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a warrior is more than his armor - spn_cinema - Supernatural/Star Wars
Title: a warrior is more than his armor
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cashay
Fandom: Supernatural/Star Wars crossover
Pairings: pre-slash Castiel/Dean
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4585
Spoilers: -
Warning: -
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Star Wars, they belong to their rightful owners. I'm just borrowing the characters of Supernatural and the world of Star Wars to write a bit. No profit is made with this story.
Summary: As the clone wars near their end the Jedi Castiel is on a mission with four Republic Commandos. Castiel, who has always been in doubt about his capability as a Jedi, finds himself drawn to the fascinating Mandalorian they turn to for help.
A/N: A gigantic 'thank you' for my betacleflink . I would have been really screwed without you!
I really enjoyed writing this and before you kill me for the ending - there is more planned =)
Mandalorian words used in this story:
jetii - Jedi
beskar'gam – armor made of a special, very hard metal (beskar, aka Mandalorian iron)
di'kut - idiot
osik'la – messed up
vode – brothers/sisters (doesn't have to mean brothers connected by blood but also other close individuals/other Mandalorians)
Verd ori'shya beskar'gam - a warrior is more than his armor
Here on Serenno things were okay for Castiel. The Jedi had never felt particularly fond of the temple even though it was supposed to be his home. The giant building right in the heart of Coruscant had been the home of the Jedi-Order for hundredth of years and every young Jedi knew it by heart. That didn't change the fact that Castiel had never felt quite at home there. But he had just never fit in. Even for Jedis he was odd. It wasn't the fault of anyone beside himself. The other Jedis had tried but Castiel had always been a bit weird.
Someone had once compared him to Mace Windu, all stone faced and with a slight lack of compassion. But Castiel was very sure he was far more lost when it came to human emotions than Mace Windu would ever be. He still was a good Jedi. He liked to help and take care of people, liked to protect. He probably would have enjoyed peace talks too if it wasn't for his lack of empathy and subtlety. It was better he stayed away from interaction with diplomats. The first time Michael had decided he should accompany him to a peace talk it had nearly ended in a disaster because Castiel had offended the member of a royal family without even noticing.
That had been the first and only time Michael had ever taken him to any political event. Michael had allowed him to attend and watch, as long as he did hide the fact that he was a Jedi and rather stayed in the shadows. Castiel had been thankful for that. He found the interactions between politicians interesting and disturbing at the same time. Watching and studying them was good but he didn't intend to ever participate in any social event outside the temple ever again. Sparking an intergalactic crisis because he didn't get a joke wasn't anything he ever wanted to end up doing.
And it was this lack of anything close to diplomacy and real strategy that had made him happy to be here on some lousy planet like Serenno. The times he had spend commanding a bigger part of the Clone Army hadn't ended in catastrophe like he'd feared but with how nervous he was it was probably just a matter of time until it happened. He always screwed up, at least that was what Michael thought about him. Castiel knew his former Master liked him and had always done everything to help him but even he had to admit he was a kind of lost cause.
But this mission had gone as planned. They had managed to manipulate the communication system and destroy one of the main hangars which had held key shipments for the CIS. Well, nearly as planned. They hadn't planned on nearly being shot to pieces by a bunch of droids and having to abandon their broken-down ship which was now – as the Clones would say – fubar.
"Hey, General, time to wake up from this Jedi meditation thingy you are doing."
Castiel looked up to the Republic Commando kneeling beside him and didn't contradict the assumption that he had been meditating. After all, most of the Clones thought Jedis were some kind of perfect warriors and leaders. Castiel had always thought that drilling such blind faith into the thoughts of the Clones was dangerous and stupid; he was the best example of how not perfect a Jedi could be.
That was another advance of being away from the battlefield. He didn't have to deal with Clones that thought he was perfect but instead the Republic Commandos who took him for exactly what he was. A slightly weird, not really experienced Jedi who wasn't really fit to lead and whose use of the Force could come in handy from time to time.
The Republic Commandos had been trained for tasks like this unlike Castiel. Special operations were as delicate as diplomatic talks – Castiel was only waiting for himself to screw up. They were special forces, used to working in small groups of four people totally independent from any kind of command structure. They didn't need him and, frankly, Castiel was sure they thought he was an idiot.
"C'mon no sleeping General or you're gonna get yourself shot!"
The hint of a smile crept up on Castiel's face because Gal was probably right with his assumption. Even though he had his reflexes and the force he could be clumsy if he was too busy worrying about everything.
Castiel took a long look at their small group. He was a Jedi but still he felt like he was the most useless off them all. Most people looked at Jedis like they were something holy and indestructible. Most of them wouldn't spare the Clones a look. But they couldn't be more wrong. When he was working with Sigma squad or any other squad of Republic Commandos he always felt like a clumsy, stupid idiot rather than like a Jedi knight. The things they could do awed him every time.
The Republic Commandos were experts and Castiel had a feeling that they would probably be able to destroy the Republic if they ever decided they wanted to do just that. But they weren't just geniuses in everything a special force needed to do - from blowing things up to infiltrating and just about everything you could think of - they were also loyal and, as Castiel had found out, fiercely protective of the ones they considered their family.
