So, I got the 120 days of inactivity thing, so...
Yeah. New short. Be happy!
I got a bug when re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-reading O66, which then morphed into something completely different. Which, when you combine the two into some terrible offspring:
Forgetting the Flames
[spoiler]The figure pushed the burning embers aside, rising cautiously from his resting place. He wondered why he was trapped in the burning building. Suddenly a thought struck him as well as another cumbersome piece of durasteel, superheated to several hundred degrees. Where was he, he wondered, and why is this place on fire? His armor protected him though; he was thankful for that. Eventually, he stumbled outside, where he promptly collapsed, and his consciousness slipped away.
Several hours later, the figure awoke in a silk-white bed, sans his armor, surrounded by blinding light...and a scarlet-haired human female.
"Uh..."
"The name's Tara...Tara Starkos. You?"
"Xeph."
"Xeph? What's with that armor?"
"I...I don't know."
"What happened back there? Was that your house?"
"I don't know."
"All you know is that your name is Xeph?"
"Yes."
"Well then, I took the liberty of patching you up. Even with the armor, you got yourself some third-degree burns on your right thigh, and on your left hand. I'm sorry a doctor didn't see you, but I'll have to do."
"Thank you, Tara. Why'd you help me?"
"I saw you unconscious, with a burning building behind you, so I figured..."
"Wait. That building...it...oh. Oh no. Ex. We need to go back."
"What is it? You're in no condition to go back."
"There may still be someone in there. Someone close to me. My...brother."
"Who?"
"His name's Ex. Just drive me back."
Tara's face visibly softened, and she relented. Xeph shakily rose from the bed, and set to work donning his armor.
"No. Don't even try. It's ruined."
"I need the helmet."
"Take it with you. If Ex is still in there, we just need to find him."
Tara grabbed the man's hand, and led him swiftly yet cautiously out of the apartment and into a speeder.
* * * * * * * * *
Ex coughed, tried to grasp a breath, but the rubble...too heavy. The wheezing man gasped as his vision blurred, then groaned as the smoldering support beams were lifted away, and an ethereal being, a red-haired saint, picked his battered body from the ashes, and, together with his own reflection, carried him to salvation; bliss; paradise.
* * * * * * * * *
"No! He just...! He can't die!"
"I'm trying all I can, Xeph, but I don't know how bad his wounds are! Take his armor off!"
"No, no, no! Ex! We're losing him!"
* * * * * * * * *
A moment of bitter resignation clouded the site of the former Tau Barracks on the lower levels of Coruscant. Yet another clone had joined the ranks of the dead. And the only clone remaining knew nothing of what had happened. Why? What was his involvement in the matter? And why would he forget?
* * * * * * * * *
Back at the apartment, Xeph tossed and turned in the bed. The ever-vigilant Tara awoke from her latest grapple with sleep, and sat up, worried about the clone.
A therm-det in his hand, disassembled, laying before him. His squad sitting around him.
"I dare you, snip the wire. See what happens."
"Jez, I told you, that wire sets the thing off. I snip that, it'll trip it, and we'll all be dead."
"That's just what the Kaminoan spooks told you. Believe me. I'm the demolition expert."
"Xeph, don't listen to him."
"Ex, stay out of this! This is between him and me. Go on, Xeph. Snip it."
"Okay..."
The figure bolted upright.
"I did it. I killed them. I killed them all. Me."
"What are you talking about, Xeph?"
"I remember now. My brother dared me to snip a wire. I did, it blew up the whole place. If I hadn't been wearing my armor, I would have died. Unfortunately, Jez wasn't. The rest died when the building burned down."
"You're not responsible, Xeph. Jez told you to, it couldn't have been you."
"You don't understand. I listened to him. I am responsible."
"You're not, Xeph."
"I am. I have to go turn myself in now."
"No, you don't! Don't!"
"You can't stop me, Tara. I murdered one hundred and fifty people. I. Am. A. Murderer."
As the clone got up and strode to the door, Tara bolted in front of him.
"Stop."
A glint caught Xeph's eye. Years of training as a commando honed his instincts, and he knew a sniper when he saw one. He thrust the girl to the floor, but widened his eyes in death as the plasma bolt melted the interior of his cranium to slag. He sank to the floor, and his glazed eyes settled on Tara Starkos.
"W-w-what...the..."
Then she broke into tears.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Crazy, huh? And this actually, sorta, was indirectly inspired by a dream I had. So you also see a little bit about me.[/spoiler]