Episode 8: Commandos

[Bormea Sector] - [Outpost 626]

In a lone space station located in the middle of the sector was a single barracks area. One empty room housed only one clone, Commander Frost, stirring in his sleep with consciousness flooded with incoherent nightmares of the past.

"The commander and Jedi deserve this! We lost hundreds because of her strategies! The war's end is near, but all we're seeing is more of our brother dying!"

"The separatist took them, not the Jedi! Have you all become blind not to see this order is insane?!"

"Step down. I'm in charge now, and we're following this order... don't make me do this."

"...No, Frost, I refuse. So you can kill me now or ask yourself this: if F was still here and if she was ordered to be executed, would you still pull that tri-?"

A blast snaps Frost out of his sleep, lying in bed in a cold sweat. He flinches from a knock on the door. "Sir!" says a clone on the other side. Frost grumbles and gets up to answer.

"What is it?"

"We've picked up a sighting of the wanted droid, but there's something else," the clone reports, showing a hologram of a cloaked figure.

"A dark hooded figure is carrying it. Permission to pursue this lead, sir?"

Frost stares at the image and relays to the clone, "we're moving out in ten. Prep all squads to be ready for anything. I'll personally ensure she won't be eluding us this time."

"Yes, sir," the clone salutes and quickly leaves.

Frost seals the door and approaches a large box beside his armor. He opens it and pulls out a specialized rifle, old but clean from constant maintenance. It's a weapon Frost carried into battle since picking it up at Geonosis. He looks down at the gun, gripping it as a feeling swells inside his chest. An unbearable pain that tested his mind, emotions, and loyalty.

His eyes are shut, and he whispers, "...yes...what other choice is there? We were born to follow, to kill, and that's what I'll do."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

[Brentaal IV]

It was a bright moonlit night. Thousands of stars shone over a rocky desert landscape. A sea of sand, with each grain marked with a soft dark blue color, blew dust clouds in the air and over a lonely trade town. It was pretty populated with a nighttime market still bustling with activity. Metal lanterns give a soft, warm glow to the main street. Dozens strolled through and purchased from several merchant stands, each providing a wealth of goods for any traveler. One such traveler wore a metallic mask with a distinctive blue symbol.

F taps her mask in ponderance before tossing some Jogan fruits into her basket, filled with mechanical tools and ingredients. She hands the robed merchant credits when she hears a small beep nearby. She glances to a nearby stand, spots Rei, and sees she's pointing at a fresh pair of lenses to replace her current, broken ones. F inspects the parts, "how much for a pair of these? "she asks the hulking Herglic trader.

"Those? A hundred credits each," he responds, his tiny eyes squinted, "though I can offer a better deal in exchange for that explorer droid of yours."

Rei jerks back in a panic, quickly hiding underneath F's cloak. "She's not for sale," F responds with a glare, throwing down her payment, "two hundred for both pairs, now." The trader shrugs and gives her the lenses. F leaves the market, especially seeing how unsafe Rei felt; besides, she gathered what they needed. She reaches the round, stone gates of the town and finds her Orbak drinking from a pool of water. A reliable riding beast she stumbled across around her latest hideout upon arriving in this world. She pets its fluffy, dark fur before holding out one of the Jogan fruits, catching the beast's smell.

F pulls back her hand as it nibbles on the fruit and loads up her supplies, riding off towards the desert dunes.

Rei was comfy on top of the Orbak's head even with the quick pace the beast was going. F kept her head low while focusing on the path ahead, firmly gripping the rein and using the stars as her navigation source. F knew that Brentaal was a riskier planet to travel to. Its status as a vital galactic crossroads in the Core gave her a straight hyperspace shot towards Alderaan. However, it also meant more Imperial ships protecting this key trading point between the core worlds and the colonies. It's why F feels unnerved by her length of stay, now reaching its second week. Her patience is tested as she eagerly waits for the opportune time to bypass Imperial patrols constantly circling the planet.

