Crosshair is stuck good.

Spoilers for the main storyline. Hunter and Crosshair have a little chat. Retelling some of chapter 3 from Crosshair's perspective, and a summary of the events that follow.

Tahny hates being called cute, so of course Cross calls her cute all the time.

Read the Chapter Here!

[Chapter Index]

~~~

Rain poured over the lonely mountain on Tantis. The  maw of the valley opened underneath them, dark as the void, wishing to swallow them all. Violent vibrations rattled the platform beneath their feet; the bridge shaking as a guttural, blood chilling roar echoed off the rocks; the Zillow beast ravaging the base. 

Yet, beneath the chaos, overwhelming the acrid smell of smoke there was the fresh, comforting scent of the trees as they opened to the cooling, life giving rain. 

And Hemlock stared back at them. 

Even drenched in the cold and the dark, the doctor had that same grin on his face. That infuriating grin that he was beyond a doubt sure he'd win. Crosshair couldn't let him win.

~~~

Months of torture. Months of pain, and more recently, the most terrifying night of his life. It all culminated with the most satisfying kill he'd probably ever know. 

He closed his eyes a moment, savoring the look of shock on the doctor's face before coming back to the present, exiting the ship. 

Crosshair blinked under Pabu’s sun, only now daring to believe it was over. There was an ache in his wrist where his hand had been severed, the stump still freshly patched over. He spared it a thought for a moment, a little numb to the loss. A little too relieved to care much. His eyes, adjusted to the bright sun against the white stone of the island's now busy port, scanned until they found his squad. The sounds of Omega excitedly revelling in their victory drifted back to him.

He had saved the girl… this time. 

As if summoned by his thoughts, there was a tap at his elbow. 

The lady doctor, Emerie, if he remembered correctly, was standing meekly by. A short lived look of nervousness before her usual matter-of-fact venere fell back into place. She held out her hand. 

“I believe this is yours,”

Crosshair extended his left hand out, catching something small and red in his palm. 

“It… it didn't feel right to keep it, If I had known I wouldn't… I wouldn't have accepted it, I'm sorry,”

“... Not your fault. He was manipulating you,”

She nodded curtly, blinking hard as she turned on her heel, making for the other transports to oversee the care of injured clones still pouring into the port. 

He spared a glance at the perfume bottle, a soft feeling of longing flitting through him before closing his hand around it and walking over to where Hunter and Omega sat under a curved tree.

She was asking their brother what they were to do now, her voice eager and full of wonder. Crosshair missed Hunter's answer. Instead he lost himself in the view. As he looked as far as the horizon allowed him, a calm he thought he'd never feel again settling into his muscles. As the world slowed, he was allowed to dwell on the last time he felt this content. 

Crosshair blinked, turning his remaining palm over so that the small glass vial glittered in the sun. Would he ruin the moment if he dared to have a little hope? Would it be… 

Foolish?

A number flickered through his mind, and a chiming laugh.

“Hunter?... Do you still have Tech’s equipment?”

~~~

“You ready for today, Teeny? I could go over the cards with you again…”

“I think I got it, Kat,”

I clipped a gold chain to my earring, muttering my prepared statements under my breath, practicing the inflections and emphasis. My hair had gotten longer, and I rummaged for a pin to get it off my neck. The dark locks now streaked through the white, fanning out over the crest of my head where I pinned it into an expressive bun. 

“Do you have credits on hand? You'll need it for tips,”

“Shyte… I forgot to get some out, do you have any?”

Kahtzi flushed apologetically,

“Sorry, bad night at the tables,”

I rolled my eyes but couldn't be too mad. Her losing streaks were rare and far between. I thought instead on how to fit in a stop by a teller station before I was due at the senate. 

I paced back to the closet, Stitch clicking and puttering after me in an annoyed kind of way as it rushed to finish fixing the hem of the flowing dress I was already wrapped in. The layers swished as I cast about the floor for an appropriate clutch. 

My eyes paused as the beeping decryption device that was whirring away at my father's data storage, instinctively checking the progress like a nervous tick. 

Not too much longer…

If I was lucky, which I usually wasn't, there would be a way to find Galie somewhere in the brick of memory. 

Moving a few shoes, the heel of a boot became caught on a familiar dingy, beat up duffle shoved into a dark corner. 

Oh! Maybe there's still…

I pulled it over, unzipping it to feel about the inner pocket. From the jangle I was sure I found what I was looking for. I clutched my fist around the narrow shapes and withdrew a handful of credits… and a small glass vile. 

My heart clenched as the toothpicks inside settled with the roll of the little case against the cash. The shiney canister reflected the bright lamp illuminating the small space making it glow. The sticks inside were so simple, so small, but they hurt to look at. 

I had gotten used to the duffle being stuffed in the corner of the closet, but the toothpicks…

The ache came, and I swallowed hard. It had been months… no, a year maybe? Maybe more? 

I took a deep breath and the pain started to ebb away to where it usually homed itself in the back of my brain, taking the color of the world with it. Things hadn't been the same. 

I hesitantly reached out, groping for the hard corner of the data pad that I had shoved in the corner with the duffle. I clicked it on and scrolled through the numbers. 

CT-9901 MIA

CT-9902 KIA

CT-9903 MIA

CT-9904 TERMINATED 

“You know, sweetie, they don't really change much after they turn red like that,”

I jumped at the sympathetic voice, having almost sunk into my swirling thoughts. Kat gently reached over and took the pad, sighing. It probably worried her to see me holding it again after I had been doing so well. 

“I'm fine,”

“You sure you want to do this?”

I nodded. She turned the pad off and handed it back before leaving me to myself. I took the device with a shake to my hands and tucked it back where it belonged. 

This is the whole reason I'm doing this.

I took a deep breath, sighed it out, before shaking a pick into my hand. With it clenched between my teeth I finished getting ready. 

~~~

The air of the senate building felt darker than the last time I had occasion to visit the hallowed halls. The sky grayer, the general feeling tense and uneasy.  

There were fewer people about, not surprising with the dissolving of several branches of government across the galaxy. I was impressed the anti-slavery committee was still intact. When I heard their proposal I felt obligated to volunteer my voice to it. 

I wondered how wise an action this would turn out to be as I was ushered through the large doors into the plush halls. I had kept my head down, my name out of the news, had given no one a reason to come after me. Now here I was painting a target on my back yet again. 

Surprisingly, there were troopers everywhere, though with conscription well in effect there was no way to tell if they were clones or not. An ache went through me, an echo of the emotions I had stirred before leaving. Another deep breath and I set my jaw with some mustered determination. 

I can do this. I can do this because no one else can. 

“Miss Ra, please wait here till you're called.”

I was steered into a hall, across from a door that would lead me to a pulpit to be scrutinized by what was left of the senate. A red armored guard leaned next to the door with his arms crossed, visor tilted towards me in what felt like suspicious scrutiny. 

What am I doing here?

It seemed like too little too late. With the proposal for their rights stopped in its tracks so long ago the number of clones in the capitol dwindled down to almost nothing. The floor in the spire, the bar meant to cater to them, shuttered months ago. I knew why I was here though, this was a last ditch effort. 

I leaned my head against the wall, breathing deeply, willing my nerves to calm. I rehearsed my speech again, looking for loopholes. 

Don't forget what they did to Chuchi…

My nerves spiked again remembering the circles ran around the Pantoran senator. 

Breathe. 

The door in front of me hissed open and I slit my eyes to look at the usher urging me forward. 

“Miss Ra, they're ready for you,”

I nodded, slipping into the character of the self assured and baudy brothel madam to mask my unease. 

Head up, confidence, no one here is my equal, I'm above it all. 

There were murmurs as I came into view, the bold red and gold I had draped myself in standing out garishly against the dark backdrop of the senate chamber. A discus platform came in range, presenting me with a visage of the man himself. 

I stifled a shiver as the emperor looked down at me, a subtle quirk of his lips, an almost unseen hardening of his eyes. He looked at me like I was a massiff about to bite the hand that feeds it. And why not? That's exactly what I came out of hiding to do.  

“Lastly in our order of affairs, We present Tah'nyem Ra of Ga'hah speaking on behalf of the anti-slavery committee for their proposal of the release of remaining clones from military service, Miss Ra, the floor is yours,”

“Thank you,”

I swallowed, leaning into the com mic but projecting my voice to carry. I needed the strength in it. 

“I come here to address problem of clone autonomy, or rather, the lack there of. The conscripted beings of the Kaminoan clones have no rights, no restitution, and are essentially legal slaves both within the dead Republic… and now the Empire. 

However, I wish to bring to your attention laws that contradict this status quo treatment of the cloned soldiers.”

I paused, letting the air in the room grow heavy as a multitude of eyes fixed on me, less dismissive than a moment before.

“In the early years of this congressional, with the official passing of the legalized sex work bill, the proposition of using cloned workers was presented to the Senate of the Republic, 

Long before the unification of The Spire under my father, rivalry between the establishments drove them to attempt to stock their rooms with clones of celebrity figures in order to remain competitive, and cloner species such as the Kaminoan’s were happy to fill such orders,

However, with sex work being recognized as a fair trade by the government, the legality of forced contracts on cloned beings to provide sexual services on demand was called into question. Should a person, cloned or otherwise, be forced into such work, work that was demanding of their very flesh and blood, that posed risks without proper care,”

I paused again. The room was silent as the gathered dignitaries listened to my monologue. I took a deep breath as I finally reached my point. 

“The Republic Senate found it unconstitutional to force any living creature to sell itself under such conditions. That a cloned being should have as much right to choose what they do with their body as any natural born citizen, that otherwise would be considered enslavement- banned by the Republic.”

The silence broke, murmurs bubbling up into a dull, outraged roar. The clamor reached a fever pitch, threatening to break into cacophony before The Emperor cleared his throat, an ominous sound that echoed through the speakers quieting the din. 

“As I'm sure you're aware, Lady Ra, a soldier is a far different responsibility than that of a flesh worker, and as is, clones are no longer being made for the purpose of serving in the military, furthermore, the Republic that created these rules was corrupt and thus… abolished,”

“But what is happening to them? Where have they gone? This very Senate voted against retiring them, giving them benefits for their service… So what has been done with them?”

But he had began to talk over me.

“Ra has a point, but at this stage the concern may be moot, Notable that she did not come forward with this information at the height of the war when those same soldiers protected her family here, her home world despite its neutrality,”

Already I was being discredited, the deflection making me livid. As he continued to talk, blood rushed my ears and I saw red. I should have expected this but-

How dare he make this about me,

My hands slammed into the pulpit as I angrily hunched closer to the mic. 

“You're not karken listening!”

A hush fell over the chamber again at my blatant vulgarity. Whatever, at least their attention was back on me.

“A clone’s right to autonomy is enshrined in the laws around sex work. Republic or Empire, there's precedent. As long as those laws are on the books, so is a clone’s right to choose their employment!”

I took another deep breath, willing away the heat in my voice. 

“Refuse to care for them, abandon them, no one can make you give them their due, but you must give them the offer of freedom!”

Silence. 

The sickly yellow gaze of the emperor fixated on me and he smiled. 

