Chapter 5

The sound of chirping birds and a soft breathing reached Crosshair's ears, and he opened his eyes. He did not, however, expect to see a pair of large blue eyes staring back at him. He blinked, taken aback, and there was a small gasp, the eyes in front of him vanished, and there was the scurry of little feet. Crosshair swung his legs to the right and came to a standing position in one fluid motion, looking around the room, and Hunter, feeling the sudden absence of Crosshair's feet on his lap, awoke with a start.

He scanned the room, spotting the sniper, who was looking around franticly before resting his eyes on the small figure hiding behind the kitchen chairs. The little Togruta girl from the night before, Keraa, peeked out in between the chair legs, eyeing Crosshair and Hunter with both curiosity and fear.

Crosshair stared back at her, his face blank. "Where's the girl?"

Hunter blinked. "What? Oh, Anaria?" He looked around. "I dunno. I only just woke up."

Tech stirred next to Hunter, pulling his goggles up and rubbing his eyes sleepily. He looked around, the eyewear still resting on his forehead, and blinked sleepily, making a face. "What's going on?"

Wrecker moaned, yawning loudly as he stretched on the floor, shivering a little after doing so. He sat up, looking around, and spotted Crosshair, who looked as though he was having a staring contest with the little girl in the kitchen. The larger clone frowned.

"Are you scaring her again?"

Crosshair didn't respond.

There was a clattering from the stairwell and Anaria appeared, sporting black cargo pants, lace up boots, and a turtleneck. Her long hair was twisted up into a clip and hung down in a makeshift ponytail of sorts. She looked around in confusion at the sight in the livingroom, before following Crosshair's gaze and bursting into laughter. "Keraa, what are you doing? Silly girl, come here!" The three-year-old ran out from the kitchen and hid behind Anaria's legs, still staring at Crosshair, who held her gaze the entire time. "Do you want to say hi?" Keraa shook her head, and Anaria chuckled. She looked over at Hunter, nodding in the direction of the fresher. "Your clothes are dry by the way."

He nodded in thanks, and Wrecker groaned. "Awww, I don't wanna change! These clothes are comfy!"

He pouted, folding his arms and Tech rolled his eyes, replacing his goggles to their usual position. "We need to acquire our ship Wrecker, and we're not going to be doing it in pajamas." Wrecker slowly got to his feet, shoulders slumped, as he headed to the fresher to change. "We could try…" he muttered.

Hunter extracted himself from the blanket on his lap and stood, stretching, his shoulder popping loudly as he did so. He walked over to his gear, digging through his pack for a ration bar.

Anaria scooped up Keraa, heading to the kitchen, humming as she did so, and sat the little girl at the table. "I'm gonna make some breakfast for the kids. You boys want anything?"

Hunter hesitated. "Um, we're good. We've got some food."

He held up the bar in his hand and Anaria glared at him. "That's not food," she said sternly, and Hunter blinked, taken aback.

"Yes it is."

"No, it is not."

Tech cleared his throat. "Ration bars are filled with vitamins and minerals vital for a healthy body. They are perfectly adequate and are, indeed, food."

Anaria raised an eyebrow at him, folding her arms, cocking her hip to one side. "They're processed bars suitable for on-the-field sustenance when there is nothing else available, and they're horid. They're the most disgusting things in the galaxy and as long as you are in my house, you are going to put those Maker-forsaken bars back in your packs and you are going to leave them there." She eyed each of the clones before smiling sweetly but menacingly. "Is that clear?"

Hunter, Tech and Crosshair nodded slowly, slightly terrified of what they had just witnessed. Anaria unfolded her arms, her smile becoming genuine. "Good!" She went over to the cupboards and began pulling out cooking supplies, while Hunter quickly returned his ration bar to its original place.

Wrecker came out of the fresher, his pajamas in hand, blacks on, and he yawned, reaching for his pack. "Man, I'm starving." He went to pull out a ration bar, and his brothers practically dove at him, shoving the military issued food back in the pack. Crosshair actually sat on top of it, looking frantically over at Anaria, who was eying them suspiciously. She slowly turned back to whisking something in a bowl, and Hunter quickly and quietly ordered Wrecker to leave the bars alone.

Wrecker was about to protest, but Anaria informed him she'd have food ready for them shortly. His gloomy face brightened up considerably, and he laughed. "Oh, good! Some real food, finally!" Hunter glared at him, and Tech and Crosshair slapped a hand over their respective faces with a sigh. Anaria laughed, tossing Hunter an 'I told you so!' look, and he frowned in defeat.

"Fine, we'll eat some 'real food' then. Happy?"

Anaria grinned at him, pouring the bowl of beaten eggs into a sizzling pan. "Very."

Hunter, Tech, and Crosshair changed back into their blacks, while Wrecker took a seat on the couch, watching as sunlight began to stream in through the window. Hunter worried they had slept too long, but Tech assured him they were fine, as it was only 0530 hours.

Crosshair slowly walked into the kitchen, leaning against one wall, going back and forth between what looked like staring contests with Keraa and watching Anaria cook. An amazing smell had built up in the house, and Crosshair found himself almost drooling, the food smelled so good.

"What is that?" he asked, eying the food on the stove, and Anaria gave him a funny look.

"It's just eggs and bacon."

