The Jedi came early.
The Jedi came early, and Tipoca City is in chaos.
Sterile white halls that usually see silent squads of cadets marching in formation now overflow with Jedi and Republic representatives, all interviewing various Kaminoans and trainers. Prime’s been taken to Coruscant for questioning. The hierarchy of the city is in shambles, and no one’s really sure who is in charge, not even the Jedi.
Alpha vaguely wonders who’s looking after Boba, but shakes it off. He’s got other kids to look out for.
Most of his 100-cadet command class are locked into their respective barracks. They’re scared, sure, and wondering what’s going on, but at least they’ll be safe there. As safe as they can be, anyway. Who knows what the damn Jedi are planning for them.
It’s the not knowing that gets Alpha. Apparently the Jedi didn’t even know the clones existed, and now they seem to be baffled as to what to do with them.
The Republic officials aren’t much better, although they seem to think the Jedi are somehow complicit in the whole thing. Could be, although Alpha doubts it.
Doesn’t matter, he’s got kids to find.
There’s a few cadets missing from the rosters - their names are familiar to Alpha, as is the reason they’re missing.
He’d tried everything to stop Dred Priest from taking cadets for the fighting rings, but even though Alpha’s a trainer, he’s still a clone. And the Cuy’val Dar don’t take orders from clones.
He races through the packed hallways, hoping against hope that he finds Faie and Neyo first.
--
“-regardless, we’ve been notified by multiple sources that you’ve been running a fighting ring that has resulted in the deaths of several clone cadets. We’re in the process of downloading security holovids that will be used to prosecute this horrific crime- ”
Faie can’t make out Priest’s response, but the raised tenor of his anger is familiar. It grates against his ears, and Neyo’s fingers dig into Faie’s hand where he’s clutching it in a vice grip.
Deaths of several clone cadets.
Yeah. Faie knows. He remembers.
But - but it looks like the people here - Jedi, and then some other beings with datapads and coats - are getting angrier and angrier. Priest’s hand flies out, pointing towards Faie and Neyo, and Faie tries to sink even further back into the wall.
A tall Togruta detaches from the group and kneels in front of them, accompanied by a Human holding out a datapad. It’s blinking. Recording.
“I am Jedi Master Shaak Ti,” the Togruta says. Her voice is oddly serene amongst the din of people talking and Priest’s shouting.
Faie snaps to attention and salutes, the movement drilled into his muscles from years and years of training. Neyo’s hand releases Faie’s to make his own salute.
The Jedi shakes her head - they must not have been up to snuff.
Faie drags his spine even straighter.
“You don’t need to salute, children,” she says sadly. “What has been done here is a great injustice.”
Faie doesn’t know what that means. He thinks he agrees, though. The dead cadets are gonna get their justice from him.
He dreams about it often - he should’ve figured it would finally come true.
Time to fess up, then. They have the security footage; they’ll know.
“I didn’t want to kill them,” he says earnestly, ignoring Neyo’s sharp gasp next to him. “But I followed my orders.”
Neyo’s elbow jabs his ribs, still bruised from their training earlier, and Faie amends his statement. “Sorry. WE didn’t want to kill them.”
“Shut up!” hisses Neyo. “Shut up shut up shut up!”
The Jedi closes her eyes for a long moment.
“Children,” she finally says. “You misunderstand. You are not at fault here-”
“Master Ti!” someone yells, and she whirls around with uncanny grace. The Republic security is having a hard time containing Priest. He throws one to the ground even with his hands bound, drives his shoulder into another and knocks them down, only stilling when the blue blade of Ti’s lightsaber hovers close to his throat.
Faie watches the procession leave the room. Priest doesn’t even look at him.
“Alright,” the Human in the coat says, but they’re not addressing Faie or Neyo. “Let’s take these two, and get some others from their barracks. We’ll start conducting interviews back on Coruscant.”
Faie exchanges a wide-eyed glance with Neyo - well, just the one eye opens wide, Neyo’s pupil a tiny pinprick. Faie had nailed Neyo pretty hard in training, and his black eye is already blooming.
They’re going to Coruscant. The glittering center of the Republic, the central hub of the galaxy. He probably won’t see much of it, though. Just the inside of whatever prison they send murderers to.
Everything happens very quickly after that. Faie and Neyo and a few other command cadets are ushered through the pouring rain to a shuttle, where they’re told to sit quietly. The Togruta Jedi isn’t here. Faie kind of wishes she was. He wishes Alpha were here, or even Priest, but the shuttle lifts off into the roiling Kamino skies and takes them away.
Priest isn’t at the Coruscant facility, either. It’s similar to Kamino: all long white hallways and beings bustling around in white coats. Faie grabs Neyo’s hand and isn’t immediately scolded, so he hangs on and leads a silent Neyo where the white coats tell them.
Until they try to put them in separate rooms.
“Let go,” orders the white coat. “Don’t worry, you’ll be together again later. Right now we need to ask you a few questions separately, ok?”
