Have fun nerds this chapter is 5153 words not including this bolded bit. Also it'd be awesome if anyone left a review or something. mostly so i can know what i need to work on or that someone actually read through it and didn't just click away at the sight of a word wall. also, by the time this chapter is posted, I'll probably have 2 or 3 chapters ready to go. I've had the writing itch lately so... yeah. another also, i should let you know that i have no idea where this story is going, its pretty much just going with the flow of the chapters and writing in general. I've also grown attached to a few of the clones that were born from this so they might appear again, maybe even die. who knows. sorry for the word splurge up here, there was just a few things i needed to get out. (this is why ao3's formatting is better)


Waking is a strange thing. There is no slow progression, only sudden consciousness. Though a person can just slowly become aware, the process of waking is immediate. And sometimes a person would wish they could go back to sleep.

Her consciousness came suddenly; first noticing how cold she felt, then the brightness of the room, the soreness in her body, and finally the realization that she was not anywhere familiar.

She felt her body tense and her breathing become almost nonexistent. She sat up, rigid and hunched as she backed herself into the corner of the bunk she had been sleeping on. Her mind was nothing but repeated chatter, loud and forming a headache as her breath slowly began to quicken.

It all came to a stop when a new sound permeated the silence; something familiar that she had heard in movies and games. But her mind in the continued buzz of repeated thoughts was unable to place it as a door sliding open, not at all like the automatic doors at grocery stores. Footsteps wandered into the room, not a moment later revealing their owner. A man she did not know, yet somehow looked as familiar as the armor he wore. He paused in his steps, noticing her quickly enough.

The man put his hands up, cautious and seeing the pure panic in her eyes, though the motion seemed to make her push herself impossibly closer to the bunks wall.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm a friend," he said softly, taking a small step to her, not seeming to notice her muscles tense more.

Her mind went from panicking about where she was to screaming for the man to stay away. That if he makes contact it will prove that this is real, that she is not having another stress dream; that she is, in fact, somewhere unknown, bereft of the security she knows of her home.

The man continued speaking to her softly, slowly coming closer, though only the distance between them registered in her mind. The thoughts of familiarity the girl had of him were lost in the din of her minds screaming. He was getting too close, even as her feet pushed against the bunk, pushing her into the corner. Stay away, please stay away.

Her mind did not register what happened; all she felt was the light touch of his hand on her arm; all she heard was her scream. Her eyes were shut tight as she pushed her hands out, barely making an impact on the man's abdomen. She was barely able to hear sound of something slamming against a metal wall. Through the stinging tears she opened her eyes to see the man at the opposite end of the room. He groaned on the floor, slowly trying to push himself up.

Her breathing came to a stop as she slowly realized that she had hurt someone. The thought ran through her head in the same as every other thought, going fast with nothing stopping it but a slow transition to another thought. She tried to speak, tried to apologize to him, but couldn't get herself to let sound- much less air- escape her. Her shivering gaping continued until the door opened once again, letting in two men who bore a striking resemblance to the one on the floor.

She was paralyzed and watching as they seemed to focus their attention on him; helping him up and making sure he wasn't seriously injured. One of them turned to her, anger on his face, words not registering in her head. Still she reacted, curling into a ball, putting her arms over her head as if to protect herself from a hit. She could feel herself saying something, apologizing over and over, as she rocked herself slightly. Her throat felt dry and scratchy, probably due to her sobbing, but she continued apologizing until it became incoherent blubbering that died to a quiet whine as she continued to try and calm herself by rocking.

Her surroundings were quiet by the time she calmed herself. She felt the exhaustion from the panic attack begin to nag at her, as she slowly uncurled herself from the painful position, popping her back and other joints and she did so. The sound seemed to attract the attention of the lone man in the room; the one she had pushed violently into the wall. With slight hesitation in his steps, he quietly walked over to her, keeping a comfortable distance between them.

"You feeling better, kid?" he asked, leaning against an island counter and crossing his arms. His posture read as relaxed, but she wasn't really sure if she could believe it. She, herself, still felt on edge.

