The droids are gone. We won. But these arm-blades on the commando droids still worry me. It has just been announced that the threat is over. I'm checking the bluntness of the copies, the size compared to mine, the thickness, and they seem to be exact replicas, except that these blades aren't as lightly coloured as mine.
Rex comes through the door just as I drop the arm, kicking it away in frustration. The unique weapons that have been my trademark fighting style for almost a year are prototypes. I'm willing to bet the Separatists let me take them and kept an eye on their efficiency afterwards. The Captain doesn't say anything, just gazes at me through his visor before leaving.
Most of us are ordered to search for stray droids, or check for hull breaches. The injured, including me, are sent to sickbay. Once my cuts are clean and the bleeding stopped, I leave and find Rex.
"Orders?" I ask tiredly.
"Rest. You technically shouldn't have been up fighting at all." I nod and go back to my quarters. I toss and turn, then try studying Mando'a on the data pad, then go back to fidgeting. This is hopeless. A very quiet knock makes me perk up. I stand and call for them to enter while smoothing down my hair. Kenobi walks in.
"I hope I didn't wake you." I shake my head.
"You didn't, sir." I'm at attention.
"At ease." I go into parade rest. "I can sense that you're troubled." Whenever a Jedi 'senses' anything about me, my privacy feels invaded.
"I am, sir." A concerned look comes over his face.
"Do share." He gestures for me to sit. I'm glad he did. Once I'm down, he leans against the wall.
"It...the commando droids. They had arm-blades exactly like mine." I blurt.
"I see. And you think that you have something to do with it?"
"Yes, sir. I think I may have been the prototype without realizing it." I admit.
"That is a rather uncomfortable thought. I see that they also knew how to use their weapons." The fabric on my shoulder is torn and stained with dry blood.
"They did, sir."
"The metal and shape?"
"Theirs were darker than mine, but the shape was identical." The General ponders this for a minute.
"Would you concede to lending me one of your gauntlets for study?" I stiffen, but nod. I unclip my left one and hand it to him, keeping the scars hidden under the blanket. I'm changing into a long sleeved shirt as soon as he's gone.
"I'll bring it back tomorrow." He promises.
"Take as long as you need, sir." I offer.
"Thank you." I watch as he leaves. I feel exposed without one of my blades, like I have a chink in my armour, which I do. I change and leave to go to the sickbay. I see Fives moving his right shoulder for a medical droid. He swings his arm in a circle, moves it back and forth, lets the droid touch it in various places.
I walk over, smiling at the thought of my friend back on his feet so soon. I'm about to startle him when the droid raises a hand. Fives turns and I glare venomously at the droid before turning my attention back to him.
"Good to see you alive." I say. This is a standard greeting by now.
"Same goes to you. Did something happen to your gauntlet?"
"General Kenobi is studying it." I explain.
"How did he convince you to give one up?" The droid jabs him in the armpit and he jerks.
"He asked nicely." I answer.
"Huh. What about the horned man?"
"Chased off by the Jedi."
"Good. Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?"
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure walking won't kill me." The droid finishes, and on hearing 'bed rest', starts moving towards me. "I'm fine, thank you." I say, standing my ground. It sizes me up and leaves.
§ § §
"Here's your gauntlet back." The General hands the blue marked weapon over to me.
"Thank you, sir. We're going to another planet?"
"Florrum. And yes, you are coming. We're going over the plan in the Mess Hall. Come on." I follow him and join the others. Skywalker, Rex, Fives, and Ahsoka are waiting for us. I sit across from Fives and glare at him the second he looks at my food.
Try it. Really, try.
He senses the dare and looks back at his meal.
"To save Senator Amidala, we will first have to scout the ex and interior of the base. Twitch, this is where you come in. Your small size and, to be honest, lack of visible Republic allegiance will be an asset." Skywalker dives in right away. I try to hide my hurt at both reasons. Neither are compliments to me. "After you can get a good idea of what is where, and we will have a camera hidden on you in case we see something you don't," once again, I keep my face straight so he can't see how cutting his words are, "we will sneak in."
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I know enough about Ohnaka to say he isn't a fool. Wouldn't he be expecting us? Call me paranoid, but I think this is a trap."
"Twitch, you're paranoid." Fives says bluntly.
"We'll be careful." Kenobi assures me. Careful doesn't always prevent capture.
§ § §
I drop onto my stomach.
Pirate, pirate, pirate, oh, look; another pirate.
I just walked twenty klicks from where we landed. I make sure the nearly microscopic camera in my hairline can see over the crest of the hill before I circle the entire base. Next, I open a vent and crawl around, looking for the prisoner—senator.
Above a large dining hall, I hear a voice that holds my attention. A pirate with a small pink massiff on his shoulder wearing a hat seems to be in charge. Two slick pieces of hair, one in a braid and one a normal ponytail go down to his hips.
I start moving again, intending to get into a position where I can hear him better. Crack! The boards beneath me give out. I snatch at a few wires before twisting to land on my feet. My shoulder jolts against the floor. I see one of my blasters a few feet away. I scramble to get it, but a foot keeps it in place. I reach for my other one, but it isn't in its holster. A beefy pirate has it.
"Haar'chaak." I mutter.
"Now what was that, my dear? I did not understand you." I assume the pirate standing on my '17 is Hondo.
"Random Mando'a. I'm really sorry about this. I'll just take my blasters and go if you'll let me." He doesn't buy it.
"Eh, I don't think so. What were you doing way up in my vents? Spying on us, perhaps?"
"I'm a little young for that. I was just trying to see if whoever lived here was friendly or not."
"And why would you do that?" He asks, clearly losing patience.
"I'm really hungry. I haven't eaten anything for a while."
"Well, what about your parents?" He demands gruffly. I just pretend to be sad at this. "I'm not much for sharing, but I'd be willing to let you leave alive if you, say, let me keep these little noisemakers without a fuss." I nod enthusiastically.
"Of course. Thank you." The big one with my other gun leads me to the top of the hill, oblivious to my pick pocketing the weapon off him. I walk a little ways and stop.
"Di'kuts stole my gun! I'll be back soon." I grumble.
"Alright. Good work." Kenobi replies.
"You should be an actress or diplomat." One of the other two clones tease. "Or lay off the rations."
"Rex, Fives, you two better be light sleepers." I warn.
§ § §
FIVES' P.O.V.
"From what we saw during Twitch's recon, it's safe to say getting in won't be so simple." General Kenobi says. I look at Twitch. She's still underweight, but the vent broke anyways. No way Rex or I could get in that way with full armour. On that note, no way I'm sleeping with that threat hanging over my head. I notice something off in the distance.
"What's that?" I ask. Everyone but Twitch looks. My little sister instead takes out her gun and groans.
"I am such a di'kut." I look at the tracking beacon she is holding up.
"Everyone on the ship." Skywalker orders. We run on.
"R2, get the engines running!" Ahsoka says. I'm just about to relax when something hits us. "We're going down!" The Anakin shouts. A second later, I go flying. The last thing I register is pain in my right leg.
A.N. ~ not my longest chapter, grant you, but the next one is longer, and will be up within 48 hours.
Denal: hey, have you seen Captain Rex lately? I need to talk to him.
Me: um...he's not available at the moment. Off on some mission or another. Nothing to worry about.
Denal: I didn't ask if there was anything to worry about. What happened?
Me: what's that, mom? Coming!
Denal: I didn't hear anything...
Me: I better go. Maybe I can get something to Rex. What is it you wanted to tell him?
Denal: nothing.
Me: meaning: something. Twitch would be so ashamed of your lying abilities.