Faie can’t make his fingers release. He casts a quick glance at Neyo, but Neyo’s - gone. Just staring straight ahead and swaying slightly.
That’s not good.
“He needs me. He won’t come back if he’s alone,” Faie explains.
“No, he’s right here. He’s going to be fine, this won’t take too long,” they say soothingly, and detach Faie’s fingers from Neyo’s wrist. “Now go inside and sit down, ok?”
Faie obeys. Whoever these people are, they seem to have authority, so he follows orders like always. The room is small and white. There’s a counter, a hospital cot, and a chair. And a holocam, with a blinking red light to show it’s on and running.
All this is so very familiar. Faie clambers up to the cot and waits.
A few moments later the white coat comes back in and introduces themselves as Doctor Brinn. They tell Faie that the Republic didn’t know about Kamino or the clones, which, how could they not know , but go on to ask Faie about life on Kamino.
Faie tells the doctor about their daily schedule, about the flash training, about the combat drills and strategy classes. He tells them about sleeping in pods and Alpha’s command class and the endless array of medical test the Kaminoans put them through to make sure the product was top quality. He tells them his number. He tells them Neyo’s number. His age (5). His age in standard years (10). Where his tracking chip is. And on and on and on.
His voice goes hoarse. The doctor gets him a glass of water and asks, very softly, about Priest.
If Priest were here, Faie thinks, things would be a lot less confusing.
He tells the doctor this and they tilt their head.
“Why is that?”
“Because Priest would know what to do, and then he’d tell me,” Faie says. Then everything would be easier. A clear line ahead, orders to follow.
“Did he order you to kill other cadets?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
The questioning keeps going. Faie thinks maybe the interviewer repeats questions, or maybe he doesn’t answer. He doesn't want to answer, he doesn’t want to think about how many or how it felt or why, but a superior officer is asking him questions and he has to, has to, has to.
He wants Neyo. He wants Alpha. He wants Priest.
Instead he’s alone. Instead there’s only a relentless swirl of questions and answers, a tidal wave that sweeps Faie down into an ocean of frayed nerves and blurred memories - Priest says good job, kid, and Faie punches with tears streaming from his eyes and the impact hurts his knuckles but not as much as his insides as the body underneath his goes slack-
A bright flash of pain cuts through the miasma. Faie looks down, only mildly surprised to see the nails of his right hand breaking the skin of his left arm. Red trickles between his fingers.
“Oh, no,” the doctor says, leaning forward, reaching–
Faie reacts with all the instincts Priest instilled in him, grabs their wrist, and twists.
The doctor calls security, and security takes Faie away.
Alpha’s turned the barracks upside down and inside out, looked in all the kids’ hiding places and entered their numbers into every zone register to no avail. They’re not there. At this point, there’s only one place they can be, and Alpha can’t put it off any longer. He heads for Priest’s training rooms.
He’s not the first one there, but he’s one of the only clones. The central gym’s crawling with unfamiliar natborns in Jedi robes and Republic government uniforms, and a glance through one of the open doors confirms they’ve filled up the secondary rooms, too. None of them spare Alpha so much as a glance.
It’s been three hours. Alpha doesn’t have any more time to waste.
“Hey!” All twenty-something natborns turn to face him. A Kaminoan, Lera Chi, opens her mouth to reprimand him, but a tall Togrutan Jedi holds her hand up for silence. “I’m looking for two cadets,” Alpha continues. “CC-8823 and CC-8826. They’re supposed to be in lockdown with the rest.
“Trooper, Lera Chi begins. “This is most inappro—”
“I will assist you,” the Tall Togrutan Jedi interrupts. “Peace,” she says to Chi, then, to the room at large, “As you were, please.” Her voice is calm, and brokers no debate.The gym descends back into conversation.
She approaches Alpha, moving with all the sweeping grace promised them by the training holofilms. She’s regally beautiful, and her arcing montrals indicate her maturity. In charge, hopefully. Able to direct Alpha to Neyo and Faie.
“Trooper,” she greets Alpha. She sounds unsure of the title. “You said two of your cadets are missing?”
Alpha snaps off a salute. “Yes, ma’am. CC-8823 and CC-8826,” he repeats. “I was hoping I’d find them here.”
She frowns. “There were two cadets here earlier, before Dred Priest was arrested. Could you describe the two you’re looking for to me?”
It’s only years of dealing with natborns that keeps Alpha’s reaction off his face. Priest arrested? It didn’t matter, though. Not right now. “They’re five standard, ma’am. They’d look ten standard to you. Regulation haircuts, wearing their reds last I saw them. One of them has a black eye, the other has a road rash scab on his cheek.”
Recognition in her eyes. “Yes, those are the two I saw. They left on the first transport to Coruscant.”
“What? No, they—ma’am, that can’t be right. They need to be recalled back here.”
Ti frowns. “Trooper, I’m afraid I can’t do that. One of them indicated involvement with the Dred Priest case, and they were taken to be questioned and evaluated. Since professing involvement, they’ve become part of an active Republic case.”
