.
They sat in silence for quite a while, Ledonia was lost in thought – she was musing about Vette and her odd need to protect the kid. Suddenly she saw a movement from the corner of her eye, she jerked her head up: Quinn had apparently reached the end of his shift; he got up and crouched down next to Vette and shook her softly.
"Vette, get up – it's your turn."
"Hmmm, what? Already?" mumbled Vette sleepily.
Quinn returned to the small heater and pulled his glove from his left hand. He touched the heater and frowned. "It's getting weaker; my estimation is that it won't last more than 12 hours before it runs out of energy."
Vette struggled herself free from the sleeping bag and stretched until her joints clicked. "Way to go, Capt'n Calculus!" She went to the pile with her clothes and begun to dress herself. "Awww, you even folded my clothes – not even the prospect of freezing to death will have any effect on your discipline, right?"
He checked heater once more and didn't answer.
Ledonia didn't miss the expectant look on Vette's face as she turned and beamed at him. Seeing her broad grin slowly fading as she realised that Quinn ignored her was painful to watch, Ledonia felt the immediate need to make her feel better. But she couldn't think of anything to say.
Vette begun to knit her hands together and said loudly: "Are there any yummy food bars left? Or have to two of you wolfed them all down?"
"You have your own supplies in your bag," replied Quinn curtly. "I trust that you know how many you have left."
Vette was visibly puzzled and looked insecurely from Quinn to Ledonia.
"Don't look at me, I didn't snatch any of your supplies while you were sleeping," tried Ledonia to joke. But it felt off.
Vette smiled at her. She seemed relieved. "Uh, well – I certainly hope so!" She stepped to her bag and rummaged in it until she had found two food bars. "Do you want one?" she asked Ledonia.
"Sure, thank you."
Vette threw her one and turned to Quinn. "I hope you don't mind sharing food with the enemy, Capt'n?"
Quinn undressed himself, and folded his clothes carefully before sliding into the sleeping bag. "Wake me in two hours." With these words he turned his back to the two women.
Vette looked positively hurt now and Ledonia felt a sting in her heart; the young twi'lek didn't deserve that. The worst thing was that she felt responsible for Vette's misery.
Vette didn't say anything as she sat down next to Ledonia. She had a contemplative look on her face.
ooOOoo
After about a half an hour Vette cleared her throat. "Are republic food bars as bad as the imperial ones?" She knitted her hand together and stared at Ledonia.
"On principle I have to say that our food bars are better – but the truth is they are all horrible," she replied and gave Vette a reassuring smile.
"Oh well, I guess I should complain – it lived on pirate ship for a few years and you wouldn't believe the trash we had to eat. It would have been a feast for hutts to be sure – but for my delicate palate … the horror!" exclaimed Vette.
"You were a pirate? How old were you then?" inquired Ledonia.
"Eight, I really liked it there – the people were quite gruff but also nice in their own way."
"What happened?"
"I was on Nar Shaddaa for a job – and I got caught. They sold me as a slave to a moisture farmer on Tatooine. I never heard from the gang again – I guess they got caught too," Vette's mood dimmed again. Ledonia registered how she glanced at Quinn, who was quietly snoring on the other side of the room.
"It seems that you didn't have any easy life…" Ledonia mumbled.
"It was and is quite shitty truth to be told – but hey, I'm not the only one who had it tough. There is no need to pity me." Vette nudged her. "All I can do is to try to make the best of it… that's at least what I'm telling myself."
"Well, there isn't much else to do," replied Ledonia and nudged Vette back awkwardly. "There is no need to put on a brave face, sometimes it's better to admit what you are really feeling."
Vette smiled sadly at her. "Yeah, but I can't. I'm afraid that if I'm letting go…" She knitted her hands together. "Sorry, I usually don't bore people with my issues."
Ledonia pulled her right hand out of the sleeping bag and put it on Vette's shoulder. The gesture felt strangely fake to Ledonia – consoling people wasn't her strong suit.
Vette smiled at Ledonia, then she glanced again at Quinn.
Ledonia felt a bang of guilt. "Vette… I might have said something to your Imp that caused him to … well to be curt with you."
"What?" Vette asked wide-eyed.
Ledonia cringed a little. "He said that he didn't hate aliens and that I had no proof to say otherwise. So… I told him that you know that he despises you."
Vette blinked a few times, confusion spread across her face. "Yes, and?"
"That's it."
"You mean to tell me that he was offended that I actually spoke with you about this stuff? What a jerk!"
