Chapter 33: Brother versus BrothersNotes:Another trigger warning for gore. I mean, if you were fine last chapter you'll probably be fine this chapter
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextCoruscant was a city that never slept. The approximately two trillion people that lived on the planet made it so no significant portion of the population was asleep at any one point in time. The streets were always packed with speeders. The walkways crowded with people, droids, and animals. Rare was it to find a business that did not operate for twenty-four hours a day, every single day of the week. Because to close for any significant portion of time would mean the owners of the business were throwing away money from potential customers. Even places like bars and strip clubs and brothels, places Fox was told tended to operate purely at night on other planets, were opened at all hours of the day.
And the Corries were no different. If a person was awake, then the Corries were awake. To protect them. To arrest them. To watch them. To assassinate them.
And if the Corries were awake, then Fox was awake. Because he felt guilty. Because even at night paperwork still needed to be done. Despite the non-stop motion of Coruscant, there were times when there was less crime which meant he could get caught up on his duties as representative. Or traitor, depending on if Cody or the Senate were being more persistent.
And despite his medics' (and brothers') constant insistence that he needed to sleep; that it wasn't good for him to stay away for so many hours of the day; that he would be sharper mentally and physically if he just laid down for more than four hours a day, Fox knew that if he slept he might miss something important.
And tonight just proved how right he was to worry about that.
He watched the speeders rush by outside the window of the Corrie Base. It was a nice view, all things considered. It looked directly onto the Senate Building. If one followed all rules of the road and traffic signals it would take about fifteen or so minutes to get there. But, if one were in a hurry, didn't care about getting speeding tickets, and was trained by Alpha-Seventeen to not have a lick of fear in one's body, one could make it in ten.
Rex's message had come through.
Palpatine was a Sith.
And he was trying to kill him and Ahsoka.
It was time to act.
Fox had hoped they would have had enough time to put some things in place. To brief the Jedi. To dechip more of his brothers. To come up with a plan of attack together that was better than Cody's stupid long-term poisoning plan. But that wasn't happening.
The universe had never smiled kindly upon the troopers before. And it wasn't going to start now. Palpatine had made his move. What was worse, he was a Sith Lord. If Rex's intel was accurate. And Fox believed it was. If anyone knew what a Sith lord was, it'd be the trooper that ran into them regularly. What with Ventress and Dooku both being so obsessed with Kenobi and Skywalker. (And, Grevious was obsessed with Kenobi but also he didn't count because of reasons Fox didn't care to learn).
Fox sipped his caf, mind working through the problem before he made a move. He had to be careful. If he rushed this, everything could fall apart. People could die. But he couldn't spend forever making a plan and determining contingencies and contingencies for those contingencies. Whatever moves he made now, he made with purpose and with confidence.
Thankfully, Thire, Stone, and Thorn were all at the Base for their weekly status update and were chatting amongst themselves. That was good. That made things easier for Fox.
He sipped his caf again.
He didn't feel scared or anxious. He didn't even feel excited. He felt… calm.
Almost as if he were existing outside of his body. His mind slipped into the soldier he was trained to be. No fear. No hesitation. Just brutal and fast strikes until you or the enemy was dead.
He was keenly aware that Vos had stopped talking with Sidewinder. His gaze glued to the side of Fox's face. No doubt sensing the shift in his emotions. Fox didn't bother with his shields. It was time for everyone to be truthful with one another.
Sidewinder too seemed to sense Fox's shift in attitude. Or maybe Vos'.
At least the baby Jedi were all bundled off back to the Temple for the night. Actually, that might be a problem. Coruscant and Kamino were the two places with the highest concentration of chipped troopers. And those troopers could turn on the Jedi with a simple command.
"Commander, are you alright?" Sidewinder asked.
Vos never took his eyes off Fox's face.
Sidewinder wasn't one of their clean Corries.
Fox downed the rest of his caf and set it down on the desk.
"Yes, I am." He flicked his blasters to stun.
Vos tilted his head to the side and put a hand on his lightsaber. Right leg shifted back just a hair so that he could spring forward or twist or whatever he needed to do.
No matter.
Lightsabers couldn't knock back stun blasts.
"Because tonight's the night bitches die."
Before Sidewinder could ask what he meant by that, Fox whipped around and fired.
As expected, Vos went to block his first shot. But when the blast dissipated he stumbled just a bit, leaving Sidewinder wide open for Fox's second shot.
Thankfully, Archer was close enough to catch Sidewinder before he cracked his head open on the desk corner. And that's why they were supposed to wear their buckets on duty.
"Fox, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Vos cried, lightsaber still ignited though struggling to decide if he needed to attack or defend.
Fox didn't have time to answer questions. They needed to get the Temple evacuated, the Corries 100 percent dechipped, and Vos to the Senate so he could fight the wrinkly ballsack of a Sith lord instead of the literal child.
"Thorn, you're in charge of the Corries. Dechip everyone in this building. Coordinate with Cody and follow his orders. Thire, get to the Barracks. You're in charge of everyone there. Once you get fifty percent, get to the Prison and transport Hemlock out of there . I don't want Palpatine to get his hands on him. Stone—"
Stone rushed by him. "Archer, Sol, get me to the temple . Now!"
"Um…" Archer looked to Fox, still holding Sidewinder off the floor.
"Did he fucking stutter?" Fox said.
Archer and Sol snapped into a salute. Sidewinder landed on the floor in a heap. "No, sir. Sorry, sir!" They ran after Stone.
"Oh, and Thorn,"
"Yes, sir?" Thorn asked.
"Send those files to Windu, Breha Organa, Satine Kryze, and Avi Singh. But leave out the personnel files. We'll deal with those later."
"Um, sir?" Thorn asked.
Fox didn't have time to explain his reasoning. He trusted Thorn would understand what he was going for and get it done. "As for you and I," he turned to Vos and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to the door.
Vos let out a squawk but didn't move to cut off Fox's arms with the lightsaber so that was a win. He didn't move to disengage the lightsaber either.
"I'll debrief you on the way out. Thorn, when you get clean troopers coordinate with Cody where you want to send them. And someone get those fucking cameras back up. I want everything that happens in that building recorded for the shitshow that's going down."
There was a chorus of 'yes sirs'. Fox threw Vos into a speeder (evidence from a street racing gang they were trying to shut down) and took off toward the Senate.
"Ten minutes. I hope they can make it."
*****
"Okay, I think that is a wrap on today's work," Riyo said as she turned off the last datapad and put it in the pile of precariously stacked ones at the edge of her desk. "When is Padmé supposed to get back? I want to run these reforms by her before we present them to the Senate for debate."
"Maybe we should go ahead and do so anyways," Senator Organa said. "So as not to delay."
"That is a fair point," Riyo hummed. "But, if we push it back a week or two, it shouldn't make a big difference. And I'd rather everyone on the Troopers' Rights Committee have a chance to make any changes or suggestions before they are forced to defend things they do not agree with in front of the entire Senate."
"A united, prepared front, good point," Senator Organa said.
The Troopers' Rights Committee was a very informal committee. So much so that they weren't even allowed to call themselves that on any official Senate schedules. It felt almost like Riyo was heading an underground resistance movement. Which felt ridiculous because the thing she was resisting was treating sentient men like slaves. Who would argue against that?
