#clonexoc

I have often been unsure about how to feel about change. It is a fundamental part of life.

But what happens when one chooses that change? Make their own course? And runs into something else completely? 

Do you fight for it? Against it? What do you do?

Previously, in another life, I would have said otherwise. I would have simply done as needed, as what was expected of me as a soldier in an endless army, all created from the same man.

But I am no longer that soldier. 

And no day was that made clearer than today. 

It was small–only my squad, Sjael’s family, and the crew of the Rocinante . The ceremony was short–per Belter custom, and per my own request. Sjael thought it was admirable, that even in one of the most crucial moments of a human’s life, that I was still logical, but that I still wanted to show what I felt, in the way that I felt most comfortable. 

A human’s life. That is what I truly am.

My hands were the same as hers as we held them, in front of Camina, who laughed at being the one to officiate. Sjael’s smile was like my smile, and her expression of joy was like mine as well, as we stood in the middle of one of the prairies in Medina Station. Her skin and body were like mine, but she was wrapped in a white dress that folded in ways that both covered and showed her beauty, and I wore vest, shirt, and trousers I borrowed from Holden. My wife’s dark hair was woven with wildflowers from the station’s prairies, the same as the ones she carried, the same that I tucked into my breast pocket…along with one of the blossoms from her vanilla orchids. I will always treasure those wonderful plants. 

We spoke with human voices as we declared to be faithful to each other, to cherish each other’s friendship, to be there in both sickness and health, to love each other until the end of days. It was almost the exact same words we spoke in that terrifying call from her ship, where I ordered her to turn around. 

But she does not follow orders, and neither do I. 

Others have called my people nonhuman. They have called her people nonhuman as well. We have been called machines, animals, slaves, equipment, every title that can rip your humanity away from you.

But this fact is untrue, because machines and animals do not get married. 

They do not kiss in front of their family and friends as they are announced as pexa unte pexa by the president, a member of your family who has loved you her whole life, who is your friend in peace, and your ally in war. 

They do not hold their beautiful little daughter and hug their emotional sisters when the ceremony is concluded. 

They do not dodge cheerful slugs from their brothers, or shake the hands of their proud friends, people who love you, who will risk their lives for you. 

They do not walk back to their home hand in hand with their spouse, where the roof is lit with a thousand endless lights, waiting for them to enjoy dinner together.

They do not spend hours bantering, laughing, and crying over a joyful meal celebrating love and family. 

They do not make love in the dark of their bed, the only world consisting of them and the one that they cherish with every fiber of their being. 

They do not softly whisper into each other’s ears and close their eyes with their arms wrapped tightly around their spouse, knowing that their family–their brothers and sisters, children, cousins, nieces and nephews–are all safe and secure. That what you fought for has brought them peace. 

Humans do those things. 

I am human. I am me. 

As are my brothers and sister, as is my wife and child, as are my friends, as are all of those I hold dear.

We have blood in our veins, hearts that beat within us, eyes that see and arms that hold.

We are not equipment, we are not animals, we are humans alone in this vast expanse, building our future together. 

My name is Captain Teki Drummer, and I am one of the chief engineers of Medina Station. I hold rank as an officer within the Transport Union under the command of President Camina Drummer. I am a veteran of the Grand Army of the Republic, of Clone Force 99, and am an ally of the warship Rocinante . 

I am a husband, a father, a brother, a friend, a colleague, and a survivor of countless battles. I was born a clone of the Mandalorian, Jango Fett, on a planet called Kamino. But, I am now a member of the Belter nation, a people born in an endless sea of darkness. But they will always find the light, and I am proud to help them on that journey. 

May I always be held high in their esteem and their regards. 

May I always have the strength of Bobbie, the brilliance of Naomi, the focus of Jim, the kindness of Amos, the innovation of Clarissa, and, most importantly, the honor and courage of Camina, whom I am more than proud to call both commander and family. 

This is my story, and I am happy to have lived it. To keep living it. 

My siblings are many, and my people are countless across the stars. 

I am theirs, and they are mine, until the end of days. 

Xiya depelésh mi wanya bi…wit milowda.* 

In the latest chapter of Charity and Decadence Choy meets a new friend, Pavi. She is a Human/Cerean Jedi educorps librarian and is a little bit clone thirsty. She just asked Choy if all the clones are the same intimately:

“The clones are all individuals,” Choy explained, “even though their- their bodies are all mostly the same, each of them feels special. Different energy, different vibe. Different things they like. I could tell them apart blindfolded.”

“Mmmm,” Pavi hummed, “have you tried that?” she asked with a sly wink.

Choy’s laugh came out too loud, “Pavi!” Then her eyes brightened, “Wait- that actually sounds fun.”

The fun:

This scene has also been inspired by the eye popping chapter 5 (page 17) of Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac 1958

Redefined - Chapter 1

Arc scrolled through the datapad one more time while he waited in the hanger bay. It was just as bare of orders as before but still he tried to find something, anything, on his new platoon assignment. It was his fourth new assignment in just as many deployments. He couldn't settle and just be.

A proximity alert flashed in his HUD for his right side and he sighed. It was too early for socializing, not that it ever ended well. All he needed to do was keep his mouth shut and get through this deployment.

Or at least first form up.

"What's your name, vod?" The approaching brother had maroon armor stripes and similar stripes shaved along the sides of his, otherwise uniform, hair.

His smug grin was the deciding factor for Arc, he wasn't going to play into whatever he was doing. His flight out here was long and he didn't sleep a wink during it.

"Come on," the brother playfully pushed Arc's shoulder, "don't be like that. I'm Mark, CT-4242."

