บท 61: Rook Kast
A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my P atreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!
Hope I did this Rook Kast POV justice =)
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Rook Kast was a good soldier. Always had been. She was a loyal warrior who followed the orders she was given so long as those orders came from someone she respected and trusted to bring her to victory. She wasn't a leader herself; she knew that full well. Oh, she could command a squad of warriors, she could force them all in line and keep them on task, but not to do HER bidding… no, she was best when she had a superior above her who she knew would carry the day.
Janga Fett had been that leader for a full decade. When the former Mandalore had initially come to Rook about a project she'd been hired for, the other woman hadn't been entirely sure. But Janga had read Rook in on… all of it. Or so she'd thought at the time. The plan was masterful. And Janga Fett had every reason to go along with it. A plot to destroy the Jedi? Yeah, that was right up her alley, especially after Galidraan.
Personally, Rook Kast had never had a grudge against the Jedi in the same way Janga did. She had no reason for a blood feud. But Janga was a solid leader worth following, and the job, giving up some of her DNA and training clones for a decade, had paid extremely well for the amount of work they had to put in. Not to mention Janga had negotiated it so that all four of them could come and go as they pleased so long as one of them were on planet at all times.
So not only were they getting paid massive amounts of credits for being Clone Templates, but they could also go out and stretch their legs every once in a while as bounty hunters and mercenaries. Personally, Rook had never been much of either. She was a soldier who preferred a cause. But that hadn't stopped her from helping out her comrades from time to time on a mission here or there. Whether it was Janga, Vhonte… or Bo-Katan Kryze.
As the door to her quarters slides open, Rook Kast has all of her armor on, including her helmet. As such, the Mandalorians who come in do so cautiously, but cannot see the way her eyes narrow at Bo-Katan beneath her visor. They can probably see the tension in every fiber of her being however, and it's clear it puts them on edge just as much.
However, in the end… it's the smallest of her visitors that truly drags Rook's attention away. Boba Fett, Janga Fett's daughter. Oh sure, technically the girl was just another clone… but at the same time, she was so, so much more than that. She was Janga's one single request on top of the credits that they were paid. She was unmodified, so she grew naturally. She was Janga's vod, through and through.
And she was here now, glaring at Rook in a way that was so Janga it hurt. The little one would grow up to look exactly like her mother, cloning tended to do that, but even now she was incredibly familiar. Baby Janga. Rook never thought she'd see the day.
Still, now that they were face-to-helmet and not talking through a door, Rook Kast tries one last time…
"The Jedi killed Janga, Boba."
Even as she speaks the words, they feel ashen on her tongue. If the Jedi had killed Janga, would Rook be holed up in her quarters like this? If things were as cut and dry as they were supposed to be, would she have shut herself away from the rest of the base? Would she be… hiding like she is?
Growling, Boba stomps forward, holding her two pilfered blasters in the same way Janga always did.
"Don't lie to me, Kast. I know about the Sith."
Rook can't help her reaction to that. She wishes she could, since this is the second time that Boba has said that word so one would think she would have gained control over herself by now… but no. There's a flinch, as embarrassing as that is. Boba's eyes light up in the same way Janga's would, but before she can pounce on it, one of the three Mandalorians who have followed her in speaks up. The male.
"But then, you already knew that didn't you? About the Sith? You knew something was up the moment you joined up with Death Watch. What was it that tipped you off, I wonder?"
Rook freezes in place at that. The audacity of this bastard. Still, as much as she hated it and would never admit it out loud, he was right. She'd figured out this whole situation stank only after joining up with Death Watch and hearing an all-too-familiar voice. It hadn't made sense and Rook knew she should have left it alone… but as much as Death Watch might have been her only choice after Janga's death, Pre Vizsla didn't hold Rook Kast's respect in the same way Janga Fett did.
… So she'd looked into it. And what she found had chilled her to her core.
"You stumbled upon something. Something big. If you can tell us what, then maybe we can do something about it."