A lot of people on the Senate, as she learned the hard way.
Apparently, Creche To Command, while an excellent series, hadn't swayed the opinions of many of her fellow Senators. Though, she was starting to suspect that they did not want to be swayed. They did not care if the troopers were sentient and deserved rights. And that painted a very troubling picture of what life may be like on their homeworlds. After all, if these senators were willing to ignore the blatant fact that clone troopers were sentient and not carbon copies of one another all so that they could continue to utilize their cheap labor, then what's to say they didn't do the very same thing with their constituents.
It irked Riyo to no end.
But, that was why the Troopers' Rights Committee was so important. If only Chancellor Palpatine would allow them to become an actual committee so they could schedule time to meet instead of being forced to do it after hours.
Sometimes Riyo got the distinct impression that Palpatine relished in hers , Padmé's, and every other committee member's struggle in getting troopers recognized as citizens in their own rights.
Riyo groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. Her jacket was unbuttoned and rumpled. Her makeup was smeared. Her hair had started to fall out of her headpiece, tickling the back of her neck and ears.
She was glad Fox wasn't here for this conversation. While she wasn't entirely certain he noticed when she did her hair or when her clothing was rumpled, she still didn't want to look frumpish. Perhaps it was a childish notion. Fox certainly never seemed to care much for his appearance. However that only made him more rugged and handsome in her eyes.
The way his hair got messier as he ran frustrated hands through it; slicking it back and teasing the curls so his hair had more shape and definition. The way his stubble would shadow his face in just the right place to make him seem even more brooding and mysterious. The way his armor bore the blood, sweat, tears, and grime of a man who worked so hard.
It made her swoon.
Senator Mothma pulled up some messages and scrolled through them on her datapad. How was it she didn't look all rumpled? Her hair was perfectly neat . Her white cloak without a stain on it (if Riyo ever tried to wear white there'd be stains on it before breakfast). Her clothes pressed so sharply that she wondered if the corners of her shoulders would cut her. She didn't even have dark circles under her eyes! How was that possible?
"She says it'll be a short trip. Apparently, it was highly requested by the Chancellor."
"And, as we all know, the Chancellor is very good about picking missions," Senator Organa scoffed. Unlike Mothma, he was rumpled. Unlike Riyo, he too managed to pull it off. Queen Breha was a very lucky woman if this was how good Senator Organa looked running on little sleep.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair, undoing the top button of his collar. Another signal that they were more or less done for the day. "How much longer until we can debate allowing the troopers to become generals again? I'd feel much better about the course of this war if Commander Cody were to be making decisions. Not Chancellor Palpatine. Kenobi is right , he's a good politician. Not so much a good soldier."
Riyo looked through her notes. "We're waiting on a few more approvals for some systems that sway towards neutral. Fox is hoping to present the bill next month."
Truth be told, Fox was unsure about presenting the bill at all. He seemed to think it was a fool's errand and was worried the troopers would appear to be overreaching, as it were. Donated clothes and a holosite for naming dead troopers was one thing. Allowing them to lead the war instead of even the Jedi was an entirely different matter.
"You want my brothers and I to be generals?" he had asked, baffled.
Riyo nodded. Her shoulders squared and standing as tall as she could. Which wasn't that tall compared to Fox. Normally she didn't mind, but when they were speaking as equal government officials, it did make it a little awkward. Then again, one could argue that they weren't equal government officials. Riyo was a senator. Fox was only a representative.
She pressed forward. If she could argue against Senators who hated her guts and win, she could argue against Fox's misgivings. "I was speaking with Master Kenobi. He seems to think that you would be better than the Jedi."
"That's only because he's got Cody." Fox made a face. "Don't tell him I said that."
"I wouldn't dream of it. But even if not every trooper is like Cody, you were still trained for this. You spent your whole lives preparing for war. Learning how to lead troops. Learning how to make split-second decisions that would win battles." And how sad of a thought that was? The fact that Fox never got an actual childhood. Simply training simulation after training simulation until he was deadlier than most people in the galaxy.
"And the Jedi were not. They were always a group of people meant more for smaller-scale conflicts and to help de-escalate situations rather than lead troops of thousands. Should the bill pass, it would put the Jedi back in a supporting role, rather than a leading one. A focus on de-escalating conflict and negotiating peace while the troopers do what they were trained to do and handle any issues that don't respond to peace talks. You and your brothers could lead the war as you deem fit."
He looked over at the draft bill; face softening as she spoke. Yes! She had won the battle!
"And you think this thing has more than a snowflake's chance on Tatooine of passing?"
"Goodness no!" she said. "But I want to test the waters. And there's more in this bill than just letting you and your brothers be generals."
Fox hummed thoughtfully. "Smart. See who stands where. Give us plenty of room to negotiate down. Come out of it with a small win."
"Exactly. I'm hoping at the very least to increase your pay to what is standard for those in the Navy."
"I'm not sure what I'd spend that much money on."
"You could take me…I mean, someone to dinner." Riyo prayed Fox hadn't noticed her slip-up.
"I don't know where they sell moon rocks to eat," Fox replied, putting the datapad back on a precarious stack of other datapads and cracking open another energy drink.
"I told you, Pantorans don't eat the rocks. We just… some people just lick them." She flushed more. "But not me! I don't lick moon rocks."
Fox grunted and returned back to his work.
Riyo figured the conversation was over and went to leave. Sometimes, Fox didn't say goodbye. He just stopped talking. She didn't know if it was because he felt rude saying goodbye , or because his ending the conversation went against some sort of training, or what .
"Even if the bill doesn't give us a pay increase, I can still afford some places to eat," Fox said just as Riyo reached the door.
"Oh?" she turned around; telling herself not to get her hopes up. But damn if her heart didn't start beating just a little faster.
"Yeah. You ever been to Dex's?"
Her heart beat faster. So fast she wondered if Fox could hear it pounding against her ribcage. Was this what she thought it was?
"We should go some time."
That didn't mean anything! That could just be an invitation from a friend or colleague.
"I look forward to it, Representative," she forced herself to say.
It didn't mean anything.
( Oh it definitely meant something.)
This time, Fox fell silent for good; once more engrossed in his work. Riyo took that as her cue to leave. If she skipped a little more on the way home, her guards didn't mention it.
"The medical bill has been a success," Senator Organa continued, pulling Riyo back to the present. Goodness, she was tired if her mind kept wandering like this. She needed to focus. They were almost done for the night then she could go home and dream about her not-a-date with Fox in the coming weeks.
"With Master Kenobi's continued outspoken support in favor of giving the vode more say in how the war's run, coupled with Padawan Tano's series to humanize the troopers, we might be able to argue for at least a trial run," Riyo stated.
Senator Organa nodded. "And General Kenobi is well-known and well-liked. He's been on the front lines since practically the beginning. He's led more successful assaults than any other battalion. And his previous experience with war makes him a subject matter expert we can use to further our arguments. Senators who disagree with us can point out that we don't know how to run a war. They cannot say the same about Kenobi."
"We should also look and see if any other members of the GAR or the Navy are willing to support this. I think Yularen might be a good candidate. And he's well respected," Riyo said.