The Jedi knew he wasn't part of the family and he also knew he shouldn't be that sad about it. It wasn't appropriate for a Jedi to crave that kind of connection. Michael would probably be disappointed.
Bral, the leader of the squad, motioned for them to get their asses moving and, along with the rest of the group, Castiel started to jog in a speed that wouldn't exhaust them for a while but would get them to their contact faster. They were late and wouldn't even have made a stop if they hadn't needed to hide from a group of militiamen that were loyal to the CIS. They couldn't get caught up in a fight now; their cover would be blown and they would be majorly screwed.
They were going to meet up with a contact of the squad, someone the squad had known for a long time already, but none of the Clones had given any more information to Castiel. He was a little disappointed about the squads lack of trust in him, not that he would say it. That would be wrong. The feeling itself was stupid.
Thankfully once they started to move, Castiel concentrated all his senses on moving silently - something the Republic Commandos did far too well in their heavy armory - and searching in the Force for any kind of disturbance that indicated danger or other beings coming closer.
This part of Serenno was covered with rain forest. The alien creatures and plants all around them would have fascinated Castiel if he hadn't been worried about how the hell he would get all of them out of here not that the Clone Commandos would leave that to him, bu he still worried. It wasn't that different from other jungles he had been in but Castiel loved nature, he always had.
Animals, and especially plants, tended not to be angry at him the minute they met. And even while he was looking for wild animals who could attack them or the troops of the CIS, Castiel couldn't help but notice how beautiful some of the flowers looked.
Or those little birds that fled into the depth of the jungle once Castiel and the Republic Commandos came too close. Castiel had seen so many miracles of nature on his travels but the Jedi was amazed every single time by all the beauty there was in this universe.
Castiel noticed that they were nearing a small town, not only through the force but also because pollution and some destruction became visible. As they neared the town, he could feel the Force pulse. Every presence was a tiny bit different, even though he would have never be able to feel someone specific in all of this chaos without knowing him or her better.
Moving in the city was far trickier than moving through nature. There, they could just hide if someone came near and there was plenty of possibilities even for the Commandos in their big armor to find cover. But in a city they would inevitably be noticed and all of them knew that as soon as they were identified as soldiers of the Republic this whole mission would go down the drain - and they would follow suit.
But he hadn't need to worry, because apparently the contact they were meeting had thought of that too. They were near the outskirts of the town, edging closer, still well hidden by the thick vegetation when Castiel felt a strong presence in the Force.
An involuntary shudder went down his spine and he was really glad no other Jedi were here. They wouldn felt the outstanding presence of the man that was nearing them too but worse they would have felt the strange way Castiel reacted to him. It was as if there was something in him connected to this stranger. He didn't even knew if he was an enemy or the ally they were waiting for. He really, really hoped he wouldn't have to kill this man with the presence that sucked him in like a black hole.
"Don't freak and kill him Jedi." Cuyan grumbled who was for some reason very suspicious when it came to Jedis and had always regarded Castiel with a certain amount of disdain.
Castiel really didn't mind, he liked it more than the way many of the Clone Troopers worshipped any Jedi. "I will not." he promised, noticing how even in a tense situation like this there was a hint of amusement about his overcorrect speech coming from the Clones.
A man walked through the high bushes in front of them in an armor similar to the ones the Republic Commandos were wearing. But Castiel knew better and had to stifle a weird feeling of disappointment about the fact that the man with the incredible presence in the Force was a Mandalorian.
He had been raised to dislike them. Well as far as any Jedi disliked anything. He knew that it had been mostly Mandalorians who had trained the Republic Commandos and that those who had been trained by the Mandalorians - like Sigma squad - tended to stay alive longer. Mandalorians weren't considered the best warriors in the galaxy for nothing.
His opinion of the strange warriors had become a little bit better since he got to know the Commandos but still he felt distrust now that he was seeing one of them for the first time. It wasn't understandable for him how someone like a Mandalorian could leave such an impression in the force. If they were really all that filthy and murderous like he had always read, then it shouldn't have been possible to be as intruging this unknown Mandalorian was in the force.
The Mandalorian and the Republic Commandos were talking with their helm links. It wasn't only the Force that told him this, but even he knew that staring at each other and saying nothing wasn't what you did when you met friends or allies. Especially not when the situation could mean death for any one of them.
"I've brought armors for all of you, even for you jetii." This was the first time the stranger had spoken aloud and Castiel couldn't deny the fact that his voice sounded good, even through the speakers of his helmet. The words puzzled Castiel and he only understood when the Mandalorian started to throw plates of a Mandalorian armor at him. Castiel was fairly certain he would look just like Jango Fett once he put on that armor, safe for the color.
Castiel caught the first two pieces and looked at them like they were going to try and kill him before he shook his head with force.
"I am not wearing this."
The Mandalorian snorted and took one long look at him before shrugging. "Fine. You wanna stay here and find another way out don't wear it." He took a helmet out of the box he had transported all of this in and looked down on it before taking another look at Castiel. "But if you want to come with me and Sigma you are going to wear that."
Castiel was astonished how much he could... feel of the other man. He was strong in the force; he couldn't use it, Castiel was sure of it, but his every emotion sent waves that Castiel couldn't help but feel. It was strange and endearing and Castiel found himself wanting to wear the armor just so he could find out more about the strange Mandalorian.
