Chapter 31Chapter Text
"They were napping in the fountains," Obi-Wan reported as they approached the table, and Quinlan and Knight Skywalker both looked up. Quinlan had a fork in his mouth, and he pulled it out, chewed, swallowed, and Botan noted the distance between him and Knight Skywalker, likely put there by Knight Skywalker. Ahsoka didn't seem to notice, though, because she plopped down right between the two of them, her tray piled high.
"Hi, Anakin," she said and stuffed her face with salad. "Hi, Quinlan."
"Have a nice nap, Snips?" Knight Skywalker teasingly asked as Botan took her seat next to Quinlan, and another body joined them. Botan blinked in surprise, because she had never seen Plo in the cafeteria before, but there he was, sitting next to Ahsoka, right next to Quinlan.
"Hello, Quinlan, Ahsoka, Botan," Plo said, and Knight Skywalker leaned forward.
"What, no hello for me?" he asked, and Plo inclined his head.
"Anakin," he said, and Botan waved at Plo.
"What are you doing here?" Knight Skywalker asked. "Don't you have to eat in your quarters?"
"I simply wanted to spend some time with Quinlan and Botan here before they ship out tomorrow," the Kel Dor replied, and Ahsoka stilled.
"You're shipping out tomorrow? " she asked in disbelief, and Botan nodded. "But, didn't you just get back?!"
"We're needed elsewhere," Botan said, and Ahsoka's face twisted.
"But, I barely get to see you," she said, and Botan pursed her lips. There was sudden tension over the table, and Obi-Wan cleared his throat.
"Botan will likely see you on your next leave, and hopefully, it will be a longer one than the last one," he said, and Ahsoka breathed in slowly, held it, let it out.
"Hopefully," she repeated, and Obi-Wan glanced at Botan.
"We don't have many people in this war able to do what Quinlan and Botan can do," he said kindly, and Knight Skywalker poked Ahsoka with his fork.
"Hey, lighten up, Snips. It's war. You know that," he said, and Ahsoka stared down at her tray, frustrated and mute. It's war was a bit dismissive of Ahsoka's feelings, but Botan didn't say as much.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Botan promised, even though it was a week's flight to Yennas, and deep behind Separatist lines. Their ships had no codes, but… Well. It would be difficult. It would be very difficult. Ahsoka would be gone by the time they got back, and that was banking on no detours. Which there would undoubtedly be, because they had to investigate Knight Skywalker.
"I know," Ahsoka said, and heaved out a large, world-weary sigh. "It's war. I get it."
She got it, but she didn't like it, and Botan didn't blame her. She'd like more time with Ahsoka, too, but it was unavoidable. There was a mission, and she couldn't very well refuse it because she wanted to hang around other padawans. Quinlan needed her backup. Any number of things could go wrong. This was a huge mission, and would deal a massive blow to the Separatists if they pulled it off. It took months to build a ship, and without those plans… Well, they were dead in the water.
"You'll come back safe, right?" Ahsoka asked Botan, and Botan nodded.
"I'll be fine. It's not a dangerous mission," she lied, and Quinlan glanced at her just once. Not enough to give her away, more shock at how easily she lied. It was easier to lie with a mechanical voice. No inflection to read into there.
"Alright," Ahsoka said and breathed out a sigh. "When will you be back?"
"It's hard to tell. There may be hiccups," Botan replied, and Quinlan stretched out.
"Enough talking about work," he teased. "Don't you two have homework? You should eat fast so you can get that done, because I doubt you did it while you were napping."
" Ugh, don't remind me," Ahsoka groused as she stabbed at the cubed meat on her tray. She had a lot of meat on there, actually. "I don't understand why we have homework in the middle of a war. "
"I'm all caught up on mine," Botan said, because she had ample time to finish it while they were stuck in the middle of dead space.
"Of course you are, you overachiever," Quinlan teased, and Ahsoka went quiet again. Those old insecurities were coming up, and Botan could tell. She thought to reassure her, but pointing it out would only embarrass her.
"I'm not an overachiever. I was just stuck in dead space with nothing to do," Botan replied, and Quinlan rolled his eyes.
"You could have worked on meditating while actually sitting still. "
"I like movement meditation. It works," Botan said, affronted, and Quinlan ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, sure, kid," he said, and tugged at a stray curl. "Whatever you say."
"Don't pull my hair. I'll pull yours," she threatened, and Quinlan laughed.
"Spicy," he teased, and Botan pulled a face.
"Stop harassing your padawan, Quin," Obi-Wan said mildly.
"What? It's character building," Quinlan said, and Botan rolled her eyes and started eating. The conversation veered off to chatter between the three masters and Knight Skywalker, and she focused on stuffing her face with actual food, not ration packs.
She still felt uneasy about lying to Ahsoka, and what was up with that weird dream? She read somewhere that every person you saw in your dreams you saw in real life, though she couldn't confirm if it was real or not, but that woman had seemed familiar somehow. Like Botan had known her her entire life. She seemed like she was from her past life, but also not. Botan had certainly never seen her in her past life. She would have remembered a quirk like that, but most of her dreams were of past memories. They were all a tangled mess in her head, and as she got older, it got harder to recall most of them. There was fact, and there was fiction, and she couldn't tell the difference nowadays. Conversations remembered in the way she wished they would have gone, fights she wished could have been different, quiet moments that were stiller than they actually were.
She wished she knew the meaning of the dream. What was up with the kyber crystal? She had never been particularly inclined towards precognition and prophecies. She didn't really know where her talents lay, but it wasn't in seeing the future. Of that much, she was certain.
"You've been quiet, Snips," Knight Skywalker said, snapping Botan out of her rumination, and she made to start typing on her keypad, but Ahsoka was beating her to the punch.
"I'm just really tired," Ahsoka said quietly as she picked at her food. "I'm worn out, I guess."
"You can go up and go to bed if you want," Knight Skywalker said, and she shook her head no.
"No, it's fine," she said, and stuffed some more meat into her mouth. "I need to finish eating."
"Are you sure?" he asked, and Botan wanted to snap at him to not push it when Ahsoka was already so fragile, but she reasoned that he was just worried about her. Even so, in front of all these people? He had no tact.
"I'm sure," she said firmly. "Thank you, Master, but I'm fine."
Knight Skywalker frowned, concerned, and Botan loudly bit down on some maize, and Quinlan jostled her.
"Jeez, kid, for being so quiet, you sure can make some noise," he teased, and Botan rolled her eyes and jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "Ow."
"You deserved that," Obi-Wan said mildly and took a bite of his salad, and Quinlan lifted a hand to his heart.
"That's your stance as a Council member? I'm clearly being abused by my own padawan!" he protested, and Botan lifted her shoulders as air blew out her nose in a facsimile of a snort.
"I think she should abuse you some more," Obi-Wan said coolly. "What do you think, Plo?"
"I daresay as a Council member you should not be instigating, " Plo said calmly, and Botan was quietly glad of them distracting Skywalker. Talk about a one-track mind.
"What is it with these new padawans being so spicy, anyways?" Skywalker complained, and Obi-Wan stared at him with a flat expression.
"You think they're spicy?" Obi-Wan asked. "Please, enlighten me more as to how you were the most mild of padawans."
"I didn't talk back the way they do," Skywalker said and gestured. "Botan can't even speak and she still somehow stays spicy."
