HELLO EVERYONE! UNCLE SAM AGAIN! Bringing you the latest story I have been cooking up! The story is an alternative take on the episode "Fugitive." In this story, Fives is able to successfully warn Anakin and Rex, as well as his secret lover, Shaak Ti, about order 66. Destinies will be changed as the Jedi and Clones face off against the evil that has been playing them for so long! Well, enough of my rambling, and LET HE STORY BEGIN!
Motto: In a Time of Deceit, Telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act.
The police shuttle provided by the local authorities touched down on the landing platform of the abandoned warehouse in section I-9. Once the shuttle had safely set down on the platform, the cockpit opened to reveal Anakin Skywalker, Jedi General of the Republic, and his clone captain, CT-7567, or Rex to the general and his clone "brothers". Before getting out of the cockpit, Anakin hit a switch that opened the blast doors to the transport bay, revealing the red skinned, brown cloaked togruta Jedi, General Shaak Ti, who gently stepped out onto the hard, durasteel platform. Once the three lifeforms had exited their transport, they began making their way to the partially opened doors of the eerie warehouse. The very atmosphere made Anakin shudder in discomfort.
"Well, these are the coordinates Kix gave us," he began with an uncomfortable hint of uncertainty in his voice, his eyes roaming over the rundown building, "Let's hope Fives is in there." Rex also felt a strange since of foreboding as he approached the warehouse, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of his stomach as they were searching for the fugitive clone who attempted to assassinate the Chancellor.
"I hope he knows what he's doing." Rex then felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. Looking to his left, he was met with the caring gaze of Shaak Ti, who offered a reassuring smile. From what Rex had learned from his brothers, as well as firsthand experience, Shaak Ti was a very caring Jedi who actually treated the clones as human beings, and not property like the Kaminoans that manufactured them. Rex returned the smile as Shaak Ti began to speak.
"Trust in your brother, Rex," Shaak Ti then cast her eyes done to the floor, her gaze growing distant, "as I do." Even though the last part was said in somewhat of a whisper, Rex shared a knowing look with Anakin; it was no secret among the two that Shaak Ti had grown fond of Fives since his time as a cadet, but also vice versa. They were especially surprised when they learned that Shaak Ti, a stickler for the rules of the Jedi Code, was having a romantic affair with the former Arc Trooper, after having caught them in a rather intimate embrace in what was thought to be the empty halls of a Jedi cruiser.
Deciding to let them have their moment, Anakin and Rex had vowed to each other that they would keep their secret. Upon realizing that the two men before her were smirking at her pensive expression, Shaak Ti, her lekku growing darker in color from embarrassment, began walking ahead of Rex and Anakin, as they continued smirking at each other. However, before Shaak Ti entered the building, Anakin's smirk dropped as he stopped her by gently grasping her left shoulder with his mechanical right hand.
"What is it, Skywalker?" The question was not asked in impatience, or anger, but rather genuine curiosity. At that moment, Anakin decided to make one thing very clear so as to prepare Shaak Ti for what was about to happen.
"Shaak Ti, I just want you to understand, that Rex and I know about you and Fives." Anakin held his breath as Shaak Ti face took on a look of shock. Feeling her anxiety through the force, Anakin began to send reassuring vibes, which seemed to work in relaxing her. Upon sensing that she was calm, Anakin continued, "It's alright, your secret is safe with us." The air soon turned tense as Rex decided to add to the conversation.
"But the man we will see inside, may not be the same man you fell in love with." After a brief moment of contemplation, Shaak Ti finally spoke.
"I understand, and I am prepared to face whatever lies before me." Both nodding in understanding, Anakin and Rex joined Shaak Ti as they entered the dark and foreboding warehouse. The two Jedi promptly ignited their lightsabers, the blue glow illuminating the shadow laced interior. Rex also took precautions, drawing both of his standard issue pistols and holding them at the ready. Walking deeper into the warehouse, Anakin decided to try his luck and call out to see if Fives was indeed there.
