Chapter Text
Her dream started in darkness, just as it always did. Soon enough, the darkness was replaced by vivid recreations of a battlefield. The scene was chopped up into pieces, though, which was atypical for these kinds of dreams. There were flashes of clone troopers firing at something, as they usually did, but the enemy was just out of sight.
Screams suddenly pierced through the air, and she watched as Jedi fought and fell, almost in succession, with faces she knew and some she had never seen before. There were cries of agony, blasters, lightsabers, every possible sound from a battlefield playing its own part in the horrific symphony.
A cacophony of voices suddenly echoed among the chaos, each voice saying something she couldn’t quite make out. It only got louder and louder, the voices cluttering together as they repeated the same phrase with no coordination.
Everything went quiet, until one voice was left. Her own voice.
“Wake up.”
=+=
Lilvane jolted awake and gripped her chest, panting as it felt like her heart was being torn apart. It was an unexplainable pain, wracking through her entire body as she doubled over, trying anything to get her breathing back under control.
Her hands shakily found the thin chain around her neck, her fingers fumbling with the silver ring hanging off it. She rubbed it between her fingers as her breathing slowed and her body relaxed, the pain seeming to fade as quickly as it arrived. She took a few deep breaths before pushing herself up and onto her feet, looking around the small hut as the first hints of sunrise crept through the crooked door.
Slowly, Lilvane hobbled towards her makeshift dresser and picked up her dirt-stained trousers, slipping them on over her blacks and gently feeling the faded blue paint on her prosthetic leg — she should touch it up soon. Once her pants were on, she slipped on her gloves and stretched towards the ceiling, feeling as her spine popped and cracked.
Stepping outside was quite literally a fresh breath of air, as she was greeted by the rows of crops before her, the morning dew glistening on the stalks — it was going to be another good harvest this year, it seems. Lilvane stretched once more into the pink sky and sighed, trying to process the dream from last night.
The sound of a door opening nearby pulled her out of her trance, and she turned to see a familiar face — yawning and stretching just like her — step out of the larger house beside her hut. He looked over with a tender smile, walking over towards her.
“Another rough night, Lilvane?” He said, his arms crossed as he looked down at her.
She let out a sigh. “Same as always, Cut: Thought I could sleep for once, had a bad dream, woke up at the crack of dawn.”
He let out a chuckle. “You know, vod, I’m still more than willing to let you have a spare room in the house if you need it.”
“It’s fine, Cut, really. I like the hut you made me, it’s cozy in its own way.”
“Suit yourself,” He shrugged and looked out at the horizon, watching as the sun finally crept over the fields. “What was it this time, by the way?”
Lilvane paused, looking down at her feet. “I…I’m not sure, actually. It was a battle, of course, but not one that I’ve been to — except it felt like I was there,” She shook her head and looked back up. “Maybe I’m overthinking it, but it just…it felt different from all the other dreams I’ve had.”
“Maybe your mind finally started inventing battles?” He looked down at her, a concerned look drawn on his face. “If it’s bothering you this much, then we can-“
“It’s not that. At least, I don’t think it is. It just felt so…real.”
The two looked out at the rising sun for a moment longer, savoring the silence that Lilvane had grown accustomed to. It was peaceful, sure, but it was something that she didn’t want — especially with the war effort still going.
Her hand traveled back to the ring around her neck, her fingers caressing the cold silver as she imagined a different person beside her. She didn’t mind Cut’s company, of course, but he wasn’t-
“You’re still worried about him, aren’t you?” Cut said with a gentle smile. “He’ll turn up one of these days, you know that.”
“I-I know, I just…” Lilvane looked at the silver ring between her fingers, letting out a defeated sigh. “Anything could happen to him out there, and I can’t help him.”
“You’re helping him by staying safe,” Cut placed a hand on her shoulder. “Focus on that, yeah?”
“I can try, but you know I can’t make any promises.”
Cut laughed and looked back out at the sunrise, which had now lit the sky a lovely light blue. “What’s the plan for today, then? There isn’t much to do around the farm, but I know you don’t like being idle.”
“I figured I would check out the market. We haven’t been there for a few weeks, so I figured I could get stuff we might need — maybe grab a few things for Shaeeah and Jekk.”
“You spoil my own kids, you know.”
Lilvane chuckled lightly as she turned back to her hut, giving him a cheeky grin as she walked away. “Is it a crime to be a cool aunt?”
Cut laughed again and turned back to his own house after waving to Lilvane. She took a deep breath as she reentered her hut, looking up at the shoddy yet sturdy ceiling above her. Things were finally simple, but something still felt wrong — probably just the nerves from being out of commission for so long.
=+=
The marketplace was as busy as it usually was, with various vendors selling different goods underneath unique stalls. Some had patterned cloth covering their produce while others were made entirely of sturdy wood.
Lilvane dodged a couple of small kids as they chased each other through the plaza, giggling as they wove through the jungle of limbs. She smiled and adjusted the hood over her head, having put on a light poncho before leaving the farm.
