Clone Wars: Underground - Chapter 17
“Hey. What’s your access code?”
“What?”
“Your code, so I can go and ask that captain about her ship that blasted me.” “I’m not authorized to give you the access code.” The officer said a little shakily. He was human but not a clone. A newbie then. He still looked at the clone like he might turn on him at any moment. The trooper was wearing a flight suit.
“Come on.” Gregor chided, pulling his helmet off. “You think this handsome clone here’s gonna run off letting all your prisoners run free? That girl in her ship did this maneuver that nearly clipped my ions off.” He grinned. The officer snorted back a laugh and nodded.
“Fine. Fine.” He gave him the code.
“Nice. Thanks!” Gregor said heartily before knocking the officer over the head and setting him neatly in his chair. The officer smiled. Maybe he was finally fitting into this job.
Gregor hurried around the corner to the cells and within a minute everyone was together.
“Just walk with me and stay calm like.” Gregor instructed everyone. They reached the exit and the same officer looked at the group with some alarm. Gregor approached him with the same broad smile.
“Don’t worry.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug but swiftly brought up his hand and knocked the other man out with the butt of his blaster instead. “We can still be friends.” He finished, easing the unconscious officer onto the floor.
He headed the group of “prisoners” back towards the docking bay. Everything seemed to be going without a hitch. Burnout wasn’t sure if he was relieved or annoyed that there wouldn’t at least be some sort of a fight.
As they stepped out into the bay where the Ladalum sat, the space in front of them filled with a small contingent of troops led by Commander Wolffe. Brenni stared at the hardened clone commander. There seemed to be some barely-bridled rage behind his good eye as he bore down at them.
“Rex.” Wolffe called. Rex searched his old comrade’s features for any sign friendliness. “It’s time to go now.” He drew two blasters and tossed them at the prisoners. He figured that if they’d escaped their cells, their binders wouldn’t be fastened. He was correct as Rex caught one blaster and Fives the other. Gregor had drawn weapons as well and in seconds they were all armed and the small group of men
Wolffe had brought with him were on the floor. With no one else in the bay, they hurried to the ship and took off. They would have only a minute or so after being discovered before the tractor would be brought back online.
Brenni wasted no time at all. She was in the cockpit and running pre-flight with Kisha in the co-pilot seat and Ty bringing weapons online. Brenni blasted out of the bay in a way that would have frightened most other pilots. It was the reason she had been so requested for drops in the war and it was probably the reason she was still alive. They shot past laser turrets and sped for open space. She hoped her father was watching.
Safely in hyperspace, Brenni, Kisha, and the clones gathered in the crew’s common room. Burnout was splayed out on the couch. Kisha and Brix sat next to him. Rex and Wolffe were standing. Ty sat at the monitor console and Brenni stood behind him. Fives and Gregor took two single seats bolted to the floor around the table.
“Captain, our next target.” Wolffe asked. He had already been briefed on their general mission to find and remove chips from clones that had been dismissed from the army. Well, mostly dismissed.
“I think we need a breather.” Fives nodded toward Gregor.
“We are in hyperspace, that will be enough. There’s a lot of clones out there.”
“He means Gregor’s family.” Rex replied.
“Zerell knows not to expect me for a while. Just-” Gregor stopped to consider his words. He slowed his speech. “If something happens to me-”
“Your family will be safe with us.” Brenni cut in, not wanting Gregor to finish his sentence.
“Then we’ll head for the Ryndellia system. There was a medical facility there during the war. It’s no longer operational. We need medical supplies before we hit our next target. And we’ll need to find a doctor who’s used to working with clones.” Fives shot Brenni a stare, only to see that she was already looking directly at him.
She nodded.
“We got a doctor.” Fives said. “Let’s get the med supplies first.”
He stopped momentarily and closed his eyes.
“You alright?” Brenni asked.
“Yeah, I’m great.” Fives grumbled. He rubbed his head. Things seemed blurry for a moment. “Let’s get going.”
