Part Two: Death Watch

"Ajax's kinda frigid sometimes, but that's to be expected when you've been through what Phi Squad has been through. I have to admit, though, there's nobody else I've met who could make a better sergeant. And no other squad I'd rather be with."

From Buckler's third post-mission debriefing

0700 hours, 346 days ABG, Arca Company Barracks, Coruscant

"Ner vod." The voice was Buckler's. "Ka'rta, they're sending us back out. Into the field."

Ka'rta rolled over in his bunk. "Again? Why do they need us so often? We just got back from our last deployment at Dantooine."

"I hear General Kenobi made a bit of a mess on Mandalore. With the Death Watch."

"Didn't he have something with that New Mandalorian leader Satine?"

"Rumors," dismissed Ajax. "Just rumors about a past love they probably never had. Jedi can't have attachments."

"General Jusik seems to be attached to his commando teams."

Buckler joined Ka'rta. "And Tur-Mukan is always wanting to know about Omega."

Ca'ad laughed. "Yeah, she sure is."

The door to the squad's quarters slid open. In walked Bardan Jusik. "Good morning." Phi Squad snapped to attention. "At ease. You know you don't have to worship me. I'm just your leader."

"Protocol, sir," reminded Ajax. "We were programmed to serve our Jedi generals with unfailing loyalty."

"Programmed. Don't remind me. You boys are no better than slaves."

"We do our job."

"But some pay or whatever else the Republic could spare might be nice. A house, a wife, some nice kids, …"

Ka'rta was interrupted by Ca'ad. "They're never going to give us anything."

"I can dream, can't I?"

Jusik interrupted the conversation. "I could talk about how you troopers are being unfairly used all day. But I can't. Zey wants me to give you a mission."

"We're going after Pre Visla, aren't we?"

"In short, yes. Your task is to take out as much of the Death Watch as you can. I know you think of yourselves as Mandalorian, but you have to take out enemies of the Republic. And we want the head of Pre Visla. Especially after what happened to Kenobi. You heard about that, I'm sure."

"News travels fast in an army of one man," confirmed Ka'rta. "But at least he's the right man for the job."

Jusik smiled. "You're right. Jango Fett was the right man for this job. Unfortunate he was working for the Separatists."

"Yeah. But I see how Windu was justified in taking the guy's head off. Poor Boba, though. No buir to look after him, no father to teach him the ways of the Mando'ade."

"That is a shame, true. But we're here to discuss your next mission. We want Pre Visla dead, and take out as many Death Watch operatives as you can while you're at it. Don't let the Mando beskar'gam fool you. Death Watch is the enemy here."

"Don't worry, General. Every good Mando'ad is raised with an intense hatred of Death Watch. When we were born… er, hatched, the Death Watch was sitting back licking their wounds, or so Sergeant Bralor told us," informed Ca'ad.

"Got it. You boys already see Death Watch as the enemy. So this mission will be a piece of cake for you."

"Not exactly, sir," explained Ajax. "We're just four people. Death Watch have the same skills as us, but they number in the hundreds. Those are suicide odds, even for us."

"You'll have backup as you need it. At the very least, we want you to put a dent in Death Watch leadership. Make sure you take down Visla, and all of his lieutenants you can get your sights on. You'll get more information en route."

"Great. I love these missions. Lots of target practice," said Ca'ad menacingly.

"Except for the part where we all get shot, yeah. These missions are kinda fun," responded Ka'rta, sarcastically.

1500 hours, Nu-class Shuttle in deep space near Mandalore

"You boys ready for this? I hear you'll be having lots of fun with the Death Watch down there," the pilot conjectured.

"You're never ready for a mission you're pretty sure will be your last," replied Ajax.

"I like this kandosii beskar'gam. Really helps me get in the spirit of things," observed Ka'rta, looking at his purple helmet with flame imagery on the front. "And I hear it makes us look more menacing."

"People sure don't like having a Mando'ad pointing a blaster at them. Just remember, this is Death Watch we're dealing with. That flame livery won't make you any less suspicious to them," warned Ca'ad, who was putting on his Death Watch issue grey-colored gauntlets. "They don't like it when their soldiers paint their armor. And they really won't like it when we walk in there with blasters drawn."

Buckler took a jetpack from the floor and hoisted it onto Ka'rta's back. "At least they won't know right away that we're coming to kill them. This beskar'gam is genuine. And this Death Watch color scheme Ca'ad and I have should help us blend in."

"Didn't any of you read the files on Death Watch?" asked Ca'ad. "They are ferocious warriors who will stop at nothing to destroy the New Mandalorians and all they stand for. When we go in there, guns blazing, they'll get a little ticked off when they find out the Republic supports the regime they hate. Of course, if they hadn't sided with the Separatists to achieve their goals, we wouldn't be here…." He stopped because Ajax showed him a gesture to "cut it out."

Ajax spoke, his red-and grey armor that was borrowed from RC-8015 already speaking volumes. "Look, men, we want to be as covert during insertion as possible. No taking off your buckets, and no shooting. We'll get to the stakeout point on Concordia, and stay there for the night. We'll sleep in watches. Ca'ad and I will take the first watch, followed by Ka'rta and Buckler at midnight. Any questions?"

"One, boss. Can we use jetpacks during the insertion?" wondered Buckler.

"No. No using the jetpacks unless absolutely necessary. They're too loud."

"Fine. But I can use my KiSteer rifle, can't I?"

"Sure, when we get to the shooting part. Not before. And remember, it belongs to the GAR. Not you," the sergeant teased, punching the other on the shoulder.

"Coming up on Concordia now, boys. Get ready to make your exit." The pilot was somewhat amused by all their talk down in the hold.

"Copy that," replied Ajax. "You heard the man, boys. Buckets on and make sure you have a jetpack. It's part of the armor."

