Chapter Text
There's more to do, if we can only live.
The clock won't stop and this is what we get.
Borislav Slavov, "I Want to Live"
Sora dropped a small pebble into the creek, staring absentmindedly at the concentric ripples as they expanded, growing until they lost their form and disappeared completely into the surface of the water. Beside him, he could hear Katooni stifle a giggle. Sora couldn’t help but respond with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head as he leaned backwards and turned to peer into the forest’s undergrowth. He knew they could be waiting for a while; there was no way to communicate a precise pickup time with Senator Organa’s contact. It made it difficult to use the time effectively, but Sora supposed they could be doing something better than playing with rocks.
“Can we meditate?” Gungi had beaten him to the punch, taking a seated position on the creek’s bank as he posed the question.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Sora whispered back, joining the other youngling. “I’ll see if I can sense anyone coming first to make sure it’s safe.”
And so, closing his eyes, Sora reached out into the Force, searching for nearby life forms. The dark, murky haze still greeted him, but Sora managed to navigate around it to avoid breathing in its heavy, noxious fumes. Licking his finger and holding up, he tried to pick up the strongest wisps of the Force he knew and follow those weak currents as he set out on his journey.
During this time, his thoughts wandered back to the proposal that Senator Organa had shared with him.
“Why don’t you come with me to Alderaan?”
“But – but wouldn’t that put you in danger?”
“No more so than I already am, given my position.”
<
That offer was absolutely not what Sora was expecting to hear from the man. On some levels, it was almost too good to be true; on others, well...he really wanted to go find his friends, and now that he had the opportunity to do that, he was afraid to lose it.
“I appreciate it sir, truly, but I’m not sure what help I’d be in a palace.”
Bail’s eyes softened. “I will admit, there is a selfish component to this offer because you are one of the only people in the galaxy who can help me.”
That was a strange statement for the senator of a planetary system to make to Sora, a former Jedi with no place in this new galaxy. “Why’s that?” Had this man heard of his healing ability too? His last attempt to reattach his arm hadn’t gone completely as planned and it had been so long since he’d tried it, but if Sora could be of use to him in any way…
The senator shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, even here. You would have to see for yourself. Please, at least come with me that far, and if you choose not to stay, I will arrange safe passage anywhere in the galaxy for you.” Bail paused for a moment before he added, “Although if you want to find your friends, you may find the information a Galactic Senator could procure useful.”
He has a point, Sora begrudgingly thought. Taking off alone in a galaxy out to get him with only a handful of credits and a half-baked plan may not be the wisest decision, as the senator seemed to be alluding to.
“I…I think that’s fair, as long as I can help in any way,” Sora finally stumbled out, which caused Bail to break out into a contagious grin.
Reaching out and resting a hand on his shoulder, he replied earnestly, “Thank you, Sora. I truly believe the Force drew us together, and it wouldn’t feel right sending the young padawan of my old friend off alone into the world as it is.”
At the mention of his previous master, Sora’s ears perked up. “He’s alive, somewhere out there,” Sora almost whispered, a hopeful expression in his eyes.
If Bail’s nod caught him by surprise, the next words out of Bail’s mouth nearly floored him: “He is, although it’s been nearly a year since I saw him, but he survived Order 66. Ahsoka as well. They are deep in hiding now, their locations unknown even to me, which is probably best for all of us.”
Sora nearly sputtered, “Master Yoda – Ahsoka – they’re – ?” He managed to choke out, the words barely registering as his mind tried to wrap around the confirmation that yes, there were others still alive out there, including some of his dearest friends and mentors. If they had been in contact with Bail, perhaps eventually they could reunite and could help him search for their other friends: Cal, Caleb...and Riku.
He didn’t notice when the tears started welling in his eyes, but the next thing Sora knew, he was wrapped tightly in the Senator’s embrace once more. Sora returned the gesture, clutching his royal blue robes for what felt like an eternity until he finally found the courage to let go and wipe his eyes.
“I should probably go now,” he said with a forced smile. “I don’t think these words are enough but...thank you so much.”
Bail offered him a small handkerchief, which Sora accepted to dry his face – he didn’t want to return to the kinder-block with puffy, swollen eyes and snot all over his face.
“We’ll see each other soon,” Bail reminded the boy with a small smile.
And so, with a wave, Sora said his goodbyes before leaving the ship and nearly skipping to join the other younglings to share the news.
And now, together they sat, waiting for a pickup.
Sora noticed the energy of approaching life forms before he heard them rustling the nearby foliage. Stirring from his meditations, Sora now stood upright, alert and ready to move. There was something familiar about the incoming presences – he had counted three in total – but he couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
“Someone’s coming,” he quietly hissed to the younglings, who all immediately opened their eyes and leapt to their feet as well. Sora held out a hand, silently urging them to stay put, as he slowly crept through the forest undergrowth to investigate if this could be trouble or the contacts that Bail had sent.
When the figures suddenly stopped, Sora halted as well. Why did they stop advancing? Do they know I’m here? Unless they’re also Force-sensitive –
“Hey kid,” a gruff but oddly familiar voice called out. “I know you’re there. You here for a pickup?”
Sora’s blood ran cold as he realized just as the three vaguely armored shapes approached how he recognized their presence and that voice. Clones.
In an instant, his lightsaber was in his hands and ignited. “Stay back,” he ordered, his voice sounding more confident than he felt.
