The Pulse of the Republic

Let's Party

Ahsoka was not happy that she was being left behind, and if it had been her own master who was co-leading the mission and not Obi-Wan, she might have fought a little harder to secure one of the drop-suits for herself. But as it was, she just frowned at the floor and said, "Yes Master." Quinn genuinely regretted having to leave her behind because Commander Tano seemed like someone who would act on her instincts and not second guess herself, which were attributes that Quinn greatly valued. However, she would rather leave the padawan behind and know that, in case things went south, they for sure had a way to get the team off the planet.

The morning after she had confirmed her plan with Rex, they had sent another transmission, telling the Trade Federation that they were already on their way to Mustafar. The next step was to make sure that everyone knew how to work the drop-suits and were clear on how the mission was going to proceed. They had briefing sessions, tutorials, and by the time they had reached the correct system a few days later, Quinn felt like her team was ready for action. It was amazing how quickly Ghost, Nightingale, Heavy, and Gill, Armada, and Tabitha had learned to work together. They were all such different people from every far corner of the galaxy, but one of the few things that they all had in common was their love of hand-to-hand combat.

Though Tabitha and Nightingale might have seemed more reserved, once they were in the hand-to-hand combat chamber, they were like two kids having the time of their life. It was amazing to see them go at it, and sometimes even Obi-Wan came down to watch the sparring. Nightingale was a very steady, militaristic fighter and Tabitha was purely fluid and flexible. Because of the differences in their styles and their defensive expertise, sometimes they would go almost twenty minutes without even touching each other. Any move that one made, the other could dodge. Ghost and Armada were a different story all together. They both were very simplistic, highly skilled fighters who could perform an amazing amount of combinations in a ridiculously short amount of time. Their sparring sessions usually only lasted about five minutes, but it was like watching a hurricane fight a tornado in a glass bottle. Both would be taunting and laughing the entire time they pounded each other into the ground, and the only way to tell who won was who to count the number of abrasions and bruises after Quinn had called the fight to an end.

Gill didn't have a favorite partner because he fought with everyone. He and Ahsoka would sometimes late-night spar after some long hours of flying, or he would work with Heavy, but the clone was so much bigger than him that he would usually resort to cheating and zapping him with a concealed buzz-baton after taking a few good natured hits. Then they would call it a day and go play cards or eat more than their share of the ration packs. But regardless of who was fighting who, there was always someone in the chamber, which was an enclosed, fiberglass box, with a padded floor and a viewing ramp that ran all the way around the perimeter.

The fights were still going on daily, up until very moment that they came out of hyperspace an into the atmosphere of the Mustafar system. They had radioed down to the Trade Federation and arranged for someone to meet the pod once it landed in a few hours, and Quinn was on her way down to the combat chamber to break up a spar between Heavy and Armada. She opened up the door and stepped onto the already crowded ramp. "They're still going at it?" she said, moving to stand next to Tabitha. She nodded, smiling as she watched Armada start to break a sweat. She was fast, but Heavy was big and he was actually somewhat of a challenge for the tiny banshee. "They're both so stubborn that neither of them is going to give the other an edge. They've been dancing around like this for almost a half hour."

But just as Tabitha spoke, Heavy made a mistake and Quinn flinched as she saw Armada seize the moment and use the sliver of opportunity to jump up onto the side of the wall, push off, wrap her legs around Heavy neck, and use her momentum the haul the much larger man down to the floor. He hit the ground hard, causing an audible groan to rise up from the other spectators. Armada didn't waste any time with a glib remark, but secured his arms behind his back in a hold that she had learned from Ghost, and applied pressure until Heavy tapped out. They both got up from the floor, breathing hard and shook hands good naturedly. "Who do you think would win a spar if they were both armed though?" Nightingale pointed out, always the voice of reason. "Heavy's reach is longer and no matter how fast Armada is, she wouldn't have enough space."