Seriously? Who did this man think he was? She knew Boba. She knew Bo-Katan. She even knew Koska. But this guy? Some nameless goon? And what, she was supposed to just spill her heart to him? Rook narrows her eyes, half-ready to pull a knife on the talkative bastard. Something in her countenance must show her inner thoughts, because he puts his hands up and actually backs away.
Before she can speak however, Boba interjects again.
"Ignore the Jetii, Kast. You're talking to me. The Sith. I want to know about them. I want to know what YOU know."
Jedi?! Here?! Rook's head whips towards the male again, looking at him with a new light. A very unfavorable light. If he thought-
Whirrrr~
The hardened Mandalorian soldier freezes in place as a blaster muzzle finds its way under her chin. Did she seriously just get got by a child of all things? Distracted by the reveal concerning the Jedi in their midst, Rook never saw Boba coming until it was too late. Damn it all, she really was just like her mother…
"I said you're talking to me. Quit getting distracted."
She was being held at blaster point by a fucking foundling. And sure, there were half a dozen ways that she could have turned the situation around on Boba… but the guilt strikes at her heart and instead Rook's shoulders slump and she gives in.
"… You're right, Boba. I think, anyways. The Sith… the Sith are behind it. Because if I'm right, they're behind everything."
Boba's eyes narrow and after a moment she pulls the blaster away. Doesn't stop her from still holding onto her pilfered weapons of course, but the young girl is clearly listening.
"Explain."
Rook sighs, eyes flicking around the room. Ugh, how had she gotten into this mess? No… no, she knew how. Bad choices. Somewhere along the way, she'd made bad choices. Maybe it was time to start making things right.
"When Janga came to me about the Clone Army job, she had her employer on the line. Just his voice, but she wanted him to be able to give me reassurances all himself. Never saw is face, never knew him as anything but Tyrannus… but either way, he and Janga convinced me to sign on with the project. Mostly Janga… he honestly gave me the creeps. Too fucking haughty. Too noble."
Boba's eyes narrow as she processes this information. It's a testament to either Janga's training or genetics that she doesn't get impatient like most kids her age would. She doesn't demand Rook cut to the chase, no doubt sensing that this story wasn't really going somewhere she wanted it to anyways.
"… After Janga's death, I got the fuck out of dodge. If the Jedi were willing to kill an unarmed prisoner and disappear you at the same time, I didn't want to find out if I would be next. Bo-Katan could play at being their pet if she wanted, but that wasn't really my cup of tea."
Rook's eyes flick to Bo-Katan in time to see the other woman tense up at the insult. To her credit though, Kryze doesn't try to defend herself. Good, Rook would have had much more caustic words for her if she had. Then again…
Shoulders slumping even lower, Rook Kast lets out a sigh.
"Got signed on with Death Watch because with Janga gone and the New Mandalorians making such a mess of things, they're the only real game in town."
Boba scoffs at that, making Rook smile ruefully under her helmet and tilt her head in the girl's direction.
"I didn't say they were GOOD game, Boba. Just that they were the only Mandalorian Outfit around."
There's a pause, before Boba begrudgingly inclines her head, conceding the point. With that, Rook continues on.
"It was a testament to just how much they need experienced warriors that I was immediately put in charge of this entire base, to be honest. And as a result, I… was privy to communications I probably shouldn't have been. Not if they wanted to keep me loyal, anyways. Because I heard a voice I hadn't heard in over ten years. This time, I got to put a face to that voice. And a proper name."
The anticipation builds. Rook isn't really trying to force it, honest. It's just… hard. To realize everything you thought you knew was a lie. To realize that it wasn't just you who was played, but the leader you respected.
"Tyrannus…"
The Jedi speaks up again for the first time in a while, breathing out the name and drawing attention his direction. Rook Kast just nods.
"Tyrannus… but not really. Because the man actually behind hiring Janga, myself, Vhonte, and Bo-Katan was none other than Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatist Movement and now an ally of Death Watch and a sponsor of their plans for the Mandalore Sector."
