Rain just seemed to love Cassus. After an hour of walking it had started to rain again pelting the trees and filling the forest with the sound of water hitting the ground. Cassus wondered if he would ever serve on a proper desert planet with no rain. He wiped the visor of his hemlet of the drops clearing his HUD of obstruction as best as possible, the helmet had a temperature control system for the visor to keep it from fogging up. Tara covered herself in poncho he had given her from his survival pack. He had another plastic sheet covering his rife to protect it from the elements as they traveled.
With a huge plot his foot sank into the ground now a thick pasty mud.
"Maybe we should take shelter and wait for the rain to let up." Said Tara taking her own mud covered foot out of the mud. "I think we passed a cave half a click back."
Cassus didn't like the idea of rain halting his work but even he had to admit that this jungle would soon turn into a swamp. And his armor wasn't good for swimming. "Told Burnsk we'd be back by 2300 hours, else he'll break radio silence."
"If were leading those droids off course making radio contact may help lead them away." She said. "It beats having to swim back and your jet pack's only meant for one."
Cassus keyed his comm. "Burnsk… we'll be delayed due to weather conditions, the rains turning this place into a swamp."
"Don't train you to swim in the Army?" chucked Burnsk through the comm. "When can I expect you and your girlfriend to arrive I'll have the place cleaned up fer you both."
"ETA six hours after this rain stops. We're trying to lead some droids away from your position but they may be able to listen in and track us so keep your sensors sharp for clunkers."
"I'll show those Shab droids what happens when mess with mandalorians. Make you clones look like a friendly lot we do."
"Roger that over and out."
Tara smirked. "Sounds like you two stopped killing each other."
Cassus smirked under his helmet glad he wasn't giving the girl more to comment on. "We've reached a form of understanding over the past few days."
The jedi raised an eyebrow. "And understanding that keeps you from killing each other?"
"That's the kind." Answered Cassus as they backtracked once again taking point as they backtracked.
…
It had taken them an hour to walk back to the cave their pace slowed by the thick mud and knee deep water but the shelter was worth it. The cave was set onto a rock face and was elevated about twenty feet from the ground. High enough for them to not have to worry about it flooding. Cassus had shot the grapple from his rife and hoisted them up. Twenty minutes of camouflaging the entrance with vines and brush they both felt secure enough to rest up against the cave wall and rest.
Cassus unhooked the ration pouch from his belt and opened it to take out his ration bars. He pulled two bars from the pouch and a long silver tube Burnsk had apparently slipped into his ration pouch. "What's that?" asked Tara looking at the silver tube.
He uncapped the tube and slid out one of the Mandalorian's cigars.
"Burnsk must have slipped in it." He said removing his helmet to bite the end off and light the tip. Would add some flavor to his rather bland ration bar. The tip glowed as he drew it in the hot smoke. It was comforting in the cold dank cave. Tara quietly nibbled at her ration bar her legs pulled up to her chest. "So any idea what the Confederacy's doing this far away from charted space?" she asked trying to make simple conversation. "Don't know might be here for the mining purposes I suppose. Place like this away from charted space you can mine and set up all sorts of operations without anyone knowing or having anything to say perfect for hit and run opts."
"But scanners didn't pick up more than a single droid control station." She said wrapping her arms around her legs. "It's too small for a mining operation."
"Could be the beginning on one" he said taking another puff on the cigar. They sat in silence for a long while before he noticed she was shivering. She had dressed for a warmer climate. The warm humidity of the jungle was much different that the cold of this dank cave. Taking the initiative he gathered a collection of dry twigs and set them ablaze making a small fire to warm the cave. "Thanks you read my mind," she said hovering her hands over the small flames. There wasn't a lot of smoke and what little there was going to be washed away from the rain. Tara was more than pleased with the warmth although a fire wasn't her first choice for warmth that had crossed her mind. "How long do you think this rain will last?" she asked rubbing her palms together.
"Don't know. It could rain for weeks on Kamino." He flicked the ash off his cigar and took a bite out of his ration bar. Tara felt like she was trying to talk to another rock in the cave for all he said. She could feel more however. Despite his calm but determined demeanor she could sense a restlessness growing inside him. His restless disposition intrigued her. When he had been battling those droids that had attacked her she hadn't sensed any feelings of fear. Just a feeling of overwhelming determination and protectiveness. She wondered if there was any fear in him at all.
