A/N:

I MANAGED TO GET A CHAPTER OUT ON MAY THE FOURTH!

~ side note ~ This chapter was written for purely comical reasons, I seriously doubt any of the lingo used later in it I created would be used in the real Star Wars universe, but it'll be sooooo worth it XDDDDDD

Enjoy!


Chapter 13: Getting a Tattoo Sounds SO WIZARD!

(Day 13 w/ the Bad Batch)

It took two days for Talla to lose the stupid crutch. When she woke up on the third morning and found herself able to be steady on her own two feet without that kriffing hunk of metal that kriffing abused her armpits, she could have jumped for joy!

Except, well, she didn't want to risk having a relapse, so she had to make do with a small cheer.

It had been an excruciating couple of days. The woman had realized that she hated sitting around doing nothing, even if it was doctor ordered 'necessary resting.' If it hadn't been for the newfound holovids, she might have lost it, but she was so close to anyways despite that distraction. Yeah, they were highly entertaining, but her eyes would painfully strain from the bright moving picture after an hour or so due to her enhanced sight, and she'd have to take breaks, and there was only a small number of other things she could do without exerting herself.

Cybernetic maintenance lessons from Tech, which were surprisingly tedious because she hated what the droid-like limb had miserably brought upon her, so she only lasted with ten(ish) minute intervals at a time.

A nap, which was a new, foreign concept Talla wasn't sure she was okay with because it wasted precious time. Even so, the attempts were short-lived because just as she could start peacefully drifting off, a booming explosion or something else equally thunderous would sound from the common area, causing her to become immediately alert and swiftly grab the knife and hand blaster under from her pillow to fight off incoming attackers, only to groan when Wrecker's whoops and hollers could be heard milliseconds later and the dots connected in her mind - it was just his holovids.

The only other thing she had tried to do was attempt target practice from her bed, Wrecker having stolen one of Crosshairs spare droid posters to put up in her own room, and alternated between the gun and knives as she had several more in one of the drawers under her bed, but she of course hit the target every time so that also quickly became boring.

So, with pep in her step at FINALLY BEING FREE, she strutted into the common area to join the others for breakfast.

"Hey, look who's not hobblin' anymore!" Wrecker happily announced upon her arrival, causing Hunter and Crosshair to glance up at her from their breakfasts. Tech was nowhere to be found. Hunter's smile was barely there as usual but still just as genuine, but Crosshair, ever the grump when it came to anything about the new member, just humphed disinterestedly and turned back to his breakfast that wasn't rations.

With the positive response she did get from the other two though, Talla's spirits lifted even more, then she scanned the room for her other buddy. "Where's Tech?" She wondered, knowing he'd be pleased as well.

"He's cooking breakfast." Wrecker informed her around a bite of some sort of food in his mouth.

Talla blinked. "... Cooking?" She repeated in disbelief, pointing her thumb blindly to the kitchen across the way. "As in, using the stovecooking?"

"And I thought Wrecker had a tiny mind." Crosshair quipped.

Hunter gave him a dirty look while Talla's jaw set as her temper threatened to flare. "I only meant that I thought you guys couldn't cook." She clarified shortly. He only used that condescending tone when he was forced to interact with her, and it managed to sting every, single, time. And even when he didn't say anything, he still managed to convey his disdain for her existence with a piercing glare, his lips seeming to be permanently curled in a distasteful sneer. Or on the other end of the spectrum, he just plain ignored her, and it was just as equally disheartening and hurtful.

Why doesn't he like me yet?

"Apparently, we've uncovered yet another one of Tech's abilities." Hunter kindly explained before Crosshair could give another scathing remark, wanting to diffuse the quickly rising tension.

Tech cantered in at that moment carrying two plates full of a strange food that... weren't rations. "Good morning, Talla!" He set down the plates at the table and plopped down in his seat, gesturing for her to do the same. "I hope you like Iktotch toast because that's what I made."

She did oblige him, not allowing her mind to be sent into a spiral of why the sniper didn't approve of her yet, and instead took in the strange food with a curious eye but overall cautious demeanor. "What exactly is 'Iktotch toast?'" She asked unsurely, picking up her fork and poking the square pieces of a something brown that was toasted and covered in a white powdery substance.

"Slices of egg-dipped Iktotchian gravelwheat bread cooked golden brown and dusted with powdered Christophsian sugar, served piping hot with bantha butter and carbosyrup." Tech elucidated, picking up the carbosyrup jug and pouring it over his toast and then hers.

Talla took a small, apprehensive bite, and her eyes widened as she tasted the surprisingly and incredibly sweet delicacy.

"What? Is it not good?" Tech asked nervously.

