Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co.
Be forewarned. I've been reading Sherlock Holmes lately, so this chapter may have the feeling of a top-rate detective novel. :P
And a big thanks to Vadersfist501st, Kelana-ti, Delta808th, emjalen, and Guest! You guys are just plain awesome!
Big thanks to emjalen for beta-reading this. :)
Skylar couldn't help but offer the lieutenant another smile as he removed his buy'ce. It had been several months since she'd seen Lyle. Too long. "So, anything I can do for you, Lieutenant?"
The red and white armored trooper offered her an easy smile in return, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that something had been bothering him. It's not the loss of a brother, I know that look all to well. Unfortunately.
Lyle seated himself in her other chair, her desk between them, as the door hissed shut. "I thought we were past titles, Sergeant Cordav," he countered, not as easily as was normal for him. He's lost sleep over this. Whatever 'this' is.
"That we are, Lyle. You look like something's been on your mind for a while now, ner vod'ika."
If anything, he looked uneasy, "I've already voiced my concerns to Commander Fox. I've even gone to the Jedi. But none of them will listen to me. Even my brothers think I'm paranoid."
There was no such thing as a paranoid clone. Paranoia was one of the first things that was drilled out of the men on Kamino. Skylar would know, she herself had helped her Buir plan quite a few of said training exercises.
But what happened in her past was neither here nor there. The very thought that the Jetiise weren't listening to the very men who'd bravely fought alongside them for over two years was unsettling. I've always thought that the Jetiise were a bit on the slow side, but I didn't realize that they could be this di'kutla. But then, they didn't grow up with these men. I did.
That's still no excuse for ignoring the concerns of a proven soldier.
Skylar rested her forearms on her desk and leaned forward, her belly brushing against the metal surface just a little sooner than she'd expected. But she focused her attention on the man in front of her, "What concerns, Lyle? What's wrong?"
"That's just it, Skylar. I don't know. It's just... There's a lot of things happening lately that just don't add up." He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his fingers, twiddling his thumbs. The fidgeting was one of the many tell-tale signs of nerves. He's afraid that I won't believe him either.
"Whatever it is, just tell me. I've got plenty of time to help you figure it out."
"Is it really true? What I heard you tell Captain Maze?" he asked, buying time to steel himself.
She nodded, resting a hand on her belly, "Of course. I'm only three months along, which means I'll be stuck in this stone frigate for another six. So, like I said, I've got time."
He offered her a genuine smile this time, "From what I've heard, you'd make time for any of us. No matter what."
Skylar chuckled, "You heard right, vod'ika. I told you news travels fast in this army. But that's not what you're here for."
"No, it's... Well, just hear me out." She nodded for him to continue. He ran his hand nervously over the scar on his forehead, "We don't have as many criminals coming into the prison as we used to. And I know this doesn't sound all that alarming. Commander Fox and the Jedi seemed to think it's because of our success on the warfront."
"In the field of bounty-hunting, if the merchandise isn't to be found, it only means that the hut'uune are laying low," Skylar interjected.
"That's exactly what I thought." Now that Lyle was sure that she would believe him, he relaxed and got right to the point, "We're still getting in the usual thieves, murderers, and the rest, but the kind of criminals that the Guard and the CSF hasn't been bringing in belong to crime syndicates like the Black Sun. The Black Sun isn't associated with the Seppies, not as far as I know. So why should my brothers' successes on the battlefield affect them?"
"You've got a very valid point, Lyle. I've heard similar things from my contacts in the Underworld. Whatever's going on, it's not good. I take it that, since you're here instead of at the prison, you're off duty?"
"Yes. But I don't see how that's-"
"And you're off-duty at this same hour tomorrow, correct?" she asked, checking the time on her desk chrono. It was pretty late, almost Tea's bedtime.
"Of course. But I still don't see what my schedule has to do with absent inmates."
"It has everything to do with it. You and I are going to get to the bottom of this. But until I can go to Zey about changing your shifts, we're going to have to work along with your schedule for the time being."
Lyle looked nothing but surprised. A trooper to the core. It won't be long before I get him used to the commandos' tendency to make spur of the moment decisions, though.