The cave grew dark as the yellow sun outside set. Cassus activated a small glow rod illuminating the walls in a low yellow light. Cassus took out a folded silver space blanket and tossed it to her. "I'll take watch, you can sleep." Tara unfolded the silver plastic blanket and wrapped it around herself. If it wasn't for the fact she was tired she was tired she would verbally question just who was in command here. Cassus seemed to have no problem taking his own initiative unless she pulled rank on him and took control of the situation. No wonder the Master Yasir didn't get along with him, he followed his instincts before orders.
Tara rested her back against the wall and closed her eyes trying to let sleep consume her.
….
Tara woke feeling sore and pained from the rock wall she was propped up against. She didn't know how long he had been asleep but she figured it couldn't have been very long because the red glow of Cassus cigar could still be seen in the dark. The glow lamp had been switched off and the only light was from the glow red of the cherry and the beams of silver moonlight that seeped in through their camouflage of brush and vines. Cassus stat by the mouth looking through the cracks in the vines enjoying his smoke his rifle propped up against his right shoulder.
She moved over and took a seat next to him the blanket. He didn't say or do anything as she sat up close her shoulder touching his. His eyes moved but only slightly as he watched the jungle for danger. She leaned against him wondering he would protest as he let her weight be put against him. His sold fame didn't budge or even yield the slightest bit as she slumped into him. He really is a stone. She thought as her cheek touched his pauldron. The smooth warm metal was far more comfortable than the cold walls of the cave.
What am I doing here? She asked herself. She knew this kind of behavior was frowned upon by the Order and would put her emotions into question if they knew. She had always been rather curious and had often wondered how she would pay for it. Although he didn't seem to mind her snuggling against him like this. He didn't seem to care in the slightest; his pulse didn't even seem to change. He pulled cigar from his mouth and put the stub out before letting out that last refreshing breath of smoke. She watched his face as it looked forward to the dark jungles outside. Her hand slowly moved up her fingers moved forward to brush the hard lines of his face. His hand came up as her fingertips were only a few centimeters away from his face. He caught her fingers in his hand gripping them firmly but gently and moving her hand away without saying a single word. He leg one of her fingers as soon as he had cleared her hand away. He continued to sit still and silently as she remained slumped against him.
Guess he doesn't like his face being touched.
He picked up his helmet and secured and put it on securing it to his armor and switching on the night vision. Once again he sat completely still not moving in the slightest. Tara remained in her position for a long while trying to sense any change in his emotion. She drifted in and out of sleep listening to the patter of the rain.
She was suddenly pushed away as he snapped to. He pulled the stock of his rifle to his shoulder and held the massive weapon at ready with one hand. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing but his two fingers snapped to her mouth to quiet her. It took her a second but the wiring of a swamp boat passing by the roaring engines of vulture droids could be heard overhead. Tara cursed under her breath. If she hadn't been too busy being curious and stupid she would have sensed that long before his helmet's sensors. The sound of distant explosions echoed through the jungle from long distances.
The comm in his gauntlet keyed on. "Don't tell me those explosions are fer you cause it sounds like you managed to piss them off good." The small blue holo Burnsk was dressed in full armor a carbine in hand looking ready for battle.
"Negative we haven't encountered any clunkers save those that passed us by without any thought. Must be for someone else, possibly locals."
"I don't think so." He said the blue hologram removing his helmet. "Whoever their fighting is equipped to fight them. Just watched a H.M.P. ship get shot down in the distance. Scanners didn't show much signs of tech on this rock so whoever's here is just as much a stranger as these droids. Could be colonists."
"This far out in wild space?" asked Tara.
"I've seen weirder things believe me. There's never enough room in this universe."
"If they are colonists then we should help them" said Tara taking off the space blanket and pulling up the hook of her robes tucking her green head tails under the brown material. "The rain's slowing down. I think we can travel so long as we stick to high ground."
Cassus nodded. "We'll check it out… could be potential allies we'll meet you in the middle I'll transmit coordinates."
"Roger over and out."
….
By the time Cassus and Tara had managed to clear their little camp inside their cave the rain had stopped completely. Cassus waded through the swamp his rife held up and ready. The sounds of distant bombing was evident and all around them. Tara was taking point moving through the trees. She hopped from branch to branch guiding herself with the force and having to stop and wait up for Cassus as he treaded water. He looked up at his small tracker he had linked to Burnsk's armor. The mandalorian wasn't more than two clicks from his location. Cassus suspected he used his jetpack to cover most of the ground.
Something about the plant life here was absorbing the water at an extremely rapid rate. Since he had begun walking the swamp the water line had dropped by six inches. He wondered how long before the ground was dry like it was the before.