Botan didn't particularly like him pointing out her muteness like that, but she said nothing. She had never particularly liked Anakin Skywalker. She overheard too much. Knew too much. He had always been a whiny brat of a child, complaining loud and clear for all sundry to hear, disrespectful, headstrong, rarely ever listening to his master and often getting them into trouble. All of that she could forgive, but what she couldn't forgive was---
"--- to Yennas and secure the plans for the Death Star---"
… What in the goddamn fuck was a Death Star?
"Are you alright? You've been quiet since dinner," Quinlan said as he twisted Botan's hair into a loose plait flat against her scalp, and she paused.
Should she tell him? But, she had no idea what a Death Star was, or why it was important. Again, the voice was too soft, too indistinct to pick up, but…
It could be a coincidence. Whoever was in the Senate could be just making their move at the coincidental right time as them. She didn't like that. She didn't like that at all. Maybe… maybe she should…
Not yet.
She remembered that voice she knew in her heart was the Force, loud and clear in the Council chambers, and she coiled her hands together until her nails bit into the meat of her palms. She forced herself to release, took a deep breath, and lifted her arm to start typing.
"I have a bad feeling about this mission, Master," she said, and Quinlan paused.
"You do?" he asked, and she nodded. He finished the braid, snapping it off with a tie, and propped his chin on her head to stare at her in the mirror. "What kind of bad feeling? Describe it for me."
She pursed her lips, wondering how much to tell him, and then she thought about that strange sensation in the dream.
"I feel hunted," she replied, and he hummed.
"Hunted?"
"Like something is two steps ahead of us," she said, because whoever in the Senate that was getting this information was two steps ahead of them. They knew they were coming. They were privy to the things discussed within the walls of the Council chambers, and that was deeply disturbing to Botan.
"Hm," Quinlan said and picked his chin off of her head. "Go to bed and don't think too hard about it."
"What if this is a trap?" Botan asked, and Quinlan frowned.
"We still have to do it," he said, and Botan hefted out a sigh, her breath ghosting over her own lips.
"But, what are our contingency plans?"
"We'll just have to figure it out as we go," he said, unsympathetic, and she rolled her eyes.
"That's not helpful," she said, her expression flat, and he grinned.
"It wasn't supposed to be."
"The last time we went in without a plan, your liver started leaking," she said, and Quinlan rolled his eyes.
"I survived, didn't I?"
"That's not the point," she said and he laughed at her.
"You're always so nitpicky," he teased and lifted his chin off her head. "Go to bed."
"Quinlan, we need a plan."
"Well, we got a week to come up with one," he said cheekily, "so it should be fine."
"Quinlan," she signed with so much emphasis she nearly fell off the counter, and Quinlan caught her before she tipped over.
"Don't yell at me," he chastised her. "It'll be fine. We'll figure it out on the flight over."
Botan stared at him in sheer disbelief at how blase he was being about this, and he turned for the door.
"I mean it. Go to bed," he said. "Worry about that kind of stuff after you've had a good night's rest."
Insane.
Her master was insane.
Chapter 32Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
There was a ship on the landing pad, parked right between their two Delta-7s, and Botan paused at the sight of it. It was a cargo freighter, old, looking like a smuggler's ship, and she looked at Quinlan in confusion as members of the Coruscant Guard stood in front of this. Quinlan shrugged and made his way to his Delta-7, but one of the clones cleared his throat.
"Sir," he said and inclined his head. "We're here to accompany you on your mission."
"What?" Quinlan asked and Botan eyed the four clone troopers. They were all red, nearly indistinguishable from one another, but they all felt different in the Force. "The Council didn't say anything about taking clones. "
"Well, we're here, sir," the clone said, and snapped to attention. "Commander Stone, at your service, sir."
Quinlan stared at him in sheer disbelief, and then looked at Botan as if to say 'can you believe this guy?' Botan shrugged and gestured vaguely, and Quinlan turned back to them.
"Well, we don't need you. Botan and I can handle it on our own," he said, very visibly displeased, and Botan looked up at the ship. There were probably beds in that thing. She liked beds, and sleeping in the cockpit was uncomfortable. They had to stop constantly to relieve themselves and scrounge up food. It slowed them down. This ship could probably travel the full week, without any stops, and she…
Well.
She didn't mind working with clones. None of them felt wrong in the Force.
"Begging pardon, sir, but we have our orders," Commander Stone said sternly, and Botan raised her eyebrows. "Would you like to travel separately or together?"
"This is insane," Quinlan stated flatly, and Commander Stone gestured to the ship.
"It's equipped with jammers," he said, and Quinlan paused, because they didn't have jammers on their ships.
"You're all just going to get us killed," Quinlan said, which was a bit unfair on his part. These clones had been trained since they were infants. They were more than qualified to handle this mission.
"Sir, we are coming with you. We have our marching orders," Commander Stone said as the other three clones shifted in discomfort, and Botan stomped to get Quinlan's attention.
"It's slow in the fighters. We have to stop too much," she signed once she was sure his eyes were on her. "We should take them. We could use the backup."
"They probably don't even know sign," Quinlan complained. "It's a risk. They need to be able to communicate with you."
"It'll be fine. I have my communicator," Botan said, and Quinlan frowned.
"What if it breaks?"
"Then, you can translate for me," she said, and Quinlan's frown only deepened.
"The Council didn't tell me I was taking clones, so I'm not taking clones," he declared, more than a little childishly, and Botan rolled her eyes.
"Stop arguing with them and let's go. It's fine," she said, and Quinlan's expression twisted.
"I don't need clones to infiltrate a Separatist base," he said, and oh, his pride was hurting. Ridiculous man. Utterly ridiculous.
"We could use the backup," Botan urged him. "We may have to storm it."
"We are not storming it, that's suicide. We're sneaking it, and they don't have the maneuverability. Their armor will get in the way," Quinlan said, and Botan rolled her eyes.
"Their armor isn't that bulky."
"We're not taking them," Quinlan stated flatly, and someone behind Botan cleared their throat.
"Is there a problem?" Obi-Wan asked mildly, and Botan turned to him, fully prepared to tattle.
"Quinlan doesn't want to take the clones," she reported, and Obi-Wan looked between the group of clones and two Jedi.
"Well, you're going to have to," he said mildly. "Sorry, Quin, but it's Mace's orders."
"Oh, so Mace had a hand in this," Quinlan said bitterly and looked like he was ready to kick up a fuss.
"After your mission with that research facility, he thought it would be best if you had some backup."
"It was one mauling---"
"Two. Botan got hurt, too," Obi-Wan said mildly. "The clones will help you. That's the end of the discussion."
"Obi-Wan."
"You need backup. You're sneaking into the most secure facility in the galaxy right now sans that horrid prison. This is a mission that requires discretion and secrecy, and I---"
"And how are they going to achieve discretion and secrecy with all that clunky armor? It's better to let two Jedi handle it," Quinlan interrupted, and Obi-Wan sighed.
"Quinlan. Just take the clones," he said, and this was getting embarrassing. The clones were clearly projecting discomfort in the Force, and Botan was getting fed up with her master.
"I'm getting on the ship," she announced and started to walk up the ramp.
"Bo?! Bo!" Quinlan called, and she waved as she mounted the hallway inside.
"Let's go," she said and shrugged her backpack up higher. "This facility isn't going to blow itself up."
"You are not blowing up the facility," Obi-Wan said, and Botan rolled her eyes.
