Chapter 11: Waves of Contemplation

As soon as the holocall disconnected, Elara dragged her hands down her face as she slouched back in her desk chair. She should be done with these mandatory check-ins, since she’d been with the Republic for several years now and during that time hadn’t done anything to put her loyalty in question. Maybe if she’d been assigned a different handler, but unfortunately the handler she had been assigned, Captain Kalor, obstinately refused to accept that she wasn’t somehow an agent for the Sith Empire. Whenever her allotted time was slated to be up, he’d miraculously manage to find some other regulation that he could employ to keep forcing these check-ins.

Much like every other call with Captain Kalor, the past hour had consisted of him asking questions about her mission reports, each one framed in a way that his thinly veiled suspicion was apparent to her. They’d gone through the song and dance so many times at this point Elara was frankly perplexed at what Kalor thought he was going to get. Did he really think that even if she was doing work for the Empire, she’d just miraculously reveal it while he asked her questions about her missions, which frankly were all answered in the reports that she submitted?

Knowing that she’d never glean the answer to that specific inquiry, Elara pushed back from the desk and stood, stretching out her stiff limbs. A quick survey through her door indicated she was the only one on the ship at present. It had been almost a week since they’d met with General Garza, and they were still waiting for information on their next recruiting assignment. Since they were on leave until those orders came through, the squad had decided to pick a planet to pass the time on, rather than staying in the busy skyways of Coruscant.

After a fair amount of debate, they had chosen Scarif, a tropical world that was fairly removed from the galactic conflict. Tucking her feet into her combat boots, Elara wandered through the center of the ship and down the extended boarding ramp. The fresh sea air enveloped her before she’d even left the ship, gently wafting around her in a comforting way. True to what she’d told Eko, Elara had never really had the time or drive to seek out locations solely for the enjoyment of it. When she was with the Sith Empire, she was either studying at the academy or deployed on assignment. Once she defected, she bounced around from one shitty posting to another, and none of the planets she ended up on were particularly enticing for sightseeing; at least, not the outposts she’d been stationed at.

As she walked across the grassy field they’d landed on toward the picturesque beach, an overwhelming feeling of gratitude rose up within her. Gratitude for being assigned to Havoc Squad, and for the camaraderie with Eko and Jorgen and even Forex. Just the fact that she was out here, standing on a beach for no other reason than the desire to, was something that she’d never even had time to entertain the thought of, much less indulge in.

The waves lapped lazily at the shoreline, leaving undulating dark semicircles on the sand. Elara stepped onto the deserted beach, looking around to see if she could catch a glimpse of any of her squadmates. She knew they wouldn’t have gone far, given they could receive orders from the general at any moment, but wherever they were it wasn’t within eyesight of her current position. She advanced until her boots toed the delineation between dry and damp sand. A light breeze carried the scent of the ocean with it as Elara stared out to the horizon, watching the sunlight glitter along the surface of the water.

Crossing her arms, Elara let her mind empty. Thoughts of her brother, Captain Kalor, Eko, their mission, all of them dispersed as she focused on the beach and the waves and the breeze. 

She had no idea how much time had passed before she came back to herself. Elara felt a bit lighter, but also strangely uneasy, as it was not really in her nature to turn her mind off so definitively. Rubbing at her eyes, she was still trying to decide whether the mindlessness she’d just experienced was a net positive or negative when the crunch of sand indicated someone approaching. A quick glance toward the sound revealed Eko walking her way, the captain dressed in a plain t-shirt and fatigues, though she was also barefoot, which surprised Elara.

“Lieutenant,” Eko said as she walked up next to Elara, stopping to stare out at the ocean as well.

Elara’s cheeks heated slightly at the mention of her new rank, and she rolled her eyes. “Didn’t we already have the discussion about not using our rank in casual settings?” 

She saw the corner of Eko’s mouth twitch up in a smile. “Yeah, but it’s cute seeing you look embarrassed about your promotion.” Immediately the smile froze, and Eko’s eyes widened as she kept her gaze locked on the horizon. “I mean, it’s, uh, amusing.” Her posture rigid, Eko stayed for only a second more before stepping back. “I’m going to see if we’ve heard anything from General Garza. I’ll let you know.” With a brief smile that did not come with any associated eye contact, the captain retreated back toward the Cerulean Vulptex.

Elara watched her go, trying not to think about that one little word that the traitorous romantic part of her mind had latched on to like a fish on a hook.

—

Whether by dumb luck or the universe teasing her, General Garza had called to inform them on their next assignment as soon as Elara returned to the ship. Eko had quickly recalled the other two members of their squad and then began prepping for takeoff. It wasn’t long before Jorgen and Forex both ascended the ramp, and then they were leaving Scarif’s atmosphere, the tropical world growing smaller and smaller behind them.

Their next recruit was a demolitions expert, who was currently causing trouble on Balmorra. The way the general had spoken about the individual sounded like the trouble was being caused both to their enemies and their allies. While she knew they couldn’t exactly be choosy when they needed certain skillsets, Elara was hoping that this new recruit wouldn’t be the first one who didn’t mesh seamlessly with the squad.

