Chapter Text
The faint humming noise of the engine's of the Republic cruiser was both the symphony of the lullaby that had drawn Adorsha back to sleep after Fives had returned to her side. It was strange, when she had first heard the noise coming from such a rural community, she thought she could never get used to the sound. Now it was just as natural to her as the birdsongs of her dreams that guided her to sleep long ago. If anything the humming reminded her of the low toned vibrations her headtails picked up when she used to splash in the mirror-like lagoons near the Plunging Spears waterfall formation. The low, steady percussion always sent tingles through her synapses, making her white markings become bolder in delight. The boom of a hyperdrive engine had once done the same, though the pleasantries had long been exchanged for relief. One too many battles in space coupled with narrow escapes had ensured that.
Still half asleep, her hands came up to rub at her eyes when she froze, suddenly awake. Her arm should have brushed the body of her lover, yet as the Togruta twisted in the sheets, she found herself alone. Reaching out with the force to heighten her perception, sweeping the room to sense… only her own presence. The peeled back blankets confirmed it. Fives had left without a word.
A pang of guilt twisted in her stomach, fingers twisting in the sheets. Had Rex told Fives about what had happened? Surely he would forgive her if he knew it was an honest mistake, right? They all were the same after all-
No! Her mind bellowed. They were not the same. Genetically perhaps, but every clone, every soldier, was different in their own unique way. Adorsha had said so herself to Fives, wanting him to take pride in his identity, carve it from the frigid stone that lay at the heart of Kamino's watery depths. Just like the myth Fives had told her about, they were born from its waters, every drop contributing something to their personality that distinguished them.
She couldn't tell him, if she admitted it, it would… it would break his heart. It made hers ache just thinking about it.
So, instead, Adorsha pushed herself up and approached the washroom, taking a quick steam shower and washing her face, then went about getting ready for the day brushing her teeth and getting dressed. The water still clinging to her skin made her clothes difficult to haul on, though she managed nonetheless. Her lightsabers were exactly where she had left them, Adorsha took the belt where they were hooked into and clipped their belt onto her back. The last thing on was her commlink, which blinked at her the code to report to the Bridge for morning briefing.
"Guess it will be brunch today," She muttered to herself, knowing that if her commlink had been used for summons, she wouldn't be able to stop for breakfast.
Beckoned by her duty, she ventured onwards towards the Bridge, passing unmarked Clone Troopers in the hallway, astromech's traveling between the technicians offices and flight decks, mouse droids whizzing by to deliver their communique's and spot-polishing places where too many boots had stepped. Clones saluted her in the corridor, she acknowledged them with a curt, polite nod, yet she had seen no sign of Fives, or any ARC Troopers for that matter. Worry began to funnel into reason, the alarm hadn't been raised in her slumber, yet morning drills could be tenuous. If she was being called to the bridge this early, something must have occurred, or Skywalker had a plan brewing.
One elevator ride later, Adorsha strode onto the Bridge, though her confident stride was soon halted when she saw a new face at the command table.
"Master Kenobi," The Jedi Knight addressed courteously, bowing her head in greeting as she came closer. His shimmering blue form flickered a little when he nodded back, clearly calling in from his own capital ship. Anakin stood next to him dutifully with Admiral Yularen, both present in physical form "Skywalker, Admiral," Adorsha greeted in turn "What's going on?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't have been summoned immediately were it not urgent.
Skywalker fiddled with knobs and dials on the computer terminal in front of him "We've been re-routed," he put it bluntly, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.
"Republic Intelligence on Coruscant received an encrypted message hours ago, this morning, they managed to decrypt it," General Kenobi helpfully supplied "Thanks to this message and your efforts retaking Rhen Var's Citadel, we now know where the weapons manufactured at that facility were sent."
The good news made Adorsha perk up "Perfect, so we can chase them and cut them off before these new weapons and munitions can be deployed?"
Kenobi's hand came up to rest beneath his chin, his arm being supported by the other which folded across his chest "I'm afraid it's… not so simple."
Finally, Skywalker stood up straight as the holo message came up on the command table "They've already deployed them."
An emblem of an avian shaped creature rose up on the command board, a heavily distorted voice rumbled from the table's speakers. The waves of audio rippled like a stone thrown into the waters of percussion, the distortion giving way momentarily to a melodic harmony that carried with it a voice which made some of the deck officers pause. The drums reminded Adorsha of the marching songs she'd heard the Clones sing on extended campaigns, yet the voice that accompanied it was sad, pleading, angry. The voice ominously warned of sour winds, brewed below the surface choking the life out of the women and children put to work in mines. Skywalker looked uncomfortable, while Kenobi stood in quiet contemplation. The former cut it off as the bridge went into a repeated chorus.
"A lovely song, a little sad for my taste, but what's it got to do with the missing arms?" Adorsha's head tilted quizzically.
Yularen answered her query this time "Republic Intelligence identified that symbol to belong to the Talus Insurgency Movement, the planet has been under an extended ceasefire for a while now, their monarchical government declared for the Separatists early on in the war, with it being so close to Corellia high command was worried about an open attack on the ship yards, but if, as this song suggests, there is some sort of weapon readying to be deployed and they are testing it upon their own people-"
"Then it's our duty as Protectors of the Republic to intervene," Skywalker finished off, using that determined voice Adorsha knew so well from their ice planet excursion.
