A/N: Hello! Okay, so...First of all, I totally missed it for which I apologize, but I hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas, and I hope you had a lovely New Years!

Sorry this is so short. I tried coming up with some more to write into it, but it's just not going to work! Only one more chapter to go, and then Part 1 is finished! :D

It's all fine, here's chapter nine! Another line, so we can shine! (That didn't make any sense!)

Short author's note, because we need to get to the story.

Music for this one is "Icarus" by Michael McCann.

Beware not the enemy from 'without', but the enemy from 'within'.

~General Douglas MacArthur

Chapter 9: Moving Out

Anyone with an ounce of sense would have known - and admitted - that continuing the search for the troopers' missing comrade in such dark, hostile and unknown terrain was not just foolhardy. It was plain stupid. And it was times like this where Keelo was glad (though only later on) that Commander Cody had more than an ounce of sense in his commander's head.

Continuing the search was stupid, and he told them so in no uncertain terms.

Deck and Clip, Keelo and Late all looked at their leader, and Kurt made no motion either way.

"Commander," said Clip. "Why didn't they just kill him? Why take him...?"

"Why do you think?" Kurt's voice was sharp, and it made Keelo uncomfortable. More uncomfortable than he already was. He could see the strange lift in Deck's shoulders, and he knew that Deck was upset that Clip had even asked that question. They already knew the answer. The question now was something different. And it was something they couldn't learn until they found Spinner.

At the remark, Clip turned slowly and faced the ARC trooper. Kurt removed his helmet and stared into Clip's eyes.

"Afraid of the answer?" the ARC asked softly. His stern lips pressed together, and he pulled them slightly back into a thin line that barely represented a smile. "They have Spinner, and they are going to torture him for whatever information they need, information that all of us have. They wouldn't have grabbed just anyone, otherwise. That, or Tambor wants him for something worse. I've heard some strange things about those Skakoans." His voice lowered even further and Keelo barely caught the words: "So pray your shiny brother doesn't crack."

It was the most that Keelo had heard the ARC trooper speak so far in one breath. Kurt had stepped closer to Clip and was staring intently into the trooper's eyes. Clip didn't flinch, didn't back down. Deck and Late were both staring as well, but more in apprehensive surprise than anything else. Commander Cody was doing nothing but watching the locked-gaze battle between Clip and Kurt, as if studying them from behind the mask that hid his face.

Keelo felt no alarm over the situation as the commander didn't seem to either. But still, it seemed that the standards for an ARC trooper were to be at all times higher than the ordinary trooper's accepted behavior. Perhaps an ARC had lower tolerance for such trifling thoughts as Clip's obvious consternation because they themselves were never allowed to focus on such things? Keelo silently resolved to permit himself less freedom in speech and thought. A more rigid adherence to these rules would undoubtedly benefit him. Kurt's example showed what was expected of ARC troopers. Self-indulgence, especially in matters of emotions such as fear, anger, and sorrow, was to never to be permitted. Keelo filed these thoughts away for future reference.

Cody seemed to have made up his mind in some matter, for he suddenly stepped between Clip and Kurt and, placing a hand on their respective shoulders, pushed them aside.

"Come on, men. Let's get back to camp," he said.

Deck reached out and pulled at Clip's arm. Neither Clip nor Kurt had given any sign of releasing the other's gaze, and the staring match only ended when Deck guided Clip away. Clip shook his arm out of Deck's grasp and with an angry, dismissive gesture, jammed his helmet back onto his head. Deck's expression was grim, and he, too, replaced his bucket, but with less force than Clip had shown. Late followed after them, his shoulders drooping visibly. Keelo started back as well, but not before he caught a fleeting, but strange sight out of the corner of his eye.

Cody's hand was still on Kurt's shoulder, and the ARC was standing ramrod stiff, staring with a frightening intensity after Clip's retreating form. Cody gave him a slight shake, and Kurt's head whipped about to fix on the commander. He said something in a flat voice, dead and toneless. Keelo couldn't hear the words, and he tried to remember the sound of them in order to discover what had been said. But Cody released his hold of the ARC and took a step back, hands raised in a placating manner. The commander walked away after the rest of the troopers without so much as a backward glance, and Keelo jumped when Cody's voice sounded a bit sharper than normal in his ears.

"Come on, Keelo. I said, let's go."

