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He checked the holodisc for the third time. Odd. He wasn't usually the nervous type. Didn't fiddle or fidget with things. He didn't have a nervous habit or be prone to worry. Worrying was for the unknown and Bode was very sure about what he was supposed to do. He'd been meticulously planning this engagement for months, every step calculated to get him closer to his goal, every conversation managed to jockey him into this exact position. You didn't just fall into a situation like this. Not if you were Bode at least. To end up here you lined up your dominos in exacting rows, and he'd finally knocked them over to get to this perfect moment.
It was no secret within the Resistance that Saw Gerrera kept his golden nunna, renegade Jedi, close at hand for his own gain and didn't let just anyone join his crew. You either had to be in with Saw or in with Cal. The former was easier than the latter. The Jedi was rarely in one place long. He showed up on a planet or an Imperial controlled station and turned it upside-down and then was gone to the next one. He and his small crew were a real thorn in the side of the Empire. The Inquisitors were a constant pissed off hornet nest trying to track him down, trying to anticipate where he'd be pop up next.
Bode didn't care about that. The Inquisitorius could work itself into a frenzy looking for the Jedi. Bode just wanted to stay out of that mess. No. Bode wasn't in this situation, hadn't spent months away from his daughter, just to catch a single Jedi. He was after Cal's... friend? Teacher? Mentor? Master? Even Bode's carefully collected collection of files on the Jedi weren't completely sure on Cal's exact relationship with Cere Junda, only that they were close. Very close. And that was who Bode was ultimately after: Cere. And more than that her connection to the Path. If he could get close to Cal he could uncover where Cere was, and through her he could uncover the location of the Path. The Path was the carrot Denvik was holding in front of him to tell him the name of Tayala's killer so he and Kata could finally have some closure.
And so Bode could have his vengeance on the person who'd killed the woman he loved. He thought that thought much quieter; that he wanted revenge. That his thoughts about avenging Tayala were sometimes so Dark it made his breath catch. He thought those Dark thoughts quietly as if he did they wouldn't catch him so he could still claim he wasn't fallen like those Inquisitors.
But first-
First he needed to make a good impression on Cal and his team. If he could get in with them he'd be golden.
That'd be easy enough. Bode was a nice guy even when not putting on an act. You learned early on as a spy there was only so much 'acting' you could do before your real personality slipped through your facade so it was better just to change your whole personality to be the type of person you needed to be than to throw up a facade that could crack at the edges. Bode was a former Jedi; he was a nice guy, upstanding and understanding, exactly the type of person you could lean on when things got tough. Great personality for a mercenary to have too. Likable people got hired more than grumpy assholes by the Resistance no matter how good your gun-skill was.
And this was it. The last step. He checked his holodisc again in a way that was unlike him. He'd worked so hard to get here. If he fucked it up he'd never have another chance at this. If anything the Resistance would be even more suspicious of mercenaries and random would-be partisans. Not only would he screw it up for himself, he'd screw it up for any future ISB agents who wanted to try and get in deep with the Resistance.
He just needed to get the job done. Get in, be his likable charming self, cozy up to this crew and get Cal to tell him where Cere was. If he could get Cere he could get the Path and then he'd finally get that damn carrot Denvik kept waving in front of him to keep him in line. And then he could avenge his wife. Then he could take Kata and they'd both disappear. He didn't know where but he knew he could take her somewhere safe.
The soft anxiety that plagued all spies whispered in his mind at that. That there was nowhere safe. He thought he'd been safe on Birren with Tayala but they'd found him there too.
He shook the thought away and finally got out of his ship. This was a good plan. Bode had been working on it for months. Running jobs for the Resistance he'd proved himself to be a valuable asset to them. They could trust him. This plan to get close to the Senator would work. It would. He couldn't fail now. He needed it to work. For himself. For his daughter. For Tayala.
He let out a low breath as he put his feet down on the hangar floor, steading himself. He'd spoken with Saw and other high ranked Resistance members, lied right to their faces about who he was. He could lie to this Jedi and his crew.
Settling his nerves- the fact he had nerves was crazy, he didn't get nervous- one last time Bode fixed that look on his face he knew was a winner; not even a smile but more like he smiled a lot, an upward curve of the lips. Walking up with a smile was weird but looking like a guy who knew how to laugh? That always got people to lower their guard. That and the somber dad story. That one was especially good because it was true and nothing worked in a story a spy told quite like the truth.
