Clone Wars: Underground - Chapter 12

 

    Ellia was greeted by Finley and Sys at the entrance to the Imperial Labs. She remembered them as the troopers who escorted her home after the incident with Tarkin. They always seemed to be on duty when she arrived in the morning. Today she carried two extra cups of hot chocolate.  

“Good morning Doctor Tian.” Finley shouted.  

“Morning boys.” Ellia held out the chocolate. “Brought you something this morning.”  

Sir, yes sir!” Sys replied eagerly holding his hand out for the chocolate. 

“Caf in the mornin’.” Finley reached for his as well. 

“Sorry, not caf. Chocolate.” 

“Never heard of that.”  

“Try it.” 

Both guards took a sip of the sweet chocolatey drink.  

“Nice stuff.” Sys replied.  

“Oh, Doc.” Finley looked to Sys for a moment before continuing, as if he needed a last minute confirmation before speakinh. “Remember when you said we could come to you for anything?” 

“Yeah? What is it?” 

“Well, some friends of ours are meeting up tonight at 79’s. Thought you might like to join in? 

“Sure.” Ellia smiled. “Thank you.” 

“nineteen-hundred hours, er…seven tonight.” 

“Got it. See you then.” 

Ellia at wondered how easily she accepted their invitation when she had cringed so completely at going out before. Times were different now and the clones weren’t Jeshua Corman trying to ask her out. They were men who had been created and implanted unknowingly with mind control chips. Sorry Jesh. She shrugged.

 

The clone bar was as dimly lit and riotous as it had been last time Ellia was there. She remembered the rushed escape and Commander Fox letting her go. This was different. She wasn’t on a mission this time. Well, not in so many words. If there were clones who felt they needed answers, she’d provide them. Cautiously.  

Sys waved her over.  

“Doctor Tian.” 

“It’s Ellia. I’m off the clock.” She corrected, smiling. 

Finley grinned back. He had his black hair parted down the side. Its length touched the tips of his ears. Sys’s head was shaved and he had a stylized hawkbat tattooed on the right side. There was another clone with them. 

“Ellia. This is Hazma. He’s a member of the elites.” Finley introduced. 

“Well, the Coruscant Guard. Not really an elite.” Hazma replied humbly.  

“Nice to meet you.” Ellia held out her hand. Hazma took it a little awkwardly. he had shaken many hands, but not with civilians. In fact, it was the one of the few times he’d spent off the clock time with a civilian.   

“Hazma was with us that night, you know, when the rogue trooper, Fives, was shot.” Finley filled in. 

“It was sad for all of us. We don’t often hunt our brothers. But there was something different about him. The Chancellor said that he had something removed from him that made him crazy.” Hazma commented. 

“Did you examine him?” Sys asked. “Did you really…you know…bring him back?” 

“Those are the rumors floating around, but I’m not such a mad scientist.” Ellia laughed a little trying to be convincing. 

“Clone troopers who are killed on Coruscant, just mysteriously disappear from the morgue, or never make it there at all.” Finley said after a moment. 

Ellia wasn’t sure how much she should say. She had only collected two dead clones, but Finley made it sound like it was common for soldiers to go missing. She wondered if they were being experimented on. She wanted to tell them that the Imperial Navy sees them as property, so experimenting on them even after death was completely legal, even if it was sick. And I was doing the same thing just a few months ago. She wanted to tell them that the Empire was all a lie, that their lives had been a lie. They had overrides planted in their brains as embryos like a droid with a failsafe. Clones weren’t droids, they were sentient beings.  She wanted to tell them that they had a choice. She would take their chips out. But would they report her?

“I did examine him. He had no issues. Every clone has a chip implanted in their head. This allows the Emperor to take direct control over each of you. I guess that can be seen as good by some and bad by others. It’s true though. Fives’s chip was missing.” 

“Our Emperor.” Hazma repeated. He seemed to be lost in thought. He knew his loyalties were with the Empire. Was it so bad that the Emperor could give him a direct command? It seemed efficient, even if it was a little odd they had never been informed about it. 

“It’s a little strange.” Finley admitted. Sys was looking downright uncomfortable. 

Ellia decided that was enough information. She had fed them just enough to think about. If they wanted their chips out, they would have to come to her in private.

