Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Ari’s heart dropped as soon as she heard the window shatter. Her muscles tensed as adrenaline coursed through her body. Someone was here. A burglar? Something worse? She spit the toothpaste out of her mouth, turned off the water, shut off the light, and listened. Glass crunched with the rhythm of footsteps.

“You stay out here. I’ll grab her,” a male voice called. “This will only be a minute.”

The footsteps tramped through her apartment, getting closer with each step. Desperate for a place to hide, she balanced herself on the edge of her bathtub behind the open door, pressed her back against the wall, and pulled the shower curtain to cover herself 

Her mind raced through the possibilities as her hands began to sweat. There was a man in her home, looking for her, and someone else waiting. What they wanted with her, she couldn’t guess. But whoever they were, she knew she couldn’t fight them. She wasn’t brave or strong like her friends. If they caught her, they’d take her. She needed to call for help, but her comm was in her bedroom, and the footsteps were just outside, now. 

The steps stopped and she held her breath. The voice let out a disappointed sound, and the steps started again. They drew past, further down the hall, to her bedroom. 

Her heart dropped. The intruder, whoever her was, whatever he wanted, had cut her off from her means of contacting someone else. But, if he was in her bedroom and partner was waiting outside, maybe she could make a run for the door.

Silently, she slid down to the floor, and she peered out into the hall. Through her bedroom door, she could see the tall, thin figure of a man in a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. He was busy searching her room for hiding places, but he’d soon run out. 

She turned her head to look into the living room, thinking maybe she could make a dash for the door, outrunning him at least long enough to make it into the hall. Her hopes were crushed, however, when she spotted a second figure climbing in through the hole in her balcony window. This second man ran a finger along the cut rim, then hissed a curse as he grasped his presumably injured figure. 

Tucking herself against the wall, Ari assessed her options. The first intruder cut her off from her comm and the other from her only means of escape. And if she simply stayed hidden where she was, she’d be found eventually. What, then, was left to her?

Petunia! Petunia had a communicator. She’d shut down for the night, but she was in the sewing room right across the hall. The droid's beeps may alert the intruder, but she could at least have a chance to call for help.

She peered out into the hall again. The first man was still searching her bedroom, while the second was preoccupied with his injured finger. This may be her only chance. Getting to her feet, she leapt across the hall into the sewing room. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The first man growled. 

Ari’s heart spasmed and she flattened herself against the wall beside the doorframe. As boots tread nearer, she grabbed a tool from the wall. However, the footsteps strode past her, into the living room.

“I told you to wait in the speeder,” the first man reprimanded. 

“You were taking forever in here,” the second man answered. “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

As they continued their argument, Ari peeled herself from the wall and continued her mission. Petunia rested in her usual corner. She maneuvered around the wide-skirted ballgown on her dress form and crouched down in front of her droid. “Petunia,” she whispered. 

Petunia didn’t move. She reached out and tapped Petunia on the head in a spot that should be able to wake her up. Still, her droid didn’t move. “Petunia,” she whispered again, panic in her voice, shaking the droid, desperate. 

Movement caught the corner of her eye and she turned to see another, smaller droid raising from behind her dress form. 

“Master!” The droid called. “She’s in h–”

Ari smacked the droid with a metal ruler, sending it flying into the wall. The blow wasn’t enough to silence its alert, as she heard the footsteps hurrying toward the room. Ducking beneath the full skirts on her dress form, she hugged her knees to her chest, making herself as small as possible and concealing herself beneath the folds of the fabric. 

The footsteps finally reached the door. They clinked as the man walked past, circling the dress form. “Where is she, Todo?” he grumbled, irritation coloring his voice. 

“She was just here a second ago,” the droid answered. 

The man growled, as his footsteps carried him out of the room. “She can’t have gone far.” The footsteps went off in the direction of the living room. Her comm was open. She had one shot at this. 

Ari darted out from under the fabric, grabbed a pair of scissors off the cutting table, and ran as quietly as she could to her bedroom. Her comm still rested in the charger on her nightstand. Her hands flew for it. She just needed to call and–

“There you are.”

The man’s voice made her blood run cold. She slowly turned her head to look at her intruder for the first time. He was a duros, with tubes sticking out of his face, and red eyes that shone bright, even in the dark room. He grinned, his eyes lingering on her, like a predator toying with its prey. 

“You gave me more of a run-around than I expected,” he said, walking toward her, slow, deliberate. He knew he had her, and he was in no hurry. 

There was no more time for hiding and sneaking around. She may not be brave, nor a fighter like her friends, but he wouldn’t take her so easily. Raising the scissors above her head, she charged at him. He darted straight back, fast as a blaster bolt. One hand grabbed her wrist, while the other clamped around her mouth, and he slammed her up against the wall. She tried to struggle away from his grip, but his hands were like vices and her screams died against his palm. 

He glanced up at her hand, then let out a low chuckle. “Cute. I don’t think I’ve ever been attacked by pink scissors before.” His hand traveled up her wrist and wrestled the scissors away from her, letting them drop to the floor. He then retook his hold on her wrist, keeping her pinned in place. 

“Listen, little lady. You’re supposed to be easy money, and I don’t feel like pulling all the stops out on you. So save yourself some pain, and come quietly.”

While he made his threats, Ari worked furiously on the comm in her hand. She managed to set it to holo-message and typed in the contact of Commander Fox. He told her once, back when he was still speaking to her, to call him if she ever needed help. She hoped his offer still stood.

The comm lit up, and the man’s eyes darted to it. “No, no, you won’t be needing that.” His hand let go of her wrist, and shot for the comm. Though she could struggle for it with both her hands, he ripped it from her and threw it on the ground. As the beam of holo-light shot up from it, he brought his boot down, smashing it before the picture could unfold. 

“That’s what I get for trying to be nice,” he muttered, grinding the comm pieces into the carpet. 

Panic ripped through her, as she watched her last hope be reduced to nothing more than bits of metal and plastic on the floor. She used both hands to try to pry his hand away from her mouth. If nothing else, she could scream and hope the neighbors would hear. 

But he seemed unbothered by her efforts. His other hand snaked past her arms and pressed a few buttons on his vambrace. “I didn’t want to waste this on you,” he sighed, “but you left me no other choice.” 

He held his breath, and some sort of gas hit her in the face. Finally, he let go of her, and stepped back, but it didn’t matter. As soon as his hand released her, she fell to her knees, coughing. Her head swam. It became harder to breathe and think. The part of her brain still working wondered if it was poison, if she was about to die. 

The last thing she saw was the carpet rushing up at her before the world disappeared.

Chapter Text

Padme laughed as she felt the tickle behind her ear. “Anakin!” His lips continued down the side of her neck. “Can I finish putting my bag together?” 

She slid her datapad in her work satchel as she tried to remember what was on her agenda for the day. There was the meeting for the Lower Levels Infrastructure Committee, then she had a work lunch with the Naboo governor. And then…

“Mmm… nope,” Anakin quipped before going in for another kiss, this time on her lips. 

Padme reciprocated, before pulling back with a smile. “Seriously, you need to leave soon, anyway. Ari’s supposed to be here in a few minutes.”

“Ari won’t mind,” he countered, going in again. 

This time, she stepped away before their lips could meet. “And how am I supposed to explain why you’re here so early?”

“Just say we were discussing official Jedi/Senate business over breakfast. It’s not exactly a lie.”

Padme pushed back her sleeve and checked her chrono. “Well, I bet she’s parking her speeder right now, so that’ll have to do.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Anakin said, taking a seat at the table, a respectable distance for a Jedi and a Senator. “I doubt Ari will think anything of it.” 

Padme checked her chrono again. Any second now, she should be getting an alert that the elevator was requesting access to her floor. She leaned against the doorway, and waited. 

Five minutes went by without an alert. She checked her comm. There were times Ari was running late, but she would always at least send a message that she was on her way. 

After ten minutes, she tried repeatedly to get in contact with Ari, but her calls went straight to an away message and her text comms received only error messages in reply. 

After fifteen minutes, Padme leaned over the barrier of her balcony, watching the speeders go by, hoping, despite the sinking feeling in her heart, that she’d see Ari’s approaching. 

“Anakin,” she said, seventeen minutes into her wait, “can you reach out into the Force? Sense if anything is wrong?”

“I can try,” Anakin answered, though he sounded unsure. “But at a distance, it only really works if you have a deep connection to the other person, and I’ve only met Ari briefly once or twice.”

“Try anyway,” Padme pleaded, moving closer to him for comfort. “Please.”

“Alright.” Anakin gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. “I’ll try.” 

Facing the Coruscant skyline, he closed his eyes. His hands began to rise, more as a natural reaction than a conscious motion. For a long moment, he stayed quiet, and Padme held her breath while her heart beat in anticipation. 

Finally, his hands lowered and his eyes opened, and a disappointed frown appeared on his face. “I’m sorry, Padme. The Force has been clouded ever since the war started, before that, even. Picking up an unfamiliar Force Signature at a distance just isn’t possible, even under the best of circumstances.” 

Padme’s heart sank even further. She checked her chrono again. Almost thirty minutes late now.  “This is so out of character for her. She’s been running late sometimes, sure, but she always, always messages to let me know.”

“We could be worried over nothing,” Anakin tried. “Maybe she overslept, or got caught in traffic, or she’s sick and hasn’t had the energy to call just yet.”

Padme watched as his organic left hand fiddled with the joints of his cybernetic right. He always did that when he was worried. “But you don’t actually think that, do you?” 

“No…” he admitted, dropping his hands. 

“Something’s wrong.” She straightened her back and squared her shoulders. “And I’m going to find out what.” 

She started to march past him when he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Wait,” he said. “If something is wrong, it could be dangerous.”

“I’ve never let danger stop me before.”

“I know.” A proud smirk came to his lips, as he no doubt remembered all the danger they faced together before. “So I’m coming with you.” 

Fox tried to concentrate on the reports in front of him. He could hardly focus on the words. He was blinded by the beam of light sent from Miss Grendal’s comm last night. All he could think about was what that light might have opened up to only one second later. 

What might she have needed to tell him so late at night? What might he have said in return? 

Or what if… the darkest part of his mind told him, I ignored a call for help. 

No, he tried to tell himself, it was just a mistake. She probably called by accident while going to bed. He tried to get Steady’s level-headed advice through his skull, but whenever he did, the iron vice clamped to his heart squeezed tighter and his stomach tied itself into another knot. 

Physically putting his head in his hands, he forced his eyes down at the datapad on his desk. Bane. Finding Bane. That should be his priority. And when that was through, he could sort out the situation with Miss Grendal, like Steady advised. 

His eyes scanned the report. One of the patrol guards reported he saw a blue duros matching Bane’s description exiting a seedy bar in the Works district with a human companion, but the two entered a speeder and flew away before the guard could make a positive identification.

That was a place to start, and the report included the name of the bar. He could send someone to question the bartender, though anyone who works at that type of establishment knew keeping quiet would be better for their health. 

Perhaps Ash would be willing to jump in and apply some pressure. The Investigation Squad didn’t have much going on except for wrapping up their phony kidnapping case. They were probably itching to see some action. And if he could get some news about Miss Grendal’s whereabouts…

His comm on his vambrace vibrated and flashed. The contact number belonged to Senator Amidala. He pushed the button to accept her call. The beam of light shot up, and this time it opened to reveal the senator’s distraught face.

Ash entered the office with several grocery bags hanging from her arms. 

“I know Deadshot and I were the big drinkers last night,” she began, “but I brought food for everyone anyway.” She set the bags on her desk. “Choose your container and go nuts. We’ve got a long day of paperwork ahead of us.”

Oona, of course unaffected by any drinking last night, was quick to search through the containers and grab her choice. Rook, who didn’t drink the previous night, waited for Steady to make his choice, since the medic got called away from their night out so fast. 

Deadshot, meanwhile, had yet to lift his head off of his desk. He groaned into his arms. “Stop your caterwauling, siren,” he muttered.

Ash rolled her eyes. “You’re welcome, D. Should I save your portion for Ari instead, then? She should be by, soon enough.”

“Dunno. She never did get back to me last night. Or this morning,” Deadshot reported, finally lifting his head a bit to reveal bleary, red eyes. “I was going to take my lunch break to go over in person and check on her.”

Ash paused in opening her own container. That’s odd. It wasn’t like Ari to leave messages unanswered. “Maybe we all should. She hasn’t been feeling great lately. Maybe we can at least keep her company.”

The rest of the team mumbled in agreement and got down to their work, but she could feel the tension in the air. Not just tension, but the worry, the fear, the sinking feeling that something just wasn’t right. 

Her eyes moved across the page of her report, but they may as well be staring at a blank wall. Nothing was going through her mind, except wondering what could possibly have made Ari disappear. 

Looking up, she saw equally glazed expressions on her friends’ faces. This was pointless. What good was forcing everyone to sit here doing paperwork, when something much more important was on all of their minds?

She was just about to suggest an impromptu field trip to Ari’s when her comm buzzed. She picked it up, hoping the woman herself was calling to put all their worries to rest. No such luck, but the actual caller, Padme, may be able to give them some answers. Or at least something more interesting to do. 

The holo call opened, showing Padme’s face. 

“Good morning, Senator,” Ash answered. Her voice was professional, but inwardly, she was hoping this was a quick call. 

“Ash…” Padme started. She was far from the self-assured Senator they knew. She looked shaken, and even through holo, Ash could see the despair in her eyes. “I’m at Ari’s apartment. I have Anakin with me and we just called Commander Fox.” 

Ash’s heart dropped. Dread swept over her like a tsunami.  

No. Please, no, please… 

She cleared her throat. “What happened?”

Ash felt the seconds stretch into eternity. She knew whatever Padme had to say, it could only be devastating, and she found herself torn between wanting Padme to just get it over with and wanting this last devastation-free second to go on forever. 

“It’s Ari,” Padme finally said, shattering their illusion of normalcy. “She’s gone.” 

Chapter Text

The whole ride over, Deadshot kept pinching himself in hopes this was just a hang-over induced nightmare. No such luck. Figures. If the dragon piss-flavored ice pick in his skull wasn’t enough pain to clue him into reality, a little pinch on the hand sure as shit wasn’t going to do anything. 

And that was just the physical pain. 

He took a sip of the electrolyte drink Steady gave him to try to rehydrate. The nausea made it hard to keep down, but it was worth it. If this were just another paperwork day, he’d say ‘fuck it’ and chew on some dry crackers while hoping for an aneurysm. Today, though, he needed to get back into peak performance asap. 

His best buddy, his dear, sweet friend, was missing. Gone. Taken in the night. And what was he doing? Pounding shots to make the bad feeling go away, like an idiot. Why did he ignore it? Weren’t the Jedi always saying to trust the Force? What if that bad feeling was the Force telling him ‘Hey! Go save your friend!’ and he didn’t listen, because never in a million years would he guess the next friend he’d lose would be…

No! Can’t think like that. Ari was missing, but she wasn’t lost. Not yet. They were going to find her and bring her home. Or else, he’d hunt down whoever did this and make sure they never had a moment’s peace until their death. 

“Hey…”

He felt a nudge on his shoulder and looked over to see Rook giving him those patented compassionate Rook-eyes that just broke his heart. “We’re here.”

Deadshot looked around, somehow noticing for the first time that they’d parked in the garage for Ari’s building. And sadly, he was not here to sleep off his hangover with some tea Ari assured him would help. His traitorous brain wondered if there was blood on the napping couch, and he resisted the urge to smack himself in the head to banish the thought. 

He wanted to puke while they rode up the elevator. If he was going to do it, better do it here so he didn’t contaminate the crime scene. 

Fuck. It’s a crime scene. Ari’s apartment is a fucking crime scene. Fuck!

After a walk down a familiar hall, that somehow suddenly reminded him of a scene from an older holo drama he watched about a haunted hotel, they finally made it to the front door. 

And unlike their last crime scene, there were no signs of forced entry from this angle. Though Padme did say there was evidence of a break in from the balcony. Their culprits must have gotten through there. 

Fuck, he hated how quickly he started treating this place like a crime scene. 

“Well team,” Ash said with all the enthusiasm of a death row inmate heading to the execution chamber, “let’s get started.” 

She took the initiative of typing in the code and opening the door. There, they found Fox, Padme, and Anakin standing near the dining room table, trying not to touch anything. 

Oona somehow looked as wretched as Deadshot felt, but the lack of hangover meant that she was already partway through the room, taking holoimages of everything out of place. “Do we know how long she’s been gone yet?” she asked, her tone painfully neutral. Deadshot swore he could hear the strain it took to keep her voice from shaking.

“Not yet,” Anakin answered. “So far, we’ve just done a preliminary check for evidence.”

“I’ve contacted building security, requesting the recordings from the security camera,” Fox added. “It’s in working order, as of now. Though, if the perpetrator was smart, they’d have tampered with it.”

“So let’s hope they’re dumb,” Ash said. 

“Also, Petunia’s been forcibly shut down,” Padme put in. 

Fuck, Petunia too. He should have known the perp would have done something to her in order to take Ari. Deadshot would bet good money, if he had any, that can of bolts and hellfire would have cut them to ribbons before she let them harm her favorite human. 

“What do we know so far?” Ash asked, seeming to force her voice into business-mode. 

“Just the obvious evidence,” Fox answered, gesturing to the shattered glass beneath the hole in the balcony door. “Clearly, that suggests the perpetrator came in through the balcony. The crushed remains of a comm were also found in the carpet in the bedroom. We also found a used toothbrush in the sink, which suggests the crime occurred while she was getting ready for bed last night.”

“It could also mean it happened early this morning,” Padme added. 

“It could,” Fox conceded. “Although…”

“I tried to call her comm last night and it didn’t go through,” Deadshot cut in, feeling the guilt sink into his heart. 

“Yes, and I got a strange attempt at a holocall from her comm as well, last night,” Fox said. “However, it suddenly cut off before the picture could open up.”

For some reason, Steady suddenly looked sicker than he already did. His mouth parted and then closed. 

“We also found her scissors on the floor,” Fox continued. He guided them all to the bedroom and pointed to the spot where they lay. The sight of Ari’s personal tools on the ground felt almost as violating as the broken glass. She was so careful with them. The flash of Oona’s holoimager made it worse. “It…it’s possible she tried to defend herself.”

There was a collective flinch at the idea of Arashy Grendal needing to physically defend herself. Needing to stab someone, and being unable to. Not long ago, Deadshot hoped she’d never have to see a battle, never have to fight for her life like he did. But he should know by now that dreams don’t come true. Now, he found himself wishing so badly that his buddy had hurt someone. He wanted to be hopeful that she’d put up a fight, but…

Someone attacked his buddy. Someone took her.

Ari showed him he didn’t always have to be the tough guy. But today, he would be. Deadshot would rain hell down to bring her back.

[-]

Before she could open her eyes, Ari heard voices.

“... out too long!” the first voice snarled. 

“That stuff’s dosed to take down a full-grown Trandoshan. I told you it’d take a while.”

“We’ve already lost the entire night!”

“These things take time. You need to learn to wait, if you’re going to last in this business.” 

“Spare me the career advice. I’ve had no trouble making a name for myself.”

The words swam through her head. Her face twitched, but her eyelids still felt too heavy to open. She moved to rub the grogginess from her eyes, but found herself unable to move her hand. It remained pinned behind her back. 

Her other senses began to clear now. She felt a rough twine coiled tightly around her wrists and ankles. It also kept her fastened to the hard chair she sat in. The taste of fabric stuffed in her mouth…

Panic forced her eyes open. She could see, somewhat. Not blindfolded. But bound and gagged in a dark room. She struggled against her restraints and screams tried to force their way past her gag. Each attempt only confirmed how trapped she was. 

A hand flew in from the dark and slapped her across the face. Tears sprang to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks in hot sobs. A light turned on overhead. The hand grabbed hold of her hair and forced her to face her captor. 

He wasn’t the blue Duros she hid from. This man was human, with pale skin and shoulder-length blonde hair he wore slicked back. His face was lined with long, thin scars, which served to make his scowl more ferocious. 

“Enough!” He barked. “Stop that crying!”

His words only made the tears come harder. Her heart pounded faster than she thought possible as the terror coursed through her veins. Her muscles tensed, intent on fighting back, pushing this man away and running. But she couldn’t. She was helpless. They made her helpless. 

And they didn’t even have to try that hard. 

“Now look what you’ve done.” The blue Duros stepped in from the shadows, his face showing annoyance more than anything. “You’ve got her crying. See what happens when you’re impatient? Now we’ll have to wait even longer.”

“Not once I make her stop,” the human snapped back.

“You’ll only make her hysterical. She won’t be able to tell us anything until she wears herself out.” The Duros approached her and crouched down to her eye level. “Now you listen to me. The sooner you tell us what we want to know, the sooner we can get this whole thing over with.”

They just wanted to know something? What it was, she couldn’t possibly imagine. What could she have to tell them that would warrant all of this? But if she could talk, she could at least find out why. 

Ari managed to gain enough composure to nod, which brought an intrigued smirk to the Duros’ lips.

“Well, seems she wants to talk now,” he murmured, pulling down her gag. 

“What do you want?” she managed through the flowing sobs.

“Senator Amidala is trying to get peace talks going. Our client wants to know who’s involved and what’s being said.”

Her mind drew a blank. She should have figured this would have something to do with her politician clients, but she was only their seamstress. Padme became something of a friend over the years, but she was also a professional. She talked to Ari about events she had coming up, her plans for the day, and sometimes even vented her frustrations about her more stubborn fellow politicians, but never leaked anything confidential. Ari wouldn’t know more than what could be found in a news report. 

“I have never heard of it,” Ari blurted out, unsure if this answer would save or condemn her. “I’m just her seamstress. She doesn’t talk to me about things like that.”

“Not just her seamstress,” the Duros countered. “Our client has a source who says you carry Amidala’s secret messages to her co-conspirators." 

“No, no. They’ve got it all wrong.” She tasted salt as tears spilled into her mouth. “Please, I know nothing. If you let me go, I’ll never tell anyone this happened. You don’t even have to take me back. I’ll find my own way. Please, just–”

“No good,” the Duros cut her off. “See, if we did let you go, and you go wandering down the street looking like that, someone’s bound to call the SF. They’ll take you down to the station, and you’ll feel safe enough to talk. We can’t have that. But what will help you, is if you start telling us what our client wants to know.”

“But I don’t know. I can’t give you what you want. Please, I don’t–” A hand yanked on her hair, cutting off her words with a pained cry.

“If you keep whining…” the human growled. He pulled a knife from his back pocket and flipped it out of its casing. “I’ll cut out your tongue.”

Her heart sank with despair, but the Duros only responded by sighing and slapping his own leg in annoyance. “How is she supposed to give us the information if you cut her tongue out?”

“It’s only a threat, Bane,” the human dismissed, playing with his knife. 

“No, it’s a bluff.” The Duros, Bane, stood up and stalked over to the human. “Threats are made with the intention of carrying them out. Next time you speak, I’ll punch you in your crooked teeth.”

The human scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Why don’t–”

Bane’s fist connected with the human’s jaw, sending his head flying back. “That was a threat! See how that works?” 

The human drew his head back up. He rubbed his jaw and looked at Bane with fury in his eyes, but said nothing else. 

“And you,” Bane said, turning back around to her. “I don’t want to hear anymore blubbering. So until you’re ready to tell us what we need,” he pulled the gag back up into her mouth and tightened it, “I don’t want to hear a word out of you.”

Chapter Text

Of all the Jedi that could have been involved in this situation, Anakin was towards the bottom of Ash’s choices. 

Anakin Skywalker was the type of Jedi one brought in for situations that needed… creative offensive tactics. In fact, when she led the Strike Squad, she witnessed his creativity veer into recklessness. (Though she didn’t necessarily have room to judge.) During the rescue mission, should they need one, he’d be an invaluable asset. However, for a Jedi, he was not exactly known for his patience and she wasn’t sure how well his skills would transfer to an investigation. Someone with the temperament of, say, Master Plo or Master Windu would be more suited to the task. 

Or maybe she just wished she could have called Luminara for this one. She would have kept Ash calm and collected.

Unfortunately, a senator’s preference was prioritized over Ash’s. He was also there when the situation revealed itself. And thus, Anakin Skywalker was on the case.

There was a bright side. When Anakin told the squad that he called in extra help, Ash knew exactly who he was calling, and fuck if she wasn’t relieved to have some famliar faces on this.

She stood next to Anakin outside of the building, arms crossed, shoulders tense enough to snap like twigs. Not only did she want to debrief them on the crime scene. She also needed a moment away from the crime scene. A moment to gather her thoughts and keep her mind from dragging up worst case scenarios. 

“I think you’ll be pleased with who I called,” Anakin said as they watched the GAR speeder pull into the building’s landing pad. “As I recall, you worked well together on the front. In fact,” a small smirk appeared on his lips, “if a certain tabloid photo is to be believed, you worked well together recently.” 

Any other day, Ash would have flushed, or scoffed. Maybe even joked about him being jealous of her five seconds of fame. Not today. “Since when do you have time to read tabloids?”

“Haven’t you seen it?” he asked. “A picture of you and Fives tackling a minor celebrity? Of course that got passed around the 501st. A few of them even got print-outs for him to sign.”

Of course she had. She had it downloaded to a private album because she was that pathetic. She wondered if Fives actually signed any of them. “Yeah, I did. Not one of my best looks, but at least I didn’t inhale any paint fumes when the asshole sprayed me.”

Their back up emerged from the speeder, two ARC troopers painted in 501st colors. Fives and Echo, of course. Ash was grateful it was them over anyone else. More friends, friends who’d met Ari, could only help matters. They needed people whose outrage and determination matched their own. 

Five removed his helmet as he approached. “I kept hoping the whole way here that I misremembered her address and this place looked familiar for a whole different reason, but…” He shifted his helmet nervously in his hands. 

“It’s Ari, isn’t it?” Echo finished for him. 

Ash’s jaw ached, like it was actively resisting the words that were about to come out of her mouth. “Yes. It’s…it’s Ari. Someone took her.”

A weight fell so heavy on their hearts, it was almost visible. In an attempt to steel himself, Fives reached out and gripped her shoulder. He squeezed hard, but it wasn’t painful. It felt secure, firm, stable. “Well,” he said, looking up again. “That’s why we’re here. To get her back.” 

