FYI: The character Red is actually my friend's character. She made it and gave me permission to use it in this one-shot.

Enjoy!

"Kanan?" Hera called from the cockpit over the ship's comms. "Your visitor is here." She released the button and leaned back in her seat, enjoying the peace and quiet.

"Who's here?" Ezra interrupted.

Hera jumped, nearly falling out of her chair. "Ezra Bridger," she scolded, "Aren't you supposed to be cleaning the Phantom?"

Ezra shrugged. "Zeb and Chopper are handling it well."

Hera just smiled at the teen. She stood up and headed to the airlock to meet the visitor.

Red's POV

I shut down my ship's systems and grabbed my old clone trooper helmet. I didn't know these people, so I needed to keep my identity a secret. The door slid open to reveal a twi'lekk pilot. Hera, I knew. also known as Phoenix leader. I had done my research. "Captain Syndulla," I greeted.

"Fulcrum," she greeted back. I hadn't told her my name or anything about me for security purposes, so we decided on temporarily using the code name Fulcrum. Hera gestured down the hall. "Kanan is in his room. This way, please."

I nodded and followed her down the hall. We passed what looked like a common room. An Imperial agent was sitting in a chair, looking at a datapad. His cuts and bruises led me to think that he had been tortured some time earlier and most likely was just out of the Medcenter. (Kallus) Sitting on a bench near the Imperial was a teenager with short, dark blue hair and piercing blue eyes. He stared at me in a strange, almost adult sort of way. He seemed much older than his actual age. (Ezra)

We eventually came to another hall. Hera stopped at the last door and opened it. I hesitantly walked inside. The room itself was dark, only a holo of an abandoned Separatist's base providing light. Two human men were arguing about plans. They stopped when I walked in. All eyes turned to me, making it surprisingly awkward.

The taller of the men was blind. His long brown hair was tied up. (Kanan) The other person I quickly recognized as Rex. My heart raced when I saw him. I thought he was dead! Memories of past missions flooded my mind as I stared at the older clone. Not realizing it, I embraced him, burying my face in his shoulder armor. Rex grinned and hugged me back.

After a while, I let go and looked him in the eyes. "I thought you were dead!" I shouted angrily and punched him in the arm.

Rex winced, but smiled. "I could say the same."

Finally, I turned to the plans currently projected. "Why did you call me here?" I asked the blind Jedi.

The Jedi—Kanan—turned to face me. "The Rebellion is low on supplies. We heard rumors about some things we could use on an old Separatist's base. It's near the planet Kitosh, which is rumored to be a Zilo beast breeding ground. What'd you think?"

I paused, running a hand through my bright red hair. The black highlights on the ends were hidden in the dark room. "I think it would be a gamble, but considering the base is in pretty good condition and the Empire hasn't come I think can check it out."

Kanan nodded, happy with the answer. "Rex, you and Fulcrum take the Phantom II. Check out the base and report back what you find. We'll take it from there."

"Yes sir!" Rex responded with a small salute. Out of habit, I did the same.

Kaye's POV

I stared out the viewport of my ship. At the controls, David whistled when the Separatist's base came into sight.

"That's a lot of metal," he commented.

"That's a lot of supplies," I corrected.

David frowned. "What's so big about getting that supplies, anyway? We have food, we have Kyber crystals, we have weapons, so what more could we ask for?"

I looked away. I knew that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone what the supplies was for, but it was hard to keep secrets from friends. Fortunately, we docked before David noticed my guilty look. I grabbed my lightsaber and headed to the airlock. David reclined in the pilot's seat.

"Take your time," he told me. "I know how long it takes you to find things. Especially in the dark."

I couldn't help but smile at his teasing as I stepped onto the cold, empty base. A shiver ran up my spine as the Force sent a jolt though my mind. Someone else was here.

Red's POV

I stopped short when the Force sent a signal through my mind. Someone else was here. Rex stopped just before running into me. I turned to him. "We're not alone," I told him. "I can sense someone through the Force. Not sure who…"

"There are the supplies," Rex announced.

My face turned the same shade of red as my hair when I realized that I was just talking to myself. "We can't waste time," I recovered. "Let's get the supplies and go."

Kaye's POV

"There's our pay dirt," David announced with a smile when the supplies came into view.

I nodded. "Let's get them out of here." I rushed to the next crate and lifted it with the Force. David did the same, lifting two other crates. I frowned. "Cheater," I mumbled before guiding the crate into the cargo hold of my ship.

