One Month Later
"So, General."
Signe Amrun was slipping into her tunic.
"How long are we going to pretend these sorts of things never happened?"
Signe looked over at the clone and ran her hands over her hair, smoothing it down. She sported a grin. "I've got a few more months in me to keep a secret."
"I've got years," Oni replied. "But how long until people really start to notice?"
Gev already knew, but Signe refrained from telling Oni. As the squad's leader, he would take it into his own hands to keep Gev quiet. Perhaps permanently. "It'll be all right, On'ika," Signe smiled.
Oni was a wall of determination. "What if someone finds out?" he persisted.
Signe walked right up to Oni and poked him in the nose. "Then we hope it's someone we don't like so we can kill them." Oni's brow lowered. Perhaps he was trying to gauge if the Jedi was joking or not, so Signe clarified. "I'm kidding. If the squad finds out, they'll keep quiet."
"They'd better," Oni grumbled. Signe brushed the back of her hand against his cheek and thought about the first time she had done that months ago. She was still a Knight then, and Oni was the sniper.
There were other matters at hand. Signe placed a kiss on the side of Oni's neck and tried to avoid thinking about the end of their reprieve. Oni couldn't. "We're leaving in three hours."
Oh, right. The mission. Five days of reprieve in the barracks had distracted her, and she wasn't very guilty for letting it happen. "I'll see to our viin'ika."
Oni tilted his head. "Have you talked to the other Masters about her?"
"I've sent a few messages about her incompetence. I'm afraid that--she won't make it."
Oni put his hands on Signe's shoulders and stared into her eyes. "You have to have faith in her, Sig'ika. We'll help you protect her." Signe squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.
"I should get going," she murmured.
Oni grabbed Signe's hand. She stared at him, startled, her hand clamped in his grip. His dark eyes were glassy. She lingered.
Back in Signe's room, Jatne and Amiel were sitting on the Padawan's bed. Jatne nodded and said "Ma'am," to Signe, then looked back at Amiel with a grin. "Well?"
"Ni copaani buy'ce gal," Amiel said slowly.
"What are you teaching her?" Signe asked with mock authority.
"How to order a pint of ale," Jatne replied, beaming. "It's very important."
Amiel puffed up her cheeks. "You told me that was how to find the 'fresher!"
Jatne laughed. Signe folded in her lips to hide a smile. Amiel radiated contentment in Jatne's presence. Signe had to remind herself that she wasn't the only one allowed to love a clone.
"I'll teach you that, too, Commander," Jatne went on. "But I've got to get going. General," Jatne nodded again to Signe, then waved goodbye to Amiel before leaving.
Under her Master's gaze, Amiel fidgeted and busied herself sorting the few possessions she had on her bed.
"We're off on our next assignment in three hours. I'll see you at the briefing in 30 minutes, all right?"
Amiel nodded. Signe moved into the 'fresher to take a shower, and the distance between them remained.
---
"We're Sigma squad. We're here to rescue you," Oni said breathlessly.
The Republic governor, Grenel Fach, seemed unnaturally calm for a politician who spent most of his time in an office. "Nice to meet you." An explosion topside rocked the underground shelter.
Gev hauled Grenel Fach to his feet by the back of his shirt and shoved him. "Keep your head down if you want to keep it," he instructed.
"No expensive armor for me? I do pay taxes, you know. Oh, hello," he said to Signe and Amiel, who were monitoring the dark corridor.
"Hi," Amiel said meekly. Signe rolled her eyes.
"Nothing to be afraid of, Governor," Jatne said as the three commandos and two Jedi made their way back out of the Sep shelter. Morj was waiting under cover above them, having set charges to blow the place. "We'll be in a ship back to Republic space in no time."
"Thank you, soldier."
They reached the turbolift out of the shelter. Amiel and Signe had to skewer a couple of Seps on the way out, which Grenel Farr watched unblinking.
"You're a tough guy," Jatne commented on the turbolift.
"I may or may not have had a military career before this job, soldier. What's your name? And give me the real one, not the number."
"Jatne," Jatne replied. Signe noted a small welling of pride inside of him.
"Expert work, Jatne. All of you. I hope to work with you in the future."
"No, don't do that," Gev muttered. "This armor pinches you in places you didn't know you had."
