Got the Jitters here with a new chapter, finally! (Laughs sheepishly) It's uh… It's been a while… Please don't kill me! (Cowers in terror) I'm sorry I really am! I had a hard time with this one, like a REALLY hard time, so I hope it's worth it… Writers block… long vacation… no internet… new baby sister… Of course you probably don't want to sit here listening to my excuses, so… I'll just… start now…
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea…" was the first thing Rex thought upon seeing the mysterious planet Danzoar. When they entered the misty atmosphere and found their shuttle engulfed in fog so thick they couldn't see three feet out the windows, his second thought was the famous, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"I don't know about you, but I'll be glad to leave this place," Ahsoka said quietly.
Despite the fact that she was echoing his own thoughts, Rex did his best to lighten the mood.
"Wow, already? And we haven't even landed yet!"
And of course he failed. The withering look Ahsoka shot him was proof of that. Oh well, at least he tried. A little while later, Rex found himself greeting the clones stationed there. To his shock only few clones could be seen. Yoda hadn't been kidding when he said this base was small.
"Why is this base so small?" he asked an ARC-Trooper.
"This planet isn't considered a very high target for either the Separatists or the Republic because of its lack of recourses. The only reason we have a base here period is the few lightsaber crystals," the trooper explained.
"But still, there should be more troopers here than this!" Rex protested. The clone looked grim.
"There were. The monster killed them."
Ahsoka suddenly spoke up. "We have to start our investigation somewhere. What's your name, trooper?"
The clone looked startled, but then answered, "CT-4177."
"No, I mean your name, as in, what your friends call you."
"Oh… Well… My brothers call me Bomber."
"Wonderful to meet you, Bomber. Now, can you please tell us how many clones were originally stationed here?"
"Fifty."
"And how many victims have there been?"
"Twenty."
Ahsoka gasped. "So many! That means… there are only thirty clones stationed here! We have to put an end to this monster," she concluded determinedly.
"We sent for help almost as soon as the killings started, Commander. May I ask, what took so long?" the clone respectfully asked.
Ahsoka smiled slightly. "Oh, none of that 'Commander' nonsense. Call me Ahsoka," she said in a friendly voice. But then her expression fell again. "And as for your question… I honestly don't know. I'm sorry we didn't get here in time to stop more of the killing."
Bomber simply nodded. Rex decided to get things back on track.
"What have you done to try and stop the monster?" he asked Bomber.
"Everything. Night watches, patrols, anything we could to try and stop it. We even tried to find it at one point, but of course we were unsuccessful."
"Tell us everything you can about this monster," Ahsoka said.
"Well, the cameras didn't pick up anything, even though there is lots of evidence a large, clawed monster broke its way in. It's beyond our knowledge how it does this, but for some reason our doors and walls hold no resistance against it. Apparently anyone who sees this monster doesn't live to tell the tale, which is why we don't have more information on it. And strangely enough, we don't hear any unusual sounds when it attacks, so we have no idea when an attack occurs until we find the bodies and damage later."
Ahsoka said, "Go on," to Bomber.
"Its tracks lead a little way's north of our base, but then the thing just disappears, leaving not a trace."
"Interesting… Could you take us to the spot where it seems to disappear?" Rex asked.
"Yes… but we should probably wait until morning, it's getting dark and that's when the monster always comes out. It would be a suicide mission to try and go in the dark."
"Have any of the search parties gone during the night? Or did they all go during the day?" Ahsoka asked thoughtfully.
Bomber looked at her like she was insane. "Commander… I mean, Ahsoka, with all due respect, we wanted to survive those search parties. We weren't about to go when the monster is strongest."
"So in other words, you didn't? I think I know what we should do… but if I'm wrong, we're going to die. But then again, we could likely die anyway,"
"What are you thinking, Ahsoka?" Rex asked worriedly.
"Let's follow those tracks to the spot where they disappear. If we wait and hide nearby at night, we might see what's going on."
"But what if it sees you?" Bomber asked in dismay.
"That's a chance we'll have to take," Ahsoka responded firmly.
"THIS IS WAY TO RISKY!" every fiber of Rex's being screamed silently, but Rex was far too well trained to let it show in his expression or to say it out loud. Unfortunately, Ahsoka could read his emotions through the Force and frowned. "Well, can any of you come up with a better plan?" she demanded. No one could.
Got the Jitters: Here, I switch off with jediclonecowgirl. She'll finish the chapter.
A Word from the Author: Hello everyone, it's jediclonecowgirl, with part two of the new chapter of "What am I". I know a few people will kick in our doors for this long wait, but Got the Jitters and I both had much to do. It's my turn with writing once again. Let's get the party started.
