Fluffy February Day 7: Cloak
Fandom: SWTOR
Rating: T
Time: c. 3673 BBY/20 ATC
Pairing: Mostly gen, but there is background Marcus Trant/Elin Garza (which is canon!!)
Words: 1140
~~
U r my best friend, right?
I’m your brother….I don’t like the sound of this.
He did not have the time of day for this bullshit. And this was soooooo not the day for it.
blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh
Oh my god Kal what did you do.
stole a ship.
WHAT.
Jace Malcom looked frantically around the Senate Plaza. Not today, not today.
not a pub ship. imp.
that . ok that is better. But
Wait.
How are you comming me?
very carefully
KAL.
under the dashboard with my personal comm – yes i kno bad kal
…are you flying?
no my new friend ralph
WAT
gonna defect
WILL HE. IM SUPPOSED TO BE PROMOED TO FIRST LIEU TODAY
grats
NOT if you end up making an intergalactic incident
i wont. the imps have a new cloaking device.
Jace’s mind ticked for a few seconds as Kal’s words registered.
“Shit.” He said it in the middle of the Senate Plaza. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Jace started to march back toward his captain’s office. Then he stopped and looked up at the Supreme Commander’s office, high in the Senate Tower. Then he looked back in the direction of the starport.
where r u
did a pick up on Bomodon, heading to Coruscant btw I got friends in the cargo hold don’t tell ralph.
Wait.
Cloaking device, Coruscant, co-pilot Imp Ralph—
…was ralph’s mission to attack the senate?!
yeah was here to stop him. killed my buddy but we talked it over
WHY YOU NO STOP YET
ralphs defecting! trying to get close – long time to get picked up last time i stopped a guy in imp space. And I got friends in cargo.
Jace had to pocket his comm unit at that point. He – he had to figure out who Kal’s commander of the week was and figure out how Kal ended up undercover. He was not SIS.
Then he pulled the comm unit back out again -- he had questions.
who r ur friends?!
SIS guy named Trant and Elin.
Jace made a face. That named sounded familiar.
Garza?
yah – resistance on Bomodon for last yearish -- they’re making the final push right now. Gotta get her to medical – need you to call it in.
Elin Garza.
Jace knew her. A few years older than he was, and a few ranks higher, really fast – that’s what happened in a war. Everyone flew upward as the war dragged on.
Bomodon – that jarred something in his brain.
Jace shook the word around, like a coin in a bank.
Bomodon, the planet the Empire had invaded 10 months ago. The Pub 45th had been shot down over it, which was the worst mistake the Imps ever made – Garza and her gang of miscreants were making Imp life hell across the entire planet. Jace was smart enough to know there was some sort of back channel to the Midrim planet. Kal had just told him it was SIS, which meant Jace absolutely shouldn’t have known that.
But Elin was hurt.
Ok, that was something actionable.
Jace checked his chrono.
Kriff.
He shouldn’t cancel it.
He had to.
Kark Kal and his misadventures, Jace knew his brother’s nonsense would catch up to him one day.
And it would be the day that Jace was supposed to have his final interviews and conduct review for becoming a first lieutenant. With this promotion, he wouldn’t lose his rank when the war ended. He’d be a ‘real’ officer.
this is why daddy is bald. aint genetics, its YOU
love u 2 man
~~
…somehow, as with everything that Kal touched, it turned out ok.
Jace followed the chain of command: he double-timed it back to Captain Leuros and dutifully handed over his comm device.
Upon finding out what the ever-loving hell Kal Malcom was doing, the Supreme Commander had ordered his own medical staff to the starport to grab Garza and went there himself to supervise, Jace about three steps behind him.
A holocall to SIS confirmed that yes, this had been Trant’s mission, and yes, he’d had authority from Kal’s commander to use the corporal to evac Garza out in any way he saw fit.
As ordered, the new Imperial shuttle deactivated its cloaking device right over the Senate tower, then came in for a landing.
A platoon of Republic troopers had their blaster rifles trained on the ship as it unloaded its cargo.
First, out of the pilot’s door, came ‘Ralph,’ with Kal’s blaster to his back. Apparently, 'Ralph’ was a Chiss with a busted translator. Then came Kal, who had a black eye and busted lip from his meet-cute with Ralph. The younger Malcom brother was a few inches shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter than Jace, and given everything he’d gone through today, he didn’t look too bad.
As soon as Ralph was taken into custody by the security forces of the starport, Kal dropped his blaster. “Medical here!” he hollered as he motioned them over to the back end of the ship as the cargo hatch slowly opened.
The Supreme Commander’s medstaff swarmed the ship.
Jace actually gasped a little when he saw Elin on the stretcher. She’d lost a lot of weight since he had last seen her – one of his first parties as a second lieutenant, before she went off to the 45th, year or so before they go shot down.
…damn, two years went by fast.
Elin’s leg looked awful – that’s all Jace would allow himself to think about. His gaze jumped back up to her face. Inseparable from her was a lean, tall man, who gripped her hand even as they rushed Elin out of the starport and directly to Coruscant General. As the group ran by him, Jace managed to hear the distinct low tenor say, “Elin – come on, we made it back. Can’t go now. Who’s going to make me look like a fool whenever I tell Bomodon stories?”
That wasn’t normal SIS-Army relations.
Then they were gone.
“Jace!”
Jace spun at the sound of his brother’s voice, and his feet carried him right over there. “Kal, you moron.”
Jace hugged him so hard he heard Kal’s bones pop. He didn’t care. Neither did Kal. “Thanks for the welcome wagon.”
“I like Elin,” Jace quipped, and despite Kal’s injuries, the younger brother smiled.
“Lieutenant Malcom. Corporal Malcom.”
The pair turned to see the Supreme Commander patiently waiting for their reunion to come to a logical pause.
The two brothers snapped to attention, their salutes as crisp as a starched uniform.
The Supreme Commander jerked his chin in the general direction of his office.
The Malcom brothers shared a look and wordlessly followed.
It all worked out. Jace got his promotion. Kal got a commendation. Marcus and Elin got married within three months. Ralph decided that ‘Ralph’ was a good name for a new life in the Republic.
~~
A/N: Yes, Trant and Garza are canon - they’re each other’s first spouse. It only lasts for 2 years, but it would have been right around this time, after they liberated Bomodon together. Jace probably knew Garza or at least knew of her.
This is the manifestation of an oc I’ve had for awhile now: Kal Malcom, Jace’s younger brother. Kal lacks any of the discipline that Jace has. He doesn’t have the same drive or ambition as his brother; he ends up in the army because he’s sort of directionless in terms of his career, and, well, Jace is there. Unlike Jace, Kal swims through social situations like a fish in water. He’s endlessly charming and has a magnetic personality -- hence why he and Ralph get along, in the end. Kal is smart but a chronic underachiever: the guy who gets ‘does not apply himself’ on report cards. Jace still loves his brother, a lot. He’s sad that Theron never gets to meet him -- or their parents.
But that’s another story.
~~
@fluffyfebruary @ermingarden, @ayresis, @bluephoenix1347, @starlightcleric, @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond
