Episode 10: Reunions
[Geonosis, D'Ur Badlands - Fox Red Sector] - [22 BBY]
Sparks burst from damaged flight controls as F awakens to a perilous scene, her starfighter crashed and half-buried in the sands of Geonosis. She jolts up as fire erupts from one of the engines; seeing it spreading fast, she presses her hand against the glass canopy and shatters it through the Force. She tumbles out to the red sands of the barren, rocky landscape, barely catching her breath until several missiles implode in the far distance. Several bombers and LAATs fly overhead at lightning speeds and get locked into combat with a squadron of droid fighters.
F stumbles up disheveled, coated with red sand and soot, only now registering the terrible sight she has landed herself into. She didn't land in the outskirts of the battle but in the middle of a disastrous assault. The field she stood on was one of death, littered with burning republic tanks and soldiers. The sight froze her in place, stuck staring at the charred tanks and downed LAATs, littered with corpses of those mysterious white armored soldiers. Regardless of where they came from, the sight of their torn up bodies causes F to collapse to her knees as if a terrible sickness has affected her. The horrific display of death and destruction springs forth horrible memories, of fire and darkness.
She covers her mouth and realizes her mask is gone, she turns to her ship as it begins to sink down, quickly Force pulling the mask out before it disappears into the sand. She dashes for cover while stray bolts from separatist guns fly through the battlefield, "127th, this is wing leader F!" she says out of breath. "My fighter was shot down, requesting immediate pickup and ground support for…for uh…just where am I?" A piercing screech roars above from the squadron of enemy fighters, the ground rumbles as they initiate a bombing strafe, forcing F to duck and cover. A LAAT's wing being between her and dozens of fire bombs raining from the sky.
"127th, report! Forget pick up, we need help now! Hello?!" She cries, looking up as the strafe ends, she witnesses the white wings of republic fighters shatter as they fall out the sky. "Hey…127th report…is anyone still up there?" All that's heard is static. Dread rises within as she scrambles to her feet, trapped and alone. "Master…?" she shouts to her comms, "Sagi?! Can anyone read me?!" Any attempt by her to signal help was in vain. She stops, paralyzed by fear as she clung to her lightsaber, "please…someone…I need help," she whispers, terror striken.
'I feel so useless,' she thinks harshly, 'I faced dangerous missions before, so why…why can't I move!'
The marching of cold metal draws F's attention, turning her head to find several super battle droids appearing out of the clouds of dust. She's picked up only vague reports of such droids but knows how deadly they can be. The red light on their chest plates flash before arming their blaster arms.
"Combatant spotted," the platoon leader said, "leave no survivors."
'Move!' she tells herself. F activates her lightsaber and deflects dozens of bolts before quickly feeling overwhelmed. She spots a deep crater and sprints away, using it as to shield herself but this it was a temporary solution. F looks before a way out but quickly sees the droids surround her position. 'Why am I here?' her mind weighs, thinking of all the moments she could've stopped herself from coming. 'I should've listened to master and stayed at the temple! I'm not ready for this…'
F jumps, slowly turning to see a B2 droid hover over her. It aims and emotionally utters, "Identity: Jedi. Priority Target. Terminating…"
F jumps back, using all her will to raise her blade in the face of death. She expects the next moment to be the end of her but did not expect to see an EMP grenade land amongst the droids. She shields her eyes from the flash of blue light, witnessing the deactivated droids collapse as she hears blaster fire outside the crater. She senses a presence once the shooting was over but it was not a Jedi she sensed, F trips back when the person who saved her reveals himself to be a heavily armed republic soldier.
She stares up from the shell hole at the slightly battered trooper, looking back at her with a fatigue stagger. He reloads his blaster, proceeding to squat down and offers his hand. "Already cower, Jedi? Stand tall, sir, this war has only just begun," he told her. F could still feel shock paralyzing her body with the distance booms of enemy artillery rattling her nerves. Yet, despite the air of death around her, her hand reaches out to grab the trooper's as if it was moving on its own.
She already once before felt what it is like to be small amidst ruin, and she will not be helpless again.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/
F tiredly opens her eyes, wincing from the sheer brightness of the high sun, but slowly she wakes up back in the present day. Her vision clears to see herself lying underneath a rock slab protruding out from the sand, providing her shade from the harsh desert sun. Sand coated her attire, almost blending her in with the terrain, even feeling it on her eyelids which she struggled to keep open. Wearily, she brushes some of it off her mask, eyes and hair before turning herself over to see Red and Rei coated in dust sitting nearby, gazing out at the vast dunes around them. F tries to sit up but audibly winces, pain from her leg and chest spiking from the sudden movement.
This catches the others' attention to notice F has awakened. Rei gives a merry hop seeing F awake and is quickly at her side, the commando sighs in relief before kneeling down beside her with his pack at hand. "It's noon, and before you start asking, no your leg isn't getting worse. Even though it sure as hell feels like it."
There was one thing F didn't miss and it was Red's ability to tell what she's gonna say next, the man grew to read people surprisingly well. She mutters in annoyance, "that's not all I was gonna ask."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Red says.
F senses a slight anxiousness in his body language, from how he crosses his arms to him still keeping his helmet on. Habits which F noticed years ago, one she herself picked up from the clones. For Red, it was his guard from difficult conversations. She proceeds to ask, "what happened last night?" Hopefully, for F this will ease the discussion for Red whom she sure has as many questions as she does as to how either of them is still alive.
Red glances at their surroundings before sitting down, "after your leg was sprained and our ride was dead, I carried you through that storm. It only lasted until dawn but rather than face a blizzard over another one of those. Trekking with a busted shoulder wasn't helpful either." Red smirks while pointing at Rei, "your droid was a life-saver out there, would've gotten lost without it."
"Her," F corrects.
"Right, right," Red nods, clearing his throat before continuing, "there's been no sign of the clo-…imperials, but I've been keeping watch just in case." He then offers her his water container with a nutrient bar, the sight of it reminding her of how bland these rations are.
Still, she begrudgingly takes it, "thanks," she says, "but that wasn't exactly my question. What are you doing here? Why haven't you tried killing me, let alone save me?"
F sees him shift back from the question before finding the right words, "because I'm an insurgent, a traitor to the empire, and part of the same cause that you've been seeking."
"How'd you know–wait, were you tracking me?"
"Yeah, sorry," he says, giving a slight shrug, "you've always covered your trail so well that it was the only way to keep up with you."
"Still, why didn't you make contact?"
"When I learned you were already on your way to Alderaan, I made the decision to help cover your track and make sure you got there safely first. However, we've picked up a signal indicating a group of those new dark-looking troops landing on this planet. I quickly tried to get you out of here, but-"
F glances at his shoulder, the carbon stained onto the armor poorly hid the burnt wound, its poor treatment worrying her that'll get worse. "I understand," she assures, "we're alive; that's all that matters."
"Please, that was my sloppiest work yet. I'd be demoted for such a performance."
F coughs out a faint chuckle, "I still can't believe you're here."
"Same," he whispers, looking out to the barren landscape. Of all the worlds he'd imagined going to after the war, he never thought he would end up in one like this. In the distance, he spots a black mark floating high in the sky. Red ducks down behind cover and readies his blaster, whispering to F, "Stay still." Both of them did, soon recognizing the sound of a probe droid flying above. The terrain around them kept the two camouflaged, and the droid flew off with nothing to report.
"We better get moving," Red says, leaving Rei and F to return to lookout duty, "eat and radio in Echo-225. We're leaving in 20 minutes."
"We'll leave in ten," F orders, which surprises Red, "I can keep up."
Giving a quick sigh, Red concedes, "Alright, be ready."
Rei gives a concerned gesture, and she herself felt how much her body still needs rest, however, F has seen the lengths these clones will go to. "If they had the means," she says, "they would've turned this desert to glass if it meant eliminating the both of us. No, we can't stay here another minute." She connects with Echo-225 but hears only static from her end, meaning any words they're saying are lost on her. But with time not on their side, F relays the message to the extraction team, their only hope of escaping this mess.
"Echo-225, this is Citrus leader," she says, "Red and I are wounded but able to walk. We'll be heading to the Northern Canyon Ridge of the Brentaal desert. Over." She hears static but continues, "your orders are to land at these coordinates: two degrees south latitude and thirty-five east longitude. You should find a Z-95 headhunter hidden beneath the foliage. This will be the extraction zone, so set a good perimeter, watch for Imperial activity and expect us to arrive in roughly twelve hours…you're our only hope out of this, 225. Over and out."
Finishing her food, F forces herself out of her hiding spot, shielding herself from the heat with her cloak, and follows Rei back to Red. Spotting the canyon in the far distance, F could already tell this was about to be a long, long walk for all of them.
/-/-/-/-/-/
The boundless blue skies of Brentaal begin to alter into shades of violet and orange as the sun sinks into the horizon. The stillness of the desert is interrupted by the roaring of several ships as they shine their searchlights and comb the dunes. Speeder bike squads kick up plumes of dust, searching for any sign of the Jedi and her accomplice. Hours pass, and a whole imperial garrison search high and low for the two runaways, but the vastness of these badlands has made it a daunting task. Not one sign of life was detected.
Frost ruminates on these reports, sitting at the central communication console of his garrison's AT-TE tank, his quickest way to setting a FOS to coordinate the whole search operation. The cramp metallic hull is illuminated by his screens and the hologram projecting the top officer of the newly minted Commodore. In Frost's eyes, the promotion only inflated the ego of an already self-centered man, the only benefit being that Frost now has access to more resources to use in his mission.
His grip on the armchair tightens as a sneer form on his brow; even with this equipment and seemingly the perfect ambush setup, his former commander still got away. 'My target was RIGHT there…' he fumes, recalling the reticle perfectly aimed at her heart. So focused was he on the mission and burning that last bridge to the past that he failed to consider a random clone compromising the mission. Even when his troops on the ground requested orders concerning a rogue commando, he drowned them out and kept aiming down his sights.
Upon hearing the confirmation that the two had escaped, Frost was fixed where he stood, ruminating for a moment if this was more than just mere coincidence.
"With a wound like that, we're more likely to find her corpse, sir," a clone corporal said to him in an opinionated manner. "Your shot was practically perfect. Not even a Jedi would end up surviving that."
"My shot?" Frost coldly asks, "...I missed my shot."
And that's the thing nagging his head ever since. He doesn't miss. He wasn't bred to miss. For a moment, he considers if it was a power beyond the Jedi if somehow this Force has denied him of this chance. But this was only a moment before his rational mind swooped in. This was just all HIS fault. Though descriptions were vague, Frost only needed to hear what the insignia on the commando's armor was. It all clicked together that what they witnessed was a dead man back in the land of the living.