Curse the rules of social engagement and the hours of etiquette training drilled into them. "CT-1731…" he sucked in a breath and willed himself calm, "Arc."

Force and fate had long since turned their eye from him but still he asked for just a chance. Another breath passed in silence as Mark's eyes brightened and the smile widened.

Oh here we karkin' go…

"Pack your kama away?" Mark leaned on his shoulder, smacking his cuirass in time with his quiet cackles.

Arc tried to breathe through the rising heat. He had to make it through; he couldn't face down General Ti after yet another lieutenant kicked him out of their platoon and he was shipped back to Kamino for reassignment. It took everything to only move out of Mark's lean instead of shove him away. "Sergeant Arc," venom dripping in his tight tone.

Mark for his part only grinned wider and eyes narrowing. "Wash out."

His blood boiled in rage and hands shook the datapad while he fought to keep control. Breathe… just breathe and ignore him…

"Right on the mark… as always," he mimicked a firing blaster. "See some of us actually earn our sergeant status, not just handed it because we can't make it through ARC training."

His right hand left the datapad and pulled back, breath stuck fast in his throat and vision blanketed in red.

"Form up!"

Arc snapped to attention, blood rushing in his ears and HUD giving alerts to the quick motions of brothers falling into line behind him. Swallowing the tension and willing his breaths to be shallow and not expressive past his armor, cool relief flowed over boiling anger.

He did it.

For the first time since ARC training, he had made it to first form up without a fight. The Force had given him a chance for once, his new lieutenant wouldn't be learning his name by pulling him out of a fight. Maybe there would be a chance to find a place in this platoon and he wouldn't get immediately transferred or kicked out.

His new lieutenant came to the front of the platoon, the helmet visor carefully taking in each of the squads. A lively and rich green adorning the white armor that was muddled with brown dirt rather than black blaster residue. A leaf curled each pauldron and pieces started to fall into place for Arc.

"Oh I know just where to put you." Commander Wolffe had chuckled under his breath while looking over Arc and his file. "She will straight you right out."

Sisters in the GAR were rarities, those that earned rank even more so. Their names and numbers were often whispered between Kaminoans to the point they were legends. Arc knew of only one that was under Commander Wolffe's leadership and held lieutenant rank.

She pulled the green and white helmet off to reveal a tidy bun and a welcoming smile. "CT-1592, Lieutenant Pi, at your service. Welcome to Succor Platoon, vode."

Arc schooled his own disappointment to silence but there was a chorus of slight groans and clicking of plastoid around him.

In an instant, the soft look was wiped from Pi's face, brown eyes sharpening to cut into the brothers before her. "I didn't know I asked for an opinion on duty placements." Just like her face, all warmth was gone from her voice as she paced before the squads. "We are here to serve the Republic in however they need to be served. If you think that is only by carrying a blaster, you clearly didn't pay attention in flash training. Do you think less of vode who pilot our gunships?"

"No, Sir!" chorused the platoon.

"Are our medic brothers weak for choosing bacta over blaster?"

"No, Sir!"

"What about our brothers on the bridge? Those who keep our ships in perfect working order? Are they less than any of our vode out on the front lines?"

"No, Sir!" Arc's call in the chorus was not empty of feeling, he agreed with it fully.

Pi stopped the pacing and stared at them straight on. "Succor has a bad reputation because we don't fight; yet, when it comes to war, there are many jobs that have to be done to win where a blaster is not carried. Beyond that, there are jobs to be done after the battle is won. Succor holds one of those duties and in my opinion it is the greatest duty of them all."

Arc didn't consider Succor a bad platoon, just not the one he wanted. He had always dreamed of being an ARC trooper, believed himself fated once... but now he was just aimless. Succor's placement and duties was the furthest non-soft-shell placement one could get from an ARC trooper. A part of him wondered if the Force was continuing to toy with him by continuing this terrible string of events.

Clearly others did not hold this mixed feeling about Succor platoon, the clicking and shuffling of plastoid returning to show the unease and discomfort in the soldiers around him. This noise was not unnoticed by Pi who returned to her pacing, voice rising to be heard over the commotions of the hanger.

"We were created to serve the Republic, it is our duty to protect the people of this galaxy from harm. If that is not exciting enough for you, then I want you to think of this. When we go down there, we are coming to an area our brothers just cleared, just freed from the Separatists. We all know the loss that comes with battle. If you are not willing to ensure the people of the galaxy are sheltered and fed for the sake of caring for them, then think of our brothers."

Her voice was pained and cut like a knife in Arc's heart. He had pushed his own batchmates away long ago in his quest for ARC status, jumping squads immediately in hopes to catch the eyes of captains to make their recommendation list. Vague images of faces and numbers were all that remained in his memories of his true brothers, the ones he was supposed to be closest to.

"If we leave their homes broken and destroyed, they will die of exposure. If we do not help with their harvests, they will starve. If we do not repair what our war has broken, the people our brothers died to protect will die themselves— and what does that mean to our brothers' sacrifice?"

It was a question but no answer was expected. A quiet heaviness hung in the air; there was no greater fear for a clone than to die a meaningless death. Arc quietly pondered his brothers again, how many had he seen perish, but no longer remember their names? How caught up in his quest for glory did he become only to forget that there were brothers supposed to be standing at his side?

For long moments, Pi let them stew on that as she quietly returned to the top of the formation.

"What we do matters. We are not here for the glory, we are here to serve the Republic. Look around, we are an entire squad short and our remaining squads are seven, not ten, strong. Everyone pulls their weight and does what is asked of them. High Command thinks this 'light' duty work, but they haven't helped harvest a field or build a home."

