Oi, everyone! It's me, Ocean, and I'm here with a new Blog post! Today, I bring you the first chapter of my Star Wars fanfiction, "An Unlikely Pair"! Don't forget to give this a Diamond or a Favourite if you enjoyed, and Subscribe for more content like this!

And as always,
Peace, love, and tridents!
~Ocean

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The day I met Aquarius was a day that would change my life for days to come.

Sorry, I should really introduce myself. Name's Giles, Giles Shadowblade. Well, my last name's really Astor, but I can't stand how it rolls off peoples' tongues. I'm a human from the town of Wickhill, on the planet of Zaruta, a scum-filled, war-torn place of people looking for food, shelter, and water while gangs and warlords rule the streets. The council collapsed long ago, giving way to crime and anarchy to set in.

I wasn't always the renegade I am today. I was once the son of a very successful family. My father's name was Reginald, and my mother's name was Lavender. They both had dark hair and light skin, and my father had bright blue eyes, while my mother had eyes as brown as chocolate. People always said I looked like her, but I never saw it. I was that one kid that never was interested in inheriting my fathers' factory, which made firearms for the Republic. Sure, I loved guns; I loved how you could feel so much power with one in your hands, how the laser bolts fired out of the barrel and hit their targets. Then the council fell through, and the planet fell with it. Homes were destroyed, gangs and factions were formed, and to top it all off, my parents were killed by one of said gangs, The Voidwalkers, headed by the Zabrak crime boss Rusok B'qaa.

Not many have escaped the clutches of this planet, and the few who do don't make it past the Separatist ships that are scattered around the Outer Rim. That is, if they haven't been planning on meeting one or two like I have. You see, I've been planning something so daring, and so dangerous, that it just might work. There have been Clone troopers on Zaruta fighting the gangs for a while now, thanks to a frantic transmission to Republic forces. They usually land their gunships and let troops out, which would give me the perfect opportunity to hop onto the ship and fly away from this forsaken place.

Everything was in place for my plan that day when the gunships landed. I had gone through it countless times in my head, and packed some heat, as well. My combat knife would come in handy in almost every situation, as would my laser pistol, which I had nicknamed "Chaperone". I threw on my armour and trenchcoat, and headed out from my makeshift shelter, my knife strapped to my leg, and Chaperone in her holster.

I walked past the rotting corpse of a Rhodian, which had become a common sight for me, since I would probably see about six or seven dead bodies in the streets every week. That’s what happened when there were leaks in a gang; they simply plugged them up. Their methods were harsh, but they worked. They made sure to put fear in people so everyone knew which gang was on top, which, in this case, was The Voidwalkers. They would kill anyone they wanted, do anything they wanted, and take whatever they wanted. You didn’t mess with them, unless you wanted one between the eyes. They were the kings of the streets of Zaruta, and everyone knew it.

I took some back alleys, and finally got to one of the drop sites. I hid behind one of the crates, and heard a gun click from behind me. I turned, and was met with the dark barrel of a rifle.

“Well, well, well,” as raspy voice said. I could see that it belonged to a Trandoshan. “If it isn’t little Astor!” he laughed.

I snarled. “What do you want, Rothgar?” I spat. He was one of many members of The Voidwalkers, and it looked like he had come with company, too.

“Oh, nothing much, other than the way to this drop site that the Republic uses.” he said, still holding the rifle to my face. “Oh, wait, you already led us there!” he laughed. The rest of his party roared with laughter.

Suddenly, there was a loud “boom” as the sound barrier broke. The gunships were coming in.
I saw the dark shapes coming in fast, their distinct howl as they flew down rushing through the wind. Rothgar looked up, and grinned.

“Time to party.” he snickered, and my vision went black.

---

When I woke up, I had been dragged to somewhere. My head ached, and I looked around at where I was. I saw Rothgar talking to Rusok, and I immediately reached for Chaperone. My hand rested on the metal of my belt, and I found the holster was gone. The Zabrak saw me awake, and laughed heartily.

"Ah, so you've woken up, I see." he said as he walked over to me, brandishing his vibroblade devilishly. "I've taken the liberty of giving that silly toy you own a rest from its holster." I saw Rothgar twirling her around like some sort of show-off, and I felt the blood rush to my face.