David laughed. "Your just jealous," he said with a grin.

I was about to say something smart in reply when I heard a blaster click behind me.

"Don't move," a sharp voice told me. "Drop the crates, put your hands where I can see them, and turn around."

I glanced at David. He had already done what the voice had said. Coward. I dropped my crate with a thump, lifted my hands, and turned to face the source of the command. I stopped. An all too familiar clone stood in front of me. His blue helmet and scavenged armor told me all I needed to know. Captain Rex stood staring at me, confusion written on his face. he hadn't recognized me yet. Good. One less friend to lose.

David glanced at me, feeling my shock through the Force. I avoided his gaze.

"What are you doing here?" the other voice demanded. I turned to see a second clone commando in vibrantly painted armor. Her dented helmet hid her face, but her Force-signature was soft and had a hint of compassion hidden inside, suggesting that it was a woman. But that was just a guess.

"Tell me!" she commanded. She fingered the trigger of her blaster that she had pointed at me.

I took a deep breath. I glanced at David, who nodded.

"Ma'am," he began in a calm voice. "We were just here to look into a Separatist's base. You see, me and my friend are part of a space construction class and we are working on a report on Separatist structures…"

I slowly backed away into the shadows as David did his thing. As stupid as his story sounded, it so far had kept the other two clones busy. I focused my mind on the crates full of supplies, picturing them levitating. I opened one eye to make sure the job was getting done. Sure enough, slowly and painfully, each crate was several feet off the ground and floating towards the open cargo hold. I allowed myself a small smile, though my mind was straining with effort.

"Don't move!" a new voice shouted. I turned towards the voce and groaned. Six or seven Stormtroopers were lined up, blocking the exit. Just my luck.

David stopped talking and looked around. He held his hands in the air and gave the troopers his best smile. "Gentlemen," he began, "this isn't as bad as it looks. We are not stealing supplies, they are." He gestured to the shocked clones. "We're innocent, for once. But if you wish to punish us for past times that we had stolen from the Empire, feel free. Shoot him," he gestured in my direction, "but I would prefer to rot in jail. Can that be arranged?"

The stormtroopers ignored David's request and opened fire. David dove behind a crate as Rex and the other clone drew their blasters and fired back. I let the crates I was levitating fall—some of them falling on stormtroopers—and ducked behind a crate. I grabbed my blaster and fired off a couple shots. My eyes searched the room for the female clone I had met. She was nowhere to be seen. I frowned to myself. Where in the galaxy did she go?!

My question was cut off when a trooper shot the crate I was using as cover. The bolt singed my arm and I hissed in pain. The stormtrooper, taking my pain to his advantage, rammed the butt of his rifle into my stomach. I grabbed him by the arm and shoved him into the floor. He got up (unfortunately) and was about to hit me again when a bolt hit him point-blank. I turned to see the clone trooper, blaster raised, staring back at me. She seemed oblivious to the fact that several troopers were taking position behind her and about to take aim…

Not thinking, I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away. We both tumbled into an escape pod. The clone turned to me. Even with her helmet on, I could tell she was angry. She slammed me into a wall and held me there.

"Why did you do that?!" she demanded.

I did my best to shrug. "Would you rather be dead?"

She turned away, letting me drop to the floor. "I could have handled it myself."

I picked myself up and turned to the airlock door, ready to leave. The door was locked. Nervous, I looked out the window. All I could see was the base growing smaller in the distance. "Uh, we have a problem." I pointed out the window.

The clone's pose stiffened. Without a word, she took the pilot's seat and started trying to coax the pod to change its course. None of the controls responded. "What did you do?" she asked firmly.

I shrugged. "I didn't do anything. Those bucket-heads back there must have busted the controls." I glanced at the navicomputer and my blood ran cold.

The pod's other passenger noticed my fear and turned to glance at the computer. She paled beneath her helmet and turned back to the controls.

I looked at the main view port to see a large planet that we were about to crash into. "Can't you slow us down?" I yelled.

"Trying!" she typed into the Navicomputer but was met only with frustration. The planet grew larger. I could make out large rivers and lush forests. "Brace yourself!" she yelled.

I grabbed onto the pilot's chair and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for impact. Seconds later, the escape pod hit the surface with a crash. I lost my grip on the chair as the front viewport shattered. Glass flew everywhere as the small craft jerked around. I tried to stand up and grip something but I fell and hit my head. Everything went black.

