Chest Pains

So uh.....i have no excuse...sorry i took so long :D

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Jakes tired limbs stretched as the sand around him shifted, the sun hadnt come up yet, but accoarding to the moons placement, he had slkept for well over 9 hours, Jake had gotten used to memorizing the moons location, since Geonosis had a weird Day Night cycle. Either way, he was the first one up, looking around at the Clones huddled together, the droids doing the same, Ada and Teesh curled up in there own corners, with the Commando and the Guard in crouched possitons, and finally Racket, who sat slumped from where he was guarding yesterday. Jake scoffed lightly with amusment, poor Droidekka, had sat their till it had to shut down to save power. Jake hadnt thought about it much, but they couldnt stay out here too long, the droids would run out of power within a day or two, thankfully the LAAT had chargers, and Ada confirmed with Jake in a side rant yesterday that she had one charger aswell, which was nice.

Speaking off the mandolorian, Jakes gaze fell on her armored form, his tired eyes glazed with the ususal haze of morning, where nothing feels real. 

"Damm..." he thought to himself "Shes...kinda cute?" Jake admitted to himself in his brain, only nodding slightly, before turning away and trying his best to grab and open the wrapper of a ration bar as queitly as possible, all the while a small taint of red spread on his face, too bad the teen didnt know why it was there, or that it was there at all, i mean its not like he had a mirror. 

Took a few hours for some of the other to begin waking, Rusty being the first, the droids clumsy movements causing it to trip over Clank, which led to the B1 falling onto Tac while throwing his arms about sand got into Teeshes nose, causing the lizard to sneeze which woke up everyone else.

"..." Jake stared "Geniually...incredible" Jake stated with a deadpan look. everyone slowly shifting around.

"Hey kid..." Teesh let out

"Hello brothers" "Greetings" "I am awake" "Whats happening" among many other phrases were heard as the droids stood up, while the "organics" so to speak, sat around the box Cody had brought, picking off rations.

"Jake...howd you sleep?" Ada asked staring up at the standing boy, Jakes hair shfiting in the light breeze, Ada being theonly one who wasnt actively eating, just holding a bar.

"Surprisingly well...at least for sleeping on sand and after ya know....murder" Jake said with fake jazz hands, giving a joking expression.

Ada chuckled lightly, before sending her self off to go hide behind a large rock to eat her food. The clones were caught in their own conversation, while the droids with Jake just stared at the now rising sun, Scythe and Golem just staring at the commotion.

Jake smiled lightly, and sighed.

"Ssssso kid...whatsssss the goal today, wouldnt mind sssinking my teeth into more Imperialssssss" Teesh chuckled darkly, Jake giving a heavy side eye.

"Well" C H O M P into ration bar "We.." GULP "Need to get to that ISB base before leaving, or else we killed those troopers for nothing.

"True...they desssserved it" Teesh snarled 

Jake remained quite "Yes...they did, but lets try to avoid it, i know im not exactly the...uh..."

"Mentally stable?" Teesh finshed with a grin, swallowing a ration bar whole, wrapper and all.

"Hey!" Jake said with fake insult "But yeah...." he sighed.

"Kid" Cody called, Mute and Barren looking over aswell, Scythe and Golem walking to the other droids.

Rusty and Clank stared at the sunrise as Tac typed into his datapad.

"Shiny..." Rusty said in awe.

"Suprised to see you still fucntioning" Scythe spoke heavily. Tac, Clank and Rusty turned, Tac looking from his datapad.

"As am i...you were expected to shutdown" Tac informed

"We thought we wouldnt see you again" Rusty added

"I am better then your program can comprehend" Scythe insulted Tac, causing Rusty to flinch his head back.

"Well thats just rude" The B1 spoke aloud, but was ignored.

"Who are you" Clank rumbled, staring at the Magnaguard.

"Golem, i was rescued by Scythe" Was all the guard had to say, Clank didnt respond.

"Uh...want to see the sunrise with us?" Rusty asked nervously, his form bent down slightly.

"No" They both left..

"Rude" Clank grumbled to himself

"I know right" Rusty said turning around, Tac being left to stare with thought at the two advanced models, intrigued.

Jake and the Clones sat in a circle, Teesh decidng to sit on the now empty ration bar box, while Ada took a seat next to Jake. Jake was silent, contemplating, what you ask? i dont know...i just write about him. The others didnt seem to pay much attentino to that fact, not in a rude way of course, but the clones were sharing stories, Tac calculating tactics, Rusty and Clank talking about something. Teesh however, did notice, but Jakes random blanks became so common he ignored them, Ada however, got slightly worried, waving her hand infrotn of him.

