Alternate Start (ARCHIVE)

Chapter Sixty Two: Comin' Home

"Echo! Echo! Echo!"

The extraction team looked up at the shouting, as little Desnuri charged in, followed by a grinning Satahl.

"What is it kid?" Echo asked, Tech glancing back from his piloting.

"I felt him! Fives is close!"

The extraction team consisted of:
Junior Commander Satahl Cahlay
Youngling Desnuri jai Sheelal
Crosshair
Tech
Wrecker
Hunter
Hevy
Echo
ARC Trooper Dogma
ARC Trooper Tup
And ARC Trooper Hardcase

They had a medical team on standby, as well as a couple other ships to extract the men. It would be more than just Fives down there.

Desnuri climbed up into Echo's lap, tilting her head this way and that in order to get a better read. After a couple of minutes, Desnuri pointed at a planet and softly said, "There. Fives is there."

Touching down was the easy part. Endor was a quiet planet, covered in lush blueish plantlife. The trees made even Wrecker look small, with raptor-like birds hopping through them. Satahl wasn't shocked to see Desnuri looking around starry eyed, forgetting Fives for even a moment. This is only the third planet Desnuri's ever been in her entire life, and she's been on Coruscant — a mostly colorless cityscape — for two-fifths of it.

"You'll go to many more planets during your padawanship, Youngling, but let's focus on the mission right now. Remember, those troopers are depending on you to find them." Satahl reminded Desnuri, who suddenly got serious at the reminder.

"Here, Youngling. We'll make this into an exercise." Satahl smiled, taking an eye cover from her bag that she keeps for polite situations. She adjusted it, then slowly fit it onto Desnuri's head and over her eyes. "You'll need to use your other senses to find them. Reach out with the Force, Desnuri."

Desnuri took a deep breath. She didn't like having her eyes covered. She slowly reached out along her connection to Fives. He wasn't awake, she could feel as much, but there was a distant, throbbing ache. She turned one way, tugging on the connection, then slowly rotated as she tugged on it until she stopped.

"This way!"

Before anyone could stop her, Desnuri bolted into the trees, dipping under ferns in the golden glow of the sunset. As the sun dipped beneath the rock, the forest started to glow vibrantly, as Desnuri would later learn. Her montrals weren't quite big enough to pick up things the clones couldn't, but she followed the connection until she reached a cliff face. The connection went down.

"Kid, don't run off."

"Crossy!" Desnuri squeaked, "Can you see what's down there?"

She dropped to her belly as she heard Crosshair do the same. Her lekku curled as she grabbed hold of their connection and yanked. She really was trying to make sure Fives knew they were coming.

"Well kid, I'm not seeing much. There are some guards, but I can't tell much else."

Crosshair glanced at Commander Cahlay, who kneeled next to Desnuri and looked down towards the compound. "Lots of electrical signals. Most goes below ground."

"Organic targets?"

"A few." Commander Cahlay answered, with all the possible Jedi composure she could muster. "The path ahead of us is clouded, Crosshair. I sense a disturbance in the Force down there."