The touch was so unexpected that it made Ash’s brain glitch. It was long enough to push back the worst of her fears, and remember there was help. It wasn’t just the squad, it was a jedi general and two of the most qualified ARC troopers in the army. 

She swallowed and, finally, her shoulders loosened. “We’ll need all the help we can get. Thank you for being here.” She looked at Echo too. “Both of you.”

Echo seemed surprised to be addressed. But it didn’t linger for long before professionalism returned. “Of course.”

“Hey, I called them in,” Anakin interrupted. Because he couldn’t let a moment linger. “Where’s my thanks?”

Well. It was nice while it lasted. “Let’s get to the squad. They’re already canvassing the scene.”

It was only the second time Fives walked into this place, but he could already feel the drastic change. Of course, watching a team of investigators carefully examining evidence of a kidnapping would make any place eerie. And he’d seen more burnt out villages and war-scarred civilians than he dared to count. He wasn’t a stranger to seeing a home ransacked. 

But it felt different when it was a home he’d been invited into. It wasn’t quite the same as when some bounty hunters had the gall to attack their base on Kamino. If he was being honest, it wasn’t even close. At least not to him. But, when he looked at the grave faces investigation squad, he knew they all felt the same. This was personal. 

At the moment, Fives didn’t know what to do with the restless energy building up inside him, the need to do something. Everyone else fanned out to their positions. Oona, Commander Fox, and General Skywalker were in the sewing room, working on getting Petunia back online. Echo joined Deadshot, Rook, and Steady in combing the living room. Senator Amidala went back to her office in the senate rotunda to see if she could find anything through her connections, or even possibly wait for a ransom demand. 

Ash was already checking out the bedroom, so that left the bathroom to him. In a way, he almost wished this place was more ransacked. That would give them more to look through, more to go off of. This level of cleanliness in a crime scene pointed to a professional, and he didn’t like the idea of sweet Miss Ari in the hands of a professional. 

Then again, would he rather she be in the hands of some bumbling idiots? Dumb and mean could get you pretty far if your only aim was violence. On the one hand, much easier to track down and take out. On the other, much more likely to spook easily, panic, and dispose of their hostage to try to make a get-away. 

A professional would be experienced at keeping cool under pressure. They’d know a hostage is more valuable alive, maybe more willing to make a deal, which would give the squad more time to formulate and execute a plan. 

Fives shook his head. He hated thinking like this about a friend. It kind of disturbed him sometimes, how he could think like the enemy. But that’s why they made him an ARC. He had a talent for looking at situations from different angles. 

Well, on the subject of different angles, he should get down to looking at this toothbrush from a different angle, because he wasn’t getting much from the current one. One toothbrush laid in the sink, giving them a hint as to when, exactly, she was interrupted. That narrowed their timeline, at least. But that didn’t get them much closer to finding out who took her and where she was now. 

Though, as he looked closer, he noticed something a bit odd. On the handle, Miss Ari had written her own name in permanent marker. Why would she do that if she lived alone? Petunia didn’t need to brush her teeth, as far as he was aware, and that was the only other being here. So why the need to label a toothbrush?

Though, she did have a nephew, so maybe that was it? Maybe he had a toothbrush here? Fives opened the cabinet to find he was somewhat correct. Inside, there was a cup, stamped with starships, that held a child-size toothbrush as well as some kid’s toothpaste in a flavor called “glitter berry”. But, there was also a toothbrush holder, the kind with multiple holes for multiple brushes, and each toothbrush bore the name of a different squad member. Along with two more untouched toothbrushes with two surprising names. 

“Hey Ash,” Fives called. She quickly joined him in the bathroom. The fact that she didn’t make any quips about that only spoke to the dire situation they were in. “Did you know about this?” He pointed to the toothbrush which displayed the name ‘Fives.’ Echo’s was right beside his. 

“Yeah, she kind of stockpiles them now.” Ash nodded her head toward the linen closet. “The rule is, if you replace yours, make sure to write your name on it.”

“Did you know she got some for Echo and me?”

“I did notice it last time I was here.” She gave him a gentle nudge and forced a half smile. “Welcome to the family.” Without another word, she made her way back to the bedroom. 

Fives followed. “So, you find anything interesting in here?”

Ash sighed as she crouched down near the broken comm pieces. “Just…piecing together a narrative.” She pointed to the scissors laying in the carpet nearby. “Her scissors, they…they’re meant for cutting fabric, not for…whatever happened. And there’s no blood, which should be a good thing. It means she might not be hurt, but it also means we have no quick way of telling who has her, and–” Her hands squeezed into tight fists. “She might have tried to defend herself, and she tried to call… Last night, when Deadshot was calling her… it must have been smashed already. Whatever happened here happened already…” Ash swallowed hard. “That at least narrows the timeline even more.” 

She stood up, her hands still clenched at her sides. “Deadshot might have been the last to talk to her, when we called to invite her out. Somewhere, between that and the time he tried to call at the end of the night…” A look of guilt and disgust came over her face. “While we were all out having fun, she was–”

“Don’t!” Fives snapped, not angry but firm. Enough to snap her out of the road she was about to go down. He knew where a road like that led, and it was nowhere helpful. “Don’t blame yourself for this. It’ll get us nowhere.”

“Right. Wallowing won’t get us any closer to finding her,” Ash answered like she didn’t quite believe it. 

They fell into a silence then, contemplating the task at hand. They had all the straight forward clues. What they needed was a new thread to pull. 

“Hey, weird question but, when Ari’s at home, does she usually wear shoes?”

“Shoes? Maybe if she’s going somewhere or just got back, but if she’s here working or just living her life, she probably wouldn’t. Where are you going with this?”

“I’m just thinking… maybe we can track the path she took last night.” 

He went back to the bathroom, with Ash following, and activated the cell-lamp on his gauntlet. Humans, most beings really, shed tiny skin cells constantly. Bare hands and feet left higher concentrations of them, allowing the lamp to pick them up. 

Once activated, the lamp illuminated hand prints left on the faucet handles, on the sink, and footprints on the tile floor. These could have been picked up with simple UV light, as they were left on hard, smooth surfaces, but as Miss Ari’s apartment was mostly carpet, the cell-lamp would serve them better. 

“We already know she most likely started in here,” Ash said, her eyes following the prints of the floor. They led under the shower curtain. Ash pulled it back, to find more footprints on the ledge of the bathtub. “She hid here. Even with the curtain open, she’d be concealed and the room would look empty.”

“Clever,” Fives commented. If only cleverness was enough to keep her safe.

“Then she slid down here,” Ash continued, noting the handprints alongside the footprints on the floor. “She probably waited here for him to pass. And then…” She looked out into the hall. There, a short path of prints led to the sewing room, so that’s where they followed. 

“What are you two up to?” General Skywalker asked, as they went into the sewing room, where he and Oona worked on Petunia while Fox eagerly awaited results. 

“Following Miss Ari’s prints with the cell lamp,” Fives answered.

“Good idea,” Fox said with a nod. “Tracking her movements will give us a better idea of where to look for clues.”

“And help us figure out just what the hell happened,” Ash added. She followed the prints to the gown on the dress form, and lifted the skirts. “She hid under here, too. Fives, point the light at Petunia.”

Fives did as instructed, and a handprint illuminated on the top of Petunia’s head. 

“So, she tried to turn Petunia on, as well,” Oona commented. 

“Most modern droids are equipped with comms in case of emergency,” General Skywalker added. “I guess it might have been easier for her to get to Petunia instead of her own comm.”

“It might have already been smashed at that point,” Oona mused with an uncharacteristically grave tone. 

“Fives, here too.” Ash pointed at a metal ruler laying on the ground nearby. 

He did so, and they found a handprint wrapped around one end. “Could she have just been using this for work?” he asked.

“She would have put it back,” Ash countered. “Besides, look at where it’s gripped. That’s not where you’d hold it to measure something. That’s how you’d hold it if you were going to swing it at something.”

“She put up a fight,” General Skywalker said. “I’ll give her credit for that.”

Fox’s shoulders tensed, but said nothing. 

“There’s more prints leading out,” Ash went on. She and Fives, with Fox now close behind, followed them out of the sewing room, down the hall a bit, and into the bedroom. There, where the comm parts and the scissors lay in the carpet, were the tell-tale signs of a struggle. 

The prints were no longer in the uniform pattern of footsteps. On the wall and on the floor, the lamp illuminated formless shapes where Miss Ari, hours before, must have fought against her captor. The scissors, which showed two slightly different colors of light, indicated two people struggled for them. 

Then, what they found on the carpet made his heart sink into his stomach. That shape was longer, broken up in places her clothes must have been, but the overall impression was that of a body sprawled out on the floor. 

Miss Ari fought. She fought for her life, for her freedom, and ultimately lost. 

Fox stepped up to the form glowing on the floor, helmet pointed down, still saying nothing. Rumor around the barracks was, their commander’s feelings for Miss Ari were more than friendly. In his quick briefing, Fives also learned about the mysterious attempt at a holocall Fox got from her the night before. With those two things combined, he could only imagine what Fox must be feeling right now. 

Fives looked up at Ash, hoping their combined efforts could come up with some comforting words for the Commander. However, he found Ash also stared at the shape, her eyes haunted, face grim. Like ghosts were dancing in her mind. Still, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Or, she refused to allow herself. 

A grim thought occurred to him, then. Sure, it was his idea to use the lamp, but the fervor with which Ash took to it, her focus on every print… He couldn’t help but wonder if this was only about gathering evidence. Ash, by forcing herself to walk through every step Ari took in terror that night, was punishing herself. 

“Hey…” Fives shut the cell light off, and she blinked, as if waking up from a nightmare. “Don’t do this to yourself.”

To her credit, she didn’t even bother denying it. “I have to. I told…” She shook her head. “Someone needs to feel this pain with her.” Her voice sounded so raw, but determined. Like re-living whatever Ari went through would make the woman manifest in the room, safe and sound.

“Why?” Fives asked, though he never intended to leave room for an answer. “Tracking her movements gives us a better idea of what happened last night. That’s what’ll get us closer to finding her. We just said ruminating on guilt will get us nowhere.” 

“I’m not ruminating,” Ash insisted. “Knowing her thoughts and feelings last night might show something we missed here. An object she picked up, something the kidnapper knocked over, something that won’t let her be lost in a missing persons database.” Her words grew sharper with previous experience as she spoke. 

“But you already know how she was feeling, don’t you? You can feel it with that Force stuff you got. And I’ll bet watching her footsteps through the cell lamp was just making you feel it stronger.” Fives crossed over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “We know how she was feeling. She was scared, terrified. Same as she’s probably feeling right now. And if we want to find her, make her feel safe again, we can’t let ourselves get distracted with blame and guilt.”

“I am not distracted,” Ash insisted, again. “I’ve never been more focused.” She looked at him, determination turning to desperation. “I have to do this. We can’t afford to miss a detail. She can’t feel this alone.”

And that was the crux of it. As much as she could rationalize it as detective work, the truth came out anyway. “It’s not your fault that she’s suffering now and you’re not. Or at least not the same way.” He tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat. He’d been here. He’d been here many times. That didn’t make it any easier. 

“A lot happens in the field. You know that,” he continued, putting a firmer grip on her shoulder. He also glanced over at Fox, hoping his words could reach the Commander’s ears as well. “One of the first things they taught us in training is that once you start blaming yourself for shit that's not your fault, it's all over. Right now, Miss Ari needs Captain D’hib, ARC Trooper Fives, and Commander Fox. Once she’s back with us, safe and sound, she’ll need her friends.”

Ash’s brow furrowed. He could see the desire to dig her heels in coincide with the desire to take his words to heart. She said nothing, in the end. Only offered a silent nod. 

“You’re right, Fives,” Fox said, finally looking at the spot on the floor he hadn’t taken his eyes off of since they came in here. “Dwelling on what we didn’t do will get us nowhere. We need to focus on what we can do now.” With that, he stepped out of the room. 

Ash followed, pulling away from Fives’ grasp. The space between them never felt more like a gaping wound.

Silently, they continued into the living room where Steady, Deadshot, and Echo conducted their investigation. Deadshot studied the remaining glass on the sliding door, Steady searched for anything he could on the balcony, and Echo examined the security cameras. 

“How are things going out here?” Fox asked. 

“There’s blank spots in the security feed from last night,” Echo answered. “I took the liberty of sending Rook down to the security office to see if they had anything we didn’t.”

Ash turned toward the sewing room. “Oona? Any update on Petunia?”

“She’s still offline, but luckily her wires and data banks haven’t been fried,” Oona called back. “We can get her back on, eventually, but we need to figure out how to bypass the lock that’s keeping her from coming back online.” 

“Anything the lock can tell us?”

“Yes,” General Skywalker said, stepping out of the room. “Based on the intricacies, we can tell it was droid-made. Though, those tend to be tougher to crack, since droids are intimately familiar with their own programming.”

“So, our culprit has a droid…” Ash mused, biting her lip. “How close are you getting?”

General Skywalker put on one of his self-confident smirks. “Close enough that I’m already brushing up on my droid translating skills.”

“In that case, I won’t keep you any longer.”

“We’ll let everyone know as soon as she’s back online.” With that, General Skywalker returned to the sewing room to work on Petunia.

“Is it just me, or does having a General here make it feel weirder?” Deadshot asked, quietly. 

“What do you mean?” Echo asked. 

“I don’t know, exactly. It’s just, this is Ari’s home. It’s where we all come to relax. Now we’re tromping around here in our gear, touching everything with gloves, hunting for clues I’m almost hoping we won’t find, because…” Deadshot let out a frustrated sigh, “It’s just, it’s a lot different looking for a stranger’s blood splatter, you know?”

“Well, this is my first time here but…” Echo began, seeming unsure if he should say anything at all. “It’s weird for me, and I just met her not too long ago. I can’t even imagine how it feels for all of you.” 

Deadshot’s gaze drifted to the couch. “We’ve all taken turns sleeping there. This was the place we came to when we needed time from the noise…” 

Ash winced. Fives literally saw the moment that Ash the woman took a step back and Captain Dhi’b stepped forward to put a hand on Deadshot’s shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but when Deadshot looked at her, something there settled him. Maybe the knowledge of their mutual misery and guilt, if Fives had to guess.

Steady, meanwhile, was very pointedly looking at the sliding glass door. Something in his posture told Fives he wasn’t faring well from Deadshot’s observations. The next moment, however, “Hey, Deadshot? Is that blood?”

Deadshot followed Steady’s pointed finger to a spot on the outline of the hole left in the sliding glass door. Deadshot narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer, then let out a gasp. “It is!” 

Fox charged forward and examined the spot while rest of the present squad members leaned in for a closer look as well.  Fives couldn’t believe that he was so relieved to see blood.

“This could potentially narrow down a pool of suspects, if the culprit has a record,” Fox declared. 

Steady took out his sample collecting kit. “I’ll get this tested immediately.” He got straight to work, swabbing the blood and placing the sample in the sterile case. 

“Well, assuming that blood belongs to the culprit,” Ash added, her voice grim. “With any luck, their DNA will already be in the database.”

The group got quiet as they contemplated the possibility that it was Ari’s blood. “I’d say it’s more likely the culprit’s,” Fox said. “From the positioning and the amount, it looks like they accidentally brushed against the cut glass.” 

That was a somewhat comforting thought. Still, the discovery only reminded them that their friend was facing danger at this very moment. 

A blood trail is better than no trail. The thought was not nearly as reassuring as Fives wanted it to be. The only thing that offered a sliver of hope was the low likelihood of it being Ari’s blood. Hopefully.

They heard the front door slide open and looked up to see Rook coming back in, however, he was empty handed. When he took off his helmet, his disappointed expression said more than any words did. 

“Rook?” Steady said, putting on a soothing ori’vod voice. “What is it?” 

Rook’s mouth opened, and then paused. “It’s the footage. They said there wasn’t any.”

“What?!” Oona screeched from the other room, followed by stomping and her appearing the doorway looking absolutely furious. “That’s impossible.” 

“Those cameras are in perfect working order,” Fox insisted, his voice seething. “I’ve checked them myself every time I’ve been here. And they’re still working right now. So how, exactly, is there no footage?”

“They said her cameras were working,” Rook went on, “but they went dark for about ten to twenty minutes near midnight last night.”

“They went dark.” Ash repeated incredulously. “And no one thought to report that?”

“They said residents turn off their cameras all the time for privacy.”

“And what about the broken glass that would be in the frame?” Deadshot said, looking at the feed on the wall monitor. “Is that somehow for privacy too?”

“That’s all they would tell me, and they wouldn’t even let me watch what they did have. I figured, maybe if they talked to someone with more,” his eyes scanned from Ash to Fox to Anakin, “authority, they might be more cooperative.” 

Ash and Fox exchanged a look. Even under his helmet, Fives was sure the whole room could feel the sheer intensity of his fury. Fives almost felt bad for whoever Rook was just speaking to.

Ash cracked her neck with fierce determination. “Oona, do you have a moment?”

“I’m still working on Petunia.”

“When you finish up, see if you can tap into the security feed. Fox and I are confronting whatever clowns they’ve got down there.”

“Got it!” With that, Oona spun around and returned to Petunia in the other room. “And call me if they try to drown you in techno-babble!”

Fives watched Ash and the commander leave with fire in their step and tried to summon up some optimism. With this many dedicated people looking into Ari’s kidnapping, the odds were rising in favor of her rescue. And they needed as many factors in their favor as possible for this one.

Chapter Text

Ari’s heart climbed into her throat as she watched the man walk his fingers across her collarbone. 

“All you have to do is answer a few simple questions,” he murmured in her ear. The feeling of his breath on the side of his face made her skin crawl. 

“Then again, maybe wait.” He walked his fingers toward her neck and her stomach clenched. “It’s been a while since I’ve had something pretty to look at.” 

Fear and disgust mixed into a sickness in her stomach. As much as she tried to pull away, the chair at her back stopped her. She couldn’t even protest through her gag. She hated being so helpless, and she could do nothing but let her terrified, angry tears fall from her eyes. 

A small object flew in and hit the man on his shoulder. “Don’t make me watch your filth,” Bane said. He sat a few feet away, a datapad screen lighting up his face. 

“Then don’t look.” The man’s hand continued to move across her skin, this time up toward her jawline. He tilted her head back, forcing her to look into the hungry eyes she’d grown to fear. 

A blaster sounded and a bolt of red light flew past them. The man growled in pain and tore his hands away. He turned away from her, clutching his left arm. 

For a moment, she had hope. She thought her friends might have somehow found her and come to her rescue. Her hopes were crushed, however, when she looked past the man and saw it was Bane holding the blaster. 

“Down, boy,” Bane muttered, barely looking in their direction. 

“Are you crazy, Bane?” The man shouted, a terrifying fury in his voice.

“Please, I barely grazed you,” Bane replied, looking back at his datapad. 

“Grazed me?! You could have killed me!”

“Now there’s an idea…” Bane said with a smirk. “I already warned you once. That was your second warning. Don’t make me get to three.”

“I’m trying to do our job.”

“No, you’re trying to indulge yourself.” Finally, Bane set the datapad aside and stood up. “That girl is not here for your amusement. The more you keep agitating her, the longer this is going to take.”

“I’ve gotten members of the pyke syndicate to sing like canaries.  I think I know how this works.”

“That’s your mistake right there. You think what works on a hardened gangster will work on her, though I doubt you get quite as handsy with the pykes.”

The man only scowled and said nothing in reply. 

“This is different,” Bane went on, standing up and walking over to them. “With the hard ones, you apply pressure until they crack, but with the soft ones, like her, that doesn’t work the same. They panic and cry. Their mind goes blank, or they just make something up to make it stop. At the end of the day, you still don’t get what you want. These soft ones, they require more patience and finesse.” 

He crouched down in front of her and pulled her gag down. “Alright little lady,” he said, drawing a knife from a pocket in his coat. “You ready to answer some questions?”

Her eyes watched the knife gleam in the scant light and her heart tightened. “I-I’ll try…”

“Good.” He smirked. “Now, what is your name?”

“I-it’s Ari…” She wasn’t sure if she should give her full name. What if they found out who her family was? Or did it not matter? If they knew she worked for Padme, they must know her name. 

“There, was that so hard?” He moved the knife, and she braced herself to feel a cut or stab. Instead, he carved halfway through one of the ropes fastening her to the chair. “Now, next question. How do you know Senator Amidala?” 

“I’m her seamstress.”

He cut the rest of the way through the rope. Was this it? If she cooperated, he’d let her go?

“Now for the next one. What has Senator Amidala been working on recently?”

“I-I don’t know.” Her stomach clenched. “She doesn’t share that with me-Ah!” The knife bit into her thigh. It didn’t feel particularly deep or long, but it stung. 

“See how that works?” Bane said, his voice as calm as if he was giving a lesson. “When you tell the truth, I cut a rope. When you lie, I cut something else.”

“But that wasn’t a lie!” 

He answered her protest with another cut on her leg. “Let’s try an easy one again. Where does Senator Amidala live?”

She bit her lip as she thought. Why did they want to know about Padme? Were they planning to hurt her too? “I don’t know. I’ve never been…” He cut her again, on the arm this time, but she deserved it. 

“Want to know how I knew that was a lie?” Bane said, waving the knife in her face. “You flinched before I even cut you. Not very good at this, are you?”

Tears started to spill from her eyes again as her mind raced for answers of what to do. If she lied, she was hurt. If she told the truth, but they didn’t like the answer, she was hurt. If she told them what they wanted to hear, however, her friend could be hurt. There was nothing. She could do nothing. 

“This is cute, Bane,” the man scoffed from somewhere in the dark. “It’ll take all day to get anything out of her at this rate.”

“If you had your way, we’d never get anything out of her,” Bane retorted. “Why don’t you go make yourself useful and get us some lunch? I’ll stay here and work on her.”

“I’m not your errand boy, Bane!”

Bane stood up and his blaster hummed as he pointed it at the man. “I’m not someone you want to have problems with, kid. Now get going.” 

The man glared at the blaster, but soon walked away, grumbling something under his breath. 

After he disappeared into the darkness, Bane put his blaster back in the holster and turned back to her. “As for you, little lady,” he said, brandishing his knife in her face. “You and I are going to continue our talk.”

[-]

The fire burning beneath Fox’s skin was barely contained by his armor. His patience for incompetence was thin to begin with, but today, it was nonexistent. Yet, this security guard was trying it. 

“Look, it’s like I told the other one…” the snivvian, Yam Cosro, said as he tried to discretely wipe powdered sugar off his chin. His voice shook like he was a school child in trouble with his teacher. “There’s no footage from that camera between 12:08 and 12:20.”

“The cameras are in perfect working order,” Fox argued back. “How can there be no footage?”

“Well, it temporarily went black.”

“And is there not a procedure for when the security cameras go out?” Ash asked, barely disguising her seething. 

“There is, but we don’t implement it all the time.” He nudged his bag of powdered donuts behind one of the monitors. “The residents turn it off voluntarily, and we can’t have our security droids crashing in every time someone decides to have a little tête-à-tête on the balcony.”

Ash stepped closer, looming over Yam, who sunk deeper into his seat as he beheld the full height and bulk of the captain. “Do you think that’s why two clone troopers and a ranger are asking you for the footage? Because a woman was having a ‘tête-à-tête’?”

“I-I-I wasn’t suggesting that was the case in this instance.” A bead of sweat ran down the security guard’s face. “That was just an example of why people usually turn off their own cameras.”

“Then why, exactly, were security droids not deployed to check the area when her camera went out?” Fox asked, arms crossed and gripping his vambraces.

“Well, when the whole building went out, we figured it was just a glitch.”

The fire in Fox’s heart crackled and sparked like it’d just been stoked. “What do you mean the whole building went out?”

“You told my squad member there was no footage from Miss Grendal’s security feed,” Ash seethed. “You neglected to mention the whole building went out?”

Yam was sweating bolts now, and drew a handkerchief out of his pocket to dab his forehead. “M-m-maybe you’d like to talk to the head of security? He’s the one who usually makes these decisions.”

“I’ll do you one better,” Fox said, checking the com messages on his vambrace. “I’ve already taken the liberty of contacting the building’s owner, Mr. Gein. As our business took us to the security office, I asked him to meet us here.”

The suggestion that the security guard’s boss would soon arrive did nothing to calm him. In fact, it seemed to make him sweat more. An observation that Ash readily took advantage of. 

“So, if there's something we need to know that your boss might not want to know you told us, now would be the time.” She grinned like she could unhinge her jaw and swallow him whole. “Afterall, I’d hate for you to go home tonight with a guilty conscience.” 

Yam’s lips tightened together, as if fighting against a secret, but he soon blurted out, “We had an unscheduled system update yesterday.”

“Well then, now we’re getting somewhere. Tell us more about the unscheduled security update.” 

“You will tell them no such thing, Mr. Cosro!” A voice sounded behind them. They turned to see a human man in a very pressed suit had just entered the room. “You are under no obligation to answer their questions.”

“We are investigating an active crime scene, Mr. Gein,” Fox retorted, his fire flaring. “Cooperation is in the best interest of all involved.” 

“And if you do not offer us your cooperation,” Ash continued, her tone sharp enough to stab through steel, “you run the risk of arrest for obstruction of justice. We have a warrant and an innocent woman, one of your tenants, in immediate danger. Refusing to answer our queries will only make things worse.” Every word snapped off like it took all of her self-control to remain professional.

“Well, of course, we here at Sky Loft Apartments care deeply about the safety and well being of all our tenants,” Mr. Gein rattled off like he was shooting a commercial. “Which is why we are taking steps to avoid an unnecessary panic.” 

Ash switched from looming over Yam to stepping forward until she was almost toe-to-toe with Mr. Gein. She wasn’t much taller than him, but that difference was enough for Mr. Gein to tilt his head up to behold her anger. 

“I don’t think you understand the situation you’ve cornered yourself into,” she said, deadly calm, suddenly. “You deliberately hid information pertaining to a kidnapping victim to save your own ass. You are continuing to hinder us while we try to save a life. You need to remember that if you do not help us right now, you won’t be answering to me or the Commander. You’ll be answering to the Coruscant court system. And not civil court; criminal court. Not to mention the fact that Senator Amidala herself sanctioned this investigation and could prove a very compelling witness. So choose your next words very carefully.”  

