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june-girl-86 · 15 days

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Off The Grid - Chapter 1

Rating: T to M... Will have some E chapters later - Minors do NOT read

Pairing: Niner Skirata x fem!reader (in future chapters). The main focus though in this story is about the Deltas, Omegas and Null- ARCs and how they interact. Sibling shenannigans!

Wordcount: 3,1k

Warnings: None. Canon typical violence

A/N: I never played Republic Commando but I read the books... and it drove me nuts that there was no ending... and that Sev just remained MIA. Well I am here to change that! And obviously I chose to ignore Scorche's appearance and the other's obvious absence in TBB 😉

Sev dividers by @stars-n-spice

Summary: How for Force's sake was Sev left behind on Kashyyyk!!??? No way Scorch is going to take it!!! He's still mad about the decision. So when Niner and Darman finally decide to go AWOL - Delta squad joins them. And once more, Delta, Omega and the Nulls are going to work together to bring him home to Kyrimorut!

Since the moment they have left the ARCA barracks, neither of them had said a word. Darman walked at a hurried pace towards the hangar, the attack shuttle with which they would leave the planet already waiting for them. Niner did his best to keep up with him. Rede followed in their wake, just as silent but probably for a different reason.

It had only been a few hours since Darman and himself had left Roly Melusar’s office. A few hours since the final plan to go AWOL was now decided. He probably should have been sleeping, but Niner hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night. Rede, blissfully unaware of what's going on, had been snoring like a vibrosaw for hours. Dar had been lying motionless in his bunk, probably awake too. However, Niner hadn't dared to talk to him. Prying eyes and ears could be anywhere. At dawn, while the other two were packing, he took advantage of a favorable moment and retreated to the 'fresher to use the secure channel in his helmet and contacted Ordo.

“We're on our way to you, vod,” he had said, trying to sound as noncommittal as possible.

“About time,” Ordo had replied. "It wouldn't be long before I would have grabbed Dar by his gett’se and dragged him out of there myself!" It had been one of Ordo's usually harsh answers, and yet Niner had clearly heard the joy and relief in his brother’s tone.

“I am going to report back to you when we’ve left Coruscant’s orbit. If you don’t hear from me during the next three hours, something has gone wrong.” With one click he had ended the connection.

With every step Niner took, he more and more felt like his pulse rate was going to hit the roof. Everything was as usual. Commandos exercising on the parade ground, droids carrying out cleaning and repair work. And yet he had the feeling that all eyes were on them. He resisted the urge to turn his head and look around.

And what's next? The moment they are going to take off with the shuttle, life as he had known it would end. No army, no training, not even a structured daily routine. All he would have left would be his brothers. At least that would be the way it has always been. Dar, in his black Katarn armor next to him, gave him a sense of certainty. And finally, after so long, he would see Fi again! A thought he found some solace in. Rede, however... What would happen to him? Dar called him a blank slate - Niner thought he was an incalculable risk. To avoid the inevitable predicament and to control the oppressive feeling that was almost suffocating him, he tried to forge plans. He didn't get very far...

Because as soon as the shuttle came into view, he saw the colorfully painted Katarn armors of Delta Squad, as well as the featureless, dull gray one of their new squad member, in its shadow. His heart sank and he heard Dar curse under his breath. Were the boys ordered as reinforcements? Or as snitches? Or had they already got busted even before they left the Imperial compound?

“You’re already out and about?” Boss greeted him as they were within earshot.

“Could ask you the same thing,” Niner replied as both men eventually placed their right hand on each other’s left shoulder in greeting. Even though everyone was wearing their helmets, Niner could tell there was something else just by the tone of their voices. Something unspoken.

“It has come to our attention that you have been assigned to a special ops.”

“Oh yeah?” Darman sounded noncommittal. “Where did you get that from?”

“Holy Roly. We had a briefing this morning about our deployment on Ossos.” When Niner heard that Delta was assigned to another planet, he relaxed a little, at least for his standards. Still, the fact that anyone else was informed about their operation at all gave him an overtone.

