//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Searching // Story: Rescue On Devaron // by FourShadow //------------------------------// The halls were quiet without any battle droids nearby. Derpy and her small squad of clones proceeded as careful as they could, trying their best to avoid being caught. How they assembled the entire outpost was beyond them, but it was clear a lot of construction went into making it. Electrical panels and walls meshed into rocky walls, all held together by support beams. "This place looked a lot smaller on the outside," Mix commented. "Outside looks can always be deceiving," Derpy replied. "A little something I picked up from Master Sparkle. Just because it looks small on the outside does not always mean it truly is. Sometimes a cover can always hide the most important of plans or intentions." "But what could they possibly have built into this place?" "Heh, reminds me of the Changeling hives on Geonosis. A big dark and empty looking place was never the case," Fuse nodded. "Whoa, hold on!" Patch called out, getting everyone to lean against the walls. A small group of battle droids were walking down the hall, completely unaware of the clones and Jedi that were there. As soon as they were gone, they got out of the shadows. "Whew, that was close. Come on guys, we better keep moving." As the group kept moving down the hallways, Fuse stepped up close to Coil so they could have a quick moment. "Maybe now is the time that you should apologize," Fuse whispered. "We're on a mission right now, we can't just break it--" "--is everything okay?" The troopers halted dead in their tracks. Suddenly their heads turned to look at Coil and Fuse, even Derpy was looking at them, although with more confusion. "I believe Coil wants to speak to you, in private," Fuse emphasized with some force. Derpy blinked, and she turned her head to Mix and Patch. "Can you two scout ahead?" "Yes General." "Alright. Go on ahead, I'll catch up," Derpy ordered. The two clones nodded and raced off, leaving Derpy, Coil, and Fuse alone. "So, um... uh... w-what was it you wanted to tell me?" Coil sighed, shaking his head. The only thing he was imaging was either he was going to get chewed out, or worse, would he be discharged? Was he going to lose his job as a solider? Well, no running away from this now. "I... um... I wanted to, well..." Coil stuttered. "... I'm sorry for what I said when we were going through hyperspace." Derpy blinked, her eyes still visibly cross-eyed even as she looked at him. But then it clicked in her head. "Oh! That! Actually, it's okay. It doesn't really bother me, honestly." "Wait, it doesn't?" Coil asked. "No. I mean, I know it's a little noticeable, but, I learned to live with it! It doesn't bother me, honestly," Derpy smiled, awkwardly, but with some sincerity detected. "Why were you even worried?" "Well... I... I know you're my superior, but... I didn't want any bad first impressions between us." Derpy smiled. "It's okay, um... what's your name again?" "CT-4583. ... Coil." "Coil! It's okay, honestly. Now come on, Mix and Patch are ahead!" The gang all regrouped together, finally back up to speed and ready to move on. Their heads poked out from the corner, checking to see if there were any more battle droids around. "All clear, General." The group of five stood in the center of the hallway. And while the troopers were wondering just how many more hallways this entire outpost could have had, Derpy kept her eyes closed, blocking all senses around her. If they were going to have any luck trying to find Sandalwood, she was going to need a little guidance from the Force. She focused hard, until her senses pointed towards the big door that the group was standing right in front of. "I sense Master Sandalwood is down this way," Derpy pointed. She pressed the button to open the door. Nothing. No opening. "What?" She pressed it again, and again and again until she was pounding the button non-stop. "Um, General?" Derpy stopped mashing the button down, looking at Fuse with a sharp blush. "Heh..." The clone cleared his throat. "If I may, I think I can always hotwire it." "Uh... sure, yeah!" Derpy stammered. "Please." The clone nodded and took a knee down so he see what he had to work with. Opening up the panels, his eyes focused on all the wiring and coils he had to work with. Taking a few out, he began to cut through them, hoping that eventually the power would have been cut to the doors. As he kept cutting away, Derpy's head jolted and she turned to look down the center hall. "Come on Fuse, hurry..." Derpy feared. "Almost through..." Fuse said, finalizing his work. "Got it!" The doors slid open and everyone rushed through, just in time as the droids were coming down. But when they made it to the other side, Derpy could see that it was a big mistake. Battle droids were in the hall that they were in, only a few feet ahead of them. They were going the opposite direction, completely unaware of the Clones and Jedi Master that had just came in uninvited. She squeaked a bit, quiet as a mouse. Waving her hand to her troops, she gestured them to turn to the right hallway to avoid detection. Until-- "Guys!" A clone trooper was seen running down the left hallway, his footsteps making loud thuds as he ran. It was Stretch! And even though the other troops were trying to get him to silence his running, he didn't stop! By the time he stood with the group of clones, it was too late. His noisy jogging had gotten their attention. "Clones!" The battle droid commander exclaimed. Derpy's head sunk and her face tightened in fear. "Blast them!" Derpy quaked. "Blast it..." Knowing she had no other choice, she whipped out her lightsaber, igniting it in her hands. The first battle droid fired, and she blocked the first blast. Quick as they could, the clones took cover on the sides of the walls, preparing to fire back. Patch and Mix held their backs against a wall, and in a few moments fired a few potshots at the incoming battle droids. They had to shoot them quick or else they were going to get shot back. On the other side were Stretch, Fuse, and Coil. "Didn't you see her tell you to keep quiet!?" Fuse shouted. "I'm sorry! I didn't