A snippet from my Clone Wars fan fic I've been working on with Jedi Master Kada Tohmi, and Commander Volk. For background context, they fell in love and finally admitted their feelings for each other just a few months before Order 66 happens. Kada Tohmi is a Master in the art of Force healing.
Summary: Clone Commander Volk receives the dreaded order while his Jedi Commander stands next to him, Master Kada Tohmi.
Words: 914
Triggers: Blaster wound, removal of inhibitor chip
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Volk held the small holodisc in his hand, the message playing out in front of him.
“Execute Order 66.” The small projection of Palpatine said.
Something inside of Volk’s mind seemed to click, a switch he didn’t know was there, taking over his body. His hand immediately began to tremble as he fought the sensation of his self control slipping away.
Kada Tohmi turned her gaze from the holodisc to Volk’s face. She was smiling. Her usual calm, serene smile, but her eyes held pity in them. He didn’t understand what was going on. Why did he suddenly think she was the enemy?
“It’s alright, Volk. I knew this might happen one day.” She said to him quietly.
Volk felt like a prisoner in his own mind as his body began to move without his permission, moving in a way he would never tell it to. His body moving to hurt the woman he loved more than anything in the galaxy.
“Run…” Volk told her through gritted teeth. “Get away…”
“No, my love. I’ll stay.” Kada told him softly. She stepped up to him and placed her hand on the side of his temple as she gazed into his eyes.
“Please…” Volk begged her. His hand was moving on its own, reaching for his blaster. Still, she stood calmly in front of him. He tried to fight it, whatever this was. The darkness seeping into his mind, a desire to hurt her… kill her. No!
Volk tried to step away from her, pull out of her grasp, but he couldn’t move his legs. His hand shook as it pulled the blaster from his holster.
“Hold still.” Kada told him, her hand still gently placed on his temple. “Now that it’s activated, I can sense it. I can take it out.”
Volk had no idea what she was talking about. His eyes were wide with fear as he brought his blaster up, pressing the barrel to her abdomen.
“P-please…” He sobbed, a single tear running down his cheek.
A sharp pain seared through his mind as his finger squeezed the trigger. Everything went blank for a second, his vision white, then red. A pain that threatened to split his skull in two tore through his mind, but just as quickly as it started, it began to fade. A gentle warmth seeping into his temple.
Through the searing pain, he heard the blaster shot, then… he froze. His hand no longer moved on its own. He stopped himself from firing the second bolt as the pain subsided and his senses returned.
Volk hadn’t realised his eyes were closed. He opened them slowly. Kada still stood in front of him, that calm smile on her face. She slowly lowered her hand from his temple, curled into a fist.
“There. It’s out. They can no longer control you.” She said quietly. Volk immediately noticed how strained and hushed her voice was.
“What… what did you do?” Volk asked, his voice low and hesitant.
“I removed your inhibitor chip.” Kada whispered. “You are free…” Her smile faltered as she staggered backwards.
Volk tried to reach for her but she fell. He stared in horror as she toppled to the floor, a blaster hole in her abdomen. He looked down at his own hand. His hand holding the smoking blaster. His finger that pulled the trigger. He threw the blaster away in disgust.
“NO!” Volk screamed as he sank to his knees next to her. He gathered her up in his arms. “No, no, no…”
She gasped, taking a shuddering breath as she tried to speak. “It’s alright, my love.” Kada said weakly. “It’s not…your fault…” Her body went limp, her hand falling to the side as her eyes closed.
“Kada!? KADA!” Volk cried out pulling her limp body tight against his chest.
Something caught his eye, as tears began to well up and spill down his cheeks. In Kada’s palm sat the strange bloodied inhibitor chip. She’d somehow pulled it out of his head while simultaneously healing him with her Force powers. All while he stood there and shot her in the gut.
Volk’s mind raced through what he could do. All the training simulations coming back to him. But this wasn’t a battlefield, and this wasn’t a fallen brother. He didn’t have a med pack, and there was no medic to call. Or was there?
His hand started moving before his mind had even caught up to the idea. He hit the comm on his wrist calling Yumie. He stared at it in desperation, waiting for her to answer.
“Volk.” Came Yumie’s clipped voice.
“Help! Kada’s down! Get to her office now!” Volk shouted into the comm.
“Coming!” Yumie responded, then the comm went dead.
Volk cradled Kada in his arms, tears streaming down his face. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry!” He wept, not sure if she was even alive still.
The seconds and minutes stretched out into long, agonizing moments as Volk waited. He didn’t have to wait long, but to him, it felt like an eternity. Eventually, the door to Kada’s office burst open and Yumie and two older students came sprinting in.
Yumie knelt on the other side of Kada looking her over, as she gently eased her Jedi Master out of Volk’s arms and laid her on the floor. Volk buried his face in his hands, unable to control his weeping. What have I done? The question repeated over and over in his mind.