"Where are you heading to?" Scorch, who had remained conspicuously calm until now, asked a short time later.

“Well, he didn’t trust you that far, did he?” Darman teased.

“Not everyone can be as buddy-buddy with him as Squad 40,” Scorch sneered.

Then it was quiet. None of the men moved, and Niner wondered if he and Dar were about to end up having to shoot their way into the shuttle. The odds were against them. All of them.

“Anyway, we wanted to bid goodbye to you,” Boss said. “Nah osik… I forgot your farewell present in the quarters.” He turned to Fixer in a conspicuously theatrical manner and tilted his head towards the barracks. “Go back and get it!”

“Why me?” Fixer grumbled in response. “Can’t Levin go? He’s the new kid on the block.”

Farewell present? Niner tensed imperceptibly, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Darman subtly reach for the vibroblade in his vembrace.

"You're right! Levin, there's a little box in my locker with a fancy red bow on it. Can you please go and get it quickly? Afterwards we’ll head off to Ossos.” Niner couldn't shake off the feeling that something was indeed very wrong. Since their joint black ops on Coruscant, the relationship between the two squads had improved a lot, but he wouldn’t go to the point where they’d give each other gifts. So what did Boss aim at? Call for reinforcements?

Levin grumbled like Fixer had before, although a little quieter and more reserved. The fact that he was the new guy left him little room for negotiations with his sergeant. He turned to leave... a blue glowing circle of a shot sent him stunned to the ground. A split second later, a second one followed and Rede collapsed next to him to the ground, unconscious. Dar and Niner both simultaneously drew their deezes. Win-or-bust. Was it pure coincidence, fate or the subconscious that stopped them from firing straight away? Whatever, Niner sent a silent prayer to the Force.

Scorch shrugged and jumped down from the ammunition box he had been sitting on until just now.

“Are you planning to strike roots over there or are you going to give me a helping hand?” He nudged Darman with his shoulder before grabbing the immobile commando by the wrist and dragging him toward the ramp. “Come on, we can’t take forever before someone notices!”

As if in a trance, Darman and Niner grabbed Rede to haul him aboard the shuttle.

However, as soon as the hatch was closed, Scorch found himself being pushed against the nearest wall panel and the visor of a very agitated Darman was just millimeters away from his own. Two unconscious bodies on the ground nearby.

“Keep your shirt on, Dar!” It wasn't Niner who tried to calm the situation but Boss. Niner meanwhile had his blaster pointed at Fixer, who in turn raised his hands in surrender to indicate that he had no intention of fighting back.

"You’re quite nervous, boys."

"What are you doing here?" Niner growled. “Spill it, or Fixer can get himself a new face anytime soon.”

The fact that it had come to this, and that he had to threaten one of his clone brothers with a blaster at all, weighed on him more than anything else in his life. No anti-terror ops, no torture training had ever hurt so much. Would he pull the trigger? No...no he wouldn't. Would he? All he wanted was to leave the osik’la Imperial army behind and finally come home to Mandalore. Manda’yaim. Home, even if he's never been there before. But his brothers were there, his buir. A place where he could finally be himself and find his true nature. Since that day on Gaftikar, he had thought time and again about what life had offered him so far... and what it might offer him in the future. So much more… A’den was right. Deserting and neglecting his duty, the very idea was abhorrent to him, but losing his family would be so much worse.

For the third time within a short period he was at the point where everything would change, and for the third time fate was putting him to the test. But his heart would shatter if he had to stay behind once again. No... Darman had a son, a responsibility, and he would be damned if he wouldn't get him to accept it. Even at the cost of his honor, his happiness and probably his sanity for the rest of his life. If he had to choose between Dar and Delta... There was only one possible answer. Manda, please please don't let things get to this point!

Boss put his DC aside and Scorch followed suit at the same moment, careful to avoid any rushed movements. The tension inside the shuttle vibrated in the air like high voltage.

