Starting here and now, I will be including a few episodes of the Bad Batch series, but with the Empire not existing in this world, the story will be changed slightly, and not all episodes will be included. But I hope you will enjoy it anyway.

Anywho, on with the next chapter!


Even though the Clone War was over, a new one had just begun. One they were deeming the Doresho War, a battle between Mariverde and the rest of the galaxy.

Mariverde had no true allies of her own, only minions she got doing her bidding for her. Sometimes, it would be victims of her mariclavas under a spell to become villains and cause chaos, or it would be one of the many criminals she released from prison.

This was too big a fight for the royal family to do on their own, and even with the Jedi, they would still need more help. Thus, the Jedi looked into contacting a few informants who'd helped them during the Clone War.

With all the escaped criminals having barely enough power to fight, it didn't take Tech's exceptional mind to hypothesize that they would turn to ordina criminals and potentially the world of bounty hunters to hide and survive. But, they also knew these informants didn't work for free.

And of course, the Bad Batch, being the adventurous clones they were, did not hesitate to volunteer their services. So, the royal family sent them to Ord Mantell to meet a Trandoshan named Cid.

"Master Koth said she's got a bit of an attitude." Anakin warned. "But she knows a lot about the world of low-lifes and how they work."

Cid was also bound to have the Batchers do some work for her in exchange for information as well as a payday. But Qui-Gon made it very clear that if the Batchers would be risking their lives doing missions for her, they'd better get a fair share of the profits. Sure, the royal family paid them to babysit the kids, but still. And with a few modifications to the Marauder, as well as a spacing spell Lamenta and Gabby found, the horses could come along too (and without it being such a tight squeeze).

And for this mission, they also had a member of the royal family joining them. Carmine.


Earlier that day...

Carmine was sleeping after a late night he had performing as Count Crescendo at a big private event the night before. At first, he felt good getting some rest after another hard worked filled night in the superstar life. But then, he started to see things in his dreams.

In his dream, Carmine could hear screams, and he could see a hospital, and himself a few years ago while Caroline was pregnant. He could see himself as he headed to the hospital, only to be told that his mother was kidnapped, and then Carmine could see visions of what looked like some cat-like humanoid beings dressed as doctors, and they gagged a Twilek woman who was in one of the hospital rooms, and moved her out on a gourney, only to have her put on a ship and taken away.

But that wasn't all, suddenly, Carmine could see visions of a desolate planet with Zygerrian slavers, and there were people in chains, including the Bad Batch, and a familiar Twilek woman Carmine recognized.

And when Carmine woke up, he fell out of bed.

"Mom?!" Carmine exclaimed.

And Shmi, who happened to walk by, walked in to check on her youngest son.

"Carmine, what's the matter?" Shmi asked, caressing her son's face.

Carmine looked at his mother. She held clear concern in her face. Having been forced to give him up when he was a baby, she spent almost twenty years worrying about whether he was living the life he deserved while her other son spent the first nine years of his life in slavery. But even now that she finally had him back, she still couldn't help but be motherly to him, even if that meant she tended to treat him like a child.

In his head, Carmine thought a lot about his experiences with mothers. The first one he'd ever known was his grandmother. After she passed away, Carmine moved on to having foster families, the one good one being the Kirans, and Mrs. Kiran was one foster mother who'd given Carmine hope that not all foster families were gold-diggers. And then, after getting accepted into Melody Prep Academy, the teacher who'd tutored him to pass his entrance exams, Susy Lamura, adopted him and raised him as her own. But then, he'd lost her when he was barely seventeen.

To this day, Carmine never found out what happened to her. The police found no leads as to who kidnapped Susy or why, except that she wasn't the only patient to go missing from a hospital in the area. But Susy was never found, and Carmine was devastated to have lost her. But in his heart, though he couldn't explain it, he believed she was alive and out there somewhere, and during his tours after he became famous, he asked everyone he could for any information on her whereabouts. But no one knew where she could have been.

"I...I had a dream..." Carmine said. "About... my..."

Carmine felt hesitant to tell Shmi he'd dreamed about his adoptive mother. He didn't want Shmi to feel guilty for not being able to raise him or to think he thought someone who wasn't even related to him was a better mother than she ever could hope to be.

"Carmie, you can tell me." Shmi cooed, caressing his face like he was a small child.

"Mom, I'm not five." Carmine whined.

