Bocri Sauburc

---

The Acclamator-class assault ship Corellian Dawn hung in space, a grey dagger aimed at the heart of Kijimi and the spice runners who currently called the planet home. The measured preparation and organized within the ship was a stark contrast to the panic and confusion on the planet below. Bocri could sense the fear below if he really reached out with the Force. It was taxing his powers but a surprised enemy was a beaten enemy.

"Commander Sauburc," A Clone Captain, CT-98546, approached across the hanger bay floor, his feet crashing harshly against the durasteel plates. "We are almost ready to lift off."

"Thank you, Captain." Bocri was always polite to the Clones under his command. Since the Jedi had begun commanding them and encouraging some more free thought, they had become far more sensitive to imagined sleights.

The Captain nodded and turned away toward the awaiting landing transports. Bocris fighter, and that of his partner, the Twi'lek Hirani Blen, was parked near the mouth of the hanger. Bocri for his part knew it might be a while before he was able to use the refresher and made his way toward the nearest unit.

As he pushed open the door with his hand, the black metallic fingers clicked slightly against the metal. Unlike some folks who had their cybernetics coated in skin, he had chosen to leave his exposed. It reminded him every day of just how much of him was becoming a machine.

Unlike a number of Jedi, General Kenobi among them, he chose not to wear the robes of the Jedi Order. Instead he wore a comfortable combat suit, similar to one the Clone pilots wore. It allowed him to carry the basics and ensure his cockpit controllers weren't blocked by excessive amounts of cloth.

On his right hip he wore a blaster, his light sabre clipped just behind it. A pair of stun grenades sat in a leg-drop pouch on the left thigh. His vest contained a spare battery pack for the blaster, and several bacta patches; not for him of course. A small tool kit came with him, to fix any basic issues with his cybernetics if the need arose. An assortment of other tools, lights, comlink, etc, all had homes on the vest as well.

As the door closed behind him he had a brief glimpse of CT-98546 stopping in the middle of the hanger bay and drawing out a comms disc; he was to far away to see the image that appeared. The closed with a soft hiss and he stepped up to the refresher. He was glad that at least this part of him hadn't been blown away... Yet...

---

Hirani sat in her rooms meditating, centering herself before the imminent battle to come. She felt the fear from far below and worked to peel it off of herself. When so many are afraid, afraid of what was, what is, and what is yet to come, it can be stifling for those who are so in tune with the force. She had always been sensitive and it was why the Jedi came for her once she was old enough to be taken from her parents and brought to the enclave on Coruscant. She was paired with those who would mold her carefully and aware of what she needed in guidance. In turn, she flourished to be the Consular she is today.

At the start of the war, Hirani was paired with Bocri a skillful Jedi with an allergy to bacta, which made caring for him a challenge. She was the most skilled healer that could be sent as his partner short of a Jedi Master and even that couldn’t save him fully from new cybernetic enhancements. At least then she was able to oversee their successful implantation. She helped to speed up the body’s acceptance to the foreign metals and made sure the wires fully melded with his neurological system. It was tricky and sensitive work to make sure everything worked in balance.

The twi’lek felt him while she sat quietly in meditation, like a bright sun amongst the stars that were the clone men that filled the ship. She knew them all, some on more personal levels than others. She was their healer. She spent enough time with them to learn their individual personalities despite their identical genetic codes. Nature vs nurture. They grew to trust her as she spent years healing their wounds, telling her stories of their training as she shared hers with them. They all had their own trials to overcome and the consequences should they fail.

A voice rang through the air as she sat in her peaceful meditation, crisp though the speakers that composed of her comms disc.

“Commander Blen, We are almost ready to head off to the surface. Commander Sauburc is already in the hangar.”

“Thank you, Captain.” She spoke softly, drawing her consciousness back into herself. “I’ll meet you both there.”

“Understood ma’am.”

With the conversation at a close, Hirani collected herself. The soft robes showing her as a member of the Jedi Order whispering softly as she rose from her cushioned seat on the metal floor of their ship. It was time to get to work.

Bocri Sauburc

---

Bocri was washing his hands when he felt a sudden ripple in the Force. He had felt something similar before, when a fellow Jedi fell in battle, but this was worse, so much worse. The pain hit him like a charging Reek and his knees buckled; only by grabbing onto the countertop did he prevent himself from hitting the ground. It felt as though someone were jamming a thousand tiny needles into his brain.

His face in the mirror had gone ashen and he could see the pain he felt reflected back at him. His chest was moving quickly in great heaves as he sucked in air, trying to combat the pain. His metallic hand had bent the metal wash station and he could feel his blood pounding behind his eyes.

It took several deep breaths to sooth him enough that he could stand; the pain diminished but fresh ripples in the force continued to batter at him. He had to clear his mind. He needed to get control.

