Vanguard

Chapter 3

"Bodyguard"

[Senator Amidala's shuttle, hyperspace, on route to Toydaria]

Ahsoka and Padme' were walking through one of the small corridors of the ship on their way to the neutral planet of Toydaria for the negotiations.

"Where did Longarm run off to?" the senator asked now becoming suspicious of him.

"He's still in his room tending to his weapon, he has a thing for being ready for anything" Ahsoka reassured her.

Amidala gave a light chuckle "I understand the feeling, especially with the circumstances these days."

The two friends walked through a door and into a luxurious dining room with Captain Typho and several security guards plus the senator's translation droid C-3PO who was now serving up the last trays of food.

C-3PO was overjoyed to see his master's padawan on board and greeted her "Greetings Padawan Tano, it is good to see you again."

"I can say the same for you too goldey" Ahsoka replied with a generous smile.

The senator and former padawan sat down at the table and prepared to eat but C-3PO stopped them asking "Um excuse me . . . but are we not waiting for Master Longarm?"

Captain Typho promptly offered "I'll go fetch him milady."

But Ahsoka was quick to protest "No no . . . I'll go get him, be back in a few seconds."

Ahsoka stood up and walked out of the dining room and down to the living quarters of the ship, she soon found the room labeled [21] and knocked on the door before entering.

"Come in!" a deep voice called out from within.

Ahsoka opened the door and came in at the right moment to catch a glimpse of the back of Longarm's head as he was putting his helmet on with a distinct hiss of air pressurizing in his suit. He had relatively pale skin and light brown hair shaved close to his skin, there was also an unusually large scar going down the back side of his neck and from the looks of it, it appeared to have been there for a very long time. Over on the table to her left was the blaster that the SPARTAN had stolen from one of the guards back on Coruscant, it was disassembled to an extent suggesting that Longarm was cleaning all of the internal components before putting it back together.

Ahsoka turned back to Longarm and comments "The senator is waiting for us in the dining room."

"Alright let's go" the SPARTAN said as he turned around facing Ahsoka with his emotionless dark helmet.

The two then made their way back to the dining room where Longarm was greeted by the others.

C-3PO started "Hello Master Longarm, I am C-3PO human-cyborg relations."

"Nice to meet you C-3PO" Longarm said.

Ahsoka and Longarm sat on opposing ends of the table with the senator sitting at the end between them. The two ladies began eating as Longarm sat there for a moment in deep thought, for the past few years of being in this galaxy he couldn't stop looking at the upper left corner of his HUD which held the time saying [4/15/52 . . . . 14:52:46]. For those past years it had not changed sense, either due to a malfunction in the helmet's circuitry or coming here caused some sort of anomaly and affected him. That date was the last time he was back home fighting the Covenant, all he could remember was being inside of a Thanatos-class Destroyer engaging a Covenant battlecruiser in orbit above a world he could not remember.

Senator Amidala noticed his behavior and asked "Is something wrong Longarm?"

The SPARTAN snapped out of his deep thought and started looking around as if not knowing where he was. 'Oh . . . right, I'm with Ahsoka and the Senator . . .' he thought depressingly.

He responded "It's uh . . . it's nothing Senator, don't worry about me."

"Maybe getting something to eat might help you out" Ahsoka suggested.

The SPARTAN looked at the large variety of food displayed before him, mostly food he never seen before but didn't care what they tasted like. He gave a subtle nod and reached for his helmet, he gave a moment for the pressurized air to depressurize giving a sudden hiss of air before taking it off. Everyone glared at Longarm's face for the first time as he sets the helmet on a chair beside him, everyone saw how relatively pale his skin was, his unusually bright blue eyes brighter than Ahsoka's, his brown shaved haircut, his firm facial structure, and a small scar across his right cheek.

Amidala resumed eating as she asked "So Longarm, what do you do for a living?"

Ahsoka glanced at Longarm as he answers "I'm a soldier . . . things were going well until a few years ago."

"What happened?" Tano asked curiously.

"I'd rather not talk about it . . . it's still too soon" the SPARTAN said hopefully leading them to believe that it was a traumatic event for him.

The senator spoke in a way to comfort him "It's alright we understand, this war has gone far too long and too many lives have been lost or ruined."

"It's not the Clone Wars I was fighting ma'am."

Everyone looked at him with wonder as Amidala asked "What war were you fighting then?"

"I can't say ma'am, only thing you need to know is that it has lasted nearly twenty-five years and still going."

Ahsoka comments "Twenty-five years? Talk about combat experience, our troops were born to fight and yet they only have nearly three years of experience under their belts."

Longarm nodded in agreement as the Senator states with pride "Well as much as I'm sorry for your kind's involvement in such a long war, I am grateful to have you at my side for this mission."