"Well, it's settled. We are going to make camp at the place where the monster always seems to disappear. Then when it shows itself, we will take it down and kill it," Ahsoka said in her "briefing voice".
"A full frontal assault on this monster... suicide." Bomber mumbled.
"It's a risk we'll have to take Bomber," Ahsoka, who had obviously overheard the ARC, said.
"With all due respect Commander Ahsoka, but you're crazy," Bomber said.
"Okay Bomber first of all, it might be crazy, but it's effective. Secondly... I told you, just call me Ahsoka," Ahsoka replied.
"Sorry Commander... errrrmmmm... Ahsoka... I'll never learn this!" Bomber growled.
"Don't worry; we've got it under control," Rex said, but he sounded like he was thinking the opposite.
"You have this in the choke-hold of madness," Bomber added.
"You might be right, but madness has method," Ahsoka retorted.
"I always though suicide wasn't the way of the Jedi," Bomber complained.
Rex snorted. "Hah, then you haven't met any Jedi before," he chuckled.
Ahsoka chuckled as well, thinking about how silly clones could get every now and then. She loved to watch the troopers bickering, along with her master. It never got old... except when the clones really got mad at each other, or got into fistfights. Then, it was up to the Jedi to make sure that the clones didn't show up at the next briefing with black eyes and bloody noses.
"Some missions are so weird without Skyguy. I mean... sure it's good to finally get a chance to prove that I can do well on my own, but it's still not the same. I don't know if it's just me not thinking clearly, but... yeah... why not admit it. I'm feeling kriffin' guilty about keeping Rex's force-sensitivity from him. Good thing I put up mental shields, because if Rex could read my mind right now, I'd be in big trouble," Ahsoka thought.
"But I should stop thinking about it. Rex and I have way too much on our plate as it is. I need to keep my mind on the here and now. I can sort it all out later," Ahsoka thought, and then noticed that the other clones had left, leaving only Rex and herself in the room. After Ahsoka had made sure no one was spying on them, she walked over to Rex and grabbed both of his hands.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Rex asked.
"It's our only chance to take out this monster. As a Jedi, you'll have to do what's best for the group Rex," Ahsoka replied.
"You sound like General Secura. Remember that joyful adventure on Maridun? Where your master was hurt and you wanted to stay with him, even though General Secura and I told you not to? Well... now you sound EXCATLY like her," Rex teased.
"Well aren't you funny," Ahsoka grumbled good-naturedly. When Rex snickered, she decided to defend the Jedi from his scrutiny.
"Well, despite what you think, Jedi are supposed to have fun every now and then. Remember how my Master and I always used to bicker back on Christophsis?" Ahsoka asked.
"Back then, all I wanted to do was to say 'Stop bickering and pull this off together' but I never had the courage. I mean... sure you were an inexperienced child back then, but when I think about what your Master's reaction would have been..." Rex said.
"Yeah... that would not have been really pleasant, but he took the news of us really well. Have you told anyone of your vode?" Ahsoka asked.
"The only one I possibly could've told about us was Cody. Well... there is still Fives, but... I do not think he will take the news without making a big deal out of it," Rex answered thoughtfully.
"C'mon have some faith in him. I'm sure he will only say 'the Captain's got a girlfriend' to every clone he meets," Ahsoka said, mockingly.
Now it was Rex's turn to retort, "Hah, very funny."
"Well... tonight we'll be on a blind date with a not-at-all-friendly-monster," Rex said suddenly after a comfortable silence.
"Well, this ought to be fun," Ahsoka giggled.
They had to mock danger. The alternative was to tremble with fear.
"Ahsoka... if we do not pull this one off, I want to tell you something," Rex said then, his voice turning serious.
"What is it Rex?" Ahsoka asked, feeling her smile slip away.
"Ni'kar'tayli gar darasuum," Rex said.
"What?" Ahsoka asked and Rex realized with a flash of embarrassment that she did not know as much Mando'a as he did.
"It's Mando'a for 'I love you,' or 'No matter how long forever turns out to be, I am yours,'" Rex replied.
"Ni'kar'tayli gar darasuum," Ahsoka echoed, before kissing Rex tenderly. As they pulled apart Rex smiled.
"I know you forever cyrae," he whispered.
"Don't Mandalorians say that when they get married?" Ahsoka asked.
"Errr...no!" Rex said quickly, his cheeks getting red.
Ending Word: Well... this chapter is done and now it's my partner's turn again. We'll update more often now. I wish I could also translate say in Mando'a that we'll update more often now. It would be kinda fitting for this. All I have left to say is bye, aaanndd...
May the Force be with you.