A half dozen more breaths as he sought to centre himself, forcing his mind to calm itself and focus on his surroundings. He had no control over whatever was happening but he could control how he reacted. He let go of the wash station and quickly dried his hands; an automatic movement while he sought some normality.

At last his breathing slowed, his chest no longer heaving as he sucked in air. As he regained his senses his was aware of other sudden feelings - of crushing anxiety and suspicion - all around him; it appeared to be coming from the clones onboard this ship. That made no sense, there was no way they could have sensed what he did. There had been no klaxons, no warnings of an attack; no, something else was tweaking them. The comlink he carried buzzed eerily in his ear and attempts to click it into transmit were met with more static. Something was terribly wrong.

"Hirani?!” He reached out with the force and quickly found her. She too was in pain but at least she was alive. Relief flooded through him. He wanted to know what she had felt, to know if his worst fears might be true.

Before he could say a word the refresher door slammed open an a half dozen concussion grenades spun inside. Without waiting to think, he reacted, his years of training kicking in without a second thought. A quick flick of the force sent all the grenades back out the door before they had even bounced a second time. He heard shouts of alarm and then a tremendous explosion shook the hanger bay. Heat and pressure washed into the refresher; he absorbed what he could and deflected the rest.

The concussion was largely directed back into the bay by the walls and as he stepped into the open he blinked at the twenty or so clone troopers whose bodies now lay scattered across the durasteel deck. Blood was thick on the shiny metal and he could see limbs, and bits of armour, scattered all over the place. At least one helmet was still bouncing crazily away. A stunned silence had fallen over the assembled troopers, most of whom staring at him in surprise as if frozen to the spot.

A blaster bolt sizzled over his head and he spun to see another clone trooper, his leg broken, trying to take a second shot. Ozone sizzled and the blue blade of his lightsabre flashed to send the second bolt back into the troops chest. All around him he could feel suspicions, anger, and pain, much of it suddenly directed toward him as the three hundred or so troopers still in middle of loading their transports suddenly turned their attention toward him.

He swore, drew his blaster, and began to run toward the hangers control room. All around him troopers reached for their own blasters.

.

---

No…

The twi’lek’s brown leather boots had only carried her steps from the room doors before waves of pain collided into her chest, forcing her to her knees. Tears involuntarily streamed down her face as the echos of so many flames snuffed out traveled through the force. Some were familiar to her, masters and friends now lost to the universe. She fought to breathe, fought to pull herself out of the void that has been punched through her very being.

“Is everything alright Commander Blen?” A familiar voice from behind her asked, helping her to come back. In her distraction, five troopers suddenly occupied the hall with her and she felt more coming. The words were filled with false concern and underneath them she could trace fear, anxiety, and finally… malice. Why…?

She spoke with a shaky voice, “What are you afraid of CC-9547?”

Before the trooper could answer she felt Bocri reach out to her, “Hirani?”. His call was soon followed by a large explosion that she knew came from the Hangar. The blast forced the ship to sway from it’s position in space, causing her trooper companions to nearly loose their footing. Hirani turned to find they had their blaster rifles in hand with the safety off and set in the position for the use of lethal force. The truth was before her, but her pretty blue eyes didn’t want to believe what they saw.

“Why?” She asked simply, preparing herself, but not drawing her lightsaber which was still clipped to her belt.

“Order 66 has been initiated. You will be executed for treason against the Repbulic.” CC-9547 replied, raising his blaster. In that moment she remembered how she helped him walk again after recovering from a broken femur. That same man who had clung to her for strength and used her words of encouragement to help him walk again was staring her down through the sights of his gun. The man she once knew… was gone.

The trooper did not wait for her to reply and Hirani saw them all squeeze their fingers around the triggers of their blasters. It was in that moment she acted. Do… or die. The twi’lek pushed forward through the force with enough strength to fling the troopers about 15 meters down the hallway. It was here that she slowly pulled out her lightsaber and reached out towards the familiar sun that was her bonded partner.

”Bocri…?!”

Bocri Sauburc

---

Bocri shot across the hanger floor, a blur to the clones, as he used the force to accelerate his speed. It was just in time as hundreds of blaster bolts split the air where had been, and where he would have been if he were an average human. The wall where he had stood turned nearly black in an instant as the energy of the bolts singed the plate and, in a couple of spots, buckled them slightly.

Helmeted heads were just starting to turn, tracking the blur of his movement, the ugly bulk of the blasters only a split second behind, as he reached the ladder that led to the control booth. He pushed down with the force and shot into the air, even as he slid his blaster back into its holster.

The catwalk shuddered as he landed with a thud. The clones below were moving more quickly now, some of them likely could figure out his next move. At this range a moving target would be hard to hit and the marksmen among them were already taking a knee. The hanger was fifty yards wide and the catwalk went the entire distance. Another force sprint was liable to tax him too much and make what was coming next nearly impossible.

