Barton - 4

"You sure about this?" Finor asked again, as they stood next to the prone body of the Clone. He was still breathing, you could see the regular rise and fall of his chest now and he looked a better colour. It was surprising what a change in temperature could do. But there was no sign of him regaining consciousness and they didn't know what internal injuries he had and Donca didn't want to move him again so soon.

Some of her people were searching for medical supplies; if she could stabilise him then get him up to the Medbay. She wasn't sure when she started calling them 'her people', but the supplies were needed now, anything and everything was needed for their own people, their allies. She watched Finor and could see he still wasn't sure about the clone lying in front of him.

"Yes!" She replied, sharper than she meant to, they didn't deserve that.

"He's a stubborn one. I'll give him that."

They found a supply of survival blankets, some armour and a broken repulsor lift was being worked on; she was still surprised the Empire never repaired anything, just left it to rot, before moving on to the next planet. Perhaps not that different from the Republic. It was taking some time, even though it was not a huge base.

Dash stood at the other side of him glaring at the body.

"We'll stay here tonight. Leave first thing." She turned, "Dash! I know what you want but we can get better. Justice or revenge, or whatever you want to call it, we can get more by taking out the bigger targets. These" she looked at the clone, "men were just following orders, and I'm not certain they had any choice about that, in some cases."

He continued to stare sullenly at the clone lying on the crate. "'Kay boss! But only because I know you understand."

"Good lad. Now get some sleep." She watched as he headed off to a more sheltered spot.

"He's a good lad. It was difficult for him." Finor watched him, then turned back to Donca, who pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It was difficult for us all."

"Yes…He'll have to grow up quickly."

"We did, didn't we." She gazed into the distance.

"It was a different time but yes did."

"I thought after the Jedi came it would be over but here we are again."

"You look tired, drained." He added, pulling out one of the blankets and putting it around her shoulders. She felt no warmer inside, although they were out of the biting wind.

"Thanks for the compliment." She smiled at him, knowing he was just concerned. "I'm not used to the physical side of these missions, not now."

"Perhaps you should rest, get some sleep."

"I'll be fine."

"I've heard that before."

"I will be. I have to be."

"For how long?"

"As long as it takes."

"Ma'am?" She turned to face another youngster, a female. "Is this any use?"

A clone medikit was pushed in her hands; she looked at it, old memories resurfacing.

"Yes. Thank you." She smiled at the youngster, inwardly saddened by the youthfulness standing in front of her and remembering those she sent to their deaths earlier. She could no longer be angry. The anger had left her a long time ago, it was draining, being angry, now she was determined. She opened the kit and checked through it, it was mostly unopened, unused. That was odd. Searching through it, she found what she wanted. A scanner. She flicked the switch and smiled, as the lights showed it was fully functional and was resetting itself

She could only hope it would tell her what the clone's injuries were and it was something that could be fixed. She'd had enough of death today.

.

Coruscant

Dex's Diner.

Coco District

The first year of the Clone Wars

"Here we are."

Mayday looked up at the illuminated sign. Rumours abounded in the GAR of the natborns food, how it tasted and the different textures, nothing like the nutritional mush they served to the clones; this place was a legend, at the top of the list of rumours because of the general.

"We're just in time to get the last orders in." Hela declared pushing the door open and walking through. "He closes soon."

The Besalisk looked up as he heard the door. She waved at him standing behind the counter; he waved back, passing comments to the few customers that were lingering.

Mayday followed her through the doors and a waitress droid rolled over towards them, after wiping a few empty counters on the way.

"Hi Wanda! How are you?"

"I'm fine despite this slave driver." The droid replied, indicating the Besalisk with one arm, as she spun around.

"Don't believe anything she says unless it's about the menu." Dexter Jettster's voice boomed out, good naturedly, from behind the food counter.

Mayday's boots squeaked on the damp tiled floor, as he walked further in; he suddenly felt self conscious about that. The kitchen's double doors flew open as the infamous Dex squeezed his bulk through, his shirt decorated with irregular circles of various coloured sauces, as his upper left hand draped a towel over his shoulder. He was just as all the rumours described him. Large. Four arms. Convivial.

