Chapter Text
ONE: Preliminary Findings
“Sir,” Cody announced from the edge of the landing pad. “The Guard has identified Lieutenant Edds.”
Quinlan jerked out of the poor Vision of faceless passersby and nondescript speeders. There wasn’t anything useful to see at the Senate building. Fox had not remained at the landing pad long enough. “Where?” He demanded. This other Clone might provide answers.
“Let’s not keep the Guard waiting,” Obi-Wan stepped back onto the open bay troop carrier. Those Troopers were from the 212th. Listening to Obi-Wan it was a way to ease the burden of the search from the Coruscant Guard. Quinlan let his gaze linger on the Shock Troopers holding back the curious Senators and aids. The Guard did not seem appreciative of the Jedi’s efforts.
The transport whisked them away into the thick traffic of the Undercity. Cody directed the pilot to hover at a walkway where Cody motioned for the unit to disembark. Two Clones remained at the railing and the transport left the vicinity. Quinlan wished he had ears on the communications happening in those helmets. The first he saw of where they were going was the Shock Troopers barring entry to an alley. They stepped aside as Cody approached.
Quinlan felt a cold rush speed down his spine the moment he stepped into the alleyway. The air felt heavy. He reached into the Echos, seeking the source of the dense cloud. Hooded figures ghosted through Quinlan’s Vision.
“Some locals reported an unresponsive man, claiming it was a drunk. Local police finally showed up. Didn’t recognize that he was a Clone, but his armor was found trashed further down.” The Lieutenant rattled off to some question from Obi-Wan. It cut through Quinlan’s concentration.
Behind another pair of Guards lay the broken body of a Clone.
Pushing past the Troopers, Quinlan knelt beside this Lieutenant Edds. The Clone lay crumpled among the discarded refuse. Burned through the black undersuit into his chest. It reminded Quinlan of the rare lightning strikes he had seen. He reached out and lightly placed two fingers on the raw blackened fractals expanding from the exposed pink tissue.
“Sir! The Medic said to wa—!”
Quinlan’s mind disappeared into the past, engulfing his entire awareness.
Lieutenant Edds backed into the alleyway, panting heavily. Clutched tightly in his right hand was a stun baton. If Quinlan had never seen it before, he would have mistaken it for a standard issue stun baton. However the red striping set it in a different quality. Living Weapon Fox.
Edds looked over his shoulder. Quinlan’s Vision didn’t show what the Clone noticed. Edds swiped at a black robed figure in desperation. Exhaustion. Clones were study fighters, so this struck Quinlan as terrifying. He pressed deeper into the Clone’s wound, absorbing the Force Echo, pleading for answers. How had this one perish? Where was Fox?
The fight blurred. The stun baton striking. Hands grabbing. Lightning crackling from all sides. Edd’s armor burnt quickly. His chest and back pieces dropped unceremoniously. Edds thudded heavily against a wall. A massive strike of electricity arced into the Clone’s chest.
“Quinlan!” Obi-Wan jostled Quinlan’s shoulder, breaking the trance. “I thought I lost you for a moment.”
“I didn’t see what I needed, Obi-Wan.” Quinlan snapped. He glared up at Obi-Wan. The other man’s blue eyes were soft and sorrowful. The Clones surrounding them were stiff, anxious, as if expecting Quinlan to attack. He pulled his hand away from Edds, gloved fingers sticky from the raw tissue. It was a minor inconvenience. Removing a handkerchief from a bag, Quinlan wiped away the fluid. “They were attacked,” he said, standing. “The attackers wore hoods and used lightning. They didn’t feel like the same soldiers we fought, but they did feel like Sith. Fox was a Weapon at the time Edds was killed. I haven’t seen where Fox went, but the fact he is not here means the likelihood of him being taken is high.”
The air felt thicker with his report. The Coruscant Guard bristled with the need to find their Commander. Yet none of them were allowed to leave their posts. Quinlan turned away, stalking towards the brunt and broken armor. Obi-Wan would find the words to ease the Guard’s concerns or at least keep them from abandoning the planet to mount their own search. He picked up the scorched helmet and peered into the broken visor.
