Chapter Text
"I'm going to need an explanation, Wu."
Marcy and her commander, Jan, sat in the command room at night.
"Look, I'm sorry, but we didn't have time and she was handcuffed. I wasn't told there was going to be a bodyguard!"
"And you couldn't just have eliminated her on the ship?"
"Doing so would have compromised our relations with the lady."
The commander paused. "How so?"
Marcy in response sighed. "Miss waybright bonded with the officer. She's vouching for her, keeps saying that 'she can fix her'."
The woman raised an eyebrow, and Marcy chuckled in response.
"Yeah, tell me about it. Helpless fucks."
"Marcy, I love you but we'd like to keep this professional."
"Sorry, sorry. So what do you want me to do with her? I'd like to avoid killing her, Sasha's grown quite attached."
"Hmm… where is she right now?"
"She's currently bunking in the Lady's quarters." At Jan's incredulous look, she clarified. "Don't worry, she has a bedroll! And there's no danger. Boonchuy's an imperial officer but if anything, she's loyal to a fault. Put down an escape plan in favour of keeping Sasha safe."
Jan hummed. "This really is quite the predicament… leave them for now. We'll interrogate boonchuy in the morning. You're dismissed."
"Yes. Ma'am," Marcy saluted, leaving for her own quarters, considerably smaller than Sasha's. She didn't mind, the girl didn't need much.
Opening the door, the girl collapsed onto her bunk, not even bothering to change. Today had been long.
She hadn't really meant to be as snappy as she had been but the mission had been stressful enough, what with the nature of orchestrating a fake kidnapping the daughter of dalnan senators, a planet that had quickly gained much influence in the senate. Adding a kindhearted imperial officer (who was nevertheless an enemy but too friendly to kill) to the equation really took it out of her. She'd remained tense but friendly at the start, and she was so proud of herself for remaining calm… up until the ship.
Because of course the girl, the force bless her soul, just had to mess the mission up. Now she had to burn some of her hard earned reputation at this establishment just to keep her alive.
Curling up into a sleeping position that certainly wouldn't be good for her in years to come, Marcy tried not to think about how, if Anne escaped and ratted, she'd certainly be one of the galaxy's most wanted criminals.
Just before she dozed off, she remembered she hadn't locked the room. Groaning, she waved her hand in a vague motion to the door.
click!
Sasha woke up first to a cold, slightly humid air, akin to an early spring morning. Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with a momentarily unfamiliar room. It wasn't long until she remembered where she was.
Of course. She was a rebel now.
Turning around, she expected to see Anne sleeping next to her- and was met only with the other side of her bed. She could, however, hear rustling and movement from somewhere in the room. Taking a closer look it was from behind a partitioner- Presumably the girl herself. Getting up, she instinctually looked around for her wadrobe…
Ah. Right.
No wardrobe.
Sasha went to don her dress from the previous day- just as puffy and unnescessary as it had been hours before. not like she had many other choices, though, she thought, pulling her arms through. she'd have to ask somebody for some spare slacks or something.
No matter how hard she tried, that little spoiled girl inside her felt queasy at the idea of wearing something so crude.
"I heard movement. you awake, miss waybright?"
Sasha turned back around to see her bodyguard, still wearing her dark imperial uniform, somehow miraculously without a crease to be seen.
That girl had skills.
"How-?" Sasha asked, baffled. But it seemed Anne could tell what she was going to ask, because she smirked, clearly proud of herself.
"Well, I may be in hostile territory, but I know I'm not going to be killed, at least for the time being. So, while I wait for us to be rescued-" Sasha let out a scoff which Anne chose to ignore- "-it's my duty as an upstanding citizen to set an example, to both you, and the rest of your new friends, in the hopes that they desert this place and apply themselves to a government that cares for them. I'd like to resolve this peacefully, if I can." She put her hands to her hips, proud of herself.
"By the force, you're helpless…" Sasha groaned. Anne's face turned red. cute.
