Cadet Captured

18. The Dream

The head droid reenters our quarantined room with a "Hello," and a wave.

"What's going on?" I ask, sitting next to Fives on the table.

"CT-5385's condition seems to be deteriorating," the droid states.

"Tup. His name is Tup," Fives grits out.

"Tup?" the droid asks. "What is a Tup?"

"Tup is my friend," Fives says. "He's not a number."

"Yes, he is," the droid insists. "We all have numbers. My number is AZ-345211896246498721347. His number is CT-5385, her number is CT-7897."

"Wrong," Fives says. "He has a name. No clone uses a number. Not anymore."

"But you are a number," the droid answers. "CT-5555."

"No, I am Fives," my clone brother states. "Call me Fives."

"And I'm Blitz," I put in, crossing my arms. "But is it really worth arguing with a droid?"

"No, not really," the droid replies, inputting data on some screen. "But I feel compelled to reply. Five is a number."

"No, not five. Fives," Fives says.

"Ohhh," the droid drawls. "The difference is minimal."

"Not to me," Fives responds. "And not to any clone."

The droid begins going on about the possibilities for Tup, but that it is up to the Kaminoans and General Shaak Ti.

"No," Fives interupts. "There's too much procedure and protocol here. Tup is a soldier. He risks his life every day, and I know he would risk it now if it meant finding a cure for what's wrong with him."

"Fives is right," I say. "Tup would want us doing whatever we can to find out what happened."

"I recommended an atomic brain scan," the droid tells us, "but that request has been thus far denied."

"Then we have to get the results of that brain scan ourselves," Fives decides.

"But that is against protocol," the droid replies.

"He's right," I tell Fives. "And Captain Rex wanted no more slipups."

"Blitz, just listen to yourself," Fives states. "We have to do this. We have to know what happened, or else how can we stop it from happening to every other clone?"

I sigh. "Ok, ok," I relent. "But how are we going to do... that? We're not medically trained."

Fives turns and talks to the droid. "Think about it, AZ. It's your duty to save the patient, right? And you recommended this atomic brain scan as the best way to save the patient, right? So, by not performing this scan, you're letting the patient die, willingly."

"Impossible," the droid snaps. "That is against my programming."

"That's not the way it looks to me," I tell the droid, catching on.

"I cannot perform the atomic brain scan without disobeying orders," the droid says warily.

"Check your programing," Fives comments. "I thought saving the patient at all costs was fundamentally your highest order."

The droid considers this. "You are correct," he says.

"Right," Fives smiles. "Then let's get to it."

The droid leads us into the other room, where Tup lays unconcious on the gurney. If not for the lines creasing his forehead, he could be sleeping.

Under the droid's instructions, we get Tup ready for the scan. Fives pushes Tup into the lighted tube, and the droid starts the scan.