She kept her eyes downcast, eyes only glancing to his feet or his posture. She shrugged her shoulders. It was an automatic reaction, though truthful. She felt nothing but the exhaustion pulling at her mind and couldn't figure out if she was okay now. In addition to the tiredness, she also felt gross from the sweating, snot, and salty tears that came with the attack. She kept these details to herself, however. Right now she just wanted a nap.

As she began to lean against the solid side of the the bunk, she heard the man sigh. He walked carefully over to her, kneeling down to pick something up off the floor. It was a blanket.

"Lay down," he instructed her. "You should get some more rest after-" He paused, thinking on his words, "-whatever that was."

As she did what she was told, he gave her the blanket before stepping back after doing so. She slowly stretched out her body on the bunk, letting her lower joints pop before finally relaxing. Were she more awake, she would have noticed that her feet came very short of touching the other end.

"I'm going to leave, now," the man told her quietly as he began to walk out of the room. "You'll get food when you wake up again."

Before succumbing to the beautiful slumber, she managed to say one more thing. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

He paused at the door, turning back to look at her. "Don't worry about it, kid. I'm sure you didn't mean to." He gave her a small smile before continuing his way out the door.

Once he was gone, it was not long before the sweet embrace of sleep claimed her, sending her mind into soon to be forgotten dreams.


Waking up this time was slower, calmer. She stayed under the blanket, opting to only open her eyes to look around. The familiar man from before was there, quietly reorganizing things. As she breathed in, she smelled the scent of a hospital, though not quite so overbearing and daunting. Maybe she was in a small medical facility then. After a few more moments of scanning the room, she decided to stick with her guess.

So she focused her sights the man who hadn't noticed her wake up. His hair was shaved short, with lightning bolt patterns shaved onto his head. There was also lines of illegible symbols on either side of his head. Illegible from where she laid, anyhow. His face was angular and tired, but smooth and focused. His nose curved outward in an appealing way. She stared longer, not paying attention to her lingering gaze as she tried to remember who he possibly was.

When the man felt the paranoia of someone watching him, he turned his head and looked around, eventually locking eyes with the previously unconscious girl. Seeing her gaze made him freeze in what he was doing.

It took her a few moments, but when she grew aware of the returned attention, her eyes darted to look past him, then somewhere else entirely. The silence of the room was starting to becoming too loud. Until he broke it.

"You doing alright, kid?" He kept his voice quiet and soft, despite its general roughness.

She spent a moment unfocused, thinking of the words that fit her state of mind. Her brow scrunched slightly as she stared into nothing. "No," her voice cracked quietly, hanging onto the word as it escaped her. She swallow what little saliva there was to make the words not stick as much to her tongue. "Not really, no."

As he turned more fully towards her, scrutinizing her, he saw that her gaze wasn't going to meet his again. Not on purpose anyway. Her dark, blue-streaked hair seemed to stick up in every direction, regardless of the hat trying to make it lay flat. There was acne scarring on her face normal for anyone regular person, even one or two scabs that look like they had been picked at recently. From the lighting, as well as where he was standing, her eyes looked black. The dark circles under her eyes didn't help the worn out appearance either.

While she expected more questions, she was glad for the silence. Silence meant she could fade out more, pretend it wasn't real; similar to when she had breakdowns that rendered her mostly catatonic. If he ask more questions, revealing this fantasy world to be reality, she doesn't know what she would do. Probably panic and start scratching. More crying definitely.

A cough brought her back. Her eyes instinctively looked towards the only other person in the room before drifting off into nothing again. Maybe he thought the silence was awkward.

"So, uhm," he coughed again, more clearing his throat now, "what's your name?"

"Shannon." More reflex responses.

He nods, repeating the name back. "Shannon. My name's Kix. Do you know where you are?"

She was quiet, more afraid to get an answer than anything else. Slowly, she shook her head no.

"You're in a Republic outpost, on the planet Neonus. Do you remember any of what happened to you before you were brought here?"

