Lost Minds

Prologue

Titus Mahst'n was nervous. Nervous, but thrilled. Something had happened–something amazing. He was on a routine errand. His master, Kor Abell, had sent him to Kamino, both to get updates from the cloners about Clone psychology, and to report to them what they and the other Minders were seeing on the front lines.

Everyone was working blind, though less so now than three years ago. On Geonosis–he hadn't been there, thank the Force–no one knew anything about their new army. But since then, they had learned much. The concern for Titus and Master Abell–one of the most experienced Jedi Minders in the Jedi Medical Corps–was what was happening in the brains of these children.

Because they were children. They looked like men, but they were not even teenagers, really. Accelerated growth didn't change the fact these 10-year-olds knew nothing but military life and combat. No matter what, they were still only human.

So Titus finished his time on Kamino and headed back to his post on Utapau, and that's when it came: the coded message from the Temple. He had heard rumors at the conference that the Confederacy of Independent Systems—Seperatists–were attacking Coruscant, but the message was clear: the war was over and all Jedi were to return to the Temple.

Of course, he was a Jedi in name only. He took a sort of perverse pride in the fact that he had the lowest midichlorian count in the entire order. At least as far as he knew. The minimum count needed to be a Jedi was 7000; he had that beat by two. He always knew he was weak. His fellow younglings could move things or do cool lightsaber tricks, and when he and Bear Clan went to gather crystals on Ilum, he just guessed on one that he suspected was kyber. It was Master Abell who taught him that, for Titus, the Force was in the "instinct" and "luck" he grew up relying on. It was also Master Abell who saved him from a life in the Agricultural Corps and took him as an apprentice in the medical branch of the Jedi Order. Titus' instincts served him well as a Minder and in his psychology research.

Now, his instinct was itching. The war was over. But... not "won?" Surely, if the Republic were victorious, the message would say so? "Over" could mean a few things, couldn't it? Titus pulled the medical shuttle from hyperspace. He needed to think. Master Abell taught him never to ignore the itch. Something didn't feel right. He hadn't received any message from Master Abell, who would definitely contact Titus to form a return plan. Titus breathed deep and closed his eyes. As he cleared his mind he let the Force–his itchy instinct–explore options.
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Spook and Vines were the tale end of the patrol. Spook walked mostly backwards with his heavy repeater ready if the Lizards came from their six. He had become proficient at using the HUD of his visor to know which steps to take. Vines was in front of him with his helmet cam linked to Spook's HUD. The Trandoshians–Lizards–added a viscous twist to this front on Kashyyyk. Aided, in part, by Commando Droids, they prowled the forest using the war as an excuse to rack up Jagannath Points hunting Wookiees. If they ended up helping the Seps, even better. This patrol had been sent out to find and destroy a Lizard hunting camp.

Their Wookiee guide, Ochuuukur, silently raised a hand and the small caravan stopped. Vines could see him crouch low to the ground. Slowly he stood again and indicated a tripwire at his feet–no doubt ready to trigger mines hidden in the brush. It was a favorite Trandoshan trap. The explosives were farther back. As the guide stepped through the wire, the mines would eliminate most of the Clone troops and an ambush of Lizards would descend to eliminate the remaining few and claim their Wookiee trophy.

Ochuuukur carefully stepped over the tripwire and vanished from Vines' view. In an instant a combination of sinister hisses and growls erupted from the trees. An unholy Wookiee shriek lifted from the pit as dozens of Lizards descended on the patrol. Spook's repeating cannon spit bolts in all directions as he tried to find the biggest bang for his buck. Vines fought a young hunter who was on top of him with a vibroblade trying to get under his bucket to slash his throat. The screams and yells of his brothers echoed inside his helmet. The Lizard's head vaporized in a pink mist as Spook turned his cannon on him, leaving a cauterized green neck in its place. As Vines rolled out from under the corpse, his vision started to fade... the Lizard managed to do something. As he went to black, Vines made eye contact with the lifeless eyes of Ochuuukur as his head was lifted out of the pit to be a trophy on a Trandoshan's wall.