"If you wanted quiet, you shouldn't have picked us," she said, and turned to walk down the hall towards the cockpit. "Come on, clones."
The four clones hurried after her after several glances between her and Quinlan, correctly deducing that she was the one in charge, and Botan found the sleeping berths to plop her backpack down on.
"Commander," the first clone, Commander Stone said, and she startled. Right. That was her rank in this army. Commander. It was weird to think about. "We brought a pilot---"
"Don't push your luck," she said with a wry smile. "Quinlan and I will pilot."
"... Right, sir," he said after a pause, and she made her way out of the sleeping berth to the cockpit to start the pre-flight checks. Looking out the window, Obi-Wan and Quinlan were still arguing, and she very deliberately started up the ship. Quinlan looked up, and she tilted her head in defiance. With a sigh, a hand rubbed over his face, Quinlan made his way to the ramp and disappeared. Botan settled down in the co-pilot seat and ran the pre-flight diagnostics to see what she was working with, and wow, this ship was souped up. It would be a beast to pilot, and Quinlan probably wasn't going to let her. Spoilsport.
Quinlan sat down next to her and shot her a nasty look, but she just kept running her pre-flight checks.
"You're so insubordinate," he muttered.
"And you're being ridiculous," she signed without missing a beat. "The clones are fine to include."
"I don't trust them," he signed, and she paused before she glanced back at the door. There was no clone there, and she sat back.
"I know their origins are questionable, but you don't have to be mean to them," she said. "It's a tragedy they're here at all."
"I wasn't being mean."
"Yes, you were."
"I was just stating my opinion."
"Loudly," she said wryly, and she thought the clones were concerning, too, but what could feasibly be done about it? Nothing, really. The Senate was going to continue to push for war, and they would be continued to be forcibly drafted, bought and paid for with money the Republic didn't have, and this economic depression that was a result of the war… Protests were already getting out of hand, and people would start rioting soon. She had heard plans of it, whispered in noisy cantinas and back alleys. Instigators looking to ride off the chaos, people who believed their voices weren't being heard… It was all coming to a boiling point. No one wanted this war except the people making money off of it, and a lot of Senators were making money off of it.
Padmé Amidala was going to be assassinated if she kept it up. She was planning on introducing an anti-war-profiteering bill that directly targeted her fellow Senate members, and they were going to be pissed when she published the draft. It would probably have a lot of public support, too. She had Bail Organa's support, but that wouldn't be enough.
"We're going to Tatooine after this," Quinlan said, out of nowhere, and Botan's brows furrowed.
"What?" she asked.
"Tatooine," Quinlan repeated. "That's why I didn't want to bring them. They can't go AWOL. We can. We're just going to have to take them with and make it quick."
Oh.
The Skywalker investigation.
"Why Tatooine?" Botan asked, and Quinlan hummed.
"The last time Senator Amidala and Knight Skywalker were together with no supervision was Tatooine. He made a trip there to see his mother, and the details are hazy. He was supposed to be protecting the Senator," he said, and Botan pursed her lips in concern. "They made a detour."
"How did you find this out?" she asked, and his lips quirked up.
"Obi-Wan can be quite loose lipped when he's drunk," he said, and Botan blinked. What? "It was just before the Battle of Geonosis. They returned to Naboo after, and I believe that's when they got married, but we have to retrace their steps."
"And we're taking the clones?" Botan asked, and Quinlan glanced back.
"We don't have a choice. We will have to make this investigation quick, and if we go back to Coruscant, we'll get another mission we can't avoid. I want to get this sorted now, " he said, and Botan nodded. Alright, then. They would go to Tatooine. She'd never been to Tatooine, but she heard it was a shithole.
"How many months ago was this?"
"About six. He was still a padawan at the time," Quinlan reported as he disengaged the landing gear and took off. "Get ready to transmit my clearance codes."
Botan obediently plugged them into the computer, and Quinlan angled for the atmosphere. The clones were somewhere on the ship, and she was nervous with them being here. They were essentially going to force them to go AWOL, but Quinlan was a general, and they were just following orders. It would be fine, probably. There were only four of them, so she was sure they wouldn't be missed too much.
"Sirs?" came a voice from the door, and Botan glanced back. "Begging pardon, again, but we weren't briefed on this mission. Can we get that done once we're in hyperspace? We were just told to accompany you two."
"Yeah, whatever," Quinlan said as he navigated through the Coruscant traffic. Botan waved at Commander Stone, and he blinked at her. He clearly didn't know what to do with her. He likely had never met someone before that communicated with sign language. It was probably a new experience before him, and he felt nervous in the Force, like he was afraid of offending her because he didn't understand her language.
"Razorbeak, please transmit your clearance codes," came a voice over the coms, and Botan started transmitting them. "... You are cleared to break through the atmosphere."
"Thanks," Quinlan said, and the ship broke through the polluted atmosphere with a shudder that concerned Botan in more ways than one. This thing was held together with duct tape, she thought wryly, but it would do the job. The thin ozone layer practically clung to their ship, and they tore away from it as Quinlan gestured for her to make the calculations for hyperspace. Botan plugged it all in, and the computer whirred as it crunched the numbers and plotted them a route. It beeped at them when the calculations were complete, and Quinlan pushed the choke forward to send them into hyperspace.
"Alright, let's get this briefing done," he said and turned his chair around. Botan got up, and the two of them made for Stone, who backed up to give them some space. He had his helmet off, and there was a tattoo on his temple. Clones really seemed to like facial tattoos, Botan thought idly. She personally couldn't do it, though she missed all her piercings and mohawk from her previous life sometimes. But, gods, she did not miss all the teasing and hairspray it took to keep that thing up.
The three of them made their way to the rec room, and Botan immediately flopped down on the couch and stretched out like a lazy cat as the three clones inside rocketed to their feet.
"Right, then," Quinlan said and plugged a data chip into the table to project a holographic image of the tower. "We're going to Yennas."
"Yennas?" a clone echoed in horror, and Botan let her head fall to the side to catch his spike of alarm.
"Yennas, yep," Quinlan confirmed and spun the hologram around. "Our mission is to retrieve and destroy the plans for the Malevolence so they can't rebuild it in a few months. It's held inside the vault, but we're going to be aiming for the generator room."
"Why the generator room, sir?" Commander Stone asked, and Quinlan smiled wolfishly.
"We're going to blow it up," he said, and Commander Stone blinked.
"Didn't General Kenobi tell you not to do that?"
"It's easier to get into the generator room than it is to get into the vault," Quinlan explained. "We would have to steal keycards, passwords, maneuver around multiple failsafes, it would just be a pain. It would be quicker to just blow the whole thing, so that's what we're gonna do. Then, we get to deal with all of the Separatist plans at once."
Botan thought about the mention of the Death Star. What was a Death Star, and why was it important? She kind of wanted to find it.
"I think we should go with Obi-Wan's plan," she said, and Quinlan blinked at her.
"Why?" he signed, and she shrugged.
"Think about it. An EMP ship against a ship full of droids?" she asked, and Quinlan blinked. "If we build our own Malevolence, we can turn the tide of the war. I say we steal it."
".... Well, that is a point," Quinlan said, and Botan beamed at him. She would try to find the Death Star on her own. See what that was about.
"I say I go into the vault and retrieve the plans, and you stand guard," she said, and Quinlan hesitated.
"We would probably have to shoot our way out," he said dubiously, and Botan beamed at him.