know there were battle droids here!" "Now's not the time to worry about it!" Derpy yelled over the onslaught of fire. "We have to destroy them before the entire station is alerted." "We're on it, ma'am!" Mix stood up, standing close next to Derpy to provide some fire. With some success, he was able to shoot down two battle droids that were marching towards them. But very quickly one of them shot him in the shoulder, making him grunt and fall. "Mix!" "I'll get him! Cover me!" Patch dashed over to help tend to Mix, while Derpy moved just in time and provided cover for the injured trooper. Eventually Coil and Stretch pulled out and joined the commander, taking knees down and shooting a few more droids in the process. "You have any droid poppers?" Coil asked. "I have one!" Stretch said, pulling one out. He stood back, ready to toss. With a fastball toss, the popper went flying right at the group of battle droids, and BOOM! A burst of electricity shocked all of the droids that were huddled, shutting them down. But that wasn't enough to take the rest of them out. Taking a risk, Derpy charged at the droids, swinging her lightsaber around like a maniac, slicing the first one she saw. And with another swing, she bisected the other droid before he could shoot at her. And facing the final two; she used the Force, pushing them away from her with a slam against the cavern walls, crushing them. When she felt that it was clear, she put her lightsaber away and wiped the sweat off her head. "Thank goodness," Derpy sighed. She put her hands on her knees, panting heavily. Being a Jedi was hard work, but it did come with a little bit of stress of trying very hard not to die. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little frustrated by the fact that one of their troops almost got them killed. Looking back, she could see all of her troops were still alive and accounted for. "Patch, is he going to be okay?" "I'll... I'll be alright, ma'am," Mix said, holding onto his shoulder wound. "It's just a flesh wound." "Yes, but now your mixing arm isn't going to be mixing for a while," Fuse joked. "Yeah very funny, Fuse," Mix deadpanned. "Okay. Good." Derpy then looked at Stretch with a disappointed face. "Didn't you see we were trying to keep quiet? And, wait a minute, weren't you with Commander Bubble's group?" Stretch sighed, rubbing at his helmet. "Sorry ma'am. I got cut off from the commander. I spent the last 10 minutes running for my life, there's battle droids everywhere in this outpost." "No kidding," Coil nodded. Derpy took a moment to breathe, trying to calm down before she said something irrational. Once she was stable, she looked back to Stretch. "Okay. I'm happy you're alive, but we can't be running around like that. Let's just stay together, okay?" "Yes sir," Stretch nodded. "Alright. Well if there aren't any more droids around, we better keep moving." With everyone back on their feet, they proceeded on forward, back on the mission. Back at the ship, everything remained quiet. Stinger and Ace stood outside, keeping their eyes out for anything in the jungle. Both of them set up some small barriers for protection and cover, even if it was just a few piles of rocks and covering behind leaves and bushes. "See anything yet?" Ace asked. "No. Nothing," Stinger replied. The two clones gazed far out into the jungles, hearing nothing but the sounds of nature. Animals chirping or making noises, water rushing down from the waterfall that was up ahead. "Such a beautiful place," Ace commented. "You say that on every planet we visit," Stinger snarked. "Not all planets. Vassek, for one," Ace replied. While the two clones discussed the value of other planets that they visited, trooper Knight stayed inside the freighter. The clone trooper sat in a chair, busy looking on the charts and scanners, looking for any battle droids or any energy signatures that would have been out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed too out of place-- "Beep-brip-blip -boop boop." "DAH!" The clone nearly jumped. He felt his pulse for a second, hoping he wasn't close to have a heart attack. "What have I told you R4, a thousand times, please, do not sneak up on me, unless it's something important. No, I don't need your help, thank you, I appreciate it." R4 just replied back with more beeps. Knight's head slowly raised up, an unamused expression on his lips. "... really." He glared at the astromech. "Really. That's great. That's a great piece of information. But how does that help me do my work? I would really appreciate it if you just leave! If you weren't bothering me, I could get my work done faster! Please, and thank you!" He tapped his foot impatiently, looking down on the astromech. R4's dome just swiveled around in a 360 motion, beeping what would be described as profanity. "Hey! Watch your language!" R4 just rolls away, leaving Knight to roll his eyes and look back at the radar screens. "Why did General Hooves have to bring him along? I have to get an R5 series model..." Knight grumbled. "This is a nightmare!" His hands mashed on the keys some more, banging on a blank space. Looking back to the screens, he focused on something that caught his attention. Very bizarre heat signatures picked up on one of the radar screens. But it was coming from... the outpost? Inside a dark room, with only an assortment of red lights around, a single Jedi master was levitated in a holding cell, glaring at the tactical droid interrogating him. "Tell us where the rebels are hiding... and we can end your suffering." The commando droid beside him jabbed him in the stomach with an electrostaff, which made him grunt in pain. "Talk." Sandalwood refused to give up. "Whatever you dudes plan on doing to me, I'm not saying a word. Even if I have to die, I won't give up the information." The tactician laughed, or what was supposed to sound like laughter. "Your will is strong. But it won't be for long." He gestured the commando droid next to him to follow, and the two walked out of the cell. Once they were outside, the two exchanged a glance. "If we are going to get the information, we will have to use other means. Bring in the test subjects, we must begin the experiments."