Author's Note: The events of the battle of Gaftikar can be found in True Colors, a Republic Commando novel by Karen Traviss. Star Wars and everything affiliated with it belongs to the eminent Mr. Lucas. I only stake a humble claim on my OCs, living in a world created by greater imaginations than mine.

Prologue: So It Begins Again

"Apart from the mining corporation's interests, it was just another handy place for a fight."

- Republic Commando: True Colors by Karen Traviss

Outskirts of Eyat city, Gaftikar, Outer Rim, 21 BBY (16 months after the Battle of Geonosis)

Wren figured that having a night patrol on Gaftikar was probably one of the most redundant duties this side of the Rishi Maze. A month had passed since the Republic had secured the planet from a Separatist invasion and since then, neither side had shown any particular interest in the place. The Republic had established a small garrison near the capital, Eyat – the city itself was too small to house a facility big enough – but that was mostly a token effort, like sticking a sign into your front lawn, warning passersby about the akk that was really nothing more than a Kobarian swamp dog.

Gaftikar was, after all, of no particular strategic value in the Outer Rim territories. Its one point of interest were its norax and kelerium deposits, both ores useful for industrial purposes, but hardly vital to the war effort. The only one truly interested in the planet was Shenio Mining and once the fighting had stopped the mining corporation had moved in and made itself cozy. Much to the displeasure of many of the locals.

And that's why I have to be out here, slugging through this effing mud. No, the locals hadn't been happy about Shenio. If they weren't yammering on about the destruction of the natural landscape, they were complaining about not getting a big enough cut of the final proceeds. There had been some minor incidents, a few cases of vandalism of Shenio mining equipment, a couple of brawls between disgruntled citizens and the local police force and an increasing number of protest rallies. Shenio had ticked off quite a few people, but then, these days, that wasn't very hard to do. The locals got their damned silk panties in a twist over just about everything now. Simply put, the Human settlers wanted the Marits offworld, the Marits refused to give up any of the power they considered their due right, Shenio was acting like they owned the place and no one wanted the clones dirtside. Wren would have been more than happy to comply - he hated being here - but it was out of his hands. Another thing he fekkin' well hated about this kriffed up assignment.

Hostilities were on the rise, but Wren didn't think it would escalate into much. The Gaftikari, the Human ones anyway, had proven in the battle of Gaftikar that they didn't have the stones or the stomach for a real confrontation. If they did, they would have put up more of a resistance when Republic forces had landed on the planet. No, the whiners would continue to mutter and moan, but wouldn't stray too far from the path of 'civilized beings'. Hiding behind thick, safe walls was more their style. Personally, Wren thought the locals would be better off spending their energies on cleaning up the city, but in the long run, he didn't really care. Let them live in ruins if that's what they wanted. All he wanted was to get this patrol over with and get back to base.

"Sergeant Wren, this is Beta Squad calling in. All clear in sector 32."

"Copy that Beta Squad. Continue to the RV point," Wren answered, then closed the channel with a couple of swift blinks. He had to admit, the sound system in the new Phase II armor was quite an improvement over the old one. He'd noticed during the fight for Eyat that the annoying whine the audio filters picked up when one stood too close to the heavy artillery was gone. It was one of the first things the long necks had actually managed to get right. Opening another channel, Wren called out to the next squad.

"Sigma Squad, report. You're a minute and a half overdue."

"Sergeant Wren, this is Sigma Squad. Had to intervene in a fight between some locals. Sector 40 is now clear."

"Next time, have someone call in a sitrep immediately. If you're out in the battlefield, missing an appointed call-in usually means you're dead."

"Yes, sir. Understood, sir. It won't happen again, sir. Sigma Squad out."

Wren closed the channel and gave a frustrated sigh. Rookies. He was surrounded by rookies with no more sense in them then what had been flash trained into their heads by the Kaminoans. And it was his job to show them the ropes. Fan-kriffing-tastic. If Wren had ever needed proof of the galaxy's twisted sense of humor, then he was standing ankle deep in it.

He stopped for a moment, rotating his head and neck, feeling his spine give a satisfactory crack. It had been a long night and he couldn't wait to get back to the base. A few hours sleep, a quick shower and meal and he would have a few hours of unoccupied time for himself. And then…Well, Eyat may not have much, but it did have a few nice cantinas and bars. And those cantinas and bars actually had a few more-than-attractive females who had proven very appreciative of his particular skill set.

Wren heard the squelching of boots through mud next to him and turned his head to see Notch making his way towards him, blaster held at the ready as he swept the landscape. The shiny was trying to be stealthy, though with the glaring white armor it was a lost cause.