Ledonia felt very uncomfortable. "Not exactly… uh, it seemed to bother him that you would think that he hated you." Vette stared at her blankly and Ledonia continued: "After that he immediately admitted that he hated aliens, because if even you thought that he was a xenophobic Imp… uh, then he had no chance to convince me otherwise."
"You…" Vette put her right hand on her mouth before she removed it again, "…you mean to tell me that Quinn was hurt because… but that's impossible! Firstly, it's Captain Carbonite we are talking about! And secondly, he constantly scolds me and stares at me like I'm some sort of filth!"
"I know, it's just… you should have seen his face – he thought that your bickering was banter."
"Damn it! So Quinn actually tried to be friends with me?" Vette wiped her face with her hand. "No… he actually thought he was my friend."
Ledonia shrugged. "It certainly seemed that way."
Instead of answering Vette rose to her feet and started pacing in the small shelter. She knitted her hands together and looked from Ledonia to Quinn, who was still sleeping.
Realisation dawned on Ledonia. "Ah, come on! Are you telling me that you don't despise the guy after all?"
Vette stopped in her tracks. "I did never say that I didn't like Quinn – I just stated that he hated me."
Annoyance boiled up in Ledonia's chest. "Get a grip! You said yourself that he is constantly berating you."
"Yeah," Vette resumed her pace, "but think how he reacted after he came to believe that I hated him: I provoked him and he was totally unresponsive instead of telling me off. Doesn't it follow that Quinn thinks that his uptight routine is part of our bantering?"
Ledonia would have thrown her hands in the air if not for the cold or rather the warmth of the sleeping back. She settled for a deep sigh instead. "Maybe, but I can hardly believe that he didn't give you shit even once."
"Hmm, no – nothing comes to mind. I mean Quinn was always hell-bent to keep everything according protocol, but as I stated before, he was always polite towards me." Vette had stopped again. "Crap, in fact only nice things come to mind – before we embarked on this mission Quinn had ordered from the imperial armoury a special hood that covered my lekkus. And on Alderaan he carried my gear after I complained about its weight…"
Ledonia stared at Vette. "Wait… he did that and you still thought that he hated you?"
"I don't know… I just never realised… I was a dork, okay?"
"Uh, I can't blame you – Quinn has this special ability that makes one want to strangle him as soon as he opens his mouth," scoffed Ledonia.
"Yeah…" sighted Vette. "That's possibly the reason why I didn't get that he wasn't my enemy."
Listening to her made Ledonia weary. She didn't voice her concerns. She didn't want to sound like a broken holo-record; she had already told Vette what she thought about befriending an Imperial. She watched as Vette crouched down next to her and buried her face in her hands.
"Ah, this is so stupid! How am I going to fix this? A speech perhaps? Quinn usually likes long and boring speeches – or at least he seems to like them."
Ledonia frowned at her. "I hope these questions aren't meant for me – I can't possibly give you tips how to tell Capt'n Carbonite that you don't despise him."
Vette looked up in surprise, slowly she began to beam. "Awww, you said Capt'n Carbonite!"
"Sure, it's a good nickname," replied Ledonia with a smile.
"It truly is… even after I discovered that he is made of blood and flesh after all – I shall begin the work on my Quinn-speech forthwith!" Vette pushed her fist in the air.
ooOOoo
Despite her declaration Vette continued to chat with Ledonia about the best cantinas she had ever been in, only the way she glanced nervously on her chronometer betrayed that she was anxious to talk to Quinn.
Ledonia would have given her right arm for a cup of caf or a stim that would fit her weariness – she was grateful for Vette's chatter otherwise she had fallen asleep. Or should she sleep anyway? It seemed that the snowstorm wasn't over, the wind was still howling around the shelter – it was impossible to determine when they could leave. Perhaps it would be wiser to sleep in order to be alert and focused when it counted? Ledonia regretted that she hadn't slept on Vette's watch – she didn't like the thought of taking a nap in the presence of an Imp. She didn't think that he would kill her in her sleep, but it was still going against her every instinct. No, she had to stay awake until Vette was taking her next shift.
Vette got up – it was time to wake Quinn. She knitted her hands together and took a small step before she stopped again. She bit her lower lip and had a very insecure look about her. Finally she wiped over her face with both hands and exhaled. Then she took the last few steps and crouched down next to Quinn. Hesitantly she put her hand on his upper arm and shook it softly.
