Hay there! Sorry about the little delay but something called school has gotten in the way lately. Here's a couple of translations your going to need for this chapter…
Shabla - screwed up (offensive)
Ori'buyce, kih'kovid. - "All helmet, no head." (Mandalorian insult for someone with an overdeveloped sense of authority.)
Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod? - Are you looking for a smack in the face, mate?
Udesii - "calm down", "take it easy"
Hut'uun= a coward, the worst possible thing you can call a mandalorian.
Aruetii= outsider or traitor
Phwoar= expletive
"Chopper were are you?" Echo called. "We're supposed to be guarding the base." The base in question was the republics station on some backwater swamp planet Echo didn't care to remember the name of.
"Come on Chopper this isent funny any more." The scarred trooper had disappeared into the undergrowth about ten minutes before. Shouting something about an experiment.
"Chopper were…" Echo voice was cut off as his brother jumped out of the underbrush and tackled him to the ground. Both men landed in a near by mud puddle spattering there white armor with the brown muck.
"Phwoar Chopper! what the heck are you doing?" Echo shouted pushing Chopper off of him.
"Well I was trying to see if I could trigger your foresight." Chopper explained.
"A little warning would have been nice." Echo complained rubbing his chin were a decent sized bruise was beginning to form.
"It would have wouldn't it?" Chopper sighed mockingly. Echo pulled himself up out of the mud puddle. Suddenly his mind caught a fleeting image of once again being talked into the dirt. Chopper lunged at him but the trooper stepped out of the way just in time thanks to the early warning. Chopper landed face first in another pile of dirt. Echo leaned down to his brother.
"Well looks like it worked." He said mockingly. Chopper scowled and reached up to pull his brother into the mud, this time catching Echo off guard.
By the time Jesse and Hardcase showed up to take there turn on watch both troopers were covered from helmet to boot in mud.
Gus didn't care what anyone said he wasn't paranoid. He was suspicious yes but paranoid no.
I don't know whom I can trust. That's all. He thought. Is that paranoia? I think not. Gus glanced up from his data pad as the barracks door slide open revealing Chopper and Echo. Both covered from head to toe in mud and grim. Echo had a small welt forming on the tip of his chin. And Chopper was glairing at him.
"What happened to you two?" Jester asked looking up from polishing his gun. Chopper jabbed his thumb in the other trooper's direction.
"Ask mister smart shebs over there." He said walking over to his bunk. All the wile trying to remove peaces of his mud caked armor.
"Hay don't look at me." Echo said defensively. "It was all your idea." Sketch who was drawing vigorously on his own data pad scowled at them.
"Stop moving. I'm trying to draw here." His complaints were rewarded by a splash of mud, which landed smack dab in-between his eyes. Everyone in the room laughed, except Gus who was quiet. "O ha, ha." Sketch said, "Suddenly you're all comedians."
"What exactly were you two doing?" Gus asked an edge of suspicion in his voice. He didn't trust Chopper. He never had. Not because he was paranoid but because he was realistic. If Chopper had been keeping his droid fingers a secret chances were he had other secrets as well.
"None of your phwoar business." Chopper replied not seeming to appreciate Gus's tone.
"Considering I'm your sergeant I'd say it is my business." Gus replied coldly standing from his bunk in an attempt to seem more authoritative. I am his sergeant now; he has to learn to respect me.
"Ori'buyce, kih'kovid." Chopper mumbled tugging off his mud covered chest plate.
"What did you say to me?" Gus asked angrily stepping closer to his brother. Chopper turned around and looked the sergeant dead in the eyes his discolored blue yellow one despite its sightlessness held Guses with deathly persistence.
"I said 'all helmet no head' or are you so dense you cant understand basic mandalorian?" By now both men's blood was boiling.
"Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?" Gus asked his voice filled with warning.
"Try it you Hut'uun!" Chopper dared him.
Gus didn't realize what he was doing. He was blinded by anger and didn't think about the consequences of his actions. Chopper never saw the fist coming his way.
Chopper stumbled back griping his right eye. He howled. The pain of the impact radiated across his skin and tortured the previously damaged tissue surrounding his right eye. With the old pain came many unwanted memories. A cold metal operating table beneath him, blinding white surgical lights, Metallic fingers scraping across his flesh Chopper found himself fighting to keep his powers in check, as his mind attempted to go on auto pilot and tear Guses psychi apart. Chopper gave in and was about to turn his deadly gaze on Gus when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Udesii Chopper." The scarred trooper turned to the man at his side and forced himself to relax. It was Jester. Chopper looked back to were Gus had been standing. Both Echo and Punch were holding the sergeant back. Sketch stood in front of him.
"Sir that was a cheep shot and you know it." Sketch said his voice raw and accusing. Gus hung his head.
"Its all right." Chopper said coldly his voice was incredible steady despite the horrifying memories playing themselves over and over in his mind. "Guess our fearless leader forgot that I'm deficient." He spat out the final word as if it put a bad taste in his mouth.
Gus shook off the two troopers holding him. He felt terrible about taking advantage of Choppers blind side, Sketch was right it was a cheep shot no mater what the trooper might be hiding.