Ada green armored arm filled the boys vision "Wha- Huh?" Jake shook his head slighty, flinching.

"Hey...you good?" She asked.

"Yeah yeah...just thinking"

"About what may i ask?"

Jake shifted slightly "Ive killed people..."

Ada stared for a moment, she hadnt thought about it all that much, to her those TKs barely counted as living, more similar to Rusty, although Rusty was nice so not really. 

"Well yeah...and?" She asked slightly confused, death wasnt a new concept to her, being Mandolorian didnt help either.

Jake gave a her a deadpan look and sat up, sighing to himself and walking off, Ada sat looking threw her helmet confused, looking to her right to see Teesh, who had scooted over to listen in, the Lizard gave her a sideye and shook his head, Ada gave a nervously fake chuckle and stared at Jake in the distance, who stood still, staring up.

Jake looked up, the Suns warmth starting to cover the stars above, the red cliffs filling his lower vision as the dark sky turned to its normal reddish grey. He sighed, he had been doing that alot lately, a shit ton had happened, it messed with his head. So many dead, on both sides, thankfully Jake had the reasoning to know it wasnt all his fault, mostly the Empires. 

The droids had exhausted their limited conversation, and walked there way over to Jake, curious. 

"Uh..sir?" Rusty squeaked "Everything alright?" Rusty shaky leaned forward, Tac and Clank standing upright, also awaitng a response.

"Yeah...just not used to so much...killing i guess" Jake admitted, the phrase seemed to roll of his tounge like a ball of spikes, his face contorted into slight disgust at his own words.

"Well...if this assists, i will say that 92 Percent of all encounters with the Empire were started by the Empire, therefore it is classified as Self Defense" Tac stated with confidence lacing the droids monotone tone, Rusty nodding a few seconds later in agreement.

"Agreed" Was all Clank had to add.

"I guess....its not the best excuse" Jake said aloud, still staring up.

"Well....You have a strong enough motherboard to sustain it...i am sure" Clank said in his grumbling voice.

Jake chuckled lightly, his scrap shirt shaking with small clanks and dinks. "Fair enough"

it didnt take long after that fore the others to heave themselves up, Mute informing that Cody and his Droid "teammates" would be happy to help, and that they were ready to go, Scythe and Golem werent exactly the happiest, or the most talkative, much to Rustys dimay, but thats to be expected. The vareity of droids begun to strike Jake, one of nearly every major type, a B1, B2, T Series, Commando, Droidekka, and Magnaguard..."what luck", he thought.

The group where able to find a route to the ISB building, it was a supringly short walk, well 40 ish mins isnt really short, but to Jake it was, there were times hed walk for miles in the scrap fields, he remebered complaing about the sun, if only he had known that the sun was the only constant in his life. 

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A TK stood guard at the door of a building, its deep black paint marred by red sand. The structure towered over the rocks and boulders scattered around, blending into the environment, making it hard for the eye to follow. Railings and walkways crisscrossed the exterior, with doors leading to hidden passages. A thick column of smoke spewed from the exhaust, further choking the atmosphere. TK troopers and a few clones meandered along the railings, completely oblivious to the brewing storm.

Behind a nearby rock, Jake, Rusty, Ada, Mute, and Cody crouched in wait. This time, Jake had insisted everyone set their weapons to stun. Ada, naturally, refused, earning a sharp glare from Jake and an even fiercer one from Teesh. Ada just shrugged it off, but Jake decided to let it slide. The droids, despite their hatred for the Empire, followed the stun order without protest—morality wasn't their concern, but orders were. The only issue was Clank's arm cannons, which didn't have a stun setting, so he'd have to rely on melee, and keep the skull-crushing to a minimum.

"God, this job fucking su—" A blue pulse from a stun shot cut the trooper's complaint short, his body spasming before collapsing in a heap.

Jake smirked as he stepped over the stunned TK. "How long does the stun last anyway?" he asked, approaching the now-open back door.

"A few hours," Ada said with a shrug, casually walking alongside him. "Would last longer if you weren't using a pistol, but whatever."

Jake nodded, leading the group inside. He wasn't dumb, despite what his easygoing attitude might suggest. He knew Barren, Tac, Clank, Scythe, Golem, and Racket were almost guaranteed to trip the alarm. Maybe not Scythe, but the rest of his team? They were practically designed to cause chaos. He just needed them to stay quiet long enough for him to pull off his master plaaann!! 

Earlier, literally like ten minutes ago...

Jake gathered everyone in a circle, standing far enough from the ISB building to avoid prying eyes.