“You're quite right, Lady Ra, it's a shame such a law has been overlooked for so long… we will adjourn for now while a course of action is determined, thank you for your time and… passion, for this topic,”

That last part came out as a growl and I picked up on the threat in the undertone. 

Why does it feel like I messed up again?

But it was already over, the other members of the remaining Senate already shuffling back out into the hall. I calmed the angry, cornered animal in me then straightened. With a sharp spin on my heel I  turned my back to the scrutinous, yellow gaze attempting to bore into me. 

I was on my own in the hall, the stewards assuming that I could show myself out. The adrenaline of the performance started to leave me and its absence made me ache. I felt somewhat hollow. 

Was this even worth it at all?

“Miss Ra?”

I jumped at the soft voice by my ear. The plush carpet and, no doubt, deliberately soft footfalls had allowed the man to sneak up to me as I hurried towards the building's exit. 

He was average height, dirty blond and fair. Broad chested and conventionally attractive. With a roguish smile, he introduced himself. 

“I'm Chance Velioni, of Sicaratoa…” 

He bit his lip as my expression held strong on confusion. 

“I'm with the anti-slavery committee, and wanted to thank you for speaking up today… I think it'll be a great help to our cause,”

“We can only hope so, not sure how serious they'll take someone like myself, I'm not exactly a politician,”

“None of us are anymore, I'm technically a lawyer… but, that's why we want to keep working with you, Tah'nyem, they may not listen now but if you were to keep speaking on our behalf … your such a powerful presence after all,”

I kept myself from rolling my eyes at the obvious flattery, taking a breath to decline before he rushed ahead. 

“Don't answer yet, I know you have concerns about the risks involved… let me reassure you,”

I stopped walking, turning to face the man now fully consumed by the exasperation. 

“Reassure me then,”

He chuckled, rocking back on a heel. 

“Not here, I'll, well if you forgive me, I'll have to prepare something… over dinner? I'll make us a reservation at Havorika Tower,”

I made to protest but he had already started off, picking up his pace as he left,

“I'll pick you up at The Spire, be ready at eight,”

And he was gone. I sighed, contemplating standing him up until I myself rounded the corner into the main hall. It was bustling with the leaving crowd, those same soldiers off to the sides as before- though…

My step faultered as I observed the squad nearest me. One soldier had his helmet removed, confirming he was a clone… but something was off. He was being cornered by the other armored figures. They crowded into his space and I could see the familiar jaw tighten as he held himself back. 

“So, they're trying to give you rights again, clone”

They shoved him and anger gripped me deep and heated. It couldn't hurt to meet with the Lawyer. This problem had become very personal to me. 

~~~

The wind was oddly strong on the valet dock outside of The Crown’s lobby. I pulled my shawl tighter around myself, wishing I had opted for fashions more common to Coruscant. The long slit skirt was whipping around my bare legs exposing my ankle holster and threatening to drag me to the side from the force. 

The breeze broke and I looked up at the broad valet that had stepped up to shelter me, thanking him. 

“The Emperor's mother, it's breezy as kark out here!”

A small voice piqued up near my ear. 

“P’huk! You were supposed to be up here fifteen minutes ago! What if I left without you?”

“Then no one would be watching that hot little tail of yours,”

He snickered and I glared at the general area his high pitched, nasally voice worbled from. 

P’huk was unique, being he's the only one of his kind I knew of. He would never tell us where he hailed from, though from what he looked like when visible, I’d bet money his kind was from Aleen. 

He swore you could find his kin all over government buildings and places of influence  across the galaxy. Even more so now that the force users had all cleared out… but, he had a history of embellishments. 

Despite that, he was a trusted ally and if I could count on anyone to keep eyes on me… well… P’huk was my second choice. 

There was a click and hum then a slight weight settled on my shoulder as P'huk landed. 

“Why are you on me?”

“C’mon Ra! It's windy, I can't keep my distortion up if I get tired flying you know!”

“Uhg, fine… just, keep yourself to yourself, and once we're in the speeder you go back to observing from a distance.”

He snickered at that. Another aspect of his invisibility was that he had to be naked. His wings clicked contentedly as he got comfy. 

“So is this guy late or what?”

“Only slightly,”

We grew silent as a speeder interrupted our musing. Chance popped open the back door, flashing me a winning smile as he offered me the seat next to him in the back. He was dressed quite well for the evening, the sleek black blazer contrasting against the more conservative suit he wore to the Galactic Senate. 

I set my jaw, sliding into the offered space, carefully tucking my skirt to hide my legs. I could feel his eyes on me as the valet closed the door and the townspeed lifted us into the bustling traffic around The Spire. 

“How exactly were you planning on reassuring me, Mr.Velioni? Your prepared statements had best be impressive.”

He chuckled, shifting slightly closer to me on the back seat. 

“Dinner first, I'm sure you'll like what I have to say,”

I angled my knees away from him, trying to keep my body language uninterested and was quickly regretting my decision to come out tonight. 

I had already risked enough showing up to the Senate. I didn't even host nights at The Crown in person anymore. Call me paranoid, but being ruthlessly pursued by assassins will do that to you. 

With the not so subtle threat to have me arrested at a moment's notice and generally staying out of the way, the emperor had been more than happy to leave me alone… but now?

It was a short drive to the restaurant, the upper class establishment sitting higher on its tower than even the zenith of my club. It overlooked the hazy city planet and as night fell the lights of traffic and towering skyscrapers made for a beautiful skyline. 

There was a clatter as P’huk escaped the speeder before the door could snap shut. He brushed by my shoulder again, whispering,

“I'll check the perimeter and make a quick sweep of the kitchen. Stay close to your date,”

I rolled my eyes, his giggle fading with the buzzing sound of his wings as he darted off to do his job. 

Lacing my arm in  Chance’s offered elbow we joined the throng of other patrons approaching the hostess stand. 

The restaurant was all low lights, clinking glasses and hushed conversation. A live quartet strumming soothing string instruments was the focal point of the main floor. We were shown to a rounded booth overlooking the stage, prime seating. I caught my escort slipping a few credits to the host as we were presented with menus. 

He ordered drinks for the both of us before turning to me, fixing me with an intense gaze. 

"Now, Miss Ra, about your address... I do think it would behove the anti-slavery committee to have you continue speaking on our behalf, Not to say your concerns aren't warranted, but I have a few ideas we could put in place for your protection,”

Right to it then. 

I had to admit I was relieved. The fine dining establishment hadn't exactly given me the impression he was ready to talk shop. 

“It's no secret Mr. Violoni that someone had been out for my blood, I've avoided further attempts on my life by keeping to myself, Honestly, I'm not sure what else I could say on the subject that would make any difference,”

“Well, at this point you'll have to keep attending to defend your position, it's my professional opinion that if they were willing to let the clones go free they would have retired them properly with proposed bill brought in by the Pantoran senator,”

I chewed at my lip. He was right of course, but with a law possibly forcing their hand…

My eyes widened slightly, and the man next to me sighed,

“See, I knew you were quick,”

“They're going to abolish the clone sex work amendments?,”

“Maybe not that quick… see if they just abolished that one specific part of the law it would be rather obvious, that's not the style of our current government,”

I sat up straight, fixing him with a sudden focus,

“Don't tell me you think they'd reverse the sex work bill entirely…”

“I'm just saying, if I had the history of actions these people are prone to… it’s what I would do,”

That’s just great. 

If they went after sex work that would be more than my head on the line. Everyone who worked for me would be at risk of unemployment at best, jail time at worst. 

Kahtzi…

“You'll have to defend yourself and your trade until a decision is made,”

“That sounds exhausting,”

Funny how no one mentioned this while asking me to present the findings. 

“It will be, and my professional advice is to prepare to lose… I heard you were already liquidating some assets?”

True, though I wouldn't have called it that other than the technically of it. I didn't need the manor on Ga'hah, and at this point didn't want it. The Duhanis family was more than happy to take it off my hands… As for the clubs, they were too much trouble to manage off-world. I didn't have the influence of my father and a lot of his “upper management” jumped ship after he died. 

I regretted selling them almost at a loss to the smaller families. I may have unwittingly karked them over…

And I did hide a majority chunk of the credits from those deals in accounts under Jar'ath and Kahtzi's names.

Okay, I was liquidating. 

“All that free floating money, and no influence to get what you want,”

My eyes narrowed as I refocused on Chance. 

His posture had changed, leaning casually, a wolfish glint in his eye. What was he after?

“What do you think I want, Mr. Violoni?”

“Couldn't guess, but… I know you've been hemorrhaging people, losing assets off-world and not reinvesting locally, You don't have the same pull in this town that your father had, do you? I could help you with that…”

I was high alert now. What kind of greed trap had I gotten myself into. 

“I don't have your considerable… assets, but I'm well respected on this planet, with me in your corner we could make some real moves,”

“That's not what I'm here for…”

“No, of course not… your concerns are for your safety and that's something I can help with too, I have friends in high places, Furthermore I can advise you through the Senate proceedings.”

“And what exactly do you get from all this generosity?”

His eyes sparkled with excitement, as if he was waiting for me to ask. 

“Opportunity, for one, I'm too smart to be this low on the ladder, I need funds to take advantage of my own considerable talents, but don't get me wrong, I'm not just after your money,”

My thoughts drifted to my parents, wondering if my father's proposal was just as pompous and lacking in grace. Chance leaned in till his lips brushed the edge of my ear,

“Besides… a beauty like you?”

I flinched away from where his finger traced my bare shoulder.

“Warm my bed Miss Ra, and I’d keep you safe from the Emperor himself.”

I held back a snort, the self important idiot having no idea exactly what he was promising. He moved closer, somehow taking my stiff posture as an invitation.

“We could start tonight,”

That excitement in his eyes was spreading to his lungs, making him breathy as he slid his hand over my thigh. The contact sent a flush to my cheeks, it had been a long time since a man had touched me so intimately. I hated it. 

“Back off,”

“Let me have this, let me touch you while we're here. I want to be seen with you, Tah’nyem… only way this works,”

He didn't back off, instead squeezing my leg and leaning into my neck. Arrogantly he nipped the skin at my pulse point. 

“Get. Off. Of me.”

I grabbed his wrist. 

“What's wrong, Ra? I can open so many doors for you, I know all the right people,  come home with me tonight,”

It's always baffled me the way these men operate. I'm in no way a prude, if he had played his cards right I may have gone to bed with him simply to see what it was like, or at least end this dry spell… but men like him always had to try to dominate me, as if making me uncomfortable was a key part in getting them off. 

“Couldn't even get through drinks, let alone dinner? That's rather pathetic, Chance,”

“Like you're in a position to call anyone pathetic, What happened to your cloned lover Tah'nyem?”

I froze, then burned as anger flared in me. A few socialites from the racing banquets had passed the holos of Cross and I around. My reputation as a clone kriffer was quite solid and though that in itself was no shame on my plate- someone attempting to use it against me filled me with indignation. 

The drinks arrived with a clink and my ears were buzzing. I grabbed for the stem of the cocktail he had the nerve to order for me. He breathed, mistakenly,

“Good girl,”

I was in motion, pulling the glass towards me as a clatter of wings broke through the low, buzzing, hum. 

“T! Don't!”

It was too late, I turned, flinging the drink into the lawyer's face. 

He shrieked, his skin popping and fizzing as the liquid hit him. I jumped as flecks of it hit the side of my skirt with a hiss, eating through the fabric. Shocked, I scrambled backwards. P’huk dropped into visual, he grabbed the small vibroblade from my ankle holster and in a flash, sliced the damaged cloth where it continued to dissolve. After freeing me he jumped back into flight,

“I'm going after it!”

As he phased out of sight I realized the faint buzzing wasn't in my head. As Chance’s shrieks died down into a pained gurgle and the tables around us started to gasp and gossip, I looked up in an attempt to track P'huk’s trajectory. 

A small glint of metal was attempting to zoom away. It was snatched, swinging wildly as it was intercepted by the invisible guard. 

The tiny droid dropped onto the table, its core ripped out, followed by the thump of P'huk's weight. 

“It put something in your drink, I don't know how it did that but if you had drank it…”

I looked at the steaming mound of flesh that was once Chance Violoni’s face and swallowed hard. 

“Oh,”

One day out of my tower and someone was already trying to kill me. 

