Chapter Text
Three months Later
Fox rubbed at his temple again, realized he was doing it, and stopped.
Force damn it, he didn’t need a nervous habit.
If he was going to have a habit, it should center solely on caf, nothing else.
So he rose and moved to the small dispenser to get a new cup. These Republic ships weren’t anything too special, but given how Fox and his Corries had coped the last several years, it felt like luxury.
He took his now hot cup and sat back down at the desk upon which multiple data pads sat surrounding his main monitor.
He had been given not only his own small quarters, but an office as well since he had been informed that he was still a Marshall Commander and he held authority.
Fox had not felt he deserved that rank anymore after attempting to murder his own Jedi, but said Jedi had been the one to argue most strenuously on Fox’s behalf and refused to hear his arguments about responsibility and strength.
“Because you should somehow have been different, Fox?” he’d asked calmly, but his arms were folded and his stance screamed ‘fight me’.
Short of Mace Windu, Fox’s Jedi was the most stubborn bastard of the bunch.
“YES,” he’d tried, ignoring Wolffe’s giant eye roll and Cody’s sigh. “I knew it was there! I knew it was coming! And still—-!”
“You agreed to keep it in so that Palpatine wouldn’t know our plans,” the kid replied, hazel eyes never leaving Fox’s. “I call that heroic.”
“You’re not winning this one, vod,” Wolffe said, slapping him unnecessarily hard on the shoulder.
But the removal of the chip hadn’t taken away the memory. He’d been trapped inside himself, watching his own blaster rise toward Piett’s head. Watching his finger tighten on the trigger.
Thorne was the real hero, Fox thought, sipping at the caf and seating himself once more.
His vod’s quick reaction had saved their Jedi while Fox had been carted to the ship like so much luggage.
He glared at the many data pads and allowed his hatred of that demagolka to fuel him to his task anew.
Fox had been assigned to the rather daunting job of establishing a broad network of resistance on Coruscant, given his intimate knowledge of the capitol planet and his experience with the Senate.
Thorn and Thire had been invaluable, of course, and already the infant Rebellion had some strategically placed sources of intel at the heart of the Empire.
So good, in fact, that they had learned only a week ago, that a secret prototype had begun construction at Kuat.
A small task force had been assembled to investigate and sabotage the effort if possible. Upon learning that his Jedi was part of this, Fox had insisted in no uncertain terms that he was going as well.
Master Windu had given him the skeptical eyebrow for his bluntness, but he was a hypocritical kriffer and Fox had stared right back.
Master Plo had merely inclined his head, hand resting briefly on Piett’s shoulder, and agreed that Fox would provide excellent support.
Wolffe had looked at him in understanding, as had Rex.
Their Jedi were powerful and Fox would never understand all the Force osik, but he was damned if his General…Captain…whatever, was going into any situation without him ever again.
An orange light blinked in his peripheral vision, and he squinted at the datapad pile to his right. It blinked again and he lifted the pad to tap at the encrypted message waiting for him.
Then he breathed in sharply and rose again, his chair tipping back to clatter loudly to the deck just the door hissed open behind him.
“Fox…? Are you all right?”
He turned to find Piett watching him with concern.
It was still so strange to see him in uniform as opposed to his Jedi robes, but it suited the man Piett had become. Fox was still used to thinking of him as ‘the kid’ and he had to work at not saying it aloud at times.
“I…actually, sir, I’m glad you’re here. I just received a communication from one of our agents. We need to share it with the rest of the Jedi urgently.”
He handed the datapad to the Captain and turned to right his desk chair.
Piett perused the information swiftly, biting his bottom lip and frowning before he looked up once more.
“You’re right. Come with me.”
Fox swiftly snagged his cap before falling into step beside his shorter Jedi.
“Captain, this could compromise any missions that we send Jedi on. I would like to propose, sir, that any future covert operation be undertaken by those who are not Force sensitive. I think—-”
Piett raised an eyebrow at him.