The clones immediately backed up, the closest one’s hands reaching out in a placating gesture as he exclaimed, “Woah, easy there, you should turn that off – that thing will light this place up for parsecs.”
In the light cast by his blade, Sora could see the lead clone’s helmet turn as he hissed, “Tech, Wrecker, weapons on the ground!”
The larger of the two grumbled something under his breath, but both men complied. The smaller one, hands still above his head, told the boy, “I’m going to turn on my helmet lights so we can see without your conspicuous weapon – just a warning.”
Sora braced himself for a trap, ready to fight should they attack, but sure enough the man simply flicked a switch on the side of his helmet and a soft light bathed the four individuals. At the same time, the other two clones removed their helmets. Sora made no move to turn off his weapon yet, but the first thing he noticed were the clone’s deviations from the norms: the lead clone had a large tattoo obscuring half of his face and his hair tied back with a simple bandana, while the other clone – who was almost an inhuman size, and certainly larger than any of the clones Sora had met in combat – had a massive scar across his face and one cloudy, damaged eye. Despite the obvious injury, Sora had no doubt that this one would be a challenge in a fight.
A familiar memory flitted across Sora’s mind. He felt like he should know who they were, but it was just out of reach. “And how do I know you aren’t just gonna take us to the Empire?” Sora challenged, digging his feet into the ground. He was rusty from a lack of combat practice, but he wasn’t going to try to give that away right now.
The lead clone shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, we’re also on the Empire’s bad side,” he told Sora, “And we’re just as surprised to see Jedi as you are to see us. But our client needs you all safely transported, and we’re your best bet.”
His casualness reminded him of the clone troopers he knew before they turned on the Jedi: jovial when needed, but never without one eye on the mission. It saddened him to recall the harsh, monotone voices he’d heard hunting him down at the Temple. Was this man right? Could Sora trust him?
“Can you tell me the name of your client?” Sora tried to challenge, his voice less certain now, but still maintaining his defensive position.
The large clone, Wrecker, groaned again, but the lead one gestured for him to stay put and remain silent. “Look, I know you don’t trust us – ” he began, but his head swiveled suddenly just as Sora also detected another presence. The two of them braced themselves to confront the unknown party, who appeared to be clambering in a nearby tree when they head a yelp and the sound of someone falling into the undergrowth.
“Omega?” The lead clone asked incredulously, hurrying over to the bushes. “I thought I told you to remain with Echo as backup.”
To Sora’s surprise, a girl about his age poked her head out from where she had fallen, branches and leaves clinging to her short blonde hair. “Echo complained that you all were taking too long,” she reported to them as she stood, brushing off the debris as she stood.
The lead clone looked ready to upbraid her, but she cut him off as soon as her eyes drifted to Sora. “Woah, is that a lightsaber?” she breathed. “Are you a Jedi? I thought they didn’t exist anymore.”
“Omega!” The lead clone hissed.
Sora, who had been momentarily disarmed by the strange girl’s sudden appearance, sobered up and clutched his saber tightly. “Yeah, there were a lot more of us a year ago,” Sora answered, his eyes shifting back to the three men standing nearby.
The girl, Omega, seemed to realize the weight of her observation. Her expression fell and her voice dimmed to a hush as she said apologetically, “Oh. I’m...sorry.”
The other three clones didn’t leave any room for further discussion, as the leader of the group turned back with his arms still out in a placating gesture towards Sora, “I know you don’t trust us. You have every reason not to based on what you know. But do you really believe an entire army loyal to the Republic could willingly turn on the Jedi like that?”
The thought had crossed Sora’s mind before, multiple times. His stance wavered for just a moment as he asked, “What do you know?”
Stepping into the light from Tech’s helmet, the man pulled back some of his hair to reveal a small, surgical scar on the side of his head. “Obedience chips installed in us at birth,” he practically spat. “Us being defective clones, it didn’t really work as intended, but Rex still had us cut them out anyway.”
Chips?
Defective Clones?
Captain Rex?
The revelations that had just been dropped on Sora sent his mind reeling. “Wait, are you guys the bad batch?” Sora exclaimed as he finally assembled the pieces together in his mind. “Captain Rex is okay? What do you mean obedience chips?”
The man nodded sharply, and a small grin crossed his face. “We can talk more later, but out here –” he stopped suddenly mid-sentence, his head swiveling to the side. Sora felt it too; multiple life-forms approaching, their heavy armor slamming into and radiating across the forest floor.
Just as Sora stowed away his saber, the sound of Imperial radios in the distance echoed through the trees. “Kriff, we gotta get out of here,” the lead clone swore. “Where are your friends?”
Sora was already whipping around to return to the creek. “Not far. I’ll go get them.”
The man nodded crisply. “Tech will get you to our ship. Wrecker and I can provide a distraction.”
“Wait, Hunter!” Omega cried just before the group split in separate directions. “I know a safer way of getting there. I can take the Jedi.”
The leader, Hunter, opened his mouth to protest, but Tech answered for him. “If you want me to jam their signals so they don’t call for backup, then you’ll want me here,” he informed Hunter in a matter-of-fact tone, holding a cobbled together device that Sora assumed was his jammer.
Omega didn’t wait for Hunter to respond. “Where are your friends?” She asked Sora, who pointed in the direction he came from. With a swift nod, Omega took off, Sora quickly falling into pace next to her as he reached out to make contact with the younglings. Gungi, Katooni, Zatt, on me – hurry! He urged, willing his message through the murky ether of the Force.