“How about we go somewhere else tomorrow?” Ellia asked. They had been meeting at the Awen’s café for every session for weeks.
“Like your place?” Maaka asked. Ellia’s face froze in terror until she saw his smirk. He knew how to push her buttons.
“Uh, no. I was thinking somewhere a little more public.”
“79’s?”
Ellia shook her head. It had been a long time since she went anywhere nice, in fact she tended to avoid such places most of the time, but decided Maaka should at least experience some of the upper levels of the city.
“I know a place a little higher up. Do you have any formals?”
“Not at all.” Maaka shrugged. His only pieces of clothing were his blacks, armor, and the set of civilian clothing he was currently wearing. Soldiers in the army weren’t given formals unless they had the rank to demand certain social settings. Most of those officers were naturals; non-clones. Very few clones had been outfitted with formal wear.
“Hmmm…not a problem.” If she was going to splurge, she could rent him a suit.
“Well, it will be for me. I mean, Hiso gives me an allowance but-”
“Don’t worry. My idea, I’ll fund it.”
After regaining some of his memories, Maaka’s confidence, and consequently cocky mouth, had returned. It made the dumbfounded look on his face absolutely comical. He had been taken completely off guard by Ellia’s offer. Ellia noticed with Maaka and some of the other clones that despite their intensive training and battlefield experience they reacted to social situations awkwardly. All the more reason to take Maaka out and give him some new experiences. She made an appointment with the rental shop.
“I’ll be there to pick you up at nineteen hundred.” Maaka nodded, no smart words came to mind. He was curious about life now, more curious than he had even been before. In the army, everything was about orders and winning the day. There was no time to think about a different life. He had the fight and he had his brothers. He didn’t care about anything else. Then things had started going wrong. Images flashed across his mind during battle, his focus waned. Eventually he was re-assigned to a desk job on Corrie; Coruscant. He knew it was because he couldn’t be trusted in battle any longer. He didn’t bother to look at the civvies. He never did. Not until he met Hiso and Cet. Hiso took him in and gave him work. Cet all but worshiped him. For once, Maaka began to look at life beyond the army. He saw crowds of shoppers and entertainment-seekers. He noticed mothers and fathers with their children. He saw lovers walking hand in hand though marketplaces and boardwalks. He saw the homeless hiding in the shadows, gangsters and drunks looking for a bad time, and the poor trying to eke out a living in the dark undercarriages of society. What he hadn’t seen were the heights and glamor of the upper levels. Of course, he’d walked the skywalks, but that wasn’t really experiencing it. The more he thought about it, the more his caution turned to excitement.
Maaka stood in front of a full-length mirror. The shopkeeper made a few tweaks to the suit that Maaka was wearing and stood back. Maaka checked himself over. He was in a jet-black jacket and trousers with gold lining and stitching that accented his caramel skin. The suit was cut to shape his broad shoulders and fit perfectly. He gave it a satisfactory tug. Too bad he’d have to give it back at the end of the night.
The shop door swished open. A human woman in a deep scarlet dress and gold accents entered, treading cautiously in high black heels. Her chestnut hair cascaded to one side winding over her shoulder. It was then Maaka realized he’d stepped into the glamorous world of the upper crust where people dressed this way every evening. This creature was from another world entirely.
“Maaka?” The woman said. “You look sharp.” Somehow, this woman had Ellia’s voice.
Maaka studied her a little closer, His eyes widened. It was Ellia.
“Well, what do you think?” She said a little exasperated, motioning to her dress. She was a transformed person. The tight-bunned, lab-coat-wearing scientist was nowhere to be seen.
“Uh, nice.” Maaka stammered. Ellia put her hands on her hips and wrinkled her nose, her trademark response to his cocky words. Only this time he wasn’t being cocky at all, he just didn’t know what to say.
“I made reservations at a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try for ages.” She stumbled on her heels and Maaka steadied her. “I really just haven’t had a reason to go.” She confessed. With the fading natural light, the glittering Galactic City came to life for the evening. They weren’t in the highest social elitist district, but it was very classy. There were motion walks and well-dressed hosts standing at the entrances of each establishment. The walkways were clean and there was no sign of loiters or street vendors. Everyone was well dressed and perfectly poised.
