They were always there. Without fail, like clockwork. It was humorous at first but after a while, it got a bit frustrating. At what point do you realize that signing up isn’t a simple courtesy but actually needed? Especially on a ship this size. There needs to be order, schedules must be kept, people must be met. We signed up for that room damn it, and here they come again and just sit in it! Usually arguing amongst themselves.
If I’m being completely honest though, I never really cared. I’m all bark, no bite and they always seemed to have way more going on than we ever did. Usually there were four of them present. Exactly which four would alternate back and forth, but the blonde, the Mirialan, and the 9 foot tall cat creature where always somewhere, if not in the room. Sometimes the Nautolan would be there brooding in the background. Sometimes the smug red-head would be lounging across the chairs appearing oblivious but taking it all in. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t occasionally listen in on their meetings. We couldn’t help it, they were just so damn entertaining! (Do you have any idea how long we waited for someone to punch Randall? That moment… we talked about it for MONTHS!) Even with all the yelling, arguing, huffing and myriad of broken belongings, they always got it together in the end and were animated and energetic when we eventually would kick them out of the meeting room. Until this last time.
There were still four present but this last time, there was no yelling or arguing. There was no brooding or lounging or oblivious looks around the room. No blames were cast or attacks made. There was only silence. Our usual meeting room was full of dejection, defeat, and despair. It all felt wrong; off. We felt sympathy for them; for their losses. Myself more than the others I think because this time, I was in the room.
During the battle with the Revenant, I was off ship and planet side. I missed a good portion of the fight, much to my relief later, but as a result, it meant there weren’t many of us left to do the small things like take notes. So I was there as a notary of sorts. Taking minutes and details in a dusty, crumbling room on our giant half-destroyed ship for a meeting that was never supposed to take place. I got to hear it all. The whole story from the Reapers about what happened after the Mandalorian temple, and aboard the Revenant ship. I got to hear what little truths and facts were revealed; friends found, friends lost, sides taken, prophesies fulfilled. New names popped into the fray (ones I would need to remember later) and old ones that were believed long-lost reared their ugly heads. Things got twisted; messed up and literally anything you didn’t want to happen on their mission, happened. They were fucked from day 1. It was as if some cruel force of fate rolled the dice and they kept losing and I couldn’t help but wonder if Randall could have prevented it all. He had control; or so he claimed, and he told them so little. And now here they were, the fabled Reapers of the Rebellion, alone and broken with nothing to show for their historical missions but legends and lost artifacts.
They stayed for a while, talked about what went wrong, conveyed the finer bits of betrayal and old magic that met them in that temples. They explained how what went wrong, went wrong. They caught up with each other in what would happen next and where they would go from here and then they left. Each going their separate ways, the famous Baron Majestic and the Mirialan together down one hallway towards one hanger bay. The blonde Mandalorian, Captain Fey, and the Nautolan going the opposite towards the other hangar bay. I was about to follow out the door when Randall called me back.
“Yes sir.” Randall glanced at me with sad and tired eyes. Ones he hid behind ridiculous glasses throughout the entire meeting with the Reapers. He even hid it in his voice, making that same stoic and authoritative countenance as his previous meetings. This was new. Probably not good.
“I need you to do something. If I remember correctly you specialized in reconnaissance back at the Academy correct? Before you deflected to the Rebellion?”
“Yes sir,” I responded nervously. He knew about that? I thought I was just here, in the background. As far as I ca recall, I never told anyone what I did before joining.
“Good. I have a mission for you. You heard them mention those missing artifacts. I need you to get them back. A small team, one that can blend in. I want this to be your team so fill it with those you need. Use the resources Captain Fey and the others have already put in place along with what you learned on your most recent recon mission.”
Ah. Well that makes more sense now. If he knew about my trip to Mandalore, it would explain how he knew about my past expertise. That last mission was mostly secretive though, just a quick trip to gather intel on some curious history I’d been hearing about. I wondered if he knew what all I came back with though as I returned with much more than just knowledge. Still, this was an interesting change of events and probably one I should have seen coming.
“I can do that sir. Is there a time you’d like me to aim for departure?”
“Tomorrow at the latest. The Revenant already has a head start on us, and I plan to close that gap.”
I nodded. Pretty straightforward and I knew a few guys who would be up for the job. I wish certain events hadn’t happened; we lost a lot of good men and women in some of those explosions. Lothal wasn’t too far though and the Ghost’s crew was always looking for work.
“Sure thing sir. I’ll get right on it.”
As I headed for the door, Randall called out one last time. “Lt. Ann, one last thing. Your name. Why do you go by your first name and not your family name?”
I laughed. It wasn’t a common question, but I knew it was talked about. “Oh. That. Come to find out, I have a pretty common surname and several of us attended the Academy at the same time. It was the only way to really differentiate me from the others.”
“Your first name then, Ann. That’s usually short for something right?”
“Yes, technically Ann is just a nickname. My full name is Annick but Annick NickMcNickerson is really a mouthful.”
And with a final smile and pat at my holster to make sure my new Mandalorian acquisition was still there, I headed out to make the necessary arrangements. It can’t be that hard to pick up some old relics, right? It’s not like they’re hidden in a temple anymore.
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