"Alright, here's the plan," Jake started, his hands gesturing wildly. "Me, Rusty, Cody, Mute, Teesh, and Ada will take the back door to the east. The others will go in from the south. South squad is aiming for the power generators. We shut 'em down, and we've all got night vision, so we'll have the advantage—droid scanners, helmets, or whatever species stuff you've got." He shot a glance at Teesh, who just rolled his eyes.

Jake continued, "When the power's off, the TKs won't know what hit 'em. We take 'em out—stun only, fists if you're Clank— uh...Racket, just dont shoot i guess....and make our way to the control center."

He paused for dramatic effect before taking a deep breath.

"Then we hack into the system, find our weapons, wreck some shit, rob the unconscious Imperials, and get the hell out."

The group stared at Jake in silence.

"Uh...what?" Rusty tilted his head, genuinely confused.

Jake sighed and launched into the explanation again for the third time.

Present...

The squad moved deeper into the facility. Another surprised trooper barely had time to blink before he was stunned, collapsing like a ragdoll. Jake was already on him, rifling through the downed trooper's pockets and pocketing a handful of credits.

"Alright, let's keep it moving," Cody whispered, motioning toward a large pillar in the middle of the room. The area was dim, with towering metal poles supporting the ceiling. A small red light marked their next target: a door at the top of a ladder.

With no enemies in sight, Jake ordered Ada and Teesh to guard the rear while the rest continued. The sterile grey hallways stretched before them, a reminder of the Empire's dull design choices. Jake felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead—no air conditioning, as expected. Cody and Mute, with their helmets, seemed unfazed, Jake only had the helmet, so it wouldnt help him, he was pretty sure the cooling systems where in the back chest piece, but he wasnt a clone, and...what...4 ish weeks ago? when he was still just a scrapper, droids were the main topic, not rugged clone armor.

A trooper rounded the corner, jumping in surprise before a stun blast sent him convulsing to the floor. Rusty nervously scanned the area, his mechanical limbs making soft clanking noises.

"Uh… are we sure this is a good idea? We're kinda down a few people," Rusty squeaked, gripping his E-5 tighter.

Jake stopped and turned to him. "Rusty, the others are taking down the power. Once they do that, we—"

The lights flickered, and with a deafening crackle, the entire facility went dark.

Jake sighed. "Well, there's that." He unclipped his helmet, shook off some sand, and slapped it onto his head.

The clones switched to night vision, while Rusty activated his internal scanners. Jake fumbled for a moment, prompting Mute to step over and flick the switch for him.

"Thanks, man. I could never find the damn thing."

"No problem, kid—" Mute's words were cut off as a red blaster bolt whizzed past, slamming into the nearby wall. The group scattered like startled ants. Rusty pressed against the wall, returning fire, his first few shots missing entirely. On his fourth try, a TK trooper crumpled to the ground, stunned.

"We've barely encountered anyone," Cody muttered, his voice tinged with suspicion. "It's too quiet for us to be this close to the command post."

Jake chuckled under his breath. "You can thank the others... I bet they're causing quite the racket."

His terrible pun was met with a collective silence from his faceless companions.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jake muttered, gripping his stolen clone blaster.

Meanwhile, with "The Others"...

"TAKE COVER!" Barren's shout echoed as an explosion rocked the room. Scythe and Golem ducked behind a pile of crates, while Clank, ignoring the command, marched forward, unleashing a barrage of inaccurate fire. The sheer volume of bolts turned a Rocket TK into Swiss cheese before they toppled over.

"Jake told you not to kill them!" Scythe snapped, annoyed, as he launched himself onto the wall, performing an acrobatic spin before cleanly decapitating a TK trooper. The head rolled toward Barren, who gagged at the sight.

"Target was extra dangerous....You are also ignoring that order" Clank pointed out in his loud monotone..tone, turning to Scythe just as another trooper foolishly charged him. Without breaking stride, Clank backhanded the TK to the floor.

"I don't take orders from your meatbag commander," Scythe spat. Clank remained silent, the two standing in a moment of tension.

Behind them, Racket hovered near Barren, its shields up, protecting the shaken clone. True to Jake's orders, the Droideka refrained from shooting, opting to be Barren's bodyguard. Tac observed and quietly sent a positive reinforcement message to the Droideka's programming—whatever that meant.

The fight didn't last long. Clank tossed troopers around like ragdolls, Scythe sliced through them with reckless abandon, Golem electrocuted any who got too close, and Tac calmly fired from the back. When the dust settled, it was clear who followed Jake's orders, and who…didn't. The lights flickered again before finally cutting out.

