He knew he had one shot, and he had to make it a good one. His hand was steady, his finger hovered near the trigger. One eye stared through the sighting scope, the other closed tightly to keep out all distractions. The rest of the world vanished as he lined up his shot. There was nothing else but his target now: a man blissfully ignorant of his fate. He held his breath and fired. He did not wait to look at his handiwork. There was no need; he knew he had hit the mark. Once the shot was off, he rolled from position and stashed his weapon.
The man's head snapped back with the contact, his body jumped and convulsed. Red sprayed and splattered everywhere.
Laughter erupted and reverberated in the barracks. Instinctively, the man reached to his forehead and felt the spot where the tintball had struck. A welt was already forming. Through the paint that dripped down his face, he studied the room, his attention landing on the one crewman who seemed too uninterested in what had just happened.
"Onasi! You fracking bantha ass!" he yelled as he sprang to his feet from his bunk.
Carth Onasi lazily rolled over to look down at him, a smile spread wide across his face. "Welcome to Red Squad, Airman Riggs!" he laughed. A new round of snickering and a few calls of 'good shot' floated from the crowd.
"Funny guy, huh?" Riggs yelled back as he rubbed his forehead, smearing the paint. "You are a damn jerk, you know that?"
"Guilty as charged!" Carth boasted as he reclined back onto his top berth and rested his hands behind his head.
"This one's tough, better watch it!" the man in the bunk below mocked.
"Yeah, sure, I can tell," Carth began, his eyes closed as he continued to lounge casually. "He'll learn, just like the rest of you." He waved his hand dismissively. The men chuckled.
Riggs rushed across the room and reached up as his fellow squad mates tried to hold him back. Carth was instantly on his feet.
"Hey, kid, easy there, just calm down!" an older man said as he pulled Riggs away. "You don't wanna mess with him."
"Want a piece of me, newbie?" Carth teased.
"Someone needs to knock you down a peg or two, Onasi," Riggs threatened back as he shrugged off the hold and squared his shoulders.
"Maybe, but it won't be today, and it won't be you." He emphasized his words by pointing into Riggs' chest. The result was a renewed lunge from the rookie, whose swing went wide. Carth sidestepped the punch and gave Riggs a shove in the back as he passed by. Jeers and whistles filled the room as the squad stepped back to give them space.
"Lieutenant Commander Onasi!"
At the commanding tone, both fighters stopped and the whole company snapped to attention. A green Twi'lek entered the room, warily scanning the assembled men. A service droid followed, guiding a hovercart.
"Onasi!" he repeated.
"Here, Sir!" Carth responded and stepped forward.
"Comm call...package for…" the Twi'lek's words halted as he spotted Riggs. "What the hell happened to you, Airman? Are you injured?"
"No sir, Commander Fortuna," Riggs answered as he blinked through the stain drying near his eyes. "I was hit with a tintball, Sir."
"I see." He looked directly at Carth, who stared fiercely past him. "And who shot you?" he asked, his lekku twitching.
"No idea, Sir," Riggs said after a moment's hesitation. Commander Fortuna's eyes narrowed as his lekku slid tighter around his shoulders.
"Go clean yourself up, Airman," he ordered after a deep breath.
"Yessir!" Riggs said, touching off a salute and ducking away. After a few steps, he turned back. "Anything for me, Sir? In the comm delivery?"
"Name?"
"Riggs, Grence Riggs." He stood there, hopeful, as Fortuna scrolled through his datapad.
"Sorry, son, nothing this time." The rookie's shoulders slumped. "Takes a while for the comms to catch up when you get a transfer," he explained.
Riggs nodded and left silently.
"Alright," Fortuna began as he faced the rest of the men. He stared at Carth, who remained locked at attention. "How is it, Onasi, that you manage to get a steady stream of packages from home, when we can't even get supplies on time?"
"No idea, sir."
"Well, let's see here," he said as he ran his data scanner across the cargo box on the cart. "What could be so important that yet another delivery makes it through to Carth Onasi?" He looked to the data display, a smirk sliding across his lips. "Declared manifest of cargo container 49733822-B as recorded by one Morgana Onasi, Telos. Three jars of Telosian organic vegetarian protein paste spread," he began. Carth winced slightly. "One dozen pairs of socks; one new jacket; two cans of Force-Net hair product…"
Snorts and snickers bubbled up from the men as Carth reddened. "Sir, that is a private shipment," he interrupted.