"Silly toy?!" I thought, clenching my fists in rage. "How very dare he call my weapon a toy!"

The Zabrak chuckled, as if he were a little child. "Oh, my, are you missing it already?" He snickered. I could hear the vibroblade's soft humming, and he brought it close to my face. "I think a nice reminder of who's in charge will do you some good." He made to carve something into my face, but a blaster bolt shot the knife out of his hand. I saw it landed in his eye, and he fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

I looked for the shooter, but couldn't find them. Rothgar had run over to Rusok, and pulled the blade out of the Zabrak’s now-disfigured face. The Trandoshan watched his leader writhe in agony, and then turned to me, his nostrils flared in rage.

Another blaster bolt fired, and hit the lizard in the side of the head, blood splattering from the spot where it hit. I heard a strangled gurgle escape the Trandoshan's mouth, and a trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth. A Clone trooper came out of the brush, and a few more followed. The first touched the button for his comlink and said, "Targets neutralized, sir. Further orders are being awaited." I heard something muffled from the other side, and the Clones surrounded me. I watched as one of them searched the now-dead Rothgar, and pulled the pistol from his hand.

“I think this is yours.” he said, holding it out to me. He took his helmet off, and I saw that he was grinning. An uncommon thing for a Clone to do, or so I’ve been told. I took Chaperone, and he also handed me my holster. “Found it on the lizard.” he said bluntly. I nodded, and thanked him for helping me.

He shrugged. “Eh, it’s nothing,” he replied. “After all, it’s what Clones were made to do.” He looked to be a Lieutenant, judging from his blue pauldron and waist cape with blue bordering. He also wore a different helmet than the others. It had what looked to be a rebreather on it, and deep blue markings that I’d never seen before on the forehead. His armor had an oblique sort of shape on it, and blue portions on his legs. He also had a strap going across his chest that went around to his back, and there was a chaingun attached to it. He must’ve been a heavy.

Rusok had crawled away, the blood from his wound bright on the dark rocks of the Zarutian terrain. “I’ll get him someday...” I thought venomously, my grip on my Chaperone tightening. The Clone handed my knife to me.

“We found this while following the trail the Trandoshan made through the forest,” He said. “He’s not terribly great at covering his tracks.”

I nodded. “Well, they’re not very well-known for their stealth skills.”

The Clone frowned. “Indeed,” he replied, and looked at the blood on the ground.”Huh, Zabrak...cold-hearted, full of bloodlust.” He looked back up at me. “We’re not dropping troops anymore, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

I took in a sharp breath. “You’re...just...leaving them here?” I stammered.

The Clone shook his head. “No. We’re saving lives.” he replied. His blue eyes stared into me, and I felt as though he would shoot me at any moment. “We’re taking people from this place as fast as we can, but the gang members are thinning our units out. I might be able to get you and the rest of my new platoon here on one of the gunships, but that’s last we’re taking back.” He looked over to the other Clones, who were joking and conversing about numerous things. “Those boys don’t know how bad their lives will get in a few months.” he sighed. “Not as well as I do, that is.” He smirked. “C’mon, let’s get going.” he turned, putting his helmet on. “And just so we’re clear, I’m in charge here, so don’t go and get yourself killed.”

I nodded. “Yes, sir.” I replied, and followed him into the brush.

We eventually got to one of the outposts I had seen so often, and the first Clone got me into a gunship. He said he’d meet up with me later, to get some rest. I apparently took a nasty blow to the head, and there was a large bruise where Rothgar had knocked me out. I did as he said, and slipped into a deep sleep, one of which I had desired most on Zaruta.

---

I woke up suspended in a tank of blue liquid, with a harness around my chest and a mask giving me air. I panicked, and swam to the top, banging on the top, my screams muffled by the mask. I saw a doctor look up and point, saying something to her colleagues. They all rushed over and open the top of the tank, allowing me to swim up and pull the mask off, taking in a big gulp of air.

The doctor who had noticed me helped me out, and dried me off. I saw that she had golden hair and green eyes, with pale skin like mine.

“Well, look who’s woken up!” she laughed. “Giles, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s me,” I said. “What’s that stuff you put me in?”

