The churning mass of voices and people swirled around Omega as she followed Hunter through the streets. Neon lit signs flashed their gaudy arrays around the higher street perimeters, higher being halfway up to the sky.
The lights peeking out through the windows of the high-rises twinkled cheerfully. During the first trip to Pantora, Omega thought they looked like stars. Now they didn't seem like anything but lights in windows that were too high up.
Omega scrunched up her face at the squiggly feeling that spiked suddenly in her stomach. It felt...scary. She slowed until Wrecker came alongside her, then reached for his hand. "Wrecker? We won't be doing any...high up shopping, will we?"
"Hah! Not if I can help it!" Wrecker boomed. He squeezed her hand which made Omega feel better. "I don't like goin' up high either, kid."
Tech trotted past them and fell into step with Hunter. "We have arrived."
The supply shop he indicated was an out-of-the-way, rather dingy type. But it sold paints. Hunter nodded and cast about a moment before turning to Omega.
"You take care of getting the supplies with Tech and Wrecker," he said. "Comm me when you've finished."
Omega waved good-bye, and together with Tech and Wrecker, she stepped into the shop.
It was quiet and dim in the supply shop's entry hall. Dust swirled down from the walls when Omega trailed her fingers across their rough surfaces. It tickled her wrists as it drifted down, the thick scent of stilled air inside the building clogging in Omega's throat in a comfortable sort of way.
"Where do we look first?" Omega asked.
Tech pointed to the front counter where a droid with very round photo receptors was goggling studiously at them. It reminded Omega of Tech for some reason.
The droid directed them to a back area of the supply shop for the paints, and Omega trailed after Wrecker while Tech tripped off to collect wires and other additional supplies for his various projects in maintaining the Havoc Marauder. Omega had no idea what sorts of things those would be - Tech's purchases seemed more and more varying and complex each time they happened.
As she moved through the store with Wrecker, Omega found the silent atmosphere tickling at her mind again. More questions bubbled to the surface, but she was with Wrecker, and he shouldn't mind talking. Especially since this was vacation time shopping. Wrecker paused before a cabinet full of cans and tubes and started looking through them. Omega took a breath.
"Wrecker?"
Wrecker grunted and continued shoving different paints about on the shelves.
Omega rubbed at her ankle with the toe of one boot and sighed. "Do you like Crosshair?"
"'Course I do!" Wrecker laughed, but Omega thought his response died away rather too quickly to have been genuine.
"Except..." she prompted.
Wrecker shrugged, then finally selected some spray cans and a small tube of some color Omega couldn't see, turned, and started back towards the front of the shop.
Omega trailed after him, confused and a bit nervous that she'd stepped in a bit too far this time.
Wrecker dumped the items on the counter in front of the droid.
The droid gazed sullenly down at the paint cans and began scanning them as slowly as was possible for a machine.
Wrecker eyed the droid and stumped away through a row of shelves calling,
"Hey, Tech! Ya done yet?"
Tech's hand appeared beyond another row of the shelving, and Omega saw bits of wire with metal tabs entangled in it all caught up about his arm and fingers.
"I shall be with you momentarily," he said.
Wrecker rolled his eyes, but grinned. "That means 'fifteen'," he whispered to Omega.
The droid was still on the third can. Wrecker had only picked up five.
"Let's go outside," said Wrecker.
They left the shop and sat on the front step.
Wrecker hit his comm, and within moments, Hunter responded. "Done in ten," said Wrecker.
"Perfect," said Hunter. "On my way."
The comm shut off.
"So..." Wrecker hesitated. "Why're you askin' me that...?"
Omega picked at her sleeve cuff, a habit only recently developed, but quite damaging to her already worn tunic. "Crosshair doesn't seem happy here," she said. "With us. And I don't know why not... Are you mad at him? For shooting you? And not trying to come back...? You did ask him; you said you would have taken him back if he'd tried..."
Wrecker listened to her speak, but his eyes were closed up inside although they remained open, and he stared across the street into the crowd of citizens, tourists, shoplifters, business agents, families, the majority of the people nondescript and hidden.
