Chapter 3
I stared at the fire, my mind silent for once. I was shocked, though, and I felt lost again. With Jayin and the others, I had a purpose, a reason to live, and someone to care if I was gone. Now, there was nobody. I was just another clone again. A faceless creature, and now, an enemy of the galaxy. The only people I had hope of understanding turned away and pushed me out. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. It was getting long again, but this time I didn't care. A twig snapped in the distance, and I heard voices. Voices like mine. I quickly extinguished the fire and slung my packs over my shoulder. I worked my way quietly away from the troopers, and toward the camp that held the people I cared most for.
I yanked up the supports to Jayin and Chakshu's tent, then moved onto the next. Everybody gave an indignant yelp, and one by one, they came out to glare at me. "I thought I told you to leave. Did you not think I was serious?" I looked around, ignoring Jayin. "Look, Stormtroopers are close, a klick, maybe two if we're lucky. We've got to leave now. Pack your things, we have to find somewhere to go, try to get ahead of them, or find somewhere to hide. I don't know yet." To my surprise, Nisha was the first one to move and start packing her things and rolling up her tent. After that, everybody was moving, and it wasn't long before they were packed and ready to leave. I nodded. "Let's go. Quietly." I took the lead, placing my feet carefully, and glancing behind me to make sure everybody was keeping up the pace. "Do you guys think you can handle a little faster?" The all gave me a determined nod, but I was concerned for Nitya, who seemed to be less than confident with her steps. As long as we don't all make too much noise, I thought. We kept up the pace, until and hour later, Nitya was making too much noise and was stumbling. I set Jayin in the lead and doubled back. "Are you okay," I murmured. She shook her head, drawing in a sharp breath as she took another step. "I twisted my ankle a klick back. It hurts so bad." I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her and asked "which one?" "My left one. I- I don't know what happened, I guess I just miscalculated where I was putting my foot." I took her ankle carefully and examined it the best that I could. "I guess it was that hole that we went over, then?" She nodded, biting her lip. I set her foot down carefully. "It doesn't look like it's broken, but it's swollen up pretty bad." I slung her arm over my shoulders. "You'd better keep your weight off of it as much as possible. It'll heal faster that way." Nitya nodded, and we continued on in silence. I took most of her weight for her, so she was stepping lighter than before, and I had to be more careful. Despite that, my training helped me be able to keep up the pace, and we were able to be close enough to the others that they could hear us, and we could hear if a halt was called. "I'm sorry that my sister told the others," Nitya whispered. I was silent for a moment before replying. "It's not your fault, what she says." I thought about my next words for a moment. "You and your sister... You're both a Jedi's daughters, aren't you?" Nitya looked up sharply, then looked defeated. "Yeah. His name is Ansula Himanshu. Or was, I don't know if he's alive or dead. Our mother is dead, though. Our father used to teach us, Nisha was always the one who loved the physical training, but I was always the best at the history, and education. Her and I are pretty different for twins, but we've been almost inseparable since we were born." I had stiffened at the name, and I hoped that Nitya hadn't noticed. The last thing I needed was another enemy. Especially when she was offering peace between us. "He sounds like a good man," I said. Nitya nodded. "He is. He's the best father any daughter could have. He cared for us, and taught us, pushed us to be the best, and then pushed us farther. I'm educated as high as a Jedi would get, and even trained in politics, too. Nisha would probably be a Jedi Knight, if not a Master, if they saw her skills already." Nitya looked down. "Our father got each of us special things for us, for our specialties. Nisha's tunic? The one with the Jedi patch on it? It was created specially for her, the fabric breathable and flexible, able to adapt to our kind. Her Jedi symbol was an even more special touch for it. Our father thought she would like it, and had some more tunics made when she never wore anything but that tunic. He also brought her a lightsaber, and took her to find her own crystal, like a Jedi would. I have my own, too, but I've never been very interested in the fighting." I watched her, intrigued with this information. "I didn't even know that there were Jedi who would disobey their code and marry, let alone have children." Nitya smiled sadly. "My father never fully agreed with this particular rule. He thought it foolish, considering that sometimes, the Force is passed down from parent to child, thus creating another generation of Jedi." I nodded, understanding. "I guess that does make sense. It would allow for more padawans, and thus more Jedi." She nodded. "Yeah. Except I didn't receive the Force. Only my sister." I gauged her reaction, but she didn't seem resentful or jealous. "You aren't upset about that?" She shrugged. "You don't need Force powers to be a politician or a scholar. Just the right education and a sense for the line of work." I grunted in agreement. "Besides," she murmured. "My sister has a knack for getting into trouble, and I'd rather her have the Force to get her out of trouble, than me, who would hardly even use it." "Maybe not all the children would end up with the Force, then. Maybe it'll be only one kid, like with you and Nisha. Or maybe it's just the twins that have this happen." Nitya shrugged. "I have no clue what it is. It's hard to tell." We walked in silence, until Jayin called a halt, and we set up a single tent. Nisha gave me a dark look, then saw her sister. Her face softened and she came over, taking her sister's hand. "What happened?" Nitya shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention, and I twisted my ankle." I guided Nitya to sit down and took off her shoe. "What are you doing?" Nisha demanded. I looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. "I'm checking out what I can do for her. I had a friend that taught me the basics of field injuries." She clenched her jaw and walked away, leaving me to work quietly, pulling out a paste that I had made earlier on in the month, and smearing it around her ankle. "This will help the swelling to go down." I tore apart one of my shirts, and began wrapping her ankle. "How did you learn about the plants? How to make the pastes out of them?" I gave her a wry smile. "Days and days of finding plants and smearing them on my arms and legs. Little patches here, little patches there. You wouldn't believe how many plants will make you itch, and how many burn like fire." Nitya tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, but it came out anyways. "I'm- sorry-" she said between hysterical giggles. "That's- just too- funny!" I smiled. "Not for me, it wasn't. Eventually, I found out which ones helped, and which ones didn't. Turns out, there's some that stop the itching, and some that just make it worse." Nitya wiped away a tear, her laughter dying out. "You know, you could have just asked a villager. They're usually very helpful when you say that you want to learn about healing herbs." I grunted. "That would have been nice to know earlier." I tied off the wrap and sat back. "Well, you're good to go. Like I said, you shouldn't put too much weight on your foot." Nitya nodded, and, to my surprise, leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Thank you." She stood and I stood too, helping her over to a place beside the small fire. I was sure my face was burning red, and I was glad I hadn't taken off my helmet yet. Nisha shot daggers at her sister, then my way. I shrugged. I helped Nitya out of kindness, I knew. Not hoping that I could get the girls to warm up to me. I wasn't going to punish Nitya for what her sister had done. And in helping Nitya, I had found out that she was a kind, soft girl. Not a rough, aggressive girl like her sister, as I had assumed. They were very different, and I wouldn't forget that.
