Not Very Routine

[Kathryn Foster]

Kathy shifted from looking down at her feet that stuck out over the newly formed edge that plunged down the ravine, to casting a glance up at Red to see where the hell he was in all of this. He just stood there like nothing ever happened! Well, what else?! He could not have cared less if she fell down with the rubble!

A deep sigh left her, before her glance fell to the ground and a short shake of her head. To say that she missed the cockpit and her squadron, were an understatement not of this planet. She grabbed the carbine again and forced herself up on her feet. A helping hand from Red were definately not something she counted on.

''And you say I'm aggravating...'' she said in a low voice before walking by him and made sure to stay way off from the edge now. She brushed herself off a little and continued down the trail.

Could this day be any worse?!

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red walked after her. Then, unexpectedly, he said,

"You know, I would have assisted you on that ravine, if I didn't think that you could handle yourself. If at any moment I deemed that you were unable to save yourself, I would have intervened and stopped you from falling, but I had faith that you could do it, Major."

Red spoke truthfully, he really thought that she could do it herself, and she did, not disappointing him.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

''Oh, you would huh? Thanks for the consideration, Red.'' she said back to him as they continued down the trail, dust of sand twirling around their boots with each step.

Apparently, the soldier could at least tell the difference between personal opinions and duty. What little Kathy could read out of this mysterious man was that he was not a liar. He had pretty much revealed that from the beginning. Instead he was blunt and direct with his opinions, in a way much like herself. Though, it would go very far til she told someone that she hated the person. Maybe that they could go suck a lemon or something, but hate? It was a harsh word, definately needed to be avoided among colleagues.

She let go of the blaster carbine, letting it hang around her neck and brought up a water bottle from her belt. She took a sip out of it and glanced back to Red, if he was prepared he would have brought water right? If not, she were no stranger to share.

''So, what are you exactly? Where do you come from, Red?'' she asked, curious to know more about him.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red looked at her. It was the first time someone actually asked about his personal life. To be honest, he had never told anyone about his life, if they didn't ask, it meant that they didn't want to know.

"I am Subject 73, or Red. I'm a genetically modified being, bred for combat. I come from an unnamed planet in the Unknown Regions. My specialty is obviously my hyper perceptive and investigative traits, but I am also highly skilled in warfare. I'm not a clone, as you might think. I am an experiment." Red explained.

It felt weird explaining himself to her, but she asked, which meant that she wanted to know.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

''Obviously.'' she repeated confirmingly, feeling he pretty much throwed that out from the first words between them.

She closed the water bottle and attached it back to the hook in the belt. So far, the patrol had turned out as expected. There were rarely any threats this close to Golbah City, a few critters and beasts that had the bad habit of stumbling into the city limits but that was pretty much what was out here.

''That's actually pretty interesting... Y'know what-'' she begun to say something but were cut off.

She would eat that earlier thought up, as she detected movement on the other side of the ravine.

''Get down!'' she hissed under her breath and swiftly moved to the closest rock. She fiddled up the electrobinoculars again and peaked over the boulder.

''That's... That's humanoids... Nomads or plunderers, by the looks of it... What do you make out of it?'' she contemplated and handed Red the binoculars.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

When she said to get down, Red reacted in a fraction of a second. He quickly dove behind a rock and hid himself behind it. Red took the binoculars she held out to him and looked at what she noticed.

Red noticed the people too. He examined the area, and looked over every single detail, even the smallest ones.

"Pirates, possibly smugglers, maybe even slavers. From what it looks like, they've made an encampment, a small base. They seem to have some organization, that's more than normal pirates. They could be here to rest for a bit, or they could be here for their own profit. I don't know if they're hostile, but they are definitely armed." Red reported.