Wordlessly, a bit ashamed about his outburst from before, Castiel started to attach the armor. And failed miserably. He didn't needed to hear the Mandalorian's sigh or the silent laughter of Sigma squad. One of the disadvantages of the force was that you noticed things like this too. Castiel would rather have not.
But after giving out the rest of the armor to Sigma, who were changing without any trouble, the Mandalorian headed over the few feet to Castiel, who was still struggling with the armor. Castiel felt a bit intimidated by the other man even though he didn't know why. He had worked with Clones a lot in the last few months and had thought he had gotten used to the helmet which didn't give anything away and created the feeling of something anonymous, of something not alive.
That Clones weren't alive was a presumption only someone who was no Force user could make. Otherwise you just couldn't miss how alive Clones were and how different they all were.. The helmet of this Mandalorian made Castiel feel intimidated nonetheless. Maybe it was how strong the presence of him was in the force but something about this dark T-visor was unsettling him.
Without saying a word, the man made Castiel strip nearly out of all of his clothing before helping him getting in the plain black clothing he brought, attaching the armor, making sure it fit and didn't look weird.
The whole process of changing was strange.Castiel was hyperaware of the hands of the other man on his skin. He could feel the rough leather of his gloves that he didn't take off once and the cold where the plates of his armor touched Castiel's bare skin.
"This is beskar'gam, jetii," the man commented as he worked. "You can consider yourself honored; it is the best metal in the whole galaxy."
Castiel really didn't know what to say to that. He would have thought that the Mandalorian would give him old armor that would be enough to get them through this damn city and out into the safety of space but this wasn't just any cheap armor. It didn't take an expert to know that beskar'gam was the best metal in the galaxy not even a lightsaber was any use against it.
“Thank you,” he said quietly after a while, not sure how it was appropriate to react to someone offering something like this even for just a short while. The Mandalorian in front of him seemed amused by Castiel's reaction which in turn unsettled the Jedi a bit even though he didn't let it show.
“Thank me once I've got you out of this city.” The Mandalorian stood up from where he had fastened Castiel's leg armor and pushed a helmet into Castiel's hands. “I'm gonna need your lightsaber.”
Castiel's first instinct was to protect his sword from any harm. No Jedi would ever give his lightsaber away by choice, not even one as unconventional as he was. It wasn't that they couldn't fight without it - they trained for weaponless combat too - but the lightsaber of a Jedi was something personal, probably like the armor for a Mandalorian, even though Castiel wasn't going to point that out.
“No.” He was tense. Without his lightsaber he wouldn't stand a chance if they were discovered. He really wasn't any help given a blaster, it was more likely that he would shoot himself rather than his enemy. But with his lightsaber he could do nearly anything, even if nearly everyone was sure he was useless and weak.
“C'mon jetii, we don't have time for your bitching.” Cas could feel through the force that the unknown Mandalorian was getting a bit angry. He was a bit surprised but grateful when Res stepped in, putting a hand on the Mandalorian's shoulder.
Whatever he was saying to the man was calming him down, his anger slowly leaving the force even though there was still this dark ball of anger and... darkness in him that didn't do anything to make him less fascinating and blazing to Castiel.
“Fine, keep your lightsaber. If anyone asks you, you say you killed a jetii to get it. Got it chucklehead?”
Castiel didn't know if he was supposed to be offended by how little the Mandalorian thought of him so he just nodded, gladly putting the lightsaber on his belt.
“Good. Let's get going,” the stranger commented, clearly taking the lead. Castiel was suspicious of him but since Sigma seemed to trust him, and even Bral was letting him take the lead, he had no other choice but to do the same thing.
Which led him to another problem that occurred to him when he was about to put on the helmet.
“How does this work?” he asked and immediately felt the chuckles through the force. Apparently his lack of knowledge about technic was a joke.
“Don't worry di'kut, your HUD just shows you what you would see with your eyes normally.”
Castiel didn't understand the word di'kut but he was fairly sure it wasn't something nice. He stayed silent as he put on the helmet and really, it wasn't that much different from just seeing with his eyes. Just now what he saw was on was a screen and he had, well, a helmet on his head.
“Move it,” he heared through the HUD comlink system. He did as he was told, following behind the Mandalorian. He had been far too occupied with his presence in the force before to take any notice of his physical appearance.
But now while he was walking behind him he couldn't stop from noticing how the way he walked and held himself alone screamed that this was a deadly man, one you really didn't want to anger because it was gonna end bloody for you. He seemed to be a big bigger than Cas, although it was hard to tell with this armor.
His attention was taken from the stranger when they entered the city. Now there were a lot more things that he needed to look out for, both with his eyes and the force, especially possible threats, people that could see through the little act they were pulling,because if they did it would be Cas's fault.
He was the only one not fitting into this little charade. The Republic Commandos looked like you would expect Mandalorians to look. All of them had the same aura the stranger did, only it was a bit different. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference but Castiel could.
The Mandalorian moved like someone who was used to the rough life of the the lawless and was not afraid to take on whomever crossed his path. The Commandos weren't afraid either, but they moved with a bit more tensionand a bit more wonder; they just weren't as used to the normal world as the Mandalorian was.
