Smile
Gossip.
"Wish I could have seen that," Echo laughed.
Fives joined in the laughter, and scraped a razor along his chin, flicking some cream down into the sink of the shower room. "Never thought I'd seen the Captain run that fast! For that matter, I didn't know Commander Tano was that good of a shot! Usually uses her lightsaber. Pity Commander Offee spoiled the show."
Echo grabbed a towel and wiped the last of his own shaving cream off his face, then ran his hands over his cheeks and neck. "Commander Offee? Why was she here?"
Fives shrugged. "Not sure. She and Commander Tano had some words, then headed out in a rush with the Captain running after them." Ducking his head, he splashed water onto his face to rinse off the last of the shaving cream, then started packing up his kit. "You should have been there."
"Yeah, well, I like to sleep on occasion. When did this all happen?"
"Last night, around 0400."
"You're up way too kriffing early," Echo muttered, and the two of them turned and headed out of the locker room, their voices fading as they moved down the hallway.
Neither of them paid any attention to the attention they were being paid.
Trip dropped his tray down onto the table, swung a leg over the stool and dropped down into the huddle.
"You won't believe what I just heard."
Three heads lifted from their respective lunches. Food was the most important thing, but gossip was a high second. All day long, fight, eat, train, fight, train, sleep, train, eat, fight. Entertainment involved cleaning blasters, sabacc, cleaning armor, some arm wrestling, and, everyone's favorite – news.
Everyone huddled closer to Trip, who grinned, pleased to be the center of attention and the bearer of exciting news. "So, last night, the Commander and the Captain were having it out!"
Lookout, Quip and Wrench stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "Yeah?" Lookout asked, once Trip's dramatic pause was complete. "A fight? Over what?"
Trip frowned. He hadn't heard what the fight was over. Or even where it took place, for that matter. But he did know who else was involved. He lowered his voice and looked over his shoulder, then said, "I don't know all the details, but from what I hear, it was something about Commander Offee." He gave them a knowing look, hoping it would cover up for his lack of practical details. "Apparently our Commander was waving a blaster around."
Three faces, all agape and wide-eyed, stared back at him.
Wrench knelt beside Tinker, who was occupied with fixing one of the fuel lines on one of the AT-TE's.
"I can't believe it, personally," he said, handing Tinker a hydrospanner, then picking up a diagnostic scanner. "What would the Captain be doing with Commander Offee to make Commander Tano that mad? I mean, yeah, she gets worked up sometimes, but enough to chase him around with a blaster? She must have been pissed."
Tinker looked back over his shoulder, only half listening. Gossip was great, but having AT-TE's leaking tibanna on a battlefield where things tended to be on fire was a little more important at the moment. Half listening, he sighed and scratched the back of his head, frowning at the fuel line. "Yeah, well, you know the Jedi. Not supposed to get involved with people much, you know. Now why is this still leaking?"
Wrench stared at Tinker. He was right. Jedi weren't supposed to get involved with people. He'd heard that before. It was why General Kenobi's very tragical romance with Senator Amidala during the Naboo blockade never worked out. So tragic.
Poor Commander Offee. But why was Commander Tano angry about it?
Whiz gaped. "No way!"
Trip and Wrench were nodding their heads sadly. They compared stories. It all made sense.
Whiz cursed. "Damn, I wish I was an officer."
Wrench sighed, wistfully. "I mean, we all look alike, so what's the Captain got that I don't?"
"Rank. And two hot Jedi chasing him, apparently. I need to get me a kama."
"Still doesn't explain why she was chasing them with a blaster," Shellshock said, looking skeptical, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned back against the wall of the engine room. They were in hyperspace, everything was currently running smoothly, so he figured he could apply some of his attention to getting details.
Whiz shook his head. "It's competition, get it? Captain's 501st. Commander Offee's moving in on the Commander's turf."
Shellshock rolled his eyes. "Commander wouldn't go down without a fight, if you ask me. Sounds like she already lost her turf."
Goggling at Shellshock, who was now smirking with his own cleverness, Whiz gasped. Commander Offee stole Captain Rex from Commander Tano!
"But I thought Offee and Tano always got along," Quip said.
"So did the Captain and the Commander," Lookout shot back, but not before glancing around the barracks to see how many brothers were listening in. Not too many. He pitched his voice low, so that it wouldn't carry too far. He said, sagely, "Maybe we've got this backward. Remember, it was the Captain the Commander was shooting at, not Commander Offee."
Wrench gasped. The Captain cheated on Commander Tano with her friend!
"I'll never forgive him!" Wrench declared, clenching his hand into a fist dramatically, a wet razor clutched within it. "And all this time I thought he was such a great brother."
"I know Commander Tano can be a bit reckless, but I can't believe she'd chase both of them all over the ship with a blaster," Quip said, shaking his head. "It must have driven her insane, her best friend running off with the Captain. Maybe that was why Commander Offee was here in the middle of the night!"
"Visiting the Captain in the middle of the night?" Trip asked, nosing into the conversation as he took his place in line at the locker room sinks. He grinned and leaned in to grab one of the cans of shaving cream. "Sounds clandestine."
