Hello again! It's Sunday, and time for another chapter! In this chapter, I'm going to start switching POV's. Yay! R&R!
CHAPTER TWO
POV - Zero
Zero gulped as he peered over the edge of the dropoff. Ever since that day long ago in training, he'd never been a fan of heights, even though clones weren't supposed to be afraid of such things. He looked across the bridge. It seemed a bit long to Zero. It was made completely out of rock, so he assumed that it wasn't the stablest thing. Zero was glad he was near the back. That way, if anything was wrong with the bridge, he would at least get a warning.
Zero and his Kamino squad had been assigned to the battalion commanded by Jedi General Kolmorr. His second in command, besides his Padawan, was the notorious Captain Ash. The clone captain was known for a rebellious streak that sometimes - well, most of the time - got him into trouble with his stricter general. Some people wondered why he even stayed with the Republic instead of just deserting, since he so obviously disliked it. Zero had seen Ash only a couple of times, and each encounter left him more curious about the captain than the last. For one thing, Ash didn't paint his armor with any special designs, aside from the dark red stripes of his battalion. The only thing that was different was that he had four small circles painted on his helmet. Zero wondered what they meant. Clones' armor designs often had some kind of meaning. The captain also wielded an intimidating electrostaff, which was rumored to have been won from a fight with a MagnaGuard.
Zero pushed his wandering thoughts to the back of his mind as he put a careful foot on the beginning of the bridge. He clutched Trip's arm beside him.
"Calm down," Trip murmured. "It's okay."
Right after Trip said this, however, Zero heard the telltale rumbling of ship engines from above. Soon, the world was filled with deafening noise and chaos.
"They're bombing the bridge!" Zero yelled. All around him, troopers started running back to safe ground. Zero sprinted away from the collapsing center of the bridge, but every second, the falling rocks got closer to Zero's pounding feet.
He reached the edge of the bridge just in time, grabbing Trip's arm and pulling him beside him just as the last of the rocks fell away. Zero doubled over, breathing heavily.
"That… was close," he panted. He looked around for some sign of the rest of his squad, but there was no evidence that they had made it. Zero turned away. He didn't feel particularly sad for 3317 or 2791, since they had treated Zero like bantha dung from day one. But Jax… he was going to miss Jax, even though he had had that enormous argument with him on their graduation day. Although it was nothing compared to how he would feel if he lost Trip.
Zero suddenly heard a strained moan coming from behind him. It sounded like… his name?
"Zero…"
He whipped around, looking for the person who had spoken. He scanned the ground, then the rock cliff. Still nothing.
"Z-Zero… help!"
He carefully made his way over. He looked down, and Jax was hanging from the cliff wall by his fingertips. He was a meter or so below Zero, so Zero would have to stretch in order for Jax to be able to grab his hand. Zero crouched down and extended his hand.
"Hold on, Jax… try to grab my hand!" he said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
Jax lifted one hand from his little ledge, reaching out to Zero's outstretched arm. "Almost… there…" he grunted, straining from the effort. Jax's fingertips brushed Zero's.
And suddenly Jax wasn't there at all.
"Jax!" Zero screamed as he watched his friend fall into the abyss, the broken pieces of the ledge tumbling down beside him. Jax's screams plunged Zero yet again into the memory of the day that, it seemed, would never leave him.
Zero kneeled there for a minute, paralyzed with shock. Then he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw the helmet with the four spots.
Captain Ash.
"I'm sorry, kid," he said. His voice was deep and a bit gravelly. "It's time to go."
Ash removed his helmet, revealing a scruffy face framed by long rust-red hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail, stray strands blowing free in the breeze. Ash's eyes were intriguing, because they looked like the hazel eyes of any other clone, but they were different somehow. They shone with a fire that Zero had yet to see in any of his other brothers. Yet the feature that stood out the most was the faint scar winding its way across Ash's face, starting above his left eye and ending all the way under the right side of his chin. It looked as if it had been there for some time, the white color of the scar contrasting against the tan shade of Ash's skin. Zero glimpsed the electrostaff slung over his shoulder.
"Look, kid, we gotta go," the captain said urgently. Zero quickly stood up, not realizing he had been staring. Somehow, Ash had rejuvenated Zero, a newfound spirit coursing through his veins.
"What do they call you, shiny?" Ash asked.
"I'm CT-Seven-Three-Zero-Zero, sir. Or just Zero."
"As you may know, I'm Captain Ash," Ash said, extending a hand. Zero strongly shook it. "Pleasure meeting you, Zero."
