Archive of Our Own ^beta

Fulcrum

1015
0217

2416

confirmation code checks out

welcome to the rebellion, fulcrum :)

We should stick to the protocol and avoid unnecessary communication.

sorry

0657
Admiral Versio sent reinforcements to Adelphi. Unfortunately, I cannot access further details.

i'll tell command

0714
command asks for clearance codes for the Corvus

0802
041017

thank you

2204
Food supply crates will be shipped to the eastern Imperial outpost on Lothal tomorrow at 0400. It’s the first solo mission of some new recruits so it’ll be easy for you to steal it.

part of me kinda feels bad for embarrassing them on their first mission

0448
Didn’t seem to stop you from giving three of them a concussion.

i can’t take all the credit ;)

1223
so you’re based on lothal?

I’m not allowed to answer that.

we need the access code for that large hangar door at bay 3

14847

so you’re based on lothal.

...

Whatever.

1450
ezra wants to know if you can access records from about 12 years ago

I shouldn’t know with whom you are involved.

you chose me specifically as a contact so it’s safe to say that you know me somehow

and if you know me you’re also familiar with my rebel cell, so I think i’m safe.

Fair enough. I’d need to send a request to my superiors for access codes to archived records.

don’t

that might raise suspicion and your safety is priority

he says its not that important anyways

1705
when you’re stationed on lothal then your superior is probably agent kallus right?

because ezra, sabine and i have a bet about how he drinks his caf

i say no milk or sugar, ezra is certain it’s with milk and sabine says it’s without milk but a little sugar

Can we keep this comm frequency relevant to the rebellion’s cause?

sorry

2339
...

Sabine is right.

and just like that i lost 10 credits

0532
can i ask you something?

0545
why

why did you choose me as your contact?

0705
sorry you don’t have to answer

and you’re probably also not allowed to anyway

0217
I’ll give you my answer one day. When it is safer.

thata promise? ;)

I suppose it is.

alright then, fulcrum, looks like you’re not allowed to die in this war because you have a promise to keep

0928
sorry if that was weird yesterday

i just meant that you should stay safe

I understood. Thank you for your concern about my well being.

rebels look out for each other :)

1504
speaking of looking out for each other

it’s hera’s birthday in three days and kanan would like to cook meiloorun stew for her

it’s her favorite dish but i’m more of a kythimik berries guy but they’re impossible to get

does the empire happen to have some meilooruns on lothal?

you know i’ve read in recent studies that meilooruns shouldn’t be kept in crates and storage units but in a basket on an open field with no stormtroopers around

because they might cast a shadow on them and then they go bad

I’m afraid I can’t help you. New food supplies are scheduled in 8 rotations and there’ll only be one crate of different fruits.

:((

Revise that. I managed to special order some. They arrive tomorrow at 0200. If I were you, I’d hijack the supply ship before it reaches the space port.

aye aye

0227
all went as planned :))

0234
i don’t know how you got it but thank you for the kythimik berries

it really means a lot

kanan is happy with the meilooruns too

hopefully the force is with him when he tries to cook

whatever the force is

0957
command asks you to check in with them

it’s a confirming you’re still alive and you’re still you sorta thing

comm frequency is S-33-567-A32

1315
i thought you’d tell on me for asking too many personal questions and they’d take away my fulcrum comm

but i just received a jogan fruit basket for a job well done :)
That's how the rebellion rewards their captains?


well this task isn’t really promotion worthy and it’s not like they could give me a pay raise

you’re probably eating nothing but ration bars am i right?

They’re nutritious.

that is not how you describe food

it’s supposed to be delicious

0134
Are you and your friends responsible for the explosions at the west outpost?

actually no

we’re not even on lothal

Okay.

are you alright?

did anyone get hurt?

Are you concerned about Imperials?

i’m concerned about you

you’re one of us

I wasn’t present during the attack.

what about good old agent kallus?