The SPARTAN grinned saying firmly "I'll have your back at all times Senator, you won't be disappointed."

Ahsoka turned to Padme' and asked "Speaking of the mission, what are we doing?"

Amidala explained the mission "We're heading to Toydaria for the coronation of their new king, Tachuko. He's a brother of the previous king Katuunko rest his soul."

Longarm asked attentively "What happened to Katuunko?"

"He was killed by Dooku's assassin, Savage Opress in a kidnapping gone wrong" Ahsoka explained.

Longarm then expressed his concern "So we're just going to be attending a coronation of a king? Forgive me Senator but I don't see the point on why you need armed guards then."

Amidala replied "It's not just because of the coronation, Tachuko is a strong supporter of the Republic, and I'm going there so I can see if he'll allow Toydaria to join the Republic."

"Aren't the Toydarians pretty big on neutrality from the war?" Ahsoka asked.

"Normally yes, but Tachuko said he convinced some of the council to join the Republic if we can ensure their safety from the Separatists" Amidala explains.

Longarm then concluded "And you think this Dooku character is going to try and stop it."

Amidala turned to the curious SPARTAN and answered "I know he's going to try something, so I can only ask of you two to protect me and King Tachuko during the negotiations."

Longarm comments "Dooku sounds pretty serious in his line of work."

Ahsoka adds "You have no idea what he can do, he's manipulative mastermind."

A voice came over the ship's intercom "Senator Amidala, we are now exiting out of hyperspace and on approach to the Toydarian Palace."

Amidala thanks the voice "Thank you pilot, we'll be ready as soon as we land."

"Of course milady, beginning atmospheric entry procedures."

Longarm stands up putting his helmet on saying "I'll go get prepared now Senator."

Amidala gratefully said "Thank you Longarm, what you're doing will be a great help to the Republic."

The SPARTAN nods lightly in acknowledgment and leaves the dining room back to his quarters.

Padme' and Ahsoka resumed eating for the last few minutes before getting ready for the mission, for several moments they were quiet until the Senator broke the silence.

She asked "So what do you think of Longarm?"

Ahsoka swallowed her last bite of food then glanced at the senator with a raised eyebrow "What do you mean?"

"I mean is he someone you would be willing to stay with for a long time?" Amidala asked trying to get the former padawan to understand her meaning.

"What are you getting at Padme'?"

"Well . . . I mean since you're no longer a part of the Order. Maybe I figured the laws and codes of the Jedi no longer apply to you. Maybe you could actually find someone out there to be with." Amidala explained carefully.

"Are you asking if I'm in love with Longarm? Then no I'm not" Tano said rejecting the idea Padme' had.

Amidala comments "I know you're not in love with him, it's not instantly. I'm just saying that over time you two may grow on each other and who knows then."

Ahsoka already became uncomfortable with the conversation as she stood up from the table saying "If you'll excuse me I have to get ready as well" and left.

Longarm sat down at his small desk and resumed working on his DC-15S blaster, the handle and trigger guard were reassembled. He decided to reassemble the barrel of the weapon since he had already cleaned the integral components before heading up to the dining room with Ahsoka and the senator. The barrel consisted of an inner barrel lined with some unusual components presumably to help launch the bolt at high speed and a larger outer shell for the operator to hold onto in combat. The SPARTAN inserts the smaller barrel into the larger and soon attached the small rail guard that slides in underneath the barrel. With the barrel now reassembled he had to now work on the main housing of the blaster's firing mechanism, unfortunately as Longarm dissembled the weapon he realized that the weapon ran along with the same principles of plasma weaponry as well as Covenant plasma weaponry. He only had several integral and external pieces to put together but he couldn't remember which part went with which, he decided to try and assemble two familiar components together when Ahsoka knocked and came into the room.

"How's it going?" she asks.

"Good so far . . ." Longarm said as he focused on reassembling his weapon but proving to be a challenge.

Ahsoka glanced over the SPARTAN's shoulder and asked "Having trouble with your blaster?"

Longarm comments "No . . . It's just different from any other weapon I used before."

Ahsoka came beside him and looked down at the disassembled blaster stating "You got the plasma regulator attached to the wrong end of the kinetic motivator."

Longarm glanced up at Ahsoka then turned back to the two components and reconfigured them, he then grabbed what appeared to be a battery package and several wires that came with the weapon and attached the battery with the other two components and laid them inside the housing where they are supposed to be place. Not hearing any comment from Ahsoka tells Longarm that so far he's got it right, he takes the external housing compartment and slides it into position, he then attaches the handle and trigger guard and twisted the barrel into their respectful places. Ahsoka picks up a fully charged magazine and hands it to the SPARTAN who then took it and inserts it into the magazine port on the right side of the weapon's main housing. He then presses a small button on the other side of the weapon and the blaster came to life with a small hum indicating it was ready for use.