Phi Squad put their helmetson and secured their jetpacks. They lined up at the door and made ready to exit the craft. In the cabin, the lights went from red to green as the shuttle hit the ground. The door swung in a downward arc, giving the commandos access to the outdoors. They walked to their predesignated observation point, where they set up camp. Two tents, one overlooking the Death Watch headquarters. It looked like they were preparing to evacuate Concordia.

0000 hours, 347 days ABG, Phi Squad encampment

"Buck?" It was Ka'rta. "We're on watch now."

"Thanks, eighty."

"Don't mention it. I made sure to pack an extra pair of electrobinoculars for you," grinned Ka'rta. He hadn't even thought to bring a pair for himself.

"Real funny, Ka'rta. I have my own. Modified to be super-powerful." Buckler held up his modified pair of electrobinocs.

Ka'rta flicked down the rangefinder on his helmet. "Good. We'll need all the specialized kit we can get. Got any other surprises we should know about?"

"Well, I brought plenty of flash-bangs, and I smuggled a couple of prototype field rations that actually taste good…"

Ajax cut him off. "Switch off your comms. Don't want the locals picking up our transmissions if it can be helped. And let's switch tents. This one has a better vantage point."

"Got it, sir." Buckler made a swift eye motion, turning off his helmet's comlink systems. Ka'rta did the same.

They proceeded to the other tent, where Ajax and Ca'ad were lying prone. The two got up, and were quickly replaced by the second watch. Buckler brought his electrobinoculars up to his visor. Ka'rta looked through his rangefinder. It had just enough range for recce.

The cliff Phi Squad was camped on top of was about fifty meters tall. Below could be seen the defunct beskar mining facility that served as Death Watch headquarters. It consisted of several buildings that looked like half-buried fifty gallon drums and several shriek-hawk looking Mandalorian Kom'rk-class fighter/transports. It looked like Death Watch was preparing to evacuate their base. There were warriors scrambling every which way, some carrying what looked like heavy crates to their transports.

"Hey, Ka'rta, there's Visla. Quadrant delta, no bucket," whispered Buckler.

"Yeah, I see him. Did Ajax say we were forbidden to shoot him? I've got a clear shot, and it wouldn't take me very long to grab my KiSteer and take him down."

Buckler sighed, disappointed. "As much as I'd like to, I think that'd blow the entire op. We should wait and see what Ajax says in the morning. Besides, Ca'ad seemed like he really wanted the kill. Why do you want to snipe him so bad?"

"Well, we might not get another chance at him. See how angry he looks? And look, he's headed toward that refitted Kom'rk."

Visla was angry. His conversation with Count Dooku hadn't gone well. Death Watch wasn't going to retake Mandalore, and that made him furious. Duchess Satine wasn't supposed to be able to interfere with their plans. Yet here she was all the same, sending yet another plan to the dump. One of his warriors approached him.

"Sir, all platoons report ready for evacuation," he said.

"Good," returned Visla. "Send my officers to the mess hall. We'll have one last meal here."

The soldier turned, and vanished. Visla disappeared into one of the buildings. Several other armored figures, including at least one female, followed.

Buckler turned to Ka'rta. "Did you catch any of that conversation? You were always the best lip-reader in the squad."

"Not all, but enough. Visla is having one last meal with his senior staff here. I think they'll be evacuating as soon as that's done. We should wake the others."

"It's only been an hour. I don't think that's such a good idea. You know how Ajax is when he can't sleep… But we may not get another chance to hit all the Death Watch leadership. They're leaving soon, and we can't cripple them if they're all gone."

"We can follow them to their next hideout," suggested Ka'rta.

"In what?" snorted Buckler. "Ajax told us to keep the comms off, and our only transport is a long ways away."

"I was thinking a little...liberation. It's been a long time since our last flight in the sims. And they'd notice if they were being followed by a Republic transport." Ka'rta was itching to fly something. He had always loved the thrill of flight, the freedom of taking a ship anywhere you wanted. But he was an RC from birth. Only meant to be a pilot in emergencies.

"And a Mando transport wouldn't attract as much attention?"

"They wouldn't attack a Mando transport on sight."

"Stealing a starship is never a good idea," said a non-clone, female voice behind the clones.

Buckler and Ka'rta immediately flipped over and aimed their sidearms.

"Check!" ordered the new, yet very familiar voice.

"Sergeant Bralor!" Ka'rta said, obviously surprised. She had taken off her helmet for easier recognition.

"Heard you were in the neighborhood." By that, of course, she meant Mandalore. She paused a moment, assessing their errors. Of course, she could always find something to pick on. But this time it wasn't the finer points of lying prone. "A guard watch should be more aware of what's behind them. I was standing here for about two minutes."

Ka'rta saw where she was going with this. "Enough time for you to have killed one of our squadmates."

Bralor nodded gravely. "You wouldn't have known I was here until the sound of a blaster. By the time you got over to help, both of them could've died. One of you can do recon, the other should stand watch at the door."

"Got it, sergeant. Won't make that mistake again," promised Buckler. "By the way, how'd you find out we were here? That would mean a breach of GAR security."

"Are you calling Kal Skirata a security breach?"

"No, ma'am. As long as he used the proper precautions to contact you."

"Of course he did." She looked at him admonishingly, with a mock-hurt expression. She was close to the old sergeant, it seemed. "Now, weren't you supposed to be doing reconnaissance on that location?"

"Right." Buckler flipped back over.

"I'll keep watch on the door, Ka'rta. You go ahead and keep watching your target." Bralor was really a kind, affectionate mother when she felt a need to be. A real Mandalorian buir to those clones. Maybe she had gotten too close to old Kal.

"Thank you, ma'am." Ka'rta flipped back over. He saw that many more of the Death Watch soldiers had boarded their Kom'rk-class transports, ready to evacuate at a moment's notice. "We should wake the others," he said, a bit uneasy about the fact that none of the people below, their targets, would be there much longer.

"I think we can still follow them after an hour or two. Their hyperspace wake will still be fresh," Buckler told Ka'rta.

