(DAY 104 w/ THE BAD BATCH)
Never wanting to waste a moment in the day, Talla was an early riser. In between missions, 7 o'clock sharp was when she woke up no matter how late she stayed up the night before, UNLESS she'd gotten a little tipsy at 79's or more recently, had her period. With a slew of awful symptoms debilitating her, only then did she sleep in and let the day pass her by.
With Shaeeah running her ragged the day before, it was noon before Talla woke up today, and not naturally, no she definitely needed more sleep, but an insistent poking on her face prevented that.
Face scrunching, her heavy eyelids slowly creaked opened.
A set of wide, bright pink eyes was the first thing she saw that morning.
"Yay, you're awake!" The girl lying next to her cheered, and flipping over she used the tiny control panel to flick on the room lights.
Even facing away from the room Talla's tired eyes felt like they were looking into the blinding sun. She rolled face down and groaned annoyingly into her pillow.
How the kriff did she get in here?
Shaeeah was not deterred, flopping back down on her side next to face-down Talla. "I've been trying to wake you up for like - well - FOREVER!"
Maybe Talla should've ferally hissed, made the girl think she was indeed an exotic, dangerous creature she should fear. In her groggy state Talla recalled her brainiac friend saying children tend to exaggerate, so she figured it wasn't FOREVER. Was strange though, the trouble Shaeeah apparently had because any little out of place noise could awaken someone as hearing sensitive as Talla.
Dang, I must've been more exhausted than I thought.
When Talla did not stir an inch at Shaeeah's declaration of impatience, the insistent poking resumed, this time on the back of the Agent's unruly head. "It's time to wake up, sleepyhead!" Shaeeah said with evident hilarity.
"Nooooooo..." Was Talla's muffled whine.
"C'mon, it's already lunchtime!"
Well... dang. New record.
One she didn't wanna break in the first place.
With great effort she pushed her sore upper body off the mattress-
- Only to blindly reach for the control panel, punch off the lights and flop back down. The bunk was more rock-like compared to her pillow-topped mattress but right now it felt like ✨heaven✨ and so did her fluffy pillow and blankets.
The little demon scrambled over her, and grunting the Agent spasmed when bony knees jabbed her back, the distinct sound of several bones popping not a very desirable wake-up alarm.
Then two small hands grabbed her ankle and start heaving her towards the bunk ladder with strength the Agent didn't know a child could possess.
"C'mon!" Shaeeah pulled with all the strength probably granted by the laborious farm work. "C'mon!"
Alarmingly, Talla found herself slipping off the bed, pitifully grumbled 'No' over and over again, and held fast to the sheets.
Apparently being a quick thinker, Shaeeah switched tactics.
The pause in yanking gave Talla the hope she'd given up, and she sank back into the mattress with a grateful sigh.
Only for the throw blanket she'd used as a barrier between her and sandpaper sheets to be given a full-fledged tug from the side.
She easily slid and-
"OOF!"
- face planted onto the soft rug next to the bunks.
It seemed she was not going to escape getting up for the day.
Groaning dramatically, she heaved herself over, planted her elbows on the floor to raise herself up, and dazedly beheld grinning Shaeeah, who was way too cheerful in the morning.
Talla would swear on the graves of all the fallen soldiers in this galactic war that she was getting paid back for everything she put Crosshair through.
"Let's go!" Shaeeah grabbed Talla's arm and hauled her to her feet, dragging her out of the room before the woman had a chance to look in the mirror.
"I got her up!" Shaeeah announced to the public, Talla rubbed a fist over her droopy eyes, trying to wake them up but only smearing her wasted makeup efforts from the day before.
Boy was she a sight to behold for wide-eyed everyone in the common area - the boys and, unexpectedly, the entire Lawquane family. A tangled mynock nest for hair, baggy clothes wrinkled and twisted in odd places, lack of boots and a missing sock with part of a pant leg stuck into its rolled band, her slumped and sore body, smeared eye makeup that did not blend well with her purple bags, and face reddened with imprinted odd patterns from her unmovable, comatose state - geez, she looked worse than when on her period.
From their places on one of the couches, Tech and Wrecker's eyes widened in concern; chilling against the door jam leading to the kitchen, Hunter couldn't believe she could possibly look worse from last night; cuddled against his burly uncle, Jek thought this is what a zombie must look like; the parents on the other hand gave each other understanding, secret smiles, whom Shaeeah ran up to at the table and animatedly began telling them all what happened yesterday; and at the workbench Crosshair didn't hold back a snicker at her appearance.
"Motherhood is a great look for you."
With a withering look from beneath her messy bangs, she efficiently communicated to him: 'Kark off.'
Taking pity, Hunter asked knowingly to the woman shuffling up to him next, "Is it going to be a cup of caf kind of day?"
She gave a slow nod, still trying to wake up her eyes. "Can you put a shot of somethin' strong in it?" Talla hoarsely requested as he pushed off his perch, her feet dragging when she followed.
A concerned glance over his shoulder, Hunter opened the dish cabinet. "'fraid not." He denied, taking out and putting her favorite mug under the prepared dispenser, hoping the machine wouldn't choose now of all times to glitch.
Weak hands placed on the sinks counter, Talla made to hop up on its edge, "But it might -" Took a few tries with her jelly arms, "Might give me the jolt I need to wake up -"
*hop*
Too far!
Slipping into the sink her arms flailed-
Just in time Hunter shot a hand out and caught hers. "You already can't see straight or control your bodily functions." When steadying her Talla held onto Hunter like he was a lifeline, making him tilt his head in concern, "How could one kid do this to you?"
The machine beeped, and he was quick to add creamer, sugar, and press the prepared mug into her weak hands, hoping it would revive her.
"I've never seen you like this, not unless your hungover or bleeding for seven days straight." He continued, leaning on his elbow against the counter next to Talla, who took a moment to close her eyes and deeply inhale the bitter yet sweet scent of liquid sanity that might give her the boost needed to deal with the little monsters today.
Hunter thought cleaning up would help her out, but it seemed to do nothing!
So much for staying up all night to make everything spotless.
A sip was taken, and Talla sighed as that first blissful and disgusting drop touched her weary soul. "Ever had to take care of a hyperactive kid?" She finally answered.
Hunter's brow shot up. "Have you met Wrecker?"
Valid.
"Let me rephrase: Ever had to take care of a hyperactive kid all by yourself?"
"Have you met the others?" Was his second smart aleck remark. Not even Tech helped out with wrangling up the hyperactive kid and his silver-haired instigator - the peaceful brainiac preferred to stay out of the drama.
Still, Hunter's perceived as rude lack of sympathy caused an eye roll, "Another fair point I guess, but believe it or not that girl's got like - like the energy and destructive power of THREE Wrecker's!" Talla revealed, that crazed look coming back.
"... You know what, I believe it, considering anything and everything on this ship was out of place." Hunter concurred after a pause of reflection, "I had to reassemble a whole desk chair and part of the couch, buff out tons of scratches and skid marks on the walls and floors, and let's not even mention the fact our computer's language settings are now in something foreign."
Hunter would've never in his wildest dreams imagined one kid being rowdier than this stunning brood of clone rejects with acute pyromania and anger management issues.
She gave a disconcerted half shrug at the computer issue. "Eh, I can fix that no problem."
"Yeah, but he's going to flip the lid when he sees the cracked screen."
A spike in her blood pressure, Talla shared a frightened glance with Hunter. With the ship turned upside down, she must have missed that particular accident during demon patrol.
"... Would you be so kind as to make sure there's Queen's Heart blossoms decorating my funeral service?" Talla requested, dead serious about it too.
It was hard for Hunter not to crack a little smile, partly thinking she was being dramatic to lighten the mood. "Oddly specific." He replied, victoriously containing it.