"I am not helpless!"
Sasha giggled. She was so cute when she was trying to be patriotic. "Sure thing, girlfriend. now, I'm gonna go find something else to wear-"
The door opened to none other than their friend from yesterday, Marcy.
The first thing the duo noticed was that her temperament seemed rather… different from their last meeting.
"Hello, folks- what on coruscant are you wearing?" she looked Sasha up and down.
it was Sasha's turn to blush this time. "for your information, I was about to go look for something else…" she mumbled.
Marcy's eyes whizzed around the room, locking onto the other individual that had stayed that night. "You too. Are you trying to get shot? and how did you manage to make that clean-?"
"Don't ask her, she'll get all pompous again," Sasha joked, Anne responding with a frown and crossing her arms.
Marcy looked like she was about to say something, but instead took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"…okay. I can accept that. I'll get you two some different clothes, and then we'll proceed to the command room," She paused, like she was struggling to say what was coming next. "I wanted to apologise for my behaviour yesterday, I get stressed when things go wrong during missions. I'm aware of the issue and I'm trying to work on it."
Sasha giggled. "Don't fret it, I wasn't worried."
"Easy for you to say, you weren't the one she was threatening to kill…" Anne grumbled.
Marcy turned red in embarrasment. "yeah, sorry about that… I go a little far with threats sometimes… just wait here a second, I'll go get you some new clothes."
"I don't need 'em!" Anne called after her.
"Like heck you don't!"
Sasha walked along next to Marcy, embarrased. she wore a dark brown jacket and a white shirt, with a pair of dark jeans, (on their side, a holster) and boots. she wore them like a girl who had never had to wear anything remotely like it- this was because she was that girl. Marcy stared at her, bemused by her expression.
Unlike Sasha, who was staring at the floor, Anne, meanwhile, had stubbornly refused to change. She still wore her Imperial uniform (and indeed, restraining cuffs) with pride, earning her many a look from passers by.
eventually the group arrived at the control room, where Anne was sat down, cuffed but unrestrained. she looked to the right at Sasha, her charge.
"You okay, Sasha?" she asked.
Sasha scoffed. "you're the one restrained."
"Yeah, well, I'm not worried about me right now."
before the conversation could continue, a gruff looking man and a younger cheerier woman walked in.
Marcy nodded. "Jan. General Draven."
"Wu. I see the mission was a success, though Jan told me there were some complications. and I presume," he eyed Anne, "that I'm looking right at them."
Jan hushed him, much to his displeasure. "I think we're being too agressive here. first off, why don't we welcome miss waybright? I'm the one who's been reading all of your encryptions!"
At this, the waybright's eyes lit up, but she didn't say anything. Draven once again stepped in.
"As much as we appreciate the girl's contributions, I do think we ought to focus on the pressing issue at hand. Namely, Miss Boonchuy here. Now, remind me why we can't kill her, Wu?"
Marcy clearly seemed embarrased to say it. "Well, they, um. For one, Anne was- is, sorry Anne. Anne is an imperial officer and she has a lot of potential information that we could get out of her. A- as well as this, she…" the girl faltered.
Draven stared at her. "She what, exactly?"
"…Well, she and Miss waybright have sort of bonded a little? After all, Anne's shown no signs of hostility in favour of keeping the girl safe. She really does seem loyal."
"So let me get this straight," the general started, "You want me to spare an imperial officer who will put a target on our backs, at the behest of the girl we already risked our necks to save? The same girl that, thanks to said officer may I remind, has now most likely made us a large enough target?"
"If I may interject?"
Heads turned to the speaker- that being Sasha.
"Waybright, as welcome as you are, you're inexperienced in the rebellion, so unless you have some reason to talk-"
"it's a suggestion, jeez. What I wanted to say was that we could just… make her a rebel."
An incredulous silence engulfed the group.
"Is that supposed to be a joke, Waybright?" asked Jan.
