FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

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

ATHENA'S POV

"Absolutely not!" I protested. "Night is falling—they will most likely freeze to death before they even reach the other side of the mountain. So we lost a couple of crates—get over it."

"How dare you?" Nolan sneered. "It is not up to you to decide what is and is not valuable to the Empire." I caught the subtle glance of his sharp, blue eyes behind me, where Crosshair and Mayday lingered with identical grimaced expressions and arms crossed in opposition. My nose flared as my fingers itched, hovering only an inch from my knife. It was my only weapon left, but it was all I needed to end this Imperial scum. Lucky for the lieutenant, Crosshair's words echoed in my ears: "He's not worth it."

"If you order these two to retrieve that cargo, and they do not come back..." I growled. "Then not only will you still be deprived of your 'valuable' crates," I air-quoted with my fingers. "but you will also lose two good men, which means less defense here. You would be responsible for making this outpost more vulnerable than it already is."

"Ensign Quinn," Nolan raised his voice, and in doing so it cracked. "your unceasing insubordination of defying direct orders will be reported to my superiors and later trialed. You'll be lucky if you are reinstated as a mere secretary, in which you will not step foot in the field again."

I wanted nothing more than to axe kick him to the floor and shove Mayday's 'conformity' where even Tatooine's blazing suns don't shine.

"I think it's amusing," I spat, my fists trembling at my side until my knuckles turned white. "that you think I would stick around long enough for you to send that message." The sharp enunciation in every word intentionally reeked of poison. My chest heaved as my eyes burned. My smirk ached my cheek.

Nolan glared at me, but did not retort. Instead, he switched his focus on the two clones behind me. "You two are to follow direct orders and recover the cargo. Is that clear?" My lips tightened as I faced Mayday, who grimly complied, "Yes, Lieutenant."

Nolan dismissed himself, leaving three distressed clones alone to hunker down in our lack of options. The orange glow of our single heat generator suddenly felt unwelcoming. While I regained some warmth in my fingers and face (my full-body thermal suit had fulfilled its purpose in insulating my body heat once I was out of the snow), I was in no condition to join the two of them on the suicide mission, no matter how much I wanted to. My parka was stripped off to dry. I had to zip up my bomber jacket to my chin to stay warm in the storage depot.

"Take the pass through the cave." I told Crosshair. "At least you'll be out of the weather until you reach the other side of the mountain."

"A cave, huh?" Mayday scoffed, crossing his arms. "A secret tunnel no doubt. That's how the locals got pass our defenses. They know this land better than us, I suppose." He then began walking away towards a panel door in the farside of the storage unit. "I'm going to gather whatever supplies I can find. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, he disappeared, leaving me alone with my partner.

————————————————————————
THIRD PERSON POV

The air was so quiet around them, as if they were the only two living beings on the entire planet. Only the heat generator separated them, its soft buzzing released a sense of perception—a way both clones understood they were existing in real time. And time itself was running short...

"Go on," Crosshair was the first to break the silence. "I know you want to say something. If I am to die on this mission, better not leave anything unsaid."

"You know what, Crosshair, you have an excellent point there." Athena chided, then leaned her upper body forward as she locked eyes with him, her voice lowered into a growl. "You first."