Chapter Text
She stares down at the datapad in her hand, Hunter and Master Kafirm's voices drone on in the background:
Location: Tithea
Unit: Clone Force 99
Commanding Officer: Jedi General Rodak Kafirm
Clone Force 99 will accompany General Kafirm to Tithea. Extraction of Republic asset, Maud Sharpe, and her one child from the village known as Draycott. Relocate to a secure location on Coruscant.
"The planet is on the verge of civil war without the Separatists-" Hunter says.
"It always is, The Elders have pitted the villages against each other. It's been that way for hundreds of years." She crosses her arms over her armored chest. The others turn to her. "I assume the Separatists want Tithea for its resources. It's still a pretty primitive planet. Not a lot of has been colonized. The forests are too dense." She explains.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Echo asks.
"I'm fine. You're going to need me." She bites back at him. She motions to the holo table, bringing up the map. "Ash Grove is surrounded by thick forests on all sides." She zeroes in on a clearing. "This clearing is two and a half klicks from the village. They won't be able to see us if we land at night."
"What will we need warding wise?" The Jedi asks.
She sighs, "If this was another village we could get away with minimal wards. Draycott is known for its trackers. They specialize in tracking life signatures. As soon as our boots hit the dirt they'll know we're there."
"Is there a way to scramble our life forces?" Tech asks.
"Yes and no. I can make you look like you belong there, but masking a life force is dangerous. It could kill you and the one casting." She explains.
"You have a way around that?" Master Kafirm asks.
"Yes. It won't be easy but it can be done." She doesn't tell them that it involves her own blood. They'll never agree.
The Jedi nods. "We leave in an hour. I will meet you all in the hangar." He nods and walks out of the room.
She lets herself deflate, still staring at the holo table, the map casts a blue glow around the room. "I need to gather spells." She murmurs before she steps away and out the door.
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Hunter doesn't have to be a Jedi mind reader to know what's wrong with her. He watches her as she leaves the room, her stance defensive and cold.
The room goes silent, it threatens to suffocate them. "Why would they put her on this mission?" Echo finally speaks up.
"Not a lot is known about Tithea. Hardly any of the inhabitants leave. It would make sense for them to send the only two people who know anything about it on the mission." Tech explains.
"And what if something goes wrong?" Echo asks.
"We have a one hundred percent success rate. That won't change with this one." Wrecker says, his words are heavy. They have to make sure this mission goes according to plan. It has too.
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She knows the Jedi is following her as she makes her way back to the barracks. She can feel his presence in the back of her mind, trying to get a read on her emotions. "Master, with all due respect, get out of my head." She growls when she turns to him.
"You're angry, scared, worried for them. But there's something else. You're afraid of them seeing him." The Torgruta hits the nail on the head. "You're not afraid of him. Not anymore." The man is calm and collected. "You're afraid of what you'll do if you see him, what they'll see."
She gulps and looks down at her boots before she steels herself. "I said get out of my head." Her voice is full of venom. The Jedi finally retreats from her mind as she glares daggers at him. "I know you're worried, but I'm fine. I'll have the boys with me and the mission will go smoothly just like it always does." She tells him.
"You're very attached to them. Your bond is strong. Do they treat you well?" He asks with a knowing smile.
"Yes, they do." She replies. "If you will excuse me, I need to find the wards we will be using." She tells him.
"You are dismissed." The Jedi smiles at her, turning for the hangar.
She takes a breath before continuing onto the barracks.
The runes are simple. The symbols that accompany them are more complex, if she gets them wrong she could kill one of them. She shivers at the thought. The wards pack a punch if someone tries to attack with magic their spell will be reflected back three-fold. Their safety is not something she will take lightly, especially in the presence of other magic users.
There's a knock on the door before it slides open. Echo's head pops in, "Ya ready?" He asks.
She has to stifle a smile when she sees Glitch clinging for dear life to his pauldron. "Yeah, I think I have what I need." She snaps her book closed and stands from the floor, tucking it under her arm. "Big bad commando and his cute little tooka kitten." She mumbles as she walks by him.