About a minute passed before Kix realized she wasn't going to answer. He tilted his head, bending down slightly to try and catch her gaze. His minute movement was all that was needed before her attention was focused on him.

"You alright?"

She kept quiet for a while longer, trying to figure out if she was hallucinating or in a state of a deep, yet lucid dream. In a quiet voice, she answered, "I have no idea if this real."

The statement hung in the air. He gave her a questioning look. Of course this was real. As real as anything can be in a galactic war.

Maybe she meant something else. "Are you referring to your being here?"

Her gaze went back to him quickly, shock written on her face, but it disappeared a second later making him wonder if it happened at all

"Um, yeah, sorta," she quietly responded. She seemed to be retreating again. Was she more relaxed before?

He sighed, rubbing his brow with his thumb and forefinger. Uncomfortable moments passed between them, while he thought of a way to get her to talk more openly. Before he could think of any strategy, the door opened. It was a man that looked a lot like Kix.

"Kix, have they woken up-" Vigil paused, only making it a few steps in before seeing that the girl was indeed already awake. He looked between Kix and her a few times before clearing his throat and stepping further into the room. With a nod, he introduced himself, "I'm Vigil. Glad to see you're awake."

Silence filled the room, as he waited for her to give a return introduction. Her eyes seemed to be fixed elsewhere, far away. When it became apparent Vigil would receive no response, his eyebrows drew together in questioning as he looked at his brother.

Kix sighed, nodding at her. "Her name is Shannon. She's very" -he paused for a moment- "shy. It's hard to get any sort of response out of her."

A small, almost whispered apology came from girl. Even though a thick blanket covered her, Kix could see the slight tremble in her shoulders.

Vigil was quick to smile and reassure her. "Hey, don't worry about it. I know you don't mean anything by it. Anyway, since you're awake now, I'm guessing you're probably hungry."

Being reminded of food brought her attention to the now gnawing emptiness of her stomach that immediately drained her of nearly all her energy. Still not looking at them, she answered an affirmative. She sat up slowly, sitting on her legs for a few moments before turning towards the clones and sitting criss cross. She stared at her hands which grabbed her ankles.

She hummed, grabbing their attention, forming the words in her head before she spoke. "Do I n-need to f-f-follow you?" She stuttered, despite practicing the question in her head beforehand. She took a slow and quiet deep breath to calm her anxiety.

Vigil seemed to hesitate before shaking his head. "No, you're actually not allowed out of this room." He spoke carefully, as if he was hoping to not upset her. "Anyway, don't worry I'll get you your food." He nodded to the two before exiting.

When the door closed behind Vigil, silence descended on the room. Shannon didn't seem to mind, as her mind went elsewhere to occupy her. Having nothing to really do, Kix thought on how to get her talking again, now that Vigil was gone. She seem relaxed again, at the very least.

"Do you remember any of what happened when you woke up last time?"

The question brought her out of her head again. Shannon thought for a moment before nodding, biting the inside of her cheek and absentmindedly scratching at her foot. "I woke up, panicked, pushed you, you hit the wall, more… people came in and yelled at me, then I had a breakdown."

At least, she remembers that much, Kix thought to himself. In the back of his mind, he noted she remembered it was him that she force pushed into the wall. At least, he thinks she use the force. That, or she is deceivingly strong. Pulling away from his thoughts, Kix nodded.

"What about before you woke up here? Do you remember what you were doing before? Where you were?"

She was quiet for a few moments, remembering the day before. More pressure was applied to the scratching. "At home, ah-I think. Probably drawing. Probably nuh-n-napping."

Kix watched her nervous scratching for a few moments before continuing the questioning. "Where do you live, exactly? There's no village or town anywhere near this base, especially not within walking distance."

She finally managed to cause a break in the skin, ripping up strings and patches of this flesh. Shannon tilted her head, scrunching her eyebrows together while biting at the inside of her mouth. Emitting a low, short hum, she answered. "Hard to-t-to say. To ex-explain."

