PROJECT SAC-1

by antisocial-mariposa

In an altered galaxy far, far away the Kaminoans ended up creating what could potentially be their deadliest enemy, skilled and sneaky enough to expose their heinous crimes to the Republic and put them out of business. They threw everything they could at SAC-1 to force her into submission, but she's known as Agent Ria Talla to her growing gaggle of allies made across the galaxy...

50. Chapter 50

(KUAT - ZEVLEE CAMP - THE DAY BEFORE)

At the entrance to the Highlands, a heavily decorated ARC Trooper with a blue Rishi Moon Eel running down his helmet was nestled within the cockpit of a Nu-class attack transport. The viewport was raised, he had his boots propped on the edge, and he was reclined back a little with macrobinoculars held up to his visor. Around him, what was left of the camp that'd been bestowed upon him was doing what they'd been doing for two weeks - the mundane tasks of watching the empty horizon, cleaning their squeaky-clean weapons, running diagnostics on their perfectly intact (but few) walkers, and nothing much else to do but twiddle with their thumbs and swap war stories. The real battle was kept to the skies and space station, the clankas strangely ignoring them down here now. And the civilians in the Catacombs of old Kuat City, yet there were a good number of clankas occupying Cosiima, unnecessary since it was empty save for the few locked up at city hall...

The question was - why? What was the point of all this? The initial attacks were so powerful and unexpected, and it crippled the Republic right off the bat, they had wiped out two thirds of their numbers down here after two strikes! But now, it was like a standstill, while the separatists had fruitlessly kept hitting that space station again and again with no progress. The bunker was surrounded, they had cut off their supply, and the aristocrats were literally powerless, the droids could literally march in and slay them all... But according to Commander Narami, there had been no attempt after the initial bombing. How unfair but at the same time thank the Force that a small team was going to infiltrate and try to solve this puzzle, with the kid they were after a possible piece in this baffling puzzle. Fives was dying to know how in the galaxy this team called Clone Force 99 managed to swing having half their team come down here for a retrieval while the bunker was completely vulnerable and had only two clone troopers, a Padawan, and not much else.

And oh, a fight sounded so good right now, Fives was going stir crazy out of grief, confusion, and feeling useless.

But, with Rex and Ahsoka gone, with Obi-Wan quickly realizing he was needed more up in the skies than this quiet camp, and Commander Cody plus his team injured on that last attack and sent back to Coruscant to safely heal, someone had to hold down the fort down here. The 501st ARC Trooper focused on the fact that he was doing a great service by protecting the citizens of Cosiima with Tup, Jesse, Kix, and leading these fledgling 212th shinies while their superiors were out of commission.

So even though he loathed this particular job on Rishi Moon Outpost, Fives was quick to jump on the assignment of watching the scanners and scoping the horizons for that second escape pod Commander Narami commed about, containing two troopers from Agent Talla's squad, and two noble ladies. 'Shame she isn't here,' He thought to himself about Talla, then smirked to himself, 'And Rex.' Fives hadn't had the pleasure of speaking to Rex since he left for Onderon, and while some things were still awkward after Umbara, Fives was dying to know how Rex's little solo mission with his little crush (and Ahsoka) was going. Fives had even volunteered to come along originally but Rex was so rude as to say 'Over my dead body-'

A flying object caught his attention from the far southeast, he zoomed in, 'Aha!' The pod everyone was looking for was now flanked by a droid gunship, his stomach sank, 'Oooh, not good-' The clankas landed a shot, the pod spiraled down to the surface at an alarming rate with a trail of smoke, then it was cut off from view off the edge of the midlands. That flash of an explosion and black plume of smoke wasn't very promising though.

Fives gave a distorted whistle under his helmet, and sat up at attention. "Think they stuck the landing, General?" He sarcastically asked the ginger haired Jedi climbing into the seat behind him.

Ruffled Obi-Wan plopped down with as much grace as Jar Jar Binks. He didn't even bother to get his macros out, the smoke was evident even from here. "Anakin and I have worked with Clone Force 99 once before, and Ahsoka is going onto her third assignment." He tiredly shook his head, though had a ghost of a smile. "When it comes to them, we have learned one thing, Fives: do not question their process."

Fives stowed away his macros in his utility belt. His eyebrows furrowed underneath his helmet as he tried to make sense of the hint that... "Sooo, they staged it? They want clankas to come to them?" Even though he was wearing his helmet, Obi-Wan could perfectly picture his bewilderment, "Didn't they have two high-profile targets in that escape pod?"