"Quinn? It's time," she sounded surprisingly timid.
He rolled from the side on his back; Quinn rubbed over his eyes and Ledonia thought that she had seen a small smile play about his lips as he saw Vette. It disappeared rather quickly and his usual cold, professional expression returned. With some amazement she registered that Vette didn't smile, instead she had a focused air about her. It seemed that Quinn saw it too; he quickly sat up and looked around.
"Vette? What's the matter?" His voice sounded as arrogant as ever, but there was also concern in it.
She again knitted her hands together and opened her mouth, but no sound escaped her.
"Vette?" Quinn asked again.
"I… uh, everything is okay," she finally replied and stood up.
Ledonia averted her gaze; the whole situation grew more awkward by the second. She heard how Quinn unzipped the sleeping bag and slid out of it.
"Fine," the implied indifference toward Vette was clear.
She looked at them again, Quinn was already half-way dressed. Vette stood next to him; visibly struggling to keep her composure.
"S… So, I engaged in psychological warfare while you were sleeping, Quinn. I'm quite certain that my constant blabbering almost drove Capt'n Cat insane!" she exclaimed loudly in an obvious attempt to release the tension by joking.
Quinn didn't even look at her; he was busy buttoning his jacket. Ledonia was tempted to slap him, didn't he realise that the kid was suffering? Stupid Imp!
Vette's blinked a few times and shallowed hard. "How long do you guess we have to stay here? I mean it's still better than getting mauled to death in a swamp on Taris, but …" She didn't finish the sentence.
Again Quinn ignored her completely and continued putting his clothes back on.
Suddenly Vette's face screwed up and she began to sob. Alarmed by the sobbing Quinn turned on his heel and had a shocked expression on his face. Vette leaped forward and hugged Quinn with all her might. He seemed beyond surprised, almost outraged, but he quickly returned the hug. She was smaller than he and as he leaned down until his cheek rested on her head the scene became so intimate that Ledonia had to fight the urge to lower her sight.
"I'm sorry, Vette. I didn't mean to…" began Quinn, but he was interrupted by her.
"I don't hate you, Quinn," her voice was muffled.
After a short moment of silence Quinn replied: "I do not hate you either."
Ledonia just stared at them. The whole scene was bordering to the absurd and at the same time it touched her to see in an uncomfortable way.
Vette took a step back and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I know that you don't really appreciate emotional stuff." Her voice sounded teary.
Quinn straitened his coat and cleared his throat. "Yes… I don't usually…"
Both stood awkwardly in front of each other until Vette nudged Quinn. "Wait until Pierce hears that you actually hugged me – he will love it!" She smiled a little at him.
A small movement in the corner of Quinn's mouth indicated that he was amused. "You embraced me, if I recall correctly." He sounded as stuck-up as ever.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that hugging an alien would actually break Section 22b in the Imperial Regulations."
"Please get your facts straight! Section 22b is about the correct use of requisition forms."
Vette eyed him suspiciously. "Are you making things up?"
"Of course not," retorted Quinn stiffly and sat down next to the heater.
Vette stripped down. "Right…" She slid in the sleeping bag and pulled the zipper up. "Quinn?"
He looked over his shoulder at her. "Yes?"
"You are my favourite dork."
"Likewise."
ooOOoo
Ledonia wasn't amused about their exchange. She had felt uncomfortable before, but now she felt like she was about to get sick. She gritted her teeth, determined to pull herself together. Why was she nauseous? She almost snorted when she thought about the possibility that the sight of an Imperial hugging an alien caused her sickness – but the situation was too serious to indulge the thought: Ledonia was never sick; she had made orbital jumps in thunderstorms and waded through the sewers of Hutta, the fact that she was feeling like she was about to throw up meant that something was physically wrong with her. Upon touching her nose Ledonia realised that she had a fever; the nose was hot and dry. Her sight fell on her fingertips – they were still soaked in wampa blood.
"Are you injured?" asked Quinn.
Ledonia looked up from her hands and tried her best to appear calm. "It's not my blood."
Quinn's eyebrow rose. "Indeed?"
"Do you have any fever-inhibiting drugs with you Captain?" It had become clear in the past minutes that she was getting worse; she might as well ask for medicine. Vette had after all mentioned that Quinn was a medic.
She was surprised that he begun to rummage in his utility belt and handed her a two pills from a small capsule without sneering at her first. Ledonia quickly shoved the pill in her mouth and shallowed them; in a matter of seconds she felt better.
