【ｍｉｓｓ ｔｈｅ ｍａｒｋ】| Crosshair x OC (BOOK 1 of the CHANGING WAVES series)

21 | Hawk, Nova, Phoenix

Captain Rex beside her froze mid bite. Setting the spoon down, his brows contorted in shock. "Sirs!" Rex sputtered. "I need some sort of idea of what you want!"

"Calm down, Rex," Anakin said, slurping his soup. "We trust you."

"We know you've got it under control," Ahsoka added, crunching crackers into her soup behind a wide grin.

Rylann furrowed her brows. They were hiding something. "The real question is what are you two up to?"

Anakin shrugged, wiping his mouth on his napkin. "Heard there are some epic training centers."

"You could wait for the tour, you know," Rylann said.

Ahsoka just pouted. "It's no fun to crane over people's heads to look at a room for 4.5 seconds."

Anakin smirked, patting his padawan on the back. "I don't have that problem, Snips."

"That's cuz you're over 6 foot and overflowing with bantha crap," Ahsoka retorted, devouring her soup. Rylann looked over at Rex who silently ate his soup. This would be a long day.

【 ⌖ 】

Rex walked beside Rylann towards the main hangar where the clones were lined up for inspection. Rex's helmet was still beneath his arm, the strange blue designs and scratch marks intriguing Rylann. She'd have to ask him about them later.

Amongst the group of clones lined up in front of them, Rylann noted a few of her friends. Giggles for one had hid himself in the back, probably to hide his tattoo from sight. He was incredibly embarrassed by it since Brodes was the one who did it without permission.

Speaking of the devil, Brodes jogged into the hangar, sliding in next to Giggles who was reprimanding him. Rylann held back a smile. Though she couldn't hear what he was saying, she could very well imagine it. "Of all days, Brody!" she could almost hear Giggles voice squeak out.

"Captain Rex, Rylann," Shaak Ti said from behind them, appearing at their side. "Are Anakin and Ahsoka joining us?"

Rex flushed for a moment, looking down. "Not today, sir."

Something flickered in Shaak Ti's eyes at the comment. "Then I will report to you," she started, clasping her hands behind her. "What are you looking for in a soldier, Captain?"

Rex squinted in thought, bringing his hand to stroke his chin reminiscent of Kenobi. "Loyal, brave, and good character, sir."

"The latter is interesting," Shaak Ti said, gazing out across the room of clones. She turned her head to Rylann, her lekkus swinging over her shoulder. "What do you think, Rylann?"

"I think CT-9022 and his squad would be your best bet," Rylann said, slowing down to read the numbers on Giggle's uniform. "Giggles has great character and is as loyal as can be. He also does his chores very well—even picking up the slack of others."

Rex met Rylann's eyes, lip twitching upward in a smile. "Always wanted a clone who knew how to do laundry well." Rex sobered quickly. "What of his squadron?"

"I have only met Brody—aka Brodes—of the Crest Squadron, but I like him," Rylann paused. "Let's just say he would fit in with Ahsoka and Anakin."

Rex furrowed his brows, lips pressed together in thought. "What's their skill level?"

"Above average," Shaak Ti stated, pulling out a tablet to look. "In more detail, they are good at communicating and are well-balanced. Giggles is proficient in all areas, the one known as Brodes is excellent behind the scope, the one called Wharf is brave and rushes into battle like a tank, and the other two are quite resilient—they are pod twins. They are called Yorkie and Kelpy."

Rex nodded firmly. "We'll take them."

"Crest Squadron, please step forward."

Giggles in the back row jumped in surprise. Even from across the room, Rylann could feel Giggles' embarrassment rolling from him. Five clones stepped forward, saluting them. "Yes, sir!"

"Welcome to the 501st," Shaak Ti stated, a tired smile donning her lips. "Now report to conference room 40D for briefing."

Giggles grateful brown eyes met Rylann's in a quick thanks before he was out of the room. Shaak Ti turned to Rex and Rylann as General Kenobi and his guests came into the room. "Would you like to wait for General Skywalker and Commander Tano to choose the rest of your squadron?"

Rex nodded and they left. Rylann stifled a yawn, suddenly feeling quite exhausted. After her strange event of sorts in the conference room, Rylann was tired. She could barely keep her eyes open. "Commander, do you need me to walk you to your room?"

"No need," Rylann said, stopping at her door in the hall. "I luckily live really close to this area."

"Wow, no kidding," Rex chuckled, tapping his helmet under his arm in thought. "It was nice to meet you." He extended his hand to shake which she gratefully took. At his touch, Rylann felt another whoosh of dizziness hit her. Not again.

"You, too," she mumbled out, closing the door as she stumbled across the room into bed. She was desperate for some sleep so that she could feel back on her feet.

【 ⌖ 】

Rylann's heartbeat thumped heavily in her chest. Would she ever stop running?

Running. Why was she running?

Rylann leaned against a tree, rain cascading down her face, masking her teary eyes.

Why had she been crying? Rylann was confused. This had to be a dream but it felt so real.

"Phoenix, we have to move out!" A clone's voice rang above the thunder that echoed from the sky. Rylann's head snapped in the direction of the voice. Who was Phoenix? The clone before her was covered head to toe in his armor but she spotted blue underneath the layer of mud. The 501st.

"Hawk, we can't leave them behind," Rylann found herself saying. The clone stopped his running to look at her.

"Nova is waiting for the pickup and we got what we came for," his gruff voice came out as he laid a gloved hand on Ry's shoulder. "I hate to leave them, too, but they weren't part of the plan."

Rylann stepped back. "None of this was part of the plan," Rylann said, looking away, back into the darkness of the woods as the rain thickened. "It's not the Jedi way to leave people behind."

Hawk scoffed beneath his breath. "You of all people shouldn't use that 'Jedi way' thing as an excuse," the clone spat, pointing towards the other direction with one of his dual blasters. "Besides, the Jedi are gone and you're all we have left. We can't lose you..."

Rylann jolted awake. The words echoed in her ears, ringing like an alarm. The Jedi are gone... the Jedi are gone...

What did Rylann just witness? Was it just a strange dream or was it someone's memory? Or was it the future? It couldn't be. She wasn't Phoenix nor did she work with the 501st. Who was Hawk? Who was Nova? None of it made sense.

Tossing the dream aside as some mental processing of the previous day, Rylann got up to get dressed, eager to start the new day.

Not only did she plan on spending it with Ahsoka, but Cross and the Batch would be back. Just twenty-four hours ago, she was bored and now she had so many engagements to attend.

Deep down, Rylann wished for a vacation or a break, but she knew she wouldn't get that any time soon.