When the Cavalry Comes.

IX

Cavalry sat on a rotted log, leaning her head back and gritting her teeth as Kix rewrapped her ankle. It wasn't a bad break as far as she could tell. Just a pain to deal with.

She hissed as he manipulated the joint a bit before splinting it again. Kix passed her two small tablets.

"Don't have anything stronger to give you, trooper. Stims have to be saved for the badly injured." He said. Cavalry lifted her helmet off and swallowed the tablets dry. Her olive skin looked grey in the red light of the flora around them.

"Thanks, Kix." She said softly, closing her eyes for a second. Kix was probably the only one here outside of the captain that saw her as an equal.

She unsheathed her knives and began the long process of cleaning and sharpening them. The last thing she needed was to lose her edge right now. She kept her blaster close. She was a sitting duck if they were attacked while she did this.

She inspected the edge of one blade, shaving a little bark off the log with it. Almost. Not enough.

"Taking a moment for upkeep?" A familiar voice asked. Cavalry felt herself relax as Neon's familiar presence settled next to her.

"And sanity." She chuckled, finishing that knife and moving to her other blade. The familiar sound of the small sharpener and rag she kept with her filled the air.

"Yeah. If we're gonna make ARC we gotta keep at least one of us sane." He joked Cavalry sighed.

"Neon, only four other troopers have risen to ARC without being made for it." She reminded him.

"And two of them belonged to this battalion. Not to mention the semi mythical Captain Rex. I swear, you can feel the power radiating off him." Neon sighed and shook his head.

"He's not a god, Neon. I wonder how good he really is though, for the kaminoan's to keep him with the mutations." Cavalry hummed, hissing with annoyance as her thumb slipped and she nearly cut herself. Yeah. That should be sharp enough. She put her sharpener and rag away, the knives still laying flat across her lap.

"What do you mean? Yeah, so what if he's blond?" Neon shrugged. "I mean, sure it was probably tough for him, but if they didn't kill him immediately it must not have been too bad."

Cavalry huffed. "He's shorter than the rest of us, excluding me. His cheekbones are sharper and his armor seems just a little too big around the shoulders. His hips are narrower too. His kama has a pleat in the back to make it fit." She looked at the scattered forms of their brothers around them either tending to small stuff or making the most of their seven hour sleep time set up.

"Ooh Cavalry, checking out the Captain's shebs." Neon teased. Cav gagged.

"Neon, he's our brother!" She smacked him on the arm. "Ger-oussss!" She said in a cheesy outer rim accent some of their instructors spoke in.

"Hey if it's legal on Lystra-" Neon started.

"That's it. I'm taking a nap." She rolled her eyes and sheathed her knives, jamming her helmet on and sliding down the log to lean against it, her eyes closing behind her visor.

"Hey, you know I'm kidding, Squirt." Neon chuckled from above her. Cavalry said nothing. "Squirt?" She refused to answer him. "Cavalry?" Nope. Not giving in. "Some pretty tasty rations you left over-"

"If my rations are touched I start killing." She snarled.

"...right. Not touching those." He slid down next to her. Neon laughed under his breath, and something leathery and heavy was draped over her shoulders. She cracked open an eye to peer at the makeshift blanket through her helmet's wideview. It was one of the massive leaves from the trees around them. Neon took another leaf and wadded it up under his head for a pillow.

"Neon, if I wake up with a rash or something-"

"They're safe. I promise." He said. "Get some sleep, Squirt. You did good today."

Cavalry snorted. "Of course I did good. I'm the Cavalry." She leaned against his shoulder, her eyes drifting closed.

She was awoken mere hours later by a blast of blue light all around them. Brothers scrambled moved, hectic orders were shouted, and chaos reigned. Neon dragged the both of them to their feet. Cavalry's kit was shoved at her chest which she slung over her shoulders, falling into ranks at a run. Fire rained down around them.

It was devastating, lasting for an hour before it stopped. Recon was sent out and orders from the Captain crackled in their ears minutes later.

"They're trying to keep us on our toes, exhausting us of resources and rest. Buddy up. One person can rest while the other keeps watch. Looks like we only get an hour of rest at a time men."

Cavalry sighed at the order. Neon would partner with her and make her sleep while he kept watch and would refuse to switch. Her ankle throbbed from the excitement and her back ached from sleeping in armor.

Neon touched her shoulder and she nodded. A silent agreement.

Cavalry smiled under her helmet. If the universe burned around them, at least they had each other.

They fell into a pattern for the rest of the night. Sleep for an hour or two while the other watched, follow routs mapped out on their HUDs when the umbarans decided to shake things up by raining fire on them with starfighters.

Cavalry sat up for her third watch of the night, or was it day now? She just knew she was starting to feel it. Neon was passed out with his head in her lap, helmet clutched to his chest like a plushie.

Their kits sat nearby, ready in a moment's notice. Her knives were strapped to her wrists and her hands itched for the familiar hilts.

Neon stirred a bit.

"Neon, you took the last three watches on your own. You need a little rest at least." She whispered to him.

"Just wound up. Sorry, Cav." He muttered back, eyes blankly staring at the forrest above him.

"Sleep before I make you sleep." She said. Neon shut his eyes.

"Sir yes sir." He grumbled. Cav's hand moved to a pressure point behind his ear in a threat. It was all better she didn't, in the end.

They would need every soldier they could scrounge conscious for the battle that was sure to ensue as the ground exploded barely a hundred feet away and a centipede like tank crawled out of the earth.