories. And old Republic law restricts the transport and refinement of spice through certain quadrants and sectors having to do with old treaties and medical use. That's what made Dayiu a spice haven; it's on the old Spice Route and has become a tax haven for the commodity." 

"So?" Cross asked, sneering at the horrible landing zone around them, "What's that got to do with the mission?" 

"Let me tell you something about the 5 Crime Syndicates." Sajaun said, finishing shutting everything out and filing out the digital clearance work while she spoke, "They like money, a lot. And war makes them staggering amounts of money as a rule of thumb. I asked around with Maz, and it turns out spice is still flowing heavily out of Separatist space but at an inflated cost." 

"They're being taxed," Tech stated like it was obvious.

 "Yes. Which means the Sepreatest are making shattering amounts of money." Sajaun closed down the bridge, finishing everything up as she turned and looked at them, "The first rule in investigating anything is to follow the money. The money gets you the players, and the players help you decide who knows what."

 "But what do the Separatists have to do with the chips in the Republic's army?" Hunter asked, trying to figure out how she got from Crime Syndicates to Separatists banking of all things to Republic vulnerability.

 "Because," Sajaun stood, "The army was created ten years ago, far before the Separatists or Republic even began splitting. Whatever the plot is for the clones, it has nothing to do with the war. If we backtrack the creation of the army, we'll find what we're looking for. And since Syfo-Dias was on file for the Kaminoins as the Jedi who created the army, we'll start there." Hunter was pretty sure that didn't answer anything.

"And that means we're at the stang hole; why?" Cross asked, clearly annoyed.

 "Because Syfo-Dias' top informant is here. According to temple record and Maz," Sajaun shrugged, "And I need high-grade spice before it's refined, and this is the place to get it."

 The whiplash Hunter experience in that sentence alone couldn't be explained in words, " You WHAT?"  

Sajaun just snickered and patted Hunter on the shoulder as she passed, "Come on now, don't get your civvies in a twist; this'll be fun." They all just stared at her as she vanished out of the bridge.

 "When Cody said she was insane, I did not think he meant that," Tech said hesitantly.

Hunter groaned and scrubbed at his face with his hand. Cody, what did you get us into?

Chapter Text

Diayu was just as horrible on the ground as it was from the air. Tech decided it had topped the list of places he never wanted to set foot on again. He dodged another puking drunk and decided the Sith world had been better. 

Thankfully the crowds parted for Sajaun, who had done away with her Jedi robes but kept her gleaming, pristine Mando armor. They had all decided clone armor might be a bad idea and had geared up under the civies Sajaun had given them. Tech found he quite liked his scarf. 

He also found he had no clue what to do with the feeling in the Force running just barely out of his reach. It was fascinating and infuriating. But it was quite helpful to tell that while a good amount of the crowds were fully black-out high, another amount was dizzyingly drunk, and the few that weren't felt slimy and eyed Sajaun and her armor with equal parts cold want and chilly suspicion. They definitely wanted her armor but weren't willing to try and test her for it. Smart. 

Sajaun had kept her helmet firmly on as she led them into the depths of the city before finally coming to a stop at a seedy bar. "Alright, the target should be inside. We're gonna try running this like a mob shop. I'll do all the talking, and you'll all do your best show of icy silence as 'bodyguards,'" She even did the finger quotes, "We'll run it as a transaction. Should be done in a few minutes." 

"Then why are we here?" Cross asked, annoyed. 

"Because you need to get a feel for this kind of atmosphere. I work in a lot of gray areas. You all need to be able to function in it too." Sajaun said, a sharpness to her voice that Tech wasn't sure what to do with. It felt like, he focused on the pulsing of Sajaun's force signature, readiness. She made a good point, and his vode seemed to come to a similar conclusion as they followed her in.

 The establishment was fairly empty, and Tech was amused to find a few patrons fled on sight as Sajaun strolled in. Sajaun didn't slow and made her way over to a short Trandoshan woman sitting in a back booth, "You, Cid?" 

The woman eyed them all with her lizard eyes leaning back slowly, "Who's asking?" Her thick accent made understanding her tricky, but Tech made due. 

"I was told you were the person to see to get one's hands on unrefined grade A spice on the double," Sajaun said calmly, taking a seat, allowing Tech and his vode to take up a silence half circle around her, effectively boxing them both in.

 Cid looked them over slowly, "That's a hefty price, Mando; you got down payment?" 

Sajaun huffed under her breath, "How much you thinking?"

 "Two grand per pound, 40% upfront, rest upon delivery tonight." Cid considered, "And an extra four grand for bringing clones with you." Tech bites back the urge to object.

 Sajaun leans back in her seat, "And grand per pop? Understandable. Counteroffer. Three grand per pound, you eat the terms on concern of the clones, and we discuss a second venture." 

Cid grinned, showing way too many sharp teeth than Tech was comfortable with, "Why shouldn't I just shoot you all and collect a fat bounty from the government? You're Republic dogs; this is Separatist space. You have no jurisdiction here." The threat made them all tense. 

Sajaun just laughed, "Well, you could, but then it would get out that you're a Jedi snitch, and that's just bad for business." Cid stilled at Sajaun's words allowing her to continue, "Bad for continuing to breathe too." 

Cid narrowed her eyed at Sajaun, who stared impassively back from behind her helmet, "What do you really want, Mando?" 

Sajaun leaned forward, folding her arms on the table, "I'm here for outdated information, and I'll pay well for your trouble." 

"Outdated information?" Cid repeated suspiciously, "No one wants outdated information; that's stupid at best and a death sentence at worst." 

"Then consider me the fool you're about to roll for some serious cash." Sajaun said easily, "All I want to know is the last info and dealings you had with Sifo-Dyas ten years ago." 

"Sifo-Dyas?" Cid repeated, fiddling with her cup, "Now there's some old dirt. Why do you want it?" 

"Recent events have put his disappearance in a new light. I'm just trying to piece together his last days." 

"So you're a cop?" Cid eyed Wrecker and then Hunter behind Sajaun, "What's in it for me?" 

Sajaun slowly reached down to her belt and then pulled back out a fob and placing it on the table. It flickered to life after a moment. It was a property fob Tech realized, looking at the hologram of a bar. "A nice place on Ord Mantell. Paid off, in the neutral zones off the old Spice Lane with some very nice smuggler additions. The perfect place to start oneself up as an operator. All yours if you answer my questions." Cid stared at the property with greed in her eyes, and Tech had to admit, she was definitely hooked.

 "Look, it was a long time ago, and all of this is crap anyway, but for what it's worth, it was, odd at the time," Cid said, downing the last of her glass. 

"What happened?" Sajaun prompted, clicking the fob off. 

"I was just starting out back then, but even I could tell the dude was in way too deep." Cid explained, "At first, I thought he was high or something, but no, he was just jittery as kark. No one else would go near him on account of him being a Jedi, and looking back, stang delusional and suicidal. I wasn't that bright." 

"Okay, what he want?" Sajaun asked calmly. 

"He wanted to know about the pirate taxes on the Outer Rim Sectors towards the Rishi Maze if you'd believe it." Cid snorted, "That was at first." 

"And after?" Sajaun tilted her head. 

"Then he wanted to know about the Mando Protectors. Then the Trade Federation expansion projects. A whole slew of unconnected things. Then the last meeting I had with him, I thought for sure he was completely conked in the head. He wanted an introduction with the Pyke Syndicate with a karking Republic attaché in tow. Man was crazed. Never saw him again." Cid shrugged. 

Sajaun sat in silence for a moment taking it all in. In Tech's opinion, this Sifo-Dyas sounded like a nut case. "Crazed how?" Sajaun finally asked, "What did he physically look like?" 

"Like he was checked out for good." Cid said bluntly, "Sweaty, shaking, blabbering to himself." 

"We're his eyes yellow or orange or red?" Sajaun asked oddly specific. Traits of a Sith Tech recalled from his studies.

 "No?" Cid looked at Sajaun like she was crazy, "Why?" 

"Curiosity. There was a drug going around back then that didn't hit big." Sajaun lied smoothly, "You said he had an attaché with him?" 

"Yeah, squirrely guy jumping at his own shadow. Poor thing was completely out of his element with Sifo's insanity case." Cid nodded. 

"You remember who he was working for?" Sajaun asked next. 

"V something. Pretty official. Kinda felt bad for the guy," Cid chuckled, "Getting dragged out into Pyke Space and all with crazy town."

 Sajaun hummed, "And the head of the Pykes back then was-?" 

"Lom Pyke. Still based off Oba Diah. That's the last I knew of him." Cid nodded decisively, "Ten years ago, sending him and the baby-faced attaché off to the Pykes." 

Sajaun hummed again before sliding the property fob toward Cid, "Thank you for your cooperation. You've been very helpful. I'd also like 10 pounds of that spice at the price we discussed?" 

Cid blinked in silence at Sajaun, "You really have horrible tact. Anyone ever told you that?" 

Sajaun shrugged, rising to her feet and dropping a bad of credits on the table, "Only when I want to. See you tonight. Bay 86." 

"See you at 20 hundred." Cid grinned back, looking less devious and more delighted as she scooped up the credits and property fob eagerly, "Pleasure doing business with you." 

Sajaun didn't even both answering just turned and left, trusting them to follow.

 "What the kark was that?" Hunter demanded as they exited out of earshot and back onto the grimy streets.

 "I don't know what you're talking about. We got our info, and no one got shot." Sajaun shrugged, "Not seeing a problem here." 

"Where did you get that property?" Hunter hissed as they dodged spice sellers in the street. 

"Maz. You hungry?" Sajaun asked over her shoulder. 

"How did you know that property would work?" Cross asked as Sajaun paused at an amazing-smelling food cart and ordered some sort of naturally made cooked protein on a stick and bought a few. 

"I did my research while you were all conked out. Cid's been trying to go big time as an operator for ages now but doing that requires you to have an establishment to your name, which she's never been able to get enough collateral for. This way, I get my answers fast, and she gets what she wants. And if I ever need to go back to her, I've got some goodwill to bank on." Sajaun handed them the glazed portion on a stick. It wasn't as good as hers or Maz's cooking, but it was good.

"So let me get this straight." Hunter said, waving his stick around without yet trying it, "Our creator goes off the rails and makes a deal with the Pyke Syndicate to what? Get a fix? That doesn't make sense." 

"Guess we're gonna have to go find out," Wrecker commented bluntly, munching on his food with great fervor. Both Cross and Hunter immediately glare at him. 

"That would be the plan." Sajaun nodded back, holding her stick but helmet still firmly on, "The Pykes are our next lead."

 "Oh great," Hunter snapped, taking an angry bite out of his stick, "So we're just gonna go knock on the front door of a crime syndicate and go 'hi, we'd like to know if you killed this Jedi a decade ago?'"

 Sajaun didn't dignify that with a proper answer but snorted, laughed, and then turned and continued walking. Tech licked the last of the spicy sweet, and tangy glaze off the stick and tossed it in the direction of the trash can next to Hunter. This just kept getting more interesting, "So it would seem."

Chapter Text

Cross glared down at the sealed case of spice like if he did; it would vanish. "Remind me why we're doing this?" Hunter asked Sajaun, who was out of sight up in her antique floor rummaging around.

 "Because I want you to be able to defend yourself against Force users. This is the fastest way to teach you." Sajaun hollered back from upstairs. There was a clattering, and a moment later, she appeared at the top of the stairs, an ancient-looking case in hand.

 "What is that?" Tech asked as she popped the case open on the table next to the case of spice.

 "Tools of the trade. You have the med kits?" Sajaun asked, pulling out an archaic kit with a concerning amount of evil-looking daggers and little glowing vials. 

"Do I want to know why you need our blood work?" Cross asked, watching as she unsealed the spice case.

 "Spice is an old substance and has medical and hallucinogenic properties. It was originally used in old rituals before becoming both a drug and medicine." Sajaun said, slipping gloves on before carefully running her hand through the dark red and orange dust. 

"And the blood?" Wrecker asked, watching as she carefully measured out a small amount of Spice and placed it into a medical dish.

 "Blood ID's you uniquely, and it activates the Force properties of the Spice so long as it hasn't been treated like they do for the drug," Sajaun said, resealing the case. 

"That's why you wanted grade A unrefined." Tech nodded, watching as she measured out her leftover blood from the blood draw earlier. 

"Yes. That is exactly why." Sajaun said, pouring the blood into the bowl also. She murmured again as it began to bubble and sizzle and then carefully stirred it until she got a paste.

 "And what exactly are you doing with it?" Cross couldn't help but ask, eyeing the now steaming paste with unease.

 "Well, I can't have you all just walking in looking like clones, can I?" Sajaun said calmly, swiping the paste up with two fingers. 

"And that's supposed to help how?" Hunter asked, watching as she carefully dabbed and smeared the paste across her cheekbones and at random places on her face before carefully clawing her hands. It now looked like she had war paint made of her own blood which was just freaky. 

"Watch." Sajaun grinned before closing her eyes and murmuring again, making the hair on the back of Cross's neck stand up at the sound. The paste sizzled and glowed green for a moment as Sajaun murmured again in a chant, and then the glow faded, and Crosshair just stared . Her facial structure was now completely changed from what it had been. Nearly unrecognizable.

 "See?" Sajaun grinned at them, and it was jarring hearing her voice from the face of another's face. 

"That's incredible." Wrecker gaped in awe.

 "It's safe, right?" Hunter asked hesitantly, interest bleeding into his voice.

 "So long as you use your own blood, yes. Others can apply it for you." Sajaun explained, measuring out more Spice in more little bowls, "You'll be using this specific type for when we crash the Pykes. That way, it can't be traced back to the Republic or the clones. But this is the base for hundreds of other easy spells and tricks I can teach you. Easy things that level the playing field. Things even most of the sisters don't know anymore." 

Cross watched as she carefully labeled each bowl with their names so there wasn't a mix-up. "And what exactly is the plan for this next part?" 

We gonna get to dress up all fancy like?" Wrecker asked eagerly, "Like those holo films?"

 "I think it would be more along the lines of what we did yesterday." Tech said, measuring out his ingredients by the directions he'd pulled from the ancient case with pinpoint precision, "Intimidation and honesty."

 Cross looked over at Sajaun as a near-manic smile grew on her face, "Oh," She said casually, rolling the paste around on her fingers into a ball, "I was thinking of something a bit more fun ." 

Cross couldn't help but grin. Oh, he was definitely beginning to like how she thought.

Chapter Text

When Sajaun had said 'fun,' Hunter hadn't thought she'd met it quite so, explosively. Wrecker definitely had a new best friend. 

"Yeah!" Hunter chuckled as a Wrecker hollered, watching impressed as the whole landing platform exploded into flames and then collapsed down the cliffs into the clouds below. Welp. The Pykes knew they were here now. 

The response was instant. Blaster fire erupted from the cover of the fortress in front of them. Sajaun darted forward, heedless of the danger or leaving them behind. They had enough cover with the decorative walkway, though, for now. 

A moment later, the fortress's windows where the shots were coming from exploded. The shots stopped as smoke bellowed out of the small windows. 

Hunter hurried over to where Sajaun was planting something she and Wrecker had cooked up on the flight over on the door. "When Cody said we were all gonna be independent, this wasn't quite what I had in mind."

Sajaun chuckled, focusing on the bomb in front of her, "Snap decisions, not your thing?" 

"How is it that you can have the most masterful plans I've ever heard of and still be the most unpredictable person even when I know the plan?" Hunter asked, partly amused, part exasperated.

 Sajaun barked out a laugh, face bared to the world clothed in bounty hunter armor and traveler clothing face disguised, "That question has haunted the Council and every last student I've ever taught." 

Hunter shifted as they all found cover, familiar armor digging into his joints as unfamiliar armor and faces painted him and his brothers. The blood magic had painted not only their faces but their armor too. Jolting but slowly becoming normal. 

"Do the honors?" Sajaun tossed Wrecker the detonator. Wrecker squealed like a cadet on sweets day and early jammed the button. The door blew apart, opening the atrium to them. 

"The greeting room should be directly down this hall at the end to the right," Tech said as they stepped over the smoking remains of the door.

 A team came charging around the corner towards them, but Cross had them down before they could get their weapons up, "Excellent." 

"Let's make it quick. We got an army headed our way." Sajaun warned, following Tech down the hall. 

It would have been a nice compound, Hunter figured, looking at the vaulted ceilings and inlaid stone in the gleaming wood, if it wasn't dark and reeking of Spice and waste. "How long do you need?" Hunter asked as they came to the huge carved wooden door that separated them from the Pkye leader Lom Pyke. 

"Not long." Sajaun said, letting Tech overload the door lock, "But I don't know." 

"Clear," Tech warned, letting them all jump out of the way of the door as they swung open. Blaster fire erupted immediately, filling the doorway from inside, shooting at anything or nothing. 

"Wreck!" Hunter hollered when it lasted a moment longer. Wrecker pulled out a flash bomb and threw it in. Two bangs later and Cross and Hunter entered first, picking up any stragglers as the smoke cleared. Tech and Sajaun followed, scanning for Lom in the wreckage.

 "Found him," Tech called, rolling over a limp Pyke. The being glared up, glazed eyes and dazed as all the nine blazes. 

"He's high as kark." Hunter huffed, glaring at the man who lulled his head to look at him.

 "Who're you?" Lom slurred. 

Hunter ignored him and turned to Sajaun, "And how do you plan to deal with that?" 

Sajaun stared at the strung-out Pyke leader before pulling out a cloth case and then prepping a syringe with some sort of lavender liquid. "Hunter, hold him still for a moment. Wreck, Cross, get the door. Tech, see what you can find on the consoles." 

Hunter held the mostly lethargic being down for Sajaun to insert the syringe into his neck and empty it before stepping back. "You might want to stand clear," Sajaun advised. 

Hunter stepped out of the way just in time for the being to freeze and then roll over and begin puking. "What did you give him?" Hunter asked, staring in disgust as the being picked up seemly all the contents of his many stomachs. 

"Fast-acting Spice inhibitor. It nullifies the Spice. If you have too much in your system, it will forcibly reject it all." Sajaun said smugly, slipping it back into her case, and it vanished back into her clothing. Hunter decided he didn't feel all that bad about the Syndicate leader as he gagged out bile.

 "What did you give me?" The man moaned. 

"Not to worry, Mr. Lom. It'll pass eventually," Sajaun answered, watching as the man finally weakly rolled over. 

"Who are you?" Lom squinted up at them, body still shaking, "How did you get in here?" 

"No matter. I'm just here to ask you some questions." Sajaun said briskly, crouching to look eye to eye with the man, "All I want to know is what Sifo Dyas wanted to talk about ten years ago." 

"Sifo- who are you? Some sort of cop?" Lom glared up at her.

 "No. I'm just here for information. Now, Sifo-Dyas." Sajaun pressed, reaching out a hand and settling it on his wrist. 

Lom blinked at the touch as though trying to clear his head and then began speaking like he was high again, "Jedi. He was a Jedi. He- he was- was coming through our sector towards the Rishi Maze. We we were paid to- to" He paused and blinked again, "To get rid of him on the way back." 

"Was anyone with him?" Sajaun asked calmly.

 "Yes. Valorum's attaché." Lom nodded lazily. 

"And who ordered the hit?" Sajaun asked like she had all the time in the world in the middle of the destroyed Syndicate throne room.

 " Tyranus." Lom hissed. 

"Tyranus?" Sajaun repeated.

 " Yes that son of a gundark. He's a slippery one." Lom spat. 

"And what does this Tyranus look like?" Sajaun asked with a new hardness to her tone, "Just picture him in your head." 

Hunter stared as she and Lom went still as she kept her hand on his wrist. It felt like his skin had tightened uncomfortably in the air through his new sense. Unsettling.

"Door's prepped, but it won't hold forever. How much longer?" Cross as he and Wrecker came back over. 

"Not sure. I think she's almost done." Hunter shrugged, looking over at the barricaded and booby-trapped door, "Nice work." 

"The data here suggests that the Pykes are deep in business with the Separatists," Tech spoke up from behind the wall of counsels.

 "Yes." Sajaun said loudly, letting go of Lom and letting him crash to the floor with a thunk, "They are. Pull up the holo logs." Hunter joined Sajaun as she stepped behind Tech to scan the entries.

 "Mostly from Pyke-controlled worlds, a few distribution ports, Kessel." Tech read off. 

"There!" Hunter pointed out a few recurring transmissions, "Serenno." 

"The Count? Personally?" Crosshair asked aloud. 

"Tech, scrap the servers of anything you can grab. Everyone else, load up your kits with anything that looks valuable. It'll look like a smash-and-grab. Exit?" Sajaun directed before turning to Hunter.

 Hunter nodded to the window behind her as had been the plan all along, "Right behind you." 

Sajaun grinned, "See? I told you this would be fun."

Chapter Text

Wrecker was all for crazy plans, but even for him, this was pushing it. "That'll never work." 

"Why not?" Sajuan asked innocently, face back to normal.  

"You want to infiltrate Count Dooku's home and break into his vaults, on a hunch?" Crosshair clarified. 

"How do you even know if Tyranus is Dooku?" Hunter pointed out. 

"Process of elimination." Sajaun shrugged, "Darth Tyranus is a Sith title. Dooku has been running around with a red lightsaber claiming to be a Sith. And since he's not claiming to be the master, it's safe to say he's the Apprentice. That and that's who Lom envisioned when he thought of Tyranus."

 "This just gets more and more complicated." Trch pointed out bluntly. 

"So you want to break into a Sith's home and steal whatever else is in his safe?" Hunter clarified again, "That's suicide."

 "No. It's not. Dooku leads the Separatist Senate, which has a very delicate vote on expanding their army that week." Sajaun explained, pulling up the announcement on her datapad, "The planet of Sennero has an annual festival at the same time. Their people of tradition, and the whole city shuts down for the party. No one will be any the wiser. He won't even be home." Okay, to be fair, it sounded way less crazy when she put it that way. Like the good kind of crazy!

"So we use the party as cover to sneak in and get a look at his setup, and then what?" Cross challenged.

 "Well, that will depend on what we find in his vaults." Sajaun shrugged, playing with some of the trinkets they'd seized from the Pykes. 

"What do you think we'll find?" Wrecker asked eagerly, thinking of the vast war chest Dooku no doubt had acquired.

 "I don't know. He doesn't strike me as one to keep the dark ritual tools, so some of the more scary artifacts are off the table. Probably some ancient art. A few Sith holograms, maybe." Sajaun mused with a shrug, "But certainly nothing we can't handle."

  We. She said it so easily, included them with such nonchalance, like they were all a unit. Which Wrecker supposed they were. 

"Do you think our abilities are ready?" Hunter asked seriously, "Going into a Sith's home seems almost like going into one of their temples again. Will we have those problems?"

 "Perhaps." Sajaun considered, "But it is nothing you are all not ready for. You are all quite capable with the magic I have shown you, and your ability to recognize and control your Force signatures is quite good." Sajaun smiled, showing them with praise, "You'll be fine." 

They had indeed been practicing the magic and the Force ever since they'd gotten a grasp on it, and while Wrecker wouldn't say they were good, he would say that they were bad. 

"Might I ask where you learned the magic from?" Tech asked, "It's not something commonly found." 

"Ah," Sajaun nodded slowly, stretching her legs under the table, "My Master was a Nightsister eons ago when they were in better standing with the Jedi and galaxy at large. She taught me. And I, in turn, have taught it to every student I've had." 

"And Generals Kenobi, Koon and Windu?" Hunter asked, curious, "Were they your students?" 

"Yes. They were at different times. I've taught very few students through the eons and never for a full apprenticeship." Sajaun mused before smiling brightly, "Perhaps you shall all be my first!" Sajaun Ka's first fully trained apprentices, Wrecker, liked the sound of that!

 "Did you teach them that language you all were speaking?" Tech asked curiously. 

"Ah, somewhat." Sajaun nodded slowly, "The language is called Dai Bendu. It's the ancient language of the Jedi. It's been phased out for hundreds of years now. It's only really used in ceremonies anymore, but they knew a bit of it. I simply taught them more." 

"Could you teach us?" Cross asked interest, coloring his tone even as he seemed to appear unaffected. 

"Oh yeah!" Wrecker nodded quickly, normally, new languages were hard for him, but with the thrumming current of the Force in the back of his head, it felt like anything was possible, "Teach us!" 

Sajaun chuckled and leaned over to check the hyperspace chrono, "Well, we've got a few hours still in hyperspace. I don't see why not."

 And so Wrecker and his brothers huddled down in the breakfast nook of the kitchen, and Sajaun taught them perhaps one of their most powerful skills.