0301
He wasn’t present either.

And he isn't that old.

... or good

0533
Why are you asking about him?

0842
who’s the one asking personal questions now, eh? ;)

I apologize.

don’t!! i’m glad

you’re out there risking your life and i don’t wanna treat you like just another asset

like i said, you’re one of us now

0217
and to answer your question, kallus and i have a history

in a good and a bad sense

mostly bad

it’s complicated

he might be an insufferable imp but he has honor

let’s just leave it at that

1104
sorry for oversharing

1156
you good?

2134
command requests a sign of life

That is not scheduled for another three rotations.

i know

command didn’t request it, i did

you didn’t answer me

you know if you’d rather have a different contact person who is better at sticking to protocol and punctuation, i wouldn’t be offended

I don’t.

I’m sorry for ignoring your texts. Technically, that is also a breach of protocol.

see?

you sound more like a rebel each day :))

2107
Sabine has shown me some more emoticons

<:D >:C :T

0014
Can I break protocol one more time?

of course

I’m not allowed to share personal information to keep my identity a secret but you should know that I am not a good person. I joined the Republic Academy when I was 18 and one year later it turned into the Imperial Academy and I didn’t question the ideology it came with. I served the Empire my entire life and did horrible things in its name.

I suppose your subtext is that I shouldn't be concerned about your well being or call you one of us because you’re such a bad person?

I didn’t feel like spelling it out.

you’re forgetting some important points in your life though

you must be 35 now

you know how rare it is for people to change their values and beliefs so late in life??

and you didn’t just change them you chose to fight for them

in fact you're risking your life for them right now

and that is admirable

and you provided our cell leader with meilooruns on her birthday so of course you’re one of us there’s no question about it

0432
i don’t know if i made you feel better

you don’t have to answer me, i won’t feel ignored

or we can change the subject and i can pretend it is of great importance that you give us the access code to the main elevator in the junior academy

I do feel better. Thank you.

And the code is 12345.

are you serious??

I wish I wasn’t...

Fulcrum

1015
You are human right?

That is a fair assumption.

Yes.

It’s not like any other species could fit under those stormtrooper helmets

I believe that is by design.

what do you mean?

Xenophobic values are part of Imperial training.

And I’m not a Stormtrooper.

that checks out

you know i’m not human, right?

I am aware.

I cannot say it’s been like this all my life but as of now I reject those and any other Imperial values.

don’t worry, mate

I don’t blame people for falling for the empire’s lies

happens a lot

happened to Sabine too and she’s like a sister to me now

important thing is you changed

sorry if it seems like i’m repeating myself

i just really mean what I say

I’m also bad at mushy conversation

anyway i have a question about humans and their bodies that’s why i asked you

Aren’t there three humans on your crew?

well, yes… but it is about Kanan so i can’t ask him and i’m not gonna ask some teenagers about their bodies

Fair enough.

What is your question?

What does it mean when your face turns into that red-ish color??

It happens a lot to Kanan when he talks to Hera

I’ve seen it before happen to a human but it was really cold

i mean reeeaaally cold

so i just assumed it’s because of that

but it’s not cold on board our ship

I believe what you are referring to is blushing.

Humans blush for various reasons and yes, being exposed to extreme temperatures is one of them.

Different emotions such as anger, embarrassment, shyness or romantic feelings can also cause humans to blush.

you sound like the holonet

Why didn’t you look it up yourself then?

does the empire trace holonot interactions from unlicensed space vehicles???

… touché

imagine after all the trouble Agent Kallus went through to capture us, he finds us because i looked up why humans blush on the holonet

kinda embarrassing

we gotta make the man work for it

0931
There was another attack.

This time on the Junior Academy.

I hope that wasn’t you and your crew.

no

we’re near lothal though if you want us to pick you up and bring you to safety

No, there’s no need for that.

Are you sure it wasn’t a rebel cell?

i could ask command if you want

Please do.

