Three
The journey from the Resolute's location to Milagro was not a long one, but it would take most of the day, so Kalinda decided to get in some practice while the ship coasted along the hyperlane. After a few moments rummaging through her cabin, she emerged into the common-area with a handful of musical instruments. Stonewall and Traxis moved to collect the bulk of them from her, placing the cases along the galley table.
From the helm, Milo glanced back, his face breaking into a smile. "Practice time?"
"Set the auto and come on, Mi," Kali replied, taking a seat between Stonewall and Chopper, the latter of whom was trying not to gape at the array of unfamiliar instruments before him. Crest and Traxis picked up their favored instruments, a Nautolan harmonica and a Mandalorian bes'bev, a flute-like device, while Stone flipped open the latches on the ion-steel gitar case and lifted the shiny, metallic instrument into his lap. Weave selected the dulcimer, running his hands across the strings as Milo slid into the seat beside him and reached for the small, dual-sided tabla drums with which he had become proficient.
Kali's own instrument of choice was a slender viol, but she left it in its case while she glanced at Chopper, who looked truly lost now that the others had begun the process of tuning, filling the air with various discordant notes while they adjusted sound, resonance and pitch. She gave him a gentle smile. "You don't play anything, do you?" Her voice was modulated just enough to reach him through the sound of the others. He shook his head, emanating a mixture of bewilderment and reluctance. I have that gitar that Hondo gave me. Perhaps he'd like to give that a try.
But before she could offer to show him a few chords, Crest looked up. "Here, this is all tuned if you want to give it a shot." He leaned across the table and offered Chopper the harmonica.
Chopper stared at it for a few seconds before reaching his hand forward and taking the small instrument as if it were a live bomb; he studied the slender, rectangular-shaped object for several moments before looking back up at Crest. "I don't know how."
A few minutes later, the bald clone was giving Chopper a few basic instructions on the device while the others continued to tune; at one point, Stonewall caught Kali's eye and she felt a leap of acknowledgment from his thoughts. You were right about Crest. She made no reply, only ducked her head over the viol as she ran the cube of rosin along the bowstring.
"But you won't have something," Chopper said at last, frowning at the instrument.
Crest gave a shrug. "Eh. I'm not that great with it, to tell you the truth, and sometimes I just like to listen. Matter-of-fact, you're welcome to hang on to it, if you like. Now come on, let's see what you've got." He glanced at Kali and named one of the simpler songs that they knew, one that wouldn't require much expertise on the harmonica. But Chopper didn't realize that, and Kali thought that he looked nothing short of terrified, for all that he seemed to try and hide it.
"Count us off, Crest," she said, and soon the music began. Chopper stumbled at first – making music wasn't an easy thing to do, after all – but like all clones, he possessed a remarkable talent for learning new skills, and this situation was no different. By the third time they ran through the song, the harmonica sounded fluid and pitch-perfect, and Kali smiled inwardly at Chopper's look of determination.
The whole business with the harmonica had happened suddenly and was so unexpected that Chopper hadn't had time to come up with a valid reason to bow out of the session, so he did the next best thing: he adapted. As it turned out, the little instrument wasn't terribly difficult to play – it was odd, certainly – but not especially hard to pick up, and he realized that he liked the sound: an almost-wheeze that reminded him of nothing at all.
After a few songs he was able to divert some of his attention to the others and try to get a better sense of their dynamics. Of his new – temporary – bunk-mates, Crest was easy, in more ways than one, and although Chopper understood that the bald clone was taking pains to be kind to him, it wasn't in an awkward or irritating manner. He seemed to have the same kind of casual friendliness with everyone in the group, even the Jedi. Fives would like him, as would Echo. The commander definitely would. Once Crest was satisfied with Chopper's grasp of the harmonica, he'd returned to his seat and was singing along with the others, hands behind his head, left foot bobbing with the music as it rested on his right knee.
The scarred clone – Traxis – seemed to take pride in the Mandalorian flute he played, of which Chopper had only heard of prior to this mission. He wondered if this was the clone who'd taught his general Mando'a, then decided it didn't matter. The sound that emanated from the instrument could have been shrill, but for the fact that Traxis' breath seemed to drop the pitch, making it full and sonorous. He spoke but rarely, and his words were solid and sure; Chopper noted that this trooper wore his scar, not the other way around.
Of the others, Milo radiated nothing so much as energy; his hands lifted and fell across the skein of the drums in his lap with a rolling eagerness that thrummed like a heartbeat beneath the layers of music. There was some genial ribbing from his squad-mates as they called him 'shiny' and the like, but he took it all in stride. He seemed happy to just be included and grinned while he played.
The medic – Weave – held an instrument that looked a bit more complicated than the others, and he was skilled with it. Chopper had never even heard of a dulcimer, so he took a moment to study its rounded body, noting the polished wood-grain that was obviously well cared for. Weave bent over its neck, his eyes fixed on his fingers as they moved across the strings; if Chopper had been of a more poetic mind he would have considered the resulting sound to be sweet and a bit wistful.