Chapter Text

The rolling hills of gold and green caught the sun and lit up in all their summer glory. Sajaun inhaled the fresh air deeply and sighed.

 She was going to be Knighted tomorrow. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Part of her felt so ready; nine years of apprenticeship was no joke. Yet something whispered to wait. She was torn.

 "Saj! Saj!" A small child's voice rang out behind her making her turn.

 "Yes, Nico?" She grinned down at her soon-to-be lineage brother, a young Rodian Initiate grinning up at her with his big galactic eyes.

 "Vio wants you." Nico grinned at her. 

"Well then," Sajaun grinned at the young boy, "We best not keep her waiting." 

With that, she swept her almost little brother off his feet to his shrieks of delight and took flight. Soaring over the Jedi camp was always something extraordinary. With a quick and sure flap of her powerful wings, she landed outside of her Master's tent.

 "Nice landing." One of the native people commented as she eased Nico off her back. 

"Thanks." Sajaun grinned, turning to face them.

And then suddenly something s h u d d e r e d. 

And then snapped.

  Nico yelped in fear as the group of natives lunged at them, and Sajaun had just enough time to scoop him up and knock over their attackers with her wings before the blaster bolts started flying. 

Nico screamed in pain, and Sajaun threw him under her and pulled her wings around them both as pain exploded at her back, and blaster fire began smashing into her from every angle. All it was was pain.

 Pain in her body and pain leaching through her mind while sheer death and want ripped through her consciousness as thousands died in a moment and hundreds more fell into black suffering. 

Sajaun gagged at the feeling as the blaster fire suddenly stopped allowing her to gingerly rollover. Nico lay dead under her, and her wings screamed of near black-out pain, and Sajaun silently sobbed in horror. 

And then she looked up. And she was no longer in the rolling hills or the tent camp. There were no enemies coming to kill her.

 The ground around her shifted, and suddenly she was sitting in the middle of a dark and dead forest full of black trees and gray smoke. Stumbling to her feet, her wings now long gone, she inhaled the sharp smell of air-tightly and looked around properly.

 Around her lay the dead, both new bodies and old rotting away on the ground like trash, and she recognized the dress. The people. The place. 

She knew this place. 

A sobbing scream broke through the death, and she whirled in time to see a woman as white as a ghost dressed like the dead stumble out of the shadows. "They are dead! They are dead !" The woman screamed, sobbing, " He killed them! " 

Sajaun met the woman's distraught gaze and suddenly knew how she knew this place. " Dathamire." 

Sajaun jolted awake, gagging as she gasped for air. Over ten years of her life and 3000 of time and she still had nightmares about that day.

 The last part was new, though. Dathamire in ruin. All the nightsisters murdered. An interesting development indeed. Assuming it was indeed a vision. 

Sajaun sighed and kicked her legs out of her bed, giving up on sleep for now. It was seep in the sleep cycle, and the lulled signatures of the Bad Batch, as they'd jokingly coined themselves, were still asleep. 

Sajuan flipped on the holo news quietly and allowed her brain to come down from its high. The news was running a story on the capture of the Hutt gangster Ziro by the Jedi on Coruscant. 

In the middle of a war and the Senate was still only concerned about how their seat of power looked on the holo. Typical politicians.

 Sajaun slowly fell into an almost meditative mindset when an almost familiar face flashed over the holo feed. Sajaun blinked, aware, and gasped as galactic eyes stared back at her. For a moment, she swore it was Nico, all grown up. But it was Senator Onaconda Farr. The Rodian senator from Rodia.

 She stared as the news kept rolling and finally found out why the Senator was on the news. He had been wavering between sides recently, only to finally settle with the Republic. He was against the new military expansion act. And he'd just been assassinated.

  Military expansion. Sajaun turned the term over in her head. Expansion meant more clones. Five million more if the news was right.

 5 million more clones. Clones who were commissioned be Sith. Clones who were a liability. Clones who could very well kill the Jedi.

 Sajuan tightened her hold on her shields and stared in horror as the newscaster prattled on about the war. It felt like the darkness filling the once-bright space was like quicksand around her feet.

 Black mud tugged her down at her knees when she tried to walk. She was probably the only one who even noticed it by now. The Jedi were so used to it they didn't even realize they were blind. 

Sajaun closed her eyes and envisioned Coruscant, bleeding red like she'd seen in her vision. A thousand shatter points all crystallized over the planet. Her ears still rang with the evil laughter of the Sith Master, and in her mind's eye, she could see the red eyes glowing down at her.

 She opened her eyes quickly, banishing the memories. The danger was undeniably growing. If she didn't solve this mystery soon, she was becoming certain that the fallout from whatever this master plan was, would never stop being felt.

Chapter Text

Okay, so they had fake faces and fake DNA and knew enough Force and magic to hide how you looked, felt, and were perceived, but Hunter stood by the decision sneaking into a Separatist stronghold should not be this easy. 

"Relax," Sajaun murmured next to him, looking like a rich arms dealer today, looping her arms around his and resting it on the small of his back.

 He glared down at her, annoyed at how easy this seemed to her, "Forgive me if I was never trained for undercover work." 

"That's fine, but the key to it is confidence, and you, for some reason, seemed convinced we're gonna fail," Sajaun said softly, sipping her drink. 

Hunter glowered but forced himself to relax, "Can we please move to the crime part so we can leave?" 

"Soon, Hunter." Tech huffed over the comms, "You must wait for the entertainment to begin."

 Hunter sighed as Sajaun poked his signature with amusement, "Why is it that all your plans involve crime?" 

"Yours normally involve shooting everything in sight Hunter." Cross pointed out blandly from the comms also where the three of them got to stay on the Hyperion for this mission.

 "I like those." Wrecker offered. 

Sajaun hid her smile behind her glass, "After the first purge, I escaped off-world with some Mandos. That's how I earned my armor. But I couldn't stay in one place for long. I was a bounty hunter for a while, and then I became a thief. By the time we had finally regrouped on Jedah, I was very good." 

"You were a thief?" Hunter eyes the woman next to him. He could see it.

 "I was a lot of things, Hunter. Here comes our distraction." Sajaun drained her glass and nodded to the fireworks display being rolled out on the plaza. 

"Cameras ready to go on loop on your call," Tech advised. 

"Here we go," Hunter murmured, following Sajaun into the crowd and toward the back. The fireworks went off with a bang and a chorus of 'ohhhhsss.' 

"Now," Sajaun warned before sliding the side door open and bolting. Hunter ran after her, quickly trusting Tech to loop the cameras. They made it to the service lift easily, and Sajaun punched the bottom level quickly. 

Hunter looked away quickly as Sajaun produced tools from Force knew where on her form-fitting dress that showed way too much skin than he was comfortable with from anyone who wasn't a vode. 

"Tech, how long we got?" Sajaun asked, poking him with one of his stun pistols. Hunter took it quickly, checking the charge. 

"You have 3 minutes before the system will catch the loops. Maybe longer if there're any patrols." Tech warned what was already knew.

 "Copy that." Hunter nodded, reviewing the plan in his head. He was to back Saj up and make sure no one snuck up and caught them while she broke in and found what they needed. The doors slid open and they were confronted by their first problem. 

There were patrols. Just not the kind you could stun. Two MagnaGuards stared back at them armed with electro staffs as sentries by the door.

 "Kark," Hunter swore. Sajaun didn't hesitate, raising her hands; he thought for a moment she was going to use the Force only for black power to shoot from both her hands, catching both droids in the chest and melting their circuits. 

"Kark!" Hunter jumped as they both crumpled. 

"Kark what? What's happening, are we blown?" Cross demanded over comms, "Hunter, I can't see you talk to me." 

"We're fine. Saj took out some Mag guards, though." Hunter said, finally finding his voice.

 "Mag guards?!" Crosshair repeated, shocked.

 "How the kriff did you do that?" Wrecker demanded. 

"Later, boys, we're on the clock." Sajaun dismissed the questions, easily stepping over the droids and inserting her tools into the first of the locks.

 Hunter quickly looked over the droids, taking their staffs and pulling them apart so they wouldn't work but sadly leaving them on the ground. They couldn't take anything with them. 

Sajaun opened the first blast door to access the vault door. Hunter watched as she burned a laser hole in first before putting some sort of plate on the door and then began working with the tumblers.

 Hunter quickly looked around the halls and found them empty and fought the urge to hurry Saj. He knew he couldn't be speaking while she worked. Her eyes were closed as she stayed in tune with the slightest sounds in the door. 

Thunk .

 Hunter whirled in time to see Saj grin, open her eyes and pull the door open slowly.

 "Wow," Hunter murmured, staring at a vault filled with the Separatist war chest.

 "Someone's here," Sajaun said, suddenly straightening.

 Hunter opened his mouth to ask what when a pretense full of coldness brushed against his own. " Kriff! " He jumped out of his skin at the touch slamming the shields Saj had taught him down.

 "You're gonna have to go find the info," Sajaun said seriously, holding the data access slicer out to him.

 "How will I know what we need?" Hunter asked numbly, taking the slicer. He wasn't the one who knew what they needed! She was asking me to find, no, trusting him to find your next link to stop a genocide. This was too much. 

"Hunter." Sajaun said firmly, grabbing his arm firmly, "You'll know. You just need to listen . To your knowledge and the Force. You'll know it when you see it." 

She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. In the depth of his brain, he suddenly felt her cool and calm, easing his fear. You got this .

 Hunter inhaled slowly, turned, and slowly stepped into the vault.

Chapter Text

This wasn't part of the plan.

 "This isn't part of the plan!" Crosshair hissed, staring at the comm channel.

 "I have video one moment," Tech said, pulling over a new counsel, and a moment later, two images of the hall came up. One was the looped feed showing the guards and an empty hall.  The other showed the downed guards and the open vault. Sajaun stood in front of the open door fiddling with her comm before dropping it into a stupidly small purse. 

"What is she doing?" Wrecker asked, staring in confusion. 

Cross choked back a swear as he watched Sajaun drop her disguise, shedding the false face and morphing into the woman he knew, "I don't know." 

"Do you have audio?" Wrecker asked, leaning over Tech's other shoulder. 

"Yes." Tech flipped it on, and a moment later, the air was full of static. 

Cross watched as Sajaun straightened suddenly, staring at something they couldn't see, and then smiled. "Hello, sister." 

Crosshair could feel both Wrecker and Tech tense next to him. Sister?  

"You're not my sister." A female voice hissed. And the Cross saw who Sajaun was talking to. Asajj Ventress, the Separatist assassin.

 Sajaun tilted her head, a smile still on her face, "Really? You are a Nightsister of the witches of Dathomire, are you not?" 

"I was." The dark assassin hissed, stalking forward, hands resting in her twin Sabers but leaving them unlit on her hips.

 "Then you and I are sisters." Sajaun said simply with a shrug, "Why are you here?" Sajaun looked around the halls like she was judging them, "Doesn't really seem your style."

 "You know nothing of my choices, sister ." Asajj hisses, coming closer. 

"Perhaps, but let us see if I can't guess." Sajaun leaned against the wall blocking the vault door, "You hit rock bottom for some reason or another. Alone. Powerless. Betrayed. And that's when Dooku came to you—promised you power. The ability to never be powerless again. Never helpless. And you agreed. And he taught you power and anger, and you ate it up, hungry for more. But he never did. He's been stringing you along with empty promises and hollow teachings and leaving you wanting." 

"He is a great master! greater than those sniveling Jedi give him credit for!" Ventress snarled, "He will take me on as his Apprentice when his master is gone!" 

"Really?" Sajaun asked, voice dripping with skepticism, "Do you even think he could?" 

"What?" Asajj blinked, pausing her prowling.

 "Do you think Dooku even could beat a Sith master?" Sajaun asked simply, "I don't think he could. I think he's far too old. Too weak. No, he's using you to do his dirty work for this war, and sooner or later, he'll be rid of you."

 Cross watched as Ventress's face contorted in rage, and her Sabers flew to her hands, "How dare you." 

Sajaun raised a hand, and the red blades died in Ventress's hands, "You know it's true. If you didn't, your kyber would not be so unsettled." 

"He swore he'd make me powerful!" Ventress roared, swinging her useless hilts around in anger. 

Sajaun raised an eyebrow looking supremely unimpressed, "How's that going for you? He's off doing his grand Sith Lord duties, and you're here, what, lurking?"

 Ventress snarled, "You might be able to stop my kyber Jedi, but you can't stop an army of droids!"

 Crosshair tense, watching her turn, clearly ready to bolt and get reinforcements. Even if Saj and Hunter left now, they were in the middle of the complex. They'd never made it out, "We're blown." 

But then Sajaun reached out her hand to Ventress, who froze in her tracks. Even from here, Cross could feel the Force suddenly tense and almost crackle, watching spellbound as Sajaun seemed to immune Ventress with something. The moment dragged on, and Cross eyed the standoff, and the fluctuating numbers on Tech's screen with bated breath. All at once, the spell ended. Saj relaxed, and Ventress collapsed as the connection cut. 

"What was that?" Ventress gasped, pressing a hand to her head.

 "A vision of your future now, sister." Sajaun said gently, coming forward, hands outstretched in peace, "He will end you, Ventress. If you continue on this road of anger and hate and vengeance, Dathomire, your past, your culture, and your sisters, will die by his hand. Is this all really worth it?" Sajaun asked empathetically, coming over to stand next to the trembling assassin. 

"What are you?" Ventress whispered, looking up, voice hoarse, "You're no Jedi. And you're not a Sith. But you're not just a Nightsister, either. What are you, sister?" 

Sajaun crouched slowly so she was eye to eye with Ventress, "I'm what you could become. Your path doesn't have to be the one he set before you, Ventress. You can change the galaxy. All you have to do is take the first step." 

Sajaun pulled Ventress to her feet, standing face to face with one of the most feared assassins in the galaxy freely, "Go home, Asajj Ventress. Go home to your sisters. And then find your own way." 

"What of my kyber?" Ventress finally asked, holding up her useless Sabers. 

"They will function once you come to peace. Consider them signals of your growth. They will come alight when you are ready." Sajaun said gently, running her fingers over both hilts in Asajj's grip. 

"I'll be losing everything I've built," Ventress shook her head uneasy, "everything I am." 

"Ah," Sajaun smiled genuinely and warmly that even though the holo screen Cross could feel her sincerity, "But you might just find yourself a free woman." 

Sajaun reached up and placed her thumb on her forehead, fingers flared out in a greeting-like gesture, "Good luck to you, Asajj Ventress, sister of the night." 

Asajj stepped back, an odd look on her face, "Thank you, sister." and then she was gone.

Cross could feel the tensions in his ribs decrease as she vanished down the hall. "How did you know that would work?" Tech demanded as soon as Saj put her comm back in. 

"I didn't." Sajaun looked up at the camera with a shrug, "I had hope. And the greatest thing we can do in a galaxy so vast is pass kindness on. She needed help. So I helped her as someone did for me years ago. It is the simplest idea in the world; pay it forward." Sajaun tilted her head, eyes sliding past the camera to the midground, "the most profound too." 

"But you let her go!" Wrecker insisted, indignant.

 "The smallest acts of kindness, compassion, understanding, and empathy have ripple effects, Wrecker." Sajaun said, turning back to the vault and the doors, "The smallest thing can make all the difference for you. Today she has gotten her second chance; perhaps tomorrow, someone else will get theirs through her. And who knows?" Sajaun smiled brightly over her shoulder at the camera, "It might come back to help us one day." 

Crosshair watched as she climbed into the vault also and chuckled to himself—a small step indeed to extend a hand to one's enemy but perhaps the biggest risk of all.

Chapter Text

The Separatist war chest wasn't the most impressive war chest Sajaun had ever seen, but it was pretty nice. She snagged a handcrafted Russuan age crystal statue as she wandered through the shelves in search of Hunter. Piles of riches and all of it could be worthless in a moment.

 Sajaun huffed at the thought, finally finding Hunter hunched over a private console. She reached out and let her signature brush against his before she spoke, "Find anything?" 

Hunter didn't jump but did look over his shoulder, "Maybe. Take a look at this." 

Sajaun leaned over his shoulder to look at the holo screen, "Battle statistics?"

 "Yeah, taking past wins and losses and protecting outcomes on coming campaigns." Hunter pointed, "But see here?" 

Sajaun looked at the other row next to the past statistics, "Are those projected future battles?" 

"Yeah. And they're weird." Hunter nodded, dropping his hand. 

"How so?" Sajaun asked, unfamiliar with this particular line of thought.

 "Well, a lot of these are projected as Separatist wins on campaigns that the Republic is going to win." 

"What do you mean?" Sajaun frowned, looking at the list again.

 "Like here." Hunter pointed, "Umbara. It's getting pounded by two separate campaigns. Both of whom are winning, by the way." Hunter explained, "Now this says it'll be a victory within two weeks." Hunter looked over at her, "The Republic's going to hold the planet in five days ." 

Sajaun frowned, slowly leaning against the shelf closest to her, "Could the statistics be wrong?" 

"Well, yes, but here," Hunter pointed at a rolling code of numbers in the corner, "These odds are being recalculated in real-time, taking into account events as they come in. They know they're losing. They're still saying it's gonna be a win."

 Sajaun frowned, turning it all over in her head, "So what do they know that we don't?" 

"Something's wrong." Hunter agreed, looking at her, "What do you wanna do?" 

Sajaun hummed, thinking. They needed to close up the vault and be gone in the next few minutes, but they still needed this data, "Can you tap into it?"

 "What, alter it? No. It's specifically designed to be unsliceable." Hunter shook his head. 

"No. Don't change anything. Leave us a way to view the data also." Sajaun sat in the desk seat and quickly sliced into the monitoring output, "Bingo. It's transmitted out to the Separatist fleet so they can consult it. So if we just piggyback on it...." She quickly set up the piggyback frequency. 

"Alright, we'll have Tech look at it later. Let's go!" Hunter hissed.

 "Yeah yeah, coming." Sajaun sighed, flipping everything off and standing. She jogged after Hunter looking around at all the fun antiques, when she spotted something she'd seen in ages.

 She skidded to a stop in the hall, "No way." Faintly she heard Hunter yelling at her but quickly scrambled over to one of the piles and yanked out the ancient Bendu staff. Created eons ago. Possibly from Origin itself. "Woah." 

Sajaun stepped back, admiring the beautiful polished white and expert craftsmanship wrapping her bare hands around the cool material- and suddenly, she wasn't in the Serenno war vault.

 She was standing in the Temple halls screaming and smoke streaming from the main hander, a Mirialan young woman fleeing with a grin.

 "I didn't do it!" A Togruta teen girl cried, staring at a bunch of faceless people in Jedi robes, "I didn't!" Cold filled her bones.

 "They won't believe you, I'm afraid." A voice said, sounding kind but eerily distorted. 

The face of a clone with a goatee flashed through her mind, "You have to listen to me!" He sounded frantic. 

"Sajaun!" Hunter's face was suddenly in her sight. He yanked the staff out of her hands harshly. 

 A vision. Sajaun realized, inhaling slowly, she'd had a vision.

 "Are you okay?" Hunter demanded, yanking her swiftly into reality. 

"Yeah. Yeah. Bring the staff." Sajaun nodded, trying to find her equilibrium once more.

 "Seriously?" Hunter gave her an annoyed glare. 

"Just bring it!" Sajaun huffed, turning and jogging towards the door, "We need to get out of here."

 "And go where?" Hunter asked, catching up with her as they climbed out of the vault.

 "Eventually? Coruscant." Sajaun stated, words ringing true in her bones. She closed the vault with a hiss, "All roads inevitably lead to Coruscant."

Chapter Text

Tech wasn't sure what to make of Sajaun Ka's plans. They were certainly colorful. But their results were, interesting. 

"Battle statistics?" Crosshair said slowly, clearly both confused and mad.

 "Wait, we did this all for some statistics?" Wrecker clarified, frowning, "That seems like overkill.

 "It is!" Crosshair growled, "You two almost got caught and killed in the heart of Separatist space, and all you got were statistics?!" Hunter wordlessly handed Tech the datapad that had the sliced feed on it while Crosshair ranted. 

"But we're fine! It worked out! And we have a lead; what's the problem?" Sajaun argued, sounding legitimately confused. 

Hunter quickly stepped between her and Cross, putting a soothing hand on Cross's arm before Cross could go back to ranting. "We took a risk today. A calculated one but a risk nonetheless. Cross is just expressing his worry." 

Sajaun's face became skeptical, but her defensive posture eased, "Fine." 

"What do these statistics say anyway?" Wrecker asked, "Why were they so important?" 

Hunter sighed, taking a seat in the booth rumpling his nice suit, "That was my call, actually. Something's wrong with them." 

Tech looked down at the rolling numbers carefully at that. He didn't doubt Hunter, but he liked to figure it out himself.

 "Wrong; how?" Cross demanded. 

"They're stating victories where there should be losses before the battles ever finish or sometimes even begin," Hunter explained, waving his hand around.

 "Someone's leaking information." Cross stated agitation lowering. 

"Yeah, but who or how, I don't know." Hunter nodded.

 "Tech?" Sajaun prompted, "Can you tell us?" 

Tech frowned at the massive amounts of data in front of him, "Eventually, yes, but not yet. I need time to figure it out. It's a lot."

 "So what do we do until then?" Wrecker asked, looking at them all. 

"We start with what we do know." Sajaun decided, nodding firmly, "We start with Umbara."

"The shadow world?" Hunter clarified, sitting up, "You want to take us into an active battle campaign just like that?"

"Why not?' Sajaun shrugged, "We're more than capable, and what we need to know lies on Umbara. We don't have a choice."

"Alrighty then," Wrecker said slowly, "The shadow world it is."

Sajaun nodded as Wrecker headed to punch in the coordinates into the Nav, "Tech, I want to know everything we can from those statistics, if they can give us even a hint of who is friend or foe before we hit the ground, I want to know it."

Tech considered. The sheer amount of statistics they'd brought would be a challenge, but she was right; any information at all would give them an edge. Thankfully Saj's caf was just as well stocked as her tea. "I'll give you what I can."

"Good," Sajaun sighed, pulling her hair down, "That's all I ask."

Tech watched her shuffled off to her quarters as Cross helped Hunter up and to their own room. He sighed and flipped the instant teapot on. Tonight was going to be a long night.  

Chapter Text

Umbara lived up to its ominous name as they jumped into orbit, as dark and brooding from above as it undoubtedly was below. Wrecker had a very bad feeling about this. 

"Umbara is a highly advanced planet despite getting almost no external light. They recently split from the Republic and were in the middle of negotiations with the Separatists when fighting broke out." Hunter explained the situation they were walking into. "There are two campaigns currently going on. The 212th are taking the city. Skywalker's 501st is tasked with taking and holding the airfield." Hunter continued pointing out the affected areas.

 "There are some complications, though," Tech interjected.

 "Like what?" Cross asked, looking over the terrain map carefully. 

"General Skywalker was recalled to Couracant two days ago. And since then, all signals off the planet have been distorted." Tech explained, "Now, when I was going through the statistics, I found a series of anomalies. Now a lot of them are completely confusing, and it will take a while to make sense of it all, but I was able to make out one pattern that is quite concerning." Tech pulled up a dossier and a series of data points.

 "Who's frog face?" Wrecker asked, squinting at the green Jedi whose species he wasn't familiar with. 

"Pong Krell." Sajaun said quietly, studying his face, "Last time I saw him, he was an initiate. I taught him his Saber forms. A lot of raw power, if I remember right. Short tempered, though." 

"Indeed, General Krell has a reputation for quick but destructive campaigns. Data shows he has a 70% fatality rate from his troops." Hunter agreed. Wrecker frowned, gut-churning unpleasantly at those statistics. That was a lot of troopers. A lot of deaths. 

"He's throwing them away like credits." Cross huffed, glowering at the holo of the man's face.

 "Past data statistics show that he's been winning where he should have lost and taking almost twice as long on campaigns that should have taken a few days." Tech continued, "In summary, data suggests he's been feeding them intel." 

"He's a traitor." Wrecker found himself growling, anger rushing to the surface, that dar'manda was selling out vode for his own pleasure. 

"So it would seem," Tech concluded. 

"There's been a spike in data points recently." Hunter pointed at the rise in the holo graph Tech had pulled up, "We think he's going to jump ship soon." 

"We need to get on planet before he destroys the troops he's with to do it." Sajaun decided, lips pressed tight together, clearly displeased. 

"What's the plan?" Wrecker asked, pulling up the terrain map again.

