Jedi Insurgency 121

The second Plagueis departed in his spaceship, Corvus felt the tension leave him like air escaping a balloon. It was over, the crisis on Naboo had been averted, and the source of the Blackwing virus had been purged. He wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower, eat a good meal, and sleep. 

Unfortunately, as a leader of men-one who genuinely valued his comrades-he couldn't afford to be selfish. Off to the side, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo were crawling to their feet, the phantom pain of Plagueis's Force Lightning seemed to have left mental scars, wounding their spirits within the Force. Yet for all the damage they had sustained, they had stumbled towards their downed brother. Tech was on his knees, cradling Crosshair's head, he was lost like a child who had a loving sibling, then one day, they were simply gone. 

Jax, meanwhile, was standing to the side. His fists were clenched, and from the Bond, Corvus felt an extreme amount of guilt radiating from the white haired teen. 

Corvus felt Obi-Wan's gaze on his back, doubtlessly the bearded Jedi Master had numerous questions regarding Plagueis, but it would have to wait for later. His student needed him. 

Walking towards the group of men, Yon silently stepped to his side. No words were spoken, but they presented a united front as they confronted the mourning clones. 

“Yous can bring'em back, right? Just like me?” Wrecker asked. 

“Of course he can.” Hunter comforted, and then stared at Corvus with an expression that was partially desperate, as if asking you can, can't you?

Scratching his chin, he thought that he could, but he'd have to reattach that head. [Revitalize] was great, but he couldn't do something as outrageous as resurrecting a puddle of flesh, much less a headless torso. 

“Theoretically, yes. All I have to do is mend the flesh, and then it should be possible. So long as there is a complete corpse, and it has passed within half an hour, I have confidence in my abilities.” Corvus spoke quietly, yet his words were full of confidence. 

“Right then, we'd best hurry this up.” Echo then pried Crosshair's head out of Tech's still dazed hands, and placed it back on its perch. 

Corvus was about to get to work when Jax suddenly stepped forward. Raising an eyebrow, Corvus almost worried that his student might somehow still be infected. Even though he had ‘nuked’ the surroundings with an AOE [Heal] of epic magnitudes, it wasn't impossible that some cells had survived?! Thankfully Jax's next words dispelled such worries. 

“Let me do it. It was my carelessness that brought us here. I should be the one who sets things right.” Jax said with a strong determination. 

Corvus sucked in a sharp breath, and looked at his student with a new light. Ever responsible, striving to do his best for his friends, loyal, and acting only within his means, Jax was a true Jedi. He almost felt ashamed for leading such an up and coming paragon of the Light on the Path of the Shadow. And yet, a smile spread across his face, and warmth beat from his heart. 

‘This is my student.’ Corvus thought to himself with pride. There was no dishonor in being caught up to, or surpassed by the younger generation. One day, the son would grow stronger than the father, and a new generation would sprout shade from the trees he had planted. 

For a moment, Corvus couldn't help but look towards the future, and imagine how bright it would become once his students had matured, and taken disciples of their own. 

Placing a hand on Jax's shoulder, he squeezed, then looked him in the eyes. “You're ready?” 

“I'm ready.” Jax nodded. No extra words, or perfunctory statements were needed. The teen was growing into a man of action, and Corvus couldn't be prouder. 

“I'm watching.” Son. 

For a brief moment, Jax's typical taciturn persona was full of emotion as Corvus didn't hide how he felt through their Force Bond. 

Taking a deep breath, Jax glanced at the Bad Batch's hopeful expressions, and once again regained control of his emotions. His eyes were wide open, his twin pair of wintery ice blue orbs flashed with mystic insight, and his hands got to work. 

A refreshing mint green light suffused his hands, and he pressed them against the ‘clean’ carbonized flesh that had been separated via lightsaber. The blackened skin began to take on a healthy hue, and rippled under his care. Jax's focus was like that of an autist proficient in counting cards, not one iota of his technique went unnoticed or a single point of energy unused. He fully and completely merged Crosshair's neck to his torso. By the end of the operation, his temples were full of sweat, and the strain upon his psyche was like a weight upon his shoulders. Yet for all this external pressure, a small smile of relief had graced his lips, and boundless self confidence sparkled in his eyes. 

Corvus remained neutral faced at this feat. [Heal] to him was a game mechanic, something he raised to tier IV using his own understanding on literally millions of patients. Furthermore, he was only able to heal so many people due to a brief harmonization with his kyber crystal & Eriadu. Thanks to his incredibly fast recharge time on his FP bar, he could endlessly spam abilities, especially in peace time. 

As for Jax? Jax could only practice when he could. His abilities were at Knight (low) or maybe even Knight (mid) in certain aspects. What he was doing with [Heal] was expected for someone of his ‘rank.’ 

[Revitalize]...that would be the true test. 

