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“The Force flows through everything,” Clone Trooper Glitch repeated in a mantra. “The Force flows through me,”
Glitch, Clone Trooper under Jedi General B'ink Utrila and Jedi Commander Rennax Omani, was left for dead in the jungle hellscape known as Draay two with no means of communication. Not that he was surprised, he was an expendable Clone, always assumed dead when they can’t be found. They wouldn’t waste resources to retrieve his body, Glitch knew the morbid truth but he refused to accept it.
He thought, ‘No, His General is different! His unit was looking for him, right now!’
For his sanity, he had to believe that.
“The Force flows through everything,” Glitch said again, through his clenched teeth, shivering from the cold. He huddled closer to the fire. “The Force flows through me,”
Building a shelter from the rumble of the fallen Jedi temple and forging edible goods from the wildlife, he did what he could to stay afloat, in the hopes Horns or General Untrila would find him. Sadly, days and weeks came and went, there was no sign of a rescue.
And Glitch remained, holding on and trying his best to fix the comms in his bucket.
At least it was a peaceful wait, he had thought. It wasn’t until he discovered Zygerrian pirates were roaming about. He had stumbled into one of them hunting the native Bantha. Luckily, he stayed under their radar but he didn’t know for how long.
The pirates' reach was spreading from their camp, The Dead Zone, they named it, a treacherous territory of the unsavory predators. Soon, Glitch wouldn’t be able to hide. The pirates would kill him faster than the wildlife.
He knew they don’t take kindly to Republic Soldiers, a clone no less.
“The Force flows through everything,” Glitch repeated.
The wind picked up, rustling the trees around him. Disregarding dangerous predators, Nights on Draay Two were beautiful, a sky full of stars brighter than any city and the calming breeze flowing through.
The sound of leaves crunched not far from Glitch, an unusual sound.
Hastily putting on his bucket, Glitch raised his blaster and waited, observing the shadows moving in the jungle.
Pirates? Could be but they wouldn’t be this far out at this time of night. Animals? No, he memorized the behavior of the native animals, the only nocturnal creatures were a few rodents, birds, and carnivorous plants, none of them made sounds like footsteps.
“Who’s there?” Glitch asked, not the brightest idea.
A sick red light illuminated the shadow, a demon straight out of the void. A tall woman, humanoid, Glitch couldn’t tell her race but her weapon was enough to know she was dangerous.
Two red lightsabers, A Sith.
Before she moved, Glitch fired. The blast didn’t even reach her, she deflected them back at him, missing his head by an inch.
“Try that again, clone.” She dared with her twin lightsaber ignited.
“Y-You’re—” Ventress, Sith Assassin, and Separatist, Glitch recalled fearfully. He thought she was just an urban legend to scare the Shinies into obedience but he’s seen the list of dead brothers and the bodies left in the aftermath of her arrival.
All the powers of a Jedi but none of the compassion. Glitch, in all honesty, was afraid of crossing her path.
In a standstill, Glitch’s blaster ready to fire and her lightsabers ready to deflect them. Ventress stepped to the right, attempting to circle him.
Then, Glitch spotted vines with beautiful red orchids on them snaking at her feet and he paled.
“Whatever you do, don’t move,” He warned.
But she did not heed it, unfortunately.
Ventress stepped into the vines, a big mistake. Shapes were moving behind her and it all happened too fast.
A carnivorous plant was native to Draay two, one of the many predators that terrorize the jungles. They were agile and sneaky plants, blending into trees and drawing their prey with beautiful and tasty flowers on their vines. Once the prey is within reach, it ensnares the unsuspecting victim and reveals its head, a flower with a jaw full of spikes and acid, before it swallows them whole and digests them slowly in its mouth for weeks to come.
“What—” Ventress’s entire body was being wrapped into its vines faster than she could swing. Dropping her lightsabers, she was lifted off the floor and froze when the predator’s head peeled away from the trees, unhinging its flower jaw to consume Ventress.
Glitch remembered the time he was almost eaten by the same creature on his first day. By pure accident, he survived and discovered its biggest advantage is also its weakness. Inside the mouth is the softest skin of the creature, a single quick blast could disorient it and finish it off.
“H-Hey, over here!” Glitch taunted.
He blasted the beaked mouth in the middle of the collection of teeth. The plant shrieked, dropping Ventress from its vines. It was enough time for her to pick her lightsabers and cut the plant’s head from the rest of its body.
It was dead.
Glitch just saved her, an enemy of the Republic. His commanding officer would shoot him.
A pregnant pause came over, Ventress stared at the corpse of the carnivorous plant before glaring at Glitch, who still had his blaster drawn.
No one moved, weapons aimed at one another. Until slowly, very slowly, Ventress lowered her lightsabers.
“Food,” She blurted, Glitch nearly missed it.
“What?”
“Food,” She repeated. “Do you have food?”
With his blaster trained at her, he glanced at the lizard meat roasting on a campfire, nothing grand but enough to feed another mouth. “...Yes.”
The red of her lightsabers went away and she hooked them on her hips but he didn’t let his guard down. He knew she didn’t need a weapon to kill him.
With self-preservation on high alert, Glitch’s hands twitched on the trigger when she pulled something out of her pack.
“Easy there, trooper.” She purred while pulling out a glowing bottle of blue substance that Glitch knew well. “I’ve got Spotchka,”
His mouth went dry. What Glitch wouldn’t give for some Spotchka, a night of drunken bliss? He’s only tasted it once when Jedi Commander Rennax smuggled it to them during shore leave, it was bitter but very savory and surprisingly cool to the tongue.
“A truce,” Ventress offered, waving the bottle teasingly at him.
He was going to die because he wanted to get drunk. And with days spending on this awful moon, he’s alright with that.
“For now,” His voice cracked while lowering his blaster.
Ventress came up slowly with hands raised where Glitch could see them, showing him she wasn’t a threat before she sat near the fire, just a few feet from him, and passed the bottle to him. Tentatively, he took it, unscrewed the cap, and smelled the district pungent smell only Spotchka could give.
“It’s Lizard meat if you’re wondering.” Glitch pointed at the meat on a stick, cooking over the fire.
“I’ve had worse.” Grabbing the stick, she said.
He didn’t ask further. Taking off his bucket and setting it down, he tilted the bottle to his lips and drank. The first taste was the worst, the bitterness hit hard but the salty and savory came after, and once that passed a cooling sensation was left on the tongue and at the pit of the stomach.
The buzz was enough to make him forget where he was, all that mattered was him and the Spotchka.
Glitch must have looked strange because Ventress gave him an odd look, passive but with a hint of judgment.
Then mischief crossed her gaze, she smirked. “You know I could have poisoned you,”
Glitch coughed, spitting out the Spotchka but he already swallowed most of it. Ventress belted out a hardy laugh before tearing through another lizard meat, snatching back the bottle, and drinking it herself.
She was messing with him.
