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Sev sat in a small communal lounge area, patiently waiting for his caf to brew. Well it wasn’t really a lounge per say. All that was in there was a few tables and chairs, some cabinets, and two caf machines. It was a fairly popular spot for brothers to chat with one another off duty. Which Sev usually tries to avoid, but it’s closer to his barracks than the mess hall and it’s early enough in the cycle for most of the ship to still be asleep.
So he waited, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere while it lasted. Supposedly Delta squad was getting deployed on a new mission this cycle. Their unit had been temporarily stationed with the 196th attack battalion after their last successful campaign. Usually there was a briefing before Delta squad gets redeployed. Sev figured that’s where Boss and Fixer were currently, considering their absence in their barracks when Sev woke up.
Two brothers he didn’t know walked in, Sev never really interacted with CT’s enough to learn their names. Both of them seemed more interested in their conversation than talking to Sev and went over to the other caf machine behind him.
Unfortunately for Sev, Scorch walked in right as his caf finished brewing. To his surprise it seemed like the demolition expert was still waking up, yawning and pointing at Sev and the caf machine. With a curt nod of confirmation from Sev, Scorch grabbed two cups and poured some caf. Setting one down in front of his brother and sitting across from him. Without a word Sev took his caf and began sipping on it, thankful for his younger brother's sleepy silence.
The pair continued to drink their caf in blissful silence, until the CT’s conversation piqued Sev’s interest.
“Apparently it was actually Delta squad that saved this campaign.” One of the brothers said as he leaned back against the counter.
“Oh, please…” The other countered, “You know, I don’t think they actually exist.”
Sev paused mid-sip, did they know he was in the room? He shared a look with Scorch, it was clear he had heard them too. Sev supposed that without armor commandos looked about the same as any other clone, except for their slightly bigger build. Even Scorch’s stupid half-shaved hair or the blast scar on his face weren’t that uncommon.
“Punk, you can’t actually believe that.” The brother replied, exasperated as if this wasn’t the first time they’ve had this conversation.
“Well I do, Fritz. I’m not saying a commando squad didn’t help, I just don’t think the infamous Delta squad is real.” Punk said, waving off the other. “I mean you’ve heard the stories about their insane missions.”
Before Sev could even form a coherent thought about the conversation he overheard, Scorch opened his mouth.
“I heard their sniper is some crazy psycho.”
The two CTs turned to look at Scorch, Fritz looking far more embarrassed than Punk. Sev kept his back turned to the pair and gave Scorch a warning glare.
“Suppose that means they do exist.” Fritz reasoned, looking between Scorch and Punk.
Punk scoffed, “Not necessarily! That’s just a rumor about one dude! You’ve never actually met the guy, have you?”
“Um, well no…” Scorch lied, turning to look Sev in the eyes. Sev frowned, deciding his brother couldn’t be the only one to have fun.
“I don’t know, I’ve heard rumors about their demolition expert being nothing but a moronic wise guy that has blows up his own teammates.” Sev commented as he turned in his seat to face the CTs.
Both Punk and Fritz stared at Sev wide eyed. Sev was so accustomed to talking with the rest of his squad, that he forgot how different his voice was from the rest of the clones.
Scorch was the one to break the silence, making a loud noise of exclamation. “Ah ha! That’s three to one! So they do exist!”
“I’m not sure that’s how that works…” Sev muttered, turning back to take a sip of his caf. Silently thanking Scorch for his noisy distraction, for once.
The four of them continued their “conversation”, the two commandos trying to covertly jab at the other. Making up progressively more absurd stories as time went on.
Sev turned to take another sip of his caf when Boss walked through the doorway. He immediately stiffened, subtly tilting his head in Boss’ direction to try and get Scorch’s attention. The younger commando did notice, spinning around to face Delta lead.
“Good morning, Boss! Care to join us?” The demolition experts overly enthusiastic tone violently juxtaposed the anxious churning in Sev's stomach.
“Join what?” Boss asked cautiously, brow pinching ever so slightly. Anyone who knew Scorch knew he was a prankster, Boss was definitely no exception.
Scorch tilted his head, with an innocent smile. “Debating if Delta squad is real or not.”
Boss paused, staring at Scorch with a very schooled expression. He wasn’t wearing his armor (which Sev realized was odd if he just came out of a briefing), so the CTs probably thought he was just another brother. What really worried Sev, was Boss’ reaction. He really didn’t want to try and explain why they were pretending they didn’t exist. There was no real reason really, it seemed rather childish actually. Just another way for he and Scorch to take jabs at each other.
Boss sighed and walked over the the pot of caf. “I prefer not to speculate about our brothers, real or not..” he said as he poured himself a cup. “But if I did, I would say their squad lead must be quite impressive to being able to put up with his squad mates antics. If the rumors are true that is.”, the ghost of a smile tugged at Boss’s lips as he turned around and walked over to his younger brother's table.
Sev stared wide eyed at his older brother, he knew Boss had a sense of humor but he hardly ever joined Scorch and Sev in their jokes. Scorch beamed at Boss as he sat down between them, clearly overjoyed he could keep the ruse up.
They jumped right back into the previous conversation with the CTs, with Boss occasionally saying a few words between sips. Sev got so wrapped up in conversation that he didn’t notice the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.
“38, there you are! We’ve just been redeployed.” A nothing less than obviously annoyed, fully armored Fixer stood in the doorway of the lounge, helmet tucked beneath his arm.
Punk let out a choked sound as Boss set his cup down with a barely constrained sigh. “You heard him Delta, pack it up”, the commando ordered as he stood.
Sev silently nodded and stood to follow Delta lead. Scorch, meanwhile, spun in his chair to face Fixer. “You’re no fun, know that right?”, the demolition expert whined.
Sev flicked the back of Scorch’s head, “Come on, wiseguy” he sneered as he passed by.
“Psycho…” Scorch mumbled, quickly chugging the rest of his caf and chasing after his squad mates.
Scorch threw his arm over Sev's shoulder, turning back to the CTs for a moment, "Well this was fun! But orders are orders, you know how it is. Let's do this again sometime."
Sev tried his best to hide the smug grin making its way onto his face at the sound of Punk coughing on his caf. Scorch on the other hand, did not care. Loudly giggling as they continued down the hall.
"Would you two hurry up? We don't have time for you to goof off with the troops." Fixer called, tapping his foot impatiently as he and Boss stood in the middle of hallway.
Scorch huffed and slipped off Sev, choosing to poke at Fixer instead. Boss shot Sev a small smile when he caught up to them, beginning to lead them back to their barracks.
Quiet mornings are overrated anyway.