Shadows of the Force (Hunter/OC And Crosshair/OC)

5: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Rex was on edge.

Anyone could see it, but his anxiety was giving Shadow a migraine. Her heightened senses could pick up on every tremble of his body and it was driving her nuts. She knew how much this meant to him, to find one of his brothers and bring him home, to bring him back. But he really needed to calm down. Dragging a tired hand down her face she leaned against the holotable as Rex looked over plans yet again.

"If you stare at that thing anymore it will combust into flames, Captain." Her voice broke him out of his deep thoughts. With a heavy look in his eyes Rex shut down the holomap with a frustrated sigh. Digging the heels of his hands into his eyes to wipe away the tiredness he glanced up at the Mandalorian woman. He gave her a tired look, before sinking into the chair that had somehow appeared behind him. Shadow watched the Captain with a careful eye. She knew he was dealing with an internal war. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, the sounds of soldiers moving about in the hangar bay the only sound that filled the room. The study sound of his heartbeat filled her ears, gunships taking off and trunks of ammo being stacked onto carts became background noise to her. She watched as his chest rose and fell as he stared at the blank holotable.

"Am I wrong to hope or even believe it's him on the other end?" Rex spoke, breaking the silence. He glanced up into the gray eyes of the Mandalorian. Shadow leaned her hip against the table and crossed her arms across her chest. She looked to the ground as she mauled her answer around in her mind for a moment before speaking.

"Do I believe the chances of this Echo truly being alive are low? Yes." She saw his shoulders fall slightly as she spoke but she wasn't finished. "But if I heard Scarlett's voice on the other end of the line, knowing that there was even the smallest chance that she was alive.... I'd put my life on the line to try and bring her home." She saw his eyes snapped up to meet hers as she finished talking. There was a hope, a burning anxiety, like a plea for her to mean what she said.

"So you will join me in finding him if Skywalker can get the approval?"

Reaching out her hand Shadow clasped into his arm and pulled him up from his chair, looking him dead in the eyes. "My sister and I will join you in this fight, Captain." She heard his heart race as he nodded his head with his gratitude. Now for Anakin to pull through and get the go ahead for this rescue mission. With a silent nod the two parted ways as Shadow picked up her helmet where she had sat it down and walked towards the stairs that lead to the lower room and hanger bay of the base. Tucking the helmet under her arm she made her way through the troopers that moved about the base. Her black armor, though scratched up and worn, still shined in the light that creeped in from the open hanger door. It was a powerful sight among the armor of white, commanding attention and respect. Her long braid fell over her left shoulder, a few wisps of shorter hair falling from the braid to frame her face. Her kama swirled around her legs as she walked towards the open bay door, her eyes staying forward. Once she reached the door and the sunlight bit down at her, she pulled on her helmet to help block some of the harsh light. She blinked three times and the HUD came to life. To the right of her screen comm chatter and reports of the war scrolled upwards as it filtered in. To the bottom left was her vitals and life support readings. To the top left information regarding what the HUD was seeing through her one-way lens with each turn of her head. Other functions could be acceptable depending on how she blinked her eyes. Different patterns of blinking as well as using her cufflink help her navigate the HUD within her helmet. Her HUD was a lifeline, even outside of the Mandalorian belief of their helmets. With a blink of an eye or a tap on her wrist her HUD could access, transmit, display or transfer just about any information or language needed to help her get through her missions. It was a high quality upgrade that her sister and herself spent many many credits on once they joined the Republic to upgrade the data framework of their helmets. Still made of solid beskar and still barring all their proud Mandalorian history, their armor now stood for more than just "this is the way".