Ah, next chapter of the revised The Lizard War! This is becoming progressively more popular, although it's nowhere near as popular as You Can't Protect Her From Everything. I hope it's a little better, at least.*sighs* But whatever, I'll make you like this if I have to! :I Now to introduce the next chapter of The Lizard War!
Queen Makoria walked down another hallway. "We are approaching the east wing now. I have fitted the bedrooms with hopefully enough of what your men need. If you are in need of anything else, just tell me," she said, hands folded in front of her. Queen Makoria turned around to face the Jedi and clones. "Or you could just tell the children. I'm sure they will find what you need." Queen Makoria smiled.
Children? This will only make our mission more complicated, Bliz thought. Queen Makoria was already excusing herself, saying that she had a call waiting for her. Bliz didn't hear exactly what it was that she said.
Bliz stood outside the door to the room he, Crusade Squad, and Rex would be sharing. Along with the new guy, Bliz thought dismally. The last thing they needed at this moment was another addition to their squad. Bliz heard Marik sigh beside him.
"We might as well go in. Standing out here won't accomplish anything." Marik's hand went towards the panel to the right of the door.
"Ah. Commander, there you are!" Bliz looked up along with Crusade squad to see Kiki walking towards them with an unfamiliar clone by her side.
The new kid, Bliz thought. He looked at the armor to see if he recognized the markings. The new trooper had painted his boots entirely black except for the soles, with sharp points reaching up over his thighs, and he even had the Crusade Squad crest already stenciled onto his right breast plate. Bliz couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
"Crusade Squad –and Rex," Kiki began, "I would like you to meet CT-010/346, or as you'll be calling him, Ridge."
Ridge took off his helmet, and Bliz looked at him, surprised. Ridge's haircut was definitely something he hadn't seen before –at least on a clone; Ridge had a Mohawk with bright red streaks in it, the tip reaching the middle of the bridge of his nose. It didn't stand up, or else it wouldn't have fit in his helmet, but it was thicker at the base, giving it some size. Another thing that Ridge had that Bliz had never seen on a clone was piercings; two small hoops and a stud. He also had a stud under his lip, all of which were black.
Bliz looked on with disapproval. Although he didn't really mind the haircut, the piercings were impractical and not fit for battle. He didn't hear most of what Kiki said.
"And he has a nice haircut," she said, nudging his arm playfully. She was trying to make him more comfortable in the less than warm welcome he received from Crusade Squad. Ridge gave a soft smile.
"I aim to please, sir," Ridge said. He looked to the rest of Crusade Squad; a hopeful look in his eyes even though it didn't show on the rest of his face.
Bliz frowned again. Ridge's voice seemed high, not the high that shinnies fresh off of Kamino had, but just a little higher. There wasn't the usual undertone of gruffness that came with a shinnies' voice. Bliz was sure he also heard ridge's voice crack –just slightly- but it was there. He also seemed a little on the short side. Where Kiki would come up to a clone's temple, ridge was just a fraction taller than her. Bliz narrowed his eyes. He was glad Kiki couldn't see how much he was glaring under his bucket. Just how old is this kid? Bliz thought.
Bliz could see the look Kiki was giving him. Be nice to him it said. Marik opened the door to their barracks, stepping in. The rest of the men followed, and Kiki continued on down the hall, little Ri still trailing her. Marik looked around the room, choosing which bunk he wanted to sleep on.
Four bunks were on either side of the room, and the original Crusade Squad immediately started choosing which bunks they would be sleeping on. There were extras, too many, actually. Ridge watched as the others started setting up. He dragged his duffel over to the bed nearest the door, not out of disrespect, but because he didn't know them. He'd seen them from a distance in the mess hall and on missions, but that was it. They always seemed so friendly with each other, and Ridge couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for him to become best mates with them. He had never spoken to any of them before, except for maybe Cord.
Ridge sighed. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't help it if he was quiet around new people –besides, he didn't have anything to say. He sat on the bed, examining his freshly painted helmet in silence.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Ridge's head snapped up to the speaker. Edger smiled at him, and Ridge relaxed a little.