They were on him in an instant, lightsabers in hand but unlit. “What’s going on?” Zatt demanded, his eyes drifting to the newcomer. “Who are you?”
“No time!” She answered hastily, skidding to the base of a tree and glancing upward. “This should work. Follow me to our ship!”
And without waiting for an answer, Omega began quickly scampering up the tree. The younglings turned to Sora, who gave them a nod of approval before following her lead. The three younger party members shared a look, but ultimately followed Sora up to the crown of the tree, where he ushered them forward so that he could bring up the rear of their group.
It didn’t take long for the sound of Imperial radios to reach them. They were closer than Sora cared for comfort, but Omega continued pressing forward, scrambling quickly from branch to branch with surprising grace for a non-Jedi.
When they reached a gap in the trees, Omega came to a stop. Sora scanned their surroundings, searching for a more suitable path forward since she likely couldn’t make the jump. “We could go around,” he whispered, gesturing to the left, but the girl wasn’t listening; instead, she had pulled a grappling device from her hip and was aiming it at a far off branch in the distance.
“Won’t that be too loud?” he asked worriedly.
Omega glanced at him, then, lifting a finger in a universal ‘wait’ gesture, she said, “Give it a minute.”
The five kids waited together in a tense silence as the radio’s static grew closer. Sora could see Katooni nervously picking at her fingernails and Zatt tapping his foot, but Gungi was surprisingly calm. Well, at least one of us has been paying attention during training, thought Sora in an amused tone, fighting off his own impatience and terror as he felt the Imperial troopers grow closer on the ground below.
Sora felt the clones’ presences just before he heard a mighty yell, presumably from the one called Wrecker: “Let’s show these ‘new’ troops how it’s really done!”
As if on cue, an explosion lit up all the leaves in Sora’s peripherals. “Grenades!” One storm trooper cried, just a hair too late before the blaster fire began.
“That should keep us covered!” Omega said a bit too cheerfully, and, after shooting Sora a wink, she aimed her grappling gun and fired across the clearing. With a single leap, she was swinging through the air, the rope pulling her across the open space until she landed comfortably in the crown of another tree.
“Well, I guess we’re next! You ready, Gungi?” Sora followed up with a small smile as he faced the wookie. He didn’t need to be told twice as he wrapped himself around a branch and launched himself to the other side, landing on another branch just beside the blonde girl.
The other younglings followed, leaving Sora as the last one behind. With a deep inhale, Sora reached out into the Force, bent his legs, and threw himself across to the other side.
As he coasted across the clear night sky, Sora’s gaze drifted downwards to the action. This turned out to be a massive error; although partially obscured by the trees, the bright flashes of blaster fire were difficult to miss, and the smoke and flames from the grenades seeped between the branches, reaching his nose and causing him to cough. He hadn’t experienced anything like this since –
Order 66.
Suddenly, he was in the halls of the Jedi Temple again, running from the clone troopers, trying to avoid the vacant gaze of dead Jedi from the floors. The halls turned into the seedy, dark alleys of Coruscant, and as he ran toward the flaming rubble of the lower city, Riku’s enraged voice echoed in his mind: Why can’t you just trust me?
Sora was jolted from the visions when he came to an unexpectedly violent stop. “I got you!” He thought he heard someone say, but the ringing in his ears made it difficult to tell who it was. Blinking several times, he managed to bring back enough awareness to realize he was half-pressed onto a large branch and half resting against someone else’s body.
Pushing himself off the branch, Sora immediately straightened up and glanced briefly at the others around him. Omega, who was closest to him, was straightening her crumpled shirt – and it dawned on Sora that she was the one he’d accidentally used as a crash landing pad. “Sorry!” he eked out, feeling the heat rush to his face in embarrassment. “I got distracted.”
The worry in each of his companions’ eyes told Sora that he hadn’t convinced them, but unfortunately time was not on their side – another rapid fire burst of lasers and screams from below reminded them of that.
“Well, if you’re sure you’re okay, we only have to push through a little further!” Omega reassured him, turning to face a thick branch behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she asked, “Ready?”
And with Sora’s nod, she began scampering up the branch, followed once more by the three younglings before Sora brought up the rear.
The rest of their journey was not nearly as fraught, as the bad batch seemed to draw the action further and further from Omega’s trajectory.
It wasn’t until floodlights and the screaming of an engine blasted Sora directly in the face that Omega skidded to a halt, just before another clearing in the treetops. Bracing himself and placing his hand on his hilt, Sora readied for combat; however, Omega continued to approach the spacecraft, using her hand to shield her eyes as she made her way to the edge of the treeline.
“It’s Echo!” she finally called over the humming of the engines, turning her head just enough to make the announcement before facing forward once more and waving. The pilot must have noticed, for the craft maneuvered itself as close to the treeline as it could and turned so that an open side door faced the five of them.
Activating her grappling hook once more, Omega swung into the narrow opening. Gungi was the first to follow after glancing back at Sora, who nodded encouragingly. Zatt was next to follow, and after Katooni made it in, Sora summoned the Force and once more leaped into the sky, this time free from the painful flashbacks as they had left the sounds of battle behind.
“That’s the last of them!” Omega chirped as she made brief eye contact with Sora before jogging to the cockpit of the craft.
