Unexpected

chapter thirty-four: recon

Fives gazes through the thick reinforced-glass window in awe as they enter the jungle planet's atmosphere. The mass of trees and canyons are a new sight to him, he's never really had the opportunity to admire a planet for what it was.

"Ellie." He speaks softly and she hums. "We're here."

The girl stretches as she sits up, glancing out the window to confirm his statement. A quick look around the transport informs her that they're the only passengers left and she grabs her bag from beneath the seat. Fives follows suit, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Once the transport lands, the two of them step onto the platform above the wet, marshy ground and Elara takes a deep breath.

"Welcome to Akiva." She looks up at Fives, who's still in awe of all the green around him. "The Senator made accomadations in the capital city of Myrra."

The soldier follows her, still distracted by the tall trees and mysterious wildlife. Elara smiles at the fascinated man and grabs his hand to lead him through the city.

With the help of a local, they reach their small hut and show themselves in, thanking the woman who assisted them. Elara's hand slips out of Fives's as she sets her bag down and a groan escapes her lips.

"Why Akiva?" Fives asks, making himself known to both rooms of the hut as he looks around. Their home for the next two days is nothing more than a small bed and a bathroom. "This an old family vacation spot?"

"I've never been here before." She admits, wiping the sweat from her forehead and pulling off her long-sleeved shirt.

Fives furrows his eyebrows as he faces her, not aware that she's just in a sports bra. A blush quickly rises, but luckily for him it was already that shade of red thanks to the heat. His gaze lingers as she ties her hair into a ponytail and opens her bag.

"Holy kriff, it's hot as a sarlacc pit in here." Elara sighs, wiping her forehead yet again.

Fives chuckles as he pulls his poncho over his head. "Don't avoid my question." He tosses the poncho onto the lifted mattress. "What are we doing here?"

Elara sighs as she looks up at him. "Galen is here." She states.

Fives's eyes widen. "Here? So.. Akiva is a Separatist system?"

"Well.. Not exactly. The Separatists occupy it but the people have the makings of a rebellion among them." She explains. "This city is built above a system of catacombs. Nobody really knows what's down there but anyone who goes in, doesn't come out."

"It must be some sort of Separatist base." Fives suggests.

"Hopefully." She sighs. Her entire plan relies on the catacombs being real and the assumed base being built within them.

Fives looks over at the girl as she pulls her things out of her bags. She straps her holster to her right thigh and secures the blaster in it.

"Hold on, you're not going down there, are you?" Fives asks.

"Well yeah, that's the reason I came here." She stifles a laugh. "I let you come along because I thought you'd help me, don't make me regret it."

Fives clenches his jaw as his gaze meets hers. There's no way he's going to talk her out of this. "Maybe there's a better way to go about this." He points. "We should go out and do some recon, it'll help to know exactly where we're headed."

"You've got a point." Elara sighs. "Let's go." She heads towards the door but Fives stops her and holds his hand out. "What?" She asks. He glances down at the blaster attached to her leg and she sighs. "It's just for emergencies."