Edds and Fox had been cornered. Chased into this alleyway into a waiting ambush. How did this battle not get noticed by the populous? Were the inhabitants of Coruscant that dismissive of what happened around them? He would have to retrace the path once he was done with this scene. Quinlan sank his awareness into the Clone’s broken helmet.
Then he stared into the shadowy figures. Three or six. Quinlan had a difficult time identifying the number. They flickered and changed position as if none of them were real. The lightning flashed from several directions. Edds curled over in pain. Quinlan peered closer at the source. Two primary directions caught his attention. Force Wielders. Sith.
The hooded shadows kept the lightning focused on Edds, who managed to catch much of the lightning with the stun baton. Directing it back? The shadows did not react as the electricity arced through them, confirming to Quinlan those were Force created illusions. These were Edds’s memories.
A hand latched onto the stun baton, breaking Edds’s grip. A thick lightning strike arced from the stun baton into Edds, blinding the Vision. When the alleyway returned to Quinlan’s Sight, it was empty. The helmet stared at deteriorating walls of the Undercity. No sign of where the hooded Sith had taken Fox.
Quinlan sighed and gently placed the helmet into the hands of a Shock Trooper. “They put up a good fight against a pair of Stih Warriors.”
“Do you know where the Commander is, sir?” This Trooper did not have the same aggravating bite most of the Guard had towards Quinlan. Perhaps it was only because Quinlan was trying to help.
“Not yet.” Quinlan looked to the entrance of the alleyway where Obi-Wan and Cody waited. There were no more shadowy Echos to find there. The other direction held nothing of visual interest. Quinlan walked farther into the darken alley, stepping over trash. A hooded figure appeared in the corner of Quinlan’s Vision. It walked quickly away from the scene. This was the only lead Quinlan had. He pulled a tracker out of his pocket and activated it. “Get a read on this signal. I’m not sure where I’m heading.”
“I’ll join you.” Obi-wan said.
“No.” Quinlan shook his head, not looking back. “You need to find all the ships that left Coruscant in the suspected timeframe. I’m certain whoever took Fox is off world by now. I’m going to follow the trail, but I don’t know if I’ll get a ship name.”
“We will find him, Quinlan.” Obi-Wan’s concern rankled. “Cody, ask the Commanders if we may use their headquarters.”
Quinlan didn’t wait to hear more. He kept his Vision attuned to the shadowy hooded figures of the Sith and trotted down the alley.
***
The tracker Vos kept traced a path through the depths of the Undercity until it stopped at a busy transport center in Downwell 41. Thire frowned as he isolated the origin of any ships leaving Coruscant to that port. “I’m sorry, Jedi Kenobi, the list remains significant.” He showed the Jedi the list of nearly a hundred vessels. Everything from private transports to cargo ships.
“That is quite the list.” Kenobi frowned slightly under his beard. “Quinlan? Any luck with identification?” He sad into his comm.
“A small cargo shuttle. The kind that comes from a larger transport. The area is too crowded for me to see more.” Vos answered with disappointment. “I’ll try to find something in the local logs.”
“Understood.” Kenobi returned. “Commander Thire, may I?” The Jedi motioned to the holo table. Thire stepped away to give Kenobi the space. The Jedi just stood there as the list continuously scrolled.
He switched his comm to Stone’s private link. “What is he looking for?”
“How should I know?” Stone grunted. “The Jedi don’t make sense. What I do have is a list of cargo ships that departed in hyperspace within three standard hours from Fox’s disappearance. Eight of those have shuttles.” Stone flicked the holo display to match the primary ships to their shuttles. Three came from Downwell 41.
Kenobi isolated those three and gave the Guard an appreciative nod. “Quinlan, look for a shuttle by the name of Price Rage.”
“Got it…. Hmm… Only one crate reported to customs. Two crew. Devaronian by their horns, but the image isn’t great.”
“Any indication of what is in that crate?” Kenobi’s scowl deepened.
Vos’s side of the commlink remained silent for too long for Thire’s comfort. “Report says spare parts. The dimensions would hold a man without issue,” Vos answered grimly.