“Not the brightest Clone in the bunch, are you?” She chuckled.
Glitch cleared his throat and swiped the bottle off her hand, the tips of his ears were red. He wished he got drunk faster.
Bliss, drunken stupid bliss, it’s been a long time since Glitch didn’t think. His head was hardly empty, despite what his brothers thought. He wished it was though, if he had one quiet moment, he could get his head straight, be a normal clone, but his thoughts were plagued with the Force and its philosophy.
Not Tonight, however, on Draay two, Glitch was floating worry-free with a Separatist, no less.
“You—” Ventress wheezed in drunken laughter with a half-empty flask of Spotchka. “Fought Pre Viszla, with a lightsaber!”
Her laughter continued, recklessly coughing and ignoring Glitch’s embarrassment.
“You don’t believe me,” He slurred, already half as drunk as her.
“Oh, I believe you! I was on Nar Shaddaa, some Death Watch lackeys were making fun of their leader,” She gulped down her Spotchka before going on a tangent. “They talk about how Pre Viszla got his ass handed to him by Clone Trooper with a lightsaber!”
Despite holding it in, She laughed again. “I thought it was drunken rabble but here you are!”
“Here I am,” Glitch grimaced, staring into the campfire and poking it with a stick.
“Are you a new breed of Jedi Troopers?” Ventress asked, all in jest, passing the bottle to him.
He drank the Spotchka and said. “No, but I can feel the Force,”
“The jokes just keep coming!” She laughed for a good few seconds before realizing it wasn’t a joke. “You’re serious?”
He shrugged and passed the bottle back to her, knowing she doesn’t believe him even if he explained.
“You must be a hero to your fellow clones,” She drawled.
Glitch pressed his lips together, thinking about Jedi Commander Rennax, Horns, and his fellow troopers. Plucking his helmet from the ground, he traced the scuffed purple paint, years of service, only to be rewarded with abandonment.
“They left you here,” She concluded bitterly, her eyes shifted from the makeshift shelter and his helmet. “To die on this rock?”
“...They don’t know I’m alive, but they’ll come back for me,” Glitch reasoned but the sour sneer on Ventress’s face remained.
Ventress huffed, downing more of her drink, hoping to get drunk, or drunker.
Glitch noticed she was biting her lips like she was going to say something she’ll regret. And sure enough, she did.
“You’re not going to survive out here, trooper.” Said Ventress after three swigs of liquor, she opened her communicator and projected a holo of Zygerrian Criminal, scum of the earth, former slaver. Glitch blinked when he saw the gigantic bounty on him, enough to retire and buy a mansion on Naboo. “Help me catch this bounty and I’ll get you off this rock,”
“You don’t need my help,” Glitch said, knowing well Ventress was a feared Sith Assassin who took down dozens of his brothers.
“Perhaps but I don’t know where to start or how to get through this,” Ventress snarled, gesturing at the carnivorous plant she almost fell in moments ago. “Lovely place, not exactly tourist-friendly,”
Glitch doesn’t trust her but he does trust the Force.
There was a sensation nagging at the back of his mind, pushing him to trust her. It was the Force, or maybe it was the Spotchka.
“Dawn, I’ll show you where to start.” Glitch offered and Ventress hummed.
They continued drinking, refusing to sleep, in case one of them betrayed the other, like Glitch taking off with her ship, which was well hidden, or Ventress killing Glitch, which wouldn't do any good.
But they weren’t in the headspace to think it through, so they kept drinking till Ventress pulled out a second bottle of Spotchka.
In the end, they both ended up passed out drunk.
At dawn, It took a slap to the face and a healing stim from Ventress to get Glitch to wake up from his drunken coma.
“Put yourself together, trooper,” Ventress said, who was doing just fine despite their drunken escapade.
“J-Just give me a second,” Was all he could say before he hurled.
It wasn’t a good start but he eventually pulled himself together.
Nursing the biggest hangover Glitch ever had, they set out to the highest hills. Since Draay two, wasn’t charted, there was no holo map Ventress could use. So, Surveying the area on the high ground was the best approach.
Once they were at the peak of the hills, the thin air prickled their skin. Glitch groaned, the air wasn’t helping with his nausea.
“We don’t have all day,” Ventress drawled.
Glitch pulled out his binocs and scouted the immediate area for hostiles. “Draay Two is a jungle moon, no colonies or outposts, Jedi used to live here thousands of years ago. For the most part, it’s peaceful here.”
“And the rest of it?” Ventress asked.
“A spice induced nightmare without the fun,”
Passing his binocs to her, Glitch pointed at the distant mountains, weary clouds hovered over parts of a dark jungle. Even from their vantage point, they could tell it was trouble.
“That’s the Dead Zone. If the plants won’t kill you, the creatures will. No one in their right mind would go near that place,”
“Perfect hiding spot for a wanted man,” Ventress said.
“Try several wanted Men,” He answered.
Ventress adjusted the binocs to focus on a farther distance and spotted several Speeders and shadowy figures disappearing into the forest, rough-looking thugs of different races, mostly Zygerrian, were armed to the teeth.
“There’s a camp smack dab in the middle of it. If your bounty is on this rock, he’ll be hiding there.”
Using his finger, he drew a rough map of the Dead Zone in the mud. He’d been on this moon long enough to know what areas to avoid, where the guards are and when they did patrols. Though he hadn’t been in the deepest part of the Dead Zone or the Pirate Camp, he gathered critical intel from the goons, who were often too drunk to notice him hiding in the trees.
“Safest route?” Ventress asked.
“ Safest, ” Glitch emphasized with sarcasm before drawing a line from the edge of the dirt map to the center of the Dead Zone. “Is the path they built, probably guarded with heavy artillery. No joke, I saw them haul an AT-ST in there.”
“Excellent.” She returned the same sarcasm. “Alternatives?”
Glitch paused, recalling all the days he spent exploring. “There's a Jedi temple on the edge of the Dead Zone, we can go through there.”
He marked the west side of the dirt map with an X.
“No guards?” She asked.
“Just patrols, they come by every two hours. They aren’t interested in tombs they can’t open.” Glitch drew a large door in the dirt with ancient markings and a lock mechanism similar to the ones of Jedi Temple on Coruscant. “Only someone who can use the Force can get through.”
She mocked. “And why don’t you use the Force? I thought you could feel it?”
“I can but I don’t—” Glitch swallowed. “I can’t use it,”
She sighed, looking through the binocs again. “This temple could lead us safely inside the Dead Zone?”
“In theory,” Glitch said. “But I don’t know how far. It’s ancient, thousands of years old.”
“We could just walk through the front door, fight our way to the camp,” Ventress suggested.
“Heavy artillery and AT-ST,” He repeated firmly. “We’ll be blown sky-high before we reach it. Even you can’t handle all that firepower.”
Her lips were pressed into a hard line, considering the consequences. “Fine, lead the way, trooper.”
