Fir didn't know what to make of the Jedi yet. She seemed polite, at the very least, and had asked the clones all of their names once they had taken off and gotten in the air. Some of his men were eager to get the chance to talk to a Jedi, while others were more reserved, clearly unsure what to expect. Fir just stood in the back, watching as things unfolded. He spoke if he was addressed, but for now, he would stand and let everyone get acquainted with one another. Nobody knew how long this operation would take, and everyone in the group needed to be able to trust one another. Fir wasn't worried about his squad working with one another or following orders. They'd worked well together exceptionally on more than one occasion. But adding a Jedi into the mix complicated things.
And Fir still couldn't get a read on her. She seemed content to socialize with Fir's brothers. She nodded as they introduced themselves, clearly attempting to ingrain their names into her head. She was polite and sociable. But Fir had yet to see her in a fight. She was a Jedi Knight, which was always worth something, but it wasn't like Fir was jumping at the chance to put the lives of his men in the hands of a Jedi he didn't know. But Thire had said that this one was capable, and Fir trusted Thire. So he'd trust Eilenni Tane. And hopefully, his men would learn to follow suit and do the same. Even with an unfamiliar presence among them. Fir ceased staring into space and dialed back into the current conversation. Eilenni had cleared her throat to ask a question.
"Now, I was told that we would be going dark when we arrived at base. Where is the base, exactly, Sergeant?" She asked, calling over to Fir. The rest of the men looked his way as well. Fir was a little caught off guard but he unfolded his arms and stood up straight.
"Down in the southwestern district. The CSF set us up with an abandoned bar down there. The old owner got caught in a bust, and now we're being given free rein of it for this mission." He replied concisely. Eilenni nodded in understanding, before Keefe chimed in.
"Me personally, I still wish we could've set up shop at Hedark's." He said, letting out a chuckle. Banshee, who was beside Keefe, elbowed him in the stomach. "Hey! What gives?" Keefe exclaimed. Banshee shook his head.
"You just wanna go to Herdak's cause you know he'll give you free drinks." Banshee said, masking his amusement with some annoyance. Fir found himself slightly smiling under his helmet. Banshee and Keefe liked to jab at one another. Keefe was definitely one of the more… eccentric of the squad. How he often roped Banshee into his foolery, Fir did not know. He probably shouldn't have tolerated much of it, being a Sergeant and all, but it wasn't like Thire was gonna call Commander Fox down to the barracks for a little misbehavior. But nevertheless, Keefe and Banshee balanced one another out well, even if the latter was usually left frustrated at times.
"Exactly! Who doesn't like a free drink from Herdak?" Keefe asked. It was a rhetorical question. All of the men regularly visited the bar when they were off the clock. The difference was, everyone except Keefe usually had to pay.
"Is Herdak a place or a person?" Eilenni asked, clearly curious.
"Both." The man to Keefe's left, Zeph, replied. "Herdak is the klatoonian who owns the bar. He got himself in a spot of trouble with some nasties, and Keefe walked by while on patrol that day. Arrested the assaulters and probably saved Herdak's life. Now he's got drinks for life."
Keefe held his hands up. "What can I say? I love to be helpful." He let out a laugh, as did a few of the others. Keefe then pointed to Fuse, who was standing behind Zeph, almost fully concealed. "We still gotta get Fuse down there though. Can't believe he's never been yet." Fuse just shrugged in response, clearly embarrassed about all the attention. Fuse was relatively shy, which was not a typical trait for a demolitions expert, but Fir would take Fuse's quietness over a loudmouth explosives lover any day. Fuse mostly stuck with Zeph, who'd taken him under his wing as a kind of chaperone since he'd arrived. Zeph was their technician.
Fir looked at the rest of the men, who were scattered around the rest of the gunship. Towards the back, on the opposite side of the gunship as Fir, were Zeroes, Aeryl, and Drey. Zeroes was quiet, and kept to himself. He was a pretty steady loner, but a good soldier. Aeryl had some anger issues. He'd seen dark days on the guard, having served since the early days of the war. Sometimes it seemed like the man was angry at the entire galaxy. Drey, on the other hand, was calm, quiet, and collected under pressure. He was Fir's second in command, and was good to have around when Fir needed someone he could rely on. And that left the eighth man, and the one next to Fir in the gunship. Wargo. Eager to get out and fight. Eager to serve the Republic. Not the brightest out there, but the kid was loyal, and ready to do what it took.
