"I see."
Mliss's voice was pondering. Plank felt like a complete failure.
"It looks to me like your first goal is to get out alive. What type of rock is your cavern made out of?"
Plank blinked in surprise at the seemingly sudden change of subject. Camo stood up, checking his optics.
" This is a type of Cranun Rock, known specifically for its instability."
"There should be a pressure point near the ground then. A divot varying in colour slightly. Apply as much pressure as you can to that point, then the wall should partly collapse enough for you to escape and catch those droids by surprise."
Plank shook his head lightly, he could imagine Mliss giving him a small smile as she shared her knowledge. To his surprise, she continued with a request.
"Unfortunately, my cause for this call is not solely for a status report. A rather troublesome complication has come up. I need you to acquire two plants. The Rignaciom Flodire and the klanaten srik. Camo will tell you when you come across these plants. This mission
overrides your previous assignment."
Plank frowned, complication? Overrides our previous assignment?
"Yes Sir. Where would these plants be found?" Plank blinked, it was harder than expected to get out of a lifetime of routine.
"On the top of high rocks." She hesitated for a moment," I must warn you... this is a rather time-sensitive mission."
"How time-sensitive?" Sly piped up.
"Let's just say that this is your utmost priority. I'll be sending a pilot from Kamino to bring you here, he will arrive in 6hrs."
"We'll have it by then," Plank promised, then he braced himself for the worst."I'm sorry, Sir, for getting ourselves trapped in here."
To his great surprise, Mliss chuckled, "Don't worry, I've done my own share of getting trapped in caves. My Master made me learn
common rock formations just so I could get out of them.
"Really?" Plank said disbelievingly.
"Yup, it is unfortunately very true. Anyways, be careful and May the force be with you on your journey." Then she signed off.
"Well it looks like our mission has gotten more complicated." Snipe observed as he casually threw his sniper over his shoulder.
Crusher heaved up his blaster on his shoulder," Yeah, let's go destroy some droids on the way."
"Now," Plank announced, finally hopeful,"Let's get out of here."
Kamino's medical bay
The sight was heartbreaking, but nothing showed on her face. Hate and anger radiated from some of the troopers. That was fair. Mliss had promised them that she could fix this, but now she was rendered useless. A fierce battle was playing in her mind. Help ease their pain now or wait and save her energy. Finally, her compassion won out. Allowing her life energy to slowly slip away from her, the groans around her eased. Keeping her face completely blank, a livid presence was quickly making her way to the med bay. Turning a corner before Nala Se could spot her, Mliss really didn't feel like talking with her now.
Inside her ship, Mliss leant against the wall heavily. 2hr in. By her calculations, Plank and the others would be halfway through the desert by now. This was honestly going to be the hardest 12hrs of my life, Mliss thought. Drifting, almost automatically, to the holo table, Mliss began flicking through the database's entire information on Angor Dalor var. 2.5.
The holoprojection spang up on the light blue table, The Angor Dalor var. 2.5 is an extremely dangerous virus. Designed in a lab for biological warfare, it's able to wipe out whole generations in 12hrs. The only cure ever found is the combination of two plants: Rignaciom Flodire and the klanaten srik. Combined in such a way it is still hard to save the patient as they have to eat it. Many parts of this virus was never fully studied as the virus can only survive within the immune system so much is unknown. It was irradicated over 6 century's ago so no more experiments were ever done.
Mliss glared viciously at that last sentence, willing it to disappear. Completely delved in the report, she was given only a split-second warning as Nala Se charged in.
"What Happened?" The rage in Nala's voice was justifiable.
"It is a different variant of the Angor Dalor virus."
"Why didn't you alert me the second it was realised. The clones are Kaminoin property, I should have been notified."
Mliss put on her most diplomatic voice. It deceives most but not all. The next best to the infamous Jedi mind trick.
"I apolagise for the inconvieniance but..."
"INCONVENIENCE!" Nala screeched, "Clones are DYING and you say it's an inconvenience?"
Mental sigh. "I mean that I should have told you sooner but It was
imperative that I moved with enough haste to be of help."
The head doctor laughed mockingly, "Well it seems to me that you are incapable of helping anyone."
That stung, she thought.
"Listen. This virus cannot be stopped by studying it in a lab," A bit unJedi-like. I won't be telling the council about that comment. "Part of my legion is on a planet called Siccitas, the only planet that has the necessary components of the cure. I Had to give them their individual orders and alert the council. I apologize if I couldn't tell you sooner but I had other concerns."
Lama was quiet for another second. "How serious is this?"
Mliss let out a deep breath."How much do you want to know?"
"All of it."
"This virus is designed to wipe out whole populations in hours. Anyone who doesn't have a fully matured immune system will first begin dying until the previous cure is injected. Then the next wave arrives and will start killing the victim. 100's of species have been extinguished because of this disease. The young clone troopers only hope is Legion XYZ." Mliss paused, allowing Lama to interject.
In a resigned voice, Lama put forth her last question.
"Who, at least, is the leader of this squad who will save us?"
Mliss slightly, if not visibly winced."That is irrelevant"
Lama coldly replied, "I disagree. It is of utmost importance."
"CT-6490."
Mliss could hear the doubts as if she was saying them out loud.
"I've seen his report. This mission is doomed to fail."
Looking up directly at the towering Kaminoins face, Mliss replied softly, "I have put him in command of Legion XYZ. I trust him."
Glancing down at the Jedi, she sighed, "I hope your trust is warranted."
"It is."
Siccitas
This was one of the times when Sly was thankful for his armour. The cruel sun beat down on them with relentless violence. The only thing keeping him sane as they crossed the slogging desert, was his clunkily working cooling system. The first thing Sly was going to ask Mliss to do, was to upgrade it.
"Umph, this heat is unbearable," Snipe complained as they went up an especially tall hill. Sly was glad he said it. He didn't want to be the first to complain.
"Plank, brother, Pleaseee tell me that we're close in any way."
"Good news. We're 3/4 the way there."
A chorus of groans rose all clones alike. Poor Plank, his first time as a leader and everyone was complaining non-stop. Sly considered his brother. There, was a weird clone. The first impression he'd gotten from Plank was that he was an average, if not clumsy, Clone Trooper. Now Mliss made him the commander of the Whole Legion! Plank doesn't even seem to know why she did it! Not saying that Plank isn't good in a skirmish. Sly chuckled silently to himself, he was an extremely good shot. Like Jedi fast.
That wasn't going to save him in battle though, unless he was a good leader, they'd all be heading to there deaths. Suddenly, the ground began to crumble around them, pulling them deep into an underground cave. Leaping up to attempt to grab the rising edge, Sly just grasped onto it. Looking at the chaos below, relief flooded him as he caught sight of his brothers hanging precariously on the edge.
"Wait..."Sly called out, "Where's Plank?"