Knockout Ch. 22:
Chapter Summary:
Time is running out while Fives, Tup, Dogma, Rex, Fox, and the others report to the jedi about the inhibitor chips and try to find a solution to help their vode.
Chapter 22: Shatter
Trailing after General Windu in the early morning light, Tup, Fives, Hardcase, and the others wandered further into the Jedi Temple’s quiet hallways— a sharp contrast from Coruscant’s constant noise.
The meditation room was unremarkable, at least compared to the high vaulted ceilings, thousand-year old mosaics, and other monuments to an earlier age that still had Tup’s head spinning. But when General Windu paused in front of the door, opening it with a wave of his hand and moving to select a well-worn mug from a low table nearby and fill it with caf, Tup knew this was where they’d give their report to the Jedi— once General Windu was awake enough to hear it, at least.
“I thought the debriefing room for the Jedi Shadows would be more… y’know, shadowy.” Tup commented, walking alongside Fives and Hardcase as they stepped into the unmarked meditation room.
“See, that’s just what someone would say if they were trying to infiltrate the Jedi Shadows!” Fives responded, nodding sagely. “But— if they hide the Jedi Shadows in plain sight, say in a brightly-lit meditation room— nobody would expect it!” Fives rubbed his chin in thought, looking vaguely reminiscent of General Kenobi.
“Ohh…That’s pretty smart! I never would’ve thought of that” Tup exclaimed, nodding in thanks at Fives’ explanation before looking around at the new space.
“Exactly!” Hardcase grinned, having listened to Fives’ and Tup’s commentary. Elbowing Fives as he entered the room, Hardcase chuckled. “Told ya Jedi were mind-readers, vod!”
General Windu was the one to respond, now fully-caffeinated and ready to hear their report. “One doesn’t need to be a mind-reader to engage in subterfuge, troopers. Only predict others’ expectations and respond accordingly.” He offered a mug to Commander Fox as well, who accepted it with practiced ease— almost like they’d done this before. Which, they probably had, now that Tup was thinking about it.
Taking a seat at one of the circular platforms, General Windu left the others to awkwardly shuffle in around him, unsure if they were allowed to sit down for a formal briefing. After all, only Rex– and Fox, apparently– had ever entered the Jedi temple before, and none of them were well-versed in natborn customs.
Commander Fox answered that question by taking a seat on the platform adjacent to General Windu’s. This was followed by an order from General Windu to “stand easy.” The command was a notch down from even the “at ease” that General Skywalker tended to use when he wanted them to relax, so the small group hesitantly took a seat on the various meditation platforms in the room before turning to face General Windu.
Dogma had gone with the injured troopers, still a little jumpy around unfamiliar lightsabers and feeling responsible for them as the squad’s remaining medic, but Tup wished for a moment that his batchmate was here with them. After all, it was Dogma who first noticed that he was feeling off, when everything first started; Dogma who had scanned for the chip, making sure he stayed in one piece even when everything else was falling apart.
But as they continued their briefing, Tup found himself grateful that Dogma had chosen to step out for this one. General Windu was a good General– all his battle plans were well-thought out, and he had lower casualty counts than most Jedi Generals, but his unerringly sharp gaze couldn’t help but send a chill down Tup’s spine— like he was standing next to a shield generator, close enough to make his hair stand on end. General Skywalker tried to hide it most of the time, but some Jedi just exuded power in a way that Tup couldn’t explain, and General Windu was definitely one of them.
He seemed to be better at keeping an even temper, at least, but Tup could swear that he saw the General’s eyebrow twitch when they told him about the Kaminoan’s betrayal, and a nod of sympathy when Hardcase struggled through the explanation of Kix’s loss. But the General stayed quiet throughout, listening to their debriefing patiently with the occasional question, but he held his peace even when it wasn’t quite as formal as it should have been.
Finally, when they had finished, General Windu spoke. “So, you’re saying that every clone has an inhibitor chip implanted in their heads by the Kaminoans, who have apparently been working with the Separatists since the start of the war— and that the activation of these chips could systematically dismantle the entire republic from the inside.”
“Yes, sir.” Fives responded gravely, and Tup swallowed thickly. When it was all laid out like that, they could see just how bad it was.
“What methods have you used to deactivate the chips?” General Windu asked. “You said surgery was an effective means of removing them?”
Fives was the one to respond this time. “Yessir. Tup’s was removed once it started going haywire, and Commander Wolffe reported no negative side-effects after his own surgery. He’s the only one who had it activated before being removed, but we’ve all had ours removed as well, minus Captain Rex. Although…” Fives trailed off, lost in thought.