He managed to remain his composure, but with his clasped hands still fidgeted with a class ring, giving him away. “Our legal team is not afraid of a lawsuit, Captain Dhi’b,” he answered, eyes momentarily flicking to her badge on her ranger jacket. “However, upon reflection, it would seem sharing certain information with you would be in the best interest of our tenants, as long as there are no leaks that could incite a panic.” 

“Sounds like an excellent idea,” Ash agreed. “So why don’t we get moving on that? Starting with that ‘unscheduled system update’ that somehow took out your entire building’s security?”

All three turned their attention to Yam, who looked close to passing out, but managed to stay conscious enough to explain. “Yesterday morning, a man came in with a uniform and ID tag. He said he was from the manufacturing company and was assigned to do some maintenance. He said there was a software update that needed to be done right away, or our cameras wouldn’t connect to the network and stop working.”

“Do you have footage of this individual entering the building?” Fox asked. 

“Y-yes! Yes we should!” Almost ecstatic at being able to do one thing right, Yam turned in his chair and entered some commands into the computer system. Soon, one of the monitors displayed a recording of the front entrance of the building, and the bottom of the screen noted it to be from the previous day. He paused the recording when a gossam in a light blue uniform entered the building. 

“There! That’s him!” Yam pointed to the figure on the screen. The hat that was presumably part of the uniform partially obscured his face, but enough showed to make a positive identification. 

“Has this man worked with you before?” Fox asked. 

“No, there’s a couple different people the security company usually sends,” he answered. “But I didn’t think a new face was so unusual. People get hired all the time.”

“Or fired,” Mr. Gein added, looking pointedly at Yam. 

“We’re going to need a copy of this footage for analysis,” Ash said. A beat passed, and Yam didn’t move. “Now.”

The poor fellow moved like lightning, fingers flying across the command board. He gave one last glance at the building owner, who gave a nod. With that, Yam pushed a button and data stick ejected from the machines. “Here you go, Captain Ma’am,” he said, hands shaking as he gave the data stick to Ash. 

In a surprising show of mercy, she let the bluster pass without comment. She looked at Fox and held up the data stick. “Let’s get this to Oona and figure out who the fuck this is.” Then she cast one more look at Mr. Gein. “You’ll be hearing from us again.”

[-]

One thing Oona and Ash had in common was that neither were good at waiting around. When there was something to be done, and it wasn’t happening fast enough for their liking, they’d just do it themselves. There were even times at the cafe, if the staff was too busy, Ash would hop the counter and make her own caf order. (Of course, she had niece privileges there.) 

Oona was the same way, especially when it came to technology. If no-competence staff wasn’t going to get them their much needed security footage, Oona had no qualms about getting it herself. The digital locks on Petunia were nearly broken, and Anakin was more than capable of finishing that job himself. Thus, Oona had the freedom to turn on her datapad, which she’d naturally customized to be much more powerful than average, and tap into the security feeds of nearby buildings. 

The kidnappers entering through the balcony gave them one advantage. This was Coruscant, where the average closest neighbor lived just a few inches outside your left ear canal. The culprits may have compromised Ari’s camera, but hopefully they didn’t have the forethought or ability to black out all the cameras of all the surrounding buildings. She found several cameras with decent views of Ari’s balcony in just a few minutes of searching. Now, she just had to sift through the footage to the moment the kidnapping took place. 

The door to the apartment opened, and Ash and Fox entered, surrounded by an even darker and stormier cloud than before, if that was even possible. Despite that, though, she could still sense a small glimmer of hope. 

“You’re just in time,” Anakin called, poking his head out of the sewing room. “I’m about to turn Petunia back on.”

Whatever Ash and Fox may or may not have found was overshadowed by these words, as everyone dropped their tasks, including Oona, and crowded around the sewing room. 

“Alright, I’ve been letting her batteries recharge, but she should be ready to talk now,” Anakin said, crouching down to tap some of Petunia’s buttons. “And here we go…”

After Anakin finished typing in a sequence, Penuia emitted a whirring noise, and her purple lights began to glow. She slowly rose off the ground, until she reached her usual hovering height. Her dome shifted left to right, scanning the people in the room, then let out a few confused bleeps. 

“It’s okay,” Anakin said gently, “You should recognize most of us. We’re friends of Ari’s. I’m afraid you were forcibly shut down, but we got you back online.”

Petunia turned her attention to Anakin and bleeped at him, sounding indignant. 

“No, you’re right. Ari would never let that happen. I’m sure she would have stopped it if she could.”

Petunia’s next bleeps were low and threatening.

“I’m afraid Ari’s been kidnapped.”

A flurry of furious bleeps exploded from Pentunia. She unleashed every sharp tool she had in her arsenal. The spectating group had to jump out of the way, in order to dodge the knife-wielding torpedo Petunia had become. 

“Wait! Wait! Calm down!” Anakin called as they chased Petunia out into the living room. 

His words had no effect, however, for when she laid her ocular sensors on the shattered window, she let out yet another screech of fury. She turned wildly, looking for an assailant to shove her blades into. When she found nothing but friends, she unleashed one more digital scream before collapsing, defeated on the floor. To Oona, the ensuing bleeps sounded like crying. 

“Petunia,” Rook said, his voice just loud enough to grab her attention as he knelt beside her. “Hey, Tuney, hey…” 

“Tuney?” Deadshot muttered in disbelief, a brief crack in the ever-present tension.

Petunia drifted closer to Rook and his soothing tones. “We’re already looking for her,” he continued, “but we need more information. I know you’re angry, but if you want to help find her, you need to talk to us.”

Petunia’s ocular sensors rose to Rooks’s face, and gave a soft bleep. 

“She says yes,” Anakin translated. 

Rook took in a deep breath and released it. “Do you remember what happened before you were shut down? Better yet, did you see who did it?”

Oona only understood the tone of the series of bleeps Petunia let out. They ranged from confusion, to anger, then to fear as the droid, presumably, realized what happened to her beloved owner while she was out.

Anakin translated again. “She said, ‘We finished work for the day. Ari let me watch the holocast for a while. After my show, I went to my resting place, but she stayed up. I settled into my charging station. Then, I felt something plug into one of my ports. When I activated my ocular sensors, I saw a techno service droid. I tried to call out to Ari, but my voice projector was already locked. Then, I was forced into shut down mode and locked in. I don’t know anything until you woke me up. That droid must have taken my Ari. They must have known I’d never let anyone take my Ari away from me.’” 

Oona perked up. A techno service droid? She spoke up, “Do you remember any details about the techno service droid? Like the model or any identifying features? Paint job, or the upkeep of the droid?”

Petunia bleeped again. 

“A Todo 360?” Anakin said, though his voice conveyed some astonishment. 

“Does that mean something to you?” Fox asked.

“I know of one bounty hunter who uses a Todo 360,” Anakin said. “But frankly, a job like this would be below his pay grade.” 

“Who is it?” Rook asked. 

“Cad Bane.” 

The name brought a chill throughout the room. Cad Bane was no ordinary bounty hunter. Many were skilled fighters, but few were as intelligent and ruthless as him. The idea of Ari being in the hands of someone so dangerous made all their blood run cold. But, Anakin brought up a valid question. Bane was the kind of person you hired when you wanted to kidnap the entire senate. So who would be willing to pay his price to kidnap one defenceless woman with only standard security measures? 

A beep from her datapad brought the group out of the dark cloud that enveloped them. “The program I was running must have finished,” Oona said, moving to the coffee table where she left it. “I did a search on the recording histories of surrounding security cameras for the times that are missing from Ari’s camera.” 

“Can you project it onto Ari’s holocast, so we can all see?” Ash asked. 

Oona completed the simple request, connecting her datapad to the holocast. In just a few seconds, they watched four separate holos, all showing different angles of the same event. 

A speeder hovered just outside Ari’s balcony. A male duros with blue skin and a wide brimmed hat jumped out onto the balcony, cut a hole in the sliding glass door, then stepped inside. A few minutes later, a human man with greasy-looking shoulder-length blonde hair stepped out of the speeder as well. He ducked in through the hole the first man made, seeming to cut his finger in the process. The cameras lost sight of the two men, and the Squad all held their breaths waiting for them to reappear. When they did, the greasy man appeared first, jumping into the speeder. Next, came the duros, carrying a seemingly-unconscious Ari over his shoulder. When the speeder flew away, Oona ended the broadcast. 

In the heavy silence that followed, Anakin was the first to speak. “Well, that was definitely Bane. The question is, why?”

“With all due respect, sir,” Deadshot began, a seething rage barely detectable beneath his cold tone, “I think a better question is ‘where.’”

“I believe I can share some insight as to why Bane may be working below his usual paygrade,” Fox answered, his voice so coldly professional, it was as if the sound could be carved from stone. “After his most recent arrest, I worked closely with the SF’s forensic accounting department to locate and freeze all of Bane’s accounts. Given that he’s stooped to this, I’d say we did a good job.” 

“So, Bane is essentially broke,” Ash added. “We have a good idea as to why he took this job, but why does this job even exist in the first place?” 

“We can’t know the motive for sure until we find them,” Anakin advised. “For now, I suggest we focus on finding out who this other guy is.”

“I collected a DNA sample from the blood on the glass,” Steady put in. He sounded shaken, and Oona’s heart ached for him. “Though, I’ll need to run it through a database back at the office. With any luck, this guy had some priors and we’ll be able to identify him.”

“There’s someone else we’ll need to identify as well,” Ash said. “Oona, can I use the datapad?”

Ash wanting to touch the non-weaponry technology? She must have really had something. Oona handed the datapad over without complaint and Ash put a data stick in one of the ports. Soon, Ari’s holocast showed footage from the building’s lobby, with a focus on a gossam in a maintenance-type uniform. 

“When we were down at the security office, we learned that this man came in yesterday, claiming to be from the security tech company, sent to do an unscheduled update. Neither the landlord, nor the security guard had prior knowledge of any updates. They also noted that this was not the usual person sent to do maintenance on the security system, and neither had seen him before. I think it goes without saying that all this happening the same day a strategically placed security camera outage occurred is more than a coincidence.”

“So there’s a third kidnapper, as well?” Rook mused.

“Maybe,” Fox said. “Or maybe he was only hired for this part of the plan. It’s not unusual for Bane to hire underlings of his own to get a job done.”

Anakin nodded in agreement. “Oona, think you can identify him?”

“Yes, but I’ll need my set-up back at the office to do it,” she answered. 

“Well then, it seems we’ve learned all we can at the crime scene,” Fox said, though he sounded reluctant to leave. “Let’s secure the area, then head back to the office. Identifying these other two suspects should bring us closer to finding Ari.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Anakin added. “I’ll go check in with Padme, but contact me the second you find something out about the other suspects.”

“We will.” Ash answered. 

As soon as Anakin left, they got to work securing the crime scene. None of them had any heart for it. It felt wrong. Freezing Ari’s apartment in this horrific time, preserving the violence that happened in such a peaceful place… It felt final. Like this was the last word on Ari’s life. None of them wanted to consider the possibility that the next thing they’d be looking for was a body. And yet, that’s often how these things ended. 

Oona’s mind flashed back to long ago, when rolls of police tape wrapped up the life of another dear friend of hers. Gritting her teeth, she shook the thought from her head. She wouldn’t allow it. She wouldn’t allow another friend to be taken from her this way. 

But as she felt the tension building around her, each of her friends going about their business while rage built in their heads, she knew a powder keg was forming. Oona never wanted to doubt her squadmates. She knew they’d put everything they had into finding Ari. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder how much pressure they could handle before they exploded. 

Chapter Text

The ride back to the office was a complete blur for Steady. He was running every piece of revealed information through his head with a finetoothed comb, calculating the likelihood of saving someone from the likes of Cad Bane.

If the 501st couldn’t even save a fellow jedi from this bounty hunter, could their squad fare any better?

He tried to do what he did best, and apply logic. Bane was broke. He had far less at his disposal than before. He was limited to the planet for now, so it was unlikely that he’d already secured a ship for an escape. Which meant that Bane’s client was possibly on Coruscant as well, the client who wanted Ari–

Steady’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt the second Ari’s name flickered through again. He’d tried so, so hard to keep a healthy distance so his guilt wouldn’t paralyze him. But thinking about her like a nameless victim was almost worse.

He didn’t remember climbing out of the speeder. Only vaguely felt Oona touch his elbow and try to project a calming feeling for him, to no avail. It wasn’t until they finally made it to their offices that Steady pulled himself out of his fog to accept his next orders.

“Alright everyone, you know the drill,” Ash began. “Oona, find out everything you can about our fake maintenance guy. I want his name, address, hang outs, shoe size, favorite color, grandma’s cookie recipe. Everything.”

Oona gave a thumbs up as she booted up her system and set out extra snacks for luck.

“Steady, Deadshot, run that blood sample through the DNA database and get the name of the greaseball. I want all the same shit I just told Oona to find, and then some.”

 Steady looked at his brother before nodding in response. Finally, Ash turned to the remaining three.

“Rook, Echo, Fives, do some background research on Ari’s senatorial client list and see if any of them are caught up in anything shady. Might help us crack a motive, because I honestly can’t think of any other way Ari would get caught up in anything that could lead to this.”

Everyone responded with a hearty “yes, Captain,” and headed to work. However, as Steady and Deadshot made their way to the lab, Fox stopped them. 

“Deadshot, can you get the DNA sample analysis started on your own? I need to have a word with Steady.”

Deadshot’s eyes darted suspiciously between the two of them. He looked as if he knew something was wrong, but at the same time, Fox was not speaking to them as their brother, but as their commander. “Sure thing, Commander,” Deadshot said, and continued on to the lab. 

Fox motioned for Steady to follow him into Ash’s office, then closed the door. “I need to talk to you about your insubordination last night.”

“My insubordination, sir?”

“You questioned your commanding officer’s judgement. In doing so, you created doubt and because of that doubt, the life of one of the squad’s greatest friends is at risk.” 

Steady had never been stabbed in the heart before. He imagined the pain felt quite similar. All logic abandoned him. Only one thing remained. “...yes, sir.”

“Is that all you have to say for yourself?” Rage seethed beneath Fox’s veil of cold professionalism. “Miss Grendal’s life is in danger. Her suffering could have been avoided.” He tapped some buttons on his vambrace and a holo came up, displaying his call logs. He zoomed in on the one from Ari, received at 12:17. “This is the call for help she made last night, the one you advised me to ignore. We might have been too late to prevent it at this point, but we could have been hot on their trail. We could have found her by now. We could have already brought her back safely. But she’s not safe now, is she? She is in the hands of monsters at this very moment because of you.” 

Steady felt the edges of a dreadful panic crawl over him, only to be startled out of it by the office door slamming open to reveal a very angry Captain Dhi’b.

“Commander,” she interjected, with an authority the likes of which Steady hadn’t heard since their time on the front. “This is completely out of line. None of this is Steady’s fault. He didn’t steal Ari from her apartment. Blaming him solves nothing right now.”

“No, I suppose he doesn’t shoulder all of the blame. You share some as well, Captain.”

The fact that Ash didn’t recoil in surprise made Steady think that she expected this. Always prepared to shoulder blame that wasn’t hers, to take blows for someone else's fight. “Is that right, Commander?” Her use of his title felt like the only weapon she’d use in this battle.

“If I were on the job the morning Bane broke out, he could have been stopped before he got far and this never would have happened. But you insisted I go out for caf with you. I’ll admit that I went against my better judgement, but I would never have gone in the first place if not for you.” 

“Are you actually expecting me to apologize for looking out for your well-being?” Ash retorted. “Do you really, really think that stopping to get caf is the One Thing that let Bane get this far?” 

Having seen Ash fight in full swing before, there was something so incredibly painful at the way she kept her claws sheathed for this one. Not that Fox would notice. Not now.

“I told you what I feared would happen if I let my guard down for even one second. Well, I did let me guard down, and look what happened.” They tried to ignore the way their stalwart commander’s voice cracked, but the sound was deafening. “But you’re right. I am the Commander. It’s my job, no, my duty to know when to listen to others’ advice and when to trust my own. This is my fault.”

Fives had shoved his way into the room, Deadshot close behind him. “Blaming your allies sure as fuck isn’t the way to go, vod,” Fives snapped. “Especially when all they’ve done is have your back–”

“Like we should have had Ari’s,” Deadshot interjected. “Like I should have had Ari’s.” His voice cracked as well. “I knew something was off. I should have gone to Ari’s and watched out for her. Instead, I tried to drink my bad feeling away. I should just be paying for that decision with a splitting headache. Instead, Ari’s paying for it with…” He cut himself off, not daring to say ‘her life.’ That would imply something they’d never come back from. 

“Any one of us could have done that, D,” Oona insisted. She switched her furious expression to the Commander’s, standing protectively next to Steady. “If we’re tossing out blame, maybe Ari would have come out with us if a certain someone hadn’t ghosted her into a fucking depression!”

Fox actually recoiled at this, as if her words physically slapped him across the face. “I… that was…” He regained some composure, but he straightened less like he had a spine made of steel, and more like a puppet glued to a stick. “It was for the best, for the both of us. I can’t afford distractions and–” 

“Is that all Ari is to you?! A distraction?!” Deadshot looked like he might throw a chair at Fox. 

“That’s not what I–”

“Maybe if you actually cared about anyone or anything more than your position, you’d understand what we’re all going through right now!” 

“How dare you?!” Fox looked furious again, but that fury was clearly underlined with pain. “You have no idea what I’ve--”

The sound of a file cabinet drawer banging closed brought them all to a screeching halt. They flooded back out into the main office, only to find Echo wide-eyed with shock and Rook looking furious. 

“Stop it! All of you!” Rook shouted. “This fighting is getting us nowhere closer to finding Ari. We already know whose fault this is. It’s Cad Bane’s fault. Cad Bane, his partner, and whoever hired them. So this, standing here, assigning blame, is pointless and a waste of time. Time she might not have.” 

His voice cracked as his face melted from fury to fear. “Why don’t we all just admit we’re scared? I know I’m scared. That’s what Ari would tell us to do. She’d say we’d need to talk about what we’re feeling so we can deal with it and move on. I know there’s no time for a full blown Ari treatment with tea and the napping couch, but maybe it’ll be enough if we all just say we’re scared, we’re sorry, and get back to finding her.” 

Rook’s words hung in the air for a solemn beat. Then another.

Ash eventually broke it with a sigh and a hard swallow. “We’re scared,” she said, her voice hoarse. “And I’m sorry.” She steeled her shoulders and cracked her neck. “I’ll get back to work. If you guys need to take a beat, go ahead.”

Her head ducked and she walked past Rook, out of the office. Fives followed her out.

Steady put a hand on Oona’s elbow, because she still looked ready for a fight with Fox. “Go ahead. I’m right behind you.”

Her golden eyes blinked and she nodded. She squeezed his hand and followed Ash out the door, leaving the vode to themselves.

“Steady, before you go back to work, I have one thing I need to say to you,” Fox said.

“Yes. sir?” An edge of bitterness made its way into his voice.

“I’m sorry. Rook’s right. This isn’t your fault, or anyone here, but my behavior just now was unacceptable and unfitting for a commander and a brother. I was scared, I still am, but that is no excuse. Again, I’m sorry. You don’t deserve any of the blame.” 

Steady didn’t like being angry. He didn’t like the way it curdled inside of him and how it could turn a good person unrecognizable. Fear, in a lot of ways, was worse than anger. And so, it was easier than expected to say, “Accepted. Thank you.”

“It’s like Rook said, we’re all scared,” Deadshot added. “I’m scared, and I’m pissed, and I still feel like I’ve got an ice pick sticking out of my head, but none of that is going to stop me from bringing my best buddy home.”

“Agreed,” Fox answered. “Let’s not waste anymore time and get back to work.”

“Right, but just one more thing.” Deadshot put his arm around Fox’s shoulder. “Brother to brother, if you ever talk to Steady that way again, we’re gonna have problems. Got it?”

This elicited the tiniest smirk from their Commander’s lips. “Understood.”

Once they got back to work, it wasn’t long before they got their first hit. 

“Ah-ha!” Oona shouted, jarring everyone out of their research-focused stupor. “Got you!”

“Who’ve you got, Oona?” Ash asked, looking up from her screen. 

“Our fake security guy, that’s who!” Oona could feel the manic grin spreading across her face. Her muscles tensed and heart pounded. This was no ordinary surge of adrenaline about a discovery. This was the elation of finding someone they could justifiably punch in the face about this whole mess. 

The squad gathered around her computer, all just as eager as her to have a name and face they could direct their ire to. 

“What we have here is a one, Mr. Mardi Talan. Information broker. Though, evidently, he’s not above doing some lackey work.”

“Information broker?” Rook asked. 

“What it sounds like. Someone whose whole job is selling confidential information to whoever’s willing to pay for it. Usually, if you’re willing to pay for something like this, it’s not for innocent reasons.”

“Is there a location on this guy?” Fives asked, one fist pressing into his other hand. “Or a way to get ahold of him?”

Oona grinned, “Even a shady business has to advertise their services, if you know where to look.” She pulled up a deep net page that, indeed, looked sketchy as all hell. Thousands of viruses were probably dying inside her firewall as they spoke. But, as far as she could tell, it was Mardi Talan’s real contact page. “It has a comm number we can try. But, be sure to ask for a ‘consultation.’” 

Ash practically leapt next to Oona. “Alright, let’s do it. Do you need to put any protections on my comm before I dial the number?”

It took only a few quick taps and adjustments from Oona, and then Ash put in the contact for Mardi Talan. Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper the longer the line rang.

“Yes?” a voice answered after just a few rings. 

Ash straightened up and when she spoke, her voice lowered an octave. “Yeah, hey, I’m looking for a consultation?”

“What kind of consultation?”

Oona pointed to the screen where the different services were listed. Security, financial, architecture, personal data organization… Any of them would do, as long as it got them a meeting. 

“Security,” Ash said. Here’s hoping the brief hesitation wasn’t noticeable. “And it needs to be soon.”

“I can do next week. Would this be a holo consultation or in-person?”

Ash’s mouth turned into a deep grimace. “No, sooner. Has to be today, in-person. I’m willing to pay.”

“Are you aware of my fees for emergency services?”

Oona pointed to the emergency services tab on the site, and Ash’s mouth dropped at the number. “Yes, I am aware. I can pay it.”

Fives peeked over Oona to look at the price on the screen and his eyes just about popped out of his head. He mouthed what the fuck at Oona, who merely shrugged. Information was the most powerful currency in the galaxy, after all.

“Alright, I can squeeze you in this evening….” 

“No, it has to be now. I’ll pay double to meet in 20 minutes." 

“Double?” She could practically hear his smile. “Okay, lucky for you, my main office isn’t far for me. Hopefully it’s not far for you.” He then rattled off an address. It was for a seedy bar called The Leaky Tap. No surprise there. 

“It’s not far,” Ash answered. “Twenty minutes. I’ll be there.” She tapped the button to end the call. “Okay, I gotta get changed and get over there fast. The rest of you, keep an eye out for that DNA result. Fives, you’re with me. Let’s get to the Disguise Closet–”

“I’m coming as well,” Fox said. His voice once again held his steel resolve. 

“Good,” Deadshot added. “Go give some hell to someone who deserves it.” 

“Where are we going, exactly?” Fives asked.

“The Leaky Tap,” Ash answered.

“That name came up in a report I read this morning,” Fox said. “One of the street patrol spotted a duros matching Bane’s description get into a speeder in front of it, but they couldn’t get a positive identification before they flew away.”

“Good,” Ash said, already moving toward the disguise closet. “All the more proof we’re on the right track.”

“But before any of you go, take this.” Oona held out a datastick for them, which Fox accepted. “Distract him, then stick it into whatever datapad he’s carrying. It’s got a program in it that’ll steal his data.”

“How do you know he’ll have a datapad?” Rook asked. 

“Like me, he deals in information,” Oona explained. “He won’t leave home without one.” 

A dangerous grin cut across Fives’s face. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna get everything he has. We’ll know his mother’s childhood pet’s name by the time we’re done with him.”

Not two minutes after they left the room, a ping echoed from Steady’s monitor. “We got a hit on the blood!”

In moments, the rest of the folks in the room crowded around Steady’s desk. Echo read out the results first. “Evidence of his DNA at other crime scenes, mostly mob hits. Info was given by some criminal informants,” he muttered, reading off the screen. Suddenly, he stopped and squnted at the monitor. “Wait, the only name they have for him is ‘Knives’?”

At Steady’s shrug, Echo continued reading. His voice turned grim. “It says he’s brutal. Has no qualms about torture.”

Deadshot seemed to transform into a stone statue, the kind kids tell each other is haunted. “Lucielle,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m definitely bringing Lucielle.” 

‘Lucielle’ being the DC-15S Blaster Carbine he and Oona tinkered with to improve the accuracy and firepower, originally as an experiment. Given its successful testing, now seemed a good time to take her out to the field. 

“Is…” Rook seemed hesitant to know more about this man. “Is there anything else about him?”

“A couple of haunts he’s been spotted at,” Echo answered. “Mob bars, mostly.”

“Well, if they have his DNA and know where he hangs out, why hasn’t he been arrested?” Rook asked. 

“Must do good work for the mob,” Oona answered. “SF can be persuaded to look the other way at mob hits. If it’s only criminals getting hurt, their blind eye comes pretty cheap.”

“That’s depressing,” Echo remarked, though the humor was lost on the still-lingering dread in his tone. “So what’s the next move?”

Oona gestured at a section of the profile. “I say we start hitting up these haunts of his. Beat the bushes and see what flies out.”

Things like this never got easy. 

Padme learned at a young age how to enter debates with a cool head, how to argue her case in front of a crowd, how to push back against power players trying to push her first. She’d given speeches in front of millions, gone toe-to-toe with politicians more than twice her age, loudly voiced her opinions of policies that would affect the entire galaxy. Those big, bombastic, galaxy-changing moments should make her heart beat wildly and her palms sweat, and they still did, with excitement and a rush of adrenaline. But nerves or fear? She’d overcome that long ago. 

These were the moments she feared now. Reporting clone troopers lost on a mission, delivering a death notice to the family of a fallen handmaiden… and this… 

This, she prayed, would not be another death notice. 

“Are you ready?” Anakin asked. 

Padme breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. “Almost.”