"But, it smells…"

Anaria chuckled. "Good? It always smells like that. What, have you never had bacon before?" Crosshair just looked at her, unblinking and her jaw dropped. She looked around at the other clones, her eyes widening. "You- you've never had-?! What the stars did they feed you on Kamino?!"

Tech lifted a finger. "Meals on Kamino are comprised primarily of vitamin and mineral infused ingredients ideal for-"

"That's not food! That's just a shortcut and a cheap efficient way to pump stuff into your system to 'better enhance your performance as a soldier.' It could be argued that's the best way to do it for an army, but still!" Anaria began adding cheese and spices to the eggs, shaking her head. "That's just messed up…"

"We got meat and eggs and stuff every once in a while, but it's hard to supply that many men with that kind of food." Hunter frowned slightly. "If you wanted some, it was first come, first serve. You had to fight your way to the front of the line sometimes. Not that it was worth it- it was almost always bland and tasted like medicine anyway, just like the rest of the food."

Anaria frowned pulling out a bowl of mushrooms, quickly dicing them, and throwing them into another pan. "Well, let's change that, shall we?"

"But Nari, I don't wike mushrooms!" The clones all stared at Keraa, who had stood up in her chair, her big blue eyes focused on the fungi sizzling on the stove in abject horror. It was the first time they had heard her speak a full sentence, and Hunter decided she must truly despise the mushrooms, if they were bad enough to warrant speaking in front of four strangers.

Anaria sighed, placing a hand on one hip. "Keraa, we've talked about this- you complain about it, I'm gonna make you eat it."

"But-"

"Do they make you sick?"

"No…"

"Do they hurt your mouth or your tummy?"

"No…"

"Do you have a hard time breathing or get itchy when you eat them?"

"No…"

"Then no buts."

Keraa frowned, and was about to speak again, when Crosshair caught her eye.

He gave her a look, shaking his head. "I wouldn't," he said softly, and Keraa sank back into her seat, pouting.

Breakfast finished cooking rather quickly, and Anaria motioned for everyone to take a seat either at the table or on the couch, and she served the plates with a flourish.

She looked at the time and made a face. "He should have been down by now. I know he can smell bacon from a mile away." She walked over to the foot of the stairs, calling up. "Nikau, are you awake? Breakfast is ready!" There was a small noise from upstairs, but no response, and Anaria rolled her eyes, her shoulders slumping. "I know you're awake! Get down here!" Still nothing. Anaria folded her arms. "Fine, I'll give someone else your food, since you clearly don't want it. But just so you know, I've got stuff to do this afternoon, and I won't have time to make you lunch, so you won't be getting anything until dinner. Unless you want Mrs. Omari's Six Bean Soup, because that's probably what she'd be feeding you guys!" For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, the sudden sound of running footsteps could be heard, and a door was hastily swung open. A figure pelted down the stairs coming to stop directly in front of Anaria, who smirked. "That's what I thought."

It was a young boy with dark skin, a full head of curly, black hair, and dark brown eyes. He was barely taller than Anaria's shoulders, and he was thin and gangly.

He glared at Anaria defiantly, but she just nodded in the direction of the kitchen. The boy, Nikau, began walking to the indicated area, but stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of the four clones. Hunter noticed him square his shoulders slightly and puff out his chest a little, tossing each of them a nasty glare before taking a seat beside Keraa. He made eye contact with Crosshair, and his lips curled.

Anaria gently flicked him on the back of the head. "Stop it. I know you don't like people, but they are our guests, and you will be nice."

Nikau grumbled something under his breath and began shoving eggs into his mouth hungrily. Everyone else followed suit, and the second each of them took their first bite, they looked at one another with something like awe and confusion.

Anaria's fork stopped halfway to her mouth, and she made a worried face. "What's wrong?"

Hunter took another bite of bacon, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he smiled, chuckling happily.

Wrecker did the same, shoveling forkful after forkful of eggs and meat into his mouth, until his plate was almost empty in a matter of seconds. "This is delicious!" he bellowed, and Anaria blinked.

"It's not that impressive."

Hunter shook his head. "You don't understand, this has more flavor than anything we've ever had!"

Anaria looked concerned but smiled slightly. "Well, I'm glad you like it."

Tech ate more slowly, but with no less enjoyment, and Crosshair actually took his time, savoring each bite, a very small smile tugging on the corners of his lips. Nikau stared at them like they were complete nutjobs the entire time, finishing his food almost as fast as Wrecker, while Keraa poked at her eggs, dissecting each piece in order to avoid the mushrooms.

When everyone had finished eating, and the Batch had practically licked their plates clean, Anaria gathered up the dishes, sticking them in the sink. "Alright! I'm going to find that map you boys wanted, grab some stuff, and then we'll be good to go." She started up the stairs.

Hunter raised an eyebrow, putting on his armor. "What do you mean 'we'll be good to go'?" I thought you were just giving us a map."

Anaria grinned, stopping halfway up the steps, that same mischievous grin Hunter had seen on her face last night. "I know the area better than any of you, and I can show you around. Besides," she smirked, raising one eyebrow. "You didn't really think I was gonna let you have all the fun, did you?"

Hunter stared. He didn't understand how chasing down a sadistic murderer to retrieve a stolen ship would be fun for a nineteen-year-old girl, but she was right. She knew the area better than any of them, and she'd be a decent guide. "Alright then," he said, smirking back, and he heard Wrecker chuckling. "Try and keep up."