"They like picking fights instead of quelling them, that much I do know," Fives pushed the button for the viewport to seal them in with a hiss, and he stifled a chuckle at seeing in its reflection how annoyed Obi-Wan looked as he said, "And yet they somehow always manage to deliver with no casualties and their starship intact." Only a headache for me. Obi-Wan finished in his mind as he massaged the ache flaring up on his forehead. "I dare say even Anakin can't boast such success."

Fives grinned knowingly while his hands flitted over the dashboard to power up the ship. "Did Skywalker give you another patch of gray, sir?"

Obiwan clumsily pulled the seat straps up over his shoulders, and buckled them around his torso, "I don't understand how he translated 'Escort me back to Zevlee Camp' into 'Take a torpedo nosedive straight to the planet's surface and not pull up until the last possible second.'"

"Was the tactic effective in shaking the clanka gunships?" Fives asked with an obvious smile to his tone.

"That is neither here nor there." Obi-Wan replied shortly, but there was no real malice. He sunk back into his seat with a tired sigh, "Let's get going, shall we?"

Fives did openly chuckle this time.

Obi-Wan tapped the communications button to connect him with the cabin. "Kix, Tup, Jesse, strap in." Obi-Wan heard a collective 'Sir, yes sir!' then leaned forward again, "Was Boil briefed?"

"Briefed and ready to receive us, sir." Fives confirmed, "He just got back from his latest recon, maybe we'll have a new perspective on things." There was a hint of doubt in his tone, but nobody commented on it. They ascended away from what was left of Zevlee Camp - 100 clones with definitely not enough firepower if a droid armada came along again. "But don't worry, General, i'll make sure it'll be a nice leisurely flight to the Catacombs of old Kuat City, known as Cosiima only for the last twenty millenniums, by the by." Fives cleared his throat, "Folks, get your last glances at the Republic's finest troopers safely keeping this restricted air space completely clean of pesky clankas." Fives announced like he was a tour guide to lighten the mood. They crossed over Zevlee Pass, "Now, to the left, right, and front of us you get a bird's eye view of the lush highlands of Kuat - drink up all that greenery and not much else." He made a noise of interest, "Hey look, a pine tree - Ten points for every tree you spot!" He joked to lighten the mood.

Fives was of course right, highlands did not boast of much else besides grass, ponds, and the occasional tree. But they were a breathtaking sight, in the eye of the beholder. If you looked closer, patches of tiny flowering weeds added pops of bright colors and attracted an assortment of colorful bugs. Ponds were remarkable little freshwater ecosystems and Kuat kept them stocked with an assortment of aquatic life. All ground and aerial wildlife had scattered, yet the gunship might as well have been a bird in itself flying through the mountainous land, bathed in their swirling morning mist. A display such as this could seem ominous, but Obi-Wan found that it could be refreshing. They weaved through the soft sun beams peaking through. Fives' gentle swaying back and forth as he babbled on with this joke was far better than Anakin's topsy turvy fancy flying and bloodthirsty grin.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and repeated the Jedi Code to himself.

'There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force.'

This tactic always smothered the worries over what in the galaxy the Separatists had planned. It now smothered the worries over Ahsoka and Rex's mission to free Onderon and free the Council of any worry over Agent Talla, the worry of their lost support to the Quiberon Sector, and the worry over Commander Narami and the incredible odds stacked against the bunker, yet the reassurance on her part that the Bad Batch 'had this under control.'

'... Dear, merciful Force, please protect us all.'

Obi-Wan decided to add just for good measure.

The worries could not completely go away but it was enough. He was centered. He could finally focus on the task at hand, and Obi-Wan sat up more at attention now. "Have the droids continued keeping to Cosiima?" He queried Fives.

He saw Fives helmet nod. "Per Boil's last report, yes General. This planet is unique in that they're are only three major cities, one on each continent, with a few small towns scattered here and there for farmers to sell their stock, but that's it. There's only forests and gardens and crops on the countless estates down here, yet they've not touched the other continents despite having complete control of the Capitol."

Fives gave a sudden frustrated sigh, to which Obi-Wan said, "Go on." He could see the ARC Trooper tapping his thumb against the accelerator in thought.

Fives sighed again, and shook his head. His gut told him to speak up, yet the picture of a worried Rex flashed through his mind at the thought of questioning authority again. "I got to be honest, General, none of the Separatists' moves are making sense. There's usually a general pattern when it comes to a planetary siege, but clearly, they're not capable of taking on that orbital space station, yet they're still attacking, and they're leaving all these perfectly vulnerable targets alone, it's just..." Another frustrated noise spilled from his lips, "We've lost a lot of good men, and I hate to admit it but the Separatists could have taken control of the planet by now. It might be considered useless but they could have and they haven't -" Fives turned his helmet back slightly, "Why?"