Finally rid of the jungle, Glitch and Ventress stepped into a clearing, weeds, and mud grew between the cracked stone of the plaza that led to the Jedi Temple. Statues and pillars that used to form arches and depicted Master Jedis and their heroism, were now rubble and shattered. Millennia of neglect and the glorious Temple had been consumed by the fauna and dust.
Glitch would have liked to see it in its glory days.
“There,” Glitch pointed at the giant stone doors with a strange mechanism at the center.
Walking to the entrance, Ventress touched the mechanism and whipped away the dust and grime before frowning.
“It would take two Jedis to open this door,” Ventress said. “Any luck you can use the Force?”
At her sarcastic tone, Glitch sighed. “I can feel the Force, not use it.”
He’s tried before, multiple times, all failed.
“Oh, you were serious? I thought it was the Spotchka talking.” She said before turning her attention back to the door. “Anyway, It’s possible to open this door with one person,”
“But?” Glitch asked, he knew there was a catch.
“But it won’t hold for long, it’ll give us enough space to slip in.”
“We’ll be trapped.” He finished her line of thought.
She nodded. “It’s a risk but if what you say is true then, this will lead us straight through without too much trouble.”
Glitch didn’t know if the Jedi Temple went all the way through the Dead Zone, but what other options do they have? Limited. They could take their chances with the marsh of killer plants on the north side or the pirates with their AT-ST and heavy blasters on the main road.
“Alright,” Ventress said when Glitch didn’t respond. “Step aside, trooper.”
She drew a deep breath, her hands stretched out. Dust shook off the door as the lock mechanism moved with a sickening loud clang. In awe from the raw power, Glitch watched as the locks snapped and the door began to part slowly.
Ventress snarled, her eyes squinting and focusing all her power to jar the door open but her strength was faltering by every second she held it.
“What are you waiting for? Go!” She hissed at him.
Glitch shook out of his daze and quickly squeezed through the crack. It was a tight fit but he pushed forwards with effort and he stumbled inside, nearly dropping his blaster.
“C’mon!” Glitch yelled.
Ventress roared, giving a final push through the Force, enough to keep the door open so she could slip in.
The door slammed back together with the sounds of the lock fitting back into place, they were trapped, no turning back.
Glitch brushed off the dust from his armor as he took in his surroundings, a long wide corridor with shambled pillars and statues and interior made up of metal and stone, a hallmark of centuries-old fashion. He then looked up and saw light streaming from the fractured high ceiling that had murals of the stars.
“Woah,” He muttered, mesmerized by the art above him.
“We don’t have all day. Let’s move,” Ventress ignited her lightsaber, lighting their path. The red color looked sickly against the Jedi statues, almost haunting.
She was already ahead of him when he snapped out of his trance and raced after her.
Making their way through the desolate halls of the Jedi Temple, Glitch could feel an eerie sensation at the back of his neck, like someone was constantly watching them. He glanced at the towering statues, robed Jedi figures with hollow eyes looking down upon them.
Glitch clutched his blaster, small comfort for his weary soul.
“The Force feels…” He muttered.
“Like what?” Ventress humored him.
“Old,”
Her brow furrowed before muttering. “It does,”
She didn’t expect him to be right.
Keeping his mind occupied, he stared after Ventress, her lightsaber illuminated her features, the red light looked like blood on her pale ashy skin. Glitch can’t begin to understand the motives of a ‘former’ Separatist. The infamous clone killer was now a Bounty Hunter. Was it to wash away the blood on her hands or was the war too much for even a cold-hearted assassin?
“The bounty on this pirate is a little high,” He noted, the silence broken, which from the look on her face, she didn’t appreciate.
“Because, trooper, it’s very time-sensitive. I need to turn him in 20 rotations before the client’s son is tried and executed for the crimes this sleemo did.” Ventress explained. “Seemed like an easy job.”
“Draay Two is anything but easy,” Glitch said.
“Couldn’t pass up the credits,”
“Wish you had after all this?”
Ventress hinted at a smile. “I’ll ask for double,”
They passed dozens of empty rooms and remnants of another time before they reached the end of the hall. They stepped into a circular chamber with metal statues of what looked like Jedi Temple Guards, Glitch saw in the Coruscant temple once.
Glitch looked again at the ceiling and smiled, more art of stars but this time it also had little hanging crystal, almost like lanterns.
“There,” Ventress pointed at the open door in the far end of the room. “Watch your step,”
He didn’t know why she was on edge but Glitch didn’t question it, like a good soldier. Unfortunately, as they crossed the room, he didn’t heed her words carefully.
“Oh no,” Glitch cursed.
“What?” Ventress glared before seeing Glitch’s foot on a pressure plate, triggering a trap. “Oh, fu—”
The doors slammed shut and plunged the room into darkness. Crystals hanging from the ceiling flickered to life, barely lighting the room in a soft glow.
In the corner of their visions, they saw movement.
Glitch shrieked when four pairs of eyes lit up in the shadows, the metal statues were whizzing to life, their joints creaking as they moved from long centuries of being inactive. Droid Sentinels stepped their weapons drawn, ready for a fight.
Before he could think, Glitch rapidly fired on one of them but his blasts only grazed its metal plates, barely leaving a mark.
“That’s not good,” He said.
Ventress ignited her second lightsaber, snapping the Sentinel’s attention to her. They didn’t like red, Glitch assumed.
Four statues barreled towards them, all wielding giant staves. One was heading straight for Glitch while the others came for Ventress.
Ventress, using the Force, pushed him out of the way. Though it saved his skin from the rampaging Sentinel, Glitch managed to lose his blaster in the tumble.
“Definitely not good,” Glitch muttered, scrambling to find his gun. Before he could find it, however, the Sentinel was over him, metal joint creaking as it swung its staff over the defenseless Glitch.
“Trooper, Catch!” Ventress threw him one of her lightsabers.
Catching it just in time, Glitch blocked the guard’s attack, its metal staff meeting a bleeding red saber. He gritted his teeth and held his ground against the Sentinel before his legs began to tremble, unable to keep the staff off him for much longer.
He shrieked and rolled away clumsily, the staff left a blemish on the floor where he stood.
Glitch winced as he tried to stand before discovering the lightsaber wasn’t in his hand but a few feet away. He was defenseless again.
He didn’t scream when the Sentinel towered his beaten body, too scared to make a sound as the mechanical statue held up its staff.
‘This is gonna hurt.’ Was Glitch’s last thought before closing his eyes.
He blinked, there was no pain.
Was he dead?
No, he could still hear Ventress fighting across the room.
Glitch dared to open his eyes and gasped.
The Sentinel stopped in its tracks, its staff inches from Glitch’s helmet, keeping perfectly still.
“What?”
He stared into the glowing eyes of the Sentinel, flickering from red to blue. And abruptly, the metal guard turned around and marched towards Ventress who was still fighting the rest of the Sentinels.