POV - Ash
Ash sighed, putting his head in his hands. They had been that close to pushing the Separatists off of the planet for good. If only they had made it across the bridge. Then, they could have caught the Seppies by surprise, and if would have been less of a hassle. Now, their forces were severely depleted, and their time was running out. They had to get the Separatists off the planet before the king signed the treaty with Dooku. That bridge had been a useful shortcut, and now it had been reduced to rubble, forcing the battalion to retreat back to their base camp. Now they would have to take the long way around. The problem with that was, they didn't know the territory. It could be crawling with Sep forces, and Ash's battalion wouldn't know a thing. Then there was the question of what they would actually do when they got to the Separatist base. They were severely outnumbered now. Ash had lost so many men on that bridge.
He sighed again, blowing out a long stream of air. Every time Ash watched his men die, it tore him up inside. He hated being in the Grand Army, and after every battle, his loyalty to the Republic was shaken even more. Sure, he had considered deserting - several times, actually - but in the end, he always decided to stay. Ash stayed to protect his men, men that were just like he used to be - a rookie soldier, forced to fight for something he didn't really believe in. Shinies like Zero and Trip reminded Ash of his first days, days when he didn't know what it really meant to fight in a war, when everything seemed like a game, and he didn't truly realize how it felt to lose a brother until he lost all of them at once.
After the crash, Ash had changed. He grew his hair out. He dyed it rusty red. He painted the four circles on his helmet, each one representing a brother he couldn't save. Bolt, Lev, Shadow, and Flyer. Instead of fighting with a blaster, he obtained an electrostaff, asking Zak to train him to use it. On that day, he had realized that he wasn't just another clone. He was a person, and he refused to be owned by anyone. When General Kolmorr's old commander died, he had chosen Ash to take his place. Ash had become a skilled man, and he knew that as long as he stayed just on the edge of the boundaries, Kolmorr wouldn't let him go, as strict as he may have been. Even so, Ash pushed it, dangerously independent. A new man had risen from the ashes of CT-5772, which was, in fact, how Ash had come up with his nickname.
He looked up at the sound of approaching feet. The tent flap was pushed back, and Zak entered.
"What is it, kid?" Ash asked, although Zak wasn't much of a kid anymore. Two years had passed since their first meeting, and war had forced the Padawan to grow up fast.
"My Master wants you to lead a small scouting mission to the territory we'll cross tomorrow, to assess potential dangers," Zak told him. Ash ran his hand through his hair, thinking that this was a bad idea. He winced slightly when he moved his wrist, which he had injured during the escape from the bridge.
Zak, being the Jedi that he was, noticed. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No… no, it's nothing, I'm fine," Ash said quickly.
"I can fix it," Zak said. "I'm being trained in Force healing, you know. It'll be good practice."
"Fine," Ash grumbled. "But please note that I'm not a test subject for your crazy mind experiments."
Zak rolled his eyes. "Of course not." He took a seat next to Ash, placing his hands on Ash's wrist. Zak closed his eyes, concentrating. The pain in Ash's wrist gradually faded. Zak opened his eyes and lifted his hands. Ash flexed his wrist, feeling no pain.
"It's good," he told the Padawan. Zak smiled. "Thanks, kid." Ash ruffled Zak's hair affectionately.
Zak's face turned slightly red. "You're welcome. But… there's something that worries me."
"What is it?"
"What if I'm in battle, and someone gets hurt, and I try to heal them, and I can't under the stress of battle, or the injury is too big? What if I can't do it?" Zak looked at Ash with worried eyes.
"You can do it, kid. I believe in you."
"It's just… I'd hate thinking about it afterwards, and knowing that I had the power to fix it, but I couldn't. "
Ash looked him in the eye with seriousness, all of his sarcastic comments and wittiness gone. "I know how you feel. But I know you can do it. See?" He pointed to his newly repaired wrist. "You just did it to me now. And if you feel like it's impossible, just remember today, when you succeeded. And you'll know, deep down, that you can do it, because you've done it before."
Zak nodded. "Thanks. That's a good way of thinking about things. I'll remember that. I won't let any of my friends die."
"Good. Now, I've got to go get the scout mission ready." Ash stood up, patting Zak on the shoulder. "You're a good kid, Zak." Ash walked away, ducking under the tent flap and exiting.
He wondered about who to take on his trip. His mind immediately jumped to Zero and Trip. The young troopers needed something to take their minds off of losing their squadmate.
Ash wandered around the camp, looking for the two shinies. Thunder rumbled overhead like bombs dropping. Ominous gray storm clouds blanketed the base in dark shadows. Hopefully they would actually be able to see out there.
Ash finally spotted them sitting on some supply crates, munching on tasteless ration bars. He strode over to them. Zero and Trip looked up at him.
"Are you boys feeling up to a scouting mission?"
So that's that! Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please review!
Until next time, buddies! May the Force be with you :)