I need to know if I can actually investigate these attacks or if I have to alter some evidence.

2245
command says that there were no orders for either attacks

Good, thank you.

Some of the children got hurt. Most of them join the academy to support their families or to get off the streets. They’re not Imperials. At least not yet.

if there’s anything we can do let me know

as you probably know, we’re quite fond of lothal and its people

I am aware. I’ll keep you updated.

0512
why did you join the republic academy?

was it to get off the streets?

Not exactly.

so?

My father was fascinated by the Jedi and later the clones and I suppose by telling me and my siblings stories about war and comradery, it rubbed off on me.

He worked at the Jedi temple and had some connection which eventually let me join the academy.

So to answer your question, it was my father’s dream for me to fight alongside Jedi and clones. And I wanted to make him proud.

someone once told me that I shouldn’t judge all imperials as the same

i think i’m starting to understand what he meant by that

thank you for sharing that with me

when this is all over i’ll buy you a beer

or whiskey

or whatever drink you prefer

I’d like that.

1015
did your father witness the attack on the jedi temple?

Kanan told me about it

He died during a terrorist attack a few months prior. It was a bomb with nano-droids.

sorry about that

In retrospective, I’m glad he didn’t have to see the Jedi and the Republic fall.

and you never got to fight alongside Jedi and clones, right?

No, I didn’t.

well our crew got both of those ;)

if you ever decide to leave the fulcrum life behind and become a fulltime rebel, maybe you can fight with us

clones snore though

so be warned

1543
articles about the attack are all over the holonet

why is the empire blaming us?

they can’t have any evidence

Any attack on Imperial facilities is categorized as rebel activity. And any rebel activity on Lothal will fall back on your crew.

i didn’t know we were that famous

I thought you couldn’t access the holonet?

not from our ship

we’re at the market

and every single holoprojector here shows reports from the attack

It is incredibly dangerous for you to be on Lothal right now.

yeah we know

1628
Is it the market in Kothal?

Because we just received intel from a civilian that he’s seen a Twi’lek and a “purple Wookiee”

Agent Kallus is heading there right now so you better leave. I got an assignment too and cannot be of further assistance without blowing my cover.

1754
we made it out

thanks for the heads up

we did have a small encounter with Agent Kallus

we were already running and got picked up by Kanan

Kallus used to be faster than this

i guess he’s either getting old or tired of chasing us

not as much fun as he use to be

2143
He’s suffering a leg injury.

oh yeah i might have something to do with that

i mean i didn’t cause it

not directly

that is another story for whenever i get to buy you a drink

I’m glad you and Hera are okay.

:)

2316
and just so you know purple wookiee is a little insulting

if anything wookiees are brown lasats

I was just quoting the informant in hopes you’d understand the danger you were in.

don’t worry

i’m not really insulted

it’s not like you called me a Parwan

those things are nasty

why do they need four legs??

I believe those are tentacles.

call it whatever you want

it’s excessive!

2245
any updates on the attack?

Not yet.

0329
by the way

purple wookiees are actually a thing

or used to be

i once knew a wookiee-lasat hybrid and we called her purple wookiee for fun

i don’t know if you know this but i was captain of the honor guard back on lasan

and she was one of my lieutenants

her name was Kryyth

What was she like?

she was a very capable warrior

and really funny

and overall just a delight

she suspected that our other lieutenant Auran had a crush on the eldest son of the royal family so she would find hundreds of different reasons why the two should spend time together.

That is wholesome.

I suppose in the Empire no one cares that much about their co-workers.

Did they end up together?

yesss

Kryyth made sure that Auran was his personal body guard during the Thousand Lights Festival and they mysteriously went missing at the end of the celebration…

What is the Thousand Lights Festival?

it’s a very old tradition

lasan used to be split into three kingdoms and they were always at war

so after what dramatic storyteller’s called the “bloodiest battle of the history of lasan” on kingdom began to release floating lanterns for every fallen lasat

the other two kingdoms saw their tribute and did the same

with all those lanterns in the sky they all realized that so many lives or not worth whatever they were fighting about and they united into one kingdom

the story sounds too much like a fairy tale to me

who knows what is actually historically accurate

I like it nonetheless.