"Good. Ask around and see if you can get a more robust list. Anyone with military experience, current or past, would be good to talk to," Senator Organa nodded. "We should also think about already having a list of troopers for the trial run. That way we're up and running as soon as possible."
"I've read through Marshall Commander Cody's service record," Senator Mothma said. "I think he might be our best candidate. He's well respected, gets good results, and General Kenobi can speak directly to his aptitude for leading on the battlefield. He's also the highest-ranking trooper so another promotion to general wouldn't be too difficult of a pill to swallow. Or, at least, less difficult than promoting a lower-ranking trooper. He's smart, capable, and, from my brief interactions with him, knows his way around the political sphere."
Riyo nodded. Excitement settled in her bones. The kind of excitement she felt right before succeeding in passing a particularly arduous bill. All those hours of debating and arguing and drafting and revising would finally yield fruit. At a minimum, they would hopefully be increasing the pay for the troopers . But, if this went as she hoped it would, then the troopers would be promoted to generals, and people with knowledge of how to run a war would finally be leaders instead of followers. Who knows, passing this bill might just end the war completely ! That would be a dream. Riyo couldn't argue for peace with the Separatists , but she could still do her part to bring about a resolution as swiftly and efficiently as possible. The faster the war ended, the fewer people on both sides had to suffer due to the greed and corruption of their leaders.
"Alright, that's the plan. Once Padmé returns and confirms the four hundred votes we need to reach a draw, we'll present the bill as is to the Senate. Then, when we reach the draw, we'll negotiate down to a trial run with Marshall Commander Cody to prove that this is an effective strategy, and we'll negotiate a pay increase. Once Commander Cody proves that he can run the war more efficiently and cheaply than we can, we bring the bill back to the table to promote more troopers." Then they win the war in a month and Riyo can go back to arguing for boring things like increasing the budget for elder care.
"We should ask Padawan Tano if she wouldn't mind posting about it on her series," Senator Mothma said. "I know we don't want to use her series for propaganda, but so long as we merely suggest and let her make the decision, she might be okay with at least having a video on it."
"And Commander Cody is a popular trooper," Senator Organa said. "People want to know more about him."
"I can let Fox know and he can bring it up to her," Riyo suggested.
"And we have to let Commander Cody know that he's to be our guinea pig." Senator Mothma smiled. "He may not even want the job. More authority means more paperwork, after all."
"Master Kenobi and I have a meeting later this week. I'll bring it up to him then. Though, from what I know of Commander Cody, he would probably be up for the challenge."
"And, if this bill passes, that's one step closer to us presenting our ultimate bill of legalizing their rights as sentients. And therefore giving them the same protections as every other citizen in the Republic." Riyo beamed.
As much as she was happy to see various amendments pass that had dramatically improved the lives of the troopers , including the recent medical amendment, there was one driving goal for her and every other senator on this committee: get the troopers recognized as citizens of the Republic and not property. It didn't matter how many pay increases they had or how many of them were made generals or how good their medical equipment was. Until they were citizens, they'd never truly be able to thrive; even though so many died for the safety of the Republic. They were so close to getting that bill passed.
Anti-clone sentiment had dramatically decreased since Ahsoka's series had taken off. People were more aware of just how sentient the troopers actually were. They were not merely meat droids with no thoughts, opinions, hopes, or dreams. They were men with dramatically different personalities, morals, and values. Even though Riyo did not have use of the Force, she had gotten to know the men who were around her regularly and could more easily tell them apart. It may have helped that she was a Pantoran and therefore had difficulties telling humans apart to begin with , especially since they were missing any distinguishing facial markings. But still, she felt a slight bit of pride in her veins when she successfully managed to tell Ader apart from Crescent. And Archer apart from Sidewinder. And Thorn apart from Stone. They stood differently. They walked differently. They even spoke differently. Some used more slang. Others used shorter sentences. And still, others were more upbeat and cheerful; willing to joke around. She could tell the men were equally as pleased when people managed to tell the difference between them.
"Alright, before we begin discussing yet another issue, Senator Chuchi has already, graciously tried to dismiss us once," Senator Mothma said, glancing up at the clock. It was nearly ten thirty at night. "And I, for one, would like to sleep."
"Here, here," Senator Organa said as he stood and began to gather his things. "Besides, until I can meet with Master Kenobi about a possible promotion for Commander Cody, and until Senator Amidala returns and confirms our final count, we can't do much more."
"Oh, I disagree," Senator Mothma smiled.
"Do you?"
"Yes. I have a spreadsheet."
"Might I suggest you send that list to Commander Cody. I hear he loves a good spreadsheet."
Senator Mothma laughed. "Then he is , indeed, the perfect candidate for the first trooper general."
"Agreed," Riyo said, glad that they were calling it a night. As much as she loved helping people and the galaxy become a better place, late nights like this left her exhausted. Of course, she tried to motivate herself by saying if Fox could do it, she could do it too. However, she had not quite mustered up the courage to drink even one of his energy drinks. Much less the dozen or so he cracked open during particularly stressful times. She tried. Once. The smell of sugar nearly knocked her off her feet and gave her a headache for hours afterward.
Just as she went to stand for final pleasantries, she heard someone talking to her guards outside of her chambers.
"I wonder what's that's about?" Senator Organa said. He turned to her. "Were you expecting anyone?"
Riyo shook her head. "No. Commander Fox didn't tell me he was stopping by tonight."
And, given the steady raising of the voices, it didn't sound like a friendly conversation either.
"Stay here. Let me see what's happening," Senator Organa said. He didn't get but two steps from his chair when the sounds of blaster fire rang out.
Riyo jumped. "What was that? Are we under attack?"
The door slid open to reveal not some scoundrel bounty hunter or Separatist assassin, but two Corries.
Riyo's heart rate immediately spiked. There was something off about the way they were walking. And where were her guards? Had they gone after the person who had fired upon them? But why them and not the Corries? Standard procedure was that the Corries dealt with any would-be assassins while the planet-supplied guards stayed with their respective senators.
"Captain Ader, is everything alright?" she asked, recognizing the insects painted on his armor. The other trooper with him, she didn't recognize. And even Ader she wasn't sure of. He was walking almost like a droid. Each step perfectly accurate and a little stilted. As if his limbs needed a good oiling. Or perhaps as if he needed permission to walk.
"You need to come with us," Ader said. His voice was also strangely stilted. Ader was one of the troopers that sounded like they always had a smile on their face . Even if Riyo couldn't see it. Even orders or requests were often accompanied by a joke.
"Why? What happened to Chuchi's guards? Who fired that shot?" Senator Organa said, gearing up for a fight. And he could definitely fight. There were rumors the queen originally found him in an illegal fighting ring. What the queen was doing at the illegal fighting ring was never established.
"That is on a need-to-know basis, sir," Ader said.
Now Riyo knew that something was very wrong. Ader didn't use 'sir' with Senators he knew well. He would usually use 'boss ', 'chief ', or even 'chef' (there was a Senator who once worked at a restaurant. It was a long story). Something was very wrong. Wrong with this situation and wrong with Ader.
Riyo stood up and pushed past Organa and Mothma. She may have been dwarfed by the two Corries, but she was not going to just let them gloss over the fact that her guards were missing and blaster fire was heard.
