Clone City, Valley of the Queens

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"This... this is not funny."

With a voice devoid of accent Sal found herself suddenly not at home, returning to her living room after a bathroom break while watching reruns of Avatar: The Last Airbender. If the place had been a nexus or something she was more familiar with she would have been perfectly okay with the entire situation.

Except that this was not a room, not a nexus, and not a cafe. It was a cave. She wasn't a fan of caves. They were gross and earthy and just... well... gross. This cave wasn't drippy or anything, but she still didn't like it. She growled to herself and walked awhile until she found a large French door. Which was weird in and of itself. She wrenched it open and found her feet on green grass.

"Where the hell am I?" She looked around at the enormous valley spread out around her.

This is surreal...

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"Sal??" asked a familiar voice from a corner of the slightly overgrown terrace as Fi stood up to stare at her. "What... how...."

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And hearing that voice almost made Celeste drop.

"Yeah, that's what I'm wondering."

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He walked over and poked her carefully in the shoulder, then blinked and touched her hair. "You're real."

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"Yes, b'y." A pause. "And I'm real confused: what're ye doin' here?"

She craned her neck to look at him; her red boots were gone and she was slouching slightly from all the weight she was carrying.

Sal sure wasn't intimidating now.

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"Hiding while I wrote a little of my book." His cheeks darkened slightly. "Kal told me to take an hour off."

She might not be, but in Fi's eyes she was still someone to answer to.

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"Kal... Kal's here?" Sal looked shocked. "But why are you here? This ain't Kamino..."

Never mind that Fi was writing a book.

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"Yes. Well, down in the lower levels." He pointed to the hurrying human forms visible on terraces across the way and down by the river. "We live here now. This is Clone City."

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She looked, and was momentarily struck speechless. "But how'd ye git moved? Last I checked ye were all in theatre, doin' yer thing."

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"The Emperor decided to move us all, but when we marched onto the transports we wound up here," said Fi. "I don't understand how it worked, but Kal knew that it was going to happen."

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"All of you? That doesn't make sense. There are way too many of you."

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"All of us that are left." He leaned over the rail as much as the forcefield would let him and watched the fishing fleet set out. Even from that distance he fancied that he could hear Billy yelling.

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"All that's left..."

The GAR wasn't that old. And they weren't bad soldiers so there couldn't have been a huge decimation.

Then she heard Billy's voice and smiled. "So that's where he got to."

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"Some got culled." He tried hard not to fidget, but one bare foot had come down on an old pottery shard or something and standing to attention was getting uncomfortable.

"Sir?" Then he too clearly caught the voice carried on the wind. "The Captain of Fisheries?"

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"Right. One of ye is gonna need to explain what the hell you means by that."

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"Explain what?" he asked uncertainly.

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Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Even with her baby-belly she looked deadly.

"Culling."

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Fi's jaw clenched and he went to full attention, the pain in his foot overshadowed by the pain in his heart. "Taken away and killed."

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Her tone didn't change.

"Why."

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"Because they didn't trust us. Some of us were becoming too human, and others had been loyal to you and to General Oboa."

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She inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"My fault."

And she turned to go away.

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He forgot decorum to go after her, his medical training lending him concern for her state of mind in her condition. "None of us blame you."

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She sighed. "Though it sounded like you do."

Those episodes of Avatar were looking better and better...

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And then Fi did something that he'd learned from one of his new teachers.

He hugged her, his gladness at seeing her coming through in the gesture.

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Sal hugged the jovial clone back. "I'm glad you're alright, Fi," she said quietly.

Then Celeste decided to say hello too, and Sal drew back, inhaling sharply. "Ow.... wait, what're ye wearin'?"

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His eyes were wide with curiosity as he reached out a gentle finger to touch the spot that had thumped him, but he looked up. "The new uniform. Um... Ang calls it civvies."

The jeans and burgundy striped button shirt had clearly seen better days... and his feet where very much bare.