They were ignoring them but why? All he did was—
Glitch observed the chamber once more, taking note of the rest of the statues, An inactive Sentinel droid had a sword pointed at another statue, a Jedi Master of ancient times. The Jedi Statue had its eyes closed, sitting perfectly serene, despite being under the Sentinel’s sword.
Glitch remembered Jedi were taught to be non-violent, answer with peace than with a blade.
“Don’t move!” Glitch ordered. “If we move calmly, they won’t fight us!”
Ventress hissed, still fending off two metal guards and the rest were fast approaching. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard!”
“No, just look!” Glitch picked up the lightsaber, ignited, and waved it, catching two of the guard's attention. “Hey, over here!”
The metal soldiers were in hot pursuit when Glitch ran to the center of the arena before taking a deep breath and stopping, his hand sheathing the lightsaber.
Despite the guards barreling towards him, he remained steady. “The Force flows through everything,”
“Fight, you idiot!” Ventress barked, still in combat.
They were closing in, their metal feet matched the beat of his erratic heart. Glitch sighed. “The Force flows through me,”
He closed his eyes.
Metal shrieked and came to a stop. After a few beats and a deep breath, Glitch opened his eyes and the Sentinels’ giant staff were inches from his face. The ancient droids were still, their eyes dimmed and turned back into inanimate objects.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” She muttered, her lightsabers clashing with the enemy.
“We can’t beat them with violence,” Glitch said.
“I can try!”
“Please!”
She growled, ultimately deciding to try Glitch’s way.
Ventress jumped away from the remaining Sentinels but not before pulling down a pillar on top of the metal men, burying them in rocks. Once they were occupied, she made her way to the center of the chamber. There was rumbling behind her and she turned back, watching the guard dig out of the rocks.
It won’t hold them for long.
“This is stupid,” She hissed before begrudgingly sheathed her saber and sat with Glitch.
“The Force flows through everything,” Glitch repeated.
Through her teeth, she echoed “...The Force flows through everything.”
“Be calm,” said Glitch.
They heard distinct sounds of the Sentinels and moving rocks.
“I am calm,” Ventress growled.
“Our General said breathing helps!”
“I am not a Jedi, you fool. Breathing won’t make me magically calmer!”
Glitch cursed, trying to think fast. She had to settle down or this cycle will continue until Ventress loses or the Sentinels are destroyed, whichever comes first.
What would ease her?
What would ease a soldier?
Then, he remembered.
“Hey, Horns, what’s your favorite food?” Clone Lieutenant Law asked.
Glitch remembered they were on their way to Christorphorsis. It was going to be a messy campaign, many troops, who were deployed before them, have already died. Everyone was on edge, knowing well this could be it, their final mission.
“What the kriff would it matter? We’ll be dead in a few rotations.” Horns hissed, cleaning his blaster for the third time.
“Humor me,” Lieutenant Law said.
“Ration bar, what else? Like they feed us anything else,”
The troops giggled, though a little lackluster.
Seeing the sliver of his unit’s smiles, Horns dared to smirk. “But I dip in caf, it tastes better.”
The barracks were in an uproar after that.
“That’s illegal!”
“You cheat, where did you get caf?”
“Get me some!”
“How did you get it through security? Horns, come back here! That’s an order—Someone stop him!”
Glitch laughed, he didn't tell them he and Horns would smuggle in instant-made caf from time to time. No one suspected the innocent defective clone trooper Glitch to carry contraband.
The mood was lighter, their approaching doom forgotten.
“What’s your favorite food?” Glitch asked.
“What?” Ventress hissed.
“Answer me!”
Metal feet were fast approaching, they weren’t far.
“Corobb Salad! Is there a point?”
“Why Corobb Salad?” Glitch stressed.
“Because—” She paused, her voice wavered. “My master made it for me once,”
“What did it taste like?”
Ventress snorted. “Horrible, Master Narec was a terrible cook.”
“How terrible?”
“If he could burn water, he would.” Ventress sighed, breathing in and out, lost in nostalgia. “He was so happy when he made me that Corobb Salad, it smelled like Batha shit but I couldn’t break his heart. So, I ate. I was halfway eating the horrid thing when my Master tasted it, he spat it out so fast and threw it out the window.”
The metal footsteps were drowned out by Ventress’s laugh.
“We laughed for days and he gave the recipe so I could try to make it. Mine was much better.”
She breathed in and out and Glitch followed her.
Her energy calmer, at peace only for a moment but it was enough to render the chamber silent, no sounds of metal or crumbling rock.
Ventress and Glitch finally opened their eyes and saw the last guardians frozen, their weapons held high about to strike Ventress.
He was about to cheer until he noticed her somberness. Ventress was avoiding Glitch’s gaze but he could see her eyes were glassy. He said nothing about it while picking up his blaster in the rubble.
The door from across the room opened and they quietly made their way to the exit. All the metal guards didn’t follow them, they remained frozen in place.
“How did you know?” Ventress asked when they walked the long corridor of the deserted temple.
He shrugged. “Lucky guess,”
“In my line of work, luck is unreliable,” Ventress smirked, almost mockingly. “You’re holding out on me, trooper?”
“Nothing to hold out when there’s hardly anything there.” Glitch mused. “I’m just a clone,”
He knew the extent of his worth and it’s not much, even for clone standards. The only reason they kept him around in the first place was that he knew how to hold a blaster, he admitted through the pain.
He found himself laughing, a defense mechanism he got from Horns, his closest brother.
“Glitch, the defective Clone Trooper, always at the wrong place at the wrong time but lucky enough to live through it.” The bitterness was enough to make Ventress flinch. “A Clone trooper who thinks they can feel the Force”
Glitch clenched his hands, swallowing down a sob. He declared regardless of how he felt. “But I can feel it, I just can’t use it.”
“Are you sure you can’t?” Ventress asked.
“I’ve tried all of the lessons I heard from the General but none of them stuck.”
She paused. “Maybe, the way of the Jedi is not for you.”
Glitch blinked, confused by what she said.
They exited the ruin and found themselves in, what used to be, a courtyard similar to the one the Jedi used for training younglings. Glitch has seen them once or twice when he escorted Jedi Commander Rennax to the Jedi Temple. But unlike the one in Coruscant, it was in shambles, cracked pavements, surrounded by dark and twisted trees of the Dead Zone jungle and covered in a wisp of webs.
Glitch nearly gagged when he spotted web cocoons of dead animals and unfortunate Zygerrian pirates.
There was motion in one of the webs, a lizard was caught in a trap.
“Perfect, for a field test.” Seeing the stretched webs and the live lizard ensnared in it, Ventress said.
Glitch swallowed, his hands twitching for his blaster.
“Watch and learn, trooper. Deep breathe,” Ventress stretched out her hand. And with the Force, she lifted the lizard creature off the web, and while still holding Glitch’s attention, she said. “The Force is in all living things. Someone who is attuned to it can feel its life, grasp at it, and hold it steady.”
