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Clone CT-164-BABS page 9
By Dropingbow

Rex woke again with a start. A noise had woken him. His first thought was BABS, but then it came again, to quiet for it to be BABS checking on him again. Someone else was in the barn and was not friendly. He slid his hand toward his pistol and gripped it firmly. When the intruder had gotten close enough, Rex raised his hand, but to little effect. The stranger knocked it out of his grasp with ease, he held a prod of some sort at Rex. When Rex saw the stranger’s face though, he saw not a stranger, but a brother.

The clone stared in disbelief at Rex. “Who are you? What are you doing here?!”

“You’re a clone!” Rex glared at him. Hate started to rise in him.

“So the war has finally found me,” the clone said.

There was a small noise from behind. “Lower your weapon,” BABS strong voice ordered. The clone turned his head is shock. Rex gazed past him to see the woman soldier standing proudly with her rifle aimed at his back. She had dressed out of her chest armor and was standing in her underarmor and her leg armor. Rex couldn’t help notice the soft curve of her body that the armor had hidden before.

“Since when did they allow women into the clone army?” the clone asked in his shock.

BABS pressed the barrell against his back. “Lower your weapon,” she said with more strength. Finally he lowered the prod stabbing one end into the ground. BABS lowered her gun to her side.

“Should I be expecting droids soon? Or some Jedi?” the clone asked almost amused.

Rex forced himself into the sitting position and faced him. “What’s your number and rank?” He demanded.

The clone scoffed and said, "My name is Lawquane. Cut Lawquane. And I’m just a simple farmer.”

“You’re a deserter!” Rex growled.

“Sir!” BABS exclaimed.

Lawquane scoffed again, “Well, I look at it as me exercising my freedom to choose. To choose not to kill for a living.” He moved across the barn and leaned the prod against the wall. He turned on a switch and the lights blazed on.

“That’s not your choice to make,” Rex stated. “You gave an oath to the Republic. You have a duty.”

“Yeah, I have a duty, but its to my family. Does that count or do you still plan to turn me in?” Lawquane had a cool relax demintere while Rex’s was boiling over with rage.

“Sir,” BABS’ voice seemed small yell still held strength. Rex looked at her. She met his gaze straight on.

Rex gave in, “Do I have a choice?”

“Daddy! Daddy!” Shaeeah’s voice called out joyfully. “You’re home!” The little girl rushed in the barn and rapped the clone in a huge hug. The little boy ran up and presented a small drawing. They all exchanged happy greetings. Rex glanced BABS’ way. Her face was filled with a soft admiration. Remembrance seemed to spill from her eyes from a memory long lost.

“I see you all have met,” Suu said as she followed the children into the barn.

“He looks just like you Daddy,” Shaeeah said. “I told him so.”

Lawquane smiled, “Ah you did! I was just making Captain ah- what was your number?” He looked at Rex amused.

“Rex. I have a name, too. Believe it or not,” Rex answered.

“Of course,” he shrugged and turned toward BABS. “I don’t suppose you have a number, ma’am?”

BABS shook her head. “No,” a smile crossed her face. “My name is Brittany, but everyone called me BABS.”

“Why’s that?” the boy, Jek, asked.

“Realisticly, it’s my enitals. Brittany Alexis Baumhover. The ‘S’ is there because it sounds better that way,” she explained. Rex never thought of the name being anything else than Bad Ass Blaster Shooter, but it was really her name.

Suu stepped up. “He was injured. His men brought him here. I told them they could stay for the night.”

“Of course they can. We never turn away someone in need. Do we?” he looked down at the children.

“No!” Jek answered. “We always help anyone we can!”

“You look hungry Rex, you both do. Care to join us for dinner?” Lawquane offered.

“No, I’m good. I’ll just stay here,” Rex insisted.

“No!” the children cried. “You have to join us! Please! Please! Please!”

“Come on Sir,” BABS appeared beside the children. “Some warm food will be good for you.”

As the children continued their pleads, Lawquane chuckled. “They won’t stop until you say yes!”