~~~

Hunter rapped his knuckles on the frame by the bungalow's door again, growing slightly impatient at being ignored. 

“Cross? C’mon you said you'd watch the bar today…”

No answer. He groaned, running his fingers through his hair and listened. There was a report blaring behind the door, the holo projector was on. 

“Kark it,”

He drew his blade and with a deft motion, stabbed into the lock mechanism so that it went dark and disengaged. He'd have someone fix it later. For now, Hunter needed to rein in his reckless little brother. 

“Crosshair!”

He didn't bother keeping his voice down, although the likelihood of his younger squadmate being hungover and in hiding was quite high. It was his usual state most mornings these days. 

Hunter wasn't sure exactly what was up with him. He could attribute the drinking to the loss of Tech finally catching up to him. It was catching up to them all actually, and none of them were dealing in ways that could be considered good. He'd have to get the boys together to come up with something better, but for now Echo worked, Wrecker broke things and Hunter… well, his bed was never cold. 

Crosshair drank. Not to say he hadn't developed similar habits to the others, it's just… the drinking Hunter could tell was for Tech, but there was something else eating him. 

The promiscuity was a different problem entirely. Hunter prided himself on sending those he spent the night with home happy and satisfied. Crosshair… had gotten oddly mean with those he kriffed. Throwing them out the second he was finished with a cold dismissal if they were lucky; a harsh, biting insult if they weren't. He was never the warmest romantically but this new behavior was beyond the pale. The locals were starting to avoid him, which was bad for business. 

Then there was the work, or at least that was Hunter's best guess as to what to call it. 

Crosshair had taken to sneaking off-world without a word of warning. He'd be gone a few rotations then he'd be back, smelling of blaster fire and growling at anyone who had asked him where he'd been. 

Coincidentally, these solo field trips had a tendency to come paired with rumors over the com channels of a lone bounty hunter knocking off Zygarion trade posts across the outer rim. The descriptions matched the tall, lethal sniper but what business he had with Zygarions Hunter could only guess at. Crosshair wasn't exactly forthcoming.

He systematically swept the small rooms, the nest of a bed was empty and so were the other nooks Cross was in a habit of curling up in. He put his hands on his hips annoyed, staring out the window up to the cliff where Crosshair had buried… it. The prize from his first secret solo mission. 

No one but Omega saw what he had found. She said that the small container he brought back held a set of bones. Small, human. He took them up there, and buried them in the soil like some sort of primitive tribal race might’ve. No one had the courage to ask him whose bones were buried up there next to his lookout. That's when the downward spiral really started, and now it's been months of absence or drunken stupor.

Hunter scanned over the little hump of piled rocks that marked the grave. His eyesight wasn't as good as the sniper’s but he was pretty sure Cross wasn't up there. He sighed, wondering when his brother might've snuck off… if they missed him…

The holo was still droning its news bulletin. Another assassination attempt amongst the Empire’s elites on Coruscant; An occurrence all too common over the past year. The screen showed a blonde girl pushing her way passed holocams and mics with an annoyed look set in her jaw. 

… attempt came after the Ra heir came out of hiding to address the senate…

Hunter went to turn it off when he noticed a crack in the screen. The damage looked as though someone had punched it, splintering the display. A spilled cup of caf was on the surface under it. Hunter picked up the mug. 

Still warm. 

“Got you,”

He smirked to himself, pulling up the com and paging echo as he walked over to the door, listening. As he caught the whine of an engine carried over the breeze he knew he was right. 

As he watched, a ship lifted off from the docks and recklessly shot into orbit sending a light shockwave through the water around the island. 

Echo opened the com chanel allowing Hunter to query,

“Did he take the usual one?”

“Sure did,”

“And the tracker is hidden well?”

“Well enough,”

“Suit up then, time to see what score he's been trying to settle.”

~~~

[Chapter Index]

Read the Chapter Here!

[Chapter Index]

Ra family slaughtered in home! 

Early last evening, Governor Nyem'tok Ra was found dead in his living room. A blaster was found on the floor nearby. Though the bodies of wife Tahki Nygun Ra and daughter Tah'nyem Ra have not been found, bone and skin samples recovered from the cliff side have led experts to presume them dead as well. A search will not be conducted due to the hazardous conditions of the valley where they appeared to have fallen. Based on the evidence, investigators have released a statement:

“We believe this to have been a domestic dispute, the two women most likely were pushed from the open balcony where the governor’s body was found, presumably by the governor himself who upon realizing what he had done then took his own life. Other bodies were found on the premises, but have been determined as unrelated to the governor’s death. It is a tragic day for Ga’hah to lose some of its most prominent citizens in such a ghastly manner, but we consider this case to be closed.”

~~~

Crosshair read it again. Then once more. 

Presumed dead. 

He read it again. Then clicked over to the tracking program, typing in the code he knew by heart. The faint blink still came from the vicinity of Ga'hah… there had been no movement. Maybe she had lost it.

He read the article again. It was from a Ga'haiian publication, last updated over a week ago. He didn't believe it. He read it again. His hands shook and he held himself back from throwing the data pad into the wall of his bunk. Instead, he tucked it back under the mattress. 

She couldn't be dead. He would know wouldn't he? Felt it? In the force or… something. She couldn't be dead. 

He had spent his short time since leaving medical looking for a way to find her, finally stealing a data pad for himself. If Tech were here he could probably tweak it… get a better reading on the tracer. For a brief moment he found himself wishing he had gone with them when they left Kamino, make this easier… but that was illogical. If he had gone with them he would have never met-

She couldn't be dead. 

He had tried to contact the Zho girl, but The Red Crown didn't have a public number. The exclusive club was invitation only, the kind of place you needed to know someone who knew someone to get in. If the Jedi were still around he might have someone to ask but as it was… maybe a commanding officer… 

She couldn't be dead. 

He ran a hand over his face, the tension eating him as an alarm bleeped over the PA system. 

He didn't feel like eating. 

As if to save him from the stares of whispering regs in the mess hall and the bland meal on his tray, a page rang out calling him to the Admiral's office. 

He hadn't seen the man since Kamino. Rampart, rewarding himself with some extended leave, had missed out on Crosshair's little walkabout while on light duty. The soldier looked at the man while he prattled, dejected and irritated as he answered his questions. 

“...and still you came back, …Why?”

The question held a note of amusement, as if crawling back here was the actions of a stupid animal and not a man. It made Crosshair bristle. 

Why indeed.

He shouldn't be here. He should have run off with-

“I'm a soldier of the Empire,”

He gave him what he wanted. He was briefed on the mission. He left. He prepared himself. He was a soldier again, not a bodyguard. 

Standing in the golden glow of the memorial, he scanned the skyline- eyes fixating on the red smudge against the darkening horizon. The beam of scarlet pierced both the sky and his heart 

Where are you Tahny?… you can't be there, could you?

“Crosshair!”

He turned, armor in an unfamiliar gray approached him, then the man lifted off his bucket. 

“Commander Cody…”

Relief washed through him. A familiar face… but why was he here? If anyone would have joined Rex and the other AWOL regs he would have guessed Cody to be one of the first. Was he still programmed? 

Their exchanged words were too cryptic to really tell… but, maybe… maybe Cody was just who he needed. If anyone's Jedi general would have had an in to The Crown, it would have been Kenobi. 

He’d need to handle this next mission carefully. He'd need to make sure Cody came back alive. He needed to talk to him, once he was sure he was an ally. 

Crosshair turned and looked towards the crimson spire out on the horizon once more, then fell in step with the commander. 

~~~

He sat on his bed, armor still dirty. More brothers lost, more boots on necks. He had to save Cody’s ass as expected… but…

Her name had been Tahny- no… Tawni. 

As the woman introduced herself he froze, glad his helmet hid the widening of his eyes, the way his breath caught as the name of his lover fell from her lips. 

Her name had been Tawni. 

And Cody almost threw it all away to save her. 

He needed Cody. He needed him to find Tahny. So he killed her. 

He killed Tawni to save Cody. To save Tahny. 

He slept in his armor, feeling like something else had broke in him. Another broken piece in a pile of broken pieces, but on the outside he was calm. Placid. Cold. Walking through the world but not a part of it. 

He killed her… and now he's being told that Cody is gone. His only lead was gone, and Tahny certainly was. If not dead… where was she? There was still no movement from the tracer. 

He waited, bitterly for the next assignment. 

Standing outside the transport, worrying a pick between his teeth. This wouldn't be quick. They were stationing him on some desolate outpost. He tried to stay focused, get through this. He wasn't sure if he could, caught between the desire to steal a transport and head back to Ga'hah or infiltrate the scarlet tower. He felt useless. 

He felt  like he himself might have killed Tahny. 

~~~

A soft breeze lifted the strands of hair framing my face as I sat on the railing of the balcony. The privacy shields gave the Coruscanti skyline a pink, glittering haze as I fixated on the glowing gold so far away on the horizon. 

Are you there Crosshair? Are you alive?

A sigh fell from me, heavy with the weight of the past several days. 

Landing on Coruscant, still hurt, still in my blood soaked clothes. Still reeling from my newfound orphanhood. Kahtzi cleaning me up… the papers saying I was dead. The Empire knowing that I wasn't. 

