The First Contact War

by 1Ragnarok1

In 2621 a Galactic Republic vessel is found in the Orion Arm, this springboards the United Earth Government into a galaxy at the start of the Clone Wars. A war that will test the 2nd UEG Expeditionary Force as well as the UEG finding out where it fits in this new galaxy, and their new neighbours.

20. Operaton Red Wings

The First Contact War

Chapter 20

Operation Red Wings

"The soldier above all prays for piece, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war" General Douglas MacArthur

2623 Febuary 26th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan FOB Athena .

Luke was in his room, sleeping when Luke was rudely woken up by Hex. Luke felt someone grab his shoulders and shake them as Luke stuffed his head under his pillow. Luke groaned and shrugged the person off but they kept shaking him.

"Come on, Luke. Get up."

"What?" Luke poked his head out from under his pillow, keeping the warm blankets around his body.

Hex sat next to him on his bed and shoved her laptop in his face. Luke saw it was a picture of two Arabian horses running alongside the beach. Luke look at up her with an irritated expression, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, not knowing what she wants.

"My cousin wants me to get these for her wedding present. Should I get 'em?"

"The hell should I know? Do I look like the kind of guy who knows anything about a wedding? Jesus."

"Well forgive me for wanting a second opinion."

Luke sighed as he tossed his hands in the air. "I don't know, Hex. It would cost a lot of money but it would make her happy. If it were me, I would want them but I wouldn't get them 'cause I know I would need the money later in life for a house and stuff. But, do whatever you want, it's not my life."

"Well, thanks for not being much help." Hex mumbles as she got up and starts to walk out his room.

"Wait!"

She turned around, with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Is that all you wanted? That's the reason you woke me up?"

"Yeah." She shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't a big deal.

Luke flipped him off and growl as she walked out, "Fuckin' asshole."

Luke raised his head a bit to see what time it was and groaned again when he saw it's almost nine in the morning. He plopped back in his bed and stuff his head under the pillow, covering himself back up with the blankets, hoping nobody else will come in. He knew it was time to wake up for everyone and breakfast was about to be served but he just wanted to sleep. They would usually go in each other's rooms and wake 'em up, not caring that they were asleep.

He was almost asleep again when the door slammed open, making him jump. He let out a small yell as he turns to see who it was but he relaxed and closed his eyes once more when he only saw Riley. He heared his footsteps coming towards him and gently shakes him.

"Come on, Luke. Time to wake up, Vode and Baatir are doin' their run and we gotta be there for breakfast."

Luke swated his hands away, burying himself further into the bed. Luke heard Riley sigh and take a few steps back. "Do I have to dump water on you? You know I will."

"Go away." Mumbled Luke.

"Alright but you asked for it."

Luke heard the footsteps fade away in the distance and felt like he was allowed to sleep again. But the second later Luke heard Riley's footsteps coming again. He was confused for a moment; he always threatens me like this but never goes through with them. Before he could think, a bunch of cold water splashed on top of his head, soaking him. Luke scream as he launched up to his feet, glaring at the bastard.

He was already running out of the room, laughing by the time Luke could realize he really dumped ice water on him. "You son of a bitch!"

Luke ended up getting dressed and walking out of his room but his hair was still wet. Luke met up with Vode Chorn and they walked outside together and by the time they got out there, it looked like they just got done with their run and Hex was telling them their time's. Vode spoke up first. "Who won?"

"Baatir. Baatir, barely. By one second." Hex informs us.

"Barely? Come on, Hex, you gotta be better than that!" Luke teased.

"Oh, shut up, Sparrow! How about you and me race, see who wins, huh?"

"No, thanks. I don't feel like waking up earlier than usual and running fifty miles." Luke sat down next to Riley and across from Vode as Hex kept standing and Baatir sat next to him.

Vode looked at him funny for a moment and asked "Luke, you take a shower?"

Luke turned to glare at Riley as he starts to smirk. "Close enough. I got woken up by dumbass over here, who poured a bucket of ice water on me."

At that moment, the group laughed and made fun of him for it. Luke shook his head and glared at them, crossing his arms. Once they calmed down, they went back to talking about the racing between Vode and Baatir. "Head shave?" Hex suggests out of nowhere.

"Head shave or what? I don't know, you know? It's something to think about. If I shave his head, I have to focus on his face. Face, ears. Oddly-shaped head." Baatir objected.

"Well, I don't want to be looking at him that close, either, but he has been running his mouth about beating you."

"Really?"

"Fuck, a head shave is fair."

"Riley? Better shave him!" Luke called out while Vode glared at him.

"Make him go eat with the KP, work in the chow hall until it grows back." Riley agreed.

"Frankie, what do you think?" Hex asks one of the guys in our group.

"Why the fuck wouldn't we shave him?"

"That's valid." Baatir points out. "Patton, not that we care, but what do you think? Let me see you make a tactical decision right now."

They all turned to one of the newer kids in the group, who was behind them. "Well, I could see both ways on this. He did lose but he was close. And your Baatir Chorn."

"You are Baatir Chorn. The Baatir Chorn." They all mumble in agreement.

" I would've expected a bigger separation." Patton continues.

"That is a good point." Hex and Luke agreed at the same time.

"Backhand compliment." Baatir whispers. "Patton. Grab my razor."

"Razor, copy that." He gets up and goes to leave but got stopped.

The door opens and it reveals Lieutenant Kristiansen. "Listen up! Red Wings a go. Tonight, eighteen hundred."

That was their unit. Luke nodded his head, not real excited, just like the rest of the guys. "Beautiful." Baatir murmurs.

"Am I going?" Patton asks, excitedly.

"PLO in an hour." Kristiansen continues but then leaves.

"Maybe I'll go!" Patton beams, looking at our group as we walk past him.

"It's a maybe. I'll give you a maybe. Stay optimistic." Hex rejects.

They went to the briefing room to see what the mission is. It shows a picture of an Tarhassanian on the screen, giving them all the information on him. Riley started speaking, their attention on him. "The objective of this mission is to capture and kill Kenfran Stetorr. Bad guy. Senior CIS commander responsible for killing Marines on eastern front now linked up with the resistance group known as Tali. A Tier I target. For this op I'm to be incharge,"

"If you want a positive ID, note that Kenfran has no earlobes." Riley pointed out to everyone.

The screen switches to another picture of a different Tarhassanian as Riley continues. "Taraq. His right-hand man. Seems to do most of his chief shit for him. We're going in on a five-man recon team. Baatir, you'll be point. Myself, I'll be second. Vode, comms. Hex, rear, med. Luke, you be with Hex and back up. Baatir give us our route."

"We're gonna be moving up the backside of this mountain here, which is gonna offer great concealment from the village. I'm estimating that it's gonna take us between three and four hours, depending upon the gradient of the terrain which is that crappy shale." Baatir informed, giving them a diagram on the screen. "So please lace up."

Hex then went up to the board, giving them more information. "First things first. You're gonna win the fight. No medicine in a gun fight. Two weeks ago, Team 8 was near where we're gonna be. Capelli got bit by a snake like creature. Contrary to popular belief, there is poison oak, so watch your cock and balls, 'cause that will suck."

Luke rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head. She could be so childish at time even during a serious moment. That moment, Vode stood up and joins the others up front. "Baatir got the Comms. The angle of this region is very steep. Expect typical comms problems. We're gonna be on two-hour comms windows. If we miss two windows, I'd say wake somebody up. If not, don't sweat it."

Once he is finished, Luke stood up from his seat and went up to the front. "Waypoint one is Budweiser. Waypoint two is Miller. Three is Corona. Four is Heineken. And for our OP 1, Schlitz Malt Liquor. And if and when we ID Kenfran, pass Rick James."

They all sat down once they finished talking, Dommel took their place, standing up front, next to the screen. "Gentlemen, these are your Rules of Engagement. OAG Force will comply with the Law of Armed Conflict at all times. Use of deadly force is authorized. If you do come under attack, use the appropriate force necessary to deter or defeat that threat."

Later that day after the meeting, they assembled in a small room where they went over the plan and timing. Kristiansen has four toy helicopters in his hands and show them what they would be doing are doing. "We take off here at eighteen hundred hours. Two Warbirds and two Superhornets. We fly here to the LZ, insert the five-man team right here. Then we fly thirty minutes to J-Bad. Here, we'll have fifteen team guys and about a dozen Marines standing by all night. When we hear Schlitz Malt Liquor, we're heading back to Bagram for phase two. The QRF will stay here at J-Bad. Now the Superhornets stay with the Warbirds. The movement is so we can get the Warbirds back here ready to bring up to phase two, once you get eyes on Kenfran."

They all nodded to let him know that they understood and he quickly announced, "Oh! I'm bringing up tomorrow night's new guy's presentation to fourteen hundred, today so that all may revel and partake."

They all whistled and cheered, almost making fun of Patton. The look on his face clearly made it known to everyone that he was nervous and frustrated. Luke stood next to Baatir and Riley came up to us and stated, "A lot of moving parts."

"Damn right. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up." Luke agreed.

" You better be able to keep up, Luke. Otherwise one of us or all of us will end up kicking your ass." Baatir declared.

"You wouldn't stand a chance?" Luke mocks.

"One chance or one slip up is all it takes?" He smirked.

Luke pretend to gasp and act hurt for a moment. "How dare you! In case you haven't noticed, I never slip up! And I know that because I have yet to get shot."

Once they got all the information they needed about the mission, they all went outside and sat at a picnic table, eating lunch. Vode was telling them something about his girl back home and something she wants for flooring. "We were going to wait and then she gets her head into it. There's no stopping her, man. She's goin' all out."

"You know what; you should just let her do it." Riley says. "You got a handyman woman. That's a good thing."

"He's afraid of losing control over his castle." Baatir smirked.

"He's having control issues 'cause he's the one who's always made the taste decisions in the family, right?" Hex guesses.

"She's got great taste. I….I trust her." Vode decided.

"Well, what does she like?" Luke asked.

"Rose Honeydew."

"What the hell is that? A colour?"

He nodded his head and Hex objected. "You gotta control that situation."

"It's very ongoing. New grass leads to new bushes by the window, leads to new curtains, leads to new sofa, leads to new carpet, leads to new floor."

"New baby." Riley interrupts.

"Dude, she's pregnant? How far along is she? You know if it's a boy or girl?" They all questioned.

"No, she's not pregnant. She's just on a weird journey, moving through the house, one room to the next."