Finally Rex had to give in. “Alright! All join you.”
~~~~~~~~~
“Still, a name must make you feel unique. Especially when in an army where everyone looks like you and talks like you and-”

“Actually,” Rex interrupted Lawquane, “I’ve never actually thought about it.”

“Yes you have,” Lawquane seemed to smile as he said it.

“And how do yo know that?” Rex’s brows fell as he looked at the other clone.

“Cause I’m as close to you as any life form can be.” Lawquane looked at Rex then at his family. “Come on Rex, I’ve seen the way you look at my family, our home. Admit it, you’ve thought about what would happen if you’d left the army. Choose the life you wanted to live.”

I stared at Rex out of the corner of my eye. This was a side of Rex, of all clones, I had wondered about and wondered about myself. No one ever seemed to voice the thought. They had my full attention.

“What if I’m living the life I want to live? What if I’m staying in the army because it’s meaningful to me?” Rex seemed to get on the defensive.

“And how is it meaningful?”

Rex seemed to swell with pride as he spoke next. “Because I’m part of the most pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. If we fail then our children and their children will be forced to live under an evil I can’t begin to imagine.”

“If you were to have children, of course, but that would against the rules. Isn’t that just something someone programed you to believe?”

It enraged me whenever someone spoke about these men as numbers or being programed to do or believe anything. They were living, thinking, feeling beings, not some machine!

“No, Cut. It’s simply what I believe,” Rex glared at him from the corner of his eye. “It doesn’t matter if its my children or other people’s children. Does that meet with your approval?”

“Perfectly. To each his own! That's what I always say,” Lawquane said with a smile.

Shaeeah asked, “What does that mean Daddy?”

“It means you can do whatever you want with your life,” her father answered.

I took my glass and took a slip of water. The little girl looked at me and said, “So you two could have kids if you really wanted to!” I choked and coughed hard on the water. I slammed the glass down and covered my mouth, coughing harder and harder. Suu reached over to help me.

“Shaeeah!” her father exclaimed.

Once my coughing had stopped I stole a look at Rex. His gaze was of shock and embarrassment. His eyes shifted from the girl to me and back and forth. I leaned back in my chair and tried hard not to laugh. Rex looked at me in almost a panic once he noticed me struggling to hold my amusement. Lawquane tried to apologize but I waved a hand. “It’s quite alright. Truth be told she reminds me of my younger sister when she was her age.” I smiled at the child. “Always rushing to assumptions, saying the darndest things.”

“But you could?” she asked again, “Couldn’t you?”

“Sweetie, you have to understand that it is against the rules and besides,” I glanced at Rex who was staring very intently at me, “I see all the clones as my brothers. Though we may not share blood, I’ve fought with them enough, seen enough of their lives to make it feel as if we are bound by blood. So no, I wouldn’t have a child with Rex.”

The little girl’s face fell. “Oh, sorry.”

“Which makes me wonder,” Lawquane stated. “How did you get into all this?”

I looked down at my almost empty plate. “I lived on a world not far from Kamino. We had no connection to the galaxy around us. All we knew was our system. Then one day a man fell from the sky- so to speak- and told us of the world around us. He claimed the entire galaxy was on the brink of war and he was a soldier. He called himself a lost soldier who could not go home. If he did he would be labeled a deserter and killed.” I looked at Lawquane. I saw understanding in his gaze. “So we allowed him into our community, and into our family. Then one day, the war finally came to us,” then I suddenly stopped. I looked at the children across the table from me. Their eyes were huge with interest. I continued, “Droids attack our world and destroyed everything, everyone. The man, Dan, was able to save me from the massacre. I lost everything.” My eyes fell to my plate once again and I forced away the urge to cry.

“Where did you go?” Lawquane asked. His voice was deep with concern.

“Kamino. Dan had friends there that sympathise with him. He trained me in the ways of war. He taught me how to be a clone in a way. He was a clone.”

“And they just let you in?” Lawquane looked at me with disbelief.

I shook my head. “It’s complicated. I doubt this is the place or time to talk about it.”

“Fare enough,” Lawquane shrugged and started cutting his meat.

“So what was your family like?” Jek asked.

I saw Rex’s gaze fall on me. There was a soft, curiosity in his eyes. I smiled at the pleasant memories. “I had an older brother and a younger sister. We lived in a small town surrounded by farmland on land with some of the richest soil in the world. My father was once a soldier and his father and uncle before him. My brother had even been planning to join the Marines once he graduated school.” I shrugged. “I guess war is just in my blood. So I’m not that different from clones in that sense.”

“That explains your perfect shot,” Rex said with amusement.

I nodded. “We even sat around the table just like this for all our meals.”

“Why? Why join this war though?” Lawquane asked.

I looked at him. I felt the pride blaze up in me. “Because I made a promise to my family. Those clankers would not get away with what they did. I wanted to fight for my family, for my world, but once I saw this galaxy and all the people suffering because of this war, I wanted to fight for every child, every family who were hurt because of the droids’ merciless attacks.”

“That’s very noble of you,” Lawquane noted.
~~~~~~~~~
I called the childrens’ names as they ran through the fields. I felt like a kid again, playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark. While Rex and Lawquane chatted inside, I volunteered to watch the kids outside. Secretly I was dieing to play, to feel like a kid again. I called out again, but still no answer. I walked on. Then for the second time that day, the world fell out of focus. I froze and allowed the world to blurr. The voices of the two kids echoed in my ears. “What's that?” “It wasn’t there before! It’s some kind of spaceship!” I started to run. Sprinting through the fields on the only clear path I saw. “Hello? Hello!” “Do you think somebody is in there?” When I reached the field, I saw an escape pod blowed into the ground. The children were walking inside. The world snapped back into focus and I rushed forward.