He's confident about this, and once they face each other again, he'll make sure his brother stays dead.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
The sun's relentless heat vanishes as evening sets in, and the stars begin to twinkle above. A gust of dry air blows past F and her companions. Traversing the desert while avoiding detection from imperials was a draining ordeal. F squints up to the tall canyon ridge towering over them, the terrain also appeared different with the rocky earth and boulders surrounding them more frequently. Now all that's left is to find an entry into the ridge.
Rei was the luckiest of the three in this trek by hitching a ride on Red's backpack. Red was a little annoyed but soon grew to not mind the droid. What did worry him was F. He frequently checked on her, be it when she lost her footing, the heat getting to her, or generally just falling behind. But whenever he offered help or that they should stop, she'd responded each time with, "No. Don't stop for anything."
Red doesn't doubt F would keep up, even in her state, but he's also been reminded of how stubborn a leader she can be. Even to her detriment, she'd always focus on the importance of a mission or keeping others alive and safe. To Red, it seems even recent circumstances haven't changed this much. What changed was the more apparent fear in her eyes. He turns back to F and sees her eyes, while still that ever stoic & determined gaze hides a hint of fear. 'Last night's attack shook her to be this cautious, perhaps the closest she's been to death. Poor kid,' he thinks, his mind recalling how scared she looked in that hut and the people behind the ambush. 'A shot like that must've been around thirteen hundred yards. Not many clones I know could get past F's guard or senses at that range…unless it's…' He puts that thought to rest for now and hopes they don't run into these clones again.
For F, it has taken much of her concentration to keep pace with the others for several hours, 'This is nothing,' she'd think to herself, 'left foot forward, now right. Left, right, eyes straight. The enemy… can't let my guard down…little strength to fight.' Her fingers dangled her lightsaber, barely able to hold it and much less use it if another ambush springs up. A Jedi is taught that even their own eyes can trick them, but F couldn't help to flinch when spotting a mirage or sensing something only for it to be a critter. If it weren't for Rei's and Red's quiet vigilance showing that they aren't in danger, then her paranoia would've gotten the better of her.
It's also led to few words being shared amongst each other. F didn't mind. She already finds it difficult to sleep under stress and frequent clashes against the Empire's hunters. Even putting aside recent close-calls, F couldn't find the words to describe to others what happened that dark night.
"We're here," Red announces.
F eyes widen upon noticing they're out of the desert's sand, looking around to see slanted walls of red rock while the whistle of cool winds blow through the canyon's crevices. She squints to see the pathway splits ahead, one trail leading to the entrance of a recognizable cave system. "That's the path to the rendezvous point," she points, "we're almost there."
"We are," Red nods, watching F take a step forward before blocking her way, "and we're not taking another step. You're going to rest, now."
"I'm…" F says before her wound aches. She clutches it while one of her knees buckles from fatigue.
"See?" Red says, grabbing her shoulders and stopping her from falling over. He pulls her to the closest rest spot and sets her down on a smooth boulder. "How you haven't collapsed yet in your condition, I'll never know. But I'd rather not see you push your luck."
"I'm not foolish, Red. I know my limits," F sighs as she rests her back against the wall. Red then hands her his water container.
"Then you'll pause and stop letting fear of these guys drive you to run," Red advises.
F's blinks from Red's surprisingly wise words sound more like a Jedi than a battle-hardened major bred for combat. Jedi simply have that effect on others if you are around them long enough, a skill of sympathy that requires no Force mastery to use. Certainly helps that Red was a very good people's reader too. "That obvious, huh?" F says, her eyes dart from the canister before she slumps her shoulders. "Very well," she sighs, taking it and using light drops to wash away dust around her eyes and hair.
Red sits on another rock beside her as she does so, his posture relaxes, but his gaze is watchful of the skies. "Are your comms still jammed?" he asks.
F taps on her headset, "Echo-225?" but hears only static. "Yep," she says before patting off any dirt left on her.
"Eh, worth a try," Red shrugs, trying to hide his worry.
The refreshing feeling of the water nearly causes F to absent-mindedly removes her mask, stopping herself just when Red turns to her. An awkward pause occurs, and Red tilts his head in confusion, "Uhh, aren't you gonna drink up? I already had some if that's what it is," he insists.
"Turn around."
Red scoffs lightly, "Why?"
"Turn now. That's an order," F demands.
Red shrugs and follows her order. F gulps down the cool water, already feeling rejuvenated from the cold drink, and quickly reattaches her mask. "Okay, I'm done," F sighs, tossing the canteen to Red, who catches it.
He turns to the droid for an explanation of what just happened, but the little one only shakes its head. "Alright, I know I haven't seen you in a long time, and you're a private person, but this is odd even for you."
F's shoulders tense up at his question, which is partially why she denied his offer previously, even if it caused her further exhaustion.
Red sees her anxiety despite his casual question, tapping his knee even if he should pursue asking. Once putting together his thoughts, he opens up by saying, "look, everything feels…unreal, don't they? Like this is all one bad dream. A part of me, even months later, expects to wake up and return to another day of the war." He glances at the regiment emblem on his armor, the banner of his brothers, now nearly gone beneath the carbon scouring. "But that's all gone, finished," he mutters, "we're all that's left now. Hurt, but it doesn't have to be alone, not anymore…you understand?"
F grabs her shoulders to ease them. "Yes," she says with a pained look across her eyes, "but that's only a brief solace when the light everywhere seems ever more fleeting."