"Sounds expensive." Hex comments.

"Sounds pregnant." Luke laughed, the boys laughing along but Vode was glaring at him.

"What about you, huh, Luke? Why don't you have a girl, yet? Where's your Damsel?"

"I don't have one 'cause of you guys." They all look confusingly at him, not understanding. "You scare all the girls away! If it wasn't for you four, I would already be married and having children."

"What about me?" inquired Hex.

"You don't count" Baatir quips.

"Oh really? In all the years we've known you; I have never once seen you with another girl." Riley points out.

"Well, then you should have seen me in high school. I was a chick magnet." Luke smirked.

"Alright, now that's the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard!" Riley lets out.

Luke quickly turned to him, giving him a warning look. Luke shaked his head, silently asking him not to tell them the truth, that he didn't go to high school. All the other guys look between us, looking interested. "Well, then. What was he like back in high school?"

"Riley, don't tell them." Luke hissed.

"Oh, come on! It's not like it'll matter, anyway. It's in the past, they won't judge you." Riley tried to convince him.

"No! Come on, be a buddy here! Don't do it, please. I'm beggin' ya!"

Riley shrugged and looks at the other three with a smirk. "He was the loner. I swear, in school, it was like he was mute. Never talked to anyone, never hung out with anyone, nothing. The only person that would hang out with him was me. And that was because we were neighbours and we were already friends before school. Back in high school he was known as The Loner."

Luke banged his head on the table, letting out a big sigh. He felt like his life just got ruined. He hated it when spoke about the fabricated version of his childhood, it sounded so dumb. He felt embarrassed by it, like people would judge him because of it, at least it wasn't the actual truth.

Someone clapped him on the back and gave his shoulder a squeeze. Luke looked to see Vode, who had a kind expression. "Riley's right. It doesn't matter. Look at ya, now! You're always cussing, we can never get you to shut up, and you love to piss us off. Looks like you came a long way."

Luke smiled, knowing they were always there to cheer him up. They finished lunch with lots of jokes and laughter. Soon enough, after lunch, they all assembled in a large room, waiting for Patton to come for his presentation. Luke was sitting in between Vode and Baatir as they waited. Finally, after a few minutes, Patton walked in the door. One of the guys called out, "You're fuckin' late!"

We all sat in recliners as the kid stood in front of everyone and said, "Sir, I'm good to go."

He was about to start but Kristiansen interrupted. "No! You should introduce yourself and tell us something about you we don't know."

Patton nodded his head and started off with, "Alright. Petty Officer…"

The second he says that, everyone started yelling at him, throwing garbage and anything they could find at him. Soon enough, Kristiansen stood up and stopped it. "Hey, settle down. Remember what it was like for you."

"…Petty Officer…" he starts again.

The same exact thing happened except nobody stood up for him. But the kid was smiling as he was trying to dodge some of the garbage. We stopped after a minute and he stood there, not knowing what to do at the moment. "Mr. Patton, please."

He then turned around and music starts out of nowhere. He starts dancing around, making up dance moves. He bobs his head backward and forward like he's a fucking Egyptian. He spins himself and makes some kind of pose with his hands in the air and his ass sticking out. Luke burst out laughing and Vode covered Luke's eyes, not letting him look.

When music stops Luke heard Baatir comment, "Really, really bad."

"Dude, that was traumatizing!" Hex announces. "Look at what you did to our best, over there! He has to shield his eyes!"

Everyone laughs and Vode moves his hand from Luke's face and pats him on the back. Riley stood next to Patton and asks, "Can we vote to push him through? Because I can't see that ever again. Hands up!"

Almost everyone in the room raises their hands, agreeing with him. "Push him through!"

"I don't know. Can he say it?" Baatir questions.

"Can you say it? Prove it." Hex joins.

Patton clears his throat and they wait for him to start. He says he can say it but he hasn't. We all wait silently, watching him as he shuffles his feet nervously up front. Hex shakes her head. "Come on. No more fucking around. Come on."

Patton takes a deep breath and stares at us all for a moment before standing up straight and talks. "I am an Orion Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the Orion Arm, and live the Marine Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the Orion Arm Government in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the Orion way of life. I am an Orion Soldier.."

They all cheer, clapping for him. That was way better than Luke expected. Luke thought the kid was gonna be tripping over his words the whole time, not knowing what to say. Instead, it seemed like he practiced that a hundred times, knowing every word.

2623 Febuary 27th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan FOB Athena .

Before Luke knew it, we were all loaded up and in gear, waiting for the Warbirds. They all sat around on the cement, waiting when they heard the sound of the repulser engines. They looked up and saw the Warbirds where just about to land near them. They hopped into the chopper and took their seats.

Luke stared hard at the ground as they were in the air. Luke was snapped out of his thoughts by something hitting his foot. He looked down to see another foot slightly nudging his. Luke looked to see who it belonged to and saw Hex across from him, looking nervous.

Luke sent her a concerned glance but Hex merely shook her head signalling she didn't want to talk.

"Something wrong, Hex?"

Hex shook her head again, not making eye contact. Luke thought she might have pre-mission nerves but considering her track record that was unlikely. He too knew something was gonna happen this time and he didn't like it. Luke looked in Hex's eyes as he grabbed her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze as he whispered, "Hey. Hex, what's wrong? Are you ok?"

Hex then looked into his eyes and saw they were filled with concern and care. She took a deep breath before answering, "Something's gonna happen. Remember how I always get this feeling when something bad might happen during a mission? I got this feeling right now and its making me feel sick to my stomach."

"What do you think might happen? One of us gets hit?" Luke asked, taking her fear into account.

"I don't know. I don't wanna think like that but I can't think of anything else that could really go wrong."

"Well…don't worry, alright? We'll look out for each other and we got each other's back. We don't only protect ourselves but we protect the team. Don't forget that."

She smiled gratefully at him as she leans back in her seat and rests, just like the others. Luke stayed awake the whole time as the hours went by. Luke was lost in his thoughts so it seemed the hours went by as minutes. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he tried. After what Hex said, there were too many possibilities that could happen during this mission.

Soon enough, it was dark and they were getting ready for the mission. Luke was counting down the time for them to jump. One by one, each of them slid down the rope and landed safely on the ground. Once they knew it was clear, and started walking up the mountain, the mission beginning.

Throughout the whole night, they kept tabs on where we were and communicating with the base. The groups feet were starting to hurt after the sun had risen from climbing up the mountain. By the time it was noon, Luke's throat was so dry, it began to hurt and the weight on his back was starting to affect his walking. The whole time, they never talked to each other and only focused on the main task at hand but for the first time in hours, Hex spoke up. "My God, just kill me! I'm dyin' here."

"You givin' us permission to shoot you?" Vode asks, almost excitedly.

"Sure, why not? Load your gun, aim, and shoot me right in the head. That way, you won't need to have me draggin' us behind with my lazy ass." Hex said sarcastically.

"Shut up, hex. We're all tired. Just keep movin' or I'll let Vode shoot you." Simon ordered.

"Fine. But if anyone is to shoot me, at least let it be Luke or Baatir so then I'll die by gettin' sniped. Quick and painless. That's my ideal way of dyin'."

"Really? You actually thought about your way of dying?" Luke questioned.

"Yeah, haven't you guys? We are in the Delta Force, I think we all thought about it at least once. You can't deny it and if you do, then you're lying."

"Alright, then I won't deny it."

Luke chuckled as he saw Baatir stop ahead of them. The rest of them were pretty far behind and Luke saw BAatir was in between a clearing of trees, where he could see whatever there was beyond the mountain they were on. "Hey, Baatir! What do you see up there?"

"Nature." Was the only response Luke got.

Luke rolled his eyes and just as he was about to make a smart remark, Vode beat him to it. "No shit, asshole!"

We stand next to him and Luke saw there is basically nothing but trees and more mountains. Luke couldn't spot any kind of camp or village anywhere near them or in any sight. The five of them slowly and carefully descend down the mountain, careful not to make any bad moves by slipping or yelling so there could be an echo.

They go into our positions, separating except Luke was with Hex and Riley. Luke could hear Baatir doing a radio check through their radio, making sure they were clear. Riley was looking through the binoculars and hands them to Hex, whispering, "Take a peek."

After a second, Hex hands them to me, cursing under his breath. "Shit. Can't see half the village."

Luke looked through the binoculars and see there is a village up ahead, at the bottom of the mountain but the trees were covering most of it, what he could see were a few brick buildings and some people moving around. "God damn it."

Luke handed them back to Riley and he looks through them for a moment before putting them down and sighing. Hex gives him a look, almost taking off her sunglasses. "Find a new spot?"

"Let's try to make that peak." He points over our shoulders and when Luke turns, he saw another mountain, bigger than the one they were already on. "See if that's not better."

"Sounds good." Hex agrees.

"Yeah, if you wanna die by climbing up Mount Everest. That's what it feels like right now, climbing a hundred miles up." Luke retorted.

"Hey, Luke?" Luke turned his attention to Riley, wanting to glare at his friend. "Looks like you're getting in that fifty miles you said you didn't want to run."

"Wow, you're funny. That was so good, I almost forgot to laugh."

The guys chuckle as they all group back up and started walking again. They went up the mountain and after another few hours, they eventualy got to the top. They got to their positions and started to disperse from each other, listening to Rilkey from their radio. "Hex, on me. Vode, take our six. Inform command of our new position. Baatir, eyes on. Luke, look around the village, see if anyone has weapons and make sure nobody is near us on the mountain."

Luke looked around the village and saw a large group of men carrying guns, some of them had knives too. Luke dropped his binoculars and grabbed his radio to contact Riley. "Shit. Riley, it's like an army down there. They all got guns and knives. It looks like they got ready for us, man."

"I know, we see 'em. Make sure nobody is near us, got it?"

"Copy that."

Just as Luke was about to take his binoculars out again and search, he heard Riley on the radio again. "Baatir, you're on surveillance. Vode, fall back to OP 2 and get me some fucking comms. Collins, stay on watch, you see anything suspicious, contact us and start heading down to see what it is."

Luke sighed, leaning against a tree. He look around the mountain and see nothing. All Luke saw was trees and rocks. Everyone in the village is staying in the village. Luke didn't see anyone outside except the men who had the weapons. Maybe the civilians were scared of them or they were all threatened. Luke wondered about them when he heard Baatir through the radio. "Riley, I'm good here. I'm going to break down OP 1."

