Seven
RC-1309 turned the familiar corridor and headed into Area Two Barracks. He blew out a long breath as he entered the small room that housed only four bunks.
"Hey sarge, sweet suit," Fi beamed over to his immediate superior as he entered.
He was followed in by another soldier wearing the same menacing black kit. Atin looked up at the flippant soldier lying on his bunk and raised a middle finger.
"Right back at you brother," he smiled, looking at the open holovid before closing it down.
Fi had been bored waiting for his squad to return. Niner and Atin had just spent the better half of three hours testing their new upgraded special ops armour. They were both tired and hungry, and it was only 0800.
"Where's Dar?" Fi asked.
"Just headed to the 'fresher," Niner replied as he carefully removed his new gauntlets.
Tossing his helmet onto his bed, Atin sat heavily and began pulling at the chest plate that was aggravating him.
They had given the upgrade the thumbs up, not particularly liking the colour, but the new advanced light weight armour had withstood a gruelling training regime provided by their old drill sergeant.
Niner blew out another breath and looked over at Atin.
"Hey, I'm heading to the Mess, anyone coming?"
"You changing?"
"Too hungry. Can't think. Just need to eat." Niner looked tired.
He had been hoping for some down time between op's but it was yet to happen. Their last mission had been more difficult than he had anticipated. Fi had been injured, earning him a date with a bacta tank. He had missed the trialling of the new armour and would be expected to get used to it on the next hop. Niner was yet to finish his report to High Command and knew that his afternoon would be busy sitting in front of a data pad rehashing a mission he would much rather forget.
"Come on lads," it was Kal, "my shout for breakfast," he said popping his head around the corner of their quarters.
"I'm in!" Fi swung his legs over the end of his bunk and jumped down, and followed his two black squad members and former drill Sergeant out of the barracks and down the corridors leading to the Mess hall.
They were Republic Commandos.
The best of the best.
Bred in secret on Kamino, they were larger than the average clone soldier and selected for their superior intelligence and ability to think independently in any situation. They had been trained by an elite group made up primarily of mercenaries and bounty hunters originally hand picked by Jango Fett known as the Cuy'val Dar.
Niner, Atin, Fi and Darman made up Omega Squad. They lumbered into the Mess. Other soldiers stopped eating and looked at the group as they grabbed a tray and stood in line to get their food.
They were used to being stared at.
Regular grunts rarely talked to them. Fi was in his fatigues, but the two in black were joined by Darman as the men behind made way for another wearing the new armour to join his squad. Atin had a long scar across his face that together with the black armour, made him look even more foreboding. His stood in front of the soldier serving the food, and just stared at him as he dumped the pale coloured mass onto the plate he held out. He continued to hold his gaze until another spoonful was heaped on top, and happy with the extra rations, he moved on to join the others at the first table.
They sat apart from the other men in the Mess, talking quietly amongst themselves as they ate.
It was Kal who had heard the rumours from the Infirmary regarding the young politician. He made it his business to continue to know what was going on around them and was always well informed.
"I hear the captain from the 501st just received another commendation from High Command."
"What's the golden boy been up to this time?" Niner replied, sniffing the lumpy mass on his fork.
"Apparently he and some politician managed to do something no Jedi has been able to. They killed the two Dathomir brothers."
"No way, a pollie? You think he wouldn't know one end of a blaster from the other," Fi commented.
"No, she's here in the infirmary."
That got their attention.
"Injured during extraction. She didn't use a blaster, apparently she skewered Opress with a light sabre. They were supposed to transfer her to the Senate Medical Centre from the Resolute, but the Jedi High Council thought she'd be safer in the Military compound."
"Jetii?" Darman asked, not lifting his eyes from his meal.
"No. She crash landed on a mid-rim moon en route here. Her father and the pilot died due to injuries sustained on impact. But get a load of this. She keeps the co-pilot alive for the entire time, near on six months."
"What were his injuries," Niner was becoming interested in the story.
"SCI."
No one spoke. They knew the medical term and what usually happened to soldiers that had such an injury. Atin moved his upper torso armour and looked at Niner.
"You having any trouble with your chest plate?"
"You need to get back into ordinance and get that readjusted," was all he replied, continuing on with his meal.
.
She walked into the Mess and a cacophony of male voices. Cutlery tinkering cheerily against ceramic plates. But Gemma was oblivious to the immediate silence. Trance like she continued to head for the food, the thought of hot caf was mesmerising. She looked up and noticed the two men serving, both with their mouths agog.
"Could I please have some caf?" she asked gingerly, sensing their astonishment.
They didn't move. They had never seen a woman other than on a holovid before and there definitely had never been one in the Mess hall before.
Unaware of military protocol, and she had inadvertently placed the PMC in a difficult position.