"You boys can use my ship," said Bralor. "So you don't need to steal one."

Ka'rta grinned broadly. "Can I pilot? I'm itching to fly something. And Zey doesn't like it when I fly. 'Not enough training,' apparently."

Bralor kicked him in the leg, lightly. "No. it's my ship. You'd wreck it. I remember how terrible your flight simulator scores were," she teased. He was the best pilot in the entire SO brigade.

Ka'rta could tell she was teasing. "Alright, then. If I can't pilot, can I be copilot?"

"Yes. I'll even let you pilot while we're in hyperspace, but at sublight I drive."

"All right." Ka'rta looked more intently at the operation below him. "Hey, looks like they're getting ready to take off. Can we get a tracker on that ship?"

"I don't think so," responded Buckler. "Too risky. Maybe with a full-sized fleet we could do that, but not one ship against two."

"Buckler's right." This was another new voice, but a familiar one. Ajax. "We can't track them through hyperspace. We can follow their space-time distortion wake, though."

"Ajax!" Buckler turned around and seemed stunned, even under his helmet. "Weren't you asleep, sir?" he asked.

"I heard Sergeant Bralor come in. Drew my sidearm just in case she wasn't friendly and wanted to kill a poor, innocent sleeping man."

"Smart man," praised Bralor. "But now you've left Ca'ad vulnerable."

"He's awake," Ajax stated. "Unless he fell back asleep."

Ca'ad's disembodied voice carried over to the other tent. "I can hear you, y'know."

"Oh, good. That means we can all plan this together."

"All right. I'll get up," Ca'ad grumbled. The five people crowded into the small tent.

Ajax started the conversation. "Buck, you brought your electrobinoculars that can see into orbit, right?"

"Sure did, boss. Got 'em right here," Buckler said, holding up his modified piece of kit.

"Good man. Sarge, you've got the ship?"

Bralor responded. "Yep. Hidden in the forest about two klicks from here."

"Excellent. Ka'rta," the leader began while turning to the only one of them still lying prone, "you get the job of calculating their trajectory and setting the course."

"Fine by me," said Ka'rta's figure. "Let's hit them. Hard."

"That's the spirit!"

Ka'rta looked at something more closely in his rangefinder. It looked like Death Watch was ready to take off. He spoke. "I think they're about ready to leave down there…. Buck? Let's use that kit of yours."

Buckler pressed his modified electrobinoculars to his visor. "I don't see anyone moving around," he confirmed.

"Reading a power up in the lead Kom'rk."

"Ahh. Copy that. It's left the ground."

"Buck, they're out of my range."

"Okay. I can still see them. Should be able to until they jump." Buckler saw the distant ship turn to its desired heading and it remained facing that way for several seconds. Just enough time for Buckler to get its heading. "Making the jump at… two three seven mark five."

Ka'rta recorded the numbers in his HUD. Then he performed several calculations, laying out the course on a star chart. "Looks like they're headed for a small planet in the Outer Rim. Carlac, I think."

"Could be their next HQ. Let's recheck their heading with data on their hyperspace wake," directed Ajax.

"Let's go. I'm anxious to get at those lousy chakaare," interjected Bralor. There was a fierceness to her tone Phi Squad wasn't used to hearing.

0500 hours, in orbit of Concordia, Rav Bralor's G9 Rigger

"Well, we got off the ground. That's lucky." Ca'ad was promptly slapped by Bralor.

"You will not make fun of my ship."

"Sorry, sarge," Ca'ad said, grinning. "General Skywalker has one of these freighters, but his is a total piece of junk. I think he calls it the Twi'lek or the Midnight or something."

"I bet you don't insult his ship to his face."

"Well, no."

"Then don't insult mine."

"Oh, come on, sarge. Can't you take a little joke?"

"Not from you, six," the hardened Mando woman teased.

"All right, all right, break it up," joked Ajax affectionately. "This ship is kandosii, sarge. Even though it doesn't exude a sense of Mando tradition."

Ka'rta looked over. The flames on his helmet made him look genuinely menacing. "At least we have a ship. Even Skywalker's Twilight would be welcome."

"Don't be so sure of that," warned Ca'ad. "I've actually flown in that bucket of bolts. I think General Skywalker holds it together with adhesive and a little help from the Force. I don't see how that ship can fly."

The cabin was silent for a few moments. Ka'rta broke the silence with a report. "I've confirmed Death Watch's last heading. They went to Carlac."

"Let's make the jump there, too. Calculating the heading now," said Bralor.

"Ready to engage lightspeed, sarge."

"Oya!" Let's hunt! Bralor was positively itching to get Death Watch brass. She looked furious. It was a good thing the commandos couldn't see her angry expression through her red helmet trimmed with black and yellow.

Ka'rta pulled a lever, and the stars lengthened, then turned to streaks of white and blue. Everyone laid back into their chairs, exhaling in a relieved unison. Ajax went into the cabin to start a game of Dejarik holochess. It was a long way to Carlac.

Bralor took her hands off the console, letting Ka'rta fly, as she'd promised. "You look like you belong in that beskar'gam, ad'ika." If the armor fits, wear it.

"Thanks, sarge. Always wanted to see how it felt in battle."

"It's a lot less restrictive than that Katarn kit you lot usually wear."

"Yeah, but it's not as protective. I couldn't pull a stunt like I did at Geonosis in this."

"True. On the other hand, this stuff can stand up against even a lightsaber."

Ka'rta smiled. "Jedi are our officers. We won't be going up against them anytime soon."

"Also true." Bralor took off her helmet, signaling Ka'rta to do the same. He did. She ruffled his hair, as she always did to express her pride in her commandos. "What you did back on Geonosis was either very brave, incredibly stupid, or both."

"I did what I thought had the highest chance of saving lives."

"Exactly what I trained you to do."

Ka'rta smiled and didn't respond. He continued to monitor the ship's instruments, focusing on flying. Bralor studied him a few moments before heading into the cabin to spectate on the Dejarik game.