Her eyes carefully scanned across the platoon and then narrowed straight on Arc, his blood froze under her sharp gaze.

"Some of you have been assigned here for an attitude check," her eyes let him go, "others for punishment, and some of you just got lucky with your assignment rotations. Regardless, the Force has brought you here for a reason; seek the lesson it wants you to learn."

Arc rolled his eyes, what could it possibly want him to learn besides more embarrassment and disappointment?

"If you think yourself better than this platoon, better than our mission, think again." Pi's voice was back to the sharp pointed edge. "The work is hard enough without being a di'kut. Those of you who want to make trouble, just know this: I did not get this position for my sparkling personality." The flash of her smile was positively cruel. "You will follow orders, or I will run you ragged and then you will still do the work."

He couldn't contain the shiver down his spine and had to swallow the tension caught in his throat. He wondered if Pi had gone through the ARC training and learned such a face from the Alpha class that punished him to the point of tears.

"Sergeants, get your squad's gear in our transport in hanger S5. Then, pick up our requisition materials from the quartermaster and bring them to our transport. Get it all loaded and organized. We leave in four hours. Dismissed."

She turned heel and swiftly departed, complete faith in her sergeants to get it done. Arc watched her leave, catching the sagging of her shoulders and long exhale. Something for him to ponder later… now he had a job to do. Maybe he could pull out of this deployment with a clean record and show that he was finally settling. Then, on the next deployment he could be trusted back on the battlefield with a calm mind and focused energy. Just get through this painfully boring one first.

"Shinies for the shiny sergeant." Mark called to his own squad, "Let's show 'em how it's done."

The blood in his veins was hot again. Arc kept promising himself color once he got a place for a few deployments. He didn't want to look mismatched in the crowd and thusly the only color on his white armor was from blaster fire and damage. Breathe… let it go…

The relatively clean group of brothers behind him shifted at the comment and his silence. At least his group would be tempered. Shiny brothers were always better at following tasks than those with color and scars.

Arc watched Mark's and the other sergeant's group of rainbow colored brothers march forward with their gear before quietly motioning his squad forward as well. Taking account of the 16 troopers in front of him, something stood out.

There were maroons, grays, golden oranges, blues all befor him. Hints of so many squads and divisions lingering in this one platoon, but even the few who had green paint on their armor didn't have Pi's green. Not one brother shared Pi's brilliant green.

“Cardulia, huh?” Hunter mumbled thoughtfully, as he scratched his chin, resting against the side of one of the chairs up in the cockpit. Crosshair sat in it, his feet up on the dashboard which Tech eyed with a slight squint in the main pilot’s seat. “We’ve never been there before.”

“It is a fairly new member of the Republic and quite out of the way for most of the Republic’s business as well,” Tech was more than happy to explain, still eyeing Crosshair. “It has proven to be a resource rich world, with an equally rich culture and aesthetically pleasing landscapes. The dangerous fauna has done little to dissuade visitors, despite rising death tolls.” 

“Oh, I like that sound of dangerous fauna,” Wrecker grinned, as he mimicked Tech’s tone at the end. “Any big ones?”

“A few which would give even you pause, Wrecker. They are comparable to adult rancors.” Wrecker’s grin only grew bigger.

Crosshair raised his hand towards Tech in a ‘really?’ gesture. “You know that’s only gonna encourage him.”

“Easy, Wrecker. We’re not here to battle the local wildlife,” Hunter sighed, as Crosshair glanced back at him, placing a toothpick between his teeth.

“We’re here to work for a Jedi,” he drawled, his gaze narrowing.

“Gotta happen sometime. They are our commanding officers, after all,” the sarge shrugged, unperturbed by Crosshair’s comment or glare. He was well aware of what the man thought of them and how little he trusted the Jedi.

“Hmph. Says who.”

“Just try to behave, alright?” Crosshair lifted his hands, his brow arching as he looked back out the windscreen and the blue hyperspace glow outside. There were gonna be few issues from him, provided the Jedi didn’t get on his nerves. 

“Which Jedi are we talking about?” Wrecker looked to Hunter, but it was Tech who answered.

“General Hide. A proficient fighter known for bold tactics. He also possesses psychometry.”

“Say what now?”

“Psychometry. It is a rare force ability that allows the user to sense information or events connected to a place or an object.”

“Huh, that’s handy,” Hunter gave an impressed nod. “Must make tracking easy.”

“I would surmise as much.”

“Also sounds like a Jedi that won’t mind our tactics either.”

Tech held up his index finger. “We will need to exercise caution while on Cardulia. Especially where we are going. When the Cardulian Council accepted the Republic’s presence on the planet, they did so under particular conditions. Any Jedi or clone forces must be accompanied by a local guide. Such will be the case this time too.”

“A local guide?” Hunter arched his brow.

“Yes. A Cardul warrior recommended by Zenda House, the Cardul ambassador.”

“A warrior, huh? Well, good, at least they won’t be getting in the way then.”

“Most likely not. The Carduls are known for two things. Their fondness for music and their ferocious warriors. Their children start learning combat early on, in order to survive on such a hostile planet.” 

“Hah, like us then,” Wrecker interjected. “Fighting since childhood, no better way to get good at it than that.”

“Yay,” Crosshair snorted, folding his arms across his chest, before putting his feet back on the floor.

Tech turned his attention to the dashboard, grabbing the ship’s controls as they dropped out of hyperspace. A green and white planet greeted them, along with a Republic space station between them and the planet. A few ships flew about, two of them immediately turning to intercept the Marauder’s descent towards the planet. A clone trooper’s voice came through the intercom.