"But you are whining like a five-year-old."

Carmine sighed and confessed to his mother that he'd been dreaming about his adoptive mother.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't blame you one bit for having to give me or Anakin up. You only did it because you wanted what was best for us." He said. "But... Susy Lamura was the best mother I knew. She raised me and took care of me when all my other foster families only saw me as a free paycheck. And then she disappeared one day and was never found. But I think she's still alive somewhere. I just feel it."

Shmi wasn't sure what to think.

"Do these dreams happen a lot?" Shmi asked.

"Lately, no... but... I remember..."

Carmine decided to go consult Anakin as he and Qui-Gon gave the Bad Batch instructions on finding an informant named Cid. He asked Anakin about the dreams he'd had about their mother that turned out to be visions of the future, and he confirmed that he had to go with the Batch.

"If there's even the slightest sliver of a chance that my adoptive mother is still alive and I can find her again, I have to take the chance." Carmine insisted. "Plus, Omega will need a parental figure to look after her."

Anakin and his father looked at each other and agreed. Anakin didn't have a chance to follow his vision, and it led to his mother dying in his arms. This time, Carmine would at least have a fighting chance to save his.


Now...

Carmine rode the Marauder with his niece and the Batch as they flew to Ord Mantell.

They headed down to a half-decent part of town, Carmine and Omega each donning a hooded cloak so that no one recognized them as members of the royal family. Estrella walked close by Harmony so Carmine could keep an eye on her.

"Remember the rules?" Hunter asked Omega to clarify.

"Don't wander off, keep my eyes and ears on my surroundings, and trust no one but my squad." the girl answered.

"And if you get in trouble?" Echo tested.

"Use my comm and give my location." Omega answered.

"And if a stranger tries to talk or get close to you?" Carmine tested.

"Yell that they aren't my safe side adults, so people know I'm in danger."

"Excellente, Omega." Estrella said. "You're a smart princess."

Soon, the squad stopped outside of a parlor Echo confirmed was the place Qui-Gon and Anakin sent them to.

"Charming." Tech said sarcastically.

Teatra took a whiff of the place.

"It's not exactly Starway, but it smells somewhat tolerable at least." said the green alicorn, letting her rider down.

The humans all got off their horses and walked into the parlor, there it looked almost empty.

"Filthy cheat! I saw that!" said one patron.

"Me? Who are you calling a cheat?" said another.

Carmine looked and saw a Trandoshan female cleaning close by.

"That must be her." Carmine said, approaching the Trandoshan. "Excuse me, Miss. We're looking for Cid."

"Who's askin'?" said the Trandoshan.

"Carmine Jinn." said the prince, pulling his hood back slightly for Cid to see his face. "Prince of Solaris."


Cid led the prince and the squad into her office.

"I had a good thing going with the Jedi." said Cid. "They valued my insights, but now that there's this magician prison break going on, the demand for my services has increased."

"They're actually called Enchanteds." Carmine said. "And you must know that these escaped prisoners are holders of dark magic. Not anything to be taken lightly. Especially with Mariverde taking control of any she can get her hands on."

"No kidding." Cid said. "I never had a client come with clones before, I'll give you that."

"Yes, well. The royal family hired us because they believed we keep their children in capable hands." Tech said, adjusting his goggles.

"That's cute. You acting like I care. Cut to it and tell me what you want, Prince Charming."

"Be glad my wife wasn't here to catch you saying that." Carmine said. "She'd really let you have it."

"He's not kidding." Omega said. "Aunt Caroline doesn't need magic to be terrifying."

Echo got Mini-R2 to connect to the console in Cid's office.

"By all means," said Cid sarcastically. "Make yourself at home."

Mini-R2 put in what looked like a database of all the criminals who'd been released by Mariverde, listed by levels of danger.

"These are all the enchanted criminals who are believed to have been released from MARED." said Echo. "Being in prison weakened most of their powers, but we believe they may try to hide among ordinary criminals. Can you find out where we might find any of them?"

"That depends on what you boys do for me." said Cid.

The Batchers were silent.

"Are you fresh out of the tube?" said Cid. "You pull a job for me, and I get the information you want. That's how this mercenary thing works."

"Mercenary?" said Echo.

"Not too quick, are ya?" Cid said. "Clearly, the prince and princess are the brains of your operation."

"What kind of job?" said Hunter.

