49

Kalth was moving slow.

It wasn't because of his wounds – that much Saedii was sure. After several bacta treatments and pain meds, even the burns Saedii had given him were nearly gone. AZI had assured her that he was strong enough to move on his own.

No, tonight he was slow from fear.

He was trying not to show it, face stubbornly set into a scowl. But as hard as he tried to hide it from her, she could sense it in the Force around him. Could sense his reluctance as he followed behind her in the hall. Saedii was sure it was only because of his pride that he'd even lasted this long.

"You don't have to be afraid," she said.

He bristled. "I'm not."

"No one's mad at you."

"I said I'm not scared."

Not just afraid, then. Terrified.

If Saedii had learned anything over the past few days, sitting at his bedside as AZI had nursed him back to health, it was that he hid most of his emotions beneath his anger. The fear was cleverly hidden amongst the sharp words. But it was fear all the same.

Warm scents of cooking food filled the hall as they rounded the last corner. Bright white lights poured through the open cafeteria door, spilling out into the hall. Much brighter than the lights that hummed overhead.

At the sight of the busted down door, Kalth's shoulders tightened.

Saedii pretended not to notice.

Inside, most of the wall panels had been stripped off, revealing the inner-most layers of wires and insulation. Welding burns marked where the Clones had already begun fixing the damage that Saedii and Kalth had wreaked, though it would take a while before the room was back in working order. Through the newly repaired window, low-burning lights lit up the shadows of tables packed with Clones.

"Hunter and Cross were going to grab us plates," Saedii said as Kalth's speed slowed to a crawl. "But if you wanted to look at the food yourself –"

"No." His answer was blunt and unkind.

She ignored the tone. "Omega will have saved us seats."

Warm, humid air met her face as they stepped outside. From the valley below, the humming of night bugs was only just audible beneath the music playing from an old radio across the yard. Streaks of pink and purple feathered along the horizon, slowly giving way to pewter.

Most of the tables were full. A few dozen Clones still wore their armor, from their shift on guard duty, but most were in gray fatigues. A few of the younger ones even had on fleeces against the light breeze.

The table nearest to them fell silent when Saedii and Kalth emerged. Hostile eyes slid past Saedii and onto Kalth, whose scowl deepened at the sight.

"I told you I shouldn't be here," Kalth whispered harshly as more Clones turned to glare at him. "I should have just eaten in my room."

"AZI said you needed fresh air." She gave his arm a gentle tug, trying to pull him in the direction of Wrecker's booming laugh.

"No one wants me here. Not after what I did."

His tone was harsh, but the words were vulnerable.

She tightened her hold on his arm. "I want you here. Isn't that enough?"

He said nothing to that, but this time when she pulled at his arm, he reluctantly allowed her to guide him forward.

At once of the tables, Howzer and Gregor both stood and saluted as they passed, despite the expressions on the faces of the troopers around them.

"Commander," Howzer greeted Kalth respectfully, before his gaze turned to her. "General."

Saedii nodded to the two of them, ignoring the disgruntled look on Kalth's face as they addressed him. An expression that grew even more frustrated as several other Clones got to their feet, and echoing cries of, "General! Commander!" rang out among the tables.

"Why are they doing that?" Kalth demanded, low under his breath. An angry flush burned in his pale cheeks.

"They're just being respectful."

"They hate me."

She cut him a look. "They don't hate you. They're just scared of you. It's not the same."

"Yeah, it is. Trust me."

Wrecker bounded to his feet when he spotted the two of them. A wide shit-eating grin spread across his face as he bellowed, "There you are! I was about to start without you!"

Kalth tensed as Wrecker ran forward, pulling the both of them in for a bone-crushing hug. Saedii got the feeling Kalth was trying very hard not to shove Wrecker's arms away.

Once he'd put them down, Saedii pointed to the giant Clone and explained, "Kalth, this is Wrecker. He's never met a stranger."

"Great to meet you, kid!" Wrecker exclaimed.

Kalth scowled at that.

"Technically, we have met," Tech said from the table behind them. He was studying Kalth like some kind of bug under a microscope. "He has tried to kill us on three occasions."

Wrecker guffawed and punched Kalth's shoulder, whose expression darkened. "Those were good times, weren't they?"

Behind him, Hunter gave a little shake of his head. Crosshair rolled his eyes.

"That's Tech," Saedii introduced, gesturing. "And over there is Hunter, Echo –"

"I know who they are," Kalth said defensively. Something like guilt flared in the Force around him, and she wondered if he, too, was thinking back to the times they'd fought.

Judging by the glare on Crosshair's face, he remembered. One of his hands drifted over the arm Kalth had broken on Eriadu, while the other was bunched into a fist. Not a great sign.

"Come on. Let them sit." Echo waved the two of them over, gesturing to the empty spot beside Omega on the bench. "They're probably hungry."

"Wrecker and I made you two plates," Omega said as Saedii led a very awkward looking Kalth over to take a seat.

Crosshair's cold eyes tracked Kalth's every move. At his waist, one hand hovered close above a small blaster.

Omega slid one of the plates in front of Kalth. "We didn't know what you liked, so we got you a bit of everything."

The look Kalth gave her wasn't exactly friendly.

"Thanks, Megs," Saedii said. When she cut Kalth a look, he mumbled his thanks as well, albeit reluctantly.

The table shook as Wrecker plopped down before them. Unconsciously, Saedii noticed that the other tables around them had finally started talking now that Kalth was seated and relaxed. Returning to their conversations like nothing had happened.