The Stinger Mantis was a beautiful yacht. How'd a guy like Cal get a ship like this? He couldn't have stolen it. He'd been through Cal's profile. There was no documentation of him stealing a ship. Ever. At least not Cal himself. So where'd he get a ship like this? Who in their right mind gave Cal, the most wanted man in the Empire, a ship like this? Someone dumb, or someone who cared about him a lot.
Bode was personally banking on the dumb one.
The public hangar down here in Corouscant wasn't so small that Bode couldn't keep his own ship behind some others while coming up on the Mantis, its huge fin dominating most of the air space here in the hangar. It was like a beacon, drawing Bode right in. The crew of the Mantis were expecting him and were waiting for him to arrive. The Klatooinians noticed him first, smacking each other on the stomach and arm to alert each other as he approached. That made the others notice him too.
"Well if it isn't the new guy," Gabs said, and in Bode's mind's eye the file he had on her opened. Former Syndicate trained slicer who loved money more than just about anything. She recognized him but Bode didn't let that deter him. Of any of them Bode expected Gabs to recognize him on looks alone as she did the research and leg work about what merc Saw was sending to work with them. She was a pretty, young, thing and Bode hoped they could become friends. According to his file on her she and Cal were quite close and he knew she was responsible for the rebel getting out of a lot of scrapes.
Bode smiled apologetically and raised his hands, "Ya caught me," he said. "I have a holodisc from Saw," and he reached into his pocket and pulled out the communication. Gabs gave him a look and snatched it, putting it into her communicator. The two Klatooinians gruffed at him, coming over to sniff him. The crew's muscle, Bode had a file on them too. "I assure you whatever you smell it ain't me, I showered today," Bode said. That made Koob and Lizz laugh, Koob lightly smacking his shoulder.
"Welcome, we were expecting you," Bode turned to the voice and came face to face with someone he recognized but wasn't in any picture in any of his files. Most image of Resistance members used computer imaging and CCTV stills to compile a likeness for a mugshot to put on wanted ads. The billboards all over Coruscant had Cal Kestis' face on them in a clean glossy mugshot. A fabrication taken from eye witness accounts, blurry video, and images taken too far away all compiled into a rugged older Jedi with red-brown hair and depending on the eye witness a variety of different scars on his face. No one could agree on the eye color either. They all knew he had a BD scouting droid that rode around on his shoulder at least, like this man did.
"Good to be anticipated, Bode Akuna, mercenary extraordinaire," Bode's mouth said on auto-pilot even as his mind was racing as he offered a hand to shake. He knew this man. How did he know this man?
"Cal Kestis," and Cal shook his hand. Cal was a common name in the Galaxy. Bode knew his name was Cal Kestis of course. The joke in the ISB was the rebel Jedi went up to random strangers and introduced himself by his full name and yet he was still the most elusive man in the Resistance. "Jedi, extraordinaire, I guess," he said, trying to make a joke. He was shorter than Bode expected and younger. By the Force. He was so young. No matter how deeply the war had aged him he was young. His hair was lighter, more orange. He didn't look anything like the wanted ads around Coruscant. He didn't look like any of the computer generated images of him. But Bode recognized him. Why? How?
"I look forward to working with you," Bode's mouth said as he opened everything he knew about Cal Kestis in his mind trying to find how. How? How did he know? Why?
"It's an interesting plan. Crazy, we like crazy around here," Cal said meeting Bode's eyes and like a broken holodeck a memory clicked in Bode's mind, soft at the edges.
Bode remembered those green eyes.
--
It had been a warm day in Coruscant. The senators hadn't been able to make any headway in agreeing on what the weather, temperature, or season Coruscant should be in for the next two weeks. So instead of agreeing on anything, or any clouds, or any break in the heat, they'd elected for no clouds, no rain. No weather at all, not even wind.
Bode's new Padawan braid felt heavy tucked behind his ear. He was still getting used to it and the new short haircut. His new Master had said he could cut his hair however he wanted so long as it was short so the braid was obvious. He'd been very nervous about the short hair at first, he was used to it longer, around his ears, curling against the collar of his robe. What if he looked stupid? What if his friends laughed and said he looked silly with short hair? They'd been too busy being excited about the carved blue gemstone bead at the end of his braid his Master had gifted him. Bode thought it was pretty cool but it was heavy in a way he hadn't anticipated at first.
