Republic Commando: Phi Squad

Postscript: Short: Empire Day

The stars fell to earth. Well, not literally, but close enough. The colorful sparks were really fireworks, but it was hard to tell the difference for Phi Squad from the edge of the forest near Keldabe, Mandalore.

"How do they do that, Buck?"Tracker asked his old friend. "All those colors. It's mesmerizing."

Buckler gazed through his visor,turning off the HUD. "It's a matter of what chemicals are in each layer, I think. Two layers, two colors. I could make my explosions look like that, easy."

"You'd be competing with a teenager in the Imperial Academy, I think," Ka'rta replied. "Sabine Wren, I think. She's getting quite a reputation for art and explosions."

"Oh, yeah," Buckler said, watching a red flare burst into a hundred sparks. "I've seen some of her graffiti around. Amazing that she can get away with it, being a cadet and all."

Tracker snorted. "I thought it's the fact she is a cadet that lets her get away with it."

"So," Ka'rta prompted, "are we going to sit here watching the show, or get on with our mission?"

Buckler grinned underneath the stormtrooper helmet he was using for disguise. "I've got the charge prepped. Do you want me to fix it so it explodes a pretty shade of green?"

"Green always was your color,"Tracker interjected, sliding down the hill towards the Imperial barracks on the outskirts of the town. "Still got the Katarn armor?"

"Of course I do," the demoman said,sliding after the sniper. "Along with Ajax's and Ca'ad's."

Ka'rta slid down the hill last. "I thought we agreed Ajax's armor was mine now." Over the years since the end of the Clone Wars, he had slipped into the sergeant's role, not that he ever let any of the others call him "sarge" or even "boss."

"Technically," Buckler shot back."I say all three of us own it, but you know how I am."

"Yeah, yeah," Ka'rta dismissed."Let's get into that building so you can blow it sky high. I see a door control for you to slice over there."

A green explosion, not of Buckler's making, lit the walls in front of them, revealing the back door to the barracks. Buckler walked over to the control and began working.The building would be empty, as the garrison was out marching in the Empire Day parade. Some patriotic march floated over the air between explosions.

It was the tenth anniversary of the Declaration of a New Order, and the Empire's grip on Mandalore would never be stronger. Especially if Phi Squad had anything to say about it.

The door control turned from red to solid green, and as the three stepped forward, the door slid open for them.

"All right," Ka'rta said, leaning into a shockingly familiar hallway. "Now we just have to find the reactor and blow it up. Again. At least they don't vary their floor plan."

"Why do we keep destroying this same building?" Tracker wondered. "They've built it back up three times now."

"It's fun," Buckler answered."And I guess it keeps the local garrison busy and away from Kyrimorut."

"That's exactly why we keep doing this," Ka'rta explained. "If we keep them rebuilding their barracks, they'll stay off our backs. Simple as that."

"I guess it also might send the message we don't want them here," Buckler added, walking off towards the reactor. "And if they go away from Keldabe, they won't find Kyrimorut."

"They won't find the bastion anyway," Ka'rta countered. "It's too well hidden."

"Are you sure?" Tracker queried."Half of Keldabe already knows where we are. It's not a well-kept secret."

"It's not a well-kept secret,you're right," Ka'rta conceded. "But it's well-kept from the Empire. The half of Keldabe that knows is the half we can trust."

"Fair enough," relaxed Tracker."Buck, you got the charge placed yet?"

"Almost," Buckler reported. "This stuff takes time, you know. Can't rush it—"

"Or it'll blow up in our faces,"Tracker finished. "You've only told us half a million times."

Several fireworks went off in quick succession, creating a sound more like flak and blasterfire than any of the commandos had heard since the war ended.

"Fierfek, those things are loud,"Ka'rta commented. "Makes me feel like I need to be watching my back for tinnies."

"You probably do," replied a non-clone voice from behind them. "Step away from the reactor core.You three are under arrest."

Tracker spun around with his blaster lowered, facing the Imperial officer who had just revealed himself.They were using their ever-so-familiar DC-17ms for this raid, because they didn't want to get caught dead holding an osikla E-11.

Ka'rta didn't surrender so easily,instead hiding his raised blaster behind Tracker's back.

"Down!" the leader yelled, slipping his finger into the familiar trigger guard of his Deece.

Tracker hit the deck before thinking about it, and it felt like he might have broken his nose from falling too hard. Even so, it was an acceptable casualty.

Ka'rta opened fire the instant his friend was down, hitting the officer who had ordered their surrender square in the chest, and the two flanking stormtroopers received the same treatment.

"Buck," the medic cautioned,"Tracker, let's get the shab out of here. We've been caught with our armor around our ankles."

"Agreed," Tracker concurred,pushing himself off the ground. Blood poured out of his nose. It was definitely broken. Nothing they couldn't fix back at Kyrimorut, though.

"Charge is planted," Buckler reported, trotting back into view. "Whenever you're ready," he added, holding out the detonator for his longtime friend.

Ka'rta took the detonator and shoved it in his belt. "Let's get clear first. I don't trust this di'kutla armor at all."

"Got it," replied the other two,walking leisurely towards the exit. Luckily, there were no more stormtroopers to greet them.

A minute later, they found the backdoor they had come in through, and strode through it. The sound of"Glory of the Empire," the ubiquitous anthem of the oppressive regime, floated into their helmets.

Ka'rta decided to time his detonation with a cadence in the music. The bright explosion of the barracks coincided perfectly with the grand finale of the fireworks show, and from their hilltop vantage point, the three clones admired the beauty of the scene in front of them.

Their colored explosion paired nicely with the pyrotechnic seal of the Empire high above.

"Buck," Ka'rta chided, "I thought I told you not to make it explode green."

Buckler smiled at his friend. "Couldn't resist. It's Empire Day, after all."

"Don't remind me," Tracker grinned sarcastically. "I've hated this day for ten years."

"So have we," Ka'rta informed."That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the celebration, though."

"Let's head home," Buckler suggested. "Before they catch up to us."

The other two agreed, and the squad disappeared into the forest.