I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED BOYS

Our Own Choices

Chapter 2

Clone forces rally. As the war escalates in the Outer Rim, the Jedi Knights are spread thinly across the galaxy.  Many new clones are rushed into service to support their Jedi generals. Unfortunately, because of the relentless demands of battle, many young clones must join the struggle before their intensive training has been completed. These clones, manning a vital network of tracking stations, are all that stand between the Republic and invasion.

I gotta admit, training isn't fun. Rex says it's hard at first, but I'll get used to it. Rex and some other troopers from the 501st train me, and physical training is a literal nightmare. When I wake up the next day my limbs feel like they're gonna fall off. To be honest, it would be better if they did.

I haven't seen Kix after that first time we met, and I haven't interacted with any of the other clones either.

"We want as few clones as possible to know that you were a deserter," Rex says.

"What's a deserter?" I ask him.

"Someone who left the army without permission. People like you."

"But I'm back now, right?"

"Still, we should be cautious."

Most of the time Rex isn't around for my training, he's planning battle strategies with the Jedi Generals and out in the field. 

There's one time Rex comes back from the Battle of Christophsis and he tells me General Skywalker has a new padawan.

"She really thought since she was a commander she outranked me." Rex and I sit on a bench at the side while I'm taking a break from my training. 

"I'm guessing she doesn't, because-"

"In my book, experience outranks everything."

"In your book, experience outranks everything."

Rex and I say it at the same time. Rex chuckles and pats my head. "I see you've at least learned something from me."

"How could I forget that one line you say at least once a week?"

"You got a point kid."

"If experience outranks everything, then why won't you let me get out in the field to get experience?" I ask, probably for the 4th time that week.

Rex's expression hardens. "We had this conversation before, kid. It's too dangerous out there for you for now, you gotta focus on your training first, and when I say you're ready to get out there, you can join me and the boys in the 501st. Got it?"

I roll my eyes, sighing. "Fine."

Rex hands me a few credits. "Go get yourself some new clothes when we land on Coruscant tonight, okay? Your old ones are getting a bit tight." And then he pats me on the back and walks off.

I put the credits in my pocket and get back to training.

I'm still better using a knife than a blaster, but I'm pretty decent with a sniper as well, my long-distance aim with a pistol is shitty, but in close range I can get a good headshot in. 

Rex let me keep my knife, and he even got me a larger one which looks a lot more like a sword, the orange highlights on it match the ones on my old knife. 

Recently, Rex and Cody have been checking the Republic outposts for inspection, and I haven't seen Rex in weeks. 

When Rex finally arrives back on Coruscant, I'm already standing at the hangar waiting for him, crossing my arms.

"What took you so long?" I ask.

"I told you that it was gonna be a few weeks," Rex sighs. "Nice hoodie you got there, by the way."

"Thanks. And what did you say about teaching me how to use those deflector pucks for trick shots before you left?"

"I said that was after you mastered shooting a pistol." 

"But I already have! I can get a headshot from like 3 meters away." I protest.

"3 meters isn't far. You'll be shot down by clankers before you could even get that close."

"Aw cmon, captain, at least give me a demonstration," I smirk. I know he hates it when I call him "captain".

"No time for that. Commander Cody and I are going to the Rishi outpost in a few minutes, I was just checking in on you."

"Oh, how kind of you," I reply, before walking away.

Once I see Rex turn his gaze away from me, I run behind a box near the ship, and wait for Rex and Cody to get into their ship. As the door of the ship starts to close behind them, I slip in at the last second quietly and hide in the darkness, hoping that no one heard me.

As the ship lands on Rishi, the lights at the back of the ship, where I am, turn on. I draw a quick breath, there's nowhere to hide, and Rex and Cody are coming. So I stand up and smile awkwardly.

"Hi guys."

"Kid, what are you doing here, I told you to stay on Coruscant and train," Rex sounds annoyed.

"Who's the kid?" Cody asks.

"Hey commander, name's Aris, I'm basically like the captain's secret trainee," I say, casting a quick glance at Rex, who puts a hand to his forehead and groans.

