The desolate wasteland of Fondor stretched out before Naira as she scouted the perimeter of the base camp. The planet's sun was at its zenith, forcing the young woman to squint to observe the horizon as shade was not an available commodity this far from the outpost. Mercifully, there was a lovely, consistent breeze, dusty though it was, that at least made the heat tolerable.
Naira was dividing her attention between her perimeter sweep and pondering the details of the mission. Senator Rodd, the Galactic Senate representative for Fondor, had claimed that a group of Separatist insurgents had formed about a week prior and that they had recently taken control of one of the planet's most important ground-side factories. At first, Naira didn't find that too suspicious. Pockets of Separatists and their sympathizers formed daily on Republic-aligned worlds. What she did find suspicious was that these "insurgents" had captured the factory less than two days after their supposed formation. No militia was that organized that quickly, and the thought made her lekku twitch nervously.
"This doesn't make sense," she mused as Casino walked up beside her.
"Oh, I dunno," the clone said, a hint of a smile behind his bucket, "if a planet can have nothing but oceanic terrain or be one big forest or city, why not endless wasteland?"
That elicited a small chuckle from the Togruta. Casino was really good at that. All the clones were, really, but Naira especially enjoyed being around Casino. There was almost no situation he couldn't make light of, which tended to land him in hot water with command often. That never seemed to faze him much, either, and Naira found it, among other things, rather endearing. On the flipside, it also made her despise this war that much more. She had once asked Casino what he and the other clones would do once the war was over. He had laughed and shrugged the question off saying that he did not expect to live that long. That had broken her heart, but she felt she had hidden it well enough. Still, ever since the ordeal at Ord Mantell, she felt…drawn to him, somehow.
Clone Battalion Seventy-Seven, which had become known as the "Lady Luck Battalion," had successfully broken through Naira's walls following the Battle of Geonosis. She had heard the old saying that bonds are forged on the fields of battle, but hearing the words and experiencing them were two vastly different things. By now, the Clone War had been going for about six months, and the 77th had already been deployed several times before Fondor, mostly for siege warfare against some of the more fortified Separatist locations. With each assignment, Naira, at the encouragement of her master, had formed a tight fellowship with the soldiers under her command. These connections were especially strong with Battalion Commander House and the seven other clones he and Naira handpicked for their primary command squad which they called "The Flush." So powerful were these bonds that it bred a different kind of determination within the men, one that seemed to make them unkillable. Before long, the Lady Luck Battalion's reputation was well-known for having the lowest casualty numbers and not one single fatality. It warmed Naira to inspire such morale, but she also understood that this "luck" would not hold out forever.
Naira still refused to allow the men to address her as "Commander," and she was grateful they respected her choice. Sure, part of it was because they were trained from birth to follow orders unconditionally—something Naira had made some progress changing—but she knew it was mostly because she saw and treated each clone as an individual person and not an extension of their Mandalorian template. They each had their own personalities and mannerisms despite their identical nature, and Naira knew that even if she were drowned in a sea of clones, she would recognize which ones were her friends.
"That's not what I meant, Cas," she said, laughter still lingering on her words, "There are elements of this mission that just don't add up. I can't help but feel this is some sort of setup…"
"Well," Casino said, putting on his "serious" voice, "your intuition has pulled us out of worse fires than this."
"Too right," Domino agreed as he joined them, "After that risky play you made on Ord Mantell, if you have a bad feeling about any mission, you can bet we'll have your back, Raadii."
Naira smiled. "I appreciate that," she said, "Let's RTB for now. I may not trust our intel, but I am fully confident we've secured the perimeter as best we could."
"Roger that," the clones said in unison as they followed Naira back to basecamp.
Upon entering the camp, they saw Jedi General Surill and Commander House studying a map of Fondor. With them were the other five members of the Flush Command Squad: CT-021 Black Jack, CT-2202 Wild Card, CT-0333 Monte, CT-2121 Roulette, and CT-0808 8-Ball.