Red jerks back and appears stunned before saying to her, "What's that mean? Me saving you and wanting to see you again after so long is only a 'brief solace'?"
"I didn't mean it that way. I only…." F sighs, sensing Red's brief flash of anger and hurt from her statement washing away as he cools his mind. She shuts her eyes, palming her forehead against a headache, "I only wish to stop talking further about me, please."
Red nods, settling down fully, "Yeah, okay. You know, I think the heat is finally catching up to me. Take as much time as you need, sir." He grasps his hands together, leaning forward and gazing at the canyon while silence fills the air. Birds chirp in the night sky as echoes of critters bounce off the red rocks. Red checks the time and snorts, "never was the most patient," he whispers to himself, standing up. "I'll scout the cave. Meet me when you're ready."
F lets him go as he takes Rei with him. She needs a moment of peace to think about her slip-up. 'This is still all so sudden. First, the ambush, Red coming out of nowhere and acting so…normal. Huh, never thought I would use that word again,' she thinks to herself, hovering her hand over her wound. 'Red is right. I'm letting them get to me. Ever since Ragoon, it felt like they've been on my trail, and I lost too much sleep because of it.'
She looks up at the cave and spots a glint of Red's flashlight within. "Well, a sorry should be a good start," she tells herself, approaching the cave when her senses pick up something above. A second later, the roar of engines is heard. She dashes to the cave entrance and peeks out to spot four ships flying above. "Two troop carriers and two fighters," she identifies before running as fast as she can into the save. Even amid pitch black darkness, the Force guides her to Red's location and soon spots Rei's built-in flashlight.
Course Red's hearing catches wind of her presence. He makes a sharp turn with his blaster ready. "Blue?" he whispers, causing F to recall it as their regiment's old sign/countersign password.
"Moon," she responds, causing Red to lower his weapon.
"Back on your feet already?" he asks.
"We got a problem, Red," she whispers, "four enemy ships flew into this ridge just now. Two of them troop transports." The news causes Rei to jump in fright.
"Crap," he mutters, rechecking his ammo," from where you saw them, were they flying westward or eastward?"
"I hide at the cave entrance, so eastward."
"Well, the good news is they're away from the rendezvous point."
"But the bad news is now the path to that point will likely be littered with the enemy."
"Any shortcuts?"
F searches through her memories before telling Red, "there might be one." She activates her lightsaber to illuminate the path, "I'll take point," F orders, "don't fall behind."
"Pretty sure I'm supposed to say that, sir," Red says, trying to remind F of her condition, but she already was running ahead, so he and Rei sprint to keep up. F leads them to a split path with the left path blocked by collapsed rubble. Red peeks between the boulders and feels air coming in from the other side. "Not a complete cave-in, thankfully, but how do you know if this path is a shortcut?"
"Firstly, these aren't entirely natural caves," F says, taking deep breaths before pulling her arm back and thrusting forward. Her companions feel the earth shake as the rubble breaks apart from the Force, clearing their path. F holds out her lightsaber to reveal ruined pillars, blown-out torches on the walls, and even faint wall art.
"Woah, didn't think anybody lives out here," Red remarks.
"Nobody does. Whoever crafted these are long gone," F says as they walk past carvings and figures that have faded away. Rei's programming as an explorer droid compels her to scan this unexplored tunnel, processing this new data before informing F. "Vanished almost five hundred years ago, apparently," she clarifies.
"Yeah, looks about right. Still, how can we be sure this is the right way?"
"These hieroglyphs on the pillars," F says, pointing to one shaped like a fiery circle with a star in the center. "I noticed a pattern from these across the canyon ridge," she continues, "later finding that they're like directional signs, and our destination is exactly where these signs are taking us."
"Impressive," Red commends, "and for years, I thought all the Jedi taught were just holy passages."
"Having a wise mentor helped too," F responds, thinking back to Valco's endless lectures. Not to get lost in old memories, F takes this moment of ease to say, "I'm sorry…about earlier."
"Huh?" Red asks before remembering earlier, "oh, apology accepted, sir, but I think we have bigger things to worry about right now."
"Of course," she whispers, "but it felt right to say it. How are you holding up, by the way?" F asks
"I'm good. At least as good as a blasted shoulder allows me," Red shrugged.
"Good but," F trailed off before finding the words. "I want to know how you're faring up here," she says, tapping at her head, "and if there's anything I could do to help."
"We don't have the luxury to talk about this right now," Red says tensely, reminding her of the situation outside.
"You're right," F mutters, a dejected look in her eye, "I just thought… never mind." She quickens her pace down the tunnel to follow Red's advice, and it's where she stumbles upon another split in the path. "And the column sigils are scratched out," she sighs when Rei taps her leg, telling her something. "Picking up outside airflow but can't confirm unless venturing further? Okay, but stay low and be quick," she says as Rei scampers down one tunnel with confidence in her sensory tech.
"Gonna be a while?" Red asks.
"Not too long, hopefully."
Red leans back against one of the walls, and F senses hesitance within him. However, before she could inquire, he whispers, "so be it," and surprises F by removing his helmet. Upon seeing his face, she realizes that the helmet, like her mask, shielded another kind of pain. F eyes widened as locks of messy black hair fell down over the brow of a face he shared with millions of his brothers. But what caused F to gasp in true shock was the sight of one of his signature Red eyes, the source of his name, gone and replaced with a metallic eye patch. She winces at a burnt scar peeking out from beneath the patch. She faintly touches over where her own scar lies.