“You're on your way to Mandalore, right? Just like the rest of Omega and the Nulls. Just like Fi.”

“Fi is dead,” Darman gritted out, emphasizing the last word.

“Sure, and it never rains on Kamino,” Scorch replied.

Niner considered activating the secure channel in his helmet so that Ordo, or whoever was listening, could follow the conversation and take action if necessary. He decided against it. The risk of the transmission being intercepted and falling into the wrong hands was too imminent.

“How did you get that idea?”

“You must think us pretty stupid, don’t you? Atin and Corr are on the list of deserters, as are the Nulls. It was only a matter of time before you too would disappear into thin air. We were just hoping to catch you in time.”

The fact was now outspoken and lingering in the air and Niner was still considering what he should answer next. Scorch beat him to it.

“Take us with you!”

"Excuse me?"

“You heard right! We want you to take us with you. Sev is still out there somewhere and as long as we’re stuck here we don’t have the slightest chance of looking for him.”

For an endless moment, it was dead silent inside the shuttle.

"Please."

“We are on special ops for Holy Roly to track down any surviving Jedi. Nothing more, nothing less,” Darman said, still unwilling to move even an inch away from Scorch.

“Do what you have to do,” Scorch replied bitterly. "But I would have expected you of all people to understand what this is about."

Qiilura... Without actually mentioning the name, Scorch had conjured up memories of their first mission together. Niner, sergeant of the newly formed Omega squad, had refused to accept Dar as missing in action and, together with Fi and Atin, had stalled as much time as possible to save their brother. Sev, however, was denied this help and only the Force knew whether he was still alive. But he was a brother... and they owed to him to do everything in their power to get him out of whatever osik he was stuck in. Tion'ad hukaat'kama? Who has your back? Who if not the clone brother standing next to you?

It had only been a few months since they had run Delta down during the Separatists' attack on Coruscant, because they hadn’t ignored Yoda's orders to leave Kashyyyk, and yet it seemed an eternity ago.

“We don't expect you to join us in our rescue mission,” Scorch added after a moment, not knowing how Omega had thought about volunteering for exactly that very task. “Drop us off somewhere nice and we’ll move on. And you will have the misfortune of never being able to see our gorgeous faces again.” He sounded almost like Fi…

Darman thought of Atin. It was him who had initially voted against the decision to go and look for Dar, just as Vau had punched the attitude into him. Yet he had changed his mind. Darman could still hear the echo of his words: 'What if I had to look at your empty place every day? I wouldn’t have much happiness left in life.’ Delta had been through the same tough school. Was ist possible that they changed as Atin had? Or was Scorch just saying what he thought Darman and Niner wanted to hear? After all, until Sev's disappearance, they were in the fortunate position of still working in their original squad formation, which made them self-confident at best and conceited at worst. What if they were simply obeying another command and trying to stand between him and what he wanted most - a life with his son?

It was this very dilemma that was running circles inside his head, and Darman could feel it seething inside his guts. All the ups and downs of the last few months. The pain of Etain's death that he wanted to keep away until he finally would see Kad again. One wrong word and he would probably have blown up the whole ship. Luckily no thermal detonator was within reach.

But the longer they remained on the ground, the more conspicuous they all became. Niner, unknowingly sharing Darman's thoughts, decided to act.

“Dar! Easy!" He engaged the safety of his deeze and took a step back from Fixer.

It was still a few hours flight to Mandalore and as soon as they were clear of Coruscant and before they were about to enter hyperspace he would contact Ordo anyway. In the event Delta had planned an ambush, there was still enough time to take countermeasures.

Niner nodded to Boss and then rushed to the cockpit and Darman was finally able to break free of his paralysis and followed him suit. He collapsed into the copilot's seat while Niner already caused the shuttle's ion engines to coast. Boss, Fixer and Scorch buckled themselves in the rear jump seats. Rede and Levin were still unconscious and handcuffed to crates.