Dex always looked the same.

He stared at Mayday for a few seconds, then Hela.

"Obi Wan busy again?"

"Ben had a prior engagement." Hela smiled.

"Like he has the last three times."

"I don't mind. He's very busy. 'Jedi business'". She whispered, "But he always ensures someone, who is competent and trustworthy, is there to see me home." She looked at Mayday. "This is…" she frowned, embarrassed that she couldn't remember his name.

"Not Commander Cody." Dex replied.

"Mayday, sir. Commander Cody had to join the General. " He stood up straighter for the diner owner. Cody knew him and the General knew him. "I'm the lady's escort home tonight."

He heard spluttering next to him and then stifled giggles, looking down he saw Hela bent over with laughter. She put a hand on Dex's chest

"Dex. He called me a lady."

"He doesn't know you." Piped up Wanda, turning around in amused circles behind Dex, who showed them to a clean table, diplomatically not replying to Hela. She finally stopped laughing, wiping her eyes.

Mayday tried to remember natborn's protocol and stood aside to let her slide in the booth first and he followed, squeezing himself in.

Dex settled in across from them, leaning with his top elbows planted on the table, while his bottom two hung loose at the side.

Mayday was unsure how he managed to fit his not inconsiderable bulk in there and realised he was staring; he looked back up.

"So what do you want to eat? Are you going to make an old man cook one more dish for the night."

"You know you like it."

The Besalisk's wide mouth opened even further in a wider grin

Hela smiled, "I don't want too much. Nothing too heavy."

Dex leaned back, his bonhomie seeming to have deserted him; one set of arms crossed his chest.

"Don't look like that! You know your food is the best. Ben says it's better than the Temple refectories, and Cody says it's better than the GAR."

"That's not saying much." Muttered Mayday. He felt a kick on his shin from the side.

Kriff! How did she manage that?

"I mean." He recovered himself, "The GAR is renowned for its bland food sir."

"So anything's going to be better, is it son?"

The Besalisk fixed him with a stare.

Mayday squirmed in his seat.

"You're not going to be able to dig yourself out of that one." Hela nudged him, "Admit defeat."

"Clones never give up." He glared at her.

The Besalisk grinned, "I have heard before that the Jedi Refectory is not as good as my own cooking and Commander Cody always manages seconds and sometimes even thirds." He let out a piercing whistle. "Plates for two," he called to the back.

"A Dex's Special?" He asked.

"Sounds delish!" Hela said.

"Its deep fried Nuna eggs and hot tuber chips." she explained to a frowning Mayday, "Is that okay? You don't have allergies or anything do you?"

"No!" he barked out, "Clones don't have allergies."

He stared ahead, his mouth already watering.

Dex got up, pulling himself out of the booth and lumbered back to the kitchen; several clangs later, one of the waitress droids rolled through the double doors, a tray balanced on her head.

"Drinks!" She announced, twisting around, "One for the Soldier boy, caf, and one for his girl, tea."

"She's not…..I'm not…" he stuttered but by the time he got the words out, the droid had rolled away.

"It's okay. Wanda likes to have the last word."

The meals came out next but with a silent waitress.

"Thanks, Wanda." Said Mayday trying to be diplomatic and recover the situation.

This one stopped dead. "I'm Dora."

"Sorry." He muttered.

"There's leftover cake." Wanda chirped in from the back. "Dex says to have it. It's free. It's better than letting the cake expire."

"Thanks!" Shouted Hela. "You will eat it won't you?" She asked him before she tucked into the deep fried Nuna eggs, stabbing them, so the runny almost orange yolks ran over the crinkly whites.

She saw him watching her.

"They lubricate my throat."

"Ah!" He replied, before tucking in to his. As far as he was concerned they just satiated his hunger and were much tastier than ration bars.

"Try that on them." Hela pointed to the dispenser that appeared to have something dark brown in it.