"I can handle it!" she said brightly.
"You're sure? "
"Positive. I've had worse odds," she said, and he glanced at the clones, who all looked more than a little confused, because she had only been a padawan for a little under two months.
"Alright, then," Quinlan said. "We steal the plans, not destroy them."
"Weren't you told to destroy them?" Commander Stone asked, and Quinlan shrugged.
"Plans change," he said airily. "Now, we're going to be entering through an exhaust vent, so Botan and I will be wearing masks while your guys' helmets do the work."
"Right," Commander Stone said dubiously, and Quinlan flipped the diagram around.
"The exhaust vent is here. It's going to be hot, so brace for that. Botan has the way memorized, so we're going to be relying on her to guide us."
Botan waved lazily as they all glanced at the padawan, and Commander Stone cleared his throat.
"What do we do about the lasers?"
"I'm a slicer. I'll be disabling them," Quinlan said, and gestured. "We're going to get into the lift shaft and go up there, so I hope you brought your grappling attachments, because I'm not throwing you."
"Throwing us?" a clone echoed in horror, and Quinlan winked.
"You should see what Knight Skywalker does to his commander," he said slyly, and the clone blanched. "Now, what is everyone's names?"
"I'm Hound, sir," said the clone that was horrified at the idea of being thrown, and another clone raised his hand.
"Four, sir," he said with a glance at Botan.
"Bastion, sir," said the last clone, and Botan waved at all of them.
"Well, I'm Quinlan, and that's Botan. Botan primarily communicates through sign, but she's learned a little bit of the battle sign you all use, so you should be able to communicate with her," Quinlan said, and Botan pulled a face. He had her learning so many languages, and she was fed up with it. She had semi-fluency in Hutteese now, knew a little bit of Tusken sign, and her Shyriiwook was at full fluency. At least the Tusken might come in handy on Tatooine. She read that most of them understood standard galactic, though. Standard galactic sign was easy to learn, until you hit the dialect issue, what with the words changing based on how many fingers a species had, and then it got complicated again. She was fully fluent, though, and knew multiple other dialects on account of how many varieties of fingers came in the Jedi Order, but…
Well.
She was tired of learning languages. In fact, she was fed up with it.
Quinlan was a goddamn taskmaster.
Her thoughts drifted back to the Death Star, and she wondered what to do about that. How would she explain herself and why she was stealing another plan? The Force didn't want her to reveal herself just yet, but if she wasn't supposed to hear that, she would have. In any case, they might get company at the tower, so maybe she should warn Quinlan.
It would be fine, right?
It should be fine.
… Maybe she should tell him. She had a week to make up her mind.
Gods, it was going to be cramped in here.
Notes:
this one ended up a little long whoops. guess i'm getting used to writing long chapters again.
Chapter 33Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In hindsight, the thing that always drove Botan nuts on late nights with nothing but her phone for company while she waited on dispatch was miscommunication tropes. They drove her up the goddamn wall when she read about them in those Korean webnovels, and she wasn't about to turn into one of the very characters she despised. She was not going to do that. So, here she was, approaching Quinlan in the cockpit as he stared out at the swirl of stars through the viewport.
"Hey," she signed as she sat down, and Quinlan grunted.
"Hey."
"I think they're going to be waiting for us," she said, immediately, and Quinlan froze.
"What?"
"They're going to be waiting for us," she repeated, and he stared at her.
"Did you… hear something?" he asked quietly, and she nodded. "Why didn't you tell me immediately?"
"The Force keeps saying 'not yet', but I have decided that's terrible advice," she reported, and he stared at her in confusion.
"What?"
"Never mind. I had my reasons. But, someone's going to be expecting us."
"Are you sure? "
"I have heard faint murmurings of Tyranus, and I overheard that same person I can't get a voice print on saying to send someone to Yennas to get plans for something called a Death Star."
"What the hell is a Death Star? "
"That's what I'd like to know," she said, and Quinlan stared at her in concern.
"You should have told me immediately," he said. "Are you hearing it from the Senate?"
"I am, yes."
"That confirms Sidious is in the Senate. You should have told me right away. "
"It could be an underling for Sidious. We don't know how deep his claws reach," Botan pointed out, and Quinlan rubbed a hand over his face.
"So, this is a trap, and we have four men we have to keep alive," he said, flat, and Botan nodded. "I wish you would have told me before we left. I would have never allowed them to come. It's bad enough I'm taking them to Tatooine without permission."
"What are we going to do about the plans while we're on Tatooine? It's dangerous," Botan said, and Quinlan hesitated.
"... If Sidious is in the Senate and is privy to confidential Council discussions, then…" he trailed off. "Couldn't he just send the plans back to the Separatists?"
"You can count on one hand how many people in the Senate know of this mission," Botan said, and Quinlan grimaced.
"I know," he said, and sat in the chair, pensive and distraught. "We'll have to destroy the plans. And find out what this Death Star is."
"That is if whoever he sent doesn't get to it first," Botan pointed out.
"... Yeah," Quinlan said quietly. "We'll just have to wing it. I'll tell the clones we asked for permission to take the plans and got told to get rid of them instead. Our top priority now is finding out what the Death Star is."
"We may fail," Botan said, and Quinlan grimaced.
"We'll just have to take that risk. Let's play it by ear. And say nothing about the Death Star to the clones."
"Got it," Botan said, and there was an approaching Force presence. They both hushed, and Stone stuck his head into the cockpit.
"It's about time to eat," he said, and Quinlan turned his chair.
"Thank you," he said as he stood.
"Yessir," Stone said, and eyed Botan, like he was trying to figure out if she had been eating enough. She knew she was skinny, but he didn't have to look at her like that. Quinlan trained her hard in combat, and she was all muscle now.
Botan got up and made for the door, and Stone stepped aside to let the two of them through. More ration packs. Joy. She already missed the food from the cafeteria. She knew the clones got food on Kamino, but they had to be sick of the rations, too. Maybe the Coruscant Guard got food, too.
They made their way into the rec room, and Four was standing at the stove, cooking something. Botan paused in the doorway, surprised at the scent in the room, and Four turned back to them.
"Food's just about ready," he said, and Botan made to flop on the couch.
At least Quinlan agreed with her. Sidious, or at least an underling, was in the Senate. And very high up in the Senate to have access to Council minutes. That, or they had a damned good slicer on their team, or the Council chambers were bugged, which was unlikely. They had daily sweeps for bugs, and there was no corrupting the Temple Guards.
She felt a little bit better now that she had told him. She felt a lot better, actually. He was still miffed with her, and she could sense it in his Force signature, but… Well. He would get over it. He had told her to exercise discretion in what she heard. And the Force had told her not yet. Of course, she had elected to ignore the Force, but it was what it was.
"What are you cooking?" Quinlan asked as he sat down at the table, and Four glanced up.
"Chicken soup," he replied as he stirred the pot. "We made sure the ship was stocked with food before we left."
And Quinlan wanted to go in the fighters. Aggravating, Botan thought as she stared up at the ceiling, her arm trailing on the floor.
"Looks good," Quinlan said, but he was still annoyed in the Force. Botan elected to ignore that, because she wasn't about to apologize, and she sat up, tightening up her buns as she sat.
"... Okay, I have to ask," Bastion finally said, and Botan tilted her head and blinked at him. "Are you near-Human? I've never heard of a human with red eyes that wasn't albino."
