Resurgence of the Crystal
Chapter 14: The Darkness of Moraband
AN: Sorry for the month-long update. Depression's been a real bitch so I decided to focus on my Different but Same fanfic to cope. But I'm better now and was finally able to finish this chapter.
Enjoy!
It was another quiet morning in the Temple. Rafe had been on edge ever since he got confirmation that he was going on the expedition. He didn't know exactly when they were going, but he just felt like something was off about the whole thing.
"Hey, kid, give me a hand, will ya?"
Rafe blinked, breaking out of his thoughts, and looked up at the clone who called to him.
What was his name again?
Brick?
He didn't know and that left a sickening feeling in his stomach for some reason. He didn't really get along with the clones, but he knew they were going to be risking their lives for him, so he figured the least he could do was try to work with them.
He walked over to Brick, who was carrying a wooden crate filled with weapons and explosives, and grabbed one below the one Brick just picked up. "What are we doing with all this shit anyway? We're just scouting."
"Well, if we need all this equipment, then things are going to get really intense," Brick said. He set the crate down in the cargo area of the Kestrel light executive transport freighter they were taking for the expedition.
"Do we really need these big-ass carts?" Ace asked, pushing a large wooden cart. "They're gonna take up so much space."
"I don't know, either," Link said, walking out of the freighter. "General Arakan just said that we wouldn't want to go through with this expedition if we did know."
Rafe looked between the clones, then at the wooden carts they were loading, his eyes narrowing despondently. He knew they were going to bring a lot of extra clones with them, but they were going in blind. He had a feeling not all of them would make it back…
"Hey, keep your head up, kid," Joker said, patting Rafe's shoulder.
It's kind of hard to do that when that old bastard is keeping everyone in the dark…
"So, Rafe, what exactly is this expedition for?" Dash asked. "It's because of some crystal you have, right?"
Arakan didn't even fill them in about why we're going on this expedition? What the hell is he thinking? He ignored his questions and answered Dash. "Yeah, it has to do with my Crystal. But I still don't know what our actual goal is. Arakan refused to relay that information…"
Brick chuckled. "Yeah, the general's really secretive and strict, but that's what makes him a reliable leader. I'm sure everything will be fine."
Sure. Instead of voicing his thoughts, Rafe just continued to help the clones load the rest of the cargo.
Rafe was now running through the halls of the Jedi Temple, ignoring the suspicious and confused expressions on the Jedi's faces. He eventually stopped when a familiar Jedi approached him.
"Slow down there, Rafe," Obi-Wan said. "What's the rush?"
"Where's Arakan?" Rafe asked.
Obi-Wan tilted his head sideways while placing his hand under his chin. "If I recall correctly, he was heading to the Jedi Archives."
Rafe nodded his thanks and ran off, but Obi-Wan quickly stopped him.
"This expedition, are you sure you're ready?"
Rafe turned around to face the Jedi master. "What makes you think I'm not?"
"It's just… you guys have little to no intelligence about the entire thing," Obi-Wan said, sounding a little worried. "Are you sure you want to go now?"
"Well, it was Arakan's orders to leave as soon as possible, so there's nothing I can really say about it…" Rafe chuckled nervously, pushing a strand of black hair out of his eye. "I don't even know what the hell we're going to be doing. How does he possibly think the expedition is going to be a success?"
"Well, if it's any consolation, Anakin comes up with the craziest plans out of the blue and manages to somehow complete the mission while getting nearly everyone out alive. So I have complete faith that Master Arakan knows what he's doing."
Rafe was more than certain that Arakan knew what he was doing, but his refusal to share whatever information he had was aggravating as hell. "Well, no Force user has done this before. …At least, that's what I'm aware of."
"Well, like Anakin says, 'it's the first time for everything'," Obi-Wan chuckled.
That's what worries me… Rafe decided to keep that to himself. He didn't want to disregard Obi-Wan's reassurance.
"You're a lot like Anakin, you know," Obi-Wan said. "That's what makes you such a capable Jedi."
Rafe looked away from Obi-Wan, the surprise he suddenly felt causing his eyes to widen. He reflected back to when he was first brought up to the Council and remembered how Obi-Wan defended his case along with a few other masters. Why are there Jedi like him, who are caring and compassionate, and others like Windu, who are nothing but pieces of bantha crap, not giving a single shit about those he deems unimportant? If the Jedi are essentially trained from birth, how are they so different?
"Please try to focus on the expedition, Rafe. It's not an apprentices' place to question such things."