"What is it?"

"Brown sauce." She replied, deadpan.

"I can see that but what does it taste like?"

"Try it!"

He looked at her, eyes narrowed.

"Trust me. It'll make all the difference."

"In my experience people who say 'trust me', are usually not trustworthy."

"Ooh, you are a cynic." She said before putting a forkful of fried tubers, smothered in brown sauce, into her mouth and closing her eyes in pleasure. "Hmmm!" She added.

Mayday found himself watching her closely; although he would admit that the woman singing in the club had awakened feelings in him he kept closely locked down, except for the occasional time he did let go. The young one now sitting opposite him was nothing like her and irritated him intensely. She seemed determined to press all his buttons and if he was not careful he would soon be acting in a manner unbecoming an officer of the GAR.

"I am a soldier of the GAR. One of the best of the best." He muttered to himself.

"Are you alright, you're staring?" Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes. Ma'am." He replied automatically.

"Staring or okay?"

"I'm fine." he retorted, wondering how Cody kept his temper with her, he didn't suffer fools gladly, as many a trooper found out to their cost.

"I've told you, it's Hela. And eat your tubers. You won't be disappointed. I promise. Besides…."

"Besides what?" He asked, his knife and fork poised over his food.

"They'll put hair on your chest."

"I already….very funny."

He squirted the sauce on a small portion and put a few in his mouth, never taking his eyes off her as she smirked at her own joke. The flavours sprang up in his mouth leaving his tongue tingling. Spicy but not hot. He squirted more sauce on and almost shovelling into his mouth, he quickly finished them.

"See. I told you you'd like them."

Mayday couldn't help but smile.

"Here! Have mine." She pushed her plate towards him, there was only the tubers left, "If I eat anymore I won't sleep. The adrenaline rush is subsiding and I have a meeting tomorrow."

"Thanks." He would be the first to admit he was still hungry and tucked into them.

Wanda rolled over to them with two cups, "More Caf for the soldier and Tea for you. Honey and Limon."

"Thanks Wanda. You're a lifesaver."

Hela sipped her tea and watched the soldier in front of her; he was enjoying his food now and his eyes sort of twinkled when he looked up at her. He wasn't Cody though, she could joke with Cody now. This one was a little bit like Cody was when she first met him—Serious with a capital S. She would have to work on that.

It didn't take long for him to finish. The plates, including the one full of cake, were clean.

"Finished?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Now it's time for me to get home and sleep. Or Zur will skin me alive."

The soldier looked at her oddly.

"Joking." She said, smiling.

"I knew that." He replied, liking the feeling that welled up in him when she smiled at him. She wasn't too bad after all. "So lead the way."

Leaving some credits on the table, she shouted her goodbyes to Dex and Wanda and Dora, as they left.

"Told you you would like Dex's."

"We clones eat anything."

"Anything?"

"The GAR doesn't have the best tasting food but it is nutritious."

"But that's not everything is it. There needs to be some pleasure in life, surely?"

They were walking along one of the walkways, a few people still milling around. Coruscant never seemed to sleep.

"Not for a soldier. We were bred to be soldiers, to follow orders, to fight, that's all."

"That's ….." she was going to say sad but he looked so serious, "You enjoyed my singing. I saw you."

"I did." He admitted, remembering how he felt when he heard her sing.

"What else do you enjoy? Apart from food. I saw that too."

He smiled.

"I enjoy it when a mission goes well. When all my brothers come back safe."

"That's not really enjoyment is it? That's satisfaction and relief. There's a difference."

He frowned, not really understanding the difference.

"I feel satisfaction when I hit a particularly difficult note, complete a particularly difficult song covering a whole range of notes or an aria with legato lines where I can play with the dynamics to shape phrases. But I enjoy other things."

She watched as he thought, still feeling sad that if they were the only things he gained enjoyment from.

"I enjoy some of my squad mates' jokes."

"That's better. I enjoy a good joke too. Ben and Cody have good jokes."

"Sometimes, I enjoy just sitting with my brothers, cleaning our kit, listening to them talk."

