[Republic Commando] - 03(56)

Rebel camp? It was a village. The weapons and artillery pieces were real, though, and the citizens of Eyat didn’t appear to venture out of their city strongholds.

A’den dragged a chair across the planked floor and sat Sull down, hands still tied behind his back, while he stalked around the room. He gave Omega a glance that told them they would be watching in silence and taking notes.

“So,” he said. “Tell me when you first lost your enthusiasm for a long-term military career in the glorious Grand Army of the Republic.”

“Let me see.” Sull looked up theatrically at a point above and to the right. “I think it was when they blew my buddy’s brains out. Yes, I do believe it was.”

“Who’s they?” Darman asked. “You keep saying they.” A’den raised an eyebrow. “I’m doing the interrogation.”

“He asked if they had sent me, Sergeant.”

“Okay.” A’den patted Sull’s head, more like a couple of slow slaps by way of warning. “Answer the man.”

“You’re one of Skirata’s undisciplined rabble, aren’t you?”

“Proud to say so, yes.”

“You’ve got no love for the Republic, then. Ever wondered what happens to us when we’re no more use?”

“Yes. But I didn’t know vow had…”

Darman was sure every clone did. He thought about it almost as much as he thought about Etain, which was a lot. He held his breath, waiting for some insight. Somehow he knew it wasn’t going to be good news.

“So did Alpha-zero-two,” said Sull. “Remember him? Spar? First off the line.”

“I’ve got perfect recall,” A’den said. “Of course I remember. He went missing more than a year before we shipped out for Geonosis. And you lot were the second batch-after us.”

Darman marveled at the ability of any trooper to make it off Kamino. He must have been given help, and Darman could think of at least two people who would have done just that.

Sull leaned forward slightly, unable to sit back because of his handcuffs. “Spar saw what was coming and thought he would be better off taking his chances outside. And once we knew he was gone-well, quite a few of us started thinking.”

“Heard from him since?”

“No.”

“He’s doing a little bounty hunting and mere work now.” Nulls seemed to hear about everything one way or another. Darman never asked how or why, but the comment looked designed to show Sull that A’den had better intel than he did. “The family business. He’s not exactly trained to do anything else, is he?”

“The Republic sent someone after him to kill him.”

“Sure?”

“Sure. They didn’t get him, but my buddy Tavo decided to make a run for it a few months ago, and they caught him. Then they blew his brains out.”

“They.”

“Republic Intelligence agents. The Chancellor’s hit men.” Sull didn’t seem preoccupied with escape now. His mind was on events, and he looked past A’den as if there were someone standing to one side of him. He saw ghosts; Darman and every commando who’d lost close brothers saw them, too. “We’re not the only hired help in town.”

He’s just like us.

Darman realized he didn’t know the Alpha ARCs at all. Commandos and ARC troopers led totally separate lives on Kamino during training, bar necessary contact on exercises. Despite being part of Skirata’s company, Omega never spent time with the Nulls during those years, and they’d seemed every bit as scary and alien as the Alpha ARCs.

So Alpha ARCs had buddies. Somehow he’d seen them as solitary killing machines, incapable of forming bonds like the tight-knit commando squads, and then…

That s how everyone sees us.

Darman realized he’d done what most civvies seemed to. He’d drawn a line beyond which someone else was less than him, just as citizens thought all clones were flesh machines, wet droids as Skirata used to call them, things sent to die because they weren’t like real people and so it was okay.

If that s how easy it is to think that way …

Miner risked a comment. “So that’s the punishment for going over the wall. I’m not sure we should be surprised.”

“No, chum, you’ve got it wrong,” said A’den. “This isn’t punishment. Is it, Sull?”

All the fight seemed to have drained out of the ARC. Maybe he was just waiting to die. “No, because punishment is a deterrent. And to deter anyone, they have to know what’ll happen to them. But nobody gets told about ARCs who are executed.”

“Killed because they know too much?” Atin asked.