To his surprise he was granted a small, wistful smile from Talla. "They're an ornamental flowering plant that grow on Naboo, and the capital city - Theed - have hundreds of these planters full of these blossoms lining the streets; their simple but pretty, not very fragrant so I don't think they'd give me a headache, and I always wanted to make it to Naboo one day, so -" She sheepishly shrugged with heat rising to her fact at catching Hunter unable to hide not a smile of being amused, but a small smile of admiration.
He couldn't help it, with all those fickle 'maybes' circling around his head. Over time, Hunter had grown to adore Talla's sprightliness, and as the marks she put on her vambrace grew in number, symbolizing completed missions where she'd faced one terror after another, the number of moments where that sparkle in her eyes had started to dwindle.
Her sword-like tongue never failed, nor her compassion, nor her mischievousness, and she still had lots of energy but last night was the first time in a while that he saw that bright of a sparkle in her eyes, even if it had been during a calmer moment. As it happened to them all, the war was dimming her down bit by bit.
And ever since her period, she'd been acting a little off despite the gruesome event long over for now, dreading the unavoidable trip back to the lovely homeworld.
"I'll make it my top priority then, next to preventing a funeral in the first place, of course." He sort of joked, to keep that bright sparkle there just a little while longer.
It did, but then the moment was over when she shifted slightly away from him, thus all those 'maybe's in his mind were completely bull-dozed aside to make way for that crippling self-doubt.
Whatever this was between them was out in the open now, and both had no clue what to do about the awkwardness that followed when neither wanted to bring up the subject first, and deal with the consequences afterwards, where they had both truly feared this being the only solution: they needed to be separated.
Because of the unspoken rules for soldiers, the only logical solution Talla could think of in this moment, to save them both the trouble would be to... leave the Bad Batch? Maker, she thought her position in the squadron was solid now, but it had already taken so much out of Talla to accept the grey colored situation that was Cut's desertion, and didn't know if she had the mental capacity to deal with another grey area that the real world had to offer. It was scary and distressing enough hiding Wrecker's relationship.
And what really sucked was that finding out your crush might feel the same for you should be something to jump for joy at!
To change the tone of conversation to safe and serious, Talla huffed, "And if that hyperactivity wasn't enough to deal with, Shaeeah's got the weird question frequency of Tech on steroids, and sadly inherited the manipulative powers of her dearest Uncle Crosshair."
Avoiding Hunter's dejected face, Talla slid off the counter, but he threw out his hands to stop her. "Um, you might wanna -" When she reluctantly looked back, he made a gesture to her crazy hair.
Heat rising to her face again, Talla quickly set down her mug and ran her fingers through the tangled mynock nest to tame it. "Force, I must look like I stuck my finger in a power socket!"
"Something like that." It was out of his mouth before Hunter had a chance to think it through.
Shrinking in embarrassment, Talla doubled her efforts to try and fix her hair, gathering it up into the messiest ponytail in the known galaxy.
Hunter mentally smacked himself in the face. Wrong thing to say, WRONG THING TO SAY!
Giving an awkward cough, his attempt at back pedaling was pitiful. "But you're still you know - uh - you still look - um - good!"
He could give whole inspirational speeches when trying to ease her anxieties, yet, he was so pathetic he couldn't figure out how to give a decent compliment, or at the very least, keep his trap shut.
On the outside, Hunter made to appear totally aloof since he couldn't do himself any favors, simply turning his back to Talla, taking a dishrag and mopping up the droplets of caf that spilled from her mug.
But on the inside, he internally cringed how bad that sounded, and this attempt at a compliment failed just like the first time he tried doing something like this, all that time ago at 79's.
It was only after she made her escape that his brain gave him actual compliments worth saying.
'You look good in my clothes,' perhaps, though it would've been much too suggestive for two people forced (in their minds) to be just friends.
'You're beautiful inside and out,' maybe?
Or, 'You look beautiful even when you don't try.'
"Yeah, thanks a lot brain." Hunter grumped, picking up the mug and sloshing the forgotten caf down the sink drain.
The boys returned to the farmhouse with the family, leaving Talla behind to freshen up. To her dismay she had to use one of the sonic showers in the medbay until their water tanks could be restocked at the next base.
Sonic showers were efficient, sure, but it did not give Talla the same fresh feeling as a proper one did. The liberally applied sunscreen didn't make things any better, the greasy substance just intensified the grimy sensations. Being in the desert for the next foreseeable future, man Talla wished she had savored that nice warm shower a couple days ago. They had never failed to relax her either, which she desperately needed.
Maybe later on she could bribe Tech to allow her to have just a one-minute rinse or something.
She felt her chances were slim though, considering the computer screen was cracked... When he found out, his shouts echoed throughout the ship.
Lacking the sensation of being refreshed, messing with her shirts collar since it felt like it was sticking to her sweaty neck, Talla was less than enthusiastic when intercepting Cut and Suu outside the house. The latter had replaced her sunhat with a helmet and goggles, having plans to take a trip into town and buy ingredients for a mini feast that she felt all these deprived soldiers had earned a hundred times over.
Talla would've preferred having the long-awaited conversation at a time when she was less physically uncomfortable, but found herself needing to clear her throat, to prevent being an awkward spectator of a goodbye smooch between the couple.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lawquane?" Talla shyly interrupted.
It was understandable that Suu's guard immediately went up, hands on her husband's shoulders seizing protectively. Sure, Talla had not harmed their child, but there was still the big veermok in the room to be resolved, hopefully in Cut's favor. These last few days not knowing if their life would be turned upside down had not been good for her well-being.
Nonetheless, Suu forced herself to sound somewhat warm and hospitable when asking Talla if she needed anything, for the sake of not giving the Agent any extra ammo to use against her, who's opening statement was rather cut and dry:
"I wanted to say that on a daily basis I either liberate planets or put down insurrections, each requiring to take down hundreds or thousands of clankers, but watching your daughter yesterday left me more exhausted than any of those missions."
In hindsight, perhaps Talla should've started off the discussion a little better. It might've soothed the wife's confrontational shift when she took this as an insult to their parenting.
Putting a hand on Suu's tense shoulder Cut decided to give Talla the benefit of the doubt, this being the first time the Agent used his name without mockery, after all. "A little friendly advice: it's alright to say no to her." He chortled good-naturedly, "Children need limits and boundaries, otherwise they will walk all over you if given the chance."
"But when she gives me those eyes -!" Talla comically lamented.
"I know, I was weak in the beginning too." He wholeheartedly empathized. "But it'll pay off in the long run, I've seen." Cut threw his wife a smile, Shaeeah and Jek proving to be well-behaved children when he met them, growing into quite the responsible little people.
Conceding to the wise words of the experienced parent, Talla crossed get arms and pouted, "Fine, I'll try to be stronger."
How that look worked in the first place though, Talla still hadn't a clue.
An awkward silence consisted of Cut and Suu shrugging at each other when not knowing what to do when Talla was looking to the side, her mind obviously a million parsecs away.
"So you interrupted us to complain about our daughter?" Suu asked tersely.
Startling, Talla shook her head to clear it. "Uh no, no I actually wanted to tell you that -"
It was as if the weight of her decision just hit her like a ton of bricks.
"... I'm not going to turn you in." The Agent sounded a bit winded when disclosing this to the suspicious couple, whom she couldn't look at straight, feeling - strangely - a bit woozy about the happy news.
But for the couple, this happy news was as if a ton of bricks had been LIFTED from their shoulders!
Suu shared a relieved smile with Cut and he welcomed the relieved hug she initiated, giving her a squeeze back, and a little peck in the crook of her neck. The affectionate gestures made Talla look away, both out of awkwardness... and a hint of bitterness.
"What made you change your mind?" Suu curiously wondered a moment later, hands and head still against Cut's chest since he kept his arms around her shoulders, both so incredibly thankful they wasn't going to be ripped away from each other. Suu was happy about this, of course, but she supposed she wanted to see if the newcomer would be able to back this was a sound reason, if this was truly an act of kindness... or just an act of deceit to get them to lower their guards.