He began to run, light sabre flashing as he batted away the bolts that were increasingly getting closer. The smell of ozone was so thick it overpowered the usual smell of maintenance chemicals and fuel cells. His whole vision was tinged red from the volume of energy that was coming his way.

One concussion grenade, then a second, he sent them spinning out into the hanger bay and watched as clones dove for cover before they exploded, sowing more chaos into the space. Angry shout - commands to fire - were faint below. The catwalk was absorbing some of the bolts and the heat was beginning to buckle, as the plates of the hanger bay wall had done.

He was dimly aware of Hirani trying to reach out to him through the force but he had no time to spare for her. This was no time for distraction. He was going to die here if he didn't put maximum effort into it. Once he was safe he would check on her.

Ahead of him the control booth door had shot open and in that instant he accelerated again, using the force to pull himself toward trooper who had stepped out, his blaster aimed at Bocris chest.

Bocri slammed into the clone and the two of them tumbled into the control room, bouncing off the wall and onto the floor. Bocri recovered first and his light sabre flashed, cleaving the clone from waist to shoulder as he tried to rise from the ground. There was pain in Bocris own shoulder and he spared a glance to see his flight suit was cut and blood was seeping through the material.

No time.

He lunged to his feet just in time to see several troopers below hurling concussion grenades upward at the open door. He tripped the switch door with a twitch of his hand and then yanked down the lever that controlled the magnetic shield protecting the hanger bay from the vacuum of space.

The grenades seemed to hang in the air for a brief moment before they, and everything else in the bay not attached to something, were sucked into space. One was lodged against a transport and the explosion blew a wing off the vessel. He could hear the screams of the clones, feel their terror - especially those he had known well - and the realization that they were going to die. Most had a brief moment of regret and that caught him off guard. A select few were angry, perhaps at their failure, be he would never know.

The Jedi star fighters were hurled into space, and the two large transports, one now burning, skittered across the floor after them before finally toppling into space. A rack of Republic fighters jerked violently at their mountings but held firm. Any number of other items went as well, all of it vanishing into the darkness beyond.

He slumped down on the only chair in the space and rested his head on the console for the moment. The better part of three hundred clones had been in the bay when he first started his run and now not a single one remained.

Why?

What had he missed? There was nothing logical about what had just happened. The Clones were a fundamental part of the Republic, as much as the Jedi, it made no sense.

"Bocri?" The tug at his mind snapped him back to the reality of his situation.

"Hirani. The clones turned on me," What else could he say. "I have vented the hanger bay. The landing party is all gone. Are you okay?"

---

The twi’lek knew she was heard but the lack of response from Bocri left her concerned. It wasn’t a new thing for him to not answer her calls while engaged in battle, but this wasn’t a typical scenario. They were being hunted by their own and she needed to tell him about this Order 66 and the clones sudden change in mindset. She could only hope that he was in a good position despite the chorus of explosions she was hearing.

The troopers were momentarily stunned from having been flung down the hallway and she took this moment to completely immobilize them. She kept her saber in her right hand, but did not ignite it while she walked briskly towards the fallen clones. Even though they meant to shoot her down, Hirani couldn’t bring herself to use her deadly weapon against them. Raising her left arm, she reached out a with a slender purple hand towards the troops and pushed their bodies down into the floor, keeping them from reaching anything that would otherwise spell bad news for her. They struggled against her, she could feel it, but it wasn’t particularly difficult for her to keep the five cloned men from rising.

She thought about removing their helmets and hitting their temples squarely with the hilt of her saber to knock them out but she ultimately decided she wanted to be more gentle than that. She was going to put them to sleep. Through the force she threw a blanket of calm over the men, willing their bodies to relax and tricking their brain into thinking it was time to sleep. One by one she waved her hand over their covered faces and felt their consciousness slip away into deep sleep. They would be like this long enough for her to return to her rooms, quickly retrieve some extremely important belongings, and make a swift getaway.

Once in her rooms, she grabbed her brown leather bag that she used to carry all of her medical supplies. In additional to various tools, bandages, medicines, and ointments, this also included numerous crystals and talismans that would amplify her healing abilities through the force. They were not as potent as the ones she used back in the Halls of Healing at the Jedi Temple, but they were potent enough for her to feel compelled to run back for and if they were going to be on the run, they would be invaluable.

In the midst of Hirani’s packing, her hands slowed at the sudden rush of fear and panic from hundreds of clones. She called out again.

”Bocri?”

This time, he answered.

”Hirani. The clones turned on me. I have vented the hangar bay, the landing party is all gone. Are you ok?”

The relief she felt over his response was mixed with sorrow. Being thrust into the vacuum of space would be a painful death as their bodies fought to breathe while the cold emptiness of space sucked away their warmth.

”I am fine. I was forced to put some troopers to sleep as they tried to gun me down and I am in my room collecting some things should we need to break away from the ship. CC-9547 said ‘Order 66 has been initiated’ and we are to be executed for treason against the Republic?”