Rafe exhaled a heavy breath, closing his eyes.
"While it is true that the Jedi disagree on various matters, our goal is the same as a whole: to bring peace and order to the galaxy," Obi-Wan explained. "As an apprentice, you don't get to think. You simply do as your masters tell you."
"If you don't think, you die," Rafe said. He knew sometimes you didn't have time to think and simply had to act on a whim in the heat of the moment, but if you made decisions with little thought, it could cost you your life.
Obi-Wan nodded, seeming to be in agreement. "But our job as masters is to relieve you of such burdens. Leave the decision-making to us."
Rafe just nodded, seeing no way to win this argument.
"Tell Master Arakan and Yuki I said 'hello'."
Again, Rafe nodded, then made his way to the Jedi Archives.
Rafe walked through the endless aisles of bookshelves in the Jedi Archives, darting his head left and right to try and spot Arakan. He sighed defeatedly when he crossed yet another aisle, throwing his arms out beside him. "Where the hell is he?"
"Who are you looking for?"
Rafe whipped around to see Yuki walking over to him, followed by Ekram and Ember. "Do you guys know where Arakan is? And what are you guys doing here?"
Yuki shook her head. "I haven't seen Master Arakan all day." She looked away from Rafe. "That kind of has me worried…"
"Don't worry, Yuki," Ekram reassured her. "I'm sure he's just making preparations for the expedition. I don't think we should be worried."
Yuki nodded. "Probably…"
Rafe kept his eyes on her. He knew they were all going on the expedition together, but he didn't exactly know if they would all stay together or if they would divide into multiple squads. He figured the latter made more sense.
Will they come back alive? Will I come back alive?
He knew he was progressing exceptionally fast with his Jedi training, but that was mostly because he already had years of combat experience. He'd never encountered a Sith before, though, and the only other person he'd dueled was Yuki and Arakan, but never managed to actually beat them. His thoughts wandered to their squad of clones.
They barely even know me, yet they're willing to put their lives on the line just to keep me alive. Why?
"What are we doing here, Yuki?" Ekram asked, snapping Rafe out of his thoughts.
"I was hoping we could find some information about Moraband," the raven-haired Jedi responded. "Master Arakan always says it's important to have every last detail before going on a mission."
Then why were we so blind during our mission on Concordia? Rafe internally sighed. He knew their goal back then was simply to gather information. The expedition they were about to go on was completely different. They could actually gather information and use it to plan effectively to get to the Sith Temple. Are there still Sith Lords that are alive who live on Moraband?
"Rafe."
He looked at Yuki. Her eyes were bigger than usual.
"What?" he asked.
"Let's just find as much information as possible, alright?"
He nodded and proceeded to search through the vast library of scrolls and texts about the Old Republic.
"I'm surprised you're actually helping us, fire face," Rafe said. "Were you not able to find someone to shove your dagger through?"
Ember shot him a murderous glare.
"Rafe, please try to stay on task," Yuki said.
He sighed. "I know. Being left in the dark about all of this is aggravating as hell and I just need to let off some steam."
Yuki put the book she was looking at back and turned around to fully face Rafe. "I'm sure Master Arakan knows what he's doing. It's not our job to worry."
Rafe couldn't hold back the sharp glare he was now giving her. "You actually sound like a Jedi." She opened her mouth, but he already turned back around to continue searching through books.
"That was a little rude, don't you think?" Ekram asked. "She was just giving you some advice."
"Not now, blondie."
"But I really don't think we should be at each other's throats at the moment. We're going to have to work together if we want this expedition to be successful."
Rafe looked at Ekram, noticing that he looked completely calm. "How are you so calm? I thought you'd be pissing yourself."
"I'm surprised you haven't," Ember commented.
"Shut up."
"You think I'm calm?"
Rafe narrowed his eyes when he noticed that Ekram's hand was shaking as he struggled to put a book away.
"Truth is, I'm terrified," Ekram said. "I'm just a scrawny parasite, so what good can I do for this expedition? I'll only slow you all down…" His eyebrows furrowed together. "If anyone's going to die, it's me…"
"Take that back," Rafe snapped. "How many times do I need to say it? You're far from deadweight. You saved my ass down in The Works. Keep spouting pathetic bantha crap like that and I'll kill you myself."
Ekram slowly lifted his head to meet Rafe's stern gaze, then looked to his left when Ember grabbed the book out of his shaking hand and put it away.
"Let's get out of here."
They followed her out of the Archives.
"You still haven't seen Arakan?" Rafe asked, exasperated.