"Fives," he gently called, "Fives we're here." With no immediate reply, Anakin decided to try again. "Come on out, we just want to talk to you." After another few moments without reply, the trio began to fear that the clone had set them up, until finally they heard a rushed, panicked voice call out.
"General Skywalker, thank you for trusting me!" after another moment of silence, Fives spoke out again. "And you've come without troops?" Anakin, knowing that he could relieve some of the tension in the frightened clone, confirmed it.
"We Have." There was sudden shift in the force as Shaak Ti and Anakin could feel Fives's anxiety spike again.
"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS THEN!" The harsh, panicked cry actually managed to scare Shaak Ti as her heart broke to sound of the man she loved being in an uncharacteristic state of panic. Anakin, not wanting to let his guard down so easily in such a confined space, spoke in a somewhat hesitant manner.
"I don't think so, Fives," Both Jedi felt another spike of anxiety in the clone as he began to go deeper into a state of panic.
"PLEASE SIR!" he cried sharply, before calming himself down, "please, I'm unarmed." Looking to Shaak Ti, she sent a reaffirming nod to both him and Rex to not antagonize the clone any further. With that, the two Jedi extinguished their lightsabers, as Rex called out to Fives that he was placing his pistols down on a nearby crate.
Shaak Ti could feel the tension in the air as she could sense the anxiety that was imitating from the frightened clone, who remained crouched down behind some empty containment crates. Thinking her voice would help to ease his tension, the togruta Jedi also called out.
"Fives, sweetling," she began, earning a surprised look from both knight and clone captain who had never heard the Jedi master use such terms of endearment before, "It's me, it's Ti. Please come out, we only want to talk to you." Both Jedi could then feel the anxiety surrounding the fugitive clone lessen and, upon hearing the sound of shuffling feet, turned to find the shocked clone stumble out from behind a stack of crates that had only been ten feet from them. Overcoming a bit from the shock, Fives whispered in a low raspy, voice;
"Ti!" Shaak Ti, unable to hold herself back anymore upon witnessing the frightened man before her, rushed to him, tears she did not realize had been forming streaming down her cheeks. The two then found themselves in tight embrace as the togruta held the clone's head close to her chest. Wanting to do whatever she could to help her lover, Shaak Ti wanted to get straight the point of why they were there.
"What is this about Fives?" Regaining some of the composure he had left, Fives turned so that he was facing the entire trio.
"You need to know that I am being framed, because I know the truth!" He began rather loudly. Interest peaked, Anakin began cautiously approaching the trembling clone, who, upon noticing his general approaching, slightly retreated into the arms of the togruta currently embracing him. Stopping for a moment, Anakin slowly stepped forward and place a comforting hand on Fives's exposed shoulder.
"What truth?" Upon seeing that the general was in fact listening to him, Fives stepped away from Shaak Ti, explaining to the trio before him in very erratic movements what he had uncovered.
"The truth about a plot, a massive deception!" His own interest peaked, Rex began to cautiously approach his brother, wanting to learn more about what he had uncovered.
"By who?" Seeing now that he had the complete attention of the entire group, Fives continued to voice his discovery to them.
"There's a sinister plot in the works against the Jedi," he ranted, pacing rapidly while clutching his head as if it were about to split open at any moment. Shaak Ti looked on in worry as her beloved struggled to explain what he had discovered. "I can prove that everything I know is true beyond A SHADOW OF A DOUBT!" The sharp explanation at the end caused the trio to jump in alarm. Shaak Ti realized that Rex was right; this was not the man she fell in love with; something was very wrong. Her train of thought was broken as Anakin continued to speak to the distraught clone in a gentle, yet pressing tone.
"Show me the evidence." Fives, attempting to think of a way to prove it, began to aggressively poke at his temple as he spoke.
"It's… uh…" he stammered, still jabbing at the side of his forehead before finally blurting it out, "It's in hear, it's in all of US! EVERY CLONE!" Rex himself was becoming scared at what Fives was implying.