Glitch studied how Ventress restrained the creature in mid-air, fascinated by the Force and reminding him of the Jedi Generals back in Coruscant. However, Ventress was far from the Jedi he fought with.
“And once it’s at your mercy,” Her eyes glinted dangerously, hatred years in the making. “You squeeze.”
Ventress curled her fingers and the lizard creature gurgled and twisted in her grasp, sending a shiver down Glitch’s spine.
He cried. “Stop!”
Her gaze slid towards him before she let go and the animal dropped to the grass in a loud thud. Disoriented, the creature blinked and shook its head before scuttling back into the forest.
“W-What was that?” Glitch asked.
“That, little trooper, is the Force.” She beaconed him to her side and gestured to the forest. “Now, you try it.”
“What?”
“If you want to get eaten, that’s fine by me,”
Eaten?
Then, an unsettling growl came prowling out of the forest, a shadow of a giant angry monster with eight legs. Glitch stepped back, reaching for his blaster but Ventress slapped his hand.
“Nope.” She ordered, ignoring Glitch’s offended look. “Go on before it eats you. Hands up,”
Apprehensively, he raised his hand, mimicking Ventress. Glitch’s stance faltered when the monster roared, a horrible sharp screech and scuttling of mandibles.
“Are you afraid, trooper?” She asked while Glitch’s hand trembled. “Good because that fear will keep you alive,”
The creature stepped further into the light, its gangly limbs scuttled forward and dozens of black eyes tracked their every move.
“It’s you versus them, your life or theirs. Only one gets to walk away.” She leaned in, her voice venomous yet soothing in his ears. “And it’s going to be you,”
The maw of teeth leaped towards them. In a panic, Glitch dove away, reaching for his blaster and shooting at the spider. The shot connected with one of its eyes and it roared, making it angrier.
“Oh, fu—” Glitch dodged when the monster leaped for him. “Ventress!”
Ventress, who was off to the side, watched him comically. “The Jedi teachings can only go so far, trooper. Some people learn by different methods!”
“And what method is this?” Glitch screamed.
“Self-preservation!” She laughed. “Now, use the Force, trooper!”
He blasted the spider again but it didn’t leave a mark on its thick exterior. “I-I can’t!”
“Then die!” Ventress almost sounded cheerful.
The monster barrel towards him, long terrifying legs giving it speed. Glitch yelled, shut his eyes, and raised his hand, bracing for impact.
But it never came.
He blinked, eyes wide. Suspended in the air, The spider fought an invisible grip but remained unharmed.
“I-I did it,” He breathed, thrilled by his newfound power. “I did it!”
A rush of pride came crashing down Glitch. He could use Force! He really did it!
“Good, now,” Ventress whispered. “Squeeze,”
His hands twitch, painfully clenching his hands causing the spider to writhe and choke, inch by inch squeezing the breath out of its body.
“That’s it,” She encouraged.
Lost in his power-hungry frenzy, Glitch squeezed further, pleasing Ventress. Long legs snapped inward, its body caving into itself. And when its beady eyes stared after Glitch, he gasped, seeing not anger but the fear. This creature was scared of dying, just like he was.
He lets go, dropping the creature. Glitch watched his fingers shake before gawking at the broken writhing creature, fighting to stay alive. In the wake of power, a wave of nausea settled in Glitch’s stomach.
“Well?” Ventress said, expecting him to act. “Finish it,”
Glitch muttered. “I can’t kill ‘em.”
“You’re a Clone Trooper, you’re born to kill.”
“...I can’t do it.” Glitch stared into its dozens of eyes, flickers of life still burned in them.
Ventress rolled her eyes.
He muttered. “I just can’t.”
“And you think letting it suffer a slow and painful death would be better,” Ventress argued, walking over to the barely breathing spider. “Heed this lesson well, trooper,”
She ignited her lightsaber and plunged it into the spider’s head, between its dozens of eyes. Glitch squirmed when it released a hiss before The Life Force completely drained from its body.
“Death is mercy, it’s releasing life back to Force.” Ventress lectured. “Where it can be free of suffering, where no one can hurt it.”
Glitch swallowed, still gazing at the dead creature at Ventress’ feet.
He was a soldier bred for war but when he could feel every Force that flows through every living thing, it gave him pause. He’s killed mostly droids, a small blessing for his weary soul but he had seen people die, his brothers mostly and it was agonizing, the Force escaping with their last breath.
Regardless of Glitch’s feelings, his brothers fought valiantly to the bitter end and they found peace in death, just as Ventress said.
But, Glitch could tell, there was a difference between killing out of self-defense and killing out of mercy.
“Is this sorta a Sith Code or—” He asked.
“I am no Jedi or Sith, I don’t use the Force out of some thousand-year-old creed. I use it for my own,” She rolled her eyes before sheathing away her lightsaber.
Glitch swallowed, feeling the power he unleashed was fresh on his mind, its raw strength.
“The Force you use It feels—” His hands twitched, his mind was buzzing with unchecked emotion, and his adrenaline pumping through his veins like he’d taken on a bunch of droids.
“Wrong?” Ventress guessed, expecting Glitch’s scrutiny.
The Force that flowed through the Jedi were calm, light, and balanced, unlike Ventress’s display which was chaotic and disproportionate but strong and passionate.
“No, not wrong.” He answered honestly. “Just different.”
Ventress’s eyes were wide before she settled into a snarky smile. “When the time comes, little trooper, you’ll have to kill to survive.”
“Unless they’re a seppie... ” Glitch said, staring at his Republic-issued blaster. “But I’d like to avoid it.”
Ventress said nothing and walked over the piles of the Spider’s web-covered victims. Glitch’s guilt eased, only a little, the creature she killed wasn’t an innocent one.
“You weren’t actually gonna let it eat me, right?” Glitch asked.
“Of course not,” Her sarcasm wasn’t a great comfort.
They had left the ancient Jedi temple and stepped into the jungle wilderness of The Dead Zone. They were making significant progress, mapping through the dark and twisted trees, avoiding pirate patrols, and killing monsters that would give Glitch nightmares for a dozen rotations.
It’s hard to admit but he and Ventress worked well together. She was a good teacher too, despite her methods being harsh, borderline chaotic, they were effective.
“My name is Glitch,” He said. “You never really asked.”
“So, we’re best friends now?” Ventress cooed sarcastically.
“It only seems fair, I know your name but you don’t know mine.”
She scuffed, studying him. “You’re too soft for this. Are you really a Clone?”
Sometimes, Glitch wondered too.
Ventress abruptly stopped, held her hand up to stop Glitch. “Someone’s coming,”
Before he could say anything, Ventress was gone from his side and he was lifted off the floor and tossed up into the trees. He shrieked when he failed to grab the nearest branch but Ventress snatched his arm.
“What the kriff?” He sneered but Ventress shushed him while she was still hanging on to Glitch’s arm as he dangled helplessly.
Beneath Glitch were two armed pirates, deep in conversation. If they had just looked up, they would have seen his dangling feet.
