Star Wars: Scars

Part 3 - 6

Ducking under a few branches, Creed picked his head up and looked around for Zayne, letting his HUD cue him on his brother's position. He knew this was just a training mission, but they weren't in the simulator anymore. Their target was definitely real, and if they weren't careful they'd both end up dead.

Training or not, this was life or death.

"Zayne, what's your position," Creed called over the comm as his HUD failed to pick up the other man's location. There was a burst of static, then a voice from the other end, panting heavily.

"Two clicks south of your position. Heading your way," Zayne said, breathless.

"Got it, I'll wait here for you," Creed said, crouching in the underbrush and checking both pistols quickly before returning them to their holsters and pulling out his sniper rifle for a moment. He used the scope to find Zayne, then swung it upward, watching the sky.

I know those drones haven't left yet, but where are they, he thought quietly, scanning the skies. He wasn't going to let those buggers catch Zayne on his way up here. Least he could do was watch his brother's back.

A moment later, though, he heard rustling behind him and turned quickly, his hand going to his pistol, but he saw Zayne's helmet duck under the branches first and he relaxed.

"You've gotta stop getting so far ahead. We're supposed to be doing this together," Zayne chided him slightly as he paused a moment, panting.

Creed stood up and clipped the rifle strap around his shoulder's again, slinging it over his shoulder and walking over beside Zayne. "And you need to work on your running so you don't come in here panting every time. Seriously, is running that difficult?"

Zayne tilted his head up some and Creed could feel the narrow-eyed glare from the other trooper before Zayne stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Shut up will you, not everyone was gifted with the same unlimited stamina."

Creed looked over at him some, keeping one eye on his HUD readings. "Yeah, some of you got the eternal exhaustion," he quipped, but the joke didn't really reach his voice as he quickly turned his head, hearing a telltale whine from overhead.

"The kriffing drones are back, get down," Creed snapped and he grabbed the sniper rifle again, not bothering to find a place to set it, just moved to a less dense area of branches and looked up, sighting in the first black dot that came across the sky. Creed paused a moment, waiting, then he pulled the trigger and watched the drone explode. It sent the two that had been on its tail into a fritz just long enough for Creed to pick them off before he slung the rifle back over his shoulder and offered Zayne a hand.

"Do me a favor and just try to keep up, alright?"

"You're not a one-man army," Zayne retorted, getting up on his own and stepping back. "We're in this together for a reason, and it's not for me to stand around and watch you run the whole show."

Creed turned to leave but paused at that. He sighed a little, but nodded and looked back. Zayne was right, even if he and Creed didn't agree on everything. He was still his brother, and Creed thanked the stars every day that Zayne had more sense in him than Tsunami and 49 did.

"Alright," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'll slow down some," he promised. Zayne moved over beside him and nodded, his tone hinting at his slight smile.

"Thanks," he said.

Creed smiled a tad and shrugged before moving to exit the small clearing. "You're still gonna have to keep up, though," he called back, sliding down the slight incline that led back into the forest. He heard Zayne come down behind him and he moved aside for his brother, scanning the area.