"Cheers!" all four members of the Crescent Hawk Mercenary Team and Shipping Service shouted in unison as they clanked their beer bottles together in the Drunken Zealot cantina in the spaceport of Rushalda. The cantina was busy and loud, with live music adding to the noise level, which in turn made it all the more lively.

"To another delivery well done," Silver said before taking a drink from his bottle.

"To getting paid," said Visse before drinking from his.

"And spending a couple hours dirtside," Misty giggled before drinking as well.

"How about just to good friends," Cecilia smiled under her robe, slipped her bottle under her hood and took a long drink from the bottle. When she had finished she slammed her bottle onto the table with the others.

"So, since we have plenty of time to spare, how about we have a belching contest?" Visse suggested with a smirk.

"Ah, no, last time we did that I got the hiccups and couldn't stop burping for over an hour," Silver shuddered slightly. Visse and Cecilia however cracked up at the memory.

"But it was hilarious! I didn't even know that could happen, man."

"It wasn't very funny at the time."

"No, but it is kinda funny now, hon. Sorry," Misty giggled again.

"Well, yeah, I guess it is," Silver admitted. "But I also wouldn't want to go through it again, y'know?"

"Fair enough, boss."

"How 'bout a drinking contest just between us four?" Cecilia suggested.

"Against your metabolism? No way," Visse said.

"You'd win hands down," Misty agreed.

"Yeah, no, that's a no win situation right there. Besides I'd prefer that none of us be hungover in the morning anyhow," added Silver. "Sorry."

"Aw, you guys're no fun," Cecilia frowned slightly under the hood. Behind her a man dropped his glass and stared at the back of her hood with wide eyes. It had been some time since he heard her voice, but he'd recognize that distinctive Concord Dawn accent anywhere. Even in the cantina's slightly dim lighting the six pointed star stood out against the black uniform.

The man quickly turned and hurried out of the cantina. Once outside he pulled out a comlink and with slightly trembling hands punched in a code. "Put on Admiral Cantorin right away. Yes I'm sure it's important!" the man snapped into the comlink. There was a pause and he heard the admiral's voice. "Sir, HD0001 is here…!"

Cecilia tapped her foot as she listened to the music. Beneath her robe the tip of her tail twitched slightly in time with the beat as well. "Hey, d'you guys think if I pay the band they'll take a request?" she asked her friends as the band switched songs.

"I dunno," Misty shrugged. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I was wondering if maybe they could play-"

"EVERYBODY FREEZE!" the man in the black uniform yelled as he fired several shots from his rifle in the air; behind him a dozen more soldiers rushed through the cantina entrance, blocking it off. Quite a few people screamed and the band dropped their instruments mid-tune. The Crescent Hawk crew dove under their table and crouched down quietly, their hands on their blasters. Others did the same as well, a few crouched behind chairs, while the band hid behind their instruments and the bartender disappeared behind the bar.

"We've come for our missing half-dragon specimen," he told the now silent bar. "Don't worry, we'll leave most of you alone, but we're not leaving here without our specimen."

Beneath her robe Cecilia had gone pale and felt like the ground dropped beneath her. Her heart was beating so hard and fast she felt like it was going to explode right out of her chest. "Help me…!" she whispered in a terrified voice she almost didn't recognize as her own. One by one each of her friends put a hand on top of hers. All three of them had a fiery determination in their eyes.

"We'd never abandon you, Cecilia. Especially not now," Silver whispered back.

"They have to get through us, first," Visse quietly added. Misty nodded, but Cecilia didn't share their sense of determination. Her mouth had gone dry from fear, and her eyes were darting around as she looked for a way out. She noticed that there was an open hatch, but it was behind the bar on the right side.

It's way too dangerous to climb over the bar! But the only other hatch leads to the fresher, and that's much farther away, her eyes continued to dart around as her mind raced. I dunno what to do, they outnumber us! No wonder my dad wants nothing to do with me, I'm an absolute embarrassment to the Fett legacy…!