 "We need to take him out of play. Assume that all transmissions on planet are shot. We go in dark and take him." Hunter said, thoughtfully examining the map.

 "We still have the Umbara natives to consider." Cross pointed out unhappily, "We go in dark; we'll be at odds with both sides." 

"Not if we go in after they take the airfield. It gives us cover and a way to corral him if things go to the blazes." Sajaun said, moving the map over to center on the airfield, "Cross would have multiple vantage points, and we'd have options." 

"We'd be walking head-in into it, though. It'd be a straight shot." Hunter pointed out unease clear across his face, "How do you plan to make sure we don't get shot before that?" 

Sajaun huffed a mirthless smile, "You're all forgetting; you've got the Force and magicks running through you now; getting in won't be a problem." 

"And once we're in, how will we get him?" Wrecker asked, frowning. Using their tenuous grasp on the magicks and the Force in battle didn't seem all that smart. 

Sajaun hummed, staring at the holo map, "Umbara is the shadow world; darkness lurks. We get in right, and he'll come to us."

Chapter Text

Cross had never been scared of the dark, not on Kamino and not in the field. But after setting foot on Moraband, darkness wasn't just a lack of light but a seeping coldness in his bones. And Umbara was drenched in it. 

The feeling of something ice cold on his neck made his whole body alert as they silently trudged through the darkness. 

"No radio signals." Tech hissed as they ducked under low-hanging vines, "There's a jammer."

 "The question is, is it ours or theirs?" Hunter mused grimly as they started in the shadows of the narrow canyon. They slipped in on the Havoc undetected to the east, away from the two battles.

 "This place gives me the creeps." Wrecker huffed, trudging over thick vines. 

Sajaun grabbed his arm, armor, an illusion to match their own, "Wait." 

Cross slowed, trying to find what she was looking at, "What is it?"

 Sajaun let go of Wrecker's arm and flipped her wrist light on examining the huge vine on the ground, "These aren't vines." 

Cross flipped his own light on and followed her beam to the mound the vines met at, "Then what are they?" 

"Data suggests vixus." Tech suggested with a good deal of caution, "In the family of the sarlaccs."

 "Luck for us." Sajuan carefully stepped over the tentacle, "They're adults and asleep." 

"What are juveniles like?" Hunter asked, stepping over the tentacles as they continued on. 

"Juveniles aren't stationary." Tech volunteered. 

Cross could go his whole life not knowing that , "Outstanding." 

A shrieking had Cross aiming for the trees. Huge flying beasts hissed above, swooping down to feed on the dead. Sajaun's hand gently eased the barrel of his rifle down, "They're just hungry. Try to make a connection first. They'll probably be hostile, but seeing as they're eating, we should be okay." 

"How are we supposed to connect if they're hostile?" Wrecker asked, shuffling away from the bioluminescent beasts. 

"Connect with their hostility." Sajaun reached out a hand, and Cross could feel the Force tighten and flow to her, "They don't want us here any more than we want to be here. Find common ground there." 

Hunter holstered his weapon and reached out also. Cross pressed his lips tightly together and tightened his grip on his rifle. Making friends with the wildlife was not a good way to die. But true to her word, the creatures only hissed at them as they passed but left them alone. 

"This is a bottleneck." Tech commented as they stepped over the dead vode strewn about, "Why would they come here?"

 "Because Krell doesn't care. If I were to guess, I'd say he's feeding off the death. Makes him more powerful."  Sajaun said softly, stepping around a Shiney.

 "Wow, check these out." Wrecker chuckled, flipping his helmet light on. Huge smoking centipede-like machines laid piled together now scrap. 

"Impressive tech." Hunter mused, examining it as he walked through it.

 "Umbarans are known to have quite sophisticated weapons." Sajaun nodded, walking ahead, "This might be even more impressive, though." 

Cross came over to find a huge tank-like structure that looked like it had been on the wrong side of aerial bombardment. 

"Indeed," Tech murmured next to him, already taking readings.

 "This looks recent. A few days ago." Hunter decided, looking at the damage. 

"Most likely. They'll already hold the base." Sajaun said, turning towards where the tower rose in the distance. 

Two Umbaran fighters screamed up above them causing them to all scramble for cover as the fighters streaked towards the airfield. 

"Unless they're all dead." Cross pointed out grimly, tightening his grip on his rifle. 

"They're not." Sajaun stated simply, "Let's get moving." 

They found their way to the base's border without delay and were met with a crackling sensor fence.

 "Now what?" Wrecker asked, frowning at the fence. 

"Now we go through," Sajaun said calmly. 

"How?" Cross snapped, patience running thin. 

"How indeed. We can't short it or blow it up without being detected. We could go over, but how?" Sajaun asked conversationally.

 "He could use the Force to stop the flow and step through." Tech pointed out thoughtfully. 

"Or we could throw each other over." Hunter said slowly, looking at the fence, "With a running start, it shouldn't be hard at all." 

"I vote for that," Wrecker said quickly. 

Cross frowned. It wasn't a bad idea per se. It just wasn't great, either. "Fine."  

"Alright, Wrecker running start and then jump on three," Sajaun said, stepping back. 

"Oh boy." Wrecker huffed, backing up, "Okay."

 "Run! One, two, three!" Sajaun threw her hands out, and Wrecker jumped. And then he soared. Cross grinned as his brother landed on his feet with a quiet whoop. 

"Cross?" Hunter looked over at him, "Wanna give it a go?" 

Cross quickly stowed his rifle on his back, "Don't drop me." 

Sajaun laughed, "Don't worry, I'll catch you if Hunter shoots it short." 

Cross huffed, walking back into the treeline and then facing the fence, "Ready?" 

"Yeah. Let's do this." Hunter nodded, face determined. 

Cross bit back a grimace and then bolted forwards, "Three, two, one!"

 He jumped. And then an unseen force like a wall flung him forward. It was like getting hit by another cadet in training as he tumbled gracelessly through the air. He landed in a heap on the other side. Cross couldn't help but groan as he got up, "Needs some work."

 "Sorry!" Hunter said, sounding apologetic.

 "Well, hey," Wrecker pulled him to his feet, "He didn't drop you on the fence!" 

Cross huffed at that as Hunter came flying over the fence. He didn't land much better. Tech came over next, and then Sajaun bounded over after in one leap. Cross glared at how easily she made the jump.

"We good?" Sajaun asked, looking over at them. 

"Yep." Cross pulled his rifle back out and instantly scanned for good vantage points.

 "Excellent." Sajaun let her staff drop to her loose hold, "Let's go bag a sleemo."

Chapter Text

Tech made sure to stay behind Wrecker as he worked with the frequencies. Now that they were inside the base, he was picking up random bursts of chatter, which shouldn't be possible with a standard jammer. 

"It would seem there is a very complicated scrambler in place," Tech murmured, trying to pinpoint the warring frequencies. 

"Not standard issue?" Hunter asked over his shoulder.

 "No, it's very sophisticated." Tech shook his head, working on solidifying one signal.

 "Can I see?" Sajaun asked as they ducked into a dark shadow of a building. 

Tech handed her a second datapad absent-mindedly, "The signals are all over the place. I can't get a fix on anything."

 "Why is it even transmitting if they're supposed to be jammed?" Cross hissed, every fiber of him stiff and alert. 

"The only reason you speak in silence is to ensure you are heard," Sajaun said softly, fingers flying over the datapad almost as fast as Tech's. 

"Wait, wait, wait, you think this is Krell's doing?" Wrecker asked, looking over his shoulder at their surroundings with a new edge. 

"I wouldn't put it past him with his record. I just don't like how quiet it is." Hunter huffed, scanning the empty plaza, "This place should be swarming." 

Tech snarled as the signals spiked and then slipped out of his control again, "Why won't they cooperate!" 

"Because they're opposites." Sajaun said suddenly, fingers slowing, "They're trying to connect with each other, not broadcast. Flip one of them." 

Tech paused to consider that before doing so, "Look at that."

 "What is it?" Wrecker demanded. 

"Orders. Says here there are hostile coming, and they've taken clone armor to hide themselves." Tech read off from the glitchy order form. 

"That's why everyone's gone." Hunter nodded slowly, relaxing his shoulders, "They're in the field." 

"Not everyone," Sajaun whispered, pointing. Tech looked up in time to see the bulky shadow of a being far bigger than a clone moving about high up in the control tower, prompting them all to press closer to the darkness.

 "Why is General Krell here and not overseeing the battle?" Tech asked aloud, trying to puzzle that one out. 

"There's more signals." Sajaun interrupted, yanking Tech's attention back to the datapads. 

"What is it this time?" Wrecker asked, tense once more. 

"It's transmitting from the command tower," Tech said as he sorted through the jumbled signals. 

"It's Krell." Cross glared, scanning the empty area again.

 "What's he saying?" Hunter demanded urgently. 

"It's the same message as before but sent to the 212th," Tech said hurriedly before stilling when the implications hit him.

 "Force." Sajaun swore, "He's leading them at each other."

 "It'll be the worst friendly fire incident to date." Hunter breathed, horrified. 

"We have to stop it!" Wrecker said firmly.

 "Can we?" Tech asked, running the scenarios in his head. Even if they left now, there was no way to ensure there was a very good chance they wouldn't make it in time. And how to even convince either side before the massacre started?

 "Tech, can you find and shut down the jammer?" Sajaun asked laser focused.

 Tech blinked, thrown, "Eventually." 

"Alright, you get started on that. Hunter, get Cross set up in a vantage point and stay out of sight. Wrecker, you're with me." Sajaun ordered quickly, handing Tech his secondary datapad back.

 "What are we gonna do?" Wrecker asked, hefting his gun and standing with Sajaun. 

With a flick of her fingers, the illusion over her armor faded, leaving her in her gleaming Mando armor that was like a beacon in the dark underbrush, "We're gonna stop a massacre. Come on." And before any of them could protest, she and Wrecker bolted off into the darkness. 

"Oh yes, let's go sneak around alone in the dark with a psycho military leader. Great plan." Cross snarled, watching them go.

 "If you had a better idea, ten minutes ago would have been the time." Tech pointed out blandly as he stood, "There's an uplink in the hanger. I'm gonna hunker down there."

 "Copy that. Let's move." Hunter agreed, rising to his feet with Cross. 

Tech could hear Cross grumbling some more as he hurried off to the hangar. The chances of this winning badly were quite high. The chances that they'd all end up dead were pretty high too. Now to only hope they didn't.

Chapter Text

The darkness seemed to come alive around them as they ran. Wrecker did his best to keep up with Sajuan as she bolted through the underbrush, racing towards the disaster zone.

 They might not make it, Wrecker knew. They might be running right into a bloodbath, a firefight. But who would they be if they didn't try and stop it? 

Wrecker could swear the darkness of the trees were actually pressing in, narrowing their path, trying to swallow them as they ran, actively acting against them. Wrecker grit his teeth and invisible himself shoving the darkness and trees away.

 And suddenly, he could hear the sound of marching and yelling. The 501st. 

Sajaun leaped up into the air igniting her blade with a telltale whoosh and throwing her hands out. Wrecker burst onto the scene after her to find blasters and buckets strewn in every direction; the clones' rank completely demolished as most of them had been knocked over in the action.

 "Friendly fire!" Wrecker hollered as Sajaun leaped towards the incoming troops, magenta blades catching a few stray bolts.

 "Hold your fire!" The 501st captain called out as Wrecker bolted after Sajaun. He found her down the road a little ways speaking with the clones in 212th yellow blasters in pieces on the ground. 

"Hold your fire!" Wrecker hollered, coming up next to Sajaun, who let her blades die in her hands.

 "What's going on?" The 212th leader demanded.

 "You have bad intel. We came to stop a friendly fire incident." Sajaun explained calmly, stowing her blades back into her armor.

 The 212th leader straightened at that gaze, going past Wrecker and Sajaun to the 501st, "Rex?" 

"Boil?" Captain Rex gaped. 

"What happened?" Boil asked, eyes wide, "We got a transmission from General Krell saying the enemy had stolen clone armor." 

Rex paled, "He told us the same thing." 

"Yes." Sajaun agreed serenely, helmet retracting so they could see her face, "He did." 

"He's trying to kill us!" One of the 501st yelled. 

The famed Captain Rex looked ill, "Oh, Force."

 "Yes." Sajaun said softly, clasping her hands behind her back, "I imagine he was. Or at least trying to thin you out. We've found evidence he's planning on defecting." 

"That kriffer's a Sith? " Boil demanded, anger lacing his voice.

 "We don't think so." Wrecker shook his head, recalling their conversation aboard the Hyperion.

 "Let's ensure that doesn't happen." Sajaun said calmly, "How much ammunition do you have?"

 Excitement shot through Wrecker as he understood her plan, "You want to mine the trail?"

"Yes. I want you to mine the trail leading out to the vixus. No remote detonators or a countdown. Tripwire." Sajaun nodded.

"So he doesn't know until it's too late." Wrecker understood, nodding. 

"We only have about 20 charges." Boil cut in tone unhappy, "And none of them or trip wires." 

"We have fifteen." Rex offered, "Not that that fixes the trip wire problem." 

Wrecker relaxed as a solid plan began to form, "I can fix that."

 "How long?" Sajaun asked, turning so she was facing the airfield once more. 

Wrecker considered. Thirty-five charges that needed to be adjusted to tripwires. "Hour and a half." 

"Alright. We'll make due." Sajaun nodded curtly, glaring at the airfield in the distance like it had personally offered her, "Boil!" 

"Yes, Sir?" Boil snapped to attention.

Sajaun frowned harder, "Call me ma'am. Is Kenobi still on planet?" 

"Yes, Ma'am. He's taken the capital city already and is clearing it." Boil reported clearly. 

"Send a squad to fetch him. Tell him Sajaun Ka requests his presence." Sajaun ordered, jaw tight. 

"Yes, ma'am." Boil left quickly.

 "Sajaun Ka?" Rex asked, eyeing her more closely. 

Wrecker felt something in him tense. Sajaun was his vod. He wasn't about to let another clone harm her, even accidentally, from a malfunction. 

Sajaun turned to meet Rex's gaze as her signature reached out and gently touched Wrecker's tightly coiled one, "Yes?" 

Wrecker tried to consciously relax at her cool touch that seemed to say, there is no present danger . 

"You're the legendary wandering master." Rex stated, slowly taking in her armor and almost hidden sabers, "General Skywalker told me about you." 

Wrecker tried to put a name to the face. Sajaun signature brushed his mind again, producing the image of a long brown-haired man with a scar and prosthetic hand that had gotten irritated with Sajaun after she beat him when they'd all first met. 

Sajaun raised an eyebrow at Rex, "Did he?" Her tone was bone dry and skeptical.

 Rex didn't react, "Yes. Said you were a brilliant duelist and powerful Force user. Said you were completely unpredictable and always had a knife up your sleeve." 

Wrecker frowned, "Isn't it cards up your sleeves?" 

A ghost of a smile graced Sajaun's face, "Not with me."  Sajaun then turned to face him, squaring her shoulders, "Get to work on the charges. I'll see if I can't contact the others." She turned sharply, "Captain Rex!" 

"Yes, ma'am?" Rex asked instantly at her side.

 "How many men do you have?" Sajaun began questioning Rex as she walked off, leaving Wrecker to his tasks. 

Wrecker took a moment to consciously relax his mind; they'd made it in time. Now to ensure they lived to tell the tale.

Chapter Text

Sajaun wrapped the inky darkness that oher like a cloak. One could not sense what one was not looking for. With careful fingers, she summoned an illusion that even the most experienced would not catch and began walking slowly into the eerie green light of the airfield base. 

The farther she walked, the darker it was. Like walking into inky blackness. She stepped onto the lift up to the Command tower silently and let it begin to rise. 

Krell had indeed fallen. There was no doubt of that now. The way that darkness curled to him. The way it came to him like a moth to a flame. Like he'd welcomed it. 

Sajaun closed her eyes and allowed the darkness to wrap towards her. She inhaled slowly, letting herself drift. She was the light. She exhaled. She was the dark. She opened her eyes, feeling the raw power of the Force crackle under her skin; she was the balance between. The one in the middle, Bendu.

 The lift finally came to the top, and Sajaun stepped out silently. Krell faced the window, hands clasped behind his back holo array between them. Sajaun let herself sink into the Force, letting not a ripple be felt before speaking. "General Krell." 

The Beskerlian jerked at her words whipping around like a child caught where he shouldn't be. "Who are you?" He snarled, stalking forward. 

Sajaun relaxed her shoulders consciously as he neared, "I was dispatched by the Jedi Council on behalf of the GAR.  You are being summoned back to Coruscant." 

Krell towered over her as he stared her down. Eyes narrowed as he looked down his nose at her illusion, "And they sent a mere temple guard to fetch me? Am I an initiate?"

 Sajaun ignored the urge to recoil and spit back a worthy insult and instead turned on heel decisively, "You are to accompany me back to Coruscant to meet with the council, and that is final." 

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Krell snapped back, bristling at her words.

 Sajaun let irritation leak from her shields as she turned back to face him, letting him see what he wanted to, "The Council has entrusted me to see you safely to them. They have concerns over the parameters of your campaigns. So who are you to question them?" 

Krell drew himself up to his full size puffing at his chest at her challenge, "The Council is a room of fools too blind to see what is directly in front of them, and now you, a single simple guard, have the audacity to come here and demand I do anything to your liking. I think not." 

Sajaun tilted her head slowly, "So you deny the allegations of espionage, reckless endangerment, and collusion?" 

Krell froze at her words before slowly shaking his head and breaking into an eerie smile, "It's treason then." 

Sajaun barely threw herself away from the incoming green and blue blades. Definitely a dar'jetti then. Shedding her illusion as she dove behind the holo array allowing her full focus at the task at hand. 

"The Council are a bunch of cowards!" Krell roared, ripping apart a nearby counsel. Sajaun charged her jetpack and rocket boots and shifted out of sight. 

"They are all blind to what is coming." Krell hissed, his signature reaching out like ink invading water searching. Sajaun knew she couldn't beat him by physical prowess alone. He was simply too big. But that was something she could use to her advantage if she was shrewd enough. And she still had a few knives up her sleeves. 

Sajaun rolled right, sprung to her feet, and shoved off the nearest solid bank of consuls before using her left foot to propelled her up and come crashing feet first into Krell's head. It disoriented him for less than a moment, but Sajaun was already moving. 

Her jetpack and rocket thrusters shot her forward, smashing into Krell's middle and propelling them both forward. One well-placed shot and the window blew out. It also gave her half a second to entertain how exactly stupid this plan of hers was. 

And then they were airborne.

Chapter Text

Rex had known something was, off, about General Krell. But he'd brushed it off as a difference of styles, dedication to the cause. Of a hundred other things than what he was. A killer. A dar'jetii. 

But now, Rex swallowed, sinking further into the darkness and wishing their armor was not white and that they could vanish into the flora easier. A roar of rage filled the air after the crashing of glass. And then the eeriest of laughter filled the air chilling Rex to the bone. It reminded him of Ventress eerily enough. 

There is a flash of green from the direction of the airfield, and suddenly Rex could hear Sajaun Ka's voice as though she were right next to him, tone mocking voice scathing, "Come now, Krell, don't tell me you are blind too." 

Rex does not hear Krell's response, but he hears the laughter of Sajaun, the comes next, "So you think. But we are all fools to the truth."

 There is fog now rolling in through the forest around him. So thick it's like a solid being next to him. The first explosion makes Rex jump as it lights up the darkness 200 yards from him. He braced, now unable to see his brothers in the fog but triple checking his blaster to stun. 

The next explosion was paired with a roar of rage. Rex tenses his own breath loud in his helmet. The trees above him rustle, and Rex knows he only has seconds before this becomes real. 

The third explosion blows away the fog filling it with smoke, and still, Rex stays still even though he can now see the terrifying green and blue of Krell's Sabers. He inhales shakily, staying in still as possible, and trusts the plan. 

Sajaun appears from nowhere in the darkness, now standing close enough for Rex to touch, swinging in Jedi robes, no Saber in sight, "What has pushed you to this? Help me understand."

 "You can never understand!" Krell snarled, standing across from her close enough for Rex to shoot. 

"Can't I?" Sajaun tilted her head, her Temple Guard helmet firmly in place, "I've seen that future you've seen. The darkness. The chaos. I've seen it. Why has it brought you here?" 

"You think you see, but you're as blind as the rest of them! There is no peace! No light! I have seen the new order coming! I will make my way in it!" Krell fumed, marching forward, "You will not stand in my way!" 

A staff appeared in Sajaun's hand, and electricity jumped from the tip and zapped the vixus between them awake. It shrieked to life tentacles flying, and Krell yelled in surprise, slashing at it blindly. 

The vixus screamed in pain, and blue stun blasts lit up the darkness as Sajaun's squad opened fire. Rex followed suit, and all too quickly, the vixus wrapped a limp Krell in its embrace. 

Sajaun held out a hand, and Krell was pulled from the vixus' grasp with his Sabers in tow. Rex tensed as the body thunked to a stop at their feet, and Sajaun carefully collected the Sabers. 

"Get him up." Sajaun said firmly, "We're not done yet."

Chapter Text

Hunter would not say he understood the Jedi or their practices. But he felt he knew Sajaun pretty well. And this, was not her happy face. 

They had arrested General Krell and left him in the brig until he woke up with a good amount of Force Dampers in his blood. Sajaun was now standing at the broken window of the command tower, staring out unseeingly at the world below. 

"Tech says the communications are fried." Hunter said, watching Sajaun jolt slightly at his voice, tuning back into reality, "Krell did a number to them." 

Sajaun hummed, nodding, "As to be expected. The troops?"

 "Rex is managing his men well. They took heavy losses before we got here. I think they'll be setting up a pyre later for the dead." Hunter said, unable to keep the regret from his voice. 

Sajaun's shoulders tensed at the words, "That is good." 

Hunter wasn't fooled; he could hear the guilt in her voice. That she couldn't have done more, saved them all. "Are you okay?" Hunter asked gently watching her carefully. 

"I'm fine. The 501st medic looked me over already." Sajaun waved him off. 

Hunter frowned, "That's not what I meant."

 He stepped closer, looking down at the airstrip with her, the cold night air creeping in, "I- I can't imagine having to bring in another brother for treason. Especially in a place this, cold." Hunter tried to send calm feelings toward Sajaun through his vague grip on the Force. For as new as it was to them, she was like an unreadable wall. 

Sajaun sighed after a moment, sagging but still standing, "It- it is not easy. It's so dark here. I don't think it will be healthy for us to stay for long." 

"Us?" Hunter questioned, eyeing her balled fists, "Or you?" Sajaun glanced over at him but didn't answer.

 "Hey, guys." Wrecker's voice came through their comms, ruining the moment, "Tech wants to see you in the hanger." 

"On our way," Sajaun responded immediately. Hunter sighed and let her wiggle out of their talk.

 Outside, the troops were arranging for the funeral pyre in somber but hurried work. The hanger was mostly empty, though, as they entered. 

"Tell it to me true," Sajaun spoke loudly, voice echoing in the room.

 "So long-range communication is fried." Tech answered without missing a beat from under a comm relay that was in multiple pieces around him, "I'm still unsure what Krell did to it, but I can't get it to work. As far as I can tell, he was going to throw this battle and have the Umbarans smuggle him out." 

"The trail ends with him, though." Cross spat out, clearly disgusted by Krell watching Tech work, "Any answers you want will have to come from him."

 "And Obi-Wan?" Sajaun asked, addressing Tech, "When will he arrive?" 

"Without communications, the best estimate is within the next two days. Assuming nothing goes wrong with his campaign." Tech said, voice muffled from what he was under.

 "General!" Rex's voice made them turn.

 "I'm not a General." Sajaun corrected, "But please, continue, Captain." 

"Krell woke up." Rex cut to the chase. "I figured you'd want to know." 

"If you're going to question him, I'm going with you," Crosshair said firmly before any of them could speak, fixing Sajaun with a look that dared her to disagree.

 Sajaun held his gaze for a moment before sighing heavily but nodding, "Well, come on then, let's go." Crosshair hurried after her as Sajaun headed for the brig, leaving them standing in the hanger. 

"What do you think they'll find?" Wrecker asked, taking up Cross's position watching over Tech.

 "Knowing Krell?" Rex snarled out, "Nothing good." 

Hunter frowned, watching his brother and Saj walk off into the darkness, and couldn't help but agree.

Chapter Text

Crosshair focused on regulating his breathing as the lift descended down to the brig. Sajaun was uncharacteristically still as they descended, the green Umbaran lights casting an eerie glow on them both. He had only felt Krel''s oily, dark presence for a moment, but even it was so far from Sajaun's cool calmness that it was still leaving him uneasy. 