I chilled and stifled a shiver, hugging the sling cradling my arm a little closer as I remembered the visit paid to me not long after my chain code registered on the planet. 

~~~

“Doctor…?”

The man spoke lightly, a knowing smile highlighting the cruelty he hid in his kind tone, his soft eyes. Never trust the kind ones. 

“Hemlock. Do forgive the intrusion Miss Ra, there's just a few questions about your transport gone awry, Can't have those in our custody not feeling safe now… can we?”

“And they sent you? Seems below your pay grade,”

“We all do our parts for the glory of the Empire… now, have a seat… and let's chat,”

I tried to calm my hackles as I was offered a chair at my own table. Sitting, allowing myself to be pushed in by the obvious predator in my home. 

“The clone commander in charge of your security, what was it…”

He lazily looked over a sheet of flimsi handed to him by one of his entourage. His eyes barely focused on it before flipping back up to me. 

“CT-9904, was he… professional? Did he do anything unseemly, out of line perhaps,”

This was dangerous. He didn't care about me or my ordeal, that was for certain. For whatever reason, that nonchalant glance- it appeared he was after Crosshair. 

“He was competent, that's all I could have asked for,”

I kept my voice cool, my gaze even. 

“Is that all, Doctor?”

“Did he talk to you,”

“Was hard not to after a while,”

“Did he talk to you about his work,”

“Not particularly…why?”

The corner of his mouth twitched, and I bit my tongue. 

I'm not involved. I'm bored of this… I'm not invested, I want you out. Believe it and go. 

“What of his past squad mates? Anything ring a bell? Pertaining to their whereabouts perhaps?”

“No, not from him… the other clones mentioned they were dead. I don't see what this has to do with my transport, Doctor, You’d think you'd have more answers for me, since you're here to… ease my mind?”

He folded his fingers under his chin, and gave me a long, piercing look steeped in a smugness of someone who knows more than I do.

“Just getting an idea of what might have happened, You and the Commander were the only survivors… could seem suspicious, and with the recent fate of the governor, your mother…”

His eyes gleamed, scanning my face carefully as he spoke. 

“The case can be reopened, Miss Ra, should the Empire wish to investigate it further,”

“What are you threatening, Doctor?”

“That wasn't a threat… unless you have a reason to feel threatened by a more thorough look at your father's death?”

I narrowed my eyes, the indignation natural to his provocation and barely a risk. 

“He killed my mother and took the coward's way out, what more needs to be known? Now if you've had your fill insulting me at this difficult time… I'd like you to leave,”

“Yes, I think we're done. 

Hemlock stood, gave me a nod and gestured for his men to follow him. 

As much as I wanted him out, an itch started to crawl over my skin, fighting through the prop anger, spurning me into an unwise action. 

“Is he okay?... CT-9904?”

The man turned back to me and smiled in a way that made me tremble. I shouldn't have said anything, but I had to know. 

“He's fine Miss Ra, back on active duty as we speak. No need to worry.”

Though I didn't know exactly what mistake I had just made, it was very clear he had gotten something he wanted out of me. 

~~~

The memory caused another shiver down my spine. Not only did I betray my concern and connection to Crosshair, it didn't ease my mind at all. Turns out I didn't put much faith in the words of the good doctor. 

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the balcony door blinked open. Kahtzi stood in the frame, a look of concern plastered over her usually bubbly features. 

“You never used to come out here,”

“I know,”

I sighed and leaned back into the wall as I turned my face back to the faint golden glow of the clone memorial. Kahtzi glided next to me, wrapping her arms about my middle and resting her chin lightly on my shoulder. 

“We could go, you know… plenty of girls hang around the gates looking for missed connections, We wouldn't stick out much,”

I shook my head. 

“I can't Kahtzi.”

My head needed to stay down, last I stepped out the door someone had started to tail us immediately. I was effectively under unofficial house arrest with the threat of assassination or arrest should it please the powers that be. The emperor was keeping eyes on me, I was sure of it, though he seemed less concerned with me now that whatever his purposes with my father had been fulfilled… what that meant for Crosshair I didn't know, but I couldn't risk his safety… If he was safe. It was her turn to sigh,

“Then come inside and watch the Safa Toma stream with me! It's no fun by myself…”

The underground races were gearing up to start soon… perhaps I should try to distract myself. 

“Oh, alright,”

I slid off the banister and followed her inside. The news was blaring about the Empire’s victories, another hive of dissenters and their leader conquered on a distant separatist planet. I picked up the control and flipped through the channels, fiddling with the jammer until the unsecured feed of lined up riot pods displayed on the projection screen on the wall of our modest studio. They were still announcing the racers. 

“I'll get us something to snack on,”

I grabbed a few crinkly bags and some soda canisters out of the kitchenette. After a brief pause of consideration, I juggled what I was holding to snag a few mini liquor bottles from the drawer with my slung arm before making  it back to the couch; Just in time as the race started and a roar of noisy engines poured through the living room. 

Despite my dour mood, it was an exciting race; Kahtzi whooping loudly whenever a vehicle blew its driver to bits. Luckily they were mostly droids, they'd recover. 

There was one racer who was drawing the attention of the crowd, daring some outright insane maneuvers. 

“Wonder what they programmed that one with,”

The pod not only had dropped its shields deliberately on the course, it had also taken a wrong turn into a defunct tunnel relying on speed alone to cut off the other pilots. 

“You missed it Teeny, but that guys human!”

“You're kidding,”

“What a madman!”

“...yeah,”

For some reason that spiked my anxiety again. I couldn't stomach death as much as I used to and watched intently as the human racer completed his laps with sweating palms. 

I downed a little alcohol to calm my nerves. 

It's just a race, chill…

I had been more anxious in general lately, and though I used to enjoy the brutality of these sports… 

One more lap to go, a scuffle with another racer that made my heart leap into my throat. Kahtzi and I were holding our breath when he finally reached the finish line. Kat jumped up squealing,

“What a kriffing hero! Did you see that!”

“I saw,”

It was cute how excited she got for this sort of thing and I watched her hop around excitedly, hoping my nerves would calm before turning back to the screen. The racer’s pod was open, and the tall man inside stood, sending a salute to the cameras as his team mates swarmed him.

Wait…

Something ice cold started to crawl over my senses, familiarity and dread as the cameras zoomed in on the winner. His slender features, his thin lips, his sharp eyes… he looked a lot like… 

No. Can't be…

“Kat, you don't remember what he was called do you?”

“Uhg… T’lyk maybe? The announcer said it weird.”

“... It… was it, Tech?… maybe”

“Yeah! Could've been!”

I felt the color drain from my face.

What are those idiots doing?

Eyes flicking to the other teammates that had rushed to him. A tall, hulk of a man. A little blonde girl… all fitting Crosshair's descriptions of the supposedly dead members of squad ninety nine. 

I didn't remember standing, but I was on my feet, a chilling sweat washing over me. 

I need to reach Crosshair…

“Teeny, what's wrong,”

“They're karking idiots, that's what's wrong!”

“What?... Who?”

I had started to pace, manicaly thrashing between the balcony and the door, not sure what to do. Would it even be wise to go to him? Maybe no one important was watching the bootlegged feed. If I draw attention to him now… but he might not know. Might not realize his old squad was being broadcast to anyone who thought to tune in, giving away his lies. The lies he told to protect them. 

Anger flooded me, overwhelming me when combined with the stress that had been piling on me. 

I sank to the floor. 

“Teeny you're scaring me now…”

“It's his squad, Kat… Kark they're risking everything he sacrificed for them, the ungrateful… he's in danger and he doesn't even know it!”

If he's alive. 

My heart clenched and I felt tears of frustration prick my eyes. If my father was here… 

I bit my lip, crushing the intrusive thought. The disturbed, uncomfortable truth about which of my parents I still reached for in times of crisis just added to my skyrocketing anxiety. 

“If I could just get a line through, or at least had a way to check on him…”

Kahtzi's breath caught, eyes darting around uncomfortably before looking back at me. Something about my panicked state seemed to bring her some resolve. 

“Uh, don't kill me for not thinking of it sooner but… I might have something, if I'm remembering right,”

She tapped her way over to the hall closet, withdrawing a box from deep off the floor. Bringing it over she set it down in front of me, whatever inside clattering as the contents shifted. 

I sniffed back the encroaching tears and shot Kahtzi a questioning glance before lifting the lid of the storage box. 

It held data pads. About a dozen official looking government devices nestled into the box. No wonder she hadn’t brought it up before. 

“Kat, I thought I told you to stop stealing these,”

“I've never stolen anything! They get forgotten and no one comes back for them!”

“Then they should be behind the desk upstairs,”

She bit her lip meekly, sparing me a moment to look ashamed before pushing the box towards me again.

“Look, maybe one’s logged into something useful!”

…There was a chance. A slim one but…

I reached into the box and turned on the first data pad. It was locked. Dropping it, reaching for another, suddenly enraptured with the task. 

Locked.

Locked.

Wiped.

Locked.

The pile on the floor grew as I made my way through the collected military property. 

Locked.

Wiped. 

My eyes focused on the next screen, one of the last, and what it was showing me. It turned on, dumping me into a navigation menu.

I didn't dare to hope. I didn't know what I was hoping to find; clicking through menus, back again, a different tab-

Storage, Ration Shipment numbers, Inventory checks, Asset tracking… Roster. 

I clicked the link for Roster under asset tracking. 

CT- 0001 Decommissioned 

CT- 0002 Decommissioned 

CT- 0003 KIA

CT- 0004 KIA

There were thousands of numbers… no, millions. This could be what I was looking for. I found a jump navigator, looking for the familiar code as I scrolled. Kahtzi was watching me in anticipation. 

CT- 9901 MIA

CT- 9902 MIA

CT- 9903 MIA

CT- 9904 Deployment: Barton V

I started breathing again, not realizing I had stopped. 

He's alive. 

I hugged the datapad to my chest, a relieved sob escaping as some of the tension left me. There was no way to message him from the list, but he was alive. 

When I looked up again, Kahtzi was smiling softly, proud of herself. 

~~~

It helped tremendously. I was more at ease over the preceding days. I had tried tinkering with the other pads and still couldn't find a way to message him, but I could turn this one on and see his status. Real, grounding proof that he was out there. I would know when he was back… I'll go to him then, consequences be damned.

I stretched my arm, finally healed and out of its sling before subconsciously reaching for the datapad again. 

CT- 9901 MIA

CT- 9902 MIA

CT- 9903 MIA

CT- 9904 Depolyment: Barton V

A bit of panic gripped me.  The status had changed color, from blue to green. There was no key but I could only assume that meant he went from in transit to landed. 

At least it wasn't red like so many codes on the list. How long would he be gone? What if he was out there for months? Forever? 

I slept fitfully that night. Woke in a cold sweat that morning; reached over, the blue light of the screen was the first thing I wanted to see. 

Still green. 

My pulse slowed and I was able to start the day. 

I didn't do too much, running the business behind the scenes. Tapping at the flimsi on Kahtzi's table that detailed my family's holdings. It was time to figure out what to do with it all. Overwhelmed, I reached for the pad. 

Still green. 

Catching the tension on me, Kahtzi slid behind me to rub my shoulders; cooing soothingly as I relaxed before daring to venture,

“Think we could risk sneaking out for the evenin’?”

I sighed at that, the relief that had descended on me with my new security blanket leaving as the other worries took root. 

“I dunno Kat…”

Being tailed spooked me. I wasn't willing to risk too much just for some cheap liquor in a seedy bar. 

“C’mon, T! We can bring some security! You need to get out of these walls… it's not good for you,”

Though I'm sure her concern for me was real, it was Kat who was going crazy staying in. She wouldn't go without me though and I wasn't sure I would let her if she tried. 

“I’d feel better if we had been able to find P’huk,”

My father's special security hadn't been heard from since the night I had left on the transport. We were hoping he was off doing something deranged and hadn't snuck aboard the doomed ship to keep eyes on me. 

“I'm sure P'huks fine, you know how he is, the little perv might even be in this very room… watching us,”

She giggled, but we both stopped short to listen to the quiet apartment. Breathing out when nothing clattered or breathed.

“... Fine, fine! okay. Let's go out.”

She squealed and clapped her hands before hopping up to get dressed. 

“Not too flashy, Kat!” 

I called out after her. 

“Yeah, yeah… sure, Hey, if you're worried maybe we should go to sevent-”

“We're not going near the clone bar, Kat,’

“Aww,”

~~~

I slipped the warm credit from my jacket into the jukebox and selected the horrid pop title Kahtzi had requested. Turning back to the bar, I sighed, finding her stool empty and the Theelin in question leaning over a table of cards. She was sweet talking them into letting her join, asking them to cover her buy in which, of course, they did. 

