Guarded (#2 Post-Order 66 Series)

Guarded - Part 24

A/N: Spoilers for "In Command" for this chapter!

Hunter felt the burn of his lungs as he sprinted through the wooded path, the sound of his boots slamming into the dirt and the birds in the trees breaking the early morning tranquility. Sweat trickled down between his shoulder blades as he rounded the bend in the trail and started climbing the large hill. He'd always loved to run, and when he'd found wide open spaces to do it rather than the limited training facilities on Kamino, he would always try to take advantage of it. Typho had recommended this shepherd's trail the first week they'd been in Vis, and it had taken him a while to get used to the terrain, particularly the large hill he was currently climbing, but now running it was a regular morning ritual. His calves screamed as he concentrated on lifting his knees higher to try and get up the hill quickly before the burn became too much. There'll be time to rest on the downhill. He panted with exertion as he crested the hilltop, slowing for a moment to take in the sunrise as it crested the treetops that stretched out before him like an uneven green carpet.

He took the moment to breathe and feel the calm around him. Of course he could sense everything around him, constantly bombarding him with smells and sounds, but the moments where he could just enjoy his senses rather than trying to control them or drown out the distractions was something he looked forward to. Hunter could hear the creatures in the brush, smell the moisture in the dirt, and hear the heartbeat on the other side of the tree he was standing behind. Before he could react, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Figured you'd show up here eventually," Gregar Typho called.

Hunter calmed his racing pulse as he recognized the voice, striding around the wide tree trunk to find the captain perched on rock looking out over the trees. "Morning, Captain. Didn't expect to find you out here," he said, plopping down on the boulder next to the man.

"Didn't sleep well and gave up a little before dawn. Figured I'd at least get a sunrise out of it," he said, leaning back on his palms. "Feels like we've had so few moments of peace recently."

Hunter nodded, tipping his head forward to retie the bun he wore on his head. Some of the shorter strands of hair had come loose on the run, and he pushed them back into place before retying his hair and adjusting his bandana. Pulling the shirt he'd stripped off and tucked into his belt after the first few klicks, he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Treasure these moments. I think they're about to get more rare," Hunter said quietly.

"I agree. I fear Kestia's stubbornness is about to lead us all down a path we can't recover from."

Hunter eyed him. He could see the dark circles under his eyes, the sun reflecting off of his eye patch. His shoulders were slumping like a man that had been defeated one too many times in his life.

"It's only the first loss, Gregar. I don't know that I'd throw the towel in just yet."

The captain gave him a grim look. "The first loss, yes. But we don't exactly have an army with unlimited resources at our backs to keep this fight up, and if we do have a traitor in our midst, our likelihood of winning any other battles will dwindle at an alarming rate. Our spies report that the Empire hasn't found the source of the Bandorium yet, so at least the Gungans are still safe, but I'm not even sure how much longer we can count on that."

Hunter nodded. "Now is definitely the time for caution. I think the investigation that Echo and Sabé will carry out with Senna's help may weed out what we're searching for. Give it time. We can plan in parallel, but I agree that no major steps should be taken until we figure out what happened at Spinnaker."

Typho turned to look at him, and Hunter could sense something else was bothering him. "How did you do it?" he finally asked.

"Do what?"