Vanguard
Chapter 2
"Keep your distance"
[Coruscant, Sector A-47]
Ahsoka was beginning to wake up to the early light of dawn, she opened her eyes but they refused to stay open for long. 'That was a weird dream . . .' she thought to herself as she pushed herself to get up, as she sat up in her bed she stretched out her arms and yawned for a moment then finally gets up and walks to the door that was locked. At first she didn't remember locking the door for whatever reason and decided to just unlock it and get something to eat, she opens the door and walks into the living room where she immediately stopped in her tracks as she now remembers why she locked the door in the first place. The being called Longarm still laid on the couch unconscious from the fight with Ventress yesterday, the giant soldier still laid in the same way where she had left him but Tano was unwilling to go near him just yet. Her stomach growled convincing her to move on into the small kitchen next to her and find something to appease its hunger; she walks towards the kitchen slowly without taking her eyes off of Longarm in case he was now awake and just simply waiting for the right moment to attack. She opens a refrigerator and manages to grab a carton of Jawa juice and a plate of leftovers from last night sometime before Ventress brought him into her apartment; she closes the refrigerator and decided to eat at the small kitchen table where she could keep an eye on him as she began eating.
It wasn't till she nearly finished her food when she began to hear the soldier stir and groan. She immediately gets up and confronts the being for the first time as she prepares her lightsabers for action, she watched Longarm slowly move his right hand to his helmet and grip firmly around it indicating a migraine when he looked away from the lightbulb above him.
He groaned for another few seconds until he muttered "Augh . . . That was one helluva dream."
He reached out for something out of his reach and accidently fell off the couch and onto the floor with a loud thud. Ahsoka took several steps back as she watched the being slowly get up to his feet, he was somewhat still disoriented as he stumbled back and forth several times but maintained his equilibrium and stood up with only a foot to spare from his helmet to the ceiling.
The SPARTAN didn't remember being in an apartment complex overlooking a vast city as he glanced out the window, he then turned around and noticed this orange humanoid female wielding similar a weapon that Ventress had with her.
He quietly stares at the prepared person and asked "This isn't a dream is it?"
"Afraid not . . ." she replied while maintaining her posture.
He looks around the room and quickly found the front door, the moment he took his first step towards the door he was yet again thrown into the air and slammed against a wall by an invisible force, this time coming from the person who stood there in front of him.
"You know! I'm getting real tired of that!" Longarm cried out agitated.
"Who are you and what are you?" the girl asked with a tone of authority as if she was somehow better than him.
"You first" Longarm asks with a defiant tone leveling the field of who's better than who.
"Ahsoka Tano, former Jedi Padawan . . . your turn."
"Name's Longarm, pleasure to meet you" he said sarcastically as he was pinned against the wall in mid-air.
"Alright that's half the answer, now tell me what you are?" she ordered.
But before he could answer that, someone began pounding on the door and a trooper's voice calling out "Hey what's going on in there!? What 's with the racket!?"
Ahsoka lost concentration as she mutters "Shoot, what are the clones doing in the building!?"
She quickly realizes that she lost concentration allowing the seven foot soldier to land on the ground and land a successful and debilitating blow to the gut forcing her to crumple over and groan in pain. As she lied there on the ground she could hear the clones breaking through the door, multiple footsteps suggesting there were about four of them hopefully armed with blasters.
"What the!? TAKE HIM!" a trooper cried out followed up by an intense moment of blaster fire.
She couldn't see anything as she laid on the ground but the blasting stopped and was quickly followed up with a brief and rather brutal brawl between the squad of clones and the one giant, she heard a brief cry for help from one of the troopers moments before Longarm hurled him towards the far end of the room. She finally got the strength back to stand up and see what happened. She turns around and found Longarm dealing with the last two clones with sheer ferocity and deadly precision, he quickly disarms one clone and slams his helmet into a wall, the other trooper fired a bolt and struck the backside of the giant. Much to everyone's surprise, an energy shield protected Longarm from the would-be fatal shot, Longarm turns and shoulder bashes the trooper sending him sailing towards the kitchen table and came crashing down with a loud crack of the table breaking underneath the clone's weight. She then watched Longarm pick up it a DC-15S blaster and make his way towards the door into the hallway just to be forced back by another squad of guards who open fired. He quickly made his way towards the window just as the second squad enters the room finding their incapacitated brothers, and just as two of the troopers raised their weapons and fired, Longarm had already leaped out of the window and fell to the bustling streets below.
