We cannot bring the dead. Only the living.”
He stared at Blessing, at Gift, and knew she was right. He hated her for being right. He turned and vented his anger on Runner.
“A word to me about them and you die.” He stepped forward and put his face in Runner’s. “A word. Try me, Runner.”
Barely controlled emotion caused Runner’s eye to spasm. Anger curled his lips from his teeth.
It paled in comparison to what Soldier felt. Grief fed his rage, magnified it. He’d turn Runner inside out, bathe in his blood—
“That is enough,” Seer said. “Too many are dead already. That is enough, Soldier.”
Without taking his eyes from Runner, he said to her, “You may not always be right, Seer.”
She smiled. “But what if I am, Soldier?”
To that, he said nothing. He went to little Grace, who breathed deeply, regularly. At his touch, she moaned. He lifted her, cradled her.
“Get Hunter,” he said to Runner. “I have Grace.”
He eyed Two-Blade. His breathing was ragged and rapid. His skin pulsed and bulged. He did not have long. Soldier felt nothing for him. He was focused entirely on Grace.
Runner hefted Hunter and Soldier lifted Grace. Soldier gently placed her in the speeder strapped to the cargo hold bulkhead. Runner loaded Hunter next to her daughter.
“You take the stick, Soldier,” Seer said.
She sat beside him, with Runner in the rear along with Hunter and Grace.
Soldier opened the cargo bay door and activated the speeder. Its thrusters lifted it from the floor. Warm air from outside poured into the cargo bay. It smelled of vegetation, with a faint overlay of distant wood smoke. Insects whistled and chirped, all of it the sounds and smells of a living world. Soldier savored it. He wished Grace could see it.
As they maneuvered out of the cloakshape, a flock of small flying animals, perhaps startled by the appearance of the speeder, winged out of a nearby tree and into the sky.
“Perhaps they bear the souls of the dead to Mother,” Seer said.
Soldier said nothing, merely watched them go, envying them their freedom.
Jaden found Khedryn and Marr in Junker’s cockpit.
“We’ll be coming out of hyperspace soon,” Khedryn said.
“Good,” Jaden said.
“Caf?” Khedryn asked. He had an extra cup filled.
“Thanks,” Jaden said, and took it.
As Khedryn handed him the caf, his eyes fell on the lightsaber hanging from Jaden’s belt.
“You do something to that? It looks different.”
Jaden smiled. “It is different.” He took the hilt in hand and activated the lightsaber. The yellow blade hummed to life. Marr and Khedyrn eyed it.
“That was the clone’s weapon?” Khedryn asked, incredulous. “That red blade?”
Jaden nodded.
“I didn’t know that was possible,” Marr said. “You did something to the power crystal?”
Jaden deactivated the blade. “The attunement to the dark side can be cleared and replaced. It’s an advanced technique,” he said to Marr. “But I will teach you in time.”
Khedryn tapped a finger on his caf mug. “Jedi, if you could do that with the Sith, the galaxy would be a better joint. Just cleanse the place.”
Jaden smiled. “A person is not a crystal.”
“Too bad,” Khedyrn said.
“Redemption isn’t meant to be easy,” Jaden said.
“Too bad, too,” Khedryn said. “Though some of us don’t require redemption.”
Jaden chuckled, and raised his mug to Khedryn in a toast.
“May I ask a question?” Marr asked.
“Of course,” Jaden said.
“Why are we hunting the clones?”
The question was so direct that it stopped Jaden in his tracks.
“What do you mean?” he asked at last.
“Yeah, what?” Khedryn asked.
Marr visibly warmed to this thinking, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.
“What have they done? From what you’ve told me, they could have killed you and Khedryn back on the moon. Isn’t that so? You both stood in the open with the cloakshape right above you.”
“Maybe they could have,” Jaden said.
“But they didn’t. And yet … we hunt them.”
“You didn’t see the inside of that facility, Marr,” Khedryn said. “You didn’t see … the place where they put the doctors and the Imperial troops. Even stormies don’t deserve to go out that way.”
“They lived a long time on that moon. Alone. They were experimented on in horrible ways.”
“They were alone because they slaughtered everyone else,” Khedryn said. “These clones were made by Thrawn to be weapons. And weapons want to be used.”
Jaden listened, turned his thoughts over in his mind.
“These are people,” Marr said. “Not items. They have sentience, agency. That the Empire bred them to be weapons doesn’t make them weapons. They can choose otherwise.”
Khedryn shook his head as he sipped his caf. “You sure