Chapter 3: MORE CHANGES?! Actually, Some Of It's Not So Bad...
(Day 1 w/ the Bad Batch)
Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair marched into Landing Bay One-Tac-One with an objective.
"Where is SAC-1?" Nala Se asked with a slightly concerned tone, not wanting such an expensive investment to be lost by these careless commandos.
"She's meeting us here." Hunter informed her. "But we'd like to discuss the situation at hand before she arrives." Nala Se's frown deepened, but he plowed on anyway, "With all due respect, we don't need or want a new squad member. She's never even seen an actual warfront, so how can she be of any help to us? We'll be forced to hold her hands during battles." They had enough to do, the extreme conditions during these 'suicide missions' requiring their full attention. Having to keep a close eye on her at all times could result in a causality... or even a fatality.
"Your squad was chosen because you are the only ones who can complete SAC-1's training." Nala Se stated unsympathetically.
"'Complete her training?'" Crosshair repeated in disgust. "We're soldiers, not babysitters."
"SAC-1's enhancements will require special training to hone them fully, which we cannot provide for her. In order to become the exceptional soldier she was created to be, she needs to see first hand how to use her capabilities in a real battle setting. You four had to learn on your own how to perfect your enhancements, so I naturally assumed you wouldn't wish that on SAC-1." Her tone was full of rebuke, and he reverted back to their cadet days. But he was no longer a helpless child, he was a strong, grown man now, who wouldn't back down to unfair treatment.
"Hunter, I do think we should reconsider." Tech chimed in though, the only one in the group disagreeing with this. "SAC-1 may be innocent, but I am confident she is fully capable of being a great soldier. All the signs are there."
Hunter turned to look sternly at him, though his eyes had a touch of sympathy in them. "I understand you like the fact that she's brainy like you, but what Crosshair said is true - we're soldiers, not trainers."
"SAC-1 will require little guidance." Hunter's shoulders slumped and looked frustratingly back up at Nala Se once more. "Once the agent sees the skills she was created with in a realistic battle setting, she will be self-sufficient and a fine asset to your team." Hunter, Crosshair and Wrecker hesitated to respond, still not fully convinced. "Let us negotiate a deal."
Hunter crossed his arms defensively, but was willing to listen... he was starting to see that their usual defiance wasn't going to be allowed this time. "I'm listening." Might as well get something out of this cruddy situation.
"Take SAC-1 on one mission." Not a very good start to the negotiations. "Show the agent how to use her skills in a real battle. If she does well, she will stay with you." He raised a questioning brow, wanting to know what would happen if she failed, "But if she fails - which she will not - then you will return her to Kamino. You will walk away with no blame for her failure, and we will find an alternative way to train her."
Taking her on one mission would seem a trivial feat, but the missions given to the Bad Batch were the deadliest of them all, ones that regs even with their Jedi Generals and Commanders couldn't complete without their help. It was a huge risk, and he didn't want to lose any of his squadmates.
Hunter heaved a sigh and looked to his squad for their opinions, seeing what they thought. Tech fervently bobbed his head in agreement, which was no surprise. After a beat Wrecker shrugged undecidedly and mumbled a very unhelpful 'I dunno.' So Crosshair was left to break the tie and, and after an excruciating moment, ended up reluctantly nodding in agreement to the deal.
Hunter turned to Nala Se and shook his head in concurrence. "Alright - we accept the deal."
SAC-1 didn't sleep a wink the night before, partially because of being surrounded by unfamiliar things, sounds, and smells, but mostly because she expected the Chief Medical Scientist to walk in at any moment to drag her away to her execution for her terrible outburst in the mess hall, cursing her inability to keep her temper in check at the worst times. But by the time she realized that she was not in any danger, it was time for her to get up.
No one gave her directions to the landing bay, so one-hour late SAC-1 scurried into Landing Bay One-Tac-One and approached Nala Se (who was typing on her datapad and thankfully didn't look peeved at her) and her new squadron (who were sitting on some crates were the ones with annoyed frowns on their faces.)
Her cheeks were tinted pink in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I'm late, I got lost and had to ask for directions!" She said, out of breath from walking to the opposite end of the city on accident, then running all the way across it to get to this bay.
Wrecker's eyes widened, and he rubbed the base of his neck in shame. "Oh... we probably shoulda gone and picked her up." He stated sheepishly to his squadron.
"Oh no no, it's fine!" She quickly reassured him. "Troopers were more than happy to assist me." SAC-1 paused and said confusedly. "In fact, a fight broke out when they disagreed on who would escort me... so I refused an escort and just begged for directions."
Boy is she innocent. All the guys thought with an internal grimace.