“What are you doing!” I yelled. Shaeeah was startled by my call and activated a button on the inside of the pod. I saw a red light flash on and the shapes of commando droids coming to life. I ran into the pod and pulled the kids out. “Run! Run home! Don’t stop! Don’t look back!” I screamed and almost pushed them. They ran. The commando’s were slow to wake. I instinctively reached for my rifle, only to not find it. It was still at the house. I ran from the pod. I found part of the door and tried to drag it back into place. That would slow them down a little. Then I sprinted after the kids.

Once I reached the house everyone was outside trying to calm the children down. Rex ran to me. I could hear Shaeeah saying monsters were after them. I looked at Rex. “Commandos.” His eyes grew huge and he turned to Lawquane who grabbed a set of binoculars and scanned the field.

“I count twenty,” Lawquane stated. “Suu get the kids upstairs!” With no hesitation, Suu rushed the kids up stairs.

“What weapons do you have?” Rex asked as Lawquane opened a cabinet. I claimed my rifle from the corner I stashed it. Lawquane handed Rex a pistol and slung his own rifle over his shoulder.

“With all do respect Captain, you’re injured. You only have one good arm,” Lawquane said.

“But I can still fight,” Rex barked back.

“Rex,” Lawquane looked like a man who was about to hand Rex everything he held dear. “I need you as a last line of defense for my family. BABS and I will take as many as we can out down here.”

Rex looked at me then at him. A disappointed yet understanding look crossed his face. “I’ll take care of them.” I watched Rex as he climbed the stairs and disappeared. I had a growing feeling of doom in my chest. The same feeling I had when I watched droids marching through the streets of my town. I took a deep breath and helped Lawquane secure his home.

Once is was completely dark in the home, Lawquane positioned himself in front of the door, ready for any droids. I took the far corner where I could see the entire home. My eyes shifted from window to window. My ears perked at every sound. A calm of readiness and adrenaline filled my veins. Let them come.

The door exploded open behind Lawquane. He spun around and shot three precise shots and back away toward the window. A droid arm busted through the window and wrapped around his throat. I quickly aimed and fired. The blast hit the droid square in the head and Lawquane was freed. More droids appeared in the doorway and were shot down. I aimed at the back and Lawquane at the front. When the droids stopped coming, we listened. There was a creek from below. I moved behind Lawquane as he moved toward the cellar hatch. I aimed toward the hatch and waited. Once he threw open the hatch, a mass of droids bursts forth. I shot at them as I jumped back. Lawquane did the same. The droids fired at us but were wild and jerky. They were malfunctioning. One shot at a beam and it came crashing down. Lawquane fell to the ground. The beam fell right on top of his legs. I blasted a few more droids and rushed to his aid. The droids didn’t seem to register us anymore as they began the march upstairs.