“Copy that, homing in on Havocs one through three now,” a man’s voice responded, sounding much more like the typical clone that Sora remembered compared to the rest of his squad. With a lurch, the ship tore away from the trees. Sora was able to maintain his balance as they changed course, but nevertheless he shuffled over to the nearest chair bolted into the floor and braced against the back of it before gesturing for the younglings to do the same.
Katooni joined him at the same chair and, once the ship grew somewhat stable, the younger girl leaned in to Sora as she whispered, “What happened back there?”
Sora grimaced. He should’ve known he wouldn’t get away that easily. “Another flashback,” he admitted quietly. “Not as bad as before, but I should’ve been prepared for that.”
The young tholothian girl reached out and rested a hand gently on top of Sora’s injured hand, which had begun trembling once more despite his firm grasp on the frame of the chair. He had learned to manage the injury the past year, and yet moments like these made him wonder if he’d really come far at all since then.
“You’ve got us around to help if it does get bad,” she reassured him. “We’ve all been in this together, remember?”
Between the earnest look in Katooni’s deep blue eyes and the gentle squeeze she gave his hand, Sora took a deep breath and focused on stilling the tremors. They passed sooner than he expected, and as his injured hand stilled, Sora faced Katooni with a reassuring smile and replied, “Thank you.”
Perhaps there would be some days where it felt like he’d regressed; like all the work he had put in to leaning on his peers, to wielding his saber once more – which he did with no problem today, he reminded himself – had slipped away. And yet, as he clutched the back of the seat now with a firm grip, he was reminded that none of his efforts had been in vain. A small blip off-course was something he could recover from, especially with the help of a friend he could trust.
Katooni’s words, however, also reminded him that their time together was coming to an end soon. “Soon you’ll be going back home though, just like Zatt and Gungi,” Sora gently reminded her. “Don’t worry though – I won’t be alone, just like you all will have your families.”
His words didn’t have the intended effect, but Sora should have guessed that from their nonplussed reaction from the night before. “We’ve known that this was coming,” he added quietly at Katooni’s somber expression.
The girl bit at her lip. “I know,” she finally answered, “But after we’ve been training together so long...couldn’t you take us with you? As your padawans?”
Her words hit Sora harder than he expected, and he had to force the tears back as Katooni had referred to themselves as his padawans. After all this time and the mistakes he had made, they still saw him as a worthy teacher – one that they continued to want to learn from.
“You forget that I was only a padawan for a year, so you’ve pretty much exhausted my knowledge,” he tried to say jokingly, mustering a smile and only choking up a little on his words. “Besides – ”
Sora was cut off by a lurch from the ship, jostling the two of them before Echo’s voice called back, “Brace yourselves! Doors opening!”
The ship veered hard to the right, slowing down only so that the entry hatch could slide open without being torn off its hinges, and almost immediately Tech flew into the opening with a grappling hook identical to Omega’s. Hunter followed shortly after, leaping through the entry to give Wrecker time to bring up the rear. After the large man yelled and lobbed a grenade out the door behind him, he screamed to the cockpit, “All in!” which was Echo’s cue to whip the ship left, give the hatch time to close, and then gas it forward, throwing the recently boarded clones to the back of the ship.
“Straight up and out!” Hunter ordered as soon as he recovered. “They’ll be calling for reinforcements soon after hearing that commotion.”
Echo didn’t need to be told twice. As he accelerated, Tech hustled to join him, Omega moving aside to give him space at the copilot’s seat. “Calculating trajectory and optimal flight path,” he announced in a calm, matter-of fact voice that Sora felt didn’t quite match the situation, but he supposed it meant that at the very least, he had maintained his composure despite the recent firefight.
“Exiting orbit!” Echo called, and within fractions of a second of the announcement, Tech’s hand was on the central lever. As he forced it down, the stars dotting the sky of the cockpit stretched, and with a heavy jolt, the ship made the jump into hyperspace.
***
“Did you hear about the incident last night?”
Neku shook his head as he munched down on a rations bar. Shiki continued, “Yuna was telling me about it. The ImperialNet is reporting that some disgruntled phased-out clones attacked the stormtroopers for taking their jobs. Supposedly they’re still at large somewhere.”
“Great,” Neku muttered under his breath. “So the town will be crawling with troops. Roxas and I need to get going soon.”
As he shoved the bar’s container into their recycler – which protested with a loud squeal at the expectation that it do its job – Neku wiped his hands off on his coveralls and bid Shiki farewell before making his way towards the stairwell. It was odd that Roxas wasn’t up yet; early mornings were never the boy’s favorite, but he had yet to ever be tardy.
“Roxas?” Neku called up the stairs, pausing to listen for a response. When none came, Neku’s heart dropped. He raced up the stairs and pounded on the door until it finally slid open to reveal four empty cots, bedding stripped and ready for the recycler. In an instant, he found himself in front of their wardrobe and began violently opening drawers until he found what he was looking for: credits.
Well, they couldn’t have gone far then, he thought with a sigh of relief as he allowed himself to relax for a moment – until his eyes caught a rusty holo among the currency. Carved into the top of it were four simple letters: NEKU.
Feeling his heart skip a beat, Neku reluctantly pulled the device out of the drawer and activated it. The text that was projected was brief and there were no names signed, but Neku could still hear the words in Roxas’ voice: Take the credits and get out ASAP. Thank you all.
“You little nerfherder,” Neku swore under his breath. Glancing back to the drawer of currency, it was certainly enough to get Shiki and him a head start off-planet. Neku paused, debating what he should do until he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. In an instant, Neku managed to shove all the credits into various pockets of his clothing and dart into the hallway, just barely skidding into his own room before Yuna made it up the stairs.