"A rescue." said Cid. "There's a nice bounty on a kid named Muchi. My sources say she was taken by Zygerrian slavers who are holed up on the other side of the planet. Bring me the kid and I'll get you your intel."

"What does the kid look like?" Carmine asked. "We'd be able to get the kid if we knew what she looked like."

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You want the job done or not?"

"You're a talkative prince, aren't you?"

"Gotta have all the right information to get a job done right. Right?"

"Smart prince. Muchi's a rancor. A young one."

"Rescue a baby rancor from a few Zygerrians?" Wrecker laughed. "We could do that in our sleep."

"Looks like we have a deal," smiled Cid, tossing Hunter a data disk. "Details of the bounty are on that. Don't screw it up."


The squad flew the Marauder to the other side of Ord Mantell. Of course, they filled the horses in on all this.

"We just best keep this secret from Anakin." Carmine said. "I'm pretty sure he'd kill all of us if he knew we brought Omega anywhere near slavers."

"Don't ya worry." said Banjo. "The last thing any of us wants is to anger yer brother."

"According to Cid's intel," said Tech. "the Zygerrian slave traders are hiding in the ruins of Old Ord Mantell city."

"Uncle Carmine, what's a slave trader?" Omega asked her uncle.

"Something very bad, Sweetie." Carmine said. "And your daddy had a nasty history with them when he was younger than you."

"Someone who buys and sells people for credits." Tech clarified.

"People can be sold?" Omega said, horrified.

"They don't have a choice." said Echo. "They're captives treated like property."

"That... doesn't seem right." Omega said, hugging Estrella.

"It's not." said Echo."

"But the Republic has laws against it," said Carmine. "which means here, those bad people will get in trouble when they're caught. And we're gonna stop it from happening to Muchi and anyone else the Zygerrians might've captured."

"As well as earn a decent amount of credits once the job is complete." said Tech.

"Yeah, that too." said Echo.

"It just irks me to think that some wrongdoers are out there who capture folks and treat 'em like animals." snorted Maybelle.

Crosshair patted Maybelle's muzzle. He had to admit, seeing how feisty she could be made her that much more likable to him.

"We could just let Maybelle beat the slavers when we arrive." Crosshair said.

"Don't worry, Muchi. We'll rescue you." said Omega, looking out the window.

And maybe my mother too. Carmine thought to himself.


The ship soon came to a landing right outside Old Ord Mantell City.

And sure enough, when the group looked through their binoculars, they saw hostiles.

"I'm clocking two dozen hostiles." Tech said. "Multiple entry points with minor fortifications."

"Simple smash and grab like that time on Kuat." Wrecker said. "Easy"

"I don't see a rancor, though." Pinto said.

"Are you sure this is where we're supposed to find her?" Teatra asked.

"Sometimes, the things we search for are not always in plain sight at first glance." Indira said. "Muchi might just be hidden behind something else."

"Can you save the fortune cookie talk for later?" Crosshair said impatiently.

Carmine looked among the hostiles, and gasped when he saw a Twilek woman among them. He thought at first it might be just a coincidence, but when he looked again and got his spectacles looking closer, he confirmed he'd seen the very same woman in his vision. His adoptive mother was alive!

"Carmine, what is it?" Harmony asked.

"One of the hostiles is my adoptive mother." Carmine said. "We gotta get her out of here now!"

"I'm in." Omega said.

"You get back to the ship." Hunter said.

"But-" Omega started.

"Omega, you and Estrella go back to the ship and wait for orders if we need backup." Carmine said. "You remember all the protection spells we went over?"

Omega nodded.

"Good. Remember, only use magic when necessary." Carmine said. "Stay out of sight of these slavers. I don't like the idea of you getting captured any better than your father would. Now, you have another important job. Contact the authorities and tell them to come here to arrest the slavers."

"Okay, Uncle."

Carmine kissed his niece's head and sent her off with Estrella before heading off with the guys and the other horses.

The squad got to a hiding spot and Hunter went over the plan.

"Echo, you and Banjo are the eyes in the sky. Wrecker, Crosshair, you and your horses draw the Zygerrian forces out. The rest of us will look for Muchi."

"Do any of you equines know how a rancor smells?" Tech asked.

"With its nose?" Teatra joked, almost making the others laugh.

"Very funny, Teatra. Do you know its scent?"

"Yes. We know what kind of scent to look for."

