Two chapters published in one day? What is going on?! Am I sick?

I'm trying something knew, I hope you'll like it!

Bonne lecture!

The 501st Legion was laying siege to a godforsaken planet. Between the sandstorms, the waves of droids and the wildlife, the troopers could not rest easily. The dead started to pile up, the injured soldiers kept coming from the battlefront.

Rost was given the responsibility to manage one of the safety camps set up away from the battlefield. The Camp B, the one he had to deal with, was between two steep cliffs made of red stone. The place was away from sight, but if the enemy finds it, it was a deathtrap for anyone within the shields as there were only one way out: the front door. However, the camp wasn't the first the enemy could find on its path from the battlefield; therefore Rost was hoping the troopers from the other camps would send word. It would give them time to evacuate as much people as possible.

What the captain could not understand very well was why the Generals decided it was a good idea to give him the lead of one of the camps. Sure, he had training while serving with Dr Rima; who was missed by many in the legion. But he was neither a doctor nor a quartermaster. He was a trained and experienced sniper at best, a foot soldier at worst. True, he made it out as Captain so far, but that did not mean much in the grand scheme of things.

The man was keeping an eye on the reports from the other camps and the battlefield. Despite the jedis' presence and some sweet strategy from the General Skywalker, the battle was difficult. And Six just gave him another report of eleven knew injured brothers admitted in the camp. Several ships were to pick up some of the injured and the bodies of the dead were being burnt not far; but the camp was still almost at capacity.

"Staring at the monitor won't give you a solution." Six said, entering the war room in which Rost was standing alone while the others were changing shifts. "What's on your mind?"

"We're lacking space." Rost said. "More dead are being sent here than progress is being made out there."

"That is not our concern."

"How is it not our concern?!" Rost almost shouted. He took a deep breath and asked again, lowering his voice. "How is it not our concern? Aren't they our brothers?"

"There are, but there is nothing we can do for them, but being ready when they need us." Six said, stoic as always.

"It isn't fair."

"True. But if there is one thing I know, is that you can't fight two battles at once by yourself. Leave the room for a while, take a break. Being on top of your game is the only useful thing you can do."

Not fighting alone two battles in the same times. It used to be something Rima would say from time to time, especially during rush hours at the medbay. Rost hated his job, at the time. Shadowing the nautolan, not doing much while things were getting crazy on the ship… It was the prize he had to pay for his mistakes. He did things he wasn't allowing to: take shots on people who were not targets was not something the GAR was kind about. But he chose his victims well as all of them had something on their conscious: murderers, rapists, war criminals, shot-on-sight enemies of the Republic, separatists' officers responsible for the worst… He never killed a force user, but some of his targets were close to the top of the enemy's hierarchy. It was for this reason –and only this reason—why he wasn't back on Kamino to be "repurposed".

As Rost walked around the perimeter, his thoughts naturally went toward Rima. She was sent on Kamino to teach the young ones about medicine. From the few calls they could make, she hated her current job: who could blame her? Some people are meant to be teachers while others are not. Rima was typically someone who should not –and don't want to—teach. Rost was pleased she manage to find 99. He honestly thougth the man was dead since last time they saw each other. But he yet lives! And he's helping someone Rost cared about.

Rima…

He disliked his work with her, but not the woman herself. Things got interesting when she risks her own life to save the troopers –or at least to make them comfortable in their last moments. It truly impressed him. Before that, she was the nautolan woman with a bad attitude and a problem with authority. Now, she was a sensitive woman who truly cared about a lot of things, with all her heart. Perhaps she wasn't always taking the right decisions for certain situations, but no one could argue with the results. It was only when she left for Kamino that Rost understood how much he enjoyed being around her. Her departure left a gap no one could properly fill; especially since another member of her team died in her absence. After his last call, Rost had to count Domino amongst the dead. He got poisoned by the local wildlife. The medic –a new guy without experience and who obviously never met Rima—did not know what to do. So Domino died. If Rost survived this siege, he wasn't sure how to tell Rima the news. And when she'll know, how will she react? Last time, for Valor, she took it better than expected. But they were several parsecs apart from one another. There was no way to know when they'll meet face-to-face again; perhaps never. However, it wasn't stupid to think she might get violent.