"I can hear you." He says.
The troopers they pass have to double-take, their eyes flitting between the cybernetics and the tiny beast. Some of them stifle laughter, others just grin. "Good thing the commando is cute too." She grins at him.
She's never seen him this flustered, his face flushes and he trips over his words. She can't help but bark out a laugh as they walk through the hangar doors.
The Maurader comes into view and the mood shifts. As soon as she steps on that ship, this mission becomes real, not just orders on a datapad. She has to go back home, deal with the emotions and the events that transpired. Echo lays a hand on her shoulder and she reaches up to grab it, clutching it like a lifeline. He doesn't say anything, just rubs his thumb over her gloved hand.
She takes a cleansing breath before she drops her hand as they approach the rest of the team, Master Kafirm stands off to the side talking with Hunter and Crosshair, she can't tell what he is saying but they are both nodding along. Tech hands her her helmet and medpack. "We are ready to go Sarge." He tells Hunter.
Hunter nods accepting his own helmet from Tech. "99, let's move."
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Crosshair watches as Reaper studies the book intensely. Her eyes never move from the pages as she traces the symbols with her fingertip.
"She's always been like that. Instead of meditating, she would go to study in the library. She always preferred the ancient books from her system rather than the many datapads, she said it made it feel more real." The Torgruta says.
One thing he didn't pick up from Skywalker was the Jedi's intense calm. This man barely moves and when he does the movements are incredibly smooth and practiced. Nothing gives away what he's feeling as he watches his apprentice. His grey eyes follow her finger as she continues to skim the page. She murmurs under her breath as she traces the ink on the page, the symbol glows back at her and she smiles.
Tech and Hunter stand in the doorway of the cockpit and watch her. "Can you tell us anything else about the layout of the village?" Tech asks her.
She looks up from her book. "In the center, there's a massive tree, the village is built around it. Maud's house is towards the center of town. We will only be able to move at night. They have minimal electricity, not a lot of people use it." She explains.
"We will have two guides from the village so you won't have to lead us there," Hunter tells them.
"Getting through the forest will be the hardest part. There could be traps depending on if there were any recent attacks. The guides will hopefully know where exactly those are." She says. The symbol fades back to black and she stands. "I need to start warding." She announces. "Who wants to go first?" There's mirth sparkling in her eyes.
Hunter steps forward. "What do you need?"
She looks him up and down, "Strip. Just the top portion." She smirks.
Hunter's eyes widen but he obeys her orders, shucking his armor and blacks off. "Anything else?" The Sargent asks.
She grabs her book, "Your vibroknife."
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She doesn't look up from the book as she holds out her hand. "Why do you need it?" Hunter asks defensively.
"You'll see. Give it." She motions for it again. When the cold metal is pressed into her hand she finally looks up from the page. "Master, could you hold this please?" She asks. The Jedi stands and takes the book in hand.
"You are not carving that into me." Hunter takes a step back.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." She tells him as she presses the blade to her palm. She takes a breath before she slides it over her skin, the bite making her clench her jaw in pain. She watches as the black blood bubbles up to the surface before she dips two fingers into the small puddle.
"That is not sanitary!" Tech protests immediately.
"Would you rather be dead?" She asks.
Tech grumbles and moves closer to watch. "Alright Hunter, just relax for me. Open yourself up to the protection. Think of it as a wall around you." She talks him through the spell as she uses her fingertips to draw runes and symbols over his chest. "Just a couple more." She tells him. When the spell is complete the runes glow faintly, pulsing along to his heartbeat. She takes a step back and closes her fist before she turns to Tech, "Wanna go next?" She asks him.
His eyes grow wide but he pulls off his gloves. He swallows nervously before he slides off his armor and shirt. "Why is it black?" He asks when she opens her hand again.
"It's a mix of chlorophyll and flavanoids. If you look at our blood under a microscope you will actually notice more purples and greens. All mixed together it looks black." She explains.