Regaining composure since they weren't kissy-kissy anymore, Talla looked Cut in the eye. "If you can manage to keep up with not one but two kids, you're definitely courageous - even with the support of a spouse, I can't imagine how exhausting being a full-time parent can be; Hunter helped me out yesterday with one measly babysitting session -" Her sore frame slouched, "And I'm kriffin' exhausted."
"It does get exhausting at times," Cut agreed, then with a warm smile added, "But it's also rewarding."
The mental image of the little mess maker peacefully sleeping in her arms re-emerged. "Yeah, I guess." There was a nice feeling that came along with knowing a child was safe, happy, and content.
She had to ask Suu, "How did you do it all on your own, before Cut came along?"
A light bulb went off in Suu's mind.
"Well, I'm off to town to pick up some ingredients for supper," She left Cut to place a welcoming hand on Talla's shoulder. "Why don't you come along with me? We could get to know each other better as friends instead of adversaries."
Looking up at her, Talla's widening eyes openly showed her faint-heartedness at this offer. "Really? After what I put you through, in front of your kids too - you're not mad?"
This was the first time Suu genuinely smiled at her. "This is not the first time we've gone through this, and it probably won't be the last." This smile reached her blue eyes, with no forced friendliness behind it, and the older woman squeezed the youngers shoulder to back it up. "So we're going to focus on the relief we have for the next while instead of the two short days spent in agony."
Cut stepped forward with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's all water under the bridge now, Agent Talla."
Talla hadn't yet been accustomed to not having severe repercussions when upsetting someone, even after being with the boys for a while now.
Taking her grim look and silence the wrong way, Cut made sure to ask, "Are you 100% confident about your decision?" He may be opinionated and a bit pushy, but the last thing in the world he wanted was to make someone do something that'd make them unhappy. He just wanted what was best for everyone, open their eyes to the possibilities if he could, so no one had to just settle for a grim way of life.
It took a few blinks and gapes before Talla could form a coherent answer, eyes flitting between Cut and Suu.
"Confident, yes." Placing a hand against her whirling head, she added, "Feel funny about it? Also yes, this - this is all so strange for me, I guess don't really know how to feel about it yet..." A half shrug was given, "I don't know why you left the army, but you - you both give up so much of yourself for the family you have." This was the first genuine smile she gave the deserter and his wife who kept the secret. "Those kids are really lucky to have you both." With these devoted caretakers, the kids would definitely be ready to take on the galaxy when they left the nest.
How Talla could feel both angry at Nala Se for depriving her of this, yet still defend her actions at times... Force, her brain hurt from the two extremes yanking it apart.
That aside, next came the sheepishness, even though they said it was all water under the bridge.
Looking down she tugged at the hair bun against the base of her neck. "I feel I should say sorry, though, for getting so defensive over training Shaeeah without asking you first."
Suu squeezing her shoulder gave Talla the confidence to look up, finding understanding instead of that anger she always expected.
It allowed her to stand tall again... And admit to some other things that could've been better left unsaid but her overworking conscience forced her to anyways. General Shaak Ti had once told her that it was best to not deceive friends.
Talla safely bet that this wouldn't have such drastic consequences like if the boys found out about their true purpose, and with a clear of her throat she piled on with, "And sorry for pulling a blaster on you in front of the kids... And causing a bunch of scenes at breakfast... and trying to weasel information out of your daughter about this other reg who apparently knows about ya'll."
Suu blinked.
Talla picking at the hems of her sleeves out came more and more confessions from her that the Lawquane's were not aware of. "And for maybe skulking around the property the night before with the intent of planning a swift, silent, and efficient kidnapping -"
Suu and Cut exchanged alarmed glances.
With a sheepish grin Talla raised a finger, "By the way, the roof above your sofa has a couple of loose wooden slabs, which someone could easily lift and drop into your house from -"
Gaping, Suu's reassuring hand on Talla's shoulder dropped and became limp at her side.
"- and I would've succeeded in my attempted kidnapping had Shaeeah not snuck out to go watch holovids in her tree house with the datapad Wrecker let her borrow -"
Cut could only huff a short laugh at the absurdity of this all.
But Talla wasn't finished, this time having advice of her own to bestow on the clueless parents. "You might wanna consider nailing a screen to the kids bedroom window because if I hadn't noticed her in the yard from the kitchen window -"
"What were you doing in the kitchen?" Suu asked with equal incredulity.
"I wanted to get some supplies for the trip back to Coruscant because if I had poked around in our kitchen Hunter would've heard me."
"He didn't hear you leave the ship?" Cut doubted.
"I told everyone I had a migraine and camped out in the cockpit, which is remarkably soundproof and has an emergency trap door I slipped out of unnoticed."
Hands on hips Cut halfway turned, laughing again 'cause this was nuts! All this happened under their noses and they had not the slightest clue!
Talla fidgeted again, "Anyways, you were saved from my momentary insanity because I had to watch over Shaeeah - a nexu or some other bloodthirsty creature could have had an easy midnight snack with the southwest perimeter of the fence is glitching - OH!" Talla snapped her fingers as she remembered that last thing, "By the way, the southwest perimeter of the fence is glitching! That's why you weren't alerted of an intruder by the motion sensor light."
Is that all?
"Whoo!" Talla exhaled, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward a bit as she caught her breath, "I think that's everything."
Thank the Force, yes.
"I feel much better about starting a friendship now!" Talla beamed at the two dumbly mute farmers with an air of amusement in the moments that followed.
"... I hope that's everything." With a wide-eyed glance at her husband, by the glimmer of amusement in his eyes Suu saw he shared the same opinion on the matter:
They weren't even mad. This was so absurd that they couldn't be mad. Talla was one determined gal.
Out of nervous habit, Talla made the gesture of brushing an imaginary lock of hair behind her ear, "Heh, well you know, I thought you were a heartless wretch needed to be brought to justice."
"You're insane." Cut chuckled at her with a shake of his head, "No wonder you fit in so well."
Talla bashfully shrugged, "I take that as the highest of compliments," And halfheartedly sauntered off, saying over her shoulder she was gonna go grab a speeder from the Marauder.
Befriending a deserter might have been wierd -
(FLASHBACK)
SAC-1's eyebrows rose. "Wow. Mistress Nala Se did say you guys were different, and I guess she wasn't kidding. This goes against everything I was taught about being a soldier." She shrugged dismissively. "But, you guys haven't failed a single mission, so whatever you're doing must be working."
(END OF FLASHBACK)
- but hey, at the very beginning, Talla learned that these guys went about things differently. And they'd proven a hundred times over that despite these different ways of going about things, that didn't mean Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Crosshair didn't have hearts of gold.
When she was out of earshot, Cut's features shifted from amused to pleased, which was directed at his spouse who hadn't quite gotten over her baffled state just yet.
He wagged his finger at her approvingly. "Nicely and sneakily done, Mrs. Lawquane, finding the perfect opportunity and striking!"
Being brought back down to earth, Suu rolled her eyes playfully, but couldn't fight the smile.
On a high, Cut exuberantly continued with, "This is working out perfectly! Getting her to understand our side of things took much less time and with that nonsense out of the way we can focus on the actual mission at hand."
An eyebrow shooting upwards, Suu gave a short laugh. "So it's a 'mission' now?"
Becoming completely serious, Cut declared, "Yes, and it's called Operation: Get Broody Boy and Lady Firecracker together." Suu laughed again, music to her husband's ears. "I'll handle the interrogations with Broody Boy, you get Lady Firecracker." He gave a way out of character evil chuckle while rubbing his palms together mischievously. "It's all coming together."
Concern inched its way into Suu's demeanor. "You are much too excited about this."
With a smug grin he closed the distance, pulling her close and Suu laughed into the kiss, and when breaking away couldn't help but peck another on his cheek before jumping on her speeder to catch up with her assignment.
It would take thirty minutes to get to the little portside town nearest to the Lawquane farmstead.
The women only made it several miles from the house when a nauseated Suu yanked up the handlebars, ears ringing with the bike's screech in protest, and shoved off before the bike had fully skidded to a stop.