Since the planet's population mainly lived in megacities, a common feature of core worlds, this left its vast and largely uninhabited deserts as a perfect hiding spot for her. She has found the desert quite serene the past few days, even if she's not used to hot climates. She could faintly feel the living Force around her through meditation in these seemingly lifeless lands.

Rei suddenly chirps with her little antennas popping up, twisting and turning her head, looking for something in the distance.

"What's wrong?" F asks, noticing her nervousness. She stops and observes their surroundings as Rei does. F steadily grips her lightsaber, "your sensors picked up something?" she asks, but Rei stays quiet. F remains tense while stretching out her senses for any life signatures but at most picks up a presence of smaller creatures crawling about. She lets go of her blade, "I don't sense anything out there," she tells Rei, "it could be your lenses acting finicky again." Rei lowers her head with a sad noise and nods in agreement. "Hey, no need to be sorry," F assures, "I'll fix you up soon enough. Now come on, let's hurry back before someone spots us." F kicks her heels, and the Orbak takes off faster than before.

It took no time for them to spot their hideout ahead: an abandoned village half buried in the sand. F deduced it was a semi-large settlement; the general layout showed it was densely packed. A prominent canyon ridge was located further north of the village; it is also where she had hidden her vital starship, inside one of its many cave entrances. Besides Rei, she was alone in this world with no easy access to another starship, and F could not risk losing her sole means of transportation either through theft or destruction.

So long as she had her Orbak, F could reach her ship within a few hours. Without it, then F hopes she'll have enough water.

F has also felt a consistent sense of eeriness within these village grounds. Almost every stone structure she searched was half buried in the sand yet possessed no skeletons or signs of attack. Some huts still had supplies, while others were empty as if no one had ever lived there. F was baffled by what happened here or even how old these structures were. While that may excite an explorer, like Valco, for a wary wanderer like F, it was unnerving.

Her orbak strolls through the village's main street, passing several round-topped stone huts that collapsed from erosion. After walking down several tight, interconnected streets, F arrives at her hideout. Hopping off, F enters and drops her provisions with a tired huff. Rei's legs pace around, extending out a tiny claw to help sort out supplies. F takes out matches, lights the fireplace, and pours fresh water into a pot above to begin cooking her meal.

Rei nervously chirps as F proceeds to replace the Droid's lenses. "It's okay," F whispers, gently tucking in the new lenses. Sparks pop out of Rei's sockets when F installs them. Rei jumps in from this new feeling, testing her new lenses by clicking and zooming them rapidly. Rei's curious attitude makes F chuckle. "So, how do your new eyes feel?" F asks while inspecting the old lenses, and Rei answers by tapping her feet excitedly. F, however, frowns upon seeing just how badly Rei's old lenses were damaged. "Those heartless…," F curses, "whoever did this hurt you enough to damage the whole part. You were lucky to be only half blind from this."

Rei murmurs with a sad tone causing F to wince at herself for bringing it up. Rei had few memories, and those few were nothing but hardship and loneliness. F grabs one of Rei's broken antennas, uses her tool, quickly infuses new antennas, and pats the Droid on her head. "You're all better now," F says softly, her gesture assuring the tiny Droid that she's safe now.

"Bee-yoop…"

"E-except the memories part, yes, but we're getting there," F awkwardly chuckles and serves herself dinner. After some final touches, she shuts her eyes and claps her hands together, a simple but nutritious dinner before her. "Thank you for this meal," she whispers with humble gratitude to the Force when a chirp from Rei causes her to peek over. "Here, I also got you a new power chip. It should optimize your motor functions. Try it outside," F says, tossing the chip to Rei, who tilts her head confused. F sighs, "I told you before, it's not you, it's me. I don't mind another's presence any other time, even during training, just not when I'm eating."

"Beep-boo?"