"Yes, I'm near-Human," Botan replied on her communicator. "But we don't know what else I am. It's unregistered."
That was the simplest explanation. It was a lie, but no one but Quinlan knew about her past life, and she was going to keep it that way.
"Didn't you have, like, parents?" Bastion asked. "Natborns have parents, don't they?"
"They dumped me at the temple when I was four. I don't remember them," Botan replied, and he blinked.
"I thought… Jedi had contact with their families?" he asked, looking confused, and Quinlan glanced at Botan.
"Some of us choose to have contact with our families," he said, and Bastion looked over at him. "And some of us are abandoned with the Jedi like Botan was."
"Oh," Bastion said and blinked. "Natborns abandon their children?"
"Having a Force sensitive child can be scary. Some people just aren't prepared to parent in a crisis," Quinlan said. "A lot of Force sensitive children are persecuted on their home planets, as well. Not all of them hold them in high regard like a lot of cultures do."
"Oh," Bastion said and blinked. "So, Commander Yamada was from one of those planets?"
"We assume. We have no idea. Wherever she's from, it's an isolationist culture," Quinlan replied and glanced at Botan. "Probably from the Unknown Regions. Not all of the galaxy is mapped, and not all species are accounted for."
Botan, idly, wondered if Earth was in the Unknown Regions. If she could go back… No, there was no record of Force sensitivity. Unless quirks themselves were evidence of it. She wasn't sure. She doubted it. It seemed less spiritual and more scientific. The Force was complicated, and presented in different ways, but…
She didn't know.
If she had a chance to go back home, would she? She liked being a Jedi, but she would have liked to tell Hizashi goodbye. If she was being honest, she was of the opinion that she was from another universe entirely. That made the most sense, since the Force presumably existed all throughout the universe. She wasn't sure.
There were a lot of questions about her existence in this world, and she didn't entirely want them answered. She was happy as a Jedi, even if they were in the middle of a war right now, but they wouldn't be at war forever. She was sure of that. She was absolutely sure of that, and if she could end this war tomorrow, she would.
"Bast, you're asking too many invasive questions," Stone called mildly, and Bastion blanched.
"Sorry!" he squeaked, and Botan huffed.
"It's fine. I'm not upset about my history," she said, and Bastion tilted his head, unable to stop himself from asking another question.
"Why not?" he asked, and Botan blinked.
"Why would I be upset about something I don't even remember?" she asked, and he stared at her.
"You don't remember things from when you were four? "
"Four's different for natborns," Hound said, and Bastion screwed up his nose. "It's more like two."
"Well, that's just weird," Bastion muttered, and then paled. "I mean---! I don't mean to be insulting or anything!"
"It's fine," Quinlan said with a huff. "Botan's not offended, right, Botan?"
"I'm not offended," she said, and Bastion's relief clearly projected in the Force.
"So, why are you mute? I don't see any assistive devices for deafness---"
"Oh, little hells, Bastion, you can't just ask why someone's mute! " Stone groused, and Four was so carefully mild in the Force, but Botan could pick up some interest from him, too. Even Stone wanted to know, and she shrugged.
"It's why I'm classified as near-Human," she said, and abruptly, all sound stopped. The drone of the ship's engine was cut off, as if it had never been there at all, and all of them looked around in alarm as Quinlan grinned. Panic spiked at the thought of the engine going out while in hyperspace, but Botan lifted the shield of silence before they could start scrambling. "I can mute any noise. Side effect is I can't make noise myself."
For a second, all three of them stared at Botan, who stared back at them, and Stone opened his mouth, shut it, and turned red.
"That must be useful for your job," he said faintly, and Bastion shivered.
"Please don't do that again. It scared me. It even stopped vibrating," he said, and Botan grinned.
"That's how it works. I emit sound waves at the exact precise frequency to cancel out other sound waves. Like noise canceling headphones."
All four of them plus Quinlan stared at her blankly, and Hound's brows furrowed.
"What are noise canceling headphones?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.
"Never mind," she said, and sat up. "Is food ready? I'm hungry."
"Yes, it's ready," Four called, and Botan made a beeline for the stove. She was a lot more excited now that she knew they had actual food instead of whatever the hell they wanted to pass ration packs off as.
She kind of liked the clones. Bastion asked a lot of invasive questions, but she liked him. She liked him a lot. She supposed that was the trap, though. You were supposed to like them. Quinlan had a point, but at least he was being polite. This entire situation was a mess, and she wanted to just have the war over and done with.
Quinlan's comlink beeped, and he picked it up. Botan looked over at him, and he held it up.
"Vos here," he said, and there was the familiar sound of Obi-Wan clearing his throat on the other end.
"You will be pleased to know that Anakin found the listening station and crashed it, in true Anakin fashion," Obi-Wan reported, and Quinlan's eyes met Botan's. Right. Skywalker was already a war hero, and this was going to be difficult. A marriage kicking him out of the Order would be… messy. It would be very messy, because he had a lot of public approval, and people liked him. He was the golden boy when it came to propaganda, and they would have to contend with that.
"Well, at least someone found it," Quinlan said.
"After he lost a droid he refused to wipe since the beginning of the war," Obi-Wan added, and Botan's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. What?
"He did what? " Quinlan asked, and Obi-Wan sighed.
"Yes, he did, in fact, refuse to wipe Artoo. It's created quite the mess with the Council, I'm afraid, and I've taken away some privileges. I will be in charge of Artoo's wipes now, and---"
"I'm sorry, why are you in charge of it?" Quinlan asked, and Obi-Wan paused. "Make him do it. He's not a child that needs supervision. He's a knight."
"Quinlan, I'm not having this argument with you," Obi-Wan said, flat, and Botan tilted her head as Four quietly filled her bowl and handed it to her. "We can't all have perfect padawans like Aayla."
"Well, that's sithspit," Quinlan pronounced. "You shouldn't---"
"I have to go," Obi-Wan said, and the line went dead. Botan pursed her lips, and Quinlan met her eyes.
There was an unspoken communication there. Skywalker could have gotten thousands of men killed with his refusal to wipe his droid. And things regarding their investigation just got a hell of a lot more complicated.
Notes:
i am,,,, so tired lol. i gotta run to my doctor's but then i'll be back at it.
Chapter 34Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Stone had gotten used to being on off Kamino. He really had, but it was still incredibly weird on occasion. He had never seen so many freckles as he saw on Commander Yamada. She was absolutely covered, head to toe, even on her fingers that peeked out of her fingerless gloves. He didn't even know that amount of freckles was possible on a person. And those red eyes… They unnerved him, if he was being honest. They seriously unnerved him. She was sweet, though. A little spicy, just like any other cadet, but she was sweet. He had no idea how to talk to her, and it had been three days in hyperspace, and they were going to be stopping for fuel soon before they made their way into Separatist space. They would get some shore leave while they were fueling up, and he felt desperately uncomfortable. The 104th was on this planet, bringing relief in the aftermath of an intense battle that had raged for a month, and he didn't particularly want to see Wolffe, because apparently Wolffe was fighting with Fox, and Stone didn't want to be in the middle of it. Especially since General Koon was still on Coruscant and wasn't available to mediate.
They would be in and out, at least. Stone didn't intend on staying long, and maybe he could avoid Wolffe altogether. It was kind of shocking to see a Coruscant Guard this far out from Coruscant, and they would stick out like sore thumbs. That, or he could have Hound run interference. Hound owed him at least four favors, and Stone wasn't above being unfair and cashing in on them.