As she walked through the marketplace, Lilvane perused the stands to see if there was anything she could get for Cut’s kids — most of the vendors only sold produce, though, so it was tricky. Her eyes suddenly landed on a small, straw doll sitting amongst other handmade toys, causing her to stop in her tracks.
Lilvane walked up to the stall and gently picked up the doll, inspecting the quality and finding that it was made with the utmost care and attention.
“For one of your kids?” The vendor asked, leaning against the counter.
“Close,” Lilvane said as she gently caressed the straw head. “I might get this for my niece. How much?” She fished around in her deep pockets for her credits, still holding onto the doll.
“Hm…how does 30 Imperial Credits sound?”
She froze.
“Too much? It was made by hand, so-“
“No no, it’s not the price, I…” Lilvane took her hand out of her pocket as she looked at the vendor. “‘Imperial Credits’? What…what is that?”
The vendor chuckled. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the news?”
“News? What news?”
He leaned out of his stall and pointed down to the edge of the marketplace, where Lilvane could see a faint hologram in the distance.
“War’s over, miss,” He said, looking back at her. “That fancy guy over there has all the info you’ll need — trust me, it loops.”
The war…is over? The war ended while she was away? For how long? When did it end? What the hell were ‘Imperial Credits’? Did the Separatists win, or the Republic? No, it couldn’t be the Republic. It had to be the Separatists.
“I’ll…come back for this,” Lilvane finally said, gently placing the doll down. She made a beeline for the hologram at the edge of the marketplace, pushing past people as the blue figure grew larger.
When she finally made it there, she spotted a pair of clone troopers standing guard — that means they weren’t decommissioned. Good. Lilvane walked up to them, barely even listening to the hologram above her.
“Hey, Troopers,” She said quickly as she cautiously lowered her hood. “I heard the war was over. Is…is that true?”
The troopers exchanged glances before turning back to Lilvane. “Uh, yeah. It’s been over for about a week or two now. Have you not been around?”
“N-no, I’ve been out and about. Who won?”
“The Empire did, miss.”
“No no, I mean like…between the Republic and the Separatists.”
“Well, those Seppies are no more, if that answers your question.”
Lilvane took a careful step back, resting a finger on her chin as she thought. If the Republic won, why would it become an empire out of the blue? Unless…no, it can’t be. Besides, she had another burning question.
“Do either of you know what happened to Captain Rex?” Lilvane looked back at the Troopers. “Of the 501st. He…he serves under Anakin Skywalker?”
“Captain Rex?” One of the troopers said, stepping forward with a tight grip on his blaster. “He died right when the war ended. The cruiser he was on crashed after we got our last orders.”
Died? When the war ended? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
“Ma’am, is there a reason you’re asking all of this?”
He’s gone? How? The cruiser he was on crashed? Then Jesse? Kix?
“Ma’am, answer my question.”
“Hang on,” The other trooper said, nudging his brother. “Doesn’t she look familiar?”
Anakin?
“Excuse me,” The first trooper said, finally catching Lilvane’s attention. “What’s your name?”
“I-it’s Lilvane Tillcla,” She said in a low voice. “I was forced to resign, but I…” Her voice trailed off as the troopers suddenly aimed their blasters at her, the weapons clicking as they charged up. “What are you doing?”
“We have orders to take you in, Miss Tillcla,” One of them said. “Make this easy and don’t resist.”
“Take me in? But…what did I do? I’m not even a soldier anymore, I-“
“Lilvane Tillcla, you are under arrest on Order 66. Come with us peacefully and nobody has to get hurt.”
“Order 66? Is this some kind of joke? I didn’t even do anything!”
“Sorry Miss Tillcla, but those are just our orders — and good soldiers follow orders.”
Good soldiers follow orders? The last time she heard that phrase was…no…no, it couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.
Lilvane felt each clone take one of her arms, holding them behind her back and leading her away. But she couldn’t leave. Cut and his family were still on the planet. They were expecting her to come back, and she had to. They had to know.
She dug her heels into the dirt and quickly grabbed a concealed staff out of her poncho, pressing a button on the handle before it quickly extended from both sides.
The troopers grunted and let go as the staff made quick contact with their sides, doubling over slightly as Lilvane quickly made a run for it. She could hear them behind her as she desperately shoved people out of her way, jumping and weaving around and over stalls to get away from the clones.
As she reached a small alleyway, Lilvane leapt between the walls and threw herself onto a rooftop, collapsing to catch her breath. Below her, she could hear the clones communicating as they tried to figure out where she went. Their voices were muddled by the sound of her rapid heartbeat and wheezing breath as she dragged herself across the roof and behind a small ledge, curling up in pain as she tried to recover.
Her hand went back to the ring around her neck, the metal still cold like before. It felt colder now, though. Much colder.
Lilvane’s breathing became worse as she laid there, keeping herself hidden in case the troopers decided to use air support to find her. Something was wrong — very wrong — but all she could for now was wait.