Brick shook his head. "No, sir. He's like a shadow."
"Well, we've got everything loaded up, so we better get leaving," Link said as he walked out of the freighter.
Rafe looked to his right. "Where the hell is he?"
"Right behind you," a dark, grim voice said.
Rafe looked behind him to see the tall, dark-cloaked Jedi, the same grim expression plastered on his face. "Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you all day."
"Well, I'm here now, so no need to dwell on the matter." Arakan looked at Brick.
"Everything's ready to go, General," Brick informed.
Arakan nodded. "Get the engines running. We leave immediately."
Brick nodded and ran to the freighter. "Link, get this hunk of junk running!"
"Roger!"
"Can this thing even fly with all the shit we loaded?" Flash asked.
"Yeah, we'll just be flying backwards," Joker chuckled.
"You kids ready?" Arakan asked. "It's going to be a while before we return."
"I've been ready since the night you captured me," Rafe said, his fist becoming even more pale when he clenched it around the hilt of his lightsaber. "This Crystal is the only reason I'm a Jedi. I can't fuck this expedition up. I need to find the answers we've been searching for."
Arakan was looking down at Rafe, his green eyes exuding a look of understanding, but he didn't say anything.
The brief moment of silence was broken by the sound of the freighter starting up.
"Engines are hot, General!" Dash informed.
Arakan nodded and turned around to enter the freighter, his dark brown cloak whipping behind him. "Chart our course to Moraband."
Rafe was sitting in a corner in the main hangar, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He didn't like looking out into hyperspace. Not because he didn't actually like it, it just made him unfocused and nauseous. Out of all my years of being alive, my first inferiority is hyperspace travel… How the hell does that make any sense?
"You feeling sick?"
Rafe opened his eyes, looking up at Ekram, who was sitting across from him. "I'm fine."
"You're more paler than usual—"
"I said I'm fine, blondie!" Rafe snapped. His breathing was now coming out in ragged gasps and he eventually dropped his head against his forearm, which was now resting on his knee.
"Everything alright over here?" Brick asked as he walked up to the two teens.
"Yeah, you look like you're about to pass out, kid," Flash commented.
"Maybe he's just hungry," Crusher said. "Want a bite to eat, kid? That'll make your stomach feel better. It always helps me."
Rafe wanted to glare at the clones in an attempt to get them to shut up, but his head was burning and ringing too much to even look at them.
"Would you like me to go get Arakan?" Ekram asked, standing from his seat.
Rafe instead directed his glare at Ekram. "Don't you fucking dare! Sit your ass back down!"
Ekram did as he was told, but there was no amount of fear in his eyes. He only looked concerned.
"Want some field rations?" Crusher offered, holding out a plastic-wrapped rectangular brick. "It's not much, but it should make you feel a little better."
Just thinking about putting that in his mouth made the feeling of wanting to curl over and wretch all the more intense.
"You're not helping him, Crusher," Ace said.
"None of us want to eat that shit," Oneshot added.
"Well, it makes me feel better." As if to prove his point, Crusher opened the field ration and chomped down. The loud crunch rang through Rafe's ears, making him cringe in pain.
"I'm going to get Arakan," Ekram said determinedly. He turned on his heel to head to the cockpit.
Rafe thrust his hand forward to grab Ekram's wrist, but instead ended up pushing Ekram back with the Force.
All of the clones were now surrounding Rafe.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"You didn't have to push him."
"Well, he technically didn't push him…"
"Not now, Joker!"
"Will all of you just shut up!" Rafe suddenly shouted, causing the clones to close their mouths instantly as they stared on at the way he limped towards Ekram, who was getting to his feet. "Sorry about that."
"I figured that wasn't your intention," Ekram chuckled. "But seriously, you need some sort of medical attention."
"I'm starting to feel a bit better, actually."
Ekram's usual wide eyes narrowed. It was like he was silently daring Rafe to go the rest of the flight without getting any more pale or nauseous.
"What's wrong?" Yuki asked as she approached them. When her eyes caught sight of Rafe, they widened. "Are you alright? You look like you're about to pass out!"
"I'm…" Rafe gasped, dropping to his knees. "...Fine…"
"I'm going to get Master."
"Don't."
Yuki turned around, her eyes demanding an explanation from Ekram.
"I already tried. How do you think I ended up over here?" Ekram asked.
"Rafe, you need to restrain yourself," Yuki said sternly. "You can't attack everyone who gets on your nerves."