"I never thought Rex would personally train a kid like you," Cody says. "Where'd he find you?"

"We-we can explain that later, let's just get this inspection over with first," Rex says hastily.

"Just don't get in the way, alright kid?" Rex asks, not waiting for a reply and walking out of the ship with Cody. I follow behind them.

They're busy complaining about having no deck officers on duty here at the outpost, and that the clones here are sloppy. I don't think they are. Something feels off. I can see faint lights coming from behind the boxes, and I don't really think that's normal. I quicken my pace and move closer to Rex.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Cody says as the door to the outpost opens and a clone walks out.

"Welcome to Rishi, commander. As you can see, the outpost is operating at peak efficiency. Thank you for visiting, and have a safe trip back," the clone says, with some weird-ass hand movements. Something's definitely off, and both Rex and Cody glance at each other.

"We need to inspect the base just the same," Cody says.

"Uh, there is no need," the clone says. "Everything is fine and fully operational."

I pull at Rex's arm. Rex nods back at me.

"Take us to the sergeant in command," Rex says.

"Roger roger."

Rex and Cody look at each other, and I'm slightly confused. Suddenly, I see a flare rising up behind us.

It's a droid attack flare, I was just taught that a few days ago.

"A droid attack flare," Cody and I say at the same time. Rex shoots that clone in the head, and he falls to the ground.

"Woah, Rex, what the heck are you doing?" Cody sounds alarmed.

I don't say anything as Rex goes to inspect the body.

"Relax," Rex says as he takes the helmet of the clone, revealing a lifeless commando droid under the helmet. "Looks like one of those new commando droids."

"That flare must have come from the survivors," Cody says.

Suddenly, blaster shots come from all directions and Rex and Cody start firing.

"Get behind me kid," Rex says as he dodges a blaster bolt. I don't protest, staying as close to Rex as I can. Just the sound of blaster bolts whizzing over my head is enough to make my blood run cold. It's not the same as in training. If I get shot here, I will most likely die.

Some of the commando droids are using the boxes to shoot from the high ground. Cody manages to get a few shots on one of them, but they just get back up again.

"Those clankers have tough armor," Cody exclaims. 

I run as fast as I can behind a box to take cover, covering my ears and closing my eyes tightly, curling up into a ball. I can almost feel the shot on my shoulder again. My breathing quickens.  Rex and Cody go to take cover where I am.

"We're cut off," Cody says, he and Rex keep firing at the droids. His voice sounds muffled in my head.

"Get me outta here...get me outta here..." I whisper to myself, pressing my knees to my forehead.

And then I hear the sound of grenades landing near our area and Rex grabs my arm, shoots a grappling hook to the platform and lowers us down to the ground. Cody's next to us as I hear an explosion.

When my feet touch the ground, I lean against a rock to stabilize myself, my legs are shaking, my shoulders are tensed, I just stare straight ahead, breathing heavily.

"Kid, are you okay?" Rex puts a hand on my shoulder. "Are you hurt or anything?"

I look down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. 

"Aris? Look at me. Are you okay?"

I look up at Rex. "I shouldn't have come."

"Yea, you shouldn't have. But you're here now, and you're still alive, so I'd count that as a win," Rex smirks.

I nod, trying to slow my breathing down, my shoulders relaxing slightly. 

"This is just like training, okay? Don't worry about it."

Rex turns to Cody. "Well this sure complicates things, Commander. No worse than that time on Tibrin."

"We had jedi with us on Tibrin," Cody says as we stare at the flaming wreckage of the ship. "They helped."

"What...happened on Tibrin?" I speak up in a small voice.

"Not now kid," Cody snaps, and I go quiet again.

3 clones walk towards us through the smoke of the wreckage, and Rex and Cody raise their blasters at them. "Hands above you heads. Take your sun bonnets off."

I think he means helmets. But seriously? Sun bonnets? You couldn't come up with something better?