"Yeah. I think that would be good but who do you think of as your brothers? All of the clones?"

"At first. It was the ones I was brought up on Kamino with but that's changed. Since Geonosis."

"Why?"

She knew as soon as she saw the look on his face which was only there for a few seconds that she shouldn't have asked the question but it was out there now.

"They all died."

"I'm sorry." She cursed herself she should have known that; Ben had been there, with Padme and Anakin.

"How much further?" He asked, changing the subject.

"About ten minutes walk."

"Do you do this every night?"

"Only after a performance, at the club. I don't always sing there. In fact I seem to have less and less time to go there, even though I enjoy it."

She looked up at one of the largest illuminated advertiscreens.

He followed her eyeline up to the large sign showing a singer, dressed in an ornate dress and headdress; she was obviously singing but there was no sound being emitted, unlike the Chancellor's addresses to the people. The singer looked familiar.

He looked down at her again.

"Is that you?"

"I'm afraid so."

"So you perform there as well, at the Galaxies Opera House?"

She stopped.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

He turned to face her.

"It's nothing to do with me."

"No, it isn't." she answered sharply.

She started walking on again, wondering why she had answered like that. She had only met the man a couple of hours ago. What did it matter to her what he thought?

She heard his steps come up behind her.

"I've never heard anything like that, or been to that place. It's not normally somewhere we would go."

She stopped again, "I could get you a ticket."

"I don't know."

"Cody's been there."

"I'm leaving for training soon, off planet. Then I'll be assigned but I don't know where yet."

"I'm only there a few more weeks then I'm rehearsing for a recital on Naboo. It'll be good to be back home." she lied.

"I thought Coruscant was your home?"

"It's where I live but Naboo was where I was born and brought up, so it will always be home."

"I know what you mean. Until Geonosis, I had only ever lived on Kamino, so we clones call that our home."

"What was it like, Kamino?"

She had never managed to get this far with Cody; they had never really talked like this. He was more adept at small talk, at deflecting the more pertinent questions. She doubted anyone got really close to him except other clones. She supposed he had learnt it from Ben; she had never even asked Ben about Kamino, although she knew he had been there.

"Wet and stormy."

"Oh!"

"We were inside most of the time training."

Hela stopped walking, they were in a shopping area, she turned and looked in a shop window, the mannequins dressed in clothes she would never wear but she looked, unsure what to say next.

"Are you okay Hela?"

"Yes. Just looking. I need some new clothes." She regained her composure. "Sometimes it's easier to look at night when there are fewer people around. Sometimes they recognise me."

"Oh! I never have that problem. I'm not sure na….people know what a clone looks like."

"Well they should. They should know who's fighting for them." She felt angry on his behalf and wasn't sure why. This man was getting under her skin.

Mayday detected a change in her tone.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes." She smiled at him, which sent another warm feeling through him. "I'm just very tired. But it's not far now."

Just as she turned one of the few passersby brushed against her.

"Hey! Be careful!" Mayday shouted.

"Sorry!" He muttered and scuttled off.

They walked on, slower.

"Just a couple of blocks."

They were somewhere in Coruscant he had never been before, recognising this area was where the rich people lived.

Hela was slowing down, he slowed his pace to stay level with her. He watched as she yawned widely.

"Very tired."

"Yes. It's been a long day. Rehearsals today then tonight, the club."

"So why do you do it?"

She stopped and looked up at him, smiling and calm.

"The rehearsals I have to do, it's my job. Like you have to train to fight." She watched his reaction, knowing he understood that, "But singing in the club, that I really enjoy. I like to see the pleasure people get from my singing. I can't see that in the Opera House. They're too far away. It could be anyone on the stage for them."

She started walking again and they turned a corner. "We're here." She stood to face him and held out her hand.

"Thank you for your company Mayday and I apologise for my behaviour earlier, if I made you uncomfortable."

He grasped her hand and shook it, "It was my pleasure Ma'am." He turned to go.

"It's Hela." She shouted after him.

.