“Another lesson, Trooper,” Ventress whispered and he didn’t like her tone, mischievous and flirtatious.
“Please, don’t.” Glitch said softly when he felt Ventress’s grip slacked.
“Strike quick and true,” She unhooked one of her sabers and slipped it into his grasp.
She dropped him without further instruction and landed on the two pirates. All three of them crashed into the mud, Glitch was sitting on one of the pirate’s heads, rendering the poor soul unconscious while his partner, who was in tremendous pain, was under Glitch’s leg.
“Hello there?” Glitch said, igniting the lightsaber, the red glow made him frightening.
In daze and fear, the pirate pipped. “A Jedi?”
“Not the smoothest but you struck,” Ventress laughed as she jumped down next to him and offered a hand to help Glitch up.
“I could have just set my blaster to stun, you know.” He muttered, handing over her lightsabers.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Ventress purred.
She hoisted the remaining pirate, pressed his back against trees, and cuffed his hands behind its bark.
“Now, tell me Zygerrian, who runs this camp?” She asked, her lightsaber ignited to intimidate him.
But even with the flash of her weapon, the pirate snarled defiantly. “You aren’t going to get anything out of me, beautiful.”
“Oh, is that so?” Ventress said before gesturing to Glitch. “Push him,”
“Um, okay,” Glitch shoved the pirate against the tree with mild strength, enough to make them wince.
“No, you idiot, with the Force.” Ventress sounded exasperated.
“Oh,”
Taking a deep breath, Glitch raised his hand. The thug coward in fear for a few minutes, bracing for impact but Glitch’s hand just shook, nothing was happening.
“C’mon…” Glitch muttered, willing the Force for a push.
The pirate burst out laughing at Glitch’s failed attempt but was quickly slapped by Ventress’s backhand.
“Try again,” Ventress said.
“Oh yes, try again! This is a good show!” The pirate wheezed mockingly at Glitch.
“Quiet!” Glitch scowled, his frustration building.
“No, keep at it. You’ll get it eventually!” They laughed.
Glitch tried again but even at his best effort, there were no results. Between Ventress’s passive stare and the Zygerrian pirate openly mocked him, he was losing focus, his emotion running high.
He couldn’t swallow his frustrations.
Even with Force, Glitch was pathetic.
Instead of a Force Push, The pirate’s body writhed, choking on an invisible grip. Glitch didn’t realize he was doing it until Ventress grabbed his wrist, snapping away from his anger-fueled trance.
“That’s enough,” She said.
Glitch shook his head and witnessed the pirate coughing and wheezing. Hands shaking, he curled his arms close to his chest, suddenly feeling cold and hot all at once. “I was trying to push. I didn’t mean to—I never meant to—”
“Obviously,” She said nonchalantly. “The Force is well-attuned to your emotions, little trooper. Different emotions lead to different results.”
Glitch frowned. “So, which one is for the Force Push thing?”
Ventress took a deep breath, looking more exasperated by the minute. “That’s not how the Force works,”
“Then, how is it? I’m supposed to know what feelings to project when I wanna choke someone or not?”
“Oh, you can feel whatever you want, what you do with it is more important.” Ventress hummed. “Believe it or not, you can feel one thing but act in another way.”
She then raised her hand and levitated a delicate twig from the ground. The small branch danced in her palm as she explained to Glitch. “When you feel anger, your first instinct is to lash out, make others hurt.” Ventress curled her fingers inward, crushing the branch with the Force. “But when you Ignore that impulse and channel it somewhere else,”
Ventress, with her other hand, Force Pushed the pirate further against the tree, powerful energy that almost sent him flying if he wasn’t tied down.
“Results do vary, so be mindful,” Ventress warned.
Glitch groaned through his bucket. “So, I can just tell myself what I wanna do despite what I feel?”
“Basically,”
“Doesn’t sound basic,”
“The Force hardly is,” Ventress snorted before turning back to the dizzy pirate. “Now enough lessons, let's get to business.”
She pushed the pirate again with the Force and they gasped, feeling more lightheaded.
“Do you know this man?” Ventress showed him a holo of the Bounty’s face and the pirate nodded. “Tell me everything you know,”
“How many snipers?” Ventress asked.
Glitch adjusted his binocs and counted the pirates hiding in the giant trees above camp. “A lot,”
During the interrogation, they squeezed every single detail out of the Zygerrian pirate, mostly guard rotations, which tents were the barracks and their weapon cache and, importantly, where Ventress’s bounty, the boss, was hiding, which was in a mine north of the camp.
And after knocking out the informant, they did reconnaissance.
“Patrols?” Glitch asked.
Ventress hummed, remembering the details. “Shift ends every two hours, they start at the east side of the camp and rotate through the south. We could sneak past them but...”
She squinted at the abundance crates around the camp that held Force-knows-what, a discrete spot to pass through. However, they still needed to sneak past the patrol.
“Another lesson,” Ventress smirked.
“No,” Glitch said firmly. “I—uh—” He stammered. “I actually have an idea.”
Ventress blinked, surprised. “Oh, and what’s that?”
Glitch pointed at a Speeder parked at the corner and Ventress raised a brow.
“You idiots!” One of the pirates laughed.
“It wasn’t me!”
“Oh yeah? Then, what the Gungan’s backside is this?” The pirate pointed at his oil-covered face and the Speeder leaking black tar.
“I didn’t do it!”
Another pipped in. “It’s an improvement for your ugly mug!”
The pirates were too occupied with their laughter to notice Ventress and Glitch were dodging from crate to crate undetected until they reached the mouth of the cave.
“How?” Ventress asked.
“My brothers would pull pranks on each other,” Glitch paused, thinking about Horns and his other clone brothers when they were waiting around for their next deployment. “With nothing to do on the ship, we get bored.”
Ventress hummed, mildly impressed. “Not bad,”
They entered the tunnel, a few broken and chipped stalactites hung from the ceiling and barely any light. Using the darkness as an advantage, they crept in without incident and noticed more junk, like scattered parts, and used death stick tubes, as they went deeper.
“Eww,” Glitch sneered when he stepped on a gooey substance.
“Shush,” Ventress hissed.
There was a chamber at the end of the tunnel with lamps illuminating the room. Ventress and Glitch peaked above the crates and saw the Bounty, the Pirate Captain, was alone at his desk, snorting red dust, clearly high and occupied.
Glitch tapped her shoulder, catching her attention. She raised a brow when he gestured at the pirate and at his blaster that was set to stun before she caught on and nodded.
Quietly, Glitch tiptoed behind the pirate captain and tapped his shoulder.
The pirate turned his head and stared down at the barrel of Glitch’s baster.
“Hi,” Glitch smiled.
“The fu—” With a white beam shooting out of his gun, The pirate captain was knocked out, tumbling to the floor.
“I guess Republic blasters are useful for something after all,” Ventress purred as she walked over the bounty and restrained them with cuffs.