"How are you feeling?" Hunter's question was directed towards Kalth, despite the expression on his face.

"Fine."

Crosshair muttered, "Oh good. Another Jedi who doesn't know the meaning of the word fine."

Wrecker guffawed as Hunter shot Crosshair a look of warning.

Omega was staring openly at Kalth beside her. When he caught her looking, the angry expression on his face grew darker.

"What?" he demanded in a tone that made Crosshair glower at him.

"Nothing." His tone didn't seem to affect Omega, who didn't even flinch. Just continued staring at his face. "You just look exactly like I thought you would."

The hostility on Kalth's face quickly turned to confusion. Saedii, too, gave a little frown, unsure where Omega was going with this.

"Saedii talks about you a lot. You look like how I pictured you," Omega said simply.

That effectively killed the rest of Kalth's hostility. He slid a look in Saedii's direction, surprised. She gave him a little smile.

"She said that you helped her learn how to braid her hair."

"I did," Kalth admitted, and his voice was so much kinder and gentler that the sound of it was jarring compared to his normally chilly tone.

"How did you learn?"

"I read about it in the Jedi archives."

"The Jedi archives were famously well-informed," Tech was quick to explain to the group at large. "It is reported that their collection housed over ten million physical files, and untold billions more in digital copies."

Hesitantly, Kalth agreed, "Yeah...it was big."

"Did you do a lot of reading?" Echo asked conversationally.

"Not much. Saedii did more than me."

"Kalth never had much patience for reading," Saedii said with a little laugh.

Kalth didn't say anything to that, but Saedii was sure that he was fighting off a smile.

Echo gave Saedii a look. "Hard to believe you did. Patient isn't something I'd use to describe you."

"Hilarious, Echo."

But it was actually funny. As much as she was pretending to be annoyed, it was nice to rib with each other like they used to. For a moment, everything almost felt like it was normal.

No, better than normal. Because Kalth was there, too.

The plate of food in front of them smelled delicious. Carefully, Saedii selected a piece of roasted meat, basted in some kind of clear red sauce. It was warm and savory in her mouth. So much better than anything she'd eaten over the last year.

After a moment, Kalth reached out for some food, too. As if waiting to make sure it wasn't poisoned.

"Feels nice to have us all back together again," Wrecker said contentedly. He shoved a massive piece of fried meat into his mouth.

Omega smiled at that, too. As if she'd been thinking the same.

Kalth tensed.

Gently, Saedii reached out and brushed his hand with hers. A reassuring touch.

"Plus one," Crosshair muttered, and his sharp eyes were on Kalth again.

"Anyone ever tell you that you have a real stick up your ass?" Kalth asked him, eyes flashing.

Echo and Wrecker both snorted in laughter. Even Omega tried to hide her smile.

Crosshair didn't seem amused. "What's your excuse? Pubescent teenage hormones?"

"Try torture and imprisonment."

The smiles wiped from the rest of their faces.

But to Saedii's immense surprise, Crosshair gave a soft snort. "Is that all? Light work, then."

"Obviously."

There was a still moment as Kalth looked up and locked eyes with Crosshair. The challenge in them was obvious, but Cross didn't back down. Just watched, as if he saw the shadows there and wasn't afraid.

That small acceptance seemed to be enough for Kalth, who suddenly gave a soft chuckle of his own. "Saedii said you could be a real asshole. Looks like she was right."

"I didn't say that," Saedii said sharply.

"I have a reputation to uphold," Crosshair said in the same tone he used with her when he was in a teasing mood.

She nearly fell out of her seat as she realized that the two of them were not actually fighting, but were getting along. Crosshair, with his sometimes-insufferable sense of humor, and Kalth, who seemed all darkness and shadows – it didn't seem like it should work.

And yet, the look that the two exchanged, charged with daring and a bit of humor, confirmed that it was working somehow.

Hunter smiled as the two exchanged another few barbs, not really laced with any amount of venom. More like aggressive teasing than anything else. And in that moment, it truly did feel like things were settling into place.

Tentatively, Omega reached out and touched a strand of Saedii's hair. "I learned how to do some of your favorite braids. If you want, I can try."

It was the same offer that Omega had given days ago. A simple favor – a few braids. Then, it had felt like Omega had asked for something monumentally impossible. Like she'd tried to force a piece of Saedii back that had disappeared.

Now, it didn't feel so heavy.

Saedii waited a moment, for the panic to flood in. The anger. Anything.

There was nothing, just a faint desire. She wanted to have her hair braided, too. To get it out of her face. There was no need to hide it here. No fists to catch her unawares or bruises to hide.

The table had fallen quiet. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for Saedii to answer. Like they were waiting to see whether Saedii was ready to take that first step back towards who she'd been a year ago.

"I'd love that, Megs," Saedii said, voice thick. "Thanks."

Omega's wide eyes fluttered with excitement. She stood, smiling, and walked around to stand behind Saedii. Thin hands reached out for her hair.

Saedii didn't think it could possibly get any better, until Kalth suddenly said, "I can help. Do you know what pattern you want to try?"

"I was thinking inner peace and clarity," Omega said, taking his offer in stride. Like he'd never been an enemy. "I've never done it before, but I think I know how it goes."

"It's tricky."

"I can do it."

Another chuckle from Kalth – a sound that nearly made Saedii's jaw drop. "I'm sure you can."