"I was trying to grab his wrist to stop him," Rafe defended. "I wasn't trying to attack him."
"Are you able to scout with us?"
Rafe took a few deep breaths, averting his gaze away from Yuki. "I'll be fine… once we get out of hyperspace. How much longer do we have?"
As if to answer Rafe, Arakan walked out of the cockpit. He looked down at Rafe and the others, raising his eyebrows curiously. "What's going on here?"
Rafe looked away from Ekram and Yuki, who were looking at him with concern in their eyes, as if they wanted to plead with him to tell Arakan about his space sickness, and then looked up at Arakan. "Are we almost there?"
"We just got out of hyperspace."
Thank the Force, Rafe internally sighed.
"So, you all might want to strap yourselves in," Arakan advised, then led everyone into the cockpit.
Rafe grunted as he tried to rise to his feet by pushing himself off of the ground with his left hand, but the sudden movement sent all of the blood into his head, and everything became one big blur. Fuck… Not now… Not when we're this close.
"Let me help you," Yuki said softly, extending a hand to help Rafe to his feet.
Rafe's pride was telling him to fight his nausea and get up, but the soft side he developed for his female companion was much stronger and told him to accept her help, so he grabbed her wrist and allowed her to pull him to his feet. "Thanks," he muttered.
She smiled softly. "No problem. Try to rest as much as you can, alright?"
He nodded, then caught sight of Ekram, who was smirking. "What the hell are you smirking at?"
Ekram chuckled nervously. "Nothing." He ran into the cockpit, but quickly stopped and turned around. "Ember, come on! We're about to land."
Ember was sitting in another corner with her boots propped up on the table. "I'm fine right here."
Ekram narrowed his eyes, as if he was remembering something, then shook his head and ran into the cockpit.
"Blondie, I want you to keep an eye on her," Rafe said, halting Ekram again.
The blonde turned around and nodded, then walked over to Ember and sat down next to her, while Rafe and Yuki entered the cockpit.
Out of the cockpit in distant space was a red planet.
Rafe looked around, narrowing his eyes when he realized that there weren't any planets or moons anywhere near Moraband. "The Sith must've been very secretive to be this isolated from the rest of the galaxy."
"In ancient times, the Sith were actually a native species to this planet, which was then known as Korriban," Arakan explained. "During the Second Great Schism, a little over seven thousand years ago, a group of individuals known as Dark Jedi found the planet and overtook the Sith. They continued to fight throughout the Hundred-Year Darkness war and eventually interbred with one another."
Rafe narrowed his eyes as they entered the planet's atmosphere. "Are they still alive? Do they still live here?"
"Can't say… I assume they would have gone extinct by now."
"So this planet is completely uninhabited?" Yuki asked hopefully.
"We need to assume that that is highly unlikely," Arakan advised. "Not much has been recorded on this planet for several millennia, so I can't tell for sure what we're to expect."
Rafe narrowed his eyes even further. What if we're not supposed to be here? What if that dream I had was just a trap from the Sith? …From my Crystal…
"Tell the other two brats to strap themselves in."
"On it, sir," Dash said, then ran out of the cockpit to relay Arakan's order.
I guess it's too late now… Rafe could only look on at the desolate and mountainous world that was illuminated by the bright red sun, making it seem like it was always dusk. There's no going back now…
They flew far into the mountains, which confused Rafe. From what he was aware of, the Sith Temple was in the lowest and deepest depths of the planet, not high up in the mountains. But he also knew that they were only here to scout and get information, so they would be extremely vulnerable if they just tried to find the Temple. They were much safer up in the mountains.
They eventually landed in a flat terrain that was covered by several chunks of rock.
"All of you stay here," Arakan ordered as he got out of his seat.
"Where are you going?" Rafe asked.
"Where do you think? To check out the area to see if we're safe. You're all going to stay here because I can't risk losing any of you."
What are we supposed to do then? Rafe wanted to ask, but he knew how Arakan would respond, so he kept his mouth shut and let Arakan walk out of the freighter.
Arakan rode one of the several speeder bikes they took throughout the canyons. He didn't want to go very fast so he could see the terrain better and in case he spotted a potential threat.
He eventually made it out of the canyon and came to a stop, his eyes narrowing on a dark figure several feet away. "What is that? An animal?" He wasn't aware of any creatures that inhabited Moraband, so he decided to check it out.
He sped up a little bit, then came to a forceful stop when he saw the large quadrupedal hound whose limbs ended in clawed paws. It boasted a long whip-like tail, a mouth full of sharp fangs, and a row of spines along its back and tail.
