Mistaken Identity || Star Wars Fanfic

Zule

A day later, Jaden was still affected by the previous day's events, but he occupied his mind by working tirelessly. He went through the scavenged equipment, dismantling and crafting them into essential items. Even with every heating unit he made or medical robot, he fixed, the underlying problem remained unsolved.

Jaden needed to figure out how to get everyone out of their current location to somewhere safe. He was using a hex driver to dismantle a battle droid to get its processor. "We need to figure out where to take the civilians before we think about rejoining the war effort," he said.

Aubrie, Scout, and Lieutenant Lock were sitting on pieces of rubble near him, discussing their next moves.

"Cobalt Station would be the best choice," Aubrie commented.

Lock shook his head. "That's a military outpost. It won't have the facilities to care for them. Plus, it's at constant risk of attack. They'd be in danger there."

"It's our furthest base from the conflict. They should be safe there until the conflict is resolved," Aubrie countered.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's looking like when the conflict's resolved, we'll all be six feet under," Lieutenant Lock stated.

"We can't leave them here. If the enemy comes back, they all die," Aubrie said a little heatedly.

Before Lock could reply, they were interrupted by Scout. "What about Monsoon Mesa?" she asked.

"What's that?" Jaden asked, looking up from his work.

"It's not much of a base, but it could work," Lock mumbled to himself.

"It's a Jabiimi Loyalist base, not a Republic one. It's about a day away from Cobalt Station," Aubrie explained to Jaden.

"They'd do much better with their own people than being around us," Jaden commented.

"It still doesn't tell us how we are going to transport them there in the first place," Lock said. "The ground is muddy and treacherous to traverse through, and some of the Jabiimi don't even have legs to begin with."

Jaden felt his chest tighten at his words but did not say anything and continued to work on the battle droid. Aubrie and Scout both sensed the pain that came off Jaden in waves but did not comment on it.

"We will have to find a way to traverse the terrain. For now, start looking for any vehicles in good enough condition to be repaired," Jaden said, issuing Lock his orders.

"Yes, General," Lock said before standing up, putting his helmet back on, and heading over to the other clones.

As Jaden worked, his mind raced with thoughts of how to make it there safely but he just as quickly discarded ideas as he came up with them. They needed transport, but the city was a ruin so anything they found would likely be too damaged to use. Their long-range communication equipment was practically nonexistent so they couldn't call for help.

Aubrie approached him, sensing his inner turmoil. "We'll figure it out, Master."

Jaden nodded, though the tension in his shoulders didn't ease. "I just wish I could do more. Seeing them like this... it's hard."

Aubrie placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "You're doing everything you can. We all are."

Jaden sighed, his hands momentarily pausing their work. "Monsoon Mesa sounds like our best option, just need a way to get there.

Scout chimed in, "I'll help look for vehicles. There's got to be something we can use."

Jaden gave her a grateful nod. "Thank you, Scout. Every bit helps."