"Not a problem." Wrecker confirmed.

Everybody got their horses and went to do their jobs. Banjo flew up high with Echo on his back, being careful not to be spotted.

"Echo, sitrep." Hunter said over the comm.

Echo and Banjo then spotted a couple of patrol speeders.

"Two roving patrols on speeders." Echo confirmed. "First guard checkpoint dead ahead."

Banjo's ears shot up as he heard a growling sound. His ears folded back as he looked around, remaining alert of his surroundings.

"We ain't alone out here." Banjo said.

"We think we got company." Echo told Hunter over the comm.

"Well, take care of it. Quietly." Hunter said.

And that was when a brezak shrieked, and threw Echo and Banjo down to the ground.

"My wing!" Banjo cried when he landed.

The giant lizard-like creature then started going after the rest of the Bad Batch and Carmine. They started to fight back, only for the rest of them to be caught in an electric net by none other than the Zygerrian slavers.


Meanwhile, Cid was back at her office taking a holo-call from a Twilek named Bib Fortuna, who worked for Jabba the Hutt. He was asking Cid what was taking so long with the bounty being delivered.

"A mission of this nature requires planning." said Cid. "Assure your employer, he'll be reunited with Muchi soon."

Cid assured Bib that she had her best people on the job, and one of them happened to be a Jedi.


As for Omega and Estrella, they did as Carmine told them and contacted the authorities to report the illegal acts of slavery going on.

"Stay right where you are, and we'll send a squad immediately." said the operator.

Estrella, however, heard something.

"We found their ship." said a voice outside.

"Hide!" Estrella whispered.

Omega and Estrella quickly hid as two Zygerrian slave traders entered the ship to search for potential new victims. Luckily, Omega remembered a secret passageway out of the ship, which she took, while Estrella used her magic to get out.

"Go find the others." Estrella said. "I'll distract them."

So, while Omega went to go find the others, Estrella whinnied to get the Zygerrians' attention and started violently rocking the ship back and forth with her magic.

"Esclavistas estás tan muerto! Muerto!" Estrella shouted angrily.

Meanwhile, Omega hid behind a rock and tried to contact the others on her comm.

"Hunter, do you copy? Tech? Echo? Wrecker? Crosshair? Uncle Carmine? Anyone?"

Omega took out some binoculars and took a look to where they'd seen the hostiles before, and she was horrified to see that the slavers now had an additional dozen, including the horses!

"Oh no!" Omega gasped.


The horses whinnied and kicked as they were placed in restraints like the others, only for the Zygerrians to hit them with electrical whips.

Wrecker tried to wiggle out of his cuffs.

"It's getting looser." he said, but not quietly enough for the Zygerrians not to hear him and shock him with the collar around his neck.

"Do that one more time and you'll be-" Echo started, only to get shocked himself.

"Save your energy." said Tech. "We are going to need it."

That was when they heard a brezak shriek again, which made one child among the slaves start to whimper.

"Relax, kid. We're the cavalry."

"What are our odds out of this, Tech?" said Hunter.

"I am not certain." said Tech.

"So much for being smart."

Tech sighed. "This is not a standard military operation, and seeing as how we've never been tasked with rescuing a rancor from slave traders before, there is no data I can compare it to."

"We need to signal Omega before their scouts find her." Hunter said.

"Except our comms are over there with our weapons." Echo pointed out.

All their weapons, including Carmine's lightsaber, were sitting on a rock.

Carmine looked at the Twilek slave he happened to be placed right near and couldn't believe his eyes.

"Mom?" Carmine said, getting the woman to look at her.

At first, the woman was in disbelief when she saw the young man in front of her. She'd been enslaved for more rotations than she could count, but when she saw Carmine in front of her, she started to remember her life before all this.

"Carmine?" gasped the Twilek.

Despite being in chains, Carmine was smiling, and he hugged her the best he could for the first time in years.

"I just knew you were alive." Carmine said, tears falling from his eyes. "I just knew it."

But, the little family reunion was interrupted by Tech.

"We won't need a comm to signal Omega." He said.

The others looked up to see Omega up high, and she hid to make sure the slavers didn't spot her.

"Look at what we have here." said the leader of the slave traders, walking in.

"Six new slaves and six equines to add to my collection. Strong ones too. And a Jedi among them. You should fetch a nice price."

"The Republic outlawed slavery." said Echo.