Thank you for sharing that with me.

thank you for listening

you know i stopped talking about lasan many months ago

sure sometimes it’s hard to think about it but the worst thing is the look on other people’s faces

i could tell them about my happiest memories and they’d still look at me in pity

i mean i get why they do

but

i don’t know

sorry i’m rambling

No worries.

I can only imagine how hard it must be to express emotions about a topic as deep as this.

2351
I know your crew still hasn’t left Lothal

I left something for you in comm tower E-272

0954
just picked it up

thank you :D!

Fulcrum

2351
I left something for you in comm tower E-272

0954
just picked it up

thank you :D!

isn’t it suspicious if meiloorun just keep disappearing around your base?

don’t worry about that

alright

i do kinda worry though

don’t want you compromising your position just because you’re providing us with meilooruns

Meilooruns aren’t as popular as you think they are.

No one will miss them here.

Well, except me.

no way you gave us your own precious meilooruns!!

didn’t we talk about eating real food instead of ration bars???

do they make meiloorun-flavored ration bars?

Sadly, no.

and it took you 15 years to defect?

crazy

1709
sorry did i say something wrong?

i was just joking you know

I am aware.

I just didn’t know how to express my amusement through text.

that’s why i shared those emoticons with you!!

teens use them a lot apparently

:D

I apologize for worrying you.

no it’s okay i was just overthinking when you didn’t answer me i’m sorry

I don’t feel comfortable with emoticons but I do think you are funny.

thank you :D

Are these emoticons based on humans?

Because I feel like 8D would be a better representation for Lasats.

look who is the funny guy now

i gotta go

there’s shouting in the common room

probably our droid doing something stupid

2140
do you get along with droids?

I’d like to believe I get along with most of them easily, yes.

wait until you meet Chopper

he’s a menace

Most droids probably don’t like being called a menace.

not this one

he knows he’s a menace

he probably likes being called that

just means he achieved his goal

which is making my life miserable

I take it you don’t get along with droids.

I DO

if they aren’t rolling over my toes

Fair enough.

Humans have the privilege of being able to cover their feet.

lucky you

I know a droid you might like.

She’s a mouse droid.

She’s very careful about getting in someone’s way.

Governor Pryce once kicked her.

Then I fixed her up and apparently she got attached.

so you have your own mouse droid?

Technically she’s imperial property, but I do use her to spy on other agents and officers.

but you know her well enough to know her preferred pronouns.

and to use her to spy

We talk occasionally…

uh huh anyways

you can understand those things??

My father was a mechanic and my mother was barely around. I probably heard more binary than basic growing up.

that is honestly kinda sad

i don’t wanna undermine your friendship with droids

but you should probably have some sentient friends too

like me

What do you mean?

i consider us to be friends

don’t you?

I honestly haven’t thought about it until now.

But I do too.

sorry

didn’t mean to put you on the spot

It’s alright.

so did you give your mouse droid a name?

Mouse.

very creative :D

She likes it.

She’s also the one holding on to my Fulcrum comm when I have other duties.

When I’m on the field it’s not suspicious to carry different comms with me but inside the Imperial complex it’s better when she holds onto it.

so she’s a rebel!

she’s one of us!

that’s great because we seriously need more competent droids on board

I suppose you could say we defected together.

what do you mean?

She delivered me the report that made me defect.

do you wanna elaborate?

i mean you don’t have to

i get that talking about feelings is hard

I’d like to talk about it with you.

If that’s alright.

of course

While attending the Imperial Academy, I fell in love with one of my classmates and we ended up dating for some years.

