65

When the clock on Saedii's bedside table struck one, she quietly climbed from bed. Attention drifting to the other bed tucked into the far wall.

Omega was asleep, hair splayed across her pillow. She'd been very still all night except for the rise and fall of her chest. As if, even in sleep, she was so angry she could hardly move.

The door slipped open silently, but Saedii still shot a furtive look down the hall anyways. Waiting for Hunter to emerge and ask what she was doing. When his door remained closed for a moment after, Saedii shut her own behind her and padded down the stairs like a ghost.

Phee's house was dark. Only the silver light spilling in through the windows lit Saedii's way as she filed onto the balcony.

Kalth was waiting for her.

Pale moonlight spilled across his face, bleaching his already pale skin nearly alabaster. Dark shadows hung beneath each eye, making his eyes black in the muted light. His lightsaber, Saedii noticed, was clipped onto his belt.

Bringing one finger to her lips, Saedii gestured him to follow.

The two of them leaped silently over the gate, taking the balcony stairs down to the main garden, where they followed the path down to the beach. The already dark path grew even darker as they passed between the rough-hewn rocks on either side, spilling shadows along the rocky trail.

The two of them navigated carefully, using the Force to guide them as they avoided rocks. Fine mist dewed along their face as the ocean tossed up a gentle spray at the end of the path ahead.

Rock finally gave way to stone as they made it to the beach. Only a few dozen yards away, the gentle caress of waves along the shore was the only sound in the otherwise silent night.

Saedii turned to look at him, but froze as she felt another presence.

"You two really aren't so good at sneaking around, you know that?" Phee demanded from her seat on one of the rocks at the edge of the path. A smug grin worked across her face.

It felt like the floor had dropped out from under her as Saedii asked, "What are you doing here?"

At her side, Kalth's hand rested on his lightsaber.

Phee hoped down from her rock. "I came to hear your actual answer, since the one you gave Hunter was a load of shit."

"Really, Phee. I'm not going to –"

"I'm a damn good liar, kid. And I know a lie when I hear one."

Saedii glanced at Kalth beside her, weighing her options. She hadn't anticipated Phee being so perceptive. Or maybe Saedii had gotten rusty in her time on Nur.

Phee dropped the smile at Saedii's expression. "Look, kid. I'm not here to snitch on you. I want to help however I can."

"Why?" Kalth demanded.

"Because I know that if I had been tortured for a year, I'd want to get some revenge on the bastards that did it."

One of Saedii's brows rose. "You don't agree with Hunter? You don't think I should take it easy?"

"I think that you're not made of glass," Phee said earnestly. "And that you can decide what's best for you. If you want to fight, then that's your choice. Not his."

That was enough to convince Saedii. She nodded. "I do want to train – and fight. I'm not sitting back and doing nothing."

Teth had been her fault. Every death, ever life cut short – it had been because Krell had forced the secrets from her back on Nur. The little piece of information that she'd been able to gather about the Death Star was one step towards repaying all the lives that she'd lost, but it wasn't enough.

She had to do more.

Kalth's jaw tightened. He looked out at the water, eyes blazing.

"I thought you might say that," Phee said with a slow smile.

"But I'm not doing it so I can fight Vader."

At that, Kalth turned away from the ocean. Intrigued. Even Phee looked morbidly curious, one hand settling on her hip.

From her pocket, Saedii pulled out a miniature long-range comms that she'd swiped from Tech's room earlier. Inputting Wolffe's channel from earlier, Saedii said, "I have a plan, but I'll need Wolffe's help if it's going to work."

"Color me intrigued," Phee said.

Wolffe answered at once. "General."

Judging by the alertness of his eyes, he'd understood her signal. He'd been waiting.

Saedii glanced uneasily at Kalth and Phee, who were both watching her. Waiting to hear about this miraculous plan that she had weaved. A plan that had so many moving parts that she wasn't even sure it was going to work.

But she had to try.

"Wolffe, what intel does Rex have on the movements or reported locations of Inquisitors?" Saedii asked, cutting right to it.

Kalth stiffed at the mention of the Inquisitors, but Wolffe answered, "So far, there have been two reports of Inquisitors along the Triellus Trade Route. Rex thinks they're hunting for survivors among nearby planets."

"What about Krell?"