“Neku?” she called as the teen began frantically shoving credits under his pillow. I just need to keep it somewhere until after work, he reminded himself, managing to take most of the credits off his persons before peeking his head out the door. “Yeah?”
With a gentle frown on her face, she commented, “Aren’t you going to be late? I think Roxas must’ve left already.”
She hasn’t noticed they’re gone yet, Neku realized. Maybe that could give him a chance to figure out why Roxas and his kid friends had left in such a hurry after committing to stay – and if they really should do the same.
“Right, just forgot something, leaving now!” Neku replied hurriedly as he darted down the hall. “See you this evening!”
Just before exiting the kinder-block, Neku veered down the hall until he reached a surprised Shiki. “Cover for Roxas and crew until I get back,” he hissed and turned to leave just as fast as he arrived, but Shiki caught him by the arm.
“Why? What’s going on?” she demanded.
Neku shook his head. “No time – talk later.”
Shiki did not appear mollified, but she released Neku anyway. With a grateful look and a nod, the orange-haired boy was gone, leaving the kinder-block behind.
He only slowed as the town center came into view, and even from a distance Neku could see the port was a flurry of activity compared to other mornings. The number of armored stormtroopers and gray-suited officers had nearly tripled since yesterday, each regiment pacing the cobbled streets and targeting unwitting citizens for random inspections.
Keeping his head low, Neku focused on keeping his gait neutral and avoiding any unwanted eye contact, but his eyes did drift briefly to the ImperialNet stand; unfortunately, there was even a detachment blocking that today, with two men making adjustments to it while an officer glared at anyone who wandered too close to get a peek at the hologram behind him.
Great, won’t be able to learn anything that way, he thought to himself irritably, but as his gaze wandered away, he noticed a peculiar looking ship descending into the spaceport. It was small, likely only able to hold a couple humanoids, and the coloring was gunmetal gray with Imperial markings; however, the distinct wings were distinctly curved in a way he’d never seen, and the cockpit windshield was oddly circular and tinted completely black so it was impossible to see through.
As it lowered itself into a docking bay, Neku once more turned his head forward and continued at a neutral pace in the direction of work. Is all of this really for some disgruntled clones? He wondered skeptically.
***
The woman who entered the kinder-block sent a shiver down Shiki’s spine. Between the deadpan stare from her eerily yellow eyes, the twist of her lips into a disgusted frown, and the strange but obviously Imperial armor she wore, the Nogratu seemed out of place in the kinder-block. Shiki half-wanted to ask if she’d taken a wrong turn on her way to deliver Imperial justice on Ord Mantell, but her more sensible half kept her mouth shut and her gaze averted.
As she marched down the hallway, the woman brushed past Yuna, ignoring the Twi’lek desperately trying to give an overview of the block and explaining what resources they needed. Much to Shiki’s terror, the woman only stopped a meter short of the entry to the food hall, where Shiki stood. The pink-haired girl tried to escape with a brief “I’ll get out of your way” and turned to make her way deeper into the large room, but then she heard the woman’s cold, harsh voice bark, “Stay.”
Shiki’s feet shuffled to a halt almost immediately, not daring to look behind her even as she heard the woman’s heavily armored boots approach. She walked slowly around Shiki, moving lazily like a predator that knew its prey had no chance of escape, and when she finally came to a leisurely halt directly in front of her, the woman reached out a gloved hand and grabbed Shiki’s chin. The teen’s mind went blank with fear – did I do something wrong? What does she want with me? – but the woman never spoke; she simply tilted Shiki’s head from side to side, her golden eyes scrutinizing her every feature.
“M4, get a sample from her,” she finally ordered, taking a step back. Out of her peripherals, Shiki caught the movement of something floating which resolved itself into a dark chromium droid as it drew closer. Reaching out a thin, brittle arm, the droid grabbed her wrist with its pincers and as she opened her mouth to protest, it shot a needle into her wrist. Shiki yelped and tried to pull her arm out, but the droid’s grip was too strong.
“Stop, you’re hurting her!”
Shiki had forgotten that Yuna was still present; not only that, but their volume levels had attracted the attention of the younglings present in the room, who had all grown unusually silent as they heard their sweet caretaker raise her voice for the first time in their known memory.
As soon as the droid released her, Shiki felt Yuna’s arms wrap around her. Shiki couldn’t help but let out a whimper as she buried her face in the woman’s chest. Yuna whispered a gentle “There there, you’re okay now” over and over as she brushed the girl’s hair. Thankfully, it seemed like the woman decided to ignore them, focusing intently on the droid as it rattled off unknown calculations regarding the sample it had taken from Shiki.
“Nothing remarkable,” The cold woman finally said with a sniff. “Check the others.”
As the droid began to obediently float towards another youngling, Yuna abruptly dropped her hold on Shiki and chased the droid. “Stop, I won’t let you touch them!” She cried as she grabbed the droid around its midtorso, hindering its movement forward.
The droid responded by extending its claw-like arm and, pointing it at Yuna’s forehead, zapped her with a jolt of electricity. She cried out, releasing her grip and clutching her face.
With a horrified gasp, Shiki immediately darted after Yuna, but the Imperial woman shot past her at an inhuman speed, catching Yuna by the throat and pinning her against the nearest wall.