Red points at the eyepatch, speaking in a half-hearted light tone, "For your question, well…I've seen better days, sir. Helmet helps more now in spotting enemies. Headaches are more frequent and hurt like hell now, but I'd take it after narrowly avoiding brain damage." His small smirk vanishes when he notices F turned away with a regretful look.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, "I didn't know you were hiding such pain."
"Again with the sorries," Red says, "but yes, I was hiding…this. Like with you, a part of me feels stuck to that one day, no matter the time passed. Suppose I wanted to wait for the right time."
F does understand, losing count of the times her mind dreadfully replayed the screams and suffering, be it during dreams or even waking moments. "I found moments of peace through the Force, of course, they're only just moments," she shares, "what about you? Has anything helped you recenter your mind?"
Red nods with a simple answer, "home," he says, "I miss what it once meant to us, a home where we all shared our first memories together. Yet, it also hurts thinking of what it has become, what's always been past tinted rose glasses: a factory of a disposable army."
F understands as she senses his desire to hold onto that connection to the home of those brotherly bonds. She sees how he draws strength and resolve from this, even causing F to wonder about the state of her old homeworld. "What is the situation there?" she quietly asks.
Red sighs, "last I heard, the clone facilities are undergoing further changes, for what reason I don't know. I only hope those cadets will be okay."
"That'll be difficult under the Empire's will," F says.
Red gaze turns stern and lights up with a determined sense of protection, "not if I have anything to say about it."
F smiles at Red's resolve when Rei chirp's echo from the tunnel, "seems that this is the way." On the way down the path, F shares her thoughts, "despite its power; the empire is a glass cannon. I've seen it across the core. Despite its fierce new laws and militarism, its efforts to root out the entire core republic ideals will take years. This isn't over yet."
Red grabs his blaster, "yeah, well, I'm not waiting for some senate vote or financial collapse for my brother's freedom."
"I agree. However, I've also encountered some loyal to a frightening degree."
"Yeah, I've seen a few bad cases like that," he says in dismay.
"I sense that you truly haven't," F says as they catch up to Rei standing in the middle of a large cavern. Stalactites are scattered across the tall ceiling, illuminated with moonlight from a waterfall streaming down from outside. F squints up the tall stream, water lightly sprinkles her cloak, with the light of her blade she finds a steep drop splitting the cavern in half. F finds a natural bridge to the other side which leads to another tunnel, likely the last leg of their journey.
"I wouldn't trust that slippery bridge," Red advises
"Yes, a simple leap would suffice. Would you prefer a push or pull with the Force?" she asks while cracking her fingers.
"Both sound nauseous," Red jests before pulling F aside. He asks, "hey, what did you mean exactly? About loyalist clones, what makes them so different? Are these guys also the ones chasing us?"
F responds, "I'm certain the clones after us are the same ones I faced off against at Ragoon IV. They're dark warriors, blinded with vengeance and will eliminate whoever's in the way of their mission."
"Dark warriors? Wha-what do you mean?"
"You've never encountered…?" F says when her senses alert her, feeling as if a cold breeze blew across her neck and causing locks of her hair to rise. "We're not alone," she whispers, her brow furrowing as she hears a metallic clink up the waterfall.
Red notices, spotting their foot trail on the muddy and quickly trying to cover it up. Meanwhile, F swoops up Rei to her back and leaps high to the ceiling to hide behind a large rock. Once her grip was firm, she used her free hand to levitate Red up and behind a thick layer of stalactites. She lets go when he gives a thumbs up that he's secured a grip. Now all they could do was wait.
Barely a second after, a black ball device levitates down from the waterfall, circling around as it shines a bright red light, scanning the room for heat signatures. With how F positioned herself, she's forced to deal with the pain in her leg again, but as long as she's concentrated on herself, she'll be fine and hopes the same for Red. F waits until it sounds like the device is finished, proceeding to rappels and heavy boots. F could sense two squads coming down, two of which she senses a dark aura around them, 'it's them,' she thinks. Carefully, F reaches for her lightsaber, checking on Red to see he already has trouble holding on thanks to his shoulder. However, he signals to her that he'll be fine.
A dreadfully long minute passed before the last clone landed down. F freezes still when their searchlights turn on. "Command, this is squads one and two," one of the purge troopers said," we've landed in tunnel four." F didn't dare to breathe as an agonizingly long moment lingered with the clones double-checking every corner of the cavern. She flinches when a flight shines dangerously close to her and doesn't move away, she could feel sweat form on her brow as it scans her corner attentively.
"Sir," one clone signals, "I found a footprint. Looks like the targets were here and went down this tunnel."
F senses doubt within one of the purge troopers who says, "appears that way, but it too seems they covered up the rest of their tracks. They could've gone down either tunnel by the looks of it."
"We'll split up," the other purge trooper orders, "squad one with me. We're going deeper. Squad two, report immediately of any disturbance on your end."
"Yes, sir," squad one says.
F could sense half of the clones walking further and further away. She lets out a quiet sigh of relief. She peeks around but gasps to see Red barely holding on, the pain from his shoulder wound slowly becoming too much to bear.
"We're done here. Proceed across the bridge," the purge trooper orders, waiting as each trooper carefully crosses the slippery bridge.