Around them, people noticed them. It was hard not to notice six Mandalorians in full armor; they were like a little army of their own.
Most of the population was human but Castiel could also see a few Twi'leks as well as Chiss though they were rare. Mandalorians didn't seem to be that much of a rare occurrence since most of the people just regarded them with a bit of worry about the trouble they could bring but there was no real fear.
They fit in like they belonged here. At least on the outside, since Castiel still did not feel comfortable in this armor, enforcing something he was supposed to despise. This was probably another reason why normally his Master wanted to keep him from interacting with people. He was bad at it.
Even through the HUD system, Castiel just couldn't mistake the sound of droids coming closer. He tensed, readying himself mentally for a fight. The rest of the group had also gone quiet, the easy chatter dying to give way to a much more efficient exchange of information.
Castiel was pretty sure they were going to be spotted. Even though Mandalorians apparently had been seen here before Castiel was positive that he would end up doing something that would get them caught.
But the droids didn't even enter the street. They passed, hunting for them somewhere else but no one noticed their little group. not even the three officers who came closer tto them, running, eyes searching. They were looking for them, Castiel was sure about that by the way they held their blasters tightly clutched.
He held his breath as they passed, trying to look as much as a Mandalorian as he could even though he wasn't sure he managed. The troops passed anyway, not even looking at them twice, and Cas wasn't sure if it was because they were so good at this or if the troops just didn't want to risk angering Mandalorians. It was probably the latter since Castiel was sure he was a bad actor and they hadn't looked that closely to begin with.
The rest of the way to the shuttle wasn't that bad either. They didn't get asked who they were or what their business was a single time.
This was strange for Castiel. He had always somehow stood out on the missions he had with his master while Michael had just fit in everywhere, charming even the most deadliest races (or just frightening them). The best he had managed was that people were afraid of him and most of the time that wasn't what they were trying to aspire. Later, when he had been a Knight he'd mostly volunteered for missions where he was on some planet with barely any population, responsible for getting someone out or in. The council hadn't been too happy but after Castiel had nearly managed to start a war they had agreed that it was better that way.
With the Commandos Cas didn't exactly fit in either but apparently no one noticed that he was as far away from a Mandalorian as you could get. And it felt strangely good. He was more at ease in this strange armor than he had been for quite some time just because no one looked at him like he was a freak.
Once they got onto the starship they all relaxed. They were safe. Or as safe as people like them could ever be. Finally Cas could get rid of that stupid armor. Okay, the armor wasn't stupid but it just wasn't him. He wasn't the type for armor. He wasn't the type for the Jedi robes either. He had actually never fit in anywhere but being with the Jedi was as close to being at home as he'd probably ever get.
The fact that for once he hadn't stood out when he had worn the armor didn't change who he was. Or rather wasn't. It just made him wish he could fit in like this more often. Even if it was just on the outside.
~*~
They had only been in space for a few uneventful hours. Those hours had been filled with silence, at least when it came to Castiel. He was sure the squad was having silent conversations with the Mandalorian and among themselves but he didn't bother to try and listen. It was obvious he was just an intruder. This wasn't his culture. Some Jedi would have said it wasn't the culture of the Clones either but Cas had to disagree. They were at home in that Mandalorian armor, they fit in, no one would look twice at them, not even on Mandalore.
Instead of another futile attempt to fit in somewhere, Castiel had spent the time meditating to calm himself and clear his mind. The mission had been at least a partial success. Even though the CIS know clearly knew who they had to thank for the disaster they had made it out alive, that was all Castiel cared for right now.
Still Castiel dreaded going back to the temple and Coruscant. Too much politics there. Just because he couldn't act like most humans didn't mean that he didn't understand politics. He certainly did, he just reacted differently than normal people would do. Which normally ended bad for him.
But while the politicians were tense and panicked half of the time, most of the citizens of Coruscant didn't even bother to think twice about what was happening in the galaxy. Castiel was sick of the indifference; he didn't want to go back to the temple.
Suddenly there was the beep of a transmission and Castiel froze as he heard Chancellor Palpatine speaking in a cold and clear voice.
“Execute Order 66.” *
There was silence. But after the few seconds it took him to process what was going to happen now, Castiel accepted that he would die. He wasn't going to hurt these men. He cared for them far too much, even though he wasn't sure if they liked or hated him.
There was silence but Cas was sure that they weren't actually silent underneath those helmets. He could nearly feel the hurried discussion of what to do with him and wondered why they hadn't just shot him. They had gotten an order and that order was to remove every Jedi by lethal force.
After a few moments though, something in the Force changed. They had come to a decision. Castiel waited for a shot to his head, sure they would follow the order, because, even though the Republic Commandos were far more independent than others, they wouldn't ignore a contingency order.
But instead of Castiel getting a blaster pointed at his head, the unnamed Mandalorian threw the helmet back to him. “Get dressed, jetii, Palpatine can shove his osik'la orders right were they've come from.”
Castiel stared at him in absolute disbelief, his eyes flickering between the helmet in his hand and the Mandalorian whose face he hadn't seen once. “Buckle up vode, time to disappear.”