So Keelo went. He could feel Kurt still staring in his direction, probably at the back of the commander's head. And for once in his life, he let go of his curiosity. He didn't want to know what the ARC trooper had said to Cody.

Obi-Wan Kenobi readjusted his hold on the datapad and blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to steady the focus of his eyes. He leaned closer to the device until his nose was mere inches away, and sighed in annoyance when the words became clear for only a moment before sliding every which way off the screen. He scrubbed a hand across his face and froze. There was a disturbance in the force.

This particular disturbance took shape in the figure of clone medic Cross who stood at the opening to the general's tent with his legs apart and arms folded, the disapproval clear in every aspect of his stance.

Obi-Wan gave him a friendly smile and set aside the datapad as if nothing were the matter. "Hello there, Cross! Have the others made it back yet?"

"General, what are you doing?"

"Oh, just catching up on some work I have to do."

Cross did not relax his stance. "I brought you in here at 2200 hours last night. It is now 0300 of the next day - you know, what was tomorrow when I brought you in...?" His voice faded away and he cocked his head at Obi-Wan, looking at the Jedi sidelong as if expecting a response. The general smiled back.

"Yes?"

Cross sighed. "Go to sleep, general. Commander Cody just commed me -"

Obi-Wan's exhaustion fell away. "Ah, how is the good commander?"

"Commander Cody just commed me," Cross repeated. "He and the guys are just a few minutes out. He can give you the full report tomorrow morning."

"But I thought it was tomorrow, Cross!"

Cross scratched at the back of his head and sighed. Obi-Wan waited. Yes, he definitely was tired, he told himself. I'm beginning to sound like Anakin...

"Good night, sir." Cross turned about and left.

Obi-Wan raised himself on his elbows to call out his response, but the flap of his tent fell closed with a gentle slap. He sighed. Medics always had the last say.

The Jedi, however, was unable to get any real rest. His mind kept returning to the wilderness outside the walls of Nabat where his men were searching for the missing trooper, Spinner.

Well, I might as well try to feel his whereabouts, Obi-Wan thought. He settled himself into the folded blanket that he was lying on. Perfect silence wasn't getting him anywhere, so trying to do something with it might.

He relaxed and allowed the many thoughts swirling about in his brain drain away, not snatching at any of them, and not actively trying to rid his mind of them either. The rush and hum of all the activity that rushed about in the world swam slowly to a sort of halt. Not completely still, but not overwhelming. Now Obi-Wan could sift through it all instead of everything rushing over him with the massive tides of life and light.

He fixed Spinner's force-signature in his memory and allowed the images that followed to flood his conscious awareness of the world around him.

Rest. Relax. Look for him, let everything else go.

The images took on a more definite shape. Misty haze cleared, and Obi-Wan pulled back his searching mind just a bit as he recognized excitement pushing at his thoughts. All anxiety had to go. If he wanted to find Spinner, all focus on himself had to dissolve or he could not see clearly.

I need to find Spinner. All in good time. Anxiety has no place here...

He allowed the sensation of the Force clearing his vision to fill his whole being, yet he did his best not to focus on it. It was always difficult. And rather...taxing. Cross would not be pleased to find his general exerting himself thusly. Kenobi smiled to himself at the thought, but promptly let those threads fall. The vision, which had begun to warp and fade, intensified in its clarity, and his perception sharpened.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he was aware of a group of clones approaching the camp. He realized vaguely that it was the commander and the rest of the search party - although something was wrong. He let the awareness of them hover for a moment, but almost as quickly, they disappeared from his field of vision. A flash of red inserted itself between his eyes, and then...

He saw him.

"CROSS!"

Cody pulled off his helmet and scrubbed a dusty gloved hand across his forehead and then down his face, pulling at his mouth slightly with the tips of his fingers. He slumped down and sat on the hard dirt near a poor excuse of a tree. Morning wasn't far off, but to Cody, it seemed miles away in reality. He and the others had been searching the entire night, but now, they were worse off than when they'd started.

The camp was already beginning to stir, and a handful of nearby troopers approached, relieving the squad of their burden.

Cody watched them carry away the three dead soldiers, and then glanced tiredly at the others of the squad who were clustered together in a small group, Kurt being the only exception. The ARC walked over to where Cody sat silently on the ground, paused for a moment looking down at the commander, and then moved away without saying a word.