Why did Fox have to be such a prickly bastard, he thought angrily as General Vos landed the ship and engaged the landing gear. Making enemies wherever he fucking went, pissing off his brothers every chance he got. It was aggravating. Annoying, even. The ramp went down, and Commander Yamada bolted to her feet and practically fled for the doors, brushing past Stone without even a by-your-leave as General Vos stood.
"And there she goes," he said with a frown. "Took all my damn money, too."
"Should I follow her, sir?" Stone asked, and General Vos flapped a hand.
"Nah, it's fine. She's grown," he replied and exited the cockpit. Stone stood to the side to let him go, and Hound poked his head out of the berth.
"Are we clear?" he asked, and Stone nodded.
"We're clear. Come back to the ship in one hour," he said as he made his way towards the ramp, stepping out into the clear air of Seunda. Commander Yamada was nowhere to be seen, and Stone walked down the ramp and onto the landing pad.
"Heeyyy it's the Corrie boys!" someone cried, and Stone looked around just to find Wolffe standing there, looking pissed.
"Fox couldn't be bothered to come?" he asked, flat, and of course Fox couldn't come, he had an entire guard to run.
"He wasn't tagged for this mission," Stone replied as he made his way to the angry-looking clone. "We got Hound, Four, and a shiny."
"Taking shinies on top secret missions now, are you?" Wolffe asked dryly, and Stone shrugged.
"He was the top of his class," he replied as Hound ventured down the ramp.
"No Grizzer?" Wolffe asked, and Hound shook his head.
"He's with Fox," he replied. "Couldn't take him for this mission. Too dangerous."
"That bad, huh?" Wolffe asked as General Vos made his way down the ramp and darted away, on the hunt for his padawan. Those two were certainly a duo, Stone thought wryly. And by duo he meant 'hot fucking mess'. "Who's that?"
"General Vos," Stone replied, and Wolffe hummed.
"Pretty," he commented, and Stone blinked. He kind of was, wasn't he?
"No one's got time to fall in love with a General," Hound said with a snort, and Wolffe rolled his eyes.
"I was just making a comment, " he said, and Bastion peeked out of the hallway.
"Where'd Commander Yamada go?" he asked, and Stone snorted.
"Fuck if I know," he replied, and glanced over the bustle of boys from the 104th moving crates around. "The fighting die down here?"
"There's a few outcroppings every so often, but it's mostly over," Wolffe replied. "Just light skirmishes, not too many casualties."
Seunda had been split in two with a civil war about leaving or staying, and the Republic had intervened when the council of elders came to them for help when the Separatists had invaded. Since they were officially recognized as the rulers of Seunda, they could intervene, but it was a near thing. The Separatists had almost immediately started up massacres of civilians, as Separatists were apt to do, just gathering them in squares and gunning them down, and, well. Something had to be done.
At least it was over now. It had been about two weeks since relief had come, and Seunda had good infrastructure and moved fast when it came to rebuilding. There was already an open air market in the square, from what he could see, and if he squinted, he could see Commander Yamada's bright mop of hair artfully twisted into a complex braid structure General Vos had done when he was bored bobbing around. General Vos had already tracked her down, and they were buying meat skewers. That kid was a black hole, which made sense, because General Vos was constantly drilling the poor kid. They had nearly wrecked the rec room with her deflecting blaster bolts from that weird little drone thing they brought along. While she was blindfolded, no less. It had been terrifying to watch. It was a basic training exercise they did as children, apparently, but he wasn't sure he believed that. Who blindfolded five year olds and expected them to just figure it out?
The Jedi seemed more responsible than that, that was all he was saying.
"Keeping an eye on your Jedi?" Wolffe asked in amusement, and Stone's eye twitched.
"They're not my Jedi," he said warningly, and Wolffe laughed in his face.
"They're your Jedi until this mission is over," he teased, and tilted his head. "How's Fox, anyways?"
"Still a bad tempered bastard," Stone replied. "Toughest fucker I've ever met."
"Pissy about being wrong?" Wolffe asked, and Stone didn't even know what they were fighting about, so sure, whatever.
"Yeah," he replied. "If he is wrong and you're not."
"I'm never wrong," Wolffe said with a snort. General Vos and Commander Yamada were sauntering back with their spoils, and Stone straightened up.
"Commanders," General Vos said and glanced down at Commander Yamada. "Sorry I didn't greet you. Wolffe, right?"
"It's Wolffe, sir," Wolffe replied, and General Vos stuck out a hand.
"Nice to meet you. Quinlan Vos," he said, and that was something Stone noticed about Jedi, because he met a lot of them. They never introduced themselves by their title. It was always their first and last name, sometimes their Jedi rank. Never general or commander. They all seemed to do it, and he found it intriguing. It was like their own little defiance in the face of the war. "This is my padawan, Botan Yamada. She doesn't talk much."
"I talk plenty," Commander Yamada typed out awkwardly on her keypad, and Wolffe nodded.
"Good to meet you, sirs," he said, perfectly polite in the face of a Jedi he didn't know, and General Vos looked up to where the two shinies were getting the Razorbeak hooked up to the hoses.
"About how long will this take?" General Vos asked, and Commander Yamada licked a trail of juice off of her leather glove. Kids. Disgusting.
"About an hour, sir, the pressure is low," Wolffe replied, and General Vos nodded.
"Alright. Well, I leave the ship in your hands, Stone," he said and turned to saunter away. "Botan and I have to go check something out."
Stone's eyes narrowed, because he wasn't stupid, and he was willing to bet Commander Yamada would start a barfight if left unsupervised, and being left with General Vos might as well be unsupervised.
"Let Hound go with you, sirs," he said loudly. "There's still skirmishes."
"We're Jedi, we have it handled," General Vos replied airily, and Hound shot him a look of alarm. He definitely didn't want to be left alone with them.
"I insist. Sir," Stone said thinly, and General Vos paused.
Oh.
Oh, wherever they were going, or whatever they were going to be talking about, he didn't want a clone involved.
… There was something else going on with this mission, and they weren't telling them everything, Stone realized like a thunderbolt. He had thought it was weird when General Vos announced that they were still going with Commander Yamada's plan, but they would be destroying the plans, anyways. It seemed startlingly out of character for him. Stone would have assumed they'd go with the original plan of blowing the reactor, and---
They were after something worse than the Malevolence, but what could be worse than the Malevolence?
Stone prided himself on his intelligence. He really did, and he could connect the dots pretty quickly. Commander Yamada had initially seemed quite receptive to the clones, so why did she hide this from them? It didn't seem to be on General Vos's orders. Cadets couldn't hide guilt well, and she seemed as cheerful and happy as ever, with whip-sharp wit.
It wasn't his business. It was Jedi business, but it was a disconcerting feeling to realize you weren't trusted. Of course he wasn't trusted. They didn't know him, but…
Clones and Jedi were supposed to trust each other. This wouldn't work otherwise.
It was different when you weren't assigned to one, he supposed. Because, realistically, he had not been on the front lines with them, not like with other Jedi. Even so…
The question was, were they acting on orders from the Council? Or were they acting independently on information they hadn't shared with the Council?
General Vos's eyes narrowed, and Stone realized he was one, an empath, and two, Stone had taken too long to reply.