The three helmeted commandos in the cabin were extremely focused on the game. Ca'ad suddenly made a move, with a lot of emphasis.

"Weasel your way out of that, Buck," he gloated.

"Hey! No fair! We're not playing Wookiee rules here," Buckler exclaimed, folding his arms.

Ca'ad sank back into his chair, grinning triumphantly under the sinister T-visor of his helmet. "It's a perfectly legal move. I win."

"Rematch?" inquired Ajax.

"Sure," replied Buckler. "As long as seventy-six gets handicapped."

At this, Ca'ad scoffed loudly. "I doubt you'd win either way."

Buckler balled his hands into fists. He held one up. "You want some of this?"

Bralor could see this was a problem. "Udesii, boys." Relax. "Calm down and save it for the enemy."

"Fine," the two men replied in perfect synchronization.

Bralor hoped that it was just frayed nerves and overcompetition.

Ajax was afraid that the two were having problems, bringing them into a private comm channel. "Problem, vode?"

"Yes," said Buckler.

"No," said Ca'ad over him.

"You two are fighting about more than a game of holochess. What is it?"

Silence.

"Come on, out with it! I'm your CO, for the mand'alor's sake. If you two are having a problem, I need to know. You can leave Bralor out of this, but not me."

Buckler spoke up. "Lately, sir, Ca'ad's been taking bacta injections. He told me it was for his for his arm, after what happened to it on Christophsis. I looked. His arm's fine. Ori'haat." No bull.

"Ca'ad, is it true that you're taking bacta injections?"

"Yeah. It's true." Ca'ad looked positively furious. "You and Ka'rta are so blind. You can't see what's in front of you. You especially, mir'osik."

"So I've got dung for brains now, is that it?" It sounded as though Ajax had finally lost his eternal cool, then his voice and posture calmed, the sergeant slouching back into his chair. "I'm concerned for you. But if your actions are affecting this squad's performance, I'll have to kick you out of it."

For a moment, there was an anger-filled silence. Buckler kicked the air in front of him, a futile gesture.

"I can tell you three are having a conversation under those buckets. What's going on?" Bralor was concerned, even more so than Ajax.

"Cui ogir'olar." So Ca'ad thought it was irrelevant. Bralor made a note of that. She concluded he was the source of the tension.

"I'll leave you three alone, then." She made a point of making eye contact with Ca'ad's visor. He shifted in his seat. That meant he'd noticed.

She decided to check in with Ka'rta at the helm, then rest up. She'd tell him to do the same later.

The emotionally charged conversation continued behind sealed helmets.

"So, is this an addiction?" confronted Ajax.

"Respectfully, eight, no." Ca'ad seemed quite sure about this. "The fact that I hid my actions makes it suspicious, but I can stop anytime."

"I doubt that, Aje. I've told him this has to stop, and I can tell he's still taking the bacta." Buckler was understandably concerned about his pod brother.

"Is that why he's been so moody lately?" Not one of the three heard Ka'rta join their comlink. But his voice was quite distinctive. The other three knew it was him. "I can't believe you'd do something so stupid, Ca'ad."

"Watch your tone, vod." Ca'ad was definitely angry. "I don't need you turning on me, too."

"Stow it." Ajax had apparently slipped back into the role of sergeant. "Ca'ad, you should report to your quarters and not show your face until you're calmer." He waited until Ca'ad got up. "Buck, let's talk."

Ca'ad grumbled under his breath as he left for his quarters. Ajax and Buckler heard both of the others leave the squad comm channel. Just to make sure, Ajax took off his helmet. Buckler did the same, revealing his baldness and the large scar across his forehead. Ajax smiled to himself as he thought about how Buckler had gotten that scar. He'd be more careful about wearing his helmet around an explosion next time.

"So… Dejarik?" Ajax thought a game would help the other cool down a bit and forget what had happened.

"Sure."

The colorful game pieces flared to life on the circular grid in front of the two commandos. Buckler appeared preoccupied. He wasn't playing as well as he normally did.

"What's the matter? You can talk to me, you know. I'm your brother. Your friend," Ajax tried to comfort Buckler into talking.

Buckler sank back into his chair. "It's the whole thing with Ca'ad. I told him to come forward, and he didn't."

"You can't make him do anything. He's a different person. Different brain."

"But the same blood. How could he do this to himself? It just doesn't seem right. These things happen to other clones, not your own pod brother."

"Even those 'other clones' have pod brothers, too. It has to happen to somebody."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better? It didn't."

"Maybe it was to help myself feel better. Even I need some comforting now and then."

Ka'rta walked in. "Ajax, your turn at the helm. I'll take over in here."

"Thanks, eighty." Ajax walked out of the room.

Buckler glanced up at Ka'rta's face. He wasn't wearing a helmet. "So, I guess this is the part where you try to comfort me. My suggestion to you is: just don't. I don't need comforting. I can figure it out alone."

"Okay, ner vod. I just came in here for a caf break. And maybe a game of Dejarik." Ka'rta grinned broadly.

Buckler smiled weakly in response. "I promise you won't have to let me win."

"Deal."

They started the game, and it was obvious Buckler was still distracted. Ka'rta decided he needed to make a mistake right about now. Buckler picked up on the flaw and exploited it.

"Damn! Why did I do that?" Ka'rta could be a convincing actor, especially with frustration. It was a useful skill, being able to distract an enemy and lure them into a trap. That wasn't the objective here, though. It could also be a useful comforting skill.

Buckler seemed to start taking more interest in the game. He won in short order.

"See?" Buckler was in a really good mood now. "You didn't even have to let me win."

Ka'rta smiled inwardly, knowing his deception had gone unnotice. "Nope! You were right." It looked like he was considering something. "Hey, let's play again. Maybe I can beat you."

"Great. Competitive spirit. I like a challenge," Buckler said, punching Ka'rta in the arm in that friendly way. "Let's go!"