What is that thing?
Before Arakan could answer his question, the beast charged at him, barking wildly. Arakan jumped off of his speeder bike and activated his lightsaber, but the beast jumped at him at a great height.
"Shit!" Arakan managed to flip over the beast and swung his lightsaber in a backhanded slash behind him, slashing the beast's legs.
The hound-like animal fell to the ground, but continued to crawl towards Arakan despite not being able to walk.
Arakan narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of the bloodlust in its crimson eyes and the ash that protruded from its injuries. So that's what this thing is… Sith alchemy… Dank Farrik. What did I get us all into?
He ignored his thoughts and slashed the beast's head off, but to his surprise, it was still alive and moving. He slashed at the nape of its neck, which finally put the beast to rest as its body slowly decayed into ashes.
"So this thing could only be killed by attacking its nape, huh?"
Arakan was forced to focus his attention on the roars and cries of the other beasts that were running towards him.
"Damn it all to hell."
"What's taking the general so long?"
"Who knows… Scouting shouldn't take too long."
"Maybe he's looking for some food!"
"Is that all you think about, Crusher?"
"Hey, don't insult my appetite! A soldier's got to eat!"
Rafe sighed in annoyance. He didn't really mind the clones' banter, but he too was wondering what was taking Arakan so long. He knew scouting shouldn't take this long.
"He probably left us to rot," Ember said, sounding as gloomy as she looked. "I wouldn't be surprised since he treats us all like shit."
"Shut up," Rafe snapped. While he did agree that Arakan treated them like shit most of the time, he knew he didn't do it purposefully out of malice. It was just his way of teaching them how to survive in this cruel world. He knew he would do the same if he was responsible for others' survival.
Ember glared at him. "Don't start acting like you trust him."
"Calm down, Ember," Ekram said. "We're all just a little on edge."
"Yeah. I'm sure Master Arakan will be here soon," Yuki added.
They're both so naive. While that made it easier for Rafe to put his trust in them, Ember was much more complicated. She was cold and untrusting like him, which made her all the more dangerous. What is she looking for anyway? Why is she sticking by us?
"Listen up, you brats," Arakan said as he suddenly entered the freighter, frightening Ekram, who nearly jumped onto Ember, who just scooted away, seemingly unbothered. "Turns out this hellhole isn't safe."
"So there's Sith here?" Yuki asked, her voice cracking.
"That, I'm not sure of. But there are creatures here who I assume were created or mutated with Sith alchemy, so we need to be careful."
"So there's a couple of predators," Dash said arrogantly. "Big deal."
"They're not just predators," Arakan said. "They can only be killed a certain way and they won't stop hunting until they're dead."
"Great," Joker groaned. "And I thought this was going to be easy…"
"I suggest you all try to get some rest. We'll relay a plan tomorrow morning."
As Master Arakan stated yesterday, the training that began today, instead of practical training with a lightsaber or meditation, was mostly memorizing the long-range scouting formation he had devised.
Ace was lecturing everyone, the formation displayed on a large piece of parchment between him, Yuki, Ekram, Ember, and some other clones. "You three will be here, in between the recon support team and the supply wagon escort team. Your jobs will be to ride alongside the spare speeder bikes and relay messages."
Yuki narrowed her eyes after having memorized each position on the map, noticing that Rafe's location was nowhere to be found. "Sir, where will Rafe be? Won't he be with us?"
Ace looked at her. "Sorry, Sir. General Arakan never relayed that information to us."
Yuki lowered her head, her eyes narrowing. She knew Master Arakan was as clueless as they were, so she didn't understand why he would keep Rafe's location a secret. He was the whole reason they were even here.
That's why he won't tell anyone.
Leaning closer to the formation chart, Yuki continued the lecture.
"We of the Special Operations Squad will be here," Brick said, pointing to a specific location on the paper that was in front of them on the ground, "standing by in the center of the last ranks."
"Why are we so far back?" Rafe asked. "That kind of defeats the purpose of this entire expedition, doesn't it?"
"It's the safest place in the formation. We're even more heavily guarded than the supply wagons. We don't have a real objective this time." Brick turned to Rafe. "This expedition is so brief because it's only a practice run for your journey to the Temple."
"Well, I don't see the point of Arakan keeping everything on the down low if this is only a practice run. He made it seem like a big-ass deal when he encountered those Sith beasts yesterday."
"Don't worry, kid," Joker reassured him. "You're in good hands."
"Yeah, we'll just shoot those wamp rats to death!" Fang added.