Nala Se calmly set aside the datapad while the squad raised from their respective seats, their backs aching from the crates lacking of any sort of padding. "Let us discuss the new arrangements for the squad."
The boys sighed in uncomfortableness while SAC-1 smiled broadly, and Nala Se walked them to a large starship that was docked at the bay. "It has been decided that Clone Force 99 needs a new ship to accommodate its increase in size. There was barely enough space for the squad to begin with, and there is definitely not enough space for SAC-1 now."
"A new ship?" Wrecker asked in awe, then he grinned and pumped his fist. "Alright!"
"Is this a Kappa-class shuttle?" SAC-1 asked with squinted eyes as they approached the large, shiny, new ship.
"No it isn't, it is too small, and they do not have rotating cannons." Tech contradicted.
"This is a Kappa-class shuttle, but it has been cut down in size for improved aerial assault and modified to have a rotating cannon for defense." Nala Se explained.
SAC-1 gave a short laugh and playfully nudged Tech's arm with her shoulder. "Told ya." Instead of being annoyed that she knew what the ship model was before him, he was pleased that there was someone else in the group that shared in his brilliancy.
"This ship has one large room with its own refresher, four small bunks, a communal area, a medical bay, a storage facility, and a computer system room between the spare refresher and the kitchenette." Nala Se told them as they walked up the entry ramp located under the neck of the ship.
"I actually get my own room?" Wrecker asked excitedly. "I'm in!"
"Oh goody - Wrecker can do math." Was Crosshair's sarcastic remark to his brother's elation. He had apparently recovered from the shock.
They entered the large empty space at the back of the ship. "The ship is also equipped with a sizable cargo area where equipment for your missions can be stored."
"With such sufficient space, we will have to stop less frequently at bases for reloading supplies." Tech stated in relief, scanning the large area with his eyes gleaming in happiness.
Wrecker was exuberant for other, rather questionable reasons. "And we can have more explosives!"
"You will also be given 74-Z speeder bikes." Nala Se said as she pressed the access button and they entered the living area of the ship.
Hunter's eyes widened in bafflement at the pure fanciness of it all. Why are we getting all this special treatment all of a sudden?
On the left wall was a storage area where rations and water and maintenance items of every variety would be stored, then the refresher and kitchen, computer room and medical bay, and to the right of them were the four small rooms that were simple and contained a bunk, a tall metal locker and a dresser made of the same material.
The captain's quarters were more elaborate. It had an actual bed, a large dresser on its one side for storing things and a slightly smaller one on the adjacent wall, an intricate desk on the opposite wall by the door, a tall wide wardrobe to hang clothes in by the bed, its own refresher with tons of cabinet space and a noticeably bigger shower, and plenty of room to add more things.
In front of them was the common area where there was a large Holo-entertainment table with a red HUGE lounge around it, an actual dining table (black) with seats around it (white), and a big workbench with sizeable cabinets above against the wall of the bunks. Everything was colored to their squads' preferences.
"Unlike your other ship, there is room to customize." Nala Se pointed out as they entered the cockpit, which had six eats instead of four.
Tech immediately sat down in the captain's seat while SAC-1 sat in the co-pilot seat, and the two of them began eagerly talking about features of the ship, making the rest of the squad's heads spin. Nala Se gestured for them to follow her back to the common area.
Once the door closed them off from Tech and SAC-1's babbling, Nala Se said, "This ship is only yours if SAC-1 remains with you, so I suggest you factor in the comfort of your squad when you make your decision." With those parting words, she left them to their own devices.
From where he stood, Hunter surveyed this new, unfamiliar, and downright extravagant ship with an unreadable expression.
Wrecker plopped his helmet on the holo-table and sat down on the cozy lounge with a happy sigh. "Maybe havin' her with us isn't so bad." He clasped his hands behind his head and leaned backwards into the cushiony seat. "I could get used to this."
"Don't get too comfortable." Crosshair warned.
Wrecker had to physically remove Tech and SAC-1 from the cockpit of the new ship while Hunter told them that they needed to help move stuff from the Havoc Marauder to the Havoc Marauder II (Wrecker's brilliant name for the ship).
SAC-1's nose wrinkled as she entered their old ship, a foul stench burning her nostrils. "What's that smell?" She asked in disgust, waving her hand in front of her nose.
"You are smelling two years' worth of no cleaning." Tech explained.
SAC-1 looked revoltingly at the trash that littered the floor and the layer of grime all over the walls.
"Problem?" Crosshair growled.
SAC-1 laughed nervously and took a big step to avoid some suspicious - and fuzzy?! - liquid on the ground. "Just uh, counting off the various health code violations."