Talla shook her head and swallowed the delicious mouthful. "No... the exact opposite - this is fantastic!" It was like heaven in her mouth! "When did you learn how to cook?"

"I had to find new ways to occupy myself while you were incapacitated." Tech divulged as she began scarfing down like Wrecker, fully hooked after just one bite. "And after we were banned from the shooting range because Hunter was not there to contain Wrecker's affinity for explosions, my want to unlawfully tamper with the course to appease him, and Crosshairs blatant disregard for being the second in command that is supposed to stop our qoute unqoute 'suicidal tendencies', Hunter grounded us and we were not allowed to leave the ship unless he accompanied us, and since he didn't want to leave you alone and vulnerable, I could only read holobooks, watch holovids or do unnecessary repairs to the ship for so long before it became boring. Thus, I decided to experiment in the kitchenette."

There were some obvious undertones of irritation in his rant and a peeved look sent Hunter's way confirmed it, but the sergeant simply gave an unapologetic shrug. "You blow a few floors off the top of a kriffing skyscraper and injure a couple hundred regs, you're gonna get grounded."

"You don't even like regs!" Tech retorted, quickly becoming riled up.

Hunter hummed thoughtfully, "Your right, that part doesn't bother me, BUT, the destroyed skyscraper? Hell yeah!"

"Obstacle courses do not use explosions; real battle settings have explosions - I was simply trying to make the course more realistic and beneficial for everyone!"

"Can we have this every day?" Wrecker interrupted hopefully, reffering to the toast as he had a massive sweet tooth and also wanting to stop the quickly escalating discussion.

The diversion worked. "That would not be ideal - our diets should primarily be sustainable, healthy foods, not sugary confections." Tech stated factually.

A pout from both Talla and Wrecker was his only answer.

"Wait, so since I'm fully recovered now, can you show me the markets like you promised?" Talla asked pointedly to Hunter, who apparently wielded the authority 'ground' them, meaning no leaving the ship period. "It'll be our last day of vacation, after all!" She crossed her arms stubbornly. "And if that's not enough of a reason to 'unground' Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair, I think the promise you made to me trumps the punishment you bestowed, Sarge, because I won't go anywhere without them."

Well, when she put it like that...

Turning into quite a little spitfire. Crosshair noted, then crudely remarked to himself, Finally, something worth listening to came out of her mouth.


If Talla thought Dantooine was fascinating, it was all thrown out the window when she beheld what the ecumenopolis planet of Coruscant had to offer. Everywhere she looked there was something new and exciting to see! They spent the morning in the Lower Market District, which none of them had revisited since they arrived out of respect for Talla's wishes to explore it together.

Anything and everything from all over the galaxy Talla found at the market stands and shops, but they could only carry so much, so she had to settle on buying more practical stuff, like for her room and 'fresher, and supposed that it would be more meaningful if she acquired memorable nick-nacks from their travels across the vast galaxy. In the end, she only bought, with a stash of credits that was way more than the rest of the Bad Batch or any trooper got, two heavy weights that weighed several hundred pounds each and a pull up bar to maintain some of her exercise routine with, a small frame for her medal, the softest blanket in the universe, and a new oval mirror to hang on her wall. But that didn't mean she didn't buy something just because it was 'so wizard' - after all, Coruscant was a new planet she had never been to and wanted something memorable to mark this new adventure. So she discovered and bought a bunch of string lights to hang around her room and emulate the twinkling city at night, a sight she thought was enchanting.

Throughout the whole excursion, Wrecker, Talla, and Tech were like wide eyed little children let loose in a candy shop. Since Talla was more than willing to share her large stash of credits, Tech may or may not have found little pieces of technology he had been wanting for years to bring back to the ship and tinker with, Wrecker found an assortment of imported exotic foods to fill their kitchen cabinets, and Talla was just plain in awe over every little thing. Hunter had a hard time keeping track of all three, loudly threatening them over and over again through their comm channel when they got too far out of his reach that there were mechanic shops all around them and he would buy rope or chains if they dared disobey his one condition on not wandering off. Crosshair, absolutely no help in that department, was in a foul mood the whole morning and it only festered when he was required to help carry Talla's, Wrecker's and Tech's findings throughout their whole market adventure.

Though, after they ate a tasty lunch at a food stand Tech found on some recommendation from the HoloNet, some of the sniper's ire faded as Talla graciously offered her pouch of infinite credits to him and Hunter, making sure they knew she wanted them to have fun also.

Crosshair smirked knowingly to the slightly exhausted leader of the squadron across the table from him. "Fancy a visit to Nik's Parlor?"

Hunter seemed to perk up at the suggestion while Wrecker gasped excitedly, nudging the puzzled woman next to him with his elbow. "You should get inked up too, Talla!"