'Just a bit longer, Red,' F thinks but sees his grip slipping. F reaches out and grabs him with the Force but, in doing so, has to reposition herself and put more strain on her leg, the pain starting to reach her too. 'This is nothing. Bear with it for only a moment longer,' she tells herself. Suddenly, a crack of the earth is heard, and F's heart stops upon realizing it's the stalactite her heel was pressed on. The rock cracked first before she could, tumbling down to the cavern floor.
A blast is heard as the Purge trooper's powerful rifle fires, obliterating the large rock shielding F, who loses her grip and plummets. She gasped at seeing stalagmites below her, using the Force to shove herself aside while avoiding another blaster shot. Her landing was hard on her leg but nothing severe.
"Squad two, the Jedi's here at the cavern!" One of the clones shouts to their comms.
F activates her lightsaber in time to deflect another shot, the explosion of it blaring the room with red, fiery light. The rest of the squad fire, causing F to duck behind a protruding boulder. F flinches from another powerful blast of the rifle, another shot of which will destroy her cover.
However, amid the commotion, Red has scaled down from his spot without the others noticing. He pulls out a thermal detonator and tosses it at the bridge where two clones are crossing over. It implodes mid-air, turning the bridge to dust as the two clones plummet below followed by a loud splash. The two remaining regs attempt to pin Red down but the purge clone only fires one blast in his direction before aiming back at F.
F then senses reinforcement coming from the tunnel. She reaches out with the Force, straining her arm to seal the entrance, the collapsing rock shaking the cavern. 'They should buy us a bit more time,' she thinks. She's thrown back from another blast from the purge clone's rifle, destroying her cover. She checks if Rei is okay before sprinting out the plume of dust and charging the trooper, catching him while reloading. Though her leg made her slower, F was able to cut his rifle and throw a strong Force push before he could retaliate with his electro-staff.
The power of this push knocks the clone down the pit, leaving the two regs whom F deflected their shots. Then, two stun projectiles brush past her and hit the remaining clones. She turns around to Red, planning their escape, "with the other squad's firepower, that gives us a three-minute window."
"Let's start jumping then."
"No, that's what they'll be expecting. Up the rappels, if more clones were up there we'd already hear from them. You go first."
"Alright," F nods before her senses alert her. "Move!' she shouts, shoving Red and herself away from the pit right as a grenade is thrown from below. The concussion stuns them as the Purge trooper climbs out and activates his staff. Though dazed, F stands as violet electricity swirls in front of her before parrying it with her lightsaber. She draws the opponent away from Red, knowing only her weapon could slip past the clone's impenetrable armor.
She blocks several fast strikes, standing her ground, then the trooper pulls back and activates a device on his arm. 'Flamethrower!' F panics, barely shielding herself with a Force shield and using her lightsaber to split the flame around her.
"F!" Red panics, firing off a stunning round that staggers the enemy, but only momentarily. The trooper turns the flame to Red, ducks around, and tries flanking the trooper. With the enemy's back to her, F swings forward to attack, but the enemy swiftly dodges her and Red's stun projectiles. Then, a click is heard at F and Red's feet. She looks down and realizes too late the enemy sprung a trap in the form of two shock grenades.
In a second, F pushes Red and Rei away from the trap before sustaining over a thousand volts of electricity, rippling through every vein in milliseconds. Her high-pitch screams echo out the cave before she finally collapses, barely conscious, her muscles feeling like they're burning and unable to move. Rei is the first to attend to her, using a refilled stim to ease the pain. She struggles to keep her eyes open but sees the enemy raise his small flamethrower at her.
The tip ignites before it explodes from Red's blaster. "That's right ugly, eyes on me," he says, his blaster set to kill. He unleashes a hail of blaster rounds but each one bounces off the trooper's armor. The trooper shields itself before unleashing its electro-staff, but Red keeps charges forward to keep him on the defensive. The trooper swats away at his blaster but Red tackles him around against some stalagmites, shattering them with both weights. Red attempts to pin him down, but the trooper's strength proves greater, tanking any punches before throwing Red off.
"That's all you got, big guy?!" he groans. He narrowly dodges a haymaker that cracks the wall behind him, the display of power is shocking to him, to say the least. He blocks two more brutal slug throws, returning the favor with a few gut punches and chops at the neck. Red spots a crack on his armor with little fatigue from the enemy. The trooper lands a brutal right hook, grabbing and locking Red's left arm. Seeing that he plans to shatter it, Red activates the vibroblade under his knuckle plate and stabs it at the enemy's waist. The trooper staggers, releasing Red's arm but then getting him in a chokehold and throwing him to the floor. Red's vibroblade is yanked out by the trooper, then both notice F beginning to move.
The enemy quickly grabs his staff and dashes after F to finish her off. Rei stands defensively in front of F.
For Red, his mind stops thinking and desperately proceeds to act on instinct. He pulls out a regular vibro-knife and throws it at an exposed opening at the back of the enemy's knee. He's already up as the trooper staggers from the strike, tackling him with a firm arm around his neck before pulling out another knife. He shivs it at the enemy's shoulder and waist, yet even during this, the trooper stands and tries to get Red off.
'What the hell is this guy?!' Red thinks as the trooper gets a hold of him.
Then the clone freezes, and Red hears him struggling for breath. He turns to see F choking him with the Force, thanks to Red's act leaving the enemy open to the technique. Red let's go when a snapping sound is heard, and the purge clone's body falls lifelessly to the floor. "Sir…" Red says as F falls to her knees. He glances down at the clone before helping F stand up.