"Try me," Kix said, crossing his arms and leaning against the immovable island.

A few pinpricks of blood welled up on surface of her skin, getting under her nails just like the ripped skin. A disapproving, or perhaps disappointed hum came from her. She fidgeted a bit more, straightening her posture to her back pop before settling back into her mostly curled up state. She her scratching fingers to her face to pick at a small scab, before digging out the grime from underneath her nails with the scratched hand.

Through the ministrations, she thought of how she should word her explanation. "Um, well," she hesitated with her words before taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I'm not from here. I don't mean the planet, I mean in a more… Universal sense. I know I'm not from here cause, where I'm from, we haven't gotten far in the way of space travel, much less colonization of other planets."

Her hands are curled up on each other now, as she peeks up to see how the clone reacted to her words. She already felt ridiculous for trying to explain a bizarre situation she had been thrown into. She felt embarrassed.

But she continued, looking back down at her hands. "I also know I'm from not here because of you, or rather your face and the faces of the others. Also, the mention of the Republic. This is fiction, to me. Not real. I still think I'm hallucinating or dreaming very lucidly. My dreams can be very vivid."

There was silence again. It felt heavy to her, crushing to make her smaller as she slowly tightened into a ball. She could tell that he didn't believe her. Honestly, she could understand the skepticism because it sounded too outlandish to believe, especially since she has already said this is all an imagined world. Still, she continued to curl into herself, willing herself to disappear.

Kix pushed himself off the island, stepping closer to her. "Listen, much as I'd like to believe all that," he sighs,pushing his hand over his shaved head, "you gotta understand that what you're saying is…" He trailed off.

"Unusual, strange, peculiar?" The words came out naturally, if a little shaky. It was a habit she picked up when her father couldn't recall a certain word.

Kix nodded, coming to a standstill in front of her. "Regardless of wherever you come from or how you got here, you're still not supposed to be here. Given your, ehm, talent with the Force, we've called-"

Shannon looked up at him suddenly, eyes wide as she pushed herself straight against the wall of her bunk. "N-no, no, no. I-I don't have any- I don't know how to use that! I shouldn't be able to, I shouldn't be-! D-d-don't, p-please don't call th-the Jedi!" Her voice was urgent, but never rose above her normal volume.

His eyebrows drew together, suspicion written clearly on his face. "Why?"

"I don't want th-them to think I-I know things." Her gaze seemed to shift, looking past him. "They-they might be-believe me. I can't fight. I hate guns. It's not safe, it's not safe, it's not safe. Notsafenotsafenotsafe-" She tucked her head between her knees, draping her arms over her head, continuing her babbling until it died into a weak hum.

He stared at the hysterical woman in front of him. He marvelled at how quickly her mood could shift, just as he felt guilty for causing it. Kix reached out, but hesitated, remembering the last time he tried this while she was like this. Instead, he opted to kneel down, trying to catch her sight.

He spoke, trying for a soothing tone, "Shannon. Shannon, look at me. You're gonna be alright. I'm sure the Jedi won't put you into combat, especially if you're… Inexperienced. The Jedi are just coming to evaluate you. Force or not, they'll know more of what to do with you. At least they'll get you off planet."

It takes a few minutes, but she eventually calms down. When she lifts her face up, she immediately begins wiping the snot and tears on her sleeves. She makes a small noise of disgust, mumbling, "I'm gross," before continuing to wipe away the mess.

Before Kix got a chance to say anything more, the door slid open. A clone that Shannon had not seen yet walks through, food tray in hand. He had triangle tattoos under his eye, and more triangle patterns shaved into his hair.

"Vigil had to start his watch shift, so he had me-" He paused looking at the puffy eyed woman and his brother. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, Nym," Kix answered, standing up again. "She's just having trouble…"

"Adjusting, processing," Shannon finished, looking up at Nym, still a bit bleary eyed from the tears. She was quick to spot the food, her stomach giving a quiet growl.