One of her many questions during her hospital stay was what the markings Hunter and Crosshair's faces were... at first, she embarrassingly thought it was some intriguing natural discoloration caused by the enhancement process. "A tattoo?" She made a noise of interest and now had a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Why not? It would aid in my spirit of independence from Nala Se's influence."

Wrecker stared dumbly at her for a second. "What'd she say, Hunter?" He did finally ask, completely lost.

"She'd be stickin' it to the long-neck."

Now in the loop again, Wrecker laughed maniacally. "Aw yeah, now you're gettin it!"

Except, Talla didn't know what was exactly required to 'get inked up.' Hunter tried to do better than the last two times he failed and actually warn her this time, but as they began their trek through the market again towards their friends' shop Crosshair, to Hunter's frustration and Talla's bafflement/glee, rudely knocked him aside and fell into step right next to the still very innocent female clone and feigned enthusiasm as he animatedly asked her if she had any ideas what her tattoo would be, and 'lovingly' warned her 'It's going to be permanent, so you have to be very careful and be one hundred percent sure it's what you want.'

... and she hung onto his every insincere word.

Boy, was Talla in for a shock when she laid her wide eyes on the electric stabbing machines, the confidence sucked right out of her.

"What's the matter, Talla?" Crosshair asked with figurative honey of the sweetest kind dripping from his lips. "You did know that tattoos are created by injecting ink into the skin by needles, right?"

"Well -" She gaped at the wicked tool as the blood now rushing through her veins turned ice cold and she began losing feeling in her hands while simultaneously becoming clammy. "I... uh -"

From behind the check-out counter at the back of this particular floor of the parlor - there were three - there was an average height twi-lek male human probably in his late twenties with skin beautifully shaded the darkest of grey that made his bright blue orbs for eyes pop. He wore an opened black vest and tan cargo shorts that reached just below his knees to display most his personal body art, almost every inch of that visible skin on his arms, chest, abdomen and calves were decorated with neon tattoos that may as well been described as luminescent against his dark-tinted skin. And while each image was a completely separate masterpiece from each other, big medium or small, they still managed to coexist into one stunning work of art.

He - Nik, apparently - exuberantly called out to the squad when he caught sight of them at the entrance. "MAH BOYS!" He hopped over the counter once they were close enough and alternated between heartily clapping them on the shoulders or firmly clasping hands with the Bad Batch boys. "Haven't seen you guys in forever! How ya been?!" He paused and tilted his head curiously when the poorly dressed but still exceptionally attractive woman gaping at every daunting sharp tool in sight was made known, who just unfortunately happened to be clutching onto Crosshairs arm in absolute fright. "Who this?" Then a pleasing thought occurred to Nik, and a devilish smirk was thrown at the sniper before introductions could be made. "Wait wait wait, don't tell me - you finally found a girl to put up with your bantha crap?!" His head was thrown back as he barked a laugh in disbelief while a sneer with no malice was thrown back at him from the slightly put off Crosshair, who immediately shoved Talla away, a hard feat considering her enhanced strength. "I gotta be honest, I always thought it'd be Sergeant Luscious Locks over here who'd find a lady friend first - chicks dig the long hair, and he's the LEAST DERANGED member of your little freak squad."

While Hunter's face turned as red as his signature bandana from the light-hearted tease and Wrecker laughed alongside the artist, Crosshair tried to salvage some of his dignity by setting the record straight with a roll of his eyes and a dark tone, "She's just a new clone in our squad, nothing more, nothing less, got it?"

Nik was floored at this revelation of her origins. "Sooo... what, the long-necks are poppin' babes outta the tubes now?" Despite his almost derogatory comment, his smile to the woman was kind and friendly when she did finally meet his gaze. "Not that I'm complaining - you're a lot easier on the eyes then these bizarro nerf-herders, miss...?"

The fake exuberance made its appearance again with Crosshair as the moment he had been grooming Talla the last ten minutes for came, and he threw an arm around her shoulder to egg her forward. "Agent Talla, here, is getting her first tattoo," With faux encouragement he grinned down at the trembling woman in his arms, "Aren't you?"

She blinked unsurely at the pleased Nik, then up at pushy Crosshair, then back to the ready tattoo artist again. "I uh..." Man her throat was dry, "I actually don't think -"

Crosshair's next words were laced with mockery and cruel intentions. "Don't tell me your afraid." She of course bristled at the accusation, having taken the bait with a deadly glare, and yet he still pushed more of her buttons. "Are you a scaredy-sark, Agent?"