"Alright," he said, because he wasn't about to press the issue. "But, be careful. Sirs."
"We will be," General Vos promised and turned to saunter off, an arm thrown around Commander Yamada's shoulders.
Stone watched them go, and Wolffe tilted his head.
"What was that about?" he asked, and Stone bit the inside of his cheek.
"I think they're lying to us about this mission," he said as he watched them walk off. "And I don't know what else to do about it except ignore it."
It annoyed him, in a way. His men were putting their lives on the line for this mission, and they couldn't trust them? One of them was definitely going to die, with the level of difficulty. Stone had already emotionally prepared for that.
"They're lying to you?" Wolffe echoed. "How do you figure that?"
"You know I can't discuss the mission details with you," Stone said. "Just… it's a hunch."
Logical deduction, but a hunch, at the end of the day. Their behavior was too erratic otherwise.
"Well," Wolffe said, "sometimes Jedi have to lie."
"My men are going to die on this mission," Stone said, and Wolffe went still. "I'm anticipating at least one casualty, if we're lucky. "
"That bad?" Wolffe echoed, and Stone pursed his lip.
"We don't have enough men," he said, flat. "We don't have nearly enough men."
"... I'm sorry," Wolffe said, and he sounded like he meant it.
"It's fine. It's all we do, anyways. Die," Stone said, and he didn't mean to sound so bitter, but even on Coruscant, guards dropped like flies, and Stone would stare in silence at empty bunks until the wee hours of the morning. It was even worse when they got sent on missions.
"Well, if you survive, I'll buy you a drink at 99's for getting through it," Wolffe promised, and Stone wondered what he would do if he found out what mission they were on. He might go AWOL to join them, if Stone was being honest with himself. He would throw caution to the wind just to hit back, and he knew the loss of his entire legion was still a raw, gaping wound. The wolfpack had been rebuilt, but it wasn't the same after that. Colors of mourning painted across their armor, and it would never not be difficult to look at them.
It was better not to tell him.
He could find out in the aftermath.
Stone would just have to survive to get vengeance in his place.
Notes:
okay, i'm going to say this once, and only once. i do not want to debate star wars in the comment sections. i do not. if you want to debate it somewhere else, go right the fuck ahead, but don't you fucking do it in my comments. if it even smells like you want to debate in my comments, moving forward, i will be deleting comments. that's all. i am not going to justify myself, and i am not going to explain *why* i fucking hate that shit, i am simply stating my boundaries.
now that that's said, i love stone so much. might bring him back, idk.
Chapter 35Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Yennas was all sharp edges. There was no civilization here, only known for its one Separatist outpost, manned entirely by droids, and it was wet. It was very wet, caught in a perpetual storm, with thunder cracking and no visibility. They were flying entirely blind through the rain falling in a sheet across the viewport, dodging through rock formations that towered into the sky, and the Razorbeak was creaking and groaning as they ducked and weaved through the formations. Botan's heart was in her throat, but Quinlan's hands were steady on the yoke, despite the look of intense concentration on his face. It took a Force user to pilot through these geological growths, and Quinlan was managing it just fine.
Botan, however, was white knuckling it. Her breath was in her throat, and she was barely breathing as a rock came out of nowhere. Quinlan swerved around it, and she tried to breathe through it. She was trying so hard to breathe, but it was getting harder and harder. She wished she could scream in that moment, but as ever, she was silent. She was sure she was going to die, but she kept it together. They weren't going to survive to the tower. They were going to die in this ravine, but they needed the electrical storm to hide their approach.
"We're coming up on our landing," Quinlan said, and Botan tried to relax her grip on the arm rests. "You look freaked out, kiddo."
They jerked around another craggy rock formation, and she squeezed her eyes tight shut. Maybe if she couldn't see how little they could see, it would be fine. Yeah, it would be fine. This was all fine, and feeling the clones' quiet unease in the rec room wasn't making it any easier. She took a deep breath in, and let it out, and Quinlan cackled.
"What, nervous?" he teased and whipped the ship around something. She pursed her lips, screwing up her nose, and shook her head no. "Aw, it's really not that bad!"
Botan opened her eyes long enough to focus on her communicator, and typed out her response to that.
"Shut up," she said, and Quinlan let out a shrill cackle.
"You're fine!" he said, and then whipped the ship around and engaged the landing gear. The ship settled down, hard on the ground, and Botan let out a breath. They hadn't hit anything, but they still had to get out of here. They were going to have to go through that again. They were going to have to do it again, in this big, clunky freighter, and she didn't know what she was going to do. Cry, probably. She might actually cry if she had to go through that again.
"Let's go," he said as he engaged the ramp, and Botan pulled on her robe and flicked up the hood. It wouldn't do much against this onslaught, but she'd rather have it than not.
The clones met them in the hall, and Botan nervously twirled her saber in her grip before she clipped it to her belt.
"Okay, the exhaust vent is right up this cliff," Quinlan said. "You all have your grappling hooks, right?"
"We have them, sir," Stone replied, and Quinlan nodded.
"Great. Botan and I are just going to jump, so try to keep up," he said and made his way down the ramp. Botan looked up through the darkness to take in the sight of the tower far, far above them, and swallowed. Somehow, this mission was a lot more terrifying than her first mission. Infiltration was something she had excelled at in her previous life, but that was then, and this was now. It had been a lifetime ago.
Then again, she couldn't jump twenty stories in her previous life, so maybe she would have an easier time of it this time.
The wind hit her hard as she exited the craft, whipping her robe around her, and she hunkered down as she slunk towards the cliff face. It was a high jump. She could vaguely sense the huge, unnatural gap in the cliff, but she couldn't see it. She would just have to rely on her senses.
"You ready?" Quinlan asked, and she nodded. As one, the two of them leapt, flying up. For a second, Botan was weightless, and then she flipped, just to hype herself up, and landed hard on the thin edge. Four grappling hooks slammed into the rock face, one after another, and there was a whiiiirrrrrr as the clones followed them up the cliff. The four of them reached the end of their grappling hooks, and Botan turned, lifting them up with the Force to land gently on the ground. The grappling hooks disengaged and snapped back to their blasters, and Botan looked down the tunnel as she slid on her gas mask. It smelled hot, though that wasn't really a scent, but there was no other way to describe it. Quinlan got his own gas mask on and checked the seal on hers, and she let him, though she disliked being fussed over.
"Let's go," he said, his voice garbled, and led them down the tunnel. She could see the glow of the laser field further down, red and terrifying, and Stone swept forward, the light on his helmet shining as he swept his head back and forth, searching for signs of life. There were none, and for that, Botan was quietly grateful. She wanted to make it through this without a fight. That was a pipe dream, of course, but she had hope she had simply misheard.
She hadn't, but it was calming to pretend.
The other clones clicked on their helmet lights, and off the six of them went, down the tunnel and heading directly for the glow of the laser field. Their footsteps were loud, too loud, and she wanted to mute, but she knew they needed to be able to communicate, and isolating the sounds was… Actually, she would just do that. She isolated the noises of their feet falling and canceled it out, and Bastion jumped in surprise.
"That's unnerving," he muttered, and Botan ignored him as she swept forward. She didn't sense any danger down here, but she couldn't sense the presence of droids, and she had to keep that in mind. Somewhere off to her right, maybe a kilometer away, there was the presence of multiple non-sentient lifeforms, sleeping in a cave, and they all felt big. They felt really, really big. She ignored that for now, filtering it to the back of her mind for later perusal, and they continued down the tunnel.
