Jedi Fugitive (The Bad Batch)

81:

Astera:

The crag was further than I'd expected - night had fallen by the time the lights from the cave that formed the cadet's shelter finally became visible. It couldn't have come sooner. If the jungle had been ominous before, the darkness made it downright terrifying, each creak of branches and rustle of wind sounding like the slither vines returning to attack us. My hands now felt permanently glued to my lightsabers, Force-enhanced senses on high alert the whole trek up and reacting to every little noise in the distance.

Only one other clone cadet was in the cave, stoking a low burning fire. It was just the three of them here. I couldn't help but wonder again how long they'd been here for, and how exactly they'd managed to survive with no supplies and sharpened sticks as their only defence against the slither vines.

"Mox." The third cadet looked up as Deke and Stak entered the cave, only to jerk backwards in shock and surge to his feet when he registered us following in after them. He was slightly older than the other two - closer to the age clones were normally deployed at, and I couldn't help but wonder how close he'd been to preparing to ship out for his first battle before the war had ended.

"Who are they?" He demanded, brandishing the broken pike he'd used to stir the fire.

"Clones. And a Jedi," Stak added as an afterthought. "We found them by the overlook."

We took off our helmets to prove it, Wrecker's eyes sweeping the cave appraisingly. "It's quite a place you got here," he whistled in approval. Even I had to admit, they'd done pretty well for themselves, considering their circumstances. Their cave was well sheltered, away from the elements - and the slither vines - and most importantly, close to a water source we passed by on our way up. I couldn't remember if clone training on Kamino had involved wilderness survival with nothing to rely on but your own wits, but either way, it was impressive.

"What do you want?" Mox didn't seem as inclined to pleasantries as we were, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"We're looking for a young girl." Hunter told him as the boy took a seat again. "She was taken by an Imperial named Hemlock. Her name's Omega."

"Never saw a girl around the lab." Mox's brow furrowed in thought, stabbing his pike into the fire again. "But I know Hemlock. He was in charge... until things changed."

"What happened?" I was almost afraid to ask - we'd seen the aftermath, but there was always more when it came to the Empire.

"One day the Imperials started packing up and shipped out. So we made our move and escaped."

"We were the only ones who made it out before the orbital bombardment." Deke said mournfully.

Stak's fists clenched on his knees at the memories. "Even the clone troopers left us to die. Said they were following orders."

It was the look of betrayal on all their faces that really hit hard. The clones had always considered each other family and treated every clone they met as such. So for the cadets to be left to certain death by those they called brother... that had to hurt them in a way I couldn't even imagine. Not to mention all the others they'd surely been forced to leave behind.

"We get it." Wrecker's face darkened too. "We've lost people too."

'When have we ever followed orders?' I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat and pushed past Hunter and Wrecker, needing to say something to distract myself from the memories. "We can take you someplace safe. But we need to find out if Omega was here or where Hemlock took her." And just hope that it was the latter option. I wouldn't let myself think about the first one. "There has to be some intel in that base."