“Unidentified transport, this is a restricted airspace, transfer your clearance code.”

“I thought this place welcomed Republic forces. What’s with the restricted airspace?” Wrecker shook his head as Tech glanced at him before inputting the required clearance codes.

  The clone trooper on the other end seemed pleased. “You’re cleared for entry. Proceed.” 

“Something tells me the carduls had more demands than just babysitting us on the planet,” Crosshair noted. He glanced up at Hunter next to him, who met his gaze evenly. 

“You would be correct,” Tech agreed. “Inputting the coordinates that Cody gave us.” He pressed at one of the control panels on the dashboard, before steering the ship sharply downward, breaching through the clouds.

A snowy landscape faced them below, covered in a conifer forest with a massive mountain side stretching out behind it. Tech took the ship to the other side of the forest, some way from the mountain; landing it safely in a small clearing, right where the coordinates pointed him to. 

As the Bad Batch exited the ship, geared up and ready, they stood in confusion for a few moments. There was nothing here.

“Tech, are you sure this is the right place?” Hunter asked.

“Positive.” Tech double checked his forearm device, frowning down at it.

“There you are,” a voice from above was heard, prompting them all to look upwards where a winged figure stood on a branch up in a large pine tree. She jumped down, unfurling her black and yellow wings, landing softly a few metres ahead of them. Her body was almost fully covered in a brown leather coat with grey fur lining the rims and collar, though regular armour could be spotted underneath the open jacket, as well as the legs and boots.

Over her right shoulder, a folded up rifle of unknown model was holstered, while a holstered energy bow was attached to her lower arm. She wore a grey helmet with a rangefinder attached to it, and a bone white pattern across it, along with a red visor. 

“Was starting to think you were gonna be a no show,” she admitted, raising her chin a little, studying them under her helmet.

“That’d be a first!” Wrecker exclaimed, as if the very notion was an insult.

“And who are you?” Hunter asked, taking a step forward to point at her, with Tech adjusting his goggles, eyes slightly narrowed.

“Ash will do,” she put her hand on her hip, leaning slightly on one leg. “I’m one of your contacts. And you are Clone Force 99, I take it?”

“Yeah. I’m Hunter. This is Wrecker, Tech and Crosshair,” the sergeant introduced them, his hand almost lazily pointing to each man as he spoke, who all nodded a greeting back. “Shouldn’t there be a Jedi with you…?”

“Hide, yes. He’s further up in the forest,” Ash pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. “He wanted to keep an eye on the target until you arrived. We should be joining him quickly.”

“Well, by all means, lead the way.” She nodded once, gesturing for them to follow her. As she led them between the pine trees, she glanced back at them occasionally. They were soldiers of the Republic, clones, just like the ones serving with Hide, but their armour was quite different. Their reputation even more so. Having such a reckless squad of unfamiliar clones in her home made her uneasy.

Tech kept his datapad in his hand now, scanning their surroundings and investigating the result with keen eyes. A habit he had developed since the very first time he’d set his foot on another planet. They all yielded different fascinating results after all. The other three didn’t have the same interest in what was going on around them, beyond what could move and possibly threaten them. 

The few minutes long trek took them further upwards, towards a slope along the mountain edge. The trees grew more sparse up there, allowing them the first sights of familiar white clone armour. Once within sight, Ash unfurled her wings and took flight; staying close to the ground, before landing by a man dressed in a blue Jedi robe. 

Hunter squinted as he saw her talk quietly with him. As they reached the squad of clones, a few of them looked towards the new arrivals. The clone captain in the group, stood by Ash and the Jedi by now, his head slowly turning towards Clone Force 99 as well. His armour markings, along that of the other clones, were a mix of teal and light blue.

The Jedi turned to Hunter, who was the first one to step up. His brothers remained more behind him, with Tech barely looking up from his datapad. Hunter saluted to Hide; he was one of the few who bothered doing that to the Jedi at all.

“Reporting for duty, sir,” he said. Crosshair turned his head slightly towards Hunter, wondering why he was being overly professional.

“Welcome to Cardulia,” Hide nodded to them. He gestured towards his captain, who stepped up as well. “This is Captain Tenno. He’s the one who contacted Cody, who warmly recommended your squad.” Tenno extended his hand to Hunter, who politely shook it.

“Gonna be interesting to see you in action,” Tenno grinned under the helmet.

“Looks like our reputation is preceding us,” Hunter arched a brow under the helmet. “Better be at our best, boys,” he glanced over his shoulder at the others. 

“Ain’t we always?” Wrecker rolled his shoulder, raring to get started. Talking was dull. 

“What are we looking at here exactly?” Hunter turned to the matters of the actual mission. Rather than answering, Hide looked to Tenno. The clone captain pulled up a small holographic projector in his palm. When he activated it, an image of what was clearly the inside of a mountain flickered to life. 

“A secret Separatist base,” he started to explain. “We cannot locate the exact position with our scanners due to interference from inside the mountain. We know there’s a secret entrance somewhere but cannot locate that either. And the mountain’s filled with ancient tunnels and caves, which means trying to manually look through the place will take too long.” 

“Too long? Do you suspect the separatists are up to something, since you’re worried about the timetable?” Both Hide and Tenno looked over at Ash.

She gestured at the mountain next to them. “This mountain is called Dreki. It’s a very sacred site to my people. The Council wants the trespassers cleared out as soon as possible, before they threaten what’s within.” 