'So you remember the weight of your responsibility as a Jedi, and as my Padawan,' his Master had told him when he'd brought it to his Master. It had filled him with a warm sense of purpose. Of course. He wanted to make his Master and his Order proud.
Sometimes if Bode let himself think about it too much he got so excited and emotional he made himself sick. He finally was a Padawan, had a Master of his own. It took him longer to find a Master than some of his friends. No reason. He wasn't ready. Becoming a Padawan was the best and most nerve-wracking part of his young life. It meant he was no longer a child. In the eyes of the Jedi he might still be young but to the eyes of the galaxy he was an adult now. He was barely fifteen. How was he an adult? Even he knew that was stupid. Hence why thinking about it too much made his stomach hurt. It was so much responsibility and he was so scared but also so excited to start this part of his life.
He toyed with the bead as he walked in the Temple and out into one of the gardens. He wanted some time to just be alone with his thoughts and deal with his emotions. His Master could be a bit... overbearing, and Bode needed to get out from under them if only for just a bit. It was especially stressful these last few days because he was leaving the Temple. Leaving Coruscant. His Master was taking him off world for a mission of some sort. Beyond just the stress of packing he was nervous. He'd been born on Coruscant, found here by a Seeker, raised his entire life from his parents' home to the Jedi temple; and he was leaving for the first time ever. He didn't even know when he'd be home. It could be days, it could be weeks, depending on the mission it could even be years. Last night he'd woken up from a nightmare of being adrift in the vacuum of space without a space suit, too far from any world or any star. He was so fucking nervous-- he's not supposed to know that word. But children always learn the words they're not supposed to know. The adults try so hard to keep bad words away from the younglings, but you hear them eventually.
He sat on a bench under one the only plants in the garden, a perfectly manicured tree. Nearby was the sound of a fountain but most of the garden was dominated by the sprawling rock garden, the sand it sat on raked into perfect clear lines around the rocks. He knew every day a Jedi came and redid all of the gardens and all of the raking. He knew because he's seen them. But it happened in the morning when most people were still asleep. The tree provides some of the only shade in the garden too, important on a day like today when it was hot.
Bode closed his eyes and just listened to the quiet, seeking that peaceful center of himself. He just needed a few moments away from everyone and the worry about leaving. There was no wind, because there were no clouds and the wind chimes were quiet. There was no rustling of the grass bushes, or the stunted trees that lived in segregated plots of dirt around the garden. And yet, despite there being no wind, the tree above him rustled. None of the bushes moved. None of the other trees were moving either.
Bode opened one eye in annoyance. What was that noise? Why was this the one place in the silent garden making so much noise!?
He looked up into the tree. It wasn't a massive tree like he'd seen in pictures. Its growth is stunted for being in this small amount of dirt, carefully pruned by the Jedi. The branches are allowed to grow only where permitted and someone had made this tree have branches like a ladder, as if they knew that a youngling would be bored and want to climb the tree. He squinted up into the boughs looking for the source of the noise. Was it an animal or something? He hoped it wasn't a rat. He didn't like rats.
A pale face came into focus up in the tree. Green eyes peered down at him. A hand waved. Bode's eyes went wide and he awkwardly waved back. What the fuck?-- he's not supposed to know that word. A youngling? What are they doing-
He barely had time to finish the full thought when whoever was up there moved, slipped, and was crashing on their way down from the branches of the tree. It happened so fast Bode could only make a noise that later he'd say sounded like 'wait!'
The pain of their foreheads colliding with a not insubstantial cracking noise made them both yell. It was an instant headache and he wasn't sure he wasn't going to have brain damage from this. But he wasn't so brain damaged he didn't have the wherewithal to grab the youngling before he rolled off Bode and onto the ground even as his other hand pressed to his forehead. By the Force!
The youngling cried in Bode's lap and if he didn't have a headache that definitely would do it. Bode just wanted to come enjoy the garden one last time before he left, he didn't sign up for this. But he was the 'big brother' in this case. He needed to sort this out.