“I have allowed your inappropriate outbursts to slide so far,” the woman growled, her yellow eyes boring into Yuna’s. To her credit, the Twi’lek’s own heterochromic gaze never faltered, despite her wheezing as she struggled against the Nogratu’s grip. “Do not test me further.”
The Imperial woman maintained her grip on Yuna’s neck for a moment after, as if to emphasize her point, before she finally released her, allowing her to crumple to the ground. Shiki rushed to her side, hoisting her arm over her shoulder as she assisted the coughing woman in standing once more.
Thankfully, the Nogratu woman’s attention was no longer on them, but a worried Shiki glanced helplessly at the chaos unfolding before her: some younglings were running frantically from the droid, which proved to be a hopeless endeavor; others stared opened mouthed at the terrifying woman who had assaulted their caretaker so callously. The remaining few stared hopefully at both Shiki and Yuna, who was still struggling to hold her head upright. Shiki’s heart broke at the scene; this had been her home and in only a few short minutes it had been turned into a living nightmare.
A tense silence fell across the room as the droid hovered back to its master and together, the two Imperials sifted through unknown data and metrics as the frightened kinder-block citizens watched on. After what seemed like eons, the woman let out a small “Hmph!” as she shook her head before turning once more to stare down Yuna.
“This facility is now property of the Galactic Empire,” The woman finally announced coldly. “A new facility manager will arrive tomorrow. You are to collect your things and be gone as soon as they arrive.”
Yuna opened her mouth to protest, but Shiki quickly covered it with her hand. There would be no good done by pushing this woman further, and Shiki feared for Yuna’s life if their normally mild-mannered caretaker spoke out of turn again. Thankfully, the woman had no desire to wait for a response; as soon as she finished, she turned heel and stormed out, the droid following obediently behind her.
***
“You’re Commander Gera-Vel!”
The clone who initially piloted the craft, Echo, made the statement in awe as he finally left his swivel couch and joined the party in the hull of the ship. Echo seemed to be more droid than man, but his face held the definitive features of a clone – more so than the others on board the ship, at least.
“Commander!” Omega breathed, her deep brown eyes twinkling with wonder as she glanced over at Sora. “You fought in the war! See Hunter? I’m not too young!” her tone shifted to an indignant one as she turned to face the long-haired man, who sighed heavily in response.
“I was only a commander for about a year, maybe less,” Sora replied with an awkward chuckle, hoping to ease the tensions. Then, returning his attention to Echo, he replied with a smile, “That’s me! What unit were you with?”
“The 501st, although I don’t think our paths ever crossed,” Echo admitted, “But I heard what you did for my friend Rex. You saved his life.”
Captain Rex of the 501st – Master Skywalker’s right hand man in battle. The memories of that particular mission with the young man and Master Kenobi seemed like so long ago. Sora recalled being in awe at Skywalker’s prowess with a lightsaber, but now that same admiration was overshadowed by the horrors of that fateful day. What had happened to Master Skywalker to cause him to turn on the Jedi like that? What had he told Riku to get him to join forces?
Hunter’s next comment drew Sora from his dark trail of thoughts. “And without Rex, who knows where we’d be. He’s the one that learned about the chips and figured out how to remove them along with his Jedi.”
“Ahsoka?” Sora felt his old comrade’s name spill from his mouth. He remembered now: Rex hadn’t been with Skywalker at the time the clone turned on them; he had been on Mandalore, supporting Ahsoka’s quest to bring Maul to justice. He recalled Senator Organa’s message of hope to him, that he could confirm that at the very least, Ahsoka was alive.
“Yeah, she helped get the chip out of his head, and he warned us about it,” Echo confirmed. “Although our mutations largely prevented us from the effects…well, most of us, at least.”
There was a palpable tension in the air, but none of the bad batch seemed willing to share and Sora wasn’t one to pry; he suspected all too well that the Jedi weren’t the only ones who lost their people that day.
Clearing his throat, Hunter was the one to change the subject. “Right, well Commander, you’ll be the first one getting a drop-off here shortly.”
So soon? Sora bit back the words as he mustered a confident smile and a nod. “Thank you!” He told the clones with a bow, but before he could continue giving his thanks, Katooni tackled him in a frantic, warm embrace, followed shortly thereafter by Gungi and even Zatt.
“Are you sure we can’t come with you?” Katooni pleaded, her round, light blue eyes watering only slightly.
Sora wrapped his arms around them all, patting them gently as he responded, “You’ve already learned all I got to teach you. Besides, the galaxy’s gonna need us now more than ever. We’ll have to spread out, starting with your home planets.” This time, Sora made no mention of safety; it was true that was still his hope that their families would be able to protect them, but he knew especially in Gungi’s case that their fight was just beginning.
“Besides,” Hunter added, “It’s probably not smart to have so many Jedi in one place. You all got lucky for now, but who knows when that luck would’ve run out.”
***
Neku fought the urge to sprint back to the kinder-block, despite the slightly lessened number of stormtroopers patrolling the town; it wasn’t worth the risk. As he finally reached his long-time home, Neku allowed himself to relax just a little as he entered through the door, which slid open oddly smoothly since Roxas had managed to fix it.
When Shiki immediately ran into his arms sobbing, however, the sense of danger once more returned to Neku. “Hey now, it's alright,” Neku tried to reassure her softly, but despite his attempts to comfort her, Shiki could not seem to stop shaking.