Cody scrunched tired eyes after him. A slight tremor wormed its way throughout his ribs, and he shuddered. The morning air was blessedly cool - however short the duration of relief from the intense heat of the day, it was not to be sniffed at - and Cody gave his head a hard shake. Or, he tried to. A strange sensation of light-headedness filled his skull, and the space of ground between his feet shifted every which way. Cody closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree's trunk. He was exhausted, and yes - he was worried.

He could hear the other troopers moving around nearby. Deck - yes, it was Deck - plopped himself with a disgruntled groan on the ground near Cody.

"Augh...wow...it's morning already."

Cody sighed. "Yup..."

"Sir..."

Cody waited. His mind was too foggy, and his head was swimming too much to attempt more conversation than was necessary.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you for trying to find him."

"We never leave a man behind," Cody mumbled back.

He felt Late sit down a few feet in front of him.

"Deck," he heard the trooper say.

It was silent for a long moment. Then -

"I'm sorry we didn't find him."

Cody opened his eyes and looked at Late. The trooper was worn out, disheartened, and looked like something that had just crawled out of a Bantha stampede. But his eyes were bright, partly through fatigue, but also through the genuine concern he felt for his fellow troopers. Cody almost managed a smile.

"Wait!"

Keelo came hopping over to the slowly growing group of huddled troopers. "What about Splint and Tae? Did they make it back?"

Deck started to rise, and so did Late. Cody's brain was just registering that they needed to get up when Cross appeared on the scene, one hand held up in a placating gesture.

"Calm down, boys. Splint brought him in well before you all showed up."

"How is he? Tae? Is he all right?"

Cross looked directly into Keelo's eyes. "Yes, Keelo. He'll be just fine. He had one heckuva ride on top of that gutkurr, and we're getting in a gunship early to carry him to the Negotiator. I'm going to accompany them, and I'll be seeing you boys up there this evening. We'll check on your sergeant and -

"Cross!"

The cry could be heard halfway across the camp.

Cross's face froze halfway through his sentence, and he turned with confused, rapid blinking as General Kenobi came half-jogging up to him in the most uncomposed manner that Cody had ever seen him display.

"Cross, Cross - no, no, don't get mad now - I've found him. I know where Spinner is."

All exhaustion drained from the little group of troopers, and Cody sat up so fast his pulled a muscle in his back.

"Lessu - Clip said they took him to Lessu," he said.

"They did," said Kenobi. "I saw Wat Tambor. Spinner was taken to him for some reason or other. They're interrogating him."

"Of course they are," growled a voice.

Cody looked over his General's shoulder and saw Kurt approaching. The ARC was tapping long fingers atop his helmet which he held loosely in the other hand.

"You think they invited him for a picnic?"

Clip cocked his head and frowned in the most indiscreet disgust at the ARC trooper, but Kurt ignored him completely.

"Does he still have all his limbs intact?"

Obi-Wan blinked. "I do believe so, Kurt."

"Good." Kurt pulled his helmet over his face and tapped the top firmly to secure it. "Let's go then. No use wasting a functional clone that took ten years to grow."

Cody got to his feet and snagged Clip by the arm.

"You are staying here," he warned. "Cross? Get Tae to the Negotiator, and don't let anyone else die."

Cross threw him a wink, but his face became serious almost at once. "You know I always try to save them all."

"I'm coming along, Commander," Kenobi said. "I am the General, you know. But of course, in this particular stage of the plan, I defer to you."

Cody nodded sharply. "Deck. You, Clip, Keelo and Late are to accompany Cross back up to the ship. I want you there in the hanger to help with the unload. I told you you'd be hauling storage containers, didn't I?"

"Yessiree." Keelo pursed his lips with a smack. Cody tossed him a look. The trooper straightened and saluted, but it was quite sloppily done. Cody decided to ignore the jelly-like motion involved in this acknowledgement of his rank and position, and simply settled for a proper response.

"I mean, sir, yes, sir!"

"Good." Cody tapped at his comm and spoke into it. "Waxer, you're overseeing the preparations for Ghost Company. We're pulling out."

"Roger that, Commander," Waxer's voice replied. Then Boil's cut in as well.

"We'll make sure they behave."

