Febuwhump 2024 - Day 10: Killing in Self-Defense
Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars)
Characters: Caleb Dume
Word Count: 644
Content Warning: Depictions of Murder
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Summary: Caleb is forced to go to extreme measures to survive.
***
The snow under his boots crunched with excruciating volume as Caleb raced down the mountain, practically blind to his surroundings. Light reflected off the snow, making everything way too bright. His heavy breathing was all he could hear, his heart pounding so hard he thought it would explode. It almost felt like his body was moving on its own as he tried to process everything that had happened. The clones, Master Billaba… He didn’t understand. Why did they turn on her? Caleb had fought alongside those clones for months, watching each other’s backs, learning each of their quirks, their personalities, their individuality… and they turned on him. They turned on her.
Then there was Clone Force 99. They claimed not to know what was going on, but Caleb didn’t believe it for a second. Crosshair had actively shot at him. There was no way they were trying to help. Hunter had tried to talk some sense into Caleb, tried to tell him that he was on the Padawan’s side, but Caleb didn’t listen. He ran from them, away from the battlefield, over the ravine, and away from harm.
At least, for now.
If the clones turned on Master Billaba, Caleb thought, then does that mean they killed all the Jedi?
Caleb tripped over a root, sending him tumbling down the hill. He clawed at the snow, trying to slow his fall to no avail. He landed at the bottom of the hill, his robes soaked and hair covered in snow, but he picked himself up and kept running. He saw a city in the distance and adjusted his course to head toward it, hoping to find some kind of news blaring on holoprojectors or chatter amongst the people. The trees began to thin out, allowing the sun to reflect off the snow. Caleb kept running, using his eyes to scan the scene, the Force to alert him of any danger.
The spike of awareness in his body signaled him before anything else.
Two blaster bolts whizzed past his head. He ducked and turned on his heels, diving for cover behind a tree. He whipped his lightsaber off his belt, straining his senses for the source of the attack. There was a presence five — no, six meters behind him, and they were getting closer. Definitely a clone.
Damn those traitors.
Without a second thought, Caleb mustered as much strength as he could and charged toward the clone, igniting his saber. He reached out with the Force and tore the clone’s gun away from his hands before jumping up, raising his blade high above his head, and bringing it down on the clone in blind rage.
He would make them pay for killing his Master.
Caleb used the Force to slow his descent, his boots cracking the snow just slightly. The anger boiling in his chest slowly faded as he inhaled the crisp air, Billaba’s voice echoing in his mind: Breathe, Caleb. Anger only leads to the dark side.
Caleb glanced over his shoulder at the fallen clone as his lightsaber deactivated. The soldier’s chest plate was still smoldering from where Caleb had struck him down, and his helmet seemed to have fallen off. Caleb approached the body, his stomach dropping as he got a closer look at the soldier’s face.
Styles. He had killed Styles.
The memories raced through Caleb’s mind, making him weak in the knees. Caleb had spent hours with Styles, Captain Grey’s right-hand man, working up battle plans, goofing around, and sparring under Billaba’s supervision. After Caleb’s friend, Stance, had died in battle, Styles had walked the young Padawan through the grief, helping him bounce back stronger.
And here he was, dead at Caleb’s own hands.
The sound of more clones snapped Caleb out of his thoughts. Hands clenched and stomach churning, he turned away from Styles and ran for the city.
***
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Tai Uzuma, from the Kanan comics, as an Inquisitor.
Imagine her hunting Ezra and Kanan, post Malachor.
Kanan kind of recognizes the voice and askes Ezra to describe her to him.
Ezra says she has brown skin, black-brown hair with some " golden metal things" in it, and that she has face tatoos.
Kanan freezes up when he realizes who she is.
With a shaky he voice asks her "Tai?".
She stops her attacks and askes back "Caleb?".
Ezra's just standing there like "what??".
Tai refocusses and attacks Kanan, who reacts to late.
Her blade slashes his shoulder badly, but Ezra can force push her away before she kills him.
After Ezra basically carries Kanan back to the phantom two, he asks his master about the Inquisitor.
Kanan sights and explains who she is.
When he's done talking, he's crying, because he remembers what a silly, nice kid she used to be.
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