Anne shook her head, almost appaled. "Sasha, I'm here to take care of you, not join whatever gang you've gotten yourself into!"
"Not a gang, and I joined of my own accord," Sasha deadpanned. "Look, I just think she could be really useful. She's kindhearted, she believes in doing the right thing, and she's skilled."
Anne stared at her for a second, before sagging her shoulders.
"Fine. Yeah. Sure."
Draven raised an eyebrow. "What?"
The imperial officer sighed. "I'm not a dumbass, dumbass. I know that if I don't fulfill a long term purpose, I won't live. you'll kill me, and I won't be able to protect Sasha until my people arrive. so go ahead, use me or whatever."
"And what, pray tell, other than information, could we get from you?"
"As Sasha said, I'm not exactly untrained. top of my class, hellooo! and judging by the fact that those two soldiers behind me by the door were picking their noses, I have the feeling you're either understaffed or woefully undisciplined, likely both. and the rusty ships outside? really? you folks aren't doing too hot. Oh, and don't wet yourself scared," she added, "I'll stay away from all your sad little rebel missions. As I said. I'm not here to join your terrorism club, just making sure the Lady gets out of here."
Sasha stared at her. Though reluctant, and frankly rude, this could be what she needed to save Anne-
"I appreciate the enthusiasm," Draven drawled sarcastically, "But we weren't asking for your permission. She was looking for ours."
Jan, however, had something else to say. "Oh c'mon, Dav, if Marcy thinks she could be useful she's probably got some merit. You don't seem to like her, so how 'bouts I question her instead?"
Draven considered it.
"I suppose I can allow it… Jan, while you take our 'guest', Marcy, you show miss waybright around, and drop her off for some basic training. I suppose you at least know how to hold a blaster?"
Sasha laughed sheepishly. "I own one at least?" she pulled out a blaster.
it was painted glossy pink.
"…look, I realise in retrospect it looks really dumb but at the time I thought it'd look pretty."
The general pinched the bridge of his nose. "dear fucking… okay, drop her off to Plantar, then. She's going to need to shape up to assure us she's actually an asset. we're a rebellion, not a charity."
Marcy nodded. "Follow me, miss waybright."
Sasha groaned. "I told you to just call me Sasha…" her voice trailed off as they went away, leaving only three, and upon general Draven leaving, two.
Jan clapped her hands together. "Well! I suppose we'd better get started then!"
Jan sat Anne down in a more secluded room, one Anne guessed was most likely one used for mission debriefings.
"So, miss Boonchuy," she said, excitedly pulling out a datapad to take notes. " I don't ask much, but essentially I'd like to know the basics of what happened that night. It appeared to me that we had a few details wrong, as you weren't supposed to be there. So spill. how'd your crew find out?"
Anne put her feet up on the table, a lazy grin on her face. "and why would I tell you chumps anything?"
Jan looked up from her noting, eyes suddenly cold. "miss boonchuy," she said, "I think my friendly front has made you forget you're in enemy territory. I can very easily throw you back to the sharks, and be done with you. so I'd think carefully about your next words."
A shiver ran down Anne's spine, but she ignored it. "alright then, I'll play along-" before Jan could get back to her task, she added "-as long as you keep in consideration that I can break out of this crummy place any time I want. I'm just choosing not to."
The lady stared into her soul, before erupting into laughter.
"You've got guts! I like you! I can see what Miss waybright talked about in you."
Anne got defensive. "Hey, I'm not some traitor-"
"Of course not, darling," she said dismissively. "Now, how'd you know we were coming?"
"…No idea. I had only been assigned to the job on the day, they said there had been a tip or something. I was only just promoted… " Anne said with a touch of morose.
Jan nodded, noting it down. "how recently?"
"This was my first job…"
Jan, for her defense, looked a bit sorry for the girl. "well, apologies if we may have ruined your career. On opposite sides we may be, but I can respect a hard worker."
funny, Anne thought. She sounds just like my parents.