She shouldn’t stall. The people out there didn’t deserve to remain trapped in a cloud of dread because she couldn’t raise her courage quick enough. 

“I was thinking….” Anakin fussed with his cybernetic hand again. “Should I be here? They might be unsettled walking in here and seeing a Jedi. Lately, when we show up, it’s not because everything’s going great.”

“No, I want you here.” Padme looked up at him. The sunlight from the windows framed him in a heroic glow. It produced the exact effect she wanted. “This news is going to be devastating no matter what. Knowing a Jedi is on the case will give them hope.”

“Instilling hope is part of our job,” Anakin mused, though he didn’t sound like he believed it. This war took a toll on everyone, even the best among them. 

Padme allowed herself one more deep breath. No more stalling. As soon as they knew, they would be plunged into a whole other type of dread, but at least one where they had some idea of what was happening to their daughter. 

Padme pressed a button on her desk comm. “Send them in, C3-PO.”

Soon, the doors opened and two people entered. A couple in their fifties or sixties. The woman wore a pair of glasses with pink translucent frames that took up a large portion of her face but Padme could immediately see the resemblance between mother and daughter. The man had kind eyes and the sort of face that would be cheerful if it weren’t currently so filled with dread. She’d seen this for herself once, when Ari showed her a recording of a prank he pulled on his students. 

These sweet, supportive parents were about to go through hell. With any luck, they wouldn’t have to stay there for long. 

“Please, come in,” Padme said, tuning her voice to be professional but welcoming. “I recommend you have a seat. I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news.”

“On the call, you said this was about our daughter, Ari,” Mrs. Grendal said as the couple sat down across from her desk. 

“Yes. I’ve been a client of your daughter’s for a long time, and over the years we became friends.”

“Yes, we know,” Mr. Grendel said. “She’s talked about you.”

“And she always shows us pictures of her creations, including the ones she’s made for you,” his wife added.

Padme nodded. Years of diplomacy training tempted her to continue on this thread of conversation. It was important to build rapport by beginning with topics your conversation partner was comfortable with. But, this was no negotiation, and her news was far too important to delay. 

“I had an appointment scheduled with her this morning. She was supposed to come to my home. When she never showed up, I decided to go to her apartment to check on her. What I found there was shocking.” Padme swallowed and she watched the couples’ faces turn from dread to horror. “Her apartment had been broken into and she was missing.”

The devastation washed over the couple as they moved to cling to each other. “Our Ari’s been abducted?” Mr. Grendal managed through his horror. 

“I’m afraid so.” Padme swallowed hard. “But, I got a team of specialists on the case right away. You may already know of them. They also happen to be friends with your daughter.”

“She’s told us she’s made friends with some clone troopers,” Mrs. Grendal answered. “Our grandson even met one of them.” Another wave of devastation showed on her face as a new thought occurred to her. “Oh stars, Giove. How could we tell him?”

“I can assure you, the team on the case is highly competent and motivated to bring your daughter home safely and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Anakin jumped in. “We already have leads and we don’t believe she was taken off-planet. As of now, it’s only a matter of locating them. Once the Investigation Squad does that, I will personally lead the rescue mission.”

Padme couldn’t help but notice that he left out exactly who their lead was, but she agreed it was for the best. It would be of little comfort to them to know their daughter was in the hands of one of the galaxy’s most dangerous bounty hunters. 

“I think of Ari as a very dear friend,” Padme said, rising and stepping out from behind her desk. “And the Investigation Squad is even closer to her than I am. I promise, we will put everything we have into finding her.”

“I…” Mr. Grendal began, his voice shaking. “I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s a lot to take in. I understand. We will keep you updated on any progress we make. For now, I suggest you go home and rest.”

“We’ll have to tell Elsie,” Mrs. Grendal muttered to her husband. 

Elsie, Ari’s sister and mother of her nephew, Giove. This whole family could be torn apart and for what?

“Can we, maybe, wait at her apartment?” Mrs. Grendal asked. 

Padme looked to Anakin, who shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that,” he explained. “For now, her apartment is a closed crime scene.” 

“Is there anything we can do?” Mr. Grendal asked. “Should we go to the press or…”

“No,” Anakin answered quickly. “We don’t want the perpetrators to know we’re on to them. The best thing you can do for your daughter right now is to go home, be with your family, and prepare for her to return.”

“Prepare? What do you mean?” Mrs. Grendal asked. “Like… like a cake or…” a new look of horror struck her face, “a coffin?”

“Well, I know Ari’s not one to turn down cake,” Padme said, trying to lighten the mood just enough to get them off of that particular train of thought. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

Pained smiles passed over their faces. “Well, thank you Senator Amidala,” Mr. Grendal said, getting up. They still clung to each other. “Please, keep us updated, no matter what it is.”

“Yes, we’ll tell you anything that’s safe to share,” Anakin answered. 

The couple thanked them again and said their goodbyes. They shuffled out of the room still holding each other. 

Padme watched them go with a pang in her heart. She thought of her own parents, all the pain and worry she put them through by always jumping into danger. They knew at a young age that she was passionate. For as long as she could remember, she felt a burning drive to pursue justice and stand up for others. This passion got her into trouble sometimes, but her parents also understood she could never be content to stand idly by while others took the risk for her. If she died, they’d at least know she died for a cause. 

But Ari’s choices didn’t land her in danger. Her life was being toyed with by machinations much bigger than her and this sweet family was suffering for it. While fear roiled in her stomach and her knuckles turned white clenching her hands, she could think of only one prayer. 

May the Force be with them. 

Chapter Text

With every passing second, Fox felt as if he was climbing up a sheer cliff face while time itself bit at his heels. He knew the likelihood of finding her alive diminished the longer their search continued. Even if she weren’t killed, she could be taken off-world, which would broaden their search to anywhere in the galaxy. Then the odds of finding her would be even lower. 

Even necessary things, like changing into civilian disguises and driving to the meeting spot, felt like wastes of time. To his shame, he contributed to this waste by taking time to cast blame on his own men. First Steady, then Ash… 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut as he recalled his shameful accusations. He had no idea why he felt the need to throw blame around, except for unchecked fear. That was not the leader his men deserved and that was not the rescuer Ari deserved. 

They’d be at their destination soon, onto the next leg in their mission. It would be best to go into this next step with the air cleared and no lingering feelings distracting them. 

“Ash…” he began. She didn’t respond, only kept her eyes forwards and her hands gripping the speeder’s controls. “About my actions earlier, the unnecessary fight I started, I need to–”

“Stop. This–this isn’t the time.” She slowed the speeder and brought it down to park. “We’re here. We need our game faces on. We’ll sort through it later.” 

Yes, The apology must wait. The mission, getting information out of this Mardi Talan, should be their sole focus right now. 

They exited the speeder and entered the seedy bar. It was nothing special as far as seedy bars went. Yet another hive of scum and villainy. Ash directed them to the booth he said he’d be at. A lone gossam sat there, working on a datapad. 

When they stopped in front of the booth, Ash cleared her throat and the gossam looked up. “I’m here for my security consultation. You Mardi?”

The gossam’s eyes scanned the three of them. 

“I brought my bodyguards,” Ash explained. 

“Very well,” the gossam said. “You may join me. I assume you’re the person I spoke with on the call?”

“Yes, I am.” She folded her arms on the table. Fox wondered if that was to show she held no weapon. “Let’s skip the pleasantries. I need information, and I can pay. How do we proceed from here?”

“Well, I’m glad you can pay. Though, I should warn you, my site only has my base prices available. Depending on the type of information, the price can go up, especially if the job requires me to go on-site. We’ll call them processing fees.”

Ash’s eyes narrowed. “Is that right?” The flat tone she delivered the sentence in felt like a threat. “And do we pay before or after exchanging information?”

He propped up his datapad with a sly grin. “First, describe the job and we’ll see what we rack up.”

She hummed, as if thinking, and Fox remembered that Ash was a startlingly good actress when she wanted to be. “So…if we needed security details about the Sunset View building,” she began, listing an apartment complex similar to Ari’s but in a different neighborhood, “how would that go?” 

“There’s a few service packages I offer. The base package is simply looking into the make and model of the security system the building uses and you can do the rest yourself. If you want anything added onto that, it can include blueprints, the locations of security cameras, how the system is operated, the location of the security office, what extra features they use, such as security drones… Those are typical things past customers have asked for. Though, some of my clients get creative in their ideas, but creativity will cost you.” 

“Payment’s no concern,” Ash dismissed. “And, what exactly are the ‘creative ideas’ you usually entertain for your services?”

“Mostly it involved on-site work, but I only do that for very special clients, or at least very generous ones.”

Ash’s head tilted, as if curious. “What exactly does on-site work entail?”

“Some clients have asked me to personally inspect the quality of the security system,” he answered coyly. “Check for any bugs or weaknesses, maybe make some… necessary adjustments.” 

Her brow furrowed, expression hardening along with it. “And would you do that by, say…impersonating a security technician?”

A bead of sweat started to form on Mardi’s forehead. His eyes darted from Ash, to Fox, to Fives, then to the door. He tried to dart himself out of the booth, but Fox and Fives each grabbed him by an arm and tossed him back in. Fives added to the charade by flashing the blaster tucked beneath his cloak, bringing a finger to his lips and whispering a conspiratorial “shhh…” 

Mardi looked back at Ash, his hands shaking and sweat running down his face. “What do you people want?”

Ash, looking as though the previous seconds didn’t even happen, crossed her arms. “Let’s cut to the chase. We’re looking for a friend of ours, and we have reason to believe you know what happened to her. Good reason, I see, considering you ran when I mentioned how you got the security info on her building.” Her voice turned to steel in the last sentence.

“I had nothing to do with that,” he rushed out. 

“Oh, we’ve got footage saying otherwise, Mardi.” She tossed his name out like a dagger. “You were involved. Maybe you weren’t the one who snatched her from her home, but you unlocked the door for them. So I’d think very hard before lying to us again. We’re not in a merciful mood today.”

“Look, some clients ain’t worth betraying,” he whispered while he looked over his shoulder like Bane might be there. “If I were you, I’d cut my losses now. That seamstress bitch was a nobody. She’s not worth it.”

Fox felt his blood catch fire. Without thinking, he grabbed Mardi out of the booth and slammed him up against the wall. The only reason this wriggling worm was in Fox’s hands and not Fives or Ash’s was because he got to it first. 

The other patrons at the bar sat with their heads down, well accustomed to staying out of others’ business. 

“Where is she?!” Fox shouted, slammed Mardi’s back into the wall again. 

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” He struggled in Fox’s grip and turned pleading eyes toward Ash. “You aren’t just going to let him do this to me, are you?”

She stood from the booth giving Fives a pat on the shoulder as she passed. Once she was mere inches from Mardi, she spoke. “Here’s what I need you to understand. We already know Bane was one of the folks who hired you. We just need what you have on his partner and we’ll leave you in peace, which you most certainly don’t deserve.”

“Human. Blonde hair. Scars on his face. Carried knives. Kinda creepy,” he rattled off in a panic. “That’s all I got.”

“What’s his name?” Ash demanded. 

“I don’t know. Never gave one.”

“What did you give them?” Fox snarled. 

“Building blueprints. Security system details. Camera location.”

“Were you the one who scheduled the blackout?” Ash asked. 

“I didn’t schedule any blackouts,” he said with the confidence of saying something was technically true.

“What did you do?” Fox asked. 

Mardi started to sniffle. “Please don’t kill me.”

“We’re not going to fucking kill you,” Ash retorted. “Tell us what you did.”

“I-I put in a remote control probe. Bane, or that other guy, they would have caused the blackout.” He said that as if that absolved him. 

“What did they want with her?” Fox demanded. 

“I-I don’t know.”

“Take a guess,” Ash added. 

“Someone’s ex-girlfriend or something? I swear I don’t know.”

Fox and Ash exchanged a look. His ignorance here seemed honest enough. Ash moved on. “How much did they pay?”

“3,000 for the info, an additional 7,000 for installing the remote control probe.”

Fox scowled. 10,000 credits. That’s all Ari’s life was worth to this scum. His grip on Mardi tightened, feeling the urge to slam him against the wall again, but Ash laid a hand on his arm, calming him. There was still work to be done. He had to stay in control. 

“Who paid you?” Ash asked. 

“It was weird. I would have expected Bane to have that kind of money, but it was the human who paid.”

Finally, something interesting. They already knew Bane’s assets were frozen, so this was no surprise. But now they knew whose money trail they’d be following. With any luck, they’d have been dumb enough to make a transaction with the same account. 

“Is there anything else you can think of?” Ash demanded. “Better share now while we’re feeling merciful.”

“The Works!” He blurted out.

A sudden burst of hope exploded in Fox’s heart. The Works? Could that be where she is? Could they actually have a location? He tried to keep the hope from showing on his face, however, in order to keep his menacing appearance.

Fox peeled him off the wall and brought him in close. “What about the Works?” 

“I-I-I heard them say something, as they were leaving, about how long it would take them to get back to the Works. It sounded like they were just talking about traffic and shit, but–”

“But if they’re talking about traffic to The Works, it means that’s where they’re going,” Ash finished for him. 

“Yes, exactly!” Mardi agreed. “But that’s it. That’s all I know! I swear it!”

Fox looked at Ash who subtly nodded toward the booth. At the table, Fives pulled Oona’s datastick out of the datapad and slipped it into his back pocket. Finally, Fox loosened his grip and let Mardi slip out of his grasp. 

As soon as Mardi’s feet touched the floor, Ash reached out and patted the gossam on the head with a mocking smile. “Thank you for your cooperation.” With that, she grabbed credit chips from her pocket and tossed them onto the table. “Let’s go,” she directed at Fox and Fives as they turned to leave. 

“W-w-wait, this isn’t enough,” Mardi said, looking through the credit chips.

“We don’t care,” Fives tossed over his shoulder.

“Do you have any idea who I just sold out?” Mardi called in a hushed voice. “Do you have any idea what’ll happen to me if they find out?”

Fox stopped and turned around. He walked back to the table and leaned down to be eye to eye with Mardi. “So what? Credits are worth more to you than lives anyway. Or does that only change when it’s your life on the line?”

Mardi looked up, his expression melting into the devastation of someone who just realized where all their life choices led.

Ash appeared beside Fox. “I’ll call someone who can ensure your protection,” she said, addressing Mardi. She then put a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “Come on. We have work to do.”

With that, they turned and walked out. 

Once back in the speeder, Ash immediately got on her com. “Tan Divo?” After a brief pause, she said “All yours.” 

No sooner had they ended the call and Fives brought the speeder off the ground, did three SF vehicles come screeching toward the bar they just left.

Once their speeder slipped into traffic, Ash broke the brief silence. “Well, shoe’s on the other foot this time.” At Fox’s questioning look, she added, “Usually you’re reminding me to dial it back when dealing with assholes.” It sounded like she was trying to lighten the tension, but her expression was so painfully neutral that it just reminded them of how off-kilter everything felt.

“Yes,” he agreed, feeling some shame enter his heart. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t seem to keep control.”

“Seriously?” Fives said, looking at him through the rearview mirror. “You have no idea why your emotions might be running high right now?”

“Of course, this case is more personal than most, but I was trained to keep a level head in high-stakes situations. I should know better by now. Whenever I send men into dangerous situations, I always feel an overwhelming dread, but I can keep a handle on it. Why is this so different?”

“Because you know the vode can handle themselves,” Fives answered. “And Miss Ari, well, she’s great but a warrior she is not.”

“Even still, the idea of Ari in danger, it… it burns me from the inside out.”

Ash turned in her seat and stared him directly in the eye. “It’s because you love her, dumbass.” 

Fox was so taken aback, he jerked backward in his seat. He had felt his affection for her growing stronger, but love? “I wouldn’t exactly put it like that.”

“Fine.” Ash rolled her eyes. “You really really like her a whole lot.” A pause, and then. “You like her so much that you just called her Ari, without the honorific.”

“I did?” He thought back on his words, and he realized he did. She was always Miss Grendal to him. It was proper. It put the necessary distance between them to prevent his feelings developing any further. Clearly it hadn’t worked. A formal name was not a thick enough shield when her every smile, every gentle word, every act of kindness grew something in him. 

“You’re right, Ash,” he said. “You were right about a lot of things. You were right that my casting blame was unjustified, toward you or Steady or anyone else. You were right that I should have stayed focused on the mission. And you were right that the only ones to blame for Ari’s suffering are Bane, this Knives person, and whoever orchestrated this whole operation. I am so sorry and ashamed of my outburst back at the office. I owe you, and the squad, and the entire guard an apology for my behavior.” 

A beat of silence followed. Something flickered across her face too fast for him to pick up. Then her mouth twisted into a grin. “Forgiven, Fox. None of us are at our best now.” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “We’ll get her back. We will.”

“I know.” He reached forward and put his hand on Ash’s shoulder. “I know you all care deeply for her, as I do. I have faith that our combined care and efforts will bring her home safely.”

“Well you can ‘care deeply’ all you want,” Fives interjected. “I love her, and I’m not afraid to say it.”

“Love her?” Ash said, turning back to Fives, an irrepressible smile forming on her face. “You just met her?”

“So what? I’ve seen enough of her to know there’s plenty to love,” Fives retorted. “Besides, any friend of the vode is a friend of mine.” 

Ash’s smile remained, but it morphed into something harder, more determined. She took Fox’s hand from her shoulder and grasped it with both of her own. “We will get her back.” she repeated. “I know it.”

“You seem so certain,” Fox answered, squeezing one of her hands back. “Is it a Force thing?”

“No, I’m threatening the Force, or whoever’s in charge of the inner workings of the galaxy, to bend to my will.”

A smile like a knife cut through the corners of his lips. “If anyone could, it’d be you.”

“Your faith is reassuring.”

He nodded, but faith wasn’t the only thing he was feeling. It was accompanied by consuming fear and a crazed denial of the reality that they had no way of knowing when it would be too late.

–

The Van Vodes were reunited and it felt terrible.

Under different circumstances, Echo would have enjoyed spending time with Deadshot and Rook again. He and Deadshot always got on well when Strike Squad came to the 501st and he and Rook bonded quicker than magnets. He imagined a reunion would involve them laughing together over memories of their time working together. 

There was no laughter now. Not while they searched Knives’s most well-known haunts.

“Well, I can tell you this much about him,” Deadshot grumbled as he scanned the surroundings. “Bastard isn’t afraid of stereotypes.”

Echo couldn’t disagree. 

They stood on a street in The Works lined with bars that were most certainly not up to any health codes. Drunks and/or fighters spilling out onto the streets seemed to be part of the decor. The blood and vomit in the gutters added to the ambiance. 

Deadshot skillfully stepped out of the path of a flying beer can. “As soon as this is over, I’m asking Steady for an immunization booster.”

“I kind of wish I had my bucket,” Rook muttered. 

“Shh,” Deadshot hissed. “We’re lowlives. We don’t have buckets. We take punches to the head with zero protection, like real men.”

“Come on,” Echo said, leading them into a bar called simply The Pit. The smell inside was no better than the smell outside. In fact, between the lack of ventilation and mystery smoke, it was much worse. 

But it was where they needed to be, at least according to SF intelligence. The second they walked in, though, Echo could already tell the Van Vodes looked out of place. Their backs were too tall and straight, their faces were too neutral, and they politely stepped around people instead of shoving their way through. 

Deadshot, also picking up on this, took it upon himself to mean mug anyone who gave them a look. “The fuck you looking at?!” he shouted, pointing a finger at the biggest, meanest-looking trandoshan there. 

The trandoshan looked up from his drink with a sneer. “Not much.” 

Deadshot slammed his hands down on the table. “You want to go, tiny?! I used to wrestle gryzards twice your size back on our uncle’s swamp ranch!”

“Brother, cool it,” Echo said, putting his hand on Deadshot’s shoulder. “We’re here on business.” 

Rook cleared his throat and tried for a balancing act. “We’re looking for someone that goes by Knives?” Even saying the name, he cringed. “Our boss wants to recruit him.”

“Yeah,” Echo chimed in. “We’ve got a messy job on the line. We’ve heard he doesn’t mind that sort of thing.”

“Oh yeah, that guy…” The trandoshan rolled his eyes about as much as a trandoshan could. “Well, if you want sloppy, you’re looking in the right place.”

“Wait, you guys talking about Knives? The guy with the greasy hair?” A gran at the next table turned in his chair to face them. “Don’t start shit-talking him without me!”

Rook blinked, then remembered he was supposed to be a criminal, and tried to look less startled about someone eager to gossip about a killer. “Yeah? What do you know about him?”

The trandoshan and the gran shared a laugh. “He’s a rank amateur who thinks he’s hot shit,” the trandoshan answers. 

“He thinks he’s making a name for himself because a couple syndicates use him for some messy job,” the Gran added. “He doesn’t even realize he’s being hired to be the fall guy.”

“Our boss heard he was doing hits for them,” Deadshot said. 

“Sure, and when those hits get found out, they can pin it all on him and swear they had nothing to do with it,” the trandoshan answered. “Oldest trick in the book.”

“Your boss must not be as in-the-know as they think,” the gran said. “Happens all the time. These fall guys start going around like they’re hot shit, then someone out-of-the loop thinks they’re legit and hires them for a real job and that’s when they usually get got.”

“What’s your boss want to hire him for?” The trandoshan asked. “My rates will probably be higher, but I’ll get the job done clean.” 

“Can’t be clean, unfortunately,” Echo said. “And the boss is adamant it has to be this guy.”

“If this falls through, we’ll probably be back,” Rook tacked on. “But it’s our hides if we don’t bring in Knives first. So have you seen him?”

“Of course we have,” Gran said. “Idiot’s supposed to be out on a job right now, but I saw him buying lunch at the barkhesh stand a few blocks over a couple hours ago.”

There was a collective moment where the three of them straightened up and exchanged a hopeful look. “Did you see what direction he went from there?” Echo pressed. 

“Toward that big lot with all the burnt-out old factories and warehouses,” Gran said. “Cliched bitch. Might as well sell spice on a street corner while he’s at it.”

While the gran and the trandoshan laughed at their own jokes, the three vode exchanged hopeful looks. Knives was here, in the Works. That likely meant Ari was somewhere in the Works as well, hidden in a maze of abandoned buildings. 

“Well, guess we’ll see how this job turns out.” Rook forced out a laugh. “Thanks for the help.”

“We’ll probably be back,” Echo tacked on. “If this guy is like you said, I don’t see the boss wanting to hire him again.”

“If they want a fall guy, get him,” the trandoshan said with a handwave, “but if you’ve got a job that actually needs done, you come back and see me, sugar.” He tossed a wink at Echo. 

Echo felt the blood rush to his face. It wasn’t the first time someone had flirted with him, certainly, but every single time felt like it was. And he’d certainly never expected to be hit on when he was trying to be undercover. Dammit, what would Fives say?

“Uh… kay…”

Smooth, Echo. Real smooth.

Thank the Force, Deadshot stepped in. “C’mon, sugar,” he said, tugging on Echo’s arm. “We’ve got to update the boss, asap. You can come flirt with all the boys some other time.” 

While Deadshot comedically guided Echo out the door, Rook exchanged a more proper farewell to maintain normalcy, then joined them outside seconds later.

“I’m already messaging Oona,” Rook reported. “If she can follow Knives on the security cams–”

“We’ll be able to narrow his location even further,” Echo finished. 

They were close. There was hope.

[-]

She didn’t know how long it went on. It wasn’t constant, but the pattern was clear. He asked her questions. If she didn’t know the answer, he hurt her. If she could answer, he didn’t. If she answered enough questions in a row, he’d do something almost kind, like rub a bacta gel on her cut or wipe away the tears on her cheeks. But eventually, he’d ask too many questions she couldn’t answer and she’d break down begging for the pain to stop. 

At that point, he’d take a break and walk off into the darkness, but eventually he came back. Sometimes, she’d hear the two of them talking in hushed tones. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but knew they were discussing what to do with her. 

She hadn’t given them what they wanted. What that said about her, she didn’t know. Maybe some would say she was strong, that she didn’t betray her friend. Though, that wasn’t entirely true. How could she betray Padme’s secrets when she had no idea what they were? If she did know, would she give them up in a vain attempt to save herself? Even now, she didn’t know. 

Maybe it didn’t matter, anyway. It was possible no one would ever know what happened here. No one would get the chance to debate if she was brave or not. No one would know what happened to her. 

She wondered what time it was. Bane mentioned lunch earlier. Did that mean it was daytime? She’d missed Padme’s appointment. Would she raise the alarm? Maybe, unless something more important came up and she forgot all about her appointment. That happened sometimes. 

What about her friends in the Squad? Would they notice she hadn’t visited them with caf today? They might, though they knew there were days when her business didn’t take her by the senate building and couldn’t visit. If they got called in on a more important case, they may not notice at all. 

And Fox… He’d been avoiding her, and he had so many important things to attend to. No, he wouldn’t notice she was gone. 

Once someone realized she was missing, they would come looking for her, she was sure. Deadshot, especially, would be sick with worry, or at least she thought. But it was a matter of how long it would take anyone to notice. And a matter of how long Bane intended to keep her here. 

“Just give me ten minutes with her,” the other man argued, his voice carrying from the shadows. “That’s all I’ll need.”

“I give you ten minutes, and all I’ll get is a bigger mess to clean up,” Bane answered, alongside the sound of a box opening. 

“You really want to waste that expensive shit on her?” 

“The cheap way isn’t getting me very far, and I don’t want to be at this for days.”

“What happened to patience, Bane?”

“I don’t need to work on my patience because I’m not a damned amateur.” 

Bane walked toward her from out of the darkness, a syringe in his hand. The man followed close behind. They ignored her protests as Bane grabbed her arm and plunged the needle into her flesh. A cold feeling started to spread from the injection area. 

“Alright,” the man said, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look up at him. “What’s Senator Amidala planning?”

“I-I don’t–” She stammered before Bane cut her off. 

“You idiot,” he said, shoving the man away. “It’s not instant. The truth serum needs time to get into her system.”

“How long?” the man asked. 

“Depends on the size. She’s small, so probably not more than half an hour. Then it’s all about timing.”

“What do you mean, timing?”

“Truth serum’s not a lie detector. It just compels the subject to say what’s on their mind. We’ll know it's kicked in when she starts muttering to herself. Then, she’ll answer whatever we ask, but after a while, her brain’ll fog up and everything will blend together. After that starts, she’s useless to us until she sobers up.” 