"DID HE JUST JUMP!?" a trooper called out in shock as the others began tending to the injured.
Ahsoka wasn't willing to let him escape, she needed to uncover the mystery behind this man and the only way to do that was to go after him. She quickly gathered her lightsabers she dropped and sprinted for the window and leaped out in pursuit of the giant who was still in freefall.
Longarm was nose diving head first when he looked up and spotted Ahsoka falling in a similar fashion closing in on him, he readied his recently acquired blaster and took aim. He fired the first shot sending a blue bolt of energy zipping passed her, he then fired four more precision shots but his pursuer dodged and weaved evading them all. He glanced downward seeing the ground coming fast, he swung himself around and came crashing down into the ground feet first, the sidewalk underneath him cracked and warped as it took the impact, the surrounding crowds screamed and yelped in sudden fear not expecting a seven foot armed being crashing down from above. Longarm scans the crowd for oncoming troopers but saw none yet. He then glances upward and found Ahsoka now falling feet first in preparation to land, he chuckled at the fact that he never fought someone with this kind of determination before; he holstered his blaster and charged through the crowds knocking some over who failed to get out of the way in time.
After barging through the crowd, Longarm glances back and saw Tano in hot pursuit as she professionally moves through the crowd without bumping into someone, the SPARTAN couldn't help but grin in admiration. He faces forward again and found an alley to run through and hopefully escape; he darted for the entrance quickly and entered with the former Padawan just minutes behind him, 'This is too easy' he thought as he enters the darkness of the alley.
Ahsoka immediately stopped at the mouth of the alleyway, it was too dark to see clearly but she could make out several figures off to the left side next to a dumpster. She readies her sabers for the likely chances that Longarm could be one of the figures she sees, she slowly placed one foot in front of the other as she slowly crept towards a large figure on the right. She was now a good five meters from the figure, she was expecting to see the bulky outline of Longarm's armor but instead the figure was just some wookie smuggler, 'Something's not right here . . .' she thought to herself, she activates both sabers but it was too late as suddenly without warning a large bulky figure materialized out of thin air right behind her and swung a small blaster weapon slamming the barrel into the side of her head. She fell with a light thud dropping her sabers that clattered against the ground, she was lying on her side rubbing her head when she felt a gloved hand grab her by the shoulder and turn her over face up. She looked up to see Longarm kneeling down beside her with his left arm resting on his left kneecap, she stared into his black visor with shock and fear 'How could he have cloaked himself!? I thought that kind of technology was only available to warships!' she thought frantically trying to make sense of it.
Longarm chuckled as he comments "Not bad for someone like you, honestly you earned my respect. A little word of advice though, don't underestimate a SPARTAN-ll"
Ahsoka watched as he cocked his right arm back and suddenly launched it towards her head, and the moment it made contact with her face . . . it was nothing but black.
Several hours have passed since Ahsoka was knocked unconscious and she was now beginning to come to, she felt her arms and legs were chained up to something thus denying her the ability to move. Her eyes began to open up slowly and soon got a clear view of where she was. It appeared to be an abandoned manufacturing plant forgotten long ago; a large portion of a wall was knocked down revealing a somewhat pleasant view of a space port. She looked around a little more and found her lightsabers lying on a small metal crate and beside them are a DC-15S blaster with additional clips next to it and a plate with some half eaten food. She struggled to free herself from the chains that held her arms and legs together but it was hopeless, she was dealing with industrial materials and the only way of getting out was with her sabers. She calmed herself and concentrated on bringing one of her sabers to her and use it to cut herself free.
Moments before she could use the force, a deep male voice echoed through the air "I see that you're finally awake."