"My parents…" Anne felt a painful ache in her core. "They… don't know I'm here… I told them I'd see them soon…"
Jan patted her back affectionately. "Oh dear. I'm sorry. Maybe we can have more of a talk another day."
Anne looked up at her, confused. "You rebels won't last long if you treat your enemies this kindly all the time."
Jan, meanwhile, almost looked sorry for her. Why?
"A young woman missing her family is no enemy… we've all sacrificed such things around here."
Anne raised an eyebrow, almost prodding jan to continue.
Jan shrugged. "I fought in the clone wars, kid. Back then it was easy enough, you'd be fighting battle droids. But I don't think anyone was prepared for this war. This time we have to fight each other. Our families, our friends. And… I don't know. I guess you've gotta have sympathy, understanding that it's not their fault that we live in such a world, to get through it. Now c'mon."
Her hostility long gone, Anne sat there for a few moments, pondering jan's input. Eventually she rose from her seat and followed her 'interrogator'.
Marcy led her charge out of the large structure that the rebels called home. Only now that it was day could Sasha truly appreciate what her new allies had built.
They had taken over what looked to be a massive pyramid-like structure. An airfield had been set up outside of it in which dozens of transports, cargo ships and starfighters waited for either use, or refueling. Up a tower she could see some trusty individual monitoring enterances and exits to the planet.
Despite the low budget (come on, those X wings were nothing to brag about) they clearly ran a tight ship.
"So, uh," Sasha started, pretending not to notice the stares she was recieving from the various airfield crew, "where are you taking me?"
"Oh, just down to Plantar. He's gonna be teaching you to hold that blaster of yours the right way up."
"And we're heading into the woods why exactly?"
Marcy laughed. "You seriously think everybody hunkers down in the main fortress every night? No, it doesn't have the space for that. We have hundreds of rebels with their own quarters set up in the surrounding woods. Hopediah and his kids live just southwest in a little hut. You'll be moving into one too eventually, we just wanted to acclimate you to the lifestyle."
"Hm," Sasha acknowledged. How fun. She still hadn't gotten used to the soft ground but it looks like she'd be well acquainted with it soon.
eventually she arrived at a small wooden home on stilts, beneath which a strange creature sat in a pen. Marcy walked her way up a few steps, motioning for Sasha to follow, before calling in.
"Mr. Plantar? Sorry to barge in, It's Marcy. We have a new recruit who needs… your help."
"Coming, Coming," a voice was heard from within. eventually an old man walked out. "Oh, howdy, Marcy! You haven't visited for a long while, thought you'd forgotten about me!" Sasha could have sworn she'd seen his face before.
Marcy kept an impassive face. "I've been busy."
The man shook his finger, chiding the girl. "You know what I've said, you can call me Hop-Pop!"
"Well, it'd be a little informal, considering we have a guest. As I said."
Hopediah turned his head to see the girl behind Marcy.
"Well as I live and breathe! That wouldn't be Sasha waybright, would it?"
Sasha's eyes lit up. "You've met me? I swore I recognised your face!"
the Man laughed in response. "Ha! I can see why she needs help! girl hasn't spent a day in the rest of the galaxy before! darlin, no wonder you've seen my face before. I'm a clone."
A clone! That was it! Thinking back, Sasha remembered seeing his face at a military parade a few years back, when she was still a girl. The one she'd seen must have been a veteran.
"So you fought in the clone wars?" Sasha asked.
"That I did. I was part of a squad called the wartwoodians, due to the fact that we'd gotten stuck on a hostile forest planet once and taken in by some kind folks. It's also where I got my accent, most clones'd be speakin' a little different to me but I tried to fit in and tweaked my voice." The man sighed. "I don't really think fondly of my years on the battlefield, though, I did some things I wasn't proud of. I digress. Point is, I'm here now. I'm assumin' you're here to learn how to handle a gun."