When Cid stepped into the room, Neku could see the violence written all over the man’s face despite the layer of dirt leftover from work. Neku shuddered; he never wanted to get on the wrong side of Cid, and he pitied whoever had.
When his eyes drifted to Yuna, who Cid had wrapped in a protective arm, Neku had to stifle a gasp at the markings around her neck. “What happened?” Neku demanded.
Yuna remained silent, a distant expression on her face as Cid retold in a low, guttural voice the events that both Shiki and Yuna had recounted to him. Neku’s expression shifted from shock to horror at every action that vile Imperial woman had committed, to the point where he barely noticed his fists balling up with rage.
When Cid finished, Neku gently wrapped an arm around Shiki. “I’m glad you all are okay,” he finally said in a hushed voice, “And I think I have a way out for us.”
Cid appeared skeptical, but Yuna’s vacant stare was replaced by one of curiosity, and Shiki managed to ask, “Does this have to do with why Roxas and his friends aren’t here?”
“Shiki!” Yuna exclaimed, coughing slightly at the sudden vocal effort, but she pushed Cid’s arm away from her as she continued, “Are you saying they weren’t spending a day in the shop you usually work at?”
Avoiding the adults’ glares, Neku gestured for them to follow him upstairs to his room. When the four of them were gathered and the door slid shut, Neku ripped the blanked off his bed to reveal all the credits that Roxas, Zatt, Katooni, and Gungi had earned.
Yuna let out an audible gasp. “Is this…”
“It’s most of what they earned, I believe,” Neku confirmed, handing her the holonote left with the credits. Cid and Yuna both hunched over to read the brief message, and as they did so, Neku continued, “Among the four of us, this should get us off planet and maybe enough to get a small place with what Shiki and I have. We may not get far, but it’s a start.”
Cid and Yuna shared a prolonged look that Neku found unreadable. He tapped his foot expectantly, impatiently waiting for their answer.
Finally, with a heavy sigh Cid shook his head. “You kids should take it and go – Now, before it gets dark,” he told them gruffly.
“But – ” Shiki began to protest, but Yuna cut her off with a shake of her head. “We can’t leave all these younglings behind – even if we’re forced to leave the kinder-block itself,” she explained in a soft, scratchy voice. “They’ll need support now more than ever.”
Neku gritted his teeth, fighting back his own protests. Despite all that Yuna endured and the pain of her injuries, her first thoughts were only for the other younglings. They’ve made up their mind, he told himself. I doubt I can convince them otherwise.
“Keep your heads down – especially after what happened today,” Neku told Cid and Yuna. “If you draw any more attention to yourselves, then you won’t be around long to look after the younglings.”
With a harrumph, Cid barked, “Boy, you think you can be lecturin’ us now? We’ll be just fine. You all just hurry up now.”
Stifling a chuckle at the man’s indignation, Neku relented, but only after scooping up a large handful of credits and passing it to the two of them. “Here, at least take some to get a new place,” he urged. “I know you don’t have much savings right now.”
After another shared glance, Yuna reluctantly accepted the credits. Then, she scooped up the teen into a hug, catching Neku off-guard, but he managed to awkwardly return the gesture before she released the embrace and took a step back. “Now go, pack quickly!” she urged in a whisper, and both Neku and Shiki quickly obeyed as they hastily began packing their scant belongings while Cid and Yuna left to assemble supper for the younger residents one final time.
The sky was a lovely shade of lavender, not quite signaling dusk, but Neku knew it wouldn’t be far behind as both he and Shiki walked to the center of town. With simple traveling clothes, one pack each, and pockets filled with just enough credits to buy spacefare, the two teens had little to take with them on their journey into the unknown.
Shiki pulled the shawl concealing her hair just a bit tighter; there had been no stormtroopers present when that horrid woman had arrived at the kinder-block, but as she was still jittery and worried that she’d be nearby, Neku helped her take extra precautions to avoid being recognized.
“I’ll go see what flights are going out tonight,” she told Neku, who nodded as she walked only a few paces away to the town’s ticketing kiosk. Behind them, the Imperial HoloNet blared loud for all to hear. Neku watched it intently, curious as to any news about the woman or the unrest from the night before, but oddly enough the screen was now split so the news covered only half of the projector. I wonder if this is what they were modifying earlier, Neku wondered to himself, and took a couple steps closer to get a better look at both screens.
The news had reverted to mundane Core World drabble that Neku did not particularly care about, and so he turned his gaze to the other half of the screen. No sounds were uttered, just a face with text would be displayed for several long seconds before the face would swap out with another. “WANTED: TRAITORS TO THE GALACTIC EMPIRE” was emblazoned across the top of the screen.
Traitors? Neku wondered. Curiously, he continued to watch the screen until he realized the vast majority of the photos were of Jedi.
“Right, they betrayed the Republic,” he muttered to himself. He remembered hearing something about that ages ago, but it had blurred together with the government’s shift from the Republic to the Empire. He’d never met a Jedi himself, but he knew they were rumored to have aided the Onderon Resistance Fighters.
As he absentmindedly watched the faces flash by, Shiki approached and joined by his side. “I’ve got us two tickets to the outer rim – Morlana One,” she whispered to him, passing him a ticket. “You’ve got your identification papers?”
Neku nodded, and together the two of them began to walk towards the airport – still moving casually and cautiously due to the troop presence, but they luckily seemed to pay them no mind.