On the left side of the bar the bartender reappeared holding a rifle of her own and fired a warning shot over the heads of the uniformed soldiers. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here and making demands to hand someone over like they're your property?! Asahii is a member system of the New Republic; go back to whatever shithole you crawled out of and stay there!"

"How dare you call our homeworld a shithole…!" the lead soldier shouted at the bartender. "Dragon Star is far more cultured-"

Cecilia scrambled forward on all fours amid shouts of surprise and leapt over the bar. On the other side she ran low through the open hatch, closely followed Visse, then Silver, and finally Misty. As soon as all four them were on the other side Silver shut the hatch and blasted the control panel to try keep the soldiers out.

"We've got to get out of here, now!" he shouted as he looked around the storage room they had found themselves in.

"Over there!" Visse pointed to a hatch on the other side of the storage room. All four of them rushed over and, blasters drawn, cautiously slid open the hatch. The hatch led outside to an alley that was, aside from a few rats, totally empty.

"C'mon, let's go!" Silver yelled. The four of them took off running out of the alley and into the streets of the spaceport. Cecilia grabbed the front of her robe and held it up off the ground so she could run better. Her hood slipped and fell back, exposing her face to the shocked citizens of Rushalda, but Cecilia was far too panicked to notice or care.

A wall of soldiers charged out of a side street just ahead of the group with their blasters ready on stun, and before any of them could react they were hit by a volley of stun laserfire. The next thing Cecilia was aware of was roughly being hauled to her feet. Her robe was lying on the ground, and her armor was in the hands of Admiral Cantorin, who was examining it.

"What's this, 'cresh cresh'? Funny, that's not how you spell HD0001," Cantorin laughed and threw down Cecilia's armor.

"No!" Cecilia yelled and tried to struggle, but the soldier that hauled her up kept a firm grip on her, and the stuncuffs that had been placed on her wrists gave her a strong enough shock that Cecilia cried out in pain.

"No, Lia!"

"No…!"

"Cecilia!"

"So it's not a coincidence, you three are actually companions with our missing specimen. How fascinating," Admiral Cantorin addressed the Crescent Hawk crew. "I suppose you thought you've been doing a great thing, but really, you're just making it worse for someone that has no place in New Republic society."

"Shut up!" Cecilia snarled. "I don't have a place because of you! You took me away from my home on Kamino and forced me to be this way, you karking sonnuva bitch!"

"Is that what you still think after all these years?" Cantorin asked her.

"Don't listen to him, Cecilia, whatever he's about to say isn't true!" Misty shouted.

"Trust me, I'm not!"

"Haven't you ever wondered why you have no memory of life prior to the facility?" he asked Cecilia. She gave no sign she was listening to him, but her interest was piqued. I've always wondered why I don't remember my childhood on Kamino. Visse thought that maybe it had something to do with their gene splicing experiments, but Cantorin makes it sound like it's because of something else.

"It's true that Chrysalis and I travelled to Kamino with the intent to take a child back with us, forcefully if necessary," Cantorin continued on. "But the day after we arrived there was an accident. You see, the Kaminoan cloning facilities are integrated within their settlements, and so they have sensitive materials essential to the cloning process running all over their cities. One such conduit ruptured and exploded, killing several nearby people, including two of our own, as well as a certain clone child.

"The real Cecilia died that day in the explosion. Her donor arrived on the scene not long after, and was gracious enough to allow us to purchase genetic material from the deceased clone to use as we see fit. He didn't think the clone lived up to his standards so he wasn't inclined to try again with a new one.

"So we brought the purchased material back with us and used it to create you. You were so convinced that you had a home and family to return to that I didn't have the heart to tell you otherwise, because contrary to what you think, I've always had your best interests in mind. But the truth is that you never have had a home or a place in the greater galactic society outside of the facility. And Chrysalis and I are your legal guardians, so as a minor you do need to return with us."

