women united

Tachi was the first the super troop transport picked up. Her men mingled with the rest. Her ranking sergeant had told her that the Outer Rim's 505th was a good group. He didn't have to warn her about the twelve-twenty-second. She'd worked beside the other woman before. She'd stood beside Kuay Li'in as she'd begged to be rid of them. Or, him, rather. Siri figured she'd take care of the problem before this op was over. Afir was too sweet to see it that way, but the guy had to go. One way or another.

Siri approached the younger woman a couple of steps behind her 78th's CO, Captain BriGard. BriGard's easy gait indicated that he was comfortable with the situation.

Rex smiled as his contemporary approached. He squeezed Afir's elbow before stepping forward to meet the other man. Their breastplates bumped as each one tapped the other's shoulder once. It was like a mating dance for the well-armored.

"I see 1222 troops. Where's the charm school flunk-out?" BriGard asked.

Rex took a deep breath. "Have you met Master Afir Kuay Li'in?" he asked instead of answering the question.

Afir smiled and extended her hand. As Siri joined them she reached out, linking fingers with the other woman. They shared a deep admiration for the same man, even if they'd never been nor would be close friends themselves. It made them sisters of sorts, Siri decided as she squeezed the slender fingers in return.

"I suppose our reputation precedes us," Afir allowed. "I wonder if we run into trouble if anyone will come to our aide."

"It all depends on who makes the call, general, ma'am. If it's your main squeeze...probably not. Unless we can-"

"Fit it in between lunch and tea," Rex interrupted. He didn't want any suspicions when Racho fell. He'd have to clue Bri in so that he could pass the word to be mum about the bastard.

"As far as I'm concerned, Maisatt is Outer Rim through and through. We taking orders from you?" Bri asked.

Rex shook his head. "I'm not sure what the breakdown will be. Whinder will be joining us outside free air space," he explained.

"Nobody's taking orders from Racho," Afir confirmed. "I've got him under control."

Rex just lifted his brow. He didn't believe it. Siri didn't either. But that was neither here nor there.

"You've been on the planet before," she confirmed. "You and Ontana taking out the prisons?"

Afir nodded. "That's what I figured. Between the three of you you can figure out how to break communications, cut power, and capture Tent and/or Sandallauge if the opportunity presents itself. I want civilians out before we blow it. If we can't blow it, we leave it for next time."

"This is going to suck, isn't it?" Siri asked. Afir popped up the miniature again. "Is that a moon or the planet?!"

"That would be a compound covering, yes, almost half a planet," Afir told her.

"And we've got five jedi and maybe a thousand troops?"

Bri coughed discreetly. "A little less than that, I think."

"Pretty fair odds, don't you think?" Afir grinned.

"I knew I liked you," Siri told her, throwing her arm around her shoulder. "You and Ontara had better remember a hell of a lot about how you got off that planet," she teased as she led the dark-haired woman away.

All hell broke loose shortly after the super troop transport left to orbit the planet.

Dark, greyish-green clouds had been rolling in all afternoon as men and material were sorted. When the lightning zagged across the sky Afir had grinned hugely at Rex. She loved a good storm. He didn't care much one way or another so long as they weren't walking. Then he wanted something beneath his feet that drained well. Here he had just that, so he was prepared to shrug off the weather.

Except that the first drop that hit his arm sizzled. Which was weird for rain.

When he looked up he thought again how odd it was for clouds to circle a sky so quickly. But he was no molecular expert and he certainly wasn't a cyber-guru, so he left the weather up to the gods who created it and the scientists who studied it.

"What the kriff?" one of the men called. He held up a flimsi with a hole burned smack through it. Another trooper yelped, then slapped a gloved hand to his neck. When he removed it, half his ear lobe was melted goo in his palm.

"Not good," Rex groaned.

"Bad not good," Whinder agreed beside him. He squinted up at the sky, then looked down at his feet where a drop of rain was boiling the ground.

"Helmets! NOW!" Rex yelled. He was already running. "YOU! WASH! ARN! COVER ONE OF THE JEDI!"

As Rex watched, Afir reached out to snatch Ontana's cloak from her shoulders. The material was smoking. She flipped her own off to cover them both.

Whinder understood and agreed with the order. "I want two men on each jedi!" he said into his comlink. He lunged toward his own master.

"Down, now, Afir! Duck and cover!" Rex shouted as he approached. Afir's trust in him was so great that she obeyed. She curled into a ball, covering her head with her hands. Ontana was a bit slower coming down. Arn helped her along, tripping her so that she was flat on her face, then covering her body with his own. Wash slid down over her as well, sheltering her head with his own head and arms.

Rex was curled around Afir, his face plate in her hair. He hoped that the chatter on the comm lines meant that the other jedi were aware of the danger and allowing themselves to be protected.

The rain passed as swiftly as it had started. Another patch of clouds was racing their way, but they had a couple of minutes to breath, Rex figured.

He snatched the helmet off his head and spoke softly so that only Afir could hear. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. The wind had been well and truly knocked out of her when he'd dropped his body on top of hers. "Yes!" she hissed at him. He grinned into her hair, then risked a quick kiss to the available ear.

"I'm thinking that I'm probably going to make love to you this way," he told her. "I can reach all of my favorite parts."

She rolled her eyes at him and activated her comlink. "What's going on?" she asked.

Soara laughed as she was allowed up. Wash offered his hand to help her sit.

"There's more cloud cover moving in over us," Siri Tachi's voice reported. "I've got four guys making a living shelter out of their bodies. How long will their armor hold up?" she asked.

"It seems fine," Rex reported, examining that on the back of his troopers. "Tell them to keep their face plates downward. And to cover their radio components if possible."

Afir broadcast the order. Ontara hung her wrists on her knees and laughed. "Too bad none of the boys are here for this."

Afir let her head fall back with amusement. Her grin was happy and easy. "Can you imagine having to throw down Master Yoda or Kitt Fisto?" she asked the men beside her.

The girls laughed uproariously. The jedi connected by the link shared the comment. The troops were less amused than they were.

"Trust me, ma'am, it's much more enjoyable for us with you."