"Major, what is our course of action?" Red asked Kathryn. He already knew what he wanted to do, but protocol stated that the commanding officer choose the course of action.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

"Protocol states that we should first check to see if they are hostile, then act accordingly from there. What's our next move, Major?" Red asked her. He didn't like having to report to her and listen to her, but she outranked him, and Red was a good soldier, and being a good soldier meant to follow orders, to whatever it takes to finish the mission, and to take care of those under your command. Also, Red was bred for combat, so it was ingrained into his brain to follow orders.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

''Well...'' she said suddenly and ducked back behind the rock, taking up her datapad and made a note of their discovery and checked their position in relevance to Golbah City.

''Their numbers? Fifteen? Maybe twenty armed mercenaries? I don't think we have much of a chance if we engage them... It's better to lay low report back to headquarters. As you said, they might just be stopping for a rest...'' she concluded, figuring Red would rather go toe-to-toe with twenty mercenaries one did not know the capabilities of.

Everything was much easier when flying. Yes, she outranked him but that was mostly because of her accomplishments in the sky. She had done just fine commanding the droid forces back on Tyra'Weilen but thanks to their less excellent introduction, she felt a bit uncomfortable still. The numbers also spoke by themselves, two against twenty were far from good odds. A slight sigh left her.

''Don't you think?'' she added and glanced at him.

All of a sudden, the sharp blade of a vibro-ax were stuck under her throat from behind and she froze. She let go of the blaster carbine on her chest and begun raising the arms in a slow fashion. How many they were that had snuck up on them, she didn't know.

''Red...?'' she said carefully, wondering if he had any ideas.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red hadn't reacted, but he heard the vibro-ax and Kathryn's uneasy comment. Red examined his surroundings. He listened to the slightest sound of dust being shifted unnaturally, the wind slightly blowing around figures, and then he used his final observation method, the Force, he reached into it to determine exactly how many enemies were there.

Red stood up. As he stood up, his hand quickly brushed his wrist gauntlet. The motion was so imperceptible that the pirates couldn't see it. In the split second that he had brushed his gauntlet, he pressed a tiny button on it. Out in the asteroid field above Geonosis, a small drop shuttle was attached to an asteriod. Inside the shuttle, the systems started turning on. A line of commando droids could be seen on the wall, charging. Then, they started activating, one by one. Red had only placed them on standby, and they were getting ready.

Back down on the ground, Red hadn't turned around to face the pirates.

"You slightly miscalculated, Major. There are exactly 32 armed mercenaries, but you came quite close." Red turned to face the pirates behind him.

There were five behind him, but Red knew that they had two snipers trying to hide and be able to get a good shot. Pitiful.

"Greetings, esteemed gentlemen. I am Red, special forces and commando unit, at your service. Might I ask who you are?" Red asked, cordially.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

She felt the side of the vibro-ax push underneath her chin, the man holding it wanting her to stand up. The blade was cold even though the air temperature was high, the fright of getting her throat cut was surely adding to the cold feel. She followed the mans 'wish' and stood up carefully, facing Red.

''Right now, this blade is too close than I'm comfortable with...'' she said under her breath, so that Red would be the only one to hear it. She kept her hands raised to the height of her head and awaited their next command.

''None of your business, human!'' a male klatoonian said in hutteese and stepped forward into her line of vision and towards Red.

Were they pirates in the service of the hutts? The nearby location of Tatooine could explain that. But what they were and where they came from was secondary right now. Right now, they had to figure out how to get out of this tight spot.

She felt the ax shift the slightest and a rank breath belonging to what she thought was a humanoid man, spoke up behind her.

''You're coming with us, and your friend won't make it hard for us... It'd be a shame if I stumbled and slit the masters new toy of pleasure up...'' he said and leaned in to sniff her braid sticking out underneath the helmet.

''Now, take your weapons and throw them away...''

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red listened to the pirates. So they spoke Huttese, huh? Red wondered if they could speak languages other than Basic and Huttese. Red might be able to exploit that.

Red looked at Kathryn. "Your orders, Major? What's your call on what I should do?" He asked her, surprisingly calmly.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

Oh my god, he couldn't be serious?! An initiative! Anything!