"That's not true. None of that's true," Cecilia said softly, but she didn't feel so sure. It all makes sense now, she thought as her eyes burned and a lump formed in her throat; her heart felt like someone had reached into her chest and was squeezing it. But does it really matter? I never loved my father, so I don't care if he's really not my father anyway. But, then why do I feel so sad…? Cecilia's wings and tail hung limply, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Has Vice Admiral Hydra arrived?" Cantorin turned away from Cecilia and called out to the soldiers. The soldiers moved aside and Hydra stepped forward and saluted.

"Sir!" Hydra said to Admiral Cantorin. Hydra's yellow eyes stood out against the patches of green scales that surrounded them, and even when he wasn't walking his long green tail slowly swung back and forth. Cecilia's friends stared at him in shock.

"I don't have the space on my yacht, so you'll have to take HD0001 back to the facility aboard your ship. And make sure she's treated…appropriately," Cantorin told Hydra.

"With pleasure," Hydra bared his teeth in a cold grin and shoved Cecilia forward. "Move it, you! You're coming with me!" he snarled to her.

"NOOOOOO!" Cecilia screamed as she was led away. "HELP! HELP!"

"Cecilia, no!" Silver yelled.

"Let her go, you scum!" Visse shouted to Cantorin.

"What should we do with these three, sir?" one of the soldiers asked Admiral Cantorin. "We can 'silence' them permanently and dump their bodies in some alley on our way out," she suggested to him.

"Tempting as that is, the point of this live practice run was discretion, and reacquiring HD0001 has already caused enough unwanted attention. Just stun them again and leave them here. But I'd forget about all of this if I were you," he addressed the Crescent Hawk Team directly. "And especially HD0001," Cantorin turned and walked away as the three of them were stunned a second time and left lying on the ground alongside Cecilia's robe and armor.

Cecilia held her head high and looked straight ahead as she was paraded through the streets of Rushalda, but her cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame as people stared at her as she went by. Even though she refused to look at them she could feel the stare of their eyes, and hear them whispering about her. Cantorin was right; monsters like me really don't have any place in the New Republic, except for the freak show. Cecilia was acutely aware of all her dragon features and felt deep shame for all of them down to the last scale.

As horrible as she found the walk through Rushalda, Cecilia dreaded what would come after, and all too soon she was boarding another modified Lambda shuttle with the wings removed. As the rest of the soldiers filed in behind her Hydra answered a call on his comlink from Cantorin.

"What was the cause behind your delay?" Cantorin's voice came over the comlink

"We encountered some militia unit by the bar that was very intent on engaging us in combat. Their pattern of attack suggests that their goal was to capture us alive, but their attempt was futile as we outnumbered them by a considerable amount. They were dealt with swiftly, and with prejudice."

"If they were intent on capturing one of us I would've preferred to have captured one of them and interrogated them to find out what they know about us, but what's done is done. Also, I want you to understand something Hydra," Admiral Cantorin continued. "Chrysalis has very strict orders that HD0001 be brought back unharmed. I trust that you'll follow my orders and not treat her harsher than is necessary."

"Yes sir, I'll bring her back to the facility without permanent damage."

"You had better not, or it'll be your head! But don't proceed directly to the facility; we'll finish our live practice run by heading to a rendezvous point first. There we'll meet face to face to discuss the results, and then we'll continue to the facility from there."

"Location?"

"I've just sent the coordinates to Dragon Claw's bridge. It's a deep space location located well away from star systems and space stations. I look forward to meeting with you there."

"Over and out, sir," Hydra turned off the comlink and pocketed it as he lazily watched the shuttle pilot take off and set off toward the high parking orbit Dragon Claw awaited them at. In the main cabin Cecilia scarcely noticed the shuttle taking off as she felt overcome with despair over the loss of her home and freedom, though she didn't dare cry. She hadn't even noticed they had landed either, until quite suddenly the ramp lowered and the soldiers descended down into the docking bay.

Once the last soldier and the shuttle pilot had gone down the ramp Hydra roughly shoved Cecilia forward and down into the docking bay. Down below Cecilia could see that, just like back in the facility, it was full of X-Wings and TIE Fighters that she had no doubt had been stolen as well.