This game went similarly to the last. Ka'rta ended up letting Buckler win again, but it still wasn't obvious. Buckler was doing better every turn. He even got Ka'rta into a fork at one point, threatening two of his opponent's pieces at once. Ka'rta responded by setting up a kintan strider death gambit.

"Ha! That's your kintan strider I've killed now," boasted Buckler triumphantly. "Oh, wait… fierfek. It's a trap?"

"Oh, yeah, Buck. It's a trap," Ka'rta confirmed. "And you walked right into it." Ka'rta knew that if Buckler was playing even half as well as he usually did, he could see and avoid the trap. Nonetheless, Ka'rta was playing the psychological game, too.

Buckler furrowed his brow in concentration. Then he raised his eyebrows. "Did you really set up a trap this easy to get around?"

Ka'rta decided to respond with shock. "Wait, what? Aw, osik."

"Ha! That's the game!" Buckler exclaimed, pleased at his victory against such a move.

"Want to play a few hands of sabacc?" asked Ka'rta, acting suitably demoralized.

"Nah. You should get some sleep."

"You sure, vod?"

"Yeah. You should rest up. Big op when we drop out of hyperspace."

"You're right. You should get some sleep, too, Buck."

"Yeah. Good night, ner vod."

"Good night."

Buckler slept on the curved couch next to the Dejarik table and holoprojector, Ka'rta on the floor. You learned pretty quickly how to sleep in any position when you were in the GAR. The two slept soundly until Bralor came in to wake them.

0800 hours, hyperspace lane near Carlac

"Ka'rta. Buckler. Get up!" came the harsh-sounding cry from Bralor. She never meant to be hard on the clones, it was just years of military training in her voice.

Buckler blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "Mornin', sarge. We reach Carlac yet?"

"Almost, three. Time to get ready for the op."

Ka'rta sat up. "All right. Time to kick some Death Watch shebse, eh?"

"You got that right, ad'ika." Bralor ruffled his hair again.

The three walked into the cockpit. Ajax and Ca'ad were already there. Buckler looked at Ca'ad and frowned. Ka'rta patted his brother on the back, a feeble gesture that it was all going to be okay. Buckler shook the hand off. Ka'rta looked a bit shocked. But they were starting a mission. That meant the squad could simply shrug off any tensions between them and complete the mission. After all, that was what came first. At least, that was what Ka'rta was hoping. He could feel the palpable tension in the room change into pre-mission adrenaline. Buckler walked over to Ca'ad, to shake his hand in apology. Ca'ad accepted the hand. This made Bralor smile.

"She's all yours, sarge," said Ajax, stepping away from the console.

"Thanks, Aje."

While Bralor was piloting, the squad made gear checks. First, they made sure jetpacks were secure, then armor plates, and finally, all four donned their buckets.

"Standing by," said Ajax. He had always been a bit of a stickler for protocol… at least on the battlefield. Anywhere else, and he'd be cracking jokes with the others.

The stars came back into view as white streaks on a black background. Then they shortened back to points of light. Bralor checked the position readings.

"We're in the right system. I've got readings on five Death Watch ships below. Let's finish this," she said with enough determination to make even a Gundark cower. Under her breath, Ka'rta heard her say, "I've got a score to settle."

"Ready," commanded Ajax.

The commandos drew their weapons. For this mission, they had customized KiSteer 1284 sniper rifles and expensive WESTAR-34 pistols. Non-Republic issue weapons would help them blend in, Ca'ad surmised. But it would sure be nice if I could use the kit I'm used to.

"Landing cycle engaged. Get ready to disembark," Bralor informed.

"Copy that. Phi Squad, prepare for a long run." Even with those words, Ajax was ready to be done with this mission. "Check your helmet seals and blaster charges. No resupply once we land. And it's snowing," he added as he glanced out the viewport.

It was certainly snowing out there. None of them had seen anything so white, unless you counted the sterile hallways on Kamino. The four men lined up at the top of the docking ramp, ready to get into the action. Little did they know, that action was going to happen much sooner than they'd expected. The impact of landing shook the freighter a bit. Then the landing ramp opened in front of them to reveal a snow-covered landscape… and a circle of ten Death Watch super commandos.

0830 hours, Death Watch Headquarters, Carlac

Phi Squad had to come up with something fast. They obviously weren't Death Watch, and they couldn't show their faces lest they be revealed as clones. Hopefully Bralor had gotten a message off to Coruscant. It wasn't a good time to be captured. But maybe, Ca'ad thought, he or Buckler could weasel their way into a deal, since the two were wearing Death Watch armor.

"You can't do this. You can't take a brother prisoner." Ca'ad could do a really good Mando accent if he tried.

The guard closest to Ca'ad sneered. "You're not my brother. You're one of Satine's spies." The guard stepped on Ca'ad's toes, futile because of the clone's combat boots. It was the gesture itself that mattered. "Don't think we didn't notice you following us into hyperspace."

So they don't know we're Republic. Let's keep it that way, thought Ajax. The other three also thought variations of the same.

The "New Mandalorian" spies were led into a rather large tent. Two guards wrestled each clone into kneeling on the floor. Pre Visla walked in from an adjoining room.

"It doesn't take you much time to set up camp, does it?" asked Ka'rta. He was promptly hit in the back with a rifle. "Alright, alright. Forget I asked."

"I'll be asking the questions," said Pre Visla, his back to the squad. "Why did the Duchess send you after us?"

"We don't work for Satine." Ajax didn't always have the most tact. But he was saving the Duchess from Death Watch's wrath.

"Then who do you work for?"

"No one. We serve ourselves. We followed you so we could join up."

"I don't think so. Your accent isn't Mandalorian, nor is it Concordian. In fact, you sound like the late Jango Fett. More accurately, you sound like a clone." He signaled a guard. "Take his helmet off."