Bocri Sauburc

---

”I am fine. I was forced to put some troopers to sleep as they tried to gun me down and I am in my room collecting some things should we need to break away from the ship. CC-9547 said ‘Order 66 has been initiated’ and we are to be executed for treason against the Republic?”

What the crik was Order 66?... Bocri was having a hard time processing; between having just vented nearly three hundred people into space that he had known on a first name basis, the pain in his shoulder, and the slowly dawning knowledge that all the pain he had felt through the force was likely his Jedi comrades being slaughtered.

"I want to say they can't be serious but after what just happened down here..." His words dropped away as he hissed in pain. He drew a kolto bandage from his belt, one of the two he had, and worked it into place over his shoulder. The soothing sensation began at once and he swung his arm a couple times to ensure he could move freely. They were hardly out of trouble yet.

"The rest of the clones will be looking for us." He said as he projected his thoughts to Hirani once again. "We won't be able to get off this ship as long as they control the bridge. They'll blow us out of space."

He glanced up the steel plating above his head. The bridge was a long run from where he was, but not so far from Hirani. Between him and that bridge, somewhere on this ship, were another three hundred clones, give or take however many Hirani had dealt with. Perhaps if he got into the main ducts?

Not an original idea, but one that will skip the majority of the clones, I hope. He was musing to himself as he looked upward at the roof of the control cabin. One of the first things he had done when he came aboard was familiarize himself with every aspect of the ship in the off chance they had to repel boarders. Well, now he was the boarding party.

"Can you make it to the bridge?" He asked Hiarni. "I am going into the ducts and will make my way there. Will you be able to meet me?" It was a chance, but it was the only one they had at the moment.

He ignited his lightsaber, cut a hole in the ceiling, and leapt effortlessly into the vent above him; he began to run.

---

“I want to say they can’t be serious but after what just happened down here…”

Hirani shared his sentiment, but something was just horribly wrong. A power play had been made from pieces they didn't even know were on the board. Through their bond, she felt the trickles of the pain he was feeling but she was confident it wasn’t something that he couldn’t handle on his own until she could see to him. As a healer, she couldn’t help feeling compelled to see to his injuries at that moment. At this feeling, she finished packing her bag quickly, clasped it securely and flung it over her shoulder. They had to get to safety first.

The familiar call of Bocri reached out to her again. "The rest of the clones will be looking for us. We won't be able to get off this ship as long as they control the bridge. They'll blow us out of space."

Hirani sent her consciousness towards the bridge. It was only two floors above her with limited personnel inside but heavily protected by blast doors that would magnetically seal if engaged. She was no splicer, so hacking her way in wasn't an option if they were locked. She could melt the door slowly with her saber, but that would leave her vulnerable. Her last option would be to infiltrate the minds of one of the clones inside to make him open the doors for her, it was the fastest outcome for her.

"Can you make it to the bridge? I am going into the ducts and will make my way there. Will you be able to meet me?

"Yes, let's hope the doors aren't locked when we get there. Otherwise, it's not heavily manned if you have to take it by yourself. Just enough clones needed to monitor the ship and maintain our position in orbit." she replied.

Hirani tightened the strap of her bag so that it wouldn't swing wildly across her body as she moved and called to her right hand her saber that she had placed on the bed when she first re-entered the room. She stepped out into the hallway once more and borrowed the keycard from CC-9547's unconscious body so that she could hopefully access the bridge without alerting the pilots inside. As she took her first step away from the sleeping clones, she willed her body to move faster and force sprinted the rest of the way to the elevator. At its doors, she swiped the borrowed key card against the reader to instruct the machine to open. The clones must've taken it to her floor.

Ding.

The doors slowly opened to reveal the empty booth and Hirani extended a purple hand to the panel to direct the elevator to the top floor that housed the bridge.

Bocri Sauburc

---

Bocri could have hugged whoever designed the Republics military fleet. The vents were large, not big enough for him to stand upright, but certainly large enough for him to move through at a quick jog while doubled over.

"Just enough clones needed to monitor the ship and maintain our position in orbit." Hirani was right, that meant there was still a considerable number of armed and dangerous troopers anywhere on the ship at this moment, and they were certainly looking for the two jedi.

"Be careful, see you soon. He replied quickly even as he launched himself upward into the vents of the next level. He knew that Master Kenobi has tried a similar trick on a Federation battle cruiser and the crew had been unable to track them, he hoped the Republic had not thought to correct that oversight.

His travel through the vents turned out to be a somewhat educational experience. There were multiple various types and it was quickly obvious he had chosen the heat exchange vents as blasts of hot air came ripping by on a regular basis. Sometimes it smelled of food, the galley venting, or sweaty feet, likely a sleeping quarters, once the smell of engine solvents, which could only be the small shuttle bay since the main bay was still venting into open space.