Now, Kalth was staring at her in alarm. As if he already knew where she was going with this.

Slowly, Wolffe answered, "The Grand Inquisitor has not been spotted since Teth's destruction. Why do you want to know?"

Saedii took in a slow breath, looking briefly at Phee and Kalth before her. Gathering up what little remained of her courage. Once she said it out loud, that would make it real.

"Because I want to kill him."

A low sigh escaped through Kalth's teeth. One hand raked anxiously through his short hair as he paced a step away. Phee watched his reaction with raised brows, tracking every angry step that he took.

Wolffe had gone stock still.

"I'm terrified of him. Of being caught again," Saedii admitted to them all. At the admission, Phee turned her attention back to her. "I want to keep fighting for the Rebellion, but I can't do that if I know that Krell is still out there, waiting for me. I have to take him out before I can keep going."

"I don't know about this, kid." Wolffe didn't look nearly as cool as usual. Something reflected in his deep brown eyes. Fear, maybe.

Saedii continued, "I have no other choice. Once Krell is dead, then I can start training for other more important things."

"Like what?"

"Like taking down Darth Vader."

A faint smile pulled at Phee's lips. She, at least, understood why Saedii was doing this. And to Saedii's intense relief, Phee didn't think any less of her for it, either.

Wolffe accepted this in stony silence. Falling back on his military roots as he caught the determination in Saedii's eyes. Quietly, he asked, "Are you sure? General Skywalker or Kenobi would be more than happy to take on that burden for you – either burden. Krell and Vader both."

"I'm sure."

Master Yoda had said that Plo needed to be freed by Saedii. That it was her destiny. And it was her own fear that demanded she kill Krell herself. She wouldn't believe he was truly gone unless his death came by her hands.

It was the only plan she had – the only thing she truly wanted. Kill Krell. Get her revenge for what he'd done to her. Then free her master.

Kalth was still pacing, jaw working. Saedii wondered what was going on in his head. What he was thinking.

"Alright, then." Wolffe didn't look happy about it, but he didn't argue. Perhaps it was the look on Saedii's face that said this wasn't a question, but an order. "But you won't be able to do it on your own."

"I know. That's where you come in. I want you and the 104th to help me track down Krell and investigate any leads," Saedii said.

Something new blazed in Wolffe's eyes. Excitement. "We'd be honored to fight beside you again. You know that already."

"You can say no if you think it's too dangerous –"

"We've never backed down from a fight. We're not about to start now."

A smile pulled at her lips. The Wolfpack was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Krell and his Inquisitors wouldn't know what hit them.

"What about Hunter and the rest?" Phee asked. Wolffe turned to her in surprise, as if he hadn't noticed she was there.

Saedii's lips pinched together. "They don't want to fight anymore. I'm not going to drag them back in after they finally found the peace they've been wanting."

"But you're not going to tell them about your side quest, are you." Phee tilted her head. It wasn't a question.

"No." Saedii fought with the uneasy flip of her stomach. "I can't tell them."

Not after everything that Hunter and the rest had done to keep her safe. They wouldn't want her to go – wouldn't want her to risk her life. And she didn't want to be the one to make them anxious. To make them worry.

Fighting without them by her side would be tough. But the knowledge that they were safe here on Pabu would be enough to sustain her.

"It's going to be hard to keep that secret," Phee commented.

"I know."

"How are you planning on getting off-world? Tech's got your ship locked down tight."

"I haven't figured that out yet. I was going to look –"

Phee held up a hand. "I'll find you a ship, kid. It might take a few weeks and we'll have to hide it, but I'll get you something that'll fly."

Suddenly, Saedii had never been more grateful to have Phee. Somehow, this pirate understood her need for action, for vengeance, better than Saedii ever could have guessed.

"What about flight records?" Wolffe asked, ever practical. "Tech will notice a ship entering and exiting Pabu's airspace."

"I can help!" a small voice called from the dark.

All three of them looked up as Omega emerged from the shadowy path, a fiercely determined look in her eye.

Saedii glared at her. "Omega, you should be in bed –"

"I know how to hack into Tech's equipment," Omega said, cutting off Saedii's protest. "I can hide it from him."

"Megs," Saedii tried again. The last thing she needed was for Omega to get involved in any of this.

But Omega was staunch. "I want to help, Saedii. Any way that I can. If this is how I help the Rebellion, then so be it."