“I know what you’re going to say, Commander,” he interrupted, nodding to a young ensign who snapped off a salute as they passed, “and while I appreciate the zeal to protect us, it isn’t feasible to try and keep us all safe on the ships while the rest of you do the dangerous work. That is not how we have ever operated, and none of us intend to start now. That includes the Kuat mission.”
“Captain,” Fox said, as they entered a lift, “they can sense…!”
“They are not omniscient,” Piett said as the lift moved upward. “It makes things more complex, yes. But they can be defeated.”
Fox wanted to argue further, but decided that it would be better to present his thoughts to the Jedi as a group because he recognized that stubborn glint in Piett’s eyes. So he merely made an incomprehensible grumble which made the young man beside him smile slightly, insufferable little utreekov.
They entered the conference room for the Adamant and her captain strode with ease to his accustomed spot at the head of the table.
“Sorry I’m late,” he told the assembled Jedi. “But I stopped in to see Commander Fox and he has some urgent information that all of you need to hear.”
He gestured to Fox who moved to join him.
“I just received word from Coruscant that the Emperor has deployed Inquisitors,” he told them all. “They have been specifically tasked to hunt down and kill any surviving Jedi.”
There was a beat.
“Not completely unsurprising,” Master Kenobi said, stroking his beard calmly.
“What do you mean ‘not completely surprising’?” Master Windu snorted. “Totally and completely consistent with that piece of—-”
Master Plo cleared his throat gently.
Master Windu sighed as though the galaxy was against him. Which—-it sort of was, though not for his use of language.
“----with that putrid piece of filth,” he finished, glaring across at his friend.
“It merely means we will need to exercise more caution,” said Master Secura, her blue holo image shimmering near Master Kenobi. She and Bly were stationed on Intrepid which was currently with the Fifth Fleet out in the Mid Rim.
“I would respectfully submit,” Fox said, bringing everyone’s attention back to him, “that we reserve our Jedi for the larger conflicts precisely because you will need to exercise more caution.”
“Meaning what exactly?” Master Windu snapped, narrowing his eyes. “That better not mean what I think it does.”
“It does,” Piett stated calmly, giving Fox a small smile. “Commander Fox is of the very admirable opinion that we will be more vulnerable in smaller operations, and he feels he can better arrange our protection in large scale battle.”
Fox ground his teeth.
Yes, the kid was right of course, but none of them were understanding the very clear and present danger they were in.
“It is my understanding that Inquisitors can sense another Force user,” he said, giving Piett a hard look. “And if that’s the case, then using Jedi on covert missions is not advisable.”
“It does mean what I think it does,” Master Windu growled, tapping his prosthetic hand on the table as he stared at Fox. Fox returned the stare—-he’d had to serve that demagolka turned Emperor for years. A Jedi, even a master, was not going to intimidate him. “We are not hiding behind our people, Commander,” Windu continued.
“I am not trying to imply that you would be hiding, sir,” Fox replied, “I am saying that you could be a liability.”
“Yes, I got that part as well,” Windu said in clipped tones.
“I would think, Commander,” Master Plo interjected, calming the room with his tones, “that having us on such critical missions outweighs the risk of discovery. While we all appreciate your concern for our safety, I think perhaps you are forgetting we have ways to hide our presence.”
Fox opened his mouth but shut it once more as Piett coughed very softly beside him.
He’d gone as far as he could and he hated that, but his own Jedi’s unspoken admonishment must be obeyed.
“We will exercise increased caution, Commander,” said Master Kenobi, smiling at him sincerely. No doubt the man meant it, but it was deeply ironic that such encouragement was coming from him.
Skywalker had remained silent throughout, merely listening respectfully to the others.
Wonders would never cease.
Apparently his brush with the Dark Side had sobered him up. Fox was still very far from wanting much to do with the man, but at least he seemed to have learned a few things.
