Thirty Three
Niner couldn't think straight.
He thought he had focussed and listened to the plan Ordo had constructed, but it still didn't register.
"Ah, Ordo," he said tentatively, "you think you could go over that again?"
"Fek Niner! What's wrong with you?" Ordo shouted back down the line.
Ordo was clearly annoyed at Niner's apparent lack of concentration.
What he didn't know, was that this seasoned commando sergeant was hanging precariously on the edge.
Of what?
He himself wasn't quite sure.
Then the voice that brought with it, a surge of emotions.
"Hey Ner'ika," Kal said, "you doing alright there?"
"I -," he stammered, "I don't know sarge," he was honest, "I'm just tired, I guess," he said as his voice trailed off.
Kal could hear it, the exhaustion, frustration and anxiety of what they had planned for so long.
Freedom.
He knew Niner better than anyone. "Well, that's alright then son, I'll put Ordo back on, and he'll go through the plan one more time." He waited a second before he continued, "you've got this. You know that?"
"It's just, well, last time -"
Last time.
The sight of Etain on the bridge, the fall; Darman's heartbreak.
Suddenly his shoulders felt heavy again.
"I know son. But this time, we won't fail."
"Copy that Kal."
.
The tracking device had been disabled and both Darman and Niner had cut the chips out of their forearms, the floor of the flight deck was littered with blood drops as they hastily bandaged their arms and regrouped.
Niner had packed up the site, but had become quiet after the dressing down from Ordo back on Mandalore.
Darman knew Niner was struggling with Rede.
It was getting to him.
It wasn't that Niner had disliked the young Sparti clone; it had been nothing more than geography, wrong place at the wrong time.
Fek, they were trained to make the hard calls, but this time was different.
Killing a man because he was guilty of being nothing more than a good soldier.
Collateral damage.
As hard as Niner tried to busy himself with the evac, he couldn't push the nagging question aside; how would Rede have reacted?
He'd never know.
He simply, never asked.
Finding CC-5576-39 had shifted them all slightly off kilter.
So now, here they all were, two brothers desperate to get free of the new regime and one willing to sacrifice everything, including them, to get back to it.
And with their microchips out, smashed between two rocks, for all intents and purposes Niner and Darman were off the grid.
Just another two numbers to add to the ever increasing tally.
It was just a matter of seeing one last mission through and then they could really disappear, go grey; become no one.
Niner had specifically not reported in since landing on the surface of Abafar for the sole purpose that if things didn't go to plan there would be no point of reference for the Empire to use against them.
If things didn't go to plan.
There was irony staring at you.
Nothing ever went to plan, and Niner was sick and tired of always being right, always having to have a contingency.
They were now physically lost to the Empire, but in reality, they had mentally packed up the night everything went south. But here they were again, fooling the Empire and flying in cold under their nose and deliver the rogue commando. Immediately after seeing Gregor to the designated drop zone Niner would plug the coordinates stored in his bucket and leave for Paqualls III where he and Darman would await repatriation to Mandalore.
That's when Niner would allow himself to relax.
That's when the war would finally be over.
Darman was obviously furious.
Stomping around the sight, letting Niner know in no uncertain terms that he was pissed as ever about the deviation back to the core world. Niner on the other hand saw this as pay back; redemption for the order on Rede.
Rede.
Again.
Always.
The thought made him physically sick, and Dar caught him heaving round the back of the craft near the refuelling hatch.
"You good Ner'ika?"
Niner wiped his mouth and nodded, "crook rashy," he said and forced a smile. Darman saw it then, the stress etched under Niner's eyes.
Up until that moment Darman had only ever thought about himself.
Sure he had come up with the plan to get a ship and head off world and go Jedi hunting at the expense of Kal, but this mission had changed things. During his own selfish indulgence, he never once considered Niner.