Come to think of it, he'd make a very good commando...
"And how, exactly, are you intending to 'get to the bottom'? You said so yourself, not too long ago, that you're on maternity leave." The very fact that the lieutenant hadn't once tripped over his words when mentioning her condition was, in itself, very suspicious. He'd reacted to the news of her pregnancy better than any regular trooper would.
Skylar, however, decided that now probably wasn't the time to question him about that. Instead, she shrugged, "I don't have to be on duty to ask a few questions, Lyle. I've a few contacts in the Underworld who are more than capable of doing my searching for me anyway. Speaking of which, I'm meeting with one tomorrow night. Would you like to join me?"
Lyle shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but his gaze never wavered from hers, "If it means that we'll be one step closer to figuring this out, then I'm all in."
In the back of her mind, Skylar was well aware of a thought that sounded suspiciously like Fives' voice telling her not to get involved. That this new mission was too dangerous for her and the baby. But I can't just sit by and do nothing, she countered. Still, she had the nagging feeling that her husband was so going to kill her if he ever found out about this.
Fives chuckled to himself as he thought over the conversation he'd had with his wife and daughter the night before. Tea had always been very persistent that she didn't want a brother or sister, and Fives had a sneaking suspicion that the reason had something to do with her being an only child thus far. She was jealous of the baby. Even though Fives knew why his little girl was acting in such a way, he still didn't quite understand it. He'd grown up surrounded by brothers, it was all he'd known. He'd never had reason to be jealous, as his sergeants had treated him and his brothers equally with the exception of Bric, of course. Sure, he'd been jealous of Bravo Squad, but that had merely been petty rivalry. Not once had he ever felt the need to voice any thoughts of not wanting his brothers.
As soon as the baby's born, Teanna will change her mind. Especially since Sky and I will finally be able to prove to her that she's not going to be replaced. Speaking of Sky... A wistful smile grew on his face as he remembered his wife showing off her changing figure to him.
Fives was so distracted by his current train of thought that he didn't even notice Tup and Kix until he almost walked right into them. At that moment, he was aware that the only reason why they would be coming down this specific corridor was to see either him or Rex. And since Rex was in the medbay keeping Commander Tano company...
"You alright, Fives?" the younger clone questioned, his expression concerned.
"I'm fine," the ARC Trooper responded, grateful that he'd had his bucket on the entire time. It definitely wouldn't be good if any of his brothers, aside from Rex of course, caught him daydreaming about his little family.
"Are you sure that you didn't hit your head during that last battle?" Kix asked, about to go into full medic mode.
"Positive, Kix. You personally checked me over, remember? You sure you didn't hit your head?"
Tup snorted, but quickly composed himself as Kix sent him an irritated glare. The medic turned his attention back to Fives, "Positive."
For several seconds, neither of them said anything and Fives was beginning to feel uneasy. "What? I haven't got clanker oil on my bucket, have I?" He pulled his buy'ce off his head to check, but Kix stopped hm by clearing his throat.
"What?" Fives reiterated, looking back and forth between the two of them. He focused on Kix, expected the medic to explain.
Tup surprised him by answering, "It's just that several of us have noticed that you've become... distant. I mean, we all know that you're a big, bad ARC now, but you've never closed yourself off from us like this."
Now that they were bringing it up, Fives immediately saw what they were getting at. He thought over the past two months and realized that he'd gotten into the habit of ignoring all of his brothers, except Rex, in an effort to keep any from accidentally finding out about his secret family. Bad idea, that. Now they know that something's up with me. What the haran am I going to tell them? I've got to give them something to get them off the right track, and quick!
"I..." Great, doofus. Now you're really going to make them suspicious.
buy'ce = helmet
ner = my
vod'ika
Buir = Papa
Jetii'se = Jedi (in the plural)
di'kutla = stupid, idiotic, moronic
haran = hell
stone frigate = clone jargon for an office job.
merchandise = bounty hunter jargon for someone with a price on their head.
CSF = Coruscant Security Force
Please R&R.
