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~*~
The General and Commander Cody had been taken. This was a problem. A massive problem. However, if they reported in as they expected, it could be days before help arrived. If there was even anyone that could be spared. There was no guarantee they’d get permission to rescue the General and Commander.
So maybe…maybe they just wouldn’t ask. The 212th’s captains were all busy securing the area and doing all the usual post battle tasks, so they’d left this conundrum to a select group of troopers to brainstorm solutions.
“We should comm Alpha 17,” Wooley suggested.
Considering this for a moment, Waxer nodded. Alpha 17 would know what to do and how to get away with doing it.
“Do either of you actually have Alpha 17’s comm number? He isn’t in the standard GAR directory. None of the Alpha class or any of the spec ops teams are,” Boil pointed out.
Wincing, Waxer acknowledged that was a problem.
“Someone has to have Alpha 17’s comm number!” Waxer lamented.
Trapper nodded.
“We could comm one of the other ARC trained commanders? They’d have to have it, right?” Trapper offered hopefully.
Boil raised a brow. “And when they ask why you need it?”
Waxer grimaced. “We’d have to explain, and then they’d have to tell their General.”
Boil nodded sharply. “Exactly.”
They stared at one another in silence for several long moments.
“Maybe Commander Davijaan has it?” Wooley suggested. “And since he’s here overseeing the space battle…we wouldn’t have to comm anyone outside for help.”
Waxer really, really hoped Commander Davijaan had that blasted comm number. Pulling out his comm, Waxer made a call.
“Any sign of Commander Cody and the general?” Davijaan asked as the call connected.
Sighing, Waxer replied, “Not yet. But we had an idea.”
He quickly explained the idea to Davijaan, who nodded.
“I have Alpha 17’s comm,” Davijaan assured. “All members of Squad Seven do, along with all the ARC trained commanders. Just in case you ever need to know in the future.”
Waxer filed that information away for reference.
Turning to Wooley, Waxer said, “You get to make the call. No one ever manages to be mad at you.”
Wooley just stared innocently back at him.
~*~
They’d told the captains their plan and been informed it was all on them from here out. Waxer wanted to be annoyed, but he couldn’t blame them. Calling Alpha 17 gruff was being polite about it. He wouldn’t want to risk getting on the man’s bad side either, if he could avoid it.
“You have ten seconds to explain yourself,” Alpha 17 growled.
Wooley was undeterred. “General Kenobi and Commander Cody have been captured.”
Alpha 17’s eyes narrowed.
“Both of them? How the fuck did you idiots let that happen?” Alpha 17 demanded.
Wooley wilted a little at that.
“They covered our retreat,” Wooley admitted. “Air support had an issue and was delayed getting there. It was enough.”
Alpha 17 scowled heavily. “Have you reported in yet?”
Wooley shook his head.
“We’ll be due a check in soon, but it wouldn’t be the first time one of the captains handled that mid-battle because the General and Commander were both busy. We can buy time,” Wooley assured.
Nodding sharply, Alpha 17 replied, “I’ll be there in six standard hours. I expect a detailed report of what happened and all available intel on where they might have been taken.”
Waxer stepped in then. “We have control of the space around the planet. They haven’t been taken off world.”
Alpha 17 nodded again. “Keep it that way.”
Waxer saluted and the call cut off.
~*~
Alpha 17 arrived even sooner than he said he would. Waxer had to admit, he and the others were glad for that. Davijaan handled the check-in, citing comm interference to the planet causing unstable connections. The Council accepted the report readily, as that wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, and no general would be expected to leave mid-battle for a check-in when one of their officers was capable of reporting in for them. It bought them time, as check-ins during active battle were only every few days. With any luck, by the time the next one rolled around, they’d have the General and Commander back.
“I want a full report of what the karking hells happened,” Alpha 17 said by way of greeting as he stepped out of his shuttle.
Waxer saluted and promptly gave as detailed a report as he could. Longshot filled in a few additional details, as his sniper perch had given him a different vantage point that allowed him to see things others hadn’t.
“I called in the suspicious activity, but it was too late,” Longshot admitted.
Wooley grimaced. “The blast knocked all of us in its radius off our feet, and those of us closest were knocked out. By the time Trapper and I came to, the General and Commander were gone.”
Waxer winced.
“Those of us further out scrambled as quickly as we could, but we were too far out to beat the Seppies there,” Waxer explained.
Alpha 17 frowned heavily but nodded.
“I’m going to put fucking trackers on both of them for this,” Alpha 17 declared, “whether they like it or not.”
With anyone else, Waxer would have had his doubts. But with Alpha 17…Waxer wasn’t actually sure where he’d put his credits. Rumors claimed Commander Cody had learned much of his stubbornness from Alpha 17, but Waxer had also heard that Commander Cody didn’t actually meet Alpha 17 until ARC training, so he had no idea which rumors, if any, were true. The General, he was even less sure about. From the limited interactions Waxer had with other Jedi, his general certainly seemed more…well. There were times Waxer realized that General Kenobi’s complaints about General Skywalker were either rather hypocritical or very lacking in self-awareness because he was almost as bad. So yes. In a contest of wills, Waxer wasn’t sure who he would bet on. If he had credits to bet anyway. Which he didn’t.
“We have work to do,” Alpha 17 snapped. “Where’s the command center?”
Waxer snapped himself back to attention and led the way.
~*~
By the time the dust settled two days later, General Kenobi and Commander Cody were safely ensconced in the Negotiator’s medbay and the Seppie base on the planet was nothing but a smoldering pile of rubble. A successful rescue mission, without the Council or GAR command ever knowing it happened. At least until General Kenobi escaped medbay and actually reported in. He’d promised to handle that part though, so Waxer wasn’t going to worry about it.
Unfortunately, Waxer never found out if Alpha 17 was successful with the trackers.
~*~