From time to time he could feel the presence of clones as they searched the ship. Interestingly enough, he could sense a measure of fear and panic among most of them. It seemed that they were well aware that the loss of surprise was not working in their favour. Once he paused to listen as a squad passed below him.

"They're both gone."

"That isn't good. I heard the medics can't wake CC-9547 and his squad from whatever Master Hirani did to them."

"I thought I had some idea of how strong they were, but I guess not. Five in a dead sleep we can't fix and hundreds vented to space by Master Bocri."

Their voices faded as they passed on. Behind them they left feelings of terror and anxiety. Part of Bocri was angry at the situation, but he was fairly certain that the clones were not responsible for what was happening. Not that it mattered, the only friend he had left on this ship was Hirani.

"Where are you?" He launched the question to Hirani. He could sense her closer now as he clambered up vents and gained deck levels. If he could join with her, they would be able to take the bridge quickly and quietly.

---

”I am down the hallway from the blast doors to the bridge. Right outside the elevator doors.”

Hirani peaked down the crisp white hallway from her position around the corner towards the bridge as she communicated with Bocri. The entire floor was actually unoccupied apart from herself and the handful of clones that ran the bridge. She slid down the wall while turning her had back from the hallway to sit on the floor to meditate. The bag she carried was now positioned in her lap and was being used as a resting place for her clasped hands. Closing her eyes, the Jedi began to meditate.

Through her trance, she began to take note of the positions of the clones, the remaining hundreds were scurrying about the ship like ants when you kicked their hill. The altered clones were filled with overwhelming anxiety and Hirani was starting to think that is was perhaps for the best. She didn’t want to fight her former allies and had hope that they would be weary to confront the two Jedi. But she knew it was a foolish wish. These men were created to be an efficient army and they proved that they will follow any order given, no matter how cruel.

Redirecting her consciousness to the bridge, Hirani began to familiarize herself with the thoughts of the clones inside. If she needed to, she could control the actions of one, befuddle the thoughts of them all for Bocri to execute an easy takeover, or she could also put these clones to sleep like she did to CC-9547’s group which would be the most gentle route.

She reached out to her human partner, ”Bocri, I’m in a position where I can put the clones to sleep if you’d like? It would only take me a bit of time… “

---

Fear.

Anger.

Confusion.

A whirlwind of emotions gripped CT-35479, Captain Rathis, as he stood on the bridge of the Corellian Dawn and listened to the hundreds of frantic calls for help that quickly dwindled into silence; the hanger below venting into space. For a few brief moments he could see bodies in white armour tumbling away from the ship until they were lost among the stars.

What had gone wrong? Three hundred troopers in that hanger bay and now nothing but silence.

"CT-98546, report." He keyed his mic, trying to raise the trooper who had been responsible for overseeing the death of the traitor Bocri. Silence. Ominous silence.

"CT-98546, do you read me, over?" The comm waves remained utterly silent. Not even a whisper or flicker of static to suggest someone was trying to key their mic.

"CT-9547, report." He addressed the second squad now, those being sent to deal with Hirani. She was in her quarters and should prove a quick task for the elite clone troopers sent to kill her.

"Entering her hall now." A moment of silence. "Making contact now."

The second turned into ten seconds, and then into thirty. Rathis glanced around the bridge at the remainder of his crew, none of whom looked back at him.

"CT-9547, update." Comms silence. No blaster fire. No explosions. Nothing.

"What is going on down there?" He finally snapped at a nearby crewman who was flipping through the cameras that covered major intersections throughout the ship, as well as any turbo-lift doors. He silently cursed the Chancellor for not giving them more warning of his intentions to arrest the Jedi.

"There is no sign of CT-9547, or his squad." The crewman replied, still flipping through various camera feeds. Other corridors showed clones moving about in disciplined groups as they reacted to the emergency klaxons that blared throughout much of the ship.

"Show me the hanger bay." Rathis ordered and waited as the screens were brought up. Half of them were damaged beyond use by the explosions and none covered the control booth where Bocri had been last seen.

Rathis began to feel a ball of anxiety form in his gut. Nothing was going as it should have. He eyes raced over the control panels as he searched for any indication of what might be happening. Other than the alarms for the hanger bay, everything was exactly as it should be. That still meant there was one, if not two, Jedi now loose on his ship.

"Tell the gun crews to blast anything that attempts to leave the ship. We cant have them trying to esca[e in a fighter or troop transport." There was only one other hanger that could handle the larger craft, and the smaller executive hanger. "I want thirty troopers at each of the remaining hangers. The rest can begin sweeping the ship, starting with the lower levels. Check everything, vents, garbage compactors, nothing can be missed."

Comms blazed to life as orders went out and he was relieved to see some semblance of order returning to the ship as the clones moved quickly and purposefully to carry out their orders. It gave one a sense of pride to see it.

