CHAPTER 3
Rex watched as Anakin ran to catch up to Ahsoka and Obi-wan. He shook his head as he smiled. The trio could be very entertaining at times. He then turned around to see his troopers looking around anxiously at everything. "Alright men!" He shouted. "Our job is simple, to watch over the ship! And make sure no one takes it!"
"That won't be too hard!" Jesse started dropping his weapon. "I really doubt anyone out here would take the ship."
"Maybe so, but don't let your guard down, we don't know what's out here." Rex said looking around, "Hey where's Fives?"
"In the ship." Nox stated.
Rex nodded and then proceeded to walk inside the ship to the bridge where he found Fives messing with the controls. "Fives!" Rex shouted, making Fives jump. "If I were you brother, I wouldn't be messing with the General's settings. He gets really annoyed when we change it."
"Sorry, Sir!" Fives said, turning to face Rex. "It's just...there's something wrong with the ship."
Rex gave Fives a look. "What do you mean there's something wrong with the ship?" "The General just checked its functions before we left."
"Well, take a look." Fives began. "I just came in to make sure that the communications were still strong, but watch what happens when I turn on the power." Fives then presses the power start-up mode. The small buzz of the ship's power was heard as the ship lit up with light.
Rex then looked at Fives. "It seems fine to me."
"Wait," Fives stated.
The ship's lights began blinking. It started with a slow blink and then it got faster and faster and then the power went out.
"What the?" Rex began. "How could that be."
"I don't know sir." Fives began. "It does that every time I try to start it."
"Try the engine."
Fives then pressed and held the button to activate the engine, but a loud rumbling noise was heard and then it stopped.
"General Skywalker is not gonna like this," Rex stated.
"Should we try contacting him?" Fives asked. "He could fix it."
"Good idea!" Rex said as he yelled up to his communicator. "General Skywalker, do you read me?" He asked but was greeted with static. "General come in!"
"That's not good," Fives commented.
Rex then switched the Channel. "General Kenobi, Come in sir." Static. "Ahhh." Rex let out a sigh of frustration and switched the channel again. "Commander Tano, come in." Static.
"Do you think something happened to them?" Fives asked.
"Maybe, but there is something definitely blocking our signal out here," Rex stated.
"And our ship," Fives said.
"What's going on?" Jesse asked as he walked in with Red and Nox behind them.
"The ship won't start!" Fives stated.
"And we don't know why," Rex added.
Nox, Red, and Jesse all gave themselves concerning looks.
"What?" Rex asked.
"Well...neither will our blasters," Jesse added.
"What!" Rex asked.
"Look!" Red said as he pulled out his blaster and started firing it. Except instead of light bolts coming out, nothing came out and instead of it making the loud blaster noise it just made a quiet hissing noise.
"Is it jammed?" Fives asked.
"No," Jesse answered. "Nox's and mine won't fire either."
"Try yours, Fives," Rex ordered.
Fives pulled out his blaster.
"NOT IN HERE!" Rex barked.
"Oh yeah." Fives got out of the chair and made his way out of the ship. The rest of the men followed him.
He aimed his blaster for a tree and then fired. Nothing. No blast came out and no sound escaped.
"What the!" Fives cried as he began hitting it. "Stupid thing!"
"Don't kill yourselve fives, none of ours work either," Jesse stated.
"So what are we going to do?" Red asked.
"We could try contacting the Generals."
"Tried that, the transmissions jammed." Fives started walking back.
"Should we go after them?" Nox asked.
"No," Rex stated. "The best thing to do is to wait until they get back."
The loud rumble of thunder was weird off in the distance, making all the troopers to glance up at the dark and ominous sky. The clouds rumbled again as if it was talking directly to them saying, "You're not welcomed here."
"Let's take shelter in the ship, for now, it seems like it's going to rain any minute," Rex ordered.
The five troopers then walked back into the ship. Fives turned around to close the door, getting one last good look at the depressing landscape.
/
They followed the three figures from a distance. Eventually, they came to civilization. When they reached the inners of the City, they were pleasantly surprised. For a Planet that supposedly didn't have space travel, they seemed to be very advanced. There were all kinds of species rooming the city, on foot and on speeders. Those who were walking were walking quickly and were not taking any time to notice the three Jedi. They all seemed to be walking with purpose. The most surprising thing, however, was that everyone had some kind of ugly masks on.
"I feel as though we are missing something," Ahsoka stated. "Everyone has a mask on."
"Yes, the air is most likely not breathable for them," Obi-wan stated.
"If it's not breathable then why do they live here," Anakin asked.
"I do not know," Obi-wan stated, looking around. He eyed a man who was digging through a dumpster. The man caught Obi-wan's attention because while everyone else seemed to be in a hurry this man seemed to be relaxed.
"Excuse me, my good man?" Obi-wan asked for the man's attention.
The man froze and slowly crawled out of the dumpster. He then slowly turned to face them, revealing his appearance. Unlike the rest of the civilians, his mask had a large curved beak at the end that oddly resembled a bird. The man was not wearing thick clothes like the others. He was wearing a sharp black pantsuit, a long dark grey trench coat, and a large black velvet top hat sat on his head.