My hand reaches for the pistol at my belt as I stand behind Rex and Cody, wondering if I should follow them and point my gun at the clones.

"Uh, sir?" One of the clones sounds confused.

"Take them off. Now!"

The clones raise their hands in surrender, take their helmets off, and they're not droids.

Suddenly, an really big eel-like thing crashes through the rocks at our side and roars at us. I stand there frozen while Rex shoots the thing and kills it in one shot.

Rex takes off his helmet and goes to check whether the eel is dead. 

"Nice shot," one of the clones says.

I back away from the eel's body but behind me is darkness and I don't wanna get ambushed by any more droids, so I just stay close.

"The name's Rex," Rex says as he checks the eel's body. "But you'll call me "Captain" or "sir"."

"Sir, yes sir!"

I really don't wanna talk to Rex when he's like this. I have a slight fear or superior authoritative figures.

"I'm commander Cody, your new boss," Cody says as he takes off his helmet.

I smile awkwardly and wave at the 3 clones. "Hi..." 

They ignore me. 

"My designation is trooper 27-5555, sir," one of the clones says. 

"We call him Fives. I'm Hevy. This is Echo." Hevy points to the last dude.

"Where's your sergeant?" Cody asks.

"Dead, sir. We're all that's left," Echo says.

"Looks like we got a batch of shinies, commander," Rex says as he walks up to the clones.

"Shinies, sir?"

"That's right. Your armour, it's shiny and new, just like you," Rex says.

At least they have armour.

"Sir, me and my batchers are trained and ready. We'll take back our post, shiny or not."

"There's hope for you yet, rookie," Rex says.

"Hey kid. You're not supposed to be here. It's dangerous."

I look up, Hevy's talking to me.

"I know, I was following the captain along without his permission, cause I thought I could get some experience here, but..." I look down, my voice is soft.

"It's scarier than you thought it would be?" Echo asks.

I nod. "I wanna go back."

"Well, you can't get everything you want, kid. And if you're looking for some experience, you're sure gonna get a lot of it here," Hevy says. "What's your name?"

"Aris."

"Like the leader of the 504th Legion?" Fives asks.

"Rex named me after her."

"You look like a clone. Are you?" Echo asks.

"Mhm. Female clone. Wasn't meant to exist, but here I am. Made to be physically weaker than the others." I chuckle, looking down. "But I'm definitely not weaker. I'm equal to them."

"Alright boys, keep quiet and follow me," Rex says, before starting to climb up a ledge. 

The others all follow, and I'm at the back. 

Okay. You can do this. Just like training.

I take a deep breath and start climbing.

Don't look down, don't look down, there's no harness, just don't look down and don't fall or you're gonna become a piece of roti prata and die-

I cling onto the rock that I'm climbing on tightly, and I make the mistake of looking down. My whole body tenses up, and I draw a few quick breaths before looking back up again. I can feel the sweat running down my face. My arms are shaking. All I can hear is my heartbeat now.

After what seems like forever, we make it up to the top of the ledge, and Hevy helps me up. My breaths are shaky as I wipe the sweat off my face.

"Look sharp, rookies," Rex says. "As long as those tweezers occupy this post, our home planet of Kamino is at risk."

I look up. Kamino? 99's still there, isn't he?

"But there's so many of them," Hevy says.

"Doesn't matter, kid. We have to retake this base, so we will retake this base."

"How do you propose we get through those blast doors, Rex, old boy?" Cody asks.

"I have a few ideas."

I gently tug at Rex's arm.

"What is it, kid?" Rex asks, turning to face me.

"Can I...sit this one out, sir?"

"Look kid. We need all troopers for this. Including you."

"I don't wanna go. I don't wanna die. I'm scared."

Rex puts both hands on my shoulders. "You're not gonna die kid. You'll be fine. What happened to getting experience, hm?" He playfully punches my shoulder. "You'll be okay. I promise. Just remember your training, okay?"

I take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. It's not working, but I don't show it, and I nod. 

We reach the front blast doors of the outpost and Cody and the others hide at the sides, so I follow them, pistol in one hand and my vibrosword in the other.

