A gloved hand clasped Alanja's shoulder as she walked down the hall towards the hanger bay with Corsair and his men. They were the last clones on Kamino. Surprised that one of them had touched her, she swiveled with a gasp, afraid of what horror they might be feeling and ready to assure them all again.
But it was not a clone.
ES-02 stood before Alanja, her black helmet glaring. She was the same size as Alanja, but the black armor like Crosshair's made her look twice as wide. "Redissa!" Alanja exclaimed. "You're back. I am so glad to see you!" Alanja's heart skipped a beat with excitement.
Around them, Corsair and his men took a step away from ES-02 as if her presence made them uncomfortable.
ES-02 nodded respectfully. "I am pleased to see you as well, ambassador."
"Where's Crosshair?"
Ignoring the question, ES-02 replied, "Admiral Rampart sent me to escort you to your transport. He wants you on board his ship immediately."
Corsair and his men bristled. "I don't know of any such orders," he objected.
ES-02 glared at him. The threat in her stance made it very clear that the clone needed to take a step back from her. "Madam Ambassador, the Admiral is not requesting."
Concerned, Alanja asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Ma'am. I am just following orders."
At the far end of the hall, a black helmet stared at her. "Crosshair," Alanja called, immediately breaking off from her escort and hurrying his way.
Crosshair paused, shaking his head at Alanja for her to stop. ES-02 grabbed Alanja by the arm, dragging her back. "My orders are to escort you now."
"Let go of me, Redissa," Alanja growled.
"No, ma'am."
Alanja looked back at Crosshair with pleading eyes. Beside him was a man in dark gray and red armor with a red bandanna tied over his forehead. The clone's half-skull tattooed face turned to see what Crosshair was looking at. It was CT-9901, the rogue commando sergeant of Crosshair's old squad. He was here! They brought him to Kamino. But why now? What was the point? The city was being evacuated. There was no one here anymore.
Alanja stared long and hard at Sergeant Hunter and Commander Crosshair. She was looking at the man that almost got her killed on Ryloth when he flipped Captain Howzer. CT-9901 gave the order to burn Crosshair alive on Bracca. He was terrifying, his presence like death itself. Hatred for him burned in Alanja.
Crosshair gave Hunter a hard shove when he noticed him looking at her. "Keep moving," he ordered.
"We should keep moving too, Miss Rampart," said ES-02.
She shared one last desperate glance at Crosshair, fearing that this would be the last time she saw him. When she offered to help Crosshair convince Rov to give his old squad another chance, Alanja now realized she had been naive. The brooding look in Hunter's eyes was completely unyielding.
Her grip like iron, ES-02 pulled Alanja away. Within minutes, Alanja was belted into her seat inside the shuttle, her four troopers standing over her.
"Aren't you coming?" asked Alanja when ES-02 backed out of the transport.
"Not yet," she replied. ES-02 banged on the shuttle's hull for them to take off and was gone.The rain and wind whipped the small ship upward into the sky.
Corsair asked his squad over their comms, "What do you think they are doing down there?"
"I dunno, sir. Seems peculiar," answered Lark.
YOU ARE READING
Ambassador
FanfictionIf you want to read a slow burn about Crosshair, this is for you. It is completely cannon compliant and fun to read if you have seen the first season. It fits into the season as if it was always a part of what was happening. What if Crosshair stays...