They both catch their breaths after another exhausting struggle against the clones. F gasps out between breaths, "you were holding back."
Red coughs, "oh yeah, just a bit."
F nods, her hand trembling from feeling the clone's last moments through the Force: eliminating her.
"Now quickly, who was this guy? I've never seen a clone fight so…vicious."
"Purge troopers," F replies," clones whose armor's nigh-impenetrable even against a lightsaber. Who possess higher skills and power due to special genetic modification. They can't even feel pain, so they don't stop fighting."
"Purge…that blatant, huh?" Red scoffs, "I see what you mean now. They act more like commando droids than humans. Are they truly that far gone?"
F straightens herself and answers honestly, "I tried reaching out, but it changed nothing. All they said back were 'good soldiers follow orders.'"
Red becomes bitterly silent, staring at the body while clenching his teeth. He sees F's hand tremble, assuringly telling her, "They did this to them, My creators and the empire. Don't pin any blame on yourself." F finally stops her hand and gives a small nod of understanding. "Can't imagine the kind of clone leading these men," he comments.
F bites her lips, apprehensive about sharing who the commander is. "Red," she stutters, "It's-"
A boom from the sealed-off tunnel reminds them of the urgency. "Crap, let's go!" Red says, pulling F and Rei to the rappels, they're helped up by Red before he grabs the other rappel. "Don't look down," he tells them, "just keep climbing!" F tries avoiding the rushing water while climbing as fast as she could, eventually reaching the top to see green vegetation and rows of thick bushes ahead.
"Vegetation…" F whispers before recognizing the area. She taps her headset, "Echo-225, if you can hear me we're approaching the extraction zone. Stand by and be ready for take-off." She hears static but is confident of their soon escape. She takes Red's hand and helps pull him up, "we're almost there, Red, hurry!"
"We better, look!" Red points up to the sky at three fighters flying dangerously close by. The two sprint to the bushes, running into a steep slope on the other side and sliding down to a circular natural arena. They leap down and F spots a familiar small arch formation dead ahead, "we…we made it," she says.
"We did, kid, we did," Red concurs, proceeding to help his still-winded friend walk this last stretch. "Alright, a bit late saying this but try to keep it cool when we meet my extraction crew," he says.
F chuckles," at this point, I'd take a Vintian as our pilot."
"Hah, good to see your sense of humor still intact."
F realizes then that she has now let her guard down, but it wasn't her sharing jokes with Red caused this realization but Rei's scanners picking something up before she did. F hears Rei panically warn of an incoming rocket from an enemy trooper above them. Her and Red notice it in time for F to use Force speed, getting them behind a ring of large rocks at the center of the rocky arena. F clings on to her lightsaber as over two dozen clones suddenly swarm from above, some leaping down and blasting at their cover.
The barrage was relentless, chipping away at the rock shielding the trio from being pelted with plasma. F sees Red try in vain to return fire but there were too many. 'We're trapped,' F grimly contemplates. Several spots lights shine on them, illuminating the arena and the order is given to ceasefire. F stands to peeks through a hole in the rock, she spots a Purge commander and a row of troopers behind him, the lights on their rifles casting a large shadow of the commander who ignites his lightsaber trophy, 'Frost…the other squad from the cave must've radioed him our last location.'
Red takes out his last thermal detonator, keeping his composure even in this dire situation. "F, radio the extraction team."
"The comms are still probably-"
"What other option do we have?"
F relents with no answer to give, "Echo-225, a platoon of clones have us surrounded outside the extraction zone. Request immediate assistance." She hears the same response she's gotten all day, static. She looks at Red with downcast eyes. His shoulders tense up in frustration.
Then the trio's eyes turn to Frost. He bellows out in a static voice, "Why cower now? It isn't like you, I know because I've seen you brave death before. I'm a fool to expect you to die so easily before. Still, seeing what you decided to devolve yourself into, I can only blame myself for not finishing you off."
"What's this manic saying?" Red whispers, not noticing F's tense demeanor for what's coming next.
Frost takes a step forward, "perhaps I didn't take enough lessons from you after all. What do you say to one more sparring lesson, Red?!"
The detonator falls out of Red's hand, he catches himself from slumping against the boulder beside him. "Sparring…lesson…Frost," Red mutters, shock racking his nerves as his mind tries to wrap around the truth that his best friend and closest brother was now one of these…things.
He looks at F, who whispers, "Red, I swear I was gonna share, but not like this." He looks down and nods in understanding.
"Come out and face me, brother!" Frost demands, and both could tell he won't be asking again.
Red looks at his blaster and lets it fall out of his hands.
"Red, don-!" F pleads
He stops her fearlessly and steps out with his vibro-knives hand in hand. "If you see an out, take it," he whispers before stepping forward.
"Red…" F pleads, but she senses in his heart no doubt what he's doing.
Red stops before Frost, his eyes behind his blue visor staring back at Frost's red visor, trying desperately to imagine the brother he knew behind that helmet. He notices how taller he is, the confidence behind his stance, and the boots already prepped to charge. He can't help but remember the first day of training, the first clones born from those otherworld factories. Frost was deemed weak by the prime clone, defective in those Kamonian's eyes, and the one Red felt he had to look out for the most.
Teaching him to steady his aim, polishing boots, and knowing when to step up and take matters into his own hands. It saved Frost's life. Now, Red sees what his brother decided to use with those skills, leaving him almost speechless as shame and pity festers in his heart.