Talla wanted to punch that stupid smirk off of his stupid face and see who'd be afraid then but settled with a sharp jab to his side with her elbow to make him release her. "I'm not afraid of a little needle!" She bellowed as he grunted from the still quite painful blow, but her eyes still held glimmers of fear that everyone with the power of perception caught and that soothed some of his throbbing aches. "If I can survive getting my leg hacked off from shrapnel, I'm sure I can handle getting a -" The hum of the multiple electric torture devices jamming into people's flesh around her though made her voice grow weaker and weaker with each word as fright took over, "Little... tiny... itty-bitty... tattoo..."

Nik, having to be a people person for this type of work, achieved helping hundreds, probably thousands of people with or without diagnosed needle-phobias achieve their wish of adorning their bodies with permanent works of art. So, his liveliness was toned down considerably so he could adopt a sympathetic manner and create a reassuring atmosphere for the apprehensive Agent. Leading her to his station in the back corner with a compassionate hand on her quivering back, and with just as sweet-tempered words assured her as she shakily found her place on a swivel reclining chair, "I'm gonna take real good care of you, okay love?" He sat adjacent to her on his stool and smiled warmly at Talla, who was now white as a sheet and squeezing the armrests from the impending doom of her decision to stick it to Nala Se by way of needles. "Lots of people from all different kinds of species across Coruscant that come here are, in fact, afraid of needles," He chuckled as he told a funny memory to try and ease her nerves, "Once, I had a mighty Zabrak come in who actually bawled like a baby when I started my prep work," His smile turned smug and playful, "Lucky for you (and that guy) your new pal Nik knows a few tricks that can make this as easy as possible: We'll choose a small, easy design with black or grey ink on an area that'll be the least painful, like one of your arms or legs or -" He waggled his eyebrows, "- if you want to be a little more risqué, my sister can do a little something on your hip, which (believe it or not) is just as good a place to get a tattoo with minimal discomfort. And -" He held up a finger then reached into a drawer in the cart next to him and out came a small bottle rattling with capsules. "I also have a specific painkiller that you can take before we start to make things even less uncomfortable." He gestured to the boys surrounding his workstation. "You've got your cheer squad here with ya, and I'm positive Tech will make sure you're breathing while I work, but I am also amazing company and work better with a little friendly conversation - it makes both the artist and the living canvas infinitely more at ease. And if this still isn't enough to relax ya, I've got tons of music to choose from and, worse comes to worse, stuff for you to bite down on if you need it." He put the bottle of painkillers aside and gently covered her cold hand that was still shaking with his warm, reassuring one, "Literally, the only thing you have to do is try to move as little as possible and let me know if you need a two-minute break before you try moving away - sound good, Talla?"

Yes, the whole plan sounded good, but it was the cart filled with intimidatingly pointy tools he had to use that didn't.

Her silence was answer enough, "And if you don't believe me just yet -" He jabbed a thumb to the silent long-haired clone by his side, "Sergeant Luscious Locks over here -" Hunter face-palmed at the stupid name, "- with those super senses or whatever their called, he got a tattooon his kriffing face, one of the most painful areas to get inked," He simpered, "And I managed to get him through it without any fainting or puking or even a lil' whimper." He gave her a pointed look now, "So, if YOU really want to go through with this, I'm 99% percent sure I can successfully give ya a tiny masterpiece that you can flaunt like a badass boss lady."

Her tone was strangled, "Why only 99%?"

His smile was now tight-lipped, "Because sometimes, there are people who are just not able to relax even if I pull all the stops due to the fact they're only doing this as a dare from their friends to show their not scaredy-sarks -" *quickly sends an accusing glare Crosshairs way* "- and if you can't relax, I'm not gonna even try to mark you because whatever I try putting down will be sloppy and I won't let someone walk around with an incomplete, ugly, permanent marking that will crush their self-confidence. Uh-uh. Did that once, and I still regret it every day."

This whole idea was sounding less and less appealing by the second, and she was only marginally interested after walking through that door. "There's no way to... I don't know... remove it?"

Crosshair rudely scoffed at her idiocy, but Nik was beyond patient with this newbie. "The process, while not as harsh as actually getting the tattoo, is still pretty painful, and also kinda spendy."

Talla nodded slowly, mind torn between wanting to RUN or prove Crosshair wrong, that she wasn't afraid of a tiny needle.

Hunter had remained quiet throughout this whole ordeal out of respect for her dignity, not wanting to embarrass her further in front of others and, also, hoping she might make up her own mind and realize that the best defense against Crosshair's salty tendencies was actually not giving into his provocations but just paying no mind to his button pushing, maybe offering a few scathing remarks back to show him that you weren't going to take bantha crap from him.

