Alternate Start (ARCHIVE)

Chapter Thirty Four: Travel

((You guys can have a couple Sparkler centric chapters. As a treat))

Boba was still glaring at him, and had been the whole time.

They'd taken the time to get Slick outfitted in beskar, and Boba still hadn't stopped glaring. Sparkler eventually started eyeing Boba warily, given that he had looked about ready to stab him back at the prison.

"Buir's bucket, is he ever gonna stop glaring at you?" Slick muttered, holding his new helmet in his hands.

Sparkler sighed, holding his own bucket under his arm. "Good question, Slick."

Getting Slick to swear the Resol'nare had been easier than Sparkler originally thought it would be, but the promise of freedom and unquestioned autonomy seemed good enough for his younger brother. Sparkler watched as Slick once again gently prodded at his head, searching for something he couldn't feel.

"Y'know, it won't become any more touchable if you keep doing that Slick." He deadpanned.

Slick sat down with a soft sigh of resignation. "Yeah, I know. It just doesn't feel right. I just don't understand. How did the Jedi not know about the chips, to the point there's a contingency order that makes us kill them all?"

The Mand'alor shrugged, taking a seat next to his younger brother and lightly patting his back. "I know. It was pretty nerve wracking when we all found out. Only my general knew what was up. Some sort of precognition thing. It didn't quite click until Tup tried to kill Commander Cahlay. She was scared for her life, but she didn't want him hurt. She's about the natborn equivalent of what seven is for us."

Slick blinked, then just stared at the floor for a moment, thinking it all over. Sparkler reached over and gently squeezed his brother's shoulder. "You alright vod?"

"Yeah... Yeah I think I'll be okay. It's just hard to take in. If..." he furrowed his eyebrows, "If we were made to kill the Jedi then..."

He looked over at Sparkler, a slightly horrified look in his eyes.
"Was our entire creation a lie? Our whole lives, were they fake? Did Prime know?"

His eyes fell on Boba, and his voice dropped to a secretive tone. "Does he...?"

There were two unspoken questions in that single two word phrase.

Does Boba know?

Does Boba have a chip too?

"I don't think so. To either. He was the first of us ever decanted, and I doubt that Prime would've wanted that for his ad. And I'm not sure Prime knew much about us anyway. He was just the template. No two clones are the same, however much of an oxymoron that is."

Sparkler sighed, both of them looked at Boba. It was weird to think of someone so young as technically being their older brother, at least time wise.

But golden boy Boba didn't age like his younger brothers. He didn't age two years in only one. Boba aged like a natborn. If he didn't share his face with approximately six million younger brothers, then no one would know he was a clone. Kind of like Theya. He had no idea she was from Kamino like them until she said it out loud.

"Ever been to 77's, Slick?"

Slick looked up, nodding. "Once or twice. Owner's nice enough."