Ahsoka stopped what she was doing and looked around to find the source but she didn't see anyone around, that was until Longarm appeared out of cloak right in front of her giving the young former Jedi a bit of a surprise, and he came face to face with her showing no emotion behind his dark helmet.
Ahsoka asked as she carefully studies the SPARTAN "How long was I out?"
"Three hours and forty-two minutes. Was hoping you would have woke up sooner" he comments.
"Why is that?" she wondered
"So I can ask you some questions . . . are you hungry?" Longarm asked gesturing his hand towards the plate of food.
"I ate breakfast before you woke up, thanks" she said grudgingly.
The SPARTAN shrugged his shoulders and continued "That's fine."
He gently took hold of Ahsoka's chin with his right hand and turned her head left and right as if he was examining her, he then turned her head to the left and examined that side further for some reason.
"Let go of me!" she hissed as she began to jerk her head out of his hand.
"Don't struggle, I'm just checking that bruise I gave you earlier" he said as a way to calm her anxiety.
Ahsoka gradually stopped struggling; it was in fact surprising that someone who knocked her out was actually checking up on her in terms of health.
She decided to go along with it and asked "How does it look?"
"I could've done worse. Nothing is broken and the swelling should go down soon" he concluded as he lets go of her.
Ahsoka eventually was calm and comments "You have questions for me and I have questions for you, how do we work this out?"
"We can take turns, I can flip a coin and see who goes first . . . heads or tails?" he asked.
She watched him pull out a round piece of metal that she had never seen before, she then just guessed "Tails."
The SPARTAN flipped the coin into the air and caught it in mid-air as it came down, he glances at it at states "Tails . . . alright you go first."
"You called yourself a SPARTAN . . . what is that?" she asked
"Genetically engineered and augmented super-soldiers, one of the best soldiers ever to exist so far."
His turn "Why are you determined to catch me if you knew you were dealing with something you never faced before?"
"Ventress brought you to me in hopes of finding out what you are, I would have just said no but that changed the moment when I realized I couldn't sense the force within you."
Her turn "Where did you come from and how did you get here?"
"I don't even know where 'here' is" he states with a hint of uncertainty.
"Wait what?" she asked not believing what he just said.
She then started her own series of questions "You're on Coruscant in the middle of the galaxy, how could you not know where you are!?"
"How am I supposed to know!?" Longarm asked flailing his arms about.
She was now far too curious about him and asked "Then how did you even get here?"
"I came into this galaxy with a- . . . I'm not answering that" he said quickly as if he just said too much.
"Another galaxy!? You're an intergalactic being!?" Ahsoka asked in disbelief.
The SPARTAN grew agitated and briefly states "Let's just say I came here by accident and I've been stuck here for several years."
Tano asked "Where's your ship?"
"I don't trust you enough to tell you that, and using common sense it's not here on Coruscant otherwise it'll be all over the news" he states.
Ahsoka understood his fear of trusting someone from another galaxy and states "Fair enough . . . look if you release me I can help you get off-world. There's someone who wants to talk to you."
Longarm crossed his arms "And why should I go with you?"
She explains "Because you'll be better off with me than when the clones find you, and trust me they will."
The SPARTAN took several steps back and quietly thought for a moment, he knew she was right about the troopers eventually finding him and he didn't know what they do to their prisoners. He also thought that this might be a good chance to find a way back home to the UNSC and tell them about a whole new galaxy; then again they'll probably never believe him and just call him crazy.
He glanced at one of Ahsoka's lightsabers and picks it up asking "How do I turn this thing on?"
Ahsoka instructed "First off you're holding it the wrong way, second there's a stud on the hilt, press it and the blade should come out."
She watched the SPARTAN flip the hilt around and pressed on the stud releasing a bright green blade, he walks over to the chained up padawan and cuts the set of chains holding up her legs then cuts the chain holding her arms. As the chains fell to the ground clattering against the metal flooring, Ahsoka rubbed her wrists from the straining the chains had placed on them; Longarm deactivated the blade and generously hands the hilt to Ahsoka. The two walked over to the crate and retrieved their weapons, Ahsoka her other lightsaber, and Longarm his blaster and ammunition.
