Sergeant Buck couldn't help but feel sympathy for the two strangers standing before him. Both were obviously lost and disoriented. Though he'd only just met them, his soldier's instinct told him they needed assistance.
Buck called over the other five soldiers from his squad and introduced the superheroes to his team. "Men, this is Captain Steve Rogers and Lieutenant Sam Wilson," he announced.
When they heard that the two men were military officers with ranks higher than their sergeant, the five clone troopers immediately snapped to attention, saluting and shouting in unison: "Sir!"
Captain America and Falcon returned the greeting while observing them curiously.
"What are you guys?" Falcon asked bluntly.
"Huh? You don't know about us?" one of the troopers asked, bewildered.
"I'm sorry, but we have no idea what's happening or where we are," Captain America admitted honestly.
"You know nothing about what's going on? Really? The war with the Separatists? The Droid Army? The Galactic Republic? Nothing?" another trooper questioned, his voice indistinguishable from the first.
"Philip, don't bombard them with questions. Give them some space," Sergeant Buck gently reprimanded.
"War? Droid army?" Falcon repeated the unfamiliar terms. "Where exactly are we?"
Buck considered for a moment before asking, "Excuse me, but neither of you knows anything about the Separatist War?"
"Never heard of it," Captain America stated firmly. "No matter how desperate our situation, we wouldn't abandon our planet to flee to an unknown world engulfed in conflict."
"I thought our planet had enough problems," Falcon remarked with a wry smile.
A trooper standing on the far left spoke up sharply: "Naboo is a peaceful planet. It's tranquil and beautiful, especially under the night sky. This world is genuinely stunning."
"Don't mind Jolly. He fell in love with this planet the moment we deployed here. Dreams of retiring here after the war," the soldier closest to Falcon said with a grin.
"Shut up, Rick. You're just jealous you can't appreciate the beauty of this world," the trooper named Jolly retorted.
"All I see is boredom. Right, Parker?" Rick fired back.
"Pretty much," Parker agreed with a smile.
The soldiers engaged in lively banter, punctuated by laughter, while Buck simply shook his head at his squad's childish behavior.
Captain America found himself infected by their familiar camaraderie, a wave of nostalgia washing over him. Watching the white-armored soldiers joking around, his mind drifted to the sounds of battle and explosions, followed by familiar laughter—the laughter of his own teammates who were now missing. Unfortunately, he had no idea where they were, or even if they were still alive.
The jovial discussion only ended when their sergeant stepped in to restore order.
"Another question—are you all brothers?," Falcon asked the soldiers again.
"Yes, sir. We're all brothers, in a sense," Jolly replied, removing his helmet.
When all six troopers removed their helmets to reveal six identical faces, Captain America and Falcon widened their eyes in astonishment.
"You're clones?" Falcon asked incredulously.
"Yes, we're all members of the Grand Army of the Republic's Clone Corps," Philip confirmed with a smile.
"Clone Corps?" Captain America echoed quietly. He rubbed his temple, feeling overwhelmed by the flood of unfamiliar information in such a short time.
Buck noticed his confusion and stepped forward. "Don't overthink it. How about I show you around?"
"That's actually a good suggestion. We can't just stand here forever—it won't solve anything," Falcon agreed, nodding to Buck.
Buck replaced his helmet and said, "No problem. Please follow us, sir."
Captain America found his formality amusing. "You don't need to call us that. We're not your commanding officers."
"We're accustomed to it, sir," Philip replied matter-of-factly.
They followed the squad of soldiers to what appeared to be a marketplace or shopping center. The area bustled with activity—humans and aliens of various species Captain America and Falcon had never encountered before were engaged in conversation and trade. The marketplace hummed with a vibrant, peaceful atmosphere.
Captain America and Falcon spotted other clone troopers dispersed throughout the crowd, easily identifiable by their distinctive white armor.
As they walked, Captain America observed this strange environment with fascination. He wished he had his sketchbook to capture everything he was seeing.
Lost in thought, he was suddenly jolted back to reality when something bumped against his leg.
Looking down, Captain America saw a little girl with wavy light brown hair wearing a small ornamental crown, now sitting on the ground.
"I'm sorry," Cap said gently, helping the girl to her feet.
"It's okay. This is for you—I'm sorry I bumped into you," the little girl said casually, offering him a bright smile.