By the time Talla registered the loss of her biker companion, caused a dust cloud by making that unsafe U-turn at break-neck speed, the pink twi'lek was finishing up retching the contents of her stomach by a tall boulder used to support herself with.
"Suu!"
Pushing up her goggles Talla scrambled away from the bike to be at her new friend's side.
"Suu what's wrong?!" Rubbing her back while Suu gave a couple more dry heaves, Talla was alarmed at this random bout of sickness and was compiling a list of medical questions to ask Suu once she finished, to diagnose and treat.
Talla made to rip off her helmet to give Suu the square bandana underneath tying down her hair, but Suu had apparently come prepared and wiped her mouth with a kerchief that had been around her neck, so Talla settled for pulling out a canteen of cold water from her companions satchel at the waist.
Unscrewing the cap for her, the impromptu medic softly encouraged the patient to take small sips, and it was only then Suu was finally able to answer Talla's concern, wobblily standing upright and grasping the Agent's steady hand, "Don't tell Cut." She pleaded in a hoarse voice.
Talla held fast to her, insisting on another sip because Suu lost a lot of fluids. "Don't tell him that you're clearly sick?" Talla asked rhetorically as she was obeyed, "He'll know when I take you home."
After swallowing, Suu negated firmly, "We're going." Stuffing the cloth into her pocket and the canteen back into the satchel.
"But you're sick." Talla firmly countered to Suu's retreating back.
Not listening, Suu plopped herself back onto the bike seat, only saying mysteriously, "I will explain everything when we're in town, and I'd appreciate your discretion."
Geez, is this how everyone else really feels when I do this? She should apologize to the guys again, because Talla's patience was wearing thin for the woman downplaying her symptoms.
Hands on her hips, the impromptu medic asked, "Why is getting supper ingredients worth aggravating your sickness? When I was snooping around the kitchen, I saw you had plenty of things to make the delicious feast you were talking about - we're not picky by any means, Suu, but you should know that what you and Cut have been making so far has been super delicious and much appreciated already."
Suu wordlessly gave the Agent a pleading look, her knuckles turning white from fierce grip on the handlebars revealing her severe uneasiness.
A stark contrast to the threatening glares Talla had grown used to receiving, the motherly glances she'd observed the children receive, the lovey-dovey looks between her and Cut, and then more recently the warm friendliness directed at her.
Well, Talla was created to help those in need.
Oh, but Talla wanted to make Suu march right back to the house and tell her husband about this sickness she kept secret from him! His own darling wife was obviously not feeling well, and while Talla didn't have personal experience with marriage let alone relationships, she figured Cut had a right to know. It affected his life too.
Perhaps a bit hypocritical, considering she kept under wraps the Bad Batch's true purpose for their existence... but this was different!
One thing this situation had in common with that though: Talla also didn't want to do anything to jeopardize this new friendship.
So with much trepidation, she heaved a worrisome sigh, "Alright, I'll keep quiet."
But when reclaiming the other bike the medic twisted sharply around to say, "But if you start to feel worse you better tell me so we can go straight back to home base!"
Unbeknownst to her, Suu knew there'd be another stop or two before reaching the port town, and wordlessly powered up the bike.
The medic took this as another disregard for her well-being. "At the very least, does someone sell carbonated drinks at the markets, preferably without caffeine or much sugar?" Talla now pleaded, "It can help soothe nausea." But the way Suu was acting, this seemed like more than just general motion sickness or an upset stomach.
Ooo, a soft drink sounded like a delightful way to treat herself! So Suu nodded, pulled back on her goggles, and soon both women were speeding back into town, the Agent wondering what exactly Suu was hiding, and the mother hoping that the symptoms she'd been having for the last couple of days didn't mean what she suspected it was... but at the same time excited because what if they WERE what she suspected it was?
It'd definitely be a surprise... A welcome one, she hoped.
Cut Lawquane was a man who did not beat around the bush. If he had an issue or in this case wanted some answers, he... well, CUT to the chase.
Wrecker and Crosshair raced speeders around the acreage, Shaeeah and Jek were the cheering audience whilst Tech, having attached mini cams to the racer's helmets, knelt to the children's level and let them hang all over him to watch the live video feed from his datapad.
All of them occupied, Cut insisted that Hunter help him with the fence repairs.
In the middle of placing a bet when Cut snatched him away, a side-stumbling Hunter jerked a thumb at the resident technology genius. "But wouldn't Tech be a better assistant -"
"Nope, Tech's already busy!" Cut slung an arm around his little brother's neck, urging him away from the others even more. "And as I told you and the boys long ago: everyone pulls their weight on a farm!"
There was something in the glint on Cut's eyes that made Hunter uneasy... maybe it was because the farmer had unshakeable hold on the Sarge that he didn't think he could break away from if it was so tried?
Hunter's instincts were right to be on edge.
Far away from prying ears, they had barely started the repairs when Cut figuratively cornered Hunter with no hope for escape.
When the Sergeant was hammering a bent rod back into shape against a flat rock, being no help at all Cut causally leaned against the deactivated fence pole above and outright asked, "Sooo, how long have you been smitten with Special Agent Talla?"
CLANG!
"AH!" the awry hammer had slammed down right onto Hunter's poor thumb, "Son of a kriffing bantha!" He cursed under his breath, with a long wince shaking out his throbbing hand.
In a very smug manner Cut joked, "Looks like I hit the mark, unlike you."
Hunter's thumb was probably broken, but that was going to be the least of his worries. He couldn't even look up at the smirking man as that panic kicked in.
When did he -
HOW DID HE -
It was only when he told himself to STOP! that the rehearsed mask of indifference could cover up the anxiety, and only then did Hunter allow himself to meet his older brothers all-knowing, all-seeing gaze. "What kind of question is that?" He was dumb to rebuff, cradling his pulsating hand to his chest, hoping that his breathlessness sounded like it came from the injury.
Cut's mocking chuckle caused Hunter's hope to be thrown out the window, much like he knew his dignity would in the forced heart-to-heart the farmer would drag him into. Much like the Tiima's, Cut did not mince words.
"Don't even try to deny it, vod."Cut smugly advised, "I saw the two of you getting pretty cozy on the porch before breakfast."
Karking hells.
It took everything in Hunter to maintain that straight face against that stupid smirk.
But against that unrelenting force his walls crumbled, and with a silent admittance of defeat Hunter could only exhale in frustration, Cut's stupid smirk backed with a triumphant raise of the chin.
Cut knew, Cut was going to wanna hear all about it, and Cut was going to tell him to go for it. Didn't mean Hunter was going to make this easy for the married man who apparently loved to gossip.
His expression closing up, Hunter turned away to snatch up the hammer despite the throbbing pain, resuming the task without doing one thing to satisfy Cut's curiosity.
That was alright - Cut liked a challenge.
Shockingly more for Hunter's sake than his own, because Cut knew exactly how to make this all the more uncomfortable for the reserved man, the farmer urged him, "Look, we both know that I won't let this go, so let's discuss this, shall we?"
"Let's not, shall we?" With more force than necessary Hunter brought the hammer down on the bent rod, gritted teeth chattering from the tremors up his arm holding the abused piece of metal down.
"Ah, thanks for confirming it." Cut sniffed, then clearing his throat and over the steeple he created with his hands, Cut started unloading a speech fully intended to make Hunter bend to his will, as it were. "So, it's very natural, even for a stoic man such as yourself, to feel some nerves during the beginning stages of a relationship."
Hand freezing mid-strike, cold dread flooded Hunter's body.
"It's something new... delicate... " Cut piled on with his fatherly tone times ten, happily watching the stunned man be in such denial this was happening he was excruciatingly slow in turning back to the farmers direction. "A new relationship is fragile, if you will..."
Fully addressing the farmer standing above him, Hunter's slack face was comically overtaken by true terror.
