In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 22

They stayed in their embrace for several moments, Rex rocking her back and forth a bit as she shivered. Finally, she broke the silence.

"He said you were a commander."

Rex's brows furrowed at the memory. "I was. They promoted me right before the Siege of Mandalore so I could lead a battalion with Ahsoka since she wasn't part of the Order anymore, but I was informally demoted by Jesse once I refused to execute Ahsoka. They must have salvaged the destroyer's internal comms box and realized I hadn't done what I was supposed to." Smiling, he kissed the top of her head. "Being a commander never really suited me anyway."

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The next morning, the clones and Senna were summoned to a meeting with Bail and his men. After dressing quickly, they all assembled in Organa's private office, standing around a holotable. Organa entered, looking as though he'd barely slept. Commander Antilles was close behind him, looking equally haggard.

"Well, the good news is that the inspection did not find anything and we were able to recover Captain Fisk's body from the river. Unfortunately, some of the local fauna had gotten to him first, so not all of him was intact, including his right hand," Organa said, staring pointedly at Rex. Apparently, Antilles had briefed the Senator on Rex's request. He nodded in acknowledgement, silent understanding passing between them. Rex felt Senna relax slightly next to him.

"So, what now Senator?" she asked.

"You have a new assignment." Organa tapped some keys on the side of the table and an image of a planet materialized. "We have information that an Imperial star destroyer was recently marked for disposal and salvage here, on Bracca. I understand most of you are familiar with this place." Out of the corner of her eye, Senna noted Wrecker's pained expression as his hand drifted unconsciously up to the small scar on the side of his head where his inhibitor chip had been removed. Senna had heard the story and how close they all came to disaster, and she knew that was what Wrecker was thinking of now. Tech noticed too, and much to her surprise, she saw him place his hand on Wrecker's shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. The large clone looked down at his brother, his concentration on the memory broken. Tech gave him a nod and turned back to the briefing, letting his hand drop back to his side.

Organa continued on, "According to one of our spies, the memory banks on the main computer were not wiped properly prior to disposal, so we'd like you all to get on the ship before the Scrapper Guild does and retrieve the information on there. We believe that information pertaining to the rumored super weapon may be part of the data that's left onboard."

Antilles stepped forward, pressing a few more buttons on the table, which brought up a schematic of the starship. "The information you seek can be downloaded from the bridge. The good news is most of the ship is believed to be intact, so navigating it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Once inside, you should be able to restore primary system power and download the information. Based on the information we have, we recommend you enter from the hangar bay entrance on the underside of the ship. From there, you should be able to climb through the lift system shafts and corridors to the bridge."

"Isn't there a shorter entrance? Coming in through the main hangar will take time," Hunter asked.

"There are plenty of other options for entrance, but based on what we know, the Guild has a large presence in the area. We believe entering from underneath is your best option to avoid detection. If you're able, you should land at least a klick from the ship on its port side, and you should be able to find enough cover to get there without being seen."

"Alright, when do we leave?" Rex asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning."

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