"Those guards are provided by the government of Pantora. They are as much under my protection as I am theirs. And we heard blaster fire. Now tell me what is going on and where they are."
"Sir," Ader stepped forward. She realized now he was holding a blaster. He and his companion both.
Her body turned to ice. She always felt safe with the Corries. Sure, she knew some of them were less than kind to others. It was bound to happen with millions of people. But, on the whole, they were kind, driven people. But now, she realized just how deadly they were. She felt like a fly that had been lured to a spider's web. And only now did she realize just how much danger she was in.
"Sir," he said again, "you need to come with us."
"Is this on Commander Fox's orders?" Senator Mothma said.
"Yes, let us talk to Representative Fox," Riyo added. He would know what to do. He would tell her what was going on. And if he said to go with the Corries, then she would trust him.
"Whose orders they are, is irrelevant," Ader said.
"I very much disagree. You are threatening three Senators of the Republic, trooper. And Senator Chuchi's guards are missing. There are procedures for this sort of thing," Senator Organa said.
Ader shifted. Ever so slightly. So that his blaster was no longer pointed at the ground. It wasn't pointed at any of them. Yet. But the message was clear.
"Either you come with us willingly, or unwillingly," Ader said. "Either way, our orders are clear. You are to leave your chambers immediately."
Senator Organa opened his mouth to argue.
"Sir," the other trooper said, "it is time to leave."
Likely sensing that he wasn't going to argue his way out of this one, Senator Organa closed his mouth and nodded.
"Very well. Lead the way, gentlemen."
Ader nodded and turned to walk out the door. The other trooper came behind them and started walking forward, forcing them to follow. There was nowhere to run. They were boxed in.
Riyo stepped out the door and saw her two guards on the floor. A hole in both of their chests. She pressed her hand to her mouth to muffle her gasps. Did Ader kill them?
"What is happening?" Senator Mothma whispered. She wrapped an arm around Riyo's shoulders to steady her and kept following Ader.
"I don't know," Senator Organa whispered back. "But I don't like it."
"You there, no talking!" the guard at the back ordered.
"Why would they… why would they kill my guards?" Guilt flooded Riyo's veins. There would have been no reason. Her guards were on good terms with all the troopers. And even if they weren't, the Corries were used to dealing with all sorts of abuse, as unfair as it was. They wouldn't have shot them for no reason. But what reason would have made them shoot? Fox would have never ordered such a thing. Right?
Now that she thought about it, she realized she didn't know much about what went on in Fox's head. She had been making so many assumptions about the man when really he could have been a horrible person all along. Just because someone was marginalized did not mean they weren't capable of great violence. Did she only see him as a man who was being taken advantage of by the government and failed to see all the other red flags of his true self?
No.
No, that couldn't be.
She refused to believe that Fox was using her to… to do what? To kill her guards? What purpose would any of this serve?
"I don't know. Let's keep playing along and see what's going on," Senator Organa said.
"Play along? Those two troopers shot two members of the Pantoran Guard," Senator Mothma said.
"Yes, and I would prefer they didn't shoot us," Senator Organa hissed.
"I said quiet!" The guard behind them snapped.
Riyo flinched and huddled further into Senator Mothma's side. She didn't even know what to do in this situation. Should she do as Senator Organa said and play along? Or should she try to make a run for it? Should she try to appeal to reason?
There was a flash of something in Senator Organa's sleeve. A miniature datapad. Senator Organa was fiddling with it. Sending out a message most likely. Maybe to Master Kenobi as they were good friends. Or possibly to Fox to see what was happening. Either way, she was glad. Hopefully, they could get some help. Or someone could tell them what was going on.
"In here," the trooper behind Riyo all but shoved her into the lift. Senator Organa caught her to keep her upright.
"You do not have to resort to violence. We are following your orders," he said.
The trooper merely huffed and turned around. Ader typed something onto the keypad and then scanned his card.
They went down instead of up. And the ride took much longer than Riyo was used to. She knew that, based on her location, it took about ten seconds to reach the ground floor. The lift went for nearly thirty. It was almost as if they were going into the center of Coruscant itself. Well past the city, built up over thousands of years until it was taller than even the tallest mountain. It went on for so long that she could start to feel the pressure on her shoulders. On her lungs.
When the door opened, she gasped once more. So many senators and aids were being shoved around by the Coruscant guard; and placed in what looked like prison cells, complete with a ray shield to keep people from breaking out.
She saw Orn Free Taa in one of the cells as they passed. And Representative Binks. And there was Senator Burtoni! So many senators. What were they all doing in here?
"In here," Ader said, shoving the three of them into a cell. "Strip."
"I beg your pardon?" Senator Mothma cried.
"All jackets, shoes, and jewelry are to be confiscated." Ader sounded like he was reading from a script. "And then all electronics will be removed from your person."
" Now hold on just a minute," Senator Organa said. "What is the meaning of this? Why are we being treated like criminals?"
"I have asked them the same thing!" Free Taa cried. "And they will not tell me."
Senator Organa drew himself to his full height to address Ader. "Captain Ader, according to LD-15-V4.16, all sentients must be charged with a crime and allowed to pay bail before getting thrown into a cell. They also have the right to speak to an attorney. As a citizen of the Republic and a Senator for Alderaan, I demand to know what I am being charged with, and have the opportunity to speak to a lawyer."
Once more, Ader raised his blaster. "Remove all jackets, jewelry, and shoes. Hand any electronics to me. If I have to ask again, you won't get a chance to argue again."
Senator Organa pulled out the mini-pad. "There is confidential information on—"
Ader shot it out of his hand before he had a chance to finish. "There. Now no one will look at your confidential information, sir. Strip."
Senator Organa nodded and went to divest himself of his outer layers and shoes. Realizing there was no way out of this, Riyo did the same. Her jacket and shoes were easy enough. They were just clothes. Yes, she liked them well enough, but she wasn't emotionally attached to them.
The headpiece, however, was harder to remove. There were prayers to the Moon Goddess carved on the inside. Along with runes and symbols to give her strength and clear her mind. While it was not armor in any literal sense, in a spiritual sense it was. So long as she was wearing some piece of jewelry in her hair, the Moon Goddess was with her and could help guide her way . To remove it would be to make herself vulnerable.
Ader came to stand in front of her, holding his hand out for her things. Riyo pulled the headpiece off. Her hair tumbled down her back. The weight was no longer there to ground her. She handed it to Ader. He proceeded to toss it into a pile with other items of jewelry.
She winced as it clattered to the ground.
"Careful with that. It's a cultural object!" Senator Mothma said.
Ader didn't even pretend to care as he came back and patted them all down to ensure no other contraband or weapons were on their persons. Once he was satisfied, he left the cell without a word and activated the shield.
"That wasn't Ader," Riyo said, shivering in her thin undershirt. "He loves my headpieces. He always asks about them and if different ones mean different things. I was even going to make him one. Something small. Just a clip." She sank down to the floor.
"I didn't even know this was down here," Senator Mothma said, running her fingers along the wall. "There's been a prison underneath the Senate building this whole time? For what purpose? I understand a cell or two. But something of this scale?"
Riyo shrugged. "This doesn't bode well for us."
Senator Mothma reached down and squeezed her shoulder. "We'll figure it out."