"Copy that. Listen up, if you can, move to high ground and make comms. Hex, Baatir, shut her down. Vode, you got security. Rest up, gents…and Luke."

He smile as he close my eyes and slouch, finally being able to relax. His peace was interrupted by a noise on the radio. It took him a minute to realize what it was and by that time, he heard Vode on the radio. "Can you get off the radio while you're chewing? You're making me nauseous."

Luke rolled his eyes at Vode as he heard him. "How did you know it was me? It could've been Luke for all you know." Baatir responded.

"Luke isn't as obnoxious and stupid as you, Baatir. It's just a fact, don't cry over it. Also, I didn't specifically say your name, I was just telling whoever was chewing to get off the radio and you're the one who answered, which was a dead giveaway."

"Dude, what the fuck are you even eating?" Luke asked.

"Chocolate."

"You wanna come over to my station and give me some?"

"No, it's mine, get your own!"

"I don't have any chocolate, dumbass. And in case you didn't notice, we're on a mission so I can't get up, go to the base, and get chocolate." Luke snaped.

"What do you want me do?"

Luke groaned, throwing his head back. "Just save me some, will ya?"

"Fine."

"Thank you!"

Luke got back into a comfortable position and closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing and feeling at peace for once after what felt like days but was actually only hours. Luke stayed like that for hours, just sitting there and resting, none of them talking or making noises on the radio. He was actually almost asleep when he heard something. Goats.

Luke sat up and looked around. He nearly yelled when he saw a goat looking creature standing next to him but he kept his mouth shut and slowly got up. He stood up and carefully walked backwards, making sure he didn't trip or make any noises. Soon enough, he heard voices following the goats. He looked and saw Sheppard's coming their way.

There were three of them, the group made no noise or movements as to not be discovered. Two young boys and an old man. One of the older boys was talking and walking backwards at the same time but jumped when he stepped on one of the boys. Luke looked and saw Hex holding her foot and as the boy started running, Baatir tackled him to the ground. They all ran out of our hiding spots, showing their positions.

Luke tied the old man to a tree as Hex tied up the youngest boy. She looked up at me and explained, "Stepped right the fuck on me!"

"I know, I saw."

Baatir was trying to contact someone on the radio as we tied the three people to trees. Luke banged his head against a tree nearby, cussing under his breath. Of all people, this had to happen to us. It turned out, Baatir's radio wasn't working and Riley was getting more pissed by the second.

"So now I'm going to be that guy calling on an unsecure sat line because your shit ain't functioning."

"Talk to the mountain, sir." Baatir responds.

Riley got a connection to base and waited to talk to Kristiansen. He was trying to get their situation across but before they knew it, the line was dropped. He started to try to dial the number again but it wouldn't work. The signal out here in the mountain sucked.

"Well, we could light the goats on fire, smoke signal our way outta here." Hex suggests.

"Yeah, I could walk down to the village, ask to borrow a ship." Vode adds.

"You'd get some interesting tile ideas down there, bro. Dirt Brown, Goat Skin Blond. Shit, she'll dig that a hell of a lot more than, what is it, fuckin' Honey Cream?"

"Not the time to joke around, guys!" Luke warned.

At that moment, the older boy got up and starts to run but Baatir throws him on the ground once more and up against a tree, closer to the group. Luke looked towards Riley and wondered what he had for ideas as leader. "Way I see it, we got three options. One, we let them go, hike up. We'll probably be found in less than an hour. Two, we tie 'em up, hike out, roll the dice. They'll probably be eaten by fucking wolves, or freeze to death."

"Three?" Vode asks.

"We terminate the compromise."

It was silent between the five of them, thinking of the options and what would be best. Baatir was the first to speak his mind. " Kenfran's down there. We let them go, we're lettin' him go. Mission fails."

"No, Riley." Hex objects. "I don't like it. I don't fucking like it at all. What are we gonna do? We gonna kill them? Huh? Ok, we kill them, right? What, then what? Fuckin' bury 'em? They get found, then what?"

"Then what?" Baatir repeats.

"What do you mean, then what?" Hex challenges.

"And then what?"

"What do you think? This shit's gonna be private? Huh? It's gonna be out there for the whole fuckin' galaxy. GNN, ok? OAG Special Forces kill kids. That's the fucking story forever."

"It's nobody's fuckin' business what we do up here. We do what we do. What we have to do." Vode jumps in, looking at Riley. "This is the fuckin' EF and you're the fuckin' boss, so you make the fuckin' call, sir."

"Guy's calm down." Luke tryed to stop. "We need to stay calm right now and try to make the most reasonable choice, here."

"Hey, you know what? You have no say in this, Sparrow! This is all your fuckin' fault, anyway!" Hex yells.

"My fault? How is it my fault that three Tali's wandered up here with their goats?!"

"You were supposed to be on the fuckin' look out! It's your fault because you didn't do your fuckin' job! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this situation right now!"

"I'm sorry but we were all exhausted! It seemed like everything was fine and I never saw anyone near the mountain! I thought we were clear!"

"Yeah, well, clearly, you thought wrong!"

Luke closed his eyes and take a deep breath, clenching his fists and see the guys watching me, waiting for his next move. "What do you want me to do, Hex? Shoot myself as fuckin' punishment?"

"You know, that's a wonderful idea! That would solve a hell of a lot of problems that we have right now!"

He stared at her hard as she glares at him.

"Alright, that's enough, you two! Let's focus on the task at hand here." Riley interrupts.

Thankfully, Baatir stepped in and continued with the main situation we had. " Kenfran killed twenty Marines last week. Twenty. We let him go, twenty more will die next week. Forty more the week after that. Our job is to stop Kenfran. Why do these men have the right to dictate how we do our job?"

"Rules of Engagement says we cannot touch them." Hex quietly says.

"I understand. And I don't care. I care about you. I care about you. I care about you. I care about you." Baatir says, motioning to all of us. "I don't want your mom seeing your head, your decapitated head on this planet's equivalent of Al Jazeera. That is Kenfran."

"I don't see it that way." Hex damn near whispers.

"Where do you think he's running to? Two hundred friends down there."

"Got guys in Leavenworth doing twenty for taking home trophy guns. What do you think they're gonna do with two fucking kids and an old fucking man?"

"Fucking look at them, man. They fuckin' hate us." Vode adds.

"Look at him." Baatir gestures to one of the kids. "That's not a kid, that's a soldier. That's death. Look at death."

"We can't do it. Look at the soldier. They are unarmed prisoners." Hex objects.

"And the second they run down there, we got two hundred Haji's on our backs."

"Tie 'em up. Tie 'em up. Let's get the fuck outta here."

"We can't just fuckin' leave 'em, let 'em go!" Vode shouts.

"I thought you were standing by waiting for your fuckin' orders." Hex points out.

"I am standing by waiting for my fuckin' orders." Vode argues. "Luke, what do you think?"

"Does it really matter what I think?"

He looks at me with a sharp eye, almost glaring at me. "Yes! You're still on this fuckin' team whether you like it or not, whether Hex likes it or not! You're still on the team and we stick together! I'm not letting you take yourself out just because of some fuckin' things that were said, got it? Now, Luke, what do you think?"

Luke almost smiled at the protection and care in his eyes. He knew he was looking out for me and what he said was true. "We can't let 'em go 'cause then we'll be tracked and followed. I don't wanna die up here but I don't wanna kill them. Lives are still lives. Just tie 'em up; let them die on their own. That way, we aren't responsible for them and we don't get tracked."

"What do you think that radio's for?" Baatir snapped. "They're not calling Domino's pizza!"

"I know what the fuckin' radios for!" Hex rolls her eyes.

"That radio's fuckin' Tali." Vode informs.

"It's a cell phone to the Tali." Baatir points down to the village.

"So you just think it'll be our little secret? Huh?" Hex questions.

It was then Luke realized, Riley hasn't said one word throughout this whole argument. It looked like he was thinking about the options and the best choice. Baatir shook his head, getting more irritated. "That's a warrior. Schwack 'em."

"We can't do that." Luke said softly.

"This is a soft compromise."

"You want to go to Leavenworth?" Hex questions.

"We don't know how many fuckin' Haji's they have down there, man!" Vode argues.

"Don't let him influence you."

"Hex, I'm just saying, you can't just say—"

"Look at that child." Baatir cuts Vode off.

"Make up your fuckin' mind and don't let him influence you." Hex orders Vode.

"Schwack 'em." Baatir repeats.

"Riley, it's your fuckin' call. I ain't fuckin' voting." Vode shouts.

"This is not a vote." Riley announces, stepping up and making everyone go silent. "This is what we're gonna do. This op is compromised. So we're gonna pack up everything. We're gonna cut them loose and we're gonna make this peak. When we make this peak, you're gonna get comms up. When we get these comms up, we're gonna call for extract and we're going home."

They all nodded their heads, letting him know they knew what their were doing. They cut their ties and helped them up. It seemed they were all confused but once they saw them letting them go, they slowly started to walk away. They watched them descend down the mountain and once they were out of sight, they began climbing up.

It was silent the entire time they walked up the mountain, nobody talking, nobody making any kind of noise. Before he knew it, they were already almost to the top, thankfully. His feet ached but he kept going, just like he was trained to do. Once they finally reach the top, he dropped to his knees, near Hex as she swore. "Fuck! This is a false summit."

Luke looked around and saw she was right. Luke suppressed a yell and instead he groaned and face planted in the dirt, lying down and resting for a moment. He heard Vode trying to contact base, raising the satellite around, trying to get a good connection.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Hex asks.

"Go home, get in bed, watch Anchorman." Riley answers.

"Yeah, roger that. What do you think?"

"I think we did the right thing. I think we let our love light shine. I mean, isn't that how things work? Good things happen to good people?"

"This is a bad spot." Baatir comments under his breath, looking through his telescope.

"Vode, I got nothing here on sat. Give me something." Riley orders.

"I got fucking shit."

Riley stands up and turns to all of us. "Let's fall back to that tree line. Wait 'till sundown. If we can't make comms, we're walking home anyways, guys. Let's get some rest. Pack up, let's move."

They made it to the tree line and they set up camp on a pile of rocks and trees, disguising ourselves, keeping a lookout. Luke stared out in the woods, through the trees, wondering if there was anything out there. He couldn't help but wonder if Hex was right. Would we be in this position right now if he was paying attention and saw the three merchants coming up the mountain? Is this entire thing really my fault? Did she mean everything he said? Would it solve a lot of problems if I were to die? Many other thoughts ran through his mind, making him confused and curious.