It finally came to a stop where the ring of cells sat. In most of the cells on the opposite side of the room were the Umbaran soldiers they'd captured. One held a clone that Captain Rex said was still loyal to Krell, and the last one held Krell himself. 

No one moved for a long moment before Sajaun came forward and slowly knelt in front of Krell's cell, his back to her hands clasped in chains. With a gentle touch of the Force, his binders popped off. "You were an excellent duelist if I remember right." Sajaun said softly, resting her hands on her knees, "How long have you felt this way about the Republic?"

 "Save it, guard . I know a trick when I hear it. You claim you've seen what I have, but we both know that's not true." Krell snarled, shifting around so they were facing each other now, the energy field separating them. 

"Do we?" Sajaun tilted her head curiously at him. Cross could feel the emotion crackling off Krell's skin, but he was still too drugged to use the Force. Sajaun was baiting him, that much Cross was sure of. But what was lost between the lines.

 "You- you couldn't fathom the darkness I've seen. The new order that comes." Krell hissed, eyes now clearly bleeding yellow, "You would not be the way you are if you could." He jerked away, pacing his small room, clearly agitated. 

Sajaun was silent for a long moment, watching him pace before looking down for a long moment. Cross could see her contemplating what to do. "The Temple is cold in your vision," Sajaun said softly. Krell paused his pacing at her words, "The light is not there. There are countless bodies on the floor, and when you close your eyes, you are a thousand people dying by blaster fire." 

Cross watched Krell shudder before turning slowly to face Sajaun, who was still kneeling, head bowed. "So you have seen it." Krell said slowly before his eyes looked up at Cross and hardened, "And you're still delusional." 

"To think you alone can change any of our fates is delusion." Sajaun countered, voice much firmer now. 

"You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that doesn't change its nature!" Krell snarled back, leaning close to the enemy barrier, "Thinking anything else is delusional and blind ."

 "How does selling us out to the Separatists solve that?" Sajaun snapped back, "Do you really think Dooku will trust a traitor?"

 "The GAR is a farce. You and I both know that. To survive what is coming, it must go. And if Dooku can do it, then we solve two problems at once." Krell spat with disgust in his voice regarding Sajaunt with contempt, "But I would expect you to understand, guard ."

 "Don't be stupid, Krell." Sajaun said finally, voice hard as she rose to her feet, "You're not doing this for us. You're doing this for you. For your place in that future." 

"Perhaps." Krell hissed, eyes dragging over Crosshair like he was something stuck on the man's shoe before digging into Sajaun, "But better than dying for them ." 

Sajaun hummed, stepping back slowly and shaking her head, "Your disregard for life and care only for yourself is borne of nothing more than fear, Krell. Consider that." 

Cross took his cue and sent the lift back up and out of sight of the prison. Once out of sight, Sajaun sagged, shoulders dropping. 

"Are you alright?" Cross asked, mentally kicking himself that he hadn't done anything to help her interrogate Krell. 

"I'm fine." Sajaun said faintly and unconvincingly as she straightened up, "Just tired." 

Cross eyed her hazel eyes that he could have sworn were violet earlier and noted it could be far more than that.

Chapter Text

Fives was sure if he ever had to set foot on this creep-mud planet again after they finished here, it would get too soon. He triple-checked the Umbaran fighter craft he'd used in an effort to distract himself from all that had happened. 

They'd been used as cannon fodder, gotten attacked multiple times by insurgents, had to deal with the flora, and then almost gotten executed for disobeying that traitorous general. And they'd lost Hardcase.

 They'd lost a lot of men, but Hardcase seemed to hit more real. He'd been closer to Fives than anyone since Echo. And Dogma- 

Fives shoved the thought away roughly and finally stepped back from the craft with a huff. He bumped into someone behind him and turned around to find a natborn female in simple clothing that looked faintly Jedi-like stumbled back. The Jedi who had appeared from out of nowhere from the forest floor.

 "Sorry, Sir." Fives quickly grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. 

She stared at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open in surprise, staring at his face like he was the odd one for a long moment before blinking out of it and shaking her head, "Yes, thank you. I shouldn't have gotten so close while you worked." 

Fives frowned but pushed away the uneasy feeling he had at her actions, "No worries, Sir. I should have looked before I moved."

 "Then let's consider it even, trooper-?" The woman paused, hiding her shaking hands before her back where Fives couldn't see. 

Five fought not to frown at that, "Trooper Fives Sir." 

"Pleasure to meet you, Fives," the woman smiled genuinely enough, "Please just call me Sajaun. I'm not actually a GAR General." 

Fives couldn't shake the feeling; the tension in her eyes wasn't arbitrary, like the smile was forced. "Of course." Fives nodded, trying to ignore how stiff she seemed. How she was still trying not to stare, "Does Ma'am work?" 

"Certainly." Sajaun nodded, turning to look at the ship, hands still clasped tightly behind her back, "Is this one of the ships you took up?" 

Fives fought not to frown as she seemed to be hiding something, "Yes. Me, Jesse, and our brother Hardcase took them up. Hardcase-" Five fought the wave of emotion that hit him and tried to find the right words, "He didn't make it back." 

Sajaun paused her scan of the ship at that, "Oh, I'm very sorry for your loss." 

Fives looked down at his boots, ignoring how something about Sajaun's attitude with him kept flagging him as wrong, and nodded, "Yes. Thank you."

 "If I might ask without seeming callous, who was he to you?" Sajaun asked, kindly if hesitantly, "I confess I don't know much about clone culture. I know you are brothers, but I assume there are levels of closeness involved."

 "Uh, yeah, there- there is," Fives said, shaking himself out of his stupor. He swallowed the lump that rose to his throat at the thought of his fallen brothers, "Clones decanted in the same batches are often quite close. More like traditional brothers in natborn cultures. Those placed in training groups together are closer due to proximity. Same as those placed together in battalions during the war effort. War brings us closer. I- I lost my batch brothers, but I met Hardcase in Torrent, and we'd been getting closer, but-" 

"I'm sorry." Sajaun said softly as he trailed off, "I imagine that would be hard no matter how close you were."

Fives shrugged, "We do what we have to in war. We were made for this."

 "No one is made to die." Sajaun said, eyes going hard even though her voice remained soft, "And no one is ever ready for war." 

Fives looked over at Sajaun, taking her in for a moment. She was shorter than General Skywalker if taller than Commander Tano, but her eyes held fire in them that reminded Fives chillingly of Krell in the wrong light and General Skywalker's drive in the right light. She held herself like General Kenobi, with a calm aura oozing off her. But there was a stiffness to her, like a coiled spring itching to move . 

But her eyes were soft, and in some part of Fives, the part that had squirmed with Krell and was sometimes uneasy with Skywalker, knew just the same way he knew Kenobi and Tano were safe havens that Sajaun genuinely cared. "Yeah, well, sometimes we don't get the choice." Fives admitted around the emotional war in his chest.

 "Sorry to interrupt, but weren't you supposed to be coming in here to meditate?" A new voice rang out quickly, causing them both to turn to face a shorter clone with a tattoo of a skull on half his face and Sergent paint on his armor.

 "Well, yes, but then I got distracted and bumped into Trooper Fives here, and well," Sajaun shrugged, looking not at all repentant. "I got carried away." 

The Seregent didn't look impressed but did look slightly amused as he crossed his arms and looked at Sajaun, "And that's exactly why you went to meditate in the first place."

 "I know ." Sajaun huffed, crossing her own arms and shifting again like she was uncomfortable, "This planet is just too restless."

 Fives blinked, "That affects meditation?" 

"Well, yes, meditation is all about calming all of oneself into harmony. I can't do that if I'm restless or distracted." Sajaun explained with a shrug.

 "You did say this place wasn't good for you." The Sergeant reminded pointedly. 

"And you didn't believe me." Sajaun pointed out back but with a smile in her tone. The Sergeant huffed but smirked and opened his mouth to answer when a pricing alarm split the air. 

"What's going on?" Fives demanded as the Sergeant's head snapped towards the tower where lights flashed. 

"That has to be the brig." The Sergeant growled, tapping his comm, "Report!"

 "It's Krell." Sajaun said stiff as a board next to Fives, answering before the tower could, "He escaped."

Chapter Text

Wrecker felt the explosion before he saw it. Black smoke and fire burst from the base of the command tower, and immediately, Wrecker was moving. He dodged blaster fire as Umbarans emerged from the brig level with stolen blasters. Clever kriffers.

 "Move, move, move! Flank them!" Captain Rex hollered to his men as the clones from all around converged on the escapees. 

There was a roar like that of an animal, and then The 501st forces went flying, thrown by an invisible force. Ice cold, slimy claws flared to life in Wrecker's mind, and he had to grit his teeth and shrug them off as they said like ice water down his neck. Like the Temple had felt like. Sith .

 Out of the darkness and smoke, Krell rose like some horrible creature from the depths of Kamino's oceans. His eyes were bleeding yellow, and with a flick of his fingers, the window far above smashed apart with a crash, raining glass on everyone and summoning his Sabers to him. 

But before they could make it to his possession, a new invisible blow knocked them out of his reach and sent him stumbling back. Krell spun to face the new threat, dodging blaster bolts with unconscious ease, and growled, " You! " 

Sajaun skidded to a stop at the edge of the 501st defensive line, Hunter and a 501st ARC Trooper in her wake, "This isn't the right way!"

 "How dare you tell me what to do, you pathetic excuse for a warrior! You trickster!" Krell snarled, staking forward, leaving his Umbaran pawns to the mercy of the 501st expert firepower. "Fight me yourself, guard! Prove your worth! " 

"When did wars make us great?" Sajaun asked, stepping forward into the ring that now existed, the Umbaran forces soundly defeated, "When did fighting prove our worth? What does it show?" 

Krell held out his hands; his sabers came flying to his aid in the blink of an eye as he swung hard and fast at Sajaun's head. Wrecker felt his heart jump to his throat as she didn't move to grab her own Sabers but raised her arms to block. Blinggggg . 

The pure note of a lightsaber meeting Beskar sounded as his blades glanced off her vambraces. Krell was undeterred and changed tactics instantly, throwing his full weight on her arms, causing her to stagger under him, blocking his blades with her armor. 

"Power." He snarled down at her, using his sheer weight to overpower. Wrecker inched forward, the fighter in him telling him to do something as he saw Sajaun's limbs begin to waver. 

Lightning fast, Sajuan's helmet suddenly materialized, and her jetpack flared to life as she dropped the illusion of the meek temple guard and lunged forward, jetpack adding to her power to crack her helmet into Krell's face full force. He tumbled back, reeling from the blow, allowing Sajaun to shoot clear off the ground and nail him in the nose with her armored knee plate.

 He staggered, disoriented, as she dropped down behind him, summoned her Saber to her hands, swung it cleanly off her back in a practiced move, and slammed the blunt end into his knees, sending him to the ground. She carefully kicked away both Sabers before whirling on Krell and igniting her pike, the Saber tip hovering over his throat, freezing him where he lay. 

"This isn't power," Sajaun said, helmet retracting once more as she stared down her opponent, "It's aggression." 

Krell stared up at her for a long moment before slowly smiling in a way that made every hair on Wrecker's neck stand up. "You're Sajaun Ka." He breathed in some sort of twisted awe and delight. 

"What gave it away?" Sajaun snapped, not moving an inch from where she held him, "You're under arrest."

 "Someone get Force suppressors and cuffs!" Hunter hollered from behind Wrecker, but Wrecker didn't dare take his eyes off the scene before him. Something uneasy and cold rolled in his chest at the gleam in Krell's eyes. 

"You're no Jedi." Krell stated, venom lacing his voice, "Who gives you the right to arrest me?" 

"What gives you the right to throw away the clones in your command like broken toys?" Sajaun bit back, eyes glowing, or maybe it was a trick of the light.

 "The clones are GAR property, and we Jedi run the GAR." Krell reasoned like he was completely sane. 

"The clones are living sentient beings! " Sajaun snarled, voice harsh but stance still unmoving, "They cannot own them! You don't get to decide who lives and dies!" 

"They're lab-grown!" Krell roared, breaking his composer, "They're made to be used! Don't tell me the great Sajaun Ka is so blind to have not recognized that ."

 Sajaun stared down at him in silence. Wrecker could not see her face, and she had master control over her body, but in the Force, he could feel waves of simmering unease like static in the back of his head rolling off her. Looking at her was like looking at a mirage, like his eyes couldn't focus. Like something was, off. 

"That doesn't mean KARK." Sajaun growled, voice deadly quiet, "You were a Jedi. You respect life no matter how it comes. It doesn't matter how it is made; it matters that it is alive , you sick son of a gundark."

 "Am I the sick one for seeing what is coming and responding accordingly," Krell asked slowly, "Or are you by seeing it and doing nothing?"

 The images of the dead Jedi flashed through Wrecker's head at the words, and a cold chill ran through his veins. They were doing something about it. They were . ( What happened if they were too late?)  

The ARC Trooper Wrecker had seen earlier made his way forward, cuffs and Force Suppressors in hand, coming over to finally put an end to it all. What happened next might as well have been in slow motion.

 The ARC Trooper's body suddenly went stiff, and then it was flying at Sajaun like a rag doll through the air faster than it could be stopped. Sajaun barely turned her Saber off in time before they collided, sending them both sailing across the clearing the circle made. 

Her saber sailed out of her hands, and Wrecker was horrified to find he could get himself to move. What was wrong with him? 

Krell summoned his Sabers back to him as he rose, charging forward where they were both downed. Sajaun shoved the Trooper away with the Force just in time and rolled out of the way of the swing. 

"Pathetic! You can't even take proactive action to save yourself!" Krell roared as Sajaun scrambled away from him, still on the ground.

 "You cannot punish someone for a crime they haven't committed yet!" Sajaun argued, dodging the next swing of the Saber and then getting nailed by Krell's foot as he kicked her hard.

 It was like Wrecker was standing in deep mud pits watching Sajaun sail through the air and smack into the base of the tower with a sickening crunch. He had no explosives, blaster bolts were useless and borderline dangerous, and none of them could combat Krell. He was too powerful. What were they supposed to do? 

Krell stalked forward, grinning maniacally, his green and blue Sabers leaving a chill of danger compared to Sajaun's magenta. "You're right. But you can for organizing a coup against a general." Krell growled out with a terrifying grin. 

He was going to kill her, Wrecker realized with cold dread. This monster was going to kill his friend in front of him, and the cold claws in his brain refused to let him move. 

"You can't kill her." The ARC Trooper blurted, standing up behind Krell, "She's not part of the GAR; therefore, you can't justify a military execution. To stand trial for a coup as a civilian, she must be tried by a military tribunal. You can't kill her by your laws." 

Krell turned slowly to face the foolhardy Trooper, "Are you telling me what I can or can't do?" 

The Trooper straightened up, staring Krell down through his bucket, " Yes ." 

Krell stared down at the Trooper for a long moment before nodding shortly, "Very well." And then plunged one of his blades through the man's abdomen.

 "No! FIVES!" One of the 501st broke the circle, bolting forward to catch the ARC Trooper as he let out a choking noise and crumpled. 

Krell sneered down at the body, "Anybody else?"

 "That was a mistake." Sajaun's quiet voice pulled Krell's attention back to her as she staggered to her feet. 

Krell let out a grating laugh, completely uncaring of the life fading away at his feet, "And why is th-" He never finished the sentence. 

Sajaun was on him before he could, screaming at a pitch that made Wrecker's head spin and vision dance. She wrapped herself around Krell's back, her arms around his neck, her legs fighting with his arms as she took him to the ground.

 A tiny thing like her under a hulking being like Krell should have crushed her, but it didn't. In shock, Wrecker watched as she seemed to grow under his gaze. His eyes refused to compute what he saw completely, but it was as if Sajaun melded with the planet. 

Her arms and legs became vines; her skin became as blue and black as the dirt; her hair glowed the eerie fluorescent colors of the forest. The planet wrapped around Krell, growing and moving and swallowing him whole as he fought.

 Like the vixus but bigger. Meaner. Hungrier .

 And when Sajaun screamed, the planet answered. The ground shook as it grew and churned, and lightning from a storm that had simply appeared lashed down upon the pulsing growing mass on the ground. And the wind howled as did the creature the vines became. 

It lifted its head and screamed, mouth and eyes glowing like the vixus mouths glowed. Like the flying creatures glowed. Like the darkness of the planet glowed. 

And its hair was the vines, and its limbs were the trees, and for a moment, as it towered over the command tower, head tilted towards the lightning and thunder rainstorm it had summoned, it looked like a woman. Like Sajaun.

And when it screamed, Wrecker could hear the calls of every dead brother the planet had claimed and welcomed. Every dying scream and pained cry. The calls of those who didn't have to die in this blue-black dirt were what poured out like a siren song from the being.

 And then it stopped. And it was all quiet. Silent where there was noise. Peace where there had been strife. Destruction and creation. Balance. 

And then the being rapidly began to shrink. Vines folding in on itself, dirt churning together, trees finding their way back to the forest until all that remained was Krell's body laying in an unrecognizable heap on the ground and Sajaun lying next to it on her back staring up at the sky, eyes glowing skin slick with sweat and an ashen color. 

"Sajaun!" Hunter finally broke free of the cold claw and stunned awe first, racing forward to her side. 

Wrecker threw off the ice-cold claw and dashed to his friend's side. She didn't seem to register they were even there, her glowing eyes like crystals as she looked up unseeingly at them as the rain came down in sheets. 

She reached her shaking hand up above her head to latch on to the ankle of the ARC Trooper Krell had stabbed, who was still lying in his brother's arm. 

 "What- what was that?" The trooper holding the ARC asked his helmet cast off to the side, revealing the Republic cog tattooed to his face as he held his brother tightly and stared wide-eyed at them all.

 "I do not know," Tech admitted quietly, kneeling next to Sajaun, datapad out to take a med scan.

 "Ahh!" The ARC Trooper gasped suddenly, making them all jump as he jerked. 

"Fives, wait, you're hurt!" The face tattoo clone warned as the ARC sat up.

 "No," Fives said shakily as he ripped his abdomen armor with the gaping hole in it off to reveal smooth skin where there had been a fatal injury, "I'm not." 

"Saj." Crosshair said firmly, detaching her hand from Fives' ankle and pulling her head into his lap, "You need to stop; he's okay."

 "I'm going to remove your armor, Saj," Hunter warned, leaning over with his knife to begin cutting her armor away carefully.

"What- what happened?" Captain Rex asked shakily as he came over, staring at the scene with wide eyes.

 "We don't know. Where is your medbay?" Tech demanded standing.

 "She needs a stretcher!" Hunter hollered carefully, running a hand down her shirt, feeling for injuries, "Get the medics over here!'

"Not- not time-" Sajaun murmured, hand reaching out towards Fives again, searching eyes still unseeing or perhaps Wrecker reasoned, kneeling over her next to Cross, seeing beyond them.

 "Shhhh." Cross soothed, petting her hair and pulling her hand back, "You saved him. He's okay."

 "Not yet. Not time." Sajaun whispered, eyes slowly growing heavier; it seemed to Wrecker as she stopped searching with her hand. 

"Time to rest, Saj." Wrecker tried gently placing a hand on her shoulder as his brothers did with him, "We'll be here after. Rest." 

"Rest," Sajaun murmured as her crystal-glowing eyes slid closed, and she passed out.

 Cross kept petting her hair, and Wrecker didn't dare move his hand as Hunter and Tech hurried around getting her the best help. They silently looked at each other wide-eyed and mentally asked the same question. 

What the KARK was THAT?!

Chapter Text

Hunter had thought he had seen it all with that Sith temple. But it seemed par the course that Sajaun would prove him wrong in the most drastic way possible. 

That thing she'd morphed into was something he never wanted to see again. He also wanted to pester her with a hundred awed questions. And, of course, there was the tiny fact that she'd healed a fatal blow to the ARC Trooper Fives after her, transformation. 

"She's stable now." Tech said softly, coming out of the medbay room they'd put her in, "He did quite a number on her. Broke a few of her ribs and caught her twice with his Sabers."

 "Is she going to be okay?" Wrecker asked nervously.

 "Physically, yes. Eventually." Tech said quietly, "I wrapped her ribs and covered the Saber wounds with bacta but they'll scar, and I can't tell if she has any internal problems yet." 

"I didn't realize he'd caught her," Cross murmured, frowning deeply.

 "I didn't realize she could do that ." Wrecker hissed, looking around at the quiet medbay they were in, "Are we just not going to address whatever the blazes she just did?" 

"We don't know what she did." Hunter hissed back, eyeing the passing vode who ignored them.

 "It's not on any recorded Jedi or Sith power, whatever it was," Tech explained, scrolling through his datapad. 

"So it's unique to her?" Cross asked, gnawing aggressively on his toothpick, a show of rare anxiety from him. 

"I suppose." Tech shrugged. 

"There's only one person who can answer that." Hunter pointed out, looking over towards the medical bed Sajaun was sleeping on. The glimpse of her still and wrapped in white bandages stark against her ebony skin was unnerving.

 "Excuse me?" A new voice made them all turn. The ARC Trooper Fives was standing at the door, still dressed in medical ware from his own check-up, looking pensive. 

"Yes, Trooper?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow at the man who definitely wasn't supposed to be out of his bed per medics' orders, no matter how healed he was. 

"Is she- is she gonna be okay?" Fives asked hesitantly. 

"Eventually, yes. She's just sleeping off her exhaustion now." Tech said factually. 

"Oh, that's good. Can, can I sit with her?" Fives asked hesitantly.

 "She's asleep." Cross pointed out bluntly, clearly unhappy with the idea. 

"I know, but I just, thought it would be good?" Fives winced as his words were now out loud. 

Tech's datapad pinged, and he sighed, "That actually might be best. General Kenobi has arrived, and Rex is requesting all of us there. Having a familiar person with her when she wakes up will be good." Cross grimaced but said nothing. 

"You can sit with her, but if she starts thrashing like she's dreaming, I'd suggest you not try and interfere," Hunter warned before casting one last look at their quickly endeared sister lying in her bed before heading back out into the darkness of the planet. 

"Do you think it's wise leaving someone that's not one of us with her?" Cross asked as they headed towards the command tower.

 "If it was anyone other than him, I'd say yes," Hunter admitted.

 "Why?" Wrecker frowned, "She like him or something?" 

"Doubtful." Tech hummed. 

"No, you should have seen her when they were first introduced. She, she sees more than just him. Beyond. Something else." Hinter explained, trying to put into words the look in her eyes as she'd set eyes on Fives for the first time, like he was important.

 "Like she did with me?" Wrecker asked, voice tight. 

Hunter thought for a moment, "Maybe." Hunter shivered at the thought of what Saj had seen in Wrecker. And even though he knew Krell was gone, Hunter couldn't seem to escape the bone-deep chill in his body that this was all so wrong.

Chapter Text

Sajaun floated. No time. No space. Nothing. 

Wake up child . 

Sajaun forced her eyes open. When had she closed them? Nothingness met her. Her lips were dry, and her body was numb. The voice was not that of the Prophetess. Where am I? Who are you? 

I was Mortis. She could pinpoint the voice now, an older man's voice echoing lonely and still.

She inhaled deeply, forcing her chest to expand and suddenly, she was no longer floating in nothingness but standing at the center of a stone plaza, the Father, one of the three Mortis Gods, standing before her exactly as the old etchings depicted him. 

"Welcome Sajaun Ja, Keeper of Secrets." The Father greeted.

 Sajaun blinked, unsure how one greeted a Force Deity, eyes watering as she tried to take in his otherness , "Thank You. Might I ask why I am here?" 

Father stared at her a long moment before sighing heavily, and for a second, Sajaun didn't see the Force God, the ancient elder; she saw a tired old man. "There has been a disturbance on the Force. Have you felt it?"

 Cold seeping into her bones, warmth flashing out of reach. Hopelessness sinking in. Sajaun had supposed it had just been Krell or Umbra itself, but now- "Yes.'

"The cycle of time is soon coming to a close." Father spoke slowly, still looking so tired, "You know this as well as I do."

"Yes." Sajaun swallowed, willing herself not to think of the last time she'd witnessed it.

"The disturbance has thrown everything out of sync. The actions of the cycle have already begun. There is no stopping them." Father continued, voice grave and tired, "To fight time is to die." 

"The genocide- it is certain?" Sajaun breathed devastation, crashing in her chest. 

"Is it?" Father asked, blinking like he was unaware of what was happening, "I did not know that." 