Surill looked up from the holomap as Naira and company approached. "Welcome back, Padawan," he greeted, "How was the scout?"
"Perimeter's clear, Master," Naira replied, "Twenty men could hold it by themselves, so the hundred we brought should have it pretty easy."
The large wolf man gave a toothy grin. "Better to have them and not need them than the other way around," he said, "Come, join us. House was about to go over the details of his plan. Commander?"
"Thank you, General," House said, stepping up to the holomap, "The facility we've been sent to liberate is on the far side of the desert valley, opposite this here plateau between them and us and nestled in this gorge betwixt the mountains. The building is one of only two ground-based foundries used to manufacture parts for Fondor's orbiting shipyards of which three are directly linked to our objective. It is imperative that we reclaim this factory for the Republic, otherwise we lose our ability to build or repair ships, making deployments of any kind next to impossible.
"As of now, the Seps are unaware of our presence, and we'd like to keep it that way until we are right on their doorstep. To that end, we are going to split the Flush into two teams and flank the facility: Roulette, you will take point as Pathfinder for General Surill's team consisting of yourself, Black Jack, 8-Ball, and Monte as the General's second. You five will take the high roads through the canyon pass west of the plateau and follow it to the south entrance of the building. Raadii's team will be myself, Domino, Wild Card, and Casino taking point. We will take the underground caverns that come out near the north entrance. The rest of Lady Luck will remain here at camp monitoring enemy transmissions and movements until called in for extraction. We will maintain radio silence until we reach our objective or unless there is an immediate emergency.
"Now, both of these routes will take roughly a week to traverse on foot, so plan and pack accordingly. As far as we know, no one is expecting us, but we shouldn't take that for granted. Remain vigilant at all times. Any questions?"
The Flush gave a resounding "Sir, no, sir!" and began to fall out when Surill took note of Naira's silence. His padawan was staring contemplatively at the holomap, a closed fist pressed against her chin.
House also caught on and signaled for the rest of the troops to wait. "You okay, Raadii?" he asked, "Something wrong with the plan?"
That jolted Naira's focus. "Hmm?" she said, "Oh, no, no…I'm good…it's a very solid plan…" She was being sincere, but the way she trailed off back into her own thoughts did not go unnoticed.
"I know that look, Naira," Surill said, "You are playing dejarik in your head again."
"When is she not?" Casino and Domino asked as one.
Surill held up a hand, beckoning them to silence. "What is it, Padawan?" he asked, "What do you see?"
"A bad play," Naira answered, leaning over the map, "on the Separatists' part. We've set all our pieces into motion, but they haven't even put theirs on the board—or that may be what they want us to think. Our intel says this cell is in its infancy, yet they've already taken this very important facility? Only one week of prep time, yet they are confident enough to leave two obvious breeching points unguarded? On the one hand, this shows all the characteristics of a rookie militia. On the other, it feels like this 'bad play' is being made deliberately. This isn't some group of misguided Fondorans."
Silence fell among the group as Naira continued to stare into the map. She waited in the quiet for only a moment longer before making a copy of the map and turning to face the troops. They were exchanging concerned looks with one another while Surill stood in thought, his ears and snout twitching nervously.
"You're thinking it's a Kintan Strider Death Gambit," House said, raising his brow curiously, "trying to bait us…that's bold, but it's too complex a move for a Seppy cell. Are you certain?"
"One hundred percent? No," Naira admitted, "but right now, it's the only thing that makes sense."
House nodded. "Good enough for me," he said, "What do you suggest?"
"The plan as written is still a solid one, House. We'll stick with it, but we will need alternate routes mapped out in the event we hit one of these proverbial road blocks. I'd also recommend taking a page from Bluffcatch Company's book and begin under the cover of night. That would tip any encounter in our favor."
Surill and House both nodded in agreement as the latter set to work on the additions.
"Good catch, Naira," Surill commended her, "Can you think of anything else we need?"
