Disclaimer: I make no money, and I only write about what I enjoy. Crimson Squad, Cerina Browlin, Reone, Gan Pohin, and the opening segment quotes are mine. Arlington Zey and Bardan Jusik belong to Karen Traviss. George Lucas owns everything else.

Segment 3

I will only have the location directly given to a clone soldier, and I will not risk having a Republic agent turn rogue or sell to the highest bidder. I have my reasons for the exchange done this way in order to protect my associate's life as well as the life of your cloned soldier. If you are concerned for the well being of the soldier you send, I can assure you that he will be far safer at my associate's disposal than on any battlefield.
Denon informant, known only as "Shape-shifter"

The City of Sha'ye on the Planet Denon
687 Days ABG

An hour later, Dusty was finishing the last of his cake and frozen cream. Cerina had ordered a small cup of whipped chok'lat that was drizzled with a red berry sauce and garnished with small, red berries along the rim of the glass.

Their dinner had consisted of different cuts of filleted nerf and a multitude of side dishes that included vegetables and sweetened bread. Cerina ate her dinner sparingly, offering Dusty anything he wanted from her plates. The soldier gladly took what he could sample, and his ravenous appetite was a combination of having never eaten so well before and just the constant hunger from his overactive metabolism due to his advanced aging.

When they had both decided that they had enough to eat, Dusty folded his napkin and placed it neatly on the tabletop, near his empty dessert plate.

"As agreed, dessert is over," he started, trying to get back to the business that had been pushed aside for the last hour while they talked about the weather, the different planets in the galaxy, and anything not related to Dusty's mission. "I believe you have information for me."

Cerina left a credit chip on the table, an untraceable but common currency. It was more than enough to cover their meals and leave a decent tip for the server that had handled their dinner.

Cerina's lips formed a small pout. "Hasn't anyone told you that it's customary for a gentleman to walk a lady home?"

Dusty felt his impatience growing now. He didn't know how much longer he would have to play this game, and it was beginning to grow old. His voice remained quiet so as to not spark any unwanted interest from the other patrons. "Madam, with all due respect, I have had enough, and I want to complete my mission. I've done everything you've asked so far."

"So, this is to be the end of it then?" she asked, her eyes flashing with pity for him and what he will never experience in his short life.

Dusty sighed quietly, regretting his earlier hasty words as he saw that she was treating him with dignity and respect rather than contempt. "Madam Cerine, I appreciate your kindness for the likes of me, truly I do, but I feel I'm being selfish and inconsiderate of my mission."

"Do you know why you were chosen to meet with me?" she asked now.

Dusty kept his eyes on her, aware of her sweetly scented perfume and how she accentuated her attractiveness to keep his attention on her. She moved one of her hands now under her chin and caught one of her twisted locks of hair between her fingertips, seeming to play with the red-orange wave absently.

"The old woman who was your initial contact can read people, and the disguise she wore will never be repeated so do not look for her again because next time she might be a man or another type of being altogether. It's how she protects herself and her gift, and she's not a Jedi or even remotely skilled like that. She just knows people and can sense things about them through body language and such. You're not the first clone she had interviewed, as there were others before you. However, out of all the others, including the other three in your squad, you showed the most interest, the most curiosity for the civilian world. When the old woman brought me into her employ to be her liaison, I had asked her for merely one request. All I wanted from whoever she had chosen to be my partner in this exchange was the opportunity to give him the experience of a date and an evening as a civilian, and I specifically requested a soldier who would not be resistant to such a concept."

"So I was the lucky clone that she felt was not going to take a blaster to you and demand you give over the information, and on the blind faith of that, you had all this arranged simply to feed my curiosity?" he asked not sure if he wanted to be angry or grateful.

Cerina folded her hands before her now and breathed softly as she nodded her head.

Dusty watched her chest expand as she inhaled, his eyes captivated for a moment by the twin curves beneath the dress. He brought his eyes quickly up to her face again and had decided that she was quite beautiful, at least by the standards that humans judge beauty on another. He truly was grateful that she didn't think she was so far above a clone soldier that she would just have given him the necessary information and sent him abruptly on his way. He had to admit that he did enjoy their meal together, even if the conversation was unrelated to anything with the mission. For an hour or so, she actually made him feel…normal, like a real civilian on a real date.

"I wanted to give you a moment in time, an opportunity to remember," she explained quietly. "You needed to know who you fight for, not just what and why."

Dusty absorbed her words and thought about how she emphasized them. She wanted him to understand what an average citizen was all about, and her concern for the clones in the GAR was not commonly shared throughout the galaxy they tried to protect. But, as he looked to her and saw her honest intentions to treat him with respect and provide a sense of normalcy, he now understood what the crazy old woman saw in him. He had wanted to know what a civilian truly was and what it was like to be a part of them.

Suddenly, he reached over and took Cerina's hands in his, wanting to find some way to thank her for allowing him the opportunity to feel like a normal human and an average citizen of the Republic. "With your permission, I'd like the honor of walking you home," he told her softly.