* Order 66
"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."
Source: Republic Commando: True Colors by Karen Traviss
Author:
cashayFandom: Supernatural/Star Wars crossover
Pairings: pre-slash Castiel/Dean
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4585
Spoilers: -
Warning: -
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Star Wars, they belong to their rightful owners. I'm just borrowing the characters of Supernatural and the world of Star Wars to write a bit. No profit is made with this story.
Summary: As the clone wars near their end the Jedi Castiel is on a mission with four Republic Commandos. Castiel, who has always been in doubt about his capability as a Jedi, finds himself drawn to the fascinating Mandalorian they turn to for help.
A/N: A gigantic 'thank you' for my beta
cleflink . I would have been really screwed without you!I really enjoyed writing this and before you kill me for the ending - there is more planned =)
Mandalorian words used in this story:
jetii - Jedi
beskar'gam – armor made of a special, very hard metal (beskar, aka Mandalorian iron)
di'kut - idiot
osik'la – messed up
vode – brothers/sisters (doesn't have to mean brothers connected by blood but also other close individuals/other Mandalorians)
Here on Serenno things were okay for Castiel. The Jedi had never felt particularly fond of the temple even though it was supposed to be his home. The giant building right in the heart of Coruscant had been the home of the Jedi-Order for hundredth of years and every young Jedi knew it by heart. That didn't change the fact that Castiel had never felt quite at home there. But he had just never fit in. Even for Jedis he was odd. It wasn't the fault of anyone beside himself. The other Jedis had tried but Castiel had always been a bit weird.
Someone had once compared him to Mace Windu, all stone faced and with a slight lack of compassion. But Castiel was very sure he was far more lost when it came to human emotions than Mace Windu would ever be. He still was a good Jedi. He liked to help and take care of people, liked to protect. He probably would have enjoyed peace talks too if it wasn't for his lack of empathy and subtlety. It was better he stayed away from interaction with diplomats. The first time Michael had decided he should accompany him to a peace talk it had nearly ended in a disaster because Castiel had offended the member of a royal family without even noticing.
That had been the first and only time Michael had ever taken him to any political event. Michael had allowed him to attend and watch, as long as he did hide the fact that he was a Jedi and rather stayed in the shadows. Castiel had been thankful for that. He found the interactions between politicians interesting and disturbing at the same time. Watching and studying them was good but he didn't intend to ever participate in any social event outside the temple ever again. Sparking an intergalactic crisis because he didn't get a joke wasn't anything he ever wanted to end up doing.
And it was this lack of anything close to diplomacy and real strategy that had made him happy to be here on some lousy planet like Serenno. The times he had spend commanding a bigger part of the Clone Army hadn't ended in catastrophe like he'd feared but with how nervous he was it was probably just a matter of time until it happened. He always screwed up, at least that was what Michael thought about him. Castiel knew his former Master liked him and had always done everything to help him but even he had to admit he was a kind of lost cause.
But this mission had gone as planned. They had managed to manipulate the communication system and destroy one of the main hangars which had held key shipments for the CIS. Well, nearly as planned. They hadn't planned on nearly being shot to pieces by a bunch of droids and having to abandon their broken-down ship which was now – as the Clones would say – fubar.
"Hey, General, time to wake up from this Jedi meditation thingy you are doing."
Castiel looked up to the Republic Commando kneeling beside him and didn't contradict the assumption that he had been meditating. After all, most of the Clones thought Jedis were some kind of perfect warriors and leaders. Castiel had always thought that drilling such blind faith into the thoughts of the Clones was dangerous and stupid; he was the best example of how not perfect a Jedi could be.
That was another advance of being away from the battlefield. He didn't have to deal with Clones that thought he was perfect but instead the Republic Commandos who took him for exactly what he was. A slightly weird, not really experienced Jedi who wasn't really fit to lead and whose use of the Force could come in handy from time to time.
The Republic Commandos had been trained for tasks like this unlike Castiel. Special operations were as delicate as diplomatic talks – Castiel was only waiting for himself to screw up. They were special forces, used to working in small groups of four people totally independent from any kind of command structure. They didn't need him and, frankly, Castiel was sure they thought he was an idiot.
"C'mon no sleeping General or you're gonna get yourself shot!"
The hint of a smile crept up on Castiel's face because Gal was probably right with his assumption. Even though he had his reflexes and the force he could be clumsy if he was too busy worrying about everything.
Castiel took a long look at their small group. He was a Jedi but still he felt like he was the most useless off them all. Most people looked at Jedis like they were something holy and indestructible. Most of them wouldn't spare the Clones a look. But they couldn't be more wrong. When he was working with Sigma squad or any other squad of Republic Commandos he always felt like a clumsy, stupid idiot rather than like a Jedi knight. The things they could do awed him every time.
The Republic Commandos were experts and Castiel had a feeling that they would probably be able to destroy the Republic if they ever decided they wanted to do just that. But they weren't just geniuses in everything a special force needed to do - from blowing things up to infiltrating and just about everything you could think of - they were also loyal and, as Castiel had found out, fiercely protective of the ones they considered their family.
The Jedi knew he wasn't part of the family and he also knew he shouldn't be that sad about it. It wasn't appropriate for a Jedi to crave that kind of connection. Michael would probably be disappointed.