Rex walks up to the front door.

"Unit 2-6, is that you?" the commando droids in the outpost ask. 

"Roger roger," Rex says.

"You sound strange. Is something wrong with your vocabulator?"

"Roger roger."

"Take off your helmet. Let me see your faceplate."

"Roger roger."

Rex ducks and uses the commando droid's head from just now and shows it to the camera.

"This is never gonna work," Cody puts a hand to his helmet.

The blast doors open and Rex holds up his pistol.

"Clones!"

"Roger, Roger."

Rex takes out the droid in the middle and the others take out the remaining 2.

"Right, let's move."

The others run into the main room and take cover at the sides, shooting at the droids. I stay behind and take cover from the main hallway, not looking behind me. I can see blaster bolts whizzing past me, but they're not going to hit me.

I hear Fives getting shot and Cody telling them to focus. I look back and see Rex in the main room, where a commando droid is trying to melee him.

I draw my vibrosword and run into the main room as Rex dodges the swings of the droid, and I slice the droid in half from behind. The others take out the last 2 remaining droids and the room is clear.

"Thanks kid," Rex gives me a downwards nod of respect.

I sling my sword back onto my back and lean against a wall at the side while the others roast the droids that they just shot down.

"Get to the window. It looks like we have more visitors," Cody says.

We all run to the window and look outside.

"It looks like a separatist fleet."

"That's why the commandeered the outpost," Cody says. "They're mounting a full-scale invasion."

"We have to warn command," Rex says.

"Shouldn't we hide? If they're gonna mount a full-scale invasion we don't stand a chance," I speak up, and everyone stares at me. "What? I'm telling the truth."

One of the clones goes to try and transmit a signal. 

"Those clankers sabotaged our transmitter, and they hard-wired the all-clear signal. It'll take time to-"

"We don't have time. Look."

A ship is descending in front of the outpost.

"Guys we really should go," I'm making my way towards the vent, ready to run.

"Well kid, you're gonna get a lot of experience from here," Echo says.

"We can't protect the outpost long against that army of clankers," Cody says.

"Then we'll destroy the outpost instead," Rex says.

"But sir, our mission is to defend this facility at all costs."

"We have to warn the Republic about the invasion. They'll take notice when the all-clear signal stops."

"That's right. When they stop receiving our beacon, they'll get the message something's wrong," Fives says.

"We'll need every thermal detonator in the inventory," Rex says.

I slowly open up the vent cover, ready to slip inside.

"It'll take more than a few detonators to destroy the outpost."

Then someone suggests an idea to blow up the outpost using liquid tibanna.

"Good. Bring the tanks here and prime the detonators," Rex orders.

Just as I'm about to slip into the vent and run away, Rex notices me.

"Hey kid, don't think about going anywhere."

I freeze, looking up at him.

"I have no interest in dying today," I reply. 

"I thought you weren't weak?"

So I help the boys carry the explosives to the main room as I hear the battle droids marching towards the front gate.

When we manage to get it all to the main room, Rex and the others gather around, and I stand behind Fives, Echo and Hevy.

"Alright listen up. There's only one target of interest in this sector: Kamino. It's the closest thing we clones have to a home. Today we fight for more than the Republic. Today we fight for all our brothers back home. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Rex looks at me.

I take a deep breath and steel myself for the high possibility of dying. "Sir, yes, sir." 

We head into the weapons room where the others take their weapons. My hand rests on my pistol, and the other on my vibrosword. I turn to Rex, who's making his way to the main room. He nods at me.

I can feel my heart in my throat now, and it must have been pretty obvious to Cody, because he puts a hand on my shoulder and says,"We're gonna survive this kid. Trust me.

Hevy goes to the front and takes out a bunch of battle droids with that gatling gun of his, and then Cody, me and the others come in. 

I shoot at the droids with my pistol and blaster bolts narrowly miss me, and everything's going so fast, I can't comprehend what's going on.