The ship had stopped casually swaying, Fives just kept a straight, rigid hold on the accelerator. Obi-Wan knew he'd been shaken up on Umbara, and he reached out to place a kind hand on his shoulder pauldron. "I may have many bones to pick with Clone Force 99, and I may question their unorthodox tactics, but I do trust their effectiveness - we will receive answers, Fives, in due time." He patted the pauldron twice, and let go, "Until then, the Jedi and brave soldiers of the Republic must be the example of believing in what we are so fiercely protecting, be a picture of hope that democracy will one day reign again, and we will have peace."

Instead of relaxing, Fives turned away and sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Yeahhh, about that - anyway we can send a message to those commandos and ladies?"

"Unfortunately not down here, lest it be intercepted." Obi-Wan raised a brow, "May I still know what this message you wanted to send would say?"

It took a couple of seconds for Fives to answer. He slightly turned his helmet back towards Obi-Wan again. "Let's just say, we should keep the citizens and aristocrats separate." He turned back to the horizon. "I even worry about what your reception will be, General."

Ominous and concerning. But all Obi-Wan did was recline back into his chair and say: "May the force guide the Bad Batch in their actions, and lead them to all the answers we need to survive this."

---

(KUAT - SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES NORTHWEST - THE PRESENT)

The heavens above were trapped behind a barrier of clouds that acted as a thick gray sheet to hide behind. As far as the eye could see it was dim. And even more ominous, more than half the clouded skies were completely obscured with inky black blotches where not the slightest bit of warmth could pass through. The air was cold, and damp, and salty from the frigid ocean of dark waters. Contorted, snaggy rocks jutted up in random places, lodged in the coal black sand, which casted intimidating shadows in the mist. They'd pop up without a moment's notice if you were not watchful.

This beach was not a warm getaway. It looked like a place where scary monsters lay in wait to pounce on their prey.

Yet, those shadows in the skies could not restrict all access to the light.

In some patches, there were swirlings of soft turquoise and pastel yellow streaks that cut through the shadows. Polka dots of light, that a small child in a simple, tan tunic and rolled up pants skipped across the coastline to chase. She splashed through dark waves gently crawling up black sand, chasing after the polka dots of turquoise and yellow sunlight. Within them, the sand would be bedazzled by illumination of the hundreds of millions of smooth, translucent stones tucked in. The blues, oranges and reds would be slowly broken down over time by the powerful ocean, causing its water's edges to be aglow with the soft hues.

And the girl did not feel trapped when the shadows passed by again and again - she twirled about in these shadows, always ready to chase the sunlight in any direction it came next.

The girl was laughing and giggling, as if she did not feel a lick of the cold. And when she came across one of the frightening rock creations, she would not cower, she would run around it while brushing her fingertips across the soft patches of velvety moss coating them. This was like a fun little dance in her mind, she laughed even when she lost her balance and always got back up. Cold water droplets dotted on the exposed parts of her sage green skin on her short arms and legs, like raised, clear freckles. Her white and black speckled long hair was dry as a bone, tangled, wild, but she was free-

Consciousness returned to Lady Thea-Elouise, by way of her security blanket being ripped away. Her neck strained from the odd angle it was hanging, the back of her head throbbed, and she was sitting upright against something rock hard. Her body was SCREAMING, and she had not even moved yet! It was difficult to do so, tiff as a board, she was. Her eyelids creaked open. The intimidating shadow of the lanky, dirty clone who refused to take off his blasted helmet kept the blinding sunlight from hurting Lou.

Rather harshly, a backpack was dumped on her lap. Lou lurched forward, her face screwed up and she bit down on her lip hard to muffle her cry of agony, because it was as if she could feel every single micro-tear inflicted on every single muscle that was abused with exertion yesterday. Next to Lou, Molli didn't react when the same was repeated to her, but that was probably because she was still unconscious from exhaustion. The dirty clone responsible said nothing. He only rejoined his spectacled teammate who was sitting upright across from the ladies, against the protruding rock that cut them all from view of the lowlands.