Though they had a good amount of time in hyperspace before they arrived at their destination, everybody had retreated to their own areas to do their own solo prep. They would get a more detailed explanation of the situation when they dropped into the system, so for now they were all just going through the motions to make sure they were ready for anything.

Elara cinched her chest armor on as she mentally ran through the number of medical supplies she had left, preemptively allocating what would come in her field kit and what would stay on the ship. It was a little bit of an exercise in futility, as there was a high chance that whatever information she got from the general would change what she needed to bring, but on the off chance that they got only the scantest of further info, this would be the best option.

Also, the more she kept her brain occupied with tasks related to the mission the less time it had to spiral out on what it meant that Eko had called her cute, even tangentially. Calling someone cute has multiple connotations, Elara thought aggressively, trying to drown out the tiny voice inside yelling that it definitely only had one connotation in this instance. And her response to saying it was probably because she didn’t want to appear unprofessional. That’s why she quickly excused herself. Nodding along so vigorously to her internal dialogue that she was afraid she’d pull a muscle, Elara finished securing her armor and moved to check what was in her backpack. Again.

—

“As you can see, while he certainly has the technical skills we need, his personal and moral standings are … in question.” 

The squad listened to General Garza give the background on their prospective demolitions expert, Tanno Vik. The Weequay was ex-military, having left the service of the Republic after one too many confrontations with authority. At the moment, he was supposedly assisting the Balmorran resistance against the Sith Empire as a mercenary, but from what Garza had managed to gather it appeared he was most likely running some sort of smuggling operation as well. It wouldn’t be a surprise, as he had been reprimanded for similar activities on multiple occasions while in the Republic army.

“Are we certain he will even be willing to join the squad?” Eko asked, the pinch of her brow indicative of her skepticism of this Tanno Vik. “After all, though we are special forces, we’re still part of the Republic military.”

“I trust you can be persuasive enough, Captain,” General Garza replied, her own expression as stoic as always. “Once you explain the mission, hopefully he will see it’s in his best interest to assist. I would not be surprised if he requests your aid in return, which you are of course free to give, provided it does not involve actions that would harm the Republic.” She paused, and Elara saw her eye twitch briefly before she continued. “I also have a rather large sum of credits that you are allowed to offer him, if required, in order to secure his service.”

Jorgen let out a dismissive scoff. “Great, just what we need. Someone whose loyalty is directly impacted by the size of the credit pile in front of him.”

Though she didn’t condone the opinion being stated in front of the general, Elara couldn’t help but agree with the Cathar. She had a fair share of experience working with mercenaries, and while there were those who honored a contract, there were just as many who wouldn’t blink an eye to betray you if they got a better offer.

“Thank you for your thoughts, Sergeant.” Garza’s tone indicated that she was not, in fact, thankful for said thoughts, and Jorgen quickly straightened up and muttered an apology. Returning her attention to the captain, General Garza pursed her lips. “I know it is not ideal, but again, we need his skills. Work your magic, Captain, and contact me when it’s done. I will have the details on your final recruit ready for you. Garza out.”

The hologram had barely faded before Jorgen was already voicing his displeasure. “Are we really going to trust this Tanno Vik, Captain? I don’t want to completely pass judgment before meeting the guy, but you heard his history. He sounds like a grade-A narcissist who doesn’t give a shit about who’s in charge, as long as he gets paid.”

“That’s enough, Jorgen.” Eko didn’t raise her voice, but the command she carried in it immediately shut the Cathar up. “I’m not telling you that you need to be friends, but Garza is right: we need his skillset. However, that being said, I will not tolerate any of his negative behavior on my ship. What he does in his free time is his own business, but when he’s on this ship or on mission with this squad, he will follow orders.” The intensity in Eko’s eyes was not one that Elara ever wanted to be on the wrong side of. Even though she hadn’t met this Tanno Vik yet, she already knew that if he didn’t acquiesce, he would not be a part of Havoc Squad, and depending on how badly that went, might not ever be part of any squad ever again.

Jorgen must have gotten the same impression because the fire went out of his argument. “Understood Captain. I trust you. We all do.” 

A flicker of a smile ghosted across Eko’s face, then disappeared. “We’ll be landing at a forward operating base for the Balmorran resistance group. Forex, you’re coming with me when we touch down. Jorgen, Dorne, you’re to assist the Balmorrans in any way you can. However, if you are to join any field operations with them, you’re to keep it within two klicks of the base. We need to be ready to leave as soon as Vik is secured.” She looked at Elara briefly before heading back into the cockpit, and Elara could have sworn that in the moment, the captain’s intensity had softened just a little bit.

Gruffly dismissing that thought, she returned to her quarters to get her gear. It wouldn’t be long before they landed, and she intended on doing as much as she could for the Balmorrans. Hopefully they had some medical tasks she could tackle, but even field ops would be welcome. Anything to keep her busy and useful until their work here was done.

And it had nothing to do with the blue-skinned captain that refused to leave her thoughts.