As he spoke, she was beginning to feel something strange happening in her mind. It was like a mist was beginning to roll in and only Bane’s voice remained clear. 

Fear tightened around her heart. There was no telling what this drug would make her say or do. It coursed through her veins, and she was helpless to stop it. 

Chapter Text

Words began spilling from her mouth. She didn’t remember calling them forth. Thoughts simply built up and they overflowed from her brain to her lips. 

“It’s too dark. I can’t see them in the dark,” her voice muttered. “What do they want from me? I can’t tell them anything. It never ends. What if it never ends? What if I never leave this place?”

“Sounds like you’re ready.” Bane’s voice interrupted hers as he came striding in from the dark. He pulled a crate up and took a seat on it across from her. The human man loomed behind him with his arms crossed, his eyes staring through her. 

“Stop looking at me.” The words unwillingly spilled out. “Please stop looking at me.”

“I’ll look at you all I want, bitch,” The man growled, stepping toward her.

Bane put his arm out, stopping him. “Don’t agitate her. It’ll just distract her mind. Now,” he turned his attention back to her. “Let’s get down to business. Tell me about Senator Amidala.”

“Padme?” Her heart pounded as she feared what her mind might do against her will. 

“Yes, Padme,” Bane urged. “What do you know about her?”

“Padme was my first big client. She was a newly appointed Senator and wanted to utilize new talent. I was recommended to her by my old apprenticeship instructor. She loved my work and enjoyed working with me, and I enjoyed working with her. She became one of my regulars and eventually we became friends.”

“And what do you know of her work?”

“She’s a senator. She tries to fight for policies that would be the most helpful for the people of the galaxy. Lately, she’s been trying to focus on more infrastructure and social programs, especially with the increasing number of war refugees. She told me…” She managed to pause her flowing of words for a moment. “She told me…”

“Go on,” Bane urged. “What did she tell you?”

The words flooded out, again. “She told me she struggles with finding the right balance. She questions herself constantly. She comes across confident, but she can never be sure, in the moment, if she’s made the right decision. It must eat her up inside. I don’t know how she does it, being responsible for so many…”

“And the war,” he pressed. “What does she say about the war?”

“She hates the war,” Ari burst, feeling her own emotions mixing with what she knows of Padme’s. “She hates that it takes up so many resources that could be going toward helping people. She hates seeing homes destroyed. She hates seeing people die. She hates seeing clones die. I hate seeing clones die. They didn’t choose this, and they’re good men with good hearts. They–”

“You’re getting off the subject,” Bane interrupted. “If Senator Amidala hates the war, what is she doing about it?”

“I know she's spoken out against it, backed bills funding social programs and reforms for the treatment of clones, things like that…” 

“You can read all that in the news,” the man complained, throwing his hands up. “What do you know that the public doesn’t?”

A face flashed in her mind and she couldn’t stop it from coming forward. “I know she’s close friends with… with Master Skywalker.” 

“Yes, and?”

“I know they work together a lot and…”

“Yes, yes, I heard them conspiring when I had the whole Senate hostage,” Bane interrupted. “I don’t want to hear anymore about Skywalker. Tell me everything you know about Amidala and your other Senator clients.”

“Padme recommended me to most of them,” she began. A mounting pressure of information came to her mind. She wasn’t sure how much of it was useful to them, but it wasn’t up to her and the words came pouring out. 

Ash didn’t have to wait long for Anakin to pick up her call, thankfully. She stood in her not-so-empty-anymore office while the connection went through.

“We have a lead,” she said. No point in delaying. “We found evidence, and Oona’s using it to pinpoint a location here at the office.”

“Say no more,” Anakin answered. “I’m on my way.” With that, he ended the call. Good. The sooner he got here, the better. 

Ash stepped out of her office to see Oona still hard at work typing away, while Echo gripped the back of her chair, eyes fixed on the screen. The datastick containing the copies of Mardi’s information stuck out of the monitor.  “How’s it coming?”

“I’m making progress,” Oona answered. “I’ve connected the credit account used to pay Mardi to the device used for payment. Now it’s just a matter of tracking the signal for that device.” Her fingers tapped violently at the keys. “Shouldn’t be much longer. And thanks to the boys, I know where to narrow down the search area.”

“We tapped into the holo-signal satellites that service The Works,” Echo added. “It should only be a matter of time, now.” 

“Keep it up, then,” Ash encouraged. “I’m gonna see how the others are doing on prep.”

She headed down to the garage. Passing the set-up they sometimes use to holographically recreate crime scenes, Ash’s shivered at the thought of using it for this particular case. The very idea of seeing Ari’s apartment rendered in this space was enough to make her stomach turn. And Deadshot, who usually played their perp in the recreations, surely wouldn’t have had the heart for it.

But his heart, and the rest of the squad’s, was in one thing. As soon as Oona announced the possibility of pinpointing a location, everyone immediately rushed to prepare for the rescue mission. At present, Deadshot, Fives, and Fox were taking weapons down from the wall and inspecting them for mission readiness, while Rook and Steady prepared a medical bag. 

Ash stepped up to her weapons locker. Upon opening it, she was faced with a weapon she hadn’t used since her time on the front. 

Her vibro-ax hung on its display hooks. She’d cleaned it to a shine before starting this job, and she’d had no reason to dirty it since. Not until now.

She pulled it out of the locker and wondered if maybe she’d get to see Bane’s blood on the blade before the day ended.

“Damn,” Fives commented as he stood next to her, also admiring the weapon. “Been a while since I’ve seen this old friend.”

Rook appeared next. “I’ve never seen this one. This yours, Ash?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I was at the top of my combat training classes with this at my side.” She cracked her neck. “Guess we’ll see how it measures up to the likes of Cad Bane.”

“I can see why you haven’t brought it out,” Deadshot said, connecting two pieces of a rifle together. “It’d kind of be overkill against the entitled rich assholes we usually face off against. It’s been a while since we’ve had a full-blown face off.”

“We had that shoot out for my first case…” Rook said before trailing off. 

Ash cringed, remembering how Rook got shot during that fight. He got lucky, just a graze, but she’d never forgive herself for letting her brand new Shiny take a bolt on his first mission. And if she couldn’t protect a fully-trained, fully-armored trooper…

She felt a hand land on her shoulder. “Hey,” Fives said softly, “how are you holding up?”

Ash took in a deep breath and hoped her expression revealed nothing of her stress. “I’m fine.”

She couldn’t afford to be anything else.

Oona burst into the room, determined and dangerous, with Echo hot on her heels. “I’ve got the location,” she announced. 

The room went still for a beat. They all felt a shift in the universe. In an instant, questions of ‘When? Where? How? And If?’ were answered with ‘Here, now, with great determination, and definitely.’ 

Their faces hardened. Fox, in particular, took on a fierce expression Ash rarely witnessed. She imagined he wore the same one under his helmet when fighting the Zillo Beast. And if he took on the Zillo Beast, what chance did Bane and Knives have?

“Well then,” Deadshot said, breaking the silence with the snap of his now-assembled rifle, “I want my best buddy back.” 

Ari’s mind never felt stranger. The world was losing focus and her thoughts were sluggish, but each time she was asked a question, information flooded to the front of her brain and spilled from her mouth. She couldn’t even remember the question she was asked. At the moment, she was confessing secretly adding a synthetic lining to a dress as a buffer against her client’s allergies to the natural fibers they requested. 

“I’ve heard enough!" Movement caught her eye as Bane stood up from the box he’d been sitting on. “Congratulations, little lady.” He said, stalking up to her. “I finally believe you. You really are just a seamstress.”

Though she’d been trying to tell him that all along, her heart sank. “But you aren’t going to let me go.” Another truth she knew, perhaps even from the beginning. Now, she couldn’t bring herself to fight it. 

“No,” Bane answered. He almost sounded like he pitied her. Almost. More likely he regretted wasting time on her. 

“Because you’re a bad man…” There were worse things he could be called, but her brain was in such a fog. 

Bane made an amused sound as he reached for his holster. “That head’s not as empty as it looks.” He drew his blaster and pointed it at her forehead.

There was a brief argument between Bane and the Other Man, but she could barely comprehend it. Her mind was too busy filling with its final thoughts. Images of friends and family swirled dream-like in her head, finally settling on the face of the sweet little boy she loved most in the world. 

Tears fell from her eyes as she wept for the grief he’d feel but was too young to understand and the innocence that would soon be shattered. “Giove…” His name slipped from her lips. 

“Hmm?” He drew back the blaster. “Who’s Giove?”

“My nephew,” she answered against her will. Her heart screamed at her not to speak, to protect him, but her mouth disobeyed. “He’s only five. He’s smart and kind. I was supposed to watch him this weekend but… He’ll grow up without me. Will he remember me? You can’t have him, though.” Some conviction entered her voice as her heart began to win out. “You can’t have him.”

“Relax, little lady. No one’s paying me to kill him,” Bane said, pointing the blaster at her forehead again. “Just you.” 

Her tears flowed freely and her insides twisted up as she tried to brace herself for the end. 

It didn’t come. 

They were interrupted by Bane’s little droid, who came flying in, calling for his master. “Sir! Sir!” The droid shouted, flying up to them. “Two GAR vehicles just landed outside the main gates. They included a team of clone troopers, two antarian rangers, a Jedi, and the Guard Commander.”

“Fox…” she whispered as a glimmer of hope entered her heart. 

“All for ‘just a seamstress,’ eh?” Bane sneered. His hand whipped out like a viper and grabbed her shirt collar. He pulled her forward so her forehead clanked against the barrel of his blaster. “How did you contact them?”

“I didn’t! I don’t know!” Panic rose in her, smothering her hope. 

“Who are you really, and how did you resist the serum?” Bane demanded, his face twisted into a snarl. 

“I’m no one! I’m not–”

His hand drew back and he struck her with something heavier than a fist. She felt the metal of his blaster collide with her temple. Blood began to trickle down her face, mixing with her tears. “Stop it! I don’t like having my time wasted.” 

“Sir, they’re already working on the lock,” The droid said, watching a little monitor on his arm. 

Bane let out a growl, then took his hands off of her. “You! Watch her and keep her quiet!” He ordered the man, gesturing with his blaster. “I’ll take care of our guests. And as for you…” Turning his attention back to Ari, he shoved the gag back into her mouth and tightened it. “When I get back, you’re going to tell me where to find that nephew of yours.”

“No!” She tried to scream against her gag. “No! No!”

Bane didn’t even turn around. Once he was gone, she was left alone with the other man.

He looked down on her, grinning. “Well, well, well…” He ran a hand through her hair and down her face. “Looks like it’s just you and me. But unlike my partner, I like the sound of your voice.” He hooked his thumb in her gag and pulled it down. “Go on, baby. I don’t mind a little begging.” 

Her heart pounded and she felt her body tremble. Bane was cruel, but all he wanted from her was information. This other man, he was volatile, and he wanted something else. She could see it in his eyes. 

There was nothing she could do. Again, she couldn’t stop the words from coming out of her mouth. 

“Please…” 

Chapter Text

The warehouse loomed viciously over the squad. Or, at least, it felt as such to Rook. 

This was the closest thing to a battle he’d had to prepare for. He trained for war, and yet these past months he’d developed an entirely different set of skills more suited to solving crimes and communicating with people, but the instincts were still there. The lessons from Kamino echoed through his head. 

But no amount of training would have prepared him for this. He doubted many battles on the front involved someone with such personal cost at the center. And not with someone as unpredictable and dangerous as Cad Bane.

Even with all of that looming over him the way this building did, Rook found he wasn’t scared. He wasn’t afraid of letting down his team, nor did he fear being hurt or dying. They’d protect each other, and they refused to lose a friend that day. 

This determination kept him at ease, even as Oona hacked the doors to the warehouse open. The affirmative beep of the lock opening put a steel rod up his back. Commander Fox stood tall in front of them, blaster in hand. He counted down with his fingers, then signaled them all to enter before pushing open the doors. 

Light from the outside spilled in through the entryway, creating an illuminated path in the otherwise dark room. General Skywalker, Commander Fox, and Captain Dhi’b led the way, moving cautiously as they all suppressed the urge to storm in and find Ari. Their plan was to catch the bounty hunters unaware, surround them, and hopefully force a peaceful surrender. That was the best case scenario, at least, and also the least likely way for this to play out. They came prepared for surprises. 

“I hear something,” Fives said through their private comm channel, bringing up the rear. 

An instant later, the doors to the warehouse slammed shut. General Skywalker ignited his lightsaber, the only source of illumination in the room, while they activated the night vision in their helmets. They then heard the sound of metal clacking to the floor, and the room quickly filled with fog. A second after that, blaster fire, seemingly from random directions, lit up the air like fireworks. 

“It’s like it’s coming from everywhere,” Deadshot said, doing his best to point and shoot Lucille at the source of blaster fire. “Are we sure it was just the two bounty hunters?”

Rook’s heart momentarily twisted. Had their haste to get to Ari caused them to miscalculate? To walk into a situation unprepared? What if their rescue failed? What would that mean for Ari?

“Bane’s rocket boots allow him to fly around at high speeds,” Anakin answered, deflecting blaster bolts. “He can make himself seem like ten men, especially in the dark.”

“Then let’s put a spotlight on him,” Oona said. She fired off several shots with her modified blaster pistol. “Steady and I will look for a light source.”

“And we’ll cover you,” Deadshot replied. 

“I’ll cut a hole in the door,” Anakin added. “Give the fog somewhere to go.” 

With the jobs assigned, everyone moved to their positions. The room exploded with light from blaster fire and Anakin’s blade. With the lights, the noise, and the fog, it was easy to get disoriented. Their only saving grace was that their enemy’s blaster bolts were red while GAR-issued blasters fired in blue. All Rook could do at the moment was fire in the direction of the red and pray he wouldn’t get hit or accidentally hit one of his friends. 

Though, one dark thought did cross his mind. What if they have Ari up there?

He heard the sound of laser cutting through metal and the fog began to dissipate. Moments later, lights came on in the warehouse, burning through the fog even more. Rook was able to make out more solid shapes, and soon, he could more clearly see Cad Bane zipping overhead with his rocket boots. 

“I don’t see Ari,” Commander Fox said over the comm channel. Or at least Rook thought it was Fox, but didn’t the Commander usually call her Miss Grendal?

“The blueprints show multiple rooms in the warehouse,” Oona answered. 

“Keep Bane busy,” Fox said. “I’m going to try to move further in and look for her. 

“Not alone, Vod,” Fives said. “There could be an ambush waiting. I’m coming for back up.”

“I’m coming too,” Deadshot said.

“No. Sneaking two past Bane is risky enough, and you’re our best marksman,” Fox protested. “The best way you can help Ari right now is to stay and take out Bane.”

“I’ll take him out, alright,” Deadshot answered, his voice lacking the sardonic humor he usually brought to the battlefield. “With pleasure.”

–

Fox spent the whole flight searing the blueprints of this warehouse into his brain. The area where the squad currently fought was a loading area, large enough to fit in transport ships. Then it led to a hallway with offices and meeting rooms on either side. Along their way, he and Fives checked each of these rooms, but found no Ari. 

He wasn’t disheartened. Bane was here. That meant she had to be here too. However, if Bane fought out there, that could only mean Ari was alone with the mysterious Knives. A man they knew nothing of except that he was cruel, violent, and undisciplined. They’d have to be careful not to startle him. The last thing they wanted was for a man like that to get jumpy. 

They opened the door to the back storage room carefully, making as little noise as possible. Sticking to the shadows and crouching behind stacks of crates, they made their way in. Further in, they saw light and silhouettes. Sniffles echoed off the bare wall. “Please,” her voice muttered. She sounded broken and exhausted. “Please leave my nephew alone. He’s just a child. Please.”

Fox’s heart twisted. Ari. Alive. Scared, but alive. Though, what was this about her nephew? If these monsters had him too, surely they’d know about it. But were they cruel enough to threaten a child? 

“Then you know what you need to do,” another, clearer voice said. Knives. Finally, they met. But as much as Fox hated the sound of this man, he was thankful the bastard opened his mouth. The clear voice gave them a clear direction to follow. 

“I can’t. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“Then it looks like we’ll have to pay your nephew a visit.”

Following the voice, he and Fives found them and tucked themselves behind a stack of crates. Fox looked out from behind the boxes. She was there, but the sight of her brought no relief. Still dressed in her night clothes, she was bound to a chair, a piece of cloth hung from her neck, tears streaming down her face. She slumped forward, the ropes seeming to be the only thing keeping her upright. Meanwhile, a human man circled her like a shark, twisting a knife in his hand. 

“You won’t find him,” she insisted. “I won’t tell you where he is.”

“You will if I ask you now,” the man said, running the flat of the knife along skin. “You won’t have a choice.”

She broke down in tears. “Please, please leave him alone,” she begged again. “I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t hurt him.”

Fox really didn’t like the smile that grew on the man’s face. Knives stopped his pacing and tilted her chin upward, leaning entirely too close. “Anything I want, huh?”

That was far enough. Fox reached for the box at the top, and slid it forward. “What are you doing?” Fives hissed. 

Fox continued to push the box until it crashed to the floor. Yes, he just gave his position away, but he’d rather be shot than watch this monster put his hands on her for another minute. 

Knives jumped at the noise, backing away from her. “Bane?” he called. They didn’t answer. 

Ari  looked up, life seeming to return to her as she looked around with wide, hopeful eyes. The man shoved the gag in her mouth, despite her shrieks of protest. 

Fox waited for the man to come searching for them. Once the monster was away from Aril, he’d shoot him down. But the man didn’t leave. He stayed with her, blaster in hand, scanning the room with his eyes. “I know someone’s here!” He shouted. “Show yourself.”

“Now what?” Fives whispered. 

“We need to get him away from Ari,” Fox whispered back. “I won’t risk firing on him while she’s in range.” 

Fives’s bucket moved with his head as he scanned the room. Finally, his visor stopped at a walkway suspended from the ceiling. “If I can get to a higher vantage point, I’ll have a clear shot on him whether he moves or not.” 

“Too risky. If you miss, you could hit her.”

“No, if I get him right, she won’t even notice until he hits the ground.” 

“If?” he hissed. 

“Fine, when.”

Fox looked out again. The man searched wild-eyed and anxiously shifted his feet. A twitchy target like that was going to get trigger-happy without something to distract him. “You really think you can make that shot?”

Fives’ answer was all confidence. “I know I can.” 

“Alright. I’ll keep his eyes on me while you get in position. If I can talk him down, all the better. But if it looks like he’s going to hurt Ari, take the shot.”

“Got it.” Fives moved to get up, but Fox grabbed his shoulder. 

“Fives,” Fox said, letting some of his fear seep into his voice just a bit. “I’m trusting you, vod.”

“I won’t let you down, Commander.” 

They broke apart. Fives snuck off, while Fox waited to give him a headstart. He waited until Fives’ footsteps were far enough away, he began to rise from his position. However long Fives needed, he was determined to give him, but from that he needed this man’s attention to be all on him.

–

With pleasure, he’d said, but there was nothing pleasurable about this. The pain killer Deadshot took earlier was wearing off, the stabbing ice-pick of a hangover was working its way back into his skull, and Bane zipped around overhead, trying to take out his friends. Meanwhile, his best buddy was around here somewhere, maybe hurt, definitely afraid, and needing him. 

The shrieking blaster bolts and the roar of Bane’s rocket boots grated on his ears. Each sound felt like the scratch of sandpaper against his brain, and the laser lights of their weapons stabbed him in the eyes with every flash. What Deadshot wouldn’t give to be curled up on the napping couch right now, with Ari calmly brewing him tea in the safety of her kitchen. 

But he couldn’t let that beat him. His squad needed him. Ari needed him. He could collapse once this was all over. Right now, he needed to fight like hell. 

It was difficult to keep track of the chaos around him. General Skywalker did his best to deflect as much of Bane’s fire as he could, while the squad tried to hit the annoying gnat with their own. When there was an opening, General Skywalker would give Ash a Force-boost so she could jump and take a swing at Bane. She managed to snag his coat once, but that didn’t slow him down. 

“We need to even the playing field,” Ash said, after landing.

“The key to taking down Bane is taking out his boots,” General Skywalker added. 

Deadshot looked up at the walkways above and got an idea. A risky idea, but well worth it. “I can snipe him if I can get up on the walkway, but I’ll need cover.” 

“And a distraction,” Rook added. “You’ll be practically nose-to-nose with him up there. You’ll need someone to keep his eyes off of you.” 

“You saying you got an idea, Rookie?” Deadshot asked. 

“Let me borrow your big gun,” Rook answered. “I’ll climb up on the opposite side. I’d be a bigger target.”

“But then he’ll be focused on you,” Ash interjected, startled by the offer. “Are you sure you want to do this, Rook?”

“Yeah,” Rook answered. The conviction in his voice has no trace of Shiny in it. “For Ari.” 

The comms went silent as the plan solidified to stone in their minds. There was no further argument, no more discussion. They were going to save Ari and this was how they would do it.

“Alright then,” General Skywalker said. “We’ll do what we can to cover you from down here. Now go.”

Deadshot handed his biggest blaster, Lucille, to Rook, while Rook handed him his rifle. Almost simultaneously, they booked it for their opposing walkways. He paused until Rook made it halfway up his flight and then Deadshot crouched and ascended his as well.

He heard the tell-tale sound of Ash launching through the air once more to strike at Bane.  Then a bolt fire, the sound of sliced metal, then a sharp cry. When he looked, one of Bane’s blasters crashed to the floor in two pieces, and Ash had returned to cover. She was holding her arm. Fuck, they needed to hurry.

Across the expanse of the warehouse, Rook took his position on the walkway and powered up Lucielle. With no further delay, he fired at Bane. The repeating blaster lived up to its name and sent a barrage in Bane’s direction, though he dodged them deftly with his boots.

Almost in position, Deadshot saw one of Bane’s shots hit Rook right in the shoulder. Rook staggered back, nearly dropping Lucille. Deadshot was just about to shout into his comm when Rook straightened right back up and kept firing.

No more time to waste. Deadshot knelt. Took aim with his rifle. Waiting. Bane paused, only a second, to draw a third blaster from a holster hidden beneath his coat. It was long enough. 

Deadshot fired. Sparks flew.

Bane fell from the air, his singular rocket boot failing to save him.

–

“I hear you!” Knives shouted. “You here for her?!” The telltale sound of a blaster tuning up echoed in the space. “I’ll blow this bitch’s brains out, I swear!”

“You there!” Fox called, stepping into view, blasters at the ready. 

Knives jumped and pointed his blaster at Fox. Good. That’s where he’d rather it be pointed. “Not another step, clone,” the man shouted, voice shaking. 

Not so tough now, are you? Coward. “Put down the blaster and step away from Miss Grendal,” he ordered, taking another step closer.

“I said,” Knives turned the blaster on Ari, “not another step.”

Fox halted, but kept his blasters pointed steady. Ari looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. I won’t let him hurt you, This ends now. “Put down your weapon or I promise this won’t end well for you.”

“Tell me what she knows that’s so important and maybe I’ll consider it,” he shot back, positioning himself behind Ari. 

Fucking coward. “You didn’t think about that before you took her?”

“They wouldn’t send a Commander and a Jedi after her if she wasn’t valuable.”

“The Jedi believe all life is valuable, including yours.” But I don’t. “Lower your blaster and step away from her, and there will be no need for violence.”

“Don’t test me, Commander,” Knives snapped, gripping her hair and pulling her head back. “I might lose my patience.”

Fox’s temper boiled. “Think you’re a big man threatening a defenseless woman?” He shouted. “Why don’t you try pointing that thing at me, ori’jagyc?”

“I’m not falling for that, Commander,” he snarled right back. His hand moved to caress her cheek, and she flinched away from his touch. “Why don’t you lower your blaster? The lady promised me anything. You wouldn’t want to make a liar out of her, would you?”

Rage burned in Fox’s chest. This was going in circles. This man wasn’t going to budge.  He was getting too comfortable with the stand-off. In fact, he was toying with them. This was going on too long. They needed to end it, and they needed to do it now. 

I hope you’re ready, Fives. 

“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. I’m going to walk out of here, with Miss Grandal, alive. Whether or not you walk out is up to you. This is your final warning. Surrender, and I’ll take you in unharmed.” It was more than he deserved, really. They hadn’t given her the benefit of remaining unharmed. Fox wasn’t a monster, unlike them. He had his honor. And with Ari watching him, counting on him, he wasn’t going to stoop to their level. 

Knives stopped, and seemed to actually consider this. After a tense silence, he released his hold on Ari’s head and threw the blaster down. Fox felt his muscles relax ever so slightly, but he wouldn’t allow himself a moment of ease until Ari was safe. 

Fox holstered one of his blasters and stepped forward, reaching for his binders.

Knives looked up suddenly, a twisted smirk on his face. “Actually Commander,” he flashed a wicked grin and drew a knife from his sleeve, “I think whether or not she walks out is up to me.” He grabbed her hair. Ari struggled to pull away, her screams muffled against her gag. Knives positioned the knife across her throat, poised to slash. 

Fox dropped the binders in favor of unholstering his other blaster again, his heart pounding wildly. “Don’t!” 

A shot fired. Ari let out one last scream. 

And Knives’s body hit the floor. 

Fox rushed forward and looked over the man. He kicked the body onto its back, and found one clean shot right between the eyes. Good work, Fives. 

Holstering his blasters, he turned his attention to Ari, who watched him with wide eyes and pulled on her restraints. “Miss Grendal?” he said softly, undoing her gag.

“Commander…” she whispered, her voice weak. 

“It’s alright.” Carefully, he lifted her face into the dim light to check her injury. Drying blood crusted her temple. There was a gash, but nothing lethal. Bruises had formed on her cheeks, and her eyes looked glassy. What did those bastards do to you? “I’m here now. You’re going to be okay.”

Taking a knife from his belt, he began cutting her free. As he moved, he found more injuries, cuts and bruises all over her body. Evidence of torture, no doubt. What Knives got was too good for him. He could only hope the Squad outside was taking care of Bane. Someone needed to face justice for this. 

Her eyes followed him as he cut through the ropes. “Why?” she breathed. 

He looked up from cutting her hands free. “What?”

