“So they don’t know?”
“Nope.”
“And the girls are keeping it a surprise?”
“Yep.”
“Your not very talkative today. That’s odd for you. Something on your mind, vod?”
“Just can’t…Shake this weird feeling I have. You know, like the feeling you get right before you go into battle? It’s like that but…I don’t know. Can’t place it.”
Corr turned slightly to Kom’rk as he spoke, frowning slightly, hands in his pockets as the two strolled down the street. A few passerby shot them odd stares; no doubt because the two Clones looked so much alike. If it wasn’t for the few odd scars criss-crossing Kom’rk’s face and neck, and the slight glint of metal between the arm of the jacket and Corr’s pocket, it would’ve have been very difficult to tell them apart. As it was, most of the civilians just wrote them off as twins; brothers out for a day together, just enjoying each others company. They wouldn’t have been too far off with their guessing. Corr and Kom’rk were ‘brothers’ of sorts. But it was not because they had the same mother or father; it was because they were cloned from the same man. An odd concept among most Evelonians, and both had found it took most people quite some time to adjust to their uniqueness.
So, it had gotten to a point where they didn’t bother with explanations anymore about their armor, their language or their culture and origins. They just stuck with their small circle of friends and family; people who knew them, who knew all about their soldiering life, and who accepted them for who they were. It was all just easier that way. It was also partly the reason the two were in the small town near Prudii’s base. Ruach and Chayah had set up a day for the two of them to spend with their families. Ruach, Corr’s wife, had decided that, since Corr would be on leave for a few days, it would be nice for them to have a rare, but precious, family outing. And of course, once Chayah had heard that Kom’rk was also at the base and had a few days leave, she’d very nearly pounced on him and forced him to come. Kom’rk didn’t mind; he was looking forward to seeing her again. The few snatched comlink messages, letters, and small care packages they sent to one another never seemed to be enough.
He really missed her; it seemed like he was the only one who didn’t get to see his girlfriend at all. Corr was lucky enough to be able to sneak off from time to time to spend time with his family; but Kom’rk was a lieutenant. He had responsibilities that Corr did not, and it was harder for him to make time for Chayah. He also felt a little bad; he often mentally complained about not being able to see her, but his brothers who had families, like Jaing, seemed to have even less time than him. So Kom’rk spent his days taking on extra duties to free up some of Jaing or Corr’s time and allow them more time to spend with their children and wives. Even if he was doing something good for his brothers, he still wished he could see Chayah more often. Kom’rk was shaken from his thoughts as Corr nudged him slightly, brilliant pink eyes watching him with amusement shining in their depths. “You are one distracted guy,” he said, chuckling. “I guess seeing Chayah again has your head spinning, huh?”
Kom’rk managed a strained smile; to be honest, he was nervous about seeing her again after all their time apart. He had no illusions about her having some other guy on the side, and he wasn’t worried about anyone stealing her away; she knew he cared about her, and vice versa. But he was still nervous about seeing her after being apart for so long; what if neither of them knew what to say? “Yeah…Spinning might be an apt term to describe what I’m feeling. But the spinning is more in my stomach; I’m a little nervous, to be honest.” Corr’s smile went from amused to understanding; he knew how hard it could be to see the girl you cared about after so long apart. It had happened to him as well; of course, he came away with three lovely children after seeing Ruach again and granted, that was…really shaky and nerve-wracking. He doubted Kom’rk had anything like that to worry about, or that it would be as hard for him to see Chayah again, but still…He sympathized.
“Ah, no worries, vod. You and I both know she’s crazy about you. And regardless of how long it’s been since you saw her…Once you see her again, it’ll be like you were never apart to begin with.” Kom’rk eyed his brother skeptically, before shaking his head. “Getting married made you not only smarter, but romantic as well. Sometimes I wonder what happened to ‘Trooper Corr, the Lady’s Man,’” he joked. Corr snorted, shaking his head as he looked vaguely amused. Kom’rk watched him steadily with his own dark magenta eyes as his brother ran a metallic hand over his hair and then shoved it back into his pocket as a woman stopped to stare at him. “‘Trooper Corr, The Lady’s Man’ is long gone. Now it’s ‘Commando Corr, Happily Married.’” He laughed out loud, and Kom’rk joined in as the two walked casually down the street to meet their respective families.
[15, 46]
----------------------------------------------------
Jaing tapped his foot impatiently.
He stared at the wall, a pristine sheet of white that mockingly hovered in front of his eyes. He’d only been gone from home for five days, but already, he was becoming jittery. He hated leaving Amala and the children alone. It wasn’t as if he worried about their safety; his home was pretty much one of the safest around, considering it was pretty much swarming with beasts with fangs, courtesy of his daughter. No, Jaing just hated leaving his family, period. Not that he didn’t enjoy his time with his brothers when he was back on base. It was just that…Man he hated that wall. It was so white…so pristine…so…. “Gah!”
Jaing chucked his pen at the wall, angry at it for no apparent reason. Across the small office, Ordo nearly fell out of his chair as he heard his brother shout, and leapt to his feet, blasters in hand. “What is it?!” he demanded, red eyes glowing as he glanced around the room. His gaze landed on the pen, then the ink smear across the wall, and then Jaing’s sheepish expression. With a low growl, he shoved his blasters back into their holsters. Ordo was the only person Jaing had ever known that could holster a blaster exasperatedly. Ordo raised his eyebrows, folding his arms across his white and red striped armor, before he regarded Jaing with an impatient expression. “And the wall did…what to you, again?”
Jaing sighed, shaking his head, before he glanced at his red-eyed, red-streaked haired brother. “It…Uh…it was being too perfect?” he tried, knowing he sounded stupid for defending his argument with a wall. Ordo just looked; he had very eloquent eyebrows. “Perfect huh? Maybe we’ll paint it blue next time you visit. Or maybe polka dotted orange?” Jaing growled and tossed a clipboard at his brother for the reference to the paint job he and Amala had given his armor; a paint fight between them had resulted in orange splotched armor (Which had been fixed since that day). It’d been somewhat of a running joke with his brothers since then, especially Mereel and Ordo, who had seen it first hand. Ordo chuckled good naturedly, patting his brother on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, vod’ika. Only three more weeks and you can hack yourself into a ‘mission’ to some far off place so you can catch some time with your family.”
Jaing knew Ordo was comfortable talking about his brother's family in the confines of the small office; it was the only place in the base that wasn’t bugged for sound. The two of them had made absolute sure of that. Jaing sighed, tapping a finger against his thigh plate. “Yeah,” he murmured, lowering his head as he gathered his things back up and Ordo returned to his desk to continue flicking through a holoscreen. “Only three more weeks too many…”
[1, 60]