Sajaun swallowed hard, taking in the old man's haggard and sickly expression, a horrible feeling building in her gut, "Where are your children?" Always she had always seen the three gods together. Now, there was just him. 

Father finally looked at her, and she could see the tears in his eyes, "They're gone." 

"They died?" Sajaun whispered, fear gripping her chest. Where- where did that leave them? The galaxy as a whole, the balance?

"Daughter did. Son left from the pain. And I am dying from age." Father admitted, blinking away his tears.

 "But- but without you to monitor the balance, what will happen?" Sajaun gasped. The Mortis Gods held great weight in the cycle. Their deaths would be like dams bursting. An influx of power. The ages of miracles.

 "With us gone, Son will grow more powerful. But I do believe with us gone, it will be as ash in the wind for him." Father said, morsetly sinking to his knees.

Sajaun shoved, considering the ramifications of that for later as she knelt next to him, "Why am I here?"

 "The age of the Jedi is ending. A new age must begin." Father said finally, "An age of new beginnings. Perhaps an age of old secrets long lost?" Father proposed, leaning back against the stone and tilting his head thoughtfully.

Sajaun blinked the image of the ancient staff she'd found dancing in her mind, "Perida? Is it Time for Origin?"

 "Only Time will tell. You stand in the midst of an age unlike any other. It is not often Mortis dies." Father said, looking over at her thoughtfully like a parent would, "Your secrets lead to Coruscant child. Darkness and illusions lie there." Father said, putting her hand.

 "I know that," Sajaun admitted softly. 

"Then why are you not there yet?" Father asked, confused.

 "Because having a purpose does not exclude me from the duty to address suffering where it is," Sajaun said softly. 

"The path ahead of you, Je Ka, is a hard one." Father nodded slowly, "Balance must be maintained, especially with Son's growing influence."

 "I understand." Sajaun nodded solemnly, feeling the weight of the charge carefully.

"Listen to where the Force gathers, and you'll find the thread of destiny there." Father said softly, voice becoming vain as he patted her hand, "May you be blessed with sight to see."

 "Foh ikioyth" Sajaun nodded reverently.

"Not all those who Fall are Fallen forever. Remember that." Father whispered, "The Chosen One is unstable. Darkness falls. To find true victory, one must know what it is to lose. To find peace, one must know both hate and joy." Father said with an air of finality, "Take this knowledge and use your dwindling time well, Keeper; there comes a shatter point to meet you." 

And all at once, he was gone. Sajaun stood alone in the center of the ancient stone plaza with nothing but the void and stars distant and cold around her. And then the sound of plastoid boots clacking on stone sounded behind her.

Chapter Text

Sajaun was so still. She didn't strike Fives as a woman who was often still. The fire in her eyes burned with the need to do . To act. But here now, there was nothing. 

Fives sat next to her bed quietly after her squad shuffled out. Kix, he was sure, would be back around soon to lecture him, but he didn't really care. "I- I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life." Fives said oddly, speaking into the silence, "I, I didn't think he'd go that far. And then you exploded and-" Fives trailed off, pressing his lips together tightly, "I guess I didn't realize how little others cared about us." 

He reached out to grasp her hand and fell . He let out a shriek as he fell, vision going black and his body going weightless before his feet smacked to the ground like depositing him out of a chute and landing on his feet, joints jarred by the impact. "What the karking kriff ?!" 

"Looks like you have a soldier's mouth through and through." Sajaun's amused voice made him whip around. They were standing on some sort of round stone table suspended in the air with space all around them. 

"Where the kark am I?" Fives snapped, taking in the ancient carvings on the ground and the nothingness all around them.

 "A way point. A place beyond time and space." Sajaun said cryptically.

 "That doesn't make any sense! And I'm not Force Sensitive!" Five snapped again, patience and sanity wearing thin. 

"That's where you're wrong." Sajaun said gently, "I suspect most of you clones are sensitive or at least aware of the Force. You just can't tell unless prompted." 

"No." Fives breathed gut, twisting, shaking his head violently, "That's- that's not possible." 

"Why not?" Sajaun asked, tucking her hands behind her. 

"The Kaminoins would never allow that." Five spat, trying to hide his shaking hands. Because something about her words sounded right, and it terrified Fives. Because after all he'd seen, heard, done , he knew that to teeter on the brink of the Force like his true General did would destroy him. 

He'd seen the darkness in General Skywalker that came from the war. But he'd also seen the peace in Commander Tano, especially after that kidnapping incident a few months back. Fives knew he'd never have such control. Not after this. Not after losing Echo. It would be downright dangerous if he did. He didn't want to turn into Krell.

 But she was still right; there was some part of him, some awareness that he had that some of his brothers did not. The way the air had turned cold around Krell. How it warmed immediately when he was near Commander Tano. The way his skin prickled when General Skywalker got angry. She wasn't wrong. And that's what scared him. 

"Fives." Sajaun said gently but firmly, "Do you really think the Kaminoins could ever stop the will of the Force? We are not so powerful to impose our will upon what is already decided. No matter how we want it." 

"But why me?" Fives blurted, panic still in his throat, "I'm not special!" 

"Everyone in their own eyes is unremarkable. Or at least they should be. But we are all special Fives simply because we're unique." Sajaun shrugged, tracing a line with her foot on the ground. 

"What does it want from me?" Fives demanded, scowling at her and the nothingness around them. 

"I don't know. All I can see is the Force pooling around you. Like a word about to be spoken. I thought it best to warn you that you will be a part of something I don't think anyone is prepared for soon, whether you want to or not." Sajaun said, giving him an amused but unhelpful look.

"So I'm just a pawn? Just a toy to be told what to do?!" Five snapped patience reaching a breaking point. None of this made sense! 

"No. Your actions will be your own. The Force knows not time. Something has changed in the balance of it all that has solidified it. No matter what you do, there's no stopping it from no fault of your own. But what exactly you'll do when the time comes is set in stone." Sajaun didn't rise to his anger but kept her voice calm as she walked on one of the large looping lines on the ground, circling away from him and then arching back.

 "And what then? What will I do then?" Fives asked, fire starting to fade as he realized just how stuck he was.

 "Then, I think you'll know what to do when the time comes." Sajaun said the line, bringing her finally to stand in front of Fives, "And I'll be with you when you do." She reached out and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and something deep in Five's mind snapped in place.

 It was like inhaling fully after so long in smoke, like finally seeing clearly, like finally hearing hope. Fives staggered for a moment at the weight of it before the sensation faded away but still left him breathing clearly. 

"We are connected now. Reach out when you're in need, and I'll come or send help." Sajaun said, putting his shoulder and stepping away. 

Fives greedily inhaled deeply again before looking over at her, "Why me? Why not any of the others? You said the other clones had the Force potential, too. Why me?"

 Sajaun looked up, considering him for a moment, "Because you see more than just this war. Your rash, reckless, and yearning to live . You want something more. Something other. And for reasons I don't know, the Force saw fit. So as will I." 

Five suddenly felt fuzzy, like his feet had fallen asleep. He looked down only to find the stone under his feet becoming translucent.

 "Fives. One more thing before our time is over." Sajaun said, tone suddenly urgent, "You cannot tell a soul we are bonded or that you could possibly reach the Force." 

"Why?" Fives blurted as the fuzzy feeling railed up his legs. 

"Because we're not in an age of civility or even an age of war anymore." Sajaun held his gaze, her own eyes very grave even as she grinned with more dangerous glee than anyone had the right to, "We're in the age of espionage now." And then the world fell away.

Chapter Text

Of all the horrible atrocious Obi-Wan had seen in this war, this very well could have been one of the worst. He listened to the Bad Batch tell their tale and how Sajaun had melded with the planet and killed Krell. And how he'd tried to kill Fives and arrange a friendly fire incident they had prevented, and then Rex had recounted how he'd destroyed Torrent in stupid actions that had used the clones as cannon fodder. Obi-Wan couldn't help but be horrified. 

"And he's dead?" Cody blurted equally as horrified next to Obi-Wan as they stared at the Bad Batch and Rex, who looked very tired, "You're sure?" 

"He looks like an overcooked nuna roast Codes; he's dead," Rex said bluntly.

 "And Sajaun?" Obi-Wan managed. 

"In medbay. He caught her twice with his lightsaber, and then she went all," Hunter waved his hands vaguely, "Viney." 

"Okay." Obi-Wan said slowly, trying to break down what needed to be done, "The blockade is mostly destroyed above us, and it should only be a few cycles before we can leave here. The ground battle is all but done."

 "When are your boys going to do the Remembrance?" Cody asked politely. 

"Later tonight. They're building the bonfire now." Rex sighed heavily, "I know it could have been so much worse, but…"

 "But it is still natural to feel outraged for what did, even if it wasn't the worst-case scenario." Obi-Wan nodded understandingly, "That's perfectly okay, Rex." 

"The 212th can handle anything else." Cody nodded, "You focus on your men." 

"May I see Sajaun?" Obi-Wan asked, turning to the Bad Batch.

 "Certainly, she is still asleep last we checked. We left Fives with her." Tech nodded. 

"Thank you." Obi-Wan nodded before heading off toward the medbay trusting Cody to handle the rest. 

The air was thick with grief and darkness and death. So thick Obi-Wan almost thought he might choke. He paused his walk to watch the vode build a pyre in the middle of the airfield with parts of the destroyed tanks and buildings. And how they lined the fallen helmets on the ground. The clones had very little by way of concrete culture; they said the Mando Remembrances and spoke a version of Mando'a, but their funeral rites, when they could, were quite Jedi. 

He nodded to the vode and continued on his way, silently counting the seemingly endless helmets. So many dead, and for what? Nothing. Simply nothing. 

"Good evening, General." Kix greeted him quietly as Kenobi entered the makeshift medbay. 

"Evening Kix." Obi-Wan nodded, "I'm sorry for your losses." 

Kix nodded slowly, face tired, "Thank you. I believe you're here to see the other Jedi? She just woke up." 

Obi-Wan nodded, "Thank you, Kix. And do try and rest soon."

 "Thank you, General," Kix called out before Obi-Wan slipped inside the curtained-off area.

 Sajaun looked up when he entered, fingers playing with the bandages on her torso, "Hello, Obi-Wan." 

"Sajaun. How are you holding up?" Obi-Wan asked gently, sitting next to her, squeezing her knee, and reaching out to meet her presence in the Force. 

Grief and uncertainty filled their shared bond, "I- did I do the right thing?" Sajaun asked softly, "He needed to be stopped, but- was- was that the only way?" 

"Don't ask that Sajaun. The what-ifs will get you nowhere. You know that." Obi-Wan chided gently. 

Sajaun sighed heavily, "I know I just-" She trailed off, eyes drifting off into midspace. Obi-Wan let her be quiet and blistered their bond with calm and peace until she was ready. 

"Jedi aren't built for war." Sajaun whispered, "It's going to kill us, this war. All of us." 

Obi-Wan frowned, recalling her saying similar words before, "We knew that, Saj; what's changed?" 

Sajaun looked over at him slowly, and Obi-Wan was alarmed to see tears in her eyes, "We're going to lose Ben. We're going to lose, and there's nothing I can do to stop it." 

Obi-Wan's blood froze in his veins, the genocide, the clones- "Nothing?"

 "I- I don't know. Everything's out of balance; I can't tell anymore. It's all so clouded." Sajaun shook her head, almost frantic. 

"But if you know what it is, we could stop it, right? If it can't be stopped with the Force, then it could be stopped with actions, right?" Obi-Wan asked, desperation bleeding into his voice, willing her to think . 

"Yes, yes, it could. I just, it's so dark ." Sajaun admitted. 

"Okay. Okay. Then tonight you feel. You grieve, and you rest, and you let it in. And tomorrow, you start again." Obi-Wan soothed, trying to shove his own panic as far back as it could go. If anyone could stop or even mitigate what was coming, it was Sajaun.

 "It's so dark here." Sajaun whispered, "It's so cold." 

"Yes. This planet isn't good for us. You especially. Considering that stunt you pulled earlier, yeah?" Obi-Wan teased gently, trying to cheer her up, "All mythical monster?" 

Sajaun let out a small laugh, "Yeah, yeah, I might have gone too far there." 

"Might have? We both know you'd never go that far normally, and only you could." Obi-Wan ribbed gently, bringing a smile out of Sajaun, "I'm pretty sure you scared your boys to Manda and back." 

Sajaun snickered, "It was big."

 "Yeah, it was. I want to be around to see it next time, not just feel it." Obi-Wan nudged her shoulder. 

"What did it feel like to you?" Sajaun asked curiously.

 Obi-Wan thought back to feeling their bond swell in a whirlwind of emotion before exploding into the Force. "Powerful."

 A crashing sound echoed outside, but kept going as the racket grew. "What's that?" Sajaun asked, wrinkling her nose as the noise grew louder. 

Obi-Wan let out a small smile, "A Vode funeral. Come." He gently helped her stand up, mindful of her bandages, and hobbled to the door of the medbay where they could see.

 All around, the clones stood banging on anything they could get their hands on, metal, concrete, their armor, as they all came to the pyre. Then, at once, it stopped. And the Remembrances began, all of them chanting in Mando'a the names of their fallen brothers as they all grabbed a stick and lit it on fire until all the names were said and all of them had a torch.

 "Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc," Rex said, stepping up to the unlit per, "ni partayli, gar darasuum." And with that, he tossed his touch in. 

All the Vode followed suit. And once the puer was blazing, they began tossing the helmets reverently in one by one. 

"It's touching," Sajaun whispered, watching.

 "Yes." Obi-Wan watched, feeling the warmth, "It is."

 "Mhhhm hhhm hm. Mhhhm hhhm hm. Hey hey hey goodbye." Sajaun hummed the opening to the old Dai Bendu funeral song, "Nah nah nah naaana na ahhhh ahhh. Goodbye."

Chapter Text

Cody stared. And then stared some more. "Run that by me again." 

"When we removed our inhibitor chips, we gained Force Sensitivity," Hunter repeated. 

Nope, Cody had definitely heard him right the first time. 

"All of you?" Cody checked, looking at each of them.

 "To varying degrees, yes." Tech nodded. 

Cody tried to take that in, "So, moving things with your minds and stuff like that?" 

"Not really." Wrecker shrugged, "More like having more space in your head." 

"It's like having an extra sense." Crosshair huffed, summarizing it quite cleanly, "Except it's all in your head, and you can't explain it." 

Cody tried to digest that . "Huh." 

"Sajaun thinks that if the chips are removed, most of the clones will be at least aware of the Force around them if not sensitive to it," Hunter said, leaning against the command room's wall. 

"That's- incredible." Cody finally choked out, trying to wrap his mind around this, "But you said it only happened after you removed the chip. What does that mean?" 

"It's complicated but it's blocking our ability to produce the midichlorians. And it's definitely dark-based." Tech stated showing Cody some sort of colorful scan of a human brain on his datapad. 

Cody squinted at the image, "Like Sith?" 

"Yes." Hunter agreed, knocking the wind out of Cody's chest.

 "We followed the trail of the creation of the clone army back to its source. There's a disconnect between the Jedi the Kaminoins claim ordered us and the facts." Crosshair said gruffly. 

"This is massive. We're a force-sensitive Sith-made army." Cody murmured.

 "We're a trap." Wrecker pointed out quietly.

 "That's not why I wanted to talk to you, though," Hunter said, pulling Cody from spiraling too far. 

"Then what?" Cody demanded, bracing himself for the next bombshell. 

Hunter swallowed hard and looked down at his feet for a moment, "I haven't come to Sajaun yet with this, but I'm going to." Hunter took a deep breath, "We need to build in contingencies for if this goes south."

 Cody felt his chest go cold, "What do you mean?" Hunter looked pained and at a loss for words and in his heart, Cody knew what he was asking but all he wanted to do was claim ignorance. 

"To win the bigger war at play," Tech spoke up solemnly, "We might have to lose the battle."

 " 'Lose the battle'?"  Cody repeated, fighting not to lose his temper, "That's easy for you to say when your Jetti is immune! When you're all immune! You're asking me to purposely put my general in harm's way on purpose!" 

"I don't like it either, but think about it!" Hunter snapped back, "There are millions of us, and only a few of them. Most of them are children or elderly. We can't just go rebel against the GAR. Whoever is pulling the strings is far more powerful than anyone in the war. We'll be in more danger if we act. Think of the carnage!" Hunter sighed deflating at the weight of his words and shaking his head, "Our only chance is sleight of hand. Subterfuge. Secrecy. And at the very least, it will buy the Temple and children time. It's the least of all evils." 

Cody squeezed his eyes closed and willed this all to be a massive bad dream. But it wasn't. "What do you want me to do?" 

"Reach out to your other Commanders and develop emergency protocols that, if put in place, would leave loopholes for the Jedi to escape out of. Make them seem like normal. Create a system that has a way out of the trap." Hunter said earnestly, "That's all I can think of."

 Cody turned away, trying to keep his emotions at bay as rage and horror warred in his chest. The pyre was still smoldering in the center of the plaza far below. And standing by the medical tent he could see Obi-Wan and Sajaun sitting together watching the fire burn out. The sacrifice of a few to save the many. 

Cody squeezed his eyes closed again. As much as he hated it, Hunter and the others were right. To win the longer war, they'd need to pretend to lose the battles. No matter how horrible the loss was.

 Cody swallowed hard, "I'll contact the other commanders. Set it in motion. But promise me one thing Hunter," He turned to face them again, "Promise me you'll find a way to end it even if it goes wrong, even if it's after the fact. Promise me you'll end it." 

Hunter nodded gravely, grasping Cody's arm in the Mandalorian way, "I promise."

Chapter Text

"Are you sure I can't convince you to come with us?" Obi-Wan tried for the fourth time. 

"No, Obi-Wan. I have my own path. And right now it's not with you." Sajaun said gently knowing he was just worried about her. They walked together across the cleared airfield towards where the last of the LAATs waited and the Havoc Marauder.

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan gave her akk pup eyes.

 Sajaun laughed, jabbing him with her elbow, "Quit giving my pity eyes." 

"General?" Commander Cody's voice made them turn, "We're ready to go sir. We have orders from the GAR too. We're dispatched to Kiros. General Skywalker will meet us and the 501st there."

 "Looks like duty still calls." Sajaun teased gently. 

Obi-Wan turned to face her concern, lacing his voice, "And where will you go?" 

Sajaun sighed looking back over the now deserted and mostly demolished airfield, "To see this through to the end. Krell was a traitor. I need to figure out how far it goes. I'll go to his battalion. Me and the boys will go from there." 

"Be safe Saj. Promise?" Obi-Wan said seriously. 

Sajaun gave him a small smile shaking off her melancholy, "Promise. Now, you should get going. Be safe too." 

"Yes ma'am." Obi-Wan grinned before giving her a playful salute and jogging off to join Cody.

 "Ready to go?" Hunter asked her gently coming to stand next to her.

 Sajaun inhaled deeply of Umbara, it's darkness and light. It's pain and sorrow, it's courage. "Yes." She turned to Hunter, "Let's get off this blasted planet." 

"And where to?" Hunter asked, following her onto the Havoc Marauder.

 "First the Hyperion then Krell' 78th battalion." Sajaun decided.

 "You sure?" Crosshair checked as Tech took off. 

Sajaun watched as Umbara receded rapidly in the distance and felt like she could breathe again, "Absolutely." 

Chapter Text

Tech had thought Crosshair was a difficult patient when injured. Sajaun, he was coming to find, was ten times worse. "You should be resting!" Tech snapped, trailing after Sajaun, who was still clearly limping . 

"I'm fine!" Sajaun huffed, wincing at the still-healing wounds on her torso as she pulled down a tea mix from her cabinet. 

"You're not! You were injured twice and have Force Exhaustion! You should be resting!" Trch pressed. 

"He's right," Cross said with a huff, reaching up and pulling down the box for her, "You should be resting."

 "There's no time!" Sajaun finally snapped, causing them both to fall silent. She didn't normally lose her cool. Tech noted in his mind that it seemed extended exhaustion made her irritable. As predicted.

 "What do you mean?" Hunter said gently, making all three of them turn to find Hunter and Wrecker watching them from the table as they had all migrated to the kitchen area as the Hyperion whizzed through hyperspace.

 "We drop out of hyperspace in two hours where we're going into hostile territory. A whole ship of hurting people. People who need help. I- I can help. And if I can and don't, what does that make me?" Sajaun demanded voice wavering. 

Tech tried to focus on the awareness in his head to understand why Sajaun was suddenly so distraught. Reaching out clumsily with the sense he could feel as if the air became static the farther he reached. It was distress, he realized, Sajaun's distress. 

Gently, he tried to reach for it, only to accidentally plow right into it. Immediately, the static became a roar, and he was inundated with images, emotions, and feelings that were not his own. They were Sajaun's. 

First, there was the physical pain and discomfort. But overriding that was the firm sense of duty but also bitter fear that was tightly controlled. Yellow eyes stared back at him as Krell's leering face flashed through his mind. 

Sajaun was scared Tech realizes of becoming Krell. Of being so caught up in herself that she became indifferent to the suffering of others. Even enjoying it. So she had counterbalanced by throwing herself fully into help without any regard for herself. That made a great deal more sense.

 Tech quickly tried to entangle himself after accidentally and intrusively entering her mind before finally tumbling back out. Tech gasped as he dropped back into his own mind, the shift not uncomfortable but uncanny.

 "Tech? Tech, are you alright?" Wrecker asked urgently, shaking his shoulder. 

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Tech nodded quickly, reorienting himself with his body.

 "Oh good, I was worried you got inundated." Sajaun sighed, looking relieved. 

"No, that was my fault." Tech shook his head, frowning, "I doubt my accidently intrusion into your mind was pleasant. I'm sorry." 

"It's alright. I'm okay." Sajaun nodded supportively.

 "You're not okay though." Cross pointed out grumpy, shoving a cup of tea in her hands, "That's the problem." 

"Saving the galaxy is not on you alone, Sajaun." Hunter agreed firmly, "We're here with you, and we want to help, but you have to let us. Don't carry it all alone. If you have a responsibility to help, so do we." 

"Just because you do not wish to become Krell doesn't mean you need to wear yourself out to prove otherwise." Tech said gently, "You cannot help anyone if you are not healthy."

 Sajaun sighed, sagging where she stood, but nodded, "I know that, but knowing and doing are two very different things. I- I'm just not sure what to do yet let alone how to let you help. It's so overwhelming. " 

"Then we figure that out together," Hunter said firmly, guiding her over to the table to sit.

 "Yeah, you may be good with the Force stuff, but we're good at other things." Wrecker nodded. 

"So we start with what we need to accomplish and then split the duties between us all so we can each do what we're best at," Tech explained, taking it slow and clear so Sajaun wouldn't feel overwhelmed.

 It must be hard, he realized as they began to break down everything and make a plan, to be alone. He's always had his brothers to rely on and support. But Sajaun, she'd been alone so long she didn't know how to ask for help. She knew how to lead but not how to work with a group, a family. 

But Tech supposed that didn't matter now; he and his brothers could fix that easily.

Chapter Text

The Commander of the 78th Battalion stood at perfect attention, waiting. He kept his breathing even and fought not to twitch. They'd gotten confirmation that the General was returning, and just like that, the fragile peace the Vode had created while he was gone shattered. They were so few in a ship that should hold so many. 

CC-7159 stood perfectly still and kept to measured regulation breathing. Seven in eight out hold for four, and repeat. His feet were perfectly placed exactly 12 inches apart in parade rest. Helmet firmly on as he faced forward, hands clasped professionally behind him. Perfection. Anything less was dangerous in the General's presence.

 '59 had lasted the longest in his position, a full two months in comparison to his predecessors. He'd done it with a dedication to perfection and taking the blame for all his men. 

They'd suffered 70% casualties in their last incursion, and of the 30% left, over half were in the Med Bay in critical condition. '59 wasn't sure how he'd managed to survive the debrief without losing his head via Krell or his own anger. The General had no regard for the lives he was throwing away. He didn't care; to him, they were all just toys to play around with, things to use, abuse, and throw away. 

'59 knew this wasn't how the other Generals worked. He knew things were better with the others, but he also knew they didn't have it the worst. Someone else always had it worse. So '59 kept his mouth shut, shelved his anger, and tried to get through the war. He couldn't abandon his men, by death or otherwise, and he'd serve his brothers until he marched on. But not the General, never Krell. 