“Ground control, this is Shuttle IAF-024. Request take-off clearance.” He forced his voice to stay calm.

“IAF-024, all clear for take-off!”

The vibrations echoed through the hull as Niner lifted the ship off the ground and launched into the sky above Imperial City. The whole shabla planet could call itself whatever it wanted, it would be the last time that the five commandos watched as the millions of lights of the city blurred beneath them anyway and the atmosphere around them grew darker and darker. Nobody said a word. And with every click they gained altitude, Niner could feel his heart beating faster and faster. He half expected to hear the disembodied voice of ground control telling him to turn back or to see the TIE fighters outside the transparisteel screen shooting them down.

The minutes passed… and nothing happened.

Finally he dared to open the comlink in his helmet again.

“Ordo? Come in please!"

“Ordo, Ordo… It’s always just Ordo. Why doesn’t anyone ever ask about me, huh?” a voice spoke up just a split second later. Obviously its owner had already been waiting for the status report.

“Jaing! It's good to hear you. We’re clear of Coruscant and ready to jump.”

“All right, vod. Your beds are set up. Send you coordinates right away.”

Niner blinked to show the incoming data transmission on his HUD. Figures began to materialize before his eyes. “This isn’t Mandalore.”

"Of course not! We can’t let you come in right here on an Imperial shuttle and risk the transponder signal being traced.” Jaing chuckled softly. “Besides, if you and Dar are suddenly off the grid just like that, we wouldn’t want anyone to come looking for you anywhere near our place, would we?”

Of course not.

“Mereel and myself will come and pick you up. We are going to override the shuttle’s transponder signal and come up with a suitable plan for your disappearance.”

Niner wasn't surprised that the Nulls had already thought so far. Nothing was left to chance. There were already more than enough deserters from Kal Skirata's ranks on the Empire's long list; two more designation numbers could be the final straw. Strictly speaking….

“Jaing? There’s something else.”

“Doesn’t sound good, vod. What's up? Don’t tell me Dar was willfully obstructive once again and his fiery temper was showing. Ordo’s going to kill him.”

Ohhhh… There was still the matter of the agitated Darman and the Jedi to be dealt with. Niner had thought about their last conversation again and again and wondered what he could have meant when he said Melusar is going to get all the Jedi he wants. Granted, he had an inkling. But with all the unforeseen commotion with Delta, the matter had actually slipped his mind. Until now. Well, that was a problem he could take care of once they arrived on Mandalore. First there were other matters of urgency.

“We have passengers on board.”

Niner could practically hear Jaing’s smirk. “You haven’t picked up a few stray Jedi to join our distinguished, little commune?”

He snorted a restrained laugh. “Just over Dar’s dead body. No… we have two unconscious Sparti clones… and Delta.”

For a moment Jaing was seemingly speechless, then he blurted out: “You’re kidding!”

“Am I Fi or what?”

“Can we trust them?”

Niner knew what he was getting at. Kal'buir had more or less openly admitted that he wanted to provide a retreat for clones who, let's say, wanted to consider an alternative career to the army. Yayax Squad had answered his call, as had several others. Delta, however, had never given any indication that this would be an option for them at all. Even when the circumstances became obvious.

"I think so. I am not sure though."

"Affirmative. Hold on a second!” The line went dead and Niner took the opportunity to enter the coordinates into the navcomp and caught a breath. It was a relief to know that no matter what, he wouldn't have to handle it alone anymore.

“Niner?”

"Yes."

“The six of us are going to pick you up, just in case there is any trouble. Kal'buir and Vau don't know. We don’t want to spoil their joy of reunion in advance.”

"Copy that." The navcomp's calculation was complete. Four hours to the LZ. “We jump. See you then. K'oyacy, Jaing.”

“K'oyacy, Nin'ika!”

Niner levered and activated the hyperspace drive. Outside, the stars blurred into a blue swirl.

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june-girl-86 · 15 days

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Please don't disturb me! I'm just reading and craving more chapters.