“What is it, trooper?”
“Dogma received an order without his chip activating.” Tup interjected, remembering what the 104th’s CMO had said when he’d removed their chips. “Apparently his was missing some key components.” He explained while Hardcase nodded in agreement, earning a look of intrigue from General Windu.
“Dogma has the remaining chips in his medkit for analysis in medical. We should check back with him, and see how the other troopers are doing.” Rex spoke up finally, anxious to return to his injured troopers.
General Windu nodded, also wanting to get a better look at these inhibitor chips. “I’ll lead the way.”
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Jesse was difficult to watch.
He’d woken up only a little before they’d joined Dogma in medbay, and when he wasn’t struggling against his restraints, the ARC eyes were searching every corner of the isolation ward he’d been placed in. If not for the Jedi healers’ ability to sense warnings in the force, Jesse likely would’ve already escaped, and through the one-way glass, Tup could see where the ARC’s skin blanched as he pressed against the padded restraints.
“Why isn’t he sedated already?” Captain Rex asked, and Tup had to agree. Keeping Jesse awake and restrained sounded cruel.
A Jedi Healer had already been in the room with Dogma when they had joined him, a Mon Calamari with a calm demeanor. According to her name tag, she specialized in neurology, and Tup couldn’t help but feel at-ease when she nodded at them in greeting.
“We attempted sedation, but he refused. Unless a patient is unconscious or otherwise unable to provide consent, we must respect their decisions.” Jedi Healer Bant replied, sounding apologetic but firm, and Tup’s estimation of the other Jedi went up in his mind.
Consent was a new concept to the clones, even though their Jedi Generals tried to encourage it. Even some medics occasionally forgot at-times, having internalized the Kaminoan’s training and insistence on seeing them as products instead of people. And in the heat of battle, it was hard to ask for consent over the ringing of blasterfire. But…
“...Is he able to provide consent?” Tup wondered aloud, saying what they all were thinking. Jesse was definitely acting differently than he usually would.
“Have you been briefed on this trooper’s situation?” General Windu interjected, to which Healer Bant nodded. “We have been trying to determine the extent of Lieutenant Jesse’s cognitive changes, and I admit that I’ve been having trouble. His force signature is dimmed compared to most, but it’s difficult to pinpoint just how much of his autonomy is impacted, especially because I’ve never met him before today.”
At that, General Windu’s gaze lightened and he offered, “Perhaps I could be of some assistance.”
“Sir?” Captain Rex questioned, and Tup wasn’t an expert, but most medics required training, and he assumed that Jedi medics were the same. How could General Windu help when Healer Bant couldn’t?
Sensing their confusion, Healer Bant explained. “Master Windu has the ability to see shatterpoints in the force in order to better direct his focus and dueling skills. Yes, that would be most welcome.” She responded, turning to General Windu with the last part.
They waited on pins and needles as the General closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing as he focused on Jesse.
“It’s strange,” General Windu commented after a long moment. “I can sense the usual shatterpoints I would find in a humanoid life form– the heart, the brain– but there’s almost a sense of double-vision with a shatterpoint right here.” He motioned to his own right temple, earning a look of shock from the surrounding troopers.
“And us?” Dogma interrupted, pushing aside his trepidation at addressing a Jedi General directly, but he had to know.
Windu closed his eyes again for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t sense it.”
“Not at all, sir? Rex still has his in.” Fives interjected, and General Windu shook his head again.
“Your minds are loud– chaotic and clouded, much like any other strong-willed individual, regardless of force sensitivity. Jesse’s mind is… quiet. Sensing the disturbance in him is… easier. Perhaps in sleep, I could sense the difference.”
“General Vos could do it.” Commander Fox said, sounding smug as he crossed his arms, and General Windu looked almost amused at the comment before moving on.
“What of the remaining inhibitor chips?” The General asked, turning back to Dogma who flinched instinctively at being addressed before motioning towards a nearby tray table.
“Here, sir.”
Another moment was spent analyzing the chips before General Windu pointed at two in particular. “This was yours?” He asked Tup, who nodded after glancing at his own chip, concealing a shudder. He still couldn’t believe that had been rotting away inside his head.
“And this one?” General Windu asked, pointing to another that looked indistinguishable from the others to the naked eye, but Dogma nodded in affirmation. “Mine, sir.”
“Trooper Tup’s inhibitor chip and yours were both lacking the shatterpoint in all the others, one because it already went off, and one because it lacked one in the first place.”
