"Hope you're hungry General, looks like the Umbarans gave us the daily special." A gruff and steady voice said. I tried opening my eyes, only to find the thick rag blinding me. I could feel my muscles stiffening from the awkward position I had been lying in. I had hoped I had entered a healing trance, but I had only slept. I felt hands grabbing on my shoulders, lifting me up. I tucked my legs under me as calloused fingers peeled away the blindfold.
Even in the dim light of the cell, I instantly recognized the clone commando sergeant by the clean buzz cut and the thin scar across his left cheek. "Sergeant 'Longshot' Logan." I said cooly. He was the clone that had hustled Commander Cody out of his prized vibroblade in a shooting competition in front of both the 41st and the 212th. He was one of the very few non sniper clones in the entire GAR that could outmatch Commander Cody in marksmanship. He could probably outmatch Captain Rex of the 501st if he was given the chance. That was perhaps the only reason he managed to stay within the 41st, simply because of his skills with a blaster. Both Barriss and Commander Gree had said that his attitude left much to be desired with the clone commando.
"Luminara Unduli." Logan said in the same tone. He looked me up and down, his face completely neutral. He turned away and grabbed a small metal bowl. "Thirsty?"
I nodded, noticing that my whole body felt weak. I wasn't sure if it was the loss of connection with the Force from the restraints I was wearing or if it was the side effects from the blow I had suffered while being captured, but either way, I was feeling weak.
He lifted the bowl to my lips and I let the cool water soothe my dry throat. I wanted more, but he took away the small bowl. "Sorry," he gruffed. "It's for the both of us."
"Of course Sergeant," I said calmly. I looked around the dark cell as he took a long sip. The walls were stone and the bars in front of us were rusted, no doubt from the damp conditions. The only light was the dim glow of a ray shield down the corridor. "How many have the Umbarans taken here?"
"Just us. Killed the rest." He said it as if he were talking about the weather patterns on Coruscant. It took me by surprise that a clone would take the death of his brothers so lightly.
"I see." I bowed my head slightly. There had been two whole commando squads with me when I was captured. "Let us hope their sacrifices will not be in vain."
He snorted. "As if that's all you Jedi care about."
I tried to reach out with the Force to see what was going on with the clone, but the restraints prevented me from doing so. It was frustrating, but I kept calm, looking at the Sergeant as he took another sip of water. "I beg your pardon. I don't quite follow what you mean." I said cooly. I was hoping he wasn't going to be one of those clones that resented the Jedi.
"I'm only in here because I refused to die for some shabla Jedi like the others." He gruffed.
Even without the guidance of the Force, my suspicions were correct. "I'm sorry you feel that way Sergeant. I-"
"Save it." He put the second metal bowl to my lips. "I've heard enough lectures from the Commanders."
The gray gruel slid easily down my throat. It was as tasteless as the ration bars the clones were used to. At least it could be stomached. Hopefully it was as nutritious as the ration bars. I didn't put much faith behind the hope, and knew the sooner we could escape the better off we were. The shackles around his wrists clinked as he took away the bowl. "Thank you Sergeant."
He grunted as a response and threw the empty bowl against the durasteel bars of the cell. The resulting noise made me jump. In my mind, I cursed not being able to sense anything with these binders on. Speaking of which, my shoulders were already beginning to feel the effects of having my arms so tightly bound behind my back. "Was that necessary Sergeant?" I asked looking over at him.
He held a hand up as if to silence me. After a long few moments, he jumped to his feet and began shouting. "Hey! Hey you stupid shadow people! Hey!" He shouted a long string of harsh curses in what I could only imagine to be Mando'a and perhaps Huttese. I had no grasp of either language, but it wasn't too hard to imagine what they would sound like.
"Sergeant what are you doing?! Stand down!" I barked. "Sergeant Logan!"
He continually hit his shackles against the durasteel bars as he cursed. "Can't hear you General!" He yelled between his Mando'a phrases.
Within moments, four armed Umbarans were in front of the cell. They shouted in their native tongue, obviously something along the lines of how the clone needed to calm down. "Sorry Seppies! Can't understand a word you're saying!" He bashed his binders against the cell door once again. "Come on? Don't speak Basic?!"