"Who are you thinking about?" Heart asked.

"No one."

"Really? Not even a certain nautolan woman we used to work with?"

Rost looked at the young one with stern eyes. But he did felt a bit embarrassed.

"It's okay to think about her." Heart said. "She did put our lives upside-down."

"I don't think I needed her for that."

"So I heard. But she did. The proof: you are still thinking about her even so it has been weeks since she left to never come back."

"What makes you think that?" Rost asked.

"The General doesn't want her under his command." Heart answered. "Few generals, expect perhaps for General Kenobi, wants her on their backs. Doc' is a handful when she disagrees with something."

Rost smiled at that. He could not say it in a better way. Despite that the men were fond of her. Perhaps it was because this strange woman did not see any of them as canon-flesh. He remembered this one time a shiny survived hell, lost both his legs and could not sleep because of the nightmares. Everybody was certain he was getting mad, but Rima took the time to stop what she was doing, to sit on the boy's bed and simply be there for him. She hugged him as a mother would, whispered soft words. Then, she used her needles to make him sleep. After three times doing that, the boy felt good enough to apply for prothetics and go in the army's administration department. It was probably the most boring section one could work in, but the young one seemed impatient to try it. A peaceful life… Rost could not imagine himself sitting behind a desk all day. He could not imagine himself settling down to live a lazy life –not that he could afford to have such thoughts. If he did, he could take the risk to believe that one day he may have this: peace. And it would be disastrous since his life, as a clone trooper, did not belong to him. He was the property of the Republic first, and of Kamino second. They were rumors of clones being "bought" by civilians and who now lived their lives with dignity. But Rost did not have confidence in such gossips; one thing he learnt on Kamino, among the general culture and the fighting.

Rost's attention was drawn away by a soldier.

"Sir! Urgent report from General Skywalker: they won the battle thanks to General Kenobi's troops' arrival. They ask for medical support."

And back to business.

The captain was running the medics like a pro. Team A to the Torrent Company, Team B to the survivors of the eastern battlefield, Team C to the 212nd Legion… He helped as much as he could when it was needed: carrying crates of medicines, moving the dead or the injured, registering the ones seeking help… Rost was being professional, and thanked who-ever might be watching over him to have made his path cross Rima's. If things have been different, he wasn't sure he would have known what to do. She taught him (without knowing) what was priority and what was not, how to deal with the urgency of life running away from a body, etc… He missed her.

"Captain Rost?"

Rost saluted the General Kenobi when the jedi appeared in front of him. The two men never truly talk. They crossed paths because of Rima, but never talked. Rost could not even remember a moment when Kenobi might have given him orders with his own voice.

"At ease." The jedi said. "How are things?"

"The situation is under control for now, sir. But we need to evacuate the injured as soon as possible."

"How many were lost."

"Too many."

Kenobi raise an eyebrow.

"This is something a certain nautolan doctor would have said."

Rost felt embarrassed. Such vague and somehow aggressive respond was not appropriate from a clone trooper, especially an officer. However, the General stopped him from presenting his apologies.

"She has good influence on many of you. Perhaps too much."

"Sir?"

"I heard some of the badly injured called for her. It seems they hope she'll fall off the sky to save them." Obi-Wan said, an emotion difficult to describe in his voice. "Although I do not believe in miracles, I sure wish she could appear out of thin air. Anyway, I hope hings will work anyway. Keep up the good work, Captain."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Rost looked at the sky. If he knew what was going on, on Kamino, he would have not hoped for her sudden apparition.

The truth, he discovered it later, the day after tomorrow. The Legion was slowly going back on the Resolute, when General Skywalker asked for Rost on the main deck. Rost had no idea… But he knew something was wrong the moment he saw Genaral Kenobi's expression. It was Rima. It was the only reason they would call him here. The captain suddenly felt anxious.

Skywalker was the one who told him.

"The Dr Rima was attacked on Kamino."

Next chapter very soon