For all his time in this place, Doc hadnāt really done much to get himself acquainted with the area. Ā It was the first time heād had the luxury of being well and truly bored, with no threat of death looming over his head and no bodies piling up outside medbay due to his lack of action; there was simply nothing pressing to do, for once in his life, not even routine equipment maintenance, and he spent his first few weeks indulging in that boredom after the initial paranoia had abated. Ā As of late, though, he found that he was tired of being bored. Ā Heād taken to wandering the markets, taking stock of all the pointless trinkets the locals put up for sale, getting some cruel amusement from the knowledge that it was all worthless garbage that they had wasted their time on, and taking that small joy with him to the beach, where he would justā¦sit, for long periods, not doing much of anything. Ā (The hypocrisy of scorning the locals for wasting their time on making objects while this was his primary occupation never occurred to Doc.)
The waves reminded him of Kamino, as did his room, and it was strangely comforting. Ā He wasnāt one to place much weight on nostalgia, but back on Kamino, there was an order to things, and an atmosphere, a set of rules, that he understood. Ā You had one purpose, rightā to die for the Republic, and in the process, follow your assigned role in service to that organization. Ā Everything else was secondary, which made things simple. Ā All he had to do was keep himself from being at the bottom of the food chain, make sure there was always someone lower than him, and heād survive. Ā He did his job every day, followed orders, and sure, he didnāt like it, but that didnāt matter. Ā He had no other choice, and letting his sheer dislike for orders get in the way of his performance would have marked him as weakā so suck it up. Ā Grit your teeth and get through it. Ā What would Priest have said, if he saw you like this? Ā The looming threat behind every monitored action on Kamino was routine. Ā Soothing, even, to remember. Ā Here, the sound of the water brought that back. Ā It wasnāt sentiment that kept Doc in Nectar; it was necessity. Ā Without the reminder, heād lose sight of that purpose, the pointlessness of their existence, removed from the context of the war. Ā He needed to keep that in mind; he couldnāt lose his edge, now.
In addition to that, it didā¦ugh. Ā It did make him miss the presence of other clones, though he was loathe to admit it. Ā The constant irritation they caused him was useful in keeping perspective. Ā Their futile attempts at individuality, at making themselves anything more than numbers to a deathcounter at the end of all this, grated on Docās nerves, a whetstone for his temper. Ā It gave him something to focus on, instead of being full of an aimless energy with no outlet. Ā At least clones knew where they stood with each other.
The lack of familiar faces around finally gets to him, and itās like an itch at the back of his mind that he just canāt scratch. Ā Might as well go back to the room, then. Ā Nothing better to do out here. Ā Doc huffs out a sigh at no one in particular, and hauls himself to his feet. Ā He starts stalking back toward the residential area, butā further down the beach, thereās someone who looks unmistakably similar to Jango Fett. Ā Fuck. Ā Thatās just his luck, isnāt it. Ā He doesnāt really have a choice, at this point; he changes direction and heads toward the clone. Ā Heās not sure what heāll get out of this, exactly, but heās sure heāll figure it out. Ā Make it worthwhile.
The closer he gets, the more he notices about the otherā strangely enough, he looks old. Ā Not 99 old, notā¦malfunction old, but weathered. Ā Like heād actually been alive long enough to warrant those added years. Ā Doc wasnāt sure heād ever met anyone older than 15 in the GAR; the Kaminoans hadnāt been hatching them long enough for anyone to have had time to reach middle age. Ā The results, he observes, arenāt awful. Ā Fett aged well, the bastard. Ā (That said, thoughā if they were being abducted by other beings for some sort of inevitable death match in the way he thought, he doesnāt really see the logic in kidnapping a clone this close to expiration. Ā It seems like a poor choice, when there are several million other soldiers in their prime to choose from. Ā On the other hand, he figures even a crotchety old bastard like this was almost certainly worth more in a fight than any birthborn recruit. Ā Huh.)
Doc pauses a few feet away, settles his hands on his hips, and lets vague exasperation filter into his voice as he calls out to him. Ā āHey, old man. Ā Oriābuir. Ā Having some trouble?ā Ā He gestures loosely at the watch he was still fiddling with.
Hardwire had got good at reading people.Ā When you had to gather intel without punching in someoneās teeth, you had to learn to spot signs.Ā Follow body language.Ā This clone was young and his posture shouted arrogance.Ā That he almost immediately called Hardwire a Mandoāa term for grandpa stuck out as well.Ā Hardwire wasnāt sensitive about his age, but it did inspire some small amount of irritation when people opened with it.Ā But it was useful... if he used it.
He remained seated.Ā May as well play up the decrepit old man act, he figured, rubbing one knee as if it was bothering him. His eyes drifted from the watch, back to the younger clone.Ā If the kid was any bit as prideful as he thought, he had to wonder how heād feel about hearing the reverse.Ā His Mandoāa was rusty, but heād said the term for child plenty while raising Arana.Ā āNot at all, adiāka.Ā Just an old manās hobby while he tries to acclimate to...āĀ Hardwire gestures around himself. ā...whatever this place is.ā
Hardwire finishes setting a gear in place here, a spring there.Ā If you watched him do it, you wouldnāt ever guess heād only done this once or twice.Ā The watch was archaic compared to timepieces back home.Ā An analog mechanism with no digital parts.Ā Godawful to look at, but a beauty to work on.Ā It took him a minute before he realized heād stopped paying attention to the clone.Ā āSorry, I tend to get caught up in these things.Ā So, the elephant on the beach.Ā Youāre obviously a clone.Ā Iām figuring you donāt have much of an idea as to how we got here than I do.Ā Not much use asking about that.Ā Which leaves... personal questions, I guess.Ā Who were you with?ā