"It is unusual to develop a fever so quickly. May I examine you?" inquired Quinn.
Ledonia frowned at him and was tempted to tell him off for even suggesting an examination in the first place, but she had grudgingly to agree with the Imp. It was strange how quickly she became sick. "Alright, but don't make any sudden movements. At this proximity I can still rip your throat with my claws before you even draw a knife."
"Trust me, if I wanted to kill you I would have poisoned the food bars right at the beginning," Quinn rose to his feet and took a few small steps until he stood in front of Ledonia. He crouched down and removed his gloves.
"Your hand please."
Ledonia felt threatened by the close proximity and hesitantly pulled her right hand out of the sleeping bag.
Quinn took it and felt her pulse at her wrist. Then he looked at her fingertips. Finally he took a small white tissue from his utility belt and cleaned the dried blood from her sharp fingernails. Ledonia relaxed a little bit, Quinn acted very professional and seemed to know what he did. After a few minutes of examination with his medical scanner Quinn stood up and returned to his place.
"I can't be sure without the proper medical facilities – but my guess is that you contracted an infection through the small cuts on your hands. The pathogen was probably in the blood." He sat down and put his medical scanner away.
Ledonia stared at him, determined to show him that she wasn't weak. "I guess then I have just to pull through until help arrives."
Quinn remained silent, he glanced at Vette before returning his attention to the small heater. Ledonia felt again how tired she was, she suppressed another yawn. To stay awake she begun to clean her hands with the sleeve of her shirt. The dried blood was difficult to get off and after a few minutes she gave up and covered her now cold hands again.
She looked again at Quinn who was clearly contemplating something.
"Are you thinking about the possibility that the Republic shows up before the Empire?" she asked.
"Indeed, it seems that the thought has crossed your mind as well, Captain," replied Quinn calmly.
"I'm not keen on ending up in an imperial prison or torture chamber." Her answer sounded sharper than she had intended.
"Interesting, you are the commander of Havoc Squad and yet you don't think that the Republic would do everything in its power to find you?" He sounded almost mild when he posed the question.
Ledonia snorted. "Of course not – every soldier is only a piece in a larger game. I assume that they are looking for me, but there is a war going on and the priorities are clear. But you already knew that, didn't you?"
"No, I'm not in the habit of asking pointless questions. I asked out of curiosity."
Strangely enough she believed him. Ledonia yawned and decided that she should try to get the conversation going. "Have you ever been captured by the Republic?"
Quinn eyed her for a moment before he replied: "No. Based on your hatred for everything imperial I assume that you were once in imperial custody?"
Ledonia gritted her teeth. "Keep your assumption to yourself, Imp! I was never captured – I would rather kill myself than become a prisoner or even a slave!"
Quinn's eyebrow rose and Ledonia cursed under her breath. She had revealed too much about herself – the Imp had certainly caught on her slip of the tongue.
"Interesting that you should mention slavery. You should be aware that prisoners of war rarely become slaves." Said Quinn mildly. "You said that your mother was a slave … You are afraid that you end up like her, don't you, Captain?"
Damn this Imp! Ledonia realised that she had to downplay her statement lest she didn't appear weak. "Of course I do, that hardly takes the Empire's finest to arrive to that conclusion. Or are you telling me that you aren't afraid to be enslaved?"
The puzzled look on Quinn's face was almost funny, but Ledonia was not in the mood to laugh.
"Wh… Enslaved?" He frowned.
"Oh, that's rich! You have never even considered it – but why would you? You are a human, possibly from a proud family from Dromund Kaas with a long and successful line of military men and women." Ledonia leaned forward. "Slavery is only for filthy aliens, isn't it?"
The confused look disappeared from Quinn's face. "You are again trying to put words in my mouth, Captain. Without doubt you are aware that there are also human slaves in the Empire – and I thought that we already established that I'm not xenophobic." His voice sounded colder than before. "It is however true that the Quinn family prides itself on its military service for the Empire."
The last sentence was spoken almost halting. It was only a nuance but Ledonia was certain that she had hit a sensitive spot. Quinn certainly seemed like a prototypical imperial officer and yet… there was something going. The mysterious Captain Quinn… Captain… he seemed to be competent and intelligent and yet he was but a Captain? His age was difficult to guess, but he seemed too experienced to be under 30.
"A pity that you can't add to your family's honour, Captain," she jeered. "I guess that your career was halted…" The pained look on his face told Ledonia that her guess had been right. "… or were you even demoted?"