Senator Organa, perhaps emboldened by the fact that the shield would at least stop them from shooting into the cell, had once more begun arguing with the Corries about the law. They didn't seem to care. Actually, they didn't even seem to hear him. That was what Riyo couldn't get over. If the troopers really had decided to turn on the Republic, arrest all the Senators, and kill them, why were they so robotic? Why did they seem so distant? Even as Ader threatened them and patted them down, he didn't seem particularly angry. He just seemed like he was doing his job. What was going on?
"Do you think Fox ordered this?" she asked. Though she knew Senator Mothma knew about as much as she did, she still wanted some sort of confirmation that she hadn't been tricked. That Fox really was the kind (and very stressed) man he appeared to be. A little gruff and a little rough around the edges, sure. But still completely honest in how he interacted with them.
Mothma shook her head. "No. Something weird is going on with the guards. I just don't know what it could be. Or what their goals are."
They didn't have to wait long to get their answers though . Because, at the very second Senator Organa had started reciting the entire Republic Penal Code at Ader (who even knew the entire code by heart anyhow ? ) a voice silenced everyone in the prison.
"Senators, please remain calm," a man said as he stepped off the lift and into the hallway. He walked past the rows of Senators. His hands clasped behind his back. The tap, tap, tap of his boots on the cold white tiles.
Riyo stood up and went to the cell door to get a better look. She furrowed her brow. She recognized him. And, based on his uniform, he was a member of the Republic Navy. And she recognized the man behind him too. Only, she couldn't place who they were.
"Tarkin and Rampart," Organa whispered in her ear. "Two of Palpatine's most trusted military advisors. I've reviewed some of Rampart's ideas. They are very innovative. " He all but spat the last part. "Chain codes. Over my dead body."
He straightened up and glared at the two men. "What is the meaning of this, Tarkin? According to Republic Law, we cannot be arrested unless we are charged with a crime. And your troopers shot Senator Chuchi's guards. Pantora will not be pleased with this."
Tarkin came to a stop right in front of their cell. He seemed smug. Riyo really wanted to punch him and Rampart in the face. Fox had taught her how to do it without breaking her thumb.
"Rest assured, Senator, all will be explained shortly. Certain revelations have come to light. And we are seeking to rectify the situation as soon as possible."
"Rectify it by putting us in prison?" Senator Mothma said.
Tarkin nodded. "I know this seems extreme. But the circumstances are extreme."
"What circumstances?" Senator Organa asked. "If these circumstances are so extreme that they warrant the murder of two guards and the unlawful arrest of…" he looked around, "nearly two hundred senators, then we need to know so we can help clear this up."
Tarkin huffed. As if Senator Organa was a child annoying him for sweets before dinner.
Nevertheless, he spoke. "It has come to our attention that certain senators are working to undermine Emperor Palpatine's rule."
"Emperor?" Riyo whispered. Since when was Palpatine an Emperor? She certainly didn't pass that law. And she was fairly certain it hadn't been slipped into any of the bills she did pass. Unless… did she misread something? Did she accidentally vote for this when she voted to pass the Medical amendment to the Food Donation Bill?
Oh, that was going to be very hard to undo. Especially since she was clearly not a big fan of Palpatine and was probably a political prisoner as of this moment .
Tarkin continued. "So, to ensure a peaceful transition of power, we are running an investigation on the various sitting senators to ensure that no deception has been found. You are the first because you were here tonight. The other senators will be called in for questioning soon enough."
"You mean you are going to figure out which of us is loyal, and kill the rest?" Senator Organa snarled.
"Oh, please, Senator, no. We are not savages," Rampart said, laughing at the end.
Well, if Riyo was about to spend the rest of her life (however short that may be) a political prisoner, she might as well go out with a bang and punch him in the face. If only the shield wasn't in the way!
"We are merely trying to ensure that corruption has been abolished," Tarkin continued.
"Because Palpatine cared so much about corruption before," Senator Mothma said, crossing her arms.
"There must be some mistake," Senator Burtoni said. "I have been nothing but loyal to Palpatine and have done everything he asked." She eyed the Corries nervously.
"Then you should have nothing to worry about," Tarkin said. "In the meantime, please cooperate with us. You understand how important this is."
Without saying another word to the senators, he turned, called a few troopers to him (using their numbers and not their names), and walked to the end of the cell block to pull out the first few frightened senators, which included Free Taa.
Captain Ader stayed guarding their cell.
"Ader?" Riyo whispered to him, hoping to get a reaction. Nothing. "Ader, are you okay? Is Fox okay? If Tarkin is threatening you, go to the Jedi. They can help." Maybe. She wasn't sure who could help with this at the moment.
Even if they could, it didn't matter because Ader didn't respond. Didn't even move. It was like he was a statue. It scared Riyo. How could a man that was once so full of life and energy be reduced to… to this? What happened to wring out his personality so thoroughly?
She crawled back further into the cell. "Something is definitely up. There's no way the Corries would align themselves with Palpatine of all people . They hate him!"
"Unless he's threatening them?" Senator Organa said.
Riyo looked at Ader and then shook her head. "Maybe, but he's not acting like a man being threatened. He's acting like a—"
"Puppet," Senator Mothma said. Her eyes weren't trained on Ader, though. They were trained on Senator Burtoni. "She's done everything Chancellor Palpatine asked of her. What do you think that includes?"
Senator Organa followed her gaze. "You think the Kaminoans have something to do with the way the troopers are acting ?"
She shrugged. "Captain Ader isn't acting like Captain Ader. None of the Corries are acting like themselves. There's no way they'd align themselves with Palpatine willingly. And the army is so large I can't imagine there'd be much of a chance for someone to make them do it unwillingly. I'm willing to bet whatever is going on , is at least partly the Kaminoans' fault. We just have to figure out what that is."
"Good luck shouting with all these troopers here," Senator Organa said. "I reached out to Obi-Wan and let him know what was going on . I wish Ader hadn't shot my datapad out of my hand so I could keep him updated. But if something's going on , the Jedi should be able to help."
Riyo wasn't sure what the Jedi would do in the face of millions of troopers, the Republic Navy, and Palpatine ( who was now apparently emperor), but it was better than nothing.
At the very least, someone would know she died down here. And that thought was maybe more comforting than it had any right to be. She hoped Fox hadn't gotten caught up in this mess. She hoped he managed to escape.
Oh, who was she kidding? Fox would have never left his brothers behind. Which made it all the more likely that he would die. Just like her. She only hoped that with their deaths, rebellion would spring up and finally get rid of Palpatine once and for all .
After about ten minutes, and still no sign of the senators that had been taken by Tarkin and Rampart earlier, the troopers all ran out of the room.
Just as Senator Organa was about to call out to Burtoni, the Praetorian Guards marched in. Their scarlet robes flowed as they marched in step. One came to each cell. Standing there, guarding. Not still as a statue like Ader had been, though. But still all the same.
"That doesn't bode well for us," Senator Organa said.
The entire building shook a few moments later.
"I hope that's back up," Senator Mothma said.
Riyo hoped as well. Even when, in her heart, she knew help had not arrived.
But that didn't matter. Because she was not going down without a fight. Now, it was time for her to protect Fox and the Corries. To fight for them. Even if it would end in her death.