The guard nearest Ajax reached down to retrieve the helmet. Buckler, who was next to him, jumped off his knees to head butt the guard. The guard fell on his back, taking Ajax down with him. Ka'rta and Ca'ad jumped up and onto Pre Visla, knocking him down. Ajax got up, and attempted to pin the second guard. That guard punched Ajax in the helmet. Ajax continued to try to tackle him, succeeding after a few attempts.

Next was the problem of liberating their weapons and freeing their hands. Ka'rta, still pinning Visla with Ca'ad, took a lock pick from his belt. He somehow figured out a way to unlock his cuffs with it, and lifted Visla's darksaber. Ca'ad held up his hands, and Ka'rta cut the binders. He proceeded to do the same for his other two squadmates.

Ca'ad lifted Visla's blaster pistol from the other's belt and pointed it at the leader's head. "Don't try anything," he warned.

Visla laughed. "It looks like I've struck a nerve. You're definitely clones. How does it feel, being bred to die?" he mocked.

"Like it does to be you right about now."

Ka'rta turned off the darksaber. He picked up his WESTAR and Ca'ad's from the guard's belt. "I'll just be taking these," he said, rather singsongily for the circumstances.

Buckler put the pair of binders he had just been wearing on the wrists of the guard he had pinned. He took his pistol from the guard's belt. "Ca'ad, shoot him. Take that man out now."

Ca'ad appeared to be trembling. It looked like he didn't have the will to execute an unarmed man. Visla kicked the weapon from Ca'ad's hand. "Guards!" he yelled. Three Death Watch soldiers rushed into the tent. Buckler shot the guard under him, then turned his barrel on the incoming soldiers. When he'd gotten his aim, he did a double-tap and dropped two. He'd gotten his sights on the third when Visla tackled him from the side. Ka'rta slotted the third. Ajax was still pinning the second original guard. He took a knife from the guard's belt and shoved it between the armor plates in the chest and twisted. Ajax was lucky he didn't hit a bone with the knife. Then, he took a pistol and aimed for Visla, who had his darksaber poised to slash Buckler in half. Ajax shot Visla's jetpack. It made a high-pitched squealing noise. He ran outside to ditch the jetpack, and it exploded after he threw it about five meters. This alerted the whole camp something was up. The sound of blasters charging and armor clanking could be heard all around.

"Fierfek, we gotta move. Now!" Ajax commanded. "They know who we are. And they're loaded. Get a comm open to Bralor. And scatter."

"On it, boss." Ka'rta was pressing buttons on his left gauntlet. "No can do on that comm. Buck, you try."

"That's a thick interference signal. I'm not going to get anything through," Buckler reported. "Wait a minute. There's something coming through."

"What do you hear?" Ajax couldn't hear anything.

Buckler had the telltale two fingers pressed to the right side of his helmet. "It sounds like…" he moved to the east. "...a clone."

Buckler patched the communication into the squad channel.

"... evacuation … transport … Concordia. Repeat, … Phi Squad …" The signal faded into static.

"Signal lost, sir. Too bad, it was just getting interesting."

"Sounds like they sent help to the wrong planet. Can't count on an evac, though," Ajax stated all their hopes and fears.

"If we can get back to Bralor, we'll be okay."

"She probably took off the moment we left. Or she got captured, too." Ca'ad was a real cynic sometimes.

"We have to check." Buckler could be extremely hard-headed, especially when he was concerned for a family member. And Bralor was their mother.

"No. We go back to where the ship was, and if Death Watch took it, we find another way out of system. Either way, we get offplanet." Ajax always seemed to have a plan.

Ka'rta was always optimistic. "We might get lucky."

"Not that likely. Let's try to cut through the interference and send out a Red Zero." Ajax looked like he was debating something else with himself. "Take separate routes to the ship's last known location. We'll meet to the west."

"Copy that, boss." Buckler continued walking, south of the others. He started jogging. He decided on a three-quarter circle, with a couple loops back to lose a potential tail. Twenty minutes later, a tiring five klicks, he met the other three.

"Where've you been?" Ajax seemed angry.

"You told me to take the scenic route, right?"

"Not a whole twenty minutes. We were about to move on without you."

"Won't happen again."

"Death Watch is inside the ship," said Ka'rta, anxious to get moving. "That's a no-go."

"I'll get working on cutting through the interference, then."

"I found a ship about one klick north," said Ca'ad.

"Too close to their base. It's probably a trap, too. Buckler," Ajax began, "cut that static."

"Already on it," Buckler replied, typing madly into his portable transmitter. "I might get a Red Zero through now… got it. Hopefully there's a Republic ship within ten light-years."

A light flickered on the transmitter, and a voice issued from it. "This is Admiral Wullf Yularen of the Resolute in response to a Red Zero distress signal from Phi Squad. What is your status?"

Ajax responded, from his years of training. "We've lost our transportation off the planet and require an evac ASAP."

"We can have a shuttle there in three hours. What coordinates should we meet at?"

"Thirty cross forty."

"We'll be there in three hours. I hope you will be, too."

"We will. Count on it."

"I am."

The communications device made a clicking sound, and Buckler put it back on his belt. "Let's get moving! Thirty klicks in three hours won't be easy, not through snow."

The commandos started walking. The snowscape looked vast, unchanging, peaceful, and strikingly beautiful. They would get to the extraction on time. The commandos continued to trudge through the snow. This mission had gone so wrong from the beginning. It was quite relieving to have a lull in the action. But was there really any rest for the weary commandos? A single blaster shot hit Ca'ad in the stomach. He fell backward.

"Ambush! Get down!" That command had been drilled into Ajax from the very beginning. Time had begun to slow for the squad. Combat always did that. They could do much more in a minute under the slowed timeframe of battle. Suddenly, minutes felt like hours.