"Stop gawking, scum!" Hydra slapped Cecilia before turning to an officer that had been waiting for him. "I have business with this brat to attend to in the special brig, Captain. Do not disturb me unless it's an emergency, understand?"

"Understood, Vice Admiral."

"Good. Admiral Cantorin informed me he sent us coordinates he wishes to rendezvous with us at. Take us there at once."

"It will be done, sir," the captain bowed her head respectfully.

"Alright scum, move!" Hydra grabbed Cecilia's shoulders and forced her to start walking. "I've always told Chrysalis that he's been way too soft with you," he said once they were on their way to the brig. "It's time you learned the true meaning of punishment. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. But don't worry, I won't cause permanent physical damage, probably," Hydra whispered into her ear. Cecilia felt his warm breath on the back of her neck and started shaking.

"Vice Admiral Hydra!" the soldier yelled as he burst into the special brig. Hydra was standing over the table Cecilia was strapped down onto, punching her in the face again and again as she cried out in pain. When the soldier ran in Hydra paused and turned to face him.

"WHAT?! I gave strict orders not to disturb me!" Hydra yelled to the soldier.

"Captain needs you on the bridge, now!" the soldier swallowed hard before continuing. "She says it's a Level One emergency; you have to hurry!"

"Karking hell!" Hydra swore and sent several powerful punches into Cecilia's ribcage, causing her to cry out again. "Don't think this means you're getting off easy, bitch! Soon as I get this resolved you're going to wish I didn't come back!"

Hydra left the brig with the soldier, licking Cecilia's blood off his knuckle as they hurried to the bridge. When he arrived he expected to see the chaotic blue swirls of hyperspace; if nothing else, normal space. Instead he was greeted by the view of an orbit of Asahii so low they were below the cloud tops.

"What's the meaning of this?!" he roared as he rushed out onto the bridge. The captain turned to Hydra with all the color drained from her face.

"Sir, we're about to be boarded by New Republic forces! They said they'd blow up Dragon's Claw if we didn't cooperate!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Tell me what's going on now!" Hydra snarled.

The captain took a deep breath before she was able to speak. "Right as I arrived back on the bridge we were commed by New Republic officials. They said Dragon's Claw failed some sort of exterior bioscan all ships leaving Asahii are subject to because of some endangered species smuggling law that applies here. Apparently our special cargo didn't turn up in any databases and they got suspicious!"

"Son of a bitch…!" Hydra growled. "And you said they threatened to blow up the ship?"

"Yes, sir! They ordered us down to a low orbit so we'll be too deep in Asahii's gravity well to escape quickly and are sending an inspection squad over right away. And if we don't cooperate-"

"I get it," his lip curled as he quickly thought up a plan. "Except for a skeleton crew on the bridge, I want all forces to gather at the docking bay level. We'll wait for their inspection squad to land and safely disembark. Then once they leave the docking bay we'll overwhelm them and dispose of them as quickly as possible. When I give the signal I want you to punch it, and as soon as we're out of the gravity well I want us to jump into hyperspace.

"Understood, sir!" the captain clenched her fists and nodded before turning to the bridge crew. "You heard the Vice Admiral; com the troops and give them their orders at once!"

Each breath was painful as Cecilia lay fearfully on the table she was bound onto. She was under the impression that Hydra had been gone a long time, but there was nothing in the brig that indicated the passage of time. Cecilia was acutely aware of every hum the ship made, every pulse of pain she felt in her body, and every beat her heart furiously pounded as she dreaded his return.

There was a rumble, and she felt the table slightly shudder. It shuddered a second time, and then she heard a muffled explosion almost simultaneous with the alarm blaring. "DANGER. CONTAINMENT BREACH BY SPECIMEN SD0947. DANGER. CONTAINMENT BREACH BY SPECIMEN SD0947. DANGER-"

SD0947? What's going on? Cecilia wondered as she felt more explosions rock the ship. I've always suspected they had some sort of plan in mind, but SD0947 is so dangerous that-

The room plunged into sudden darkness as the alarm ceased its constant blaring as well. The electromagnets pinning her down lost power as well and Cecilia leapt away from the table at once. Quickly she slipped them off her wrists and ankles and hurled them to the far side of the room. Cecilia hurried to the hatch, but the hatch didn't slide open when she pressed the button.