Grenel Fach snorted.
"Took you long enough," Morj greeted them as they tramped out of the turbolift. They started moving immediately, and after they were clear, Oni detonated the charges.
"I like your style," Grenel Fach yelled over the chaos.
"Shut up and move!" Oni snapped. Droids had oriented on them and gave chase, blasters firing. Morj attached the grenade launcher to his DC-17 and started taking them out in large chunks.
Gev and Morj shoved the governor along, who ran with his head down and his arms covering him. Signe was running backwards as best she could, deflecting blaster bolts with her yellow and green lightsabers. Jatne forced Amiel to run in front of him, and Oni lead the way.
Barely audible above the noise of battle, a LAAT/i transport soared overhead. It was trailed by the blaster fire of an enemy anti-aircraft, which missed and hit the rock face above them.
"Shab!" Oni yelled.
"Who's that gunner?" Gev shouted. "I ought to--"
Gev didn't get to finish his sentence as the debris from the shots rained down on both them and the pursuing droids. Signe coughed and checked her person, shaking dust and small pebbles off of her as she looked frantically around for the others. Amiel was right beside her curled up into a ball, and Signe helped her to her feet. Oni was hauling Morj up and Gev skirted around a boulder, swearing loudly, Grenel Fach in tow.
It all happened so fast.
The LAAT/i swooped and hovered over them. The first person to be hauled into the crowded hold was the governor, then Signe was pulled in against her will, followed by Gev and Morj.
"Jatne!" she shouted. "Where's Jatne?"
"We've only got room for two more, General!" one of the troopers shouted.
Amiel scurried away from the grabbing clone's arms because she was the next important-ranking officer. "Jatne!" she called out. Oni came up beside her and motioned for her to follow him, and they found Jatne lying flat on his back, one of his legs crushed under a boulder.
Oni froze. Amiel felt his mind go blank, then suddenly his arm reached out and grabbed her roughly by the elbow. "Jatne!" Amiel screamed. "What about Jatne?"
Oni was silent. His mind was ice cold.
"Jatne!" she continued to scream his name over and over again. The sympathetic troopers inside the LAAT/i secured her under the arms and dragged her into the hold, and Oni followed. The LAAT/i lifted without waiting, and Oni stared down as the ground disappeared below them.
---
Signe stepped into the squad's refresher and the door sealed shut behind her. She could see Oni sitting in the shower stall in his black bodysuit. Cautiously, she went and sat down on her knees beside him, silent. He said nothing and didn't look into her eyes; he simply leaned sideways until his head rested in her lap. She couldn't sense anything definitive from him, but being in his presence made her stomach twist into a tight knot.
"I never wanted to be squad leader," Oni said finally.
"I know," Signe whispered.
"When we left Mal in the droid factory and I became squad leader, I swore I would never leave a brother behind again." Oni's voice was gravelly.
"It's okay." But it wasn't.
"I left my brother to the Seps. He's wounded. I--I left him." Oni trailed off, his voice failing him. His shoulders started shaking, then he sobbed. She said nothing and did nothing but hold his shoulder tightly while he wept.
"My own brother, and I left him," he murmured. "He kept calling out to me. I told him he was going to be okay. And he's not."
Something hard hit the refresher door. Morj was yelling from outside, cursing in languages Signe couldn't distinguish. She heard Oni's name several times, and Oni flinched.
"Hut'uun!" was the only curse Signe recognized. Coward. The worst insult. Oni fell into a dreadful silence and covered his face. She heard Gev yell something, then there was another crash as something hit the refresher door again. Oni sat up and he and Signe both stood. When they opened the door, they were standing behind Morj. Gev was holding him by the front of his bodysuit, and Morj was bleeding from the lip.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Signe shouted, the command dripping venom. Gev let go of Morj, and Morj moved away and climbed onto his bunk without a word. His pack was lying on the floor, its contents spilled out. Gev folded his arms and seemed to want to say something, while Oni lingered behind Signe. She could sense his tension. He wanted to leap at Morj.
Amiel came in, holding Signe's com. All eyes moved to her, and she seemed to wilt in place as if detecting the mood of the room--which she did. "Master, your com was ringing. I picked it up. I'm sorry--it's Sergeant Meshkad."