Everything the teen learned from him, had been via observation, and thanks to [Mentor]. It would be a lie to say Corvus wasn't a little nervous at this upcoming attempt. Bringing someone back from the dead was an incredibly serious matter. Without any game mechanics guiding him, Corvus was curious to see how Jax would pull this off. 

The teen in question had his hands over Crosshair, the pair of mechanical limbs made subtle noises as they moved into place. All others were silent, and most of the clones were breathing shallowly, or holding their breaths. Bland corporate lights beamed down on them, and the now sterile, vast chamber felt like a clinical room where a doctor was about to produce a miracle. 

Green light once more arose from Jax's hands. It misted over Crosshair's corpse, and permeated his body from head to toe. 

A finger twitched, and color started to return to the clone's face. Yet something was wrong. The lanky sniper was convulsing, like a body that had an overdose of electricity. Corvus extended his senses, and felt that a consciousness was attempting to enter Crosshair's body, but something was holding it back. Jax was close, it could be said he was at 0.9 complete, yet with resurrection, either the person being worked upon came back to life, or they didn't. A 1 was a whole number, something complete, 0.9 simply wouldn't work. At worst, something unprecedented could occur should Jax fail. 

Frowning behind his mask, Corvus wondered if they would have yet another zombie outbreak on their hands. 

The other members of the Bad Batch noticed something had gone awry, and had begun to hang their heads in despair. 

It was then that Obi-Wan stepped forward, and offered his words in counsel. 

“Try speaking out to your brother. He is near, but a guiding voice may be what he needs to come home.” Kenobi said aloud, and with some uncertainty, almost like he was repeating words that had been told to him. 

‘Qui-Gon!’ Corvus internally exclaimed. If anyone would hold such wisdom on the matters of life and death, it would be him! 

As for the clones, they were willing to do anything for their sibling. Shaking Crosshair's body, and yelling at him, the men of the Bad Batch were desperate. Like a drowning man grasping at the first strand of hope to be thrown at him, they were boisterous with their efforts. 

“Come on mate, if you're not back soon, Wrecker’s going to use your rifle to pick his toes.” Hunter cajoled. 

“If you don't return, Tech would probably do something creepy like keep your skull, and talk to it.” Echo jested. 

“Why, I never! Don't listen to them, Crosshair! I would be much more likely to measure your skull circumference, and then study your brainwaves to see how…” Tech began to nervously babble about science stuff. 

“Come back ya wee bastard!” Wrecker pounded Crosshair's chest, large bubbles of snot dripped down the big man's nose, and great elephant sized tears fell upon the sniper's cheek. 

A gasp of air was forcefully struck out of Crosshair's lips upon taking Wrecker’s strike. The other clones turned as one to the big man, and looked at him in disapproval. Right as a heavy emotional turmoil was about to grip the group, that wheeze of air soon turned into a gasp for air. 

“Crosshair!” Hunter cheered. 

“We worried we lost you, mate.” Echo uncapped a canteen, and held it to the bald man's lips. 

Crosshair waved the drink away, and then winced as he held his ribs. “By the Force, do you people know how to keep quiet? He said in a sour tone of voice. 

“Yep, Crosshair's back.” Hunter rolled his eyes, and spoke sarcastically, yet he couldn't hide the grin that was blossoming from ear to ear. 

“Hmm, I suppose I'll have to measure those brainwaves at a later time.” Tech muttered to himself. 

“Oi.” Crosshair rebutted. 

His one word reply caused everyone present to let out a chuckle, the tension of the day's events disappeared, and a light mood suffused the group of super commandos. 

“Crosshair. I'm sorry for what I did. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, find me.” Jax spoke slowly, and solemnly. 

The laughter cut off, and everyone looked to Crosshair to see how he would respond. 

“I don't blame ya kid, I can see this took a toll on you. S'pose we both know what it's like to be controlled against our will now, eh?” Crosshair looked down at the ground, then held his hand out. 

Jax hesitated. The memories of Order 66 flashed through his mind for a second, and old pains flared up at Crosshair's reminder. Then he smiled and took the bald man's hand for a shake. 

“Yeah.” 

Corvus watched on, happy as a clam. If he had a stat or metric that measured group cohesion, he was sure it would be somewhere between 90-99/100. Comradery and brotherhood, without those things, would fighting this war even be worth it? 

“Ahem. Touching as this is, I believe there are still some unanswered questions. Revan, if you don't mind, you must explain yourself.” Obi-Wan spoke just loud enough, that only Corvus-and perhaps Yon-heard. 

Glancing at the joyful reunion, Corvus slightly nodded, then gestured for them to take a walk. 

“What do you want to know?” Corvus asked. 

“Let's start with the Blackwing virus.” Obi-Wan frowned, and spoke in a critical tone. 

Corvus sighed, Kenobi was serious this time. It seemed that the Master of Soresu wouldn't be letting him off easy this time. 

“Very well, here's what I know…”