Nitya laid a hand on my arm, waking me. I stood quickly and looked around, one hand on my pistol, the other pushing Nitya behind me. Nitya laughed softly and came in front of me. I slowly released my grip on my pistol, seeing that there was no danger. "I came to wake you. Your shift of watching ended long ago. Chakshu's been watching since you fell asleep." I took off my helmet and rubbed my face. "I didn't mean to fall asleep- I just" "You're exhausted. Like the rest of us. We understand. Why don't you come over and eat some apple slug, yeah?" I chuckled. Apple slug, brought over to this planet and overpopulated, was now the easiest edible creatures to find. I nodded and looked at her carefully. "I notice something missing," I sighed. Nitya's cheeks went red. "I didn't want to bother anybody. If it makes you feel better, I practically hopped over here on my good foot." I shook my head, chuckling under my breath. I took her left arm and slung it over my shoulder, guiding her over to where everybody was now eating. I waited until everybody was served to eat the little that was left, figuring that they needed it more than I did. Nisha glared at me as she ate, occasionally turning her glare over to her sister. "I think she's upset that you're helping me," Nitya whispered. "And that I'm accepting your help." I nodded. "Probably. I could care less, right now though. What we all need right now is to work together, help each other. Not be letting each other fend for ourselves. That will only get us killed." Nitya nodded in agreement. "I wish she would get along with you better. She just causes trouble with you, and it doesn't help anything." I felt a slight stab of guilt for helping push her to be aggressive toward me, provoking her whenever she talked to me. Then again, she provokes me all the same. I sighed and rested my head in my hands, listening to the last clatter of dishes die down. "We need a game plan," I said finally. I didn't look up, but I could feel everybody turning their eyes on me. "Well?" Jayin asked irritably. "What do you suppose we do?" Anger flared inside of me, propelling me to my feet, as my hands clenched at my sides. "Why don't you ask your new leader? Obviously, I'm not part of this group that I started, anymore, and after I get you through this, I'm just going to be pushed out again. So, why don't you come up with a full on game plan by yourselves? Let me know so the clone can get you through. Then you can throw him away again." I turned and left them gaping at me. Even Nisha looked thoroughly shocked. I headed back the way we came, back toward our old camp. I intended to find out exactly how close these Stormtroopers were. Maybe it would help keep us distanced from them if we knew how many there were. At least how fast they were traveling. It was likely that there were tanks or something similar with them. I refused to sit around while they figure out how to get out of this mess. They needed to become independent, anyways. Since I wasn't going to be able to take care of them like I'd thought. Now, I was just a soldier again. Nothing more to them, if anything, less.
I walked for 20 klicks before I found them. Too close for my liking. There were scouts in the front, reporting back every two minutes, on the dot. I crept around them, careful to stay silent and out of sight. Then the real recon began. There were at least a hundred Troopers, and several tanks. The commander was in the front, scanning the area. They were traveling fast, for a group this big, and I stopped to wonder how they were able to keep this pace. I closed my eyes for a moment, before making my way back to our new camp. Once out of hearing range of the scouts, I took off at a run, hoping to reach the others before the Stormtroopers got any closer.
Everybody looked strained when I got there, and Nisha was pacing. They all jumped when I came back. "Get packed. We leave now." I pulled up the stakes to the tent and rolled it quickly. I tied it and attached it to my pack, pulling it on quickly. "The plan-" I waved Jayin off. "Kid, right now, the blasted plan means nothing. We have got to move. They're too close for my liking, and if we're going to have a chance of not getting caught, we need to leave." Nisha gestured to Nitya. "What about her? She can hardly walk! Let alone run!" I cursed and set my pack down. I looked around at everybody, all of them holding their packs. I made a quick decision, shoving my pack at Jayin. "Carry this. Anything goes missing, I'm taking it out on you. I don't have much, kid." Jayin nodded determinedly and shrugged my pack on. I handed Nitya's pack to Nisha. "You carry that." "What-" I cut off Nitya by picking her up, setting her straddling my back in a back carry. "Just don't choke, me, okay? You won't have a ride, then." I turned to look at the others. "Let's go." I held onto Nitya tight, and started at a jog, slowly picking up the pace and letting her adjust. Nitya was careful to keep from wrapping her arms too tight, keeping them wrapped around my chest. "How far are we going to go?" She asked. I shook my head. "I dunno. Until we're tired, that's all I can figure. I don't know how far the Troopers can go today, so we just have to guess that we put enough distance between us and them by the time we're tired." "I hope this will end," Nitya whispered, so quiet that I hardly heard her. I sighed. "Me too."