Tech, who had been looking at his datapad the whole time, looked up when the cardul started to speak. “Dreki is rumoured to be the birthplace of the deity that the carduls worship. Having outsiders near it is prohibited, let alone letting anyone inside the tunnels.” Ash quickly turned to look at him, clearly surprised at his knowledge. 

Tech calmly returned her gaze. “Allowing us anywhere near it, must mean this is dire indeed.”

“The Cardul and Republic relations are new and thus frail,” Hide nodded. “The less outsiders that enter the mountain the better. So we need someone who can find the base - ” he paused to give Hunter a hopeful look. “- And a small group that can push through to the base and open the way for Tenno’s squad to enter.” 

Crosshair tilted his head down enough to give Hunter a look; especially when the sergeant looked to the mountain. While Hunter could feel something nearby, it was very faint. 

“Sounds like a job for us,” he turned back to Hide, giving him a confident nod.

“Excellent. One more thing. No outsiders are allowed to traverse the tunnels without a cardul.” Hide lifted his hand to put it on Ash’s shoulder. “But you’ll find Ash competent. She will be able to keep up with you.”

“I assume that’s non-negotiable?” Hunter sounded doubtful.

“It is,” Ash clarified. “I’m here to make sure you don’t touch something you shouldn’t.”

“Do you want our help or not?” Crosshair snarked as he leaned forward over Hunter’s shoulder. 

“I’m not the one who requested you here,” she shot back. 

Tech cleared his throat. “It would be wise to bring a local along. That lethal wildlife I mentioned before? They exist in the mountains as well.” Crosshair wasn’t convinced, glaring down at the cardul who was returning the favour. Hunter took a step forward between them.

“We’ll make it work,” he said in a tone that wouldn’t be debated, before he looked at Hide and Tenno. “Where will you be?” 

“We will surround this side of the mountain and await your signal. Once you reveal the secret entry, we will assist.”

“Hah! If there’s any clankers left for you to deal with,” Wrecker slapped Crosshair across his back, making him stumble forward. A few clone troopers behind Tenno exchanged looks. Tenno seemed mostly amused. 

“Well, this will be fun,” he glanced back at them. Hide rested his hands within his sleeves, picking up on the excitement in Tenno’s squad.

“Whenever you’re ready,” he tilted his head to Clone Force 99.

“Ready when you are,” Hunter turned to Ash. 

She gestured for them to follow her, as she started the trek up the mountain side, leaving Tenno and Hide to deal with the things on its outskirts. 

“You got a tough climb ahead of you,” she warned them, jumping up on one of the larger rocks with the help of her wings. She pointed up ahead. “See the cliffside shaped like a bird’s silhouette? The entrance to the cave system is there.” It wasn’t all a vertical climb. Their feet would touch the actual soil almost everywhere, but the climb was still steep. 

She took to the sky, moving just enough to the side to hover where she could watch them all. As she did so, she pulled out the rifle and unfolded it into a sniper rifle neither of them had seen before.

“Ooooh… you got competition, Crosshair,” Wrecker exclaimed. “I’ve never seen a gun like that before.” Neither had Crosshair, as he squinted at the weapon in her hands. He didn’t like surprises, especially not of this kind.

“Not surprising,” Tech noted with interest as he studied the weapon too. “That is an anti-shield rifle.”

“Still doesn’t ring a bell, Tech,” Hunter remarked.

“Because it is completely new! There was an article on the holo-net a few weeks ago. It has five different power settings. Maxed out, one shot will break through most shields.”

“That’s impossible,” Hunter countered in disbelief. 

“Difficult but not impossible. One high power but high cost shot. It will fully drain the rifle’s battery.”

“So it has one fancy bolt at the cost of becoming unusable,” Crosshair drawled. “Really gotta make sure your shot counts then.” Despite his words, his interest was piqued. Both in the weapon and the fellow sniper. 

“Don’t worry,” Ash reassured him, as she leaned the rifle against her shoulder. “I can. Now come on, get to walking.”

“I did mention it had five power settings,” Tech continued, even as they set out on the climb. “The lowest is akin to a low powered blaster, with the second being equal to a DC-15A blaster rifle. The third one comparable to a DC-15X sniper rifle. I would dare suggest that the fourth level is akin to a Firepuncher.” Wrecker let out a cackle at the last bit. He knew Crosshair wouldn’t like that.

Ash was actually impressed at how Tech was able to talk at the speed he was, while constantly climbing upwards. As she remained up in the air, she kept an eye out for them, knowing they’d be more vulnerable than her. In the meanwhile, Tech kept on chatting about the different perks and cons of both the anti-shield rifle and the Firepuncher now. 

“Though I am surprised to see one in use already,” he was questioning now that they were almost at the top of the climb. “The one in the article only mentioned a prototype.”

“If you must know, it is the prototype,” Ash admitted after a few moments of silence. She landed at the top of the cliff that they were aiming for. A small cave opening was barely visible behind her. Tech’s eyes widened. 

“If you have the prototype, then you must personally know the man who crafted the blueprint. It would be -” 

“Tech. Focus,” Hunter gently admonished him once he set eyes on the cave. Tech gave him his rapt attention instead now, pulling up the datapad again to see what his scans could pick up. 

The result was disappointing. “Captain Tenno was right. The Separatists must have put up a scrambler in their base. I cannot detect anything useful at all.”

“And that’s where your technology leaves way for me,” Hunter chuckled. “Shall we?” He pulled out his torch and took the lead, surprised to find a large cavern right inside the small entrance. Pots, burnt out candles and carpets covered the area. The walls had been smoothed down by hand, with hand painted images on them.

Tech shone his light across one of them, which was massive. Several meters in height and width. Depicting some kind of wooden figure with wings. Large, imposing and somehow… gentle. As he glanced around, he realised all the paintings were of the same winged creature. 

