Chapter 2

Had the Batch been around any superior officers, no doubt, they would have been reprimanded for their nonchalant manner of waltzing through the forest, as though they hadn't a care in the world. Truth be told, they were each paying careful attention to their surroundings. This was both because they knew better than to let their guard down on a foreign planet, and because they were eagerly taking in the scenery all around them.

Tech flitted to and fro, scanning, taking pictures, and gathering samples of the fauna and dirt, like a schoolboy on a field trip. Wrecker tried chasing the small animals that appeared throughout the forest, while Crosshair and Hunter simply enjoyed the fresh air and amazing views. After a mile or so, they reached the edge of the forest. It led out to a large cliff, and the four of them stopped in awe.

The sun was barely peaking over the horizon, casting golden beams for as far as the eye could see. Everything looked as though it were on fire, bathed as it was in the hues of the sunset. There were trees and fields for miles, and for a moment, Hunter assumed this part of the planet must be uninhabited, though he had no idea why such a beautiful place would be. But then he realized: at the base of the mountain was a small village, mostly hidden by the many tall pines surrounding it. The town's buildings were very scattered, positioned down the mountain and into the valley.

Hunter took a deep breath as the warm wind ruffled his hair, and he smiled contentedly as he took in the view. Tech stepped beside him with his data pad, taking a holo, the smaller clone's eyes practically shining with fascination.

"Woah! You don't get views like this on Kamino!" Wrecker stayed farther back than the others. Though the landscape was no doubt, impressive, it certainly wasn't something that he felt the need to get close to the edge of a tall cliff for.

Crosshair pulled of his helmet, tucking it under one arm. "Well, if we need a good vantage point, this is it."

Hunter nodded. "That's true."

They stood, watching the setting sun, enjoying the gentle breeze, before Tech informed Hunter it would be dark soon, and they should probably return to the ship.

Hunter sighed. "I guess you're right. Too bad… Well, let's go fellas. We should set up a perimeter alarm system, make sure we're ready to go at a moment's notice, you know the drill."

They made their way slowly back to the Marauder, and as they walked, they could feel the temperature in the air changing rapidly as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Had they not been walking at a steady pace, thus raising their body temperatures, Tech was certain he would have felt rather cold. The wind began to pick up, and when they had finally reached the Marauder, it was billowing all around them in earnest.

"Kriff, the weather changed fast! We've got a storm inbound- I can smell it." Hunter took a deep breath as his long hair whipped about his face, and Crosshair dashed into the ship with Tech. They came back out with small proximity sensors, which they set up around the edge of the clearing. By the time they had finished, small drops of water were peppering their helmets, and the four clones took shelter in the ship, which was noticeably warmer, thanks to Tech, who had thought to turn on the heat while grabbing the sensors.

"Well, make yourselves comfy, boys." Hunter settled into the co-pilot's chair, propping his feet against the control panel. "I know it's early, but we've got nothing better to do, so why not sleep? Who wants first watch?"

"It's all yours," Crosshair said, throwing himself into his own chair. "I did it last time. Or better yet, Tech can do it."

Hunter shook his head. "You only want Tech to take first watch because he won't try waking you up for the next one."

Crosshair smirked ever so slightly, and Tech scoffed. "I will, Crosshair."

Crosshair snorted. "No you won't."

"Well, maybe he'd be more inclined to if you didn't insist on hissing at people like a Trandoshin whenever they woke you up," Hunter stated, folding his arms. "You know what, Tech, you take the first watch, wake me up, and then when my shift is over, I'll give Cross a round house kick in the pants when it's his turn." The team leader grinned at Crosshair smugly, while the sniper glowered over at him.

"You do that, and you'll be sorry."

Hunter chuckled. "Oh really? The only thing I'd be sorry about is if I didn't get it on holo." He spun in his chair, still smirking, and Tech took a seat beside him, pulling out his data pad. Crosshair glared at the back of Hunter's head, making a small hissing noise between his teeth before stopping abruptly, a look of ashamed realization dawning on his face, but not before Hunter heard the sound.

"You're doing it again."

"Oh shut up!"

Tech glanced at the time, blinking rapidly as he tried to stir himself out of the trance he had been in. He'd been staring at his data pad, analyzing the scans he had taken in the forest earlier, while keeping an eye on the proximity sensors and ship's systems. At some point, he had grown suddenly tired, which he thought was very odd, until he remembered that he hadn't slept for almost twenty-four hours (despite Hunter repeatedly telling him to.) He had lied to his brother, saying he had gotten sufficient rest the night before, but in truth, he had been unable to sleep. Now however, it was catching up to him, and he wanted more than ever to just close his eyes… But he couldn't. Not yet. He still had another half hour before it was Hunter's turn for watch.

Tech rose to his feet, raising his arms and standing on his toes in a long, much needed stretch. A shiver ran through him as his body slowly recovered from its lethargic state, and he looked out the viewport. The sound of rain had remained steady for the past hour and a half, the large drops of water running in rivulets down the glass surface, though he could barely see them in the darkness of the ship.

Tech went to sit back down in his chair, but he stopped mid motion, his eyes wide. He had seen a light in the forest… or, he thought he had… maybe it had been the light from his data pad, reflecting off the viewport when he moved? He sat slowly back down in his chair, still gazing out the viewport, when suddenly, he saw a flicker of light again. He shot out of his chair and ran over to Hunter, shaking him.

"Hunter, wake up! We've got company."

The sergeant jolted awake, looking around in the dark. He caught sight of the light outside and frowned.

"Why didn't the sensors go off?"