"If you have a problem, you can leave." Crosshair suggested. "No one here is going to stop you."
She briefly squinted at him, then plastered a broad smile on her face. "Nope, no problem here!" His frown deepened into a scowl, and he stomped away to the other end of the ship where the bunks were. Her faux smile dropped as soon as he was out of sight, and almost gagging she shoved her helmet on and muttered to herself in a distorted voice, "Thank the maker for the filters in my helmet."
Wrecker rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "Uh, you may wanna avoid the bunks and 'fresher."
With her helmet on, they couldn't tell that the color drained from her face, but Hunter could sense her uncomfortable feelings and pointed to the three crates in the corner. "Why don't you unload our crates of extra weapons? They're the cleanest things on board."
She briefly glanced around the area again with a critical eye. "That's not saying much, Sergeant." He frowned, so she quickly held up her hands and added, "I'll do it!" She walked over to the crates. "But you should probably know that for four years I've been alive a sterile lab was my home, so I'm not used to living in such -" She picked up a half-eaten - and moldy?! - space waffle between her thumb and forefinger off one of the crates and shivered as she tossed it aside and then wiped her gloved hand on her blacks to rub off the filth. "Hazardous conditions."
"The condition of the ship is messy, not hazardous." Tech corrected. "You'll be fine."
"Uh, won't those crates be too heavy for ya?" Wrecker asked.
Despite the circumstances, SAC-1 couldn't help but titter. "Too heavy?" Effortlessly, she lifted the top crate onto her shoulder, holding it up with only one arm. "This is child's play."
Wrecker lifted his eyebrows in surprise as she walked out of the ship to the floating cargo carrier, then grinned. "Hey, now I got someone to arm wrestle with!" He pumped a fist in the air, as he turned around and wandered to the bunks. "Yeah!"
"Who'd you bet your creds on?" Hunter asked Tech, who was downloading stored information from their giant computer system to transfer to their new computer.
"I will need to collect more data before I can decide." Was Tech's technical reply, making Hunter chuckle.
After they stripped the ship and said goodbye (mostly Wrecker, who shed a few tears), the original Bad Batch members decided that since they were actually going to have rooms, extra stuff could be taken from their barracks, like prized nic nacs and extra clothing and even some furniture.
Hunter opened the door and an even fouler stench slapped SAC-1 across the face, making her whimper. "I can't believe it, but the smell is worse here than on the old ship!" She swiftly put on her helmet again before stepping into the room. "You four aren't allowed in my room on the new ship - it will be my safe haven of cleanliness."
"How will I bear it?" Crosshair leered as he stalked past her, making her shake her head at him.
"You don't like me." She stated factually.
Crosshair chuckled while starting to pack his personal items. "Took you long enough to figure that out."
"Why?" She wondered, her feelings bruised. "I've done nothing to you."
"I thought you were supposed to be smart." Crosshair retorted simply.
"Alright, knock it off Crosshair." Hunter commanded, and the sniper rolled his eyes but obeyed. "Agent, start grabbing containers that are already ready to go and put them on the carrier while we pack our things."
SAC-1 nodded, then went to the crate nearest to her and started pushing off the piled trash and trays left on it while holding back vomit. Amidst the junk, she found a red, white and black tooka doll.
"Anyone lose a toy?" She asked, waving the stuffed animal in the air.
Wrecker gasped. "Lula!" He rushed to SAC-1 and plucked the doll out of her hands, hugging it tightly. "I've been lookin' everywhere for her!"
SAC-1 tilted her head thoughtfully. "You still have your old toys?"
"Just Lula. She was my favorite."
SAC-1 smiled, though Wrecker couldn't see it. "That's sweet. Nala Se took away all my toys and unnecessary items when I turned three, but I managed to hide my favorite one from her." That was her immediate reasoning when she found the doll stashed in her crates... the last few days have been really fuzzy. She lifted the crate in a similar fashion as on the old ship. "It's a Loth-wolf, and if you promise not to tell Nala Se, I'll show her to you." This made Wrecker smile.
After they retrieved SAC-1's items (several crates filled with necessities, weapons and training weapons) they returned to the new ship and there came the discussion on who would get the large captain's quarters.
It was a very loud discussion.
"I'm a big guy, so I should get it!" Wrecker insisted.
"I possess the most items, so it makes the most sense that I should get the room!" Was Tech's counterattack. "Plus, I'm the pilot of this ship!"
"I need a place big enough to practice my sharp shooting!" Crosshair argued.
"HUNTER!" They shouted simultaneously.
Hunter rubbed a hand over his face in irritation, then looked sharply at an amused SAC-1 next to him. "What's your argument?" He asked with an edge in his tone, expecting her to act like them.