“I’m not that important,” she answered. “Why would they send someone important?” 

His hands froze as he cut through her ankle restraints. “Ari…” The name slipped out. 

He had no idea how to answer her. Did she honestly believe they weren’t coming? That she wasn’t worth the effort to rescue? Did she not realize how many people she touched? What her kindness inspired in his men? What could be more important?

He cleared his throat as he cut the last rope and held out his hands to her. “Miss Grendal, can you walk?” 

She took his hands and he pulled her up. She took one step forward, then another, then slumped against his chest. “I’m sorry. The floor feels funny.” 

“How’s she doing?” Fives asked, running up to them. 

Miss Grendal looked up at him. “Hi…” she said, groggily. 

“Uh, hi,” Fives answered. 

“I think she’s been drugged. Take her for a minute.” Fox gently passed her over to Fives, who propped her up against himself. Fox turned away and activated his comm. “Hostage secure. One perp down. Miss Grendal has some minor injuries, but she appears to have been drugged. We’ll come out on your signal.” 

General Skywalker’s voice came through over the comm. “Good work. Securing Bane now. Hold tight until I give my signal to move out.” 

“I’d say she’s had enough of tight,” Fives mumbled, noting the marks on her wrists. 

“Hi…” she whispered again.

“You said that already, Miss.” 

“I don’t know you, but I love you.”

Fives, chuckled. “Glad to hear it. You have met me, though. I just don’t think you’ve seen me with my bucket on. I’m Fives, remember?”

Something seemed to come to her eyes. “Yes, Fives. I remember you. You worked things out with Ash, right? Did you talk about your feelings?” 

“Uh, we had a good chat, yeah.” He used his free hand to rub the back of his neck. “But you, though. There’s been quite the stir about you. All the men down at the barracks seem to like you. Especially this one here,” he said, nodding in Fox’s direction. 

Miss Grendal shook her head slowly. “Oh no, no. That’s not right.”

Fives looked back at her. “What?”

“He doesn’t like me…” she muttered.

Fox’s head snapped back toward them. Ari believed he didn’t like her? He’d heard from the others that she was upset, but to hear it straight from her… He felt a pang in his heart knowing his actions led her to such a conclusion.

“I very much doubt that, Miss,” Fives reassured her.

“No, he doesn’t even talk to me anymore,” she went on, her voice growing more somber. “He used to, but now he barely says a word to me. I’ve been trying to apologize, but he won’t even see me and it makes me sad. I’m not even sure why he came. I’m sure there’s something more important he should be doing.”

Fives looked up at him, and he was sure there was some judgement going on beneath that visor. “Miss, the whole Investigation Squad is here, and then some. The way they’ve been acting, I’d say you’re the most important mission they’ve ever had.”

–

The Squad surrounded Bane as soon as he hit the ground. One of his blasters fell away from him, but he managed to keep hold of the other one. Anakin used the Force to push the remaining blaster away. Everyone held their weapons trained on Bane. 

Bane kicked his boot against the ground, attempting to turn it on, but it sparked and sputtered like a congested cough. Only then did he hold up his hands. “Alright, alright. I know when I’m beat.”

Ash brought the tip of her axe blade closer to Bane’s neck. “Where is she?”

Bane didn’t answer, but his eyes scanned the troopers surrounding him. “There were more of you at the beginning, weren’t there?”

“We’re asking the questions here,” Oona snapped. Typically, she let Ash do the tough talk, but she was feeling very Ash-like right now. 

“Well, if there’s more of you, they’ve probably found her by now. Not as if there’s many places to hide.”

“And how will they find her?” Anakin asked coldly.

“She was alive when I came out here to deal with all of you, but whether or not she is now depends on how much restraint my partner had.”

They took turns sparing glances at each other, always keeping at least one eye on Bane. It wasn’t exactly a promising answer. They’d learned enough about Knives to know his restraint was near non-existent. What would he do alone with a helpless captive? How would he handle the pressure of a hostage negotiation? 

The only thing keeping her heart from sinking into despair was her faith in Fox and Fives to get the job done. 

Then, Fox’s voice came in through the comm channel and they all held their breath. “Hostage secure. One perp down. Miss Grendal has some minor injuries, but she appears to have been drugged. We’ll come out on your signal.”

Relief filled the room. Alive! Ari was alive! Injured and drugged, but alive! Finally, this nightmare was coming to a close. 

Anakin smirked and spoke into the comm on his wrist. “Good work. Securing Bane now. Hold tight until I give my signal to move out.” He then looked down at Bane. “Well, looks like we’ve completely ruined your plans. Now it’s time to go for a little ride.” He looked up at the rest of them. “Who’d like to do the honors?”

Oona looked at her friends. She suspected they all wanted a piece of this blue pile of shit. Ash looked like she was itching to get her hands on him, but with her injured arm, she’d be a liability. Bane was no common rube and would know how to take advantage of an injury to escape. Rook was likewise injured. Deadshot probably wanted it too, but he just had the honor of shooting Bane out of the air and likely didn’t want to hog all of the glory for himself. And Echo was probably waiting for one of the team who was closer to Ari to volunteer. 

“I’ll do it.”

Oona couldn’t help but feel a bit of shock seeing Steady step forward. He typically left apprehending the perp to the more physically inclined members of the team, like Ash or Deadshot. The fact that he volunteered for this task meant only one thing. He was pissed, and he wasn’t about to let Bane get away. 

As soon as Bane was secure, Anakin took ahold of his arm. “Go find your friend,” he said. “Echo and I can watch this sleemo.” 

Echo nodded. “And I’ll go ahead and call the ambulance. We’ve got this.”

Ash nodded. “Thanks, both of you.” She paused, for a moment. “Seriously. Thank you, Anakin. For everything.”

He answered with a smile. “Don’t mention it. Now, like I said, go find your friend. Don’t make me order you.”

Ash ignored his last statement before turning back to Strike Squad. “Let’s go get our girl.”

Chapter Text

It was done, but it wasn’t.

Even with Bane in custody, to Deadshot, the mission wouldn’t be completed until he saw his buddy safe and whole with his own two eyes.

The whole squad booked it through the halls of the warehouse before turning a sharp corner and almost bodily running into the Commander, Fives, and–

“Ari!” 

She was alive but, by the looks of it, not well. She leaned on Fives, who seemed to be keeping her from collapsing, while Fox kept his blasters ready for possible dangers. She had marks on her skin and drying blood on her face. 

Those bastards did this to her. 

Still, seeing her alive, in the company of friends, brought a relief that washed over the rage in his chest, at least for now. 

He couldn’t help himself. He pushed past his Commander and scooped her up. “Ari!” he cried, holding her close. “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

She was slow to react, looking up at him and weakly hugging him back. “Deadshot?” she asked, her voice groggy. 

“Yeah,” he sniffed, just now noticing the tears streaming down his face. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Deadshot…” she said again, letting her head fall against his chest. “You give the best hugs.” 

His heart glowed and shattered all at once. His hugs? Imagine, him, Deadshot, the weapons expert, the ‘tough guy’, the one who carried the biggest blaster and won the dirtiest brawls, also known for his hugs. That was one reason he loved her. She always managed to see a side of him that he rarely showed. She shed light on beauty you’d never know was there. And he couldn’t believe someone tried to take that away. 

He gave her a tighter squeeze. “You give pretty good hugs too.” 

Deadshot admired the restraint the rest of the squad showed by not just piling onto a group hug while he had his moment with his buddy. Though, as much as he wished to hold his friend forever, he knew her injuries would need attention sooner rather than later.

He passed her gently to Steady, who removed his helmet in order to examine her better. It didn’t go unnoticed that Steady had to wipe his own tears away before he looked her over with a physician’s eye. Concern and relief passed over his face as his eyes scanned her injuries. Then he opened his arms and Ari let herself stumble in, resting her head on his shoulder. It was a relief to everyone that he held her so tight.

They all saw the big bag of medical supplies Steady threw in the ship. Deadshot knew his brother was preparing for the worst. Seeing Ari injured at all may have infuriated Deadshot, but Steady, who would know how much worse it could have been, must have been relieved beyond compare.

“You’re going to be okay,” he whispered over and over again, like he couldn’t quite believe it. Like every worst case scenario was still running through his head. For the first time, it occurred to Deadshot how different Steady’s relationship with death was to the rest of them. Sure, all the vode were trained to fight, kill, and possibly even die for the republic. But Steady and the rest of the medics dealt with death in a much more intimate way. 

When he was ready, he loosened his embrace and Ash, who’d shown impressive patience up until now, swooped in next for her turn. 

She didn’t say anything, at first. Just pressed her face into Ari’s shoulder and then pulled away to cup Ari’s face in her hands, as if she needed that gesture, that eye contact, for further reassurance. Her gaze flickered to the injury on her head. “I’m sorry we weren’t here sooner, sweetie.”

Ari’s glassy eyes shifted, like she was trying to remember something complicated. “I didn’t know you were coming. I didn’t think anyone would find me.” Tears filled her eyes and she collapsed into Ash’s arms. “I still don’t know where we are.”

Deadshot’s heart sank. To think, his best friend trapped here in the dark, believing no one was coming for her, that they wouldn’t find her in time. He wanted to gather her in his arms again and never let go. 

Ash had the briefest look as if she was staring at a ghost, and then it was gone, replaced with her comforting smile. “Of course we were coming. We weren’t going to stop until you were safe again.” 

Ari’s arms squeezed tighter and she spoke in a whisper, “I was so scared.”

Ash held her for another heartbeat, then two, before she helped Ari over to Rook next. 

Rook, carefully but eagerly, wrapped his arms around her. “You’re alright now,” he said, gently rubbing her back. “You’re going to be okay.” 

He’d grown well past the shyness of his shiny days. No longer did he stand in the back awaiting orders. Like the rest of them, he’d found his niche. Rook was their official People Person. When someone needed a comforting hand or a compassionate ear, Rook was their guy. 

Ari seemed to melt in the safety of Rook’s embrace, and soft sniffles let them know she was finally feeling safe enough to sob. 

As her tears started to slow, Rook looked up at Oona. “Ari, we’ve got one more friend who wants to say hi, then we’re all getting out of here, okay?”

Ari only nodded and released her hold on Rook. They weren’t completely sure she knew who they meant. Ari’s mind seemed to get foggier by the second. But when Oona stepped up, Ari’s eyes lit up. 

“Oh, come here!” Despite Oona’s words, she didn’t make Ari take a single step, sweeping her up in a sweet, relieved embrace. Oona giggled, almost hysterically so, like she couldn’t believe things had gone so damn well. 

We’ve buried too many friends, Deadshot thought, his hand unconsciously reaching for the list of names on his scalp. 

“You didn’t think we’d let you go that easily, did you?” Oona finally continued. She wiped away the tears from her eyes. “Who else is going to design my wedding dress?”

“I have sketches and a few swatches in a folder in my sewing room,” she mumbled into Oona’s shoulder. “I wanted to go over them with you sometime. We can still do that now.”

“Sweetie, you aren’t thinking about work at a time like this, are you?” 

“I have to,” Ari answered. “He put something in me.”

Steady snapped back into medic mode and snatched her out of Oona’s arms. “What do you mean he put something in you?”

“He put a needle in my arm,” she muttered. “He said it would make me talk.”

A grave look crossed Steady’s face. “We need to get her to a hospital. Now.”

“Give her to me.” Fox stepped forward and held out his arms. “We’ll go faster if I carry her.”

Steady seemed to agree, as he handed her over right away. Fox swept her up in his arms and Ari resting her head against his shoulder. “All threats neutralized?” He asked, the Commander taking over once again. 

“Yes, Bane is in custody and being guarded by Echo and General Skywalker,” Rook answered. 

“What happened to your guy?” Ash asked.

“You don’t need to worry about that sick bastard,” Fives assured them, a hint of pride in his voice. “Got him right between the eyes.” 

Good. Deadshot doubted the man deserved better. 

Ash spoke into the comm on her wrist. “Anakin, where’s Bane?”

“I took him into the speeder,” he answered. “Also, I called in an extra Jedi to help us get him to the prison with minimal surprises.”

“Good thinking,” Ash said. “Keep him there. I doubt Ari wants to see him when we bring her out.”

And I don’t want him looking at Ari, either. Now that it was over, the last thing he wanted was for her to have to relive it. As for Bane, he’d be lucky if he never saw Ari or Deadshot again. 

“Then let’s move out,” Deadshot said, positioning his blaster just in case. “I’m sure she’s even more sick of this place than I am.”

They made their way out of the building. Out front, Anakin stood outside of the armored vehicle that presumably held Bane, and the ambulance Echo called waited.

“Over here,” Echo called, leading the team of paramedics over to them. “Here, this is her.”

The paramedics brought a gurney over and one reached out, offering to take her. “We can take it from here, sir.”

Fox hesitated, and Deadshot understood why. They’d just gotten her back. How could they leave her in the care of strangers so soon? But, these weren’t just strangers. They were trained for this, and they needed to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. He only wished they could have called GAR medics. He’d at least feel better about leaving her in the care of fellow vode. 

“I promise we’ll take good care of her,” the paramedic said, appealing to Fox again. 

Finally, Fox gently handed her over to the paramedic, though his hands didn’t fully leave her until she was on the gurney. “Don’t strap her down,” he instructed. “She’s been through a lot, and that would just scare her again.”

“We’ll be as gentle as possible,” the paramedic answered. 

“Just relax, okay?” Echo said, looking down at Ari. “You’re safe now.”

Ari’s foggy eyes shifted over to him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your helmet. Who are you?”

“It’s me, Echo,” he said, reaching down and taking her hand. “We met during the Art Theft case, remember? You let us borrow your clothes. Thanks for that, by the way. Fives never looked better.”

“Right, Echo…” The tiniest smile crossed her lips. “You met Petunia. You liked droids.”

“Yes, exactly. I was excited to see a new type of droid. I’m glad you remember.” 

“We really should get going,” another one of the paramedics said. “Your medic told us she’d been drugged. We need to get her to the hospital to run some tests.”

Fox nodded, and Echo gave her hand one more squeeze before letting go. “You’re going to go with these nice people now,” Fox said, speaking gently to her. “They’re going to take good care of you, okay?”

A wave of panic seemed to break through the clouds in her mind. “No, where am I going?” She asked as she tried to sit up.

“It’s alright,” Deadshot answered, carefully putting his hand on her shoulder. “They’re taking you to the hospital. They’ll check you out and keep you safe.”

“And I’ll make sure your family can meet you there as soon as possible,” Ash added. 

“One of you can come with her, if you want,” the paramedic said. “We only have room for one, though.”

Their eyes shifted around, looking at each other in turn. They’d all go, if they could. 

Fox stepped forward, and Deadshot braced himself for disappointment. It made the most sense. Fox was the Commander, and took every responsibility onto himself. But more than that, Fox loved her. And she loved him. It was obvious to everyone except the two of them. Maybe now that they almost lost her, Fox would finally allow himself to be with her. 

“Deadshot,” Fox said, turning to face him, “you should go.”

He looked up. “Me?”

“Yes.” Fox put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you’ll take good care of her.”

Sharp relief nearly knocked Deadshot to the ground. He didn’t bother responding. He just nodded to his commander and his squad and hurried onto the vehicle. The paramedic slapped his hand against the ambulance roof as soon as Deadshot settled in, and then they were off.

The paramedics buzzed around her, taking vitals and the other medical stuff they did. Steady would know what they were doing, what she needed right now. Despite wanting so desperately to be in here only a second ago, Deadshot suddenly felt out of place. He just stuck to his seat and tried his best not to be in the way. 

Ari laid on the gurney in the center, unfocused eyes vaguely following the movement, not seeming to comprehend what was happening. Deadshot felt the anger in his veins again, but then her glassy gaze fell on him. 

“Deadshot?” she said, her voice groggy. Her hand reached out, weakly.

“Yeah,” He grabbed it and held it steady. “I’m here for you, buddy.”

A paramedic wheeled over an iv drip. “I’ll need your other hand, ma’am.”

Her eyes suddenly widened with fear and she grabbed onto Deadshot’s hand with both of hers. “I don’t want a needle.”

“It’s just a saline drip,” the paramedic explained. “You’re very dehydrated. This will help.”

“No, no, no, no, no…” She grasped Deadshot’s hand tighter. “No more needles. Please, not again.”

Tears gathered in her eyes, bringing more pain to Deadshot’s heart. “Hey, it’s alright,” he said, reaching out to wipe a tear away. “This isn’t like the last one. It’ll make you feel better.” She still looked at him unsure, but the panic began to fade. “I’m right here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” 

While her right hand remained firmly in his grasp, her left began to loosen.

“Just keep looking at me, alright? I’m here for you.”

Slowly, she let her left hand slip away and allowed the paramedic to take it. Never taking her eyes off of him, she squeezed his hand when the paramedic put the needle in. 

Deadshot wracked his brain for something to say, anything, that would be marginally comforting, or even distracting. Eventually, it hit him. “Hey, by the way, you’ve got the best droid assistant ever. Petunia was a big help for us. You have any ideas for a gift I could get her?”

“Petunia?” Some light and recognition came to her eyes. “Petunia is so great. Even if she can be difficult sometimes, I love her and I wouldn’t trade her for anything.” The light in her eyes dimmed and tears gathered once again. “I couldn’t wake her up. When I needed her, I couldn’t wake her up. They did something to her…” She squeezed his hand tighter. “Is she okay? Please tell me she’s okay.”

Deadshot squeezed her hand. “Petunia’s alright, Ari. We woke her right up and she was ready to cut someone. She was very worried about you. If you want, we can let her know you’re alright.”

“Yes, please. She’ll want to know. She must have been so scared…” Her voice softened to a whisper. “I was so scared… I want to be brave, like you. I wish I was brave like you…”

It was like someone had dug right into his chest. “I was scared too, buddy. I’m scared all the time. Don’t worry about being brave now.” His free hand joined the one holding Ari’s. “You’re safe now. You can rest. We’re here for you.”

We should have been there sooner. I’m so, so sorry.

“Oh Deadshot…” She began to move her other hand, but the paramedic told her to keep still, so she just held his hand and looked up at him with her big, blue eyes. “You’re so sweet, and gentle, and you have such a good heart. I love you and I’m so lucky to call you my best friend.” 

Her words struck him in his heart. Deadshot, for his whole life, was praised for his strength. In training, he got the best marks out of their batch on his combat skills and his marksmanship. He was the brawler, the guy who carried the big guns, the tank who could brute-force his way through the line.

But this gentle soul, his best friend, looked past all the muscle to find the kind heart which drove his strength. Just as he saw past her soft, delicate exterior to find the strength that drove her kindness. 

Maybe they weren’t so different, not when you looked at what was really important. 

He would not cry in this ambulance in front of a stranger, not in front of his traumatized buddy, he would not. But fuck if it wasn’t close. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes despite his best efforts. “I’m the lucky one, Ari.”

–

For the second time today, Ash found herself waiting for new arrivals alongside Anakin Skywalker. This time was far preferable to the first, since Fives and Echo were also there, and Bane was in custody. She could even bear the throbbing of her wound in the meantime while they waited for more jedi backup. 

Bane sat in the back of the armored speeder they used to make arrests. Echo and Fives guarded the doors on either side of the vehicle and Ash guarded the front while Anakin stepped away to update Padme. 

Bane had chosen to remain silent this whole time, which was the best choice he could have made in this situation. Eventually, she’d have to interrogate him. Eventually, there would have to be some kind of negotiation for information, because that was all you could do with someone as powerful, as notorious as Bane. The most baffling mystery to this whole affair was why Ari was targeted in the first place.

The rest of the squad was inside the warehouse, collecting and cataloging evidence for the SF, who also had started pulling into the lot. It felt strange to be here without her friends, but they were eager to get this part of the job done so they could finally close this case. She felt restless not being there, but alas. The burden of rank. Though with that argument, Fox should have been out here too, but he’d decided to put his efforts towards making sure every single inch of the warehouse was accounted for in the reports.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by Fives. “Captain,” he called. “You planning to let Steady look at that blaster burn?”

Ash bit her lip. The adrenaline mostly faded, but the full force of the pain had yet to hit her. Still hey, better her than one of her squad. “Yeah, I’ll catch him soon. The scene takes priority.”

“All due respect,” Fives responded, with a tone that very much bordered familiarity more than respect, “I hope that means you’ll see him when he’s done, and not never.”

Fuck, he was right. Still, there was more at stake than her health right now. “I’ll see him when we’re not waiting for a renowned bounty hunter to get picked up.”

Before Fives could argue further, Anakin returned from his call. Ash jumped on the distraction. “Nice to see you and Senator Amidala are still close after all this time,” Ash commented in a neutral tone. Not neutral enough, if Fives’s amused cough behind her was any indication. Now that Ari was safe, Ash could feel her desire to constantly needle Anakin return. Perils of knowing him since he was a young boy.

Anakin chuckled, awkward. “Yeah, I mean–ah, looks like backup’s here.”

A speeder pulled in, and out stepped Mace Windu and–

It took all of Ash’s strength not to collapse with relief at the sight of the second jedi. Especially after the events of today, Ash very much needed the presence of this dear friend.

Luminara Unduli smiled upon seeing Ash as well. “It has been some time, Ashraqat.”

Ash swallowed past the lump in her throat and inclined her head. “Yeah, it has.” She greeted Mace as well. “It’s been a while for us too.”

“Indeed.” After a brief nod in her direction, his strong gaze shifted to Bane’s silhouette in the speeder. “It’s unfortunate that we’re not reuniting under better circumstances.”

“Is an interrogation room at the detention center ready?” Ash inquired. The squad office was absolutely not secure enough for the likes of Bane.

Luminara’s congenial expression turned grim. “Yes. It’s waiting for him. As are other jedi, to ensure he doesn’t escape once more.”

“Then let’s get him out of here.”

Mace and Anakin started for the speeder, but Luminara hung back. “I heard that this Arashy Grendal is a friend of yours?” When Ash nodded, she said, “This must have been difficult for you then. In many ways.”

Ash ducked her head. She felt like her insides had shrunk to accommodate a version of herself that existed when she was a child. Someone young and battered and devastated. “It was…very difficult.” She swallowed and then lifted her head again. “She’s hurt. She’s scared. But she’s alive. That’s what matters.”

Luminara’s eyes were knowing. Strange, how she still looked like the same jedi who saved Ash’s life so long ago. How long had it been? Fifteen years? Longer? Sometimes it still felt like a week ago.

“Perhaps…” Luminara began, “it may bring your friend comfort to see that someone knows something of her pain.”

The thought felt like a stab, even though it came with no surprise. Of course Ash considered talking to Ari about her past, especially now, in the immediate aftermath of this trauma. Reassure Ari she wouldn’t be alone in her recovery.

But it involved tearing open an old wound. A seeping, rotting wound that couldn’t seem to close.

Ash could only nod. “I’m glad you came. I’m sure there were others more readily available.”

Luminara’s smile finally returned. “I am happy to have been of some help, even to this small degree. Should you need me again, you may always call on me.”

With a final bow of her head, Luminara turned away. Ash had to resist the urge to run after her. It was an old urge, a child’s urge. The urge from a young heart seeking comfort from the one who rescued it.

This wasn’t the time for a child’s pain. Not when Ari’s required tending.

“Ash.”

The tone of Oona’s voice behind her made Ash’s stomach drop. She turned to face her friend, who looked like she’d just seen a spirit. “What is it?”

Oona wordlessly held up the item in her gloved hands. Ash realized it was a camera.

The bottom of her stomach dropped. “They–”

“Yes.” Oona’s voice sounded like a death knell.

Ash wanted to throw up. She wanted to tear her skin off. She wanted to crush Bane’s skull in her hands, tear his eyes out, and listen to him scream. 

It took every single shred of control to put her rage on a leash. “Are there pictures on it?”

“No,” Oona said. “It looks as though it was for streaming holovids. Naturally, I suspect they were streaming directly to the person or group who hired them.”

Ash’s jaw clenched tight enough to shatter. “How close are you guys to wrapping up in there?”

“We’ll be done soon.”

“Good. The sooner we’re done here, the sooner I can start Bane’s interrogation.”

Chapter Text

Deadshot’s hand was in Ari’s as much as he was allowed. When they first arrived at the hospital, he had to let them take her to examine her and run some tests. She didn’t want him to leave, and he didn't want her to be alone with strangers and med droids poking at her, but he managed to keep calm and talk her into cooperating with the doctors.

When they tried to dismiss him to return to his post, he was much less cooperative. Luckily, the medics from the ambulance vouched for him, saying he was all that kept the patient from being agitated, so he was allowed to wait in her room until they were finished. Once they wheeled her in and left her to rest, their hands clasped together again. 

It was a scary thing, watching Ari be so unlike herself. Her mind seemed to wander in and out of lucidity. Sometimes she’d start to cry out of the blue, sometimes she’d mutter about something random, and most chilling of all, sometimes she’d give him a taste of what she went through. She’d beg for some unseen threat not to hurt her, or her family, or her nephew, and insist she knew nothing. 

Each time, he kept hold of her hand and gently reminded her he was there and she was safe. He tried to brush her tears away as well, but that turned out to be a mistake. She reacted to him touching her face by pushing him away in a panic. His heart both broke and burned at the implication of what that could mean. 

“Deadshot,” she muttered during one of her moments when she remembered he was in the room.

“Yeah?” He leaned in, grasping her hand. “I’m here, buddy.”

“Is Petunia okay?” 

“Petunia’s fine. She knows you’re okay, now. I sent her a message.”

“Good, that’s good.” The closest thing to a smile she could muster appeared on her face. “Is she alone, though?”

“Right now, I suppose she is.” 

Her sort-of-smile disappeared. “I don’t want her to be alone. Can you check on her?”

“Sure thing, buddy.” He patted the back of her hand. “After your family gets here, I’ll run over there and check on her.”

“You’re the best.” Her sort-of-smile came back as she looked up at him. “I love you.” 

Tears welled up in his eyes as he grasped her hand with both of his. “I love you too, Ari.” 

Moments later, they heard shuffling at the door and looked up to see Padme leading an older couple inside. “Ari…” she greeted gently, “I brought your family here to see you.”

Ari began to sit up as recognition broke through her clouded eyes. “Mom… Dad…”

“Oh, my baby!” Her mother rushed forward with her father close behind. She grabbed Ari’s hand, tears began to flow harder when she spotted the rope burn on her daughter’s wrists. 