Squinting he carefully put the child down on his own two feet in front of him. The youngling was a constant stream of tears, boogers, and also words. Mostly apologizing; "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to slip. Don't be mad. I didn't want to hit you," and an endless variety of. Well he wasn't so hurt, despite his hand on his forehead, that he couldn't talk.
"Yeah okay, let me see," Bode said and made the youngling move his hand so he could get a slightly better look at him. There was an enormous bump on his head right in the middle of his forehead like a unicorn horn. It was nearly as red as his hair. He whimpered when Bode touched it so he didn't do that again. There was no blood on the youngling at least, that was good. Bode wasn't old enough for this and this youngling was way too young to be out here in the garden unsupervised. They look barely five years old. What were they doing out here? They should be in a creche!
But that didn't negate the fact that Bode had a crying five-year-old in front of him. One of his brothers. Yelling or freaking out wouldn't help at all, he was old enough to know that, so he got to be the bigger person here and comfort this foolish little boy who was someplace he absolutely should not be. "It's alright, I know it was an accident," he said, rubbing the child's back. "Neither of us wanted to get our heads smacked today. It's going to be alright, I'm not mad," he had every right to be but that was a futile exercise. "You're not hurt too bad and neither am I, so lets stop the crying huh?" he asked the kid. The boy sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve, nodding. "I'm Bode, what's your name?"
"I'm Cal," he sniffed, all shock of red hair and sea glass green eyes.
"What are you doing out here? Why aren't you in your creche?"
Cal looked away, snubbing his shoe on the ground, "I wanted to go outside and look at the plants. You people don't have plants here!" he cried.
"As opposed to?"
"My home-- my old home. There were plants there and trees and grass- and, and flowers! This planet is stupid! It doesn't have any of that," he said, getting worked up. Bode found his childish anger amusing. He was pretty articulate for a five year old too. "You don't have any trees so where do you get your wood? Or shade? Or ox-oxgen," he said. Articulate but still has trouble with some words.
"That's something the Senate worries about," Bode said and winced as he stood up. His head hurt so much. He needed to get them both to the medical ward to make sure neither of them had a concussion. He was pretty sure their heads were fine, Jedi tended to have thick skulls for their unyielding thoughts, but it'd be best to make sure.
"That's what my creche teacher says too. They're a dumb dumb you know. They don't know annnnything," Cal said.
"You don't say," Bode said grabbing Cal's hand. Cal didn't argue with him.
"I don't think they've ever seen a tree. Or grass."
"I've never seen grass," Bode said.
"Whaaaat? You've never seen grass?" Cal asked, his green eyes huge as Bode led him back into the cool shade of the Temple.
"I was born and raised on Coruscant," Bode said. "There's not really any grass around," and certainly none in the lower levels.
"Grass is great," and Cal told him all about grass, especially the giant grass that grew on his home world. Bode just listened as he walked them to the hospital. "Where are we going?" Cal asked after he'd exhausted his short burst of knowledge about grass.
"The hospital," Bode said and Cal dug his heels in.
"Do we have to?" he asked Bode with the biggest green eyes.
"Yes. You fell on me and we hit our heads," Bode pointed to the giant bump on his head too.
"I don't want to," Cal tried to pull away but Bode had a grip on his wrist. He was bigger and stronger. No way this youngling was getting away.
"You need to go to the hospital," Bode said.
"No I don't want to. I don't like that place," Cal protested.
"So you're going to make me go alone?" Bode asked. "I don't like the hospital either," he was lying of course but Bode knew sometimes it was okay to lie to children.
Cal looked up at him. "You don't either?"
"Nope."
"Then why are we going?"
"Because I got hurt and the people there will help me. They want to help you too," Bode poked his own head bump and winced as it sent a sharp spike of pain through his skull. Oh, that was fucking stupid-- he wasn't supposed to know that word.
"We'll go together," Cal said.
"Good," and Bode carried on towards the medical wing. As they walked Bode asked Cal if he knew anything about trees and while Cal mostly knew about how much he loved climbing trees he didn't know a lot about trees in general. But it got him talking and not worrying about the hospital.