The question and his surprisingly calm behaviour would have made her even more furious if she were not facing a death threat or the possibility of ending up in some slimey hutt palace.

''Y-you told me about your capabilities before... How about putting 'em to use? R-right now, please?'' she hinted at him as she was underway with dropping the carbine to the ground, keeping the pirates more or less concentrated on her movements.

The klatoonian behind Red pointed a slugthrower in his back.

''To the edge of the ravine. I want to hear you scream before you die, human.'' he sadisticaly threatened Red in stumbling basic.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red smiled beneath his helmet. Good, he had them right where he wanted them. Especially the goon behind him, as Red's back was already facing towards the ravine. Red took off his helmet and dropped it on the ground, his red hair glinting in the sun.

"I'm no human. I'm more than human. I'm greater than human. But, it's your funeral." Red told the goons. He then looked at Kathryn. "Whatever you say, ma'am." His smile was genuine. He would really enjoy this.

Then, Red pulled into a front flip, kicking the klatoonian between the legs. Red then pulled into a handspring, flying back towards the klatoonian. He placed his left foot on the ground in a crouch, sprung, and planted his right foot under the klatoonian's chin in an upwards kick. Red then used the moment from that to take the klatoonian's weapon, spin 360 degrees, land a heavy blow to the right side of the klatoonian's face, attach a cable to it's legs and wrap them up, and kick the klatoonian in the chest with enough strength to knock it over the ravine. Red then landed on the ground and planted the end of the cable into the ground. The klatoonian was now hanging by his legs off of the cliff, screaming for dear life.

It only took Red 5 seconds to complete this task.

He turned to Kathryn. "Did that satisfy your orders, Major?"

Red then turned to the goons on their side of the ravine. "Any one else want a piece of this?"

 

[Kathryn Foster]

Kathy stared him down with the most serious face until he unexpectingly cracked a smile, the fraction of a second before he unloaded like a precise killing machine.

The goons were taken off-guard for a short moment, and she took the chance to grab the not yet dropped carbine and thrust it butt-first into the chest of the man behind her. She made dead sure that she ducked for the blade and thanked the gods that it was not turned on, it could have been out of juice by some miracle. She swiftly turned around, and aimed a hit from below with the carbines pipe to the guys face. He lost the balance and fell backwards to the ground, loosing the vibro-ax in the process.

Knowing that there was three more, she followed up with placing a knee on the fallen goons chest and laid the pipe of the carbine against his throat. Letting go of the carbines front handle, she drew the LBP-3 blaster from its holster and aimed at the three other guys.

''Drop your weapons! Or your buddy looses his head!'' she commanded, both angry and affected by the earlier threats that had her life hanging on a thread seconds ago. Now, it was up to them if they wanted to listen. Kathy were not sure if Red would be the guy to let them go, to take them captive, or kill off every one of them.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red nodded in agreement to what she said to the goons. He liked at how quickly she disarmed the one that had kept her hostage. He had a few pointers for her, but she still managed to get the job done.

"Do what she says. Including your two hidden snipers buddies. Yeah, I see them. They think they have have good hiding spots, and they would stay hidden to a normal person, but nothing stays hidden from me." Red told them.

A look of shock passed over the three pirates right in front of them. They thought that only they knew about their snipers.

After a couple of moments, Red turned to Kathryn.

"I don't think that they are taking us seriously. Maybe we should start making them." Red told her.

Then, he walked over to where the one goon was hanging by his legs. Somehow, he was still conscious, and sobbing quite loudly. Red looked down at the goon. Then, he pulled out a knife. Without a moments hesitation, he threw the knife down at his feet, cutting the cord. The goon fell, screaming. Then, the screaming stopped.

Red turned back to the other pirates. There was no emotion in his eyes. No hesitation, no guilt, no remorse, no feelings, just that steely cold look. He had the look of a cold-blooded killer.