Captain Stonewall was strange in a way that Chopper couldn't quite place a name to; he possessed the calm self-assurance that most officers had – the good ones, anyway – but there was something else about him that made Chopper's brows knit as he watched the captain lean over the brushed metal of the ion-steel gitar. He's different, somehow. I just can't figure it out. It was almost an attitude, but not quite. There was a presence about him, especially when he...
And then Chopper figured out the captain's secret. It was plain to see, once he looked for it, though the realization did nothing to quell his nerves, for if the commanding officer really was walking that knife-edge of attraction to the Jedi...well.
At the very least, it would cause the captain to be distracted. Chopper remembered Stonewall's anxiousness when he'd mentioned that the Jedi wanted to make amends; it wasn't that he was concerned for Chopper, though there was some of that feeling present, innate in all officers, but rather that he was worried for the general. The captain cared what happened to the Jedi on a very personal level.
Chopper looked at her with new eyes.
The viol was another instrument he'd never heard of, but the sound was pleasant; mourning and celebratory all at once. He liked the look of the slender bow, strung taut with hair, as she drew it across the strings. Her eyes were half-closed in concentration and he tried to see her in an objective light. She is attractive, I suppose. Fives was right about that part. But a Jedi? How can a clone feel that way about a Jedi? We're all so different. The understanding came over him that he had no clue to what extend the captain's feelings ran, or if they were reciprocated, but then he decided it didn't matter.
At the end of the day it has nothing to do with me.
But still, it was a knowledge that he thought would keep him awake that night.
The session ended almost too soon, and instruments were placed back into cases, latches were snapped shut. Crest brought out something to eat and for a while Chopper listened to the conversation between the others, trying to watch the captain and the Jedi without seeming to. He thought that he was fairly good at being inconspicuous, so he was a little startled when Stonewall looked at him.
"What have you learned about the Jedi-Killers, Chopper?"
All eyes turned his way, but since he knew the answer he was able to speak without hesitating. "Their staffs are resistant to lightsabers, sir. Their armor is tough and their programming is unlike anything I've ever seen. And..." He frowned and licked his lips. "They learn."
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
Finally Crest spoke. "They learn? Like what...dance moves? Huttese?" Wary, Chopper looked up and saw that the bald clone was smiling.
He's joking, of course. Chopper sighed to himself. The Commander really would like him.
Traxis rolled his eyes at his brother. "Is everything always one big joke to you?"
"Most things, most of the time, yes."
From what they could tell, Milagro was filled with thick, temperate forests that were scattered with meadows and rivers. It's pretty for a place filled with killer droids, Kalinda thought as the Wayfarer orbited the small moon and Weave scanned the planet's surface.
After a few moments he nodded to the Jedi. "It's clear. Our intel was correct...I'm not picking up any Seppie ships around. Not sure if that's a good thing or not," he added with a frown.
"Where's the facility located?" Stonewall asked, leaning beside the medic.
Weave pulled up a schematic of the location on the ship's holo-transmitter, the bunker-type building rotating slowly before them. "Northern hemisphere," he said after reciting the coordinates. "Tucked in the side of a hill."
Stone shot Kali a look. "How do you want to play this?"
The Jedi and all of the clones were gathered by the helm, save Chopper, who was hanging back, radiating uncertainty. Kalinda studied the building, then looked at Weave. "Can you pull the image back so we can get a better idea of the surrounding area?" Immediately, the building shrank, revealing a wide spread of open meadow on all sides, save the edge that was built into the hillside.
"No cover," Milo said in a grim voice. "That's going to make our job harder."
Naturally, Crest made a lurid remark at this, which Traxis countered, and there was good-natured bickering for a moment before Stonewall brought everyone's focus back on the task at hand, and the clones began to discuss potential solutions to their problem. But Kali's attention wasn't on her men; rather, she'd sensed something from Chopper, something that he was reluctant to voice. She thought she knew, but waited to see if he'd speak up.
He did, the words soft at first, but the others quieted immediately and turned to listen. Kali looked at him. "I didn't catch that, Chopper."
"It would be better to draw them out to a more suitable location," he said after a pause, not meeting her eyes. "Somewhere we could have the upper hand."
Stone frowned. "This is an intel-gathering mission...we shouldn't engage the Magnas unless we're forced to."
But Kali was nodding. "No, Stone, he's right. Look at that place...we'll never be able to sneak in undetected – even if I could use my Force-shield to keep us all hidden." She studied Chopper. "You've seen them in action more than any of us...any ideas?"
Everyone's eyes were on him and she could see him visibly tense for an instant, though his expression quickly turned speculative. "Thicker cover would be better," he said at last. "Uneven terrain...droids still have trouble navigating it, no matter how advanced they are." He looked at her as if for approval and she gave him a quick smile before turning back to the rotating image.