We both started in the same branch of the Imperial Military but work kept us apart. Then I was promoted before him and I suppose it made him jealous and we drifted even further apart. Which eventually led to neither of us being willing to put any work into our relationship and we broke up.

He was stationed on Garel and about two years ago I was assigned to Lothal.

Honestly, I had some hope that we could fix things between us if we were ever on the same planet, or same stations.

But it turns out he had been stealing from the Empire for months and as the good old Imperial that I was, I arrested him.

And I thought he would go to prison. He was just selfish and exploited the Empire to make his own pockets full.

At the time, I didn’t understand why he would betray the Empire and I despised him for it. But when I started to doubt the Empire too, I felt confused and lost so I wanted to talk to him.

So, while I couldn’t leave my bed due to my injury, I sent the nearest mouse droid to get me a report from Governor Pryce on the arrest so I could find out to which prison they sent him.

Turns out he never went to prison. The Empire executed him for treason.

After reading that report, I noticed that one of the wheels of the mouse droid I sent was broken so I occupied myself with fixing it.

And I suppose one could say that my body produced tears.

And Mouse was already intelligent enough to understand what that means.

Obviously, she didn’t know how to comfort sentients so she put on a little light show for me.

And that night I decided to contact the rebels and do something about this injustice.

i think you’re right

i will love Mouse

Sorry, I suppose I rambled a bit.

nothing i haven’t done before

and it’s not rambling it’s opening up

and thank you for that

it’s not easy

No, it’s not.

I don’t think I have ever done that before.

With someone else than Jovan that is.

That was his name.

it’s healthy

for yourself and the relationship with the person you’re opening up to

I suppose it is.

you know when Sabine first joined our crew, we didn’t really get along

she was a moody ex-imperial teenager and i was

i don’t know

i was just grumpy

after weeks of unnecessary bickering we were on a mission at joe’s bar and actually got to talk about our feelings and our past

we had to abort the mission because we both started crying

but we got along better after that

ugh one day she decided to speak Shyriiwook the entire day to annoy me

she completely lost her voice

That is amusing.

I remember you said she’s like a sister to you.

yeah

i actually had two younger sister

i bet she would’ve gotten along with them great

not that they would’ve ever met

I had an older sister.

We used to be pretty close as kids but when I went to the Academy she married a Twi’lek and moved to Ryloth.

We didn’t stay in contact.

Given that most Twi’leks are not exactly imperial sympathizers, I suppose she denies having a brother in the Empire’s military.

if only she could see you now

I’m not sure what she would think.

Technically I’m still part of the Empire

as a spy

Yes, as a spy but I still follow the commands of my supervisors.

Just yesterday I had to close a market stand from a local farmer in the capital city because he handed in his paperwork too late.

It’s too late in the season to find any other available market place. If he can’t figure out how to sell his goods he’ll earn nothing.

And I did that.

what’s his name?

maybe we can help him

I checked his record and all his children attend the Junior Academy. He was arrested for beating up a Mon Calamari three years ago and owns multiple blasters. So I suppose he’s not going to accept help from rebels.

so the empire basically ruined this entire season for him and he’s still loyal?

ugh most imps don’t know how cruel the empire actually is

one tried to tell me that i would get a fair trial if i’d cooperate

pretty naive

I agree.

2331
you forgot one detail in your story earlier though

what made you question the empire in the first place?

That’s a story for the beer and whiskey you promised.

alright ;)

huh there’s no Lasat version of that one i guess

9)

1015
There’s an update on the attack on the Junior Academy.

Governor Pryce and Agent Kallus are convinced that Saw Gerrera is involved.

Fulcrum

2351
There’s an update on the attack on the Junior Academy.

Governor Pryce and Agent Kallus are convinced that Saw Gerrera is involved.

well, that’s not good

i’ll tell command

Thank you.

1032
our commander says Saw refuses to talk to him

he’s taking this matter to higher ranks

Good.