In the hospital a nurse came and looked them both over. Bode just kept Cal talking and he barely noticed the nurse poking him and checking his vitals. Cal seemed to realize Bode wasn't going to ask him to stop talking so just moved onto talking about other things he was interested in. The latest little book he'd read, the show they'd watched in the creche. The nurse gave them both a clean bill of health and some medicine for the headache, but neither of them had a concussion, with orders to take it easy the rest of the day and stay out of the direct sunlight if they were experiencing light sensitivity.
Bode found a small, empty, meditation room and sat down. Cal sat for about thirty seconds before he got up and started walking around while talking. This kid could talk so much and was so excited someone would just gladly sit and listen to him. Bode could see how Cal could be very annoying but Bode was a quiet person who gladly let others fill the room with idle chatter. He'd grown up in a big family before he'd been found by a Seeker, and there had always been lots of talking in his old home. A far cry from the quiet life of the Jedi Temple, so it was nice to have something like that back. Bode only was half listening anyway. It was mostly just background noise that let Bode find the calm he was looking for earlier. Cal's excitedly chattering about the show the creche was watching helped take his mind off his nervousness about leaving Coruscant, about being a Padawan.
Some time later Bode's communicator beeped at him. It was time to go wash up for dinner with his Master. "Cal," he said, one of the few words he'd said since they arrived.
"Huh?" Cal asked, stopping mid sentence.
"It's dinner time," he got up from the chair and held out his hand. "I need to take you back to your creche."
"Awww, already?" Cal asked.
"I'm afraid so," Bode said with a faint smile. Cal came over and grabbed Bode's hand, he squeezed it warmly before taking Cal back to the creche. One of the creche teacher was busy losing her mind as they walked up. "Um, excuse me," he piped up to get her attention.
"Did you need something Padawan- Cal!" she cried upon seeing him. She rushed over and hugged him. "Where have you been young man?" she asked.
"I was with Bode," Cal pointed at Bode who was standing there still.
She looked up at Bode then got to her feet. "Padawan, you were with Cal today?"
"Most of it," Bode said.
"Why didn't you bring him back sooner?" she clearly had been nervous about a missing youngling for more than just recently.
"I liked having him around," Bode said and ruffled Cal's mess of red hair.
"Hey, stop," Cal complained and batted Bode's hand away. She softened slightly but also looked relieved that someone had been responsible for Cal all day. If he talked so much and liked climbing trees, Bode could imagine he was a handful.
"But I have dinner with my Master, so I brought him back," Bode said.
"Thank you, Padawan- Bode was it?"
"Yes, ma'am," he nodded.
"Bode can we hang out tomorrow too?" Cal asked, tugging on his sleeve.
Bode grimaced, "Sorry, Cal. No," he said apologetically. "My Master and I are leaving Coruscant for a while tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be home." And Cal's eyes got so big and wet when he said that. Oh geeze, please say he wasn't about to start crying.
"B-but when you come back we can?" Cal asked.
"Sure. I dunno when that will be but sure," or if Bode would even remember.
"Good! When you're back home we can play together again. Maybe I'll be a Jedi too!" he cried in the way that children did where they didn't understand the passage of time. Bode smiled fondly at Cal.
"Sure buddy," Bode ruffled his hair again, "I'll see you when you're a Jedi for sure."
--
The file of Cal Kestis reached an end in Bode's mind but that soft memory he'd long forgotten was suddenly at the forefront. Cal was a common name in the Galaxy but he didn't expect to find it attached to the Cal he had known. There was no disputing those big green eyes, that red hair, he could see the child's face in Cal's face. He was so young. By the Force he'd been so young even at the Temple and now-
And now here he was; a Jedi.
He'd never reconnected with Cal at the Temple. He'd been away from Coruscant for years before returning a few years before the start of the Clone War. He just forgot, and of course a five year old didn't remember.
And yet just like Bode promised, the next time he saw Cal he was a Jedi. A real Jedi, Knighted in the field of battle. Bode made good plans but there was a saying that even the best plans didn't survive first contact. He'd expected he would have more time. He didn't expect the plan to start to fall apart at his first meeting with Cal Kestis. But standing there, his mouth making casual talk with Cal about the plan against the Senator, Bode knew that whatever he had planned didn't matter. He already could feel the ground beneath his feet starting to crumble, his well laid plans going to shit right before his eyes. How was he supposed to do this now?
Fuck.