Glitch beamed at the praise. “What’s next?”
“The best part, we steal,” Ventress smirked. “We get to pick them clean before handing them over. No sense of wasting a few spare credits.”
She went over to the line of crates and left Glitch to his own devices.
Sighing, he scanned the lair, there were makeshift beds, used death sticks tubes, and illegal substances. It would be a perfect crime den if it wasn’t for the destroyed nodes of minerals and discarded drilling droids and pickaxes all around.
The pirates were mining something. It didn’t sit well with Glitch.
“A tiny wet cave in the middle of nowhere, not a good lair,” Glitch muttered, picking up a beaten-up mineral scanner and throwing it away. “So, why here?”
Ventress, who was pocketing a computer spike and credits, spoke. “A hellscape jungle moon in a backwater part of the Outer Rim, a good hiding spot, isn’t that what you said?”
“That can’t be all.” Glitch insisted. “There is an entire galaxy and they choose here, specifically, I have a bad feeling about this,”
“Don’t say that,” Ventress groaned. “Nothing good follows. We get what we can and get out.”
Glitch pouted at her. Despite his face being under the bucket, Ventress’s resolve crumbled at its intensity and she sighed. “Fine,”
She kicked open each crate, one by one, the content varies from explosive charges, illegal weapons to Death Sticks, typical for smugglers and pirates.
There was one crate left, the smallest one, no bigger than his arm. She pried the lid open and gasped.
Glitch whispered. “I knew it,”
Hundreds of shards, varying different colors, were inside the box. Like stars, they glowed and they sang, Glitch couldn’t explain. It was the Force.
“What is it?” Glitch muttered, peering inside the case.
“Kyber,” Ventress growled, scooping up the shards from the crate before putting them back. “Force-attuned crystals that power a lightsaber.”
“Woah,” he said with childlike wonder.
Then, the shiniest one caught his eyes. With trembling hands, he brushed off the other shards that buried the sparkling crystal.
Ventress asked. “What are you doing?”
But Glitch wasn’t listening, he picked up the single crystal out of the hundreds.
“This is one…” His helmet nearly muffled his sobs. “This feels different.”
The crystal felt warm even against his thick gloves. Glitch stared, it’s the light inside looked like the swirls of Hyperspace he loved so much, it felt like a hot cup of caf he and Horn used to sneak in the barracks, and it sounded like the laughter of his unit when their Jedi Commander cracked a joke.
The crystal reflected everything he was and he didn’t know why.
“A Kyber Crystal chooses its user,” Ventress said, almost nostalgic. “It’s yours,”
The excitement wavered for a moment, realizing the value of these crystals. They belonged to the Jedi, only they should have them.
“I can’t have this,” He muttered. “I am not a Jedi,”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not either,”
“You’re still a Force-user, I can’t do the things you do,” His self-doubts were showing, and yet Glitch couldn’t let go of his crystal.
Ventress held Glitch’s hand, curling his fingers on the crystal and beckoning him to take it. “You’re right but it still belongs to you.”
He was glad he was wearing his bucket because he couldn’t let Ventress see him cry.
Still holding on to his crystal, he stared at the hundreds more in the crates. There were so many of them and it belonged to someone, somewhere out there.
“The crystals don’t belong to the pirates, We should take them back to the temple.” Glitch said.
“Or we could sell them off to Black Market, turn a profit.” She suggested but he gave her an unamused look through his bucket. “Fine, we’ll stash the kyber in the temple. No sense in the Jedi getting on my case if pawn them off,”
Ventress gestured at the blaster rifle and valuables, like satchel rations and loose credits, lying around. “Wrap it up, trooper, and take something for the trip. That pea-shooter of yours has seen better days.”
A new weapon and some food would be good for the trip off the moon, assuming if they get out of here alive first. He picked up the brown satchel and shoved in the credits and food before picking up the rifle.
‘A nice weapon’ Glitch thought when he saw the modifications and scope, definitely better than his Republic issued blaster.
Ventress said. “Are you ready to go?”
Looking at the unconscious pirate captain still cuffed, Glitch asked. “How are we gonna get out of here?” They couldn’t exactly walk out carrying him.
“Let me handle our escape,” Ventress grinned, staring at the crates of explosive charges. “I’ll be back, watch the prisoner.”
He didn’t like the way she smiled, Glitch knew only destruction would follow.
Three trips back and several empty crates that once held explosive charges, Ventress finally returned.
Glitch asked, nervously. “How many charges did you use?”
Ventress hummed, waving the detonator in her hand. “All of it,”
“That’s enough to level the entire camp!” Glitch gasped.
“Then, we better start running.” Ventress grinned, hauling the bounty over her shoulder. “Grab the Kyber, this is gonna get messy,”
Glitch hauled away the small metal case of kyber with one hand, thankfully it wasn’t too heavy, and his new blaster rifle in the other.
They crowded the mouth of the cave and watched the pirates go about their day, unaware of the chaos that will be unleashed upon them. Glitch breathed in and out, feeling a soft pulse emanating from his kyber crystal, tucked inside his pack.
“On the count of Three,” Ventress started and Glitch couldn’t help but whimper.
“One,”
Glitch’s hands clutched the crate and his blaster rifle.
“Two,”
Ventress’s finger was hovering over the detonator.
“Three,”
With a push of a button, a round of explosions went off from all over the camp, sending everyone into a frenzy.
Ventress sprang into action first followed by Glitch, who was still shaking. With fire and screams spreading through the camp, they dived into the fray of panicked pirates and they were hardly noticed until one of them shouted.
“Intruders!” And the other shouted. “They got the captain!”
The shooting began, bolts whizzed by them.
“Keep running, trooper!” Ventress ordered, igniting her lightsabers and deflecting most of the fire.
She spotted the glint of a sniper’s scope in the trees above them and threw her saber at the sharpshooter, knocking them off the branches. Using the Force, it returned safely in her hands but not before hitting three pirates along the way.
“Nice shot!” Glitch said, pulling out the modified blaster and shooting the nearest pirate. The recoil was enough for Glitch to stagger and trip. If Ventress hadn’t tackled the pirate brandishing a knife, he’d be piled on and stabbed.
Ventress hissed, stabbing the pirate. “We need to get out of here now!”
In the corner of his vision, Glitch spotted several ugly Speeder bikes and he had a brilliant idea.
“Speeders!” Glitch pointed.
Ventress clocked what he suggested and cartwheeled towards him, deflecting blaster bolts and giving Glitch as much cover to reach the bikes. Ready for the recoil this time, Glitch fired at two pirates, shooting them right through before sliding into the nearest Speeder.
He placed the crate of Kyber crystals between his thighs and started the engine. This is one of the few times he operated Speeder, Glitch was a decent driver.
He revved the handles and put them into gear before shouting at Ventress. “Get on!”
She flipped into Speeder, her lightsabers were still drawn. Placing the sleeping bounty on the seat, she stood at the rear of the bike, perfectly balanced and in a defensive form.