“Thank you, Commander,” Master Plo said. “We were about to discuss the details of the Kuat mission. The others will be joining us for that shortly.”
He nodded and seated himself by Piett, silently more determined than ever that he would have his Captain’s back.
*****************
“The last of our charges are set here,” Veers said into Piett’s earpiece.
Firmus glanced at Anakin, the two of them walking beside each other as though they belonged here, clad in freshly acquired Imperial uniforms.
“On our way to the bottom level now,” Piett murmured quietly. “Meet us there.”
Initially, the plan had been to destroy this new super weapon the Empire was creating. But as further intel came in, they realized it was just too big to do so successfully. So they’d shifted purpose slightly to cause significant damage to the shipyards themselves in order to cause as much delay for the Empire’s building efforts as possible.
Anakin and Firmus had been tasked with gathering as much first hand information about the prototype ship as possible so that a follow up mission could be planned to destroy it with a larger force.
The hope was that they caused enough damage to Kuat that ship building efforts would need to be put aside and focus would be on repairs more than security. The Empire would not expect the Rebels to attack the same spot again so soon after this mission.
That was the intent anyway.
They had been aboard for six hours now—travelling in four small groups to plant their explosives at strategic points. Piett was well aware that the risk increased exponentially the longer they were on Kuat.
Master Kenobi was leading a team with Cody and Rex.
Veers had Fox and Wolffe.
Colonel Rieken had Thorn and Thire with him.
And Piett had been paired with Anakin.
Padme was also on comms back on their Dantooine base, and he could picture her now, watching the Kuat feeds and taking in their reports.
While most of them had been disguised as techs of various sorts, Anakin and Piett were in officer’s uniforms in order to go aboard the Empire’s secret project.
“Are you going to kick up a fuss about a little Force manipulation for this mission?” Anakin asked Piett, and it took him a moment to realize that his friend had spoken inside his head.
He frowned a little at the deck they were walking on.
“You know we’ll have to, Anakin,” he replied, removing his code cylinder for the lift they were approaching. He was fully aware this cylinder didn’t have the clearance needed, but he needed the security cameras to see him ‘using’ it even though it was the Force that opened the lift doors.
“I trust you know that we also have a line we shouldn’t cross when using that manipulation,” he added as they stepped inside.
The lift moved downward smoothly with impressive speed.
Anakin folded his arms, and looked out the transparisteel walls of the lift as they exited the station proper and moved below toward the massive network of durasteel scaffolding.
“I do know, Firmus,” he responded. “Why do you think they have me with you?”
The corner of his mouth curled a little as he said this, and Piett could feel his friend’s affection as well as the still tender acknowledgement of his past failings.
He placed his hands behind his back and moved closer to the walls himself in order to see the object of their mission himself.
“Kark,” he murmured aloud, unable to stop himself.
Because even in her rough and unfinished state, that was the most beautiful ship he’d ever seen in his life.
He could feel that Anakin had a similar reaction beside him.
She dwarfed the sister ships that were in docks on either side of her to an almost laughable degree.
And unlike the design of the ‘Star Destroyers’ as the Empire had dubbed them, this ship was shaped like a dagger, with her command tower placed near what Piett thought of in his mind as the ‘hilt’ of the design.
He counted thirteen engines, though two of them were not yet installed. They were under construction as well on the port side of the vessel and each were easily the size of a cruiser all on their own.
“It would take every denton missile the Rebellion has to destroy her,” Anakin said in his head.
And Piett found himself strangely reluctant as Anakin stated this.
He didn’t want to destroy that ship.
He could see every deadly line of her beautiful form and knew that she could wreak absolute havoc upon their outdated Rebel fleet.
He breathed out slowly, clenching his hands into fists behind his back.
Anakin gave him a curious look but didn’t say anything further.
They reached the transfer platform at last and stepped into one of the automated shuttles used for taking work crew out to the ship.
“We’re here for an inspection,” Anakin muttered with an unnecessary reminder. “If anyone asks.”