“What is all this?” Wrecker asked, as he too had looked at the paintings; they all did. Only Ash stood in the middle of the cavern, keeping an eye out. 

“Old depictions of our god,” she explained. “Some of the seids were here recently, filling in the paint. That’s when the reports of the Separatist activity came in.”

She walked further into the cave, stopping at the tunnel by the end. The air smelled stale. Activating a small torch in her helmet, she shone a light in there, seeing nothing but undisturbed rock.

She let out a small sigh of relief, her shoulders and wings visibly relaxing.

“They didn’t come through this way at least,” she called out. Hunter had sided up with her by now, looking into the tunnel as well. Frowning a little, he kneeled down to press his hand against the ground. The faint sensation of something electromagnetic nearby lingered. 

He checked briefly with the others to make sure they were following. “Come on.” They all hurried down into the tunnels, with Crosshair taking the rear. After a while Hunter stopped again, in order to get his bearings. There were a lot of tunnels here, all leading into different directions. 

“This place is a maze,” Crosshair pointed out, having taken a look around with his rangefinder, but it couldn’t easily penetrate the rock around them. “If we keep running further inside, we won’t be able to find our way back out.”

Ash gave a low chuckle, only a little at his expense. “Don’t worry,” she turned to him before pointing upwards. Furthest up, along the roof, small yellow arrows were painted on the cave walls. High enough that only a cardul might think to look there. “They’ll show the way.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Crosshair bit back.

“Is he always this charming?”

“Only on good days,” Hunter shrugged, amused at the exchange.

Ash shook her head. “A good thing to keep in mind while on Cardulia. Always keep your eyes peeled to the sky. Or in this case, the roof.” 

A sudden, loud boom shook the tunnel, making them all stagger. The vibrations lingered for a few moments longer, dust falling down on them. Wrecker and Hunter drew their weapons, eyes flickering to the shadows around them. 

“What was that?!” Wrecker shouted. Tech had his nose in his datapad, frowning down at it.

“A detonation of some kind. Strong enough to break through the interference, if but for a moment.” He looked at the others. “The source is not natural.”

“I agree with that,” Hunter said darkly. “I felt a massive electromagnetic shock at the same time. Whatever’s causing that is big.”

“Explosions then?” Wrecker suggested.

“I’d guess machinery of some kind. Let’s hurry.” Hunter ran into one of the tunnels, following where his senses were guiding him, deeper into the mountain. And the further they ran, the more untouched the tunnels became. As if they were stepping somewhere no one had walked in decades. Even Ash started to feel some trepidation, since she was walking somewhere only the seids should.

They had just entered another large room, when the ground shook again. A part of the roof crumbled this time, sending down small pieces of rock on them. Hunter was touching his head this time, wincing as the shock to his system physically affected him this time. He felt Crosshair’s hand on his shoulder, stabilising him. 

“I’m fine,” he assured him, trying to wave him off. “That was… that is definitely something machine made.”

“Whatever it is, it needs to stop,” Ash growled. “They’re disturbing the whole mountain this way! Can’t you find where it’s coming from?”

“It’s still deeper inside.” Hunter pushed himself into another run, feeling his fingers itch. That was usually a sign that they were closing in on the cause of such massive signals. And now that the thud had ebbed away, he sensed a more familiar thing. Separatist droids. And quite a few of them. 

A third thud arrived, which provoked something much worse. A crack tore through the tunnel they had entered, opening up a crevice. Wrecker felt his foot give away to the crevice behind him, pushing himself forward and pulling Crosshair and Hunter with him. They landed hard on the floor beyond the crevice while Tech felt himself slip right into it, as he had been running behind Wrecker. 

Ash unfolded her wings in instinct as she felt her feet leave the ground, flapping them hard over the crevice. 

“Tech!” Hunter called out, throwing himself against the edge of the crevice. It had opened wide into a slope looking dark abyss. Crosshair grabbed hold of the wall, leaning as much as he could over the crevice to try and peer down into it. Pressing the comlink on his helmet, he tried to reach Tech.

Tech’s voice cracked to life in the shared comm channel. “No need to be concerned, I am unharmed.” Hunter let out a sigh of relief until Tech continued. “You should come down here.”

“Excuse me?”

“Quickly before the next impact occurs! It is an easy fall.”

Hunter groaned; he wasn’t sure why Tech wanted them down there, but he also knew the man wouldn’t request it unless it was important. He gave a confirmation to the others, watching Crosshair jump down into the crevice. He balanced well enough to slide down the slope, disappearing underneath the ground they stood on.

When he arrived in the same chamber as Tech, he took in the sights with a mild look of alarm, almost raising his weapon. Neither of the twins reacted when Hunter slid down next to them. Wrecker more or less crashed down behind them but was quickly back up on his feet, looking around awkwardly.

The cavern they found themselves in was bigger than the entrance one. There were cave paintings here as well, but they looked ancient, almost faded. The air was stuffy and the tools made to paint the walls long ago had almost withered away fully. 

When Ash slid down, all she saw was the two pairs of red eyes staring down at her from the wall painting dead ahead. She extended her wings with such force to break in, that she blew away all the dust and shattered the remaining paint tools.

She took aim with her weapon towards the painting, breathing heavily. The strong reaction had made the others look at her, especially when she turned to the sides as well, which contained the same image as the first one. Some gangly looking creatures with huge jaws and two pairs of red eyes staring down at them. 