Just as Cut predicted, "And since this is your first serious relationship -" The younger man below was given a pointed glance, "That I know of, it's going be all the more nerve-wracking -"
In half a second Hunter leapt from the ground and the hammer was hovering under his brother's chin. "Do not make me turn this into a murder weapon." A very much abashed Hunter threatened, and by the Force he hoped Cut would take his red face as him being full of rage at his meddling.
Cut mischievously gleaming brown orbs flickered to Hunter's identical ones pitifully failing at being ablaze with ferocity. Then he calmly pondered the potential murder weapon, then back up to Hunter again, who had begun the struggle of maintaining control over his steady breathing. Hunter's eyes were more rounded with fear than anything else, and his rigid frame and jaw clenched so hard it could've shattered completed the look that clearly communicated: "This is something I don't want to treat as a little game."
"Alright," Cut relented, raising his palms but still having a ghost of a grin. "Alright."
This barely made a dent in easing Hunter's embarrassment, and while the hammer was slowly lowered the Sarge still looked like someone who had just been shot in the head. "Try talking to me in the exact opposite way you did just now, because I can make it look like there was a nexu attack, and we're surrounded by hundreds of miles of desert that has infinite chasms I can dump your corpse in," The hammer was tapped twice against the chest of the unfazed farmer, "And it'd never be found, vod." Hunter finished with a mock lilt in his voice, imitating Cut to drive the point home.
"... Well, that's just what I wanted," Cut promised, lowering one hand to cautiously lay on Hunter's shoulder, "To have a mature, adult conversation on why -" Hunter experienced a jolt from being shaken, "Why the hell are you holding back?!"
Mouth pressing into a grim line, Hunter reluctantly accepted his fate.
"Quit treating me like one of your kids getting the birds and bees talk," He still bargained, "Because I already feel humiliated enough."
To his relief Cut nodded, and reached down to retrieve the mangled pole. "She obviously feels the same for you." He told Hunter while his judgy eyes roamed the piece of ruined metal. "So, there's no reason you shouldn't pursue her."
Thoroughly embarrassed at his lack of control, the hammer was chucked back into the toolbox nearby. "Yes, there's lots of reasons." Hunter claimed above the sound of clattering tools.
"What, because you're the squadron leader?" Cut retorted flatly, tossing the unnecessary rod over his shoulder and reaching down to pull out a welder and some work goggles from the toolbox, "That doesn't matter for your particular squadron unless you're on the battlefield."
Hunter scoffed, "Well, what about -"
"The others?" Slipping the goggles over his dulled eyes, Cut took a few steps away and knelt by the real issue - the power box for this stretch of fence, "Honestly, I don't think they'll ever lose respect for you - you've proven to be a fantastic leader time and time again."
Hunter didn't know if he should be surprised that Cut knew what he was going to say before he said it, or be furious because the mangled rod he'd been bending back into shape apparently wasn't the issue with the fence - several gashes on the power box were.
This had all been a ruse to get him alone because Cut knew he'd feel useless dealing with the mechanical issues, and would've rejected the offer to be a dumb bystander waiting around to not be a big help.
If he'd gone back to the others now, Hunter would've had to come up with a believable excuse as to why he left, maintaining a straight face the entire time so they didn't catch wind of the embarrassing spotlight he was put under.
Unlikely.
So he was trapped.
He should really learn how to be more mechanically informed. Might save him some trouble later on.
Cut completely ignoring the smoldering glare burning holes on the back of his head, the box's cover was opened, "Yeah, there's going to be teasing, they are your brothers after all," Sparks flew when Cut started up the fusing of several parts torn asunder, "But you know they don't mean any harm."
One by one, he was voicing all the ridiculous excuses Hunter had been repeating to himself over and over again in a tortuous mantra, and showing how completely out of character they were for a badass Bad Batch member.
Reaching up to the back of his sweaty neck, Hunter still lamely tried another, "But the war -"
"It'll give you a life outside the front lines, Sarge," Cut declared, pausing to throw Hunter a knowing smile over his shoulder, "A pleasant distraction I think you both know you deserve - why else would you keep Wrecker's relationship a secret?"
With a sharp exhale, Hunter shook his head in bewilderment, "How do you know what I'm going to say before I even say it?"
"Because I am as close to you as any life form can be." Cut flicked some toggles and switches, the repaired fence humming back to life.
The power box cover was snapped closed, and a shifty Hunter was met with an expectant raise of the brows behind the goggles, and cross of the arms. "Now, do you have any more pathetic excuses?"
"I'm surprised you haven't guessed the biggest issue of all." Hunter claimed shortly, but on the inside his stomach was in knots.
Yup. With an inquisitive tilt of his head Cut saw right through him. "You don't care about the silly rules the GAR sets, spoken or unspoken." He smirked, "I guarantee Wrecker and I aren't the only clones in secret commited relationships, Hunter, and if we can could learn to keep it safe, you definitely can too." He shrugged, "And who knows, maybe one day we won't have to hide them anymore."
The more he voiced these excuses, the more Hunter realized how pathetic they had been, how Cut would in no way believe them, and how stupid he was to think that they would work on anyone if the feelings he and Talla mutually shared had been found out.
It begged the question, since they were apparently so careless and obvious... Who else new?
Finding his boots easier to look at, Hunter kicked away a pebble. "Yeah, but if the Kaminoans find out? Won't they flex their power and separate us so we don't break those stupid, unspoken rules?"
"Well, than maybe you should consider -"
His hand snapped out and the Sarge pressed two fingers to Cut's chest. "I'm not going to be so selfish that I stop fighting and leave my squad hanging in midair - it'd go against everything I stand for as the leader."
Cut was silent for a long, tense moment, frustration starting to grow. He was starting to see that he could talk to Hunter all he wanted, but if Hunter was unable to get out of his own head there was only so much Cut could help.
But just as fast as that frustration came it was gone, and after turning away for a split second Cut removed his goggles lightly tossed both tools back into the toolbox so he could lay his hand back on Hunters tense shoulder, the sincere warmth and care in his eyes no longer blurred by the goggles. "Look, I just want understand, Hunter." Cut implored of the man who continued to find his boots a more easier thing to ponder, "What I saw, it looked special, and I just want to know why you're making up all these stupid excuses."
Cut was not rewarded with vulnerability as he'd hoped, only rising exasperation. "... I -" The Sergeant wiped a hand down his face, completely overwhelmed and done. "I don't know."
"Yeah, you do," Cut disagreed, but released him and granted him some personal space again. "And I think that you also know that people like you and me, all the odds are stacked against us from the moment we're fresh out of the tube."
Only then, did Hunter raise his eyes, met with an uncharacteristic solemn frown.
"A chance at some happiness like this doesn't just fall into your lap every day, Sarge, because of everything from our controversial existence to how hectic this war makes out lives." Brushing aside a grim Hunter, Cut swiped up the toolbox by the handle, "From what I can tell so far Talla is a great woman, there's trust and understanding and openness, there's definitely a spark -" He also retrieved the mangled rod, "AND she lives in the same starship as you, which is half the battle for say Wrecker and the infamous Skylar Tiima, wouldn't you say?"
Like Hunter did to him earlier, Cut tapped the rod against his brother's chest when he turned, to drive the point home. "Those crazy lovebirds can only HOPE to see each other every couple of weeks and that's IF Wrecker doesn't get incinerated on the battlefield." Cut held up his palm with the rod, "A highly unlikely scenario, yes, but I'm sure it's a fear in the back of Miss Tiima's mind regardless."
When Hunter said nothing, Cut half-shrugged in dismissal, seeming to let him off the hook. "You don't want to talk to me about it, fine, I've seen I'm not your preferred choice in a confidant." He made sure to lightly tease, making Hunter veer his reddening face away, "But you're going to have to talk to Talla about it eventually, and I don't want you to make a snap decision just because you can't get out of your own head, when logic is being crowded out by fear or something else just as powerful and self-destructive."
Hunter frozen in his tracks as Cut left in the direction of the barn, he could only think: You have no idea.
