In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 21

As the senator and the admiral continued to exchange pleasantries and introduce the queen to the officers gathered, Rex scanned the rest of the crowd. The stormtroopers were heavily armed but at ease, indicating to him that they didn't anticipate a fight here at least. Rex let his eyes roam over the remaining officers. Most of them were standing at attention, waiting to be introduced, and many of them seemed young for their postings until his eyes fell on the last officer in the line. The man had been keeping his head down, eyes glued to the floor as if he was above this entire exercise, his temple throbbing with disdain. When Organa reached him, he raised his eyes and barely hid a glower as he extended his hand in greeting. Rex felt his heart stop as the man was introduced, and it took every ounce of self-control for him to stand perfectly still at his station.

"And this is Captain Fisk, a new addition to my team, recently transferred from Lothal."

Organa didn't flinch or show any recognition of the name as he took the man's hand in greeting. "A pleasure to have you here on Alderaan, Captain." Fisk barely grunted an acknowledgement, but Organa pretended to not notice as he moved back down the line. Rex didn't miss the glare Fisk's commanding officer gave him, pressing Fisk to stare back down at the floor. Rex glanced at Senna out of the corner of his eye. Her spine was rigid, and her hands were clasped in front of her, her knuckles white and he could see her digging her thumbnail into her palm. She was staring at Fisk as if her irises would burn a hole into him. Without warning, Fisk looked up from the floor, and his eyes caught Senna's. Rex's breath hitched in his throat as he saw recognition creep across Fisk's face, and his lip curl into a wicked grin.

"Please feel free to explore the palace. We will have refreshments ready for you shortly, and then we can plan the inspection of the port. I want to ensure you have all the support you need from us," Organa was saying to the admiral.

"If it's all the same to you, Bail, I'd like to take a team down now and get started."

"Of course!" The two men were walking away, followed by Breha and all of the Imperials but one. Fisk was still staring at Senna, his eyes boring into her. She was meeting his gaze defiantly, her chin jutted out in a dare. Suddenly, he turned on his heel and stalked out the door Rex was standing near without even giving Rex a second glance. Senna waited a beat before following after him, brushing Rex with her shoulder as she strode by. Rex tried to grab her arm as she went past, but she shrugged him off and kept moving. He cast a glance at Tech and Hunter across the room. Both of them were clearly confused and trying to figure out what was happening. Rex gave them a quick hand signal to stay put, and Hunter nodded. Reaching down to where his vibro-blade was strapped to his hip, Rex fumbled to find the hilt before realizing the knife was no longer in its sheath. Kriff. She swiped it.

With that, Rex scanned the room one last time, and, satisfied that no one was watching him, quickly took off down the hall after Senna and Fisk.

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Fisk was on a balcony fumbling to pull his commlink from his belt when he felt the tip of the vibro-blade buzz against his throat. "Make another move and I'll fillet you without a second thought," Senna hissed in his ear. Fisk froze, but smirked as she reached up and yanked the comm from his hand.

"Well hello to you too, Valla Cardell, or should I say Senna Aven, my little minx," he purred.

"Don't try to get cute, Wen. It's going to take a lot more effort than you're used to," she spat, ensuring the commlink was powered off before tossing it over the balcony. The river was so far below that they didn't even hear the splash as it hit the water.

He turned to face her, hands still raised in mock surrender. "So, what now, do you kill me? How very un-Jedi-like of you," he said.

Senna put her hand on his chest, pushing the blade against his throat as she forced him towards the edge of the balcony until his back was pressed against the railing. "I haven't decided yet, but death is better than what you deserve."

"Where's your little friend? Or did he die like the rest of his traitor brothers?" he asked mockingly. Senna felt her chest tighten in rage as she remembered Rex shuddering against her from the blaster bolt. She bit her tongue until she tasted blood as Fisk continued. "You know, I did some research, and you'd be interested to know there's a blonde clone commander, well, captain since he was demoted as a traitor, that's listed as 'Killed in Action.' Odd that you'd suddenly have a partner that matches his description that understands Imperial protocols and behaves as a trained soldier."

Senna's hand shook as she pressed the blade harder against his throat. "You'd know all about demotions now, wouldn't you, Captain?" she spat. She saw anger flare in his eyes and a slight bolt of satisfaction shot through her, her lips turning up in a smirk.

"You won't survive this, Jedi scum. You'll wind up dead just like all of your friends, and when I'm done and have received my promotion back to a fitting status, I will hunt down every last one of your rebel comrades, including CT-7567 if he still lives, and I will make him suffer. And I will enjoy it." His eyes glittered as he leaned forward into the knife, a trickle of blood running down his throat. Defiantly, he reached up a hand and touched her jaw. "I remember what you taste like," he whispered.

Senna turned and sunk her teeth into his hand until she tasted blood. Fisk cursed, drawing his hand back. She spat his blood back in his face, leaving a red smear on his cheek. "You taste like a kriffing coward." She charged forward, drawing the blade back to strike before a strong hand locked around her wrist. She seethed with rage as Rex spun her around to face him, his blaster trained on Fisk as he stared into her eyes.

"Let him go. It's not worth it. You're not a killer. Let it go," he said gently. Senna's eyes were filled with anger and hatred and it frightened him. "Senna," he said firmly, "this isn't the way you do things. This isn't who you are." She allowed him to drag his hand up her wrist and pluck the blade from her hand before he pulled her into his chest. She shuddered in his arm as he stared over her shoulder, his blaster still aimed right between Fisk's eyes. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Go back inside," he murmured into her hair. He felt her shoulders slump in defeat and he pressed his hand into the small of her back to guide her past him. Stepping forward, he pressed the muzzle of his blaster to Fisk's forehead and grinned when he saw fear in the man's eyes.

Fisk wet his lips, desperate to gain some sort of upper hand. "So, you lived," he muttered.

"I did."

"Maybe you were worth the price the Republic paid for you after all."

Rex grabbed him by his shirt collar, lifting him with one hand as the anger coursed through his veins. He felt Fisk's spine slam into the railing as he tipped over it, his hands grappling with Rex's wrist as his feet left the ground. He leaned over Wen, staring at the bloody spittle Senna had left on his cheek. "I told you men like you don't survive long around me, and yet here you are, like an insect creeping from the shadows."

A strange calm settled over Fisk and he started to laugh. "Something funny?" Rex questioned through bared teeth.

"Yes, actually," Fisk snickered, dangling over the edge. "If your little Jedi whore couldn't kill me, how do you think you'll be able to?"

Rex leaned closer so that his face was centimeters away and he could smell Fisk's stale breath. "Well Captain, I'm no Jedi." He released his hold on Fisk's shirt, and the final emotion on the Imperial's face was one of shock as he silently plummeted into the rocks protruding out of the river below, his body washing away in the rapids almost immediately.