Red's POV

It took a while for the craft to stop shaking. I firmly gripped the controls and tried to keep it from upturning. The viewport shattered and I ducked, sheltering myself from the shards. The armor helped a lot. The craft jerked and I fell on my wrist. There was a sickening snap and pain shot up my arm. I bit back a cry of pain. The pod slowed to a stop. I slowly stood up as soon as the craft stopped moving, careful to dodge sparking wires and twisted pieces of metal. Broken glass sparkled on the floor of the pod. I grabbed the chair for balance. This was going to be quite the mess to clean up.

Kaye's POV

I slowly regained consciousness as black faded into colors. I gently pushed myself up off the ground, careful to avoid the glass. My ears were still ringing from the deafening noise. I looked around the pod, hoping to find the other clone trooper. She was nowhere to be seen. Worried, I got to my feet and leaned on the pilot's chair. Still no clone. Something red caught my eye. A small pool of blood was formed on the floor, leaving a trail that led to—me?! Shocked, I glanced down at my leg. It was soaked in blood. I must've cut myself on the glass. My adrenaline wearing off and replaced by pain, I limped out of the cockpit and into the blinding sunshine. At least the weather was nice. I looked around at my surroundings.

The sky was almost completely covered up by trees, creating a mixture of shadows and sunshine. Different sounds echoed from the bushes all around me. I could sense a myriad of creatures hiding from the strangers who were invading their homes.

"Enjoy your nap?" a sharp and familiar voice asked.

I turned to see that same clone standing, her left arm full of electronics. Strangely, her right arm hung limply at her side.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worried about the waves of pain radiating from her.

She nodded. "It's just a scratch." She tossed me a handful of sticks she had stored. "Make yourself useful and start a fire. I'll work on a shelter." She walked away before I could complain.

I shook my head. Clones. They were just like droids. They never seemed to think outside of the box or try new things. Yes, I was a clone as well. And yes, I knew some other clones that weren't as stereotypical. But clones like her really got on my nerves.

I walked to a clearing and started building a fire. I found my eyes drifting up to the sky where the clone war era base hovered. David and Rex were up there. My mind came up with so many things they could be doing right now. Things that I should be doing now. What if I couldn't get back? What about my family? I couldn't just leave them.

"Were you going to light the fire or just stare at the sky all night?" the other clone asked, her voice breaking through my thoughts.

My head snapped back and I did my best to smile. I'm pretty sure it looked like a grimace. "No. I'm fine." I lit the pile of sticks with a spare lighter. It exploded in a ball of warm flames.

The other clone yawned. "I'll take first guard if you want to get some sleep."

I nodded and eyed a tree. I climbed into its leafy branches. Sleep claimed me within seconds.

Red's POV

I smiled at the strange clone trooper. I just don't get him. He makes jokes and never seems take situations seriously. And he sleeps in trees!

I shrugged to myself and leaned back on a trunk. He seemed kind of familiar in a way. I just couldn't place it. there was something in his eyes that I could relate to. I glanced back at his form sleeping in a tree and smiled. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would be. We would get rescued. Rex would find us. It would just take time.

Kaye's POV

I stretched and looked around at the never changing scenery. The red sun was starting to peek over the horizon, marking the start of a new day and the end of my watch shift. Red shifted at the base of a tree across from me. She sat up, yawned, and stretched. Her red hair fell across her shoulders.

"Ready to get moving?" she asked.

I stood up, wincing as my muscles cramped and complained. "Where?"

Red pulled out a datapad. "I've pulled up some files on this planet. Apparently it was a testing area for bombs during the Clone Wars. They have an abandoned landing pad about ten miles out from here."

I whistled. "Ten miles is a long ways away."

She frowned. "No it isn't. come on. let's get going." She started off as a brisk pace.

I sighed. If the jungle didn't kill me, she would.

Red's POV

I trotted across the soft, grassy surface, occasionally glancing back to make sure that the other clone was keeping up. We eventually came to a large river. A primitive raft sat on the shore. I frowned at the screen. "It says that we follow the river until we come to a cave," I reported.

The clone investigated the raft. "Can't we just take this? It'll be easier."

I shook my head, though it was tempting.

He smiled and started pushing it towards the river. "Suit yourself. I'm taking the raft."

I stared, shocked. "What do you mean?! You can't disobey orders!"

He smirked. "I can disobey orders and I will disobey orders." The raft was halfway in the water. "Are you coming?"