Ka'rta, as the squad medic, crawled over towards the fallen Ca'ad. He proceeded to get out his medpac from a pouch on his belt. "I need some cover here. Ca'ad won't be coming back to base with us if I can't treat him here and get him on that shuttle. Cover me." At first glance, it looked pretty grim. When Ka'rta got a better look at what had been hit, it looked really bad. The shot had hit him squarely in the pancreas, and had knocked enough around to burst the spleen. He needed bacta.

Ajax signaled Buckler to take cover behind a nearby tree. Buckler acknowledged, and the other raised his pistol, taking aim at the place Ca'ad had been shot from. However, when Ajax turned on infrared, he still couldn't see anything.

"They've left. Set up a perimeter around Ca'ad. Ka'rta, can you get a signal off to our pickup to change the RV?" Ajax was still in crisis mode, it seemed.

"Buckler barely got anything through, sir. And he's better with that kind of thing than me," the medic replied, trying to cauterize Ca'ad's internal bleeding. "I've also got my hands full here."

Ajax made a kind of grumbling noise. "Fine. Buckler, get on it."

Buckler set up his comms device again, and typed furiously to get something through the interference. "Admiral Yularen?"

"Phi Squad? What's your status?"

"We will not make it to the rendezvous in time. Repeat, we are pinned down by an ambush and will not make it to the rendezvous."

Yularen sighed audibly. "Send us your coordinates and we'll change the pickup location."

"Twenty-nine mark thirty, cross forty mark fifteen."

"Redirecting shuttle now."

"We've got wounded."

"I'll tell the shuttle to expect wounded. Resolute out."

"So, we just have to hold this position for a half hour," Ajax calculated.

"Ca'ad might not last that long, eight. He must have gotten desensitized to bacta. I'm getting no response from his body to it. We need to get him out of here."

"Fierfek. Always something going wrong, isn't there?"

"I told him to stop those injections. But did he listen? No!" Buckler seemed more angry at himself than at Ca'ad. "Any more unfriendlies?"

"Nothing on infrared," Ajax reported. "But it sure seems like they're here."

The sound of yelling, definitely not a clone's, permeated the snowy forest. A shape could be seen on the horizon. It started to resolve into a humanoid, then a Mandalorian in full armor, then the color scheme revealed a Death Watch soldier. He continued yelling, until he had tackled the commando closest to him. Buckler wouldn't go down without a fight, though. He groped for the other man's throat, then used his skill in martial arts to get on top. But Death Watch had equally good training. The two wrestled in a lethal stalemate. Eventually, Buckler ejected a vibroblade from his gauntlet. That gave him the advantage for a few seconds, before the Death Watch assassin tasered his focus away. Buckler fell back on his years of training, taking control of his pain and using his fear. He brought his vibroblade up to the assassin's neck, and drew it across. He shoved the corpse off to the side, and got up, drawing his pistol.

There was a firefight on. Ka'rta was working to get Ca'ad under cover, and Ajax was pinned behind a tree. Ca'ad moaned slightly, sputtering blood. Buckler let a couple shots off into the direction of the blaster fire. He heard a yelp, but didn't lose focus. This was a situation where you needed to just keep firing, just keep dropping enemies until the shuttle arrived. Ajax left his cover position and fired towards the enemy positions. The falling snow didn't help sight lines much.

"I'm missing more than I'm hitting them. Does infrared work through this snow?" Buckler asked, looking for a better way than blindly shooting.

"It does. You might not like what you see, though."

"Anything's better than blind firing." Buckler turned on his infrared vision. "Fierfek. That's a lot of bogeys. Oh well, at least I can see them to hit them."

Ka'rta soon joined them. "Ca'ad needs a new pancreas, a spleen, and a transfusion. He's lucky the liver wasn't hit. I've done what I can for him. But without a hospital or proper OR, there's nothing more I can do for him right now, since he's immune to bacta."

"That shuttle isn't going to get here in time, is it?" Ajax wasn't typically much of a worrier, and that wasn't changing now. He told himself he had to focus on the mission right now. They all did.

"Unless they happen to have spare organs, no. There's not enough time."

"Help us defend this position, then."

"Yes, sir."

Ka'rta joined the other two in a defensive position around Ca'ad.

"Want me to give them the surprise I packed?" asked Buckler.

"As long as it goes 'boom' or it's something that'll take some of them out," Ajax replied.

"Took this beauty off that guard earlier," said Buckler, holding up a flamethrower.

"That should do nicely. Use it to set up a perimeter. And make the circle big enough to land a Nu-class in."

"You got it." Buckler activated the wrist-mounted device, and began establishing their perimeter. Hopefully the fire wouldn't burn down their cover. It didn't. But the tall flames did keep Death Watch from getting any closer. Jetpacks wouldn't help here if things were too hot.

"Excellent work, thirty-three. Now we wait. And watch the campfire."

The three battle-weary commandos sat next to their fallen comrade.

"I hate to say it, but that fire will run out of fuel. There's not enough forest to burn indefinitely." Ka'rta wasn't always an optimist, then.

"In this snow, it might burn only the napalm that came from the flamethrower. Look, it's already dying down," observed Buckler, disappointed.

"Then let's take what ammo and explosives we can from this assassin. We've got some time. Let's make our stand a good one." Ajax was really inspiring when he felt like it.

The squad took everything useable off the body of the assassin. That included several grenades, a jetpack rocket, a blaster rifle, and a vibroblade. Ca'ad moaned. "Do I need to do anything, Ajax? I can still fight."

Ka'rta made a gesture with two fingers across his throat. It meant that Ca'ad shouldn't push himself.

"No. Rest. You need to save your strength," Ajax said.

Ca'ad nodded weakly and made sure there was still a pistol in his holster.

"Prep flash-bangs. And blasters," Ajax directed. "This is going to be a fun one."

"I'll flash-bang the group on the left," Buckler volunteered.

"I'll throw deep," Ka'rta informed.

"And I'll get the ones Buckler doesn't," Ajax planned.