As the group huddled by the now-destroyed generator, a lone TK ran around the corner, blaster raised. Clank barely flinched, striding toward the trooper. A single shot hit his shoulder, which he ignored before grabbing the TK by the head and throwing him against a pillar.

"Enemy unconscious," Clank reported.

"Not good enough," Scythe hissed, shoving Clank aside. He kicked the trooper over and raised his blade, preparing to decapitate him. Before he could strike, Clank's hand gripped his arm tightly.

"You'll regret this course of action," Scythe growled. "I outrank you."

"Your rank means nothing to me," Clank replied in a deadpan tone, releasing his grip. As soon as he did, Scythe impaled the TK's neck, ripping the blade free with a spray of blood before kicking the lifeless body aside.

Clank stared at the trooper for a long moment, something ticking in his circuits. His metallic fists clenched tightly.

Before he could act, the sound of shuffling echoed down the hall. Barren and Tac took position within Racket's shield, while the other droids lined up, ready to face whatever came next.

The group paused.

Two TKs emerged, spotted the squad, then quickly turned and walked away without a word.

"Huh...well…" Barren muttered.

"Cowards" Golem scoffed.

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Jake led the group, waving into the darkness, his helmet helped, but its age didnt help keep the systems working at peak performence. The boys view was distorted, the greenish visor exposing the unchanged halls, the groups light steps cluttered as they approached the entrance to the command center, no troopers outside...odd..

Jakes eyes narrowed from beneath his helm, he gripped his blaster as he huddled forwards, peaking his head inside, The Clones and Rusty right behind, about to walk in. 

He felt something, a forced memory, the creature from hyperspace, so vague. He blinked in confusion, before he felt it.

The Cold..

Jakes pupils tighten insticevly as a light flashed infront of him, his body barely having time to flinch as a large blaster beam rushed at him, it slammed into his left shoulder. His lungs gave way and a breath exited his mouth as his body rattled, the boy flying back, spiraling midair and crashing into Cody, his chest smoking. In a panic Mute looked at the boy in suprise, looking back to see the cause, a large turrent emplacement, surronded by a small squad of trooper, in a rush the Clone ran and pushed the shell shocked B1 into cover in a cross section of the halls, the entire area being littered with red bolts, Cody dragging Jake to Mute and Rusty, a red bolt dinking off his back armor, as he threw himself into cover.

"JAKE?!" Rusty yelped, crumbling to his knees, shaking the boy, Cody slapping his hands away.

"Hell be fine!" Cody scolded, not confident in his own words. Mute stood still, staring at the boy. Jake wheezed, he slowly clawed at his own wound with one hand, the other gittering against the cold floor.

Cody dragged Jakes shivering body away, the boys eyes darting around, his breath shallowed, the facilites alarm blared into his head, his vision blurring, Rustys panicked movement evident as as as as as assss-s-s-s-s------------

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The warm blue sky settled on the palace, uniform officers march in short lines across the large empty streets, a small boy cuddled into his pillow within one of the several apartments, his breaths low and shallow. The door to his room opened, a tall figure blocking the light, the child rose up with a sleep smile, another boy, younger, rising up aswell in the other bed.

"BEeoooo" a low hum released a shiny, Astromech rolled into their room, the figure stepping inside and turning on the lights. The boys father, had a small beard and a welcoming smile, peachy skin and wore light blue pajamas, his wife walked up from behind, wearing a white and grey pajamas dress. The boy gave chidish gasps at the droid, who scanned the room with its blue light, the children hopped from their beds giggling as they stopped infront of the droids, their curiosity making their eyes pop with enthusiasm.

"Beeooo...booo?" the droid hummed, a question mark clearly placed at the end of the noise. The father chuckled slightly, kneeling down.

"Happy birthday boys..." he smiled warmly, rubbing the two childrens heads 

"Weve known you two love watching the droids at your school..so we saved a special gift for your birthday" the mother spoke in a calmer and softer voice, the father form visibly relaxing at the tone.

One boy exclaimed "An astromech?!...he is tough" he said with confidence.

"he is made of metal...thats why Jake" The other said aloud, his voice queit and high pitched.

"oohhhh..." Jake let out, the parents looking at eachother in amusement.

"Well buddy droid, we gonna be fwens!" Jake exclaimed, the astro unit shakign side to side in a fit of simulated happiness, as both of the boys patted its head...its head.head head he hehehehhhhhhhhhh,.......

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Jakes eyes snapped open, he tried to throw himself into the seated posistion, but couldnt, his head whirred around. He was on the floor of...somewhere...the boys vision was blurred by not only dried tears..but by confusion. What did he just see..a memory? a thought...a..a flashback. Jakes mind shuffled through the options like a pack of cards, before it hit him.

the Pain.