One of the clones throws a grenade at the battle droids, knocking most of them off the platform while the rest of us fall back, closing the blast doors.

They get blown up from outside and the battle droids enter, still shooting at us, and I run into the main room, with the others following behind after a few moments.

I hear Rex say that the handset wasn't linking up with the detonator, and Hevy says he'll handle it, telling us to get out of here.

We run to the vents and crawl through them, with Rex leading the way. We reach the outside in a few minutes, hiding behind a ridge.

"Hevy, hit the-" Rex looks behind, and Hevy isn't there.

"Where's Hevy?"

Echo and Fives shake their heads.

Rex talks into his comlink. "Hevy, get out of there."

"The remote isn't working," Hevy reports. "I have to detonate it manually."

I move to run back into the vents and try to make it back to the outpost, the others follow me. I'm running as fast as I can, and crawl into the vents, trying to make it back.

I hear the others trying to contact Hevy, but they're not in the vents yet. I gotta get there.

And then I hear the sound of explosions and debris falling, the vents shake, and I curl up into a ball, covering my head.

When the shaking stops, I open my eyes, and I see Rex pulling me out of the vents.

"You okay kid?" Rex asks.

I nod, staying close to him as we head back to the others.

Hevy's gone.

"We've got those tinnies on the run," either Fives or Echo says, I can't really tell. 

"Thanks to Hevy."

I hear the sound of gunships descending.

"We're getting of this crater boys," Rex says.

We all get on the gunships, and I remain silent for the whole trip back to the cruiser.

Fives and Echo are getting some random award thing from General Skywalker, and Rex says he's considering adding them to the 501st. I head back to the barracks and just chill there for awhile, thinking about everything that's just happened. It all feels so fast.

About an hour later, Rex comes in.

"Hey kid, how're you doing?"

I remain silent.

Rex sits down next to me.

"Yknow if it wasn't for Hevy, we wouldn't be here right now," he says.

I nod, staring up at the ceiling. "I shouldn't have come."

"Yea, it's a lot more different than training, isn't it?"

"It's so...scary, my mind just goes blank, and I forget everything I learned during training. Being a soldier's hard."

"The first few battles are always like that, but...you'll get used to it."

"I'm not gonna be in another battle. I'll just stay on Coruscant and continue training. That's what you want, right?"

"Hm. I could let you come on some of the less dangerous battles, how about that?"

I hesitate. I can almost imagine the sickening feeling in my stomach when the outpost blew up, when I realised that Hevy was gone. I can almost feel my heart pounding in my head every time I see live fire whizzing past my head, when I narrowly miss death by an inch.

I sit up and look at Rex.

"I don't wanna go."

Rex looks at me, confused. "What?"

"I'm done with being in battles. I'm not going to fight out there in the field anymore. I'm done. I'm leaving."

Rex sighs. "Look, ad'ika-"

Fives and Echo come into the barracks. 

"Hey kid, how're you doing?" Echo asks. "You were pretty good out there with your knife and your pistol."

I look up at him.

"I know what you're thinking, kid. You wanna leave after your first skirmish, and to be honest, I can't argue with that. It's a hard life, being a soldier."

I nod.

"But we're fighting for the Republic, for a cause that we believe in. Out there, we gotta be strong, we can't show weakness, and we show those clankers what we're made of, got it?"

I nod again, and Echo and Fives walk away.

Can't show weakness. They always said I was made to be weaker than the others. Gotta prove them wrong.

I turn to Rex.

"Maybe I'll take a few weeks on Coruscant to train and prepare myself, and then maybe I'll consider coming along on those less dangerous battles."

Rex smiles, and nods. "Okay then ad'ika, we've got a ship leaving for Coruscant in a few hours, and I'll see you in a few weeks."

"What does ad'ika mean?" I ask.

"You already know, kid. All clones do."

I roll my eyes. "Fine. Cya, captain."

Rex groans.