"that I am." Sasha confirmed, pulling her sparkly weapon out of it's holster.
"what in the heck…"
Marcy sighed. "I know, but don't worry about it-"
"LORD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO IT?" Hopediah shouted. "That's a mark II Ticon hand blaster! produced more than sixty years ago, and discontinued. A masterpiece of engineering, and it's in mint condition! or at least, it was, before you LATHERED IT in what looks like NAIL VARNISH! This is an unforgivable sin!"
The two ladies stared at him, before Marcy spoke up. "Should have seen that coming… the old man is pretty into this sort of stuff."
"I'm a crisp thirty four," Hopediah grumbled, turning back to Sasha.. "now git back down there so I can teach you how to shoot that disgrace before you give me a heart attack."
Anne was led back to her room, Jan opening the door for her. Tapping her fingers against one another, Anne looked around.
"Sooo, what do I do here?"
"Unfortunately you are still our prisoner and I'm busy, so you're going to have to stay put till Sasha or Marcy come back. usually we play cards to keep ourselves entertained but you're on your own."
That arose another question. "Where are they again? Mr. Grumpypants mentioned a 'plantar' but I have no idea who that is."
"Oh, just an old clone trooper who helps train newcomers round here."
Anne quirked an eyebrow. "Why would a clone trooper help the rebellion? They were instrumental in the formation of the empire, many of them live in happy retirement."
Jan gave her a look, before sighing. "If that's what they told you, I guess. well, I'll be seeing you, Anne." and with that, she closed the door, locking it.
…
As soon as the door had closed Anne launched into action, analysing the entire room for a possible weakness. this building looked old and decrepit from what she'd seen the previous night, and the doors ancient. heck, they functioned on old hinges and locks!
The officer fixed her eyes on the simple mechanism. with these being private quarters and not prisons, they were ill suited for anyone actually attempting to escape. what with that and mechanical doors being standard throughout the galaxy, the technology simply wasn't very streamlined. Anne had learnt about it in her own time, teaching it to herself using old caskets.
A door would be no different.
pulling the code cylinder from her pocket, she fashioned the clip as a lockpick. now she just needed something to hold the lock in place. looking around she spotted a screwdriver under the bed. (honestly, these rebels are so messy). within seconds she'd managed to get the mechanism open.
unfortunately for her just outside was a passing rebel.
"hey, who the heck are you?" the helmeted man asked. "isn't this supposed to be waybright's room?"
"uh, yes," she responded warily. "that's a me!"
Seriously? That's a me? Anne, you're a mess.
"…you're waybright."
"Mhm."
"You're wearing an imperial uniform."
"Yes."
"No you're not."
"Oh fuck it," Anne gave up, knocking him off of his feet and dragging him inside before knocking him out. A few minutes later the girl emerged from the room wearing rebel clothes- the helmet was unnecessarily clunky but it would hide her eyes well.
She encountered a few other people on her way out of the building but was able to deter them with a friendly smile and a quick joke. These soldiers were used to defending a territory that had never experienced a direct assault, no wonder they were lacking in the sort of training she had.
Eventually she reached a hangar opening, sun shining through. Anne passed the final stretch and found herself on soft earth once more- a still unfamiliar sensation for the coruscant girl but nothing her training hadn't prepared her for.
It was when she was looking around that she realised she had absolutely no idea where this 'plantar' was.
Spotting a young froglike boy of about 14, she approached him with a friendly face, hoping he would reciprocate.
"Hey there! Would you happen to know where a man named Plantar lives? I'm supposed to be heading over to wait for miss waybright so I can bring her back." She'd made the lie up on the spot and instantly regretted it. Now she'd be expected to show herself to everyone there, presumably Sasha and Marcy who both knew she shouldn't be.
"Plantar? Heh, that would be me!"
Anne was shocked. This kid? The expert she'd heard about was some boy fresh out of his crib? Wait. He didn't look anything like a clone-
"-ooor my grandpa. One or the other."