Talla obviously was deathly afraid of needles because of the Kaminoan experiments that often included such pointy tools that could be - and were - painful in the wrong hands. Once upon a time, that was the case with the Bad Batch boys and while yes, each eventually getting a tattoo of their own was a major breakthrough in their recovery from the experiments, one look at Talla showed she was not there yet. Personally, this was a time Hunter considered the line between Crosshair being an ass just to be an ass, and honestly being plain cold-hearted, because the sniper was actually the last of them to get past the hurdle of needle-phobia, having been a favorite chosen victim of the Chief Medical Scientist, that tattoo on his face not even four months old. And even now, two years after the fact, they all still avoided using needles unless it was a life-threatening issue. He thought the only reason Crosshair suggested even going to the tattoo parlor was because he knew Hunter, the least affected one, had an unfinished job of a skeletal rendition on the entire left side of his body. His left arm was all that remained to be filled in, but now the Sergeant questioned if it was for that considerate reason, or really it was an excuse to humiliate their newest team member.

And pushing a severe needle-phobe to get repeatedly stabbed with an electric one, knowing her traumatic past with them, that was not okay.

So, Hunter finally interjected with his words and his body, cutting off her view of the taunting sniper, who had positioned himself to be closest to her. "Talla, you don't need to get a tattoo just to prove you're not a coward." Her fear-ridden eyes turned to him as he leaned down to her eye-level and placed both hands on her shoulders to emphasize his sincerity, "You proved you weren't when you took on an entire Seppie base by yourself, alright?"

"Woah, seriously?" The curious Nik received a firm nod in affirmation, and he gave Talla a look that was both deadpanned but also showed amazement and awe at her heroic endeavors. "Dude! Forget what I said two minutes ago - you already are a badass boss lady! You don't need a tattoo! But, if you still wanna do something totally wizard with your look - not there's anything wrong with it, your perfect just the way you are, love - there's plenty of other ways to do that without needles, Talla."

You would think all this hype would make her see what they saw, but no. Talla could still sense Crosshair's condescension, and her iron will to prove herself to this guy overpowered her rationality. "No! I - I want to try, I do!"

Hunter had to fight the urge to shake her shoulders in an attempt to snap her out of Crosshair's tractor beam, and figuratively swallowed some choice words for his baby brother. "Talla -"

"But not because of Crosshair!" She quickly defended, almost successful in keeping her voice completely steady and convincing, "For me, I really want like a - a loth-wolf or something -" She pointed to her covered right bicep, "Here! I think it'd look... totally wizard?" I hope I used that right.

Well, Agent Talla was a grown woman who had made up her mind, so Hunter had to trust his artist friend would hold to his promise of making this as smooth a ride as possible for the formerly tortured Special Agent Clone.

Nik, though, he wasn't so easily fooled. He'd seen this type of flighty customer sit in this chair countless times before and was not all surprised when she managed to live through all the prep work but flew from the seat right as the electric needle was activated.

"You know what?!" Her laugh could be classified as hysterical, "I completely forgot, Crosshair and Hunter were the original ones to suggest this whole' inking-up' scheme and most excited about it, so -" The frantic woman blindly reached behind her and snatched the closest man (Hunter) and shoved him forward into the execution chair she had abandoned with so much force the bolted down seat creaked in protest and was nearly torn up from the floor. "So, this brave guy can go first," Said brave guy grunted from the blunt force trauma worthy impact that knocked the breath right out of him and was none-to-pleased at being so violently man-handled after he caught his bearings, "And uh, you know, maybe watching you jab the leader of my squadron with a needle over and over and over... and... over -" Woah, when did they turn on the anti-grav? She wondered as her body began to sway and a general feeling of unsteadiness threatened to overtake her, and Tech held his hands out in case she fell. "Um -" She shook her head to stabilize herself again. "Maybe observing the whole creative process will help me to relax more!"

The toothy smile plastered on her face was as artificial as her cybernetic limb, but Nik benevolently humored her, and while this time Talla managed maintain her cool when the needle actually made contact with the flesh on Hunter's bicep, once that little speck of blood was seen -

"OH MY KRIFFING - KARKING - BLECH!" An aggressive shudder raked through her entire body as everyone within a two-mile radius turned their heads to find the source of such a pitiful cry of distress. "Okay, I'm gonna go throw up now, so have fun with..." She made erratic gestures at this act of pure insanity in her eyes as the wooziness came back hundred-fold like a ton of rocks, "THAT!"

"Wrecker!" Hunter barked, unable to do more as Nik calmly proceeded with creating his ink masterpiece, and the only person in the universe who could hold her back thankfully caught the fleeing Agent midflight before she could make her lightning-fast escape. Hunter did not want to take the risk she wouldn't watch where she went and accidentally take a swan dive off the edge of the sidewalk several hundred feet above the ground floor and land in a SPLAT! below.

While she struggled in Wrecker's rock-solid, unmovable grip to try breaking free, the big lug tried calming her down with hushed, reassuring words like a mother would do to soothe her crying child while Tech standing next to him simultaneously stroked her hair tenderly/patted her head gently in an attempt to relieve her frayed nerves.