Naira sighed heavily, taking notice of the men's tense demeanors. "How about a little levity?" she suggested waving Roulette and Casino over, "Hey, Rou: bragging rights and drinks at Grobba's say Casino gets us to the RV point before you."
"Naira," Surill practically huffed, "this isn't a comp—"
"You're on!" the clones declared at each other before Surill could complete his protest.
As Casino and Roulette departed to prepare for the mission, Surill approached Naira. He crossed his arms, towering over her and glaring down in disappointment. "Padawan," he growled.
"What?" the Togruta asked, feigning innocence and stifling a laugh, "Master, there's nothing wrong with a little contest between brothers. Besides, they really needed the morale boost. Just look at them: laughing and taking bets on which team will make it first—it'll be mine, by the way. They are more at ease now than they had been a moment ago. They may be clones, but they are also men with the needs of men."
Surill huffed through his snout as he observed the troopers. His demeanor shifted as he recognized their lifted spirits and renewed determination to complete the task. "I…" he hesitated, "see your point. You are right, my Padawan. They should be allowed some time for…fun."
Naira grinned mischievously as she turned to join House and the rest of her assigned team, slightly more confident in the plan than before.
By nightfall, the Flush and their Jedi officers were geared up, rested, and ready for their mission, synchronizing their chronos before splitting up down their predetermined paths. Naira took one last look at the camp, thankful that three-fourths of the battalion were on a leave rotation between Coruscant and Kamino; one less thing to worry about. She assured herself the base was camouflaged enough that she wouldn't have to fret over the men left behind.
Wild Card was studying the tunnel walls as the team filed in. "These caves are made of cortosis," he said with some confusion, "That's odd; there's no record of Cortosis mines on Fondor."
"Is that overly suspicious?" Naira asked.
"Probably not," Wild Card admitted cautiously, "at least not in relation to the current mission, but we should keep it in mind for when the report is filed. That being said, we don't want to fire off any blasters or trip mines down here. The cortosis would redirect the heated energy, and there's no telling which direction it will go. I'd rather not get baked alive if I can help it."
"Good call," House agreed, "Set blasters to stun and restrict demos to droid poppers and skull crackers."
"Well, kriff," Domino lamented, "there goes my fun."
"It's okay, Dom," Naira chuckled, patting his shoulder, "you can break your record on the next mission."
"Promises, promises," Domino sighed.
"C'mon," Casino urged, "less talking, more walking. There's no way in hell I'm letting Roulette beat us to the RV."
They walked for several hours down the corridor with sporadic conversation as they went. Naira wasn't paying much attention to the chatter as she contemplated the cortosis walls. She was not all that well-versed in the nature of the mineral other than it could withstand the strike of a lightsaber. That alone was enough to make her uneasy about an as-of-yet unreported mine on Fondor.
"Alright," House announced at the eighth hour, "let's break for meal and rest. Buckets off, boys, but keep those torches lit."
The four men removed their helmets and positioned them in a pattern that allowed the mounted lamps to provide maximum illumination to their resting spot. The tunnel ahead and behind them was so dark it made their area look like a bright star in deep space.
Naira sat to eat with the men, choosing a spot near the edge of the light with her back facing the direction they had been walking. She really enjoyed these moments of reprieve as it allowed her to fully take in the clones' differences. House was pretty much identical to the template—or at least to the holos she had seen of the late Jango Fett—right down to the military-style flattop and clean-shaven face. Wild Card had let his hair grow long enough to tie in a short, low-hanging tail. The front was far too short to tie back, so it curtained his forehead. This made him look uncomfortably younger than his brothers—he was, technically speaking, but not by that much. Casino and Domino hadn't changed much since Naira first met them except Domino had fully grown out a short-cropped beard and mustache and acquired a nasty diagonal scar from his right cheekbone, through the brow, and across his forehead. Casino had collected three new facial scars of his own: a small nick on the left side of his chin, a diagonal laceration above his left brow, and one across his left cheek. The one on his cheek was given him by Naira when he had inadvertently startled her during a post-mission meditation. She had spent an entire week apologizing for that.