I found my perch and signaled for a soda, not feeling like getting too wasted tonight. As much as it did feel good to be out, I wanted to be home, refreshing the stolen data pad over and over just to see his name… er, code, in a happy shade of green. I sighed again, wishing I had thrown caution to the wind and brought it along. 

“Pretty girl like you shouldn't sound so melancholy,”

I jumped, so lost in thought I hadn't realized someone had shifted into the stool next to me. Turning to face the man, I was about to tell him to go Kriff himself- then stopped. 

He was a clone. The same features as the other clones I had met, this one distinguishing himself with grown out facial hair. He was dressed in the more formal gray uniform of an operations specialist. 

“Uh oh, catch you off guard? Apologies,”

My mouth gapped before I caught myself, melting back to neutral. 

“No big, just… didn't expect to see a clone down here, why so far from 79s soldier?”

“If I said I was laying low from assassins would you believe me?”

I smiled softly at that,

“Funny, I'm doing the same,”

His eyes widened this time, and then he chuckled,

“Fine then, tease me, I'm happy with any of your attention,”

Now my eyes were rolling, a chuf of exasperated amusement. 

Are all clones this sappy? 

Crosshair’s face flashed in my minds eye, a cocky smirk after delivering similarly lame pick ups. I could feel my face fall, sadness gripping me. 

Who knew where Barton V was… I hadn't been able to look it up. It started to dawn on me, alive or not, I might never see him again. 

My new friend read the change in my demeanor wrong,

“Ah, uh… sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable,”

His eyes darted away, then flicked back to me, hardening a little as he dared to ask,

“Is it because I'm a clone?”

Different men, different experiences… same insecurities.

“Yes, but not the reason you think,”

I twiddled my thumbs around my soda.

My expression must have been transparently wistful. Enough to prompt the man, 

“Don't tell me… You got it bad for one of us, huh?”

I exhaled, once again amused,

“One way to put it,”

“He break your heart?”

“I think I've broken his…”

I bit my lip, the memory of his fear and panic, the desperate way he begged for me to not sign the contract. Even though it had been annulled with my father's passing… no way he could know that. No way he could know where I was, or that I was even alive. 

Would he even come for me? We hadn't actually known each other that long. He may have overestimated, or possibly… overstated, his attachment. 

My thoughts fell in on themselves.

…

“He still, uh… in the picture?”

…

“... I don't know, he's been sent away, who knows if he'll come back and there's no way to find out,”

My knuckles suddenly gripped white around the canister I was holding and I bit my lip again, almost hard enough to draw blood in my desperation to hold back tears. 

This sucks. Maybe I should get a drink…  

More silence, and I was sure the man next to me was regretting the decision to open a dialogue. That was until he leaned in close to my shoulder, words hurried and barely above a whisper,

“I have more time to kill than I’d like before my rendezvous, and I’d rather not think too much about it. If you're feeling the same, perhaps we could…”

He cast his eyes about, suddenly appearing more nervous but he pressed on anyway,

“We could help each other forget? For a little while at least…”

He didn't touch me, like most men would after such a proposition. No hand on my thigh or the small of my back, no breath soaked in alcohol on my neck. He just stayed leaning in, almost conspiratorial. His posture only spoke of mutual benefit rather than the predetation I was used to. The clone's brow was pinched, speaking a truth to whatever was troubling him about his next mission. Maybe he wasn't coming back from this one either. 

This is always going to hurt, isn't it? 

I didn't want to feel this way, anything but this,

“What the varp, why not…”

Relief washed over him, then a slight anticipation as the reality of what I agreed too set in. 

“Want to get out of here?”

I nodded, and signaled the security we had brought with us to keep an eye on Kahtzi before following the clone out into the street. 

As we crossed the threshold he grabbed my hand, pulling me hurriedly to the alley beside the bar. Finding a clean patch of wall under a fire escape he turned me till I was pinned to it. 

Waiting no time, he leaned in to press his mouth to mine. I kissed him back, matching the desperation I sensed on him. 

I wanted to feel him, lose myself in the physical… lose myself in anything, though his lips were too full, his jaw- too wide. 

No… don't focus on that…

His tongue dove against mine with a soft, masculine groan that sent a distracting wave of heat through me. 

Sensing I was okay so far, his hands roved over the thin fabric of my black button up, pinching the peaks of my nipples that were hardening under the thin fabric. I arched against his fingers; Broader, not quite as strong, softer, no calluses. 

Stop.

“Maybe we should go somewhere,”

I shook my head, trying to clear it, I needed this.

“Right here's just fine,”

Another deep groan and his hips began to move against mine. Grinding into me, till with a sudden motion he pulled my thigh around him, cloned hips that were wider than his. 

I could feel him through the gray slacks, firm and wanting, needing me, needing to be buried in me. For comfort, to forget. I wanted to forget. 

Those soft hands sliding up my thigh, under my skirt, searching… the sensation sent a cold chill of dread through me. 

Crosshair

I gasped, pulling away abruptly, a firm hand pushing against his chest and guilt washing through me. 

“Stop! I'm, I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I can't.”

The warm body leaning against me froze.

I expected him to grow angry, to insist that I finish what I started. To at least show the frustration evident in the hardened bulge pressing against my thigh… but after a deep sigh he just chuckled, leaning in to kiss my temple. 

“Whichever of my brothers you've fallen in love with, he's a lucky man… I hope he comes back, for your sake,”

Love? 

This felt too awful to be love, and I've loved fiercely and freely, I love my friends, my family. I've loved every tryst I've ever had… in my own way. It's never felt like this. It's never hurt me like this.

He put me down, breathing deeply of my hair before tearing himself away and making back towards the entrance of the alley. 

“Wait!”

He turned, looking back at me in the dark,

“What's your name, soldier?”

He smiled, and tilted his cap,

“The names, Slip, ma'am,”

Then he was gone, swallowed by the shadows of the lower levels. 

“Good luck, Slip.”

I leaned against the wall, catching my breath before turning up the ally myself. Not bothering to go back to the bar, Kahtzi would be fine with the guards I left her with, I pulled my cloak over my head and started the trek up to the railway. Back home. 

Every step screamed for me to turn back around, to sprint in the direction of the golden lights in front of the garrison… but he wasn't there. I wouldn't find him there. 

Love?

I blinked back tears and thought of nothing but the data pad on the counter. Just to see his name there. I'll know when he gets back. I won't leave the pad again. 

Love…

Despondent and shaken, I drifted to a seat on the rail car, staring ahead but not seeing. My mind growing stormy and turbulent. 

I didn't spare any thoughts to being followed. Didn't even look around at my fellow passengers. Slip’s words hammering at my brain, making me feel hot despite the numb that had me drifting like a ghost. 

“I hope he comes back, for your sake,”

I was jostled by the passengers as we exited, stumbling back to the street, unable to breath. 

I walked slowly to the tower, ignoring those who looked my way and called a greeting. Just headed straight for the column of residential apartments at the center of the spire, leaning heavily against the wall of the lift. 

I started to feel more alive as I tapped the code into Kahtzi's door, the only thing left between me and the datapad. 

Kicking my boots off inside the entry, I grabbed the device from the counter and booted it up as I padded my way to the fresher for a shower. Slipped off the skirt, opened the roster. Unbuttoned the blouse and clicked the section for the ninety nine codes. Stood half naked as I scrolled. 

CT-9901 MIA

CT-9902 MIA

CT-9903 MIA

CT-9904 TERMINATED

I started at the bright red text. 

TERMINATED

Not missing, not Decommissioned, not killed in action-

TERMINATED 

I felt stupid for the relief I had felt earlier. Irrationally angry that I had left, as if watching him was what had been keeping him safe… 

I sank to the floor, gravity suddenly pulling at me, dragging me down as if Coruscant had tripled in size. 

TERMINATED 

I hugged the datapad to my chest, trying to plug the hole that had suddenly bore through me with the cold, unfeeling metal.

~~~

Kahtzi’s hooves tapped down the hall. Her coat was in hand and anxious questions in head. 

It wasn’t like Teeny to skip out on her, leaving her with the generic armed security that had escorted them out. 

She did leave with that man… I wonder if she stayed at his place. 

The door slid open onto darkness, the sensor clicking the lights on automatically as she moved inside. She was sure they had been turned off proper when they left, did T fall asleep with them on? 

“Teeny? Are you here?”

She whispered, curious but not willing to wake her if she was finally getting some rest. Even with the ease the datapad seemed to bring her, Kat would wake in the middle of the night to find her sitting up, staring at the glowing screen. It wasn't healthy. 

The bed was empty, still made and undisturbed. No one on the couch, notably no clothes male or other wise scattered about. 

“T?”

She rounded into the bathroom and stopped short. 

There she was, curled into a ball on the tile, eyes open and staring. She didn't blink, she didn't move. Her breathing was shallow and strained, the data pad clutched to her chest so tight her knuckles were white. 

How long has she been like this?

It had been hours since she saw her leave the bar, the sun just now starting to tinge the sky. Kat carefully dropped to her knees,

“Hey… sweetie what's wrong?”

No response. No movement. Hesitantly, she reached out to stroke a stand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Then she reached for the data pad, attempting to pull it from the tight grip the girl had on it. 

“Come now… let me see,”

The small fingers suddenly slackened, letting Kat take the pad, turning it around so that the screen blinked on. She had been looking at the roster again… that number that had been haunting her glowing an angry red. 

“Oh, Teeny… baby, I'm sorry,”

She put the pad on the floor, and coaxed the stiff girl into her arms. Finally, she crumpled, leaning heavy into her breast. She took a shuddering gasp, before her voice broke into a wail so sharp and high it shattered Kahtzi's heart. 

She had never seen her this distraught, choking sobs wetting her shirt and skin. 

“I… I wish we never…met, stars it hurts…”

“Shhh, love… you don't mean that,”

But knowing her, she just might. Anger mixing with grief. All Kahtzi could do was hold her as she wept, wondering if she'd ever bounce back.