“Rex!” Lawquane called, “They’re coming for you!” Then with one last heave, the beam came free and we through it onto two more droids. I grabbed my rifle and blasted two droids in the room. I heard blaster fire above. I turned toward the stairs to see Lawquane in a struggle with a droid. I couldn’t fire so long as they wrestled like that. I rushed forward and tried to free the man from the droid. I jumped on the droid only to find myself thrown off. One of the droids hands came free of the clone and struck me hard on the head. I felt myself be thrown away and hitting my head on something, but then the world around me went black. I slipped into unconsciousness.
~~
A blast ruptured the floor beneath Rex and he found himself falling to the ground floor. He landed next the Lawquane. Next thing he knew a commando had it’s hands wrapped around his throat. Rex clawed at the hands gripping him. Lawquane grabbed the pistol that had landed with Rex on the floor and blasted the droid’s head off. Rex dropped back and rubbed his neck, coughing slightly.

Daddy? Daddy!” Jek’s voice cried from above.

“I’m alright!” his father called. “It’s over.”

Rex looked over the destruction of the home. His eyes fell upon a body on the far end of the room. “BABS!” Rex breathed out. He climbed his way through the rubble and knelt down beside her. He took her thin, armor less, shoulder and shook her slightly. He held his breath. ‘Please be alright!’
~~
My eyes opened slowly. There was a pressure on my left shoulder. Once my eyes were open, it took me a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did I saw Rex, kneeling over me. “Rex?” My voice was scratchy. I saw his face lit up. His hand slid from my shoulder down my arm. His hand stopped on my elbow. “Is it over?”

“Yes,” his voice was soft. “Everyone is fine.” I saw a smile escape his face. I smiled back.

Description
Clone CT-164-BABS page 9
By Dropingbow

Rex woke again with a start. A noise had woken him. His first thought was BABS, but then it came again, to quiet for it to be BABS checking on him again. Someone else was in the barn and was not friendly. He slid his hand toward his pistol and gripped it firmly. When the intruder had gotten close enough, Rex raised his hand, but to little effect. The stranger knocked it out of his grasp with ease, he held a prod of some sort at Rex. When Rex saw the stranger’s face though, he saw not a stranger, but a brother.

The clone stared in disbelief at Rex. “Who are you? What are you doing here?!”

“You’re a clone!” Rex glared at him. Hate started to rise in him.

“So the war has finally found me,” the clone said.

There was a small noise from behind. “Lower your weapon,” BABS strong voice ordered. The clone turned his head is shock. Rex gazed past him to see the woman soldier standing proudly with her rifle aimed at his back. She had dressed out of her chest armor and was standing in her underarmor and her leg armor. Rex couldn’t help notice the soft curve of her body that the armor had hidden before.

“Since when did they allow women into the clone army?” the clone asked in his shock.

BABS pressed the barrell against his back. “Lower your weapon,” she said with more strength. Finally he lowered the prod stabbing one end into the ground. BABS lowered her gun to her side.

“Should I be expecting droids soon? Or some Jedi?” the clone asked almost amused.

Rex forced himself into the sitting position and faced him. “What’s your number and rank?” He demanded.

The clone scoffed and said, "My name is Lawquane. Cut Lawquane. And I’m just a simple farmer.”

“You’re a deserter!” Rex growled.

“Sir!” BABS exclaimed.

Lawquane scoffed again, “Well, I look at it as me exercising my freedom to choose. To choose not to kill for a living.” He moved across the barn and leaned the prod against the wall. He turned on a switch and the lights blazed on.

“That’s not your choice to make,” Rex stated. “You gave an oath to the Republic. You have a duty.”

“Yeah, I have a duty, but its to my family. Does that count or do you still plan to turn me in?” Lawquane had a cool relax demintere while Rex’s was boiling over with rage.