"Because I said so, that's why," F mumbles. Her spike in irritation, subtle but noticeable, causes Rei to leave. Alone, she unlatches her mask, carefully eating while her mind wanders in deep thought. She cannot help but feel rude whenever she requests to eat alone, especially when not giving any reasonable excuse. Rei was still a little shy yet didn't like being alone, causing F to wonder precisely how long Rei was separated. Several weeks, or even months? Regardless, F made a vow, and she intends on keeping it even if it means momentarily pushing away others. Feeling this scar burning as hot as the night she received it was both a painful reminder and her greatest shame.

The thought of even one person ever seeing it was one she couldn't stand. They would look at her differently, lesser than before, for who would bear thier trust to one whose failure is plastered in plain sight. She fears this even to a droid like Rei. Yes, some, if not most in the galaxy, don't regard droids as equals or even alive. Even F would shamefully admit to possessing resentment toward them from her years of fighting. But yet, she also can't deny that Rei, even with her memories gone, acts and feel like she does.

Many may not see RE-1 as "alive," but F did. To her, she's as alive as she is. It's why Rei mustn't look at her scar.

F's fingers tremble while tracing the scar, shutting her eyes as the burning memory intensifies. Seared into her mind is a pair of yellow eyes; haunting her with thier remorseless fury. A sudden gust of wind attracts her attention, then another mighty wind bellows into the hut. Stepping out, F uses her binoculars to spot a wall of dust far away. "Sandstorm, a big one too," F whispers in concern. She thinks of a way to seal her hut while pulling her Orbak deep into the village and to a safe place. Suddenly, F notices a particular droid still missing.

"Rei? Where'd you go, Rei?" F calls out.

"Woa-woa-wooaaah!" Rei screams in the distance. Worryingly, F begins to sense a presence within the town.

"Rei!" F shouts, sprinting down the streets with her lightsaber.

"Q-quiet! Hey-no stop, would you stop!?" a hushed voice echoes from afar, and quickly F discerns it to be a voice of a clone.

F concern grows, dashing toward the voice, and she ignites her lightsaber once reaching the main street where the commotion was coming from. Standing before her, F saw her assumption was true, except this wasn't a typical clone nor a purge trooper but a fully armed clone commando holding up Rei. "No…" F mutters fearfully for Rei and the thought they're currently surrounded.

Though the dark obscured him, she spots the commando reaching for a blaster. Instinctively, she threw out her hand and began Force choking the clone, causing her psyche to feel unease, feeling herself teeter toward imbalance. She tries to focus on Rei, thrusting her hand back to return the Droid to her. Once Rei was safe, F demanded from the clone, "you're gonna tell me how many more of you are here, now!"

"Sto-comm-it's!" the commando grunts

"What?"

"I-it's me! Red!" the clone gasps out, causing F to release him in shock. He catches his breath as F observes his armor, recognizing both the red & black markings on it and the emblem of the 422nd regiment on his shoulder plate.

"R-red?" F gasps, her body wracked with multiple, sudden emotions. Shock, confusion, and distress over the surprising appearance of her former clone comrade and trusted friend. Her vision is stricken with echoes of the past, returning her thoughts to the deafening silences of trenches, the tense air of covert missions, and the quiet downtime of soldiers celebrating another victory. And every time, Red was by her side. The first one ready for orders and the first to follow her into the deadliest battle or most dangerous of missions.

He was the first clone she had ever seen, and he would become the last to see her before she vanished like a ghost, eluding even the Order. Every night that following year, she would dream of reunions with old friends, family, and her fellow Jedi, dearly missing them. She looked forward to reuniting them once her duty was fulfilled, but then came the dreadful order. Witnessing what's become of her men, F sometimes wondered how many of her commandos were turned into purge troopers. Now, facing one of them as Red gets up, donning that same old armor, she didn't know what to make of it.

So her mind chooses to panic. "N-no, you're trying to trick me!" she accuses, gripping her head from remembering how other clones have used their words and faces to distract her. "This is a trap. It has to be."

