Unwritten Path [PAUSED]

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚-𝑵𝒊𝒏𝒆

Sorry for slow updates. School is ending and I've been busy getting stuff ready for nursing program in summer!
Enjoy!!

22 BBY, Month 10

A hush settled over the group as they crouched beneath the edge of a jagged cliffside, the ruined capital stretching out beneath them like a graveyard of broken towers and scorched streets. The wind howled between the shattered ruins, carrying the faint scent of ash and rusted metal. The moonlight cast long shadows that flickered with every gust, creating the illusion of movement even where none existed.

Lexi pulled the macrobinoculars from her belt, scanning the ruins below. The capital, once tall and proud, now lay in shambles. Crumbled buildings jutted out like bones from the earth, and debris littered the cracked streets. A faint, flickering light caught her attention—movement near a tower, possibly a fire or a power source. Someone was down there. And they weren't friendly.

"We can move down the ridge here," she whispered, pointing to a narrow trail of crumbled stone that curved toward the northern end of the city. "If we time it right, we can sweep around that fire and reach the broadcast center."

Eel, crouched beside her, didn't move at first. His tone was low and deliberate when he finally spoke. "Too risky. That fire means someone's keeping warm. Bounty hunters maybe. Raiders. You don't start a fire unless you're sure no one's going to challenge you for the spot."

Lexi clicked her tongue, pulling the binoculars down and glancing toward the path again. "We can move fast. Quiet. We've done this before."

"Sure," Eel said, voice still calm. "But last time, we weren't limping from a crash, running low on supplies, and stuck in terrain where every step sounds like a karking alarm bell."

Lexi turned to him, her eyes flashing with anger. "If they're using that tower, the transmitter might still be working. We need to take that chance."

"Or," Eel said, meeting her gaze evenly, "we rush in, trigger a fight, and lose our one chance at a clean extraction." His tone was calm but stern, the clone younger than her seemed to be wiser.

There was a beat of silence. Coal let out a quiet scoff from where he crouched behind a jagged boulder, Moon murmuring something Lexi didn't catch to Gale who swatted the back of his head. The younger clone still clutched his blaster tight, but his fingers twitched anxiously.

Comet, observing from his spot beside Gale, cleared his throat. "Eel's got a point, Commander. We all want out of here—but a hot entry into a place crawling with trigger-happy scum isn't a mission, it's a death wish."

Lexi's jaw tensed, frustration twisting in her gut. She hated the delay, hated the idea of sitting still while their window possibly closed. But they were right. A reckless move now could get one of them killed—or worse, all of them.