Bral, the leader of the squad, motioned for them to get their asses moving and, along with the rest of the group, Castiel started to jog in a speed that wouldn't exhaust them for a while but would get them to their contact faster. They were late and wouldn't even have made a stop if they hadn't needed to hide from a group of militiamen that were loyal to the CIS. They couldn't get caught up in a fight now; their cover would be blown and they would be majorly screwed.
They were going to meet up with a contact of the squad, someone the squad had known for a long time already, but none of the Clones had given any more information to Castiel. He was a little disappointed about the squads lack of trust in him, not that he would say it. That would be wrong. The feeling itself was stupid.
Thankfully once they started to move, Castiel concentrated all his senses on moving silently - something the Republic Commandos did far too well in their heavy armory - and searching in the Force for any kind of disturbance that indicated danger or other beings coming closer.
This part of Serenno was covered with rain forest. The alien creatures and plants all around them would have fascinated Castiel if he hadn't been worried about how the hell he would get all of them out of here not that the Clone Commandos would leave that to him, bu he still worried. It wasn't that different from other jungles he had been in but Castiel loved nature, he always had.
Animals, and especially plants, tended not to be angry at him the minute they met. And even while he was looking for wild animals who could attack them or the troops of the CIS, Castiel couldn't help but notice how beautiful some of the flowers looked.
Or those little birds that fled into the depth of the jungle once Castiel and the Republic Commandos came too close. Castiel had seen so many miracles of nature on his travels but the Jedi was amazed every single time by all the beauty there was in this universe.
Castiel noticed that they were nearing a small town, not only through the force but also because pollution and some destruction became visible. As they neared the town, he could feel the Force pulse. Every presence was a tiny bit different, even though he would have never be able to feel someone specific in all of this chaos without knowing him or her better.
Moving in the city was far trickier than moving through nature. There, they could just hide if someone came near and there was plenty of possibilities even for the Commandos in their big armor to find cover. But in a city they would inevitably be noticed and all of them knew that as soon as they were identified as soldiers of the Republic this whole mission would go down the drain - and they would follow suit.
But he hadn't need to worry, because apparently the contact they were meeting had thought of that too. They were near the outskirts of the town, edging closer, still well hidden by the thick vegetation when Castiel felt a strong presence in the Force.
An involuntary shudder went down his spine and he was really glad no other Jedi were here. They wouldn felt the outstanding presence of the man that was nearing them too but worse they would have felt the strange way Castiel reacted to him. It was as if there was something in him connected to this stranger. He didn't even knew if he was an enemy or the ally they were waiting for. He really, really hoped he wouldn't have to kill this man with the presence that sucked him in like a black hole.
"Don't freak and kill him Jedi." Cuyan grumbled who was for some reason very suspicious when it came to Jedis and had always regarded Castiel with a certain amount of disdain.
Castiel really didn't mind, he liked it more than the way many of the Clone Troopers worshipped any Jedi. "I will not." he promised, noticing how even in a tense situation like this there was a hint of amusement about his overcorrect speech coming from the Clones.
A man walked through the high bushes in front of them in an armor similar to the ones the Republic Commandos were wearing. But Castiel knew better and had to stifle a weird feeling of disappointment about the fact that the man with the incredible presence in the Force was a Mandalorian.
He had been raised to dislike them. Well as far as any Jedi disliked anything. He knew that it had been mostly Mandalorians who had trained the Republic Commandos and that those who had been trained by the Mandalorians - like Sigma squad - tended to stay alive longer. Mandalorians weren't considered the best warriors in the galaxy for nothing.
His opinion of the strange warriors had become a little bit better since he got to know the Commandos but still he felt distrust now that he was seeing one of them for the first time. It wasn't understandable for him how someone like a Mandalorian could leave such an impression in the force. If they were really all that filthy and murderous like he had always read, then it shouldn't have been possible to be as intruging this unknown Mandalorian was in the force.
The Mandalorian and the Republic Commandos were talking with their helm links. It wasn't only the Force that told him this, but even he knew that staring at each other and saying nothing wasn't what you did when you met friends or allies. Especially not when the situation could mean death for any one of them.
"I've brought armors for all of you, even for you jetii." This was the first time the stranger had spoken aloud and Castiel couldn't deny the fact that his voice sounded good, even through the speakers of his helmet. The words puzzled Castiel and he only understood when the Mandalorian started to throw plates of a Mandalorian armor at him. Castiel was fairly certain he would look just like Jango Fett once he put on that armor, safe for the color.
Castiel caught the first two pieces and looked at them like they were going to try and kill him before he shook his head with force.
"I am not wearing this."
The Mandalorian snorted and took one long look at him before shrugging. "Fine. You wanna stay here and find another way out don't wear it." He took a helmet out of the box he had transported all of this in and looked down on it before taking another look at Castiel. "But if you want to come with me and Sigma you are going to wear that."
Castiel was astonished how much he could... feel of the other man. He was strong in the force; he couldn't use it, Castiel was sure of it, but his every emotion sent waves that Castiel couldn't help but feel. It was strange and endearing and Castiel found himself wanting to wear the armor just so he could find out more about the strange Mandalorian.