"Will you cooperate? Or will you have to come to an untimely demise like your friend down there?" Red asked the pirates and goons.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

Her blue eyes flicked from the goons and then upon Red and grew bigger when he mentioned the snipers, snipers which she didn't knew about.

Damn it! He didn't say anything about snipers!

Red decided to 'cut the connections' with the goon hanging upside down in the ravine, much in the fashion that it was the most normal thing in the galaxy. Just after his presented ultimatum to the remaining goons, a slugthrower shot threw up the sand and dirt by her feet. Next time would not be a miss, she thought and lunged herself off the goons chest and behind the rock that they were previously taking cover behind.

The three men in front of Red tried to grab for their weapons, but before that Kathy managed to put one of them down with the drawn blaster pistol.

''Red! Take cover! You can't take out the snipers from there!'' she yelled at him and her attention was drawn to the man on the ground that were coming awake again.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Then, suddenly, two shots fired in unison. Then, the two remaining goons that were reaching for their weapons dropped dead, with blaster marks right between their eyes. Red had quickly pulled out two blaster pistols and fired at the goons, without aiming.

Red then turned and fired the blaster pistol in his right hand towards a random rock shelf. A loud scream which then changed to a loud choking noise as Red shot one of the snipers in the throat.

"I beg to differ, Major. That's one sniper down. You underestimate me." Red told her.

Then, he dodged a sniper round fired at him. He then fired over his shoulder. Another loud scream could be heard. The other sniper had been hit, but this time the screaming didn't stop. Red hadn't killed the sniper. It was what Red had wanted; to interrogate the man before taking on the other 25 goons which somehow hadn't heard any of the fighting or screaming, as they were too far away.

"And that's two." Red then turned his attention to the man on the ground that was regaining consciousness. Red walked over to the man and aimed his pistol at the man on the ground.

 

[Kathryn Foster]

Yeah, she would admit that she actually had underestimated him. Having worked with only droids and, well, real humans before. The skills Red now showed were beyond that of an ordinary special forces member, the reflexes were much comparable to a jedi. She shifted to look in the direction of the second and last sniper that was definately planned to just be neutralized. She turned her gaze out over the other side of the ravine, the other pirates were so far away that they seemingly haven't heard the shooting. That was a relief, a stone that fell from her chest.

Kathy grabbed the top of the stone to aid her standing up, before looking at Red in a whole other way than before. He had saved her life. If it was not for the evasive action he pulled, she would have been on the way to the hutts now... or worse. She walked up behind him and glanced down at the man, then up to Red.

''H-he's unarmed, Red... We could take him back to Golbah. Turn him in to Intelligence. You got binders on you?'' she said. He had followed her orders before, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would execute the man before her eyes if she wished it. Unlike Red though, she had a heart, so to say.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kathryn Foster"]

Red turned to her. "Yes, I have binders. Was that on order not to kill him, or a suggestion?" He asked. He was slightly confused by the way she had worded that. It didn't sound like an order.

"Also, you're just going to let him go? He just tried to kidnap you into slavery, and he even threatened your life! You're just going to let him go to Intelligence?" Red didn't understand it. Was she really just going to let him get off with a warning or imprisonment?

 

[Kathryn Foster]

She knew that would come. She knew he would react like that. He was right though, that was not much of an order but he could not blame her mindset. He was not the one being under the knife mere seconds ago. She snapped out of it and took a step closer to Red, looking him firmly in the eye.

''Yeah! As a matter of fact, I don't want you to execute an unarmed prisoner in cold blood. And yeah, that was an order!'' she stated and made a short pause.

''Put him in binders. He'll be charged with threatening the life of a CIS officer, either imprisoned or deported off-planet... It's not our job to deal out sentences...'' she continued with the last sentence being in a considerably lower voice.

In a way, at least his way, Red was right. She despised the pirate and knew very well that the threats about slavery was real, not to mention that awful feeling of having a vibro-ax against your throat. But, was it the wrong decision? Was it the wrong decision to not kill for vengeance? That was equally despisable First Order ways.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]