The clone gave her a half-smile, walking over closer to give her the tray. "Name's Nym."

She had trouble making herself reach out, eventually managing to grab the tray and set it on her now crisscrossed legs. "Sh-Shannon. Thank you for the f-food." Her eyes were half-lidded and downcast again, not even looking at the tray of food.

Nym huffed a laugh, turning to Kix. "Commander wants to see you. Probably more stuff about our guest here." He nodded at Shannon, who seemed to not be paying attention to the conversation.

Kix sighed. "Alright, I'll go see him." He turned to Shannon, just the act seemed to grab her full attention. "I'm gonna be leaving you in here. Nym will be outside if you need anything."

"I will?" Nym received a deadpan stare from his brother. "I will, then," he said again, chuckling quietly to himself.

She nodded, looking back down at her food. "Sorry for causin' ya'll trouble." Her hands clenched and unclenched at the edges of the tray as her nerves began to build again.

"Don't worry about it," Nym said lightheartedly, already heading out the door with Kix. "Just knock if you need something, alright?"

She nodded, "Alright."

The door slid shut. She was finally alone, finally able to process everything without the pressure of eyes and conversation. She took a deep breath, sighing and popping her back, stretching out her legs to let her knees pop and relax. She turned herself to press her back against the head of the bunk, stretching her legs forward, on top of the blanket. Looking at the tray, she grabbed a spoon, poking at one of the substances on her plate.

She was reluctant to eat it, now thinking it might not be compatible with her system or that it might taste terrible. At least it didn't have a strong smell.

Taking another deep breath she scooped some up and took a bite. She frowned making a face. It tasted like the bean paste they would serve at her old high school, somehow it had even less flavor.

"Blech." She continued making faces as she continued to devour the meal provided.


Kix walked through the base, making his way command center, where everything was controlled and overseen. Everyone he passed payed him no mind, busy with tasks of their own. It was the same when he entered the room. Commander Jack stood behind the working clones, close enough to check that they were doing what was asked of them.

Kix approached him, saluting when he came to a stop. "You asked to see me, Commander?"

Jack turned to his brother. He was slightly older than Kix, grey already starting to speckle his hair. Three scars ran diagonally down his face, starting over his left eye, presumably from a time when he was caught off guard by some planet's wildlife.

The Commander nodded. "A few Jedi will be arriving in three days to see the girl, to determine what to do with her. You'll be going elsewhere, as well. Seems more medics are needed in the field." He paused, though not for long. "How is she, the girl?"

"She's," Kix started, quickly trailing off. "Unstable, in a way. Paranoid and delusional, too. At least, I think she is. Some of the things she says don't seem to be possible, but that could be said for a lot of things. Aside from her mental health, she seems perfectly healthy, if a bit underweight."

The Commander's brows scrunched together. "Go back to the delusional part. What exactly was she saying?"

"Something about not being from the universe, that her people don't have even regular space travel, haven't colonized other worlds." Kix sighs before continuing, "What's even more strange is that she says this place, probably this universe, is fiction."

Commander Jack rubbing, a low, contemplative hum emanating from him. "It does sound unbelievable. But, who knows? There have been stranger things that have happened. Usually something to do with the Force. Best to keep an open mind about these things."

Kix stared at his CO, and amused smile stretching across his face. "You know, you sort of sound like a Jedi."

Jack chuckled. "They start to rub off on you, eventually. I might just be getting old." Taking a moment of silence, he nodded at Kix, "You're dismissed now. Make sure she doesn't do anything to lose our goodwill. Her attitude could very well be a facade."

The medic saluted him, giving a quick, "Yes, sir," before heading out of the control room and back to the medbay. His walk was just as uneventful as before, as it always is, in and out of the base.

Arriving at the medbay doors, he immediately noticed Nym was gone. With wary and exasperated hesitation, he opened the door. Nym was easy to spot, sitting on the bunk, motioning his hands as he told a story.