“Sir,” BABS’ voice seemed small yell still held strength. Rex looked at her. She met his gaze straight on.

Rex gave in, “Do I have a choice?”

“Daddy! Daddy!” Shaeeah’s voice called out joyfully. “You’re home!” The little girl rushed in the barn and rapped the clone in a huge hug. The little boy ran up and presented a small drawing. They all exchanged happy greetings. Rex glanced BABS’ way. Her face was filled with a soft admiration. Remembrance seemed to spill from her eyes from a memory long lost.

“I see you all have met,” Suu said as she followed the children into the barn.

“He looks just like you Daddy,” Shaeeah said. “I told him so.”

Lawquane smiled, “Ah you did! I was just making Captain ah- what was your number?” He looked at Rex amused.

“Rex. I have a name, too. Believe it or not,” Rex answered.

“Of course,” he shrugged and turned toward BABS. “I don’t suppose you have a number, ma’am?”

BABS shook her head. “No,” a smile crossed her face. “My name is Brittany, but everyone called me BABS.”

“Why’s that?” the boy, Jek, asked.

“Realisticly, it’s my enitals. Brittany Alexis Baumhover. The ‘S’ is there because it sounds better that way,” she explained. Rex never thought of the name being anything else than Bad Ass Blaster Shooter, but it was really her name.

Suu stepped up. “He was injured. His men brought him here. I told them they could stay for the night.”

“Of course they can. We never turn away someone in need. Do we?” he looked down at the children.

“No!” Jek answered. “We always help anyone we can!”

“You look hungry Rex, you both do. Care to join us for dinner?” Lawquane offered.

“No, I’m good. I’ll just stay here,” Rex insisted.

“No!” the children cried. “You have to join us! Please! Please! Please!”

“Come on Sir,” BABS appeared beside the children. “Some warm food will be good for you.”

As the children continued their pleads, Lawquane chuckled. “They won’t stop until you say yes!”