The same rumours that Kal had heard, had been circulating the barracks as soldiers left the Infirmary and rejoined their units.
"Yes, Ma'am, can I help you?" was the loud voice of the more senior Mess Hall Sergeant, pushing the other two young gaping soldiers aside.
"Caf please Sir."
"Would you like that sweetened Ma'am?"
His eyes twinkled as he spoke and it made her smile.
"Yes, please, one, no, make it two, thank you," she stammered out.
"Something to eat Ma'am?"
He was loving the attention from the woman in the oversized uniform, and would talk about this day for a long time to come.
"Um, something soft and hot, and some bread?" she hastily added.
She rubbed her neck as she watched him, her mouth-watering uncontrollably as her senses went into hyper drive at the aroma and sight of the food.
"Coming right up," he smiled and placed a steaming white mass in a bowl.
A large bread roll was put on a plate and placed on her tray. Gem stared down and was immediately struck at how beige everything looked. She smiled none the less, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. Then reality tapped her on the shoulder.
"I don't have any credits to pay," she looked embarrassed, moving the tray back towards him.
"No need Ma'am, the Grand Army of the Republic picks up this tab," he boomed back.
She nodded to the soldier, smiling as she turned around holding the tray and froze.
There were more than a hundred eyes staring straight at her.
.
"Sarge," Fi's leg kicked Niner under the table, "ask her to sit with us," he pleaded.
Niner looked at the woman; he took every detail in quickly, it was a fundamental part of his training.
'Barefoot, wet hair, she's just been in the refresher. Brown eyes, relatively tall, at least 176 cm in height, underweight, no more than 110 pounds.'
She opposed no immediate threat.
It was her, the woman Kal had just told them about.
He cleared his throat pushing the chair back and looked to the right at his old training Sergeant who nodded before he stood up.
"Atten-shun," he boomed.
Gemma was so startled by the sound of his voice and the ensuing chairs scraping on the floor she almost dropped her tray and her precious food. The entire Mess Hall stood at Attention.
Niner calmly walked over to the woman and stood in front of her. She was riveted to the spot. Even though she was almost as tall, she felt dwarfed by his size.
"Allow me Ma'am," he said.
He wore his hair in the typical military cropped cut. He spoke softly to her even though his black armour made him look intimidating.
He was an anomaly.
She quickly looked around noticing that the other men in the Mess were watching him the whole time. He took the tray from her hands slowly, his eyes never leaving hers and intonated for her to follow him. She walked next to him to their table where he then turned and said "at ease," and she watched amazed as all the men sat down and went back to their meal. Feeling overwhelmed, she took the chair offered and sat as it was pushed into place. Noise began to slowly rise, and she studied the five men at the table where she was invited to sit.
"Never seen the uniform look so good Ma'am," the soldier on her immediate left beamed.
"I mean no disrespect," she said looking at the same military fatigues he was wearing.
"There's none taken", the older gentleman added in a friendly tone, "so you're the woman who killed Opress?"
"I'm not sure of his name sir, but he was the yellow guy".
With that comment, the entire table broke out into a fit of laughter.
It was infectious.
She lifted her spoon and they settled into introductions and explanations.
Fi, being the unit medic noticed the cannula still intact in her hand.
"You skip out of the infirmary Ma'am?" he said nodding to the disarray of tubing.
"I guess I did," she said looking at it.
"Allow me then, I am a medic." He grabbed a napkin and gently pulled the fine tube from inside the back of her hand.
The others at the table watched him as they continued to eat.
"There, no blood, I'm that good," he winked, holding the flimsi firmly for a few seconds before reluctantly letting her hand go.
They asked her questions about the planet she crashed on and the pilot whose life she saved. Then the inevitable question regarding the Sith. It was the older gentleman that did most of the talking. Fi had refilled her caf, without asking. These men, in fact all men she had come in contact with, had impeccable manners.
"Why did you go into the tunnel network originally?" The question appeared innocent enough.
"Well, the Captain wanted to know what affiliation the Death Watch had with the Separatist's."
She noticed him flinch slightly at that comment.
"Death Watch and the Separatists, it's such an unlikey alliance," he said, looking at the soldier opposite him.
She noticed that these men were ones of little words, except the medic who appeared happy to chat away. Atin, had a large scar on his face and angled his head accordingly so as not to have it on show. Darman, rarely looked up from his plate. Niner was polite but there was an element of shyness about him and Fi would find humour in almost anything; an obvious coping mechanism. All of them were battle scarred, it was obvious.
They may have been the best of the best, but it had come at a tremendous cost to each of them personally.
Gem was finishing her second caf when she noticed a huge figure walk into the Mess Hall. The silence that fell across the room was palpable.
