Jedi and Clone

Cluttered Path

Kamino: 20 BBY
Cloning Facility
Commander Axe

Another night had passed in restless searching. Axe had finally been able to clean himself up some. He was grateful to be rid of the soot and smoke that had clung to him after the explosion. However, he was still no closer to locating Echo Squad. It was as if they had simply vanished.

Axe entered a simulation chamber and spied El-Les and Bric. The simulator closest to the embryo chamber had been affected by the explosion and was unsafe, so all simulations had been moved. El-Les approached Axe as he entered.

"Ah, we wondered when you would arrive," he said.

"I'm not staying. General Kirsi and I are still conducting our investigation. Do you know where I can find Echo Squad?" Axe asked, cutting to the chase.

"I haven't seen them but if they're following their schedule, they should be in their coordination training. It's one floor down and has an observation room like the target practice arena."

"Thank you," Axe said, heading back into the hallway. He activated his wrist comm. "General, I've got something. Meet me on level A2."

"On my way," Irel called back.

Axe hopped in a lift and arrived on the level in a few moments. Down the hall, another lift opened up and Irel stepped out. They darted to each other swiftly. "So what is it?" Irel asked.

"I think I know where to find Echo Squad. El-Les said they should be in their coordination training right now," Axe replied.

"Oh, I know where that is." Axe let her take the lead. They dodged past several clones and Kaminoans before arriving at the training room. They entered the observation area and scanned the room quickly. Sure enough, Echo Squad was running through drills and sequences. There was another bounty hunter down with them. The observation area was empty.

As they watched, Jiminy took a flying leap and somersaulted on top of an elevated floor panel. He jumped to his feet and flipped off, landing a kick to the bounty hunter. Irel let an impressed whistle slide. "I've never seen any clone move like that before," she said.

Axe narrowed his eyes. "I have." An alarm sounded as the session ended. Echo Squad headed out, along with the bounty hunter. "Come on. I have a few more questions for them." Irel followed him back into the hallway.

Another door opened ahead and Echo Squad stepped out. Axe sped up and called out to them. The squad paused. He didn't miss the anxious looks a few of them had. "It looks like your training is going well," Irel said.

"We've had good teachers," Jiminy replied.

"I had a question about that, actually." Axe glanced at Irel before continuing. "You said in your spare time you do some additional training with some of the older clones? Who helps you with that?"

"Clutter has helped us out here and there," Jiminy replied. His tone changed, almost guarded. "We did some practicing the night before the explosion."

"Thank you." Jiminy nodded and the squad headed away. A few of them cast strange looks back at Axe and Irel. Axe turned to his general as soon as the squad was out of sight. "He's lying."

"What? How do you know?" Irel raised an eyebrow. "I'll admit, I sensed some anxiousness and guarded thoughts from them."

"There's no way Clutter could have been with him then, because Clutter was with Veres and I the night before the explosion."

"So then none of them have an alibi for where they were. Do you think they could have been the ones to plant the bombs?"

"Yeah, I do, but we'll have to get them to confess to it. They won't be intimidated by a Jedi. They know you and Shaak Ti won't harm them."