"Have you ever been to the undercity before, ma'am?" Wargo asked, standing up straighter to try and get a better look at the Jedi. Eilenni turned towards him and contemplated him for a moment, before Fir saw a sense of recognition in her eyes.
"Wargo, right?" She asked. Fir didn't have to see Wargo's face to know he was beaming under his helmet as he nodded eagerly.
"Yes ma'am!" He replied, clearly thrilled that the Jedi had remembered him after just learning all of the squad's names. On the other side of the gunship, Keefe spoke up.
"Lucky guess!" He joked. Zeph snickered next to him. Fuse imitated the two of them. Eilenni, however, turned her head towards them confidently.
"Oh really, is that so, Keefe?" She asked, pursing her lips and raising an eyebrow. Keefe's snickers died down. Eilenni turned her head towards each of them, moving down the line. "Zeph." The gunship was silent now, and most of the men had frozen. "Fuse." Fuse and Zeph exchanged a glance, clearly in awe. Eilenni proceeded to raise her arm, pointing at the clones as she spoke their names. "Banshee. Drey." Drey stood up a bit taller. "Zeroes." The loner clone let out a scoff sound, but it went mostly unheard. "Aeryl." Aeryl let out a grunt, and Eilenni did a full turn as her gaze finally landed back on Fir. "And Fir." She spoke softly, giving him a smirk. Fir tilted his head towards her in acknowledgement. Eilenni turned back towards the group. "And well, I believe that's everybody."
"And how'd you do that?" A gruffer voice across the gunship asked. Everyone turned towards Aeryl. No one had expected him to ask any questions. While he wasn't quite a loner, he didn't get involved in conversations where he wasn't needed. Especially if it involved a stranger, which was essentially what Eilenni was. "I mean, how did you remember who we all are so quickly? Is that some kind of Jedi trick?"
Eilenni paused, remaining still, clearly contemplating her answer. The question had gotten the attention of everyone on board the gunship, including Fir. At last, she spoke. "I wouldn't say it's a Jedi trick. My sensitivity to the Force allows me to sense the presence of the living Force in all life. That includes the plants that wither and fade, and the trees whose leaves fall when the tides of the weather change. It includes both sentient and non sentient life. It includes you and me."
"But we're clones. Shouldn't we all just have the same… ah… force energy as each other?" Banshee asked. Eilenni turned towards him, offering a smile, and shaking her head.
"No, Banshee. And that's because of the same reason you all have your names. Despite outward appearances, you are all unique. You are each your own person. You each are so vastly different in the living Force, and that allows me to see you for who you are. You all may look the same, but that doesn't change your identity in the Force. And in the Force, your identity is not the same as anybody else's. It is yours, and yours alone." When she finished speaking, all of them stood there, in clear awe. Fir was in a quiet disbelief himself. After a brief moment of silence, Aeryl spoke.
"I wish the rest of the galaxy saw it that way." He muttered. That got a spur of quiet agreement from the men in the form of either whispers or nods, and Fir found himself nodding along as well. Eilenni looked at Aeryl. Her eyes softened sympathetically.
"So do I." She spoke softly. Fir was moved. The Jedi had a lot of poise and maturity for her younger age. She'd clearly witnessed things. Harsh truths about the galaxy that the Guard had only heard of or only started to discover. Fir let out a small cough. It wasn't loud, and yet it commanded the attention of the group, who turned towards him as he moved away from the back of the gunship and stepped up to Eilenni.
"Well," he began, "I'll speak on the behalf of both myself and the men. We've never met a Jedi like you before."
"I'm guessing you boys have never met many Jedi though, have you?" Eilenni asked, looking into Fir's visor. Fir shook his head.
"No ma'am. But I'd say we've gotten off to a good start." He suggested. The men nodded in agreement, some even vocalizing it. Eilenni smiled at their eagerness. "Which," Fir continued, "given what we're about to embark on, is a good thing."
Eilenni nodded in response. "I would be inclined to agree, Sergeant. Now, what's the plan for when we land?" The men all looked to Fir. Eilleni stepped back, allowing him to take the lead. Fir stepped forward and projected his voice out to the group.
"Upon landing, we'll be greeted by CSF officers who will lead us to our base of operations. It's a three story building. The entire block has been blocked off by the CSF for an 'investigation,' but that guise will only last the night. In the morning, the block will be reopened again, and when we leave, we'll need to be careful and keep a watchful eye." Fir glanced back at Eilenni. "You'll need a disguise, ma'am. After all, Jedi aren't a common sight in the undercity." She nodded in understanding. Fir turned back to the group. "Once we get inside the building, we'll set up shop. The CSF will make sure we're settled, and after that, it's radio silent. No CSF. No Coruscant Guard. And no Jedi. We're on our own until the operation is over. Is that understood?" He asked.
