Twenty
She felt him before she saw him.
There was something different, confusing, not familiar.
Her sense within the Force had never lied to her before.
Ahsoka turned to see Rex, charging into the hanger area looking at a data pad and talking with one of the five hundred and first.
He looked rested, strong.
Confident.
She sighed. It was the first time she had seen him since their incarceration in the isolation ward in the Medical Centre. Rex handed the data pad back to the soldier and nodded his attendance to the small group assembled.
"Good morning General's, Commander's," he said relaxed and ready for the initial mission brief.
"Rex, nice of you to join us," Commander Cody said with a slight smirk.
He had an idea of what was going on with his oldest friend, but turned and continued with the update on their second trip back to Geonosis.
###
"Hey, there's the Cap. Not like him to be the last to a briefing," Hardcase commented to Jesse.
"Leave him be will you." Kix was packing and checking his medpac for the third time that morning. He knew it was going to be a high causality mission and was already dreading the loss of more brothers.
Jesse was aware at how nervous the team medic was and moved over to help.
"I think you have it ner vod," he said placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Fekking Geonosis," Kix muttered under his breath, "I hate those kriffing insects."
"Must be big, they have the Marines joining us on this hop as well."
"Yeah, all the same colour blood though," Kix lamented.
"Hakaa'kama ner vod." Hardcase, although tightly strung was a sincere brother.
Then suddenly the hanger bay went quiet and the colours of the 212th, the 501st and the Galactic Marines were interrupted by the ominous four large figures in grey as they lumbered through the deck heading towards a smaller, unmarked yacht.
'And we think we got troubles.' Jesse thought to himself.
Omega Squad just continued on their way, not looking at anyone. Jesse knew they would have their buckets on closed comm, talking amongst themselves.
Niner stopped and turned to Kix. He remembered him from the Mess Hall followed by that night at The Bunker.
"I hope you packed the insect repellent?" he said extending his arm. Kix stood up and took it Mando style.
He smiled as he replied."Yeah, thanks ner vod. Where they sending you?"
"Ah, top secret and all that osik," he laughed.
"Yeah, I know, all that osik."
"Take care brother," he said over his shoulder as he turned to join the other three men in his elite squad. Hitting the ramp, Niner looked back over to see the familiar figure in blue and white standing with the jetii.
'Lucky sheb,' he thought to himself.
###
Then the sound that made them all stand straight. It was familiar to them as it was their own voice, yet it instilled a sense of austerity that they were proud of; the call to arms.
"Torrent Company, move out."
The men jumped to attention, grabbed their weapons and headed towards their transports.
Rex travelled with his regular crew. Kix and Jesse always, always stood behind him and his heavy gunner on his immediate left.
Hands raised to the overhead straps for support, Hardcase looked across at his Captain and lent forward slightly, sniffing in his general direction. Jesse and Kix both looked at one another and laughed heartily in their buckets.
"Get a load of Hardcase," Jesse was on closed link to Kix.
"What's he doing?"
"Smelling the Captain!" Jesse was laughing so much, he was glad of the over head support to hang onto.
The Captain smelled different. A hint of something feminine and fresh. They immediately knew where he had been before arriving at the briefing.
Hardcase, not as subtle, kept sniffing.
"Do you have a problem soldier?" The Captain turned his head slowly and said in a menacing tone.
Hardcase got the hint quickly and stood back up straight. "None Sir."
With that, the larty roared to life and lifted off the hanger deck on Coruscant heading towards their mother ship Resolute enroute to Geonosis for a second time during the Clone Wars.
###
All three walked together towards the hanger bay on board the Resolute. Men parted as they strode forward down the long corridor leading the way.
All three were identical with subtle variations, marking their individuality.
Commander Jet. Commander Cody. Captain Rex.
The Galactic marines, the 212th and the mighty 501st all represented in this do or die battle about to unfold on Geonosis.
"I wonder how they are going to handle this a second time round?"
It was Rex asking the question.
Cody stifled a laugh but Jet was more thoughtful in his response.
"Whatever it is, it will have nothing to do with this briefing and more to do with your young General, Rex."
