Everything Broken: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 20: Deception

(A/N: Art above by me.)

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"What's it like being an ARC?"

The two had met up at the storage vault once more, but instead of taking inventory, they chose to use their stolen time to spar. It had been nearly two weeks since Kidara's arrival on the Resolute, and nearly every day was spent sneaking away to do various shenanigans without Jace's watchful eye. The storage room was incredibly hot, so Olson had stripped down to his blacks while Kidara removed her cover tunic. It left her back exposed but her chest and abdomen covered, so as long and she was facing forward, her scar wouldn't be visible.

Olson did a simple spin with Kidara's green bladed saber, his shoulders slightly hunched.

"If you're trying to distract me," He pointed the end of the blade at Kidara. "It isn't working."

Kidara surged forward, their blades clashing, trapping Olson under her as he fell back to his knees.

"I'm serious!" She grinned wickedly. "I wanna know what it's like!"

Olsons eyes flicked to Kidara's legs, and before Kidara could calculate his thoughts he was swinging his armor-clad leg into her shins, sending her toppling over him. He then leaned back, taking her arm in his grip and throwing her to the floor. She landed on her back with a thump.

"It's certainly harder than being a trooper." Olson stood up, turning to help Kidara to her feet. "More rules, stricter training, heavier armor."

Kidara coughed, the air knocked out of her as she un-ignited her saber and let Olson pull her up.

"We're supposed to eat more rations, to help build muscle," Olson tossed the silver-hilted saber back to Kidara, who caught it and clipped it to her belt in one fell swoop. "But I can't even stomach more that one or two."

Kidara dusted herself off, kneeling down to refasten her boot that had been nearly kicked off in the process of Olson's kick.

"How did you get promoted?" She looked up to see that Olson wasn't looking at her face, but rather the rigid crevasse in her skin. "Wait, I don't—"

"How did that happen?"

I was impaled, Obviously.

"Accident on the battlefield." Kidara responded quickly. "Didn't heal quite right."

Olson placed his hand on Kidara's shoulder, gently turning her to get a better look at the scar.

"How did you even survive that?"

Yikes.

Kidara groaned internally. This was a question she got often, whether it be from other padawans or clones in the GAR. It wasn't that she disliked the scar, Ashoka had reminded her that it was just proof that she survived something that would normally be fatal. It was the fact that she had survived. She lived because she had the privilege too. If it was a vod who had gotten the injury, they would have been left behind, no questions asked.

"Bacta." Kidara answered quietly. "I was in a bacta tank for a week."

"Tough subject?" Olson gave Kidara a lopsided grin. "We can stop talking about it. No worries."

You don't deserve this, Olson. You deserve so much more than this.

"Kidara?" Olson waved his hand in front of Kidara's face. "You still with me?"

"Yeah, sorry." Kidara shook her head. "Hey, Olson?"

"What is it?" The clone ducked his head slightly, a concerned look across his face. "Everything okay?"