Okay everyone! I finished this one quick, might have pulled an all nighter, and it's a sort of... 'before the storm' kinda of chapter. Adds a bit more before the next one (which will be big) so hope you don't mind =P
Elizaguana: Thanks, glad you think so! And well, you'll need to read till the end to see what happens xD
Dumbledore19: Ah, sorry for all the heartache but it had to be done! And true, the Jedi may not be really heartless, but sometimes they just seem like they don't care (hence the memories) I figured the clones never really thought much about it, but given the chance they see it and well... who wouldn't be angry? I'm really glad it got you to think about it so much! It's one of the things that really makes me feel proud of my writing! =D
Now then, as I said, this one is kinda short (compared to the others) but it's supposed to be that way so...
Read, review and enjoy~
Chapter 7 Tegaanalir (Rescue)
"Commander Tano," she was startled slightly by the sudden call of her name.
"Yes?" she turned around, strapping her lightsabers to her side. She relaxed, seeing it was only Tup – but he seemed far from it.
"…Is it true? A Sith is there as well?" she saw his jaw tighten a bit and her eyes dropped. She had almost forgotten Tup was a rookie when the Umbara Incident happened, where he met his firth Sith – even if Krell wasn't one officially one, he was still considered to be such.
"Yes, but don't worry," she tried to assure him. "My Master and I will deal with him. The rest of you need to find our boys."
"…Understood," she saw him trying to suppress the relief, but the Force around him spoke otherwise. She reached up, gently touching his forearm.
"Focus on your brothers Tup… I – We're leaving them in your care…"
"They're your brothers as well, Ahsoka."
He kept walking, even if he had to lean on the walls. Everything was still dizzy, still murky and he couldn't hear the screaming anymore. He's dead…
The thought alone forced him to move faster, quicker. No. No, he can't be. He can't be! He stumbled forward but managed to catch himself in time and moved again.
Save… Need to save… The other voice was silent now and he found himself a bit lost. Where was he going? This place… looked like the Star Cruiser. It felt off – he had the whole place memorized but there were halls where there shouldn't be ones.
It's another trick. The voice whispered, but it sounded distant. He shook it off – from the corner of his eye, he spotted an open door. That way. It spoke again, before seeming to vanish. He gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move, and as he did, the fog started to clear little by little. And then he saw him…
"REX!" he was beyond happy to see him, but horror wrapped around his heart as he saw the condition ori'vod was in.
No, no, nononono! He can't be- He can't be-! He stumbled forward at first, moving too quickly and almost falling, but that didn't stop him from running to the Captain.
"Rex? Rex! Can you hear me?" he panicked, checking the man for a pulse. "Ori'vod, wake up!" he shook as he dared to look away to find the controls for the straps.
He hadn't realized he fell asleep. At least, until he heard a distant shout of his name.
"Who… who's calling me? What… do you need me to do?" His mind was swimming, lost at the moment, before feeling someone reaching for his head, his neck. Attack. Someone's trying to kill- Two fingers on his throat. Pulse. They're checking for a pulse…
"Rex? Rex! Can you hear me?" he knew that voice but… he's never heard it so scared. So panicked. He wanted to answer, but couldn't seem to find the words.
"Ori'vod, wake up!" he grunted and opened his eyes just before feeling the straps around his body release. He would have smacked dead into the ground, had someone not grabbed him and held him steady.
"Please, wake up…" he was pleading now, gently lowering him onto the ground but still keeping a hold on him.
"Fives…" he managed, even if weakly. "I'm here…" things were starting to clear and he frowned as a massive headache started in his head.
"Rex!" the ARC Trooper smiled, pulling the blonde into a tight hug. "You're alive!" he buried his head in the Captain's shoulder. "I thought they killed everyone by now…"
"Fives, Fives, it's alright… I'm alright…" Rex carefully hugged the younger brother back. "And the others are here too. Trapped. But here," he said softly, feeling his brother pull away.
"But – But they told me they killed everyone…" Fives looked confused and lost as he sat back on his knees.
"They lied… They've been lying this whole time…" Rex closed his eyes, recalling what had happened a bit before. He finally saw the truth… "C'mon, we need to free the others," the Captain stood up, offering a hand. "And then we need to get back. To warn everyone."
He was curled up in the corner, hands on his head, trying to stop the screams. So many dead, so many he couldn't save, so many lost, so many-
"Kix…" he felt a hand on his shoulder and winced. He's been getting lost in the horrible memories, but Jesse has been gently bringing him back.
"Sorry…" he mumbled, unwrapping his arms around his knees.
"Umbara again?" he could only nod as the ARC Trooper ran a hand over his head.
"…You never talk about it…" Cinder spoke up, sitting a few paces away from the medic. "…I never knew it was this horrible…" the images he was forced to see made him throw up.
"…We didn't want anyone else to know…" Jesse said, resting a hand on the youngest shoulder. "I'm… sorry they forced you to see our memories of it…"
"It always makes me sick, remembering how many we lost… " Kix mumbled again, looking at a scratch on the metal. "And now… Who knows how many more we lost… Just because they refused to act," he looked at his brothers, seeing their grief-ridden faces.
And then, the cell door opened, two figures standing there, the light of the hall casting them in shadows. Jesse instinctively stepped forward again, hands outstretched to protect his brothers. Kix was in ready position to jump if anyone attacked and Cinder moved closer to the both of them.
"Jesse, Kix, Cinder… You're all alive!" the voice called and they found themselves frozen in shock.
"I told you they were," that one made Jesse drop to his knees, Kix tremble because he didn't want to believe it just yet and Cinder needed to remember to breath.