“That’s the one,” Kenobi nodded. “Commander Stone, what is the destination of the cargo transport, Ridge Over?”
“The Draee Sector, sir. Acree System… There are no habitable planets or moons in that system, sir. No reported mining space stations either.” Stone looked up from his datapad bewildered. “No listed vessels for a rendezvous.”
“Thank you, Commander Stone. Cody? Tell Captain Fesa that we will board shortly and to prepare for departure.”
“Yes, sir.” Cody turned slightly away as he conversed with the captain of the Jedi’s light cruiser.
Thire could only share a look with Stone through their helmets, both knowing they were going to be left behind. Thire stepped forward, “Sir. This is a Coruscant Guard matter.”
“So it is, Commander Thire, but I have no authority to reassign you to this search. The Coruscant Guard is under the review of the Senate.” Kenobi did sound apologetic. “I have lodged a request with Chancellor Palpatine, but have not received an answer. As Quinlan has explained, the Force Echos he is tracking are not stable in public spaces. Traveling through hyperspace with only the Force to guide our next location must be done quickly.”
“A squad from the Senate escorts, then.” Thire needed someone from the Guard to go. It was wrong to do nothing.
“I am not a Senator, Commander. It will not be approved. Nor can I allow you to manipulate your own directives. You need to be available for Coruscant and the Senate. We will find Commander Fox.” Kenobi turned to leave, Cody a step behind.
“It’s not right.” Thire protested. “We should be the ones searching for our Commander!”
Kenobi looked over his shoulder. “I will ensure we remain in communication as to our findings. If the Chancellor does approve the request for your Guards to accompany this mission, you will know where to find us. I am sorry, Commander Thire. This is the most I am able to do.” The Jedi resumed his departure. Cody followed.
The moment after the two disappeared through the Situation Room’s doors, Cody’s private commlink appeared in Thire’s holo-HUD. Thire quickly shared it with Stone as he accepted the call. “Trust me, Thire. If that is the only thing you can do, trust me. I will not let Fox be lost if there is anyway to find him. The Jedi have the freedom and the resources.”
“The entire Guard will make your lives miserable if you fail.” Thire said bitterly.
Cody released a small acknowledging chuckle. “I know you will. Fox will expect that. You have my direct commlink. I will report everything back to you as quickly as possible. It looks like we’re heading to areas where communication triads will be our only link back. I know you won’t tell me what Fox found. Kenobi hasn’t told me either. But find out who attacked Coruscant. It has to be why they took Fox.”
Thire remained silent for a moment. Stone nodded as he continued to direct the Guard. Feeling defeated, Thire revealed the secret. “Living Weapons. Specifically Clone Living Weapons. The Jedi should have the reports. The ship you’re looking for should be housing a large number of Cadets. They were missing from the facility’s census. Fox reported a rifle from the 736th was at the scene. The report we found said that battalion lost contact over three standard weeks ago on Jusat Seven. A team went to investigate and found corpses and destroyed droids.”
“The attackers had weapons from the 736th?”
“It’s the only other lead we had to go on. Besides what Vos called Sith constructs and red kyber. Your Jedi should know all this.”
“There hasn’t been time to go through all the information,” Cody responded. “Thank you, Thire. I’ll do everything I can. Be alert if they come back.”
“Understood.” Thire closed the commlink.
Stone passed Thire a datapad. It contained the latest report of transporting the gestational tubes to the Shock Trooper facility. The Kaminoans were outraged and threatened to terminate the counterfeit clones. Stone continued on the private link. “The Jedi are arguing to allow the Clones to grow to be decanted.”
“That’s one thing.”
“I’ve increased the number of Guards assigned to the transport and to remain as sentries. Counterfeit or not, they are brothers.” Stone said solemnly.
“How bad will it strain the rest?”
Stone shrugged. “It won’t affect the Senate escorts. That would be too noticeable. But the surface patrols will feel a pinch. I haven’t pulled from the Detention center yet.”
“Let’s hope we don’t need to.” Thire returned the datapad. “I don’t get to say no, do I?” He groaned.