She looked at me like I had grown a second head. “You’ve never heard of Bacta fluid?”

“No.” I replied. “They don’t have it on Zaruta…”

“Well, think of it like the best medicine there is in the galaxy.” she replied with a smile, and lifted my hair out of the way, looking at my forehead. “Hm, that bruise went away pretty well, actually.”

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I’d never had anyone touch my forehead before, with the exception of my own mother. The girl giggled when she saw my face, and moved away.

“My name’s Clarice, if you’re wondering. Clarice Lovett.” she said. “I’m one of the nurses here on the Star Destroyer Cyprus.”

“It’s a pleasure, Clarice.” I said. I suddenly felt a breeze, and realized I was only in a pair of white boxers. They must’ve done that when they put me in the tank. “Ehm…do you happen to know where I could find my clothes?” I asked sheepishly.

Clarice nodded. “They should be on one of the operating tables. They’re the body armour and the black trenchcoat, I assume?"

I nodded, my ears feeling hot. "Yeah, that's right." I walked over to the table, and pulled them on, looking around. "Uhm...I think I'm missing something." I replied.

Clarice giggled. "I think these are yours as well," she said as she tossed my goggles to me.

I grinned, catching them. "Y'know, I like you, Clarice." I said. "Thanks for the Bacta soak."

She smiled. "Glad to help anytime." she replied. "You should probably head to the bridge, Giles...Captain Agnes is waiting for you." She said as she turned around, going back to her colleagues and giggling with two of the other female doctors.

"See ya!" I said as I walked out the doors into the grey metal corridor, which was mostly empty, with a few officers in crisp, freshly ironed grey uniforms. They nodded to me, and I returned the nods. I stopped them to ask where the bridge was, and they pointed to a large blast door.

"It's that way," one of them said. "I'm assuming you're the kid they picked up from Zaruta."

"Yeah, that's me." I replied. "Giles is my name. Giles Ast- er, Shadowblade."

The officers looked from one to the other, muttering something. The one that had spoken to me nodded. "Ulysses Vanderbilt, from Alderaan," he replied. "Pleasure to meet you." He held his hand out, and I shook it. “You’d better get going, though; Miss Agnes doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

I nodded. “I’ll take my leave, then.” I watched Ulysses and the rest of the officers walk away, and walked to the large metal door. It opened, and I saw a woman with a grey uniform like the men before standing on the bridge. I walked up to her and cleared my throat. “You wanted to see me, m’am?”

The woman turned, and I could see she was clearly from the planet that they called Earth. She had skin that was almost as pale as mine, with red freckles covering her cheeks, and bright red hair that looked like it was on fire.

“Aye!” She exclaimed, grinning. “Ye’re jus' lad ah was keekin’ fur!”

I jumped, surprised at the cheeriness of the woman. I'd heard that the captains in the Republic were always strict, with mouths pulled so tight that it seemed like their lips were stuck together.

"H-Hello..." I stammered. "Giles...Giles Shadowblade, m'am."

The woman nodded. "Ah see," she replied. "An' ah jalouse ye're wonderin' wa we brooght ye haur, too!"

I looked at her oddly, not having understood a word she had just said. "Uh..."

The woman laughed. "Oh, Ah'm sorry, Ah forgot 'at nae a' fowk talks loch me," she said with a smile. "Ah'm fae tha' coontry a' Scootlund."

I nodded. "I see," I replied. "I'm assuming you're Captain Agnes?"

She laughed again. "Th' a body an' only!" She said. "An' Ah ken fa ur!"

I blinked. "Y-You do?"

Captain Agnes grinned. "Oh, aye! Aqua'ius told me aboot ye," she replied. "But we better gie tae business, sha' we?"

I stopped her. "Aquarius?" I said. "Who's that?"

Captain Agnes looked at me like I was mental. "Ye've nae heard a' Aqua'ius??" She exclaimed. "Wa, he's the lad fa rescued ye!"

I realised that she was talking about the Clone with all of the blue on his armour. "Oh, him! Yes, I'm aware of him."

Captain Agnes nodded. "Noo, we need tae git tae work." She waved me into her quarters, and closed the doors behind us.