“Drive!” She yelled.
Glitch didn’t ask questions and punched it to full speed with Ventress still standing and deflecting blaster fire.
They whizzed by the camp hastily, passing by angry pirates, bolts, and fire. Ventress focused on shielding them and slicing anyone who got too close while Glitch focused on driving.
For a moment, Glitch thought they could make it until he saw a distinct shadow with two shiny legs. He gasped. “AT-ST!”
Ventress turned to the horizon and, sure enough, a modified AT-ST with camouflage paint smeared into its face was aiming at them.
The sharp sound of rocket fire rang through the camp.
“Hold on!” Glitch yelled, banking left to avoid the rocket, enough to avoid the inferno but not the shock wave and they nearly fell off the Speeder.
“Bathashit!” Ventress cursed.
They narrowly escaped and wouldn’t be so lucky the second time. Ventress tapped Glitch’s bucket to catch his attention.
“New lesson, trooper,” She pointed one of her sabers at the modified AT-ST the pirates were using. “Know the enemy's weakness.”
“We really need to talk about your teaching methods!” Glitch hissed, maneuvering the Speeder through rocky terrain.
“You’re a Clone Trooper, you should know that thing’s soft spot!”
“It’s an AT-ST!” Another bolt whizzed by his head. “It’s not supposed to have a weakness!”
“Everything has a weakness!”
Glitch racked his brain, all the years of training and lectures in Kamino. He remembered his brothers calling it ‘Chicken Legs’ and laughing about it.
“It’s legs!” Glitch gasped. “If we can trip it up, it’ll be useless!”
Ventress looked up and saw a plethora of vines hanging overhead. “I know just the thing. Keep driving, whatever you do, don't stop.”
“What are you—” Before Glitch could ask, she flipped off the Speeder and jumped through the trees.
Glitch didn’t have time to stop because another round of blaster fire was whisking by his head. Heeding Ventress’s instruction, he sped through the camp as fast as the bike could take him, running over pirates who stood in his way.
There was still the AT-ST to worry about.
“Up here, trooper!”
Glitch looked up and saw Ventress swinging from the trees with bundles of thick vines in her hands.
“Use these,” Ventress dropped him the vines that were so long it was still connected to the highest branches. She then pointed at the legs of the AT-ST. “I take the left, you take the right.”
They were gonna trip it, a dangerous idea but it was a solid one.
“Sir, yes, sir!” He said out of reflex.
Glitch punched the Speeder to full throttle, zooming in between the AT-ST legs before circling back to tangle the vines around its ankles. Ventress, who swung from the trees with more vines in hand, went straight for the left leg and roped it tight before jumping to the right leg.
They went back and forth, tangling the legs of the giant machine, so fast the pirates couldn’t even get a clear shot. Finally, when Ventress was out of rope, she jumped back to moving Speeder gracefully and full of mirth.
“Now!” Ventress yelled as Glitch drove away, pulling on the vines, and made the AT-ST lurch.
Glitch hit the brakes hard and then banked slightly, drifting the bike to a stop. They watched as the pirate tried to maneuver the AT-ST but it was too caught in the rope trap. However, it wasn’t enough to topple it over.
“We need to Push it,” Ventress said.
Glitch stammered. “Push? But I—”
“Hesitate and you die,” She said. “We die,”
She was right, no matter how fast they go the AT-ST could blast them at any distance. They also can’t outrun it. Better to deal with it now.
“Feel one thing but act in another way.” Ventress reminded before repeating a part of his mantra. “The Force flows through everything,”
“...The Force flows through me,” Glitch gave a shaky nod before building up the emotion inside of him.
He and Ventress clenched their hands into a first, channeling the Force in one strong push. With their combined strength, invisible energy pushed the AT-ST to fall, their skinny metal legs caught in their trap. The pirates screamed when the excess fuel and rockets tumbled out the machine's chamber and caused an explosion.
“Yeah! I did it!” Glitch cheered when the camp began to catch fire.
Ventress, with a smirk, sat down properly on the Speeder, her bounty still tied and unconscious between her and Glitch. “Let’s get out of here, I have a bounty to cash in,”
He shifted the gears and raced away from burning camp.
“So,” Ventress started.
“So,” Glitch replied.
She asked. “Where in the temple did you hide the crystals?”
Glitch smirked, keeping his secrets.
“Fine, don’t tell me, we could both be rich selling it.” Ventress sighed as she threw her hog-tied bounty in the cargo hold. “Last chance?”
“You’re an evil woman,” Glitch laughed.
“And you’re a terrible Clone Trooper,” Ventress wasn’t looking at him but he could see a hint of a smile. “But I guess, you’re competent, Glitch.”
He nearly gasped hearing his name, it was the first time she used it. His voice was low and shaky when he said. “Thanks,”
They strapped themselves in and Ventress was at the helm, starting the engines of her small craft.
In the co-pilot seat, Glitch stared down the jungle hellscape, Draay Two. Weirdly, he’ll miss this place, the peace, and the quiet.
The engines roared once they broke the atmosphere and entered the vast nothingness of space. Glitch gasped seeing the stars again.
Draay Two was wonderful but it was nothing compared to the beauty of the stars.
Ventress set the course to another outer-rim planet before punching it into gear. The inky darkness bleeds away and is replaced by the blue and white colors of Hyperspace.
“Nar Shaddaa. Why there?” Glitch asked.
“The closest place to cash in my bounty,” She tapped on the console, making sure the ship was still on course. “There’s a shuttle that could take you to Republic space,”
He hummed, indifferent to her reasons but he could sense more from Ventress. Soon enough, She sighed. “Also, a good place for a fresh start, to go off-grid.”
And there it was.
Desertion, Glitch didn’t know how to feel about that.
Ventress finally asked. “What will you do?”
Glitch wondered himself, he couldn’t go back to the Republic or his brother, not with his newly found affinity with Force. He’d be hauled away to Kamino without question, never to be seen again.
Where does he go from here?
Glitch stared at the beautiful swirling lights of hyperspace, his hands clenching on his kyber crystal. He had the entire galaxy of possibilities and yet he was just as lost as he was on Draay two. “...I don’t know,”
Ventress glanced at him, her hands still on the control panels, calculating their destination.
“Bounty Hunting would suit you best, with your training as a Trooper, you’d fit right in,” Ventress suggested. “Cover that handsome face and your Republic would be none the wiser.”
He blinked, surprised at what she offered. “You’d let me work with you?”
She scoffed, a borderline between annoyance and amusement. “No, but I can give you some gear to get you started. Then, we go our separate ways.”
“Thank you,” was all he could say before the silence settled in.
Once again, Glitch stared at the lights of hyperspace, feeling the soft echoes of the Force pass through him. He sighed. “The Force flows through everything,”
He held his kyber crystal against the light, reflecting a shimmer of purple. Glitch finished. “The Force flows through me,”