She nodded in solid agreement, with Kenobi adding "It won't be easy getting on the ground, or finding the Insurgency Leadership, they have openly declared support for the Republic but due to the local planetary forces mostly being in favor of the monarchy, they are likely made up of civilian populations and more… nefarious characters, thankfully they did leave us a helpful little riddle to start looking for them, and coordinates."
A display on the table came up of the planet of Talus, and a point rising up out of it with a label marker "We were told to start looking here, and to 'Look for the Red Star', which I'm guessing is code for something else, nonetheless, the search should begin there."
Skywalked looked at Adorsha through the maps and holograms "I've already briefed Rex, we'll be sending a small strike team planetside while Obi-Wan and I will be engaging and entertaining the Royalist Forces, Ahsoka will be returning from Ilum soon, plan is to have her and I be back up should things turn sideways down there, you'll be going in with the first team, since you're the only one of us who saw the weapons on Ren Vhar, even if it was for a split second before Dooku showed up."
The Togruta smiled "You actually read my report? I think that's a first, Skywalker."
The other Jedi rolled his eyes "I do read the stuff on my desk from time to time!"
"Glad to know the mountain of datapads in your office has been reduced by one Anakin, now if only you'd read the ones I send you-"
Anakin gave Obi-Wan a look. "Well if somebody would just summarize their reports better then maybe I could get back to more important things, like… teaching my Padawan, for instance."
"Like teaching her how to read your reports for you then asking for a summation?" Obi-Wan shot back and Adorsha giggled. Anakin, flustered, made a noise and switched the table's display off.
"That was one time…"
"Regardless, we all have our orders, Adorsha, Rex and Cody will be waiting for you on the flight deck." Kenobi informed her "May the force be with us all." He signed off and his hologram flickered off. Admiral Yularen turned to address the bridge officers while Skywalker walked with Adorsha to the Turbolift.
Inside, Anakin dropped the formalities "You seem a little… off today, everything alright?"
Reluctantly the Torguta looked elsewhere, itching her elbow to hide her turmoil "I'm fine, just... " she sighed "Those poor civilians, if they really are testing weapons on their own people, I dread to think how long and how many have suffered as the insurgents tried to get that message to us, and they can't even tell us straight." It wasn't exactly a lie, the Separatist regimes she had seen were brutal, exploiting anything they could get their hands upon to increase any profits that were to be shared- that is, amongst themselves of course.
Her first duty, Adorsha reminded herself, was to the Republic. If she had to set her burdened heart aside for this mission, then so be it. She just hoped this wouldn't get in the way of orders when it came time to deploy.
When it came to the flight deck of a Republic cruiser, Adorsha had quickly learned during her Padawan training that there was nowhere more alive with activity than perhaps the surface of was always units doing drills, pilots running around with maintenance, then astromechs and mouse droids weaving between them expertly to find the quickest route to their destinations. She hadn't asked Skywalker to escort her, though she found herself grateful for the accompaniment of her fellow Jedi. Now she didn't have to be at the mercy of her thoughts, and Skywalker detested idle chit-chat as much as she did. It had been far too long since she could just talk to another person without the preface of ranking formality. She wasn't sure if she would describe Skywalker as a friend, per say, yet she certainly found herself warming up to his company. His roguish charm was softened by his genuine care and good humor, Adorsha found herself laughing at one of his jokes as they stepped out from in between the LA-AT/i's being serviced outside of their holding bays.
When they both arrived at the chosen transport, Adorsha initially thought a group of civilians would be boarding with them, until she turned around and saw the faces of the group. "Commander Skywalker, Sir, Commander Renon-Tir, Sir," Captain Rex nodded to them both "The men have been briefed, as ordered we'll be in disguise, though our armor has been packed in case things get hot down there."
Adorsha was trying not to pale, merely keeping her face neutral as Skywalker answered "Excellent Rex, hopefully you all won't need my intervention or Ahsoka's, but hey- don't hesitate to call for backup when things get hot down there."
"When?" Adorsha asked incredulously "We're not looking to start a fire, Skywalker," she pointed out.
"No, but sometimes when you start a fire you just need to get it so hot it burns out," Anakin flashed a smile while Rex crossed his arms.
Adorsha thought about Anakin's words. Perhaps Fives did know what happened between her and Rex, or maybe he didn't, maybe he had his own secrets he was keeping from her- Whatever the case was, perhaps, all they both needed was some space. Was that why he had avoided her all morning? She still needed to talk to Rex as well before the mission began about what happened. Though it appeared it would have to wait until they got on the ground.
A protocol droid brought her a bag, just the same standard issue one the others had, though with different contents inside.
"You'll be setting down inside the capitol thanks to our contacts on the ground, but don't expect a warm welcome from local security forces, try to maintain as low a profile as you can," Skywalker advised as Adorsha climbed the ramp of the shuttle behind the Clones. The engine's began to warm up, making it a little harder to hear.
"We'll check in once we're on the ground!" Adorsha called out "You're our eyes in the skies on this mission, Skywalker!"
"Then you'd best get going before those skies get cloudy!" he called back, and she smiled, nodding her goodbye before ascending the ramp. It closed not too long behind her, the shuttle turning around and flying up, out of the hangar, towards the surface of the troubled planet below.