Tara stopped and held her palm up ordering him to stop. He obeyed kneeling down in the water his rife shouldered and ready. The sound of droids matching soon came up on his sensors. Through the dark he saw their silhouetted forms matching in their standard lines wading water. Hope you all rust. He thought as they passed by.
"Reports have come in of Ssi-ruuk in this area… stay on guard and keep your blasters ready."
Cassus had never head of Ssi-ruuk but he figured they were what these droids were bombing the krif out of.
Suddenly the sound of whistles and beeps like an astromech droid was picked up on his sensors. The droids apparently had picked up on the nose as well and begun firing off into the tree's and establishing their perimeter. Cassus saw red bolts flash through the trees and cut down the clunkers returning their fire. He looked to the jedi and she nodded from him to open fire.
He ran to the side trying to get out of the line of fire and flak them from the side. He produced a droid popper from his belt and tossed it into their ranks causing a small half dozen to short circuit. The droid turned to attack their new enemy but Cassus was already laying down a heavy suppressive fire on the droids to allow Tara to close distance with her lightsabres. The jedi activated both blades and joined them together at the ends forming a double blade as he slashed through the army of metal men. The swooshing of S.T.A.P.s came in firing away their dual blasters. Cassus took cover behind a tree and rolled to the next firing away between the fire from the trees and his blaster the work of the aerial vehicles was cut short. Whoever the droids were fighting they knew how to make their shots count. The red bolts sill came out of the trees taking down droids with great efficiency. He watched as Tara knocked away a few of those well aimed bolts away from herself.
Cassus gritted his teeth under his helmet as he realized they were targeting her as well as the droids. "We are not your enemies." She cried to the dark jungle but the blaster bolts came at her regardless the more droids that were destroyed the more fire was concentrated on her. Cassus ran through the trees trying to get the new enemy into sight and ease her burden.
He turned around a tree and was knocked back as something whipped around the tree and knocked the wind out of him. Standing above him was what he could only thin was the enemy. It was tall and lizard like standing on its hind legs a long red scaly tail was what had knocked him down. The creature was almost raptor like as it moved over him a harness of weapons hung from its chest and a blaster was in its clawed hand it opened its mouth to reveal a great maw of teeth a forked tongue emerged and tasted the air. Cassus raised his rife but it was knocked from his grip by the Ssi-ruuk's clawed foot. The weapon discharged as it was knocked from his grip and the bolt struck the monster's hand holding the blaster. The creature wasted no time pouncing on him opening its mouth and trying to bite down on his shoulder but his armor held. He punched it in the snout and drew his Vibro-knife plunging the weapon into its neck activating the weapon and feeling the small vibrations as it tore open the scaled flesh spilling blood all over his armor. He hefted the body off of him and picked up his DC-15. He wiped the blood from his visor and continued to move forward into the trees. The lizard like aliens had moved up and into a clearing all had red scales and were trying to gang up on Tara. Small green bulbous droids rolled across the forest they looked strangely like astromechs and fired a small blaster from the top of their ball like bodies.
Cassus fired at the droids and they stopped some had their wheeled legs blasted from them and fell to the earth harmless.
He moved across the clearing his blaster spewing out bolts hitting droid and Ssi-ruuk alike. He stopped beside Tara who was moving around him circling around and keeping off the bolts. Many of the shots dissipated off his armor. Many of the droids had set their blasters to stun and were trying to take down Tara. Cassus and her were back to back moving as one as they held off their enemies on all side coming from the forest.
The tree's snapped as two droid battle tanks crashed through the forest its main gun blazing as it fired into the trees incinerating the Ssi-ruuk and their small droids. Cassus leaped into action leaving Tara to continue her deadly dance as he charged one of the tanks. The armored hovercraft didn't bother to aim at Tara. Those droids really wanted to take her alive so she was in no danger from the massive cannon. He rolled as cannon shot exploded behind him kicking up mud and rocks; he could feel the heat under his armor. He jumped on the tank boosting his jump with the jetpack taking his blaster and shooting away the hatch. The droid looked up at him and lifted up his blaster only to be decapitated by another shot from the trooper. He activated a thermal detonator and tossed it in flying away as it exploded. He was about to move onto the second tank when it too exploded.
Burnsk flashed by on his jet pack the spend rocket launcher in his jetpack and landing in the field his vibro-ax and blaster in his hand. He blasted a droid down and hacked a Ssi-ruuk with his axe decapitating the creature. Cassus tossed another detonator into the trees taking down another group of droids.
"Looks like you two made some new friends. I though jedi were peace keeps." Burnsk chucked through the helmet comm taking down another alien with a double tap of his DL-44.