"Raadii," Casino grabbed her attention as water and rations were being passed around, "may I ask you a personal question? It's nothing too deep; just something I've been wondering for a while now."
"Of course, Cas," Naira answered, "I think we've all gotten comfortable enough as a team you guys could ask me anything you wanted without any real cause for concern."
"Okay…it has been a little over half a year serving with you and General Surill, and we've all noticed that you don't seem to have any trouble being a commander, yet you adamantly refuse to be called such. Yeah, you've told us many times you didn't earn it, but—and I say this will all due respect as my commanding officer—a blind gundark can see you've more than earned the merit. Why still avoid it?"
Naira was slightly taken aback by the query. She wasn't expecting Casino of all people to ask something so…serious. She was prepared for one of his comedic questions like why Jedi aren't permitted to have relationships or why Naira wasn't as broodingly stoic as other Jedi, so hearing him be so solemn threw her for a loop. She must have looked incredibly shocked because Casino quickly doubled back.
"My apologies," he said, "That was out of line."
"What? No, not at all," Naira assured him, "It's just…well, I was expecting something a little less, um…mature in nature."
The others burst with laughter as Casino slapped his palm over his heart. "You wound me, Raadii," he said, his joyful tone returning.
"Oh, I'm so sure," Naira snipped, "but the short answer is: we Jedi aren't a military. We were never meant to be. We're supposed to be peace keepers, and lately, we haven't had a great track record for keeping said peace."
"But the Order has a long history of great warriors," Domino pointed out.
Naira scoffed and put on her best impression of Grand Master Yoda. "Wars not make one great," she said, "I've heard the stories since I was three-years-old, and for twenty-one years it's been reinforced that war divides and corrupts the Jedi from within. Exar Kun, Revan…the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Civil War…most Jedi that have gone to war returned as fallen Jedi or even Sith Lords bent on destroying the Order. Now, I'm against this war for varying reasons, but I don't take the title because I feel that if I allow myself to be fully integrated into the GAR, then I'm opening myself up to that same corruption."
"I mean no offense, Raadii," Wild Card said, "but that sounds more like a flaw in doctrine and not a testament to your character."
House nodded in agreement. "You've seen a lot of battle in a short time," he said, "and while it has obviously changed you, it hasn't compromised your personal morals. However, the more you overthink it, the more susceptible you become to what you're afraid of."
Naira resisted arguing against being afraid, recognizing the wisdom in his words. "I suppose," she shrugged, "but it's not a risk I'm willing to take…at least not yet."
"Fair enough," Casino grinned, "I'm sure you'll get there soon."
"We shall see. In the meantime, I just—"
Naira abruptly went silent as she shot to her feet. The clones reacted instinctively, throwing their buckets on and shifting into combat defensive stances.
"What is it, Raadii?" House whispered.
"Someone or something is down here with us," Naira answered, peering into the dark void of the tunnel ahead, "and the vibrations are all wrong to be anything organic. Cut the lights and wait until I get back."
The team gave an affirmative and switched their bucket torches off, throwing the cavern into darkness. By now, the 77th had become reasonably confident in Naira's natural hunting and survival skills between her nocturnal vision and her ability to perceive movement through her montrals. Most days, these instincts were more reliable than her faith in the Force.
She carefully stalked forward into the cavern. As she came to a bend, she could make out the unmistakable sound of B1 battle droids communicating with one another further down the path. There was a dim light shining out from what Naira presumed to be a hollowed-out cave, so she inched her way closer until she reached the opening. She glanced around the corner a brief moment before quickly ducking back against the wall. A droid carrying a crate of obvious explosives had walked past the entrance mere centimeters from her face.
