Skyfall

Suspicious Wrinkles

Day 567 SK
Destination: Coruscant Executive Building, Coruscant
0900 hours

"Sniper? Gravitational pull to Sniper."

I look up at General Skywalker. He pulls his hand back from waving it in front of my face and smiles. "There you are. I was starting to worry you'd fallen asleep. Obi-wan falling asleep on the ship I can understand, but you?"

I don't smile. I don't say anything.

I'm too scared.

Fives only died yesterday, and here I am, summoned with General Skywalker to the Executive Building. The Chancellor requested us specifically. I was up most of last night, stressing over it. Does the Chancellor know? Did Commander Fox hear what Fives told Rex and I?

"We're here," General Skywalker says, growing serious. Even he knows his humor is pointless. Jedi aren't supposed to form attachments, but it's clear to me that he misses Fives too.

The ship lands, and I crouch next to Peg. He has to stay on the ship with Jesse, who comes out of the cabin and leans against the wall next to us. I crouch down to scratch his chin, then give him a pointed look. "Be good for Jesse."

I stand and Jesse gives me a small, strained smile. "I'll keep an eye on him, Sniper."

I nod, slipping my helmet on and jogging to catch up with the General outside the ship. He leads me to the main hallway, where Commander Thorn is waiting to escort us to the Chancellor's office. The elevator ride is silent, and I try to keep my hands from shaking visibly. I can't let them know I'm afraid. Maybe I'll get lucky, and they'll have no reason to think that I know anything.

"Sergeant Sniper first, Sir." Commander Thorn says, stopping General Skywalker as we approach the Chancellor's office. The General nods encouragingly to me, and I step forward. The guards (The Chancellor's personal guards, non-clones) open and shut the doors behind me as I pass through them.

And now we're alone.

The Chancellor stands in front of his wide window, looking out over Coruscant. I stand still, waiting for him to come over. But he beckons me to him instead. I walk stiffly to the window beside him, trying not to stare at the dizzying height outside.

"Remove your helmet and look at the city," he commands. I decide that I hate him and his wrinkles. Even just thinking that makes my head hurt a little bit, as I fight years of training to be obedient. But, dutifully, I remove my helmet and look outside, eyes on the horizon.

"You have proven yourself to be quite honorable for a clone," he says, eyes on the city. I don't acknowledge his words. "Your helmet. I would like you to paint a Senate symbol on it."

I turn to look at him in surprise, before hurrying to cover it up. "May I inquire as to why, Sir?"

"Let it serve to be a reminder of who you really are, and who you fight for." His wrinkles scrunch as he smiles at me. For a second, I swear I see something about him change. His eyes flash dangerously.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you." The words are bitter on my tongue.

"Of course. I want to help you, Sniper. You must be quite distressed from what Fives told you." He's watching me closely now.

I try not to panic. "I was programmed to handle hard situations, Sir."

"Yes, but he was quite close to you, wasn't he? Did he say anything? Every piece of information he possessed could help us win the war. Isn't that what you want?"

"Of course, Sir, but he wasn't himself. I don't believe we can trust anything he said."

Lies.

"Very good. We wouldn't want rumors spreading. If you were to get any ideas, we would have to start over, wouldn't we?"

I meet his eyes. He knows. He has to. What is he saying? We?

"Of course, were I unsure of your loyalty, we would fix it immediately," he assures me.

"Yes, Sir," I reply hesitantly, little warnings going off in my head. "I know what happened that day. Fives removed his inhibiting chip, and lost his mind."

It's a lie.

All of it.

And we both know it.

"Very good, Sniper. It sounds like you know exactly what happened." He chuckles, and I try not to slip up and show him I don't trust him.

I wait in the hall while he meets with General Skywalker, grateful I'm not talking to him anymore. I wonder what he's telling the General. I doubt he's trying to tighten his hold on the General like he clearly is on me. General Skywalker is a good man, and is too smart to fall for that. They must be talking about Fives. I wonder if the General believes what the Chancellor says about him. When Kix asked about it yesterday, I told him about Fives' physical state when we found him. Shallow breaths, dilated pupils, sweating and panicking.

They did something to him.

General Skywalker comes into the hall, and forgets to beckon me to follow him. I stay close behind him anyway. He seems to be lost in thought. I don't dare speak unless spoken to right now, so we walk back to the ship in silence.

Peg comes running to greet me the moment we enter the landing bay. I bend down to pet him and Jesse runs over, out of breath. "Sorry, Sniper. He wouldn't listen when he saw you." I shrug, opening my mouth to reply. I'm cut off before I can.

"Congratulations, Sniper."

I stand, turning to face Commander Fox. He takes his helmet off, propping it under his arm. I don't want to face him, but I remove my helmet and do the same. "I heard about the Senate symbol," he says, wearing the closest thing to a smile I've ever seen him wear. "It'll be an honor to wear it. I look forward to working with you again."

"Yes, Sir," I reply blankly. There's something in his eyes that shifts, but I ignore it. He killed Fives. I can't believe I enjoyed and even looked forward to his company and training once.

"Let's not keep the General waiting," Jesse cuts in, placing a hand on my shoulder as he steps between us gently. "Commander." He nods, and we leave.

"Thanks, Jesse," I say quietly as we arrive at the ship. He smiles softly. This one is genuine, and kind.

"We may not be on the battlefield, but I've still got your back."

He's missing more than he thinks.

9191

When we get back to the Jedi Temple I head straight for the barracks. I can hide behind my training for now. I'm almost out of the landing bay when Rex places a hand on my shoulder. I turn to face him rigidly.

"Sniper," he says. "This is for you."

He hands me something heavy, wrapped in cloth with a string around it. I tug on the string and unfold the cloth, revealing a sort of camera. The side slides open, revealing a holo-screen to watch the videos on. It fits comfortably against my hand as I slide my fingers through the strap on the side. I look up at Rex, confused.

"Why?"

"It was Tup's," he admits. "I figured he'd want you to have it."

It holds new meaning now. I press a few buttons on the holo-screen, revealing three separate files left on it. Videos that I'll have to watch later.

"You might want to get back to Commander Wolffe," Rex says hurriedly. I shut the camera off. "I'll see you at dinner."

"No lunch?"

"Nah, we've got gunship duty."

"Maybe I'll stop by to help," I smile gently, despite myself. "Thank you, Rex."

He nods, and we go our separate ways.