Piett inclined his head, still watching the ship as she loomed large over them.
The shuttle stopped in a hangar bay about fifteen decks up from the massive destroyer’s ventral shields and they set foot on glossy black decking.
“Engines,” Anakin said quietly as they began walking. “I think our best bet will be to take those out if we want to be successful in destroying her.”
Piett nodded, heart twinging once more as he pictured this magnificent vessel dying in a blaze of fire and wreckage.
“We should try to find the AI center though,” he murmured as they exited the bay unchallenged. “Because that could cause more problems for us than even her firepower—-”
Bright pain lanced through his head and he paused, putting out a hand momentarily.
“Firmus!” Anakin hissed, gripping his upper arm tightly and dragging him…somewhere. Piett couldn’t see, the pain was so intense.
It was similar to the migraines he’d had as a child, but Master Plo had informed him that Firmus had caused those by trying to suppress the Force…
He heard a door hiss shut behind him and found himself shoved into something like an office chair.
“Piett talk to me—-what’s going on?” his friend asked anxiously.
Firmus scrabbled for his mental shields, but the pressure was relentless and he couldn’t understand—-what did it want—-?
<What are you?>
Piett desperately tried to focus on that unknown voice—-tried to reach for a presence—-
And then—-
She was almost indescribable.
Fire and stars and metal—-and a burning heart that reminded him slightly of his lightsaber.
I don’t understand, he sent.
<You are different,> she told him, and he could feel her curiosity. Her newness.
Different how? He asked.
“For kark’s sake, Firmus, what the hell is happening to you?”
He managed to squint up at the other Jedi. Anakin was looming over him and they appeared to be in some sort of half finished office.
“I’m…” he paused.
<Other humans cannot sense me,> she said, and somehow he knew it was she. <You did. How?>
“Anakin,” he managed, reaching for his friend and gripping his arm. “The ship…is, is talking to me.”
“The…ship.”
<I think,> Piett said to the ship, <I think perhaps because I can use the Force, you can speak to me. But I don’t understand how this is possible at all.>
<Your companion does not believe you. He wonders if you are…malfunctioning.>
Firmus considered for a moment and then reached for Anakin’s mind, striving to be more gentle than the ship had been with him, guiding him toward this strange connection.
“Piett, get out of my head, what in the nine hells—--OH KARK.”
<What are you exactly?> Piett asked as Anakin staggered back to lean on the desk, one hand to his temple.
<I am the Lady,> the ship told him. <But the designation in my records is Executor. I am not certain why this is—-all the humans call me ‘Lady’. So that is who I am.>
<How are you sentient?> Anakin asked, joining this odd conversation. <I’ve never heard of this phenomenon before.>
Piett felt the Lady’s own uncertainty.
<I do not know. One day I was not, and then…I was.>
Firmus was still trying to wrap his mind about all this implied, not only for the unique nature of the Lady, but also for the moral purpose of their mission.
“Lady,” he said aloud, “do you ah…do you know what you are for?”
<I am to protect,> she replied simply, and Piett could sense her youth. She was for all intents and purposes—-a child.
“Protect what?” Anakin asked her, glancing at Firmus.
<Humans,> she told them. <Humans in the Empire.>
“Piett we’re almost at the meeting point. What’s your status?” Veers asked in his ear.
“Hold on,” Piett told him. “Lady, do you know what war is?” he asked, and Anakin’s eyebrow went up.
<I have been given a large database,> she informed him proudly. <I am learning many things every second. War is conflict. Destruction. It requires two opposing sides. It usually results in…death. What is death?>
Anakin blew out a breath and rubbed at the back of his neck.
“It is when we…cease to exist,” he replied. “Our bodies become only matter with no ah…sentience.”
But a new presence was now tickling the edges of Piett’s awareness.
“We have to go,” he said, rising to his feet and tugging his jacket. “Lady…I am sorry we cannot stay to speak more with you.”