"The manifest is a publicly declared document, Lieutenant," he grinned. "Are you trying to hide something, Onasi?"
"No sir!" Carth returned quickly.
"Then open it."
"Sir?" Carth now fell from his position and looked directly at the commander.
"You heard me, Lieutenant. Open this cargo. That's an order!"
Carth stood still; shocked whispers and murmurs swirled up from the squad. "That's a personal package from my wife, Sir." Carth's tone was defiant.
Commander Fortuna's lekku slid down and began to tremble with increased agitation. He took a step closer and leaned into Carth's face. "You think you have a free ride, here, Onasi? Because you have the admiral in your pocket? Wise up, hot shot. It's the other way around. Karath will hang you out to dry without a second thought the instant he's done with you. You aren't the first, and you sure as hell aren't the best." Carth bristled at the inference. "Watch your step, and your back, lieutenant." Fortuna resumed his position. "Enacting regulation 75308-Y5. Suspicious cargo search and seizure." He held his grin as Carth blanched. "You gonna open it, or shall I?"
Reluctantly, Carth moved to the container and released the hatch. Fortuna followed closely behind. The lid slid open. Carth's eyes bulged and he groaned; Fortuna stepped up and reached into the container.
"What in the name of the Force is THIS?" He pulled out a garish orange garment, a civilian version of a military flight jacket, the leather stiff and new. Clasps clanked as he shook it out for a better look…but it didn't get any better. The crewmen at first flinched at the sight, but then chuckled and laughed out loud as the commander held the piece aloft for all to see. "So, your wife is wasting Republic time and fuel to send you socks and…this?" He tossed the jacket roughly at Carth.
"Apparently, Sir." Carth tilted his head a bit. "You were expecting something else?"
"I don't want to see the socks if that is what she picked out as a jacket. Not much taste or sense…but then she did marry you, so that pretty much goes without saying."
"Maybe it looks better on, Sir."
"On fire. Put that thing away, it's giving me a headache."
"Don't worry, Sir. It will never see the light of day again." Carth stuffed the jacket back into the container and sealed the lid. He hefted the box off the cart and placed it near his bunk.
"I've got a few other comms here. Frayst! Genug! Liqan! Noath! Sternnia!" The men moved to the cart as they were called, taking the datapad offered by the droid. "Valarn!"
The room suddenly became still.
"Valarn!" Fortuna repeated.
"Uh, sir…," Carth cleared his throat and slowly pointed to a vacated bunk. "We lost Commander Valarn and wingman Hasset on a recon mission last week."
Fortuna paled. "Dammit, they are supposed to cull these," he cursed under his breath. "Carry on!" he barked as he turned and left the barracks.
The men watched intently; once the door slid shut, they rushed to Carth, who had already bent over his cargo container and activated the release.
"What else ya got in there this time?" Liqan asked eagerly. "What did she really send?"
"Any of the good stuff?" Frayst chimed in as he craned his neck for a closer look.
Carth pulled out the jacket and shuddered. "Morry, I love ya, honey, but damn," he grumbled. He threw the jacket at his footlocker and resumed his search into the container. "Oh yeah," he smiled as he looked around to his squad. He slowly pulled out a bottle of Tarisian Ale and held it up.
"You got the best wife, Onasi," Frayst answered as he took the offered ale.
"Don't I know it!" he laughed as he continued to produce bottle after bottle and passed them around. He took the last one for himself and stood. "To Valarn and Hasset!" he said solemnly. The rest of the company nodded and toasted their fallen leader and comrade.
After a moment of silent tribute, Liqan added "And to our new commander, Carth Onasi!"
Carth nodded with a sly grin. "Now, don't be too hasty. The orders aren't in yet. But yeah, come on, who's the best man for the job?" He smirked as he tapped his chest with the bottom of his bottle. The men chuckled and took another swallow. "Okay, guys, let me see what else I got in here," he said as he returned to his stash. He quickly shoved the offensive jacket into his footlocker, then rummaged in the box. Snacks, candy, a carton of cigarras, a holovid case…. Confusion and surprise flashed across his face as his hand found something unexpected. He pulled up a large dark bottle, the label unmistakable. A small handwritten tag dangled from the neck.