Red, the former Major of Rho company, picks himself up while raising his arms. "Commander…F… it's me," he pants, winded from the choking, "I swear on my life it's me and not…you know."

"No, I don't! And that's a problem," F responds. She squints her eyes to focus on Red's emotions, sensing if they are trustworthy.

Red thinks quick and points at his helmet,

"Alright, uh...a-a chip!" Red quickly says, pointing at his helmet. "Yes, that's how all this happened. It's why every clone turned against the Jedi. I bet you no other clone said that to deceive you."

F is silent, indeed sensing no trickery, but this causes even greater confusion. "A-a chip?" she asks, "but how then did…?"

F flinches when Red's communicator starts blinking. "I don't have time to explain," Red says, sounding tenser as he inches forward to her. "I don't know how long we have until we're-"

"Not a step closer," F warns by raising her lightsaber guard.

Red freezes and then nods slowly. "Okay…" he says calmly, showing his hands again, "look, no weapons on me."

"Then what were you reaching for when you grabbed Rei?"

"Wha-?" he asks, "I wasn't reaching for anything, see? There isn't even anything on the ground around me. It was just the dark tricking you."

"May still not be the only thing tricking me," F warns. She knows her senses tell her differently, his emotions conveying how he hasn't lied once to her. Most importantly, the darkness she sensed in many other clones is not present within him. So why does she still feel afraid? Was it the fear of a trick, lies that even Red believes? Or is it the fear of reuniting with an old friend and eventually telling them what she did to survive from his brethren?

"F"

"S-stop calling me that," F grunts, shutting her eyes to clear her mind.

"Okay, commander…here," Red says, grabbing his helmet, "I'll quickly show you then. Proof that the chip is real and-." Before he could finish, his communicator flashed red, and a voice shouted in distress.

[Red! They passed our sights, they've surrounded-!]

F opens her eyes at this voice, seeing Red look behind an-

BANG!

"No!" Red's voice echoes while Rei yelps in shock, but F cannot register either noise. Her lightsaber falls out of her limp fingers, and her body collapses to the floor.

Her vision caught a green laser sight in the distance a second before thousands of degrees of plasma burned through her chest. F ears went numb before she touched the floor, leaving her to hear only her heart, beating fast in her chest. Instantly, her breathing feels short, only letting out small gasps for air. 'M-my lung…burned through…barely missed heart…' her mind scrambles to process. F's sight begins to waver when she coughs, causing her to taste something now smeared inside her mask, her blood. Looking up, she sees Rei trying to pull her while blaster fire erupts from several abandoned huts. 'Am-ambush…!' F realizes, 'run...Rei!' Her right arm felt frail as she strained herself to move it, feeling her lightsaber nearby and grabbing it. Her left arm clutches her wound but quickly reels back from the searing burns.

'Am I...is this my death? Was this my fate all along?'

Suddenly, Red lunges after F, grabbing her right as a blast strikes his armor. Her heels drag through the sand as he pulls her, using himself to shield her and the Droid until they're inside a nearby structure. He barricaded the wooden door, perhaps saying something, but F could not catch it if she tried.

F felt herself be placed on the floor, her injured side facing down as a way to keep her lung open through gravity. She hears echoes of enemy fire, her blurry vision making out Red bandaging his left arm; he grabs her own blaster pistol to return fire. Abruptly, every fiber of her body becomes weak, her pulse turning dangerously fast. F coughs while struggling to keep her eyes open, 'shock… can't go…into shock!' She tries reaching for Red's pack right when he notices. He's soon helping and pulls out a bacta ampule shot with two bacta patches.

Attending her wounds, Red utters something which F could barely make out. "Th-...ill sting…." he says before a needle is stabbed over her injury. Despite the pain, she felt the injected bacta quickly flowing through her veins, jump-starting her body and senses.

"-ply this, quickly! They got us pinned down!" Red says urgently, handing her the patches before returning fire. A sharp whistle hits F's ears as the sound of blaster fire outside is registered.