All eyes were on her now, and she smiled nervously. "Ummmm..." Her eyes lit up as an idea came to her, "Honestly, doesn't it make more sense that the leader of this squad should get the captain's quarters?" She asked graciously, gesturing to Sergeant Hunter.
Hunter was shocked at her chivalry, then hmphed. "You know what, just for that selfless attitude, I am making a unilateral decision and say that SAC-1 gets the captain's quarters." The rest of the squad's mouths fell to the floor as Hunter picked up his footlocker and shuffled into the room next to the captain's quarters, claiming it as his own.
As soon as Hunter was out of the room, SAC-1's slack jaw turned into a mischievous grin, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of them.
She held up a finger. "Now that's how it's done, boys." She simpered before picking up the crate of gear given to her by the Kaminoans and sashaying into her new, luxurious room.
Crosshair growled, Wrecker groaned, and Tech merely crossed his arms and admiration softened his facial features.
As the Bad Batch boarded their new ship to leave the planet of Kamino behind -
Except in a sick twist of fate, this time we're leaving with the problem, Crosshair dourly noted.
- someone called out for SAC-1.
Everyone turned and were flabbergasted at seeing the figure of Nala Se approach them. "Is something wrong, ma'am?" SAC-1 asked, walking down the ramp to meet her, heart threatening to pound out of her chest.
"There is something I need to discuss with you before you leave." Nala Se explained, then gestured for her to follow. "Privately."
SAC-1 felt her stomach churn, but didn't show her nervousness and gestured for her squad to go and start the preparations before following the Doctor.
Nala Se led her to a pile of crates a few yards away from the ship, then turned to her and focused her black abyss for eyes on the short by comparison female clone. "Clone Force 99 is not thrilled that you are joining their squadron, and do not believe you are capable of assisting them on missions." She disclosed bluntly, and SAC-1 felt her heart sink and her face fall. She knew Crosshair wasn't happy, but Nala Se said that the whole squad wasn't happy. Even Tech? But he's so enthusiastic when interacting to me. "I have had to talk you up a great deal to get them to agree to take you on, and it still was not enough for them to accept you."
SAC-1 furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding one thing. "But... if I'm not accepted, why am I going with them now?"
"I have struck a deal with them." SAC-1's eyebrows now rose. "They are taking you on one mission - if you succeed, you will be staying on the squad with no more complaints, but if you fail, you will be returned to Kamino." SAC-1 couldn't believe what she was hearing, but Nala Se wasn't finished. "We have invested a lot of time and money on you, SAC-1. Do not make us regret it." SAC-1 gulped. "If you are returned to Kamino, we will be forced to rethink your usefulness to the army - I heard about your escapade in the mess hall so I warn you, you are already on thin ice. So, think carefully the next time you feel indignant, and make the wise decision to not act out." Those were Nala Se's biting words of goodbye, leaving the female clone in a dazed and terrified state.
The whole squad didn't want me? I'm being tested? And if I fail, my fate is sealed - it doesn't take a genius to know what Nala Se means.
SAC-1 felt the immense weight of what was at stake here and let out a shaky breath. In one moment, her entire confidence in her new squad and her importance to the Grand Army of the Republic was taken away from her, which was unfortunate in itself, but what was even more sad was that she'd only had both for less than a day.
SAC-1 shook her head. No, I won't fail. I've trained for this my whole life. I'll show them I'm worthy.
After the pep talk to herself, SAC-1 proceeded back to the ship with her head held high, where she found Hunter on the top of the ramp, probably watching the whole interaction between her and Nala Se.
"Is there a problem?" He asked her with... concern?
Yes. SAC-1 responded in her mind. You all don't want me. But her verbal response was a simple, "Nope." Though her demeanor was now guarded instead of bubbly.
Hunter's eyes revealed his disbelief in her response, so she avoided his gaze entirely so he wouldn't see the distrust, betrayal and fear in hers and wandered to the cockpit.
Tech looked back upon her entrance with a smile. "Agent, Wrecker has allowed you to be the new copilot so you can learn how to fly."
"More like he kicked me out." Wrecker muttered, pouting in the seat behind the copilots.
SAC-1 felt bad that Tech kicked Wrecker out of his designated spot, but on the other hand she knew she needed to learn this skill in addition to everything else to prove her worth, so she got over her uncomfortable feelings quickly and took her seat next to Tech. SAC-1 sensed Hunter's piercing gaze on her, but she focused all her energy on watching Tech fire up then fly the ship, and soon they cleared the atmosphere and were in space.
The trillions upon trillions of stars marveled her, and she temporarily forgot her insecurities and gave a bright smile.