Captain America looked at the small bouquet of flowers the girl handed him. He smiled at her and said, "Thank you for your gift." Then he added curiously, "You seem to have bought quite a lot of things."
"Yes, because today is a very special day," the little girl nodded vigorously.
"What special day? My friends and I aren't from Naboo, so we don't know about local celebrations."
"Oh, today is the tenth anniversary of the unification between the Naboo and Gungan peoples," the little girl explained excitedly, rising on her tiptoes.
"I was wondering why this planet is called Naboo. I see now," Captain America nodded thoughtfully, then pointed to an amphibious being with fin-like ears nearby. "Are those the Gungans?"
The girl nodded.
"You're very smart," Captain America praised.
His compliment made the little girl's eyes light up with delight.
"What's your name?" Captain America asked.
"Ryoo Naberrie."
"My name is Steve Rogers," Captain America patted his chest and gave her a gentlemanly bow, causing the little girl to giggle.
"Ryoo, there you are!" A warm voice called through the crowd.
Captain America and Falcon turned to see a middle-aged woman approaching, her attention focused on the girl named Ryoo.
"Sorry, Mom. I made a new friend," Ryoo said shyly, looking up at Captain America so her mother would know who she meant.
"I hope my daughter hasn't caused you any trouble," Ryoo's mother said kindly.
"Not at all. In fact..." Captain America lifted the flowers Ryoo had given him, "She presented me with a welcome gift to Naboo."
The mother looked down at her daughter with an appreciative smile, while Ryoo seemed to grow even more shy under the attention.
"It's nice to meet you..." Ryoo's mother began.
"Steve Rogers," Captain America extended his hand and shook hers.
"My name is Sora Naberri. I hope you enjoy your time on Naboo," she said with a warm smile, then took Ryoo's hand. "Come along, Ryoo. Aunt Padmé is waiting for us."
"Aunt Padmé?" Ryoo perked up excitedly at this news. She turned and waved goodbye to Captain America. "Goodbye, Mr. Rogers!"
"Goodbye, Ryoo," Captain America replied with a smile as he watched them leave.
Falcon nudged a few clone troopers, playfully mimicking Captain America's interaction with the mother and daughter. Captain America shot him a mock glare, while the clone soldiers laughed. It surprised them how quickly they'd established a simple friendship with these two strangers they'd known for less than an hour—perhaps this was the natural camaraderie between soldiers.
Captain America shook his head in feigned annoyance when something in the distance caught his attention—something that clashed with the peaceful harmony of the city.
"Sergeant Buck, what are those?" Captain America asked, his tone suddenly serious.
Buck frowned and turned toward where Captain America was pointing. Upon seeing what had captured the hero's attention, he cursed under his breath. "It's those damn Separatists!" He raised his rifle and shouted, "Separatist forces entering the city!"
Sergeant Buck's warning triggered immediate chaos. Clone troopers on patrol rushed into action. Some soldiers guided civilians away from the imminent conflict, while others either returned fire or moved to strategic positions to prepare for battle.
"What are they thinking?! This is a Galactic Republic stronghold! We have an entire fleet defending Naboo!" Philip shouted in disbelief.
"Vulture droids!" Parker suddenly called out.
A dozen oddly shaped, claw-like spacecraft appeared in the sky, rapidly descending toward the city below. From their undersides came numerous glowing spheres that fell like rain and began exploding on impact.
The air filled with the sounds of civilians screaming and fleeing, punctuated by the sharp reports of blaster fire.
"What the hell is going on? Why are they attacking civilians?!" Falcon exclaimed, horrified.
"Those Separatist scum don't value life at all," Buck roared as he returned fire with his blaster.
"Let's show these maniacs what happens when they mess with the Republic's army," Parker said, a note of grim excitement in his voice despite the chaos.
"Looks like we'll finally get to scrap some of these clankers," Rick pointed to a droid transport ship that had managed to descend to the far side of the marketplace. It hovered at low altitude, seeking a landing spot, when suddenly it was hit by a barrage of missiles.
"Our fleet's responding!" Jolly shouted triumphantly, gesturing toward the LAAT gunships and ARC-170 starfighters now engaging the Separatist air forces.
"We need to move now! The people of Naboo are under attack—let's do our duty and take down those droids," Buck ordered.
Without hesitation, the six clone troopers sprang into action, ready to defend the city.