"That's 'Commander' to you, Boil," Cody huffed. He cut the signal and turned back to the others. "I want Splint back over here. He, Kurt, the general and I will go throw a thermal on Tambor's parade, and I want everything squared away and moving out by the time we get back. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

The chorus faded, and the troopers hurried off (more or less) to their different assignments. Cody watched them go and surreptitiously held out a hand for the stims which Cross slipped into his palm in passing. Cross was a good medic, but he was also a wise soldier. He knew when self-preservation meant a greater chance at victory later on. Now was not the time to argue with his commander about health and some strange and annoying occurrence called "sleep deprivation". The younger troopers liked to call it "medic talk". When he wasn't feeling the professional pride too much, Cody agreed with them.

He was glad, however, that his bucket was back in place when Kenobi passed by and said over his shoulder, "And it's actually 'rain' on the parade. That is the correct terminology."

I think I'm quite tired, Cody told himself as he felt the corners of his mouth pull down into a most immature frown at the general's retreating form.

Keelo kept his mouth shut tight in a grim line, and kept his hands clasped behind his back in a firm grip as he walked briskly along beside Deck, Clip, and Late. He looked about the area they traversed and felt himself relaxing into the familiar bustle of ordered activity. He was glad of action and a chance to exercise what he'd been trained for all his life. But he had been pushed hard the past couple days, and he was consciously aware of that reality - which made him even more glad of this break while still having something to do.

By nature, Keelo was energetic and openly cheerful, often taking delight in simply being involved in the action, whatever that action was. Skirmishes, pack-it-up duties, pranking superior officers (officers that weren't too superior - going up too high in the ranks could prove fatal at best), and whatever else was going on at the time. But he had only been involved in active duty for a few weeks longer than Concord Squad. And he liked the additions to Sergeant Onno's squad quite well.

Yet, he held a hidden worry for his sergeant, and his squadmate, Whisper. With characteristic optimism, he surrendered his former concerns for Tae to the thoughts and fact that the pilot was in capable hands and would be cured. But as for the Sarge and Whisper...It was a distraction he was struggling with to a point where he couldn't ignore it anymore. And he coped by continuous jokes and his light manner of speech. But the slightly more serious-minded members of Concord were influencing his perception of events more than just slightly. And they were worried about Spinner. And added to that, their wonderings about Chad's welfare were not satisfied either.

He could sense Deck's heavy concern. The trooper was definitely someone Keelo admired. He had a balanced personality, almost non-descript until one got to know him. He was skilled, moderate in his tone, economical with his words, and stead. But Keelo knew there was much more beneath the surface, and he could see it now in the way that Deck held himself, in the way he walked. The soldier's mind was not at rest.

Late was much easier to read, as he'd been Keelo's squadmate from the moment he could recall. And like himself, Keelo saw that Late was concerned over the missing Spinner because the members of Concord were concerned about it. Keelo mused that Late seemed rather similar to Deck, though he smiled more readily than the other trooper. Come to think of it, all of Keelo's squadmates smiled more readily than the new additions to Onno's team.

Eh, he thought. We'll fix that eventually.

Keelo's thoughts were shaken by Clip suddenly pulling his helmet from his head. The trooper whirled and faced Deck.

"I can't do this," he growled. "Every time I think of that... ARC trooper, it makes me sick."

Deck continued walking, but he pulled his helmet off as well. "Yes, you can. We were given orders. Get busy and stop thinking about it. And watch your tone. You wanna get busted?"

Clip huffed at that. "Technically, I can't. I'm already in the lowest rank there is!"

"Cut it," said Deck. "We've got a job to do, and we have to do it. We'll deal with this later."

Keelo turned to face forward again, and caught sight of what Deck had been staring at when Clip had spoken. Waxer and Boil were making their way across the camp towards them.

Late sighed and cracked his knuckles. Clip winced.

"Let's get going, guys," said Late.

Keelo nodded vigorously, unable to entirely suppress a sudden internal shudder that took hold of him at the thought of ARC trooper Kurt. He couldn't understand it, but though his admiration for the soldier and his respect for him mounted each time he saw him in action, the combination of Clip's attitude and his own personal, unexplainable discomfort confused him to no end. He couldn't explain it away, and he couldn't laugh it away.

And that frightened him.

A/N: Definitely a weaker chapter, but fillers are necessary! AUGH! I can't wait for chapter 10! Almost there, guys! Hang on just a little longer!