"And for the last time, DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

hiii here is my OC

CT-9905 “Aris”

(the one between echo and wrecker)

her number is just coincidental she wasnt made with the batch

She’s a female clone, and she was 14 when the Clone Wars started. The Kaminoans wanted to terminate her but they thought she could be of use for cleaning and stuff, they did give her a bit if training anyways tho. She escaped through Jango Fett’s ship, and found herself of Geonosis. Then she took a Separatist ship during the battle of Geonosis and piloted it to a random planet, living on the streets for a while until the Separatists came to invade the planet. She was cornered by battle droids when Rex saved her and adopted her into the 501st cause *dad rex goated*!!! Rex personally trained her but didn’t allow her to go on missions because protective, she sneaks aboard anyways onto the rookies mission, experienced actual combat for the first time and is super scared, echo and fives comfort her. She’s also a little scared of heights. During the Battle of Kamino, she fought alongside Echo and Fives and Rex and Cody and 99, and 99 was her best friend back on Kamino, so shes super sad when he dies. Rex wants to promote her to ARC trooper alongside Echo and Fives but she refuses, not wanting more expectations to be put on her. She plays call of duty with fives and exho, and theyre like her best friends and big brothers :)

During the citadel rescue, echo “dies” and she tries to help him but shes also severely hurt, rex literally CARRIES her all the way and she makes it back to base alive, but really beaten up and she’s paralyzed cause explosion. Rex and Fives help her walk again, and shes super happy, but since rex is super protective he doesnt allow her to go on missions again, so she clips herself to the outside of the gunship and sneaks onto a bunch of missions. When Fives dies she almost kills Fox but rex stops her. Then during TBB clone wars arc, she joins and the bad batch take interest in her because shes a defective too, and shes also good with a sword and knife + pistols and has *common sense weeee*!!! When they rescue echo shes really happy and she joins the bad batch with echo but hugs rex before she goes cos 😭😭😭

Thats where im at rn shes with the bad batch and her closest friend is gonky in tbb

Relationships:

rex: dad

fives: big brother/best friend

echo: big brother/best friend

kix: good friend

jesse: friend

cody: cool uncle

hunter: “sir”

crosshair: frenemy

wrecker: a little annoying but hes got a good heart

tech: “shut up tech”

gonky: *friendly head pats*

soon to be omega: she sees her old self in omega and doesnt want her to he corrupted

Looks:

Short black hair in a pixie cut, black armor with orange highlights, sword on back (rex gave it to her), 2 pistols on belt, knife on forearm armor, normal helmet but with orange visor, has tbb markings but also rex’s helmet markings, the aurebesh 5, echo’s handprint, the 501st symbol. She also tattoos all the people shes lost on her arm, so theres echo which is canceled on her arm lmfao

im planning on making her depressed after tech dies and crosshair joins the empire and has violent outbursts, especially at omega and hunter, but when crosshair rejoins the batch she calms down

personality: istp, a little reserved but really good homies with the clones, gamer, likes music, likes violence and blood, can kill and will kill if you hurt anyone she loves, and she doesnt usually show it often but she cares about tbb

yea um there we go :)

Welcome back to another OC Sunday Spotlight!

Aka the time in which every Sunday I'll come up with a prompt and anyone and everyone has the opportunity to answer with as many OCs as they wish!

You can reblog this post, answer in the comments, or come up with your own post to answer the prompts! And feel free to submit prompts as well!

It's an excuse to yap about your OCs so feel free to do so! Add pictures, links, or anything else regarding the OC in the spotlight if you'd like! And in addition, feel free to tag any mutuals to hop on the stage :D

Let's get this show started!

SPOTLIGHT ON: WIP OC(s)!

Here are mine!

The beginnings of what I'm calling...

♠️♥️ Deck Squad! ♦️♣️

🃏 All based off of cards in a deck (plus Uno and Wild Card)

🃏 But I have no idea what their armor color is going to be yet :( or how it'll be designed (Suggestions are VERY welcomed!!)