"C'mon boys, let's get out of here," Rex and Fives stepped further in, giving small smiles and extending their arms.
"We never thought… we'd see you again," Kix actually spoke, seeing Jesse was in too much shock to even stand on his own.
"Same here vod… But everything will be alight now," Fives kneeled down to him, offering a hand which the medic quickly took.
"B-But, the ones who locked us up. They're-!" Cinder struggled with his words, but he didn't need to finish.
"We know… We know everything…" the Captain had a hard look in his eyes. "They're going to pay for it, trust me. They can't lie anymore…"
"The pets are still trying to sneak around. But at least they're being obedient," Grievous said as he watched the clones on the monitor. They were walking slowly and carefully, checking the halls and corridors.
"It's only natural. They believe they are escaping from the Jedi," Dooku had a smirk on his face as he looked at them.
"Um, sir?" a droid spoke up, turning in his chair.
"What is it?" the General growled, eyes narrowing.
"We have a ship entering our space."
"We did not request any supplies," this had the Count's attention.
"It's not one of ours, sir," the two leaders shared a quick look. "It's a Republic ship."
"Skywalker?!" they hissed in disbelieve and shock. "Surely he is not this mad!"
"I told you, Count!" Grievous was already leaving, likely heading for his own ship.
"This changes things…" Dooku put a hand on his beard. "However, I can work with it."
"And how would you do that?" the General stopped in front of the door.
"We will simply kill Skywalker. The clones will have their revenge sooner than they thought," he turned around, facing the cyborg. "But I shall require something from you, General."
He was walking right behind Rex, covering for Kix and Cinder, while Fives had their backs. They were going to make it… They were going to get out of this place and back home. He was just about to move, when the Captain put his arm out, stopping him.
"What is it?" he whispered, fear slowly creeping into his body. Behind him, the others stopped as well, waiting for an explanation.
"…We need to go back…" Rex sounded so distant, Jesse wasn't sure if he heard him right.
"What? Why? I thought we were escaping!" Fives was letting his anxious feelings show, looking over his shoulder for any enemies.
"Can't you hear it?" the blonde asked them, looking confused.
"Hear what?" Jesse asked before seeing Fives going slack.
"…Y-Yeah… I do," his eyes were distant for a few moments before focusing on them.
"I hear it…" Cinder nodded, blinking to regain himself.
"Kix?" Jesse asked, looking at the medic whose worry was written all over his face.
"I don't… I think," came his reply.
Just as Jesse was about to speak, he heard someone whisper. He didn't understand it at first, but after a few moments, the words became clear.
"Return to the bridge… The Jedi have called in reinforcements… I can help you," he was vaguely aware of Kix calling his name, before he too fell silent.
"Understand now?" Rex asked, waiting patiently for them.
"Yeah… We need to move," he nodded, shaking his head to regain his senses.
"And fast…" the medic's eyes went past the Captain, checking the hall.
"Ship in our sights sir," Jewels called, keeping the ship steady.
"Good. Get us in nice and easy…" Anakin had his hand on the seat, standing behind the pilot.
"…No one's attacking?" Cody's voice was laced with suspicion, arms crossed.
"Maybe they haven't noticed us?" Ahsoka frowned, not liking this.
"Doubtful…" Appo muttered next to her.
"If we know it's a trap, we'll be ready for them," Boil cracked his knuckles, ready to fight.
"How many do you think there are?" Tup suppressed a shudder at the number he imagined.
"R2, can you do a scan?" Skywalker turned to the droid, who beeped in return, poking an antenna out of his head. After a few seconds, he gave another answer.
"Six life forms and a couple of droids…" Ahsoka mused. She looked back at the ship, seeing it wasn't really that big, so there couldn't be more than maybe twenty of thirty droids. That, they could handle.
"…How many did you say were taken?" Anakin had a worried expression on his face.
"Six, sir," Tup spoke up before anyone else.
"…There are six people on board, and one of them is defiantly Dooku…" he didn't need to explain that for them to understand. The expression the brothers shared spoke for itself.
As they docked the ship, everyone was prepared for a fight. But there was no one. Not a single droid was present in the hanger bay.
"Jewels, stay with the ship. Who knows what kind of exit we'll need," Cody ordered as he stood on the ramp, waiting for the others to disembark.
"…Bring 'em home, okay?" Jewels looked at his brothers, eyes low.
"We will," Cody assured and set a hand on his shoulder.
"How do we find them now?" Tup asked, gripping the carbine tight.
"…Dooku is on the bridge…" Anakin said carefully, narrowing his eyes. "He's not even trying to hide his Force signature."
"He wants us to come to him," Ahsoka straightened her back, looking at him.
"Yeah, he does… But we're not here for him," the General let a frown show.
"The ship is too big to search randomly. Who knows where any clankers are hiding," Boil pointed out, checking the doors.
"If we can get the information from Dooku, it'd make looking for them much easier," Appo added, eyes scanning the place.
"If nothing else, the log in the bridge will help us. It's better than running around blind," Cody nodded, standing in front of the General.
"Fair enough. Everyone, get ready. We don't know what's waiting for us out there."
Cut! Right, next one is gonna be a blast! I got it planned out, just need to write it fully down and then polish it. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing
Oh, since I forgot to mention it before... "Ori'vod" is Mando'a for "Big brother" which I figure Fives sees Rex as (along with pretty much the rest of the 501st) so being as worried and scared (plus drugged) as he is, he'd call him that.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this little bit and stick around for the next one! Fancy reviewing? Sweet! I love it when you do that! =D
Till next time~