"Paashtuu!" she cursed softly in Togruti as she made her way back to the troops, "House, we have a problem."
"Domino, turn your torch on," House ordered as Naira rejoined them, "What is it, Raadii?"
"We're dealing with Separatists, alright," the Togruta confirmed, "but they aren't Fondoran insurgents. We've got battle droids down here, and they have a stockpile of munitions and demolitions."
"That's going to complicate things," House mused, "we could turn back and start over. It's safer, but it'll take longer. However, if we are discovered, the clankers wouldn't have the self-preservation instinct to not fire in a cortosis mine. It's your call, Raadii. What should we do?"
Naira activated the holomap she had copied. "Our nearest alternate path is actually past where I found the droids," she said, pointing out locations, "Backtracking would set us too far behind schedule at this point. We can try to sneak by, but our timing would have to be precise and our footsteps as soundless as possible."
They all agreed and began making their way back towards the cave with only Domino's torch lighting the way from the back of the formation. As they got close to the hollow, Naira heard a new voice speaking to the droids. It was not from a droid itself, but it was heavily modulated to disguise the speaker's identity. Naira pressed herself against the wall and instructed the men to do the same while she listened and looked for opportunities to walk by. She peeked in to see a featureless hologram in conversation with the droids. Her skin instantly prickled from some unknown fear hearing that odd voice. No, she couldn't let that sidetrack her right now…
"What of the Republic forces, Captain?" the voice asked.
"We've detected no movement from their camp, General," the droid captain replied, "They are more than likely waiting for sunrise to make their move. We are certain they will pass through here."
While they were distracted, Naira signaled for House to move to the other side. She continued to listen to the droid's conversation with this unknown general as she sent Wild Card to join House. Things got a little complicated when it came Casino's turn to move.
"What is that over there?" the general questioned.
Naira realized that Domino's bucket torch was still on and reflecting off the cavern walls. "Dom!" she whisper-shouted, "Your light!"
"Kriff…" the clone cursed, but it was already too late.
"Useless droids!" the hologram shouted, "The Republic forces are already here! Dispose of them!"
"Roger-roger," the B1s acknowledged and opened fire on the intruders.
The droids' blaster bolts ricocheted off the cortosis walls, just barely missing Naira and the clones. Even the droids were lucky enough to not get hit by their own fire. It was only by sheer miracle they missed the grenades they had been hoarding.
"Blasted clankers!" Wild Card exclaimed, "They're going to slag us all if they keep this up!"
They were completely pinned down. Naira could not even activate her lightsabers to deflect fire as it would only take a single stray shot to blow them all up and bury them in the tunnels. Of course, that point became moot when she saw the primed frag grenade roll out into the main corridor. She didn't have time to think about her actions as she leapt out of her cover and kicked the metal ball back into the cave before desperately calling on the Force. Without warning, she thrust her hands out, pushing House and Wild Card further down the tunnel as far from the coming explosion as possible. There was just enough time to hear the droids' collective "uh-oh" as the frag detonated. Naira faced the cave opening and held both hands in front of her, refocusing her strength in the Force to capture the blast as the cortosis redirected the heat back towards the main hall, but it was too much. She was losing ground fast; she couldn't hold it much longer. Just as her strength began to wane, she felt someone grab her around the waist and pull her out of the way of the flames. They held her close to their body, shielding her as the tunnel came crumbling down around them.
"Raadii!" a steady but concerned voice breeched Naira's sense, "Raadii, are you alright?"
Naira looked up to see Casino hunched over her, still holding her against himself as the rocks and debris settled. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat before she came to her senses. "Um, yeah," she said awkwardly, pulling away from him, "yeah, I'm okay…thanks, but…" She suddenly pushed past Casino towards the newly-formed wall where the path had once been. She ran her hands over the fused rocks trying to find a way to break through it. "House!" she called out, smacking the wall with her palm, "Wild Card!"