With General Windu focusing again on the remaining chips, the troopers went quiet as the room’s pressure increased, and then with an almost audible pop, it dissipated at the same time that Windu’s hand twitched, skin turning more ashen than before.
Healer Bant, who had been looking at the readout for the inhibitor chips, turned sharply to look at General Windu. “What did you do?”
Windu raised his hands placatingly, color already returning, although he still looked like he could use another strong cup of kaff. “I attempted to disentangle the shatterpoint inside one of the chips.”
“You’re only a week recovered from that last bout of force-exhaustion, Master Windu.” She responded reproachfully.
“And I did not break any restrictions, seeing as they were removed three days ago.” He responded placatingly, earning an unamused look from the healer before she returned to her datapad once she was sure that he wouldn’t keel over in a dead faint.
“Well, whatever you did, this one is no longer conducting an electrical signal.” She commented, pointing to one of the chips on her readout, and all the clones rushed forward to look.
General Windu looked almost pleased at that, nodding in satisfaction.
“What exactly are you targeting when you do your force shattering?” Fives spoke up, curious as the General turned to the next inhibitor chip, focus renewed.
Eyes still closed, Windu responded. “I am finding the weak points in a system’s makeup. But in this case, I have to be careful to focus on the inorganic components of the chips. All life forms have midichlorians, which can also be a marker of force-sensitivity, but in this case, I’m using them to determine what’s living and what’s not.”
“Are you able to replicate it inside a trooper?” This time, it was Rex who spoke up.
General Windu paused, thinking it over for a moment. “Not while they’re awake… but sleeping, it would be possible, although not at the scale required.”
“But what you’re doing is just separating the organic from the inorganic, right?” Fives started pacing, now deep in thought. “We just need to find something that can attack the chip part of the inhibitor chips without damaging the organic parts.”
Hardcase spoke up, having let the others take the lead until now. “Easier said than done, vod. Scans show that the inorganic components of the chips are all silicon, which can resist pretty high temperatures, so we can’t fry it without frying the surrounding brain tissue. Unless you know of a way to break down a datachip without injuring the rest of the brain, we’re stuck with surgically removing every last chip in the GAR.”
“Actually…” General Windu intervened, looking thoughtful. “On my home planet, Haruun Kal, there is a fungus that metabolizes most silicate products, including most technology. I’m not sure of its long-term effects, but…”
“But it might be worth a shot!” Fives finished, and for the moment, they felt a little more hopeful– at least until Jesse chose that moment to rattle his restraints against the bed rails, letting out a noise of pure rage that sent a shiver up Dogma’s spine.
“You’re all traitors!!!” He roared before slumping against the bed once more.
The room was silent for a long moment after that.
“How’s that comm’s blackout, Fox?” Rex asked, changing the subject after he’d managed to pry his eyes away from his trooper on the other side of the glass. If they were going to help Jesse, they needed time, and it was growing shorter the longer they waited.
“Still running strong for another couple hours.” Fox sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in exhaustion. “We’ll need to figure out what we’re planning on reporting back. If we make the Chancellor wait much longer, heads are going to roll.”
“What are we going to tell them? We can’t turn Rex in!” Hardcase protested, refusing to lose another brother in this mission, still reeling from Jesse’s outburst.
General Windu spoke up, a sardonic note in his tone. “Captain Rex has been in the Jedi Temple’s Halls of Healing for the past cycle. A patrol found his speeder crashed near the premises, likely a hit-and-run, but he wasn’t wearing his armor, so the Halls were unable to identify him until he woke up approximately an hour ago.”
Tup’s eyes widened as the General continued, and by the end of his explanation, he could almost swear that the General was smiling. “That could work!”
Commander Fox looked similarly relieved, smirking as he followed General Windu’s suggestion to its logical conclusion. “At any given time, there’s approximately 10,000 troopers on Coruscant’s surface, so it’s nearly impossible to identify a single trooper by looks alone. A common mistake for natborns.”
Commander Fox made a considering noise as he continued to brainstorm. “We’d need to be able to corroborate the story, and Rex doesn’t exactly look fresh out of a speeder crash, but that can be fixed.”
“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Rex sighed, resigned to his fate.
Fives, on the other hand, almost looked excited. “General, any chance we could see a more practical application of that shatterpoint ability of yours? We don’t wanna hurt Rex– just, rough him up a little.”
General Windu looked almost amused at the comment before turning back to Captain Rex, looking just a little too smug to come off as sympathetic. “I’m sure we can think of something.”
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