<But why? I am alone! Do not go!>
It was painful to resist her pleading. She really was incredibly young.
“We will try and return,” Piett promised, ignoring Anakin’s skeptical look.
They exited the office and moved as swiftly as they could without attracting undue attention. The ship was very sparsely populated at the moment since she was still under construction, but even so, they passed techs and engineers consistently.
And the growing dread was making a ball in Piett’s stomach.
“Shield, Firmus,” Anakin ordered through gritted teeth.
<Do not leave,> the Lady begged. <I can sense that you like me. Why then are you leaving?>
<We are in danger, Lady,> Piett told her. <We are not leaving because of you.>
<Can I help you?>
It was the simple desire of a child to help.
<If you help us, I fear that your true nature will be revealed, Lady. Is that what you wish?> Anakin asked her as they spotted the long corridor which led to the automated shuttle.
There was a pause.
<Should humans not know that I am…me?> she asked.
<They could try and control you,> Piett replied, his danger senses flaring loudly. <Particularly one human who is very evil and —->
He swung around only to be flung back against a bulkhead by a powerful, unseen force.
And that was the only warning they had as the Inquisitor’s red blade snapped into existence and clashed against Anakin’s lightsaber.
“Skywalker,” the Miraluka purred, his smile even more awful for the lack of his eyes. There was just----skin covering the indentations where they should be. "The Emperor has been looking for you."
“Veers,” Piett hiss quietly into his comms. “We’re under attack. Still on the ship.”
“Where on the ship, Firmus?” Veers said, but he couldn’t answer.
He rolled to his feet, his own lightsaber igniting with a snap/hiss before he plunged into the fight.
The Miraluka Inquisitor’s power was strong in the Force.
Even Anakin struggled to stay ahead of him as they swung their blades with breathtaking speed.
Piett opted for the quick attacks he was best at—leaping in, and then out again to attack from a new angle. He had to depend on his agility—the sheer strength of the man was nearly overwhelming.
He hit the deck hard as the Inquisitor flicked a finger while he was in mid leap. Immediately, Piett’s mouth filled with blood, which he spat on the smooth surface before he rolled again, narrowly avoiding a killing blow which melted the spot he’d been with a putrid scent.
Then Anakin was on him once more and they moved up and down the corridor. By this point, the rest of the personnel in the area had been alerted and an alarm sounded through the ship.
<You are damaged,> the Lady said into all this as Piett fended off blaster shots from crewman running toward the combatants.
“A bit,” he panted aloud, desperate to help Anakin, but also aware that a blaster shot could kill just as certainly as a blade.
<You are a Jedi,> she told him with a tone of discovery. <Sworn enemies of the Empire.>
Well kark it all.
If she decided to turn on them as well, it was all over.
He batted away another shot and flung out a hand to shove the crewman hard so they all tumbled into each other. Then he leapt back toward Anakin, raising his blade to descend upon the Miraluka.
The other Force user was ready for him, however, and motioned to throw him off once again. But Piett had expected him to do so, and even as he crashed into a bulkhead, he sent his lightsaber forward on its own.
It sliced into the Inquisitor’s left arm and he shrieked in anguish and rage as Piett called his weapon back to himself, trying to ignore the cacophony of new bruises.
Anakin used this to his advantage and the Miraluka was forced to retreat before this onslaught from a furious Jedi.
<I am not your enemy, Lady,> Piett told her. <Nor the enemy of the galaxy. But the Emperor? Yes.>
The Inquisitor snagged a crewman with his power and bodily threw the man at Anakin who managed to move his blade just in time to avoid gutting him.
Piett exerted the Force to try and trip the enemy, but the Miraluka spat at him and ignited his lightsaber again.
They couldn’t let this bastard use human shields.
Piett spotted the controls for emergency blast doors and as Anakin pushed his opponent back, he called out.
“Anakin! Retreat!”
A few years earlier, his friend might not have listened, but now he immediately flipped backwards and Piett used the Force to close the blast doors between themselves and the enemy.