"Hello! Yes! Sir! Can you please explain to me why everyone has a mask on?" Obi-wan asked.
The man stared at them for a brief moment and then began walking towards them. From a distance, the man looked normal height, but from up close the man was very tall, at least eight feet.
"Cur non gerunt larva?" The man replied in a deep crackly voice.
"I am sorry what was that sir?" Obi-wan asked.
In an instant, the man's eye holes for his mask were two inches in front of Obi-wan's face. "Et erunt simul mortis."
Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-wan's eyes widened when they heard the word "mortis."
"Mortis? How do you know about that place?" Obi-wan aked.
"Sic, Facere facilius pro te super vos?" The man stated he grabbed Obi-wan by the neck.
"Ugh!" Obi-wan instantly replied.
Anakin and Ahsoka both reached for their lightsabers but stopped when another figure appeared between Obi-wan and the man, pushing the man away from Obi wan.
"Get out of here you disgusting creep!" The figure's voice was slightly distorted from the mask, but it was still obvious that it was female.
"Volo corpora eurum!" The man hissed hunching in on himself.
"Well, they aren't dead yet!" The girl stated aggressively. "Now get out of here!"
"Et erit cum illis satis!" The man yelled while turning away.
"No, you won't and quit using that dead language! No one uses it!" The girl yelled at him as he walked away.
Obi-wan who was brushing himself off turned to the girl. "Why thank you, can you please…"
"And you three! I told you to get inside!" The girl yelled. "And where are your masks! I know you are new to this city, but the rules are the same as anywhere on this planet, you need to have a mask at all times!"
"Miss, I think we have a misunderstanding," Obi-wan stated with confusion, unable to pick up that the girl was trying to help them.
Ahsoka, however, picked up on what the girl was trying to do almost immediately. By the way the girl was holding herself and speaking a little louder, made it seem like there were things not to be said in public. "We got lost!" Ahsoka stepped in front of a stumbling Obi-wan. "This smart guy over here thought we should turn left instead of right." She started while tapping at Anakin's arm. "So we thought it would be a good idea to ask for directions."
Anakin and Obi-wan gave each other confused looks.
"What was that Snips?" Anakin whispered to her.
"Well, that was very stupid of you three!" The girl stated.
"Yes, we are still a little new and have no idea where to go, could we follow you?" Ahsoka asked.
The girl let out a dramatic sigh. "Yes!" "But stay close to me! Since you three don't have your masks we have to move fast! Come on!"
The girl then began to move very fast, not stopping or waiting for them to catch up. Ahsoka immediately began following her. Obi-wan and Anakin shrugged and followed.
While walking quickly Obi-wan made careful observations of the place around him. Everyone was wearing a mask and wearing dark gloomy clothes. The buildings were rusting and they clearly were not well kept. Everybody was walking very quickly as if they were trying to beat the rain. There were places for trees and planets, but nobody took care of the planets so they were either dead or growing chaotically through the area.
The three followed the girl into an alleyway, the girl looked behind her shoulder and then walked to a back door. She began knocking on it.
"Who are you!" A crackly voice came from behind it.
"Motz its Piper," The girl stated. "Let us in."
"Who are these people?" Motz asked.
"Three idiots with no masks, now let us in!"
"Fine, but when the Rains are done I want them out!"
"They will be gone, just let us in!"
The door swung open to reveal a male Zabrak who was probably in his 50s.
The three walked in to reveal a dark, barely light hallway. The girl pulled down her hood and unbuttoned her long trench coat.
Motz looked at Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-wan. Then he looked at the girl. "Where the hell did you get these guys?"
"None of your business, now don't you have a scum bar to operate."
Motz growled at her then looked at Anakin's arm. "Has it stopped working yet."
Anakin, shocked, looked down at his arm. "Noooo…."
Motz began to turn. "It will." He stated as he walked down the hallway and through a door.
The girl then took off her mask to reveal a blonde girl about Anakin's age. "Don't worry about him, he's just a grouch but he isn't Calvary, which is good."
"I'm sorry but what is going on here?" Obi-wan asked.
"Well, you guys are off worlders right?" Piper stated.
"Yes, how could you tell?" Anakin asked.
"It is extremely obvious when we get off worlders." Piper smiled. "Look sorry if I freaked you guys out back there, the Plague doctors won't leave you alone unless you're aggressive with them."
"Excuse me what?" A shocked expression crawled over Obi-wan's face.
"Well they're not actual Doctors, they're called Euros, an ancient race of people from the moon off of Zeus."
"I have never heard of such people?" Obi-wan asked.
"It's probably better that way, they feed off of dead humanoids so they only show up when there's a mass number of dead people. To be honest, they help clean up but they can be hella annoying." Piper stated casually.
Obi-wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka gave her a look of fear. Holly Force, how is she so casual about this? Anakin thought.
"He said the word Mortis though?" Anakin asked.