Wolffe seemed to be as anxious as Saedii felt. By the twist of his lips, he didn't think it was a good idea.

"You could use the help," Phee said in agreement.

"I don't know," Saedii mused.

Omega put her hands on her hips. "I want to help – and, I want you to train me in hand-to-hand combat every morning."

"Train you? Why?"

"So that when Rex is ready to free the trapped Clones on Tantiss I can go."

Immediately, Saedii was shaking her head. "No. That's way too dangerous. Hunter would never –"

"I don't care what any of them want," Omega insisted. "They didn't have to see the Clones tortured. They weren't around it every day like I was. And I'm not going to sit around while more of my brothers are ripped apart."

Saedii hesitated. In the silence, the crashing of the waves was like thunder on the sand as the white water raced along the shore. Kalth had finally stopped pacing, though he glared at the water that licked only inches from his boot.

"Please," Omega said softly. "I deserve my revenge, same as you."

"She's got you there," Phee pointed out.

It was no use, anyways. Now that Omega knew Saedii's secret, she had power over her. All she had to do was tell Hunter what Saedii was planning, and the whole thing would be over before it even started.

Sighing, Saedii conceded, "Fine, but when that time does come, you won't complain about the part that you play, no matter how big or minor. Understand?"

"Yes." Triumph glittered in Omega's dark eyes.

"You've got ground support, transport, and your escape route covered," Wolffe summarized. His attention drifted to Kalth. "Now all you need is another blade."

Kalth's shoulders tightened, but he made no other sign that he'd heard. Even as Saedii turned to look at him, he didn't look up.

"Kalth," Saedii started. She swallowed. Could she really ask him to do this? After everything that he'd been through.

To her intense surprise, he looked up and said, "You don't have to say anything. I'm going with you."

"You don't have to. You're safe here –"

"If you're going, I'm going."

Her necklace felt heavy against her skin, like it held the weight of all the trauma she'd faced since being free. All the pain that she'd felt. While Kalth hadn't been nearly as open with his own trauma, she knew that he was hurting as badly as she was. Maybe even worse.

Taking a step closer, Saedii lowered her voice and said, "I know you wanted to leave a week ago. If that's still your choice, then I can take you somewhere. You don't have to come –"

"I was never going to leave. Even on Teth." His expression softened as he looked at her, harsh lines melting away. "I said that I was, but I wouldn't have been able to go. Not without you."

A spark of hope kindled in her gut. Pieces of the friend she'd grown up with were still there, tucked away inside the stern, hard man that waited before her. And even after everything they'd been through, he still cared about her as much as she cared about him.

"Are you sure?" she asked one last time.

A crooked smile hedged his face. "You're not the only one who wants some revenge."

"Revenge isn't the Jedi way."

He didn't even blink. "The old way got our Order killed. I think it's time we set our own rules, starting with this one."

Something hot burned in her chest. Not hope, Saedii realized, but vengeance. Determination. Saedii had always been a stickler for the rules, but that hadn't been enough to save her, or their brothers and sisters.

Kalth was right. It was time to live by new rules. Starting with this.

Krell and his Inquisitors had hunted down and killed Jedi for far too long. It was time that they were the prey now. Time for them to feel the same helplessness that came from being hunted.

And Krell...his death would not be kind.

Invisible weight fell from Saedii's shoulders. That black hole that had split open inside of her was suddenly glittering with faint stars – sparks of determination and anticipation and rage. A new purpose flooded the empty spaces, filling the thousands of cracks that had splintered through her in the past year.

"So we're really going to do this?" Omega asked, looking only at Saedii.

"Yes, we are." In that moment, it felt as though a shadow of her former self flickered inside of her. A ghost slowly coming back to life.

Kalth nodded. Phee smiled. Even Wolffe saluted, reading the fierceness of Saedii's expression.

But it was Omega's reaction that made Saedii feel as though she'd truly made the right decision. That small shadow of fear that had hidden deep in the folds of Omega's eyes suddenly disappeared. Replaced with righteousness. With purpose. Like Saedii, she too had suffered. She, too, was ready to strike back at the ones who had hurt her.

A slow smile curved Saedii's mouth.

The Empire had feasted on her suffering for far too long.

Now, it was time they felt her rage.