<You do not wish to cause harm,> the Lady told him, clearly wondering about this.
“Not if we can prevent it!” Piett panted, as he and Anakin sprinted back up the corridor to the auto shuttle.
Anakin motioned to the atmospheric doors.
They stayed shut.
“Lady,” Piett pleaded. “Please let us get to that shuttle.”
<The command is to lock down the ship,> she replied. <They wish to capture you.>
“Yeah, we noticed,” Anakin said and they both heard the blast doors behind them open once more. They had seconds before the Inquisitor attacked.
“They will kill us,” Piett told her, gasping for air. “The Jedi are not enemies, Lady, I swear it. Search all the material you can!”
He could sense her indecision and made his move in that moment, exerting all his strength through the Force in order to open the atmospheric doors.
She was surprised, but it was enough, and he and Anakin tumbled through into the auto shuttle, Anakin slapping the controls to send it away from the ship.
And in that moment, the first explosives far above them detonated.
“We’re still not free,” Anakin said, wiping sweat from his face and clipping his lightsaber to his belt.
Both of their Imperial caps had been lost in the fight, and they were sweating through the gaberwool uniforms.
“Veers!” Piett said again. “We’re in the auto shuttle heading back to the station! There’s an Inquisitor after us. What’s your status?”
“We’re not in a good position, Firmus!” Max replied tersely. “Making our way to our shuttle! Kenobi is trying to—-”
Another explosion happened above them, interrupting the connection.
"We can't possibly make it back to the shuttle now," Anakin said, pacing the shuttle and trying to crane his neck to see more of the vast station. "We’re going to need a new way out of here.”
“Like that one?” Firmus asked, grinning broadly, relief filling him so quickly he was almost dizzy.
An Arkon II was trundling toward them and even as they watched, its huge side door slid open and the small tractor beam it was equipped with snagged their shuttle, dragging it off course and into the belly of the transport ship.
All sorts of alarms were blaring in the auto shuttle, but the moment the cargo door slid closed again, Anakin used the Force to blast open the shuttle door and they escaped onto the filthy deck of the Arkon.
Captain Rex was waiting for them at the foot of the ladder, wearing a disbelieving grin.
“Only you, General,” he said, shaking his head. “Only you would find the one Sith Inquisitor in the sector.”
Anakin gave him a disgusted snort as they began to climb to the next deck.
“I think he found me, Rex.”
“Who’s flying?” Piett asked as they emerged through the hatch onto the next deck.
“General Kenobi, Captain,” Rex replied. “You all right, sir? You have blood all down the front…”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Piett told him. “Hit the deck hard at one point.”
They jogged up another set of stairs to reach the large cockpit.
“You couldn’t have found something faster?” Anakin called as they entered, and the ship shook with a laser attack as TIE fighters started to scramble from the damaged station.
“I got something with hyperdrive capability!” Kenobi snapped back, turning the ungainly vessel and seeking to gain more distance between himself and the scaffolding near numerous other docking areas.
“What of the others?” Piett asked, seating himself at navigation as Anakin slid grudgingly into the co-pilot’s chair. Cody handed him a small medkit and Piett smiled his thanks up at the Commander.
“The others made it to the shuttle we arrived in,” Kenobi answered, “yes I see it, Anakin, and if you twitch like that again, I will not be responsible for my actions.” He guided the ship beneath a massive metal beam.
“Almost at distance to engage hyperdrive,” Piett reported, looking at the panels by his station.
“If we don’t get blown up first,” Anakin grumbled as a near miss shook their vessel.
“I may not be ‘the Hero with No Fear’,” Kenobi replied serenely, hands flying on the controls, “But I’m a reasonably good pilot as you have cause to know, Skywalker.”
“But are you the best—?” Anakin started.
“You’re clear!” Piett called, cutting across his friend, and raising a superior eyebrow at him when Anakin turned to glare.
And the stars stretched before them.