"All you had to do was follow one more order," Frost tells him, "I was ready to help you be free from fighting. So why didn't you?!"
Red's grip tightens on his daggers before shifting to a fighting stance, "because good soldiers don't only follow orders. Good soldiers honor their vow to protect those they're sworn to, I've sworn to the Republic and the Jedi, and I'll never break that promise."
Anger flares up in Frost, who charges and swings a hail of strikes.
F can barely look as the brothers clash, desperately looking for any way out, anything! 'Frost is blinded by his emotions. Maybe I can help and use him as a hostage?! No, he'll order them to fire even if it costs his life! The detonator! Perhaps a good throw could…no, escaping in any other direction except the archway will lead to us getting lost in this canyon….' She clasps her hands together and begs the Force to help them in this desperate hour.
Suddenly, a static sound erupts from her headset.
Red dodges any attack and blocks those he can't with his knives. Both warriors exchange blows in a deadly flurry, plasma scratching at Red's armor while piercing steel scrap Frost's impenetrable armor. Red blocks an overhead swing with both knives, barely holding it back before using the smooth sand below to slide around, slashing at Frost's right elbow and knee.
If this was the old Frost, he already fell to the ground at such surgically painful attacks. However, this warrior felt nothing and swung at Red's back, shredding his back armor. Red falls to the ground from the impact, feeling his burnt armor on his exposed back. He points his dagger at Frost as he points the lightsaber at his helmet. Red was now in the same position Frost was years ago.
"Frost," Red utters, breathless, "I know you…this isn't you."
"...I know," Frost admits in a gloomy whisper, returning to a chilling tone, "but this is the purpose I was given, the only identity I have left."
Red's knife is swatted off his hands, his eyes staring back at Frost's as the blade strikes down. Both clones knew this would end but didn't expect to see a yellow lightsaber block Frost's.
F glares at a furious Frost. Seeing every clone aim at her, she gives the command, "Now!"
A series of explosions from grenades erupt from across the enemy, blue plasma bolts striking down any enemy combatant in their sights. F smirks as she hears from her mask, "Echo-225 moving in! Evac ship on the way!" She swiftly swings away from Frost's weapon and uses all her strength to unleash a powerful Force push on him and any clone behind him. She shields Red as she deflects any blaster bolt coming at her. However, the surprise attack leaves many imperials dead or scattered.
F smiles as a heavy armor republic transport swiftly fly in. It's tough armor withstanding any stray blast. The evac team, roughly a dozen strong, drops down to the arena as planned and forms a defensive perimeter around the ship as it touches down and its doors open. A helmeted insurgent shouts, "everyone in, now!'
F turns to Red and offers a helping hand up, "let's leave together. That's an order, trooper." Red sees Rei chirping in glee on F's shoulder and can't help but smirk. He firmly nods and takes her hand, and runs inside with her.
Both ensure everyone is accounted for before F gives the order, "get us the heck out of here." She feels the ship rise high into the air and proceeds to shut the doors. Doing so, F notices Red staring at Frost below. The clone simply stands there and watches them vanish as the doors seal shut. The ship rumbles at increasing speed, breaking the atmosphere until F can see Brentaal below.
"Don't worry about your ship, Citrus leader," the pilot says over the intercom, "we've used the autopilot code you gave us to get it working before the attack. You'll find it in one piece at our destination."
"Thanks…for everything," F sighs before falling to the ground, utterly exhausted physically and mentally after today. She feels a hand on her shoulder; F guesses her vision must be dazed because instead of seeing Red, she sees another clone commando with light blue markings on their armor.
"Prep the medical bed," the clone said, her voice possessing a strong and feminine tone. "And Red, next time I'm coming with you on rescue missions. Period."
"Not like I can stop you next time, sis," Red says.
"Another…clone?" F groggily says as she's carried to the bed, its pillow feeling like a cloud to her. As if that weren't enough, another clone commando with a medic patch on his armor checks her vitals. Though her vision was still a blur, everyone else on the ship was of different species, making these clones the only ones onboard.
"She gonna be alright. I'll only need to patch up her wounds before moving to your shoulder," the medic says calmly.
"Take your time, and don't remove her mask…." Red sternly says before F decides to rest her eyes and let sleep take her.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/
F suddenly wakes up in a cold sweat, another night of bad dreams. She presses her hand on her chest and feels no more pain. She looks down at the amazingly soft sheets to see her leg is all better. She instinctively touches her mask and calms down to see it's still there. F notices she's in white garbs for patients with her Jedi robes, cloak, and lightsaber patched up and respectfully hung across her. She gets up and senses no ill will or danger, only a calm peace and friendly air. She takes note of the room's curves and shining metallic walls and approaches the balcony.
The view before her causes tears to form around her eyes, and for the first time, seeing those pristine white mountains and rolling green fields that made this planet so beautiful.
"I made it, Master…Valco…Sagi," she says softly, almost not believing it herself, "I made it to Alderaan."
A/N: HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY OF STAR WARS: VISIONS AND MAN, THIS CHAPTER IS LATE, HUH?! I'm quite sorry for the extra wait time; somehow, I kept being stuck at this chapter for various reasons. Thankfully, piecing it all together finally, I keep remembering why I love writing these characters. Hope you all enjoy drama, conversations, and action thrills!
Thank you all SO much for the support, this is the best-received story I've had yet, and I'm so glad it's on these characters.
Also, I love the new Andor show. It's SOOOO good, especially in showing the politics of the Empire and Rebels.