"What is it?" he inquired, his own voice rising in panic. Fives suddenly feeling exhausted, leaned against a nearby crate, raising his arm to rest his head against the armored limb. Shaak Ti quickly stood, placing her hands of Fives's shpulders. Regaining some strength, Fives continued.
"Organic chips built into our genetic code, to make us do whatever someone wants, EVEN KILL THE JEDI!" The trio were all genuinely shocked. Wanting desperately for Fives to be wrong, Anakin turned quickly to Shaak Ti as Rex moved an arm to feel the back of his head, hoping himself that Fives was mistaking.
"Shaak Ti," Anakin began in a panicked voice, "Is there any truth to this?" Upon seeing the look of confirmation on Shaak Ti's face, Anakin began fearing the worst.
"There are chips, Skywalker," she began, still in shock over what she had been told, "but the Kaminoans insisted that they were to make the clones more docile than their host, Jango Fett." Fives was suddenly overcome with a bout of anger as he screamed at the top of his lungs in his lovers face.
"THE KAMINOANS ARE LIARS!" The group jumped at the sudden outburst, with Shaak Ti suddenly bursting into tears as she witnessed with wide eyes the clone she loved become even more broken. "IN FACT, THAT KRIFFING NALA SE DID SOMETHING TO ME BEFORE WE LANDED!" breathing erratically, Fives managed to lower his voice to a more controlled volume. Shaak Ti stepped forward, cupping Fives's face with both hands, making him look at her. Fives face took on a look of hopelessness as he stared into his loves eyes, tears threatening to spill down his face. "She injected me with something, some kind of drug that is making me act like this, so it looks like it's because of the chip!" Shaak Ti, shocked at this new revelation, quickly turned to the clone captain beside her, who was now just as terrified.
"REX!"
"RIGHT!" he responded curtly. Reaching into his belt, Rex pulled out a portable medical scanner. Approaching Fives, Rex quickly scanned his brother, at first with some difficulty as his hands were shaking in fright. Upon finishing the scan, Rex put in a code to process the results. Once the results came in, Rex stumbled back in shock before turning the scanner back to the two Jedi, insisting they see the results themselves.
"He's right!" he forced out in pained whisper, "He's been injected with a class four stimulant which is causing this erratic behavior!" Anakin, still processing what he had just been told, turned to Shaak Ti, whose wide eyes were filling with tears. Anger suddenly enveloped Anakin as he turned to Fives.
"If Nala Se did this," he seethed through clenched teeth, "Then she know more than what she is letting on." Turning back to Rex, Anakin inquired about a possible solution Fives's current condition.
"Rex," he began, "do we have anything in the ship that can counter the drug in Fives's system?" A look of realization flashed across Rex's face.
"Yes sir! Each gunship is equipped with an emergency detox kit in case of overdose! I'll go get it!" Leaving the area, Rex rushed out to the landing platform where the gunship was still setting. But, upon retrieving the kit, Rex heard the unmistakable sound of more gunships descending down into the lower levels; Rex could make out the unmistakable markings of the Corusaunt Guard on the transports.
Running quickly back inside, Rex returned to the group to find Shaak Ti sitting on the floor, Five's head cradled in her lap, while Anakin stood beside them. Retrieving the emergency applicator from the kit, Rex placed a canister of a counter-solution inside before jabbing the applicator in Fives's neck, resulting in a pained groan from the affected clone. The effects of the application began working almost immediately as Fives began to calm down, resulting in the investigating trio breathing a collective sigh of relief. However, the celebration was cut short as multiple clones from the Corusaunt Guard, led by Commander Fox, burst into the room.
"DON"T MOVE!"
Will our small band of heroes escape? Will the truth be uncovered? Find out in the next chapter of "Truth in Conspiracies!" Thank you all for reading! Be sure to follow me for more updates, leave reviews, and as always, HAPPY READING!