As long as he could remember the sarge had always been there for him. Niner had taken charge of the newly formed Omega when they had no other choice than to regroup after the disaster that was the first battle of Geonosis. Kal had seen it in him, right from the beginning, even as a kid. Niner had an innate ability to read any given situation and with a level head act on it, see it through. He had been the perfect choice as leader.
Good old Niner, the sarge, our rock.
To his recollection, Niner had never sought a relationship outside Omega, his entire life had been devoted to his unit brothers.
They were his only family.
It was now time for Darman to step up.
"We'll do this Ner'ika, and then you'll never have to eat that osik ever again. It'll be nerf steaks from now on brother."
"I'll look forward to that," Niner said as he placed his hand quickly on Darman's shoulder, "come on, let's get this done so we can get you home to that boy of yours."
Darman grabbed his hand before he removed it, "your home too brother."
Niner smiled, and for just a second things didn't seem so insurmountable.
Unfortunately CC-5576-39 had other ideas.
.
"Commander Fox," the young lieutenant stood as straight as a pin.
"At ease," he replied as he continued to lead the small political entourage on board the diplomatic yacht, her red stripes the same colour as the armour he wore.
But not for much longer.
He couldn't help but smile within the confines of his helmet. They had made the decision to leave together. Not to Oriis, but to Minora. There they would disappear and begin a new life, one day at a time. He promptly dismissed her two hand maidens and sent the political escort back to their stations.
They didn't need to involve anyone else in their subterfuge.
There would be ramifications, Fox knew that. As soon as they were clear of the Empires prying eyes he knew what he had to do. Head into the cockpit, take care of the pilot and set the nav to their new destination.
He had never been so excited.
"You have clearance lieutenant. Take her up," he said into the internal comm as he clipped himself into the seat.
"Sir," the pilot stammered back, "I was unaware that you would be joining us."
Fox looked at Olphina. Her recent weeks on Coruscant had taken their toll, for that he was in no doubt. Gone was the regal air of nobility she once wore with pride, and in its place was a worn down and broken woman.
For that, he would never forgive the Empire.
They had taken everything from him now.
And this was his last stand – with the woman he loved.
Fox had no loose ends, every order and communiqué had been double checked as always, every shift had been accounted for.
It was done, he was done.
He leaned forward and smiled at Olphina, depressing the comm button, "l'll be personally escorting the Senator back to Oriis."
Silence.
"Copy that Commander. Commencing take off sequence." Slowly they felt the craft lift off the tarmac on Coruscant, both lost in their own thoughts as they stared at the mass of buildings that was the worlds perpetual skyline.
"I never thought I'd see this day," he whispered as the ship gained momentum. Olphina nodded, her passion for politics had gone along with her position within the Senate after the night that saw her fighting for her sanity.
And all the time, when she thought she was truly lost to the despair, he had been by her side.
Initially it had been the little things; cups of shig, meals and organising her household staff. Then she became aware of his true strength, listening to her recounting the meeting with the Emperor followed by her attack.
And she loved him all the more for it.
This would be a new start, one where she could hope that soon, they could return to the loving couple they once had been.
Away from the army, the Empire and the deceit that had now infiltrated it's way into the very ethos she had attempted to change. She thought she could make a difference, but now she knew that the credits she had thrown into the war on behalf of her home world had funded a tyrannical maniac.
As the ship moved out into space they relaxed and Fox lifted her hand up to his mouth and kissed it, happy for the first time in his life. Suddenly the ship lurched to the left and Fox heard the pilot yelling from the cockpit, "they have missile lock, repeat, they have missile lock."
Fox's eyes shot to Olphina.
They both knew what would happen next.
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand year
Love you for a thousand more[6].
[6] A Thousand Years. C Perri.
AN: This story is now officially on holiday hiatus. I am off to the UK for 6 weeks and I don't have time to work on the next few chapters. So long Commander Fox - pay back for Five's, nah, not everyone can have a happy ending... See all 5 of you in October... Ms CT-782