"So how do you plan on getting us off-world? I can't get through the streets without being called a droid by the guards and get shot at" Longarm comments.
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow and asked "You got shot at by the clones?"
"Several times. That's how I ended up in a alleyway yesterday before that witch Ventress came by . . . wherever she is now."
Ahsoka gestured with her hand for him to follow to the large hole in the wall and points out to something in the far distance "There's a space port not too far from here, if we can get there then we get off-world without a hitch."
Longarm shrugged "Sounds good to me, let's going."
The two holstered their weapons then walked out of the abandoned facility together making their way to the space port. As the two walked through a nearby residential district, Ahsoka couldn't stop staring at Longarm as he himself was simply looking around as people of many different species walked passed them. She couldn't get over the fact that she was dealing with a being from a different galaxy, it just felt so weird and new to her.
The two were walking quietly until Ahsoka eventually broke the silence between them "So what is it like? Your own galaxy?"
Longarm glanced down at her then back to bystanders saying "Honestly from what I can tell by being here. It's not much different from yours."
"Is your kind at war for peace and unity?"
"For survival" he said calmly.
Even though Ahsoka couldn't feel his presence as a being, she could definitely feel his anger and frustration slowly boiling up over the years of being trapped here. She could also sense his fears . . . fears of extinction by a threat she knew nothing of.
She asked "How long have you been here?"
"Sometime before the Clone Wars began . . . Over the years I've managed to get a basic understanding of both sides of the war" he explains showing that he had some hands on knowledge with the Separatists and the Republic.
Nearly an hour has passed the duo finally reached the space port and already gotten through the first set of security. They were now nearing the second and last set of security when one of Ahsoka's oldest friends happens to see them by chance.
"Ahsoka!" a woman's voice cheerfully called out.
Longarm turned around to see a young human woman in her late twenties or early thirties with brown hair and wearing some sort of formal attire approaching them.
"Senator Amidala what are you doing here?" Ahsoka asked
The senator replied "I was just on my way to a negotiation in a neutral system. . . I heard that you left the Order . . . I'm sorry it came to this."
Longarm noticed Ahsoka looked glim as she replied "I'm sorry you had to hear about it . . . Senator I would like you to meet my new friend, his name is Longarm."
Amidala turned to Longarm and bowed her head lightly saying "Hello Longarm, pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise ma'am . . . I've never met a senator before" the SPARTAN comments.
"Not many people have, I take it from your armor that you're not one for negotiations" she concludes.
"Not in the slightest ma'am, I prefer the term 'aggressive negotiations' but on occasion I can be pretty helpful with talks" Longarm comments.
"Is that so? Well in that case would you two care to join me on this mission with me?" the senator asked.
Ahsoka replies "I can't, I'm no longer a Jedi remember?"
Amidala grinned saying "But nobody knows that just yet, you two will be paid as my armed escorts."
Longarm was quick to ask "I thought this was a negotiation, why do you need armed escorts?"
"If you known me for some time then you would know that some people within the Separatists would love to have me dead, and unfortunately Captain Typho will be too busy tending to an issue aboard my ship. What do you say?"
Longarm shrugged "I'm in . . . I'm tired of barely living by and I would like to know a little more about the tensions between the Republic and the Separatists."
The two then looked at Ahsoka who eventually gave in saying "Fine . . . I guess I can do one more mission with you senator."
Amidala became overjoyed knowing that she got them to come along "Great! I'll be waiting for you at hangar fifteen."
As they watched the senator walk away Longarm comments "I tend to hate politicians but she seems pretty good."
Ahsoka quickly turned on him poking his chest plate warning "You just keep your distance . . . I may trust you when you're around me but so help me if you do anything to her!"
Longarm gently places his hand over her arm pushing it away and said "Don't worry, I don't intend on doing anything. Let's get going."
The two soon followed the senator on their way to the hangar bay, it was clear that Ahsoka was extremely concerned for Padmé's safety when someone like Longarm was close by and armed with a weapon. If she catches a hint of Longarm intending to harm the senator, she would have no choice but to kill him.
Please leave your comments and thoughts. Thank you.
