Chapter 14: Coruscant Reprieve
POV: Kael Vorn
The Temple granted them seventy-two hours of leave after the Malevolence crisis—a bureaucratic acknowledgment that even Jedi needed time to process trauma and exhaustion. Kael had expected to spend the time in solitary meditation, trying to purge Grievous's memories from his consciousness.
Instead, Ahsoka appeared at his quarters with the determined expression of someone who wouldn't take no for an answer.
"You're coming with me," she announced. "No arguments."
"Where exactly are we going?"
"79's. The clone bar near the military district. You need to decompress before your brain explodes from all that brooding."
Before Kael could protest, she had dragged him through the Temple's corridors and onto a public transport speeder that carried them into Coruscant's entertainment district. The cantina squatted between a military surplus store and a cheap hotel, its neon sign flickering with letters in Basic and a dozen other languages.
Inside, 79's thrummed with life in a way that made the Temple seem sterile by comparison. Clone troopers in various states of intoxication clustered around tables, their armor stacked neatly nearby while they wore civilian clothes that made them look younger than their accelerated aging suggested. Music pounded from speakers that had seen better decades, and the air was thick with the scents of cheap alcohol and expensive camaraderie.
"Over here!" Rex's voice carried across the crowd. The captain waved them toward a booth where Fives and Echo were already three drinks deep, their faces flushed with the particular joy that came from surviving another mission.
"Look what the nexu dragged in," Fives called out with a grin. "Our resident gray man and the Commander herself!"
[SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT: RECREATIONAL]
[STRESS REDUCTION PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED]
[COMPANION BONDING OPPORTUNITIES: HIGH]
"Drinking game!" Fives announced before anyone could object. "Take a shot every time someone mentions a regulation they've broken."
Kael protested that he didn't know GAR regulations well enough to participate. "Then you drink every time you say something weird!" Fives declared with the logic of someone who had already consumed enough alcohol to pickle a bantha.
The game devolved into chaos within minutes. Rex regaled them with stories of Anakin's more creative interpretations of military protocol, including the time he'd used a Republic cruiser as a surfboard during atmospheric entry. Ahsoka contributed tales of training mishaps that had left various Temple chambers in need of extensive repairs.
When it came to Kael's turn, he tried to share an anecdote about their mission to Ryloth. But his attempt to reference future battles triggered the curse, and instead of a coherent story, what emerged was:
"So there we were, fighting off the purple walrus invasion of sock planet..."
The table erupted in laughter. Even Kael found himself joining in, the absurdity of his condition finally feeling funny rather than frustrating. There was something liberating about being surrounded by people who accepted his verbal quirks without question or judgment.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?" Ahsoka said, her lekku curling with amusement.
"I've been told."
[SOCIAL INTERACTION: POSITIVE]
[MENTAL FATIGUE: DECREASING]
[COMPANION BONDS: STRENGTHENING]
As the evening progressed, the others migrated to the dance floor—Ahsoka joining a group of young clones who were attempting to teach her some traditional Coruscanti steps. Kael firmly declined their invitations, claiming two left feet and no rhythm.
Rex settled beside him in the booth, the captain's usually stern face relaxed by alcohol and the rare opportunity to let his guard down. For a few minutes, they sat in comfortable silence, watching their friends make questionable decisions on the dance floor.
"Can I ask you something, sir?"
Kael nodded, noting the way Rex's voice had turned serious despite the casual setting.
"You really think we're people, don't you? Not just... products."
The question hit harder than any weapon Kael had faced. He turned to meet Rex's eyes—brown eyes that held intelligence, humor, and a desperate hope for validation that most beings took for granted.
"Rex, you're one of the most human people I've ever met. Breeding has nothing to do with personhood. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something—usually lies."
Rex stared into his drink, his scarred hands turning the glass in slow circles. "The Jedi, they're kind. But they don't look at us the way you do. Like we're equals."
"Because I know what's coming. Because I know you deserve so much better than the fate waiting in your skull."
"You are equals. You're all heroes." Kael's throat tightened with emotion he couldn't fully express. "And I'm sorry the galaxy doesn't see it yet."
Rex clasped Kael's shoulder with surprising gentleness. "Thank you. For that. Really."
[CAPTAIN REX COMPANION BOND: TRUST LEVEL 4/10]
[CLONE LOYALTY: SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED]
[PHILOSOPHICAL ALIGNMENT: ESTABLISHED]
The moment was interrupted by Ahsoka's return from the dance floor, her face flushed with exertion and laughter. She grabbed Kael's hands and literally pulled him from the booth before he could protest.
"You're dancing. No arguments!"
She dragged him into the crowd of moving bodies, where the music's bass line seemed to vibrate through the floor and into his bones. Kael had no idea what he was doing—his Earth knowledge of dancing translated poorly to whatever this Coruscanti style was supposed to be—and he stepped on her feet twice in the first thirty seconds.
Ahsoka just laughed harder. "You fight with perfect precision but dance like a malfunctioning protocol droid!"
They were pressed close in the crowd, and for a moment their eyes met in the strobing lights. Something shifted between them—an awareness that transcended friendship, a possibility that neither of them was quite ready to acknowledge.
Then Fives crashed into them, drunk and apologetic and completely oblivious to the moment he'd just interrupted. As they helped him back to the booth, Ahsoka's hand lingered in Kael's, her fingers warm and slightly damp with perspiration.
[AHSOKA TANO COMPANION BOND: TRUST LEVEL 5/10 ACHIEVED]
[ROMANTIC INTEREST: EMERGING]
[EMOTIONAL COMPLEXITY: INCREASING]
They poured Rex, Fives, and Echo into a taxi speeder at 0300 hours, the three clones singing an off-key version of some military drinking song that was probably older than the Republic itself. The night air was cool against their faces as they walked back toward the Temple, Coruscant's eternal cityscape humming with speeder traffic and distant music.
"Thanks for dragging me out," Kael said, surprised by how genuinely grateful he felt. "I needed that more than I realized."
Ahsoka bumped his shoulder with easy affection. "Thanks for coming. Sometimes I forget we're allowed to be happy, even in a war."
They walked in comfortable silence through streets that never truly slept, two young beings finding solace in each other's company amid a galaxy that seemed determined to tear itself apart. Kael noticed that Ahsoka didn't let go of his hand until they reached the Temple steps, her fingers reluctant to break the connection.
[TIMELINE INTEGRITY: 94%]
[MAJOR DIVERGENCE EVENTS APPROACHING]
[RECOMMENDATION: PREPARE FOR ACCELERATION]
Inside the Temple's ancient halls, the Codex reminded him that the peace wouldn't last. Somewhere in the galaxy's darker corners, Project Shadowfeed was moving forward with plans he couldn't predict. The war would continue its inexorable march toward Order 66. And the bonds he was forming—with Ahsoka, with Rex, with the clone troopers who trusted him—would soon be tested in ways that might destroy them all.
But for now, in this moment, he allowed himself to feel something that might have been happiness. Even in the darkest timeline, there were still pockets of light—friendship, laughter, the simple human connection that made survival worthwhile.
As he settled into his narrow bed, Kael's last thought before sleep was gratitude. He couldn't save everyone. He couldn't prevent all the tragedies that were coming. But he could treasure these small moments of joy and hope that they would be enough to sustain him through the darkness ahead.
Outside his window, Coruscant sparkled with a million lights, each one representing a life that might yet be saved.
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