Miles from Where You Are
Chapter One: To Come into My Life
Word Count: 2467
Trigger Warnings: Mention of Puking in one paragraph, Slight Panic Attack
Shout Outs: Thank you much @unconsciousxreality for beta reading for me (their story, Wound Care, is so beautifully written and more people need to read it)! In addition, thank you to the lovely peeps in the Discord I am in for giving me the confidence to actually post this chapter!
Prologue , Next Chapter
Mimi and Wraith waited patiently for the others of the Squad to show up.
It was awkward, Mimi could hear the shuffling of his feet, the rubbing of the plastoid against his body glove. “So,” she spoke. “Have you guys decided on a code name for the squadron?”
Wraith tilted his head, “Whisper Squad. We were assigned to be more of a stealth ops group. Depending on how this mission goes, we might even get our own ship.”
Mimi glanced up at Wraith. “Do you have a ship model in mind?”
“We will most likely get an Omicron-class attack shuttle.”
“Is that one you want?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want.” Wraith spoke plainly.
That strangely pissed her off. It does matter! “Well, if you could pick any type of ship, what would it be? I refuse to believe that a flight lieutenant doesn’t have a preference.”
“If I had to pick one…” he crossed his arms and while Mimi couldn’t see his face, she could tell he was deep in thought. “I would personally like a Nebula-class freighter. Laser turrets, hyperdrive, can fit up to four people so it’s great for small groups and it can hold up to 2 months of supplies.”
Mimi listened but she couldn’t hide the surprise from her face. Not because of the ship preference (she knows NOTHING about ships) but because of the fact he was willing to share his feelings and his wants so soon.
“Maybe we can look at some in the future. I’m sure your team will do amazingly that I can see about getting you guys a personal ship.”
“That’s a very nice gesture that you aren’t obligated to do.”
“If it helps you guys perform better, then why not?”
“You don’t know anything about space travel, do you General?” He chuckled.
“Nope,” she popped the “p” loudly and grinned at the clone.
He watched her for a good few seconds then laughed. She smiled even wider, pleased that he laughed.
The rest of the time waiting was just the two of them standing in comfortable silence. She understood that her personality was probably a culture shock for the clone, so she didn’t pry anything else out of him. At least for now.
Then the others showed up.
Oh boy, when they walked into the docking bay, it was LOUD. Their armor was clean. No tattoos or scars, no paint jobs to the new white plastoid—as if they were new off the assembly line. But they were people, not toys or weapons. Master Shaak Ti told her they were. It was clear that they were, so why do people need to be told? Especially since they breathe, eat, sleep and—
“Is that our General? Wow a Lepi! I heard Lepi women don’t leave their colonies often! General, why do you trim your fur so short? Is it a heat thing or what?!” One of the clones asked. “Do you trim all of your fur? Is it hard to find clothes that take into account your fur? How long does it take to grow back?”
“I… wut?” Mimi’s head tilted, her ears perked up like antennas, clearly confused.
“Shut UP, Hawk! You can’t just ask our General why her fur is a certain way.” Another clone elbowed him. “That was possibly very racist to Lepis and other furry races. I am so sorry for Hawk, General.”
“Sorry…” Hawk rubbed his gut. Wraith immediately smacked the cadet upside the head.
“Act like you have common sense, Soldier. This is my one warning to all of you. Are we clear? We are trained soldiers and we will act like it.” His voice was commanding and held presence as he stood in front of Mimi. His finger scanned to each one of the cadets and Mimi poked her head around his arm.
“Yes Sir!” They all saluted the Lieutenant.
Wraith moved and gave Mimi a small nod, making her straighten up.
“So what is everyone’s name?” Mimi decided to get the others to talk. If she was permanently assigned to this group, she’d need to know names.
“I’m Phoenix, I go by she/her pronouns please.” One clone stepped forward, and Mimi stared at her bright red hair in awe.
“Pretty…” Mimi whispered which made Phoenix rubbed the bottom of her nose with her index finger.
Beside Phoenix, the clone who asked about Mimi’s fur hygiene saluted again. “I’m Hawk! A shock trooper.” He had blonde short hair that was a bad dye job. Hawk then pointed next to him, “And this is Ghost, a tech specialist! He doesn’t talk much.” Ghost just nodded then saluted.
“And that leaves me. I’m Aron, the team medic,” The last one said with a small salute.
Wraith kept his helmet on as he checked everyone’s gear.