"They attacked us. We were helping them with the clunkers when they attacked. Don't play well with others I suppose." Cassus pulled his pistol his rife empty and fired off clearing the rear flank of droids before slamming another power cell into his rife. He turned and focused his attention back to the red scaled reptiles. "Any more krif droids?" asked Burnsk throwing the axe and embedding the weapon into one's chest.
"Not on my sensors" he said taking a knee and crouching behind the wreckage of the tank for cover. Burnsk stepped forward his pistol hosted and his carbine slung into his back blaster bolts ricocheted off his armor, he raised his hand and activated his flamethrower setting the jungle in front of him ablaze roasting the Ssi-ruuk still in the brush. The aliens screamed in horror as their bodies were consumed by the fire they wailed out in their whistle like language and were soon silenced.
Cassus and Tara stepped forward as Burnsk took his axe out of the creature's chest. "So much fer helping em… Shab you two really did a number on them."
Cassus ignored him and stepped out his cover drawing his pistol executing the remaining and damaged droids. Many were still twitching and trying to move despite their damage. Tara separated her lightsabres and returned them to her hips. She looked over the damage of the battlefield observing Cassus as he finished off separatist droids.
"Wait" she said as he was about to shoot a Ssi-ruuk droid.
"What?" he asked pausing as the small little droid twitched on the ground.
"That droid… it's… alive."
Cassus raised an eyebrow but realized she could see past his helmet. "What do you mean it's just a droid? Some form of technology used by these aliens."
"No its not… its different I'm feeling something from it… it's in agony they all are somehow their all suffering."
Cassus looked at her. "Is there anything I can do about it?" he asked. Tara sighed and shook her head. "No, just make it clean."
"I always do" he said blasting the droid.
….
Tara turned the knob of the sonic shower of Burnsk's ship. After about another hour of traveling through the swamp they had finally managed to reach the man's ship. She had dropped her bag in the living quarters and had and marched off to the shower to clean off the mud and grime.
Why did I sense something from those droids? That particular question had been running through her head over and over again ever since their encounter with the Ssi-ruuk. As soon as they had encountered them she had sensed those droids. Suffering and in agony they weren't like other droids they were alive. Somehow there were alive but not alive at the same time. Their cries of agony echoed across the force and had chilled her very soul. There was something wrong about those creatures and those droids something evil.
She threw her muddy robe off and was about to strip off the rest of her clothes when she realized she had left the rest of her clothes in the living area. She sighed deciding to leave the shower running as she stepped out of the room to grab her bag. She turned the corner and saw Cassus and Burnsk sitting together. Pieces of Burnsk's armor was sitting on the table in front of him, his hemlet was in his hands being scrubbed clean of the mud that had dried up on it. Burnsk was smoking one of his cigars a bottle of Corellian whiskey open and in front of him along with a glass half full.
"No" said Cassus his eyes fixed on the white and green helmet. "My place is with the Republic."
Burnsk let out a smoke ring. "I think you'd have a better place here." Said Burnsk gulping the last of the whiskey down and pouring another glass. "Yer good in a fight and this ship's been gettin lonely since... well ye know, I've been getting attached to ye, and I think the rest of my family would like ye too."
"I'm sorry about your family, truly I am but I have a duty to perform." Cassus had put the helmet down and begun washing one on his shin guards so caked with mug you couldn't see the white.
"A duty?" he almost chucked. "The only duty you have was thrust upon you. They grew you in a pod and expect you to die for a cause that has nothing to do with you. What do you think going to happen to you when this all ends, eh? You think you'll live under that Republic flag and call yerself a citizen?"
"It's not about me. This war isn't about me." Cassus growled under his breath clearly wanting this conversation to end.
"That's what's wrong with it. It's not yer fight, you didn't choose and ye certainly don't have a stake in it. Yer not a citizen of the Republic Cassus yer just a number to them. Yer just Alpha -84 a number to be thrown away and fergotten, yer fellow clones will remember ye but no one else. Ye can't have the freedom to choose, or ta fell the warmth of a woman's flesh, or the joy of a son in yer arms. To the Republic, yer no different than a droid."
Cassus stood so fast his chair hit the ground behind him clattered to the floor. His fist swept across the man's jaw knocking the cigar from his lips. The armor from his hand had cut a large gash in his cheek. Burnsk flashed the trooper a bloody grin, stopped closed his lips and spat two teeth onto the metal floor. He smiled again showing the sheen of blood on his yellow teeth. "Just think about it fer me trooper Shab I could even call you Ad."
"Don't call me that" he growled, "I'm not your son."
"Aliit ori'shya tal'din." He said in mando'a.