"Sir yes sir!" All eight of his men collectively shouted out. Fir and Eilenni caught each other's eye, and she gave him a nod.
"Sounds like a plan, Sergeant." She said approvingly. Fir motioned for her to step forward and pull even with himself.
"Do you have anything to say, madam?" He asked her. Eilenni gave him a look. There was a twinkle in her eyes, and a bit of a smile on her face as she spoke.
"Yes. May the Force be with us."
}~~~~~~~~~~~~{
For an abandoned building, Keefe thought it looked quite lively. He supposed that was the doing of the CSF. They'd likely given it some touchups to make it seem feasible that someone could live there. As they stepped inside the actual bar, the Jedi instantly made her way upstairs. Their beloved Sergeant, on the other hand, was directing all of the men away from the bar. Keefe shut one of the cabinets closed, sighing disappointedly.
"For a bar, this place is severely lacking drinks." He noted. "I'm gonna complain to the owner. Oh wait." He joked, elbowing Banshee. His friend was unamused, and just yanked on Keefe's arm until he had gotten him out of the bar. There were several overturned chairs lying around, and a lot of the booths were showing their age.
"I'm afraid there's no drinks of that sort, gents. But the CSF has given us a good amount of supplies." Fir said, giving Banshee and Keefe a pointed look, before yelling out for everyone to gather around. Keefe scanned the room to see where the rest of the squad was. Drey was standing at attention near Fir already. Aeryl and Zeroes wandered over from some of the booths. Wargo and Fuse had been examining some old, torn posters and pictures hung up on the walls. Zeph dragged them over towards the rest of the group. Once everyone was gathered around, Fir began to speak.
"Alright, each of your basic hygienic kits should be located in your rooms. They're identical, so it doesn't matter where you bunk. Three to a room. There are three rooms on the second floor. One belongs to General Tane. Drey, Aeryl, and I will take the second one. That leaves one room here on the second floor, and one on the third. You can sort out room arrangements by yourselves. Goodnight men." Fir said, giving them a wave.
There were mixed acknowledgments and wishings of good nights as Fir made his way upstairs, followed by Drey and Aeryl. Keefe looked around. That left himself, Banshee, Wargo, Zeph, Fuse, and Zeroes. Keefe grabbed onto Banshee by the shoulder. Banshee tore away from Keefe's grasp.
"No way, Keefe. You snore like a rancor in your sleep." Banshee said in a mock fun voice. Keefe rolled his eyes.
"I call rooming with Fuse." Zeph said, nudging his comrade excitedly. Fuse just kinda stood there, wide eyed and a bit awkward. Banshee walked over towards them. Which left Keefe with Wargo and Zeroes. Eager and eager-less.
As they all made their way upstairs, Banshee, Zeph, and Fuse said goodbye as they headed up the stairs to the third floor. Keefe made his way over to his group's room. There was a bunk, and then a solo bed. The beds all had sheets and a pillow, and as Fir had promised, each bed had a hygienic kit with their folded sleepwear next to it. Keefe set his stuff on the top bunk, thinking it best to just automatically let Zeroes take the solo bed, with his whole standoffish attitude thing. Wargo set his stuff on the bottom bunk, and the three silently changed into their sleepwear. Once they were done, Wargo fell back on his bed.
"Wow." He said breathlessly. "That General Tane really is something, huh? All that Force talk…" Wargo trailed off.
"Well, well, it looks like someone's crushing on the Jedi." Keefe teased, grabbing the pillow off his bunk and tossing it at Wargo.
"Ah, kriff you, Keefe. I just think it's neat is all." Wargo grunted, throwing the pillow back at him. Keefe chuckled and got up in his bunk.
"You find it interesting, Warg? All that Force stuff?" Keefe asked. Wargo waited a moment before answering.
"I mean sure, wouldn't you? She talked about how it made us unique and everything."
"In my book, I make myself unique, not some mystical power." Keefe replied, folding his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. There was a long bit of silence before Wargo responded.
"Still," Wargo's voice said tentatively from the bunk below, "She's the first person outside of brothers to tell me I was unique."
Keefe paused. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's something." he admitted.
Silently, Zeroes let out a grunt, before getting up from his bed and moving over to the light switch. He flipped the lights off, leaving them in the dark, before making his way back over to his bed. Quite poetic, Keefe thought. Lights out. They were going dark. Radio silent.
Now, they were on their own.