Mimi had never met a more rowdy bunch. So rowdy that the commanders who saw them off kept calling them a bunch of Shinies. But wouldn’t Mimi be a ‘Shiny’ too? Technically this was her first war time mission without Master Shaak Ti, and she was just as excited.
They laughed and joked as the LAAT Gunship took them to the drop off point. As Mimi politely listened to the troopers talk about their last trip they had to 79s, she realized she had never been to a club. Maybe she can go with them on the next shore leave. Mimi glanced in the direction of the cockpit where Wraith and Phoenix were.
Her heightened sense of hearing picked up Wraith saying something on the lines of “a bunch of kids,” which made Phoenix chuckle.
“Man, I can't wait to shoot some clankers!” Hawk bounced on his heels as they all put back on their helmets. Mimi watched intensely how they put the armor back on. “Maybe we can take out the whole base! Ya know, become war heroes and get all the ladies!”
“Let’s stick to the plans, boys… and ladies.” Wraith’s voice through their comms. “Sneak in, get the intel, sneak out. Preferably without any explosions.”
Hawk pouted some more and slowly nodded, “Yes sir.”
“Thirty seconds until—KRIFF!” Wraith’s voice screamed in the comms. The LAAT shook violently. “We’re getting shot at! Trying to maneuver.”
Mimi hit the open doors buttons on both sides. The gusts of wind made her ears flap, and her hair whip into her eyes. Her face scrunched in annoyance as she used the force to keep herself from flying out of the ship. “We need to abandon ship!” She screamed over the roar of the wind.
Smoke started to fill the main hold and she coughed aggressively. Aron reached for her when the LAAT shook violently again.
“Wraith, what about you and Phoenix?” Mimi asked. “Are you able to eject?”
“Our emergency ejectors are busted,” Phoenix’s voice was calm as the LAAT shook again.
Mimi shouted, “Ghost, Aron, Hawk, we will meet you when we land. Make sure you guys use your jetpacks. If you don’t hear from Wraith or me in ten minutes, contact Command. Is that clear?”
“Yes, General.” Hawk nodded and he jumped out of the LAAT with Ghost and Aron.
Quick, you need to be quick. Mimi lit up her lightsaber tonfas and a soft magenta laser blade appeared. She stabbed the outside of the LAAT next to the door and slowly climbed the crashing ship, using her tonfas climbing picks. She made it onto the LAAT and got a good look around.
The terrain was red with flames and dark smoke clouds floated into the sky. The orange trees below her shook from the explosions. If it wasn’t for the war, she would say this planet was gorgeous during the setting suns. Everything had an angelic glow, even the smoke that threatened to fill her lungs.
There Mimi saw multiple Republic ships being shot at and down. Her blood ran cold, and her eyes went wide. Her breathing quickened at an alarming rate as fear coursed through her. She wasn’t fit for this, she was just a Consular! Her skills are for helping civilians, not going into warzones! Calm down, Mimi, they need a Jedi, not a panicked mess. Master Shaak Ti asked you to do this, you can’t let her down! Mimi breathed in and out a few times and closed her eyes. Slowly, she gained her courage. Then she ran to the glass of the cockpit, attempting to use the force to keep herself from being thrown off.
Phoenix and Wraith stared at the Lepi Jedi in absolute shock when she made it. “Are your Jetpacks ready?!” Mimi screamed over the rushing wind, looking at the two of them.
Phoenix immediately nodded and Wraith looked at Mimi like she was a cosmic being.
“Uh, yeah?” He looked at this wrist device to see if everything was alright.
Mimi ignited one tonfa and slashes at the glass. “Unbuckle and eject!” She shouted as the mangled canopy flew off the cockpit. Phoenix followed orders instantly and Wraith attempted to unbuckle but the ship got hit again. Mimi almost lost her footing, “Dank Farrik!” She flailed her arms slightly to try to keep her balance.
“Seatbelt is jamm—WAIT WAIT WAIT!” Wraith screamed as Mimi sliced the seatbelt with precision, not giving him a second to explain. He got his jetpack ready as Mimi finally saw what was shooting at them. Turrets. Turrets on a drawbridge leading to a huge city that wrapped around a BIG castle. That wasn’t in the dossier! The dossier stated a building where the intel was, potentially guarded! Is THAT it?! The castle had multiple Separatist ships around the city. Did the Separatists build a city in a sort period of time between the mission briefing and coming to this planet? Mimi noticed a clear landing zone near the top of the castle which they wouldn’t be landing on. This whole mission doesn’t make sense. Was the intel faulty? Her breathing quickened again with even more panic than before.