"I'm going to do some recon. Be back in two minutes."

Luke jumped and pointed his gun at the person behind me, getting ready to shoot. He met with a pair of shocked eyes of Riley, who was staring at him and the gun. Luke breathed a sigh in relief and put his gun down, shaking his head to clear it. Riley gently puts a hand on his shoulders and barely whispers, "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure? You can take a break off watch for a while and get some rest."

"No! I can't rest, I need to stay on watch."

"Luke, if this has anything to do with what Hex said—"

"I'll be fine." Luke cut him off, looking back to the region where I'm supposed to watch. "Go. Do whatever you have to do."

He looked reluctant and does as told but very hesitantly. Luke went back to searching the woods and out of nowhere, he heard a twig snap. He didn't know if it was Riley or not but he got ready. Luke raised his gun and looked through the scope, trying to find the source of the noise.

For a mere second, Luke thought he saw something black go behind a tree but he wasn't sure. He kept his eye on that tree for a few moments but he didn't see anything. It must've been his imagination but he was still on alert. Luke looked to his right and saw both Baatir and Hex had their guns drawn and were searching around, same as him. Maybe he wasn't imagining things.

Luke was about to jump but contained himself when he heard someone appear right next to me. Luke barely moved his head and out of the corner of his eye, he saw it was Riley. Riley leaned down and whispered in his ear, "We're about to get contacted."

"Shit." Luke moved up and behind a tree, making sure he was covered. He put himself against a tree but between two large rocks.

Luke peered over the rocks and raise his gun once more. He looked around until he spotted something. Luke looked and see someone standing behind a tree, raising their own gun and aiming. Luke didn't know who it was aimed at but he knew it was aimed at one of his boys. Luke cocked his gun and made sure he got a good aim. The second he was sure of it and the man came out just a little further away from the tree, Luke fired. The Plasma bullet shot the man in the head, making him drop instantly to the ground.

Luke was breathing so lightly; He couldn't even hear himself breathe. He heard two other snipe shots in the distance, not far from him. He quickly looked and saw Hex shoot another man down. It was silent for a moment in the woods when out of nowhere, a loud gun sounded, lasers flying.

Luke got up from his hiding spot and pushed forward, making sure he kept Himself hidden. He heard more plasma being shot and some yells from men who were shot. Thankfully, he didn't hear any of the yells coming from his own men. He dropped to the ground and crawl behind a stump, getting good aim. He looked and see someone running towards him. Luke aimed for the chest and shoot, and then the man drops dead.

"Moving!" Riley orders all of us.

Luke got up again and to go behind a large boulder as the othera go behind trees, branches, or other rocks. Luke took a deep breath before coming over the rock and shooting any man he could out there, making sure they're dead. Luke saw the others moving forward and he followed them. Luke had his gun ready as they do also and push forward.

Luke saw a small group coming toward them out of the corner of his eye and quickly turned to shoot. The second he shot at them, they returned fire. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain on his face and he dropped to his knees, letting out a yell, clutching the side of his face. "Luke!"

Luke was about to get up when a pair of arms pulled him up and made him look at the person. Riley looked at him with concern and when they heard another laser fly past them, Riley pushed Luke back to the ground. "Are you alright?!"

"Fine! Just got a graze!"

Riley nods and gets back up, helping Luke to his feet. Luke whipped his cheek and see a smear of blood on his sleeve, the laser hadn't cauterised the wound like it was suppose to. He growled and tried to ignore it, going back to the fight. Luke heard some yelling and saw a man on top of Hex, trying to reach her gun. Luke grabbed his gun, aimed and try to not hit his teammate. They both kept moving so much and he didn't want to hit Hex. The second he got a clear shot, Luke fired, hitting the man in the head.

Hex pushed him off and quickly turned around to find the source of who saved her. She spotted Luke lowering his gun and she gave him a slight nod in thanks. Luke did the same and turned around to find Vode shot in the hand. Luke quickly made his way over to him and grabbed an extra canister of healing gel out of his pocket. Luke took Vode's hand in his and applied it on the burn; making sure it was successful and would lessen the burn.

Luke ran back over to the others and see Baatir, Riley, and Hex in a small group behind a large rock. Luke joined them and trying to catch his breath for a moment. Hex looks over at him and her eyes widen. "What the fuck happened to you?!"

"It's just a graze, don't freak out."

Hex faces forward and peeks over the edge of the rock. "Riley. Left is good. I say again, left is good." The very second he finishes talking, a machine guns come out from the left side. They all took cover and slide further behind the rock, not taking any chances. "Riley! Left is not good! I say again, left is not good!"

"Roger that! Push right!"

Luke looked to the right whilst they are still taking cover and saw nobody on the right side. He turned back to his team and called out, "We're good right!"

Riley went on the radio and tells the others, "We are good right. Push right. Push right. Push right."

Riley stands up but out of nowhere, a gunshot goes off and hits him in the side. Hex quickly pulls him down next to her, taking cover. After that, he heard Riley on the radio. "Right is no good. Right is no good."

Luke started running through the woods, dodging trees and jumping over rocks. A sudden impact smashes into him, throwing him on the ground. He looked up and saw a man on top of him, raising a knife. Luke quickly grabbed his arm and tried to restrain it from coming down on him and killing him. The man got his second wind and brought the knife down, hard and deep into his shoulder through a gap in the armour.

Luke let out a loud, long yell, unable to contain it. He punched the man in the face, making him bleed. He yanked the knife out of Luke's shoulder and was about to stab him again but Luke gripped his arm and tried to stop it from doing him any more harm. He heard two or three gunshots near him and the man stopped fighting Luke, his eyes wide.

He dropped on top of Luke and he pushed the body off himself. Luke grabbed his shoulder and felt the blood seeping through his hand, the pain growing. Footsteps ran his way and when he looked up, he saw Hex crouching next to him, looking at his shoulder as Baatir helped him sit up. Luke grunted as he held his shoulder, the pain officially burning.

Hex gently removed Luke's hand from the wound and quickly put dirt on it to lessen the bleeding. She ripped off part of a piece of cloth she had in her pocket and put it on his shoulder, tying it around his arm. Luke winced as she made it tight, securing it. Luke kept hearing more shots flying all around, the gunshots ringing in his ears.

"Hex, on me!" He heard Riley yell from a distance.

Before she moved, Hex grabbed both sides of his face and forced Luke to look at her. "You're gonna be fine. We're gonna get outta this and you're gonna be just fine. Got it? Baatir, take care of him!"

Once she got up and left, Baatir helped Luke to his feet, supporting Luke as they went to take cover. Rockets kept hitting everywhere near them, making dirt explode all over them, throwing them around in the air. Soon enough, we heard Riley yell, "Baatir! Baatir, Luke, on me!"

Baatir pulls Luke close to him as they make it next to the group. Luke saw they were at the very edge of a cliff. Luke eyes widen as he realized what they're about to do. Another rocket hits right behind them and they all jump, getting prepared for the impact. The second Luke hit the ground, his knees give out and collapse, his body flying down the hill. He kept rolling, dirt flying everywhere, his shoulder flaming with pain whenever he rolled on it. He fell back down on to the rocks, his body aching. He couldn't see anything, his world still spinning. He banged into a tree and he hoped to stop but his body swings itself around the tree and keeps going. Somehow, he can barely hear the noises of the others still going down, somewhere near him. his face smashed into a rock and he felt blood splat all over as he kept going. He assumed that his nose had just been broken.

He didn't feel rock anymore but he kept hitting trees and dirt, sometimes smacking into stumps and flying off of them. Luke smashed into branches as he kept rolling, wanting to stop but his wish doesn't go answered. Luke didn't care how he was stopped, as long as the pain was gone. He rolled down another small cliff and went down hard on a rock, crushing his wounded shoulder. Luke let out a loud scream as he kept going.

What felt like hours later, his body slammed itself into a rock, a sudden yet painful stop. He stayed still, not wanting to move and cause more pain to himself. His head was still spinning and his body ached now more than ever. He'd been through a lot of shit in his life but so far, this experience is by far, number two. He whimpered as he raised his head and opened his eyes to see the others not too far away from him but not the closest, either.

Luke saw they were all gathering behind a large rock and tree so he used all his strength to push himself up and get to his feet. Luke slowly made his way towards them and when he was about halfway, Luke felt someone come up behind him and quickly but gently helped him to his feet. Vode gave Luke support as they climbed up towards the other two.

Luke was at the edge of the rock when Hex moved from her place and grabbed Luke's hand, pulling him up and close to her. The same moment Vode and Luke joined the group, Baatir did too. "That sucked."

"I couldn't agree more, bud." Luke moaned.

"They fuck….they fucking shot me." Vode announces.

"Livin' in the past, Vode." Riley said.

"We're all shot, bro. Can you fight?" Hex asked.

"Messed up my drawing hand, that pisses me off."

"Luke, you alright?"

Luke lazily looked over at Hex and saw she was truly concerned. He looked around for a moment and saw they were all looking at him. Luke smiled and started to softly chuckle. "Those fuckin' assholes gotta throw a lot more than that to get rid of me. I still got some fight left in me, give me all you got."

They all smirked his way, happy with his answer. "We just gotta get to flat ground, then we can take these motherfuckers, that's it." Hex encouraged.

Before any of them could make another move, Luke heard a couple more shots passing by as Vode got hit in the foot. They all peeked over the rock and started shooting, trying their best to stay covered. He heard Vode cuss as he got shot again but this time, in the shoulder.

"Vode, you alright?" Luke yelled.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

Luke turned back to fight and just as he was reloading, a laser went into him, wounding him. Grazed his leg, blood immediately slipping down his shin, an intense feeling going out through his body. He hissed in pain but kept fighting, not turning away from the damn fight, no matter what. He went to crouch down and reload again when he heard a yell, "Peel left!"

They ran from the rock and into the trees, taking cover by the woods. We make our own trail, all five of us struggling to keep themselves up and not collapse or fall behind. Luke was right behind Hex and Riley was right behind him. They kept going, pushing himself as he felt himself losing more blood from wounds and making him weaker. Luke's foot got caught in a tree root and he slipped and banged his head on the ground before scrambling to his feet. He heard buzzing in his ears as he still hears gunshots in the distance behind them but the noise was coming closer. Vode fell and couldn't get back up but he saw Hex grab his should strap and drag him the rest of the way.