Finally Rex had to give in. “Alright! All join you.”
~~~~~~~~~
“Still, a name must make you feel unique. Especially when in an army where everyone looks like you and talks like you and-”

“Actually,” Rex interrupted Lawquane, “I’ve never actually thought about it.”

“Yes you have,” Lawquane seemed to smile as he said it.

“And how do yo know that?” Rex’s brows fell as he looked at the other clone.

“Cause I’m as close to you as any life form can be.” Lawquane looked at Rex then at his family. “Come on Rex, I’ve seen the way you look at my family, our home. Admit it, you’ve thought about what would happen if you’d left the army. Choose the life you wanted to live.”

I stared at Rex out of the corner of my eye. This was a side of Rex, of all clones, I had wondered about and wondered about myself. No one ever seemed to voice the thought. They had my full attention.

“What if I’m living the life I want to live? What if I’m staying in the army because it’s meaningful to me?” Rex seemed to get on the defensive.

“And how is it meaningful?”

Rex seemed to swell with pride as he spoke next. “Because I’m part of the most pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. If we fail then our children and their children will be forced to live under an evil I can’t begin to imagine.”

“If you were to have children, of course, but that would against the rules. Isn’t that just something someone programed you to believe?”

It enraged me whenever someone spoke about these men as numbers or being programed to do or believe anything. They were living, thinking, feeling beings, not some machine!

“No, Cut. It’s simply what I believe,” Rex glared at him from the corner of his eye. “It doesn’t matter if its my children or other people’s children. Does that meet with your approval?”

“Perfectly. To each his own! That's what I always say,” Lawquane said with a smile.

Shaeeah asked, “What does that mean Daddy?”

“It means you can do whatever you want with your life,” her father answered.

I took my glass and took a slip of water. The little girl looked at me and said, “So you two could have kids if you really wanted to!” I choked and coughed hard on the water. I slammed the glass down and covered my mouth, coughing harder and harder. Suu reached over to help me.

“Shaeeah!” her father exclaimed.

Once my coughing had stopped I stole a look at Rex. His gaze was of shock and embarrassment. His eyes shifted from the girl to me and back and forth. I leaned back in my chair and tried hard not to laugh. Rex looked at me in almost a panic once he noticed me struggling to hold my amusement. Lawquane tried to apologize but I waved a hand. “It’s quite alright. Truth be told she reminds me of my younger sister when she was her age.” I smiled at the child. “Always rushing to assumptions, saying the darndest things.”

“But you could?” she asked again, “Couldn’t you?”

“Sweetie, you have to understand that it is against the rules and besides,” I glanced at Rex who was staring very intently at me, “I see all the clones as my brothers. Though we may not share blood, I’ve fought with them enough, seen enough of their lives to make it feel as if we are bound by blood. So no, I wouldn’t have a child with Rex.”

The little girl’s face fell. “Oh, sorry.”

“Which makes me wonder,” Lawquane stated. “How did you get into all this?”

I looked down at my almost empty plate. “I lived on a world not far from Kamino. We had no connection to the galaxy around us. All we knew was our system. Then one day a man fell from the sky- so to speak- and told us of the world around us. He claimed the entire galaxy was on the brink of war and he was a soldier. He called himself a lost soldier who could not go home. If he did he would be labeled a deserter and killed.” I looked at Lawquane. I saw understanding in his gaze. “So we allowed him into our community, and into our family. Then one day, the war finally came to us,” then I suddenly stopped. I looked at the children across the table from me. Their eyes were huge with interest. I continued, “Droids attack our world and destroyed everything, everyone. The man, Dan, was able to save me from the massacre. I lost everything.” My eyes fell to my plate once again and I forced away the urge to cry.

“Where did you go?” Lawquane asked. His voice was deep with concern.

“Kamino. Dan had friends there that sympathise with him. He trained me in the ways of war. He taught me how to be a clone in a way. He was a clone.”

“And they just let you in?” Lawquane looked at me with disbelief.

I shook my head. “It’s complicated. I doubt this is the place or time to talk about it.”

“Fare enough,” Lawquane shrugged and started cutting his meat.

“So what was your family like?” Jek asked.

I saw Rex’s gaze fall on me. There was a soft, curiosity in his eyes. I smiled at the pleasant memories. “I had an older brother and a younger sister. We lived in a small town surrounded by farmland on land with some of the richest soil in the world. My father was once a soldier and his father and uncle before him. My brother had even been planning to join the Marines once he graduated school.” I shrugged. “I guess war is just in my blood. So I’m not that different from clones in that sense.”

“That explains your perfect shot,” Rex said with amusement.

I nodded. “We even sat around the table just like this for all our meals.”

“Why? Why join this war though?” Lawquane asked.

I looked at him. I felt the pride blaze up in me. “Because I made a promise to my family. Those clankers would not get away with what they did. I wanted to fight for my family, for my world, but once I saw this galaxy and all the people suffering because of this war, I wanted to fight for every child, every family who were hurt because of the droids’ merciless attacks.”

“That’s very noble of you,” Lawquane noted.
~~~~~~~~~
I called the childrens’ names as they ran through the fields. I felt like a kid again, playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark. While Rex and Lawquane chatted inside, I volunteered to watch the kids outside. Secretly I was dieing to play, to feel like a kid again. I called out again, but still no answer. I walked on. Then for the second time that day, the world fell out of focus. I froze and allowed the world to blurr. The voices of the two kids echoed in my ears. “What's that?” “It wasn’t there before! It’s some kind of spaceship!” I started to run. Sprinting through the fields on the only clear path I saw. “Hello? Hello!” “Do you think somebody is in there?” When I reached the field, I saw an escape pod blowed into the ground. The children were walking inside. The world snapped back into focus and I rushed forward.

“What are you doing!” I yelled. Shaeeah was startled by my call and activated a button on the inside of the pod. I saw a red light flash on and the shapes of commando droids coming to life. I ran into the pod and pulled the kids out. “Run! Run home! Don’t stop! Don’t look back!” I screamed and almost pushed them. They ran. The commando’s were slow to wake. I instinctively reached for my rifle, only to not find it. It was still at the house. I ran from the pod. I found part of the door and tried to drag it back into place. That would slow them down a little. Then I sprinted after the kids.