"We're okay, Raadii," House's voice, though slightly muted, echoed strong enough through the barrier, "no serious injuries to report; Lady Luck hasn't left us yet."
Naira allowed herself a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear," she said, "but there's no way to get to you from here."
"Yeah," House concurred, "we need a Full house on the River. Find another path, and hopefully, we'll meet back up with you on the surface."
"Yes, sir," Domino acknowledged, then turned to Casino, "You heard 'em. Let's move."
"We're just going to leave them?" Naira questioned.
"Don't really have much choice," Domino replied.
"Not unless you know how to walk through solid rock," Casino added, "which I don't reckon is something you lot can do."
Naira looked back at the wall for a brief moment before turning to follow the remaining team. "I don't like this," she said softly.
"How do you think I feel?" Casino asked, suddenly jubilant again, "I'm about to lose a bet to Roulette!"
"Let's just go," Naira sighed, "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can regroup."
Casino led them back the way they had come, consigned to the inevitable loss of time it would grant them. It wasn't like they had an abundance of choices anyway. If they had any hope of reuniting with House and Wild Card, their best bet was to retrace their steps and find a new route around the plateau. Naira wasn't thinking about that, however. Her thoughts were dwelling on what she felt when Casino shielded her from the cave-in.
"Padeshah," she cursed softly to herself in Togruti, "I thought I got over all that after Ord Mantell…no emotion, only peace…no emotion, only peace…"
"You alright back there, Raadii?" Casino suddenly asked, looking back over his shoulder.
"Yes, fine," Naira answered a little too hastily, "just…trying to plan our next move…dejarik, you know?"
Casino shrugged casually, making a low "hmm" sound as he faced the path ahead. Naira wasn't sure if he believed her lie, but he didn't pursue the matter further. They walked in silence for about an hour when Casino suddenly stopped and veered off to the right of the main path.
"Cas?" Naira questioned.
"There's another corridor here," he replied.
"Pretty sure that wasn't there when we first passed through," Domino commented, "That explosion must've had further-reaching consequences. Can you gauge where it leads?"
"Not precisely…it's an unmapped section of the caverns. I can tell it goes back in the right direction—and uphill. Either way, it should be much faster than going all the way back."
"Always knew pathfinding was just a bunch of guess work," Domino joked.
"Hey!" Casino snickered, "This job requires more skill than thumbing the detonator on a grenade."
"As endearing as this all is," Naira lightheartedly admonished them, "we are on something of a schedule."
Casino cleared his throat. "Yes, sir," he complied as he led the way through the new path with Naira directly behind him and Domino taking up the rear.
This particular cavern somehow had some natural light seeping in from somewhere, negating the need for the clones' mounted lights. It wasn't, however, so bright that the sparks coming from Naira's belt could be ignored. She pulled her lightsabers off their mounts and examined them.
"Paashtuu," she cursed softly, "My blades took some unexpected damage from that blast; they'll be useless if we get attacked again…unless I want some incredibly painful electric feedback."
"I've seen you club clankers in the dome without so much as denting the hilts," Domino said skeptically, "but a few falling rocks do them in?"
"All that damage adds up," Naira shrugged, "It was bound to happen eventually."
"That's alright, Raadii," Casino chimed in, "depending on where this leads to, I'll get you some blaster training. No soldier should rely on only one type of weapon anyway."
"Ooh, good idea," Domino agreed excitedly, "It would probably do you some good to train with demolitions, too."
"Whoa, slow down," Naira said, "Don't I get a say in the matter?"
"I suppose you could order us not to train you," Casino teased, "and we'd be compelled to comply."
"Nah," Domino contradicted, "I think that would qualify as a 'bad order,' and we're required to question those."
"Oh, that's right; and if we don't train her, she'll be weaponless. We can't have our commanding officer in the field without a way to defend herself."
"Alright!" Naira laughed, raising her hands in defeat, "Alright. You boys have made your point. Let's get out of here first, okay?"
"Yes, sir!" the clones acknowledged victoriously.