Minutes passed and squads continued to check in regularly, all clear. Engineers were trying to restore order to the hanger bay but the concussion grenade explosion had shaken wiring loose and the bridge command consoles were unable to reactive the magnetic shield. They had no way of knowing that a lightsaber had slashed through the cables.

Squads were just reaching the lower decks of the ship when one of the command crew suddenly jolted upright in his seat.

"Uh, sir, sir!" He was waving frantically and Rathis practically ran to his side. A chill ran through him at the site of Master Hirani meditating in the hallway beyond the bridge doors. She was practically inside and he had sent the rest of his clones to the lower decks!

He opened his mouth to say something but at that very moment a gentle touch caressed his brain and he found himself feeling terribly sleepy. His fingers scrabbled for the control console even as his knees hit the deck. His tongue didn't seem to want to work as he keeled over sideways, the crewman who had manned the console landing half across his legs, a glazed expression on his face.

It was with detached interest he observed Master Bocri appear in the hallway next to Master Hirani. It was not his concern anymore though. He was so very tired. He blinked his eyelids once, twice, and then blackness welcomed him.

---

With her task complete, the Jedi opened her eyes slowly to focus on Bocri. Without a second thought she stood to place a purple hand over the bandage on his shoulder and began to pour her own life energy into his open wound. The kolto infused bandage did a good job expediting the body's natural healing process, but she took it to a higher level. If one were to watch, they could see the wound close before their very eyes as muscle and skin cells reformed to become as whole as they once were before shot by a blaster. Hirani felt the pull on herself, as she always did when she healed, and left it so a faint scar was left upon his shoulder. It was nothing permanent and would rectify itself over time naturally.

Once finished, she tapped his cheek gently with the same hand that she used to heal his shoulder. "Come, they're fast asleep."

Hirani rearranged her bag to lay against her back and confidently turned the corner to walk onto the bridge of the Corellian Dawn. The twi'lek took a moment to appreciate the scene before her, a serene picture of deeply unconscious clones slumped in their chairs and sprawled over the consoles that controlled the every aspect of the cruiser. Despite the horrific circumstances that they found themselves in, Hirani was glad to have avoided killing any troopers herself so far but she knew it was like to change fairly quickly if they didn't find a way off this ship.

"Bocri, will you help me to drag them outside before we seal ourselves in here?" As she voice her question, Hirani moved towards the closest clone and began dragging him from his chair to place him against the wall across the hallway.

Bocri Sauburc

---

Bocri moved to help Hirani without comment. He was feeling far less charitable toward their would be assassins than his partner but murder wasn't something he could square with at the moment, well, not killing the sleeping men with a blaster bolt to the head at any rate.

It took them several minutes to clear the bridge and he could hear the units from the lower decks continue to check in. They were becoming increasingly agitated with the lack of response from the bridge however and it was only a matter of time before they rushed back to check on their comrades.

The last clone was heaved out onto into the corridor and the two jedi retreated inside. They hadn't spoken at all. Bocri was wrestling with his anger at the presumed deaths of so many comrades and was trying hard to keep a lid on the rage that was threatening to spill out.

"Mind the door." He said as Hirani followed him back onto the bridge. It slammed shut as he triggered it, and then the blast doors closed a moment later.

He moved across to another console and pulled up a screen, glancing at his companion who was watching him carefully. "I am going to turn off the artificial gravity, stand by." He tapped several commands into the console and a moment later the artificial gravity in the ship, everywhere except the bridge, shut down. He could see clones begin to float in the corridors they were patrolling and soon every room he looked at was filled with floating debris.

"And now..." It took him but a moment to do what came next and it would stay with him for the rest of his life, however short it may be. He opened every blast door he could and shut down every magnetic field on the ship, save for the bridge. The whole process was meant to assist in fire fighting but at the moment it served just as well to vent the entirety of the remaining clones, including those in the corridor, into space.

---

The tidal wave of fear that she felt nearly sent Hirani over the edge and into the abyss. The twi’lek stumbled forward into the blast door, gasping for air like the hundreds of remaining clones that were ejected into the void of space. She nearly forgot that they had been safe on the bridge and fought to regain control of her mind, body, and soul. While she had felt the previous clones that Bocri flung out of the ship, these individuals were much closer and thus able to affect her so. The only comforting thought was that at least the ones she put asleep wouldn't register the pain their body was going through as it died.

Hirani inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled slowly out of her mouth. She could understand why it had to be done, but perhaps he could have warned her so that she could have shielded herself from their plight. Moving forward, she would have to place a barrier on her mind from passively feeling the emotions of others as Hirani could only assume things would get worse from here. What she could never shut out, however, was Bocri. Their bond prevented her from closing herself off from him and him from her. She could feel his anger and he would most certainly have felt her panic.

Hirani opened her mouth to speak and croaked. Reaching into her bag, she grabbed her water canteen to help clear her throat. After two gulps, she tried again.