“They’re just paintings,” Wrecker pointed out, hesitating before reaching out to pat her shoulder. She was slowly realising that herself, lowering the weapon. Resting it against her side, she stepped up to one of the paintings, looking up at it. 

Having forgotten the urgency they were in, she bent her head down to pull off her helmet, pressing it against her other side to stare up at the painting again. Tech had pulled out the datapad, scanning the room.

“These are truly ancient,” he explained in some awe. “We are talking centuries. A millenia even. What do they depict, Ash?” He turned to look at her, realising first now that her helmet was off. His eyes flickered across her blue features; how her pointed ears seemed to move towards each crumbling sound in the room. Her black eyes looked eerie in the near darkness, with only the amber coloured iris visible. 

He stepped closer towards her, following her gaze back to the creature on the wall in confusion. That seemed to wake her up from her trance, as she blinked a few times. Almost startled, she looked at him, her brow furrowing.

“It’s…” Ash started, tightening her jaw before a determined expression set back in her face. “Just a nightmare.” She stepped away, putting her helmet back on.

Crosshair had been watching them closely, while Hunter had been distracted by whatever his senses were telling him. When Wrecker smacked his chest, he turned to follow his taller brother’s gaze towards the painting.

“I bet I could beat that,” Wrecker told him in an aside. Crosshair only sighed, before walking over to Hunter.

“Can you track the source down?” he asked, before thinking of something. “Tech, shouldn’t there have been another impact by now?”

“If it followed the pattern I was starting to suspect, then yes, there should have been,” Tech replied. “Considering the sacred site, the secluded base and the timed impacts, I believe the noises we are hearing are in fact a drill. They must be looking for something inside the mountain.” 

“Don’t tell me the separatists believe in the deity in the mountain,” Crosshair scoffed. Ash swiftly turned to face him; he could feel the wind from her wing with the speed she had turned around.

“Then they are more clever than you,” she scowled under her helmet.

“Gods do not exist.”

“People didn’t think my rifle existed a month ago but I’ll happily prove its existence to you. Close up.” She had been walking up to him during her threat. He simply turned and leaned enough to tower over her.

“Be my guest,” he challenged her back.

“Knock it off, you two!” Hunter snapped them back to attention. “We’re close.” He started to move off to the side, finding another tunnel there. He slipped inside before anyone could argue about it. Minutes passed as they continued on their path until the tunnel split into a massive cavern.

They all stepped out on the ledge that was high up above the cavern’s floor. Down below was the source of all the commotion. A temporary but large enough outpost to host one massive battalion worth of battle droids. Some of them were patrolling around, others were clustered around a massive drill at the edge of the outpost. 

“Huh… you were right,” Ash muttered in surprise towards Tech, who had lowered his visor to study the outpost. He quickly glanced at her.

“Of course I was,” he said matter of factly. “It seems the clankers did not receive an instruction on how to use the drill. They have already overheated it.”

“Shocking…” Crosshair chuckled, having kneeled down next to Tech, leaning the Firepuncher’s stock against the ground, his arm over his other knee. 

“Two priorities then,” Hunter said. “Opening the hidden entrance and shutting off the drill, before that thing can cause more damage to the mountain.”

“The drill should go down with an explosive or two, right?” Wrecker suggested, his tone containing more glee than he could contain. Tech checked it over with his visor, before confirming the assessment. 

“Alright. I’ll go see about opening the door,” Hunter continued. “Wrecker, go deal with the drill. Tech, make sure no alarms go off. We don’t need them to send for reinforcements. Crosshair and Ash, keep the clankers off our backs.” The others nodded their agreement, before Hunter, Wrecker and Tech climbed down the ledge and split up. 

“You watch the left side, I’ll watch the right?” Crosshair suggested after a few moments of silence between him and Ash. 

“Sounds like a plan,” she agreed, looking down the scope of her rifle, ready. Tech had the quickest way to the outpost’s main console, having skillfully dodged any clankers on his way. As he set to work on hacking their system, Hunter was fast approaching the entrance door to the cavern. A hastily put together one, that was for sure. Finding the control panel, he paused, wanting to wait until the right moment.

Wrecker had reached the drill, hiding behind a rock nearby, much to his chagrin. It’d be so easy to just storm right towards it and headbutt any clankers right out of the way. 

“How’s it looking, everyone?” Hunter spoke into the comms.

Tech was the first to reply, tapping away on the console, before looking up at the antenna attached to it as it de-powered. “Their scrambler system is down and so is their connection to the separatist network. They are isolated.”

“Well done. Wrecker?”

“Staring at the drill as we speak.”

“Well… let it loose then!” Hunter punched in the button on the door panel to open it, wincing a little as daylight crept into the darker cavern. Wrecker armed an explosive and hurled it towards the drill, only to watch it helplessly bounce off a shield that popped up around it. 

A B1 droid that had been standing there picked up the explosive, turning it around in its hand.

“Hey, who dropped a -” it started before it was blown into pieces, dragging three more with it. 

“It bounced off!” Wrecker exclaimed into the comms. “The drill has a shield!” Crosshair had started to take out the startled droids near Hunter, risking a brief moment to look down the scope at Wrecker’s location. When he heard a humming sound next to him, he turned his attention to Ash.

She had pulled a small lever on the side of her rifle, her head tilting just enough in his direction as she caught his look. An angry red light shone through the battery of the weapon. 

Her voice was a determined whisper, as she mimicked his comment from earlier. “Make each shot count.” Looking back down the scope, she pulled the trigger. The recoil on the weapon would have made anyone stagger backwards, but carduls had powerful shoulders and backs. She resisted the push, watching the shot strike the drill and shattering the shield. 