Tech shook his head. "I don't know." Another light appeared, and then another. Tech woke Wrecker, and Hunter kicked Crosshair's leg, still staring out the window. The sniper awoke with a grunt, and was about to make some snide remark when he noticed everyone else up. Sensing the danger, he grabbed his rifle and eyed the flickering lights just beyond the tree line.

Tech clambered up the ladder to the gunner's mount, keeping low, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as he saw more and more lights appear from behind the ship as well. They shouldn't have gotten past the sensors… how… "Hunter, they're coming from all sides."

"We need to get outside," Hunter said, snatching up his helmet. "Or they'll box us in completely and try boarding the ship with us still in it. No, Wrecker, we can't just use the ship's weapons to shoot them, they're too close. And if we try starting up the ship, they might just shoot us down. Keep your lights off and stay low. They don't know we can see them- Crosshair, can you tell who's out there?"

The silver haired clone scanned the area, squinting from behind his helmet. "I'm clocking seventeen heat signatures around the ship. Several Weequay, lots of humans, and several other species." He looked over at Hunter. "If I had to guess, I'd say we've got a case of pirates on our hands."

Tech nodded. "That is very likely."

Hunter grunted. "Alright, here's the plan. Wrecker, you and Tech drop down from the back. Crosshair and I will come out through the front. Set your blasters to stun- for all we know, they might just be the locals. We don't want unnecessary casualties."

They nodded, and the four clones took their positions. On Hunter's mark, they quickly exited the ship, blasting in all directions. Had it not been for the night vision in their helmets, they probably wouldn't have seen a thing. As it was, Hunter barely caught sight of a Weequay before it dove at him. He fired, and the man landed on the ground at Hunter's feet with a thud. He heard a shout, and whirled around to see Tech being pinned to the ground by an unusually large twi'leck. The two struggled for a moment, the smaller clone's gun being knocked out of his hand, and Hunter made to fire his own weapon. The hair on the back of his neck rose as a blaster bolt shot past his ear, narrowly missing him, and several attackers aimed their weapons threateningly at Tech.

One of them, a tall, broad-shouldered man, with glowering sideburns, wild hair, and a long scar running along his jawline and down his neck, smiled menacingly at Hunter.

"Call off the rest of your men or this one dies," he ordered, his voice deep and gravely, yet slimy at the same time. It was about as repulsive as his face. Hunter glanced over at Crosshair and Wrecker, nodding, and the three of them lowered their guns, which were quickly confiscated, along with their vibro-blades. The man sniffed, smirking sardonically, and Hunter noted grimly that his man must be the leader of the group.

"Very good, very good… glad to see you know when to follow orders. Now…" he sidled up to Hunter, looking the soldier up and down. "You're gonna be a good little soldier and line up over there." He nodded in the direction of a couple of his goons, and Hunter quickly did a headcount of the men surrounding his squad. There were too many to try and take out unarmed… he'd have to comply for now….

He slowly walked over to the indicated area, and the scar-faced man smiled, nodding to two Weequay beside him. They ran over to the Marauder, starting up its engines.

"We don't get visitors on Timora too often. We all figured that the Republic had completely forgotten we even existed. I mean, don't get me wrong," the leader chuckled. "We were glad. No one around to give us trouble and prevent us from running things the way we do." He looked at the Batch's ship, eyes glinting in the attack shuttle's light. "I appreciate the gift- I haven't gotten a new ship in quite a long time, let alone one of this quality."

"You can't just take our ship," Hunter growled. "We're in the middle of an important mission, and unless you want us to take you in for interfering in official Republic affairs, you and your men had better stand down."

The goons' leader looked at Hunter, unblinking, his lips curling slightly. He laughed hollowly, taking long, slow strides over to the sergeant. He stopped, barely a foot away from him, towering over the clone- he was easily as tall as Wrecker.

"Is that so? Well, let me give you a friendly word of advice." He bent down close to Hunter's face, baring his teeth, sharp canines shining in the semi-darkness. "This is my planet. We don't answer to the Republic, and we don't answer to you. Your threats mean nothing to me. I do as I please here, and unless you want to die, you will do as I instruct. Am I clear?" Hunter did not respond, and the leader growled menacingly, leaning closer to Hunter. "Am… I… clear?"

Hunter gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to headbutt the man. "Perfectly," he bit out, and the leader grinned smugly.

"Very good." He walked towards the Marauder, motioning to his men, who placed the Batch's blasters in a pile on the ground, about twenty feet from the clones. "I'll give you a parting gift and let you keep your weapons- the animals in these mountains can be vicious. It'd be a shame to have my walks through the woods spoiled by the smell of your rotting carcasses."

A couple Weequay dragged the squad over to a tree, shoving them to the ground and tying them securely to the large pine. Once the pirates were sure that the soldiers couldn't move, they boarded the ship, and Hunter watched with burning anger as they took off in the Marauder. The ship disappeared into the distance, leaving them in the dark, with nothing but the cold and the sound of the rain pouring all around.

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone!
Normally, I would only post on Friday's, but since it's May 4th, I have to make an exception. :D (I'll also be posting this Friday too though, so don't worry.)
A little bit about this fanfiction: It will be two parts (posted together, don't worry), the first half of which will be about 12-13 chapters. I am almost done writing the last chapters of part one, so I'll be updating regularly while I still have those. I'll be working on the second part as quickly as I can! This will be one of my longest stories, with the more time and effort put into it than any other story I've written. It will be, by far, one of my favorites, and I hope I can do it justice!
Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment if you have the time, even if it's just a keyboard smash, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you all, and May the 4th be with you! :D