The LAAT landed seamlessly on the hanger floor, and that was when '59 saw the first imperfection. The shuttle has deep red accent paint around its nose and base. It didn't seem to serve any purpose other than to be artistic since the identification number is emblazoned in similar bright red on the sides and back. It makes '59's regulation haircut stand on end. General Krell would not be caught dead in that. He demanded perfection, no flaws, and that included personalization. 

The door slid open after a moment too long, and that was when the wrongness of the whole situation hit '59 in the face. A squad of black-clad troopers with bold red and white markings clambered out. They were too tall. They were too short. One had glasses, and the other was built bigger than any brother '59 had seen. Like a tank. Defectives. 

There had always been rumors of defective Commando units. Staring at the ginormous imperfection standing on the flight deck '59 feels for the first time in a long time a flicker of something that sounds like pride. Those are his brothers, imperfect but proud and thriving right there. They do not cower; they do not fear; they all simply look around silently as though they are waiting as though they are watching.

 That is when the biggest imperfection became aware of '59. There is a fifth clone with them, which is not at all unusual. Squads can range from four to six, depending on what the job is. No, what's making 59's spine tingle and every nerve stand on the edge is that that fifth clone is not a clone. They don't walk like one. They don't move like one. They don't hold themselves like one. '59 is so overwhelmed with how wrong everything is that he almost doesn't notice that the General is not with them. 

One of the real clones turns to him, and '59 spots a Sergeant insignia painted in dark red on his chest, "You the Commander?" 

This clone might be a Sergeant, but '59 has no doubt that he is the one now in charge. This is a test; it has to be. Krell must have sent this defective squad to test how the battalion would handle them. Perfection is the key to your survival. One of the few veterans had warned him when he'd first come. Perfection was the only thing keeping him alive. "I am CC-7159, Commander of the 78th. State your designation, Sergeant." '59 stated, not breaking from his perfect parade rest. 

The Sergeant tilted his head bucket tilting at an unnerving angle, "Where's your Admiral?"

 Thrown, '59 sputters silently in the solace of his helmet. The question is not phrased as a condescending sneer like Krell normally speaks; it is genuine curiosity. 

"Found his code cylinder, bridge level." The clone with glasses pipes up.

 "Excellent." The Sergeant nods back to his brother before turning to '59, "Walk with us." 

Before '59 can protest, the Sergeant and the clone with glasses sweep by him. The hulking mountain of a clone grabs '59's arm, "Wasn't a suggestion."

 '59 finds himself stuck between two of the bigger clones as he follows the Sergeant and the Brain and the Not-Clone. '59 decides that watching Not-Clone is the safest thing he can do in this ever-changing test. The Not-Clone is constantly looking around slowly back and forth like they are searching for something. Their fingers never stay still, always twitching, always moving over the string of beads attached to their belt. The staff strapped to their back isn't anything '59's ever seen. It's not regulation. It hadn't even started as a regulation weapon like the sniper rifle on one of the clone's backs, which had been a Firesprayer in a past life. It was something completely different. 

The clones keep a circle around Not-Clone in a loose protective detail. They march up to the bridge level and enter without any pomp. The Not-Clone looks slowly around the room, still for the first time. 

The Sergeant approaches the Admiral, "Admiral Mytis? We're a dispatch from Umbara with news of General Krell. Perhaps we can speak privately?" 

The natborn stares down his nose in contempt at the Sergeant, who stares back unflinching. The admiral takes in the stark difference between his bridge and the defective clones and inclines his head, "Come." 

They all stepped into the communication center, and the Admiral waved off the two Vode assigned there. '59 can feel their eyes burning into him with questions as they leave. "You're dismissed, Commander." The Admiral sniffed. 

"No." The Sergeant said before '59 could move, "What I have to say you both have to hear." The doors close off from the hall and the bridge with a hiss, and they are alone.

 "How dare you undermine me, you clone!?" The Admiral snarls, "I'm in charge here, not you!"

 "Knowledge is power; try this one on for size. Krell's dead." The Sergeant snapped back. 

The Admiral reeled, and '59 froze. He couldn't breathe. This was a dream it had to be. Krell, you couldn't just kill Krell. Others had tried and failed spectacularly. No, this was a trick. 

"What?" The Admiral gasped. 

The Sergeant ignored him, "He's also under investigation for fraud, murder, embezzlement, property destruction, and treason. We suspect he's been selling Republic intelligence to the highest bidder and collaborating with the Separatists. We're here to muck up the mess." 

"How dare you drag a good man's name through the mud!" The Admiral sputtered.

 This is really happening. '59 knew he was gaping at the defective squad, but thankfully, his helmet protected him. This was really happening; all of Krell's actions were coming back to get him. The bill was coming due.

 "According to our rough records, Krell has been stealing secrets for roughly the last year and a half and was planning to defect when he was killed." The Brain stated, adjusting his glasses.

 "Killed?" The Admiral latched onto the word. '59's blood went cold. The Admiral had taken on Krell's attitude over time and slowly became a monster of his own. One the Vod could avoid most times. But '59 knew that tone. That tone was when your world was about to be turned on you. And the effective clones, the 78th's saviors, were in the crosshairs.

 The Admiral drew himself up, so he loomed over the Sergeant, "You mean to tell me General Krell was killed? He was too great a fighter to have been taken out by an enemy, so it could have only been if he was betrayed. Shot in the back by one of your lab-grown meat droids! When I find out who did it, I swear-" 

"I killed him." The Not-Clone said firmly. 

The Admiral jerked over to face the Not-Clone, "You dared turn your weapon on your superior officer? You defective! I'll see you court-martialed for your treason, and then I'll see you decommissioned you skug!" 

'59 flinched at the profanity but noticed that the squad did not flinch at being called defective. And that's when the Not-Clone started laughing. 

Shoulders shaking, arms rolling up around their gut, laughing as though the Admiral had said something really funny. The Admiral jerked back in shock at the laughter clearly thrown. '59 was more thrown by how different the Not-Clone's voice was from the Vode. It was higher, musical, and had a quality that made you want to listen to it forever. The Not-Clone slowly stopped laughing and looked up at the Admiral, "Are you done?" 

The Admiral gaped, "Uh-" 

The Not-Clone reached up and unsealed their helmet. '59' heart jumped to his throat, and he almost moved to signal them to stop. You NEVER removed your helmet while in the presence of superiors. But this wasn't a clone who knew hand signals. 

The Not-Clone pulled their helmet off, and the Admiral just about fell over. It was a petite young woman, not clone-based at all. Dark skin and darker hair, and light lavender eyes that looked pissed.

"I am no clone, and I'm not a Jedi, so I'm gonna say this once." She slammed the helmet down on the holo table and kicked the Admiral's legs out from under him so he landed in the chair behind him, "I have very little patience left after dealing with that demagolka General of yours, and I have no qualms about killing you since you seem to share his leaning towards idiocy." She leaned forward, trapping the Admiral in the chair as she grasped both armrests, "I'm here for one purpose only, to figure out who else on this ship is rotten, and the longer I am here, the more sure I am that this is a rotten operation with you at its head. So you're under arrest."

 "You can't do that!" The Admiral squeaked, cowering as far into the chair as he could.

 "Why? Because it hurts your feelings?" The woman snarled, "I'm what the Jedi would call a Shadow; if I were in the order, that means you don't get arrested when I get pissed; you disappear. But lucky for you, in 12 hours, a Jedi with much less of an inclination to off you will arrive to take over, so until then, keep your mouth shut, do as you're told, and tell us what we need to know, and maybe you'll get out of this in one piece." She shoves the seat back, and it spun around, throwing the Admiral onto the floor. 

The Brain was there already and stuck him with a hypo. It all happened so fast '59's still gaping as the walking tank drags the Admiral out of the way, and the Brain is hooking into the holo relay. The whole squad has their helmets off now, and if there was any doubt before about them being defectives now there isn't. 

The skin coloration is wrong on all of them, for starters, like they came out four shades lighter than the regular troopers. They're all different heights also, the sniper being the tallest and the Sergeant being the shortest. The other thing was that the squad was deferring to the Sergeant, not the woman who was digging through the Admiral's pockets.

 "Let's see the works, Tech." The Sergeant directed.

 "The budget scans don't show any discrepancies." The Brain, Tech, said, pulling up the accounts on the holoprojector.

 "You can figure that out later. Can you kill it?" The Sergeant asked. 

"Working in it," Tech said, fingers flying over the datapad he had hooked up. 

"How many we gotta arrest?" The tank asked the woman.

 "At least half the bridge is dirty, from what I can tell." The woman stood tossing the data cylinder and a datapad onto the table, "Check those too. Criminals normally keep their records close for easy destruction." 

"We're gonna need more people to arrest half the bridge." The sniper commented. 

"Not to mention people to run the bridge." The Sergeant pointed out. 

"What if we just shut the bridge down?" The woman asked, "Then we could run on a skeleton crew and dump the staff into the brig."

 "Yeah, no. We're a Republic destroyer. We're vulnerable, terrible idea.” The Sergeant shook his head, “Not happening.” 

"Okay, okay, so we can't shut down the bridge. What do you suggest?" The woman asked, leaning back on the wall.

 "You got any vode interested in navigation?" The Sergeant turned to '59.

 '59 froze for a moment, completely out of his depth and unsure of how to act. The rule book, that list of perfect responses that two minutes ago had been his life, was now on fire. '59 had no clue how to respond, but they were all looking at him expectantly. "I can get enough men to run the bridge up here immediately, Sir." '59 says quickly before he's the target of this new command's wrath. 

The Sergeant's face twisted up before going back to calm, "Not exactly what I was asking, but it'll do on the time crunch. Can you also get men up here to help with the arrests?" 

Oh, '59 can think of dozens of numbers and secret names instantly, "That shouldn't be a problem, Sir." 

"Good, get them up here." The Sergeant turned back to the sniper and tank, "You two will be in charge of the arrests. Don't forget to do a physical search. People can get creative." 

"Do I get to stun them?" The sniper rasped. 

"If they pitch a fit first, be my guest." The Sergeant said, brushing his hair back. 

"Do I get to tackle them?" The tank asked eagerly. '59 winced at the thought of that. 

"Only if they run." The woman grinned.

 The outer door opened from the hall, and the few squads '59 had requested stepped in quickly. CT-0415 looked around the room and stared at the unconscious Admiral for a long moment before looking back at the squad. '15 had been around longer than '59 had been. Was one of the Veterans who'd been around longest and was '59's unofficial right hand. Subtly, '15 signed to '59; what  happened ? 

"We arrested the Admiral, executed Krell for treason, and are about to arrest most of the bridge staff for espionage. Does that about cover it?" Tech listed not looking up. 

"You forgot the part where this battalion is going under new leadership." The Sergeant pointed out. '59 wasn't sure how to respond to that, and apparently neither did '15. 

"We ready?" The woman asked, looking over her vambraces. 

"Yep. You point 'em out, we'll arrest 'em." The sniper grinned, pulling his bucket back on.

 "Excellent. Here we go, gentlemen." The woman turned to face the door to the bridge as the rest of the squad pulled their buckets back on. The door slid open, and they stepped out onto the bridge. They were mostly ignored as they entered, but then the woman nodded to Tech, and all the screens and holos died. 

The woman vaulted onto the nearest table, "Alright, listen up." The whole bridge snapped around to stare at her. Hands are her hips glaring down at the natborn staff. She looked every bit as fearsome as Krell on his bad days but also every bit as fiercely protective at one of the vod. Not a woman to be tussled with. "My name is Sajuan Ka. And I do not suffer fools." She looked slowly around the room.

In '59's HUD alerts pinged up of different techs and officers marked for arrest. "Until further notice, my people are now in charge of this vessel. Pong Krell is dead. He was executed for treason against the Republic. I'm here to see just how far that treason goes. And be warned, I will not walk away with anything less than the absolute truth. So, do as you're told, answer truthfully when asked, and use some common sense, and we should get along fine. As for some of you-" She held out her hands as though to welcome someone or make a grand gesture, and '59 felt this feeling in his gut that said now .

They all moved as one, grabbing the various beings marked for arrest and slapping cuffs on. There was outrage, furious yelling. Two people were stunned. One person got tackled. But in the end, they had roughly half the bridge in custody. "You're under arrest for espionage. Until further notice, all previous orders are now void. You now answer to my people. Any discrimination, abuse, or all-around bullying is grounds for arrest, and if I find anything that gets physical, you get another stop on your way down to the brig, the med bay. Are we clear?"

The bridge is dead silent. The staff looked scared beyond measure. '59 could only feel something akin to hope in his chest. "I'll take that as a yes. Back to work." General Ka hopped down from the table, and the bridge systems hummed back to life.

 '59 watches as the natborn detainees get marched off to the brig, and something in him lightens. This is real. This is happening. The Sergeant, the General, and the Brain are all huddled around the main consul as the Brain hacks through the levels of firewalls the GAR systems are equipped with.

'59 straightens and marches forward in perfect form with a strange, excitement he hasn't felt in years. It felt like that day when he'd first been assigned to a command, before it came raining down on him. He snaps to attention, and the General turns to face him, looking almost confused. 

"Commander CC-7159 reporting for duty, General." '59 said borderline brightly. The General frowned, and '59's soul plummeted. Had he done something wrong already? 

"I'm afraid I've misled you, Commander." The General said softly now that she wasn't yelling at people, "I'm not your superior officer." She nodded to her Sergeant, who was watching the interaction closely, "He is." 

The confusion must have been clear on '59's face because the Sergeant is quick to explain, "We operate independently of the GAR under special operations for the Jedi Order. Since Sajaun has no military experience, we split the duties. She deals with the Force stuff, and I deal with the military rank and file. It's worked out so far." 

"I see." '59 said slowly. It actually made a lot of sense. The Jedi had never been trained in military strategy, while the clones had been bred their whole life for it. Splitting the duties of general between a Jedi and a military expert was one of the smartest things they could do, and '59 had never seen it done before. 

"What do I call you?" '59 asked, scrambling for some sort of protocol he could adhere to. 

"Just call me Hunter." The Sergeant smiled. 

The panic '59 felt must have been enough for Sajuan to pick up on because she smiled supportively and offered, "You can call me Madame if that helps."

 '59 nodded numbly, "Yes, Madame." 

The Madame made a sound that said she didn't quite like the title but turned back to the holo table, "What do we have, Tech?" 

"I'm just getting in. We'll need to do a full forensic analysis, inventory of everything, and fact-check all the records, not to mention interviews and statements. Plus, flash training the bridge staff." Tech listed as the data multiplied from the screens. 

"How much of that can be automated?" Hunter asked.

 "The interviews, interrogations, and statements can't be, and neither can really flash training, but the rest can be half automated. I'd have to have someone babysitting it till it's done, but it can be done." Tech nodded. 

"Okay. I have a date with a darkly infused-office, so that's my agenda. So Tech on the bridge, I'll take Wrecker with me for the office, and you and Cross start on the interviews?" Madame Ka suggested.

 "That sounds good, but I want someone else up here with Tech." Hunter countered.

 "Okay, then we put Wrecker up here with Tech, and I'll deal with the offices on my own?" Madame Ka offered.

 "Ah, yes, because that worked so well the last time we did that." Tech deadpanned. 

"What? I'm sure Wrecker will do fine with you on the bridge." Madame Ka pointed out. 

Both Hunter and Tech gave her a blank look. "Not him. You. You have the tendency to get yourself into a world of trouble when left alone." Hunter stated. 

"Oh, come on! That was one time!" The Madame protested.

 "If you mean a few times too many? Then yes." Tech said, going back to his datapad. 

The Madame threw up her hands in exasperation, "Well then, what do you suggest?" 

Hunter thought a moment, "Take the Commander with you." '59 was stunned.

 "I thought you needed him up here to help with the bridge or with statement gathering?" The Madame frowned. 

"We can spare him if it stops you from doing something stupid like touching artifacts with your bare hands." Hunter huffed. 

"That was one time!"

 "Too many!" 

"Stop it." Tech snapped at them, not looking up, "Just take the Commander, Saj. He looks like he's got common sense in that head of his." Tech looked up at '59, "You do have common sense, right?" 

The Madame let out a groan of frustration and threw her hands up again before '59 could find a way to respond to that, "I'm going to grab my gear!" '59 watched as she marched off the bridge and wondered if that was truly the best idea to poke her buttons. 

"Don't worry about her." Hunter said like he'd read '59's thoughts, "She's just wound tight. It's been a long few days. She won't do anything more than yell and stomp." 

"When's the last time she slept?" Tech asked. 

"That's a good question. She was supposed to sleep last rotation. I swear if she kriffen didn't-" Hunter shook his head. 

"Well, it would explain a lot," Tech stated. 

"Yes, yes, it would." Hunter turned to '59, "You got a name?" 

A name. '59 hadn't entertained the thought of a name in years. He could remember long ago being so excited to leave Kamino and find his name among those in his new post. Krell had killed that in him. The thought of having something that was his brought cold dread seeping into his bones. Fear that he had a sinking feeling wouldn't go away anytime soon gripped him. '59 managed to shake his head since his mouth was so dry it failed him. 

"Alright, can I call you '59?" Hunter asked, not thrown at all. 

"Yeah, that's what the Vode call me." '59 managed to get out, fear loosening. 

"Alright, '59, this is important; under no circumstances, unless she is actively seriously injured, is Sajuan not allowed in the med bay," Hunter said seriously.

 '59 was confused, he was so so confused, but he nodded, "Yes, sir." 

Hunter made a face, "Don't call me that. I get flashes of what Cody's life is like." He shuddered full body, and '59 tried not to gape at the Vod. He knew Commander Cody of the 212th by name . But Hunter was still going, "She's also not allowed to touch anything without her blazing gloves. Or put her arms over her head or do anything remotely strenuous that could reopen her wound under her armor. Keep her from doing that, and life is good." 

'59 wanted an accommodation for how well he was handling today because he had no clue how to respond. "Got it. No med bay, no lifting her arms, nothing strenuous and gloves."

 "If she refuses, tell her I'll stick her with a hypo and dump her in the nearest bed for a week, so help me." Tech offered.

 '59 nodded hesitantly, not sure if he was joking or not, "Got it." 

"Commander?" '15 asked, stopping at the door, "May I speak with you?" He was ramrod straight at attention as '59 neared. 

"Why don't we step into the briefing room, Captain?" '59 said quickly. He wasn't sure how the new Command would react to informal conversations on the bridge even with how, unorthodox, they were.

 They stepped into the secure room, and the instant the door closed, '15's helmet was off, "Is it true?" He took a shaking breath and tried to not let his hope that '59 could plainly see showing through, "Is he dead?"

 "Yeah, I think he is. The new Jedi is pissed about it but not at us. Just the situation I think." '59 admitted sagging with the relief of having something he understood what to do without second-guessing himself.

 "What is the new General like?" '15 asked, some form of hope, lacing his voice.

 "Different. But she's not our General. A new Jedi will come and claim us in 12 hours; she's here to investigate, not lead." '59 exhaled slowly.

 "Then who do we report to?" '15 frowned, "What is the chain of command now?"

 "We report to the Sergeant that came with her." '59 explained, "He deals with the rank and file, and she deals with the Force osik." 

'15's eyes widened at '59's words, "That's completely unheard of."

 "Yeah, well, they're not completely normal." '59 pointed out.

 "Then who's the new General coming in to take over?" '15 asked.

 "I don't know." '59 shook his head, "I haven't had the chance to ask; it's all been so fast." 

"Yeah, well, I had '39 come up to me in a panic because the Jetii stopped him and asked how to find the hanger again.” '15 shook his head, "I feel like I've just gotten my life inverted and shaken." 

"Yeah." '59 agreed numbly. His comm buzzed. Then '15's did, too. Frowning, they both opened the sent file. 

"It's two holo files." '15 read the file description, "It was sent to the whole legion. You don't think-?" 

"Only one way to find out." '59 hooked his comm up to the conference projector expertly and dimmed the lights. 

The holo flicked to life, and the outline of a control tower could be seen against the dark sky. It wasn't a very good recording, but it was better than nothing. There was a flash of red and then an explosion at the base of the tower.

Krell. '59's stomach twisted just thinking about the mam.

A beat of silence and then a crash. From below, blaster fire erupted, and a group of humanoids that ‘59 had never seen before exploded onto the scene. The 501st troopers converged immediately but were thrown back by an invisible hand. Then, from the depth, Krell emerged, eyes glowing yellow, delight clear on his face as troopers screamed.

Force ‘59 hated that man. He reached a handout, and there was a crash, and then green and blue blades came flying towards him before flying out of reach.

 '59 spotted a gleaming staff as Sajaun lept into view, and Krell screamed, "That's Sajuan." 

"Who?" '15 asked as Krell raged at her indistinctivly. 

"The Jedi onboard." '59 explained, watching as the vode made a circle, trapping them both in the ring.

 "Prove your worth!" He roared.

 "What does that show?" Sajuan asked, stepping closer. 

Krell roared, igniting his Sabers and lunging. He brought them down on Sajaun, but beskar met Saber, and she didn't flinch. He tried to overpower her next, “Power," he growled, towering over her.

Her jetpack came to life, rocketing her forward, shoving his Sabers and arms away, and crashing her helmet into his face. He reeled back as she landed behind him and pressed her advantage by swinging her staff off her back in one swing and smashing it into his legs. 

Krell came crashing down, and they were a tangle of limbs as Krell screamed and cursed. She disarmed him swiftly and had him at Saber point with ease, "You're under arrest." 

Krell grinned up at her, the magenta making his eyes glow eerily, "You're Sajuan Ka." His voice was laced with awe, but she only glowed back.

 "What gave it away?" She asked sarcastically.

The Sergeant called for cuffs, and the holo didn't catch the audio next as Sajaun and Krell talked at saverpoint. But then one of the 212th stepped forward with the cuff, and everything started moving. Specifically, the HUD they were watching started moving.

It switched Holos then to a HUD that wasn't moving. With a twitch of Krell's finger, one of the ARC troopers was sailing towards them. Towards the other ends of Sajaun's magenta blades. Her eyes widened, and the blades shut off a second before the trooper collided full force into Sajaun. They both went sprawling. Sajaun shoved the trooper off her in time to roll away from Krell's swing.

 "Pathetic! You can't even take proactive action to save yourself," Krell sneered, swinging again only for Sajaun to dodge.

“You cannot punish for a crime they haven't committed yet!” Sajaun yelled back. He kicked her this time, and she didn't dodge in time, sending her into the solid wall of the control tower. There was a loud crack when she connected.

Krell stalked forward, Saber in hand, grinning evilly. He was going to execute her. '59 could see it all happen in slow motion, but he just couldn't stop looking. Her helmet had flown off when he'd kicked her, and '59 could see the growing rage building in her as she glared at her coming killer.

 Krell lit his Saber and prepared to do the deed when a voice stopped him.

 "You can't kill her." The trooper Krell had used to distract her yelled, "She's not part of the GAR; therefore, you can't justify a military execution! To stand trial for a coup as a civilian must be tried by a military tribunal. " The trooper ripped off his bucket and glared Krell down, "You can't kill her by your laws."

 "Are you telling me what I can or can't do?" Krell snarled, voice low and dangerous. '59 knew that voice. That voice promised violence no matter what answer you gave. 

The trooper drew himself up taller, "Yes."

 Krell considered for a moment, “Very well.” With a flick of his wrist, the troopers came flying forward and were impaled by Krell's blade. There was a shriek from the vode surrounding Krell and a choked gasp from the poor brother, who Krell tossed aside now with a gaping hole in his chest as the HUD descended into pandemonium. "Anyone else?" Krell roared. 

"That was a mistake." Sajuan's voice, soft but lined with steel, warned.

 Krell turned, face twisted in a sick sneer, ready to spew more poison from his lips. But he never got the chance.

 Sajaun threw herself at him, wrapping around his throat and throwing them to the ground. Her Sabers were now somehow wrapped around Krell's limbs as he thrashed. 

His Saber caught her in her side, and she screamed, pulling his bounds tighter. She threw her head back and howled in rage and pain and hate, and the planet answered her. With a boom, lightning came from the sky, lighting lit her and Krell up. The video cut out. Writing told the rest; the  trooper made a full recovery. Krell was taken into custody and killed in an escape attempt by Sajuan Ka. Sajuan Ka also required medical treatment following both fights. 

'59 couldn't breathe. Everything felt like it was crashing in. 

He was dead. Krell was really dead. 

For the first time, it actually felt real, and '59 felt lighter than he'd felt in years. Felt like he'd aced a test. Got extra rations or been told 'good job' during an exercise. Giddy, his mind supplied him.

 "I-I never thought anyone would actually do it." '15 murmured, staring at the floating words numbly.

 "He's gone. He's really gone." '59 agreed. 