Shiki suddenly grabbed his upper arm. “Look – discreetly,” she hissed quietly, eyes darting to the HoloNet. He complied, stopping to place his boarding pass in his bag as he glanced over once more at the screen. There, a familiar face was smiling back at him – his simple tunic was clean and there was no scar running down his face, but from the facial tattoos and the lopsided grin, Neku recognized him immediately as Roxas.
Below his hologram, the glowing text read, “FORMER REPUBLIC COMMANDER SORA GERA-VEL OF THE JEDI ORDER.”
***
The bad batch’s cruiser had just exited hyperspace near what appeared to be an asteroid field.
“Well, this is it!” Hunter announced as he arose. Omega joined him shortly thereafter, falling in line with Sora behind him.
“Thanks for your help getting out of there,” Sora said graciously, bowing slightly as he spoke. Then, turning to face Omega with his signature grin, he added, “You were great out there, by the way! And sorry again about crashing into you.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he finished his apology, to which Omega giggled.
“Well, I’m just glad I can say that I too have worked a mission with a Jedi – just like my brothers!” At this, she turned excitedly to Hunter and Wrecker, who couldn’t help but chuckle at her excitement.
Placing a hand on his hip and maintaining his smile, Sora replied, “Well, it says a lot that you can keep up with a Jedi. I’m sure you’ll go on to do amazing things.”
Omega glanced pointedly at Hunter. “See?” she told him. “I’m capable of doing more than you think.” Before Hunter could protest, she turned back to Sora. “So what will you do next?”
“Well,” Sora began, his expression sober now, “I need to find my family. Or what happened to them, at least.”
Omega didn’t respond; she simply rested a hand on his shoulder as Hunter’s gaze drifted out the cockpit windshield, appearing lost in thought. As Sora followed his lead, he saw what appeared to be an abandoned facility on the surface of an asteroid. Really? This is where Bail wants to meet? He thought skeptically to himself. I guess it is discreet…
The ship lurched as the engines grew louder and their speed diminished quickly, a tell-tale sign that Sora’s journey was almost complete. He felt a large furry hand on his shoulder, and glancing over he saw Gungi standing at his side.
“Thank you,” he intoned, “For getting us this far.” Dropping his arm, he bowed as he continued, “May the Force be with you.”
Katooni stepped forward beside Gungi, her expression one of resolve as she bowed and echoed in Basic, “May the Force be with you, Sora.”
Once she had finished, Zatt stepped forward to stand in front of Sora. “Thanks for training us, I know it wasn’t easy,” he said awkwardly. “May the Force be with you.”
Sora returned their bow and, with a mischievous grin, grabbed Zatt and locked him in a tight embrace. He yelped, but after realizing what was happening, he hesitantly allowed himself to return the gesture.
“You all get in here too!” Sora motioned with a finger to Katooni and Gungi, who nearly knocked the boy over leaping with joy as they joined their friends.
“We’ll keep training, and every time we do, we’ll remember what you taught us,” Katooni said with a small sob. “Even if you aren’t there, we’ll remember.”
With a small smile, Sora uttered the words that had come to him on Ilum with Cal so long ago that it felt like a distant memory: “Even if we’re apart, we’re not alone, and we’ll always be connected through the Force.”
Their embrace lasted until the ship gave a massive heave before coming to a stop, signaling their arrival. Reluctantly, the four of then released their grip on one another as Tech called from the cockpit, “The airlock connection is good.”
Hunter cleared his throat, waiting expectantly by the spacecraft’s exit. Sora hastily joined him, and as the door opened to the bridge, he glanced back one final time to wave goodbye to the younglings he had endured so much with the past year.
Please keep them safe, he willed into what little that lingered of the Force that he remembered growing up, knowing full well that trusting in the Force and their own abilities was all that he could do.
“You know,” Hunter began as they walked down the bridge together. “If you’re looking for your fellow Jedi, I know there was one kid around your age who escaped Order 66. Dume, I think was his name.”
Sora nearly stopped in his tracks. His visions of clones firing at Master Billaba as she screamed at Caleb to run flashed briefly in his mind. “Caleb’s alive?” He asked, his voice wavering only slightly. “Where?”
Hunter shook his head. “If he’s smart, he’s long gone by now. But we were on Kaller at the time.”
Sora’s head was spinning as they stopped in front of the door connecting him to the next phase of his journey. The door slid open, and Hunter slapped him on the back, saying, “Good luck, kid,” just before he turned around and made his way back down the bridge.
Sora took a hesitant step into the new craft, and as he gained the confidence to pick up speed, he rounded the corner to find himself face to face with Bail Organa in the cockpit.
“Senator!” He said with a bow.
Bail shook his head with a warm smile. “There’s no need for such formalities now, young Sora. Please, take a seat.”
Sora obeyed, slipping into the chair beside the Alderaan man. “I just heard a friend of mine is still alive,” he felt the words slip from his mouth. “I don’t know where he is or where to start, but I know I need to do something.”
Bail’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful news!” he exclaimed. “Per our bargain, I will see what I can find. News may not come fast, but be patient and have faith – the Force revealed that to you for a reason.”
“In the meantime, I will need your help.”
“Of course!” Sora vowed. “Anything. So what was the mission you didn’t want to tell me before?”
Bail paused for a moment, as if considering the weight of his next words. When he spoke, there was a solemnity in his tone that was new to Sora, a fierce determination blazed in his warm, burnt umber eyes: “I need you to help me keep my daughter safe.”