“How about we order some food?” She suggested. 

 

Hazma walked back to barracks alone. He knew who he was. He knew he had been created to serve. So what if he had a chip in his head? He knew that as long as he did his duty, he was serving his purpose. That’s what Commander Fox had taught him. Logically it went that any clone who tried to remove their chip would be committing treason. By law he should be taken into custody.

But Fox shot Fives. Had it been on purpose or did he make a mistake? No. No clone forgets the settings on their weapon. Fox was shooting to kill. 

Hazma hated doubt. It made him feel uncomfortable. It got in the way of duty. He set his jaw and forced the questions out of his mind. Fox was as loyal as they came. His loyalty had gotten him recognition and security. Loyalty always paid off. He can’t remember how many times he’d repeated those words as a cadet in training. If he wasn’t a loyal soldier, then who was he? Hazma knew the answer. He wasn’t anybody without his allegiance to the Empire. 

 

The back room of the Leafdew Café was large enough to grow small trees under its tall green grow lights. That’s what Hiso Awen did. He cultivated a variety of trees, shrubs, roots, and flowers from his home world of Moltok. It was the perfect area for Maaka to run though his routine. Back in the army, he did his workouts and washing in the mornings and right before lights out. At the Leafdew, he went through his routine before going to the market in the morning to help with buying supplies for the restaurant. Life was a mess at the moment, but physical exercise always seemed to help him focus. He concentrated on the push-ups, letting his nose brush the duracrete floor before pumping himself up and straightening his arms. He paused for a count of three and repeated. The repetitive motion made it the best time to think things over. He wasn’t a soldier now. What did that mean?

Maaka, like every clone, had always wondered what life would be like after the war. They all knew that life outside the military was a fantasy. There were some rumors of defectors, clones who had left and made a life for themselves on the outside. However, most troopers assumed they would be put to work in camps or rebuilding until they were too old to the job anymore. Few actually believed that they would ever be the masters of their own lives. When Maaka realized he was in a situation coveted by most clones, he should have felt elated. By all accounts, he was dead, thus no longer property of the Republic or Empire or whatever. It was the secret dream of a clone trooper to live a normal life. There was something missing that didn’t sit right with him. He wasn’t sure quite what that was yet. The nightmares he had had of killing his leaders, the Jedi, had ended when the doctor took that chip out of his head. He was glad for that. The other nightmares remained. The dreams he had of people dying. He had them almost every night. He dreamed about Kamino and younglings that all looked the same. He knew he should know them. They were obviously clones, but their names eluded him. They were like brothers from another life. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t remember the clones he grew up with in the cloning facilities on Kamino. Was that normal?  

Maaka let out a breath and got to his knees. It was warm in the greenhouse and he took a long drink of water.  

“You’re doing much better.” The gravelly voice of Hiso Awen came from the doorway. His faded red dreadlock-looking tubes framed his scaly face. 

“Always feel good after a workout.” Maaka replied looking at the plants in containers next to him. 

“It’s a blushing crown flower, from my home world.” Hiso informed him. Maaka examined the bush with the flowers. Most of them were white, but a small fraction had faintly pink centers. “You’re supposed to make a crown with the pink ones for your special person.” Maaka snorted.  

“Are they all from Moltok?” Maaka asked gesturing to the room filled with plants.  

“Most are. I haven’t been back there in over eight years.”  

“It’s in separatist space. Or was.” 

“Once the war started, no one was permitted to travel there.” 

“You could probably go now.” 

Hiso considered his words for a moment. He had thought about that before. He wanted to show Cet the planet he came from. He wanted him to see the great forests and jungles of Moltok. He hadn’t worked it all out yet.  Hiso looked over at Maaka. The ex-trooper was examining the plants with interest. Hiso knew that despite his height, Maaka was only a year or two older than Cet. He was another boy without a father. Hiso sighed. His own son died during the war. Then he met Cet’s mother and after her death, he adopted to Cet as his own. For a long time it had been his calling to take in the displaced. Maaka needed a father too.  

A sad frown fell across the old Ho’din’s features. He wanted to see his home world as much as he wanted to show his son. He wanted to feel the leaves of the forest at least one more time before he joined with the noble trees there. His skin was becoming like old bark. He knew his time was short. 

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