1254
Is there any way you can transfer the files about the attack to us?

that’s a request from command

The intelligence apartment would most likely notice a file of that size being transferred.

The entire complex is on lock-down. Only scheduled patrols are allowed to leave and I’ve not been assigned to one.

alright

it’s not worth the risk then

I’ll figure something out.

better not put yourself at risk

you know Ezra and I share a cabin

and whenever you and i have official rebel business to talk about he’s not allowed to be in our room and i value that alone time very much

And here I thought you like talking to me because of my amazing personality.

i do

but

it’s beneficial in more ways than one ;)

sorry i meant 9) of course

0736
Were you on Lothal last night?

Kothal specifically.

no, we’re on base

someone saw a purple wookiee again?

Yes.

2320
so uhm

how sure are you or the other imps that these attacks are from Saw?

We have footage of Saw Gerrera in a bar in Kothal.

I’m still trying to figure out a way to send you all the evidence.

i actually have some intel for you then

not from the rebellion but from me personally

remember when i told you that Kallus and i have a history?

Yes.

well, we were stuck on an ice moon thing once

wait i looked up the name once and wrote it down somewhere

2331
Bahryn

yeah, i was running away from him and he chased me into an escape pod and we crash landed on bahryn

Sounds entertaining.

it actually was

not at first though

we landed in a cave

his leg was injured so at least we didn’t keep fighting

then some big creatures that i couldn’t find on the holonet attacked us and he saved my life

though, to be fair, he probably knew that he needed me to carry him out of that cave so he kinda had to save me for his own survival

Seems like him.

so after we chased those things off we just sat together and started talking

i’m finally getting to my point now i’m sorry

It’s alright.

I enjoy your stories.

so there kallus told me about his first unit and that he was injured and watched a lasat murder his squad

even the ones already lying on the ground defeated

and that lasat was working for Saw

So it is likely the same Lasat that was seen in Kothal.

it’s not like there’s many of us left

and if he was working for Saw he was most likely not on Lasan during the attack

you’re probably not in a position to do anything about it but maybe try to keep an eye on Kallus

he’s probably reliving these memories now

and

i mean yeah he’s an imp but

at the end

on that kriffing ice moon

it felt like

it felt like he could change

or would want to change

What makes you say that?

he saved me again

during another attack from those beasts

we were already climbing up the pillars when they came so i kinda just threw him out of that cave

and when i climbed out he could’ve shot me

but he didn’t

and he didn’t need me anymore at that point

he had our weapons and our transponder

he chose to save me anyway

funny actually

he told me that he always wondered why that mercenary lasat let him live

and here i am wondering the same thing about him

Maybe one day you’ll know.

If it’s important to you, I’ll try my best to take care of him.

thank you

2343
I found a solution for the file transfer. It requires at least one of your crew members to be on Lothal.

are you suggesting a personal hand off?

because if you’re gonna reveal your identity then command should probably be involved in the decision

I wish I could give the file to you personally but I can’t justify being outside the imperial complex alone during a lockdown.

I’m sending Mouse.

i’m gonna brief Hera on this mission

1507
she wants to send Chopper

we’re gonna make him promise not to hurt or scare Mouse

I’m afraid our scans would detect Chopper’s or any other droid's signal.

Like I said, we’re on lockdown and security has been more than doubled.

wouldn’t they pick up Mouse’s signal too?

Not as long as she has her imperial registration.

alright

1534
we’re still discussing who is going to pick up the files from Mouse but someone will

send us the time and the coordinates as soon as you’re ready

1604
0217 / 1508 at 2300

that’s pretty close to the complex

I am aware it’s dangerous but the night patrol should be at the other end of the complex at that time.

I’ll do my best to protect whoever you will send.

gonna be me and Sabine

Good luck.

Mouse is very nervous.

aw, tell her it’s all gonna be fine.

I will.

good

talk to you later 8)