I sighed, but climbed on as he gave it a push. The boat jerked as the current caught it and carried it downstream. The other clone leaned back and rested his feet on one of the sides.

I frowned and sat on the other side.

"Hey."

I looked up and at the clone. "What do you need?"

"What's your nickname?" he asked.

I shook my head. "That's not important. Survival is important."

"Mine is Kaye."

I stopped. "Kaye?" I asked.

He nodded. "I always had a bad habit of saying ''Kay' instead of 'okay' so everybody called me that."

I couldn't help but smile.

Kaye rested on his side of the raft.

"Red," I finally answered.

Kaye looked at me.

"My name is Red."

Kaye smiled. "I think I can guess why."

I smiled back and took off my helmet. My red hair fell across my face.

Kaye yawned and looked around at the quiet forest. "I'm gonna get some shut eye, 'kay? Maybe you could do the same. You'll need it."

I nodded and closed my eyes. Sleep took me in minutes.

Kaye's POV

I can't sleep. I keep having the same nightmare. Only it isn't a nightmare. It reality. I keep thinking about that one battle. My last battle. That was the night I died.

FYI: that was sort of a spoiler for my other fic A Rebel Within Ranks. Check it out! (found in the Clone Wars section)

I sighed and rolled over to stare at the motionless water. My reflection stared back at me, angry scars reminding me of the Clone Wars. They reminded me of my treason. All I wanted to do was just forget. I wanted it to go away. I wanted to forget.

A ripple brought me back to reality. I glanced at the water's surface. Another ripple disturbed the peaceful river. I frowned to myself. That was new. I could sense another presence separate from Red's peaceful signature. This one didn't seem human.

I gently let my arm fall into the cold water. Correction: the VERY cold water. It felt like ice on my skin. Something brushed against my hand. I jerked it out of the river in surprise. Something DEFIANTLY was in there. I crawled over to where Red slept to try to shake her awake. I hesitated when I saw her smile in her sleep. She seemed so happy and peaceful. I felt guilty for even thinking about waking her up.

I moved to my side of the raft and settled down. My eyes drifted close. Before I fell asleep, though, something long and wet wrapped around my neck and pulled me away. I managed to let out a strangled cry before it pulled me under the icy river.

Red's POV

I jerked awake when I heard a cry. I sat up and looked around, but no other sound followed. I laughed to myself for falling for an animal's cry and repositioned my body. I glanced to where Kaye was sleeping, expecting to find him fast asleep. Kaye wasn't there.

I frowned. That wasn't right. Kaye was right there when I fell asleep. Did he move or something? I glanced over the edge of the raft to the rippling surface. I could barely make out a dark figure hidden beneath the surface. It was trying to strangle something. No, someone. Shocked, I grabbed my blaster and fired two bolts. They hit the creature and it fell dead.

I sighed and slumped back. That was just too much excitement for that night. I needed sleep. My mind drifted back to Kaye and I realized that I still had no idea where he was.

"Red!" someone shouted from behind me.

I whirled around to see a figure gripping the edge of the raft. Out of reflex, I shoved it back into the river.

It came back up coughing and I quickly realized that it was just Kaye. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back up onto the raft.

"What did you think you were doing?!" I demanded, trying to hide the worry in my voice. "You could have died down there!"

Kaye shrugged. "I guess that creature down their needed a stuffed lothcat to cuddle with," he said and smiled weakly.

I punched him in the arm. "Don't scare me like that." I crawled over to the other edge of the raft.

Kaye did his best to wring out his jacket. He stopped. "Red, I'm not trying to scare you, but—"

I looked behind me. My blood ran cold. We were floating towards a large waterfall. Just my luck. Before I could react, we tumbled over the edge. I was thrown from the craft and plunged into the water below. I came up and gasped for air, trying to get my bearings. The water was freezing there, meaning we'd have to find land soon. At least there was little to no current. I swam to what looked like an island and gripped a nearby rock. It felt hard and metallic. I lost my grip and slid back into the water. Shocked, I came back up and got a good look at my "rock". It wasn't a rock. It was part of a TIE fighter!

I swam to the shore and looked around. It was a literal junk yard! I started to dig through the piles of ship parts and pulled out all the useful bits. I glanced at the TIE fighter. This may work! We may be able to piece together a ship that could fly back to the base. Then we'd be saved and I wouldn't have to work with Kaye anymore. I faltered at the last thought. Even though I wouldn't admit it, I had grown fond of him. He was really laid-back and funny. It kind of reminded me of Fives.

