Shadows and Shades (#4 Post-Order 66 Series)

Shadows and Shades - Part 4

A/N: Alright gang, this chapter deals with some heavy themes, so please note the warnings. Heads up for mention of death, suicidal ideation, and mild sexual content.

Iden's heart leapt into her throat at the mention of the vice admiral that had played a significant part in Crosshair's suffering during his time with the Empire. She swallowed the anger threatening to overwhelm her as her eyes followed Rampart. I could kill him. Right now. Just about a dozen steps. He's arrogant enough he wouldn't even think to consider me a threat before my hands would be around his throat. She clenched and unclenched her fingers at her side. No. That's foolish. We have a mission. Or at least we did. Things have changed now...

"Don't."

She looked at Crosshair, who was watching her, eyes glittering angrily.

"He's mine."

Her mouth fell open slightly as she looked at the person standing across from her. Gone was the man that had held her in his arms this morning, instead replaced by someone she didn't recognize. There was a coldness in his eyes that she'd never seen before, his jaw set at a hard angle, his spine straight. He turned his icy gaze from her to affix it to Rampart's receding figure. She'd never known Crosshair during his time with the Empire, but as she watched his shoulders square and his eyes harden into something without empathy, she imagined this was probably as close as she'd get. It chilled her, warning bells beginning to sound in the back of her mind.

Kriff.

"When this is all over and we've got everything we need, I'm going to kill him." Crosshair's voice was a low rasp that sent an unpleasant shiver running down Iden's spine, his eyes still locked on Rampart. "He won't leave this planet again."

Iden surged forward, gripping his shoulders and roughly shoving him against the wall of the alcove. "You need to snap out of it," she hissed, her pointer finger centimeters from his face. "We can't risk compromising this mission right now because of your vendetta. I understand you, I know what you're feeling, but surely you understand that we can't just-"

Something flashed in the corner of her eye, and she turned her head in time to catch the radiant glint of a necklace peeking out from beneath one of the Imperial's collars. What she could have sworn was a metallic leaf on a delicate chain flashed at her in the harsh factory lighting before a gloved hand reached up to tuck it back into the grey uniform. A lock of dark hair was swept behind an ear, and eyes similar to her own flashed under the brim of her cap. Iden blinked rapidly.

No.

"What is it?" Crosshair's voice seemed too loud, and she whirled back to look at him at his question. Some of the coldness had seeped out of his features, replaced by what could almost be mistaken for concern. He was studying her face carefully. She whipped her head back around to try and catch another glimpse of the Imperial with the necklace, but all she could see was her back as the female officer moved away, trailing behind Rampart.

"Iden."

That's impossible. She shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing. I thought..." She squinted at the back of the female Imperial officer again, but the woman didn't turn. "I thought I saw something. But I didn't." She took a deep breath, rubbing her hand across her face, trying to banish the image of the woman's eyes from her mind, but it was as though they were burned into the back of her eyelids. Iden shook her head. "We should go. Our shift's done. It'll look odd if we're standing around doing nothing." She released his shoulders, stepping out of the alcove quickly and moving towards the room where they'd stored their jackets and belongings.

The walk home was silent other than the sounds of their boots crunching against the frosty ground. The temperature had dropped the last rotation or so, but Iden didn't even notice the way her nose tingled and eventually went numb or the way the breeze stung at her cheeks, her eyes unfocused as her feet carried her forward. Crosshair moved like a silent ghost half a step behind her, the only clue to his presence being his shadow that stretched out in front of her and the sound of his footsteps.