Once I reached the house everyone was outside trying to calm the children down. Rex ran to me. I could hear Shaeeah saying monsters were after them. I looked at Rex. “Commandos.” His eyes grew huge and he turned to Lawquane who grabbed a set of binoculars and scanned the field.

“I count twenty,” Lawquane stated. “Suu get the kids upstairs!” With no hesitation, Suu rushed the kids up stairs.

“What weapons do you have?” Rex asked as Lawquane opened a cabinet. I claimed my rifle from the corner I stashed it. Lawquane handed Rex a pistol and slung his own rifle over his shoulder.

“With all do respect Captain, you’re injured. You only have one good arm,” Lawquane said.

“But I can still fight,” Rex barked back.

“Rex,” Lawquane looked like a man who was about to hand Rex everything he held dear. “I need you as a last line of defense for my family. BABS and I will take as many as we can out down here.”

Rex looked at me then at him. A disappointed yet understanding look crossed his face. “I’ll take care of them.” I watched Rex as he climbed the stairs and disappeared. I had a growing feeling of doom in my chest. The same feeling I had when I watched droids marching through the streets of my town. I took a deep breath and helped Lawquane secure his home.

Once is was completely dark in the home, Lawquane positioned himself in front of the door, ready for any droids. I took the far corner where I could see the entire home. My eyes shifted from window to window. My ears perked at every sound. A calm of readiness and adrenaline filled my veins. Let them come.

The door exploded open behind Lawquane. He spun around and shot three precise shots and back away toward the window. A droid arm busted through the window and wrapped around his throat. I quickly aimed and fired. The blast hit the droid square in the head and Lawquane was freed. More droids appeared in the doorway and were shot down. I aimed at the back and Lawquane at the front. When the droids stopped coming, we listened. There was a creek from below. I moved behind Lawquane as he moved toward the cellar hatch. I aimed toward the hatch and waited. Once he threw open the hatch, a mass of droids bursts forth. I shot at them as I jumped back. Lawquane did the same. The droids fired at us but were wild and jerky. They were malfunctioning. One shot at a beam and it came crashing down. Lawquane fell to the ground. The beam fell right on top of his legs. I blasted a few more droids and rushed to his aid. The droids didn’t seem to register us anymore as they began the march upstairs.

“Rex!” Lawquane called, “They’re coming for you!” Then with one last heave, the beam came free and we through it onto two more droids. I grabbed my rifle and blasted two droids in the room. I heard blaster fire above. I turned toward the stairs to see Lawquane in a struggle with a droid. I couldn’t fire so long as they wrestled like that. I rushed forward and tried to free the man from the droid. I jumped on the droid only to find myself thrown off. One of the droids hands came free of the clone and struck me hard on the head. I felt myself be thrown away and hitting my head on something, but then the world around me went black. I slipped into unconsciousness.
~~
A blast ruptured the floor beneath Rex and he found himself falling to the ground floor. He landed next the Lawquane. Next thing he knew a commando had it’s hands wrapped around his throat. Rex clawed at the hands gripping him. Lawquane grabbed the pistol that had landed with Rex on the floor and blasted the droid’s head off. Rex dropped back and rubbed his neck, coughing slightly.

Daddy? Daddy!” Jek’s voice cried from above.

“I’m alright!” his father called. “It’s over.”

Rex looked over the destruction of the home. His eyes fell upon a body on the far end of the room. “BABS!” Rex breathed out. He climbed his way through the rubble and knelt down beside her. He took her thin, armor less, shoulder and shook her slightly. He held his breath. ‘Please be alright!’
~~
My eyes opened slowly. There was a pressure on my left shoulder. Once my eyes were open, it took me a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did I saw Rex, kneeling over me. “Rex?” My voice was scratchy. I saw his face lit up. His hand slid from my shoulder down my arm. His hand stopped on my elbow. “Is it over?”

“Yes,” his voice was soft. “Everyone is fine.” I saw a smile escape his face. I smiled back.