Alpha takes a deep breath and straightens his spin. “Ma’am, I need to get on the next flight to Coruscant. Those cadets are my responsibility. They need me there, especially if they’re going to be a part of a case. There are laws about minors and their guardians, aren’t there?”
Ti looks at him for a moment, silent. Jedi, he knows, can act without making a move. Even now, she could be examining Alpha, looking into the Force for… something. He’s not really sure.
Whatever she finds steels her expression. “Then you’ll have to come with me, trooper.”
They walk and talk, moving at speed towards the main landing pad.
“CC-8823 and CC-8826—actually, do they have other names, trooper? And what is your name?” Shaak sweeps around a corner, still moving with that same regal grace for all that Alpha’s nearly jogging to catch up with her.
Alpha considers for a moment. “Faie and Neyo, ma’am. And I’m Alpha-17.” Alpha plugs his passcode into the lift control panel and directs it to take them to level forty-five.
“Thank you. Faie and Neyo, then, will be arriving on Coruscant within the hour. The next ship leaves in ten minutes, but we’ll still be arriving two hours behind them.”
Fuck. Alpha’s experience with the Jedi and the Republic may be limited to the past few hours, but he’s not looking forward to finding out how similar they are to the Kaminoans. Not this way. Not with his kids out of his reach for so long.
“Can you contact them? I need to know where they are.”
Shaak goes quiet. Alpha doesn’t like the look on her face. “Unfortunately, as a Jedi Master, I have limited control over the actions of the Republic government. Technically, the Jedi are supposed to be a non-political organization. I can contact them and find out where your brothers are, but if my instructions to their caretakers are contrary to their aims, the likelihood of them listening is slim to none.”
“Try.”
“Believe me, trooper, I intend to do just that.”
Faie hates being sedated. It’s only happened a few times, but that’s been enough for him to form some strong opinions about waking up groggy and confused and headachy and never where he fell asleep.
He’s in a new room now, a very blank white room with nothing but a table and two chairs and a mirror set into the far wall, facing a new doctor. He can’t remember much of what happened to the old one, but he knows that he hurt them and then he hurt a few more people and then they sedated him. He’s also wearing a weird shirt. It’s holding his arms behind his back in an uncomfortable position and he can’t move them. He asks the new therapist if she can take it off of him. She says no.
“Do you know why you’re here, Faie?” she asks.
“No.”
“You hurt Doctor Brinn. They were trying to keep you from scratching your arm and you hurt them. Do you remember that?” Faie nods. “Do you remember fighting the security team?”
“Kind of.” Faie swallows. “Can I have a glass of water?” Priest always lets him have water, even when he’s been bad. He says hydration is important, like getting enough food. Faie needs to be healthy.
“Soon.” The doctor glances down at the datapad in front of her and then says, “We’re going to do a psychological evaluation on you. Between the report you gave to Doctor Brinn and your… outburst, we’re concerned that you might have a problem with violence. Have you ever had a psychological evaluation before?”
Faie nods. “They gave them to us lots on Kamino.”
“Perfect. We’ll jump right in, then.”
Faie shifts in his chair. It’s hard to get comfortable since his feet don’t touch the ground, and his arms are really starting to hurt. He hopes this doesn’t take too long.
The doctor (she never told him her name, he realizes) taps something on her datapad. “Do you get along well with the other cadets?” she asks.
“Most of the time? I mean, we fight sometimes, but Alpha-17 makes sure we don’t fight too much.”
“Hmm.” Somehow, her expression makes Faie feel as though he’s answered wrong. “Do you fight with the others a lot? More than other cadets?”
Faie shrugs as much as he can in the jacket. “I don’t know, maybe? I get really mad sometimes.” Sometimes the other cadets call him crazy, especially the older ones.
She makes a note. “I see. Do you lie often?”
What counts as lying? he wants to ask. Just big things, or little things, too? The trainers call him stupid when he asks too many questions. “No.”
“When you lie, how does it make you feel? Why do you lie?”
Faie blinks.
“That’s okay, we’ll come back to that one.” Good. Faie’s not even sure where to start.
"The nurses said that when you came here, you were very possessive with your brother Neyo." Faie frowns, but the doctor doesn't seem to want a response, because she just keeps talking. “So you told Doctor Brinn that Dred Priest has been ordering you to hurt and kill other cadets.”
Faie looks down at his lap. “Yeah.”
“When you do that, how does Priest feel?” Her voice is sickly sweet and patient.
“Proud,” Faie says to his lap.
“Mm-hmm. And when he’s proud of you, how do you feel?”
“Good.” Priest is nice to him when he’s done well. He gets dessert after a good fight, and sometimes he and Neyo can both sleep in, or spend the night in Alpha’s quarters.
“So you feel good when you hurt or kill other cadets.”
Faie looks up, startled. He opens his mouth to say—something, anything, but she continues on before he can decide what to start with.
“Tell me more about the time you spent with Dred Priest outside of training…”