Wrecker’s cackle could be heard where they were crouched, before he lobbed another explosive its way. This time it struck true, bringing the entire thing with it, in a glorious explosion. Only downside was that now they had everyone’s attention. 

Ash folded up the drained rifle against her back, drawing her energy bow instead. Pausing by the ledge, she took in what was going on. 

After blowing up the drill, Wrecker was gunning down every droid he could find, using his rifle, laughing while at it. Hunter stood by the open door’s corner, taking cover in between headshots on the clankers with his blaster. Tech was playing hide and seek below, dodging between rocks and other corners, in order to pin down the droids with EMP detonators. Crosshair kept pinning a shot in each droid he could find in his scope.

Taking to the air, Ash started to snipe droids from above; her yellow energy arrows striking true each time. The chaos lasted for some time, with the Batch taking out the clankers while slowly being surrounded. 

A brief sense of victory for the droids, when those by the door were rapidly gunned down by multiple rifles at once. A squad of clone troopers ran through the door, blasting away on the battle droids. In their midst, Hide walked forward with determined steps, taking the lead with his blue lightsaber drawn. Behind him Tenno matched his pace, dodging and taking shots towards the droids, in between Hide’s deflections. 

Wrapping up the remaining droids was easy work, which resulted in Wrecker running in among them to start punching them instead. Up on the ledge, Crosshair chuckled to himself at his glee, standing up when he realised the targets were growing fewer and fewer. Pretty soon the ground was littered with battle droid parts.

The Batch gathered near the drill, Crosshair having climbed down as well. Tech was examining it, trying to figure out its exact purpose, when Hide and the clone squad approached. 

“Cody wasn’t exaggerating, I see,” Tenno chuckled once he reached them. “I’ve never seen such an efficient clean up before.”

“Told you we’re good,” Wrecker crossed his arms over his chest, looking quite pleased. 

“Well done,” Hide congratulated them - Crosshair snorted at the back. “Tenno, head back outside and call in a cleaning crew. And contact the Cardulian administration. I suspect they’ll want to send a few of their own too. Are you coming outside with us?”

“In a sec,” Hunter nodded. “Tech wanted to take a closer look at the drill.”

“Good idea. Meet us outside.” Hide walked away, leaving the Batch by the drill. Wrecker did his utmost not to bother Tech while he retold how the drill had blown up - as if they all hadn’t been there when it happened. Hunter shook his head amused at the one sided exchange, before frowning as he looked towards the cave wall beyond the drill, leading further into the mountain. 

He took a few steps towards it, before finding himself standing right next to it. Frowning, he pressed his hand against the wall. With the drill and clankers destroyed, he’d have expected his senses to calm down more than they had. Something was still… there. Something massive.

A vibration shot through his fingers and he swore he could feel what amounted to a giant heartbeat, somewhere far in the mountain. A strange calmness washed over him, a sense of reassurance that he couldn’t explain. He pulled his hand back abruptly, when he had a feeling that something had noticed him. 

“Having a touching moment with the wall, are we?” Crosshair’s voice behind him actually startled him. 

“I… thought I felt something.”

“Not you too.”

“I’m serious.”

Crosshair continued to sound doubtful, with a low snort instead now. Still, if Hunter claimed it… he was inclined to believe him. He joined his brother in staring at the wall for a little while. To the point that even he was starting to get a weird feeling. 

“We should leave,” the sniper suggested then, turning back around to join the others, who now had the company of Ash too. Hunter managed to tear himself away from the wall, gesturing for them to follow him outside. 

Hide waited out among the trees, while Tenno was talking to someone on the holo-projector further off.

“I can’t commend you enough for your effort,” the Jedi smiled brightly at them. “Reading the reports will be… interesting.” Ash stopped by his side, removing the helmet and resting it against her hip. This time the Batch did the same, with Hunter running his hand through his hair to straighten it out. 

Ash couldn’t help but notice that not only their armour was different from the other clones. Even their physical appearances didn’t match the other clones. They all looked wildly different. 

Crosshair had his sharp gaze at her, putting a toothpick in his mouth, before his focus shifted to Hide, watching him with far less tolerance than he had towards her.

She looked to Wrecker, catching his smile her way. To see a tall man like himself, with such a big scar, yet be so happy about everything was oddly familiar. Already he reminded her of her step-father. 

Tech however, was not like anyone she’d seen before. He had a lot of similar features as Crosshair, his eyes just as sharp; only his attention was on the datapad instead.

Hunter’s words dragged their attention back to him. “They were definitely after something in that mountain with that drill.”

“I’m sure,” Hide agreed. “But that’s up to the carduls to determine, I believe.” He looked back at Ash.

“You’re right. I’ll make sure to leave a thorough report to the seids, don’t worry,” she nodded back at him. 

“If they require further assistance, the Republic will be more than happy to assist. And thank you for your assistance,” he added towards the Batch, pressing his hands together in front of his chest and bowing slightly.

“Just doing our job,” Hunter waved it off. “If that’ll be all, we’ll head back to our ship,” he added, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. “They’ll be expecting us back on Kamino any day now.”

“Just call us when you find more clankers,” Wrecker nodded. “Who knows, maybe we’ll work together again some day!” he looked at Ash, still smiling. She arched a surprised eyebrow at him.

“You already have a competent sniper,” she reminded him, a little bemused, as she glanced at Crosshair. She too made a faint bow with her head, her arm pressed against her chest. “You’re all capable warriors. Should our paths cross again, you’ll have my aid.” 

Tech looked up from his datapad. First at her and then his brothers. “High praise from a cardul,” he explained. Hunter smiled, giving her a nod in return.