"What are you implying Commander?" Rex knew Jet well and took no offense at his comment.
"I'm just saying that what goes down in the board room doesn't necessarily go down on the battlefield. You ratbags in the 501st improvise on the hop.
"Jealous Commander?" Rex cheekily replied.
"The usual bet Cody?" Jet asked, ignoring the previous comment as they continued closer to the deck and the final briefing.
"Yep, the one longest in the bacta gets the first round."
"Hope you have some spare credits Rex?" Jet said laughing.
"Why is it always assumed that I am the one taking the dip?"
"Because it is usually you ner vod," Jet replied.
Cody laughed hard, slapping Rex on the back and pushing him in front.
"Come on Sith Slayer, move your fancy kama in here."
"Closed comm gentlemen, Channel 32a?" Jet announced.
"Copy that," Cody and Rex answered in unison.
It was their way of talking amongst themselves without the Generals listening. A way of discussing the finer nuisances the Jedi were oblivious to. Although terrific fighters they were not programmed tacticians as the soldiers were bred to be. Sometimes, these closed comm conversations meant the make or break of a mission.
"Ah, gentlemen, welcome." It was Kenobi's formal greeting to the briefing as they settled in front of another hologram and awaited their new orders.
###
"The kid's right Rex," Jet said standing perfectly still.
Rex studied the hologram in front of him, "Yeah, she sure is."
"But you're gonna be nowhere near it are you Captain?" Cody replied.
Both Commander's then broke out in terrific laughter, Rex blew a hard breath.
All at parade rest, they had perfected the stance, the one that would give nothing away to the Jedi as to what they were talking about between buckets. Rex looked again at the fortified wall, hoping that the two officers on his left were, for the first time, incorrect.
###
"Hang on boys, this is going to be a rough landing." Rex said using the closed comm link. He had quickly looked around for Ahsoka and was satisfied that she was in a safe area if they crash landed.
The shuddering from the speeding aircraft was unbearable as they headed further and further down to the dusty red soil.
There was the usual silence as they were being transported dirt side.
Heavy flak bounced off the air ship as it weaved and bobbed its way to the surface.
Swaying along with the larty, they looked forward, each concentrating on the sound of the engine and their own hearts beating.
Rex waited for the signal.
"OK men, you know the drill. Check your charge and head out on my command. We'll peel away to the right then cover the General and the Commander as they make their way out to join us, understood?"
"Sir, yes Sir."
"I expect this to be a standard mission Rex. In and out with minimum casualties."
"Good luck Sir, it's been an honour as usual."
They too, had their ritualistic last comments.
He gave a quick look to his right and was startled by the Commander meeting his gaze, a jolt breaking the glance as the larty sustained a direct hit.
"Brace for impact!"
The craft struggled and the pilot attempted to land the injured craft down without killing everyone on board.
Then the silence for a few brief moments before the moaning of injured men and their Captain checking to see who had survived.
###
Fives was sent to Corellia.
It was a blue milk run.
He had managed to ensconce himself at a local hotel, in Kor Vella, a popular holiday destination. Locals and aliens from across the galaxy would travel there to spend time relaxing. It was a great place to hide in plain sight.
The locals were accepting of another stranger, nobody asked questions since the war started, they knew not to.
It would be another twenty four days before he would land back on Coruscant.
The intel he was supplied with, for once, was correct.
A small Separatist cell had set up a communication network that was transmitting data back to a base somewhere in the outer rim. Fives' job was not to disrupt the cell, but source where the transmissions were being sent.
He knew the equipment to do the job, he just had to wait until dark to put the wires into place, re-routing the transmission to an awaiting Jedi Cruiser.
It would be all in the timing.
He had watched and memorised their pattern.
For sixteen days he had observed them, committing their regularity to memory. Fek, he even knew when one Rodian would use the 'fresher each day. He would smirk as the alien would head off with a data pad under his arm and not return for precisely twenty three minutes, give or take a few.
He was frustrated however that it had taken so long; normally he would like to be in and out just over a week. But these guys had proven a little harder to predict.
