Missions and Memories pt.3

31 hours.

I am getting loopy with all this waiting. I check the passive scanner. Excepts for a few native animals, nothing is in the area,. No droid energy readings and no people. And if one more bug crawls up my pant leg, I am going to lose my freaking mind. To keep alert I am forcing my self to review all officers’ names and serial number on base. Re-create a mental picture of them and their departments.

Dang, am I bored!

_________________________________________

Two weeks earlier.

“Tak, will you come to my office. Bring Wil and Sev also”

I nod to the Lt. Cmdr, go locate WK 315 and E775 then head back to the office/storage space that is acting as the Lt. Cmdr office. There are computers, computer parts, listening equipment and technical readouts all over the place.

I know something is up. She is fiddling with that belt data pad of hers, what does she call it…apod, iepod or some Nabooian word that doesn’t make sense. I know the sensor and cameras in the room are now on some pre-recorded loop.

The Lt. Cmdr look at us. “You know without your armor, I really can’t tell you guys apart.” She smiles jokingly.

WK 315 falls for the bait, again. “Al’verda (commander), Sev has that small scar near his eye, and my hair is a lot…”

The Lt. Cmdr start laughing softly, “Yes, I know Wil. I am joking with you again. I need to give you a memory flash to improve your humor.”

WK 315 glances at E775 and then me a little nervously. “I thought you said you weren’t going to do that any more. You’re going to get in trouble and I don’t want that to happen!”

WK 315 was referring to the fact that the LT. Cmdr had spent a fair amount of time studying the neuro blueprints of the clones and discovered that certain of us could be ‘re-flashed”.

Now after a lot of work she had made a memory flash visor that hooked into that tricked out data pad of hers. I am pretty sure it’s not regulation and if she wasn’t one of the best Com Slicers in the GAR, she would have been downgraded in rank a long time ago.

“I am not going to get in trouble, because no one know except you three”

We all look at each other.

“I’m not going to have to make that an order am I.” Again that playful smile

“No, ma’am” I respond

The Lt. Cmdr gives her eyes a small roll. “Tak, you know how I feel about the M word. And I’ve told you don’t have to call me Lt. Cmdr either. You can call me Oneida if you want. Both Wil and Sev do.”

“Yes, ma… Lt. Cmdr, I know that. Thank you” I try not to blush. How can we be such masterful fighters, but be spooked by her this much. It so strange.

“Tak, I want to try this on you again” As the Lt. Cmdr hold up the flash visor, I fidget just a bit. She quickly adds, “If you don’t want to I understand. It was a little mean what I did last time. But now you can ballroom dance in the Naboo style so brilliantly. I hadn’t danced like that since my time as a Handmaiden.”

At this reminder I winced. I am sure the dancing practice was more than just for testing her new research project. I thinks the Lt. Cmdr was brushing up for a fellow Nabooian.

I look at the Lt. Cmdr. “It’s not knitting or painting or anything like that, is it?” I ask tentatively

“No, It isn’t Tak.” She laughs that easy laugh again, “I am pretty sure it will help in battle, but I don’t want to tell you what it is incase it doesn’t take, OK”

I hesitate, “Why us, Lt. Cmdr? Why not some of the other troopers you work with?”

“Why, you afraid Tak?” She looks right at me, almost through me. “No, not you Tak. You would never admit you were afraid in front of me, would you.”

I try not to flinch or blush. E775 and WK 315 laugh lightly.

The Lt. Cmdr breaks her gaze and begins talking again “In examining the neuro paths of many troopers I found that there are small anomalies in about 3 out of every 100,000. And the weird thing is with the Batch 2s, like you Tak, it was a little more common. I am pretty sure that those clones with the anomalies can be “re-flashed” with new information with out writing over the old stuff, so to speak. When I did the dancing experiment on you three, it only took compleatly with you.”

I look at the Lt. Cmdr and can see she means no harm and isn’t lying. At least I don’t think she’s lying.

WK 315 smiled. “Glad it not me. All that dancing made Tak look ridiculous” Did he just giggle?

The Lt. Cmdr flashed a look at WK 315, which quiets him “At least he didn’t step on my toes in his attempt as dancing.”

I try to change the subject from dancing “I help out with your research with the…what are you calling that thing?”

“I don’t know, mobile flash unit…visor flasher…Tak Brain Wiper 2000” that smile again

“Ok, lets do get this done before Mess call” I smile back

_______________________________

I remember the rush of incoherent information that had shot into my brain. My head began to ache a little at the memory. I feel bad because it didn’t seem to do anything. Nothing new in my head as far as I could tell, but then again I did not know I could dance until the music started.

My comlink blares in my ear.

It’s E775 “CALL THE DROPSHP, TAK AND GET READY. WE'RE COMING OUT HOT!”