"No way! Is that JMT?" Noath asked incredulously as he stared. The others took notice.
"Hell yes, it is!" Sternnia joined in. "Where the Force she get a bottle of Jedi Mind Trick Whiskey? I thought they weren't allowed to make that anymore?"
"Dunno," Carth answered, his voice shaky. "We can't afford this." He admired the bottle a moment longer as he cradled it in his hands before reading the tag. Happy 10th, Hero. Hope it makes it there in time. Carth bolted upright. "What day is it?!" he demanded. "What the hell is the date?"
"Sixteenth, Coruscant-Republic Standard," came the reply.
Carth seemed to calculate in his mind, then a litany of Telosian curses flowed. He crammed everything back into the container, stood and made for the door.
"Dammit dammit dammit!" he muttered as he vanished down the hall.
Carth anxiously shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited his turn in the Holocom line. The bell sounded and the soldier ahead of him barely made it out of the way before Carth was in the seat punching the code.
"Come on, come on…Hey Honey!" he brightened quickly when Morgana's face formed in the static.
"Carth! Is everything alright?" she asked with tempered emotion.
"Yeah yeah, great, Morry. I got the box today and…"
Her caution melted in a beaming smile. "Did you like my surprise?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah, about that. Um, where did you get that JMT?"
"Go ahead and guess," she answered playfully.
"I only have 5 minutes here, Hon," he responded tersely. "We can't afford that…"
"Good thing I didn't buy it then." She was smirking, but her tone was more fierce than flippant. "That was a birthday gift from Daddy. He said I 'deserved something good…for a change.' I've been holding it ever since."
The vein in his left temple started to throb as he clenched his jaw. "Sell it. Put it up on Holobay. I don't want anything from that man."
"I considered that, but then I thought how wonderful it would be to let him know how much you enjoyed the whiskey." She tilted her head slightly, lips parting slowly in a smile.
Carth waited for a moment as the words sunk in, then he laughed out loud. "You are something, you know that? Force, I love you." His hand instinctively went towards the screen to hold her, touch her….
"What about the other thing I sent? The Telosian field jacket?"
Carth quickly snapped out of his daze and pulled his hand away. "Oh yeah…great! Really nice! I'll make sure to wear it all the time!"
"I got it on sale!" she exclaimed. "Top of the line jacket and they were practically giving it away!"
Yeah, I bet they were…. he thought.
"You don't have it on now," she noted.
"Huh?" he said as he looked down at his fatigues. "Oh, well, I am on duty right now. But I'll wear it as soon as my shift is up. I promise, I'll be wearing it when you see me…"
She gasped as her face lit up. "You're coming home! Carth, you got leave for our anniversary! Oh honey, I KNEW my father was wrong! You remembered! Dustil will be so happy to see you again!" she rambled.
"Wait, Morry, I…"
The screen went blank as the bell sounded.
"Move it, Onasi!" the airman behind him grunted as he shoved into the chair.
Carth staggered away from the com line, his hands raking desperately through his hair.
"Another tight spot, Carth?" The voice was almost laughing, Carth could tell as much. He was ready to swing, but the face that greeted his when he looked up stopped him instantly.
"Yessir, Admiral!" he said in surprise. "I, uh, well…"
"I happened to be walking by and I caught that last bit. So, I take it you'll be asking for emergency leave?"
"I don't know if this qualifies, Sir," Carth said sheepishly.
"Considering the fight you guys had when you extended your tour of duty, Carth, I'd say this more than qualifies. I can't have you distracted out there. We're mobilizing to a new sector in four days. So you have three, son. Make good use…" Carth was already gone, calling his thanks behind him.
Karath shook his head and chuckled, then called down the hall to the vanishing pilot. "And for the love of the Force, you better have that jacket on!"
Right now this is a stand-alone, but it could turn into something a bit more. If I find the time... I still need to finish my main story!