Shattered Stars (TCW)

Extra Scene -- Nightmares

A mysterious curse! Many of the clones of the Republic army have privately complained of disturbing nightmares. Is this an unfortunate defect—or something more sinister?

Her.

Jedi.

Traitor.

"We are in pursuit."

"Fire on sight."

Running at the front of the pack. Closer, closer. She's noticing it now. She's trapped.

Ready...

Aim...

Ace jolted awake in his bunk, sweat rolling down his forehead. He quietly crept out of the barracks, shaking his hand when he noticed his finger was still stiff around a non-existent trigger.

"Ace?"

He jumped. "Oh, it's just you," he said, turning around to see Lark rubbing his eyes.

"You have the nightmare too?"

Ace hung his head. "Yeah."

"It feels strange, doesn't it?"

"Well, nightmares aren't exactly pleasant most of the time," Ace bit, and he put a hand over his mouth to calm himself. "Sorry."

"That's not what I mean, I mean... it's almost too real. I can hear myself breathing, I can hear you giving the order. It's a mission," Lark shook himself. "It's too real."

"I hate it," Ace muttered, continuing his journey to the mess.

"I do too."

They walked in silence for a while.

"I hope it's not one of those visions," Lark finally said as the two made themselves some caf.

"What?"

"You know, visions, like the ones Jedi have."

"We're not Force sensitive, Lark."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Can you imagine how powerful a clone army of Jedi would be, though?" Lark suggested.

Ace chuckled and shook his head. His brother could never stay silent. "That would be terrifying," he conceded. "And they would be unstoppable. The Council missed out."

Lark nodded thoughtfully. "Eh, I don't know. Jedi might be more efficient, but I think we're more fun to be around."

"Where would they be without us?" Ace smiled ruefully, taking a scalding sip of caf.

* * *

"Morning boys," Taska said, floating onto the bridge.

"General," Ace nodded, eyes on the holotable instead of her.

"Is there something going on with you?"

Damn the Jedi for being so perceptive.

"Nothing's wrong, General," he sighed. "Just tired, that's all."

"Late night last night?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah, something like that," Lark yawned.

How is he being so normal? Ace almost wondered, before noticing the way he folded his hands together when Taska passed.

"Well, I hope you're well rested enough to take on whatever craziness we're thrown into today," she said, and Ace was sure she noticed the way he gave her plenty of space.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked more quietly, holding his gaze.

He sighed. "It's nothing you want to worry about, General."

"I do worry about you, though, Ace."

Was he still breathing? Guilt washed over his mind, thoughts of what he dreamt far too often consuming him. How could some little part of him want to do that?

"It's nothing. I'm going to check in on the other cruisers, make sure everything is running smoothly," he clipped, turning to walk away.

Taska frowned. No, don't do that! "Okay. Take care, commander."

* * *

When Ace woke up in a cold sweat again, he almost screamed in frustration. What is happening? He had had bad dreams only rarely growing up on Kamino, and most of the time, they were about mistakes he had made in training, or, foolishly, believing that he would be discarded and assigned to janitorial detail.

But once he had been assigned to General Rokanh, the dreams got stranger. Just as Lark had said, hunting her felt like a mission, rather than a distorted nightmare. He hadn't dared complain about it, afraid that Taska would never look at him the same way, or that the Kaminoans would request that he return to Tipoca City for recalibration.

Naturally, the last person he wanted to encounter in the mess that night was the person that happened to be waiting for him. "General?" He mumbled, too tired and confused to salute. Maybe they were past that anyway.

"Ace," she whispered, the cup in her hands swaying. "You're upset."

"I, uh, just couldn't sleep, General," he lied. Please don't try any of those Force tricks on me.

"You know, I try to respect your privacy," she said frankly. "I try to be understanding and not pry, but I can tell whatever is happening is bothering you. Please, can you tell me what it is?"

She cares, the little voice in his head said, and despite it all, a warm feeling spread in his chest. She cares so much she refuses to leave me alone.

"It's just a nightmare," Ace finally admitted. "And if I'm honest, I don't want to share the specifics," because you always die, "I just don't like it very much."

"Oh," Taska accepted. "I have nightmares too, you know. I don't like it either. Most of them involve me, or Shaak Ti, or you, dying. In some of them I fail in my mission and you all get shot in front of me. Sometimes I'm... the killer," she choked. "Force knows I have nightmares about what happened with... you know."

Ace watched her, shocked. "I had no idea." He suddenly felt stupid for believing that his general was somehow immune to what was facing all of them.

"I try not to let it affect me," she shrugged. "Meditation, like what I showed you, usually helps. You shouldn't be ashamed."

"I won't be, General," he nodded, though he was sure it would be hard to keep that promise. "Thanks."