Lookout frowned. "That'd be awfully hard for Commander Offee, being 41st."
"They were here not too long ago," Trip mentioned. "Just last week. You know how General Unduli seems to be around a lot lately."
"You don't think she's helping Commander Offee see the Captain?" Wrench asked, aghast.
"Nah," Trip said, toweling off his hair, then grinning. "I think she's here to see Skywalker, but that would be idle speculation."
Ahsoka laced her fingers together and stretched for the ceiling. She glanced at Rex, walking beside her from the landing bay. "Well, I'm glad that's over."
He nodded once, in agreement. Being called away for missions at all hours was to be expected, but he wished he'd had a proper night's sleep beforehand. The middle of the night was the only time the training areas were mostly empty. At least they'd be able to get a bit of sleep before the next suicide mission came up.
"Commander!" someone cried, and Ahsoka turned around in time to see two troopers rushing up to them, skidding to a halt as close as they could without getting right in her face. She leaned back, bewildered.
"Wrench? Whiz?"
"Are you alright, Commander?" Whiz demanded, face a mask of intent concern. Ahsoka gave him a weird look. She was sweaty, dirty, and disgusting from five days of slogging through a swamp, and she was really glad she couldn't tell exactly how much she stank, but she was in one piece, not covered in blood, and not on the way to the medbay.
"Yes…?" she answered, slowly. Had Whiz hit his head?
Wrench was acting just as oddly, and was glaring at Rex. "That was low, sir. Low! And you may outrank me, but I'm not afraid to say it! Low!"
Rex looked at Ahsoka, confused. "Uh, yes. Very low, Wrench. I'll not be so...low, next time."
Wrench scowled at him, then cast Ahsoka an incredibly sympathetic look. The two troopers straightened up and saluted her. "We're here if you need us, Commander," Whiz said, then shot Rex a black look before the two of them began to stomp down the corridor, casting not-so-surreptitious looks back at them.
Ahsoka leaned in towards Rex and whispered, "Do you think some of the food in the mess went bad?"
Rex shrugged, staring after the two troopers. "My guess is the water supply."
Ahsoka laughed.
They got about ten feet further down the corridor before Trip burst into view. "Commander! Are you alright?"
Again? Ahsoka blinked. "I'm fine, Trip. Why wouldn't I be?"
Trip's jaw dropped, and he nodded, beaming at her. "That's great, Commander!" He looked between Ahsoka and Rex, standing next to each other. "Did you two…um…?"
"Did we 'um' what?" Ahsoka asked.
"Get that thing…with Commander Offee…sorted out?"
"The thing with Commander Offee is classified, Trip," Ahsoka stated, folding her arms across her chest. The mission with Master Luminara and Barriss was supposed to be secret, and if Trip knew, half the 501st knew, with the way the man talked. Was that why Wrench and Whiz were acting weird? Ahsoka sighed and looked at Rex, hoping he'd do something.
Trip's eyes went enormous. "Classified?" he squeaked, looking at Rex with astonishment.
"Yes, classified," Rex repeated, starting to get tired. He had no energy for what was turning into some sort of silliness, so he put on his best Captainly glare. Trip shrunk back a little, but his eyes remained huge in his face. "Good night, Trip."
"Oh. Right. Good night, Captain. Commander." He shuffled back a few steps, then turned and hurried back towards the barracks.
"Thanks, Rex."
"You're welcome, Commander."
Ahsoka sighed. "Hey, Rex? Tomorrow, you think you can train me on the blaster cannon simulation again? It came in pretty handy."
Rex rolled his eyes. "You just liked using the gatling function on the B1's."
She grinned. "But they go down so easy, Rex!"
He sighed, though he couldn't help but wonder why it took Ahsoka so long to discover the joys of heavy artillery. "Fine. Tomorrow, late, after everyone else is done."
"Thanks, Rex." She patted him once on the arm before turning down the corridor leading to her quarters. "Get some sleep. Good night, and see you tomorrow."
"Classified?"
"And they were casual as anything about it, too," Trip confirmed to the group huddled around his bunk.
"They were looking awfully friendly out there, earlier," Whiz confirmed. "Maybe they made up. They were gone for almost a week."
"But why classified?" Lookout asked, and the huddle of men began to speculate.
Trip's head suddenly snapped up. "We've got it all wrong."
Everyone looked at Trip, who had a horrified look on his face as he continued, "The Commander was shooting at the Captain, right? And they were gone for a few days, right? They have an argument, come back like nothing's wrong, after spending time with Commander Offee, one of the Jedi healers, and Commander Tano's friend, right? So she can be trusted?"
Several nods.
Wrench caught on first. "I saw this on a holo!" he exclaimed.
"What?" Lookout asked, bewildered. "What?"
Trip lowered his voice, and everyone drew closer around. "The Captain? He got Commander Tano pregnant."
And thus the rumor mill continued to churn….
Utter silliness, I know. Thanks to laloga for the 'gossip' idea - and wow was that suggestion from a long time ago!
~Queen