🃏I do want to do something with the number "52" though (like 52nd Battalion or something) since that's how many cards are in a deck

🃏I want them to do cool undercover stuff, like in casinos or whatever - something like that - to match that Ocean's 11 type aesthetic

🃏More info about them individually can be found here! Or just ask me questions about them if you'd like :D

💫 Check out last week's prompt! 💫 Join the tag list here!

TBB SEASON 3 IS OUT WOOOOO

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL THANK YOU

Time is the giver and the thief of all things.

Eye of the Universe by McKane Davis

You all know how meaningful this show is for me. Now that it's over, I wanted to honor this show and these characters with a song that I've related to them since the beginning of season three. I love all the lessons I've learned, all the comfort I've gotten, all the emotions I've felt, all the people I've met, all the stories I've written... I cannot be more grateful for this show's existence. I will be rewatching for years to come, and even if the show has officially ended, it will always be a part of me.

i need more crosshair drowning scenes im just addicted to crosshair suffering atp

Sharpshooter - Only the Strongest will Survive

Chapter 3

Warnings: Profanity, mention of injuries, weapons

I assume I got 9 hours of rest from how I feel energized when I wake up and bustling of the city below when I step out of the apartment and look down at the city. It's still dark. 

I don't think the sun ever rises here. It's been dark since I arrived. 

I head over to Mayday's apartment where he's still sleeping on the floor, and I kick him in the leg to wake him up.

"The fuck was that for?!" Mayday gets up, rubbing his shin where I kicked him. I smirk. "Sorry."

Mayday rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you really should apologize for your existence as well."

"There's no one to apologize to for that," I reply, and we both remain silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter.

After we calm down, which takes a while because I'm unusually high on air today, I get down to business. I bring Mayday over to my apartment and show him the hole in the ray shield. Mayday's expression hardens.

"It's kinda small," he says.

"Those guards fell asleep on duty at 2:37 last night. They're probably gonna fall asleep around that time tonight. We have around a 40-second time frame to slip through and get out of sight. We could take that chance to slip through, get back exactly 24 hours later if we time it right," I point out of the window towards the guards there, they work 12 hour shifts so now there's different guards on patrol. 

It's easier to see everything now. My eyes are slightly more adjusted to dark. The moonlight shining and the unclouded sky also helps a little.

While waiting for the time to pass by, I go to walk around the city, just to get some fresh air from the confined space of my family's apartment. It's pleasantly cool outside today. Almost too cool. I notice the goosebumps on my arms as I walk through the bright streets, staring into the darker alleys to keep my eyes away from the lights. 

The moment I glance at a building with the blinding lights, my eyes sting and the front of my head aches. I try to avoid them as much as possible, keeping my hands in my pockets as I stare down at the pathways.

So many people rush past me. Running towards central area for job interviews, or work, according to my parents. They managed to secure a spot at a construction site outside the ray shield, to build something the public and I haven't been informed on, and I have no interest in finding out about.

I can't help but look up, at the moon, at the buildings that reach all the way to the sky, at the faint blinking of the stars. 2 of them are brighter than the others. One right next to the moon, one slightly further away. The smaller one almost looks red in colour. I assume that's Mars, where the richer ones went to stay according to my grandparents. I can't identify the other one.

After what I assume has been a few hours, I head back to the building where me and Mayday's apartments are. As I walk past Mayday's apartment, I hear him and his brothers probably roughhousing in there, probably fighting over who gets the biggest share of the ration bar today.

I haven't eaten in a while. No appetite. Just that sickening feeling in my gut whenever I catch sight of the big screen at the central area, the occasional news broadcasting throughout the city on radios. The man in the suit appearing on the screen a few times, I can see it from my apartment. 

"Enjoy your stay," he said. Which means we'll only be here temporarily. They're gonna move us back to North America. Or maybe to Mars. Or maybe to the depths of hell. 

I head back to my apartment and close the door, leaning against the wall as I sit down in a corner, spinning my knife and messing with my blaster pistol. It's currently set to stun and the safety's on, so that I don't accidentally shoot someone. Although I would really like to.