Wordlessly, a bit ashamed about his outburst from before, Castiel started to attach the armor. And failed miserably. He didn't needed to hear the Mandalorian's sigh or the silent laughter of Sigma squad. One of the disadvantages of the force was that you noticed things like this too. Castiel would rather have not.
But after giving out the rest of the armor to Sigma, who were changing without any trouble, the Mandalorian headed over the few feet to Castiel, who was still struggling with the armor. Castiel felt a bit intimidated by the other man even though he didn't know why. He had worked with Clones a lot in the last few months and had thought he had gotten used to the helmet which didn't give anything away and created the feeling of something anonymous, of something not alive.
That Clones weren't alive was a presumption only someone who was no Force user could make. Otherwise you just couldn't miss how alive Clones were and how different they all were.. The helmet of this Mandalorian made Castiel feel intimidated nonetheless. Maybe it was how strong the presence of him was in the force but something about this dark T-visor was unsettling him.
Without saying a word, the man made Castiel strip nearly out of all of his clothing before helping him getting in the plain black clothing he brought, attaching the armor, making sure it fit and didn't look weird.
The whole process of changing was strange.Castiel was hyperaware of the hands of the other man on his skin. He could feel the rough leather of his gloves that he didn't take off once and the cold where the plates of his armor touched Castiel's bare skin.
"This is beskar'gam, jetii," the man commented as he worked. "You can consider yourself honored; it is the best metal in the whole galaxy."
Castiel really didn't know what to say to that. He would have thought that the Mandalorian would give him old armor that would be enough to get them through this damn city and out into the safety of space but this wasn't just any cheap armor. It didn't take an expert to know that beskar'gam was the best metal in the galaxy not even a lightsaber was any use against it.
“Thank you,” he said quietly after a while, not sure how it was appropriate to react to someone offering something like this even for just a short while. The Mandalorian in front of him seemed amused by Castiel's reaction which in turn unsettled the Jedi a bit even though he didn't let it show.
“Thank me once I've got you out of this city.” The Mandalorian stood up from where he had fastened Castiel's leg armor and pushed a helmet into Castiel's hands. “I'm gonna need your lightsaber.”
Castiel's first instinct was to protect his sword from any harm. No Jedi would ever give his lightsaber away by choice, not even one as unconventional as he was. It wasn't that they couldn't fight without it - they trained for weaponless combat too - but the lightsaber of a Jedi was something personal, probably like the armor for a Mandalorian, even though Castiel wasn't going to point that out.
“No.” He was tense. Without his lightsaber he wouldn't stand a chance if they were discovered. He really wasn't any help given a blaster, it was more likely that he would shoot himself rather than his enemy. But with his lightsaber he could do nearly anything, even if nearly everyone was sure he was useless and weak.
“C'mon jetii, we don't have time for your bitching.” Cas could feel through the force that the unknown Mandalorian was getting a bit angry. He was a bit surprised but grateful when Res stepped in, putting a hand on the Mandalorian's shoulder.
Whatever he was saying to the man was calming him down, his anger slowly leaving the force even though there was still this dark ball of anger and... darkness in him that didn't do anything to make him less fascinating and blazing to Castiel.
“Fine, keep your lightsaber. If anyone asks you, you say you killed a jetii to get it. Got it chucklehead?”
Castiel didn't know if he was supposed to be offended by how little the Mandalorian thought of him so he just nodded, gladly putting the lightsaber on his belt.
“Good. Let's get going,” the stranger commented, clearly taking the lead. Castiel was suspicious of him but since Sigma seemed to trust him, and even Bral was letting him take the lead, he had no other choice but to do the same thing.
Which led him to another problem that occurred to him when he was about to put on the helmet.
“How does this work?” he asked and immediately felt the chuckles through the force. Apparently his lack of knowledge about technic was a joke.
“Don't worry di'kut, your HUD just shows you what you would see with your eyes normally.”
Castiel didn't understand the word di'kut but he was fairly sure it wasn't something nice. He stayed silent as he put on the helmet and really, it wasn't that much different from just seeing with his eyes. Just now what he saw was on was a screen and he had, well, a helmet on his head.
“Move it,” he heared through the HUD comlink system. He did as he was told, following behind the Mandalorian. He had been far too occupied with his presence in the force before to take any notice of his physical appearance.
But now while he was walking behind him he couldn't stop from noticing how the way he walked and held himself alone screamed that this was a deadly man, one you really didn't want to anger because it was gonna end bloody for you. He seemed to be a big bigger than Cas, although it was hard to tell with this armor.
His attention was taken from the stranger when they entered the city. Now there were a lot more things that he needed to look out for, both with his eyes and the force, especially possible threats, people that could see through the little act they were pulling,because if they did it would be Cas's fault.
He was the only one not fitting into this little charade. The Republic Commandos looked like you would expect Mandalorians to look. All of them had the same aura the stranger did, only it was a bit different. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference but Castiel could.
The Mandalorian moved like someone who was used to the rough life of the the lawless and was not afraid to take on whomever crossed his path. The Commandos weren't afraid either, but they moved with a bit more tensionand a bit more wonder; they just weren't as used to the normal world as the Mandalorian was.