"We owe her our lives. Our loyalty." '15 said firmly, already compensating for this new fact of life. He'd always been able to compartmentalize better than '59, something '59 wished he had. 

"Is it bad I feel happy for the death of a commanding officer?" '59 asked, slightly worried. It didn't seem that morally right, but then again, Krell had messed with his head so bad he wasn't sure anymore. 

"If it was almost anyone other than Krell, I'd be worried, but no. Not really. Not in this case." Hunter's voice made '59 and '15 jump to attention. "At ease." Hunter said, looking mildly amused, "I figured this is what you were doing, but I hate to cut this short; Sajuan still needs a guide cause she'll get lost, mark my words, without one."

 Dank Ferrick, he must have lost track of time watching that holo. The second holo would have to wait till later, "Sorry' S- Sorry. Where is she?" '59 asked quickly.

 "Talking with Tech, she hasn't noticed it, so don't mention it, and she won't even know." Hunter jerked his head towards the bridge.

 "Thank you. Sorry again." '59 nodded, grabbing his comm and hurrying out. 

"May I join '59 Sir?" He could hear '15 asking. 

"Sure. Just don't call me Sir." Hunter chuckled.

 '59 could feel '15 come up and walk just behind his right shoulder as he came onto the bridge. Standing around the main holo array were the squad of black-painted troopers' helmets off and the Madame who had something in her mouth and was weaving her loose hair together. She was now dressed in a hybrid of her armor and athletic Jedi-like robes. Tech was finishing up speaking, and she was nodding along. 

"What'd I miss?" Hunter asked, coming to stand on Madame's right. 

"Oh just Tech using big words to explain how he's gotta follow the money and review all the ship logs." The tank said good-naturedly. 

"That and Saj whining about being banned from the med bay." The sniper added. 

The Madame glared but said nothing. 

"You need to avoid undue medical stress until you're fully healed," Tech said like he'd said it before.

 "Tech it right. You do too much while you're healing, you could lose your grip altogether. Better to wait. We've frozen any decommissionings or major non-emergency procedures until then. It's just two days, Saj. You'll be fine." Hunter said, looking down at the Madame warningly. 

The Madame huffed.

 "She's got a point there." The tank said like she'd spoken aloud. 

"Please do not enable her to be unhealthy for herself, Wrecker," Tech warned.

 "I wasn't trying to!" Wrecker sputtered.

 The Madame made another argumentative sound as she coiled up her hair. 

"I wasn't asking your opinion of the situation, Saj," Tech said shortly.

 '59 watched the interaction in confusion. He'd heard that Jedi could communicate telepathically; it's why the clones had trained in shielding for the mind, but he'd never seen or experienced it. Krell had seen it beneath him to share his gift with the clones, and they very rarely encountered other Generals that '59 had no idea what it was like.

 But here, the Madame was communicating with clones telepathically like it was normal. Then again. Nothing about them was normal. 

"Alright," Hunter cut in before they could get a one-sided argument, "How about you go get started in that office, and when you're done, Tech will check you, and if, if you are healed, you can heal everyone in the med bay within your power?" 

"Everyone?" The Madame asked eagerly as she stuck the last of the metal things in her mouth into her hair. 

Hunter hesitated, "Within reason, as long as you don't injure yourself or get sick." 

"Yes!" The Madame grinned in triumph, "Score!"

 "That is a terrible idea." Tech deadpanned.

 "I wasn't asking your opinion on the situation, Tech." The Madame said, mocking Tech's tone as she grinned. 

"Okay, break it up. Get out of here, you tease." Hunter rolled his eyes and gently shoved Sajuan towards '59 and '15, "Have fun, don't touch any creepy artifacts without gloves, make good decisions."

 "Oh, Force, I just had a vision of you as a parent." The Madame made a playful face.

 "Very funny." Hunter said with a smile, giving her a final shove out of the bridge, "Now out." And with that, the doors slid closed in the Madame's face. 

She rolled her eyes, "Mutiny the lot of 'em." She turned to face '59 and '15, "Alright, which way is it?" 

'59 quickly gestures down the hall to their left, "This way, Madame."

 "Thank you." The Madame smiled, starting down the hall.

Chapter Text

 '59 and '15 fall into formation behind her and '59 can see '15's shock. It's so different, so strange, and '59 has a million questions rolling through his head that he doesn't dare ask. 

"This is going to sound odd," the Madame says suddenly, stopping in the hall and turning back towards them, "And wildly unorthodox, I'm aware, and you can say no, but would you mind walking next to me rather than behind?"

 '59 now has about a billion questions and couldn't move if he wanted to; he was so surprised. 

"It's protocol, Madame." '15 manages to get out. 

The woman raises an eyebrow, "And if we were in a battlefield or a board meeting, I'd get it. But we're not, and I've just thrown everyone who'd care in the brig. So," She makes an ushering motion to her side.

 This is so kriffing weird. '59 tentatively comes forward, sneaking glances at '15, who's doing the same. They both come and stand next to her, and she beams like she's won something, which maybe, '59 reasons, she has.

 They start down the hall again, now side by side, as they walk at a calm pace. They pass a few vode who snap to attention at the sight of the Madame and salute. She nods back with a professional smile and keeps walking, but once out of sight, the smile turns into a grimace before smoothing over. After a few times it happens, she seems to lose her patience with it. 

"Why are they doing that?" She asks once they're out of hearing range of the vode they passed, "They know I'm not their General. I'm not even in the GAR." 

'59 wants to be shocked, but he's far too numb to be, so he shrugs instead, "It's a sign of respect. You might not be our General, but you are the one who saved us. You killed him. You've earned our loyalty." 

"Oh." The Madame thinks it over silently, "That makes more sense." The next time they pass a vode, the smile does not fade to a grimace but stays. 

They guide her through a few turns before coming to the officer suites. "It's the one with the heavy-duty security pad, Madame." '15 nods to the respective door.

 The Madame hums, looking at the pin pad, "Interesting."

 '59 fights the urge to fidget or ask what's so interesting as she examines the door that is just the same as all the other doors in the hall. She pulls out a small metal ball and tosses it at the door. The door zaps it before it hits the door. 

'59 blinked; he had no clue that was there, it wasn't in the specs of the ship. 

"Very interesting." The Madame murmurs, picking up the ball. She switches her ball for a set of metal tools '59's never seen, and the questions are burning now.

 "If you have a question, just ask." The Madame says not looking up, "Your curiosity is coming off you both in waves. Talking is less distracting." 

If that's not unsettling, '59 doesn't know what is. 

"Did you read our minds?" '15 asks first. 

"No, entering your mind would be rude and intrusive. What I picked up on was emotions." The Madame says as she uses the tools to pry the cover off the pin pad and pulled the wires out, "Emotions are not in the mind only; they show up on your face, in your body language, and in the Force. It's like feeling warmth and making the connection the sun is out or feeling heat and thinking of a fire. I felt your curiosity; if I were to read your minds, I would have known your exact questions."

 "What are those tools for?" '59 asks, watching her work. 

"A mix of electrical tools, lock pics, scrambles, and jammers. My go-to criminal activity kit." The Madame says, cutting two wires and connecting them so the door slides open.

 "Do they teach you that in the Jedi Order?" '15 asks almost jokingly. 

The Madame laughs, "Depends on what year it is, depends on what classes you take, depends on how old you are. Depends on which skill you're asking about, but mostly?" She yanks out something from the depths of the device, and the pad sputters and dies, "No." 

'15 jolts like he's been smacked, and '59 swallows a laugh that seems par for the course. "Then how do you know how to do it?" '15 asks, recovering quickly as they follow her into the annoyingly bland office. 

"Let's say your idiot of an ex-general is one side of the weird spectrum cause he was completely evil." The Madame says, holding out one hand and sweeping her other hand in the other direction, "Well, I'm the other extreme where we drop the evil and just leave it at weird." 

"So you're eccentric?" '59 said carefully as she began rummaging through the desk (gloves on, he checked).

 "In a word, yes." 

"So the other Jedi aren't like you?" '15 clarified. 

"Ha! No. They're their own kind of weird, but it's more unified. I'm what they'd call a Grey Jedi, while your ex-general was a Fallen one. Most of the Jedi are more, reserved." The Madame laughed, plugging a slicing device into the console, "My turn; how often did he use this office?" 

'59 wracked his memories, "Not often. His time was split between his room and the bridge." 

"Well, that would explain the lack of use." The Madame said, frowning at the screen.

 "What is it?" '15 asked as the Madame frowned harder.

 "These are regularly inputted data transfers, but what was transferred is wiped clean. But every few months, like clockwork, the data gets downloaded. The last transfer was five days ago." The Madame swiped through the logs, "I'll have to have Tech look at this." 

She fell into silence as she searched the rest of the room. '59 watched how she methodically went through every crevice of the sparse office looming through everything. She was single-focused like a predator hunting prey, and '59 found it fascinating to watch her work. She emptied all the drawers, searched through the console, even looked through the physical desk itself, and walked every square inch of the floor with a single focus. 

"Nothing." She huffed, finally giving up, glaring at the desk.

 "Did you expect there to be something?" '15 asked, unsure of how to act in the face of her annoyance. 

"Sort of. He felt so kriffing smug that I assumed," the Madame trailed off, shaking her head. 

"That he was hiding something?" '59 finished hesitantly.

 "Not just that. That he was getting away with something." She huffed and dropped into the office chair, leaning back, "I feel like I'm missing something." 

'59 shared a glance with '15. He had no clue how to respond in this situation like a normal being. "Well, we can always come back if you get another idea." '59 offered.

 "Huh." The Madame said clearly not listening as she sat up, still staring at the ceiling. 

'59 looked up and spotted the ceiling vent, too small to be a security risk since no one aboard was cadet-sized. The Madame got out of the chair and clambered onto the desk in a blink of an eye and popped the grate on the veneration shift. 

"Madame?" '59 asked, trying to decide if this was Sajuan Ka behavior or Jedi behavior. She stuck her hand in and felt around, and '59 was immensely glad she was wearing her gloves when she came back out with a datapad attached to a data stick and a very grotesque early civilizations-looking mask. 

"Well, that's fascinating." The Madame deadpanned, dropping both items on the desk, "Don't touch it."

 '59 wasn't planning on it since it's giving him evil horror vibes, but he takes heed, "What is it?" 

"A Sith visionary mask, which is interesting cause I could have sworn I burned the last of them a good six hundred years ago." The Madame glared down at the evil mask. It stared back.

 "So how did he get it?" '15 asked. 

"Great question! No clue." The Madame grabbed the datapad off the desk and powered it up, "But this should have some answers, hopefully." It displayed a rolling screen of numbers that made the Madame frown harder, "That's not good."

 "What is?" '59 asked, resisting the urge to come over and look. 

"It's data of ration deliveries for the GAR for the next few months. It was downloaded," She stopped and put down the datapad, "Five days ago." 

'59's heart dropped; the monster was selling out the army, the Republic, and the vode, and had been getting away with it. '59 had never thought he could hate Krell more. He was wrong.

 "Look, I'm not at all well versed in how an army works, but this is basically giving away where your troops are, right? That's not good." The Madame looked between them for confirmation. 

"It's giving away troop movements. Yes, that is very bad." '15 assured her, looking very mad.

 "Okay, well, there's nothing else here, so, I'm gonna have Hunter deal with it. Maybe Tech can figure out who he sent the info to." The Madame said, putting the datapad down, "Which leaves that." She sighed heavily, staring at the mask sitting almost innocently on the desk. 

"Can you fix it?" '15 asked carefully, unsure of what the problem was.

 "No. That's Sith through and through. You cannot fix something that doesn't want to be fixed." Madame sighed, pulling a pouch out from her belt and her staff off her back.

 '59 private wondered what exactly she was going to do with it as she pulled out some sort of red powder from the pouch.

 "I can feel questions coming," Madame said, not looking up as she sprinkled red dust on the mask and then created a design with it on the mask. 

"What are you doing to it?" '59 asked, shoving the tingly feeling of being called out again.

 "I'm creating a seal on it right now so that it's safe to handle and transport without giving anyone hallucinations or visions; then, when I have time and proper conditions, I'll burn it." The Madame said, pouring red liquid into the symbol she'd made in the pile of powder on the mask. The powder and liquid flashed together like a chemical reaction, then fizzed out. The wrong feeling faded on the back of '59's head as Madame dropped it back on the table with a thunk. 

"That's it?" '15 asked surprised. 

Madame grinned, "That's it."

Chapter Text

The Jedi was something else entirely. '15 had never met anyone like her. She'd warned that she was an outlier of normal Jedi, but he was hoping for someone like her. Her eccentricities weren't that hard to accommodate, and her learning curve of all things military could be easily fixed. Her defective unit could also easily be integrated into their leadership structure, seeing as most of them had been killed. 

But she was firm that someone else was coming to take over in ten hours, so '15 put the plans of convincing her to stay on the back of his head and mentally drafted the announcement he'd send to the Vode. They all owed her a life debt and a vengeance debt. She'd brought to justice their brothers' killer and freed them. They owed her their loyalty, at the very least.

 He already spotted to vod with tan signals matching her own small grey one on the helmet she'd had on. He wasn't familiar with the symbol, but the color he was. He was duly ignoring how much gray she had on her armor. Tan meant loyalty. Gray meant mourning.

They'd left the empty office, her creepy mask hooked to her belt and the datapad tucked under her arm. They were heading for the Med Bay now for her physical because she'd gotten injured in her fight. Tech, one of her elite defectives '15 remembered, met them.

 "Please tell me you didn't touch it." He deadpanned, frowning at the mask attached to her belt. His sigh reminded '15 of a medic's, and he felt a twinge of sympathy for Madame, who seemed to get herself into situations like this often. 

"She had gloves on." '59 was quick to say. 

"For Force's sake, Tech," Madame rolled her eyes, "You assigned me babysitters, of course; I didn't do anything stupid."

 That didn't seem to help, only making Tech glare harder. "I'll be the judge of that. Armor off." 

Madame chuckled but took off her shiny beskar and her cape. And then her outer robe. '15 felt his face heat up as the floor became very interesting. 

For a medical check, she had to remove her clothing, which was normal, but he'd never seen a woman in her undergarments; none of the clones had, except maybe a few medics with female Jedi. '59 was just as red as '15 was sure his face was as he stared at the wall behind '15. 

"I'm not undressing," Madame said, sounding like she was choking back laughter. '15 risked a look up, and she was indeed still covered in light gray pants and a white undershirt. She was also silently laughing at both of them. 

"Let me see," Tech ordered after she sat on the observation bench. 

Madame lifted her shirt enough to reveal a gnarly pale scar across her torso, obviously aiming to cleave her body in two. It was a jagged, ugly thing, puckered, clearly healing, and not completely comfortable. 

Krell did that . '15 numbly noted as Tech looked over the wound. Her whole side was sick yellow, and blue and black bruises were fading from a few days ago. It looks painful.

 "It's healing nicely. How's it feel?" Tech commented. 

"Sore." Madame deadpanned.

 "And the bruises?" Tech asked next, unperturbed. 

"Hey, nothing's broken anymore, so it doesn't feel as bad. About the feeling I had when I got run over by a rathtar." Madame shrugged and then evinced when Tech poked her bruise.

 "A rathtar?" '59 asked, shocked. '15 was pretty sure you didn't survive the big rolling tentacled balls of death and teeth. 

Madame grinned, "It was small and young, and I was twelve and stupid." 

Tech sighed again, long-suffering and heavy, "Well, your body is up and running at an optimum rate, and the healing is no longer reliant on bacta or stims, so you're good to go. No hard exercises until the bruising has faded and the wound no longer tugs, about three days, but you're cleared for your Force Osik." 

The Madame's grin grew wider as she hopped off the bed, "Excellent. This is for you." She dropped the datapad into Tech's hands unceremoniously and turned to '59 as she began pulling on her other layers, "Can you get the he'd medic? I need you to vouch for me. I'm here to help, but I doubt your medics will view me favorably." Considering that Krell had been the one to give them most of their patients, '15 could agree with that. 

"Certainly." '59 nodded, heading out the door. 

"Hunter told me I needed to make sure you didn't do anything exponentially stupid," Tech announced factually. 

Madame snorted as she pulled her outer robe, "Of course he did." Now fully dressed in her robes, she put her vambrace back on, but with a tap of the control panel, the beskar armor dissolved, leaving only the other vambrace. 

"How did you do that?" '15 sputtered. Beskar was borderline sacred to Mandalorians; it's how the trainers had imbued the importance of the Clone armor on them.

 "Perks of being the oldest person in the room." Madame smiled, lacing up her boots, "It's nanotech designed to make armor less bulky but eventually discarded due to the fact it required pure beskar three layers thick. It ended up not being effective for the masses, but I rather like it." 

"I've never seen it before." '15 murmured openly, staring at her vambraces in awe. 

"It was a long time ago, and its secrets were lost in the various Mando wars. I probably have one of the few sets that have it outside of a museum." Madame said, extending her arm so he could examine the beskar.

"Fascinating." '15 murmured, looking over the structure of the brace. 

"Hype will see you now." '59 said breaking '15's concentration. 

"Alright." Madame nods sharply and moves for the door. '15 notes she seems to take a deep breath like she's soothing her nerves before she steps through. Why she would be nervous is beyond him, but he follows quickly. 

"Madame." Hype, the head medic greets stiffly. 

Madame smiled gently and extended her hand in greeting, "I take it your the head medic?" 

"Yes Madame, CT- 8280." Hype said formally. 

"Do you have a name?" Madame asked kindly, "I would be honored if I might know it, but if you're not comfortable, I understand."

 Hype's eyes grow wide in initial panic as his eyes dart to '15 and then the Commander. '15 nods encouragingly to Hype that it is real, not a trick . Hype swallowed hard, trying to school his face from nervous to neutral, "Hype Madame." 

Madame nodded, "Hype then. Is there any chance I can get you to address me as Sajuan?"

 Hype just about choked, "No, Madame." 

Madame shrugged, "Worth a shot. I'm not sure what the Commander told you, but I'm here to offer my services." 

"He mentioned you were interested in assisting in medical, though I must say I'm not sure how much you know." Hype said quickly as he moved in his business tone. 

"I believe I never said, I'm not a medic, Hype. I'm a healer. I can heal almost any wound. I'm offering to use my gift on your injured brothers if they wish it. If you'll accept the help." Madame said gently. 

'15 stared at Madame in shock, and he was aware his vode were doing the same. She wanted to heal them? They were clones! Even excluding Krell '15, knew the general consensus on them was that they were worth less than nothing, lab-grown life worth less than naturally made. The Kaminoins had hammered it into them. 

You are made for the Republic. To serve, to fight, to die. To serve the Jedi. They are your commanding officers; they are worth more than you. You protect them at all costs, even your life.  

The Jedi should not care this much. They were just clones, millions of identical faces being churned out to run the machine of war. But here she was offering to use her unique, powerful gift that set her so far apart on them, for them. '15 didn't know what to say. 

Hype didn't share that problem. "I- I can't ask you to do that, Madame; we're clones, commodities that are currently rendered broken. And I have to doubt that you can heal them all without injuring yourself." 

Tech snorted but said nothing obviously glad someone else was pointing out that fact. Madame ignored Tech and looked at Hype calmly, "You're not asking; I'm offering. But let's put it this way: you're a field medic, yes?" 

Hype stared at her, baffled but firm, "Yes." 

"And when your brothers die on the field, what do you call that light in their eyes that leaves? What do you call the function in their body that stops?" Her words and tone are not unkind, but Hype flinched nonetheless. Too many brothers came to mind, mangled beyond recognition. Madame kept going calmly and gently, making her point, "Spirit? Soul? Conscious? Life? We call it Life Force. Your essence. What makes you you? You and your brothers possess that; therefore, you are important, because you have life. To ignore your suffering, to not offer would be ignoring someone in need of help. And when you can help, you are responsible to help. I'm not making you let me help you. But you aren't either. I'm offering." 

Hype stared at her for a long moment before something like hope flickered in his eyes, "Well, if you really want to, I'm not going to say no." 

Madame smiled brighter and wider, "It would be my pleasure."

Chapter Text

Hype was cautiously optimistic with this new Jedi, who had immediately put a freeze on all non-essential medical operations. No decoms, no amputations, no cutting vode off painkillers. The med bay was full after Krell's last assignment a week and a half ago, and this sit and wait mentally would burn through their supplies quickly, but at least his brothers weren't dying. 

A lot of notifications had come through to his comm, but he hadn't had the time to view the ones that weren't text. The Vode was blowing up in support of the new Jetii, and the Commander had informed them that while she was close enough to be classified as a Jedi, she wasn't a General. She wasn't even in the GAR. She was just Madame if you felt the need to use a title. 

Sajuan Ka was an odd duck '15 had also warned, not a regular Jedi, more eccentric apparently. Hype agreed with eccentric as he watched her look over a list of injuries he had in the Med bay right now. It was a big list. 

She'd asked to see it after informing him that whatever preconceived notions about Jedi he'd had were ranging from downright wrong to burning garbage heap. But he wasn't complaining. He liked this version better.

 "Let's start with these two to warm me up, and then we can move on to some of the trickier cases," Sajuan says, handing him the datapad back. She'd highlighted two cases, one trooper with a spiral fracture from yesterday calling off his bunk and a shattered ankle from the last campaign made worse by use after the injury. Easier injuries to treat, and apparently easier to heal also.

 "Alright." Hype nods, falling into his comfort zone, "How does this work?" 

Sajaun smiled, "You point me to where they are, and I'll chat them up a bit to see if they want me to heal it and to what extent, and then I'll heal it."

 "Right this way, then." Hype motioned for her and the three vode to follow him.

 They wound through the med bay beds, and it's no secret that everyone's staring. Whether at the new eccentric Jedi or her black-clad clone shadow, Hype wasn't sure, but even the other medics didn't seem immune to it, though they were admittedly less obvious about it. She takes it effortlessly, smiling at those who dare to stare openly and ignoring those who look away. 

The Commander is glaring at them all as is '15, trying to convey the need for them to stop before they push her buttons to push her too far. Trying to imagine Sajuan acting like Krell makes Hype's mind hurt, but he knows better than anyone as a medic; everyone has a breaking point. 

He comes to a stop in front of a star-eyed shiny, or almost shiny. He'd gotten through his first campaign, so he wasn't really a shiny, especially in Krell's campaigns, but he hadn't gotten to painting his armor yet, and his eyes hadn't lost their wide-eyed awe yet. "This is CT-9722. He doesn't have a name yet, and he's from one of the newer batches on the ship. Came in with a spiral fracture yesterday." Hype listed nodding in greeting to the star-eyed clone. 

"Hello, 9722. Do you mind if I call you '22?" Sajaun asked brightly, addressing the shiny.

 "No, no, Ma'am." '22 said softly, obviously unsure of what to do.

 "You mind telling me how you got yourself a spiral fracture?" She asked, leaning over and examining how they had it splinted together and injecting bacta into it. 

"I, I, uh, fell out of my bunk, Ma'am." '22 said, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

 Sajuan smiled, "Please call me Sajuan or Madame if that makes you feel better. Ma'am makes me feel old." 

"Yes, Madame." '22 said softly. 

She examined the chart hovering over his head next, "Bunks can be nasty things; I tripped on mine two weeks ago and almost broke my nose." '22 snorts before he can stop himself, and something akin to panic spikes in Hype's chest and in the kid's eyes, but Sajuan just grins, "Not to worry, I managed to save my nose, and I think I can help your arm if you'd like."

 '22 stares at her, dumbfounded for a long moment, "How?"

 "I can heal your fracture now, so you can get out of here in two hours instead of a week. How's that sound?" Sajaun offered.

 '22 blinked at her in shock, "You'd do that?"

 "Sure." She shrugged like it was no big deal, "I've got nothing else to do on this boat except paperwork, and I'd do anything to get out of paperwork." She looked at '22 seriously, "But if you want you to heal naturally, that's fine too. You don't have to let me heal you. I just wanna help." 

'22 looks up frantically at Hype and '15 and the Commander for guidance but only confirmation that it's not a trick. He looks down now, thinking about the offer, and finally looks at Sajuan, "I think I'd like that." 

"Alright then." Sajaun smiled and nodded, "It will feel odd, but it should be good as new when I'm done; your medics can double-check it and will probably want to monitor it just to be sure everything's in working order, okay? Just cause I heal you doesn't mean you get a free pass outta here, got it?" 

'22 smiled at that but nodded, "Got it." 

"Alright." Sajuan reached out a hand towards '22's broken arm only to get her hand slapped. 