On the outskirts was a bike lot, and Talla paid for the speeders to be safely secured before her and Suu ventured inside the walls of the hot and dusty markets of the spaceport town.
It wasn't an impressive sight at first glance. Rustic, borderline primitive from the terrible lack of modern technology, but it had a certain charm to it, she had to admit. In many ways kind of refreshing to the polluted, crowded, stinky streets of Coruscants capital city.
Actually, there was some stinky parts in this town - live-stock stalls.
But what this town lacked in modern touches was made up by some old-fashioned mannerisms by the people.
On Coruscant you were surrounded by cold steel galore and even colder people always in a rush to get to their destinations, most not caring who they trampled over to get there. Everyone kept to themselves and you were considered lucky if you didn't nearly get shoved off an elevated sidewalk, or get an unscheduled haircut from a runaway bike speeding just mere centimeters above your head while it evaded capture from the Coruscant Gaurd.
This was the only town within several hundred miles of desert farmland. The buildings and stalls were made of wood and clay bricks and straw warmed by the unobstructed sunlight and run by the warmest and most welcoming of people, Talla found.
The Agent had a jump scare when passing one rodian salesperson who was switching out an empty basket of berries. She kindly bid her good afternoon, to which Talla responded with a tight smile and nod when getting over her shock. The salespeople at the Coruscant Markets just shouted their sales pitches and why they were better than your extortionate retail stores.
And when Talla had accidentally bumped into an elderly gentleman and caused a mess from spilling his freshly purchased crate of jogans, he didn't cuss her out in a language she hadn't learned yet. Instead HE apologized for HIS clumsiness, and offered the least bruised fruit he could find once they'd both successfully retrieved every runaway jogan, saying it was alright when Talla rejected and sputtered forth an apology of her own.
"These are only going to be turned into jam anyways!" He laughed it off.
So Talla scored a free jogan! Which she gave to Suu, who had lost her breakfast and lunch several times over on the ride here.
A city girl through and through, Talla was in awe seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables grown right on Saleucami's very own soil brightly filling up the locally woven colorful baskets, and the fragrant dried herbs strung up on lines for display. On Coruscant, everything was imported and was most likely frozen at some point or altered in some other way in the growth process to maintain freshness on the journey to the Core of the Galaxy.
Then the delicious smells of roasting meats wafting through the streets-
Talla did a double take though with one stall that was selling ANIMAL HEADS?!
Who on earth would want an animal head?!
Well, Wrecker collects droid heads - some people just find these sorts of things enjoyable, I guess.
Still, she could've done without seeing all that, and there was something especially disturbing about seeing the heads still attached to the furs of the slain animal that apparently made something fashionable called a 'fur rug.'
Nope, Talla did not find that appealing, nor the price apparently someone would pay for such a 'stunning keepsake.'
The assorted bone-teeth-claw carved nicknacks were kinda cool though, she had to admit.
More pleasantly, several stands over there was a plethora of hand-spun threads and yarns, and Talla had to stop and watch for a moment a person weaving by hand a variety of red and gold colored threads that would eventually turn into a nice, simple but cozy scarf.
The quiet lull of friendly conversation meant that Talla did not need to shout to be heard by the person when she had to gush at how the few completed inches of garment were already BEAUTIFUL!
And the more sparsely populated streets meant that she didn't have to make herself as small as possible to avoid being elbowed in the gut or face when catching up to Suu, who had gone to an unoccupied salesperson in a different stall and asked for directions.
This place was vastly different than the Lower Market District on Coruscant in many different ways. That place had multiple cultures crammed together, but here Talla got to see different amazing varieties of the culture of Saleucami as a whole. Most everything here was grown or raised or gathered locally, and other things were handmade right here before your eyes - hardly anything was imported for cheap and sold at a sky-high price. The worry that something was counterfeit must have been slim by all these friendly, family-owned businesses.
Talla wondered what exactly Suu needed for dinner considering they had gone through most of the market by now and she had not purchased anything. In fact, Talla could see the arched exit that led into the dim and grim downtown district that reminded her of the Coruscant Underworld.
"Where are we going?" Talla wondered out loud, hoping for that explanation she was due.
Suu's entire demeanor showed that nerves were kicking in, right down to messing with the strap of her crossbody satchel. "There's a medical clinic on the east side of town I need to go to." She eventually admitted, frustratingly leaving out important details that could help ease Talla's nerves at least.
Just under the arch, not caring who might get annoyed, Talla stopped Suu. "So you are sick?"
"No!" She denied automatically, then with eyebrows knitting Suu unsurely went, "Yes?"
Talla gave her an exasperated look. "Suu, you're killing me -"
"I don't know yet!" Grabbing the hand on her shoulder, Suu pulled her forward so they'd stop getting a few rightly deserved annoyed glances from passerby's, whispering loudly when they turned left as if one of these rad, "I suspect that I'm -" Suu's face twisted in fear and turned away, dropping Talla's hand in the process to grip her satchel strap, "But I want to be sure before I start panicking."
"What do you suspect?" Talla pressured, certain now she had to apologize to the others for constantly being this way herself.
Suu chose biting her lip as another nervous habit to engage in before evading Talla's direct question yet again. "I don't want to say it only for it to be wrong - there's no need for both of us to worry."
So with no choice, the female clone decided to be considerate and not press Suu any further. When 99 died, Talla was quick to learn that while talking about things could help with stress, there was going to be times where it'd only stress the person out more. But sometimes, just being there for them though could help a great deal too.
Maybe this was why Suu had invited Talla to go with her to the markets? Because she just wanted moral support for her true destination - the clinic? Perhaps underneath that mellow front Cut was actually a nervous wreck when it came to these sorts of things?
If there was one thing Talla understood, it was keeping things on the DL until a better time to talk about life-changing discoveries. And she was honored Suu chose her, of all people, to be there with her when getting the diagnosis of what in the galaxy was wrong with her.
"Okay." Talla conceded gently, and reached out to take Suu's hand reassuringly. "I just hope you're not seriously sick."
Squeezing her hand back, Suu shook her head with a small smile at Talla's small-mindedness, "I don't believe I'm sick."
Talla was more befuddled than ever, but didn't ask any more questions and merely followed the anxious Suu through the double doors of the clinic, at the moment unable to think up any other reason as to why they needed to be there if the female patient-to-be was throwing up but wasn't sick?
There were, in fact, two legitimate reasons on why Hunter hadn't allowed the spark he and Talla had to progress into something more than friendship, if she'd even want that.
Why he fought so hard to keep that forced friend-zone even though his heart had already, treacherously given itself to her.
Fighting was so much more difficult than actually having a secret relationship which, when you think about it, wouldn't be hard to hide considering the Bad Batch didn't have a commanding officer to report to, nor a battalion of pesky regs to live with day in and day out, and the very short list of friends and family they did have would in no way turn them in because they in no way agreed with these silly rules.
After a while of contemplative silence while they mucked out the barn stalls, Hunter chose to give Cut something at least.
The farmer meant well, but he was right - in the end, the only person he could talk to about this was the 'problem' herself. Only together could they decide how to go forward. Tiptoeing around the issue had done diddly squat, and only succeeded in creating never-ending awkward moments and situations.
Maybe tricking Cut into giving an unbiased opinion on Hunter's 'only issue' would get Cut off his back, and prevent any further discussion on the touchy subject. It was the one of the two legitimate reasons that was more embarrassing than the heavier topic, but anything would be less excruciating than having Cut talk to him like he was the father giving his son the birds and the bees talk.
The only reason Hunter brought it up though was because Cut didn't actually let this go, just like he had warned.
In his defense, Cut's mind ran rampant with all the worst-case scenarios, and eventually he had to make sure it wasn't the worst theory he'd come up with.
Hoping with every fiber in his being that this wasn't it, he leaned his rake against the divider between their adjoining stalls and crossed his forearms on top, "Are her and Crosshair sweet on each other?" He asked point blank.
