Cadet Captured

22. The Fallen

Rex gets a message from Kix that Fives wants to meet up somewhere to explain himself. I'm grateful, but still upset with him. We oblige, and all three of us, including General Skywalker, head to Sector I-9. Rex and I leave our helmets behind, not wanting to spook Fives.

"Well," General Skywalker says, "these are the coordinates Kix gave us. Let's hope Fives is inside."

"Eh, I hope he knows what he's doing," Rex states as we enter the warehouse.

General Skywalker draws his lightsaber, and Rex and I hold up our guns.

"Fives," General Skywalker calls. "Fives, we're here. Come on out. We just want to talk to you."

"General Skywalker," Fives calls out, but we can't see him. "Thank you, thank you for trusting me. Now, have you come without troops?"

"We have," the general replies.

"Put down your weapons, then," Fives orders.

"I don't think so, Fives," Skywalker tells him, as the three of us circle up, back to back.

"Please, sir!" Fives begs. "Please, I'm unarmed."

General Skywalker looks at me, and I say quietly, "I don't think he's lying, sir."

General Skywalker nods, and we put our weapons down on a nearby crate.

"What are we here for, Fives?" General Skywalker questions.

"I need your help," Fives calls.

"I know you do," Skywalker admits. "We know you're not well. It's been rough for you these past couple days."

"I'm not crazy," Fives shouts.

"We know that, Fives," I respond. "But hiding from us isn't helping your case."

"Please, please, just hear what I have to say," Fives says.

"We're here to help you, Fives," Skywalker says. "Just come with us. Let us take you back to the Temple."

Suddenly, a ray shield comes down over General Skywalker and Captain Rex, trapping them. General Skywalker beats his fist on the shield, but nothing happens.

"I just need you to listen to me," Fives says, coming out of hiding, his eyes widening at the fact that I'm not in the ray shield.

"We are listening, Fives," I answer, holding my hands up to show I'm not a threat.

"I'm not really sure we have any other choice," Skywalker seethes.

"I was framed because I know the truth!" Fives shouts. "The truth about a plot, a massive deception."

"The chips," I clarify.

"By whom?" Rex asks.

"Well, there's a sinister plot in the works against the Jedi," Fives states. "I have proof of it. I can prove that everything I know is true beyond a shadow of a doubt!"

"Show me the evidence," General Skywalker demands.

"The evidence is in here," Fives replies, pointing to his head. "It's-it's in here. It's in all of us, every clone. Organic chips built into our genetic code to make us do whatever someone wants, even kill the Jedi. It's all in here."

"Let's just get you some help, first " General Skywalker suggests. "Then we can review everything. It'll be ok, Fives. We'll sort this out."

"You don't believe me!" Fives shouts.

"Fives, we are listening to you," Rex answers. "We only want to help."

"How do I know you're not tricking me?" Fives questions. "How do I know it won't be a trap? The chancellor will try to kill me. I promise you that!"

"The chancellor?" General Skywalker asks.

"He's in on it!" Fives accuses, and my eyes widen in disbelief. "I don't know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay!"

"He told you?" General Skywalker asks. "When you tried to assassinate him? You have gone too far, Fives. The chancellor isn't capable of what you claim."

"He is!" Fives insists. "I swear to you, General. You have no idea-"

"Stand down, soldier!" a trooper calls, and I recognize the red and white armor of the chancellor's guards. "Stand down! Get on your knees!"

"No, no, no, stay back!" Fives pleads, then glances at Rex's abandoned pistols.

"Don't do it!" a guard trooper warns. "Don't do it, soldier!"

Fives goes to grab a pistol, but I step between him and the guns, catching his wrists as he tries to fight me.

"Fives, stop!" I cry as he slams me into the crate, his fear getting the better of him.

I crumple to the ground at the searing pain in my back, but I can't tear my eyes away as Fives takes one of Rex's pistols and is shot down.

"Fives!" Rex and I are both yelling.

I crawl over to Fives and General Skywalker yells at a guard to turn the ray shield off. They comply, and Rex kneels beside Fives and I.

"Call for help! We need a medic!" Rex shouts.

"Rex," Fives groans. "This... is bigger than any of us... than anything I could've imagined. I only wanted to do my duty. And Blitz... I'm sorry... for hurting you."

His eyes close, and Rex is calling his name, telling him to stay with us.

"The mission," Fives says slowly. "The nightmares... they're... finally over."

Fives goes unconcious again, and all I can hear is Captain Rex begging him to stay awake, to stay with us. Tears well in my eyes as the guard troopers gather around us, taking off their helmets. General Skywalker places a hand on my shoulder.

Eventually, we load into the transport ships and are taken back to the medical facility. The doctors look at my back, determining it now has some major bruising. They want to keep me overnight, to make sure it hasn't affected my lungs or anything else. But I don't care. I just want to know what caused Fives to breakdown.

"As far as I know, we didn't have any evidence that the chancellor was involved in any sort of plot," I tell the Jedi who question me, Mace Windu, Yoda, and General Skywalker. "All we talked about were speculations. We had no proof of who was involved or if the plot was something real. All we knew was that these chips seemed to be dangerous, and after what happened to Tup, we were afraid."

"Understandably so," General Windu admits. "But everything is under control now. After examining the bodies of Fives and Tup, doctors concluded that it was a parasite in the water they shared. It caused Tup's chip to decay, and Fives to descend into madness. You didn't drink any of their water, did you?"

"No, sir," I answer. "No, I had my own canteen."

The Jedi leave, and Captain Rex sits on the side of my bed. "Are you ok, Blitz?"

I sigh, not meeting his eyes. He can always see right through me. Like Ahsoka had once said, he might as well be my father.

"You gave me orders, and I failed," I say. "I'm sorry, Captain. I tried to watch after them, and now they're both gone."

"Hey, look at me," Rex demands gently, and I look up at him. "You did everything you could, Blitz. I know you. Up until the very end, you tried to get through to Fives. You helped uncover what happened to Tup, even when you were told to leave it to the doctors. I couldn't have left them in better hands. No one blames you, Blitz, so you shouldn't either."

"Ok," I say softly, not completely agreeing, but not wanting to argue, either.

Then, the nurses take Rex away, saying I need to rest. But I don't sleep. I can't, thanks to the neverending nightmares. Instead, I ask for some paint and take my helmet from the chair beside the bed. Once I fight through the guilt and shakiness it brings, I paint a small, red number 5 on a tiny teardrop shape on the side of the forehead, in memorial of my fallen brothers, Fives and Tup.