"What is the plan now? It's not like we can use this ship or any of it's fighters to leave this sector." Her voice was husky, but functioning. She took another swig to help it along.

Bocri Sauburc

---

Despite his anger, Bocri was instantly aware of the pain that he has caused Hirani. He felt shame and regret at once, he should have warned her and at least spared her that sudden trauma he had just inflicted on her. On another day he might have drawn her into a hug but now was not the time, there would be a moment later when they had escaped in which they could sort out emotion.

He offered her an apologetic smile and then tapped on the console in front of him. A number of Clone fighters were still out there, so far none of them seemed very interested in the ship as they were formed up some distance off the bow. There was really only one option left as far as Bocri could see it.

He couldn’t operate the turbolaser batteries, not in any efficient manner anyway. Jedi were skilled at many things, but operating technology over a distance was not one of them. The pilots were too far away for any sort of mind control, which only Hirani could manage anyway.

“We crash the ship into the planet.” He said quietly. “Set it on a collision course and then, as we get close to the surface, launch all the escape pods, with us in one of them. I’ll call a mayday shortly and do my best to fake some sort of emergency to throw off the pilots out there, though I suspect that they will see the others floating in space when they come closer and likely think it’s real.”

He paused and glanced at Hirani. “Does that suit you?”

---

”We have been together long enough for me to trust your judgement on such things.” Hirani said simply as she joined him at the console, her voice having regained most of it’s normal function. She could pilot her fighter and smaller vehicles well enough, but a vessel of the Corellian Dawn was beyond her skill. ”So long as we don’t crash and burn along with the ship, I’ll be happy.”

The healer worked to make herself as neutral as possible and that task had significantly increased in difficulty since she became bonded with Bocri. Jedi are taught not to be ruled by their emotions and to improve themselves with knowledge and training, amongst an overall theme of being a guardian of peace. How one went about fulfilling that role was based on an individual’s skill and affinity with the force. The twi’lek peaked at the monitor as it showed some functions she was familiar with and a lot more that she was not.

”Is there… anything you need me to do?” she asked meekly, weary of the answer she would receive. She often found herself willing to put herself outside of her comfort zone for Bocri and the only other individual she had bonded with to this degree was her former master, a door which she shut tight deep within herself to keep the pain of their loss from resurfacing. Later, when they have found a safe place to rest is when she'll allow herself to mourn and process the emotions that she could not help to feel but suppressed in the face of the threat in front of them.

Hirani had a creeping feeling that the trial set before them would test them to their very core. Would they still be able to uphold the Jedi Code or will they loose themselves to the dark side and the suffering that accompanied it?

Bocri Sauburc

---

Bocri touched Hirani's shoulder so that she looked at him and offered a weak smile. It wasn't much, but it was something given the situation.

"Just trust me, as you always do, and hang on."

He turned back to the monitors and for a brief second his reflection stared back at him. His skin, as black as ebony, made his shape look like a shadow, a shadow with a single red eye. His prosthetics would be hard to hide, but that was a problem for future Bocri.

"Start jettisoning the escape pods, only one every minute or so, make sure one remains." He instructed Hirani as his finger danced over the console. The recon fighters that had been sent out would be returning soon and it was important that they have no reason to think either Jedi was still alive.

The ship responded quickly to his touch as Hirani launched the first escape pod. He hammered the ships "may-day" beacon that would be begin broadcasting all over the sector. There were no other major Republic starships nearby, that much he was sure. The returning fighters would quickly run into the debris field of everything he had vented, including their comrades. That would be an unpleasant surprise but he was making this whole thing up rather spur of the moment.

Red light began to throb throughout the ship at once and the scream of damage control sirens sounded beyond the bridge doors. Operating the ship was remarkably easy, all he had to do was set its course for the planet surface, override the emergency alarm, and then step back. With the magnetic shields locked open, no living soul save for a Jedi would be able to make their way onto the ship.

Hirani was still launching escape pods as the ship began its turn, the dagger shaped hull rolling over until it was pointed directly down at the planet. He couldn't operate the self-destruct as they needed three codes, one from him, one from Hirani, and the third from the Captain, who had been vented into space. An oversight on his part. There were other ways to wreck a ship however.

"Get into the escape pod." He directed Hirani as he walked unhurriedly over to vacuum tube that served to carry physical objects all over the ship as quickly as possible. He pulled four thermal detonators from the small bridge weapons locker. They weren't much, but they would be enough to start a chain reaction of bigger problems with the ship spinning out of control. He set them each for one minute and then launched them to various different parts of the ship; engineering, operations, the magazine, and the galley.

His steps were considerably quicker this time as he hurried to the escape pod and climbed inside with Hirani. She pushed the launch button and a "whoosh" followed by a light thud told them they were on the way. They fell away quickly into space, arcing toward the planets surface. The time ticked by his head until the detonators exploded. The vacuum of space would serve to extinguish any real fires but it did nothing to prevent the chain reaction of other shipboard explosions that quickly rippled throughout the craft.