Tech nods. "What will these runes do exactly?"
"They will protect you from being noticed by the others in the village, they will mask your life force, make you look and feel like someone they know. If an attack is volleyed at you it'll be reflected back to them three-fold." She explains as she draws the symbols on his chest. Tech watches her strokes with a curious eye. "Just relax. Remember what I told Hunter? Imagine a wall around you-"
"Ray shields are way stronger than walls." He cuts in.
She smiles. "Just imagine something protecting you. Feel the magic, let it protect you from the inside out." He hums in thought as she draws the last rune, they thrum to life.
He leans forward and kisses her forehead. She sends him a small smile before she remembers their audience member.
"Relax, I already know." Master Kafirm shrugs.
She let's out the breath she was holding before she turns to Crosshair. "Your turn, Murder Twig." She beckons him over.
"You're dripping blood on the floor, Hag," Cross grumbles before he stands and gets rid of his armor.
"I'll clean it up in a minute." She tells him.
"Do I get to do this to you?" He whispers huskily. "Get you out of that armor?"
She tries to conceal her reaction to his words. "Crosshair." She growls lowly.
"That's my name, darlin'" He smirks down at her.
"Not in front of the Jedi." She says through gritted teeth.
He chuckles darkly. "Relax, Sweetheart. Do what you need to do."
She focuses on his chest, her eyes tracing the scars. He doesn't have as many as Hunter or Wrecker but they're still there. She smears the runes into his skin, they glow without her having to prompt him. She looks up at his face to see a small smile as he gazes down at her. Her cheeks feel hot as she finishes. "Good." She whispers to him. "Tech, please go get Wrecker and Echo."
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When Echo walks into the room the first thing he sees is three of his teammates shirtless and their chests have been painted in strange symbols. He looks between each of them before his eyes settle on Wildflower, she cradles her hand and something drips from it. Blood, he realizes. It sends him into a panic. "Are you okay?!" He rushes towards her. His eyes flit to the others and then back to her. He stops, "Is that your blood?" He asks, a grimace on his face. "Isn't that dangerous?" The briefings on first aid and blood-borne illnesses fill his mind.
"It's either my blood or risk being killed before we even step foot into the village." She tells him.
Wrecker nudges past him. "Speck knows what she's doing!" He exclaims throwing his arm around her shoulder.
"You wanna be next, Big Guy?" She asks.
Wrecker pulls at his armor, letting it thud to the floor. "Paint me pretty." He beams at her.
Echo watches the look of concentration as she dips her fingers into her palm and paints the runes onto Wrecker's broad chest. She speaks softly to him as she works. He nods along and closes his eyes. The symbols start to glow a soft white like the others, they gently pulse along with what he thinks is Wrecker's heartbeat.
She turns to Echo. "Tech, Wrecker back to the cockpit, please. Hunter, Cross you want to go do a weapons check?"
They all follow her orders and exit the room. "Master, if you could please excuse us." Her voice is more of a command than a suggestion. He nods before standing and wandering towards the cockpit where Tech and Wrecker disappeared to. She turns to him, a soft smile on her face. "Let's get that armor off, yeah?"
She reaches into her belt and pulls out some gauze, pressing it into her palm after wiping the blood from her fingertips. She steps in front of him and begins to pull his pauldrons off. He inhales shakily as she strips off his chest plate and backplate. She pauses for a moment. "I'm alright." He mumbles to her.
She nods and continues working on getting the tops of his blacks off. "You've put on some weight." She mumbles. "Has Hunter been giving you double rations?" She asks.
He smiles. "He said he did it to you when you first joined." He raises his arms as she slips his shirt off, her fingers brushing his skin, it sends jolts of heat through him. He bites his lip to hold in his groan.