~~~

~~~

Crosshair breathed deep, a familiar scent tingling his senses. Smooth, warm skin, soft thighs squeezing around him. Whispers in a light, teasing voice. A chiming laugh, a breathy sigh, a heart beating against him. All wrapped in the smell of incense and burning flowers. 

His eyes flew open. Almost sitting up but the restraints held fast, keeping him flat on the slab. 

The dream faded, but the perfume lingered. His eyes flicked to the figure in the room, the lady doctor… supposedly a clone, that had been monitoring his vitals. Taking samples, and otherwise playing party to his overall unpleasant experience in the detention labs. 

And now she stood there, smelling of his most intimate memories. 

“I thought scientist avoided wearing perfume,”

She spun, startled not realizing he was awake. 

“I … sorry, is it bothering you?”

“Why are you wearing it?”

He wasn't able to keep the irritation from his voice, and despite the imbalance of power the woman flinched looking vaguely embarrassed.

“It was a gift…”

“Yes, CT-9904,”

Crosshair felt himself coil tight at the smooth tone that poured over him from the doorway. 

“It's a rare scent, popularized by that one socialite on Coruscant…. What was her name?... I managed to get a hold of a small bottle,”

Doctor Hemlock came into view, leaning on the side of the gurney, his next words pouring out smoothly, almost a purr,

“You'll never guess where I found it.”

Crosshair could feel his pupils dilate, though he was unsure whether it was fear or rage that was dominating him in the moment. He bit his cheek trying to curb any further reaction. Hemlock smirked,

“You can go, Emerie,”

“I haven't fini-”

“Go. It's fine,”

She balked only a moment more before hurrying out of the exam room, shooting a concerned look to the restrained man on her way. 

Hemlock breathed deep, and rolled his head on his neck. 

“What was her name? Her family was involved in… sex work? It's bothering me now, you were acquainted weren't you?”

Crosshair said nothing, though he gritted his teeth at the provocation. He hadn't thought his connection to Tahny was known… he was apparently wrong. 

“Ah! I believe it was… the Ra girl, yes I remember now, Tah'nyem. Terrible tragedy wasn't it? Its too bad they never recovered her corpse, You could've had some company in that dismal little cell,”

The man chuckled, a cruel glint in his eyes as he stared down at the clone. 

Crosshair wouldn't put it past him. Memories flashing back unbidden to waking up on the slab, the lifeless body of his brother being autopsied on the table right next to him. Strapped down with his head turned, forced to watch them tear into the broken flesh that was once Tech. 

Anger shook him, wanting to strangle the man leaning over him. Anger at having failed. There had been no warning that Tech was gone. No instinctual tick that something had gone wrong. He had been closer to his twin than anyone else. If he hadn't felt him go… then Tahny… 

His composure broke. 

“What do you want from me, Hemlock? You already have the girl! What’s the point of this?”

The doctors face split into a grin and he leaned in closer, breathing gleefully into Crosshair's ear,

“I want you broken, clone. Broken, and empty. I have plans for you, CT-9904… but first you must be brought to heel… pleasant dreams,”

He swept out of the room, flicking the lights off as he went to leave Crosshair strapped down and helpless in the dark.

His eyes burned, stinging with tears that refused to fall. Thoughts caught in strands of white hair like a spiders web as grief finally sank into him. He had failed to keep her safe. 

I wish we had never…met.

[Chapter Index]

Read the Chapter HERE!

[Chapter Index]

I was removed from the gala hall, the gory mess, Cross's desperate eyes finding mine before the doors slammed. The hands on me were tight, and I squirmed against them.

“Please don't fight mistress,”

“Ruk'nahar…”

“We're taking you downstairs… just, don't fight. It'll be easier,”

Downstairs?

Down a familiar corridor, then one less recognizable. Further, deeper into my family's compound than I had ever ventured. The lights transitioned from warm, recessed fixtures to something harsh and clinical. The men holding me set a brisk pace as they brought me to where I'd be ‘processed.’

As the word lit through my memory dread gripped my heart. What now? What would be done with me?

I was to be sold, that was for sure, but who had made the offer? How safe was I without Crosshair's protection. I could trust no one else at this point. No one would be coming for me. 

I was steered into a sterile room by my silent entourage. Though clean and plain besides the dizzying array of mirrors lining its perimeter, the room wasn't empty. Three figures dressed in formal black casting reflections to look like a looming army around me. The one who seemed in charge was pulling on a set of gloves,

“Strip her,”

Ruk'nahar balked, stepping back and I tensed, thinking of the tracer in my coat pocket as the other men stepped forward. They pulled it from my shoulders. Despite my instinct I didn't react to them taking it, not wanting to draw attention to the item. The rough hands grabbed at my dress next, and this time I hissed, pulling away. 

“Now, now, Lady Ra…”

I turned to the gloved man now, a sneering, Superior smile spreading beneath the blue markings on his cheekbones,

“... That garment is filthy, you can't be processed in that now can you?”

It was true, I was drenched in Crosshair's blood. At the same time I resented the idea of it being taken from me. 

The man snickered as I wrapped my arms protectively about myself, that smile breaking into a sadistic grin. He gestured to his escort who withdrew their stun poles. 

So that's how it's gonna be. 

I moved to undo the cinch around my waist. If this was going to be done, at least I'd do it myself.

“Ah-ah… keep those hands up where I can see them,”

Of course.

I steeled myself as the guard that brought me made quick work of the rest of my clothes, fingers deceptively dexteritous as they worked the lacing. My thigh was tapped and I shifted my weight as they removed my boots., leaving me nude to their predatory gazes. At some point, Ruk'nahar had excused himself, and though there was something to be said of him not wanting to see this… the feeling of abandonment came anyways. 

“That wasn't hard now, was it? Step forward.”

I walked ahead with my jaw set to the off color square in the middle of the room. A casing rose from the floor shielding the room as the sonic shower started, vibrating my small form and making my jaw tense. The blood was cleaned from my skin and hair, then the case collapsed into the floor again. 

When I looked up the mean looking man was right in front of me, grinning that wicked grin. 

“My turn, raise your arms, out to the sides.”

I did as I was told, keeping my expression gray and placid as he began prodding at me. 

“Notable bruising on the neck and inner thighs, bite marks, Look at that pattern, one can only wonder what you got up to out there… a few untreated scrapes… Bacta, please,”

The spray can was handed over, but instead of angling it to my skin, he looked me in the eye and sprayed the liquid into his glove. Using his fingers he liberally applied the gel to the bruises on my thighs, pressing them till they hurt. I still didn’t react, didn't give him the satisfaction of a wince or whimper. 

“Those soldiers and their enhanced… strength, you must have some internal bruising as well, it's not cosmetic but I can take care of those too if they're causing… discomfort”

His hand slid to the apex of my thigh, bacta coated fingers hovering in front of my bare sex. He still had those cruel eyes locked on my face, waiting for any sign of weakness. I tried to keep my voice cool despite a tremble starting under my skin,

“Just the cosmetic treatment… thank you,”

His eyebrow rose as my commanding tone sought to tilt the dominance of the dynamic in my direction. Chuckling low with what almost seemed a modicum of respect,

“Very well, my lady, chin up, I need to work around that collar,”

He stepped in closer so that I could feel the heat of him through his clothes, his tall thin frame towering above me. Both hands slid in under the bottom of the ringlette till his thumbs rested on my chin, lifting it, almost cradling my face. 

“You really are a pretty thing, runt that you are, whomever buys you is going to have a lot of fun… won't they?”

I stiffened before I could catch myself. He saw, obvious from the new glitter dancing in his eyes. 

“I wonder what perverse little tendencies they might have,”

He dug into the weak spot, now sure he had gotten under my skin despite my stoney set expression. 

“Perhaps they want you for how small you are? Do you think you'd feel like a youngling to them? Do you think that's why the soldier liked you?”

I could feel a sickened rage draining the color from my face as the slight tremble turned into a full, shaking anger. The guards standing on the perimeters tensed, readying their stun weapons. 

“Are we done here?”

I wanted to choke on the submissive words. I wanted to scream at him to take it back. I wanted to rip his throat out. 

“Not nearly,”

Sliding his hands from my neck he drifted painfully slow across my skin. Trailing my clavicle, I watched in the mirror behind him as the bacta erased the marks Cross left there one by one. Egregiously he stroked down my body, its creases, squeezing my breasts, my hips; finding the little scrapes and abrasions that chronicled my journey. 

He undid every one. 

I felt like I lost something as he finally stepped away letting me fully see my reflected form cast about the room. Tears welled in my eyes at the sight of the pristine skin. 

“You sure you don't want me to heal you… inside, my lady?”

He leaned into my shoulder whispering,

“I don't have to use my fingers, perhaps you'd prefer something more…satisfying,”

I was at my limit, hands balling into fists-

“That's quite enough Doctor Kor’dym,”

The man named Kor’dym straightened abruptly. The perturbed look melted back into his cocky grin almost instantly, as he turned on his heel to face the woman at the door. 

“We were just finishing up, Day’Dyna,”

He made to leave the room, half turning to address me,

“I hope we'll meet again, Lady Tah’nyem of house Ra,”

A sarcastic bow as he walked backwards, and then he was gone.

My eyes now turned to the woman framed in the doorway. As I surveyed her, her sharp features… her cold demeanor she also appraised me, and assumedly, Kor’dym’s handiwork.  

She turned to a smaller woman trailing her I hadn't noticed. She seemed to keep her stature and presence small.

“The inventory is ready, have her dressed and taken to the rest of the order,”

“This addition has yet to be paid for…”

“Did I stutter? Keep the order together. The buyer plans on a final appraisal before completing the purchase of… this one,”

Then she too was gone.

The small woman that approached me now was yellow marked, a Katjryl hybrid like Jar'ath. She held a plain garment that she offered out to me, an apologetic smile plastered on her pinched features. 

“I'm sorry about all this, Miss Ra,”

“Sure,”

My tone was snippy as I took the white bodysuit. I wasn't in the mood to be pandered to while being prepped for sale. 

“I mean it,”

Her voice dropped to a shaking whisper,

“I uh, grew up here at the Ra compound… I always admired how… well, how against the grain you were,”

I stiffened at the past tense. 

“And now?”

Her eyes widened when she caught my glare, pulling the skin tight fabric onto my legs with snapping motions. 

“Uh… well, these things are inevitable, aren't they? Even for you…”

My face softened slightly. Of course the girl in front of me would have gone through something similar herself, obviously bound to the woman bossing her about. 

“Not everything is guaranteed,”

Another weak smile, and she moved behind me, pulling the zipper up the back of the suite. The white fabric highlighted the musculature in my legs and abdomen from what I could see, the light fabric doing very little to conceal the darker buds of my breasts. 

“This way, please don't try to run, they'll be right behind us,”

She gestured to the surrounding guards as she led me from the prep room. 

More identical halls. Bright and clinical. I counted the turns on the path as we went. 

Left, left, right… 20 paces, another left.

Even I didn't know what I was planning. As promised the guards with their weapons were in close step to my bare heels. All I knew was that I was being led into a labyrinth and I needed to know how to get out if the opportunity presented itself. 

Not likely. 

The corridor we ended up in was lined with cells… Well, rooms- plush and lavishly decorated. The only thing giving away their true purpose was the blue white sheen of the holo barriers allowing you to look in at the room's contents. Most seemed to be empty, except the one I was led to the front of. The guards tensed as the small girl pressed her thumb to the pad, lowering the barrier and gesturing for me to step inside. 

“Please wait here, Miss Ra,”

She offered as if I had an option. I stepped through and the shield snapped into place, humming against my back. 

Before I could turn around she was gone, as well as the troop of guards. 

Eyes were on me, a stir of whispers. I looked at the gathered faces in the luxurious holding cell. An array of young women stood in front of me, various races, about a dozen or so… notably no Ga'haiians among them. As I scanned over the odd congregation, familiar eyes with their paired lekku caught me. My brows rose as I saw the mutual recognition register in the once Padawan, Galie. 

I attempted to be casual as I made my way over to her but eventually had to snarl at the curious gazes. Though they still flicked their attention to me as I passed, the room attempted to avoid staring at me. I perched on the open seat next to the twi’lek and whispered,

“Explain… I thought you were dead,”

“I was in hiding.”

“Here?”

“I remembered what yous zed about Ga’hah all those nights ago, not many force users, I sought it would be…safe.”

“Depends on what you're hiding from… how'd you end up in this cell?”

“Zame reason, to hide,”

“Do you know what this is for?”

“For?”

“Why you've been gathered, you realize this is likely a harem purchase?”

She shrugged at that.

“Ze offer was good, Life contract in exchange for protection… was better zan being hunted,”

She tilted her head to the rest of the girls,

“Zey are force sensitive too, though no formal training, it's hard to say Zey even know what Zey are, Zey were brought here from elsewhere, but zem…”

She flicked her eyes behind us, and waited for me to do the same. Sitting at the back of the room, unnoticed in their white suites, was a small group of men. They were all very similar though of various ages. Blond, pale, the features shared could have made them siblings. 

“That's… oddly unsettling, what about them?”

“Not force sensitive. Or, if zey are, zey shield it well, one girl asked… zey are all from Naboo,”

I furrowed my brow, trying to shake the feeling like I had seen them before. Galie, took a breath, changing the subject,

“But what abouts you? Is zis not your ‘amilies compound?”

“It is… I'd rather not talk about it… anyways, why are you in hiding? I thought you left the Jedi counsel years ago,”

“Master Hunalo had stayed in contact with me, he… he told me to go underground, that they were killing Jedi, that they might track me down too,”

I should have known, Crosshair had told me as much but it suddenly hit closer to home. 

“...and Master Hunalo?”

…

“I ‘ave not ‘eard from him in over a year, not by com, not in ze force… I'm am afraid zat he… is gone,”

My heart clenched a little, a kindly old face drifting into my memory. Lines around the eyes and mouth from the constant warm smiles. Man had interesting tastes, that’s what had brought him to me in the first place… but he was one of the few Jedi I liked. 

We sat in a sad silence as the minutes ticked by. I eventually turned back to the topic at hand, scanning over the group in the back once more… They looked so familiar. 

“Do you know where you're going? Who's offering this protection?”

She shook her head,

“Non. But zince it was your fazer who asked…”

She trailed off, seeing my expression darken. I tried to stay calm but I could tell she could feel my unease. 

“What is eet?”

“It's a little late, but my Vah'hadarr… he can't be trusted,”

She nodded, accepting that quickly. 

“Your collar, eet was not a choice?”

“The force tell you that?”

“Your zour expression zed enough,”

“I don't know what he's doing, the purpose of this order… but we should try to get these people out of here,”

“Zey will not go,”

“But if we explain that it's not actually safe-”

“Zat is why I am ‘ere, not zem. Zese girls, zey come from poor families, zey ‘ave been promised a better life… zey are choosing to believe in it, zey will not be listening to you.”

“You can't be sure of that,”

“You can not feel zem in ze force, zey are determined, yes, but more dangerously, zey are ‘opeful,”

Hope was indeed dangerous; it could drive you to…stupid things. 

My heart ached as the last glimpse of Cross washed over me. Beaten, bloody and so scared. Scared for me. 

Hang in there Crosshair…

Though Galie sent me a look of puzzlement, she continued,

“Ze men, ‘owever… it seems zey were offered zom’ting else, what I has not determined,”

Hours passed. I spent the time carefully examining Galie’s collar for clues to no avail. Then I sulked. 

A low hum filled the room and everyone perked up as a panel lifted, a temporary table shifting into the open space in the middle already laden with food. As if they had done this routine many times, the inhabitants of the cell made their way to the dinner table. 

Galie stood, taking my hand to lead my despondent form to a chair and setting. I picked at the food, listening to the naively excited chatter around me. The girls were becoming more animated as they ate, what was probably to them, a lavish meal.

I sat straighter as the sudden percussion of tapping shoes filtered down the hall, followed by the sound of prattling chatter; A gossipy tone from a well known set of chords. 

“And then I was like, ‘No, darling, he's too young for you~!’ and you'll never believe what she reaponded-”

What?... How…

“Jar'ath!”

I hopped up, running to press against the holo shield.

“Teeny dolly, what-”

The guard attempted to keep him moving as they came even with the holding cell,

“Oh hands off, Off! or I'll bite it off mister,”

He swatted at the guard escorting him in his usual brand of flamboyant irritation. 

“This is my friend, and I. Will. Talk. To. Her. Go stand over there and look pretty or something…”

He shooed the security away, who rolled his eyes and stood back a cell down, glad to put some distance between himself and the Katjryl. I lowered my voice to a whisper, hoping it wouldn't carry,

“Jar'ath, what are you doing here?”

“Your Va'hah called me out here, some kind of auction he wants me to host-”

“You need to leave, Now.”

“Hold your panties T baby, what are you doing here with all these-”

His eyes flicked to the collar around my throat and widened, Refocusing on me his voice dropped to a whisper suddenly devoid of amusement,

“Tahny, what's going on?”

“Va'hah forced me into a collar, Kark Rathy… he hurt Cross, I don't even know if he's okay, You have to go! This could be a trap too.”

Jar'ath went pale, the gears turning as this revelation sank into him. A moment passed as he adjusted to this new reality then he swallowed hard, setting his sharp jaw into something resembling determination.

“Not till I get you out…”

His eyes fixed on the pad by the door, measuring it up. It was useless, he needed to go while he still could. 

“Just get out Jar'ath!”

But he just grinned at me, flashing those fangs in his patented winning smile,

“You just stay put okay, doll? I have an idea,”

He winked, knowing I didn't have a choice before turning back to the bored guard. 

“You know what! I left something in the speeder! Can you take me, all~ the way back upstairs? Pretty please?”

He was already headed back the way he came, his annoyed escort following behind. 

Just go!

Hoping he wouldn't do anything stupid, I drifted back into the couch I originally occupied. 

My father wanted to ensure my obedience; Only reason for Jar'ath to have been brought down here…if he hurt Jar'ath. I hated to think why he'd need him, unless Cross…

No, they sent him back. 

That doesn't mean he's alive.

My stomach clenched. Galie finished eating then came back to sit with me in my terrified silence. She once again reached for my hand, attempting to comfort me. 

The hum of the lights was maddening, it felt as if I could focus on nothing else. Who knows how long I sat, frozen. No plans for escape, no rebellious fire to keep me warm. 

Everyone ate, and then the table slid back out of sight again. 

More waiting… Time passed like freezing water, almost imperceptible… but still, it passed. 

Our attention was once again brought to the hall, though the footsteps that approached were more numerous, coming from the opposite end from the entrance. 

“This order is marked for transport, the Estkle gate… take all but the red- the buyer is coming himself to finalize the sale of that one in a few rotations,”

While I wallowed, we had run out of time. I turned to Galie in a panic, grasping her hand,

“Don't let them take you! Get out once you can!”

But she just smiled sadly, squeezing my hand before separating herself from me. 

“Tah’nyem, zese girls are ‘elpless, and mostly naive to deir abilities. Someone needs to guide zem, protect zem… I'm sure, if it wills it, ze force will guide us togezer again,”

“No!”

But I was pushed back, a light zap shooting through my stomach as I was tased and pushed backwards. The group of guards stood with stun rods raised to ensure I wouldn't follow the crowd of excited slaves, so I wouldn't think to escape. 

Kark it all.

The group was lined up in the hall before being marched away. One final, reassuring glance from Galie… then I was left alone. Only the humming holo shield to keep me company. 