The first group of Death Watch soldiers to get through the fire came through. Buckler threw his grenade. Ka'rta threw his, quite a distance. He might never make a throw like that again. When it exploded, it stunned a cluster of soldiers just behind the fire. Ajax started laying down fire with his rifle. Soon the other two began using their blasters. Yells and screams were audible all around. It looked like Death Watch was not going to be successful in killing or capturing the clones. Then the squad heard Ca'ad fire his blaster.

"They're flanking," Ca'ad yelled. Ka'rta whipped around and shot once, twice, three times in quick succession to take out as many foes. Three soldiers dropped to the ground. Ca'ad fired a second time. Another enemy dropped. Then the sniper yelped. Ka'rta looked down.

"Oh, shab." Ca'ad definitely wouldn't make it back to Coruscant. Not this time. He'd lost too much blood to the no-longer-white snow. That thought tore Ka'rta nearly in half. "Ajax, Ca'ad isn't going to make it. It looks like he reopened the wound in his spleen. I can't do anything for him now. Bigger problems," Ka'rta said, dropping two more Death Watch. He began yelling wildly, running out to meet their enemies with extremely violent force. Every time he used his vibroblade, it felt good. Good to feel the pain in his knees when he hit one of them in the chest with it. Good to pull the trigger that would kill another one. Good to kill them all in Ca'ad's name.

Ca'ad groaned, loudly. "Take… down… the target." He screamed in pain. "Kill Visla. And take… ugh…" a rather final-sounding cough. "... as many… of those… other chakaare… as… you… can." He inhaled one final time before his body fell limp. The pistol he was holding fell, for what felt to the others like years. Never again would Ca'ad raise a rifle to his shoulder. Never again would he have to fight pain. Never again would he say "goodbye."

1205 hours, RV point, Carlac

"Ca'ad? Seventy-six?" Buckler was in disbelief. "You have to be alive, vod. You can't die now. The shuttle's probably in the system. Don't die," he pleaded.

"No use, Buckler. I'm sorry," Ka'rta said. Their flank was safe for the moment. He ran over to Ca'ad's side, holding up two fingers to the side of the other's neck. "No pulse. He's… dead." Ka'rta had several tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd been able to say it. But he had said it. "I'm sorry, Ca'ad," he sobbed. "Sorry I couldn't help you."

Ajax was still fighting. "No time to grieve. We still have to hold out until that shuttle arrives." He would have to focus his squad if they were going to get out of there. He wasn't entirely focused, though. His fear, anger, and sadness coalesced into something fierce. It was almost as though he had become a wild animal, killing without thought or feeling. Every time he heard a Death Watch soldier scream, his smile widened. He was a seasoned killer, a soldier. He was supposed to move on after every kill. He didn't have time to relish each one individually.

"We just lost a brother! Our brother, who we trained with since birth. There's no going back to the fight now." Buckler was throwing grenades with fierce force left and right. "We might as well surrender. Nobody else would die that way." He prepared to throw away his blaster and put up his hands, when suddenly the three heard an incoming Nu-class shuttle. Very soon after, its A shaped wings began to fold back up into landing configuration, giving the craft a U shape.

"Get onto that shuttle. We're going home," Ajax said, more than a hint of anger in his voice.

The door of the shuttle that had just landed fell open. Buckler stooped down to pick something up. It was Ca'ad's helmet.

"Buckler! Move it!" Ajax yelled, knowing that there were still Death Watch blasters being discharged in their direction.

Buckler ran into the shuttle where his two brothers were waiting. He sank down the wall to sit on the floor. "I can't believe it. Our pod brother. Dead," he sobbed, placing the helmet of their late brother gently on the floor beside him.

The three commandos took off their helmets and placed them beside Ca'ad's. Ka'rta and Ajax sat next to Buckler, wordless. There were no words for this moment. Not yet, at least.

"It'll never be the same without him," said Ka'rta, staring at his gloves. They were still covered in Ca'ad's blood.

Another person walked into the room. It was Rav Bralor.

Ajax stared in disbelief. "How…?"

He was interrupted by her hand, held up in a gesture of silence. "I called for an evac, too." She paused, as if debating something, and sat on the floor next to the three clones. "Where's Ca'ad?" she wondered.

"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la," Ajax replied. Not gone, merely marching far away. It meant that Ca'ad would never be dead until his brothers forgot him.

Bralor then wiped a tear off her face with her glove. "I'm so sorry." She started singing:

"Kote, darasuum kote.

Kandosii sa ka'rta,

Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad."

At this point, the commandos recognized the ancient memorial chant. They joined in:

"Kote, darasuum kote.

Jorso'ran kando a tome.

Nu kyr'adyc,

Shi taab'echaaj'la.1"

The chant ended, and all four, not five, had tears to wipe from their faces. They sat in silence, at least for a while.

Ka'rta was again the one to break the silence. "I could have saved him if I'd just tried." He knew, though, in his heart, that he had done everything in his power. That truth felt like a heavy weight, right in the middle of his chest.

"He shouldn't have gotten shot. We weren't careful enough. We didn't think they were following us. How could we - no, how could I - have been so careless?" Ajax clearly blamed himself.

They all blamed themselves.

Even Bralor.

"We didn't need to follow them here," she said. "I was so single-minded. I just wanted to get back at Death Watch for what they did to my clan."

"We all wanted to complete the objective," Ajax said. He put a hand on his training sergeant's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. When things started to go wrong, I guess we got sloppy."

A door in the back of the shuttle slid open. "It's not your fault. Any of your faults," a voice said. Bardan Jusik walked in the door. "It's going to be a tough few months until we find you a fourth man. I realize this is going to be a haastal, a bleeding emotional scar. But we'll manage. And you're going to come out of this stronger people and better soldiers. I know it."

Jusik sat on the floor with the four Mando'ade and began the long process of emotional healing.

1In Basic, the chant translates to: Glory, glory eternal. One indomitable heart, forged like the saber in the fires of death. Glory, eternal glory. We shall bear this weight together. Not gone, merely marching far away.