"I'll take Chopper down to the med bay." Echo offered stepping forward. Choppers eyes narrowed immediately.
"I'm not going to see any shabla medic droid." He said sharply. The torturous memories of metallic fingers scraping across his skin still fresh in his mind.
"No droids, promise." Echo assured him. "We'll just go get an ice pack from Kix. Ok?" Chopper nodded and mumbled a few choice swear words under his breath before following Echo out of the barracks.
When the two were gone Sketch turned to Jester and Punch.
"Why don't you guys head down to the guard station your shift starts soon." He suggested. The two troopers nodded even though their shift didn't start for another half hour both men were eager to escape the tension of the room. They hurried out leaving Gus and Sketch alone in the sleeping quarters.
Both men stood in silence for several minutes. In some ways the quiet was worse than anything Sketch could have said to his sergeant at that moment.
"Gus." Sketch said finally, dropping rank. "Chopper can be a hot head at times but not even he deserved that."
"I know." Gus grumbled. Looking at the floor. He felt like a kid that had just disappointed his father.
"Than why would you do it?" Sketch asked. "Your or sergeant now. You have to set the example. Men can only be as good as the one who leads them." His words stung like a whip across Gus's back.
"Which is why the rest of the battalion treats us like Shabla meat cans." Gus grumbled.
"Ya see." Sketch said his voice calm but accusing. "That's your problem. You can't just let something go. You think every time someone steps out of line their goanna betray us to the sepies." Gus stayed quiet.
Not for the first time Gus wondered why it hadn't been Sketch to get the promotion to sergeant. After Slicks betrayal it was Sketch who stepped up as the unofficial leader of the unit. Even when Dark was assigned to replace slick Sketch had still bin somewhat of a second in command. He was the levelheaded one; he was the one who knew how to set an example. Just like Slick… Gus immediately regretted that thought. Sketch wasn't like Slick, Slick was a traitor an aruetii. Sketch was loyal, respectable and one of the only people Gus knew he could completely trust. But then an even more terrifying thought struck him.
I trusted Slick like that. Gus was suddenly weary of the man in front of him. It must have shown because Sketches eyes narrowed.
"Be careful Gus. Remember you have a responsibility to this unit. You can't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment." He gave the sergeant a hard look. "The last thing this unit needs is another man getting thrown in the brig." Gus swallowed hard. Just then his COM link beeped saving Gus from any further scrutiny from his brother.
"Sergeant Gus, General Skywalker wishes to see you in the briefing room." Came a clone troopers voice over the COM link. "He says it's about the next mission." Gus lifted his wrist to speak into the COM.
"On my way." he replied. Sketch gave Gus one last hard look before he picked up his drawing pad and sat down on his bunk. Gus didn't say anything as he left the barracks.
Kix handed Chopper a cool pack and received a mumbled thank you before the scarred trooper pressed it to his bruising eye.
"Get in a fight again Chopper?" Kix asked nonchalantly.
"No." Chopper lied. Kix turned to Echo for an explanation.
"He…" Echo began. "Bumped into a wall." Chopper scowled but remained silent.
"Right." Kix said sarcastically clearly not believing it. "And I supposed the wall also pushed you to into the mud and then proceeded to steal peaces of your armor." He Eyed both mud soaked troopers. Chopper snorted.
"Yep pretty much." He said matter-of-factly. Kix rolled his eyes and Echo shifted uneasily.
"You wouldn't mind not mentioning this to Rex would you?" the Trooper asked.
Kix shook his head. "Echo you now that I'm required to report any none combat related injury's to the captain."
"Come on Kix." Echo said pleadingly. "Remember all the times I covered for you way back when?" Kix did remember. It was one of the reasons he didn't like it when Echo was reassigned to Slicks unit…
No that isn't right. He thought. It's Gus's squad now. All the same he didn't think Echo should be around them. Maybe they weren't traitors but Slick shore as anything was, and if anyone followed in his footsteps it would be them. Especially Chopper... he glanced at the scarred trooper sitting on the edge of the poker table.
"All right." Kix finally sighed. "But only because I owe you."
"Thanks Kix!" Echo said gratefully. Chopper mumbled in agreement and the two troopers left before the medic could change his mind.
Outside the tent Chopper turned to Echo.
"Thanks." He grunted clearly not used to having to say thank you. "I own you one."
"No problem." Echo said waving it off. "The way I look at it I'm the one who own you."Echo gave his brother a serious look. "Besides if I hadn't called in that favor you probably would have tried to wipe his memory or something."
"I wouldn't have tried I would have succeeded." Chopper replied indignantly. Echo rolled his eyes.
"whatever." He said waving it off. Chopper smacked the back of Echos head.
"Abuse!" Echo accused.
"whatever." Chopper said mockingly. "Come on were going to train some more. You should have seen that coming."
Please, please, please review! O and I have 2 questions for you o so loyal readers. First do you think I should incorporate how Chopper got his scars/realized his force sensitivity in this story or should I make a branch off for that? At the moment I'm leaning towards branch off but I want the readers opinion. Second would any of you be interested in a branch off story about what happened to Heavy between Rissi and when he meets up with Greeto? I have some ideas for that so if enough people are interested I'll right one. So like I said before please review!