"Thanks . . ." Longarm said calmly as he presses the button again turning the weapon off.

Ahsoka sat down on his bed saying "Don't mention it, what kind of weapons did you work with before?"

The SPARTAN sets the blaster on the desk and turns towards Ahsoka and said "Projectile based weapons."

"Sounds a bit primitive if you ask me" she comments.

Longarm adds with confidence "Primitive but effective."

The two felt the ship rock as they entered Toydaria's atmosphere, which was their cue to head to the ship's landing ramp meeting up with the Senator. Longarm holstered his weapon and grabbed the additional magazines placing them in several ammunition pouches along his chest plate and followed Ahsoka out the door.

As they walked side by side down to meet up with the Senator, Ahsoka states "Padme' thinks you and I could be an 'item' someday."

Longarm glanced down at Ahsoka and thought how ridiculous that comment was, he scoffs and asks "What gave her that idea?"

"I don't know, she figured that since I'm no longer a Jedi that means that the codes of the Order no longer applies to me."

"And what do these codes say?"

Ahsoka spoke as if she was rehearsing a statement "That a Jedi must not form a relationship with another being in order to maintain balance in the Force."

"Right . . . even though you're no longer a Jedi, do you still follow the code?"

"To an extent now . . . I now have a little more freedom to do things. Look you're a nice guy as far as I know, but if I were to find someone then giant men in battle armor from a different galaxy is not exactly my type" Tano said as a way of making a joke to lighten the mood.

Longarm chuckled "Yeah? Well sword wielding orange people with white and blue . . . whatever those are aren't exactly my type either and I can relate to what you said about the code."

"You're not allowed to form a relationship by a code?"

"Not exactly . . . SPARTANs are soldiers dedicated to the fight, in order for us to be at the top of our game we had to have several augmentations added to our bodies."

"So these augmentations had some effect on your minds thus making you virtually emotionless to love and passion" she concluded her theory.

Longarm calmly states "It's not impossible . . . just extremely difficult."

"How difficult?" she asked.

"Like one person against an entire army."

The two met up with the Senator just in time for the ramp to lower itself revealing a floating landing pad high above a forest. The ship landed without a hitch allowing Senator Amidala to walk down the ramp with Ahsoka following second and Longarm third. Longarm noticed a several small grey skinned beings covered in blue and gold armor wielding a golden blaster rifle in their hands, they floated several feet off of the ground due to the wings they have on their backs, Longarm also noticed that some have tusks coming from their lower jaws and a small elephant trunk-like nose. 'These must be Toydarians' Longarm thought.

A Toydarian guard flies calmly towards the senator and greets them in a gruff voice "Welcome to Toydaria Senator Amidala, your transport awaits to take you to the Toydarian Palace. You may take your guards with you but they must keep their weapons holstered."

Amidala smiles thanking them for their hospitality "Thank you guardsmen."

The senator and her accompanying escorts made their way towards a small speeder sitting on the edge of the platform, Amidala sat in the back with Ahsoka while Longarm took up the passenger seat next to the driver. The pilot keyed the ignition systems and piloted the speeder to the Toydarian palace that rested on top of a mountain above the massive forest below. It took several minutes for the speeder to reach the palace and land on a landing platform, the SPARTAN was the first to climb out and offered his hand to Padme' who took it and climbed out of the speeder with his assistance. Ahsoka looked around seeing many different prestigious figures of many different species but she also noticed a fairly large amount of Neimoidians from the Trade Federation entering through the palace doors.

Longarm noticed her concern and whispered "What's with the greenskins?"

She answered as she turned to Padme's side "Those are Neimoidians from the Trade Federation, they're widely associated with the Separatists but they decline the accusations."

Senator Amidala adds to her two escorts "Separatists or not, they're welcomed here like anyone else by the Toydarians. Though I would be careful around them, let's get going."

The group walked calmly along with everyone else who were attending the coronation, Longarm noticed that some people started talking about him and often referring to him as a droid but there were others who did not mind. Longarm then noticed a bluish-green skinned figure in formal clothing similar to Amidala's come close to the Senator, he was about to quickly intervene when Ahsoka raised her arm in front of him stopping him from doing something stupid.

Amidala looked to her left and became surprised with who she saw "Good to see you Senator Nari."

The pleased Rodian senator replies "Good to see you as well Senator Amidala."