"Eliminator this is ARC-5555 reporting in as requested."
"Copy that ARC-triple five five, go ahead."
"Preparing transmission for precisely twenty three hundred. Over."
"Copy that ARC-triple five five. Eliminator out."
Fives sighed and knew that the time had come, he'd be bugging out in the morning after a transmission would be recorded and picked up by Fleet Command and hopefully, those past sixteen days would not be all in vain.
Dressed in brown pants he pulled a dark tunic over his back body suit. Packing the equipment needed to relay the transmissions, he headed out to the warehouse full of consumables that hid the illicit Sep group.
Walking quickly down the south side of the building he pushed himself hard into a door way and with a trained eye, located a beam that would hold his weight. He looked up and aimed his DC-17 with the grappling hook attachment, and fired.
Shunk.
The sharp end lodged itself into the durasteel. He pulled on it twice to make sure it would take his weight before he began to pull his body quickly up the side. Forty five metres.
Rolling onto the roof he lay for a moment, catching his breath and recoiling the wire back into place.
He scanned the area for any activity.
Negative.
Crouching low to the roof, he took off and hid behind a large air conditioning duct. He looked up at his end destination. A large tower in the centre of the building with a ladder up the east side.
It was twenty one hundred. He had another two hours to climb up and re wire the transmitters.
Pakod.
Or so he thought.
Fives was alerted by a brilliant glow in the distance, followed by a loud rumbling of thunder.
'Oh great,' he thought, a storm was heading his way. This was going to make things tricky, but not impossible.
"ARC-triple five five, this is Eliminator. Do you copy?"
"Eliminator this is ARC-5555. Over."
"We read electrical activity in your sector, do you confirm?"
"That's an affirmative Eliminator. Over."
"Do you still intend to progress?"
"That's an affirmative Eliminator. Over."
"ARC-triple five five. Stand by for further instructions."
Fives rubbed his hand across his head as large drops of water began to fall.
There was silence, and it was obvious to the ARC that Eliminator was coming up with a strategy to either pull the mission or give the all clear. Fives sat by for what seemed like an eternity and waited.
'Come on, come on,' he urged the comm link.
"ARC-triple five five do you copy?"
"That's an affirmative Eliminator. Over."
"Good luck ARC-triple five five. Eliminator out"
'It's Fives you di'kuts,' he muttered to himself.
Fives looked at the durasteel ladder that was illuminated with each lightning strike. He then turned to the storm heading his way and without second thought, headed up as fast as he could, hoping that a stray bolt wouldn't ruin all his recon and send him spiraling down to the ground as burned as a nuna steak on a hot plate.
Standing on the top of the tower he was in sight to anyone who was looking up, the brilliant displays of light making him stand out against the night sky.
'Fek, this would have been easy last night,' he thought to himself. But the Eliminator would be dropping into orbit at precisely twenty three hundred and would not be available for another six days, and Fives wanted to bug out. Also, he was keen to hear how the second mission to Geonosis had progressed, and which one of his brothers he had to add to his daily recital of names.
Pulling his gloves off with his teeth, he rubbed his hands together to get some warmth into them for the delicate job. He then opened the small pack on his belt and without thought, rewired the box at the base.
He had to time the down loads perfectly.
One every four minutes from twenty three hundred.
He knew the sequence by heart. He sat up against the base, and waited.
"Eliminator this is ARC-5555. On my mark."
The first transmission went as scheduled. Four minutes later the next one went through.
"ARC-triple five five, this is Eliminator."
"Copy that Eliminator. Over."
"Receiving transmission."
"Copy that Eliminator. Fives out."
He let out a huge sigh. His mission was over, all he had to do was wait one more hour, remove any evidence of his tampering of the wiring and get the kriff out of there.
At zero hundred hours the transmissions stopped and he began to unwire the box. He was drenched, the thunder storm had passed, leaving torrential rain in its wake. He was soaked through, cold and tired, but happy that his mission had gone to plan.