"Ke'sush!" They all stood again.
Gemma remained seated watching the extraordinary alien heading her way. He growled at the Mandalorian order that was given and headed over to the older, familiar man at their table.
"Woman now allowed in the Mess Hall Sergeant?" he enquired sarcastically.
She noticed the light sabres attached to his belt, four hung, one for each of his enormous arms.
He was a Jedi.
"She's here at my invitation Sir," he lied. "Allow me to introduce Representative Skylar Gem from Oriis." Kal said, all the while warily watching the Besalisk general.
"So you are the Sith Slayer? I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when Dooku finds out."
He threw his head back and roared with laughter. She immediately didn't like him.
"I hear you managed to keep a clone alive for nearly six months, too bad he's been sent to Kamino for reconditioning."
"No, sir. I think you are mistaken, he's here on Coruscant, I gave him Diplomatic Immunity. He-"
"That is only a privilege afforded to you once you've been signed into the Senate Ma'am. You're only a people's Representative at that!"
He looked amused.
The four Commando's at the table stared directly at their plates.
Gemma was confused, she was looking between them and the huge grotesque four armed figure.
"What does re-conditioning mean anyway? Will he be reassigned somewhere else?" she asked, looking to the seated men for an answer.
They continued to avoid her gaze. The humanoid had uttered the unspoken words, and unbeknownst to Gem, dread had crept into every soldier in that room's heart. The older man began to shake his head.
"General -," he started quietly.
"Re-conditioning, for want of a better word," the Jedi said in a controlled tone, "is what the Kaminoans use for defunct clones. Putting to sleep, euthanizing, terminating is what the term actually means. You see Ma'am, the Republic has not the time or money to look after soldiers that can no longer fight. Your efforts and time were wasted, although what do they say about Oriian women; they like the men? If that's the case," he swung one of his arms wildly around, "you have plenty to choose from here!"
He turned, laughing as he continued to walk out the door. The room was spinning, the sound of blood pulsing through her ears was deafening.
Then clarity returned.
She clutched the knife on her right in her hand, all the time staring at it.
"Don't," she heard and looked up to see Niner staring directly at her, "he's not worth it."
"But Reed was," she replied quietly.
Launching herself out of the chair she wielded the knife in the direction of the unaware general but was quickly grabbed mid-flight around the waist. Losing balance, together they fell backwards, Gem landing hard against his armour.
Niner had jumped up from the chair and stopped her before she got anywhere near her target, deflecting the knife quickly out of her clenched fist and tossing it under the table where they sat.
Darman instinctively placed a large black boot over it, thus rendering it invisible.
Krell had turned around at the all commotion.
"Let me go," she yelled, attempting to lift herself off the floor. "I am in the Senate and you will report to me." She pointed to the Jedi general.
"I report to no man. The Senate does not rule over the Jedi." Krell growled and content with the discord he had delivered smiled and left the Mess Hall.
Gemma was left bordering on hysteria, "you don't understand, he wasn't my lover, he was my friend." The stunned men in the room simply didn't know what to do.
She remained on the floor between Niner's legs clutching desperately to his left knee plate.
"What sort of people do this? What sort of place is this?"
The same question, but still no closer to an answer.
Krell was one person outside the Army that knew about reconditioning. It was something that was always eluded too, as men would be shipped off Coruscant and were never to return. He had verbalised their fears in a lack of restraint. Not that any one of them in that room would question or report a Jedi, even Kal knew of their power to influence High Command.
"Hey Kix, the woman you're looking for is in the Mess and she's taking on Krell."
It was another medic returning from his break. Kix jumped to his feet, grabbed his medpak and ran from the Infirmary, down the corridor and almost into General Krell as he was leaving the Mess Hall. He slid to a halt and stood at attention as the Jedi general passed.
Hearing a female voice from the room just in front of him, he ran again and came hurtling towards the table at the front, skidding on his knees to her level.
"Relax Gem, everything is OK," he pleaded quickly injecting something sharp into her neck.
"No it's not," she spat back, "you lied, you all lied!"
She stopped suddenly, placing a hand over her mouth, her body began to lurch.
"On it," Fi quickly turned and grabbed a disposal bin and threw it at Kix who without thought placed it under her chin to catch the first hot meal she had enjoyed in months.
"Thanks vod," Kix had managed to get the rather subdued Representative to her feet and held his hand out to Niner.
"I wish I had my gauntlets on, I would have offered her my vibroblade instead of the butter knife she was going to use," he said with a smirk.
"The Captain's throwing Broadside a party at The Bunker tonight at 1800. You're all welcome."
Niner nodded appreciation at the invite and Kix lead Gemma back to the Infirmary, her head dull from the effect of the sedative.