"Stand down trooper!" I tried again. But before Logan could start another long string of curses, a stun blast hit him. He fell with a dull thud, his body already limp before he hit the floor. I cringed at the sound, hopping it wasn't too hard of a hit. Two guards came into the cell and pointed blasters at me while the other two retrieved Sergeant Logan. He groaned as they dragged him out, mumbling in Mando'a. I wondered to myself if his mind had just snapped to cause such a violent outburst, or if he was just a defective clone.
Logan and the guards disappeared from my sight when they rounded a corner. I held my breath, wondering if I was going to see Logan alive again or not. Within moments, I heard a long string of curses and the sound of Logan getting beaten. I couldn't see what was going on, but it was easy enough to tell that Logan wasn't going down easy. There were moments where I swore I heard bones crack between more Mando'a curses and the fast Umbarans language. Was Logan really trying to fight all four of them with his hands cuffed? I found myself almost amused by the next question I asked myself. Was he that brave or just that stupid?
It started to sound like Logan was winning. It seemed that were fewer Umbaran voices in the mix and for a moment, it seemed like the long stretch of footsteps was Logan making a run for it. My eyes widened as I felt the adrenaline hit my bloodstream and the footsteps grew closer. "Sergeant Logan!" I called out. It was half question, half statement. I wondered if he was going to remember to free me on his way out.
He was almost to the cell when I heard blaster fire go off and the sound of a body hitting the floor. I desperately wished I could reach out with the Force. I heard the quick words of some of the Umbaran guards and the sound of them dragging a body. "Logan?"
I watched as they dragged him to the cell, dragging him by the arms and legs. They opened the cell door, with blasters trained on me and threw him in as best as they could. He groaned when he hit the cold floor. At least he was alive. The cell slammed shut and Logan rolled onto his side and coughed. "Sergeant? Are you okay?" I scooted closer to him. "Are you hurt?"
He spit out a tooth and groaned. "Right here Undulli. Never felt better." He lifted his head to watch the guards walk away. "Fekkin Seppies." He muttered.
"Are you hurt?" I wanted to check for injury. Clearly his face was bruised and bloodied. I could only imagine they kind of internal damage he sustained. Parts of his armor were now missing. His chest plate and pieces of his legs were most noticeably absent, revealing parts of his bodysuit.
He propped himself up on his elbow, coughing once again. He shook his head. "I'm fine. I took a few hits, but nothing serious. Those falls to the floor didn't feel too good though." He sat up and crawled over to the back wall of the cell and motioned with the nod of his head for me to join him. As I moved I could see blood pouring from his bent nose. It was obvious one of the guards landed a decent punch on him. "Thought I had a chance to run." He was still breathing heavily, coming down from the rush of adrenaline.
"What possessed you to do something as foolish as that?" I asked, leaning back against the stone wall.
In the dark I caught the slightest hint of a smirk on his lips. "Reconnaissance. Wanted to find out what we would go up against. Find any weaknesses, escape routes, and what not."
I raised my eyebrows. "So you would get severely beaten just for a reconnaissance mission?"
He looked over at the cell door, looking for guards. "Well, I was able to break these things." He said in a low voice, holding up his hands to show me how the binders no longer held his wrists together. The small latch that held the two cuffs together had cracked, but as long as he kept his wrists together, it looked as if he was still bound.
I stared at them for a moment. "I- I'm impressed Sergeant." I said softly. Maybe this clone wasn't so crazy afterall.
"I didn't get us out of here yet." He said simply. I expected him to say something further, but he leaned back against the wall. There was a long moment before he spoke again. "You should rest."
I could see that his thoughts were racing. It was a look all clones had. They stared ahead, biting their lips slightly. Barriss often teased Commander Gree about it when going over last minute battle plans. Perhaps this clone's brash tactics would be the path to escape. "Just give me a warning next time you decide to make an attempt."
I stretched my legs out in front of me and let go of a deep sigh. I did need rest. Without the Force, I felt weak. I needed every ounce of strength I had for whatever plan the sergeant would create. I closed my eyes and let the sweet release of sleep take me.
Hi there! This is my first story, and my first fanfic in the star wars community. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading! ~CommanderCody15