As they continued their trek, Naira looked down at her damaged lightsabers and contemplated their design in which she built them. It served as an excellent way to distract her from her…other thoughts.
The main body was fifteen centimeters long and affixed with a perpendicular handle just under four centimeters away from the pommel of the main body. This unorthodox build allowed her to spin her sabers one hundred and eighty degrees to defend herself from or to attack multiple enemies at once. She had chosen the guard shoto design, she realized, because it allowed her to use them as improvised clubs in certain situations. She had not really thought about it before now, so she made a mental note to upgrade the chassis so they could deal—and take—stronger beatings.
"Looks like we're coming up on an egress," Casino disrupted Naira's thoughts, "less than a half kilometer."
"'Bout time," Domino said, "This uphill climb is for the birds."
They came out of the cavern onto what they quickly realized was the top of the plateau. It was an expansive cap of desert bordered on either side by a range of mountains that seemed to loom menacingly over them. This sent a chill up Naira's spine despite Fondor's warm night air. The Force was trying to alert her to a present yet distant danger, but she could not perceive what it could be.
"We're still too far from the RV point," Casino was saying, "Damned clankers."
"Don't seem to have lost much time, though," Domino responded, pointing to the darkened horizon, "maybe an hour or two at worst. We can make that up easily."
"Maybe," Naira mused, "but there's not a lot of cover from potential enemies out here."
"Well," Casino said, looking through the scope of his rifle, "can't do anything about that by standing around…there's an outcropping about four kilometers that way where we can rest. By your leave, Raadii."
Naira nodded. "Let's move out."
The walk felt longer than four kilometers as the nagging feeling kept prodding the back of Naira's mind. She knew this was the Force trying to warn her about something, but it just wasn't getting through. It probably didn't help that she was, once more, distracted by thoughts and feelings she knew her master wouldn't approve of. Even so, she and the clones reached their destination without incident and set up camp to rest. Naira decided that perhaps her best course of action for the time being was to meditate on these things that were troubling her, so she isolated herself from the men in order to listen without distraction. As she sat facing against the wind, she closed her eyes and focused. She never liked turning to the Cosmic Force for guidance as it tended to open the door to false or ever-changing visions. Naira always had a difficult time concentrating on the present when presented with these ominous foresights, but sometimes—just sometimes—it made things that much clearer.
Just…not this time.
Naira's thoughts kept getting pulled towards the mysterious general that had been coordinating with the droids. Who or what were they? Why did Naira get instant, foreboding chills from so brief an encounter? And why did the Force bring such special attention to them? They had been wearing a strange, ornate mask and their voice was disguised by a modulator…this person could be almost anyone. What do you want me to see? She asked subconsciously, but she could not hold the concentration any longer. She sighed in mild frustration as she rose to rejoin the clones. She needed a diversion. Luckily, the guys were already engaged in a conversation that immediately took her mind off her other worries.
"Full House on the River is difficult to pull off on radio silence," Domino was saying as Naira sat upon her bedroll.
"But not impossible," Casino said as he cleaned the dust and grit from his rifle, "We have a general idea of where the original path leads out, so we should be able to meet up at the RV on schedule—or at least pretty close to it."
"That's assuming we don't get attacked first," Naira interjected, "The point of the Full House is to navigate the quickest, safest course to reunite the team. Without support from the base or our missing guys, our chances of surviving an ambush decreases significantly."
"Isn't that why you had us map out alternate routes?" Casino asked.
"Yes, but I couldn't have predicted the explosion or that it would expose even more, uncharted caverns. House and Wild Card could be anywhere down there, and we have no way of knowing where they'll come out or if they could reach us in time should we fall under attack."
"Fair point," Domino said, slipping his bucket back on, "I suggest we get some sleep then so we can get a head start on our day. I'll take first watch."
Naira nodded as she laid down. As sleep began to take over, so, too, did some very unwelcome, intrusive thoughts.