Chapter 2: Broken Squads

Nicko was now head of Dragon Squad. A mismatched, four-man band of survivors who had lost their original brothers.
And Nicko missed his old squad, his ner vod, his brothers. It was an ache in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't shake. Genosis and then being chilled down in suspended animation for a month or two before being woken back up and reassigned to this bunch. But he was the Major. He would gain the confidence of his small group the same way that the General was gaining the confidence of his troops. He could do it. Artemis had always said he was a damn good major. And Jolly and Edge were some of hers. They'd been part of Hawk Squad. It would be difficult to get those two separated long enough for the group of four to feel like four and not two plus one plus another one. Zar was going to be a problem though. Even without the Force, Nicko could feel the "I don't care attitude." And he'd been much too eager to undermine Nicko's authority in front of General Mag Liano. Or maybe that was how his squad had done things.

But this was Dragon Squad now.

"Zar," said Nicko. They were still heading to their quarters, speaking safely on the private comlinks in their helmets. "Don't ever cut me off in front of a CO again." Zar didn't reply. Nicko turned abruptly and jabbed him in the chest. "Got that?"
"Yes, ner vod," said Zar irritably. Using the Mando word for brother. Skirta's men always slipped into Mando. "I got that." Nicko nodded. That was enough for him.
"You know though, Sarge," said Jolly mildly. "I don't think the General minded. He called us gentlemen."
"And did you see how he waited for us to talk?" Edge added. "I felt a bit bad when I realized it. What are you supposed to do with a CO that wants a conversation during a briefing?"
"Confer, I guess," said Jolly. It sounded as if he were smiling. Nicko allowed himself an unseen grin. Yes, he would get along with Jolly and Edge all right.
"Were you expecting all that though?" Asked Zar.
"All what? The General?" Asked Nicko.
"Yeah."
"What about him?"
"He was just different, I guess," said Zar. "Asking us for our names. Having us take off our helmets..."
"How different do you think Jedi are from the training manual?" Asked Edge.
"Well, he was...kind," said Jolly. "Not imposing at all."
"Maybe General Mag Liano is a smaller Jedi?" Suggested Zar. "Not top brass council material?"
"He did get a smaller troop number," said Edge.
"But a more important mission," said Nicko. "Didn't you read the manifest? All of the troopers are specialized for sensitive missions that need more manpower than just a squad of commandos."
"Maybe this boring planet is more dangerous than they told us," said Zar.

Nicko shook his head as they finally reached their bunk. "I don't think that's it," he said musingly. "I think that, like the General said, the Jedi think a fight is coming. And they want to be ready for it."

Three Days Later

"Hey, ner vod," Jolly said, adjusting the small bead comlink in his ear so that he could talk to Zar despite being helmet-less and half inside of the inner panel of their small fighter ship, The Flame. General Beto, they had been surprised to discover, had a sense of humor and, upon learning that they were Dragon Squad, had named the two small fighters "The Flame" and "The Roar." Jolly decided that he liked the General-Jedi just fine. "Ner vod?"
"Here," said Zar. He was in the cockpit, making sure everything worked for one last time. "What is it?"
"Where'd you get the scar?" Edge and Jolly had been wondering about it for the last three days. There was no reply. Jolly waited patiently. He knew that Zar wasn't as grumpy as he appeared.
"Which one?" Zar finally asked.
"How about your chin?" Jolly volunteered. Better to start out slow.
"Training exercise. Live rounds," said Zar. "I got thrown to the ground when a mine blew up behind me. I knocked out half my teeth, too. Skirta wasn't too happy."
Jolly grinned, carefully flipping onto his back so that he could check the oxygen tanks strapped in the small hold with him. "That had to hurt."
Zar half-laughed. "If you can't take it, you shouldn't have signed." It was something their sergeants had always said. Not that it made much sense in their particular situation.
"And the one above your eye?" Asked Jolly.
Zar was quiet. Jolly's usual good nature slipped. "I've got some scars on my back from where I was dragged out of Genosis by Edge," he told Zar quietly. "He should have left me behind – protocol you know. I was too injured to walk. But he just kept saying that he wasn't leaving me, too."
"I saw them," said Zar. "When you were changing. They must have been deep."
"Shrapnel went right through my armor," said Jolly cheerily. "And then it was all yanked around. But the whole place was collapsing so Edge couldn't carry me or anything."
"Mine is shrapnel, too," said Zar. His voice was so soft that Jolly froze in his check of the fuel tanks so that he could hear better. "But it hit me after tearing right through Fen."
Oh.
Jolly swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, ner vod."
"I'm trying, you know," said Zar suddenly.
"Huh?" Jolly grunted, focusing on trying to scramble out of the small space. He was starting to feel claustrophobic.
"To fit in," Zar said. "I'm trying. It's just...we were almost out when the ships started firing. We were so close to being clear. And then they were gone. At least you and Edge have each other."
"Nicko's in the same bind as you," Jolly pointed out.
"I know," Zar sighed. "I didn't rub him the right way the first day. I'm trying with him, too."
"Don't worry, ner vod," Jolly said. He was finally out of the storage compartment and went forward to place his hand on his squad-mate's shoulder. "We know."

"The Roar?" Edge shook his head, grinning. "That Jedi Master would get along great with Sarge Artemis."
"Yeah," Nicko said, also grinning. "He has a good sense of humor. I wasn't sure if Jedi were allowed to make jokes."
"Beto made Commander Jay laugh the other day," said Edge. Nicko frowned at him.
"What?" Edge demanded. "No one's around. We don't even have our buckets on."
"Helmet or no helmet," said Nicko firmly. "He's a Jedi Master and our General." He waited until Edge nodded before conceding with another grin, "General Beto at least." Edge laughed. They went back to double checking that all the controls were in tip-top shape.

"Hey, Edge?"
"Yeah, Sarge?"
"You and Jolly don't mind that I split you up for the fighters, right?" It'd been bothering Nicko. It was important for the squad to work well together. And any resentment from something like that could be dangerous in a firefight when the pilot and copilot had to trust each other intimately.
"Naw, Sarge," said Edge. "We get that the squad needs to work as a unit. Besides, Jolly and I are both used to being primary pilot – we'd probably just bicker if you stuck us together."
Nicko doubted that was true. But he appreciated the gesture all the same. He commed the other fighter.
"Commencing com check. Roar to Flame, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," came Jolly's voice. "How about a little joy ride into hyperspace?"
Edge chuckled.
"How did the systems check go?" Asked Nicko.
"Everything is green and ready, Nicko," said Zar. "We'll be ready when we drop out of light-speed."
"Sounds good," said Nicko. "All right, men. Let's hit the mess before the General calls us to our posts."