A Soldier's Secret

Part 11

Everyone had gathered in the mess hall for something important. I didn't care, so I skipped. Benny and I skipped meetings all the time. He moaned about losing the General's good graces, but we made up for it by working hard when we did show up. We were kids back then. Nothing important would happen if we skipped. But now, Benny's dead, I'm a tree magician who can scout faster than a whole platoon and other clones know I'm a defect. The meeting was dragging on, and I was bored since no one had unbolted the vents yet.

I sat in the guard tower, where a warmer wind blew through. It made me relax and eased the tension of the last few nights from my bones.

It was an hour before Commander Tano found me

"Cedar. We're going on a scouting mission. Just us, to a place where we might find some allies" She said

"Okay," I shrugged "When are we leaving?"

"Now," She said "Or as soon as possible. We'll meet up with the others at Coruscant after our mission" 

"Sure. I'll grab my blaster, and we'll head out" I nodded, then dashed toward the base.

We flew away from Umbara, and I sighed, watching the planet vanish.

"What did you think about what Captain Error said?" Ahsoka asked

"I didn't go. Meetings are boring. No offence, Commander" I said 

"None taken" She smiled, and I sighed again. It was stuffy inside my helmet, but I couldn't take it off.

"How do you do it? Sit through meetings, I mean" I asked

"I don't know, really," She said "I just do"

"Fair" I huffed

"I learned that clones form relationships" She sighed 

"We can? Wow" I frowned "That explains a lot"

"What do you mean?" She asked

"They way Error and Hardcase share glances? Yeah," I said. She muffled a snort

"You don't know what Error revealed, huh?" She stifled a laugh "He, well, She, revealed she was female"

"What?" I smiled, then broke into laughter, with her joining in soon after. "So, where are we going?"

"Genirgen." She sighed "The planet is rich in minerals and fuel resources. We need to ally with the natives to access them"

"And a small party would be non-threatening? Good idea" I nodded. Then groaned as a wave of heat came through the ship as we passed a star "Have you ever had a secret? I mean, a secret that you cannot tell anybody at all?"

"Yeah," She frowned "One of the reasons I pushed for this mission at this time. I learned it could never happen"

"I can relate" I tugged my helmet off and leaned my head back

"You're a female clone? Now there's two!" She exclaimed

"Two?" I asked

"Captain Error" She grinned

"So that's what I missed" I grinned

We sat in stunned silence, then broke out laughing

"It must be hard to hide your identity!" She said

"Yeah. Since like, all the clones are dudes, no armour fits us" I laughed "Anything we do use never works. And we can't sleep like normal either"

"I get it. You're alone in a field of others who can relate to everyone but you" She said 

"Even worse. Do you know why I was transferred to the 501st?" I wondered

"Sure" She nodded

"We were locked in trenches, waiting for either side to give out. Our General ordered a final push, all we had to do was break one line, and this place was ours." I threw my hands in the air "But once we had it, they blew open the fortifications beneath us, into a chasm filled with fire. I managed to grab a ledge, and one of my batchmates, but everyone else fell. Some hit the rocks, others burnt. All I had to do was pull him up, and we were both safe." I put my face in my hands "But everyone was exhausted from the months of trench fighting, and the push. My batchmate, Benny, let go to spare me the fire"

"By the Force," Ahsoka said

"I was first transferred to Error's unit, and she transferred me to Rex." I sighed "Sorry. I killed the mood"

"No. You were carrying an entire unit's death. You had to let go, sooner or later" She said

"Thanks" I smiled weakly "How do you manage? Hundreds of clones die for any success we have. How do you deal with the possible guilt?" I asked

"I try and keep the clones I can control safe, knowing that if I do that, they might be spared," She said

"Man, the good mood turned into a confessional" I smiled

"It did, didn't it?" She grinned

"So, what are we doing on Genirgen?" I asked

"We need to make a good impression with the local ruler, Minister Frentino. He's a peaceful man, and the less hostile the party, the higher the chance we can sway him to join the Republic" She reasoned

"So you chose the "Tree Magician" To help?" I asked

"You're a highly skilled climber and have not only won us battles with advanced warning, but you have an uncanny knack for guessing what the enemy might try-"

"If Minister Frentino is a peaceful leader, then the Separatists might try to threaten him into submission," I said "Your approach is advantageous. We'll look like we're proposing an idea, not delivering an ultimatum. So we propose allying with the Republic and then leave him to decide. Leave everything to him and make it clear we aren't trying to influence a decision"

"See? Uncanny knack for guessing what they might try" She laughed "And the sooner we do that, the sooner we get back..."

"Wait...Did you do this without authorization?"