"The Republic will not find you, skug." said the slaver.

"My father is the king of Solaris, and he will have you severely punished!" Carmine said.

"Daddy will have no way of finding you, skug. You're not a prince anymore now that you are my slave."

Carmine looked angry right then and there, and then he knew what he had to do. When the Zygerrians weren't looking, Carmine cast a little spell that put what looked to be earmuffs made of magic over his friends' ears, and then he started to sing a siren song he'd learned in his lessons with Garrett, and sure enough, the Zygerrians were charmed by the song. Meanwhile, Omega started climbing down to a large crate where she found a Rancor. And while Omega did that, the unicorns started using their magic to undo the restraints on themselves and then on the slaves.

"A siren song is not the distraction I might've anticipated." said Tech.

"What?" Teatra said, unable to hear her rider with the spell still over her ears.

"Did you say something?" Tech asked.

"What?" Wrecker shouted.

"I can't hear ya'll!" Pinto said. "I've still got magic in my ears!"

The unicorns undid the spell and made Carmine stopped singing, but then they had a new problem.

Now they had a rampaging adolescent rancor running all over the place. And as the Zygerrians tried to get away, Omega blasted magic and trapped them in magical bubbles.

"Gotcha!" she shouted victoriously.

Carmine began rushing the now freed slaves out of there while the others continued fighting the Zygerrians and trying to get Muchi.

One of the Zygerrians tried to capture Muchi again, but Hunter jumped in and fought him, and the others went after Muchi just as the authorities arrived. And the Zygerrians, with their weapons destroyed by the horses and one bow taken by Omega, they had no choice but to surrender. And they were arrested for illegal slave trading, humanoid trafficking, kidnapping, and animal cruelty.

"Any idea how to stop that thing?" asked Wrecker.

Tech looked on his tablet and confirmed that rancors adhered to a social hierarchy.

"You have to challenge the alpha for authority." Tech said.

"Oh, that I can do." Wrecker tossed his gun aside and charged at Muchi.

Muchi and Wrecker engaged in a little wrestling match. The fighting seemed to go on forever until Echo and Omega came back from helping Carmine with the other slaves.

"How long's he been at this?" asked Echo.

"Too long." said Tech. "He's losing his touch.

Wrecker and Muchi both looked like they were getting exhausted.

"Looks like someone's gonna need a nap." Carmine chuckled.

"Come on, Muchi." groaned Wrecker. "Go to sleep."

And Muchi collapsed, Wrecker on top of her.

"There we go." Wrecker groaned.

"Aw. She's kinda cute up close." Omega said.

"Yeah, when she's not rampaging like Godzilla." Carmine joked.

"I don't think I've seen even a bull with a rash actin' that crazy." said Maybelle.


Cid soon received a visit from Jabba's right-hand man, Bib Fortuna, who was not happy that the job still hadn't been fulfilled.

"Bib, relax." said Cid. "I always deliver on my promises. You'll see."

Bib said something in Huttese.

"I told you, this is a delicate mission." Cid told him. "Tell Jabba to be patient."

And that was when they heard a roaring sound in the distance.

"Oh, Muchi." said Bib.

Outside, Omega rode on Muchi as she was delivered to Cid's parlor.

"Aw. That's a good rancor." Wrecker said.

Bib looked so happy when he came out and saw Muchi safe and sound.

"See, Bib? All is well." Cid said. "Now, about the matter of payment."

Bib gave Cid the briefcase with her payment and left with the rancor following.

"I gotta say fellas," said Cid. "I wasn't sure you could pull this job off."

"My brothers and I grew up in the countryside." Maybelle said. "It takes more than some outlaw wranglers to throw us off."

"Speak for yourself." Banjo winced as his wing still hurt."

"You, dark and broody. My office." said Cid.

While Hunter went with Cid, Carmine and the others stayed outside.

Carmine shared a big hug with his adoptive mother; he was so happy to have been able to save her and bring her home.

"I've missed you so much." Susy cried happily. "I was terrified I'd never see you again."

"I began to think so too at times." Carmine said. "But I'm glad I was proved wrong in that term. I don't know how, but something in me told me you were still alive. And I never gave up on following my dreams of being a musical performer either."

Carmine and Susy hugged once more. He couldn't wait to show her his home and introduce her to another very special girl he knew she would be delighted to meet as she should have years ago.