*****
"Let me get this straight. There are chips in your head?"
"Not my head. Got mine out. But yeah. There was one at some point."
"Okay, fine. There was a chip in your head. And the chips erase your free will?"
"Yup."
"And one of the orders on those chips is to kill all the Jedi?"
"Yes."
"Even the children?"
"Especially the children."
"And Palpatine is playing both sides of the conflict?"
"You got it."
"And he's a Sith lord?"
"You can't be mad at me for that. I found out literally minutes before you did."
"And he's trying to kill Ahsoka and Rex?"
"Again."
"Yes. Again." Vos let out a very long-suffering sigh and massaged his temples. "Does Dooku know?"
"Seems likely."
"And Ventress?"
"Unclear."
"What about the rest of Separatist Leadership?"
"Seems unlikely."
Vos let out another sigh.
Fox looked at him and winced. "You are doing very well with this."
"Shut up. I'm compartmentalizing ," Vos said. "The energy drink cans were tracking the blackout missions and the blackout missions were caused by the chips that are in your head that erases free will that Palpatine put in there so one day you could kill all the Jedi so he and Dooku could… rule the galaxy? Am I getting that right?"
"Yup," Fox replied. "Though to be fair, he might just kill Dooku once he gets what he wants."
"That is a very real possibility." Vos took a deep breath. "Okay, so, because of the blackout missions, you haven't been able to dechip many of the Corries which means that we're about to walk into a Senate Building stuffed to the gills full of troopers that are blacked out and have probably been ordered specifically to kill you and I?"
"To be fair, I did train most of them. So, I know their weak points."
Vos did not look convinced. "Right. But you don't have your chip?"
"Nope."
"So, you're not going to try and kill me?"
"I might. But it won't be because of the chip."
"Good to know. And Thorn, Thire, and Stone?"
"All dechipped."
"But not Sidewinder?"
"Not Sidewinder."
"Which is why you shot him."
"I stunned him. I didn't shoot him."
"Okay."
Vos slumped further back in the seat of the speeder as Coruscant whizzed by them. They were breaking every law Fox had ever seen and had maybe caused several crashes . Including one garbage truck that had to veer into a building to avoid them. The driver shouted at Fox but he just kept going. Even with as fast as he was going, though, it wasn't fast enough. They were still about five minutes away. And a lot could happen in five minutes. Too much could happen in five minutes. Fox and Vos could show up to a very dead Ahsoka and Rex.
And then there was the problem of the Corries.
Fox wasn't lying when he said he knew all their weak points. But they also knew his. They likely knew how he was going to attack and had already prepared for contingencies. And so Fox prepared for those contingencies. Which meant his brothers were preparing for the contingencies that he prepared for their contingencies. And on and on and on in an arms race that would never end until one side was decimated.
But Fox did not want to decimate the enemy.
He couldn't decimate the enemy.
Those were his brothers. Blacked out as they were, they had no control over their actions. They could try to fight some of the orders and minimize the damage. But they couldn't disobey. They could never disobey.
And they were going to try and kill him. No matter how much Fox held back, no matter how hard he tried to keep his brothers alive, some of them were going to die tonight . By his and Vos' hands. And that killed him. He wished there was another way. He wished he could slip in and only have to fight Palpatine.
He knew that was wishful thinking. And Seventeen beat that sort of thing out of him long before he stepped off Kamino.
"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would," Fox admitted if only to distract himself from the fact that in a few short minutes, he'd be killing his brothers.
"I'm a shadow. My job is to react calmly to unexpected, bantha-shit crazy situations. Though, none have quite topped this."
Fox nodded.
Vos looked over at him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"It's fine if you're not."
"I'm fine," Fox said, practically growling at Vos.
"Look, I can go in alone. I know how hard it is to fight the people you love. And it's not fair to make you do it."
The offer was tempting. An out. A reasonable explanation as to why Fox had turned back and hid at the base. He was compromised like this. Not only would he be trying not to kill the enemy, but the enemy had all the training he had. They would know everything he planned.
"No. I can do it," he said. "You can't fight all of them and kill Palpatine."
"Oh, good. I get to kill the Sith lord," Vos said.
"You are the Jedi."
"Oh, no. I wasn't complaining. I'd love to have something to lord over Obi-Wan. Granted, he did his Sith slaying when he was still a padawan. Mine won't be as impressive. But it is still pretty impressive."
"Right. Which is why I might need to fight my brothers alone so you can get to Palpatine."
"I can't let you do that, Fox."
"So you're going to let Ahsoka and Rex die instead?" he looked at him, intensity burning every fiber of his being.
Vos was quiet. "I shouldn't have to choose."
"Tough shit, this is war. You don't get to choose. And you're no longer in charge. I am."
"Since when?"
"Since I found out Palpatine was behind all of this. I'm in charge. And I say you leave me to deal with my brothers while you help Ahsoka and Rex. Palpatine cannot escape. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," Vos said.
"Now, they know me and I trained them. They'll be blacked out in a defensive position. Likely they'll have barricaded the main entrance to funnel us out into the open where they'll be waiting to mow us down."
"Fun," Vos grumbled.
"I'm going to the Southwest Entrance. It's the smallest of the entrances, mainly used to sneak escorts in and out of the Senate building. They will still be there, but just by virtue of the space they'll have lower numbers. If I were them, I'd be set up in Defensive Position C."
"You say that like I have any idea what that is."
"It doesn't really matter. We've found that one good knock on the head can sometimes reset the chip at least temporarily. So try not to kill them. Remember, they have no control over their actions."
Was that even fair to ask Vos to do? They were going to try and kill him no matter what. Was it fair to ask that he hold himself back just so that his brothers might have a chance to live? And could Fox live with himself if, in doing so, Vos was cut down? Unable to defend as he normally would for fear of killing someone Fox asked him not to.
"Have you ever… blacked out?"
Fox nodded. "Once. In the very beginning. It was…" he shuddered. "It scares you when you wake up and realize hours are missing from your day and you can't figure out what you were doing. You don't know how you got certain injuries. You don't know what you were forced to do."
Vos nodded. He set his jaw. His eyes hardened. "I understand. Alright, I'll do my best. But I can't promise anything, Fox. We're going to be outnumbered and they are shooting to kill."
Good. That was good. Vos was going to try and keep as many troopers alive, but not at the expense of himself. Fox could live with that. He didn't want to, but he could.
"We don't have to defeat them. We just have to get to Ahsoka and Rex. There's a service lift about twenty-five meters to the left of the Southwestern Entrance door."
"More opportunities to sneak prostitutes in?"
"Prostitutes, drug dealers, mistresses. Everything."
Vos let out a whistle.
Fox handed him his card. "You can use this to shut it down. Code is 59183."
"And I don't want to take the service lift because?"
"Because you're going to be faster than it. And the troopers are tracking what floor it's getting off on. I would go one floor higher than Amidala's office and then cut your way through the floor."
"You say that as if it's super easy to just cut through a floor with a lightsaber."
Fox glared at him. "They'll be prepared to shoot anything that comes out of those lift doors, even if the service lift isn't operational. So unless you want to immediately be met with blaster fire, go up, then go down."
"Fine, fine."