"Not around new people, usually," he answered, his eyes already straying back to his helmet. He was just waiting for some kind of comment or remark about his height, or his voice, or just about him in general. He was used to that.
"Maybe he's the shy type," Marik said from the bunk above Ratchet.
"Jax is the shy type," Edger said, smirking.
Jax glowered. "I am not shy."
"Sure you are!" Edger countered brightly, "Especially around the Gen—oomph!" His face was immediately smothered with a pillow by Jax.
"Ignore him," Jax said calmly, although his face was the lightest shade of pink.
Ridge smiled. So far, he was looking forward to spending more time with Crusade Squad…
Bliz turned in his bed. Then he turned over again. He could hear voices, clear and loud, even though they were supposed to be gone, extinct, destroyed…
"We're coming to get you," they hissed. He could almost see them, their ugly, scaly skin and piercing eyes. He saw a woman, screaming for help, completely covered in blood. He tried running to her, but found he couldn't move, there was a hand tight around his neck, and he was up to his waist in a thick, red liquid.
Blood…
"We're coming to get you. Watch your back," it hissed again. Bliz could see a hand forming, leading to an arm, and then a torso. Bliz closed his eyes, he didn't want to see what it would lead up to, He already knew. He couldn't breathe; he could feel the fear begin to surge in him as he watched the woman die, slowly sinking into the ocean of blood.
"You're next," the voice hissed, squeezing even tighter around his throat. Bliz wanted to scream, but he couldn't, he couldn't find his voice. He felt his life slowly fading away from him, his vision getting darker and darker…
Bliz shot up straight in bed, shaking and drenched in a cold sweat. He struggled to control his breathing as he took in the surroundings of the barracks. First night here and I'm already having nightmares, Bliz thought humorlessly.
Bright moonlight came in through the large window at the end of the room he was on. Everyone else was having their own nightmares, he could tell, they were thrashing and turning in their beds. Bliz finally got a hold of his breathing, climbing out of bed and walking to the door. He decided a short walk would help clear his head.
"You alright, Commander?" Bliz froze at the voice. He saw Ridge in his bed; he was looking at him with a slightly concerned and mostly tired look on his face. He must have heard him during his nightmares.
"I'm alright. Doesn't matter," Bliz whispered. Ridge sat up a little more and turned so he could face Bliz better, rubbing an eye groggily.
"Youshur? Ridge was so sleepy his words were slurring together. He continued rubbing his eye as he sat up and turned around to face Bliz, kneeling on his bed, and one hand down to help him keep his balance.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Go back to sleep kid," Bliz said. Ridge stiffened, just slightly, at the word "kid". It was barely even enough to notice, but for a person who spent their entire life noticing tiny differences to tell his brothers apart in a sea of identical faces, the move wasn't hard to miss. Bliz watched as Ridge stiffly crawled back under the thick blankets the queen had to offer.
"M'kay," he said.
Bliz sighed and walked through the door. He didn't know why Ridge had reacted the way he did when he called him "kid". Bliz had called a lot of shinnies before "kid", and they always took it in stride, they knew that they would outgrow it later. Bliz pondered this as he walked quietly.
Moonlight flooded the hallways from the enormous windows, spotting them in patterns of light and shadows. Bliz wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to clear his head of the recent nightmare. He stopped at one of the windows, looking out on the palace gardens. Upon closer examination, he could see the clones that were on duty at the moment, patrolling the pathways of the extensive garden, as alert and ready as if they were in a battle and not on watch.
Something moved in one of the bushes, immediately drawing Bliz's attention. Just as he looked, he saw a flash of an object like a long tail, whipping around before disappearing in the plants. Another movement caught his eye, and Bliz looked down to the flower bed right below the window. There was a glint of yellow, not flashing, but glowing.
It was an eye.
Bliz felt his back stiffen and sudden terror run through him. He stared at the eye, and it blinked and stared right back before disappearing from his sight. Bliz's blood ran cold, and he quickly swiveled away from the window, just in time to see a little child standing a few feet away from him. Bliz froze.