Bocri wrapped his arm around Hiranis waist and held her close, his head resting on her shoulder, as they looked back out through the viewport. He could feel exhaustion coming and his shoulder still burned something awful. The closeness, and her own inate skills, serve to sooth some of his pain.

Above them, two small pinpricks of light shot toward the wounded destroyer, the scouts had returned. He could hear their cries of confusion and concern over the comlink that he now pulled from his ear and crushed in his prosthetic hand.

---

The twi’lek followed Bocri’s lead, removing her own comlink from her right ear cone and making the device float in the air momentarily before it seemed to collapse in on itself as Hirani used the force to destroy it. With that taken care of and the crumbled ball of metal discarded to the floor, she turned her attention towards the man that held her. Now that they were under less stress, his body was no longer producing the chemicals that allowed him to ignore the pain in his shoulder and maintain the high energy level needed for him to survive the betrayal they just experienced. She didn’t know what awaited them once they reached the surface, so Hirani did what she could and tapped into herself to pour her life force into him so that he would at least no longer feel exhausted. The wound on his shoulder would take longer to rectify and they didn’t have that luxury at the moment.

It had been only a few minutes since they jettisoned from the ship but the pod was fast approaching the planet and they needed to be strapped in before they made entry to the planet. Hirani turned her face to his, her purple cheek stopping just short of his nose.

”Bocri, we need to strap into the seats before the pod starts entering the atmosphere.”

The Jedi slid his arm from its embrace around her waist and mirrored her movements towards the seats lined along the walls of the escape pod. The bonded pair managed to strap themselves in just as the pod began to hit the outer layers Kijimi’s atmosphere and the ride suddenly became a whole lot different. The transition from open space into the layers of gas that enveloped the planet was a violent one and the pod shook uncontrollably as it traveled through the atmosphere. The internal temperature rose several degrees as the outer protective layer lit ablaze with their entry. Hirani gripped Bocri’s natural hand in her purple one for comfort… she was nervous.

While the pod itself was well designed to withstand the pressures of landing, it wasn’t designed to do it in any way that would be considered comfortable and in the mere minutes it took to reach the snowy surface of Kijimi, it only slowed down just enough for them to not disintegrate on it’s rocky impact with the planet. The straps of their safety belts kept them from flying into the front of the pod but will definitely leave bruises on their bodies to later remind them of their ordeal. Hirani moaned softly in pain, her hand still tightly gripped to Bocri’s as the flickering lights of the cabin fought to stay on.

Bocri Sauburc

---

An hour later the two Jedi were already a kilometre from the crashed pod, their tracks in the snow erased almost immediately by the wind that howled across the frozen landscape. Beyond them, in the far distance, a massive debris cloud was climbing into the sky from where the cruiser had slammed into the planet. Nothing could be seen of the ship but it took little imagination to know what the wreck was going to look like. Local scavengers would feast for months, if not years, on a prize that size.

They wore survival suits from inside the craft. One size fits all and one suit fits all climates was a hopeful claim printed on the interior label. He doubted the manufacturer had ever left Coruscant.

He was luckier than Hirani, the suits were designed for humans and not a Twi'lek; the downside of all the Clone troopers being of one species. Her lekku were wrapped in the salvaged pieces of a third suit and then crammed into her hood as best they could manage. That meant more of her face was exposed to the cold than they might have liked but at least they were alive.

Kijimi was a remote, frozen, and mountainous planet, but it boasted one major settlement, Kijimi City. The pods programming had brought them well within walking distance of the city and only Bocri forcing it to land sooner had put them down beyond the actual edge of the city proper. They had agreed that arriving on foot would attract less attention than slamming into the ground within shouting distance of any buildings.

Bocri brushed a hand at his eyelids as they threatened to freeze together. His mechanical hand, even inside the suit, was moving sluggishly under the onslaught of the cold. He would need to get into the warmth soon to make sure it hadn't been damaged during the fight on the cruiser. He would have cursed his bacta allergy if he hadn't done it a million times before.

Hirani had taken the lead for the last half a kilometre and her pace quickened as the first out buildings of the settlement now came into view around an icy outcropping. Bocri plowed after her, sinking almost up to his hips in snow that barely seemed to reach her ankles. He was physically and mentally exhausted. If they were attacked again right now he would be utterly useless to Hirani.

She stopped as the building took shape from a dull grey thing in the driving snow to a more substantial looking structure. It had small recessed windows that glowed light and, judging from the size, could fit several families, if it was a house. There was only one way to find out.

"Lead on, oh fearless one." He spoke at a normal level but brought his mouth close to the side of her head. The wind might be strong but it was blowing from behind them and would easily carry his yell into the settlement.