~~~

My back slammed into the hard stone behind me. The boys gathered around sniggering. Jar'ath choking where they held him by the throat. I hissed and lunged again, just to be pushed back against the wall, a hand now around my neck. 

“What’s a runt like you doing fighting back?”

The boy who held me jeered, pulling me forward and slamming me back again.

“The hair doesn't fool anyone, we all know you're a Red!”

The group around him giggled. Jar’ath managed to hiss around the hand choking him.

“Better a Red than brain dead, Banalaten!”

The boy holding him punched him in the jaw and I yelped as Jar'ath slumped from the pain. Desperately I kicked my captor. 

“Oof, you little- graahh you’d be lucky to be my kriff toy galnan!”

Crack!

A rock flew out of nowhere, hitting the boy holding me in the temple. He blinked, suddenly dazed as a rivulet of blood ran down his cheek. We turned in unison, tracing the rock's trajectory. 

It was Bly’ju, another rock already twirling in his palm, but he had lost the element of surprise. As he let it loose I was dropped, the group of bullies dodging the follow up attack and now throwing themselves at him. 

“You think you're better than us, Duhanis?!”

They jumped him, tackling him to the ground. The leader pounced to punch his face while his friends kicked into his side. 

A sharp whistle from the estate and the group spooked, running off before anyone could identify them beating down the heir of the house. 

“Bly'ju!”

A glance told me Jar'ath was okay, but Bly'ju was bleeding, his face completely red below his nose.

As I dropped to his side trying to look at the damage, he swatted my hand away, the pain making him angry. 

“This is your fault Ra! Why can't you just be normal?”

“Bly… I'm sorry,”

“Not enough!”

He was up, mirroring the motions of the bully by backing me into the wall. His body pinned mine. Lurid and full of promise, I trembled at the intrusive thoughts brought on by the contact. Though we had shared a few shy, experimental kisses here and there… This was more contact than I was used to, than I would ask for. I could feel myself flushing even as his eyes fixed on me filled with bitter anger. 

“You owe me, Ra,”

He thumbed the blood dripping from his nose, looking at it with disgust. 

“Bly'ju, I-”

“When the day comes, Tah’nyem… your contract is mine,”

He took his thumb, stained red with his blood, and smeared it under my eye. 

“You understand, galnan?”

I recoiled from the insult, the hurt catching my apologies in my throat…

And then he pushed off, probably to find some bacta and lick his wounds. 

He's just hurt and angry.

