What It Takes - Chapter 2

We were climbing a steep mound constructed to barricade the entrance to the canyon, that lay between the split in the plateau above the small village on the cliff face. It had been constructed to keep out the carnivorous animals that lived in the canyon valley; that we, no doubt, would eventually run into. We had been fighting here for the last 2 days, taking heavy casualties and losing badly before the General and his Padawan came and saved the day.

Out of the 30 brothers that came with me into battle, only 8 remained; and 4 were injured. I looked back towards the mangled village at my injured kin. I left the four injured with Sergeant Ten, who was constructing a make-shift shelter while the others who were propped up against the wall we had used as a shield against the droids, treated their wounds. This side of the village was just a collection of destroyed houses over looking a cliff-face with the wall of the plateau behind them. The rest of the village had been destroyed before we arrived, sending its survivors to the very houses we failed to protect.

I was told by a villager before the battle, that there used to be stairs here that went all the way up to the top of the plateau and stairs that descended into the canyon; that is, before the separatists strafed the farms, that took every construction with it. The stairs descending into the canyon though should still be there, and that's all that matters. The general went into this canyon and even though we were told not to follow; I have a feeling that he's going to need our help.

We reached the top of the steep mound and sure enough the stairs were still there. However, they looked in bad shape. Some of the steps were missing, and some of the supports had been knocked away; and every time the wind blew the structure would make a screeching sound that set my teeth on edge. "Great..."

I picked up a rock and dropped it over the edge counting the seconds it took for it to hit the bottom. 1... 2... 3... ........... 12... crack; It was a long way down. If the structure buckled there would be no chance of survival, even in this armor; they'd have to scrape us off the floor like clone pancakes, that is if the predators didn't enjoy us with some scrambled Nuna eggs first. We stood there and stared at the staircase like it was some new foe to defeat. It would be safer to use the cables, unfortunately the cable's weren't long enough to reach the bottom.

"Well we're not getting any younger." The brother to the left of me took a few steps forward and stuck a boot onto the deck of the death trap, testing its stability. He then walked a little further and jumped up and down on it a few times then shrugged his shoulders. His name was Kicker, and he was the joking type. While his squad-mate to the right of me, Clock, was the serious type. They seemed to be complete opposites.

"Seems sturdy enough sir." He aimed his gun at the floor. "Should I shoot it a few times to be sure, sir?"

"Quit fooling around Kicker." Clock said.

"Well then get over here... times a wastin'."

"Ha ha, very funny." Clock said sarcastically, and then turned to me. "We'll go first sir if that's okay with you. There's no point in you testing it If the structure falls. The General needs his Captain."

I grabbed his shoulder as he started to head towards the stairs; he turned to me. "Just what company are you in trooper?"

"Uh... Torrent Company Sir..."

"Exactly; and who is our General?"

"General Skywalker, Sir."

"Does the General squander our lives like infinite credits?"

"Uh sir?" Probably thinking 'yes, yes he does.'

"Like the general, I won't have needless sacrifices. We'll go down slowly and one at a time. Got it? The General may take us on exceedingly dangerous missions, but he would never ask us to sacrifice our lives when we didn't need to." I looked at him like I could see through his helmet and right into his eyes, giving an expression, given that if he COULD see me, would be one of intimidation. I tightened my grip on his shoulder. "Got it?"

"Sir, Yes Sir!"

Giving me a salute; I passed him and headed to the structure. "Kicker, start heading down."

"Sir, YES, sir!" He saluted with mock enthusiasm, flung his Deece 15 over his shoulder, and started down the dilapidated ruin of a staircase. Despite his outward gung-ho attitude, I could hear his nervous breathing betraying him in my helmets com-link.

Once he reached a quarter of the way down I stepped onto the platform and started my trek down the zigzagging, boxlike, spiral steps. The ruin quivered under my weight, and made a disturbing creaking moan as the wind whispered sounds of warning. I stood still for a moment to judge whether or not it was going to give way, nothing; just the tormentingly gentle wind, mocking me, touching the structure ever so lightly, making it shiver and shake as if the steps themselves could feel cold. I moved on. Taking the first steps slowly, they all held. "I wonder if I misjudged it and it's stronger than it look's and sound's."

"Heh, maybe it heard your insult and is making an effort to be strong, sir." Kicker said panting a bit.

I smiled. "Maybe; maybe..."

I was about a quarter of the way down now, and I felt the structure shiver again as Clock stepped onto the platform to reach the steps. I held the railing to support myself against the vibration. It was unsettling, but not threatening; it seems to be holding together just for us. On the return trip though, I don't think it'll still be here.

There were four missing steps ahead and it was going to be hard to stretch my legs over the gap without falling through. I bent my knees to prepare for a small jump, calculating the best way to manage my weight and not land my entire body weight all at once. I'd jump, then roll once, grab the railing and shift my weight. I took a deep breath and swung my arms. Something didn't feel right. I didn't know if it was all my weight remaining in one place too long, if i had found a weak spot or that the will of the structure had finally run out, but whatever it was or wasn't the result was the same; the step I was on gave way with a sickening metallic snap. I reached out for the phantom step before me; having only grabbed air I twisted myself and grabbed the rail of the flight below the one I'd fallen through. The rail bounced up and down as gravity fought to keep me falling. I waited for it to stop before I hauled myself up and over and planted my feet once more on the quivering metal. I sat down allowing my heart to finish its race, then continued down the staircase. I seem to be falling a lot today.