On the sidelines, Crosshair - he just could not believe how entertaining this whole experiment had turned out.

Hunter wanted to scrap this whole plan and just leave despite the patch of black ink already administered to him - he could say it was a birthmark or something? - but Nik was already way ahead of him and had pressed a button on his commlink to signal his backup.

Not twenty seconds later two women burst forth from the lift ten feet away - a female human with similar beautiful dark skin/bright blue eye coloring to Nik and bright tattoos, and a female Mirialan with an enchanting mauve skin tone/pink eyes combo with light brown hair. Both were dressed in clothing that Talla, if she had been paying any attention, would have asked if that was the definition of the word: 'risqué.' Some impractical tears here (who tore their perfectly good clothes?) a touch of some more useful leather there (leather could protect you from certain attacks) and a bunch of other eccentric accessories that she probably couldn't name. Plus, such dramatic make-up that, while stunning, must have been so uncomfortable to wear... how could they rub an itchy eye or even take a drink of something without messing up the carefully applied products?

"How bad?!" The rich toned woman gasped once they breathlessly reached the group.

Nik paused his work to snap his fingers in the squirming female clone's direction, "A code green." To which they were befuddled right alongside Wrecker, who asked confusedly, "Shouldn't it be code red?" Then unceremoniously plopped the thrashing woman on the ground due to multiple bruises forming, but still spread his impressively long arms to block her access to the exit, shuffling this way and that to ensure she didn't slip past him.

"Nah, her face is green." Nik chuckled, and the two revved up and ready to act women gave the artist expectant looks so he would explain the gravity of the situation, "I told Agent Talla here that there are other ways to change up her look without needles, ways her teammates here haven't even braved trying."

"Starting with tasteful clothing, for one." The Mirialan tsked in disapproval as she sharply turned the now shy Talla around and inspected the sorry excuse for clothing with a critical eye and judgy tugs and pulls at the coarse and unflatteringly cut fabric in an attempt to make this even remotely attractive. "Sweetie, don't let these moof-milkers EVER shop for you again."

"Hey!" Wrecker protested, mildly hurt the mean name-calling.

Tech irately defended his honor. "WE did not pick out this outfit - this is a Kaminoan creation that all clone soldiers are required to wear." He may not care for such frivolous things as wearing stylish clothing, but two minutes on the HoloNet and he could turn her from bleak to chic in no time if he really wanted to... which he didn't... care... in the slightest... about these things.

The other woman hmphed at his reveal as to why Talla was so atrociously dressed. "Well that explains it." She joined in on the fussing, choosing to flick at Talla's boringly cut hair, earning a squeak of protest after a light tug. "I admit, they're phenomenal scientists, but the way they dress their troopers makes me wanna ugly cry."

"You were right to call us, babe." The Mirialan praised her studiously working boyfriend, then alarmed Talla by gripping her arm with a scary glint of fierce determination in her eyes, "How long we got?"

Nik hummed in deep thought as he calculated the rate of his speed with the size and detailing of the charcoal grey, bone shapen tattoos ordered, "'Bout five hours, give or take."

"Perfect!" The women cheered, then tugged the bewildered female clone towards the lift.

"She's fresh outta the tube, so go easy on her!" Nik called after them before proceeding with his commissioned masterpiece, so Hunter could only watch helplessly as the frightened Talla threw him a horrified look over her shoulder, and unable to offer anything more than a slight nod that he hoped was encouraging.


It was a whirlwind five hours filled with a flurry of creative activity. But Talla actually enjoyed every minute of it.

It was difficult to choose a hairstyle at first -

"Do you have some ideas on what you want to do, hun?" Blair, the Mirialan girlfriend to Nik, queried gently when they situated Talla in her workstation, her hyperactivity momentarily shifting to soft communication that was vital before the start of creating another type of semi-permanent art on the body.

Talla shifted her eyes around the intimidating room unsurely. "... no."

Her agitation was very obvious, "Okay that's fine!" Skylar, Nik's nearly identical older sister, reassured her quickly, "What about your favorite color, then?"

"Um, I don't have one."

"Oh, come on, sure you do!" Skylar laughed, mistaking her inexperience for nerves, "Everyone does!"

Talla shrugged awkwardly, extremely agitated now as they draped a cloak thing over her front for some reason and snapped the snug collar shut, making her feel suffocated. "Well, I don't." She muttered, starting to hunch down in the chair, right about now hating that she lacked such simple life experiences like cutting hair. It was just a simple concept!