He groaned lightly as he tried to move, a cold object stopping him.

"Sir?!" Rusty yelped, the B1 shuffling over, having been sitting by Jakes side, the droids legs crossed.

"Hes alive!" Clank exclaimed, walking over and looking down. It didnt take long for Jake to be surronded by familar faces, unmoving or not. Teesh, Mute, barren, Cody, Clank, Tac, Rusty, Racket and Ada. The other two droids stood outside. As Jakes vision was set back to normal, he looked down to see a massive cloth around his chest, small issue, it was more dark red than white, he also several used bacta packs laying on the floor, along side other medical supplies seemingly thrown about. 

"Barren patched you up kid...you got cocky" Cody mused, earning an elbow from Mute, Cody just scoffing lightly.

"Any pain?" Barren asked, kneeling by him.

"Uh...no..no..i-...." Jake fumbled with his words, he looked around...and...back at the ship, he saw the now rendered form of the LAAT he was withim, the small slits in the doors exposing parts of Adas, and now Codys ship.

"Where..." Jake wheezed lightly "Where are we" he asked shakily, his body refusing to sit up to get a proper look.

"We completed the objective...while Clank was tasked with carrying you to safety" Tac stated.

The B2 seemed to try and stand taller as Jakes uneven gaze fell on him.

"You..carried me back here...alone?" Jake asked, still looking up from the floor.

"It was required" Clank garbled

Jake wore a small smile "Thanks bud" Clank didnt physically respond to the words. 

Jakes shirt was..off?...oh yeah it was...Jake had barely noticed, which is fair enough. His shirt lay tattered and destroyed in the corner, barely any metal left of the withering brown shirt, his brain mentally compared his pants to it, his shorts still having the majority of its infused armor. 

"Sorry about the shirt, Clank had to remove it so we could patch you up in time..." Ada spoke softly.

"Oh....i mean..i liked that shirt" Jake pouted mentally, he had been wearing that thing for like....like...acually he didnt know, but a long ass time.

"Well...you dont look to bad without it" Ada mumbled to herself

"What was that?" Rusty squeaked, his head moving up and down as he spoke.

"Nothing" Ada said, Teesh looked at her, his sense being the only one to detect her words...he smirked a toothy grin, Ada looking away in a mix of annoyance and slight embaressment. 

Jake allowed his body to relax, he was safe, surronded by friends..or mostly friends. 

"Sir...it is a pleasure to inform you we got our weapons...and blew up the control center....however, the trooper within were not able to be spared"

Jake sighed happily, he didnt care much, he didnt want to kill people, but sometimes it was needed. 

"Great....good job" Jake voice was soft and peppered with roughness, but not from attitude, from...ya know...being shot. Jake eyes found the pile...Tacs Tusken Rifke from his cillage, Rustys orginal E-5, Teeshes Trandoshan Rifle, and better yet, his gifted pistol, still branding the oversized barrel and scratched blue coating.

They won...but did they?

------------Hours---------

Jake sat leaned against a wall, the night skys stars shining within the cracks of the LAATs wings, Ada had returned to her ship to rest, as did Cody and the two "not so talkative and honestly quite rude" droids, as Rusty put it. He didnt care enough to waste thoughts on looking around...the teen just stared, his memory still saved in some critcal part of his brain...was this him? he was so young, so tiny...how did he remember it? Jake certainly didnt know...and i know the writer doesnt, either way....

he closed his eyes, basking the action of being limp, every muscle and tendon, just...laying there...

Outside, Rustys form stood, the B1 and B2 had gone outside, their conversation inaudible.

- --- -.. .- -.-- / ... . . -- ... / .-.. .. -.- . / .- / ...- .. -.-. - --- .-. -.--

-... ..- - / ... .. .-. / .--- .- -.- . / .-- .- ... / .. -. .--- ..- .-. . -..

.- ..-. ..-. .. .-. -- .- - .. ...- . / .-. ..- ... - -.--

... --- .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- / .. / -.. --- / -. --- - / - .... .. -. -.- / .-- . / .-- --- -.

.. / -.. --- / -. --- - / - .... .. -. -.- / .-- . / . ...- . .-. / .... .- ...- . / ..-. .-. .. . -. -.. .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- -. --- - / .- --. .- .. -. ... - / - .... . / .-. . .--. ..- -... .-.. .. -.-. .-.-.- .-.-.- -. --- - / .- --. .- .. -. ... - / - .... .. ... / . -- .--. .. .-. .

The Two stood their..wondering...

They had their time....what did they do to deserve..such hate..

what did Jake do?..

from a galaxy so far gone..