Quinn picked up a small bolt that was lying on the ground. "You are right, I will never further my family's honour – but this," he held up the bolt, "is all that we are. All my vanity, my pride or even the pride of my whole family is nothing than a small, inconsequent part of something larger. And I'm proud to serve in whatever capacity my betters see fit."
Ledonia grinned gleefully. "A typical answer from a typical Imp. I assume that your parents agree?" She felt a little guilty of aiming so low, but at the same time it gave her satisfaction to see the Imp squirm.
"We haven't spoken since my demotion," said Quinn quietly.
"I see. Is there any chance that you will tell me why you were…" begun Ledonia, but Quinn interrupted her.
"It's in the past – it doesn't matter anymore."
They both fell silent. Ledonia made a mental note to check Quinn's file as soon as she got back – if she got back.
ooOOoo
Ledonia was relieved when Quinn glanced at his chronometer and got up: As soon as Vette had the watch she could try to sleep. She watched how the imperial crouched down and shook Vette, in this very moment Ledonia thought that she had heard a noise … a hydraulic noise. Then she heard it a second time. Ledonia knew that soft hissing, it had accompanied her in the last two years on almost every mission: M1-4X. She watched how Quinn turned his head towards the doors, his eyebrows were knitted together. His right hand still lay on Vette's shoulder. Ledonia jumped up, the sudden movement drew Quinn's attention to her and she saw how he let go of Vette and reached for his blaster. Vette on the other hand had a shocked expression on her face, she just lay there, propped on her arm and looked Ledonia in the eye. Ledonia opened her mouth to say something, but before she could utter a single word the door burst open and 4X stormed inside the hut – a sharp wind carried snow inside and the sudden drop in temperature prickled on Ledonias fur.
"For the Republic!" yelled the droid in his metallic voice and its automated weapons aimed at Quinn, who was clearly identifiable as Imperial through his uniform.
Quinn was still kneeling and in the movement of pulling his blaster out of his holster, staring wide-eyed at the 4X. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion; Ledonia turned to 4X, prepared to order the droid to stand down, but she only came as far as: "Stand d…"
4X opened fire with its in-build blasters. A flurry of blue blaster bolts hit Quinn in the chest. His blaster fell with a metallic sound on the floor as he knelt over.
"Stand down 4X!" repeated Ledonia, the droid powered down its weapons and she rushed to Vette and Quinn. One glance at Vette told her that she was dead – the high-velocity laser bolts had punched through Quinn's chest and most of them had hit Vette in her neck and her face. She lay on the floor, still half wrapped-up in the sleeping bag and stared with empty eyes at the ceiling. Blood was pooling around her head.
Ledonia heard how Quinn groaned and turned him around as softly as possible, his ragged breathing indicated that his lungs were punctured. His stared at Ledonia, wheezing and coughing up blood. She had seen enough battle to know that he wouldn't make it either.
"…te …" Quinn tried to speak, but his shortness of breath made it almost impossible for him.
Ledonia bent over him and put her ear close to his mouth. "What?"
"… te … he …" Quinn, he squinted his eyes and finally said: "Is … Vette … alright?"
She jerked her head away from his mouth and swallowed hard. Ledonia looked at the man lying in front of her, finally she grabbed his right hand with both her hands and pressed it. She blinked a few times and forced herself to smile.
"Vette is okay, she is going to be alright." She barely managed to keep her voice from becoming brittle.
Quinn coughed up more blood, tears running down his cheeks. His face screwed up in pain. Ledonia pressed his hand even harder and felt how Quinn's hand became limp. His wheezing had stopped, everything seemed too quiet now: The silence was ear-deafening. It was a relief to hear 4X move, the hydraulic hissing stopped right next to her. Ledonia wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand, took a deep breath and got on her feet.
"Another astonishing victory for the Republic!" 4X exclaimed. "Another glorious step taken to end the imperial tyranny in the galaxy!"
Ledonia didn't answer and begun to dress herself in her winter gear. She avoided looking at the bodies.
"I acquired a snow crawler from the local miners, sir! It's standing about half a klick away – we can return to the base immediately." 4X sounded eager as always.
She closed her eyes for a moment and took another deep breath. "Good job, 4X."
Ledonia finally glanced at Vette and Quinn for a last time, due to the open door a thin layer of snow had begun to gather around their bodies. The snowflakes were dyed red as soon as they touched down.
No, there was definitely nothing peaceful about Hoth.