F shakes her head as her vision returns. She sees Rei bring her bag and urges F to use the patches, tapping on them. She feels a prang from her chest before applying each patch, feeling them seal up her wounds and heal her burns. Once strength returns to her arms and legs, F quickly crawls behind cover with Rei hopping on her shoulder, notifying her that his stims are on stand-by. She turns to Red standing by a window, firing at enemy targets possessing triple the firepower.

'Such ferocity yet precision in their firing,' F analyzed, trying to cook up a plan. 'It has to be them, Frost and the rest of his men. And I'm right where he wants me to be.'

"F!" Red shouts, snapping F back to the present. "Sir, stay with me. If we're gonna make it out of this, I need you here. Look, they hit my communicator after you got shot. Use your mask's comms to radio in extraction. It's our old encrypted channel Echo-225-Delta."

F glances down and sees how nasty his wound is. The armor piece cracked with his arm now in a limp. The sight of it causes reflection of her own injury, a shot that nearly ended her journey as another relic to be forgotten. 'And Red stopped that…' she considers and follows his instruction, connecting to the old channel.

"Echo-225-Delta, this is Citrus leader speaking, do you copy?! We're pinned down within a building east of the main street."

[...This is Echo-225. We copy you, Citrus leader. Enemy tracked 1 kilometer to your south, east and west. Counting thirt-zzzzzzzzzz-t close-zzzzzz.]

"Say again? All after counting, over."

[Cit-zzzzzzz-osing connec-zzzzzz]

F winces from the intense static blaring into her ears, "Blast it. Radio silence, Echo-225," she relays and reports to Red, "they're jamming us. We're completely in the dark."

Suddenly, a stray blaster shot narrowly misses Red, a dire signal of the coming onslaught. "This isn't gonna work. We're running out of time," Red worries, glancing out with a keen eye to analyze their surroundings. "New plan. I'll draw them out and give you an opening to escape."

"What?!" F gasps out.

"Don't think about me; I'll fight my way out," he assures. Focus on heading straight to the southeast!" However, F senses alluded the truth to her: he knows he won't make it out alive but genuinely believes in her chances. F's gaze downed to her nervous hands as he told her, "It's gonna be a narrow gap in their lines, but it's still an optimal one. I trust the others will be able to notice an-."

"That is NOT happening," she declares with a resolute look. Her hand gripping Red shoulder armor as she spoke, "I don't know what happened to you or how you found me, and a part of me still has doubts. Still, if you're the same soldier I remember, then I refuse to let you die out there at the hands of your brothers." Red was silent, but F sensed turmoil at the mention of the clones. She can only imagine what the past months have been for him. "We're leaving together this time. That's an order, trooper," she commands with resolve.

Red gives a reluctant sigh, "We ain't got much time. What's the plan?"

F turns to the broad wall behind them, noticing the decay of the bricks and sensing fewer troopers at the other side. After some thought, F speaks, "I sense my Orbak still out there, meaning the clones haven't noticed it yet. We'll use it to ride out to the desert north of here. The approaching sandstorm should give us perfect cover to lose them."

"It'll also still leave our comms dead," Red reminds.

"Better to be from a sandstorm than from them. Plus, by the time we're out of the storm, we'll have a brief moment to signal a extraction from within the northern canyon ridge before we're jammed again. You have a ship?"

"Yes, but it doesn't have a lot of firepower."

"That's fine," F assures, "we'll order Echo-225 to fly discreetly into the canyon ridge. Specifically near where my ship is hidden. Now, if we're quick, we should be able to reach the rendezvous point and escape before these imperials find us."

After a moment's pause, Red nods, "alright, a bit risky, but we've faced worse odds."

A shout is heard outside the decaying walls, "Surround them!" they shout. F could sense over a dozen surrounding them, hearing the clanking of their blasters, prepping to fire.

F help pulls Red up and to the cracked wall, "Old formation?" she asks.