"Now we're talking!"
"It is possible that this mission has another goal," Brick continued, rolling up the paper. "But the general has decided it'd be best not to reveal that objective. So we should just focus on getting there and back. Trust in the general."
It's kind of difficult to do that when the bastard is giving me every reason to not trust him. What the hell's he thinking? We're going in completely blind. Still, Arakan managed to devise this formation overnight, so Rafe was confident he knew what he was doing. But it was still frustrating that he was left in the dark.
"You're not having doubts, are you?"
Rafe looked at Brick. "No."
Brick nodded. "Good. That's all the training for today. Prepare to return to the freighter. We'll have company coming."
As Brick said, company did indeed come. When they got back to the freighter, Rafe was met with hundreds of clone troopers who were being transported in Low Altitude Assault Transport gunships.
"What the hell are they all doing here?" Rafe demanded, stepping closer to Arakan. "I thought this was supposed to be a practice run? We don't need this many troops."
"There are thirty-nine ranks within the formation," Arakan explained. "Each position will have two troopers. The more eyes we have, the better."
Rafe just looked onward as the dozens of clone troopers prepared for the expedition.
"Rafe!"
He looked behind him to see Yuki, Ekram, Ember, and some other clones he recognized approaching him.
"You were nowhere to be seen in the formation," Ekram pointed out. "What's up with that?"
What is he talking about? Then it clicked. Arakan is seriously keeping my location a secret. How cautious is he trying to be? He knew it made sense, though. In case anyone were to be captured by a potential enemy, nobody would be able to give up his location, which would allow him to make it to the Temple. But at the cost of everyone's lives…
"So, Rafe, I heard that you attacked the blonde on your way here," Ghost said, approaching from the squadrons of clones that were unloading all of the equipment from the gunships.
"That wasn't intentional," Ekram interjected, stepping forward. "Rafe was only trying to grab my arm to get my attention."
Ghost looked at Ekram. "You're not a very good liar."
"He's telling the truth," Ember said. "What reason would he have to attack us now? And on a freighter. That's pretty stupid, don't you think?"
"Well, all I know is that you can't control your powers."
Rafe glanced at his lightsaber with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, that's right."
Ghost exhaled and turned to address the rest of them. "Did you guys all hear that? That's the situation. Our expendable lives depend on him. We'll probably die without Rafe even noticing."
"Ghost, why are you suddenly coming at Rafe with these questions now?" Yuki demanded.
"Because…" Ghost looked over his shoulder to look into Yuki's demanding eyes. "We as clones might be expendable, but we at least deserve to know what we're dying for. Otherwise, we'll hesitate when the time comes. We expect something out of Rafe. Let's see what he has to offer us. And whether it's worth our lives." Ghost walked up to Rafe and grabbed his shoulders, looking intense. "So, Rafe, we're really counting on you, okay?"
Rafe could only look up at the clone, a bit taken aback. "O-Okay…"
"General, it's almost time," Ace reported.
Arakan nodded, then looked at his now-readied squad of clones. He noticed that not a single person looked afraid, somewhat surprising him. He was certain that the blonde would piss himself.
"The supply wagons are all ready, General," Flash informed. "We're just waiting on your call."
"All the younger brats are ready?" Arakan asked gruffly.
"You bet they are," Brick said. "Really determined, those ones. They're all really strong despite how short they all are." He chuckled lightly.
Arakan nodded, then mounted his speeder bike. "As of today, we take another step forward towards defeating the Sith!"
The clones held up their weapons, letting out a loud battle cry.
"Forward!" Arakan commanded, racing onward on his speeder bike. "We will now begin the expedition through Moraband! Advance!"
To be continued
AN: So the expedition has officially begun. I was just going to cut it straight to the expedition after a bit of explaining, but I wanted to have a few more interactions between the Jedi and the clones to develop their relationships. I hope you all felt connected in some way.
And I got Rafe's space sickness from Halt O'Carrick, a central character in the Ranger's Apprentice series, except Halt gets terribly seasick, which is really funny. Go give the series a read. It's really good and you'll love it if you enjoy medieval fiction.
I also will be deriving this arc off of the Female Titan arc from Attack on Titan, which is where I got the long-range scouting formation from. Don't worry, it won't be a copy and paste. That would be boring and I would be too disappointed to even post anything of the sort. I'll come up with some ideas, like the beasts (who actually exist in legends) who were created supposedly with Sith alchemy.
Thank you all for reading. Things are going to be intense in the next chapter...