I sighed and set my armful of parts down. If we got out of this alive, I would really miss Kaye.

"What a beautiful ship!" Kaye exclaimed from the top of the TIE. "How come we didn't fly these creations back in the Clone Wars? We wouldn't have to worry about Courasaunt traffic!"

I laughed. "Maybe you could talk to one of the dead generals about bringing these back for all the clone troopers' ghosts to fly."

Kaye laughed too. As our laughter died down, a shadow fell over his face. "Have you ever thought about all the clones that died during the wars?"

I nodded and started to piece together the TIE fighter. "Every day," I admitted. "Sometimes I wonder why we even fight."

"Did you think of running away?"

I stopped, dropping the circuit board I was holding. "No!" I exclaimed. "That would be treason! We were created to fight and that's all."

"But what if there's more to it? what if we were just fighting because the senate got angry at each other. What then? Millions of clones—millions of people—were killed because of an argument!"

"The clone wars took place because the Separatists posed a threat to the Republic!"

"What were they threatening?! The senators' crystal palaces where they discuss ideas for new laws? They didn't even care that people starved and died because of that war! Families were torn apart! Planets had to choose sides!"

"They chose sides to survive!"

"To survive the wrath of the Republic!" Kaye paused to catch his breath, then turned back to his work. "The Republic wanted to unite a galaxy. All they did was destroy it."

I stopped. Deep down, I knew that it had some problems, but no one was perfect. Was this really how he saw things?

The silence was interrupted by the hum of the TIE's engines. I took a step back to examine our work, then jumped into the cockpit. Kaye was at the controls. He took a step back and sat on the opposite side, not speaking a word. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what. Our argument had created a wall that I didn't know how to tear down. We were both stuck on separate sides.

As the TIE lifted up into the sky and the base came into view, I tried to strike up a less threatening conversation. "So," I casually started, trying to see over the wall, "did you hear about the Rebellion? They say that some Jedi survived Order 66 and currently help the rebels."

Kaye sighed but didn't look over. "Maybe the galaxy would be better off without someone trying to restore the Republic."

I shook my head. The wall had just grown.

The TIE docked with the station with a jerk. I stepped out of the cockpit and through the airlock, into the station.

Rex and the other stranger were waiting for me there.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Rex gasped. He rested a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled. "Thanks for waiting for me, Rex."

Rex smiled back. "I wouldn't even think about leaving without you."

Kaye stumbled out of the TIE fighter and Rex frowned. Uh-oh. He had that look in his eye.

"Are you the reason Red got stranded on that planet?" he snapped.

"It was an accident," I assured him.

Kaye started to say something but Rex's fist in his gut caused the clone to double over. I ran and gently helped him up.

"He helped me escape," I explained.

Rex glared, but turned and headed back to the Phantom II.

I helped Kaye to his feet. "Sorry about that."

Kaye laughed. "It's fine. Over protective dad. I get it."

I laughed as well. "Pretty much." I glanced at the Phantom II. "I really got to go." I started to leave, but Kaye grabbed my wrist.

"Look, thanks for helping me. You really didn't have to do that."

I smiled. "What are friends for?"

He smiled back. His expression turned serious. "You're a pretty good shot. I—we—could use that. I mean in our Rebellion. Me, David, and a bunch of other guys have been fighting the Empire for a while now."

I frowned. "Why don't you join the real Rebellion then?"

Kaye shook his head. "I don't trust them," he admitted. "They're too much like the Republic."

I pulled out of his grasp. "I'm sorry, but I just can't join you. I fight for the Republic, even if it goes by a different name. that's just what I do. It's my duty."

Kaye nodded. "I'll see you around, then."

I smiled and headed off to the Phantom II. As we headed back home, I couldn't help but think about what Kaye had said back on the island. Was he right? Was the Republic really a bunch of stuck-up senators? I shook my head. That was his opinion, not mine. Even with the Republic gone, my duty still remained. I would lay down my life to fight the Empire.

Even if Kaye would not.

Okay, so if you've been reading my fics you'll notice that the same characters keep popping up all the time. That's normal. The fics that I write kinda create a world. I talk to all the people that live in that world and they tell me their stories. I hope you enjoy reading them!

PLEASE REVIEW! I really enjoy reading them and they often give me ideas for more stories!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!

May the Force be with you!

-Spector7 out!