"No, you're too hurt. I'll lead. Watch my six and point me in the right direction." Red readies his blaster, getting in front of F and facing the wall while she stays close behind him with her lightsaber ready. Rei suddenly leaps from F's back to Red's, chirping at his side. "What is it saying?" he asks.

"She's saying she'll guide you," F explains.

"A bit odd following a droid," Red says with a chuckle.

F concentrates her mind while stretching her hand to the wall, tapping into her recuperated power despite the lingering fatigue.

"On your command, sir, ready?"

F responds with a pat on his shoulder, this returning sense of trust having her recall how confronting such imposing odds at the side of Red was once muscle memory to her. In the past, the war had many trials that tested her limits, but back then, she knew the clones would be by her side. She cherished thier comradery and even admired thier sense of family, but once the clones betrayed them, she feared such connection would be lost forever. Now, as she stands beside Red, F feels that connection remains. At the top of her lungs, F shouts the signal, "GO!"

Focusing her Force power on the large crack, the wall shatters, exploding fragments of rock outward. F and Red leap out, using this brief cover of dust, and both swiftly dispatches the few clones before them. Red scoops up a DC-15 as both run into a narrow connected street. F sees the other clones notice and focuses on deflecting their fire.

"Bweop!" Rei points with her searchlight for Red to turn left. The commando kicks down a house's door and sees it connects to a back alley.

"Through here!" he signals, which F closely follows while deflecting a hail of enemy fire.

She clenched her side while limping through the tight alley, trying her best not to slow the others down as they zig-zagged around corners and into connected houses. One house leads to an open T-shaped street; Red quickly scans for any enemy presence as F catches up. She barricaded the backdoor and turned to Red when she caught a glint on top of one of the rooftops.

'A warhead!' she realizes. Red caught it simultaneously, grabbing and shielding F as it fired and blew up half of the old storehouse. Briefly disoriented, F is pulled out before the structure collapses, wiping her eyes of dust as Red eliminates the enemy trooper. The commotion quickly catches the enemy's attention, and searchlights soon appear at both ends of the street.

"Out of the street!" Red shouts, tugging F along as he follows Rei's directions down a connected street.

F shakes off her dizziness when she spots another presence on one of the roofs. She leaps in front of Red to deflect fire from two snipers. "We need a detour, Rei!" she orders as Red provides suppressing fire. The Droid panickly scans around and finds a flight of street stairs beside them. Red leads F down the broad flight, reaching the arch entrance, and hears a distant neigh. "Over there," F points to the beast still tied up.

The enemy closes in as F frees her Orbak, taking the reins while Red sits behind her to cover their escape. With a swift kick of her heel, the Orbak rides off. Its remarkable speed and dexterity soon get them out of the village and into the open desert, with the large sandstorm looming closer.

"Bee-boop," Rei tells F, checking up on her wound.

"I'm doing fine," F hisses, ignoring the sharp pain. "What's the e.t.a for that storm?"

"Less than three minutes, sir," Red answers; Rei concurs with a nod.

Even galloping over the tall dunes of the desert as fast as the beast could take them, the duo could hear enemy speeders approaching. Their roaring engines created a trail of dust clouds, cutting through the desert relentlessly. With Rei's help, Red catches sight of them, informing F, "four BARC speeders, catching up fast."

F clenches her teeth and kicks her heels against the Orbak to make it go faster. Even at this speed, the party is soon pelted with enemy fire, the intense bolts of plasma bursting even the sand beneath them as they narrowly missed. F focuses on steering away from the speeder's guns. Red reloads his carbine and returns fire. His marksmanship tested once more, Red steadily aims and eliminates the first speeder with one shot, the bike tumbling down a steep dune.