But Weave was already on it. "Here...about three klicks east of the facility: the forest is pretty dense and hilly."
"That's all well and good," Crest replied. "But how are we going to make sure they make it to the party?"
She could feel Stonewall's apprehension in the Force, but she knew the answer anyway. "Well, they're Jedi-Killers...and we happen to have a Jedi on hand, don't we?"
"General..." Stonewall's eyes on here were filled with alarm, so much so that she didn't need the Force to tell her how he felt about this plan.
"I know it's risky," she said. After a brief hesitation she placed her hand on his forearm. "But do you have a better idea?"
Yes. It involves you not putting yourself in their path, he replied, frowning again when she shook her head.
Chopper made a soft noise and the others glanced at him. "Their staffs are lightsaber resistant," he murmured. "But they themselves can be felled with enough blaster fire, just like any other droid. Perhaps we can set up an ambush."
Traxis grinned at this. "An ambush? That sounds like fun."
"We'll need a way to extract ourselves – quickly – once we have the information we need," Weave added, his tone thoughtful. "I'm not sure how well we can hide the Wayfarer..." There was silence for a moment while everyone considered the matter, then Kali felt a flare of excitement from Chopper and smiled to herself as she cast him a querying look.
He met her eyes, his own were alight with anticipation. "General, I have an idea."
At first he'd been reluctant to speak up, particularly when the entire plan revolved around putting the Jedi into harm's way, but in the end, Chopper couldn't keep the words to himself, though he supposed that was something he'd have done in the past. The captain had been visibly uneasy about the whole thing, but General Halcyon had approved, which was all that mattered when it came to the chain of command. Chopper tried to watch her reaction to Captain Stonewall's apprehension, but he couldn't discern anything unprofessional, anything that might lend credence to the rumors that Fives and Echo had heard.
Several hours later, he was crouched with the Jedi alongside a sloping hill, waiting. They were about thirty meters away from a their target, surrounded on all sides by a swathe of meadow, littered with divots and chunks of rock and gravel, beyond which was dense forest. He nodded to himself as he listened to the others take their positions: Crest, Milo and Weave were at the farthest point of the meadow that surrounded the facility, waiting with droid-poppers and a sniper while the captain and Traxis were placed between the two groups, ready to offer assistance to the Jedi and the trooper, should they need it.
That had not been part of Chopper's idea, but the captain had insisted on a second line of defense, and the general had acquiesced.
Chopper wondered if the rumors were true, after all.
The Wayfarer was not a large ship, but it was equipped with several modest speeder-bikes, two of which he and the general had taken to the facility. They'd managed to approach unseen and park the bikes, and were presently crouched next to them, close but not touching. Chopper was busy scanning the area – again – with his HUD while the general reached out with the Force.
I suppose that's what she's doing, he thought, trying not to look at her. The dark-haired woman was holding unnaturally still, her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted in her concentration. For several minutes the air was silent; he realized with a flash that there were no guards to speak of. There was a moment of debate as he wondered whether or not to rouse her from her trance to let her know, but it didn't matter in the end, as her eyes opened and fell on him a minute later.
"You don't see anyone either, do you?"
He shook his head, then pointed to a panel beside the door to the building. "Those sensors are the key, General. If we approach, they'll most likely send out an alarm..." He trailed off and they exchanged glances before she nodded.
"That's one way we can get their attention," she said in a quiet voice. He tensed as she lifted her comlink. "Stone?"
"General." The captain's voice was clipped and held only a vague trace of a question.
Chopper felt rather than saw her take a deep breath; the edge of her pale tunic was brushing his kneecap. "I'm going to attempt to engage them," she replied. "Chopper will follow me on his bike and I'll lead them to your position, like we planned."
There was a pause before the captain responded. "As you say, General Halcyon." Chopper thought that his tone suggested that his eyes were closed, but the thought was fleeting. The general checked in with the other members of the squad while Chopper continued to scan the area. He noted that she made sure to speak to every man before she was finished, before she turned back to him. They were close and he realized with a start that her hand was on his arm again.
"I'll take my speeder out first. Cover me?" She asked the question as if they hadn't discussed it before, and he wondered at the fact.
"Of course, sir," he replied, not wanting to add, "that was the plan, wasn't it?" She studied him a moment, giving the impression that she could look right through his bucket to his scars, before slipping away and straddling the slender bike. The engine powered up with a groan and she maneuvered the vehicle towards the facility; keeping as low as he could, Chopper mounted his own bike and waited. Though no one spoke over the open comm channel, he could feel the attention of the others as tangibly as if it was the buzz of conversation. They were all waiting.
They didn't have to wait long.
Two more to go...
Thank you everyone who has reviewed! It makes me so happy to know that y'all are enjoying this fic! Thanks again to reulte for creating such a wonderful character with Chopper. :D