To make sure they were safe, Luke fell back a bit and pushed Baatir and Riley further ahead of him, telling them to go faster. He wasn't gonna let them get hit, not if he could somehow stop it. They both start running but he couldn't, the pain in his body restraining him. They kept getting further and further ahead until he lost them completely, both of them gone through the trees. Luke stopped for a moment, trying to see if I could hear their footsteps or their voices but he got nothing. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing and the buzzing in his eyes, the pain in his head making it harder to concentrate.

Luke pushed himself more, grunting every now and then, going forward. Before he knew it, he came upon a clearing. It looked like another hill they had just came from but a little less rocky, more boulders, and more dirt. For a moment, he thought he heard one of the guy's voices so he nearly killed himself by putting one foot in front of the other and started running. Luke wasn't looking where he was going; all he knew was that he had to find the others.

Luke didn't know how long he was going on for but soon enough, he ran off a little rock ledge and since he wasn't expecting it, Luke didn't jump. Instead, he fell straight down and prepared himself for another rolling adventure except he didn't hit dirt or rocks. Luke landed on someone, making that person and a few others yell in surprise.

He quickly looked up to see the person he had landed on and was shocked to find Riley. The four of them were just as shocked but Riley grabbed Luke by his shoulder strap and yanked Luke up next to him, against the rock wall. "Luke, you alright? Jesus, we thought we lost you!"

"Don't worry about me." Luke said in a low voice.

Hex leans forward and looks past both Vode and Riley to look Luke in the eyes. "Telling any of us not to worry about you is like telling you not to fight."

Luke couldn't help but almost smile at the comment. If anyone would tell him he couldn't fight, he'd probably kill them. It's good to know she still cares even after everything that's been said and done in the past few hours. He realized they were all out of breath and trying to regain their strength in the small moment they got.

"Hey." Luke heard Hex but nobody turns to her. "Hey." Luke looked over at her and so does Vode and Riley. "This is bad, here. This is a fucking problem." She then turns to the most wounded of the five of them. "You're ok, right?"

"Shot me up pretty good." Vode stated.

Hex started to put some dirt on his leg wound and he saw Vode trying to suppress a yell, a tear slipping down his cheek. Ignoring his own pain and torture, Luke crawled over Riley and sat next to Vode, keeping a hold on his hand, giving him comfort. He squeezed Luke's hand with nearly all his strength, making it almost hurt but comforting to know he was still there with him. Once Hex was done she moved to Riley. This experience has been the worst one they'd ever been involved with and none of them knew what to do.

"Luke, come here." Hex ordered.

Luke let go of Vode and faced Hex. She carefully grabs his leg and looks at the wound, wiping some blood from it and making Luke wince. She grabs a handful of healing gel and shoves it on the wound, making the burn stop a little. The sting intensifies as Luke cranked his leg backwards, trying to not make a noise. Someone puts their hand over his mouth and lets him yell as loud as he wanted and thankfully, it came out muffled.

"Riley, how'd they get us so fast?" Vode asks, real loudly.

"SSHH! Shut the fuck up!" Hex quickly hisses, turning to the most wounded of them.

"I just don't understand how fucking fast they were, man. Oh, fuck. I just…fucking faster than we are?"

"They're not faster than us." Baatir whispers, not too reassuringly.

"I was fucking talkin' to my mom. She didn't fuckin' say nothing about…she didn't fuckin' say nothing!" Vode looks at his hand that was wrapped in a now blood red cloth. "Oh, fuck, such vivid reds. Oh!"

"We gotta move, Riley." Hex informs and the second the words leave her mouth, gunshots start firing their way once again.

Riley gets up and runs somewhere behind us but Luke heard his voice yell, "Baatir, smoke! Smoke up! Smoke 'em!"

Baatir throws a smoke container and they ran to join Riley and Luke saw they were are at the edge of another ledge, but he didn't see any kind of dirt on this one. "We're not fuckin' doin' this again, are we?"

"Damn right we are!"

Hex throws Vode on her shoulders and they start to take turns jumping. Riley jumps first, Baatir follows, then Luke, and then Hex and Vode. Luke didn't even try to stand or stop himself from rolling down, he knew it was pointless. The second he landed on a rock, he went tumbling down, the rock smashing into his shoulder and his entire body.

He kept rolling but thankfully, it didn't last as long as the last time. All he did was roll down the rocks and every once in a while, get thrown in the air. he went down a small hill of rocks and the small of his back smashed into another rock, making Luke yell out in pain. Luke's world was spinning, seeing nothing but blurs of green and grey and sometimes blue. Just as soon as the rolling started, it stopped and he landed at the bottom, against a tree.

He laid on his back, trying to catch his breath and remain still. Luke held his stomach as he coughed up blood, nearly throwing up. His ears started buzzing again but he faintly heard Riley say, "RPG."

Before he could register what he was talking about, an explosion hit close to them, dirt flying everywhere. They all took cover in different spots but they were all still close together. Luke's eyesight started to go in and out, things becoming fuzzy and blurry one moment and then the next, they're clear. He crouched down in a ball behind the rock, not taking the chances of getting hit.

"Where's Vode?" Luke heard Baatir ask, his voice sounding like it was underwater to me.

He look around and only see there were four of us. Baatir, Riley, Hex, and Luke. No Vode. Luke frantically looked around, even standing up, trying to find his brother in arms. Luke turned to Hex, who was with him last and yelled, "Where is he?!"

"He's up top."

"What? He can't be, he came down with you!"

"He's up top. He got…he got hit. In the head."

Luke shook his head, not wanting to believe it as he still stood but quickly shot back into cover quickly next to Riley and Hex. Hex turned to the others and tried to convince them, "We gotta get 'em! We have to! We gotta get 'em! Now!"

Riley grabs both side of her face and makes Hex look at him, him looking sternly in her eyes. "We are, alright?! He's gonna be fine and so are we! Calm down and we're gonna get him, got it?"

Luke nodded his head, believing him with everything he had. "We get up there, we get him, get him down the hill, and then we take 'em on flat ground. We can take these bastards on flat ground."

Baatir tried to come up to where we were but it looked like his legs were failing him so Luke jumped up and went to his side, supporting half his body weight and helping him up. Riley and Hex grabbed his arms and pulled him up, then they did the same to Luke. Another explosive almost hits them and they all flinch, trying to cover themselves better.

"We're gonna go get Vode up top and then we're gonna come back down and fight on flat ground, we're gonna kill 'em all." Riley ordered. "Hex, you good?"

"I'm good!"

"Baatir, your security, Luke, you come with and try to cover us. Let's go!"

Baatir hid behind the rock and started shooting the men at the top as they came out and started running, going forward. Luke saw a shot almost hit them and Luke quickly stopped, finding the shooter and killing him. Luke went back to catching up to the others but he saw they had stopped and hid behind a large boulder.

Luke ran towards them and crouched down just like them. "You guys good?! None of ya are hit?!"

"No, we're good!"

"I don't think we can get up from here." Hex claimed. "We ain't out-fuckin'-flankin' 'em, Riley! We gotta find another way!"

"I'm going to make the call to QRF." Riley announced.

Luke quickly turned to him, knowing what he meant. He looked in Luke's eyes sadly and gave me half a smile. Luke simply nodded, knowing what was about to happen. Hex didn't understand and objected, "You ain't making no fuckin' comms with that sat phone, Riley."

"Look at me." They both looked at their leader, wondering what he would say "I'll make the call."

He gestured the highest and clearest point closest to them. Hex's eyes became wide as she finally understood. "No, no Riley. No. Fuck that!" Next thing Luke knew, Riley throws a mag into his lap and shoves one in Hex's face. "No. No. Fuck that, Riley!"

"Take it. You fuckin' take it."

"I'm sorry, Riley."

"For what?"

"That we haven't killed more of these fuckers." Hex growls as she keeps shooting.

"Oh, don't be fuckin' sorry. We gonna fuckin' kill way more of 'em."

Luke took a deep breath before saying, "Hey Riley, stay low, go fast"

"Kill first, die last,"

"One shot, one kill,"

"No luck, all skill."

"Hex!" she turns around to face their leader, not wanting to say goodbye. "Never out of the fight."

Luke looked up at His friend and his brother in arms with deep respect and admiration. He gave both Hex and Luke a nod, in respect or goodbye or both. Riley raised his gun and Luke that meant to go back to business. Hex and Luke peeked over the edge of the rock and start shooting, giving Riley some cover as he made his way to the tree line.

Luke faintly heard Baatir yell, "What's he doin', guys?!"

"Riley's movin'! Riley's movin!"

"Where is he going?!"

They kept shooting, trying not to let any bastards hit their leader. An explosive hit right behind them, making Luke flinch and Hex ducked down into cover. Luke kept shooting at anyone he could find, Several of them dropping dead.

Every few seconds, Luke would take a quick glance towards Riley, seeing if he was doing ok and if he needed help. Luke didn't want to look at him one moment then find him dead the next, Luke wanted to try to keep him alive for as long as possible. It wasn't because Luke wanted him to make that call, it was because he was a friend and Luke wasn't going to let him die that easily.

As Luke was grabbing a fresh mag, he saw an explosive almost hit him and Luke ended up standing up and shooting. Every time Luke hit the trigger and shot someone, Luke couldn't help but let out a yell. At this moment, he was thriving to kill them. He needed to kill those bastards. They killed his brother in arms Vode Chorn and soon, they would kill another one of his other brothers, Simon Riley.

Luke looked up again and see Riley at the top of the hill, making the call. Luke smile but it dropped the second he saw some men trying to climb the rocks, up to Riley. Luke took aim and started shooting, listening to blasters being shot and explosives smashing into the ground near them. Hex was yelling at him to get down before he got shot but everything seemed to be in slow motion for Luke.

Everything was fuzzy and all sounds sounded distant, like they were miles away. Luke looked back at his friend and his eyes widened as he screamed out his name, pleading for it not to be true. A few men were behind him, shooting him in the back. Riley dropped to his knees and it appeared as though he was stareing out in the distance, in the sunset before slumping down, not moving.

"Luke, come on! We gotta move! Get back to Baatir!" Hex's faded voice met his ears.