The rest of the trip down, was boring after that fall. All three of us made it down without falling to our deaths or being crushed by collapsing metal, which was always a bonus.

From the top of the canyon wall I hadn't noticed just how eerie it was here at the bottom.  Light was having a hard time stretching all the way down here and the walls had charred remains of a "something" that was at one point alive, sprayed all over it. I didn't try to figure out what it was.

I tried to keep my focus forward, but it didn't help that my helmet had a wrap around camera allowing me to see in every direction, with an overly excited sensor that would mark a potential contact every time there was a bigger chunk of that "something."

The ground was heavily battle laden. Pieces of droids were laying sleepily in every corner. The ground jutted out in heaps of jagged rock and clumps of feathered sand. It was hard to keep my balance in that. One foot would be trying to find a hold on the sprouting rocks while the other foot searched for support in a sinkhole; I used my hands just as often as my feet to walk at this point. At first I thought that it was the locals that had fought to protect this area, but the only strategic reason to protect this place was to keep the back entrance to the village protected. But why not just destroy the staircase? Why come down here at all? I wondered if it was really the locals down here fighting. I still didn't want to have to inspect those remains if I didn't need to.

The canyon floor was pretty quiet; except for our rasping, labored breathing as we climbed the obstacle course; with a few falling stones that bounced off of the canyon walls from up top, the distant battle above and beyond, and the sighing wind. Everything but our breathing and those falling rocks, seemed to be dialed down and distant.

"Sir, do we know where we're going? Or is the force guiding us?" Kicker asked.

"Shut up kicker. If you would read a manual every now and then you'd know that we're following the general's com-link signal." Clock responded.

"Wait... I can read? Wow! I'm amazing! I just come with all sorts of interesting features don't I? Are you stupid? Of course I've read the manuals, we all have read them and memorized them. What I meant was how do we know that when we catch up to the signal that the general will still be attached to it? He told us to stay behind because of the danger he sensed right? We could just be making a bad situation worse."

"The Captain knows what he's doing Kicker, and if he says jump, you say?"

"Shut up Clock."

"Don't tell ME to shut up, you're the one questioning the Captain."

"Now when did I ever question the captain? I was just voicing my concerns. I'm not just another pretty face you know, I've got worries too."

"Then you should be worried about the general. You're not allowed to have concerns."

"But.. but the propaganda says that I can.." He put his gloved hands to his helmet and made a mock crying gesture, and let out a few fake whimper's.

"You are the most disturbing soldier in the history of soldiers."

"Soldiers have a history? Thought that was called a history book... and thought they only talked about war. Man civilians are weird. Didn't know they had a whole book on different soldiers. I wonder what they'll say about me? The most disturbing clone soldier? Maybe they'll ask me to pose for a picture?! Wouldn't that be great!"

I started to pull ahead of them as they continued on with their argument. It was interesting to see the guts to actually argue in front of me. Most wouldn't even dare. So far as it didn't interfere with our non-mission and they didn't get too far behind, I didn't mind so much; the noise was a good distraction from the carnage and blood soaked rocks that were starting to stink.

"Shut up. If I was in charge I'd throw you in a cell."

"Ooo watch what you say Clock you're going to get in trouble. If you're not careful you may come across as some smart-ass trying to steal a leadership position."

"You know as well as I, that I can't get a leadership position. But that's not going to stop me from making sure rules are followed."

"So you don't deny it?! I knew it! You DO have dreams about wearing those skirts! And here I thought I misheard you the other night when you were sleep-talking."

"I was sleep-talking?!"

"He he."

"What did I say Kicker?! Kicker!! Stop ignoring me and answer me!"

"I don't have to say a thing. Plus it's great blackmail."

Snap!

What was that? I raised my fist calling a silent halt.

"I swear one of these day's...." He stopped dead in the middle of his sentence once he saw my fist. He and Kicker scrambled for a defensive position behind me, deece's raised, all focus. And then came the wind.

The wind howled and shoved us, trying to knock us over. I bent forward a bit to keep my balance, and then a thunderous noise came from our rear, switching off my helmets audio feed. We turned and saw that the wind and the staircase were dueling; and the wind was winning. Another gust rushed past us and hit the staircase with such force that the the structure finally gave up and crashed to the earth below it, succumbing to gravity after its defiant struggle to stay standing for so long. Dust bellowed from the wreckage, being channelled by the canyon and its high walls. It flooded our sight and I lost Kicker and Clock; but no one would move, not until the dust passed or settled.

It felt like an eternity was passing me by, waiting for the dust to settle. I knew though that it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. I looked for Clock and Kicker who should have been behind me, without moving from where I was standing. As I was about to call out to them, a scream filled my sensors. Then the blue light from the muzzle of a deece flashed and a deep roar from a large beast echoed off the walls.

I called out trying to find my brother. Who? Who's being attacked? "Kicker! Clock! Where are you!" I ran in the direction of the screaming, that was becoming more and more frantic. The dust began to settle and I could make out the form of a large round beast, Kicker on its back and Clock in its mouth. I couldn't tell who was screaming. It could have been me. All I knew was at that moment all I could think about was getting that thing away from my brothers. I charged waiting to shoot until I could get a clear shot. The screaming, who's screaming? I got close enough to see its blue and green speckled hide. I started shooting. The shots penetrated its flesh. It let out a tortured scream, it reared, sending Kicker flying; and dropping Clock before running away and disappearing.