It was now too quiet. There was the boom of thunder outside, and the patter of rain, though patter was a gross understatement for whatever the hell kind of storm that was, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on isolating the footsteps. The smaller footprint they made, the better. The bubble of silence surrounded them, and finally, finally, they reached the laser field.
Quinlan knelt down next to the control panel and pulled out the wires to start hot wiring it. The field was buzzing loudly, with spits and crackles, and she left that sound alone. The wires sparked against each other, and the field went down with a hiss. Botan stepped through, and he came to his feet, following along behind her. The four clones crept over the line, and then the exhaust vent split off in two directions.
"Which way?" Quinlan asked, and she pointed to the right. He nodded and set off in that direction, and Botan followed along behind him. Stone kept his blaster up as he crept down the tunnel, all nervous energy, and she thought about the fact that he was onto them. She had heard what he said to Commander Wolffe, and wondered if that was going to become a problem. She had said something to Quinlan, but he hadn't seemed all that bothered by it.
"So what? The man's smart. Of course he knows he's being lied to. Doesn't change what we have to do."
That's what he said. Botan, personally, thought Stone was a little too perceptive, but what did she know? He was a dangerous man to work with, in her opinion, and she hoped she wouldn't be paired up with him again. He knew too much. He was too aware.
A hot gust of air caught her unawares, knocking off her hood, and she squinted through the chemical burn. Dammit, they should have brought goggles. Her eyes were already running.
"How much further?" Quinlan asked, and she lifted her wrist to type.
"Not much," she replied, and glanced down the tunnel. "The generator is just ahead."
There were two generators in this facility, and they were aiming for the southern one. The tower was just above it, and they had to travel all the way to the top without getting caught, because if they were taken captive… Well, that would be a hell of a lot to explain to Obi-Wan. She didn't want to deal with his disappointed face, not at all. His smug face at Quinlan getting captured might even be worse.
The six of them picked up the pace, jogging lightly down the tunnel as light came within view, and the clones turned off their lights as there was a steady whump-whump-whump. Fans blocked out the light, making it flicker and shine, and they all pulled to a stop at the sight of them. They were moving slightly too fast to squeeze through, and Quinlan pulled out the control panel and got to work hotwiring the dual fans to stop. The first one on their end stopped, but the second didn't. Quinlan's eyes crinkled in frustration, and then he charged forward before Botan even got a chance to react, flinging himself forward and rolling through an opening in the blink of an eye. The blade of the fan missed him by centimeters, and Botan's eyes went wide as he rolled through it and turned to pull out the control panel on his side. There was a spark, and the fan slowed to a halt, allowing the remaining five to pass through unharmed.
"Let's move," Quinlan said and dropped his cloak. Botan dropped her own now that they were out of the rain, and the two of them stepped into the reactor room.
There were catwalks far above them, and Quinlan and Botan both leapt. They soared through the air and landed lightly on the edge, and---
"Hey! What are you doing here?" came a tinny voice, and Quinlan threw out his hand and clawed. Two B1's were lifted into the air, struggling, and then he crunched them with a grasp of his hand. Botan's eyes widened at the borderline Dark move, because Force crush was not something you were typically supposed to do, and the four clones reached the edge of the catwalk, climbing over the edge and disengaging their grappling hooks.
The hunks of metal hit the ground, and Botan muted the sound of the clang before they got caught. Quinlan straightened up, and his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.
"There we go," he said and reached forward to dust off her shoulders. "Taken care of."
"You're not supposed to do that," she signed, disappointed in him, and he shrugged.
"Everything in moderation, my young padawan," he said dismissively and turned for the exit. "It's key, I'm telling you."
Botan rolled her eyes and drifted along behind him, and Quinlan triggered the doors. They slid open to an empty hallway, and he glanced around.
"Okay, the last thing we need is the cameras in the elevator catching us, so into the shafts we go," he said and reached his hand forward before he paused. "Botan, would you like to do the honors?"
Botan rolled her eyes and reached forward as she muted the sound of the doors being wrenched open with a screech that would have been ear splitting. The four clones startled slightly, and she paused at the sight of the elevator waiting. Huh. Okay.
"Into the shaft we go," Quinlan said, and the six of them trooped inside. Quinlan pulled out the escape hatch in the ceiling and hopped up, and Botan followed him before she turned to Force lift Stone up, who startled and let out a shout she muted. He hadn't been expecting that, but for scaring so easily, she dumped him on top of the elevator and reached for Bastion. He followed behind, and then came Four, followed swiftly by Hound. All six of them on top of the elevator, Botan looked up at the long, long shaft.
"I can't jump that high," she signed dubiously, and Quinlan looked up.
"Then land on a ledge and do it again. These elevators go both ways," he said, and she nodded and gathered herself.
"Or you two could just climb on our backs," Stone said casually, and both of them stopped to look at him with as much disgust and offense as they could feasibly fit on their faces.
"No, thank you," Quinlan said, flat, and turned. "Up we go, Bo."
Botan leapt, flying through the air, and landed on the closest ledge, balancing on her toes. Quinlan landed on the ledge opposite her, and they leapt again, clearing ten stories and crossing each other as they landed on the ledges. Then, one final leap, and they landed on the final ledge. Four cables soared past them and stuck into the ceiling, and the clones followed close behind.
"Okay," Quinlan said and balanced on his ledge. "Scoot over."
Botan scooted, and Quinlan reached forward as he swayed slightly. The doors creaked, and she muted the noise. Then, they were slowly and steadily torn open just as the clones reached the top, and Botan stepped through. Quinlan leapt through, and they straightened up.
There was a glass wall opposite them, revealing walls upon walls of data packs, black and gleaming in the low light, and the two B1 units at the control desk looked up.
"Hey!" one of them said. "You can't be here!"
Botan sped forward as her saber ignited, launching herself over the control desk and decapitating them in one strike, and the clones swung onto the ledge behind her before they climbed through the hole in the elevator shaft one after another. The bodies hit the ground, and she muted the sound of the clang. Botan immediately got into the controls, plugging in the override code she had memorized, and the door to the vault hissed open. She turned to Quinlan and nodded, and he swept forward.
"We don't have much time. Patrols go in ten minute increments," he said, and rushed onto the catwalk that led into the vault. "You four, keep a watch."
"Yessir," Stone said and gestured to the men. They spread out, leveling their blasters on the elevator doors, and Botan scrolled through the index to find the location of both files.
"Malevolence, AB849Z," she called, and Quinlan plugged it into the controls. The mechanical arm swung out, hissing towards the data pack, and pulled it out. She scrolled through the list to find the Death Star, but she was coming up with---
There was the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber activating, and Botan looked up just in time to see something long, glowing red, and hissing in the silence of the room with the rain pattering on the roof puncture through Bastion's chest.
"Oh, did you think you could get away with it?" a Nightsister asked slyly, and Botan's eyes went down to the data bank hooked around her belt. She already had the plans, and---
It was like a candle going out. One moment, Bastion was burning so, so brightly in the Force, all full of jitters on his first mission and nervous energy, wound up tight, and then he was just pain, pain, pain, agony of the highest degree, and then he was just---
Gone.
He was gone, and the Nightsister was smiling.
She was smiling.
Notes:
i want to get through this arc but it's 10pm so you all *might* have to be content with a cliffhanger.