Star Wars The Clone Wars: Cuy'Val Dar#Wattys2016

Nine

Quadrant B1, 1100

The day before had passed without trouble, and very little conversation as well. It was quite clear to Haley now that Bogie was very different from who he had been before. However, he had shown no visible signs of instability, and seeing as he was not physically injured, the medic decided that they wouldn't waste any time in heading back to the base. The next morning, Haley woke up early, but decided to let Bogie sleep; the man had already had a restless night. After nearly an hour, Bogie did finally wake up, sitting up and staring at the ground. Haley didn't think anything of the troopers behavior and gave Bogie a few moments of silence before he rose and walked over to the man.

"Bogie," he said quietly. The trooper looked up, blank faced. "We're leaving and heading back to the base," Haley informed him. Nodding, Bogie got onto his feet as Haley packed up the medical tools he hadn't needed to use. He still wanted to do a brain scan once they were back aboard the Vengeance, though, not fully convinced that Bogie was as unaffected as he seemed. For him to have been that close to Bookkie and have no kind of serious repercussion, it was near impossible. The last man who had been that close to his twin had gone insane and killed himself with his own bare hands.

If being quiet is his version of insanity, then I want to know. I'd rather not be recording another casualty from this mission.

Once everything was packed and ready, Haley gestured for Bogie to follow him and the man obeyed without hesitation. They trekked across the same grasslands that the rest of the team had, taking the straightest path back to the base. There wasn't a single word spoken between either. Haley occasionally looked back to make sure Bogie was still with him and still on his feet. It amazed him how the trooper could act so even, but he tried not to think too much on the matter as they walked; He always walked slower when contemplating depressing matters.

Around 1300 hours they reached the halfway point and stopped to rest on one of the hills. Haley had Bogie sit down and rest while he went up on the small hill to get a better view. The grasses in these parts were tall and it had already been noted by Null that many carnivorous and dangerous animals lived near here. Haley had made the habit of scanning every inch of grass before walking through it and checking for animals for his and Bogie's safety. Looking out over the expanse, he didn't see anything out of ordinary, so he turned. At that moment, he became aware of a soft humming noise on the other side of the hill so he turned back and started descending the grassy hill. Coming to the bottom, he walked a few meters into the grasses and found a muddied B1 tangled in its own arms and legs. It muttered softly to itself sounding injured, but the medic felt nothing for the sand colored droid as it struggled to free itself.

"Serves you," he spat at the droid, turning back. That's when another taller more agile droid appeared in front of him with a blaster in hand. Haley jumped back a few inches, fumbling for his own blaster. The droid fired three shots which the medic managed to dodge.

"Blast," he cursed and yanked his blaster off his belt, only to have it knocked from his grasp by a fourth shot. The droid advanced, calmly, driving Haley backward. The blank looks on its metal face was nearly as menacing as its black blaster held nearly point blank to the medics chest. Haley froze, and so did the droid. Everything was quiet, like the silence before a bad storm.

"Hey, Sandy!" a voice suddenly called. "Aim at this!"

The droid swiveled its head around, then turned its body and Haley moved to one side just in time to see Bogie blast the droid, point blank in the face. Recoiling, the machines body jerked backward, then collapsed into the grass, its scrapped head smoking. Haley turned his eyes to Bogie, whose face had fallen blank again as he lowered his blaster to his side. The trooper's eyes moved from the droid to Haley as if nothing had happened and the medic tried not to stare. For two seconds, Bogie had been Bogie again, and now he was gone. Haley couldn't even try to explain it.