Then, "I think," he said slowly, "that Crosshair doesn't like himself..."
Tech came tripping up behind them just then, a large box balanced under his chin, and the paint cans tucked under both arms.
"How about helping me with some of this, Wrecker!" he squeaked.
Wrecker shot a glance at Omega, then stood and took the box from Tech.
The started up the street just as Hunter rounded the corner ahead of them. "All set?" he asked.
"Uh-huh!" Omega pointed to Tech who had trapped all the paint cans against his side with one arm while he held his datapad in the other.
"We got lots for Crosshair," Omega said.
Hunter nodded and led them back up the street and down another road Omega recognized this time. They paused after a walk of only a few minutes and faced the entrance of the first shop they'd ever visited here.
Omega unconsciously pressed herself closer to the others when she heard a whisper behind her from somewhere in the milling mass of people.
"Wait, is that Katarn class armor? Who are they?"
She was certain Hunter had heard the murmuring, too, because he hesitated, then looked between Reeka Mor's shop and Tech, Omega and Wrecker.
"No disguises this time, huh?" he smirked, then stepped into the entrance and up to the front counter.
Omega waved to the gran as they approached. "Hello!"
Reeka Mor frowned at her and waggled his head furiously while he shook his fist at her. "Hands off my merchandise unless you're ready to pay, kid!" he squawked. "You break it, you buy it!"
Omega shrugged and smiled back. "I remember," she called.
The shop owner ignored her and fixed his attention on Hunter. "Selling anymore fake droids?" he snapped.
Hunter braced his forearms on the counter and cocked an eyebrow. "No law?"
Reeka Mor shook his head. "Pulling in the law is more trouble than it's worth nowadays," he sighed.
Omega turned away from empty display shelf where the trooper dolls had been. It was empty now, except for a single doll with all its limbs popped out of the torso. Hunter saw Omega looking at it and turned back to the gran.
"Silent protester?"
"Talking only invites the world to pull apart your entire business," Reeka Mor snapped. "And if it's a personal legal matter -" here he leaned forward and stared significantly at Hunter. "That's the fun they love to have. All sorts of wiggle room to settle into your personal life and all that. So, if you've got any more of those charges, I'll take one - free. You owe me, buster."
Hunter chuckled and shook his head. Omega wished she could understand.
"I guess even reputable businesses have secrets," Hunter said.
"Let's just say that I won't involve legal terms in reclaiming my money," the gran snapped. "Cheat me, I get bounty on you. Besides which, my cameras are on."
Omega saw the twitch in Hunter's neck.
"That won't be necessary. We came to return your credits."
The gran put on his hands flat on the counter and leaned in very close. Omega wished he wouldn't. It felt scary.
"Come again?" Reeko Mor hummed.
"Here." Hunter took the bag of credits from Tech and tossed it down. They landed with a clinky thud. "This is the remainder of our payment for delivering certain packages to you from Cid on Ord Mantel," said Hunter. "Three thousand credits will be wired to you directly. Cid's taking care of that now, actually. Check your numbers if you like."
Tech and Wrecker hesitated behind them, and Omega watched as they turned and left the shop
Reeko Mor looked down at the bag, then up at Hunter.
"Why?"
Hunter shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable - which made Omega uncomfortable. But she wanted Hunter to feel better, so she took his hand and tugged it.
Hunter tugged his collar and cleared his throat.
"We-ell," he coughed, "I cheated you. That was wrong, I apologize, and I'm returning your money."
The gran huffed and shoved the bag back towards Hunter. "Not checking the product before trading was my fault," he admitted. Then he pounded a fist on the counter and jabbed his finger at Hunter. "But if I find you cheated on the amount once I contact Cid, I'm going to call in those police bots and then you'll be sorry!"
"I did not cheat - this time," Hunter corrected himself. "No need to track us. Please." He lowered his voice. "We're in enough trouble keeping a low profile as it is."