F glances back, seeing Red hold off the speeders while keeping track of that sandstorm appearing ever so closer. Then, the speeders changed strategies, with two seemingly activating their thrusters until they were within flanking position. Red tries holding both off when F sees the speeders pull out blasters. She ducks her head and uses her lightsaber to defend herself. F sees a sharp, narrow dip between two dunes ahead, then steers them toward it knowing it'll buy them a few seconds of cover. The Orbak leaps forward and down the steep decline. F then turns to Red, "Let's take both out after the incline. I'll take the right one, and you take the left!"

"Got it."

F keeps her eye on the shadow figure above as they ride up and out of the large divot. The speeder already had his blaster aimed at her head, but F denied him a moment to fire and expertly threw her lightsaber. A whirlwind of gold plasma flew through the air, cutting the bike in half before F quickly used the Force to return it to her hand. The driver is flung into the air and crashes into the sand. F turns back to see Red has dispatched the other speeder as well, noticing a fresh wound on his shoulder.

"Argh, it looks worse than it actually is," he assures but does little to calm F. He holds back a wince before spotting a shadow in the distance to his left. Rei sees it too and quickly screeches in a warning. Red then sees the last speeder heading straight towards them and aims his blaster. Bursts of plasma ignite from the speeder's guns while Red's carbine heats up while firing, both hitting their targets.

The speeder crashes, but suddenly, the trio is flung forward and tumbling down the warm sand. Their Orbak was shot dead by the speeder, struck in the heart, and killed instantly. Red clenches his shoulder but quickly gets back on his feet, as does Rei. He glances to thier only ride dead, "Ah great, just when the sandstorm's seconds away," he sighs, then hears a sharp cry of pain ahead. He finds F, grasping her right leg.

Rei is the first to check her wound; Red rushes to her side and helps her up, "what happened?"

Rei gives a worrying assessment to which F relays, "muscle sprain, and a bad one. Must've landed knee firs-" F stops when another burst of pain. Her breath is shaky as she sharply inhales, telling Red, "I'm sorry, I can't run like this."

Then, Red grabs her by the shoulders, telling her, "Leave that to me. "Red unhooks his pack to scour for anything to tend her wound, "it's like you always say: we're gonna survive, we're gonna live. So leave all the running to me, sir! Ah, blast it out of bacta shots. The droid's stims will have to do."

While the two prep to attend to her wound and as the towering sandstorm is now mere seconds away, F's eyes are frozen in surprise. 'Red…how…after everything happening with the clones, the Jedi, and the empire. How did you manage to preserve this much vigor and hope within you?'

Red then holds up two stims, "these should subside the pain at least until we get to the ship's medical bay. Quick warning, these will give you one hell of a headache." He stabs both stims on her leg before using the last bacta patch over the sprain to prevent swelling. Rei then urgently taps Red's arm, alerting him of the wall of sand hurtling toward them. "Here it comes!" He warns, shielding both from the first onslaught of the mighty wind as the storm consumes the party.

F couldn't see under this hailstorm of dirt and wind, shutting her eyes while feeling Red pick her up, carrying her on his back while taking the brunt of the storm and trudging forward. "Red…" she mutters her mind slowly growing tired from the side effects of the extra large dosage of stims.

"Don't worry about me, sir," he assures, but his words were too echoey for F to fully grasp. F wonders why, trying to concentrate on what they're saying, "Droid, light the way and stay close. You're our only way through this storm."

"Storm? Wha…where are…?" F mumbles despite her effort to form sentences.

"Just stay with me, sir. You're gonna be fine. You're not alone," were the last words F could comprehend before her mind checked out from the world around her, leaving F with only her thoughts and memories.

'Alone…? I'm…' she thinks, her eyes shut and seeing only darkness until she returns to that day. The day the war that started all this began and when she met her very first clone, on the blood red deserts of Geonosis.


A/N: I'm sorry for this chapter's cliffhanger and extra long wait time. I've hit a bad writer's block, which affected my confidence in the writing of this section. I had to rewrite it and correct as many changes or mistakes while also just procrastinating on it. I'll try to release the 2nd part of this quickly since I think I have it planned out. Please share your thoughts and critiques if you have any.