Rook lets those words sink in for a moment before going even further anyways. She probably doesn't have to spell it out for any of them, but for her own sanity she has to say it. She has to voice the thoughts that have been rolling around in her head for weeks now.
"And if Count Dooku hired us to be templates for the Republic's Clone Army, only to turn around and lead the Separatists… it means that he's behind everything. And that means it's not so likely the Jedi killed Janga in such a messy fashion in the depths of their own temple… it's more likely HE had her killed, to tie up loose ends. Dooku is Tyrannus. The orchestrator behind this entire war."
"… He's also a Sith Lord."
Rook's eyes snap to the Jedi at that. He sounds confident. Sure of himself. Which… yeah, it sort of tracks. Rook only knows Dooku as the man who hired Janga and then helped Janga hire her, on top of being the leader of the Separatists. But she's seen the footage popping up on the holonet of the red lightsaber wielding woman on the Separatist's side of the war. She likes to watch battle holos whenever she gets the chance, and this… Asajj Ventress is certainly a beautiful explosion of violence every time she gets to fight.
Still, for Dooku himself to be Sith. Well, it lined up with what she knew, she supposed.
"So then, Dooku killed my mother."
And then there's little Boba. Rook grimaces beneath her helmet as she looks over at the trembling girl. It's clear that the young Mandalorian is overcome with emotion. But not grief or sorrow. No, Rook recognizes the white-knuckled grip on those two blasters quite well. Boba is just about ready to kill someone. Maybe it'll even be Rook.
Hanging her head, letting out an explosive sigh, Rook nods.
"Yes. I think so."
For a moment, things remain incredibly tense. And then, Boba lets out a slow exhale and her trembling ceases as she gets herself under control. She really is Janga's daughter.
"Okay."
Rook stares at the foundling, baffled.
"Okay? Is that all you have to say, Boba?"
Face scrunching up in confusion, Boba shakes her head.
"What else is there to say? You told me what I wanted to know. I know who I have to kill now. Count Dooku. I don't care how long it takes. I don't care what I have to do. I will see him dead for what he did to my mother."
The raw fury has been processed into refined determination and resolve in record time. It would almost be cute, if Rook didn't know that Boba meant every word. Except… she couldn't. If she went after Dooku, he'd just kill her like he did her mother. Damn it all, she…
"Dooku isn't the one at the top though. He's a Sith Lord, yes… and we think that Ventress is his apprentice. But… we also have reason to believe there's a Master above even him. Another Sith Lord who has orchestrated all of this to his benefit, with Count Dooku as nothing more than another of his pieces on the board."
Another Sith Lord? Truly? Rook's hands clench into fists, even as Boba turns to the Jedi with a stubborn frown etched across her face.
"What are you saying, exactly?"
The Jedi's tone sounds vaguely amused but also placating as he shrugs his shoulders.
"I'm saying that Dooku isn't the end of this. Kill him, all you've done is take the piece off the board. But with this information, we now have proof that the Sith were the ones really behind the Clone Army. We can take that and use it to our advantage to maybe find out who the real Sith Master is. And once we do… we take him down."
It all sounds so… simple when the Jedi puts it like that. And yet, he sounds certain that that's what they're going to do. His confidence is honestly a little appealing to Rook, who finds herself eyeing him for a moment with more appreciation than before. She doesn't say anything, but she does lock gazes with Bo-Katan and give her the slightest nod. If this was the specific Jedi that the other Mandalorian woman had chosen to follow rather than toadying up to the entire Jedi Order… then maybe Rook could understand Kryze's choice a bit better.
Still…
"What now?"
She looks at them all expectantly, curious to see what they'll decide to do next. She can't beat them, of course. And she doesn't want to kill little Boba, so she probably won't even put up much of a fight if they choose to kill her. From the way Boba is looking down at her blasters, the foundling is certainly considering it as an option…
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The P atreon Vote:
[ ] Kill Rook Kast - 6%
[ ] Leave her here to wallow - 6%
[X] Take her with them - 89%
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