The women gave each odd glances, put off by her unusual fright scare levels for even a young woman who'd never been in a parlor before. Then, Blair put a finger to her chin as a clarifying thought occurred to her, "You know, it just registered that lover boy yelled she's 'fresh outta the tube', and she's acting a lot like all the fledgling troopers that come in here." From behind, Blair put her hands on Talla's tense shoulders and imploringly peered at the anxious woman through the mirror across from them, "This is a long shot, but are you a clone, Talla? Did you not just grow up on Kamino?"

Finally, a question she could answer! She straightened and automatically recited, "Yes. My birth number is SAC-1, and I just finished my first campaign on the planet of Silva, located in the Ardenian System situated in the edges of the Mid Rim."

They tried to contain their shock, not wanting to make her feel more out of place. "Yeah?" Blair calmly started to fuss with Talla's hair again, but with a more soothing touch to help ease her frayed nerves, the levels of her fear now understandable, and also trying to get a feel for what she'd be working with, envisioning the different haircuts that would be best for Talla's face shape and such. Being in this line of work, you heard a lot of things from your customers, wanting them to feel at ease with open, friendly conversation. Clones, who did not have anyone to really open up to, often confided some with the people who encouraged their individuality and made them feel like they were worth something, so they often made completely deserved, offhand comments about their cruel creators. They revealed the veiled threats told to them from infancy: they were just expendable meat droids who weren't worth anything. That was why they were so hesitant to even consider altering their identical appearances. Talla exhibited those same symptoms, though a little more severely, and Blair's heart went out to the female clone, who must've suffered greatly at the hand of those savages. "Was it successful?"

"I destroyed the Seppie base, so yes... but I lost my leg in the process, so also no."

"You poor thing!" Skylar lamented, "But you're so brave! Braver than I am because I could never fight in a bloody battle."

Talla shrugged the other woman's self-depreciating comment away. "Not everyone is meant to fight, and that's fine. It's what clones are for - to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"A valiant attitude, but you're more than just a clone, Talla." Blair stated firmly, giving her a stern look that was reflected in the mirror, not one to beat around the bush. "You're a person, just like everyone else in the Republic, and a young woman like you should enjoy some aspects of life even though your expected to defend the Republic. I mean, you're not expected to fight all of the time."

"Actually, we are." Talla disagreed knowingly... grimly.

"But not tonight!" Skylar revealed excitedly, recalling what her ears had picked up, "When we were leaving the boys, I heard one of them mention going to 79's after they're done here!"

Blair gave such a dramatic gasp. "Okay -" She circled the chair around to face Talla, repeating Hunter's earlier actions by getting to her eye-level and firmly grasping the tense shoulders of the female clone, getting back to the issue at hand. "Talla, we want to help you liven up your look, we want feel confident, but we're gonna need your help to do it. Soooo -" She bobbed her head and hummed thoughtfully, trying to find a way to probe Talla's mind for ideas, "Alright, I want you to tell me the first thing that pops into your head when you think about yourself!"

Such a simple demand, but apparently a not-so-simple act, her mind immediately and frustratingly going blank after being asked that. SHE DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE! "Okay, umm - uh - er - OH, explosion!"

"Explosion?" Blair repeated dubiously, wondering what in the world Talla meant.

"Yeah!" Heat rose to her cheeks as their stares of stupefaction did not relent, and her voice was mouselike as she explained sheepishly, "...Because I, you know, survived an explosion?"

A slow, pensive nod from Blair started the act of verbally brainstorming. "Explosion..."

Skylar returned the nod with a contemplative hum alongside it, "- bomb..."

Blair snapped a finger triumphantly as a vision came to her, "- fire..."

Skylar's eyes sparked to life with a burst of creativity.

"We can work with this!" They unanimously acclaimed. "Talla, you're a genius!"

This comment for some reason was enough to put all the female clones' former apprehensions to rest.

- sure, the chemicals used in her hair slightly irritated her sensitive nose and skin, and the new, more trendsetting clothing found for the young woman to dress in definitely took some getting used to, and the two women working on her were so hyper, more hyper than her even, which she didn't think was humanly possible, but the end result was worth it. ;)

Not only did she find out that dying your hair a different color or COLORS than what you were born with was an amazing way to promote individuality, she also learned a lot about herself, the side of her that the Kaminoans had almost successfully squashed: the simply high-spirited young woman who should take every opportunity to be just that, not a clone soldier bred for war. That was something Ahsoka hadn't been able to explain to her, the young Jedi fighting in the same war as her but still, also, had a way of life that demanded she be sensible at all times. So, like she had habitually done since leaving Kamino, Talla asked lots and lots of questions and they happily answered each and every one of them, and went above and beyond for the very first female clone soldier they had ever known to exist.

"You're not a bother!" Blair reassured her with a friendly wink as she combed through Talla's damp but now brightly colored locks.

