Dear Readers, I am going to start with a massive apology. I have not posted in weeks. I am not going to pretend I have an excuse, but tensions in my family are near an all time high. As you could imagine, this puts terrible stress on me. However, it is still not an excuse to leave my readers in the dark, and for that I apologize. I won't give up on this story, and I will see it through. I would not have gotten this far without my readers and give thanks to every one of you. Now, on to the story.
Chapter 8: The Path Ahead
I had to stay strong. Showing weakness now would surely mean all our demises. I had a responsibility, and I sure as hell wasn't going to ignore them.
"Get any data on the troopers that you can. I need to know what is messing with our minds. Make sure sure the ship is still broadcasting to the Republ- I mean Imperial fleet in orbit. We can't afford to have them thinking anything is wrong."
The remaining wookies on the bridge saluted me and got to work. I Desperately needed sleep, and I needed to be in top condition if we were going to make it off this rock in one piece. I went to the barracks and climbed into one of the beds, sleep claiming me.
"We could have been a family Sev. Why did you betray your family. We offered you freedom, but you betrayed us."
The mangled corpses of my squad surrounded me, blaster holes in their chest and a putrid odor coming from their skin.
"NO DAMNIT, YOU FORCED MY HAND! I DIDN'T WANT TO HURT ANYONE!"
"You killed us, and you will forever feel our pain! SUFFER FOR ETERNITY!"
I started to burn, my screams being drowned out by the crackles and popping of the fire that consumed me. My skin blackened, blisters forming all over it as the flames licked my body.
"NO!"
I awoke drenched in sweat, shaking uncontrollably.
'I can't dwell on that nightmare. I have a job to do, and I'll die before I see it through. Besides, Scorch and Fixer aren't dead yet. I can still save them.'
I waited a while for the shaking to subside, and got up from my bunk. I made sure I was stand straight. I couldn't show weakness in front of them, not now. The bridge wasn't too far away from the barracks, most likely so emergency response teams could get there faster in case of attack. They obviously couldn't get there fast enough.
I arrived at the bridge and beckoned two wookie tech heads over to me.
"Have you been able to find anything about why my brothers so suddenly switched sides?"
"Data found within the bridge terminals combined with our own knowledge on cybernetics suggest that there is a chip inside their brain that forces them to think differently than they otherwise would."
" basically mind control?"
"Basically."
"Is there a way to remove it without damaging the victim?"
"We believe so, but the process is very lengthy along with an extended recovery period."
"Could you free my squad?"
"The process will take a few weeks, but we believe that it is possible."
"Start on them then. I am going to speak to the Imperial Fleet in orbit. They have no reason to expect free thought or disobedience from their clones."
I sat at the holo table in the bridge. We took a couple of clone troopers in there and threatened to kill them if they revealed us so it would look like the bridge was still operational and nothing was off.
The table sprang to life and a man who looked to be in his 50s materialized on it..
"I presume you are the Admiral in command of this fleet, sir?"
"I am. Why are you contacting me and not the admiral?"
"The Admiral is in the medbay. He seems to have gotten a disease brought back by one of those filthy natives, the savages…"
"Shouldn't his subordinate be speaking to me?"
"A Wookie war party assaulted our ship while most of our regiment was deployed. We managed to fight them off, but with severe casualties. Most of the bridge crew was KIA, sir. I am the highest ranking soldier at the present hour."
"Very well soldier. What is your number and name? What other business do you have with me?"
"IC-1207 or "Sev", sir. Delta Squad. Do I have your permission to breach atmosphere and set coordinates to Kuat Drive Yards for repair and a new captain?"
"Ah, Delta Squad? You have a lot exploits under your belt. You have my permission, commando."
" Thank you, sir. Sev out."
I moved to the nav terminal and turned to one of the wookies near it.
"Set coordinates to the unknown regions. From there we will find a planet unknown to the Empire to settle down on."
"Of course, sir!"
I saw Tarful walking into the bridge. I stepped in stride beside him.
"How are things are your side, Tarful?"
"We have rounded up most of the prisoners, including your commando brethren. What do you suggest we do with them?"
"I want What is left of my squad to be taken to the medbay, the rest should be kept in cells until we can remove their chips."
"Chips?" Tarful gave me a befuddled stare.
"Oh, I forgot to mention it. Your tech heads have found out why the clones have switched sides so suddenly. The medical personnel we do have will be performing surgery to remove the chip."
I watched the viewport, the stars blurring into a mesmerising blob as we jumped into hyperspace.