Piper raised an eyebrow. "Death?"
"What?" Anakin asked.
"Death that is what Mortis translates to, in the language they choose to use. There are over 100 languages they could have chosen and they choose to speak the classical one." Piper stated. Then she looked at Obi-wan, "Since none of you didn't have a mask on and since it's gonna rain soon, he was saying you are going to be dead soon, so he got excited." She made a face and looked at Obi-wan. "Honestly you should be careful, he seemed pretty enthralled by you. He won't try to kill you, but just don't be surprised if you have a herd of Plague doctors following you."
"This whole thing is very unsettling," Obi-wan stated. "What kind of a place is this?"
"Oh I'm sorry, my name is Piper, I am a liquidator… sorta." Piper stated, whispering that last part.
"A what?" Anakin asked.
"Someone who cleans up really really bad messes," Piper answered.
"Well hello I am Master Obi-wan Kenobi, this is my apprentice Knight Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice Ahsoka Tano. We are Jedi and we…
"Jedi?" Piper stated. "Oh boy."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Anakin asked.
"No, it's just…. Well, many people on this planet don't think they exist." Piper then made a face. "And those that do often take things too far."
Anakin made a face as well.
"Don't exist?" Obi-wan asked. "Why is that?"
All of a sudden a loud thunderous roar came from outside followed by the sound of heavy rain. The thunder was very loud, and suddenly Obi-wan Anakin and Ahsoka all jumped. Piper just sighed. "Look we are gonna be here for a while, so let me get you guys something to drink."
/
The sound of heavy rain was heard all through the quiet ship. It's loud drops echoed through the walls. The five troopers were sitting at the bridge, waiting. Waiting for the Generals to get back. Waiting for the rain to stop, and waiting for something to happen to end their boredom.
"Ugh!" Fives shouted. "This is honestly the most boring mission we have been on."
"Well, what did you expect!" Jesse argued. "This is partially a diplomatic mission!"
"I know!" Fives argued back, "But I was kinda expecting at least SOME action!" "Like maybe the civilians would be aggressive. Or they would be primitive and worship us as their leaders!"
"Why would you want that?" Red asked.
"Well you know, then we would get a free feast!" Fives stated.
"Fives don't go asking for trouble," Rex stated grimly.
"I just wanted something cool for the newbies over here. I think a primitive clone trooper worship ceremony would be a great intro to the 501st."
"Fives don't be ridiculous!" Jesse added.
Fives gave them both a look and opened his mouth to define himself, but then Jesse continued.
"Why would primitives worship clones! If anything we would get eaten and they would worship the Jedi!"
Rex's palm landed directly on his forehead.
"Okay true!" Fives stated. "But I'm pretty sure they would only be worshipping General Kenobi."
"Yeah General Skywalker would immediately try fighting them, while General Kenobi would talk to them," Jesse stated.
Rex was about to say something but stopped and listened.
"Ah, Captain?" Nox asked. "Do you hear something?"
"No," Rex stated. "I hear nothing."
"Huh?" Nox asked. All the other clone troopers looked at them.
"I hear nothing." Rex began. "I think the rain has let up." He got up and began walking towards the exit of the ship.
Once outside Rex and his men all looked around at their surroundings.
"Well, that rain didn't last long," Fives stated.
"No. It didn't. Did it." Came an eerie voice from behind them.
All five troopers turned around to see a man standing underneath their ship. The man was wearing all black, but what creeped them out was his mask. The mask had no eye holes, no mouth holes, or any kind of face. It was just an all-white mask, completely covering his facial features.
All five men immediately held up their blaster, even though they didn't work. "WHO ARE YOU!" Rex yelled.
The man didn't say anything, he just stood calmly underneath the ship. The only sound was the gentle painting of the soft rain hitting the ground around them. After a few moments, the white-masked man put his hand on the underbelly of the ship and began stroking it as if he was petting an animal. "This is a nice ship you have."
"GET YOUR HAND OFF OF OUR SHIP OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" Rex barked.
The white-masked man stopped petting the ship and turned his entire body to them. "Go ahead." He stated casually.
"WE WILL GIVE YOU TO THE COUNT OF THREE!" Rex yelled trying to mask his anxiety. Rex knew that the blasters didn't work, but he didn't know if the man knew that.
"No, I don't think you will." The white-masked man stated. "I'll save you the embarrassment." "I know your blasters don't work." "I just want to talk."
The clones all glanced at Rex, who nodded back at them. All five troopers relaxed their weapons.
"What do you want?" Rex asked.
"Well, it's not what I want. It's what I am taking." The masked man stated. "I'm taking your ship."
All the troopers began laughing. "Yeah, sure you are buddy!" Fives laughed.
"You and what army?" Jesse asked.
"The one behind you." The man stated casually.
All the troopers turned around and too their horror saw about thirty men with the same white mask on. All of the men had what looked like blasters pointed at them.
"Now if I were you I would surrender because unlike yours our guns actually work." The man stated, his smile masked by the white cloth that covered his face.