Chuckling, Stone returned to the holo-table. “You were the one placed in Command while Fox went on his in-person mission debriefs. Makes you default Marshal Commander.” Stone waved a datapad with the authorization form pulled up. “Fox said so.”
Managing a smile at Stone’s summation, Thire returned to directing the clean up of the damage the Jedi battle with the red blades had caused. It might have been annoying, but having Troopers form the 212th and the 302nd had helped greatly. Commander Cody had left the 302nd to the Coruscant Guard under the command of Captain Swing. The 212th had already been called back to the Risen for the Jedi’s search. Thire could only hope Fox was found soon.
***
Weeks of captivity as far as he could tell. Aeon had a difficult time keeping track. There was no routine. Nor were their captors thrilled with their latest breakout attempt. Five Troopers were nursing significant bruising. Still no broken bones, which surprised Aeon. After no less than seven escape attempts, these Sith soldiers still had not killed any of the forty-seven Clone Living Weapons. Not since the first. Commander Nine-dee.
Aeon shooks his head. It wouldn’t do to remember. His job was to get the survivors home. They were forty-seven out of hundreds. All that was left of the 736th Infantry.
The quiet conversations went dreadfully silent when the door to their locked barrack opened. Everyone who could stood, tensed for action. The dark crimson helmeted soldiers backed away for the Devaronian with a broken horn to fill the threshold. He wielded an electrostaff with red energy sparking from the pointed cap. Aeon had not seen that Weapon with the Sith leader the one time the Devaronian had observed the captives.
The Devaronian scowled. Without explanation, he tossed the staff into the barracks. Every Trooper’s reflex was to dive to catch it. None of them did so and all flinched when the staff clattered loudly in the silence. Some Force related kriff held them in place. Aeon glared at the Sith Lord for the mistreatment of a Living Weapon. The invisible grip on them vanished with a flick of the Devaronian’s wrist.
The next twitch his fingers and the staff transformed into a Clone. Distinct red painted armor. Aeon held his breath, watching this Coruscant brother carefully. The Clone’s helmet bounced harshly on the paving stones. Clone Commander Fox took a shaky breath.
“You have one hour.” The Sith Lord announced. He and his soldiers turned abruptly. The door slammed and locked behind him.
All eyes remained on Commander Fox, who tried to calm his breathing. Aeon hesitantly approached, followed by the remainder of his battalion. Fox was not in good condition. His face was bruised beyond recognition. Eyes had been swollen shut at some point. “Get the ointments and bandages,” Aeon called to the others. It wasn’t bacta, but it did keep their wounds from getting infected. The Sith wanted them alive after all.
Fox bolted upright, gasping for air. “Get this off me!” He desperately clawed at his armor. Uncoordinated hands slipped from the latches. Aeon and Falcon helped immediately. They fought Fox’s attempts as much as they removed the plastoid pieces. Once free Fox scrambled for the open alcove that served as the barrack’s refresher. Where he promptly emptied his stomach.
Aeon motioned for his men to stay back and slowly approached the Commander. “Fox?” They hadn’t been in the same room, much less the same sector since their departure from Kamino, responding to the first Battle of Geonosis. Aeon had no idea if Fox would even recognize him with how far down Aeon was in the Command hierarchy. Fox, however, gave no sign of even hearing Aeon.
Drenched in sweat and shivering, Fox peeled off the black undershirt. Fox immediately dug his nails into his chest. Into the dark purple bruising. Scratching deep grooves into his skin. Aeon snapped his hands out and pulled hard, barely able to stop the self injury. Blank brown eyes looked into his own.
“Fox!” Aeon said sternly. Those eyes blinked rapidly and darted around the room before settling back on Aeon. Fox tensed his arms again, as if to return to gouging out his own heart, then slumped forward. Aeon caught him. “Fox,” he repeated, kinder than the command tone. There was so much Aeon wanted… Needed… to know. For now he focused on getting Fox to respond. “You’re as safe as you’re going to get in here. We can bind up most of those wounds. Won’t heal like bacta, but might make you feel better.”