"-Next thing I know, my face is on the floor and the others are holdin' back Boss, keepin' him from getting in a few more punches," Nym chuckled as he leaned back, relaxing against the foot of the bunk. "Still don't regret it, though. I think I was still laughing on the floor after he knocked a few of my teeth loose."

A new, small laugh came from the bunk. "Pff, haha, how many times has something like that happened?"

"'Bout five times before the punch," he looked off with a contemplative expression, right before he spotted Kix. "Welcome back, Kix. What'd the Commander say?"

At the mention of his name, Shannon's head popped out from the bunk. It seems she has opted to trap her hair in her hat for the time being. She gave him a small smile and a wave as he walked closer to them.

He leaned back against the island, crossing his arms over his chest. "Jedi will be here in three days. Will probably send the least busy ones." At the mention of the Jedi, Shannon started to look nervous again. "Don't worry, you're not wind up alone with them, Shannon. I'll be with you, for a bit, at least. Getting reassigned; seems they're in need of more medics."

Nym scratched the back of his head, scrunching his eyebrows. "It's really getting bad out there, isn't it?"

The medic gave a solemn nod, the conversation dying quickly after that.

Before it could go on too long, however, Nym let out a loud sigh, standing from his spot on the bunk. "Well, much as I like talking about fun stories, I gotta back. I keep getting watch duty, don't know why." Nym smile and bid goodbye to them before disappearing through the door.

Moments of silence passed before Kix tried to pick up a conversation while Shannon was still in a social mood. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Her response was quick. "I got most of the extreme emotions out of my system, so now I just… Feel nothing, I guess. I'd say it's contentment but it's not. Just a nice rest from feeling things."

He gave her curious look, right before he started chuckling, "You are very strange, you know that?"

"I just have a lot of time for self-reflection and evaluation of what is happening in me," her tone was matter-of-factly. "Doesn't mean I can control when I break down, just reflect. Though any sort of thought of reflection in an embarrassing, painful, gross moment like that, I generally just start to forget and move on and make sure I avoid stressors."

"Well, seeing how you reacted to me mentioning the Jedi, I'd say you can't avoid it." It was the hard truth for her, but Kix was sure she could.

"Not with that attitude, I can't," she said offhandedly. At the very least it earned her another grin from the clone. "I'm kidding, I know I gotta face it. Gonna hafta face a lot of things, since I don't think I can get home. I hope I'm just a new consciousness created from me and not just me."

She receives another curious look from him. He looked like wanted to ask a question, but just let it go with a sigh. Thinking for a moment, he came up with another question. "Do you think you're going to be able to handle the visit from Jedi?"

She nods. "I'll probably just be shaky, and stutter a bit. No snot and tears this time." She taps a finger on her now stretched out legs, looking down at her feet. She hummed before speaking, "This is going to be a long three days if I'm just stuck in here."

"Unless I get orders saying you can roam around, then we'll just have to deal with it," Kix shrugged. "Maybe I can steal a deck of cards from Ramses. That'll at least be entertainment for maybe a few hours. Until then," he goes around the island, grabbing a chair and pulling it back over to the bunk and sits down, "we could get to know each other, seeing as my only duty as of now is you make sure you're not a spy."

Shannon looked at him, no clear expression written on her face. "I don't tell big lies, too many ways for it to go wrong. Being caught in the act of lying and having to face it is terrible." She looks back at her feet, popping her fingers absentmindedly before continuing, "I do tell white lies, though; everyone does. Something small and harmless that doesn't matter in the long run."

Kix leaned back, thinking about it for a bit. "Yeah, I suppose we all do," he admitted before sighing. "Anyway, let's move onto other things."

She nodded, waiting for the first question to come. It was a lot like the game of 20 questions, though with no other goal in mind than to get to know each other. It felt easy for her, at the moment, to answer and ask simple questions. Simplicity kept her calm, distracted her from problems that would surely rise in the future. Hopefully, the Jedi be like Kix and not believe her about being from another universe. A place where she learned the events of what happened in their home, their universe. She hopes they don't believe.