Was she leading these soldiers to their deaths?
The ion cannon hit them with an energy blast that messed up their shields and devices. Wraith attempted to get out of his seat and speak when another energy blast smacked their LAAT a meter away from Mimi’s feet, breaking off a bunch of debris. The debris smacked her in the face, knocking her out cold. She quickly lost her balance and flew off the ship.
“Kriff! Kriff, kriff, kriff!” Wraith activated his jetpack quickly and ran on the top of the ship, using the wind to increase his sprint speed. He leapt, and boosted to reach Mimi. It took a few seconds, but he was able to grab her by the waist making them tumble into the forest below.
~*~
How much time had passed? Mimi didn’t quite remember falling when she came to. There was shouting, and everything smelled like burnt ozone.
“Command is bringing backup.” Phoenix’s voice sounded muffled to Mimi. “Another squad. Commander Cody told us to stay here.”
“We don’t need another squad stealing our glory!” Hawk responded loudly.
Mimi realized her head was resting on someone’s lap; as her mind cleared and vision focused, she saw Aron above her. He cleared his throat and cut into the other two clones arguing.
“We need help, we don’t have a ship to leave on.” Aron tried to sound calm but was clearly annoyed too.
“But what if it is the Wolfpack? Commander Wolffe is gonna chew our heads off!” Hawk was in full panic mode.
“Calm down, the Commander will probably understand.” Wraith was chewing on the inside of his cheek.
“General, are you okay?” Phoenix spoke softly, and all attention was suddenly on the Lepi Jedi who was still trying to find her surroundings. Where was Ghost? Was he okay?
“G-ghost?” She coughed; her throat felt dry and clogged.
“He’s fine, he’s keeping watch. However General, I’m going to turn your body onto your side. You might have dried up blood in your throat from your nose. Also I need to check for any injuries.” Aron spoke calmly and gently turned her body.
Her head throbbed as the world spinned around her. It was like she was tied to a carousel that was going at max speed. As Aron moved her gently, she immediately whined and shut her eyes tightly. Her breathing accelerated. Her eyes couldn’t focus as she looked around frantically. “Gen—” Aron started.
The puking was immediate. The feeling of her jaw aching like it was going to fall off as the bile and dried up blood left her body. Her heightening sense of smell made it burn her nostrils along with her throat. Tears stung her eyes as she squeezed them shut.
“Oh shit!” Hawk screamed and jumped back.
“General!” Phoenix’s voice cracked.
“Everyone shut up!” Aron injected Mimi with a small needle in her shoulder. Mimi’s breathing slowed and she fell back asleep.
Wraith’s voice cracked. “Let me help, Aron.”
“No can do. As the team medic, when someone is injured, I outrank everyone.” Aron looked at Wraith.
“Please. At least let me help. She… she saved mine and Phoenix’s lives.” Wraith crouched next to Aron after Mimi had passed out again.
The Medic stared at Wraith, eyes squinted as he debated the pros and cons of everything.
“Well, you can carry her if needed. But I need to run some scans to make sure that wasn’t a reaction to a concussion.” Aron sighed, giving up. “We also can’t go anywhere until backup shows up.”
Ghost, who was sitting in a tree keeping watch with his binoculars, tapped the comm device twice and everyone went quiet. An ally ship was landing near them almost as if Aron’s remark had summoned it.
As Whisper Squad readied for the reinforcements, Wraith got a good look at the ship; a modified Omicron-class attack shuttle with a unique nose art of the Senator of Naboo.
The engine was louder than normal. Wraith couldn’t tell if it was because of the fear of losing their potential Jedi or if their engine was modified also. Whoever did the modifications had a great understanding of the inner workings of Omicron shuttles. Clouds of orange-redish dust poofed up as the ship landed and everything was eerily quiet right before gangplank descended. The door swooshed open.
And out stepped five unique looking clones in black and red armor. Each one looked unique due to their stances and how their armors were painted. Clearly, they were really special if they were allowed to modify their armor that much.
“Oh shit! I heard of them! The defectives!” Hawk whispered loudly to Phoenix who slapped his shoulder in a silent warning to shut up.
Wraith took off his helmet, revealing him to be a bald clone. “Clone Force 99.”