After a pause, Fox nodded. He tensed his hands again but did not pull against Aeon’s grip. “You’re… the Rigel Infantry…”
“We are.”
“Aeon?” Fox looked around the barracks again, taking in the many Clone Living Weapons trying to not crowd too close in an effort to help. “The report said you were decimated.”
“We were. We’re all that’s left.” Aeon answered softly.
“Nine-dee?” Fox asked about the Clone Commander of the 736th. CC- 1090.
“Dead.” No use in platitudes. Not among Clones. Aeon shifted. “Let Yates clean you up and get those wounds covered. We have some clean blacks to spare.” It took several long minutes to get Fox clean and dressed and seated onto a bunk. Everyone was fidgeting to know what was happening. Fox reached towards his heart frequently, but tightened his fist to prevent him from tearing at his skin. “What are you doing here, Fox? The Republic…. Is it… did the Sith…..” Aeon couldn’t think of that possibility. “What happened?”
Fox shook his head, his knuckles whitening with tension. “The Galactic Republic stands. At least it did when I was taken.” Fox shuddered. “The Sith infiltrated Coruscant and stole counterfeit Clones. Cadets…. Tubies… They’re all Living Weapons… if Vos is to be believed.” The room burst into anxious whispers. Aeon waved them silent so he could hear the rest of Fox’s quiet report. “I don’t know how they found it. They took me because one of them saw me alone, without Vos.”
That was not the answer Aeon expected. A possible silver lining emerged. “Then someone will start a search.” Though they had not given up hope that they would be found, it had been a very slim chance. They were Clones. Expendable. The Kaminoans already had thousands more being trained to take their places. Then he remembered the ominous words the Devaronian had uttered. “Fox? What did he mean with saying one hour?”
Looking down at his clenched fists, Fox ground out the answer. “To convince you to cooperate. I saw the Rigel mark on a rifle at the counterfeit facility. That Sith General said they had others. They want the Cadets trained. They want Living Weapons.” He answered harshly. Hatred laced liberally through his voice. “And he wants me to get you to cooperate.” Then those brown eyes turned sharp and took Aeon by surprise with how intense Fox stared into him. “What happened to Nine-dee?”
“I don’t know.” Aeon gave the only answer he could. “I don’t know what happened. A Sith pushed a red kyber into his chest. Nine-dee vomited up blood and dropped dead. Fox….? Did… Did that Sith do the same…?
“Swallowed.” Fox bit out. “Used the Force and pushed it down my throat. It’s sitting there… I feel it… White hot.. a brand on my heart. Held me still while he did it. Felt my heart trying to explode. I couldn’t fight it…” Fox reached up to his heart and pressed his fingers into his chest. “Now it’s there.”
“Why?”
“Control. Like their constructs.” Fox shook his head. His eyes locked on his clawed hand. Aeon worried he was going to have to pry it away from Fox’s chest. “It’s not like holding a Jedi’s kyber, where we can go back and forth. He can choose to force it or prevent me from doing what I want.”
“I knew they didn't kill us because they wanted us as their Weapons. But that…?” Aeon sat back trying to absorb it.
“That’s the base of it.” Fox relaxed slightly, letting his arm drift back down. His voice slowly returned to the smooth command he was known for. “Living Weapons are not common and even more rare among them.”
“And they have Cadets?” Falcon breathed as the realization hit. “You said they are all Living Weapons? Have you seen them change?”
“No. Just based on the reports Vos found at the facility. The Sith stole the Flash training and the Cadets. Killed the trainers and doctors. No Kaminoans. The Jedi and the Senate were beginning the investigation on who and how that happened. It appeared to be some offshoot of the Shock Trooper facility.”
“Oh…. So that is real.”
“Aeon, I’ve been over this with Nine-dee. None of you are visiting the Shock Trooper facility.”
“Fine. But it would be fun to spar with them.” Aeon managed a smile. Field combat was different than urban combat. All of them wanted to see how they compared. It was a relief to have Fox snipping at him like normal. “Then the question remains. What should we do about our situation?”