Around them, people noticed them. It was hard not to notice six Mandalorians in full armor; they were like a little army of their own.
Most of the population was human but Castiel could also see a few Twi'leks as well as Chiss though they were rare. Mandalorians didn't seem to be that much of a rare occurrence since most of the people just regarded them with a bit of worry about the trouble they could bring but there was no real fear.
They fit in like they belonged here. At least on the outside, since Castiel still did not feel comfortable in this armor, enforcing something he was supposed to despise. This was probably another reason why normally his Master wanted to keep him from interacting with people. He was bad at it.
Even through the HUD system, Castiel just couldn't mistake the sound of droids coming closer. He tensed, readying himself mentally for a fight. The rest of the group had also gone quiet, the easy chatter dying to give way to a much more efficient exchange of information.
Castiel was pretty sure they were going to be spotted. Even though Mandalorians apparently had been seen here before Castiel was positive that he would end up doing something that would get them caught.
But the droids didn't even enter the street. They passed, hunting for them somewhere else but no one noticed their little group. not even the three officers who came closer tto them, running, eyes searching. They were looking for them, Castiel was sure about that by the way they held their blasters tightly clutched.
He held his breath as they passed, trying to look as much as a Mandalorian as he could even though he wasn't sure he managed. The troops passed anyway, not even looking at them twice, and Cas wasn't sure if it was because they were so good at this or if the troops just didn't want to risk angering Mandalorians. It was probably the latter since Castiel was sure he was a bad actor and they hadn't looked that closely to begin with.
The rest of the way to the shuttle wasn't that bad either. They didn't get asked who they were or what their business was a single time.
This was strange for Castiel. He had always somehow stood out on the missions he had with his master while Michael had just fit in everywhere, charming even the most deadliest races (or just frightening them). The best he had managed was that people were afraid of him and most of the time that wasn't what they were trying to aspire. Later, when he had been a Knight he'd mostly volunteered for missions where he was on some planet with barely any population, responsible for getting someone out or in. The council hadn't been too happy but after Castiel had nearly managed to start a war they had agreed that it was better that way.
With the Commandos Cas didn't exactly fit in either but apparently no one noticed that he was as far away from a Mandalorian as you could get. And it felt strangely good. He was more at ease in this strange armor than he had been for quite some time just because no one looked at him like he was a freak.
Once they got onto the starship they all relaxed. They were safe. Or as safe as people like them could ever be. Finally Cas could get rid of that stupid armor. Okay, the armor wasn't stupid but it just wasn't him. He wasn't the type for armor. He wasn't the type for the Jedi robes either. He had actually never fit in anywhere but being with the Jedi was as close to being at home as he'd probably ever get.
The fact that for once he hadn't stood out when he had worn the armor didn't change who he was. Or rather wasn't. It just made him wish he could fit in like this more often. Even if it was just on the outside.
They had only been in space for a few uneventful hours. Those hours had been filled with silence, at least when it came to Castiel. He was sure the squad was having silent conversations with the Mandalorian and among themselves but he didn't bother to try and listen. It was obvious he was just an intruder. This wasn't his culture. Some Jedi would have said it wasn't the culture of the Clones either but Cas had to disagree. They were at home in that Mandalorian armor, they fit in, no one would look twice at them, not even on Mandalore.
Instead of another futile attempt to fit in somewhere, Castiel had spent the time meditating to calm himself and clear his mind. The mission had been at least a partial success. Even though the CIS know clearly knew who they had to thank for the disaster they had made it out alive, that was all Castiel cared for right now.
Still Castiel dreaded going back to the temple and Coruscant. Too much politics there. Just because he couldn't act like most humans didn't mean that he didn't understand politics. He certainly did, he just reacted differently than normal people would do. Which normally ended bad for him.
But while the politicians were tense and panicked half of the time, most of the citizens of Coruscant didn't even bother to think twice about what was happening in the galaxy. Castiel was sick of the indifference; he didn't want to go back to the temple.
Suddenly there was the beep of a transmission and Castiel froze as he heard Chancellor Palpatine speaking in a cold and clear voice.
“Execute Order 66.” *
There was silence. But after the few seconds it took him to process what was going to happen now, Castiel accepted that he would die. He wasn't going to hurt these men. He cared for them far too much, even though he wasn't sure if they liked or hated him.
There was silence but Cas was sure that they weren't actually silent underneath those helmets. He could nearly feel the hurried discussion of what to do with him and wondered why they hadn't just shot him. They had gotten an order and that order was to remove every Jedi by lethal force.
After a few moments though, something in the Force changed. They had come to a decision. Castiel waited for a shot to his head, sure they would follow the order, because, even though the Republic Commandos were far more independent than others, they wouldn't ignore a contingency order.
But instead of Castiel getting a blaster pointed at his head, the unnamed Mandalorian threw the helmet back to him. “Get dressed, jetii, Palpatine can shove his osik'la orders right were they've come from.”
Castiel stared at him in absolute disbelief, his eyes flickering between the helmet in his hand and the Mandalorian whose face he hadn't seen once. “Buckle up vode, time to disappear.”
* Order 66
"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."
Source: Republic Commando: True Colors by Karen Traviss