From his hunched position green-faced Hunter snapped upwards, almost dropping his rake. "What?" If he wasn't fighting back vomit from the overwhelmingly nauseating smell of the animal crap he was shoveling, he would've used the rake to throw some at Cut for even suggesting such a repulsive thing!
"Well things were getting ..." Cut pursed his lips to think of a diplomatic way to phrase this so he wouldn't have animal crap hurled at him. "...getting rather heated during breakfast."
Seeing red instead of getting red, Hunter restrained himself but did jab his pitchfork with too much force back into the mess of animal waste and hay. "No, they go back and forth like that all the time." He said tersely, and completely missed the wheelbarrow when tossing the scoop out of the stall.
Feeling it was not the right time to tell Hunter he was going to have to fix the bent prongs on the rake, Cut made to turn the tone of conversation back to easy going since thank the Maker there wasn't some cliche love triangle.
"He's met his match." Cut chuckled instead, resuming his half of the task, "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Yeah, but -" Hunter cleared his throat to eliminate the pitch factor. "But they don't like each other like that, they just have a lot of fun together."
"... Uh-huh." Cut sounded flatly, striding out of the clean animal pen.
Taking that the only way he thought he could, Hunter jammed the end of his bent rake to the floor again and shot Cut a warning squint through his little doorway.
To which Cut threw his palms up, the rake clanging to the ground. "Hey, I was just implying that if she hasn't run away screaming yet because of your crazy family, then she's definitely a keeper."
"... guess you're right." The innocence Hunter couldn't tell if it was genuine or fake, but messy stall cleaned, Hunter happily left the last pen on his part of the farm labor agenda, with a grimace leaning the bent rake against the stall.
God, I hate the farmlife. Hunter grumped, feeling like he smelt just as bad as the animal waste now and wouldn't be able to escape it even after they finally left.
But it was here he decided to keep the conversation alive too, hoping it'd eventually give him the courage to throw Cut a bone because he couldn't handle the badgering for the entire duration of their visit, however long that'd be, and knowing his luck it could turn out to be a week or more because the universe had suddenly taken interest in him.
Interest in making his life MISERABLE.
Massaging the sweaty nape of his neck Hunter said, "She almost did leave once, but ended up staying instead."
Cut perked up in interest, scooping up fistfuls of baled hay now. "How come?" Cut wondered.
Copying the farmers actions, Hunter grabbed bundles of his own and made to sprinkle the hay into his assigned stall -
Only for his eyes to water when the pollen flew from the strands of dried grass yanked out of their block.
*cough* "Cross -!" He tried saying around his throat beginning to itch but coughed again."- hair!"
Dropping the bundles and getting as far away as he could from them, Hunter supported himself on a beam and instinctively held a finger under his itching nose to hold in a sneeze, but since it had touched the grass-
"ACHOO!"
Quick to drag him over to the nearby faucet, Cut ran some water so Hunter could thoroughly wash his hands free of the allergens, profusely apologizing because a bad storm had wiped out their personal crop and they had to use their savings to purchase hay from someone else.
"The family came from a place 'bout two or three hundred miles up north near the swamps - with the different soil type and climate I forgot that this grass variety would be different from the one we know your fine with."
"Ugh." Watery-eyed Hunter sniffled, giving another hoarse cough before splashing his tear-stained and burning face. "I guess you're the one trying to kill me, for being a big, stupid di'kut."
Cut was behind him, finishing putting the new bedding down in the stalls by himself, but was never too busy for a lofty grin. "Well, it wasn't my intention, but if you've admitted to being idiotic, then I'll happily take the satisfactory results where I can get them."
"Yes, I might be acting a little idiotic," Hunter admitted grimly, wiping his hands down his face to get rid of excess water stinging his eyes. "But I do have a good, legitimate reason why I'm stalling."
Stalling, he says? Cut smirked to himself.
Well, Hunter saying he was in fact planning to actually approach Talla about the spark between them made Cut go three for three on favorable results. "Care to share that reason?"
Just in the tank top now since he was 100% confident it was clean of all allergens, Hunter threw his tunic aside with a deadpanned look to Cut. "Would you give me a choice?"
"Heh, now that I know a way to torture it out of ya without using anything sharp or poisonous or too mentally destructive -" Tossing the next bundle of hay into the stall, Cut smirked at the man furiously scrubbing his arms now. "Unlikely."
Didn't mean Hunter was going to make it easy for Cut, and for the longest time the sound of rustling hay and splashing water was the only thing heard, the Sarge taking his sweet time scrubbing and following up on that promise even when his arms were turning red from his exaggerated efforts to rid his body of the allergens.
Then the sinks faucet squeaked, being turned off. "I'm not good at -" Letting out a sharp breath through his nose, gripping the sinks edge Hunter was close to mumbling when he embarrassingly said, "I don't know the first thing about relationships, so what if I cause her severe, irreparable emotional damage or something?"
"By what, fumbling up your words when trying to compliment her?" Cut teased, finished and at his side now.
Brows shooting up, Hunter's head snapped in his direction. "How'd you -"
"Did my fair share of that when I first met Suu - she still married me in the end!" Cut chirped brightly, in a tank top also and grabbing the bar of soap, taking care not to bump into Hunter. "You're too hard on yourself, you know that, because if you were a piece of rankweed, would Talla be head over heels for you?"
It was strange to hear someone say that out loud: Talla liked him.
Bobbing his head Hunter hummed, admitting to himself that his brother brought up a good point. Contrary to how she behaved at the beginning of this visit, Hunter felt that this far out from her being freed from Kamino, Talla somewhat knew her own mind by now, and knew the difference between a scumbag and whatever category Cut believed Hunter himself fell under.
Decent?
Not a total scumbag?
Better than nothing?
Wow, he WAS down on himself...
Cut continued while he generously washed, "She doesn't seem like the type who would tolerate what you think you're capable of, considering how she dishes it back to Sniper Stringbean when he steps out of line, and almost succeeded in kidnapping me a couple of nights ago - I'll tell you about it later." He finished with a raise of his soapy palm, Hunter visibly becoming rigid with panic.
"... Guess you got a point." Hunter grunted, chin almost touching his chest again when that negative speech against himself reappeared. "But here's a thought - why hasn't SHE said anything?"
"Well, I don't know why -"
YET.
He shrugged as if he totally didn't have his wife on the case already. "Maybe it's as simple as: changes like these is hard for her as it is for you."
Grabbing the towel hanging on the hook Cut wiped his hands dry, shrugging again at a blank-faced Hunter staring down into the basin, "But you're not going to know unless you talk to her, and wouldn't it be better to know than keep driving yourself crazy with all these worst case scenarios?"
Emotionally and mentally spent, Hunter just shrugged too. There was still the other reason Cut didn't know about. His self-confidence shot up a few levels, sure, but that would do nothing against the demon of the past Hunter hadn't been able to fully triumph over.
So tossing the towel onto the tunic pile, Cut left it at this:
"You might find out that whatever this is between you amounts to nothing, but who knows -" He heartily clapped Hunter on the back, giving him an encouraging smile when he braved eye contact. "There's also a chance that you might find a treasure that's worth the risk of everything you're worried about."
At a soda vending machine by the entrances door, Talla took it upon herself to get her and Suu something bubbly to drink while the latter was at the front desk providing identification and such to make an appointment with the on-call doctor.
Waiting for the out-dated, SLOW machine to drop the bottles Talla made it a show of fumbling with her wallet to shove it down into her backpack, doing a sweep of the other patients in the waiting room through sharp eyes half guarded by her bangs. Soldier instincts were working overtime when it hit her that she was traipsing around the city with someone harboring a deserter.
No one looked particularly threatening or suspicious. A young Rodian woman with a bad cough, a small human child cradling his either sprained or broken arm and sniffling while his father comforted him, an older Gotal rubbing his aching knees.
A couple of minutes later, Suu finished her business and came to where Talla had found a place to sit in the corner, back to the wall so she had a bird's-eye view of the whole place.