Family is more than blood. Tara repeated the mandalorian phrase in her mind and hoped she was invisible to then. She wondered just why this man was trying to adopt Cassus.
"Just give me the right answer boy and I'll say ta words… I'll give ye everything ye've been denyed. Don't answer me yet… think about it. Think bout what ye really want and then answer me when yer ready."
Cassus just glared and picked up his helmet and pieces of armor storming off and out of the ship.
Tara was frozen where she stood. She was glad Cassus hadn't seen her. Burnsk took a sip from his whiskey wincing as the alcohol must have burned his gums were his teeth here punched out. He kneeled and picked up his cigar and two teeth. When he brought his head back up he saw Tara and smirked placing the cigar back into his teeth and sitting back down.
"Sorry, when I see something I like I can't help meself."
"You had no right to-"
"Ta what? Offer him freedom?" he asked taking another sip of whiskey again his face winced in pain as his gums were burned by the spirit.
"He's made his choices, he's chosen his side." She said crossing her arms and leaning against the hull. "You have no right to put that into question."
"No right? And who are ye to talk about rights, you and yer Republic. Clones don have rights. They don't choose or swear oaths of any meaning because if anyone chooses different they get the nasty end of a blaster."
"You don't think I like it?" he said trying to force back the tears she knew were welling in her eyes. Burnsk was right. She had shared his thoughts many times. "I don't, I hate it. Many jedi do. It's just immoral and wrong and they have no right to make those men fight… but we're at war… and we need them… we need him."
Burnsk took a long draw off the cigar and let out a big cloud of smoke. "War? Is that yer excuse? War is a time of growth, a time we mandalorians cherish and adore. War is a time to stand by principles, not throw them away, that's what a coward dose."
Tara grabbed her bag and returned to her shower. She didn't say anything. She didn't protest. She didn't cower, because she knew he was right. She stripped off her clothes and let the shower do its work. The way Burnsk had talked to her had sent her over the edge. She hated the way he looked at her, talked to her, the way he was right about her and the jedi. The war was wrong, it was all wrong the way they grew people to die. They really were droids, for all the respect they gave them they were nothing but droids expendable fight machines to be slaughtered and forgotten, just clone more, just build a better droid and make more when they break. What could she offer Cassus except slavery and war? Burnsk offered him choice, freedom and everything that had been denyed to him.
Jedi Bardan Jusik had left the Order protesting the use of clones. He had stood for his principles in the face of war. We all should. She thought of his example and wondered just how right he had been, rumor had it he had gone to Mandalor. Who was Tara to deny Cassus the right to become a Mandalorian? Who was anyone?
She slammed her fist into the shower walls with anger, she was angry at the Republic, at the Separatists and Burnsk, but most of all herself.
…..
Cassus sat in the back of his cave scrubbing the mud off his armor trying to forget Burnsk's words. His tempting words and bitter truths. Everyone and everything about his life screamed of his loyalty to the Republic. He had never believed in that; growing up on Kamino his loyalty was always towards Fett and his brothers. Fett was gone, cut down by the very jedi who had sent him on this mission. And his brothers felt more and more distant every day. Everyone in his squad was a shiny; and they didn't last long. His less than agreeable personality had kept him in the lower ranks. The war had given him a long string of dog tags. If it wasn't for him they would have all been melted down and made into new tags for shinys who would soon die and the process would soon repeat itself. He had liberated their memory; he knew the number of every tag in his pouch, every clone that had died alongside him.
He had only one duty, not to the republic but to the clones who owned the tags on that string. He had promised while shedding silent tears behind his helmet to win. To make a purpose of their deaths and win what they had believed in. He had promised to live for all of them and see the day they had fought for, had died for. His duty, his only duty was to his brothers. The Republic could go the hell for all he cared; he wasn't a member and would never be one.
The Mandalorian life called, but his promise lingered. He thought about the way Tara had slumped against him form. He hadn't felt anything of her.
Of course you Di'kut you were in armor.
He imagined her without the jedi robes, without his military carrier to think about. No war no Republic to tell him what to do or who to fight. Just them together maybe even happy. A fantasy, a simple unattainable fantasy, she is a jedi and he's a clone a shadow of what was once perfect. She was kind to him, she gave him his name, and one he was sure he wished to keep. Had insisted she see beyond the designation number. He liked her, the thought of a life together was thrust into his him; it was a good life. But it wasn't his life and he doubted it would ever be. Tara showed compassion back in that cave and he had remained a frozen solid statue as she leaned on him. But would she be willing to leave her order behind? Cassus didn't think so, and even if she did he would never be free of the Republic.