"Not yet, you don’t." The defective clone snapped. He held out four medical pace patches to monitor vitals at Sajuan. 

She sighed but took them, sticking one on each wrist over her pulse points and on the base of her neck. She put the last one over her heart under her robes, "Better?" 

The clone consulted his datapad before nodding, "Adequate. Your vitals leave normal levels, and I'm stunning you." 

Hype blinked at his bluntness. That was something he'd threatened on other vode but not his General, never his General. But Sajuan just smiled, amused, and turned back to '22, "Here we go." 

She reached out gently, placing her hand on '22's cast, and closed her eyes. Hype watched, but nothing really happened. He just got the crawly feeling of soothing watching him or crawling up his spine. But after a moment, the feeling faded, and Sajuan let go and leaned back.

 "That's it?" '22 asked surprised. 

She smiled, "Yeah. Why don't we get that cast off and see how it feels?" 

Hype stepped forward quickly and 

helped '22 get his cast off gently and scanned it. "Unbelievable, the fracture is completely gone. Perfectly healed like it was never broken, not even scar tissue or fusion." 

"The wonder of what the Force can do." Sajuan said with a proud smile, "May I see?"

 Hype handed her the scanner and ran '22 through some exercises with his arm to work out the stiffness.

 "It's not a technique I normally use, but it's always good to keep my skills up to date." Sajaun shrugged, “What's next?” 

And that's how it went. Hype watched in awe as Sajaun moved from bed to bed, healing each and every brother with ease and a gentle smile. Broken bones, internal bleeding, blaster wounds, all of it. But it did come at a cost; as she went on, she seemed to get more and more tired, drained. Until finally, her babysitter clone stepped in. 

“Alright, you're done.” The black armored clone said firmly, as she stepped back from the last of the minor injuries.

Sajaun immediately frowned, “But-” 

“Nope. You're done.” The vod didn't waver. Out of one of his pockets, he produced a ration bar, “Eat.” 

Sajaun scowled a bit but took it and started eating, “Happy?”

 “Ecstatic.” The clone deadpanned, scrolling through his datapad of Sajaun's vitals.

 “Can't I do the rest of them?” Sajaun asked in an almost pleading tone.

 The clone eyed her through his goggles, “No. You need rest. Maybe tomorrow.” 

Sajaun sighed, rolling her eyes and shoving the rest of the food in her mouth as her and the other vod's comms were ringing. “Teah?” Sajaun answered, opening the mini holo call of another defective clone, mouth still full. 

“You need to get up here.” The holo clone said bluntly, “Now. Something's happened.”

Chapter Text

“They what?!” Sajaun comes as close to screeching as Cross has ever heard her as she stared at Mace's holo, “What possessed you to choose that?” 

“They need help! We needed to find them! They were the closest choice!” Mace argued back. 

Cross had no idea what they were arguing about because he'd finally gotten up to the bridge from the brig five seconds ago, but it was as heated as he'd ever seen it. Sajaun went red in the face as much as she could with her dark skin as irritation and outrage rolled off her like choppy waves, “They're an ex-slave and a female minor Togruta! They're the worst choice!”

 Mace winced at the accusation, “Perhaps but we are short-handed, and they were the only ones we could get!”

 Sajaun states at him and then buries her face in her hands and groans a deeply frustrated sound as the emotional waves turn to frustration and dark humor before looking up looking frazzled, “So let me get this straight, you have a missing colony of Tortugas that were taken by the slave empire of Zygerria, and you decided that the best people to send to find them were a female minor Togruta, a person who was born into slavery before being freed and one of your knights who has been enslaved more than most of your knights on the field combined in his life?” 

Now the high general looked sheepish, “Well, when you put it like that….” 

Sajaun groaned again, squeezing her eyes shut like she could will it all away, “ Force . What do you need?”

 “I need you to join the Wolf Pack with Air support; Plo is going to Zygerria, and we have Intel that Dooku is coming. You will go to Kadavo to collect Obi-Wan and the colonists.” Mace said clearly relieved to be moving back to business.

Sajaun looked very irritated but nodded as she stopped broadcasting her emotions into the Force, “Alright, the 87th is still going to Plo.

 “Yes, from what I hear, the Pack is very excited.” Mace nodded.

 “Good. We'll set course immediately. Excuse me while I try to wrap my mind around this catastrophe.” Sajaun huffed before signing off to Mace's laughter.  

“What's going on?” Cross asked slowly, unwilling to add to whatever situation he'd just stepped into. 

“Oh, just the karking war ruining all common sense.” Sajaun huffed sarcastically, “Tech set course for thrice karked Kadavo.” 

“And what's Kadavo?” Wrecker asked hesitantly.

 “Kadavo is the slave processing moon for the Zygerrian slave empire,” Sajaun growled out before storming off, her presence swirling around her in irritation. 

Cross watched her go slowly before looking back to the others, “What did I miss?”

 “Not much, really.” Wrecker shrugged, “Mace called to ask for help, said he sent Skywalker and Kenobi to Zygerria, and Sajaun flipped out.”

 “Historically, the Jedi were the ones policing and chasing down slavers.” Tech said from where he was reprogramming the Nav computer, “With the war, slave empires like Zygerria have flourished. I believe Sajaun finds that very frustrating.”

 “Ah. That would explain the response.” Hunter nodded. 

Cross hummed, considering. It would, in a way, but it also seemed a bit out of character for Sajaun to lose control of her emotions like that. He had a feeling there was more to the story. And seeing as they were heard to the heart of the matter, Cross was sure they would discover it soon.

Chapter Text

Hunter fights the urge to scream. Or strangle Sajaun. “Please tell me that's not your brilliant plan.” 

“Unless you have a better one.” Sajaun shrugged, looking unconcerned. 

“Sajaun, frying the electronics in the whole thing will make it drop from the sky .” Tech tries to explain. 

“And then I catch it,” Sajaun repeats her previous statement.

 Hunter groans, “Not to say that you couldn't but you shouldn't.”

  “He's right, you'll strain yourself.” Wrecker agreed as they made a supported front to her. 

Sajaun groaned, closing her eyes and thinking hard. And then grinned. 

“Oh no, whatever you're about to say, no.” Hunter shook his head forcefully. 

“What's wrong?” Commander ‘59 asked hesitantly reminding Hunter he was there.

 “Oh nothing just that she's about to suggest something ridiculously stupid ,” Hunter growled glaring at Sajaun who rolled her eyes.

 “You know me too well.” She turned back to the map, “Alright, what we go in during the night and free jump to here.” She pointed at a secluded spot on the schematics they'd managed to hack of Kadavo's facilities, “I can break in and override the controls keeping the slaves down, then I find Obi-Wan and Rex and signal you to fly us out.” 

“You want to skydive onto a platform that is designed to kill and break people that hangs over an endless maw by yourself?” Tech repeated slowly. 

“Yes.” Sajaun said easily, “It's better than trying to lift the whole thing.”

“Force alive.” Cross growled, verbalizing Hunter's thoughts, “ You're gonna die .”

 “Believe it or jit this is not my first prison break.” Sajaun said dryly, “It's not even my first where I'm not at 100%. It'll be fine. I can handle it.” 

“You're not going alone.” Hunter finally gave in knowing when he was beaten. 

“I'm not about to ask any of you, Wrecker especially, to do that.” Sajaun shook her head. 

“Saj,” Hunter said, voice soft, “We talked about working together, remember? Wrecker might not be the best choice to go with you but some of you can.”

 “I'll go.” Tech said firmly, “I'm better at the control systems anyway.”

 “I'll come too.” Cross huffed, “Someone to watch your back.” 

“Wrecker and I will stay here and watch over the brig.” Hunter decided. 

“Sounds like a plan then.” Sajaun grinned clearly pleased that she'd won part of this fight.

 “Yeah, a really deranged plan,” Hunter grumbled under his breath as Sajaun turned to leave. He could feel a headache. Why had he ever agreed to this?

Chapter Text

Tech really hated Sajaun's plans sometimes.

 “Equipment check,” Saj said crouching next to him in their tiny tin can of a delivery device that was going to get hurled at the surface of Kadavo and hopefully get in undetected. 

“Equipment is a go.” Cross nodded. 

“Dropping in three, two, one.” Tech counted down. And then they were hurtling and life-ending speeds toward the ground. Saj had a point that they couldn't very well fly in cause they'd be detected but this- this was pure insanity. 

“Hitting the atmo in three two one,” Saj warned. The tin can of a ‘ship’ they were in screamed and shook at everything threatening to tear apart and kill them. Tech swore every part of him hurt from that.

 “Re-entry in ten seconds,” Cross yelled as they were flung to and fro in their small space. 

“I really hope this works!” Saj yelled over the screaming capsule.

 Oh, Force they were gonna die, they were gonna burn up and die up here in the outer atmo. Oh, Force. And then the screaming of metal stopped. 

“I think we're through the atmo.” Cross said slowly as they tumbled. 

“Yes!” Saj cherred with a grin, “It worked!” 

Tech ignored how close they'd come to death and booted up his altitude meter, “We're at 15,000 feet, we jump at 5000.”

 “Copy that.” Saj nodded, activating her helmet.

 “Now for the real important part,” Cross said humor in his voice as Tech counted them down.

 “And what's that?” Saj asked, amused also.

 “Don't miss!” Cross laughed before pulling the hatch as they hit 5000 feet and jumping out of the tumbling capsule.

 Saj cheered and jumped after and Tech quickly followed. He had to say free falling was much better than being in that tiny can. He could see the facility now coming up quickly, Saj had been right, their small capsule was tiny enough to slide through their scans. 

Tech spotted the landing zone and carefully focused his energy. Reaching out with the Force he imagined pushing himself toward the landing zone. And he moved .

 He plummeted toward the platform and mentally imagined shoving himself around until he was over the disgusted area. Now for the part where he stopped himself before splitting on the metal. He imagined himself slowing, imagined the air around him catching him. Imagined landing with both feet softly on the ground. And then his feet touched down. It was a harsh jolt through all his joints but he wasn't dead so he'd take it.

 “You good?” Saj asked as she and Cross scrambled over.

 “Yeah.” Tech nodded shakily, “Yeah.” 

“Alright. Let's go.” Saj nodded and hurried over to a door where they slipped inside.

 “First we need to get complete control of the systems so they can't kill any of the slaves,” Saj said.

 “We need a junction box, I can figure out where the main controls are from there.” Tech nodded. 

“Alright.” Saj nodded before leading them into the eerie halls. They quickly found a lowly junction box but it was good enough for Tech.

 “Alright, piggybacking our frequency on theirs,” Tech said as he sliced in and allowed their radio to get through. 

“87 this is Knight over,” Saj said testing the radio.

 “Copy you loud and clear Knight.” Hunter's voice came back, “You good?” 

“All good and accounted for down here,” Sajaun responded.

 “Good. Listen there's a development up here. Wildcard has escaped with Junior in tow and is on the way to your location now with Flight.” Hunter explained.

 Saj groaned and Tech just blinked, Skywalker had what now? “Copy that. And news on the Package?” Saj asked next, looking like she ate something sour. 

“Negative the Package was left behind due to issues on the ground,” Hunter said. 

Saj growled lowly in her throat, “Alright. Moving up the timetable. Alert Flight, there are allies aboard.”

 “Copy that. Find your target quickly before you all drop.” Hunter advised before there was silence. 

“Oh you just had to go make it complicated didn't you?” Saj muttered, “Where are we with the controls?” 

“Outside of the main controls I've solidified the points we'd need to attach to to override the controls,” Tech said, showing her the pulse map.

 “We don't have the time to look for all of those, and Kenobi.” Cross pointed out. 

“You're right. You two handle the controls, I know exactly where Kenobi is.” Sajaun said with a smile, “Skywalker's recklessness may just win us the day.”

 “Fine.” Tech huffed closing back up the panel, “Wait for my signal and don't do anything stupid!”

 “You know me!” Saj grinned with all false enthusiasm as she hopped up, “I would never!” 

Chapter Text

Rex had thought he'd known slavery. The GAR was but a clever ruse he knew. They all knew. General Skywalker had been on many an impassioned tirade about it. But this- this was something else entirely. 

General Kenobi was right, it was designed to break them and Rex was worried it was working. At least he was worried it was working on Kenobi. Kenobi, who couldn't help but also couldn't get the need to help out from under his skin. 

Now as they got dragged up to the warden's office Rex had a singing feeling things were about to get worse. A holo of Dooku that met him certainly backed that up. And then everything went haywire. 

The guards shoved them down the stairs towards the holo table but then alarms started sounding and the floor pitched all at once. Dooku's holo flickered out as the warden's stupid floating chair whizzed over their heads, “What is going on!?” 

“Oh.” A new voice made Rex crane his neck to find a human woman standing in simple black clothing looking like a thief and certainly hadn't been standing there a second ago, “Well the alarms would be the Republic cruiser arriving as would be the floor and the holo jammers turning on.” 

“You're here to shut Kadavo down.” The warden snarled as the guards frantically tried to turn the alarms off. Obi-Wan was shedding his restraints silently.

 “Let's see how you like this.” The warden slammed a hand down on the control panel that controlled the slave's restraints.

 “No!” Obi-Wan yelled, shooting to his feet. Nothing happened. 

“What?” The warden smacked the controls again. Nothing.

 “I'm sorry,” the thief said with a grin, “Did you want that to work?” 

The Warden scrambled for a weapon and Obi-Wan threw himself into the fight. The thief was next to Rex in a flash helping him out of the cuffs, “Right into a brawl, typical.” 

“Thanks,” Rex said, rubbing his wrists and taking in the control room that was rapidly becoming a battlefield. He couldn't keep track of what was happening as he was quickly yanked into his own fight but he knew General Kenobi was doing fine and he glimpsed the thief absolutely wiping the floor with her opponents so he tried not to worry. 

It was quickly over, leaving bodies all over the floor and a spear through the warden and his stupid chair. Kenobi had given enough in this place, he didn't need to give more. Rex could do it. 

“I seem to recall telling you once in no uncertain terms to never come here.” The thief said, turning to face Kenobi now that the fighting was over, still moving with cat-like grace. 

“Wasn't exactly in my plans.” Kenobi shrugged, rolling his shoulders. More alarms screamed. The floor shook again. 

“What is that?” Rex asked, scowling at the floor. 

“That would be your reckless General.” The thief snapped, picking her way over to one of the screens, “Tech, give me a headcount.” 

She opened up the holo screens of the whole facility and nodded along with whoever was on comms with her, “Alright, triple-check that everyone's off. I've got the General and Captain. Downloading the access into their system now.” 

A moment later she stepped back and pulled out a drive before shooting up the counsel, “Copy that. Get yourself and Cross off. We'll find our own way.” 

“Time to go?” Kenobi asked easily as she turned to face them. 

“Time to go.” She nodded. They both bolted out the door immediately.

 “This way!” The thief yelled, turning and running full speed down one of the halls. 

“Where to?” Rex yelled. 

“The holding cell! We can get out there!” The thief yelled, taking another turn at top speed. 

Kenobi just about smacked into General Skywalker who looked relieved to see them, “Thank Force. This place is coming apart.” 

“We felt it,” Kenobi said dryly, dragging Skywalker with them as they started running. They stumbled into the holding cell that had housed the Togrutas and the other slaves. 

“We just sent the last of them!” A clone in black armor hollered from the door controls as if reading Rex's mind, “It's your turn.”

 “Come on Master!” Ahsoka's faraway voice came from beneath them. There was a Ventor sitting not twenty feet beneath them hovering under them as the facility fell apart. Oh, this was very stupid.

“Jump!” Skywalker ordered. And Rex was falling. Ahsoka was kind enough to catch him before he faceplanted. 

Kenobi and Skywalker jumped next and a moment later the thief and two black armored clones jumped after. 

“Take us out!” Ahsoka yelled into her comms to the bridge. They pull away just as the facility really breaks apart and plummets into the black abyss below. 

“Well.” One of the other clones said, staring down at the flaming wreck, “That went better than expected.” 

The station was on fire and plummeting to its doom in many pieces. The plan that the Generals had come here had died a long time ago and they had lost half the colonists. Rex really didn't want to know how his vod had thought this would go.

Chapter Text

Nowhere was empty of people, hurting people. Plo could feel the pain and suffering rolling off every cot he passed. There were so many hurting people and it felt like Plo was drowning in it because he couldn't help . 

But then out of the suffering came a sliver of hope mixed in. He followed that feeling of hope, that tomorrow could be better than today. That things would get better. 

He found Sajaun at the end of the trail surrounded by the slave children they'd freed, all giggling as she floated pieces of bread around their heads like crowns. Hope in darkness. Laughter despite pain.

 “Having fun?” Plo asked gently stepping out so they could see him. The kids all dove behind Sajaun to hide. She laughed and smiled. 

Plo could see the tension around her eyes even as she smiled. The darkness in her despite the hope she had. “Of course. We made fun as we go. Don't we?” 

One if the kids nodded carefully from behind her. Plo smiled sitting across from her, “That's a great idea. Have you ever seen a Jedi meditate? We float off the floor!” 

“Really?” One of the kids gasped.

 “Yep. Why, Sajaun even dances to the music of the universe.” Plo said with a smile. 

“ Really?” One of the kids asked as they all stared at her in awe. 

“Of course, want to show them Saj?” Plo asked pointedly. 

Saj glared back, they both knew she hadn't meditated, she was too unstable, “Sure. Let me get my Sabers.” 

“What's the music of the universe?” One of the kids asked as Sajaun hurried off to retrieve her Sabers from whatever she'd left them. Personally, Plo didn't understand her insistence on meditating with her Sabers but he couldn't deny the results.

 “Music only she can hear. Unique to each person and place. I don't completely know. I can't hear it. But if you listen really closely when she meditates you can hear certain notes.” Plo explained kindly.

 “How?” The child asked.

 “You must be open to listen. Here, sit comfortably and then focus on calming your mind. You can't hear if your mind is loud.” Plo explained graciously as he would a class of Initiates. By the time Sajaun came back he had them all breathing in sync in a beginner meditation style. 

“Well, this is cozy,” Sajaun said with a tight smile as she sat down with them. Plo watched how tight her shoulders were. He couldn't feel her presence, he wasn't that good but he could tell she was wound tight.

 “We were just trying out meditation.” He said kindly as she set down her staff and then two other Sabers in front of her. Krell's. Plo looked up at her sharply but she ignored him. If she hadn't meditated since dealing with Krell there was little wonder she was so wound up.

 “Will you show us how you meditate?” One of the children asked eagerly.

 “Of course.” Sajaun smiled like there was nothing wrong, “But you've got to be quiet. Can you?” 

The kids all nodded eagerly and Plo smiled as he watched Sajaun close her eyes and relax. He remembered when he had first seen her do this. It was just as amazing each time.

 The air tensed like static was filling the air, like anticipation. Sajaun relaxed, exhaling deeply, and then opened her palms where they lay on her knees, hands up. Her staff floated off the floor and all the kids gasped. Sajaun's lips twitched into a smile. 

Plo watched fondly as piece by piece her staff floated apart until she was left with a crown of four magenta kyber crystals circling her head and a whole host of small metal pieces orbiting her. And then she floated off the floor. 

Plo could feel a thrumming in his bones now and knew if he closed his eyes and sank into meditation he'd hear the music too. The pieces fell into a complicated orbit around her and quickly she began drawing attention. All around her people stopped to stare. 

The two other Sabers floated apart next and joined the orbit, their green and blue light adding to her magenta halo. “There is no light without the dark, nor darkness without light.” She murmured as she began to recite one of the oldest codes known to man in her almost musical tone, “Through passion bound with patience, there is knowledge.”

The blue and green kyber came to rest in her hands as she recited, “Through knowledge forged in strength there is power.” The crystals flashed and glowed, "Through power entwined with serenity there is harmony."

Plo watched her shoulders relax and a calm wash over her as she wrapped her fingers around the crystals, “Through harmony unified with chaos there is balance.” She somersaulted slowly in the air getting her feet under her and looking like the ancient depictions of the Force Goddesses, each hand stretched in front of her closed around the glowing kyber as metal orbited her and her own kyber crown glowed, "Through balance, there is the Force. The Force shall set us free." And then she was moving. 

She spun in the air arms outstretched to the sky and then she was dancing with blue and green light trailing after her. Plo let everything fall away and listened hard. Music filled his mind.

 Trumpets and big brassy tones struck out with each flash of blue and green. Ethereal chimes struck back with each spin and kick from Sajaun.

 She was purifying the crystals, letting their pain and past come out with the music and dance. Allowing them to express themselves. Listening to them. 

Soon the loudness of the crystals faded into mournful music of reed instruments as the tempo to her dance slowed and the pain of the kyber turned to sadness. Her crown of crystals joined the dance as Sajaun let the green and blue kyber float free. 

With her hands free she spun in the air free as a bird as the music swelled together and then slowly calmed. As the music trickled off the Krell's two Sabers floated back together and landed in her hands. And when she ignited them the kyber didn't let out a pained shriek that Fallen and Sith blades did. 

“Impressive.” Skywalker's voice made the whole crowd that had gathered turn. 

“Thank you. It is a product of many years of work.” Sajaun said honestly, tucking the two Sabers in one arm as her staff clicked back together and landed in her open hand.

 “Purifying kyber hasn't been done in a thousand years.” Anakin said pointedly, “It'd be a shame if the tradition died off.”

 “Kyber hasn't needed to be purified in a thousand years.” Sajaun countered calmly, “And it's not a learned skill. It's one you're born with. Like psychometric.” 

Plo hid his frown as Sajaun lied easily. Anakin huffed but nodded, “Fair enough. Have you seen Ahsoka Master Plo?” 

“A little while ago. She was talking with the governor.” Plo nodded, “You might try the medbay.”

 Skywalker nodded curtly before marching off, only barely not looking like a storming-off teenager. “What is his problem?” Plo asked pointedly at Sajaun as she watched him go.

 “He wants me to teach him. It just doesn't feel, right.” Sajaun said slowly, “I can't explain it. But I trust it.” 

“Perhaps in time.” Plo offered. 

“Perhaps.” Sajaun said turning back to him, “Can we talk?” About sensitive things . Went unsaid. 

“Of course.” Plo nodded, “Let's walk.” They exited the crowded hanger and the eagerly crowded halls near the hanger before finally finding quiet halls to talk in.

 “You seem tense.” Plo commented finally, “You haven't been meditating.” 

“It's hard. There's a lot going on.” Sajaun said unconvincingly.

 “What's really wrong?” Plo asked as they came to a stop in front of one of the many windows staring out into the void of space. 

“I need to do something.” Sajaun said softly, “But if I fail- it could end very badly. And I don't know if I can do it. Not fail.”

 “What happens if you don't try?” Plo asked gently.

 Sajaun squeezed her eyes closed, her reflection pinching in distress, “Then it still ends very badly.”

 “Then you have to try,” Plo said gently. 

“I know.” Sajaun sighed, “I'll need time. You'll take the 87th?” 

“Of course.” Plo nodded. That had been the plan going in. 

“They're good men. They just need to be treated gently. Right.” Sajaun said faintly not looking at him. 

Plo wondered if she was even registering the view in front of her. “I'll look after them. The Pack looks after their own.” 

“I know.” Sajaun nodded, “I need you to take these back to the Temple for me. To go in the Hall of Kyber.”

 Plo blinked at the twin double-sided Sabers she held out abruptly, “You're not coming back?” 

Sajaun pressed her lips tightly together, “Not yet. There's something I have to do first.” 

Plo took the Sabers carefully, “Obi-Wan said you were spiraling.” 

Sajaun snorted, “He volunteered to go to Zygerria. He doesn't get to talk.” 

“He's just worried.” Plo said avoiding her jab, “We all are. We're worried about you.”

 “Yeah well,” Sajaun sighed and hugged her staff to herself as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, “I am too.”

Chapter Text

Hunter watched as they left the Wolfpack and the 87th behind over Kadavo and pulled away.

 “So where are we going?” Wrecker asked, pulling Hunter back to the crystal cockpit where they were gathered. 

“I- I have an idea. A big idea. We're gonna need a place to stage ships and weapons. Even personal if it comes down to it.” Sajaun said slowly gazing out the window to the stars beyond, “We need a place to do that secretly and securely.”

 “We're on the edge of the Mid Rim, there's no non-hostile planets out here on the maps.” Tech pointed out looking over the hole maps.

 “Not on any modern ones.” Sajaun agreed, initiating the hyperactive 

and bathing the room I'm blue light as they jumped. 

“Then what ancient ones are you using?” Cross asked, catching on fast.