Her father brushed her hair back from her face. “We’re here, pumpkin.” 

Deadshot let her hand slip out of his so she could hug her parents. Ari began to cry again as she held onto them. Deadshot stepped away to allow the family their time with her. He joined Padme in hovering on the other side of the room.

“Anakin told me you shot Bane out of the air,” Padme said quietly when he stepped up beside her. “Thank you, all of you, for bringing her back safely.”

“Thank you for checking up on her this morning,” he answered. Damn, was that really just this morning? “I was planning on checking on her during lunch, but if we didn’t know she was gone until then, who knows? We might have been too late.” 

He didn’t want to think about how close a shave it might have been. They still didn’t know everything she went through today, but what she hinted at was enough to chill his bones. 

“So many lives have already been lost to the war,” Padme mused. “Sometimes, though, we get lucky.”

“Yeah…” His hand unconsciously moved to rub the names tattooed on his scalp. “Every life saved is a victory. I just never expected Ari to be in the line of fire.”

“That’s the thing about war,” Padme went on, her voice growing sorrowful. “Everyone is.” 

His heart sank at that statement. He wasn’t sure why. It was nothing he didn’t already know. Maybe just saying it out loud… “Ari’s alive, and she’ll keep on living. That’s what’s important today.”

He continued to watch Ari with her family, as they cried, clung to each other, and whispered, “I love you.” A mix of emotions twisted in his heart. He was glad Ari was able to reunite with her loving family, but… 

“So,” he mused, mostly to himself, “that’s what parents are like…”

“Sometimes. At least, the good ones,” Padme answered. “But, you know, family isn’t just parents.”

“I know.” A slight smile came to his face. “It’s also brothers.”

“It doesn’t have to be just brothers, either.” Padme placed a hand on his shoulder and returned his sad smile. “I don’t think Ari could have asked for a better family today.”

“And I couldn’t ask for a better buddy.” He crossed the room to Ari’s bedside and gently tapped her arm. “Hey, I’m going to go check on Petunia now, but I bet the whole squad’s gonna come by for a visit soon.”

Ari turned to him, tears still streaming down her face. “Thank you so much, Deadshot.”

“Yes, thank you,” her mother said, “for everything.”

“Please, give our thanks to everyone else,” her father added. “We can never repay you for bringing our daughter back.”

“I don’t know if they told you, but Ari’s a good friend to our squad,” Deadshot answered, looking down at her with a comforting smile. “We’d do it all again for her in a heartbeat.”

Ari reached up and grasped his hand with both arms. “I love you.” Her tearful blue eyes shined up at him. “I love you so much.”

He felt a sharp pang in his heart. Though it wasn’t the first time she said it, it struck him every time. “Love you too, Ari.”

“And Petunia loves you too,” she added. “Even though she doesn’t act like it.”

That elicited the first chuckle Deadshot had all day. “I know. Me and that bucket of bolts just like to play fight. That’s all.”

Stepping into Ari’s apartment was just plain unsettling now. Having to deactivate the temporary protective forcefield at her front door certainly didn’t help matters. And then there was the fact that the apartment itself was still littered with crime scene evidence. Now that she was back and they had Bane in custody, there was nothing to stop them from cleaning it up tomorrow. At the very least, it’d be a nice gesture for her. 

Deadshot didn’t need to go far into the apartment before being set upon by Ari’s personal attack droid. Petunia seemed to be waiting at the door, blades drawn, ready to get the drop on any intruders. Luckily, she recognized him before she had the chance to give him a brand new scar. 

“Hey, you got my message, right? That Ari’s okay?”

The droid bleeped in response, putting her sheers away. He wished he knew what she was saying, but he figured adding details would be a safe bet. 

“She’s in the hospital. She might not be home for a few days, but when she does, she’ll probably be pretty down for a while.”

‘Pretty down’ didn’t begin to cover it, but he wasn’t sure how much droids understood human emotions, especially the complex ones that came with a fresh trauma. 

“Her family’s there with her,” he went on. “She’s in good hands. She asked me to come by and check on you.”

Petunia’s bleeps sounded distinctly more despondent than usual. She floated up to Deadshot and nuzzled into his side.

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” he whispered, rubbing her dome. “She’s safe, and you’re safe, and we’ll make sure it stays that way.”

She seemed to understand, making a nodding motion with her dome. After a moment, she broke away and floated over to the couch. Using her pincers, she grabbed a blanket from the basket and put it on the couch. 

“Oh, I, uh, actually can’t stay,” Deadshot said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have to get back to the office and help close up the case.”

She deflated for a second, then balled up the blanket she laid out and threw it back into the basket. If droids could burst into tears, he imagined she would. 

Today was hard on everyone, including Petunia. Maybe even harder than it was for them. They could at least do something for Ari. They spent the day searching for clues, following leads, each step getting them closer and closer to Ari’s eventual rescue. And then they found her. They got to hold her in their arms and see with their own eyes that she was safe again.

Petunia got none of that. All she got was a message after hours of waiting and fretting in the middle of a crime scene, and a brief visit from a human who was distinctly Not Ari, bringing only promises that she’ll see her beloved human in a few days.

He figured the squad could make do without him for another hour. They’d all agree this was an important task. “How about this? I’ll stay for a while and watch an episode of that show you like about the bitchy housewives. After that, I have to go, but I promise we’ll all be back tomorrow to help you clean the place up. Sound good?” 

Petunia raised her dome head and bleeped with a bit more life in her. 

“Come on, let’s settle in.” He sat down on the couch in front of the holoscreen. “You’ll have to put it on. I have no idea where to find that show.”

Petunia worked the remote with expert pincers, before settling on the couch beside him. As some heavily made-up women sashayed to some pop song, Petunia snuggled up to his side like a friendly tooka. He placed his arm across her metal body and hugged her closer.

After today, they were all in need of some comfort. 

Finally, everything they went through in just a single day all led up to this. 

Ari was safe, and thanks to Deadshot’s message, they knew she’d already been reunited with her family. And that’s where the story will hopefully end for her. 

They, however, still had work to do. Questions that needed to be answered.

The team split up after closing off and leaving the warehouse. Steady, Oona, Echo, and Rook went back to the office to examine the evidence, while Ash, Fives, Fox, and the Jedi took Bane back to prison. 

At present, Fives had the privilege of being in the heavily fortified interrogation room alongside Ash, Fox, and General Skywalker. They planned out beforehand what questions they wanted to ask and what they wanted to know. 

Ash, in particular, said she wanted to know who put that crack on her head. She needed to know so she could repay them in kind. 

They stared down Bane, who sat across from them with his hands cuffed to the table and barefoot as they had to confiscate his hover boots along with his other weapons. He didn’t look so scary like this, defeated, hatless, and impotent. But this was the galaxy’s most wanted criminal for a reason. 

Fives’ blood boiled the longer he looked at Bane. It wasn’t only about what he did to Ari, though she was a fast friend, and he hated to see good people suffer in any case. How many of his brothers did Bane kill when he tried to steal the Jedi holocron? Bane himself probably had no idea. But Fives knew. 

“So…” Bane said with the nonchalance of someone overly familiar with the law, “are we going to get this started or are you just going to take me to my usual cell?”

Ash was not amused with his nonchalance. Bane might not have been able to tell, as her body language was still and professional, but Fives could. 

“You’ve been here before, Bane.” Fox said, barely maintaining a cold, professional tone. “In this situation. In custody. You know what information we want. The question is whether you’re planning to cooperate or not.”

“Depends on what’s in it for me,” Bane mused. “I’m not scared of another sentence. I’ve got life, on top of life, on top of life… What's another one? Whatever your offering had better be good.”

Ash’s gaze was so sharp, Fives was surprised Bane didn’t bleed. “You’re in a more precarious position than you know,” she said, her voice dripping with malice. They’d already decided it’d be safest not to let on how close Ari was to the Guard, but their wrath still bled through their words. “Trust me, cooperation is in your best interest.” 

Bane cast a skeptical look. “How do you figure that? It’s already in my best interest to keep my clients’ secrets. Talking’s not good for business. So, if you want anything from me, I’m going to need something more valuable than my reputation.”

“What, exactly, do you think we can offer you?” Fox asked. 

“Well, it sure would be a pain to have to break out of your facility again, Commander,” he said with a smirk. “And a prison sentence puts me so behind my work.”

Ash’s brow lifted. “That’s funny. As if that’s even on the table.”

“You ever heard of highballing?” Bane retorted. “Come on, Captain. Let’s negotiate. What can you offer me?”

“Given your previous convictions, and the crimes you’ve just been arrested for, any leniency is off the table” Ash said. “Your information would have to be a gamechanger.”

“How do you know it isn’t?” He smirked. “For all you know, I could spill Separatist secrets. The Republic would owe me greatly.”

“You know we can’t control your sentencing,” Fox said, words leaking out through his teeth. “But I can control where you’re placed when we’re done here. I know you have plenty of enemies in prison, Bane. I can put you in protective custody, but we need you to cooperate first.”

“I wouldn’t be in this business if I was scared of enemies,” Bane returned. “And I wouldn’t be here as long as I have been if I didn’t know how to handle them.”

“Is that right?” Something had brightened in Ash’s eyes, a realization of some kind. “You know, Bane, you are almost untouchable in every way. Keyword there being ‘almost.’ So. Here’s what I’m thinking, if you’re curious.”

“Well get on with it,” Bane dismissed. “No need to draw out the suspense.”

“Of course.” Ash replied, putting on her own wicked smirk. “As you know, this is quite a big deal for the Republic. Having the infamous Cad Bane in our custody once again? What with the war, morale has been pretty low with the public. We can’t possibly keep this under wraps from the press, you know what I mean?”

He tried to keep a neutral face, but one slightly widening eye betrayed him. “What, exactly, are you trying to say?”

Ash shrugged. “Oh, you know, you’ve been all over the galaxy! Like you said, the secrets you’ve shared with us could turn the tide of the war itself!”

A sneer pulled at his lips. “Out with it, damn you! What are you getting at?!”

“Yes, your cooperation has been greatly appreciated,” Ash continued. “We’ll have to leave the details of what you’ve shared with us a bit vague, you understand, but either way, you know journalists love filling in the blanks themselves to sell a story.”

“Okay, I get it. You tell the press that I’m cooperating when that is exactly what my future clients don’t want to hear.”

“A story like that might cost you some business,” Fox added. “Assuming you ever get out, that is.”

“Oh, I don’t need to assume, Commander, but you’re welcome to go on thinking you can hold me,” Bane said. “So, am I to take it that if I cooperate you’ll tell the press the opposite?”

“That you’re a locked vault? Absolutely. For us, it works both ways.” Ash said, gesturing to herself and her partners with the stylus before turning it on Bane. “For you? Not so much.”

“Very well. I give you your information, and my reputation remains unscathed. Seems like a fair trade to me. Now, what is it you want to know?”

“First, who hired you?” Fox asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Bane answered, no hint of falsehood in his voice. “This whole deal was conducted with a black-out screen and a voice modulator. Naturally, I made sure their credits were good before I took the job, but I saw no need to intrude on their privacy as long as I got my pay.”

Fuck. Fives clenched his fist. Assuming Bane was telling the truth, that cut off their main route to finding out who was behind all of this.

“And how did you receive this payment?” Fox asked. “All your accounts were frozen, including the ones you thought we didn’t know about.”

“Service droid delivered my first half to me at an agreed upon location.”

“And what did the droid look like?” Fives asked. 

“Generic. Exactly how you’d buy it right out of a shop, except the serial numbers were filed off.”

“What about the deal itself?” Ash asked. “What was the specific nature of it?”

“Simple. Grab the lady. Get out of her what she knows about Senator Amidala’s treaty plans. Turns out, for all her blubbering, she was telling the truth when she said she didn’t know anything. I’m starting to suspect the treaty plan was false intel too.” 

Fives glanced at the Commander, whose shoulders suddenly took on even more tension. Bane’s comment raised Fives’ hackles as well. They both saw the state these bastards had her in. Bane tormented her, then had the nerve to mock her pain?

He could think of several ways of telling this guy to fuck off, but he didn’t want to derail the interrogation. Instead, his fury seeped into his tone. 

“And how would they know the information was accurate?” Fives snapped. “Would it have something to do with this?” He put the camera they found down on the table. Oona searched it, no matter how much they didn’t want to know what was inside, but they could find no recording storage.

“Ah, yes,” Bane said like he was just remembering something. “Streamed the whole thing to an encrypted receiver. I assume my employer was watching it, but I have no way of knowing for sure.”

“You streamed your ‘interrogation’ with Miss Grendal to the person who hired you.” Ash managed a straight face, though to Fives’ trained eye, she looked a little sick at the confirmation. “You’d have to connect to a channel.”

“Come now, investigator, we all know the channel’s encryption would have been airtight.” Bane’s condescension stoked a fire in all of them. “I think by now, we’ve established my employers were extremely thorough, so this is all a waste of your time. You have anything interesting to ask me? Or should we just move on to the part where you take me to my usual cell?”

“You’re not done here yet, Bane,” Anakin snapped from his position at the door. “We have plenty of questions, so get comfortable.”

“Can I at least get some socks since you took my boots?” He quipped.

Fox slammed his hands on the table. “Fine, you’re no help finding out who was behind this. So let’s move on to your partner. The man known as Knives.”

Bane scoffed. “That stupid name was fitting. Doubt he had the brain power to come up with anything better. I didn’t see him getting dragged out. I’m assuming he’s dead.”

“Shot him myself,” Fives answered. And frankly, he was proud of it. Watching that poor excuse for a man put his hands on Ari had been sickening. 

His interactions with Ari so far were brief, but meaningful. Not only did she give him sanctuary and counsel when he was struggling with his problems with Ash, but he was able to shelter and console her as well. Back at that case in the art museum, when talked in the alcove, she alluded to a history of being used. She didn’t elaborate, but the way she said it implied something weighed heavily on her. 

So being forced to watch his new friend be dangled in front of them like bait, pawed at like a prize… Used, like an object… A cold fury was in his heart when he pulled the trigger.

Bane, however, took the news of his partner’s demise in stride. “It was bound to happen to a man like that.”

Ash’s face twitched. “A man like what?”

“You know, no patience. Indulges himself too much. Treats the job like a schoolyard bully amusing himself. In short, he was unprofessional.”

“Do you have his name?” Fox asked, borderline seething, barely keeping it together.

“Oh don’t you worry, Commander. I did my due diligence. His name is Drinn Kotal. Nothing remarkable about him. Just a gutter snipe from the lower levels who was brutal enough to impress some Z-list gangsters.”

“If he was so useless, why did you work with him?” Fives asked.

“It wasn’t my choice. He was hired before I made myself available for the job. They already paid him and I needed a ride, so I kept him in line. Come to think of it, you all should be thanking me. If it weren’t for me, Kotal would have made a sloppy job of it, and you might not have had anything to save.”

The air immediately dropped several degrees.

“Should we also be thanking you for that gash on her head, Bane?” Ash said with such severity that even Fives shivered. “Or for leaving her alone with him for any length of time? Or for injecting her with drugs? Should I go on about the things we should be thanking you for, or would you like to revise your fucking statement?”

“I did that for business,” Bane answered with no hint of remorse, or any emotion at all in his voice. “He would have done it for pleasure.” 

“Business,” Ash spat under her breath in disbelief. “People like you always hiding behind business, as if it makes anything better.” Then, to Fives’s surprise, a smile twisted across her mouth. “Though it certainly did fuck you over this time.” 

“Yeah, no information on anyone higher on the chain of command means you have nothing to bargain with,” Fives added. “With no one else to share the blame, that means this all falls on you. It’s funny. When some of our team went out today asking about Knives, we learned some clients like to hire incompetent mercenaries on purpose, so there’ll be someone around to take the fall. I guess in this case, that’s you.”

“You’re talking out of your ass if you think I’m incompetent,” Bane returned, the slightest hint of anger in his voice for the first time. “Though, you would know all about taking the fall for someone else’s battle, wouldn’t you, clone?”

“That’s enough!” Anakin boomed, storming up to the table. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He jabbed a finger in Bane’s face. “My men are honorable fighters. They have more integrity and courage than you’ll ever know. You are a coward who preys on people for money, in this case an innocent person. And don’t think I’ve forgotten how many of my men you killed during the holocron heist, or about Master Ropal.”

“Honor?” Bane scoffed. “Honor doesn’t pay the bills, let alone make you rich. What’s a man like me care about honor?”

“You should,” Fox answered. “The honor of my squad and of General Skywalker is all that’s keeping you alive right now.”

“Do you have any more questions for him?” Anakin asked. 

“No,” Fox said. “I believe we learned all we can from him.”

“Then I’ll help your men escort him to his cell.” Anakin unlocked the chains from Bane’s binders. He then grabbed Bane’s shoulder and began leading him out. 

However, when they got to the door, Ash spoke up. “Actually, there is one more thing I’d like to say.”

They stopped and turned. Bane looked at her curiously.

“Deadshot, the one who shot you out of the air?” She began as a devious smile spread across her face. “He was super hungover when he did that.”

Anakin let out an amused tsk while Bane’s only response was to narrow his eyes. It was enough. 

With that, Anakin led him out the door to a team of very pissed off Guards who, by now, knew exactly what happened to the Caf Lady and who did it to her. Though they knew the Guard would behave according to their professional expectations, they also knew Bane would be getting a less than warm welcome at the prison. 

With that, Fives let out a long breath. This part was over, at least. But there was still work to be done.

The silence of the office felt deafening.

Never before had a wrap-up of a case felt so strange. As happy as they all were to have Ari safe and sound, writing their reports on the case and filing the evidence meant reliving those terrible hours all over again.

It reminded Oona grimly of the hours following Omin’s death. Multiple officers and detectives asking for her statement, the reporters afterwards demanding interviews, or the kids at school suddenly approaching to offer condolences as if they’d actually known him before, as if they were the ones who found his body–

At least this one didn’t end with a corpse. Not Ari’s corpse, anyway. Oona was more than satisfied to trade Knives’s life for hers. Was it a moral thought? Probably not. But morals stood on shaky ground when the ones you loved were at stake.

Speaking of…

Oona peeked at Ash out of the corner of her eye. They were all at their respective desks, at varying speeds of productivity as the full weight of the day hung in the office, reminding them of how close of a call Ari’s situation was. Ash’s pace in particular was feverish, a rapid tapping across the keyboard. Oona couldn’t tell if she was trying to get the details down before she forgot or if she was just trying to get this part over with so she could get to the hospital.

I need to talk to her, Oona thought, as she finished another paragraph of her report. Soon. I can’t let this wait any longer.

She was just debating whether to interrupt Ash’s intense typing or waiting until both of their reports were done when the office door slid open and Deadshot staggered into the room. 

He was absolutely dead on his feet. She had to give him credit. Taking down Bane while fighting a hangover headache, exhausted, and filled with fear over losing his best friend was no small feat. In her mind, Oona was already putting together the snack basket she was going to make him. 

The squad all leaned toward him, waiting on baited breath for the news. 

“She’s okay,” he said, allowing the room to breathe. “I stayed until her family showed up. They’re with her now. She’s safe.”

Steady, for the first time in his short life, slouched into his office chair so deeply that he almost fell out of it. “Thank the Force…”

Oona dropped her head into her arms on the desk. It took all of her self-control not to burst into tears. It was over. It was really, really over. Her body demanded the catharsis of a good cry, but this was not the time. She’d save it for tonight, when she and Steady could cry together until they fell asleep.

And since sleeping seemed to be on everyone’s minds, Ash said, “You did good, D. Now please, go get some sleep.” Oona practically heard Ash wave her arm towards her office. “I know the futon in there isn’t as nice as the nap couch, but it’ll be more quiet than the barracks–”

“You don’t need to convince me, I’m already shutting my eyes.” Deadshot’s voice was already across the room and by the time Oona picked her head back up, the door to Ash’s office was closing behind him. There was a soft “thud” as he presumably crashed onto the futon, in his full armor.

“Since her family’s there,” Rook eventually said, “we should probably wait until later to go see her, right?”

“I’m planning to go tomorrow morning to take her statement,” Fox answered. “I can ask if she’s up for visitors yet. For now, it’s probably best to let her family have their time with her and let her rest.”

“Yeah,” Steady agreed, though he still sounded somewhat disappointed. “That would be best. We shouldn’t overwhelm her while she’s recovering from the drugs.”

“Well, as soon as she’s up for it, we’re going to be the best goddamn recovery crew this planet’s ever seen,” Fives declared, delivering a punch to Echo’s shoulder. 

Echo, who had the misfortune of standing Fives’ punching distance, rubbed his arm. “I don’t think Miss Ari would appreciate a ration bars gift basket, Fives.”

“Echo, we’re on Coruscant!” Fives gestured around them. “We can put more in a gift basket than ration bars.”

“I was planning on making one for Deadshot anyway,” Oona offered. “Would you want some help putting one together?”

Echo looked despairingly at her. “We’ll need all the help we can get.” He opened his mouth to continue, but a yawn cut off whatever it would have been.

“Alright, executive decision,” Ash announced, through a yawn triggered by Echo’s. “We’ll finish these reports tomorrow. We need sleep.”

Rook grimaced. “I’m not looking forward to the barracks. I know everyone will have questions but…I’m not up to talking about it tonight.”

Fives groaned. “Yeah, and Echo and I will probably have half the 501st on us for details.”

“I’ll just take you guys to my place,” Ash offered with a wave of her hand. “It’s not nearly as comfortable as Ari’s, but it’ll be quiet, at least.”

There was a collective pause as that offer set in. Oona caught a glimpse of curiosity from Fives, followed immediately by a brief moment of boyish panic. Echo seemed too tired to have any opinion to express.

Rook, meanwhile, blinked at his captain like an owl. He even reflexively glanced at Fox as if there’d be protest. “Are you sure that’s alright?”

Ash’s laugh was bitter. “I think it’s the most normal decision I’ve made today. Just give me a second to go get some sleeping bags and we can head out.” As she stood up, she looked at Fox. “You wanna join the sleepover?”

“No,” Fox answered. Somehow, the exhaustion lines on his face became more prominent. “I have something I still need to do tonight.” 

Her mouth pressed into a line. “Just…promise me that you’re not going to sleep in your office tonight.”

“I promise that’s not where I plan to sleep.”

Oona got the feeling it wasn’t technically a lie. She didn’t even need to tap into The Force to catch it. She could hear a double meaning in his voice. Although, where he truly planned to sleep, she couldn’t guess. She wouldn’t be surprised if he planned to spend the night pacing in front of Bane’s cell. 

Ash pointed at her commander like she could magically impart good decisions into his psyche. “If I get word from Stone or Bridge or any of the Guard that you’re sleeping somewhere without at least a cushion under you, I am dragging you to the barracks and putting someone on watch outside the door.” 

With that parting threat, she cracked her neck and headed for, presumably, the supply closet outside the office and down the hall that held the sleeping bags.

“I’ll help you with that,” Oona offered, following her outside the office in a hurry. 

Ash seemed surprised by the offer, but didn’t say a word as they approached the closet. 

“Ash,” she began, picking up one of the sleeping bags. “I’ve been hoping to get to talk to you alone.”

Her best friend blinked in surprise. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to say, you were right and I was wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The leaks, way back in the music conductor case.” An unexpected lump formed in the back of Oona’s throat. “And for not being honest with you about the art theft case. I’ve been letting my feelings get in the way, and it’s making me sloppy.”

Ash paused. She tugged on her braid in a poor attempt to seem casual. “We don’t have to do this right now, Oona.” She said it quietly, like their enemies would hear if she spoke too loudly.

As much as Oona appreciated the way out, they really did need to do this now. “Ash, we still don’t know who hired Bane and Knives. But I’ve been leaking information here and there this whole time. We’ve made some powerful enemies.” Her hands unconsciously gripped the sleeping bag. “What if there’s a connection?”

Ash lips pressed together, measuring her words. “If we’re to put any stock into what Bane said, this all happened because of shit information. Someone thought Ari knew something she didn’t. As far as I can see, that doesn’t cleanly relate to what you’ve been doing. If we’re going at it from a purely logical standpoint.”

“That’s what Bane says, and maybe that’s even what he was told, but we still don’t know who was behind this. What if that was just a cover? Or what if they had more than one motive to hurt Ari? There’s too many missing pieces. We can’t rule anything out.” She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the next part. “If, in the end, anything we find leads back to something I did, I’m resigning from the squad. Maybe even from the Rangers. 

Ash recoiled. “Oona…that’s not–I’d never ask–” She growled in frustration. “We’re not there, Oona. For all we know, this was because some asshole Senator thought Padme was sharing government secrets with her seamstress. If it turns out…” She shook her head. “We’ll cross that bridge when and if we get to it, okay? And…fuck, I know I’m the last person in the galaxy to offer advice like this, but we can’t borrow guilt from the future.”

“Understood, Captain,” Oona said, respectfully bowing her head. “I’m sorry, I guess I started this conversation without a plan of what to say. The point I wanted to get at was, I’m sorry. I took actions driven by my emotions and I didn’t think about how they could put the squad or our friends in jeopardy. And I need to remember the safety of the squad takes precedence over everything, even our friendship sometimes.”

Ash didn’t say anything for a beat. “Apology accepted,” she finally said quietly. “And look, I know I haven’t been the best Captain either. I’m not exactly a role model for controlling emotions, and I need to work on that too. So…” She offered up a smile. “Here’s to us improving together, yeah?” 

“Hey, that’s what makes us such a good team, right?” Oona said, looking up with a smile. “Ever since we were cadets at the academy, we’ve grown alongside each other and pushed each other to do better.” 

“And the rest of it…the hard parts…it’ll get easier,” Ash added. Her expression dropping back into something serious, but sincere. “It’ll get better. We’ll figure out how to keep the squad alive and help the people who need it most. I promise you, I won’t let them get left behind.”

“Guess the best we can do now is focus on the people we have helped,” Oona replied. In the moment of silence that followed, she knew both their thoughts turned to Ari. “And our squad did amazing work today.” She held up the sleeping bag in her hand. “They deserve a good rest.” 

“Yeah, they really did.” Ash nudged Oona with her elbow. “And that includes you. You did incredible today.”

