War Child--Rogue One

XXXIII

We don't have another mission for a while.

Since we have plenty of rest and relaxation time, Linami and I take it upon ourselves to explore everywhere within walking distance.

On one of our expeditions, we came across an old fighter of some sort crashed in a hill.  Most of it is ripped up from the crash, but the one side we can see is painted with what appear to be kill counts.

We decide to do the same to the Corellian Ghost.

Linami is better at drawing than I am, so she makes templates of Imperial symbols, TIE-Fighters, stormtroopers, and even Star destroyers, although I'm positive we won't be able to take down the last.  We paint, in white paint on the black band, five TIE-Fighters and one Imperial symbol, leaving room for scores more.

One day, after checking the datapad and double checking with Mon Mothma, we head out to the village to buy some food, then pack it out to a river canyon some of the locals have told us about.

"I feel like we are rich tourists visiting Dantooine for the first time," I muse.

Linami laughs. "That is a very accurate statement."

There's a green outcropping over the river. We walk out to it and sit down on the grass.

The thunder of the river drowns out most of the wind's noise, but my hair and Linami's hair are blowing around like the wind socks over the base. She ends up with a mouthful of hair and we both laugh at her plight.

Then, I don't know how it happens, but my hand ends up on hers.  Hers turns over, and our fingers twine together.

My heart's pounding, enforcing every bit of anxiety I've had about trusting her, since Tenielle, but her smile quiets it a bit.

I can't make eye contact with her, so I look out at the view for a while.

Finally, I ask, "Are you hungry?  I'm really hungry.  I think we should unpack the food now."

She laughs.  "Alright.  Hand me the bag."

I shake my head and start laying it out myself.  She takes the bag and puts out the rest of the food.

"Would you like a sandwich?" Linami asks, holding out the aforementioned food.

"Yes, thank you."

I take a bite and chew, then burst out laughing, almost choking on the bread.

"What's funny?" she asks, covering her own mouth as she starts to chuckle, too.

"It's just so bloody awkward and we're being so bloody polite and all it's terrible!"

She looks around.  "I don't see any blood."

I give her a look.  She stifles a smile.  "Sorry, that was a bad joke."

"Yes, it was."

We eat the rest of our food in silence, watching the opposite bank instead of looking at each other.

I find myself wishing for anything to happen to get rid of this awkwardness that I sort of started.  Though, in a way, Linami started it all, when she touched my hand outside of the base that one night.

Finally, we give up and just head back.  As we walk, our hands keep crashing into each other, resulting in blushes and hurried steps away, by both parties.

Now this is peeving me.  With Tenielle, I was so inexperienced that I liked her attention, and then she ruined everything for me.

I end up just giving up, and the next time our hands brush, I grab Linami's hand and don't let go.

She stops for a second, pulling me to a stop.  Then, without a word, she twines her fingers through mine again and we resume.

She swings my arm, and starts laughing.  I laugh, too.

We approach the base, only slightly less awkward than before, and someone comes running.

As the someone approaches, we see that it's Tinred.  I sigh and he skids to a stop in front of us.  "Where have you been?"

"It's our day off," I tell him, like I'm speaking to a child.

He scowls.  "We've been given a mission."

"Can't someone who isn't on a rest day do it?"

"It's a tri-team mission.   They need us."

I look over at Linami.  She sighs.  "Let me drop this off first.  Meet at the Ghost."

We all split up, Tinred to the Ghost, Linami to her room, and I to mine. I check to make sure I have all of the pieces of my sniper rifle safely in the bag (I do) and sprint down the hall, nearly running full tilt into a Mon Calamari officer.

"Sorry!"

I dodge around her and hurry down the hall, paying a big closet attention to where I was going.  Once on the Ghost, I pull out the holopad and drop into my station.

Before I can tap it, Linami pokes her head in.  "You're here?  Good.  Just wanted to make sure we weren't leaving the second best sniper in the Rebellion here."

I smile up at her.  "I'm here."

"I'm going to go connect with teams four-nineteen and seventy-eight and then we'll head out."

"Alright."

She moves her head and I return my attention to the datapad.

"Hello, Sniper 510," Mon Mothma's hologram says.  "Your mission today is to join Snipers 418 and 78 in the assassination of four Imperial officers.  Their names will not be revealed, since doing so may jeopardize the mission.  However, they will easily be identified by their uniform."

The woman is replaced by a hologram of a man in a dark uniform, complete with a terrible hat, then changes back to her.

"The officers are not assigned to a certain sniper, the triad of you are merely to ensure that the job is finished.  May the Force be with you, Sniper 510."

The hologram disappears.  I figure I should probably put in my earpiece, and as soon as I do, I hear a lot more voices than just Linami and Tinred.

One I recognize as Ciara.

"Kubamanu, make sure you don't throw yourself into the thick of it.  You're a sniper, and this isn't a suicide mission," she scolds.

A man, probably Kubamanu, chuckles.  "Alright, Mama."

"Stop teasing me."

"You know," I heard Tinred say, "we all enjoy listening to your flirting so much, and I know we'd all love to sit here on the landing pad listening to you, but there's a mission to run and I'd like to be back by tomorrow's breakfast."

We all chuckle and everyone checks in for takeoff.