Luke nodded his head, realizing she was right. They started climbing down to Baatir, everything silent. There were no gunshots, no lasers flying, no explosions, nothing. The air was thick with death as everywhere you looked, there was someone dead. Luke saw Hex swallow a lump in her throat, not knowing how much more she could handle.

Hex and Luke dropped down next to Baatir and tried to catch their breath. All three of them sat there for a moment, trying to take it all in. "Where's Riley?" Baatir questions after a minute. They didn't answer him and he asks them again. "Where's Riley?"

"Up top." Luke cringed at the words, knowing that was exactly what Hex said about Vode.

"Where up top?"

"He's gettin' the QRF."

It was silent again and he saw Baatir look around, trying to see if he could find Riley. "Where exactly is Riley?"

"If I knew exactly where the fuck he was, I would tell you!" Hex snaps, looking him in the eye. "Is he squared away?"

Baatir looks down and Luke saw one spot on his head was covered with blood. Luke nudged Hex and points at it. "Oh fuck! Here, come here. Let me see you."

Luke looked at it before pulling another extra cloth out and putting it on his head. He replaces his hand with mine and looks at us. "Did they really shoot me in the fucking head?"

"Yeah, buddy."

It was silent between the three of them, their breathing becoming quiet. Luke leaned his head against the rock behind him and closed his eyes, Baatir quietly inquired, "Are Riley and Vode really dead?"

"Yeah." Lke barely made out.

"Are we dead?"

"Negative." Hex chokes.

"We're good, right?"

"Fuck, yeah. We're solid."

It was silent once more for a few seconds before Baatir speaks again. "If I die, I need you two to make sure that Cindy knows how much I love her."

"She knows." Hex quietly says.

But Baatir didn't stop, he kept talking. "And that I died with my friends with a full fucking heart."

Luke looked at his teammate and Baatir looking back at him with a smile, as if he was happy to think about leaving this place. "You're not gonna die, Baatir. We're not gonna—"

Luke was cut off by a bomb hitting right next to them, all three of them jumping behind a rock and huddling together. "We gotta spread out! Get yourself some real estate."

Before Luke could stop himself, they were separating from each other, going in different directions. It only lasted for a second but once it stopped and Luke looked around, he saw he was all alone and there was no sight of either of his comrades. Luke looked around and called out their names quietly but loudly, not risking to get shot. In the distance, He heard a Warbird and when he looked up, there it was. Two of them.

Luke couldn't stop smiling, realizing they were being rescued and Riley accomplished his goal. Riley kept his promise. They were going home. Luke kept cheering, waving his arms and yelling for Baatir and Hex, knowing they were saved. Luke watched the Warbird hover above ground but Luke saw a trail of smoke coming towards it.

Luke realized what it was the second it hit. An RPG. It hit the Warbird and it exploded, killing everyone on board. Luke's eyes widen as he stared at it, not believing it. "No. Please, God, no!"

The Warbird preceded to go down and ended up smashing into the mountain, destroying Luke hope's. Luke quickly turned his attention to the other Warbird and saw it was turning back, leaving them. Luke damn near cried, yelling for it to come back. Everything he hoped for and thought of that moment was wrecked in the fraction of a second.

Luke started looking around once more, screaming and pleading for Hex and Baatir to answer him. Wherever he looked, he saw nothing except trees and rocks. The adrenalin was wearing off and he could finally feel the pain again in his neck, face, and shoulder, everywhere. he kept walking, falling down hills, tripping, and even trying to run in a certain direction.

Luke was trying to get down the mountain, away from the area where he lost his squad mates. He didn't know how long he was on his feet, going forward, if it was minutes or hours but eventually, he collapsed. he fell to his knees and laid down, not wanting to move. He didn't know if Baatir or Hex were alive, he didn't know if they were hurt, and he didn't know where they were. He felt like giving up and surrendering.

He kept his eyes closed and rested, listening to the wind rustling the trees, the birds singing, and gunshots so far in the distance, He could barely make them out. His whole body jerked when he heard footsteps coming his way, twigs and leaves crunching. Luke tensed up and lifted his head, only to find more Tali's. He sighed, and brought his head back down, waiting for them to kill him.

The one in the front of the group carefully made his way towards Luke and crouched down. He looked at him and saw he was wearing a clean, white robe and he had a kind face, unlike the others. He had a child and a few others behind him. The man pointed to Luke's uniform and questioned, "OAGeee?"

Luke just nodded his head, still on the ground. "Yes, I am Orionian."

The man then gently grabs Luke's arms and helps him to his feet, confusing Luke. Another man comes to his other side and they throw Luke's arms around their shoulders, and wrapping their arms around his waist. They started taking him down the mountain, being careful and gentle.

"Why are you helping me?" Luke asked, weakly. "You are helping me, right?" The man with white nods his head, looking straight. "Why are you helping me?"

"OAGee."

"I am Orionian, yes, we've established that. Do you speak English?"

The man shakes his head but says, "Little."

"But you can understand it well?" He nods his head once more, looking confident.

Luke sighed in relief, thanking God that he understands him and he's helping him. Luke knew he shouldn't trust the man but he was his only hope to surviving and if he killed him, Luke wouldn't be bothered. They kept walking for a long time, Luke lost track of how long but they entered a small village and Luke realized it was the same village they were looking at, earlier today when it was the five of us.

"What's your name?" Luke asked, becoming more tired each second.

"Gulab." The man pointed to the young boy by him and said, "Turan. You?"

"Luke." He whispered, his head leaning on Luke's shoulder.

As they made our way through the village, Luke got many strange looks but he paid no attention to them whatsoever. They kept walking and they led Luke into this small house, setting him on a bed. He looked at Gulab and gestured for food and water. He understood immediately and said something to the other men, shooing them away.

The men from earlier came back but they brought a water bottle and a plate of food. Luke knew that if he got up, he would collapse again so Luke just waited until they handed it to him. Luke started eating it as fast as he could, desperate for the taste of food and the strength he would get back. Luke opened the water bottle and drank about half of it in one swig. He didn't realize Turan came back until he felt something cold against his neck.

Luke jumped and looked to find Gulab still in front of me and Turan behind him, with a bowl of water in his hand and a wet cloth in the other. He realized he was trying to get the blood off him. Luke hesitantly let him as he continued eating the food like a hungry animal. A small hand stopped me from eating and Luke saw the young boy there, smiling at me.

He said something in his language and made a slow gesture with his hand. He was trying to tell Luke to slow down. Luke smiled gratefully at him and did what he said. A sudden burning sensation hit Luke like a brick in the face as he hissed in pain and gripped his neck, knowing he had touched the part where the shot had grazed him. Gulab looked sorry that he had hurt him but Luke tried to smile and shake his head, telling him he was fine.

Before Luke knew it, he had all the blood off him and they were handing him a fresh pair of pajamas. He took hold of them and thankfully, some girls in the village helped him into the clothes, guiding his arms and legs in the clothing because of his wounds. Luke had a patch or a cloth over almost every wound or scrape he had.

Luke was led back to the room he was in and laid down on the bed, some women coming in at times and giving him food or water or giving him another blanket or even just sitting there next to him, not letting Luke be all alone. Luke was grateful for these people, if it wasn't for them, he'd be dead for sure. It was night by the time he had everything he needed but Luke could barely move.

Gulab came in and put a candle on the nightstand next to me bed. Just as he was about to leave, Luke called out to him and gestured towards his uniform and he picked it up and gave it to Luke. Luke looked in all his pockets and thanked God that he still had it.

Luke handed him a picture he always carried with me. It was the five of them on a normal day, them standing in front of a Warbird of them smiling. Luke gestured to Baatir and Hex and slowly said, "Go back to the mountain, please. If you see these two, bring them here. They're with me. Tell them that you know me and I'm here. Understand?"

He nodded his head and he continued. "If they point a gun at you, hold your hands up and slowly take out this picture and show it to them. Please. When you come back, I need that picture back."

He nodded again and smiled at Luke who smiled back and lay down, resting his head on the pillow, and covering himself with the blankets.

2623 Febuary 27th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan, Tarhassanian village.

Luke woke up late the next day. It was bright and sunny, as if nothing was wrong in the world. Such as false belief. Everything was wrong in the world. Luke grunted as he tried to sit up, his shoulder aching as he used its strength to push himself up. Luke's ribs were sore, as well as every other part in his body. He looked at his nightstand and saw there's a plate of food and another water bottle.

Luke smiled as he calmly ate his food and drank his water. Just as he was finishing up, two men came in the room and forced him to his feet but carefully. They dragged him outside and into another building, being quick but trying not to hurt Luke. Luke grunted in pain every few seconds but he pulled through.

As we came close to one house, Luke heard a familiar voice yelling, "Where is he?! Where's the boy?! Tell me where he is! You said he was here!"

At that moment, Luke walked in the house and see a face he thought he lost. All the breath left his body as they stare at each other, Hex sitting on the bed and Luke still standing in the doorway. Luke swallowed a lump in his throat as he slowly and carefully made his way towards her. She watched his every move as he walked forward. Luke stopped in front of her and stood there before she took his hand and led him to sit next to her.

She stares in his eyes as Luke put a hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He paused for a moment before quickly yanking Hex close to him, her arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. Luke threw his arms around her waist and her hands formed into little balls of fists, gripping tightly to his robes. Hex rested her head on his shoulder and I realize her whole body is shaking as she holds me.

She starts to silently sob in his shoulder and Luke starts to rock her back and forth, stroking her hair. "It's ok. It's ok, I'm here, now. We're both gonna be ok. I'm right here, Hex."

"I thought I lost you, Luke. I thought you were gone, too."

As they stayed in each other's arms, they started to hear many yelling and barking coming from outside. Turan looked out the window as they stared his way. Luke gently pulled away from Hex and looked out the window and saw Tali's wandering around the town with guns out. Before he could register anything, Tali's came in the house we were in and dragged them out. Hex and Luke were struggling but both weak from their latest experience.

They got outside and one of the leaders punches Hex in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Luke struggled even more, yelling and cussing at them. Luke broke free and punched the leader but he quickly turns Luke's way and fires his gun. Hex looks up quickly, yelling, "No, Luke!"

He looked down and saw a hole in his shirt but it was a baggy shirt and it went through, not hitting him. They picked Hex back up and drag them to some log that had one large spot of blood. It hit Luke, then, what that was for. He start struggling more, as well as Hex.