"Told me I was too skinny. Wrecker also took it upon himself to make sure I slept more." She says. She leans forward and places a kiss over the metal implant in his chest before she moves to right above the prosthetic, kissing at the seam between metal and skin. She pulls back and gives him a grin before she removes the gauze from her hand, letting the blood pool in her hand again. He just stares down at it. "I'll clean it up and put some bacta on it. If there was another way I would have done it that way, by using my blood it makes the wards stronger. It protects you from..." She trails off and she looks down at her boots.
"Did someone hurt you?" He asks softly.
"One night, my father caught me healing one of my mother's patients. He tried to attack me, I ran. I went to Maud, she contacted the Jedi. Our village was attacked by our rivals to the north, my mother was fatally injured. I performed a spell to save someone else, using the rest of her life force. Someone told my father. He was ordered to kill me. He tried but Master Kafirm was already on planet. He saved me, took me in." She looks up at him. "If he finds out that I'm back he will make sure the job is done correctly this time. I'm stronger than I was before but that doesn't mean anything. He will keep trying until it's done. He will kill anyone in his way. I'm surprised Maud is even still alive. Maybe she never told anyone about her Jedi contact. I don't know. I can't risk your lives like that and blood magic is the strongest defense I have." She explains.
Anger flashes through him. She had a family, a home but they betrayed her. They tried to kill her. He wants nothing more than to put a blaster bolt through the man's chest. You don't abandon your family, whether they're blood or not. She lets her eyes slip shut. "Let's get you warded up." She says. "Think of the runes protecting you, surrounding you. Imagine a barrier, keeping you safe." She says.
The only thing he can think of is her, her protecting him. Standing in front of him with her blaster raised, in full armor. She's there for him in every sense of the words. Emotionally, physically. Her love is what protects him. She steps back as the runes begin to pulse a bright pink. "Woah." She steps away and pulls open her book. "I don't know what I did wrong. Are you okay?" She starts to panic.
"It's you. You are the thing that protects me." He tells her.
"Echo, I-" She starts.
"You've always been there. It just makes sense to me." He tries to explain. He reaches for her and drags her closer, pulling her into a kiss. "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum." He mumbles against her lips.
He can feel her smile as she whispers back to him, "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum sa pirusti."
He pulls away, "Let's get that cut cleaned up. Can't have you bleeding out on us." He reaches into the pocket in her belt and pulls out another gauze pad, pressing it into her hand. "I'll go get Hunter. He has both hands." Echo laughs nervously.
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On his way into the room, Hunter grabs Reaper's medpack. She stands in the middle of the room, her arms pulled in close to her like she's cold. "You okay?" He asks.
"I can feel that we're close." She mumbles.
"Exiting hyperspace!" Tech calls back to them.
"See?" She says.
"Let's get that cut wrapped up. Echo looked worried." He says opening her pack and pulling out a bacta patch and a roll of gauze.
"You should be fine to put your armor back on." She says, "Unless you want to run this mission half-naked. I won't complain but Tithea is quite cold." Her grin returns to her face.
"You would like that wouldn't you?" He wiped away the excess blood on her hand with an antiseptic wipe before pulling the bacta patch open.
"I would get distracted. Have you seen how you look?" She motions to him. "Like a damn masterpiece." She mumbles under her breath.
He laughs as he makes sure there aren't any bubbles in the patch before he wraps her hand tightly with the gauze. She reaches over and grabs her gloves after he wipes her other hand with the wipe. She slides them on. "This'll be okay, right? Just like any other mission?" He can feel her nervousness, her heartbeat is fast and her breathing is erratic, she's on the verge of a panic attack.
He steps forward and wraps his arms around her. "Just like any other mission, hundred percent success rate." He tells her. He presses his hand against the back of her neck when she leans into him. He listens as her heart slows and her breathing evens back out. The smell of her fear gradually fades as she calms. "There you go." He presses his nose into her hair and plants a kiss there.
"Entering the atmosphere!" Tech calls.
She pulls away. "Get geared up." She tells him as she crouches and closes her medpack and shoves her book into it. She turns and grabs her helmet, sliding on her medpack. As she puts on her helmet she hears her mumble, "Just like any other mission."