Fives slipped effortlessly down the ladder from the communication tower to the roof and made his way over to the edge where he had scrambled up hours before. He tied the cable wire to one end of a rail and slowly abseiled his way down the familiar south end of the building.
Half way down the cable jolted and he stopped. Fives looked down and saw that he had at least thirty metres to go, and winced at what he knew was about to happen. The cable jolted again, and the race was on. Could he get to a safe level to fall before the railing gave way completely?
He decided to go for it.
He made it another fourteen or so metres before the rail gave way and he knew the rest was up to him. Freefalling around another five he felt a bone jarring tug as the rail had caught something on the roof, stopping it from cavalcading over the edge.
"Argh!" He winced as his spine took the full brunt of the stop. He hung, suspended.
'Nine, maybe ten metres,' he thought to himself.
He knew he could make it, but not without breaking something.
Fek!
His cry didn't go unnoticed and two Separatist sympathisers came out of the building, looking around at what could have made the noise.
'Just don't look up,' Fives willed, hovering all the time above them, watching as two aliens clumsily looked around the perimeter. Happy that they were alone, they returned back into the warm dry warehouse.
'Ok, now I have to get down.'
Fives had to make a judgement call. He was swinging wildly in the wind that had picked up and had one of two options.
Wait for the cable to give out and fall.
Or fall.
He decided on the latter and with reluctance, detached the cable from his waist and with his stomach churning, he fell.
He hit the ground relatively smooth, bringing about his training and attempting to roll out the fall onto the duracrete. He succeeded in not dying but knew he had broken something when he hit, the pain searing through his entire body, he just had to ascertain what part of him hadn't survived the impact.
He lay there, systematically moving his body until something hurt.
Left knee, dislocated?
Ribs, several broken.
Left shoulder, rotator cuff injury?
Jaw, definitely broken.
Fek!
Now all he needed was for the Sep's to come out and finish him off with a laser bolt to the head. He attempted, to no avail to pull himself up, landing harder back against the wet ground, the pain searing through him, burning and relentless.
His eyes were beginning to close when he saw the flashing lights and a patrol vehicle stop. He tried to wave an arm but it refused the order and flopped back down against his chest. He was dressed out of uniform, soaking wet and covered in his own blood.
###
"What you find son?" the older guard offered.
"Looks like someone has done a number on this guy Sarge."
"Is he still breathing?"
"Yeah, but only just."
The last words Fives heard was "call it in" as he lost consciousness.
###
Fives awoke in the Kor Vella General Hospital.
He had been mostly right in ascertaining his injuries. His knee had been dislocated and he had three broken ribs. His shoulder too had been dislocated and found that his jaw had been wired shut.
Fek, fek. FEK!
He was stuck there. No identification, and no way of contacting the Fleet. Eliminator would be heading out and he would be stuck for another six days. He felt more trapped than a whore in a Hutt House.
He thought that nothing could be as bad as where he was right at that point, when she walked in.
Raising an eyebrow in the typical clone way, Fives closed his eyes.
On second thoughts, 'this ain't so bad,' he mused.
###
"We'll take him from here Ma'am," the Commander was enjoying watching the ARC squirm, but mostly he enjoyed the fact that his injuries had rendered him silent.
Fives had spent six days on the General Ward and had been spoilt by a plethora of pretty nurses.
He particularly enjoyed the daily sponge baths.
He had lost some bulk muscle mass due to the 'fluids only' diet he had been put on, but as there were no bacta tanks on the planet he would be scheduled for surgery followed by a cool down for the better part of a week as soon as they got dirt side.
Either way, he was finally heading home.
"Or em-oy-ing iss rn ou i?"
"What was that ARC?" he answered with a broad smile.
Commander Bly was, in fact happy they had managed to locate the young Captain. The identification implant in his arm finding him well before any medical professional would have thought to try his wrist comm, not that they would have been able to access the codes installed on it anyway. He couldn't wait to head aboard the Eliminator and tell his collegues over a meal about the state they found the formidable ARC in.
"Actually I rather enjoy your company Fives," he smiled as he pushed the repulsor lift chair out of the ward and onto a waiting transport.
###