Jedi Fugitive (The Bad Batch)

81:

Deke hesitated as though debating whether or not he should answer before just going for it. "One of the control room panels was still intact during our last scout. I tried to use it to send a signal, but there was no power."

"Can you take us there?" Hunter asked immediately, prompting Stak to shoot him a look that clearly said he thought he was crazy.

"No way! That area's covered in slither vines. It's toxic."

"We've got that part handled." I tapped the lightsabers at my belt - Mox's eyes widened a fraction of an inch when he took them in, and he almost seemed to rethink his response, only for caution to win out and he stood again, shaking his head.

"Stak's right. Going near those ruins is a suicide mission. You're on your own."

"They need help, Mox," Deke cut in with a disapproving look directed at his brother. "I'll go with them."

All either of them could do was stare in open shock as Deke opened their only crate of belongings, retrieving a torch before picking up his weapon and moving for the cave's entrance. Though I couldn't blame them. After surviving so long by avoiding all danger, running headlong into it was a move nothing short of crazy.

"You know the risks of going down there!" Stak shouted in a last ditch effort to talk some sense into Deke while I jammed my helmet back on and started out the cave after him. Deke paused only for a second before continuing on without a word, his expression grimly determined.

"I can get you inside the ruins," he told us when the lights of the cave had disappeared from sight and we were swallowed by the jungle canopy again with only our flashlights and my lightsaber blade to cut through the darkness. "But you won't be able to get anything from the console without a power source."

"We got that part covered. Just need to grab something from our ship." Wrecker could only mean Gonky, but carrying him in was going to be a chore. Not to mention the droid was defective, so we'd only have minutes to find what we were looking for.

"This clone you're looking for..." Deke began hesitantly.

"Omega." I corrected without looking back, eyes trained on the forest around me. I could still feel the presence of the slither vines around me, almost like they were watching us, and they weren't friendly at all. It didn't help that I couldn't see them at all - despite Obi-Wan's extensive training, I still liked to be able to see my enemy. The apprehensive feeling alone was enough to have me power on one of my lightsabers before we'd descended the mountain, the yellow glow dimly illuminating our surroundings and easing my worries slightly.

"How long has she been gone?"

"Too long," Hunter sighed. "But we're not giving up."

"I wish the other clones felt that way about us." The young clone's head fell forward dejectedly. "You may be defective CTs, but at least you're loyal."

"It's not their fault." I paused and lowered the lightsaber I held, feeling some strange compulsion to reassure him. "Their behaviour's been programmed by inhibitor chips. If it was their choice, they wouldn't have left you behind."

"Maybe." He didn't sound so convinced, and I fell quiet and started moving again, the silence broken only by the humming of my blade and occasional rustling of leaves as we brushed past them.

Before long, the Marauder was in view again, the ramp lowering by courtesy of Gonky. Deke was immediately drawn to the ship's severely beaten up hull, passing his torch over the several scorch marks, scratches and dents with a look of awe on his face while Wrecker disappeared into the ship to grab the defective power droid.