Shit! She crouched down next to the hatch and strained her ears. The explosions got a lot quieter and then stopped altogether; the unnatural silence made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Did that bastard lock the hatch, or did something happen to even the emergency power supply? Are we a dead ship floating somewhere?! Cecilia shuddered slightly at the idea of slowly suffocating.

The lights snapped back up, and Cecilia had to briefly squint while her pupils rapidly adjusted to the light. "WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!" the alarm blared over and over again, but Cecilia ignored it as she tried the button again. This time the hatch slid open, and Cecilia burst out of the room and fled down the corridor as fast as she could run.

Her eyes constantly flicked left and right as ran, looking for any sign of an escape pod or docking bay. Cecilia had no idea where she was going or where anything was at, but she was in such a blind panic about getting beaten by Hydra again that she felt safest putting as much distance as possible between her and the brig.

Cecilia came around a corner and skidded to a stop as she unexpectedly came across wreckage further down the corridor. She started to turn back around but paused. The blast doors didn't activate; that means we're somewhere with a breathable atmosphere, Cecilia realized as she turned back to the wreckage. Cautiously she approached the damage. As she got closer she saw that it wasn't just damage; something had ripped a path across the corridor.

SD0947 must've done this. I don't hear him anymore, though. Did he claw his way completely out of the ship? Cecilia wondered when she made it to the edge of the wreckage. Carefully she peered up into the direction the damage seemed to head in, and saw that it did seem to lead to a hole with blue sky beyond it. Feeling encouraged she started crawling and scrambling over the wreckage using her claws. As she got closer to the hole she could feel wind and cold air, and Cecilia held on tighter as she moved.

Before long Cecilia reached the hole and carefully climbed out onto the exterior hull and looked around. At first she didn't see anything, but then she heard laser fire, and turned. Sure enough, she saw SD0947, and dozens of starfighters. Some were shooting SD0947, but many more were engaged in combat with each other. The New Republic! Are they winning? I can't tell, Cecilia wondered before looking the other way. The battle didn't extend in that direction, and far below in the distance she could see open fields, and a forest, and just beyond that on the horizon was Rushalda!

I've got to go for it! If the New Republic keeps them busy, if I can get to the edge of the forest, I can use the cover of the trees to reach Rushalda on foot. And then I can call my mates to come get me! Cecilia let go of the hull and was immediately blown away. She tucked her arms against her body, opened her powerful wings and began flying toward the distant forest. Cecilia had flown many times in rooms designed to teach her how to fly and keep her skills sharp, but this was the first time she had ever flown outside in the open sky. The wind blowing her hair back and the sensation of soaring through the air was fantastic, and if the situation wasn't so dire Cecilia would've loved it.

Unfortunately as she was flying away she was spotted by one of the modified X-Wings that were focused on SD0947. "What the- it's the brat! HD0001 is getting away!" The pilot broke away from the group and started flying after Cecilia. "I'm following her now; she's not going to get away this time!"

"She'd better not," one of the other pilots replied. "If she escapes again we're all dead!"

Cecilia was almost to the edge of the forest when she heard the approaching X-Wing behind her. She flew lower, just a couple of meters above the ground, and beat her wings as hard and as fast as she could. The edge of the forest was a hundred meters away, then fifty. I'm almost there, I can make it! I have to make it!

She was just twenty meters away when the modified X-Wing fired tranquilizer darts at Cecilia. One of them struck her in the shoulder and Cecilia gave a sharp gasp of pain before going limp and crashing into the ground. She rolled and skidded before coming to a stop less than ten meters away from the first trees, unaware that the X-Wing that had pursued her had been followed by another X-Wing. She lay there, not knowing that the modified X-Wing had been shot down, or that it crashed in the field close by. Unaware that a short time later a shuttle landed nearby and unaware when she was loaded onto a repulsorlift stretcher, onto the shuttle, and soon taken off of Asahii altogether.