The Pulse of the Republic

"So Much Darkness. So Much Fear"

Ahsoka had put the ship on autopilot and set her head down on the console, allowing her sadness to overtake for her a few moments. The tears slipped down onto her cheeks, and Obi-Wan set a hand on her shoulder as he plotted the course for Coruscant. They had seen Quinn and Rex get on board the ship, and they were under heavy fire when their own cruiser made the jump to hyperspace. 

Armada was still in critical condition as Tabitha worked to remove the glass from her arm, while Ghost fished the shrapnel out of her midriff. Gill had sunk to his knees next to the exit hatch and hadn't moved since. He had made it on board the ship first, and the guilt that he had left Quinn and Rex behind, and that Armada was dying, was crushing him. He was desperate to do something. To go back for them, or to push forward as fast as possible and get Armada help. The clones, more used to losing their friends, were stoic and silent as they assisted Tabitha. 

The crew was teetering on the brink of a knife all the way back to the capitol. They had managed to get Armada under stable control, and she was conscious when they carried her into the Jedi temple infirmary. Immediately after that, the rest of the team was called to the Jedi council room and questioned about the events of the mission. It was hard not to feel bitter about their seeming lack of concern for Quinn and Rex. The Tracker was clearly their priority, and when Gill demanded that the Republic send a search party to look for his friends, Mace Windu exchanged a look with the others, then said, "They knew the risks of the mission and have performed their duty. Captain Rex and Specialist Shay's fates are in their own hands now."

After that little speech, Gill had to be forcibly restrained and removed from the room, all the while shouting, "You're just as bad as them! All that you care about is leverage! You're corrupt! You're all corrupt!" 

Tabitha stood on her own for a moment before the council. No one knew how to proceed next. Master Yoda shook his head and said quietly to himself, "So much darkness. So much fear." 

"Obi-Wan, do you still have the Tracker?" asked Anakin, who had been invited into the meeting as soon as the team got back. Obi-Wan nodded and set it on the table next to him. 

"I make a motion that we destroy it." said Ailya Secura. 

"What?" Obi-Wan exclaimed, nearly standing up out of his chair. 

"It's too dangerous a weapon to keep in existence. Now that the enemy knows about it, they'll come for it, and while it would aid us in hunting Grievous, it could also be used against us with devastating effects." Master Secura explained.

Mace Windu nodded, "I agree, the Tracker is too great a loose end to forget. I second the motion that it be destroyed?"

"You can't do that." said Obi-Wan, even as the rest of the council raised their hands.

"The motion is passed."

Tabitha heard the words and looked up, tears swimming in her unfathomable eyes. She first looked at Obi-Wan, who had sat back down in his chair, helpless to stop the combined vote of the council. Then she turned to Yoda, Windu, and the rest of the council, looking at each of them individually as she said in a sad voice, "Quinn gave everything for your cause. And you're leaving her to rot. And now you're destroying the very thing that she gave her life to protect." 

"Tabitha-"

"Burn in Hell." she said, and turned, walking away from the Jedi order, and never looking back. Once outside the room, she grabbed Gill's arm and hauled him away. They would be back later for Armada, but in the mean time, Tabitha needed to find someone who could reverse a mind wipe. She couldn't bear the burden of their past on her own. It was time for him to remember who Patmos had made him to be.