The two began talking about politics and negotiations as Longarm and Ahsoka continued walking behind them, the SPARTAN was glad that Tano stopped him otherwise he would have accidently assaulted a senator for getting too close. They came down to a hallway where two Toydarian guards instructed the guests to take the doorway on their left to the coronation ceremony, as Longarm came by he noticed the guards glaring at him with suspicion but eventually looked away as there was other guests to watch over. Several minutes later and they came into a large open room without a roof and a central platform ordained in gold, from what Ahsoka had mentioned to him before entering the room was that this room had a similar layout to the Senate meeting area back on Coruscant. Padme' sat beside Senator Nari with Ahsoka sitting next to Amidala and Longarm sitting next to the Rodian senator, Longarm looked around the well-decorated ceremony room seeing if there was any potential locations for an attack but he couldn't see any. 'The enemy has to be either pretty brave or just plain stupid to attack an open room like this' Longarm thought.

A voice from his left spoke "I am Senator Nari of Rodia, pleased to meet you."

Longarm turned facing the senator, he hesitated for a moment then introduced himself "Longarm . . . pleasure to meet you Senator."

The entire crowd became quiet as a small parade of Toydarian guards floated down through the open ceiling followed up by a golden chariot holding a Toydarian wearing a special oriented ceremonial outfit specially made for the coronation. The chariot came to a soft landing letting the Toydarian to flutter off of it and came to a landing on the central platform in the middle of the room, he kneeled down onto one of his knees before another Toydarian who wore a red and gold tunic and a large headdress. Phrases were said between the two as they swore an oath to protect Toydaria and its people, eventually the Toydarian with the large headdress brought a sword to bare and lightly tapped the kneeling Toydarian on his shoulders. He then sheathed the sword into a ceremonial cover and gracefully handed it down to the kneeling Toydarian who then took it upon his two hands.

The Toydarian with the headdress then calls out in pride "May I present King Tachuko of Toydaria!"

The crowd stood up and applauded in unison for the newly appointed king of Toydaria

Several hours passed afterwards and the vast majority of the guests had left except for Amidala, Ahsoka, and Longarm. They were now standing in the throne room, Amidala stood on an elevated platform in front of King Tachuko while Ahsoka and Longarm remained on the floor listening to the conversation that had gone on for nearly forty-two minutes.

Tachuko states "That means we will have to break our contract with the Trade Federation and they're our top provider of supplies ."

Amidala adds "Yes but there are several key Republic systems close by who can provide the resources you need for your people."

Tachuko asks "And what of a Separatists attack? I am well aware that my forces cannot stand against the droid armies alone."

"You're right, but I am confident that the Republic can spare a fleet to protect you and your people, of course they would also need a location to set up a ground base" Amidala mentions.

Tachuko states "I am sure I can find an ideal location for your troops, of course that means a direct violation of—"

A Toydarian guard frantically flies passed Longarm and Ahsoka, he came before the king and reports "Sire! A Separatists fleet has exited out of hyperspace! They are deploying troop transports on route to the palace!"

Tachuko jumped from his throne "Separatists! Now!? We need the Republic to aid us!"

Senator Amidala attempted to contact Skywalker but claims "I can't get word out, they're jamming us!"

Ahsoka quickly ordered "Senator we have to get you and the king to safety!"

But Tachuko protested "I will not flee from my first battle! I swore an oath!"

Ahsoka ignored his argument for the moment and glanced at Longarm who nodded in acknowledgment saying "I'll find a vantage point over the platforms to fight from, you get them to safety. I'll try and stop as many of them as possible."

Ahsoka nodded and said "Stay safe Longarm."

Longarm drawn his blaster and activated it while saying "What you got feelings for me now?"

"No I still have questions I want to ask you" she said with a smirk.

Longarm chuckled and ran off to a flight of stairs as Ahsoka and several Toydarian guards escort Padme' and the resistant Tachuko to safety. The SPARTAN sprinted through a third floor corridor, it was rather dark but it didn't matter as he made a last minute check on his blaster, the magazine was in, the blaster itself was charged and ready to go. Suddenly a blast occurred in front of Longarm throwing him back a few feet, light flooded into the dark corridor. Longarm stood up retrieving his weapon and made his way to the large hole in the wall, fortunately he had a perfect view of the landing platforms with several Toydarian guards massing up to repel the attack. The SPARTAN then looked up into the sky to see four large four-winged transports slowly making their descent from orbit in preparation for a ground assault, and in the far distance floating high above the ground was a Separatists Munificent-class Star Frigate slowly making its way towards the palace. The first transport landed and opened the front troop bay, Longarm readies his blaster and takes aim, this would be his first major engagement against the Separatists and his introductory into the Clone Wars, before taking his first shot Longarm thought to himself 'Time to show them what a SPARTAN can do'.

Please leave your comments and thoughts. Thank you.