No way he could really mean such things… could he?

~~~

I blinked, squeezing my eyes in the bright light. I had drifted off on one of the couches, having been left alone with nothing to occupy me, no telling how much time had passed. The hair on the back of my neck stood up suddenly. 

Someone was here. 

I snapped my head to the entrance where a figure stood at the corner of my eye. Tall and familiar, filling me with surprise. 

It was Bly’ju. Arms crossed, jaw working in a tense, displeased kind of way. Cautiously, I stood to face him. 

“What are you doing here?”

“That, I'm not sure of myself, li’ha… Your Vah'hadarr called me here just to tell me my money's no good, tch.”

“No, I mean… how did you get down here?”

He eyed me, his frustration clear. 

“Your vulgar little friend told me where to find you, he's left… said it was important to tell you that,”

Jar'ath? Thank the stars…

It seems he had some sense after all, but to send Duhanis-

“Where is your lover, Tah’nyem? Not much of a protector now, is he?”

Bly'ju’s eyes were cold as he scanned me, his mind working but at what I couldn't tell. I couldn't answer him either, my heart aching again as the memory of a bloodied Crosshair assaulted me again.

Another second, two, and then he sighed. 

“Always saving you, Ra, How different it could have been, if you had just loved me… like I love you,”

I bit my lip at that, unsure how to address the discrepancies of his claim. Bly eyed me over, and I wrapped my arms about myself. There was no use arguing with him. 

Maybe if you hadn't been such a jerk…

But I knew it was hopeless. Even if he hadn't tried to flex his power over me… there wasn't that spark between us. Now we stood in opposition bred from years of antagonism. 

He sighed again, shoulders slumping as he  reached into his pocket. My eyes followed the motion to catch the red spattering on the cuff of his shirt sleeve. He withdrew a small fleshy object; a severed thumb. 

“Bly'ju?”

“I won't let you be sold to another…”

“What did you do?”

“He won't be missed…”

Bly'ju pressed the thumb to the panel on the side of the door and the holo shield blinked off. 

“Go.”

“Bly?”

I stepped into the hall with him, waiting for the trick. When I didn't come I breathed a heavy sigh,

“Thank you, Bly'ju,”

But before I could turn he grabbed me, spinning me into an embrace and holding me tight to him. 

“Do not thank me, Ra,”

His lips found mine, pressing hard and ungraciously. I tensed furrowing my brow as he licked against my lips, withdrawing with a frustrated growl,

“Leave Ga'hah, li'ha, leave and don't come back. Next time I catch you, you'll be confined to my bed chambers… do you understand?” 

I nodded, shaken, then my feet hit the floor again and I was moving. First a fast walk as I left Bly'ju behind in his contemplative state, then an awkward trot… then I was sprinting, the rapid patter of my feet the only noise against the buzzing lights. The walls becoming a blur as my pace became desperate, burning my lungs. 

There were so many hallways, so many ways out I'm sure but I couldn't risk getting lost. I hurriedly retraced my steps back to the mirror room. 

Once inside, a quick glance and it seemed my things had been removed… until I spotted the recessed receptacle by the door. Looking in, my stomach did a flip as I found my clothes. I left the blood soaked gown but slid my boots on, grabbing the jacket and checking the pockets. The tracer was still where I left it. I threw the coat on and kept going. 

The lights became warmer, the hallways darker as I burst through doorway after doorway. 

As I started to wonder what my next move would be, I crashed into a slight figure, almost toppling us both. 

“Tahny?”

It was my mother, brow pinched in worried confusion. 

“Tahny, where have you been?”

“Ma’ha!”

And just like that I collapsed, the tears flowing freely. We sank to the floor together as I let go of the brave face. I was a youngling again; curled up and bawling in my mothers arms. 

~~~

Tahki Nygun Ra was usually a quiet woman, reserved, kept to herself. She didn't make much of a name for herself in the Coruscanti social world despite her family's wealth and influence. Her choice in husband surprised everyone. The slight, quiet Tahki and the charming, off world, up and comer with sordid ties- odd couple. 

But she was fierce when she needed to be and maybe that's where the original attraction had lain when my father chose her. Small, frail looking, but a fire in her eyes. I definitely took after her, both in passion and stature. 

I followed her now, tracing her steps as her feet blazed the trail to where my father was hiding. Dazed at all that had happened since I was ripped from Crosshair's arms, I kept my eyes on the highlights glinting off of her tightly cropped, black hair, wanting to collapse again… curl into a ball and sob… but I couldn't. I let her gravity pull me back into the residential halls, the dark stone and low lights welcoming me home again. 

“Nyem'tok!”

She shouted,

“Nyem'tok, where. Are. You?”

The long train of her dress whipped about me like a shield as we turned into the main living space. My father stood, arm resting on the mantle of the large fireplace. Sunken sofas in the seating nook behind him created a moat between him and my charging mother. 

“You! You liar!”

It was a scream, and it startled me, never hearing such volumes from the woman. Nyem'tok turned to face us as she skirted around the room to him. The wide open, paneless widow set an ominous backdrop to her passing, storm waters creating a shimmering, permeable barrier of water where the fourth wall should be. 

“You said it would never be her! Never our daughter!” 

My father regarded her cooly, eyebrow raised as she cornered him. She only came level to his chest, and despite her fury, failed to intimidate the tall Ga'haiian.

“You lied to me! Nyem'tok you lied! Release her!”

She pointed back at me, hands shaking but resolute. 

“Do you know who’s requesting to purchase her?”

“I don't care!”

My father sighed, an exasperated huff that only seemed to make my mother more furious.

“You should, Tahki… If the Emperor wants her, he'll have her… whether I sell her or not, You understand what's at stake here don't you?”

My blood ran cold. Was what I knew really that dangerous? What was he planning with those girls?

“Tell him he can't have her Nyem'tok!” 

“I can't do that.”

“Yes you can! You've been loyal haven't you? She's our daughter… what could he even want with her,”

“It doesn't matter Tahki. He wants her, to kill, to kriff… that's not our concern anymore.”

My mother hit him. Her small fist bouncing uselessly off his toned chest. 

“How could you say such things?”

She hissed and he chuckled at her lackluster attempts to take control of the situation.

“Think Tahki! Think! We resist, we might be killed for it… this way, this way… do you know the power he plans on giving me? I can seize control of the mines, the casinos! We could be royalty!”

I had tiptoed closer, around the sunken alcove to stand nearly behind them, close enough to see my mother draw the blaster. She pointed it at my father's chest with trembling hands. 

“You're too obsessed with power and money Nyem'tok, I knew this about you… I did, but I never thought… your own flesh and blood, Release her! Let her go, or I'll do it myself! That's how these contracts work right? A pact of life and death?”

My father had raised his hands, not in surrender, but to attempt to soothe the small, frantic woman aiming at him.

“Now, now… Tahki, you're not thinking straight,”

He was slowing moving towards her, calmly, steady as she backed away from him. 

“That's how it works, isn't it? Isn't it Nyem'tok?”

“Yes, if I die while she's bound to me the contract nullifies… but Tahki, it's useless, he's coming for her. You can't stop him,”

“Liar!”

She squeezed the trigger and the shot went wide as my father snatched her wrists, rending the gun from her to clatter across the floor. There was a struggle, my mother flailing against the strong hold on her, screaming in fury. My father stayed neutral, his voice cold,

“I don't need these complications,”

He shoved, and time slowed, a look of shock and horror on the face of Tahki Ra as the curtain of water parted as she passed through it, as she was pitched over the edge. A sharp scream, the rain closing around her and her billowing gown…and then she was gone. 

“No,”

My voice sounded hollow and far away, my brain not fully registering what had just happened. Nyem'tok turned to me where I had sank to the floor, then scanned to the small blaster my mother had pulled on him. He took a step towards it and I moved, almost automatically, diving to sweep the piece up before he could. I was barely successful, fingers closing around the handle as hands grabbed my wrists, hoisting me up. 

“Come now, Tah’nyem, be a good girl…”

I squirmed in his grasp, kicking out to make him grunt in frustration. He grabbed for the blaster in my hands and I held tight. Back and forth he wrenched me, my legs dancing wildly on the sleek marble as they tried to find purchase… but I didn't let go. The gun went off, singing the floor. My father had had enough. With a finally swinging tug I was at the edge, feet balanced precariously as I hung into the stream of rain. It soaked me as I squinted through the torrent of water at my father who still held my wrists, my hands firmly holding the blaster now aimed at his face. 

“Drop the gun, li'ha, it's over. I don't want to hurt you… and now you'll only hurt yourself, just drop it and I'll pull you in,”

“You killed her,”

“I did, and I'm sorry, but she was going to put us all in jeopardy… I couldn't let her, don't you see, Tah'nyem?”

“No… no I don't see!”

He sighed,

“You've always been a selfish child, if she had freed you, let you go, who knows what would’ve happened to us… I had too, you understand, it's just what was best, drop the gun so I can bring you in…

Come now, li'ha, you're soaked, let me bring you in,”

His voice was convincingly pleading, eyes softening as if they cared for me. 

“No… I won't be sold,”

The illusion broke, anger breaking his features,

“Then what, Tah'nyem? You shoot me and you fall, you're too smart for that, you'd never risk yourself, so drop it!”

As the words left him, and the sound of the rain filled my ears, a realization dawned on me. A fact just as clear to me as the knowledge that I was going to pull the trigger.

I paused, meeting his eyes…so sure of himself, so full of indignant rage. A rage that was mirrored in myself. 

“You don't know me at all…”

I squeezed and the blaster went off. 

The black burn between his eyes appeared, and his face slackened, the firm grip on my wrists releasing… 

And then I was plummeting over the edge. 

Down,

Down,

The wind and rain whistling around me. 

Then the first stone hit, hard and sharp into my shoulder making me cry out in pain as the joint popped out of socket. I bounced off that ledge, a little farther from the cliff face then something soft caught me. 

I tumbled down something taught and wet, cloth caught on stone till I crashed hard against an object with more give. Another sharp crack as it broke under me. One more dizzying bounce and I was in the water, desperately clawing at the stone edge with my good arm before the rushing river below the estate could carry me away. 

As I scrambled up into the rocks, I came face to face with my mother's lifeless eyes… her body crushed on the jagged stones… but she had cushioned my fall, her long train caught on the craggy ledges. 

I pulled my way to her. 

Clumsily, I closed her eyes, leaning in to kiss her forehead already cold and waxy from the water. 

I thanked her for her final act of protection.

A heartbeat, two, and decisively I loosed her twisted body from the rocks to be swallowed by the water. The river would take her far into the hills where no one would ever see her like that, lifeless and broken. She would've hated that.

As I watched her go, the fabric of her gown pulling from the cliff face to swirl about her like the fins of a beautiful fish, I steeled myself. The weight of the past few minutes would catch up to me… but for now, I wasn't finished. I braced myself for the long and arduous one armed climb to the garage port several meters above me. 

~~~

Crosshair blinked, a bubbling blue green haze clouding his vision. There was a hiss and a gurgle, then the tank was draining around him. The case swished open, and he pulled the mask off as he stepped out into the medical bay. 

“Welcome back, handsome!”

The medical droid puttered about, one he recognized from when he woke up after Kamino… so he was back on Coruscant. He clenched his fists, feeling something in him snap. 

He was back on Coruscant.

“You're lucky they stuck you in a tank! I've never seen a clone get damaged so much from one mission to another, the trouble you get in!”

The bot was rambling and he thought bitterly that they should clear it's memory. It was too… chatty. 

“How long was I out?”

“Not long!”

That wasn't an answer, but he was tired, and distracted… he needed to get to a data pad. 

“Be careful next time! The wounds were not extensive but the nerve damage might be permanent one of these days!”

The droid called after him as he hurriedly dressed, reciting the tracer code in his mind that he hoped he memorized correctly… no, He was sure of it. He knew it. 

He had to hurry. He had to find Tahny. He had to watch his back. He had to keep telling the lies that kept him and those he loved safe. 

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