"Then, kill Palpatine."
"Oh yeah, because an evil Sith lord is totally going to be easier to deal with than a bunch of Force-null troopers. Remember, I didn't even defeat Dooku."
Fox rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying it's easier. But at least with Palpatine, you can fight to kill him. Maybe buy some time for the rest of the Jedi to show up and give you a hand. Or at least buy some time so Ahsoka and Rex can get away.
"I'm not sure the Jedi Council would approve of killing him without a fair trial. I'm going after him based on your word that Rex told you that he was a Sith lord."
Fox looked at him. "I'm sure you'll figure out very quickly if he's a Sith lord or not ." He turned to face the road.
Up ahead, he could see the Senate building and a problem.
"Shit! They've moved the blockade out of the entrance! It'll double their numbers at the very least. Damn, I'd be proud of them if they weren't trying to kill us," he said. "You don't have bad knees, right?"
"What?"
He didn't give Vos a chance to answer. Instead, he gripped him by the back of the shirt and jumped out of the speeder. The speeder crashed into the wall right beside where the troopers had set up their blockade. They didn't even flinch. Didn't even scatter. Just started firing. Proof that they were under the effects of the chips. Blacked-out troopers had no self-preservation instincts.
"I thought you said we weren't trying to kill them?" Vos said. He leaped to his feet, ignited his lightsaber, and began deflecting bolts. This gave Fox a chance to gather his bearings and find his blaster.
"We aren't. I know how to aim."
"A crashing speeder?"
"Is anyone dead?"
"I don't think so. I can't sense them like this."
"Trust me, that didn't kill anyone." He set his blaster to stun and worked to cut as many down as possible.
He had to admit, he had never seen Vos fight, truly fight before. His position with the Coruscant Guard didn't allow him to showcase his lightsaber skills. And, while Fox did know how Jedi looked when they fought, seeing it in person was a different experience. A grainy video on the holonet did not do justice to just how fast the Jedi moved. Just how fluid. How graceful. Sometimes, it was like Vos' feet weren't even touching the ground.
The way Vos moved through the smoke and dust that filled the air pulled Fox's attention away from his brothers to watch him. Sometimes, he could only see the glow of his lightsaber, spinning at a pace so fast it shouldn't be possible. The only indication that he was still alive and moving.
But Fox did not have the luxury of watching Vos fight. They had a job to do. And, while the external blockade caused problems, they could still get in. In fact, Vos might be an asset here. His lightsaber made for an alluring target and was drawing the blaster fire towards him and away from Fox. Maybe even on purpose.
He could use that.
"I'm going to get behind them," he shouted.
Vos didn't respond. Instead, he used the Force to grab a handful of Corries and toss them to the ground. His brothers went down and stayed down.
For a split second, Fox almost turned his blaster on Vos. He was attacking his brothers. He was the enemy. He forced these feelings down. His brothers were trying to kill them. Vos could only deflect so many blaster bolts and would have to go on the offensive eventually if he wanted to survive. They had to be a little rough if they were going to win. Still, he didn't like seeing his brothers tossed around like ragdolls and knocked out. He wanted to serve by their sides, not be their enemy.
Vos continued to black as many bolts as he could, using the glowing lightsaber to distract the Corries and Fox used the smoke as cover to sneak around. He occasionally fired on a Corrie when he could get away with it. But only sparingly so as not to give away his position.
Vos had also taken to throwing as many of them as he could. Likely to not accidentally knock back a blaster shot that would end fatally.
It didn't always work, though. Fox stumbled on two brothers with holes in their chests. He forced himself to keep moving.
He didn't even know who had died.
Once he was around back, he started stunning them. Picking up stray blasters as he went along. The last thing they needed was for him to run out of shots.
He now understood what people meant by saying a Jedi was worth a thousand soldiers. Because, despite there being only two of them, they managed to subdue all of the Corries.
Once the last one fell, Vos wasted no time in sprinting through the door.
"Come on. The lift is up this way."
"Are you going to be able to get up there when it's not running?"
Fox nodded. "I have cables I can use to ascend. But do not wait on me. Get to Ahsoka and Rex."
"Got it, boss."
Fox picked up Cluster's bucket ( thankfully Cluster was still alive) and put it on his head. "This is CT-3040," he said in the most robotic voice he could manage . "Threats have been neutralized. One Jedi and Commander Fox have been eliminated. Over."
"Good thinking. That'll buy us some time," Vos said as he turned to shut down the lift.
"Good," Captain Ader said. "I'm coming your way to do damage control. Report to the prison with any survivors. Over."
"Shit." Not enough time, it seemed. "We got to move. Ader will be here any second. And what the fuck does he mean by prison? He wants us to go all the way to the Corrie prison?"
"I don't know," Vos said. He stopped trying to shut down the lift and had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Vos, talk to me. What's going on? Why aren't you moving?"
"It's dark here." His voice was hollow.
Fox looked around. "Yeah. The lights are out. Emergency lights should have come on by now. I don't know why they haven't. But that doesn't matter. Just shut it down if there's still power. We have to move."
Vos made no movements toward the lift. And the way he was moving almost reminded Fox of a trooper who was blacked out. Only that wasn't possible because Vos didn't have a chip in his head. Right? He was kidnapped by Dooku maybe he did get a chip in his head. In which case, Fox was fucked because he would not be able to fight him.
"No," Vos said. "It's dark in here. I can feel it."
"Shit," Fox said, finally understanding what Vos was talking about. "Palpatine."
Vos's eyes snapped into focus and widened. "No. Dooku!"
Fox felt an invisible hand slam into his sternum and throw him across the room . Just in time for him to narrowly avoid getting cut in half by a lightsaber. His back and head smashed into the wall. He felt something snap. Stars appeared in his eyes. He heard Cluster's bucket crack and his body crumpled to the floor.
Fox had never seen him in person before, but he would recognize the man anywhere. Tall. Trimmed beard. Dark robes. And a crimson lightsaber. Fox couldn't use the Force, but everything about his presence screamed danger. Screamed agony. Screamed terror. His entire body wanted to run as far away from here as he could manage .
"Dooku," Vos snarled. His own lightsaber holding Dooku's back. His entire body shook from the energy he needed just to keep Dooku from cutting off his head.
"I'm sorry, boy. But we cannot allow you or your little clone to ruin the plan."
Vos broke the locked lightsabers and lunged forward. Dooku was able to meet him beat for beat, blow for blow. Dueling in a way that made it seem almost easy . And from experience, when someone made a fight look easy, that meant they were powerful . Judging from the sweat beading off Vos's brow and the trembling of his body, the duel was grueling.
"You mean you can't allow us to stop Palpatine from murdering a child?" Vos shouted, lunging at him. Dooku evaded him with ease.
"If she had only kept her nose out of our business, then we wouldn't have had to resort to such drastic measures."
"Liar!"
Even though Dooku was clearly the more skilled duelist, Vos was holding his own. Maybe even surpassing him with the brutality of his strikes. He was throwing everything he had into hitting Dooku. Again.
And again.
And again.
"The chips in their heads say otherwise. You wanted to wipe us out. Your family!"
Dooku stumbled at the implication. He used the Force to throw Vos back. Vos landed on his feet and charged once more.