Ah. That'd make more sense.
"…well, can you take me to him?"
"Of course, friend! Name's sprig plantar. You?"
"…Anne."
After a short trek through a beaten path they arrived at the same house on stilts that two humans had already come across today. And speaking of, said two (along with an elderly clone) appeared to be out the back, practising Sasha's aim on some old targets. Her tongue out in focus, she appeared to be failing miserably, but not for lack of trying.
"Alright, they should be just there!" Sprig said. "You want to-?"
Anne cut in. "I'm good! Looks like they're still busy, I should probably wait back here for them to finish. Behind the trees. Preferably alone."
Sprig stared at her.
"You're not a rebel, are you?"
Anne sighed. "I'd like to ask how you knew, but I haven't exactly been top of my game today…"
"Word travels fast on this planet, friend. I knew that we were housing a captive and I could already tell something was up by your relative cleanliness but-"
"You didn't want to draw to conclusions?"
"-Yeah. That and, you clearly weren't hurting anyone, so what was the harm?"
Anne smiled, trying not to think of the guy she'd knocked out shortly before. "Thanks, I guess."
"That and my family could totally take you. Sister included."
"How old is your sister?"
"Ten. Now c'mon," he said, dragging her along by the hand and dragging her out of the treeline.
"Wha-" Anne was confused. "Where are you tak- I thought I'd be going back?"
"Hey, no harm in sneaking out to see your girlfriends, nobody needs to know! I'll cover for you."
"Wha- hey! They're not my girlfriends!"
Anne was brought into the sight of the other two women.
"Anne? What're you doing here?" Sasha asked, confused, her blaster shot going wonky and nearly hitting Hop-pop ("careful with that thing!").
Sprig spoke up before Anne could. "Oh, she was doing nothing so I was told to escort her over to you! Right, Anne?"
"Yup!" Anne lied through her teeth. "Jan said I was finished with the interrogation so she sent me to pick you up."
Marcy raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off, clearly not bothered to enquire further.
"Well, we'll be here a little longer so that's no issue, just don't disturb Sasha. She's struggling already as it is."
At this the blonde puffed up, turning red. "I am not struggling! I'm just- I'm new to this!"
Anne looked at her technique. yikes. Able to stand it no longer, Anne walked up to Sasha.
"Anne, what was the one thing I-" Marcy began, but was ignored. "Or just don't listen to me. Great. Why would anyone pay attention to the one in charge here…"
The imperial officer approached Sasha's back, holding her wrist and correcting her posture, making the girl eep.
"Sasha, you're standing wrong, too rigid," she said, still in close contact with her. "These things tend to have recoil. Standing there with your limbs that straight is gonna hurt."
Sasha allowed Anne's gentle movements to ease her into an indeed more comfortable position. And when she shot again, she actually hit her target.
Not perfect. But definitely an improvement.
"Oh, come on, I've been telling her that the whole time!" Hopediah said. "Why's she listening now that it's you?"
"Oh, I have a pretty good idea," Marcy grinned.
It was that evening when Marcy thought she'd go for a late night stroll. It was helpful to her, to get her mind cleared- She found it difficult to control herself after a hard day, and today was certainly something, what with the two agents of chaos under her wing.
She'd already been annoyed when she found out she was expected to burn her time for some spoilt senators child, time that she was trying to spend honing her abilities, but she ended up not being that bad.
No, it was her annoyingly endearing guard dog that was annoying.
She constantly messed with them and yet she couldn't seem to get mad at her! She swore, if she did one more insane thing she'd-
Suddenly she saw a familiar poofy haired woman walk out of the empty command room, walking up to her.
"Wha- why are you up-?"
"Your security is shit. I broke into all your computers, you should probably change the passwords and heighten security. Don't worry, I didn't peek at anything."
The woman walked past her and went off in the direction of her room.
…
…okay.