Fox went silent. His knuckles blanched. “I won’t tell you to do something you don’t feel like you can do. The Sith want Weapons. They won’t kill you unless they have no other choice. They don’t want to stuff a kyber down your throat. That limits their choice of Weapon. It’d be like the Jedi in that respect. They want the Cadets trained like Clones. I’m…. The Sith General can remove his kyber at anytime, but there is no saying what will happen to me after that.”
Straightening his back and gazing around the barracks at every Clone watching him, Fox returned to his position as Marshal Commander. “This is not a combat scenario our trainers ever considered. We aren’t soldiers in this world. We were already considered programed property in the Republic. The Sith are just more honest about calling us that. What I will tell you is to protect your brothers. That might be the only thing we have control over right now. I’m sorry your disappearance did not spark a search. Reports said you were wiped out in an ambush.”
“That’s true,” Aeon frowned at the memory. “The rest of the battalion was killed. They knew our badges marked us as Living Weapons. They used some massive shock grenade. Then shot the Regs.”
Fox nodded. “Something similar seemed to happen at the counterfeit facility according to the Cadets. When you meet them, the ones I designated as squad leaders will tell you what they know. Nine and Four.”
“You’re horrible at naming.”
“I just woke up with a head injury. Names were not my priority.” Fox fumed. “Point is, my absence will be noticed. How much of a search happens versus one of my Commanders being dragged into my position is uncertain. I can’t and won’t tell you to stop attempting to escape. But don’t include me.” Fox scowled, looking like he wanted to spit. “That mental communication thing with the Jedi…. Goes deeper with that red kyber in my chest. He knows. And knows what I’m telling you if he wants. Can’t be helped.”
“The Jedi…”
“I don’t have a Jedi.” Fox growled. Aeon left that alone. “What I do know is they want you for their soldiers. Want you to train the Cadets. After that, I don’t know their goals. But taking advantage of the instability between the Republic and the Separatists is highly likely.”
Yates passed Fox a canteen and a ration bar. “So you don’t think you’ll bunk with us?”
“I have a karking kyber in my chest.” Fox rolled his eyes, consuming the food carefully. Aeon suspected the Commander did not want to vomit again. “I’ve already been told I’m to guard whatever room he puts me in. He’s not going to let me out of his sight as a human for long.”
“One of the joys of being dangerous.” Optical chirped. The room filled with chuckling.
Fox shrugged. “He’s pleased that there was a stun based Living Weapon. They don’t seem to like blasters.”
“I’ve noticed,” Aeon grimaced. “Fox, the Jedi won’t abandon you.”
“You forget how much trouble I give them.”
“Doing your job is not trouble.”
“Aeon, be glad you’re a Commando. You and Nine-dee would hate Coruscant.”
“Do you hate it?” It was the one question he had always wanted to ask Fox. Nine-dee seemed confident that Fox hated his assignment. Now seemed as good a time as any.
Fox finished the ration bar as he thought. “I’m not sure. I have done everything they tell me to do. The Jedi and the Senate. I had a job to do. I’m good at it. I don’t even hate it. But they make it so difficult.”
“Nine-dee said it was the most complicated job in the Grand Army.” Aeon nudged Fox’s side lightly. “Think about it, you could lockdown that entire planet before any realized it.” That earned him a deadpanned glare.
“This is why you are not allowed on Coruscant.”
“I hear you took over the prisons. Outrank every police force on the planet. Guards are the primary escort for the Senators. Man every transport checkpoint and fuel station and storage yard. What can the Generals and Admirals even do?”
That got Fox to release a half smile. “I don’t think they’ve stopped to think about it. But I am still bound by orders.” That smile vanished and Fox rubbed his chest. “That hour is almost up.” He stood and walked reluctantly to where the other Clones had collected his armor. With only a little assistance from Aeon and Falcon, Fox donned his armor. Yates passed over the helmet. Fox stared at it for a long moment. Quietly, as if his thought wasn’t going to be heard by the Sith Lord, he said, “You are not under my command. No one here is. Our younger brothers come first. That is the only thing keeping me from taking myself out.”
Now that they knew there were Cadets involved, Aeon knew no Clone would leave without them.