Slipping off her satchel, Suu heaved a sigh as her tense muscles sunk into the cushy armchair next to Talla, eyes sliding shut when she rested her head lightly against the wall.
Sharp eyes softening, Talla asked, "A long wait?"
Suu's head jerked slightly in 'No.'
"A half hour at most which is good. Means we'll be in and out of here quickly and be home at a decent time, which won't make Cut suspicious."
"How's the nausea?" Talla asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from the uncomfortable fact that Cut was unaware his beloved wife was currently sitting in a clinic 'not sick.'
Suu's frown deepened and she swallowed forcefully. "Worse since I came in here."
She was relieved at being handed a sprite, Talla sympathizing. "Nerves will do that, and the smell of these places doesn't help either." The Clone Agent was feeling a bit queasy herself and wished one of her boys were here.
Knowing Talla deserved more information, after taking a sip Suu messed with the cap of the bottle for a moment before asking shyly, "Would you be uncomfortable with coming back with me?" She hastened to add, "You're the first woman I've really been in company with ever since I took up farming way out there - it'd be nice to have that support for this." Leaning closer, as if someone was listening in again, Suu whispered fearfully, "What I suspect is going on is that I'm -"
"Suu Lawquane?"
At that, Talla was left in suspense, but she helped those in need, and the relief in Suu's eyes when she rose to follow her and the doctor made everything okay... And yet also way more concerning.
The sick bay was on huge room divided into much smaller ones by clouded transperisteel partitions reaching no more than six feet in heighth. All the rooms contained three things: a cabinet of the basic medical supplies, a long and metal examination table with a board of monitors attached to it, and a simple rolling chair meant to be for the doctor.
Not knowing that last part, Talla took the satchel from Suu's hands and plopped it down next to her backpack on the ground by the chair she claimed, while the twi'lek hopped onto the examination table, a slouch giving her back more aches than she already had started developing recently, and twiddling her thumbs she nervously waited for the doctor.
"I'm sure everything will be fine." Talla assured, but it fell on deaf ears.
Suu was torn between wanting the medical expert to confirm her suspicions because it'd be a wonderful surprise. It was a change her and Cut had talked about wanting to happen, but now things had drastically shifted out there on the farm.
Her look turned a little sour at seeing a blue Rodian man in a white uniform knock then step into the room. "Hello, Mrs. Lawquane." He greeted cheerfully. "My name is Dr. Bozeli, and I will be treating you today."
Internally groaning, Suu wished she hadn't been so out of it at the front desk, specifically asking for the on-call woman doctor here. Thankfully, this man seemed pleasant enough. Perhaps this wouldn't turn out to be an interaction that made her blood boil.
His lips twitched downwards into a brief frown because Talla was in the chair he usually occupied during the diagnosis process, then shook his head and just looked down at the light pad he was holding. "Tell me the symptoms you are having."
Suu took in a deep breath in through her nose, let it out slowly through her mouth, and told him the basic, common symptoms of her suspected condition to get that ultrasound which would confirm or deny everything.
She threw up in the mornings, but remained constantly nauseated throughout the day, even having newfound motion sickness which Talla could attest to.
She'd been super tired lately, but hadn't been doing anything out of the ordinary.
She'd suffered lots of unusual mood swings, and while Talla wondered why she'd mentioned that considering lately her entire way of life had been in danger because of her, which would definitely cause a lot of stress, Suu herself knew that she hadn't been so hostile with the reg Captain who crashed on her doorstep a few years back.
Anyways, there were some stomach cramps she'd been suffering without actually having her period, and no she hadn't eaten anything that would cause that despite the fact she'd been having unusual, strong food cravings.
Dr. Bozeli had a pretty good suspicioun by now and asked, "When was the date of your last menstrual period?"
"... It's several weeks late." Suu admitted with a grimace.
Oh. Talla pondered calmly at first, recalling a conversation she'd had with Blair during her last hair appointment, where oddly enough they had been discussing pregnancy since Talla had a few questions to ask after recovering from her period, which could have these exact, eerily similar symptoms -
Her eyes bugged out. OH!
WAIT-
SUU IS PREGNANT?!
Her jaw hit the floor.
She'd forgotten that not everyone was like her - a hopeless romantic who pined after a man she couldn't have, and found every other guy she met since him way beneath the standards he'd unintentionally created for her, thus Talla had not wasted her time with any of the other suitors in any way they'd offered her.
If Talla had remembered that Suu was married to a man who the Agent could only assume she had... relations with, well the impromptu medic would've asked a few other, very different questions before they'd arrived here. In fact probably would've guessed about this particular, special condition when Suu was puking up her guts but said she wasn't sick.
Leaning forward in her chair to catch Suu's eye, she went to say, "You don't mean -?!"
"These symptoms are common during pregnancy." The doctor finished for her. "Let's perform a ultrasound to make sure."
Meanwhile, back at the farm:
Hunter and Cut rejoined the others, one relieved at being freed from his interrogation and the other mildly concerned that Crosshair and Wrecker were still racing, surprisingly tied at the moment, while Tech was still keeping score, but there was one thing missing - well, two things.
"Where are the kids?" Cut wondered, stepping up next to Tech.
Who typed away on his datapad casually. "They decided to join in on the thrill of racing."
Cut went from shock to disbelief to murderous in the span of five seconds. "You - you let them - Tech, how could you let them ride along?! At the speed they're racing at, it's incredibly dangerous!"
"We took precautionary measures." Tech replied distractedly, hearing the bikes come around the corner any clearly seeing the lack of body parts splattered on the race track from a crash. "As you can see, they're fine."
Jaw tight, Cut pinched the bridge of his nose. "I sometimes wonder why I allow you boys around our children!"
Reaching around Cut's back, Hunter cuffed Tech on the crown of his head, making the brainiac look at him like a wounded puppy.
The speeders skidded to an abrupt stop in front of the house, Wrecker surprisingly the winner, and the kids in question whooping and hollering at the adrenaline rush like no other they just experienced.
Cut rushed to Jek who'd riding with Wrecker, fussed over him for a few seconds before checking over Shaeeah next, happily riding with her Uncle Crosshair.
"THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!" Jek shouted in delight.
"THIS WAS LIKE WHEN WE WERE IN THE STARSHIP!" Shaeeah agreed.
"LET'S GO AGAIN!" They both cheered.
They were immediately shot down.
Talla wasn't sure she was expecting to see with an ultrasound.
In this modern age, Blair had told her that there were several nifty devices that doctors could use to produce clear images of a baby growing inside the womb without even touching the patient, like most other scans.
The machine this primitive clinic used to perform the sonographic scan was just as dated as the establishment, and so when Talla had done a quick look up on the HoloNet when she got the make and model from the doctor, the Net's simpler explanation was: 'A small, hand-held device - a transducer - is against the area being studied, and moves as its needed to capture the images. The transducer sends sound waves into your body, collects the ones that bounce back and sends them to a monitor, which creates the images.'
Alright cool, so it must be kinda similar to getting body scans when receiving medical treatment. Talla assumed at first.
Getting flashbacks to bacta tank sessions, she grimaced at seeing the doctor spread a blue-tinted gel on Suu's exposed abdomen.
... Maybe it's NOT like a body scan?
Nope, it wasn't, regular medical scanners didn't need to make contact with skin to receive imaging.
And Suu looked like she'd rather be anywhere but here when the cold substance applied to her sensitive skin made this situation all the more real and thus chilled her to the core. Talla was taken aback when Suu fixed her wide eyes on her and reached out, but Talla happily left her chair and answered Suu's silent plea for someone holding her cold hand, when the main emotion coursing through the patients trembling body was being scared out of her wits.
There was no blue gridded light whatsoever, and the image popping up on the equally as old monitor was dark and fuzzy. Really the only thing Talla could make out was a little moving blob in the middle of the ultrasound screen.
To her untrained eye, Talla thought maybe that was Suu's appendix or something, but then Dr. Bozeli cheerfully announced, "Congratulations, Mrs. Lawquane, you ARE having a baby!"