STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

C H A P T E R T H I R T Y-T W O

"Ugh," The other clone grumbled. "Follow us. We'll take you there. Remember, you can be arrested if you trespass into certain areas."

"Yes, I'm sorry again. I promise to be more careful." I nodded kindly, knowing the climax of my plan was near. I was escorted back down the road until we reached the corner, where I flawlessly veered out of the way and Tech and Hunter knocked the guards down with a few punches.

"Well, that went accordingly." I casually clapped my hands together, satisfied. GS-8 and the boys all stared at me, and although I couldn't see their faces due to their headgear, I imagined they were all dazzled and/or shocked by my acting. "What?" I chuckled. "Operation 'Where-Am-I?' always works."

"That was brilliant! I like you." GS-8 exclaimed.

"Nicely done." Tech monotonously stated. "I am impressed."

"Yeah... Good job." Hunter breathed, and then seemed to snap himself back into reality before ordering, "Okay, let's move."

Once we gathered at the entrance of the compound, GS-8 typed in the code. We then had to navigate to a second ingress to get inside the actual residence, requiring us to take out more guards within the courtyard. This time, we resorted to the traditional grab-and-snuff. Tech hacked into the lock and security system with little effort. All was well for a breaking-and-entering job. Luck seemed to be kind to us. Once the residential entry was open, Hunter split us into two groups of three to scour the multiple floors for the senator.

"Echo, Wrecker, clear the upper levels. Take the droid with you and—"

"Oh, no," I objected. "The senator is most likely being held in the lower levels, which means you'll need GS-8 to guide you. I will go with Echo and Wrecker."

At first, the sergeant didn't respond. Glancing at Tech, he eventually shrugged and approved my suggestion. Patting Echo's shoulder playfully, I led the way to the left where there was a staircase. With my small blaster in hand, I checked corners before turning. After the second corridor, the cyborg clone tapped my shoulder.

"You should use hand signals to inform us if the coast is clear or not." he advised. I pondered over it, realizing I wasn't used to the concept, being on solo missions for so long. I then nodded bashfully, for I felt embarrassed I had to be reminded of something so obvious. Wrecker noticed this and patted my shoulder.

"Aww, don't worry about it, Fern." I could sense him grinning underneath his helmet. "I don't care for hand signals either!"

"I bet GS-8 is having difficulty understanding them from Hunter, too." I sighed with amusement.

"Either that, or it's causing him and Tech trouble." Echo grumbled aggressively.

I halted in our tracks and glanced over my shoulder at him, causing him to flinch. 

"W-what?" he questioned.

"I know you're angry at this mission." I breathed. "So was I, at first, until I realized something earlier when we landed outside the city..."

"What's that?" Wrecker asked.

"Think about it, Echo." I faced him with my arms lightly crossed. The three of us were exposed in the empty corridor, but I was convinced the ARC trooper needed to hear this. "I know you have more cause than most to hate the Separatists, after what they did to you... And I'm sorry, truly... But," I reached up and removed his helmet so I could look into his round, sable eyes. "the war is over, and both the Republic and the Separatists are no more. There's only the Empire, and it does not recognize any difference between them. The Empire is taking over every planet, no matter which side they were allied with during the war. At this moment, there are no more sides, and we are simply rescuing a man who needs our help so that he can serve his purpose as he sees fit, and in this case, in our favor..."

As I spoke calmly, yet attentively, I watched Echo's scowl diminish into a frown. His eyes glistened with tears as he grew more emotional by my words. I wanted to embrace him and comfort him, but abruptly, an alarm was triggered and a blaring buzzer erupted.

"That's our cue." My lips formed a straight line in my attempt to suppress a smirk. I raised my gauntlet to my mouth. "You boys trip something?"

"We have the senator. Head for the top terrace." Hunter ignored my quip.

"On our way." I signed off and started to lead the way when Echo caught my wrist. With his helmet still removed, his eyes overflowing with confliction, I could not tell if I had only triggered more aggression. Then, he relaxed with a small smile. "Thank you, Fern."

I exhaled through my nose, smiled, and squeezed his hand before releasing it. "Let's go."