Crosshair pulled the cap he was wearing a little lower as he watched the flash of grey uniform in the observation window above. Rampart gazed out over the floor, Ba-Ran standing next to him, reading from some datapad and occasionally gesturing at the crates stacked against the far wall. Rampart's gaze was as bored and condescending as ever, his expression never changing as he occasionally spoke. Crosshair glanced at the chrono on the wall just as Rampart gave a final nod and said one more thing to Ba-Ran before turning and exiting the observation room.
Right on schedule.
Crosshair had been compiling notes the last week on Rampart's daily schedule. Arrives just before the morning shift. Spends most of the morning in his office. Heads down to observation just before lunch to check and see how work is progressing. Disappears during the afternoon, likely to the other wing where I'd bet the droids are working. Leaves a few hours after the morning shift takes over. Normally a guard escort of at least two when he enters and leaves the facility.
He'd started a hidden file of notes on the datapad he and Iden shared. At some point, he planned to try and track Rampart during his hours outside of the factory, but he hadn't found the opportunity yet that would allow him to do so without tipping off Iden.
Iden.
His eyes searched the floor until they landed on her figure, bent over one of the work benches inspecting a blaster. He watched as she held it up, closing one eye to focus on what he assumed was the cooling circuit, nestled along the barrel. They'd been seeing a common error with the soldering on those, so they had been certain to spot check more of those. She smiled to herself, nodding as she put the weapon back down on the station, entering some information into the datapad that rested next to her.
His stomach twisted as he watched her, completely unaware of the plan and the lie he was keeping from her. She never doubted me. Didn't even hesitate to accept what I said. She trusts me that much. And I've betrayed that. The lie had seemed to weigh him down more with each passing rotation. He'd ensured to keep his contacts with Hunter brief and to try and plan them when she was busy or out of the dwelling. Iden had never been very interested in the debriefs, but he felt an additional pressure to keep them secret to avoid her finding out that he hadn't told Hunter about Rampart. It was creating an additional level of stress that she'd started to note.
"What's got you wound so tightly?" she'd asked the night before, her thumb working at some of the tightness in his neck.
"Just a lot on my mind." Not technically a lie. It felt as though everything that fell out of his mouth since his first lie went through that sort of evaluation in his mind.
"Would you like to talk about it?" she had asked, leaning down so that her breath fanned across the back of his neck.
No.
"It's nothing," he said quietly. "Just thinking about how we can get access to the other half of the factory." Also not a lie.
She'd hummed, leaning down to press a kiss to his temple as she slipped her arms around his neck, nuzzling against his cheek. He'd sat stiffly, allowing one of his hands to reach up and clasp her forearm.
"You sure that's all?" she'd asked.
He'd met her gaze, nodding firmly. "It is." Definitely a lie.
Now as he watched her from across the factory floor, he wondered if she'd forgive him for his lie. It had just been one three-letter word that had set off this chain reaction, and as much as he tried to keep it in check, he couldn't help but feel like that one word was the snowflake that was about to set off an avalanche.
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Shadows and Shades (#4 Post-Order 66 Series)
फैनफिक्शनCrosshair and Iden take off on their first solo mission together for the rebellion, heading to Raxus to investigate the increased Imperial presence there. They expected to confront stormtroopers, not their pasts and the ghosts that still haunt them...