Ellia gripped Maaka’s arm tighter, using him to steady her uncertain balance. Maaka grinned. A wise comment about her shoes settled on the tip of his tongue. The moment was interrupted by a stiletto tap, tap, tap of another high-class Coruscanti as she passed with perfect balance. It was then that Maaka realized all the women in this area were wearing the same unstable footwear. As stupidly impractical as the shoes seemed, it dawned on him that Ellia was trying to fit into a world that wasn’t her own. He had been trying to fit in this foreign civilian world for months, but there were so many levels. He might have been bred to fight and die for these people, but he was never meant to live among them. Ellia too seemed like there were only certain levels open to her.
Ellia stumbled again and he caught her. Something about the action felt familiar. He remembered helping someone walk, someone who was injured. Inklings of memories danced at the corners of his mind. Maaka shook his head. Not now. Not right now. He wanted to remember, but he didn’t want it right now, not while he was enjoying a night on the high city. The more he tried to banish the thoughts, the more they pushed themselves front and center in his mind. The sudden peel-out of a noisy speeder triggered the rest of the memory and suddenly the glittering city was gone, replaced by the chaos of the battlefield. Mortars whistled though the air, followed by booming impacts and the screams of the dying. Solders everywhere ran, fought, and died. Maaka found himself stabilizing a fellow soldier who was leaning against him for support. His white armor had trails of bright crimson blood running down it. The man swayed.
“Dez!” Maaka shouted at the man, trying to keep him focused. “Stay on your feet.”
Dez continued to falter, and then fall. Maaka lowered him carefully to the ground.
“Dez!”
No response.
“Brother!” Maaka called frantically. He shook him, but he was gone.
Dez was gone.
“Maaka?” A faint voice called. He blinked. “Maaka?” Again, the voice came a little louder.
Focus snapped back and the cool Coruscant air brushed against his sweat streaked skin causing him to shiver. The sounds of city traffic rushed his ears and Ellia worried features hovered over him, framed by the bright lights of the neon billboard behind her.
“Elli? Sorry.” Maaka groaned, sitting up. He put a hand to his head as if he could brush the fog from his mind.
“Are you alright?” Ellia asked.
“I remembered something.”
He tried to stand, but the lightflies in his head were still spinning and buzzing in his ears.
“Why don’t we call the restaurant off for tonight.”
Maaka was glad she suggested it. He couldn’t get Dez out if his head. He was his best friend and greatest companion on the battlefield. His dying moments still lingered in his mind.
“If you can stand, my place is just a sector over.” Ellia offered.
Ellia rummaged thought her conservator. She had some leftovers and re-heater meals, nothing worthy of the dress she was wearing or Maaka’s rented suit.
“I’m going to call out for a meal. Any requests?”
“Dewback.” Maaka replied instantly.
Ellia flipped though nearby restaurants. She knew clones were to the point on everything, especially when it came to food. Or maybe he was just really hungry. Maaka and the other soldiers were almost insatiable. She found a highly recommended restaurant and finished the order.
“It should be here in twenty minutes.” Ellia looked up. Maaka raised an eyebrow. He was painfully handsome. That suit was a perfect compliment. She’d have to tip the rental shop.
“I, uh, didn’t mean for the evening to go this way.” He was still processing how different Ellia looked tonight. She was still the same Ellia, but not a scientist. He had never tried to separate her from her profession before.
“Maaka? Would you tell me about Dez?” Ellia put a hand on his. “I heard you call out his name earlier.”
“Y-yeah.”
Maaka opened up about the memory, recounting every detail he could remember. Ellia listened intently without interruption. The door buzzer stopped the conversation. The steaks smelled wonderful and Maaka realized just how hungry he was. Maybe it was better that they weren’t in some fancy restaurant., Maaka wasn’t sure he could control his manners.
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