"You are not my family," Dooku snarled.
"So, you really don't care about Obi-Wan? He would have died if your plan had worked."
There again was another stumble. So, that was a weak point for him . Interesting. If Vos could keep pulling out hits like that, it might distract him enough for them to win.
Fox pulled out his blaster and clicked it off of stun. He had to wait for the right moment. Wait for Vos to trip Dooku up once more. Then he could fire. Sith weren't immortal. One good shot through the head ought to do it.
"And what about Qui-Gon? Is this really how you want to honor his memory? Do you really hate everything he stood for?"
"Don't presume to know what I am thinking," Dooku said. "Besides, from your anger, it appears you haven't quite come back from the dark side. Has it been hiding all along, Quinlan? Have you been lying to the Jedi about your true intentions? Is that a hint of yellow in your eyes?"
If Kenobi was a sore spot for Dooku, then Quinlan's fall definitely was a sore spot for him. Fox could see it in the way he hesitated. In the way he faltered. Second guessing himself and his intentions.
But that couldn't be allowed. Seventeen was very clear that the second you start second-guessing yourself is the second you're dead. Only, Quinlan hadn't received Seventeen's brutal training. And he had been tortured by both Dooku and Ventress so they knew how to hurt him physically as well as mentally.
And, what's worse, it was working.
Any upper hand Quinlan had gotten by mentioning Kenobi and Qui-Gon (whoever that was) was immediately undone by Dooku suggesting he was falling or had never found his way back to the light in the first place.
Dooku managed to push Quinlan back with the Force. Just enough to make him stumble and drop his lightsaber. Then, Dooku raised his own. Ready to strike him down.
Quinlan was frozen. Staring up at Dooku as death came for him.
Fox's mind went into overdrive. Everything seemed to slow down. He couldn't use his blaster because the shots would be deflected back and him and possibly kill him. But he couldn't sit by and let Quinlan die.
So, in possibly the dumbest move he had ever pulled in his life , he launched himself at Dooku.
"Not my Jedi, you bitch!"
Lightsabers couldn't deflect bodies back as far as he was aware.
And, if there was one thing Dooku hadn't been expecting, it was Marshall Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard to tackle him to the ground and start beating on him like they were in a bar fight.
Somewhere along the way, Fox had knocked Dooku's lightsaber clean out of his hands. But he didn't stop there. He was going to make this man hurt.
So, he punched him. Sitting on his chest and hitting him over and over and over again. One hand gripped his shirt to pull his head off the ground. The other closed into a fist and smashed into his face. Until he felt his hand break from the force. Until he felt the blood from Dooku's nose soak into his glove. Until he saw nothing but red.
That was fine.
He wasn't letting up.
He was going to beat this man to death if he needed to.
Of course, he didn't get the chance to beat Dooku to death because the universe hated him. Dooku regained some of his composure and threw Fox to the wall. He hit it with another sickening crack. As he was flying through the air, he saw Ader racing towards them, a squad hot on his heels. Blasters raised.
Ready to fire.
Maybe the chip didn't override the fact that Dooku was a Separatist and they could kill him for Fox.
"I'm tired of this. Execute Order 66 and include Commander Fox in that as well," Dooku said. He wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. He
Blaster fire rained down upon them. Fox only had a split second to roll behind a pillar. He looked out to see Vos had down the same. Dooku called his lightsaber to his hand and then went to the service lift and disappeared in it.
Fox turned back to the Corries, trying to figure out a way out of this . His blood ran cold when he saw Ader pull something out and run towards them.
"Ader no!" He cried.
In the corner of his eye, Fox saw Quinlan throw out his hand. The invisible force was back. Pulling Fox further down the hallway. Only this time, it wasn't just the Force. Ader released his hold on the bomb. Light filled Fox's vision and the shockwaves from the bomb threw him further down the hall.
The ceiling collapsed.
Fox slammed into the ground, rolling a few times before scrambling to his feet and rushing back to where Ader had set off the bomb.
"Ader!" he called. He felt sick to his stomach when he found Ader, or what was left of him. And the bodies of his squad.
It wasn't that troopers would never blow themselves up to complete a mission. Suicide missions happened all the time. But, for Ader to knowingly blow up several of his brothers just to try and kill him and Quinlan…
Quinlan!
"No! Vos? Answer me!" He shouted, scrambled over the rubble to try and dig him out. He wouldn't have died. He was a Jedi. He could have held the building up with the Force. Right?
"Answer me, dammit! You need to fight the Sith!"
An electro staff jammed itself into his ribs.
He let out a cry as a boot slammed into his chest and rolled down the pile of rubble. The Praetorian Guard had arrived.
The one who had first attacked him raised his staff to bring Fox down. Fox was ready for it and grabbed the staff as it came towards him. He twisted and used the force of his body to rip it out of the guard's hands.
He spun around and jabbed it right into his neck. He let out a shriek and collapsed to the ground. But he wasn't the only one who was there.
There were at least five and they were closing in on Fox.
He did his best to block and attack. But they were circled around him. If he was facing one, he had four more at his back. And they were not taking turns fighting him.
He blocked. Kicked. Punched. Slammed the electrostaff into their bodies only for none of it to matter.
Another staff jammed into his ribs and then slammed into his face. The HUD cracked and went static as Fox stumbled back. He ripped off Cluster's bucket and launched it at one of them. It snapped his head back but did nothing to stop the other four.
Another one kicked him in the gut and sent him flying through a waterfall coming from the ceiling. He landed in a puddle. The water turned red from the blood pouring from his face.
He kipped up and launched himself at the guards once more.
He got another one by feinting to the right then swinging the electrostaff at his head like a club. He hit the man so hard the staff bent upon contact with his head.
Another one tackled him from the side, much like he had done to Dooku earlier. Once on his back, the staff stabbed into his chest one more. Fox screamed as the electricity coursed through his veins. His entire body went rigid. His heart skipped beats. Beating too fast. Too slow. Too many times. Not enough.
Another staff hit him square in the jaw.
Then another one on his temple .
He couldn't fight. He couldn't get up.
As he lay there on the floor of the destroyed Senate, he saw the uniform of a member of the Navy walk up. His black, blurry boots entered Fox's line of vision.
He leaned down and picked up the lightsaber.
Another hit to his head.
Everything went dark.
Notes:Well…
So…
Another cliffhanger…
I would say I'm sorry, but honestly, I'm loving all the screaming in my comments right now. Just know, we got several coming up so buckle up buttercups. I almost feel bad because you guys do not know what's coming but I do. It feels almost unfair, in a way. Ah well, all will be answered soon enough. Just a note, though, several of the chapters are going to be happening concurrently or semi-concurrently. So, Fox and Vos fighting the Corries is happening pretty much at the same time Ahsoka is fighting Jesse. Jesse got there a few seconds before and used the main entrance while Vos and Fox went around the back, hence why he didn't see them coming in. I feel like that "It's Always Sunny" Meme with the string and paper covering the walls. Trying to keep track of who is where and doing what when was probably the hardest part of this fic, hence why I had to take a week just to rewrite the plot synopsis. I think I have it all ironed out. Hope you guys enjoyed! And are maybe taking breaks to read some fluff. It's gonna be a while before we can get to the comfort.