They force him to his knees over the bloody spot on the log. I realize that the leader was Taraq. He bends down and starts slapping him in the face. Hex looked at him and yelled, "Fuck you!"

"Fuck you, Orioner! Cry, motherfucker!"

He slapped and punched Hex more and more, everyone yelling and screaming. Hex spits blood out at Taraq, shocking him. "Fucking do it! Fucking do it, you fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Taraq grips Hex's hair and yanks on it, making him look at the bastard. "I'm gonna cut your heads off and send it to your fucking Orion…" he starts rambling in his own language, trailing off.

He stands up and raises his knife, getting ready to kill Hex. The men hold me back as Luke tried to make it to her, screaming her name. The second he was about to bring the knife down, a few gunshots were heard, close to us. Everyone stopped and looked to see who it was. There was Gulab and many other men behind him; all had blasters in their hands and pointing them at the Tali's.

Gulab and Taraq started yelling but Taraq and his men began leaving, so Luke was able to run over to Hex and crouch down next to her as she was trying to control her breathing. Once they were away from them, the village people came over to the two and helped them to their feet, being firm but gentle with our wounds.

Hex got up, out of breath and asked, "Why are you doing this for us?"

Gulab began saying, "Fuck Tali! Fuck Tali!"

Luke smiled at him, knowing he felt the same way as them. They brought the two back in the house and then left except Turan. He stood there and watched them as Hex was breathing heavy and loud, panting and sweating as Luke leaned against the wall, trying to remain calm. Hex looked at the boy and tried to say nicely, "I need a knife. Knife. To cut." She began pretending to cut her hand, using an invisible knife. "Knife. You know, knife? Cut? Ok? Go get a knife."

Turan stared at him hard and began to slowly say, "Knife."

Luke smiled at the little child, being so young and innocent. "Yes! Yes, a knife, to cut. Ok? Go. Go get me a knife. Please? Please."

He left and it was just the two of them. Luke stared at his friend, scared he might lose her. "What's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

She lazily looked up at him and swallowed. "Everywhere, what do you think?! Right now, it's my leg."

Luke carefully bent down to the floor and rested on his knees. He looked at her leg and saw rock chunks stuck in her leg, bleeding. Luke flinch at the sight but he turned around when he heared a 'quack'. Luke saw Turan coming back, looking timid while holding a duck. Luke almost smiled at him, seeing this boy clueless. Hex sighed and desperately said, "No, I….I said a knife. That's not a knife."

"Knife." Turan said.

"No. It's not a knife. It's a fucking duck! I need a knife. You know, knife? To cut."

"Knife." The boy insisted.

Luke actually smiled and chuckled at the scene. Hex quickly turns to him, her eyes filled with anger. "What, you think this is funny?! You try having pieces of rock in your leg, see how you feel! Jesus Christ!"

Luke looked down, ashamed. At that moment, Gulab slowly walks in and looks between us. Before Hex can say anything else, Luke took a small step, careful of his leg and wounds and announced, "Gulab."

He looks at Luke for a moment before asking, "Luke?"

Luke smiled, knowing he got it right and they're on understanding terms. "We need a knife. Please, a knife."

"Chaku." He nods in understanding and leaves the room for a moment before coming back with a large knife in his hand. "Chaku?"

"Yes!" Luke limped over to him and took it from him, walking back to his wounded friend. Hex tried to take it from his hand but he gave her a warning look. "No, I got it. Focus on your breathing and try to think of something else. It'll be over soon."

Luke ripped open her trousers where her wounds were and he took off her coat. "Dinner and a movie first," Hex said smirking.

"God damn it Hex" Luke sighed.

He gave her the sleeve part and she took it in her mouth, to bite on and not to yell out. Luke took the knife and carefully but quickly took the small rock piece out of her shin. Hex's breathing became loud and uneven, her face becoming redder by the second. Luke grabbed one of her hands in his free one and she took his free hand in both of her's, squeezing it tightly.

Luke took the next one out, the second one taking more time. It flies to the floor once Luke got it out of her knee. Her breathing becomes worse and Luke worried she might pass out. Luke run his thumb against one of her hands and quickly whisper, "It's ok. It's gonna be ok, we're almost done. One more, alright? One more and then we're done. Just hang in there."

She took the sleeve out of her mouth and bit down on her dog tags instead. Luke realize the last one is gonna be harder and more painful. Luke took the point of the knife and carefully dig it in her skin, right where the rock was. Luke lifted the torn skin and by then, his hand was shaking. He needed his other hand to take the metal out but he knew she wasn't going to let his hand go. Luke gestured for Gulab to grab it and thankfully, he did.

When Luke looked up, he saw that she had passed out but it was like he was having a seizure with the way she was breathing. After he was done and threw the metal away, me, Gulab, and Turan began to clean her. Luke was wiping the blood away, Gulab was patching up her wounds, and Turan was putting her in some clothes, similar to mine.

That night, every man and most children walked around the village with guns, looking out towards the mountains for protection. Luke stayed in the room and watched Hex as she slept, it bringing him comfort as he watched her chest rise and fall while she breathed. Luke sat on the floor and let Turan have the other bed during the night but he was surprised when he climbed out of the bed and sat next to him.

He curled up against his side as Luke threw his arm around him, pulling him close. He'd been here for about a day or two now and He'd never seen the boy with another woman, such as a mother or sister. Luke wondered if his father was all he had. He was broken out of his thoughts as he spoke, pointing to me. "Name? Luke?"

Luke smiled at him, giving him a squeeze. "Yep, Luke."

He looks up at me with big, brown, childlike eyes. "Luke?"

"Yea, there you go."

He smiled back at me, wrapping his arms around his waist as Luke's were still around his shoulders. "Luke." He closed his eyes and rests his head against his chest. He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the bed that was behind him. Luke fell asleep with the faces of Vode, Baatir, and Riley in his mind.

2623 Febuary 28th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan, Tarhassanian village.

Luke was being woken by someone shaking his body, gently. Luke groaned as Luke wanted it to stop but it continued. Luke opened his sleepy eyes and found Turan there, looking at me with innocent, kind eyes. "Up." He tugged on his shirt, trying to get me to stand. "Up."

Luke smiled as he carefully and slowly got up, the pain becoming not as bad but still sore and painful. Luke saw hex sitting up and eating and drinking water as if she hadn't had any in weeks. Luke understood her pain, it was him earlier, but he had food and water yesterday and the day before. Luke hesitantly sat next to her, not knowing if he and Hex were ok.

Gulab pointed to the single star on his uniform and asked, "Orioner?"

"Concordia." Hex nodded her head, looking at him.

"Orioner?" he then pointed to the Orion Arm flag.

"Yes, Concordia. Orion is Concordia, yes."

"Concord." Turan said.

"Concordia." Luke corrected, smiling at him.

"Concordia." He smiled back, eager to learn new words it seemed.

Hex stared between the boy and father and questioned, "Why are you doing this for us?"

The moment he asked that question, the wall they were next to, exploded, throwing them in the air. Gulab grabbed Hex and got her out of the house as Turan helped Luke up and did the same for him. He led us to an abandoned house and let Hex fall on her back, on a pile of carpets to let her take a breather.

Luke heard a noise and saw someone right behind him. Turan ran in front of me and yelled something at the man but he smacked him. Luke grew angry and charged after the Tali and tried to tackle him with all his strength, no matter how weak he was, he was going to defend and protect Hex and Turan. The Tali quickly threw Luke against the wall and his head smashed into it, making everything go black.

When Luke woke up, he felt his body being grabbed and lifted from the ground. He looked up and saw soldiers all around him and Hex. OAG soldiers. He groaned as he was lifted and Luke heard an unfamiliar voice say, "It's alright, Luke. You're safe now, you're going home."

Luke was being carried out of the house by two soldiers, as was Hex. Luke passed Gulab and his son but he quickly turned around, giving them a nod, "Thank you! Thank you."

He was about to turn around but Turan quickly runs towards him and hugs his waist, tightly. Luke hugged him back, not wanting to let go. He'd only known this little boy for a day and he felt responsible for him. As he let Luke go, he put something in his hand. Luke looked at it and smiled as he realized it was his picture of the five of them at the Warbird.

Luke turn to Turan and quickly say, "I'll see you again! I promise I'll see you again!"

Luke didn't know if the boy understood him or not but he knew he would see him in the future. They took them to the Warbird and he couldn't help but close his eyes. Was this for real or was he dreaming? Would we be shot down and have to fight again? Are they really going back to base, where it's safe, where won't be in combat? Luke didn't want to believe it but it was so hard not to. It was real. They got Luke seated onto the Warbird where he let the exhaustion claim him and fell asleep.

2623 March 1st Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, FOB Athena, Tarhassan.

Luke had been feeling depressed since he had gotten back. After getting off the Warbird he and Hex had been rushed to the Field hospital where they had gotten patched up. Vode's and Baatir's bodies had been found and recovered and given to clan Chorn for burial. A member of clan Chorn had visited both him and Hex and invited them to a Mandalorian Death Ceremony, Hex hadn't been able to go due to a broken leg and her injuries but Luke had been cleared to attend so long as he didn't exert himself.

Now he was standing outside one of the mess halls in the Mandalorian section of the base, to the left he saw what could be only described as a funeral pyre. As he approached the entrance to te building he could her singing.

Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an.

Coruscanta a'den mhi, Vode an.

Bal kote, darasuum kote,

Jorso'ran kando a tome.

Sa kyr'am Nau tracyn kad, Vode an.

Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.

Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.

Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r.

Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.

Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.

Aruetyc runi trattok'o.

As Luke entered he saw the few members of clan Chorn that were station on Tarhassan with the OAG. Luke found them not mourning in the traditional OAG fashion of wearing black, church service body laid in a plot or cremated. Instead he found them drinking, sparring and swapping stories of their two brothers who had just died.

"Ah so I see you came, Fenn Chorn." A Mandalorian in classic gold clan Chorn armour. He stood at about 5 foot 9 and had grey hair and eyes.

"Luke Sparrow, pleasure to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances."

"As do I. Can I offer you a drink?"

"That would lovely."

Kote, darasuum kote.

Te racin ka'ra juaan kote.

Fenn returned with some alcoholic mandalorian beverage. Fenn explained what life was like growing up in a Mandalorian clan. How they were trained from a young age and the values of the clan and Mandalor instilled into them and Luke explaining life in the Orion Arm.

Taungsarang broka jetiise ka'rta.

Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,

Coruscanta kandosii adu.

Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya.

Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.

Kom'rk tsad droten troch nyn ures adenn.

Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,

Coruscanta kandosii adu..

Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya.

Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.

Luke watched as the bodies of Baatir and Vode were taken outside and placed on the pyre and set ablaze, the flames licking their corpses. He noticed that the assembled Mandalorians had all joined in the chant now.

Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.

Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a. Taung!

Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.

Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.

Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r prudii an.

Kandosii sa kyr'am ast,

Troan teroch jetiise a'den,

Duraan vi at ara'nov.

Vode an, ka'rta Tor.

(whispered) Kote.

2623 March 2nd Earth Standard Calendar, Gracia Riley, New Port council estate, Arcadia.

Gracia Riley had known what she was getting into when she had a brother who joined the military. Her friends had spoken of boyfriends and fiancés who had been in the military and gone to war. They never came back. But God, Simon was different. Simon had a lucky streak a mile wide. He wasn't like his friend Luke, career soldier who could survive anything thrown at him.

But she did. She worried just as much as the next person with a loved one in the military. Because things had been changing. She wasn't sure how she knew, or how she understood, but she did. Something was wrong. Nobody was safe.

And that was why she issued her warning as she watched Simon tuck her daughter in before he left for the Clone War.

"Just...be careful."

Then she watched him leave, not realizing at the moment that it would be for the last time.

A year later found Gracia sitting up in bed, looking through an old photo album. It was almost sunrise, and Riley still wasn't home, the war still raging on. He was, Gracia mused as she found a picture of him sleeping on the couch, baby Elycia resting on his chest, probably fighting on some distant battlefield. Gracia smiled as she ran a finger of the photo of the two people she loved most. Despite everything, she would always worry. It was her job as a mother and a sister.

After all, the galaxy they lived in was far from perfect.

Ding-Dong

The ring of the doorbell echoed through the house. Gracia looked up from the album. "Good grief." She muttered, still smiling. "Maes wasn't supposed to be here until this afternoon?"

She made her way downstairs and unlocked the door, saying, "Maes, I told you to-"

She stopped as she opened the door. It wasn't her Neighbour standing on the steps; it was, however, two military people, a man and a woman, though Gracia didn't recognize them. They were watching her solemnly. "Hello." She said carefully. "If you're looking for my brother, he isn't home right now."

"We know." The woman said. "That's why we're here."

And as usual, not knowing how, Gracia knew. She knew something was wrong.

"Mrs. Hughes...your husband was killed in action three days ago on Tarhassan. He was shot."

2623 March 2nd Earth Standard Calendar, Elycia Riley, New Port council estate, Arcadia.

Elycia Riley was only four years old, but she had a lot to be proud of. Her Uncle was a military man. He did a lot of work and he helped save people. And Elycia was proud of that. When the kids at school asked her what her Uncle did, she would say in a proud voice, "He works for the military."

She was too young to understand how truly dangerous this job really was.

Which was why she didn't understand. She didn't understand why two people her Uncle worked with were standing at the door, looking so serious, or why her mommy was crying. She didn't understand why her Uncle wasn't home yet, or why he hadn't given her a kiss on the cheek after being away fighting the Big meanies.

"Mommy?"

She was standing at the top of the stairs, and her voice was quiet, but still her mommy heard it. She looked up, quickly wiping her tears away. "Elycia...what are you doing awake?"

"Mommy, where's Uncle?"

Her mother was wearing a look similar to the one Elycia had worn once when the two had been separated at a store. Her mommy looked lost. But why?

Elycia didn't get her answer. Her mother turned back to the military people. "Thank you," she said quietly, "for telling me."

"We're truly sorry." The woman said. The man nodded in agreement. "Your brother was...a good man."

"I know."

Elycia's mother closed the door as the two left. Elycia still didn't understand. She repeated her question.

"Where's Uncle?"

Her mother beckoned for her to come downstairs, and she obeyed. They sat down on the couch, and Gracia took Elycia in her arms. "Elycia...Uncle's not going to be coming home."

"Why, is he busy?" Elycia asked, remembering what her Uncle had said the night before. "Does he still have a lot of work? Is that why those people were here? To tell you he can't come home because he has too much work? He said he has a lot of work."

"No, Elycia." Gracia said quietly. The small girl saw tears in her mother's eyes. "Uncle...had to go away somewhere."

Elycia didn't understand. "Well where did he go? When will come back?"

"He's not coming back, Elycia. He's gone."

"Gone where?" Elycia was quickly becoming frustrated. Why was her mommy so sad? They were supposed to be proud of Uncle, because he worked so hard, not sad. So why was Mommy sad? "Why can't he come back?"

A tear slipped down Gracia's cheek. Elycia reached out a small hand and wiped it away. "Mommy?"

"Oh Elycia." Her mother wrapped her arms around the small girl and held her tightly. And still Elycia didn't understand. Where was Uncle?

2623 March 9th Earth Standard Calendar, Gracia Riley, New Port Military Graveyard, Arcadia.

Gracia slid the brush through Elycia's hair, barely noticing that it was already as smooth as it was going to get.

"Mommy, why do I have to wear this dress?" Elycia asked, looking back at her mother. "Where are we going? Is Uncle going to be there?"

Everything she said ended with something about Riley these days. It had been a week since Gracia had received word of her brother's death. And for everything she had done, she couldn't make Elycia understand that Uncle wasn't coming home.

"Yes, sweetie." Gracia took Elycia and pulled the small girl into her lap. "Uncle will be there." Elycia's face brightened. "But not the way you're thinking. He's not going to be able to hug you or kiss you or play with you."

Elycia didn't like that. "But why not? Will he be really busy?"

Gracia sighed. She had tried explaining to Elycia what it meant to die. But the girl was only four, she couldn't be expected to understand that.

It was, Luke supposed, a nice church. Not that he had been able to go to one for a while now, despite the economic headway the OAG businesses had made in the wider galaxy religion hadn't been as successful. But still…it was a nice church. He just wished he could have been there for a better reason than his friend's funeral.

"Luke."

He turned around. Gracia Riley was standing behind him, clutching her daughter's hand. Elycia was looking around, confused.

"Where's Uncle?"

The words tore at Luke's heart. He was good at hiding it though. "Hello Gracia. It's good to see you."

"And you." Gracia looked down at Elycia. "Elycia, say hi to Luke. You remember him, don't you? Uncle's friend."

Elycia looked up eagerly on the word 'Uncle'. Her eyes found Roy. "Hi. Do you know where my Uncle is?"

Luke looked at Gracia, who shook her head. "I just can't make her understand. In all honesty…I don't think she wants to understand."

Luke nodded. He could understand that. "Sir." A marine approached him. "It's time to go in."

"Right." He turned away from Gracia and Elycia, following the marine inside. The military personnel had their own section.

"Mommy, is Uncle sleeping?"

Gracia couldn't bring herself to answer the girl. She as too busy staring at the body in the coffin at the front of the church. There was no way possible that was her husband. Not bright, lively, talkative to the point of annoying Simon Riley. It just wasn't possible.

"Can we wake Uncle up?"

Gracia shook her head. "Come on Elycia. Let's find our seats."

Elycia stared at her Uncle, waiting for him to wake up. Why wasn't he waking up? Why was Mommy crying? In fact…Elycia looked around. Everybody had tears in their eyes. What was going on?

"Uncle's dead, Elycia."

The words rang in the small girl's head.

"When you're dead, it means you go somewhere you can't come back from."

But he was right there. If he was there, then he couldn't have possibly been 'dead'. Elycia didn't believe it. Her Uncle hadn't gone anywhere. Why would her mommy lie about it?

There was a strange man standing in front of them, saying things Elycia didn't understand. Were they talking about her Uncle? None of those big words sounded like Uncle. Big, fun, loud, happy…that was how they should have been describing her Uncle. None of those silly words that the other man was saying.

Luke watched as the soldiers carried Riley's casket to the plot. The way his daughter Elicia cried to her mother. "Mommy, mommy. Why are they burying Uncle?" the child cried. "I don't like it! Stop them mommy, if they bury Uncle he won't be able to do his work when he wakes up!" Riley's sister, Gracia bent down to comfort the child. Many of the soldiers cried, including Hex. Some barely knew him other than professionally and yet they were crying while he, his best friend, couldn't squeeze out a single tear. He thought to himself, mentally talking to Riley. 'You're the first to fight, you're way too loud. You're the flash of light on a burial shroud.'
There was a voice inside his head that day. It said: 'Save your tears till the day when our pain is far behind.' He liked to believe it was Riley, talking to him, but that was probably just a delusion.

After the funeral Elycia was mad at Gracia. It wasn't even a mother's intuition. It was obvious from the way she folded her arms and pouted out the window on the drive home that the little girl was very upset.

"Elycia sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Why did you let them do that to Uncle?" Ah. Gracia had a feeling it was something to do with Riley. "What's going to happen when he wakes up?"

"Oh Elycia-"

"I want Uncle to come home."

"I know honey. So do I."

At home, Gracia helped Elycia out of her dress. As she did, she noticed the smaller girl kept squinting her eyes and sniffing a lot.

"Are you all right?"

"Uncle's not coming home, is he?"

Gracia, realizing that Elycia was finally starting to understand, nodded, and reached her arms around the girl's small body, wrapping her into a hug. Both of them shook with silent sobs, letting the tears fall.

Song Translation

One indomitable heart, Brothers all.

We, the wrath of Coruscant, Brothers all.

And glory, eternal glory,

We shall bear its weight together.

Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Brothers all.

Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.

Our vengeance burns brighter still.

Every last traitorous soul shall kneel.

Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.

Our vengeance burns brighter still.

Every last traitorous soul shall fall.

Glory, eternal glory.

The stars pale beside our might.

The ash of the Taung beats strong within The Republic's heart.

We are the rage of The Warriors of the Shadow,

The first noble sons of Coruscant.

Let all those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.

Our vengeance burns brighter still.

The gauntlet of The Republic strikes without mercy.

We are the rage of The Warriors of the Shadow,

The first noble sons of Coruscant

Let all those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.

Our vengeance burns brighter still.

Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.

Our vengeance burns brighter still. Taung!

Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.

Our vengeance burns brighter still.

Every last traitorous soul shall kneel in our shadow.

As ruthless as Death itself,

The pitiless face of The Republic's wrath,

Let us look down on all who come before us.

Brothers all, one heart of justice.

(whispered) Glory.