Wren clicked his teeth in frustration, then comm'd the other trooper over the squad's private channel. "Notch fall back, you're at least half a klick too far up from your assigned position."

Notch's head jerked up, then turned towards his sergeant. "Sorry, Sergeant." The trooper replied demurely. "Tried to round one of the mudflats. Guess I overshot the mark."

Wren couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his answer, nor did he try particularly hard. "You guessed right, trooper. Too bad you didn't notice before you compromised the squad's formation. You've left a huge hole in our defenses now, so I suggest that next time you just walk through the mud. It beats being dead." He looked the trooper up and down carefully before adding, "On second thought, next time, just roll in it. You'd be less of a walking target afterwards."

Wren heard the quick intake of breath from Notch, before the trooper cut the comm connection and he returned to his position, a definite hurt sulkiness in his steps. Technically it was a breach in regulations to sign off before the ranking trooper gave permission, but Wren wouldn't reprimand Notch. Hell, he certainly wasn't a by-the-regs kinda guy, so why bother. As long as Notch remembered those rules that actually would keep him alive on the battlefield, Wren didn't care. There certainly weren't enough of them for Notch to forget.

Wren watched Notch trudge back to his assigned position, then checked the placement of each of his squad in his HUD. He had ordered the squad into a simple V pattern, with himself taking point. Bar Notch, they were all where they were supposed to be.

Wren monitored his squad, as well as the progress of the others, while keeping a close eye on the surrounding terrain. His squad was sweeping the perimeter directly outside of Eyat's walls, while the rest of the watch were inside, clearing the city sector by sector. The place might be secure as far as the Republic went, but that didn't excuse sloppiness. Wren hadn't made it this far through the war by letting his guard down. Though he really was starting to dislike the mud.

Glancing down at his own boots briefly, Wren grimaced in distaste behind his bucket. It had been raining for the past two days and most of the ground outside of Eyat was a kriffing mud bath. He hated mud. Had hated it ever since Jabiim. Bad things tended to happen when there was mud around and it made him tense. He still thought that housing a garrison on Gaftikar was overkill, even if it was a garrison full of shinies, but there was something about tonight that was putting him on edge. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

His squad completed the circuit around the town without further incident and Wren called up the other six squads over his HUD's comlink. "All squads report back to base. Perimeter is clear. I repeat, perimeter is clear."

There was a short burst of chatter in his bucket, mostly confirmations of his orders, then silence. Wren blinked and brought up a map of Eyat on his HUD. The map was divided into grids and showed the position of each squad. Doing some quick mental calculations, he figured this whole thing would be over in less than four minutes. And then it's the day shifts problem.

He opened another comm channel, this one to the duty officer back at the base. "Eyat Command, this is CT-20-4371 from night watch, calling in. Perimeter sweep is clear. ETA six minutes and counting. Over."

"Night watch, this is Eyat Command. Copy that. All clear and ETA six minutes and counting. Over and out."

Wren broke the connection and looked around again, his infrared sweeping the ground around him. He could see two squads coming towards him from Eyat. Sigma and Theta Squad, since they were the closest to the RV point. He suddenly cocked his head to the side, listening.

Noticing the action, one of his squad, Fince, looked over at him. "Something the matter, Sergeant?"

"Listen," Wren told them.

They did, each trooper peering into the darkness as they copied his movement. "I don't hear anything," Notch finally said.

"Exactly," Wren hissed and turned back towards the town and the arriving squads. He opened another channel, this time to all the squads. "Night watch, this is Sergeant Wren, we got…"

He didn't get any further. The unnatural silence that had so disturbed him a moment before was suddenly violently shattered by the unmistakable roar of an explosion. Wren ducked instinctively, crouching low to the ground and raising his blaster in the direction of the blast. His squad did the same, while those who had been making their way out of Eyat dropped to the ground in a reflexive move of self-preservation from the enemy fire at their backs.

There was a plume of smoke rising towards the horizon and the distinctive orange glow of something burning. The explosion had come from northwest of their position, far at the back of the city. Wren checked his mental map of the layout of Eyat and found the explosion must have taken place in one of the loading areas occupied by Shenio Mining.

Reestablishing a comm channel with the garrison, Wren reported in. "Eyat Command, we have a situation in sector 54."

"Night watch, what kind of situation?"

Wren rolled his eyes even as a series of minor explosions echoed through the night. It seemed the fire had reached some of the heavy mining machinery Shenio had stored there.

"Eyat Command, I'd suggest taking a look out of the kriffing window."

Author's Note: So here's the promised preview of the second installment in the Mockingbird series. Regular postings will begin May 13th and will continue every Monday and Friday. By that time, I'll have shot Darth Real Life in the gluteus maximus.