Disclaimer: I don't own Clone Wars. I write this piece of fiction for entertainment purpose only. I do not make any money with it.
Chris made her way through her messages.
She opened one. It was an advertisement, like most of the data that took up her message box.
Buy this, get that, look like this star. She deleted it and opened the next one, not caring about the latest trend. The subscription of her monthly fashion magazine, The Dazzling Charm, which she had in an attempt to return to her old life, was lying on the side desk, slowly collecting dust.
It was surprising how a few weeks with the clones of the GAR had changed her view upon the world so drastically.
The troopers owned nothing, all they had was their equipment and even that had been given to them by the republic.
Strangely they didn't desire more. Fives had once talked to her about the subject of owning something, about having a job and being paid for it. He had seemed strangely fascinated and bewildered at the same time by the tendency of people to heap on money and collect goods.
The last new message was marked as 'read' and Chris clicked 'delete'.
Nothing, again. She sighed, running a hand through stiff hair.
Another day in which no one had tried to contact her. Her eyes wandered to her comlink. Perhaps a trooper had written Elisabeth, instead of her?
Chris shook her head and leant back, pressing her back to the chair until she could hear her spine pop.
„No, she would have told me. No need to call her."
Christina flicked a button and the console shut down with a straining whine of the ventilator.
She pushed her chair back and took The Dazzling Charm, heading over to her couch in an attempt not to think about the one time Elizabeth and she had both admitted to each other what they feared.
Chris entered Elisabeth's and her office and closed the door behind her. The smell of old flimsi and stale air filled her nose.
In her arms she carried several files from General Skywalker's office and a list of chips she was supposed to bring him for the next meeting with the Council.
They had a job to pretend to do after all.
Elisabeth was sitting at her desk, giggling lightly. "We should totally use that Chris," she choked out, her lean frame shaking with hysterical sobs.
Chris put down her load. She stepped next to her friend and leaned over Elisabeth's shoulder. Their desk where placed right beside each other.
Elisabeth was playing a scene from their video from their last trip to the gym. A group of clones was standing in front of a treadmill, which was running at high speed. They continuously snuck glances towards the two women.
Cutup, who had invited them to come, gave them a cocky grin, turned around and took two long strides towards the machine. He jumped, landed on the moving ground and the plane pulled the ground away under his feet, causing Cutup to land on his side ungracefully.
There was a moment of shock, and then his brothers closed around him, helping the trooper up.
Elisabeth hiccupped, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. "That is so hilarious; you think we could use that?" She caught the sour look on her friend's face." Or we could ask Jasmine and get a third opinion!" She quickly added.
Chris frowned. She reached for the keyboard and shut down the clip. "No," she replied in a flat voice. "I don't think we could do it. Neither the one nor the other." Brisk steps carried her to the back of the room, where she picked out several data chips the general had requested. The room was long, but narrow and between desks and shelves there was just enough space for one person to move comfortably. Her shoulders were pulled back, poise straight and tense.
Elisabeth threw her hands up in the air and stood up abruptly."And why not Mrs. 'Let us keep everything nice and proper'?" She growled blocking Chris' way back to her desk.
Her friend lowered her head at the scorching tome of her friend's voice, swallowing noticeably, her body folding inwards. Then she straightened herself again and stated her reason.
"For two reasons. One, not everybody shares your brand of humor, people hurting themselves is not funny."
Elisabeth huffed, muttering something under her breath, but motioned for Christina to go on.
"And second, 'Lies, this is hard enough for me," her voice grew harsh and angry, "and it is hard for you as well; otherwise you wouldn't ACT like this."
Elisabeth stepped backwards. Chris took a deep breath and continued.
"We do this, because the Senators, who want more help for the clones, who need the attention of the citizens of the republic, see no other way to get it."
She looked up again, tears in the corners of her eyes.
"But we all know that we are just doing this right over their heads, again. Again, they have no say in what changes are going to happen in their lives. We say they deserve it to be treated like the people they are. And what do we do? WHAT do we DO?
She started shaking, holding onto the chips tightly. Elisabeth took a tentative step forward, reaching out for her friend, as Chris continued, her voice rising, becoming shrill.
„We sneak into their lives, pretending to be someone else, pretend to be just their friends and film their lives and give them, no force damned choice!"
At the end she became quiet, fighting back her tears.
"Chris," Elisabeth started, and then stopped. Not knowing what to say, she gently laid her army around quivering shoulders.
She held her friend, laying her chin onto spiky hair; she petted her friend's back.
"No Chris. Don't say it like that. We have no choice as well. You know the Chancellor was strictly against the project. He absolutely refused considering the very option of allowing someone to film the troopers until the clause was added that no one but the film crew and the Jedi knew about the reason for the filming. The Jedi suggested it, remember?"
"But why?" Came the broken-hearted whisper from her friend.
„I don't know," she replied," perhaps the Chancellor feared a security breach. For the Jedi, well, you read the answer yourself.
The Jedi council feared the halos would seem unauthentic, that we might influence the clones into acting differently."
Cristina withdrew herself from the embrace. " I remember," she replied with a small voice."It would need too long, they claimed in their answer, to acclimate the troopers to our presence." She shook her head. "It doesn't make sense. It isn't fair." Her voice grew thin again.
Elisabeth shrugged her shoulders.
"Life is unfair Chris. Fact is, this is our only chance to produce something that will turn every bodies head around.
If it does or does not make sense, we will think about it later.
We have no time. You know how hard it is to get something out of the material we have. We have hours of filming material, but very few scenes with the emotion we need."
Elisabeth stepped closer and grasped the shorter woman's shoulders, giving them a firm shake.
" Please Chris," She intoned." Stop worrying your pretty head of about morals. We do not have the time for that. You heard the rumors. In the streets as well as in the halls here haven't you?"
Chris tried to pull away, avoided her eyes, but Elisabeth held on tight.
"You heard them. The stories about all those, that survive, but take too long to recover." She whispered. "The stories about those, that can't be fixed. We need something to make every single person in the Republic, all of them, see who these men are. The Senate needs to feel the pressure from the public; otherwise the words from people like Senator Amidala will continue to go unheard."
Chris shook her head." It's still not right." She insisted.
„Of course it is not right." Elisabeth agreed. „But what choice do we have? If we don't get this right, how high are the chances that a second team will be allowed to try?"
Silence filled the dimly lit room while she waited from Christina's answer.
Christina repeated their conversation, trying to hold on tight to the facts.
"The chances that another team will be allowed to try are very small, because of the new 'decree on the presentation of the public'; after it has passed, the Senate is allowed to put in a veto whenever it concerns public relations. Considering this, the Senators Amidala and Organza really caught the last possible moment, where only the Chancellor had the last word."
The young woman had calmed down considerably.
"They did." Elisabeth agreed. „We have to get this right; there might be no other chance. Yes, it is unfair, yes we may do the wrong thing while trying to make it right, but we said ourselves that we won't just sit there and wait that someone else does the job for us. We can change something and while the boys may hate us later for not telling them- we will always know that we just wanted their best."
Chris raised her head. Her brown eyes met Elisabeth's green gaze.
„It is still wrong. They will be angry."
Elisabeth hugged Christina tightly, for her friend's comfort as much as for her own.
"True, they have every right to be, but we are stuck, like they told us. Once you put your signature down, there is no going back."