“We couldn’t have done it without you keeping everyone’s heads on straight,” Oona said, returning the elbow nudge. “Seriously, It must have been hard staying calm and collected when I know all you wanted to do was rip Bane’s heart out with your teeth.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about the teeth part,” Ash answered, flashing a grin that displayed the weapons in question. “But, I did have some help keeping my head on straight too.” Her eyes drifted back into the office and landed on Fives, who was sitting on Ash’s desk, almost falling asleep on Echo’s shoulder. 

“Mm-hm, did all that and caught Knives between the eyes,” Oona agreed with a smirk. “So, he gonna get to sleep in your bed tonight? I’d say he earned the privilege.” 

The blood rushing into Ash’s face was absolutely hilarious. “I–fuck you,” she blustered. “Anyway, I’m not staying with them. I’m dropping them off, getting them settled, and going to stay with Ari. If one of them wants my bed, they can, I don’t know, draw straws for it or something.”

Oona smiled as she watched her friends, all exhausted after the day they’d had. She’d say it was a miracle they made it through without losing anyone, but it wasn’t a miracle. The strength and skill of the squad is what brought them to this semi-happy end. Not to mention the strength of their bond and the courage of all of her friends, Ari included. 

Every single one of her friends were brave, talented, and compassionate, which is why they were so good at their jobs. She had to trust the rest of the galaxy would see that too, someday. 

The silence felt heavy with the weight of the day. It was late, and the neighbors were likely asleep, though he imagined they spent the day wondering why one of the doors was blocked with a forcefield and marked as a crime scene. 

Using the remote on his vambrace, Fox deactivated the forcefield and opened the door. When he stepped inside, Petunia floated up to meet him, though she didn’t hide the disappointment in her bleeps when she saw it wasn’t Ari. 

“I’m sorry,” Fox said, pressing a few buttons to reactivate the forcefield. “I’m afraid she won’t be home for a few days, yet. But she is safe. Deadshot said he stopped by to tell you?”

Petunia bleeped in a way he assumed to be an affirmative, though Ari would know exactly what she said. He really should look into getting some droid-speak training modules. That skill could only come in handy. 

Continuing onto the reason he told himself he came, Fox crossed over to the balcony door. A forcefield surrounded the outer portion, but a plastic tarp was all that covered the hole that’d been carved into the glass door. That wouldn’t do. Even though nothing should be able to get past the forcefield surrounding the balcony, it still felt less than secure. 

Getting to work, he attached the projection points to the wall surrounding the glass doors, then connected the wires. In short order, he completed the set-up and activated the forcefield. Standard procedure dictated that these be taken down once an area was no longer considered a crime scene, but he intended to let Ari keep these as long as she felt necessary. When she returned, he imagined the forcefields would help her feel safe in her home again. 

Besides, his encounter with her building’s management didn’t give him much confidence that they’d repair the door anytime soon. 

With that finished, he should leave. There was nothing left for him to do. Still, he couldn’t go. The whole apartment felt like an open wound. He couldn’t allow it to go unprotected. 

He felt something bump his side and turned to see Petunia hovering nearby. She let out a few soft bleeps and he wished he knew what she said. Hours ago, she was a metallic ball of blades and fury, now she seemed more like a scared child. 

“I won’t leave you alone tonight,” he said, laying a hand on the droid’s dome. 

Petunia bleeped, sounding pleased, and hovered toward the couch. Of course. This was always where the guests slept. 

Fox removed his boots and his helmet, and carefully placed them on the floor. Though the squad intended to come by to clean up the next morning, he didn’t want to disturb anything too much. When he finally laid down, he felt the whole weight of the exhausting day hit him at once. His eyelids closed involuntarily and he heard whirring as Petunia came to rest beside him. 

Laying on his back, still facing the broken window, his mind drifted off to sleep with one hand still on his holster. 

Chapter Text

Ash hated hospitals. Unless you were on the maternity ward, you weren’t usually there because your life was going great. 

She tried to close herself off when entering. Hospitals were always ripe with emotion. Fear was usually the predominant one, from the sudden and shocking fear of the emergency room, to the drawn-out and grudgingly accepted fear of the terminally ill. It wasn’t just patients. Visiting family members worried about their loved ones, stressed out doctors preoccupied with saving lives, and even newborn babies distraught at being thrust into this strange and unforgiving world. 

Sometimes she thought about babies on the job. Childhood pictures could be included in the files of the victims of cold cases. She’d look at those pictures, imagining the families celebrating first birthdays, or children playing in a park, or going to their first day of preschool… She’d think about that day when they were first born, their parents smiling lovingly down at them, and wonder if those parents ever thought their child’s life would end the way it did. 

Ash saw pictures of Ari as a child on the walls of her apartment. Most featured Ari with her sister as children, playing dress up, dance recitals, graduations. Ash glanced at them many times while relaxing on the nap couch. They seemed like such a happy, loving family, who were, doubtless, greatly hurt by this whole experience. 

All throughout the case, an evil part of her mind imagined those same pictures ending up in a cold case file just like the rest. 

It did not turn out that way. By the grace of the Force, or maybe the universe decided not to be cruel this time. At that moment, she was able to stand in a hospital hallway, peer in the window of an observation room and see a living, breathing Ari. 

It was late, past visiting hours. As Ari was not in the ICU, emergency care, or hospice, her family had to abide by them. Ash, however, was able to use her ranger badge as a VIP pass and get in when all was dark and quiet. 

Though when Ash arrived, Ari’s room was not dark. A lamp on a small table added a warm glow to the room, and one of her favorite songs was playing softly from an old music device. Her family must have brought it for her. With one look in, Ash could see those big eyes were wide open. 

Slowly, deliberately, like trying to calm a spooked fathier, Ash entered the room. “Hey, sweetness. How are you feeling?”

Ari drew her eyes away from the blank wall she’d been staring at and looked over to Ash. “Better now, I think,” she said behind a fragile smile. “The doctors said the drugs are all out of my system, so I feel less hazy.”

Ash slouched into the chair and kicked her legs onto one of the arms. She dropped her satchel next to the chair. “That’s good, isn’t it?” She tried not to think of how Ari somehow looked even more fragile than she did on a normal day. Like a torn butterfly wing.

“Yes, though they want me to stay a few more days to make sure it didn’t have any lasting effects,” she muttered, resting her back against her pillow. “Apparently it's rare for them to have a patient who’s been given truth serum, so they don’t know much about it.”

“I’m pissed we didn’t get any samples then,” Ash grumbled. “Maybe Oona and Steady could have submitted findings to help with your treatment.” She tossed up her hand. “Well, if it was down to you or the serum, I’m glad we got you.”

She smiled tiredly. “I did give them permission to use my blood for further research. I don’t know if there’s any way I can request getting you guys the same information, but if it can help people in the future…” 

“I’m sure there’s some paperwork we can fill out to ask for it, with your permission of course.” Ash sucked in a breath and blew it out. “Have you been keeping yourself occupied, or are you counting ceiling tiles?”

Ari frowned. “I asked my mom if she could grab some of my Violet Crystal books or my embroidery project but she wasn’t sure if she could get in since my apartment’s a crime scene. My sister is bringing Giove and some coloring books tomorrow, though, so at least I’ll have company.” A little smile came to her lips, but quickly disappeared. “They didn’t want to bring him today, with everything so fresh. Apparently I was still under the influence of the drugs for a few hours after I was brought in. I wouldn’t want him to see me like that.”

Ash winced. “Good call. Speaking of boredom,” she reached into her satchel and pulled out a deck of cards. “In case you get tired of talking. I brought candies to use for currency if you wanted to try a game of sabacc.” 

Her smile returned. “I don’t know if I’m up for gambling. But, there were some card games I learned during my apprenticeship days. We used to stay up half the night playing games.”

“Oooooh, Apprenticeship Ari strikes again!” Ash offered a wicked grin. “I’ll definitely be taking you up on that when you’re up for it.”

“Well,” she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, revealing that she had an IV needle in the back of her hand, “have you ever played Spit?”

Ash’s brow furrowed, until a memory struck her. “Oh! We called it Loth-Bat Slap in my family.”

“Alright, we can probably use that serving table over there,” she pointed to the corner of the room. 

Once they were situated, Ash started shuffling the cards with comfortable dexterity. “There anything else you want to talk about before we start, dear?””

“Um…” her eyes moved to the little bag Ash brought. “You said you have candy?”

“Always,” she reached into her bag. “What are you feeling? Chocolate? Fruity? Salty? Sour? A mix?”

“Anything really. It’s a strange thing to think of, considering…” her already dim mood darkened. “It’s silly, but I’m glad I have another chance to taste candy.”

Ash shook her head. “Not silly at all. First thing I did when I got out of the hospital as a kid was order a blue milkshake and eggs. I don’t remember why those two things, exactly, but there’s no rhyme or reason to healing.”

Concern showed in Ari’s face. “Can I ask why you were int he hospital as a child?”

Ash felt like she’d taken a step off a cliff. She’d gotten so used to referring to her childhood casually that she forgot Ari didn’t know. It seemed impossible that Ari didn’t know, and yet, the only person who would have told her was Ash.

It’s not a secret, Ash reminded herself. And she deserves to know.

“It’s…it’s not a pretty story,” Ash began, because Ari also deserved a fair warning. “The short version is um…” Deep breath. Let it out. “I’ve told you that Aunt Ralooka took me in as a kid, right?” At Ari’s nod, Ash said, “That’s because…well, the Badawis are the only family I have left. My parents, my siblings…they’re gone.”

It’d been so long since she’d said it out loud. The wound should have cauterized by now, but all it ever did was seep and throb.

“Gone?” Ari reached out and took Ash’s hand. “Gone how? Do you want to tell me?”

It was an ugly story. A terrible void of a story that could swallow someone whole. Ari didn’t need that right now. It was hard enough saying this much. “They’re dead,” Ash just whispered. “And um…it was a while before anyone found me.” She waved a hand vaguely. “Hence the hospital.”

The echo of Luminara’s comforting words returned with a vengeance. It was a miracle that her fierce fondness for the Jedi managed to untangle from the worst of those wretched memories.

Ari’s hand squeezed hers. “That’s awful. I’m sorry.” She didn’t keep asking, probably sensing Ash didn’t want to go into the details right then. 

Ash squeezed her hand back. “I’m telling you this so you know that I…I get it.” She winced. “I’m not comparing our experiences. But it feels less scary to know you’re not alone.”

They were silent, just looking into each other’s eyes. Both now carried similar pain. Both surviving horrors most would never know. 

Ash, after a few beats, hummed and picked up the cards again once Ari released her hand. “So, you mentioned Spit, right? She split the deck in two and handed the one half to Ari. “You can start us off.”

They played late into the night, pulling out games they played in days gone by. Some they could suddenly remember as if they’d played only yesterday, some they had to look up the rules for. For a few hours, their world consisted of a tiny table and a deck of cards, with Janey Wreath crooning in the background. For a moment, it was easy to forget that just that morning, Ari had been in the clutches of bounty hunters and Ash had been fearing for her friend’s life. 

Soon enough, they’d have to deal with that fallout, but not right now. Right now, they were just two friends playing cards. 

But as time ticked by, Ash saw how dry and puffy Ari’s eyes had become. Her movements were clumsy and sluggish, and her head drooped between turns. And yet, each time Ash hinted at getting some rest, it was Ari who called for another round. 

“I also brought my datapad,” Ash eventually offered. “I can play a holofilm on it if you want.”

She frowned. “I tried watching the holocast earlier. It was too loud.”

Ash’s mouth twisted. “Want me to tell you a story then?” 

“Maybe another round of Spit,” she suggested, shuffling the cards. Ash could hear the exhaustion behind her enthusiasm. 

“Ari…” Ash reached out and touched her hand. “I’m not going to leave when you fall asleep.”

She looked up, her blue eyes burning with exhaustion. “I don’t want to sleep,” she whispered.

“I know.” Ash felt a heavy weight on her chest. Empathy threatened to swallow her whole. “But staying awake won’t be any better. You can’t recover if you don’t sleep.”

“I’m afraid.” Her hand shifted to grasp Ash’s and she held on for dear life. “I don’t want to go back there, even in my nightmares.”

Ash sighed. She shifted her hand to hold Ari’s. “Just…hold my hand. Don’t fight it. I’ll try to help.” Truthfully, Ash didn’t know if she could. Oona was the one who could project her emotions to help others. But maybe if Ash could sense Ari’s pain in her sleep, she could try to soothe her back awake? She just knew Ari needed rest, and it wouldn’t come easy.

She gave Ash’s hand another tight squeeze. “Please, stay with me. At least until I’m asleep.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Nerves flowed off Ari, even more pronounced with their hands clasped. But also gratefulness, unwavering trust, and strongest of all, love. “I know you won’t.”

Finally, Ari lay down in her bed. Her body sunk in, like even it knew she needed to either sleep or collapse. Ash stayed with her, hand in hand, as promised. A soft song came on the music player, an old one, one from long ago, from a home she once knew, and a voice that was nothing but a ghost now. A lump formed in her throat, and she moved her thumb gently across Ari’s knuckles. Whether she was trying to soothe herself or Ari, she wasn’t sure. 

I couldn’t save them, she thought, as Ari’s eyes fluttered closed, but I could save you.

Another voice came in, singing the words in a whisper. It took a moment for her to realize it was her own. It took another to realize she was singing it through tears. But a soft smile appeared on Ari’s face, and it was all she needed to persist. 

Soon, her hand went limp. Ash’s heart stopped as her traitorous brain jumped for the worst, but Ari’s soft breathing assured her that her dear friend was only sleeping. 

“I’m here,” she whispered. Still holding her hand, Ash leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll stay right here.”

And she did. Eventually she made herself as comfortable as she could in a hospital chair with one hand out of commission and fell asleep. 

Dreams were a difficult experience for Ash. There was a reason she worked herself to exhaustion. If she was tired enough, or sometimes drunk enough, she at least didn’t remember her dreams.

This time, on the heels of nearly losing her dear friend, was no different.

A line of familiar bloodied faces and chained hands passed in front of her, leading into the airlock of a ship she knew all too well. Her wrists hurt so much. There was blood in her mouth. Not hers.

“You did this,” a voice whispered to her. Her own. “You bring death wherever you go.”

She tried to move, to stop one child from filing into the airlock, at least the child, but she couldn’t. She was chained to the floor by the ankles and wrists. 

She looked up just in time to see Ari’s face joining the line of people.  She stared forward, blank, and didn’t even acknowledge Ash’s presence.

Ash tried to scream, tried to pull at the chains, but she couldn’t, then there he was, there was Bane stalking after Ari with a knife, and–

Wake up.

She needed to wake up.

Ash jerked awake in time to hear Ari whimper in her sleep. Tears rolled down her friend’s cheeks, and Ash realized she was crying too.

Right, Fuck. Ash should have expected that. She’d always been receptive to the feelings of others. It made sense that Ari’s trauma would leak into the Force and inhabit Ash’s mind too.

Ash sincerely hoped Ari wasn’t getting a glimpse of Ash’s night horrors. 

The thought prodded her into action. She started gently stroking Ari’s face, brushing her hair off of her forehead. “It’s okay, you’re safe, sweetie,” Ash whispered. “Think of tea leaves. Think of the smell of fabric. The nap couch. Think of Pike and the way she purrs when you pet her. It’s okay…”

Ari’s eyes scrunched and she swatted the hand away. “No!” she gasped, bolting up, frantically ripping her hand from Ash’s grasp. She breathed rapidly as her eyes searched the room and found her friend. “Ash?”

“It’s me.” Ash held out her hands for Ari to take when she was ready. “You’re okay. You’re safe. We’re in the hospital.”

“I was having a dream,” she muttered, her eyes still far away. 

Ash bit her lip. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“It was dark,” she began, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I was walking. I knew they were following me, but I couldn’t move any faster. They caught me. Bane had a knife to my throat, and the other one started running his hands over my face.” Her hands shook as she traced her hairline. “Then I woke up.”

Fuck.  She stared at her hands, the scars on her arms. It was entirely possible that this was a natural nightmare. Just a product of Ari’s hours-prior-trauma. But Ash couldn’t help but wonder if her presence might be more of a negative effect than a comforting one. She clenched her fists. “If Fives hadn’t killed that sharmouta, I would have sliced him in half.”

Ari nodded absently and curled in on herself. “That one liked to touch me, I could tell,” she muttered, barely audible. Her eyes flicked up at Ash. “He’s really dead?”

“We made sure.” 

She gave one more nod of acknowledgement, but her turmoil, fear, and even guilt crashed around her. “I don’t know how to feel.”

Ash sighed. “There’s…there’s no correct way to feel. Things like this twist you up and turn you inside out, and nothing feels right. All you can do is just…ride it out.”

She squeezed her knees closer to her chest. “I don’t want to lose myself.”

Ash tentatively put her hand on Ari’s again. “We’re here for you, sweetie. That’s all I can promise. It’ll be hard, but it’ll also get better one day. We’re here to pull you out of a pit whenever you need us to.”

Ari grasped onto both her hands. In that moment, Ash was struck by the matching marks on their wrists. Ari’s rash was fresh and looked like it still burned with pain. Ash’s scars were much older, and she’d learned to live with them. Ari’s marks would fade and disappear, except possibly for the gash on her temple, but Ash knew those scars went much deeper than skin. Ari would have to learn to live with hers too. 

“I need you,” Ari whispered, and the guilt that she felt along with those words, even now, choked her. 

“Okay,” she whispered back. “What do you want me to do?”

Ari looked confused at the question and her eyes desperately searched Ash’s face. “I just need…you.”

Ash felt her heart crack. She held her arms open, a silent offer. Ari dove in, letting herself be enveloped by the embrace. Ash gave her hair one gentle comb, silently asking permission. She felt Ari’s nod against her shoulder and continued. 

A hum rose up from Ash’s throat again. It slowly wove into a song that used to bring her comfort when she was young, before her world had cracked apart. A lullaby her mom had written just for her children. She hadn’t even whispered it in years, and it showed in the way she stumbled through a forgotten note or three. But Ari wouldn’t know that.

Ari’s body sank deeper into hers as her muscles relaxed. Exhaustion began to claim her once again. Ash kept her arms wrapped around her friend, keeping the cruel world out while her song kept the nightmares at bay. Ash would stay up all night signing to her if she had to. 

She would do anything to ensure Ari slept peacefully tonight. 

The next morning, Fox looked through the window as Ari… Miss Grendal lay in her hospital bed. She was sitting up, smiling while her nephew showed her a picture he drew for her. The woman he assumed to be her sister sat in a chair by the bedside, her face just as much a falsehood of levity as Miss Grendal’s. 

He wondered how much the kid knew. Did he know why his aunt was in the hospital? Did he know the extent of the ordeal she went through? Fox knew nat-borns tended to keep the uglier details of life hidden from children when they could. 

Not him, not his brothers. The vode always knew they were meant to see the most horrific things imaginable. Fox just never imagined that would include developing feelings for a kind, gentle woman and then watching her undergo pointless violence. 

Well, it was about time he stopped stalling. When he stepped into the room, they all looked up at him. He noticed the sister didn’t look much like Miss Grendal at first glance. Her hair was a darker shade of auburn, pulled up into a tight bun, and her green eyes looked out from behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. But there was something in the rounded shape of the face that gave them away as sisters. 

“Miss Grendal,” he said by way of greeting. 

The little boy looked up at him with stars in his dark brown eyes. “Are you a trooper?” he asked. 

“I am.”

“Are you one of the ones who saved Aunt Ari?” The boy sounded awestruck.

“I was part of the rescue mission, yes.”

“This is Commander Fox,” Miss Grendal said, her voice sweet and soft, almost like normal. “Commander, this is my sister Elsie, and my nephew, Giove.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said nodding to the little family. “My men all appreciate the drawings you’ve sent us.”

The boy’s eyes shined, looking up at him with a smile growing on his face. 

Fox cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask Miss Grendal a few questions. This may take some time, so if you’d please step out…”

“You can come right back in when we’re done,” Miss Grendal said, ruffling the mass of coils on her nephew’s head. 

The sister took her son’s hand and led him to the door. “Commander Fox,” the boy reached out and squeezed the Commander’s hand, “Thanks for bringing my Aunt Ari back.”

“I’m just doing my job, kid,” Fox answered. 

“Yes, but all the same,” Elsie said, for a moment showing her true emotions on her face, “we can’t thank you enough.” With that, the two walked out the door, leaving him alone with Miss Grendal. 

They watched each other a moment, each waiting for the other to begin. With her nephew gone, Miss Grendal let her smile fall and the exhaustion on her face became more evident. 

“Miss Grendal,” Fox said, finally deciding to speak first, “how are you feeling?”

“I'm better,” she answered, her voice losing the false energy she put in for her family. “The drugs are all out of my system, but they want to keep me another night. They just want to make sure there are no latent side-effects. I get to go home tomorrow, though.”

“I see,” he answered, moving closer to her bedside. “I was hoping you were feeling strong enough to talk to me about what happened.”

Her face fell. Her eyes shifted back and forth as she considered this. 

“I understand it will be difficult,” he went on, his voice taking on a professional edge, “but it will provide important evidence for bringing your attackers to justice.”

“Just the one, though, right?” she said, her voice growing even softer. 

He nodded. “Yes, only Cad Bane is left, but we caught him red-handed. I promise you, he won’t escape justice.”

“Okay,’ she sighed, leaning back on her pillows, “I’ll tell you what I can remember. There are parts I don’t.”

“I understand.” He took a seat by her bed and opened the recording function on his comm. “Let’s start from the beginning, if you don’t mind.”

Miss Grendal closed her eyes, taking a moment to collect herself. When she opened them again, she began. “I was getting ready for bed, when I heard the window break. I knew someone was breaking in, but I didn’t know what for, so I hid...” 

As she recounted her story, Fox could feel his temper simmering below the surface. He hated these men. Bane, who spoke so flippantly about her in his own interrogation, who slapped her because he apparently found the terrified sobs of his captive “annoying”, who thought of her life as nothing more than a quick cash grab. And then there was the Other Man, as she referred to Knives. Fox himself watched that poor excuse for a man put his filthy hands on her, look at her with greedy eyes, and toy with her life at the end of a barrel. 

They drugged her, they threatened her, they hurt her, and Fox hated them for it. He hated that she ever encountered them, and he hated that she was left alone with them for so long. Still, part of him hated himself for ignoring her call for help.

Finally, after recounting her hours of torment, she came toward the end. Bane had finally decided she was telling the truth, that she knew nothing of Senator Amidala’s supposed plans, but that wouldn’t save her. He put his blaster to her head. 

“I think I always knew they would kill me when they were done with me,” she said through tears. “And when the moment finally came, I thought about my friends, my family. I thought about my nephew, and how, if they ever even found me, how would they tell him? How would he grow up knowing that his aunt was lost or murdered? And he’s so young. Would he remember me, how I was? Would he remember painting with me, and reading stories, and just anything about me at all? Or would I just be the aunt who died when he was young? I let his name slip out.”

Her tears started to come harder. Fox nudged the tissue box closer to her and she took one to dab her eyes with. 

“But then, you all came,” she continued. “He thought, because you came for me, that I was lying, that I was subverting the truth serum somehow, and I was more important than I claimed. And then he told me, after he was done with his fight, that he would find my nephew. And now he knows my nephew’s name and… I don’t even know what I’d have done if they got their hands on Giove. I would have given them anything if they wouldn’t hurt him, but I didn’t have the one thing they wanted. I… I wouldn’t have been able to…”

“It’s alright,” Fox said, carefully putting a hand on her shoulder. “The other man is dead, and Bane is somewhere where he’ll never be able to hurt you or your family again.”

“It just scares me that he even knows I have a nephew,” she said, wiping away a fresh stream of tears.

“Bane is in prison, and that’s where he’ll remain for a long time,” Fox assured her. “I promise, we will keep you and your family safe.”

She looked up at him. Her eyes still held the fear she felt a day ago, but hope shone in them as well. 

“Is that all of the story, Miss Grendal?” he asked, hoping this painful experience would be over. “Is there anything else that happened between that moment and when I found you?”

She shook her head. “Not quite, but there isn’t much left to tell. After Bane left, the other man took the gag out of my mouth. He said he liked the sound of my voice. I just kept begging him to leave my nephew alone, because that was all I could think about and all I could do. And that’s all until you came.”

His heart twisted and turned for her, as he watched her tears start to flow. Part of him still couldn’t wrap his head around it. Yes, he knew damn well from experience that there were cruel people in the world, cruel people who didn’t care who they hurt or how many lives they destroyed. But still, when he looked at her, he remembered the kindness and friendship she showed his brothers, for no other reason than to give them moments of joy, and he wondered how anyone could want to hurt someone with such a beautiful heart.

That brought up another haunting question. Who hired the bounty hunters in the first place?

“Ari,” he said, taking her hand, “Those who hurt you will be brought to justice. And I promise you, I won’t let any harm come to you again.” 

It was a fool’s promise. Bane was a known criminal with a rap sheet a mile long and would certainly gain another lengthy prison sentence for this. If it were up to Fox, Bane would never see the light of day again. But to promise that no harm would ever come to her? That promise was impossible to keep. 

Still, as he looked into her eyes, his foolish vow was seared into his heart. 

“Commander Fox,” she said, taking back her hand and using it to wipe away the last of her tears, “Is that everything? Do you have any more questions for me?” 

“That’s all I have for now. But if more questions arise, I may come to you again.”

She nodded and squeezed his hand. “Then, can my family come back in now?” 

“Of course.” 

When he stepped out, he found her sister and her nephew waiting right outside. As soon as they went back into her room, Giove climbed back onto her bed. “Aunt Ari, I saw you crying. Are you sad again?”

“Yes,” she said, running a hand through his hair, “I am sad.”

Giove snuggled up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “You don’t have to be sad. Commander Fox saved you from the bad men.”

“Yes, he did.” She pulled her nephew in closer and laid a kiss on his forehead. “I just need a hug is all.” 

“Okay, I can do that.” Giove settled into her, laying his head on her shoulder, and letting her hold him close.

As the family settled back in together, Fox made to slip out quietly and let them have their privacy. 

“And Commander?” Miss Grendal called after him. 

He stopped at the doorway. “Yes?”

She placed a light kiss on the top of her nephew’s head. “Thank you for giving me this.”