Reeko Mor pulled at his chin, eyes bobbling thoughtfully. "Trouble, eh? Like... Imperial trouble...?" He was eyeing Hunter's armor.
Hunter shushed him harshly, then shook his head as if surprised by his own reaction.
"Thanks for your time. We'll be leaving. The order will be left for you tomorrow."
Omega could feel how tense he was. His fingers were squishing her hand, and he was sweating. Or she was. She was tense, too.
"Thanks for stopping by," said Reeko Mor. "You're a strange one. Can't think of why you'd return credits, 'specially these days."
"It was the right thing to do." Hunter tugged Omega's hand and they turned away.
But Reeko Mor wasn't finished. "The right thing? What? You had no better reason to do it? No catch? No side goal?"
Hunter turned back, a frown pinching the bridge of his nose. "I need no other reason," he said. And they walked out of the store.
Omega watched her boots scuff the pavement as they stepped outside the gran's shop. And so she bumped into a tree.
The tree shifted and shot her a mildly curious glare from its silver grey crown.
"Hello, Crosshair!" Omega was surprised, but happy to see him. Hunter seemed only surprised.
"Crosshair!" He lowered his tone and stepped aways into the shadows that lined the street sides. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting the coordinates for the drop off," Crosshair said. "And saving your sorry hide from being hunted - at least from this location. I missed some others back in the crowd."
He surveyed the shop with passive disdain and held up a card key.
Hunter squinted his most confused expression which made Crosshair sigh. Omega didn't see how anyone could refuse further explanation when Hunter made that face. It was genuine, but he looked so confused it was almost painful.
"That gran won't be able to do visual search or turn in feeds to any authorities." Crosshair sniffed with pleasure. "I jammed his security cameras while you were inside."
"How did you do that?" Hunter asked, and scrutinized the card with confusion again.
Crosshair waggled it under his nose. "Imperial Commander," he stated.
There was a cough from somewhere behind him.
Crosshair rolled his eyes. "And Tech."
The glimmer of Tech's goggles floated out of the darkness like some weird insect. Omega was glad when his face came into view behind them.
"Are we ready, Hunter?" Tech asked.
He was closest, so Omega leaned against him.
"All set," said Hunter. "Let's get back to the Marauder and head to Verdacca."
Tech stepped away, and Omega staggered, but Wrecker scooped her up. "Hear that, kid?" he whispered in his quietest shout. "Now we're really goin' to Verdacca!"
Omega gave a sleepy hum and wiggled her fingers to show she'd heard.
She did not fall asleep during the walk back to the Marauder, but it was very cozy in Wrecker's hold, and it was so nice to know that Crosshair was with them, silent, but walking with them, that she didn't mind when the bright lights above the Marauder's boarding ramp blinked on into her eyes.
Wrecker set her down and she tripped up the stairs, nearly squirming internally with delight as she heard the four distinct pairs of boots following up after her.
Wrecker's solid stomp, Hunter's steady stride, Tech's measured tripping, and Crosshair's stealthy pace.
Echo came out to greet them. "How'd it go?"
"Fine," Wrecker said, and promptly dumped the two bags of their purchases in a pile on the floor.
Echo glanced from it to Wrecker with a slight shake of his head.
"Had a little help from Crosshair," Hunter added, and he clapped Crosshair lightly on the shoulder. Crosshair didn't respond, but he was directing a penetrating stare at Echo - it was so hard Omega thought Echo must notice.
But Echo paid no attention.
"Got AZ functional," he said. Omega clapped her hands.
"AZ is working now?" she cried.
"Functional," said Echo. "He can follow commands and all. I need to leave him in only partial on until after - later."
Omega started to ask "After what?", but Tech was already directing her to her room.
She made a disappointed face at Wrecker who shrugged and mock pounded Tech on the head.
Omega laughed and hurried off to her room.
She pulled aside the curtain, ready to dive into her room and dream about all the fun they'd have on Verdacca when Echo's voice floated up to her making her jerk awake with a start.
"I think we're ready to remove your chip, Crosshair."