After about half an hour or so, the sounds of punches landing and people shouting, "FIRST DIBS" from Mayday's apartment die down. I sigh and lean my head back against the wall, closing my eyes for a few moments. Sounds can make me irritated sometimes. This is one of the sometimes. 

Soon enough, I check the time on the big screen at central area which I can see from my apartment, and it's 2:34 am. I head to the window of my apartment and take a look at the guards. They're still slightly alert, though I can see their heads dipping down already to try and catch some shut-eye.

I hear a knock on the door. I know it's Mayday. I sheath my knife and put my blaster into the holster on my belt and open the door.

"You don't look so good," I comment as I walk out of the building next to him. I'm referring to the multiple bruises on his arms and his face. 

"Well, neither do you," he replies, sounding tired. I won't ask him to elaborate more. It could be my messed-up hair from just now, when I was trying to block out the sounds by running my fingers through my hair and burying my head in my knees. Or it could be the fact that you could almost see my bones through the skin of my arms. 

Mayday tosses a piece of a ration bar to me and I catch it with ease. I glance at him. 

"Go on, you look like that twig you tried to use to kill that fish back in the day," Mayday says, without looking at me.

"Isn't this your share?" I ask.

Mayday shrugs. "Not hungry."

"Me neither," I say, and then almost as if right on cue, I feel a stomach cramp, the ones that come when I don't eat for a while. I try to keep a straight face.

"Eat it. You look like you're tryna keep in explosive diarrhea," Mayday says, and I open the piece of ration bar and gulp it down in a few seconds. 

We head into a dark alley which is almost directly in front of the hole in the ray shield. We stay pressed against the walls, trying to make as little sound as possible. We inch towards the open area where we would have to make a break for it. 

I squint and catch sight of the guards just dozing off, and I motion for Mayday to move. We run towards the hole in the shield, half-tiptoeing while running, barely making any sound. 

We reach the hole in the shield, right next to the guards. I step through, lowering my head and making sure that my back doesn't touch the shield. I can feel the heat radiating through my hoodie, hitting my back. It reminds me of how the heat used to seep in through the cooling suits back in North America.

Mayday goes next. The ray shield just touches his back, burning through his clothing, but he doesn't seem to notice. When he makes it through, I point out the burnt area of his hoodie, just to let him know. Mayday nods in response.

The air is cool and crisp out here. I want to run up and down the mountains in front of me, not having to worry about running into people, or the fact that there's a ray shield around the place I'm staying. I breathe in the fresh air, it feels so different than in the city. 

Mayday nudges me. "Race you to that mountain?" he points somewhere not too far in the distance and runs off. 

"HEY!" I shout, running after him, letting out a genuine laugh, all worries gone from my head, just me, Mayday, and the mountains ahead.

I feel free.

Your pfp is so cool!!

ayyy thanks bro i actually asked my friend @vexingvexvexes to draw it for me cos shes my friend from school

its a drawing of my first oc (self insert) called Aris in a fanfiction that i never finished it was supposed to be called age of the rebellion and shes anakins sister it was a star wars x ninjago crossover thing i should probably post it

i have some more art of aris so like yea

its a mandalorian style armor and also the belt is from a game called rec room its the bounty hunter belt and i really like it

:)

HELP I JUST REALISED

Why does bro have a bottle cap as a hand?

EPISODE 9 IS OUT AND VENTRESS IS BACK WOOOOO

SHE SAID “ive got a few lives left” IS THAT REFERENCE TO WHEN SHE DIED IN DARK DICIPLE N SHES STILL ALIVE??????

MAN I LOVE VENTRESS SO MUCH AND SHES A BLONDIE NOW??????

i think the clone operative is tech for a few reasons:

the tech turn when he lands the ship

the goofy ahh flopping onto the rocks

callback to one of the episodes where tech falls down a waterfall??

the limping

the frustration with technology and reliance on it

delusion

reasons i think it cant be tech:

crosshair said it didnt work on him cos he was defective so it wouldnt work on tech either cos hes also defective

reasons why its soup clone:

yes