She looked to be about seven years old, with pale blue skin matching Kiki's, and pale blonde hair almost mistakable for whit unless you looked closely. Her bright green eyes seemed to glow in the dark, even as she rubbed one sleepily.
Bliz opened his mouth to say something, but cut himself off at the look on the little girl's face. It didn't ask who are you? but are you okay? This child didn't even know who he was but she was concerned for his well being, he could have been a robber as far as she knew. Her worry over him warmed his heart a little and chased away any lingering thoughts of the nightmare. He gave her a faint smile in return. The child seemed reassured by this and nodded her head, whether it was out of finality or lack of sleep Bliz wouldn't know. She turned around to go back to her room, their unspoken conversation over. She almost tripped over the blanket she dragged with her, and Bliz chuckled to himself at the sight of it. She closed the door, getting the blanket caught in it in the process, and leaving him alone again in the hallway.
Bliz went back to the barracks, slipping under the blankets quietly. He quickly fell into a deep and satisfyingly dreamless sleep...
Edger and Bliz walked along ahead of the rest of Crusade Squad. "Sir, I think we're lost," Edger said, gazing at the various fruit trees.
"We're not lost Edger. Simply…wandering." Bliz aimed his DC-15 blaster at nothing in particular.
"I think we're lost," Ridge piped up from the back of the group. Bliz was starting to like Ridge less and less.
"What's that?" Jax exclaimed. He ran over to something poking out of the bushes. Bliz zoomed in through his helmet.
It was a hand.
Cord had already rushed to Jax's side, helping him pull the woman out of the bush. He froze up when he saw who it was.
She's from my nightmare, Bliz thought, blood running cold again.
"She's still alive!" Cord called. He rolled the woman to balance against his knee while he propped her up. Blood was soaking through his glove from her bare back, he could feel it.
"They're…coming…" she barely managed to whisper.
"Who's coming?" Jax asked.
"Ma'am, I need you to stay with me," Cord said, checking her pulse.
"They…left…message…"
"What?" Jax and Cord asked simultaneously. The woman didn't answer.
She was gone.
"Wait." Jax carefully turned over her bruised body, examining her back. Three words written in crude Basic that made Bliz want to throw up.
Watch your back.
"Watch your back…" Jax muttered to himself, unbelieving.
"Whoever it was that did this used her as a writing board," Marik whispered, horror evident in his voice.
The letters were carved into her back with a knife, and judging by the amount of blood, it had happened recently. Like last night, Bliz thought. That was where all of the blood had come from. Bliz felt he was really going to throw up soon, but he stood stock still, eyes unmoving from the prone woman on the garden path. The letters were partly hidden from all of the blood, sloppy, but still readable.
Bliz saw Jax force a swallow. "We need to get her out of here." He stood up, carrying the woman in his arms. Bliz examined her face. She was so young; she couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty years old. Bliz shook his head, trying to keep the images from his nightmare from coming back. He felt chill go down his spine, and he shivered despite the warm weather of the afternoon. Bliz could feel something was going to happen in the future, and he didn't like it. His blood continued to feel frigid in his body.
They were coming back...
I hope this chapter was better than the others; I really tried my hardest on this one, and I added a whole bunch of stuff, if you've noticed. The children Queen Makoria mentioned earlier were supposed to appear here, but I figured that didn't really make much sense (it really didn't work out smoothly in my head, it would have been a random bit of humor in what is supposed to be slightly depressing and scary) I'm sorry if any humor seemed misplaced in this, it's a bad habit of mine, this being the first story that wasn't humor based. Please tell me what you think! ( I'd really appreciate it!)
~AAx
P.S. - Don't forget about the poll that I've had up for a while now! I'll have to take it down soon, so vote quickly!
P.P.S. - Behind-the-Scenes Thingy: At first, I was freaking out over who Ridge would be because I didn't think that I had enough clones in Crusade Squad. Then I remembered that Bliz was also a part of it and that I already had enough, but by then the awesome idea of Ridge was born and his haircut got to me (silly me!=p)