Skylar backed up this statement with kneeling down next to the chair and pulling Talla into a fleeting side hug despite the working artist above her when the self-conscious younger woman expressed self-shaming apologies for being so apparently high maintenance and bothersome, making Skylar say for extra inspiriting measures, "Us girls have to stick together, Talla!"

Blair and Skylar pulled all the stops to make sure Talla would fit in with the buzzing party atmosphere, for after explaining what that place was Talla pleaded to be dressed, well, more like them, because once she got used to the strange garb, that particular edgy style actually became appealing and gave her the same empowering feeling her armor did - KRIFFING BADASSERY. She wanted to test this 'normal person' thing, like wearing clothes that were actually flattering.

Though, she drew the line at deliberate tears in her new clothing style... it was just not right to ruin perfectly good clothes that way.

Well, they were beyond ecstatic to help her be free of those horrid robes! So once her hair was finished and styled two hours ahead of schedule, she scurried up with the two equally eager women to the third level of the parlor, which housed a small shop filled with hip clothing of every kind for any species, and spent the better half of an hour enthusiastically sifting through their 'so wizard!' clothing selections, holding up anything that excited her or thought looked amazing which was pretty much EVERYTHING, and the more experienced women nicely helped her piece together three extra outfits, graciously offering them to her for a sizeable discount of 100% off.

Talla persistently held out the pouch of creds the rich toned woman had stubbornly rejected two times already. "I can't take these new clothes without paying you, that'd be stealing! Even with Hunter getting a big tattoo, I promise I still have enough credits to pay you."

Again Skylar, co-owner of the parlor, stubbornly pushed the offered payment away. "Talla, I know that you're getting a lot of credits now, but once you start defying the long-necks they're probably going to discipline you, and with the Jedi around they'll have to stick to more petty means like restricting allowance. We want you to have some clothes other than blacks and armor to wear since you probably won't be able to afford more for a while."

"But this lot I picked out is worth 273 credits!" Talla pointed out regretfully, "Don't you have, like, bills to pay and mouths to feed with all the money you make in this place?"

"I do," Skylar calmly confirmed, "But I've never had a problem making ends meet even when handing out some freebies every once in a while."

"But -!"

Blair threw an arm around the Agent's shoulder and adopted a philosophical expression, "Talla, here's another life lesson," She waved a hand in the air as she spouted this sage wisdom, "When life hands you free clothes," And just like that, the metaphysical nature was dropped and replaced with comically fake exasperation, "DON'T BE A DUMMY - TAKE THEM!"

By the time she had been dressed into her outfit carefully curated for a night out on the big city, they still had thirty minutes until the five-hour deadline. By now, Talla's thinking had been rewired to know that she wasn't burdening them with this extensive makeover, but she still timidly asked for one more thing to add to this look since they had a teeny bit more time.

A mischievous smirk from both women was her reply. "I thought you'd never ask."


Skylar rubbed her hands together excitedly after Blair declared 'Done!' and clicked the cap back on the dark lipstick she had just used on Talla's lips. "You ready to see the finished look?"

Talla's laugh of reply was nervous and self-conscious and she fidgeted with the hem of the fit and flare, leather accented dress she had picked out. Now that the whole makeover was finished, she started feeling - way too late, mind you - that perhaps this was all too much. "I don't know... maybe?"

Blair replaced her anxious thoughts with uplifting ones, "You look stunning, Talla! Anyone who lays eyes on you is gonna faint, no doubt!"

"You don't think the makeup was too much?" Talla still fretted, touching the edge of her eye that was now lined with a thin line of red and a smitch of white, and her lips, now darkly painted with a sultry shade of maroon.

"We made sure to keep it simple but tasteful, I promise." Blair told her truthfully.

More fraught-ridden words threatened to spill from her mouth, so Skylar decided to take evasive, more resourceful measures - I.E., twirling the Agent around herself to face the mirror.

There were a few beats of uneasy silence as she took in her new and improved appearance, before Talla tilted her head and breathed, "Ooh."

And the women who helped her blossom into this new, proudly expressive individual were exceedingly happy that it was a noise of pure awe and not disappointment.

Blair wiped away a fake tear, "My beautiful caterpillar has blossomed into confident butterfly." She sniveled.

When Talla was offered the compliment that anyone who looked upon her now enhanced beauty would faint, she certainly was not expecting it to happen within her own squad. And Sergeant Hunter, the only one with enough patience to stay behind ten minutes after his appointment finished to wait for Talla's reappearance, was certainly not expecting her to look like... THAT.

~ To be continued... 😝 ~


Hehehehehe

I'm evil

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HAPPY STAR WARS DAYS, MY PEEPS! MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

- Ella ✌️