Be Your Brothers

Chapter 9 - The Mysterious Pine Hills

-Southern Hemisphere of Sorgan, foot of Pine Hills-

"Alright guys, lets hunt some droids." Reetha spoke up drawing the attention of her teammates. They had left the twilight at early light to get on with their investigation. "These forests are dense in certain areas , and they have weird magnetic fields because of the various metal composites that be found in the hills. 

It's not enough to mess up the DMF detector readings but it is strong enough to disable comm channels. Your helmets would be able to scan for droids." Reetha said gesturing to the clones. "The Pine Hills have unpredictable weather, so expect fog or light rainfall as long as we are still on the hill. You guys brought your coats?" Ahsoka, Rex, Hardcase and Kix nodded. "I packed some heat packs just in case the weather gets to cold." Kix then added.

 "Alright. So, to cover more ground, we will separate into two teams. Hardcase with me, the rest with Ahsoka. I will track with my senses. Rex has the DMF detector." Reetha continued her briefing "Make sure to stay together. Like I said, these forests are uneven and get dense in certain areas, so make sure to mark your tracks. We will communicate with each other through the force."

 Then, she fished out a holo projector from her pocket. It showed the geography of the Pine Hill. She pointed two fingers towards a red dot, beeping steadily "If at all we happen to loose each other in the forest or happen to run into unwanted trouble, we should rendezvous at this terrace at the eastern side of the hill."  

"I've already sent this map to each of your holo projectors. The closer you are to the terrace, the red dot will beat more rapidly. However, we won't be able to keep tabs on our live location or track our trails. R4 can't scan us because of the magnetic field and we can't communicate with him. That is also why we need to mark our tracks. " 

Reetha paused placing the projector safely into her pocket. "Any questions?" "No, commander. We're clear on the plan." Rex replied, swiftly placing his helmet onto his head. "Alright. Let's spread out and try to be back at the Twilight by dinner. May the force we with you." 

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-Ahsoka's team-

Ahsoka and her team had headed out towards the west of the hill. They had been searching for droids for about an hour. Rex lead the team up ahead with the DMF detector, with Ahsoka and Kix trailing behind him. "Sure is quiet out here." 

Kix took note of his surroundings, walking fast to catch up with Ahsoka. "I agree. In fact, I find it a little to quiet. Where are the bird songs?" Ahsoka said as she tilted her head to sense sounds around her. "Rex, any readings on the DMF?" she questioned. 

Rex slowed his pace, allowing the two to catch up to him. "No readings commander." He sighed deeply, raising his head to look around. "Hmm, not to be judgmental, but I really do hope General Skywalker's intel source is indeed reliable." Kix said as he continued to walk ahead. 

The trio resumed their search and the DMF detector had not been able to scan any droid signatures. At least they hadn't run into any trouble, or, so they thought. Ahsoka had walked in front of the group, scouting ahead with Kix and Rex close behind her. They were about to turn a corner, when Ahsoka caught a glimpse of  something attached to a tree.

 She walked closer to inspect . Her eyes widened in shock to find a carbon freezing mine, waiting to be detonated. She looked to the ground nearby to find more of the mines. She knew she had to warn the others. "Kix, watch out!" Ahsoka said as she shoved Kix away from a nearby mine. Thankfully, she had warned him just in time. 

Rex came over and inspected the mine, as he placed another neon green marker on the tree. "I noticed the mine. One wrong move, and we all could be made wall decorations." Ahsoka stated as she moved to stand by Kix. "Thanks, commander."