The sun was appearing in the east, casting a golden glow on the horizon, free of droid patrols so far - how lucky they were. Lou's mind was in a muddled state, her movements were all sluggish, and her reactions delayed. Lou struggled to keep her eyes open even now, and to glare at the dirty clone was pointless to try. Out of years of ingrained habit, her trembling arms encircled the backpack as if it was her body pillow at home, and her heavy head gave into the pull of exhaustion and rested against the backpacks hard shell.

A boot kicked the bottom of hers. It got the same jolt and silent-scream reaction from Lou.

The perpetrator folded his arms and reclined back, unapologetic. He tilted back his buckethead to rest against the boulder, which exposed the top part of his neck, and how fervently Lou wished she had something sharp to sever his neck with and make him drown in his own blood. The spectacled one didn't butt in or reprimand his teammate, he didn't do anything except have his nose buried in his datapad and occasionally push up his spectacles back up his nose bridge.

Vivi seemed to further want to insult Lou by landing on her shoulder, and began preening her wild hair. Vivi brushed the tip of her tail against Lou's hand clutching the backpack, and the woman managed a scowl at what she could only guess was mock affection for showing off, but then, her face morphed into terror. Her hand was showing, streaked with dirt and gunk, because her thin gloves were shredded and useless! Some of her perfectly manicured nails were broken! Others had dirt caked underneath! There were cuts, and tiny rocks still embedded in her skin and causing irritation. Oh, her sleeves were dirty and creased and torn at her elbows! Her coat was coated in dirt, small dark blotches of blood, her hair was a mess and she smelled HORRIBLE and felt so DIRTY!

"Photogenic as always, milady." The sniper drawled, eyeing her disheveled appearance up and down no doubt with a crass smile underneath the blasted helmet.

The spectacled one finally put away his datapad and took off his helmet, held it in his lap, and looked upon both ladies with what Lou wouldn't call kindness or concern, but more... civility? "I would advise consuming a ration bar and a decent amount of water, if you are to survive today's journey... Or make it through the morning, if we are being realistic with our expectations." He said, or rather SASSED, completely oblivious to the previous words exchanged.

And... no. This was not how things worked in Lady Thea-Elouise's world.

First, Lou corrected her sitting posture as if she did not hear him, and bit down the urge to scream, but it helped alleviate the unnecessary strains on her battered body. Next, she did dig into her pack, but not for these rations or water, though her stomach growled on cue. Her hands stung when she picked up the basic med kit, and before either Crosshair or Tech knew it she had a stim pack kit out and clicked in two of the small tubes available into the injection device.

"What are you doing?" Tech asked, giving a baffled blink.

Lou didn't answer, just took the cap off of the short barrel the needle would eject from.

"We should not waste medical supplies on some aches and pains." Tech urged, but held back, because he really was curious to see how this panned out.

Crosshair didn't bother to try talking, he lunged to try to snatch the needle so supplies wouldn't be wasted.

But with reflexes that even surprised Lou, she snapped the short barrel up to her neck to the exact right location. Crosshair froze in midair. Without breaking eye contact with his visor Lou administered the meds with not so much as a flinch or a blink when the needle embedded into her flesh, twice. Once for the pain medication, another for the stimulant.

It took everything in Crosshair to suppress a full body shudder in disgust. He felt the urge to vomit, and his skin was tingling for all the wrong reasons, and the crawling sensation was nearly debilitating. "Psychotic harpy." He crudely spat. Lady Thea-Elouise had already downturned her head and gone about her business. Crosshair mentally cursed himself because that just inadvertently made him admit he was afraid of needles - damn it! 'What is wrong with you?!' Crosshair flopped back down in his spot, earning him a birds eye view of her ladyship's smirk to herself in triumph at his radiating irritation.

She did not dignify him with a reply. While Crosshair and Tech exchanged an insulted glance, Lou did to her unconscious friend what she did to herself. And only then did Molli finally awaken from her slumber. It took a lot of blinking, and staring, before she could make sense of what was happening. And then she shrunk in on herself in the alcove, lips twisted downwards in a pained frown. This woman seemed to wear a permanent blush, someone so much as glanced at her and she would go red.

Lou took off her gloves, used antiseptic on her hands to clean them off and didn't flinch AGAIN, and wrapped them with bandages. She did the same to Molli who grimaced in pain like a humanoid with actual feelings did, then the medical supplies were neatly put away.

*awkward silence*

Until a very loud purgill mating call sounded that was the ladies stomachs growling. NOW Lou initiated rummaging for food, and she frowned deeply when the only breakfast options were individual aluminum foil packets holding pieces of long, smooth cylindrical sticks that were an unappetizing shade of brown.

"What is that?" Molli's breathy, mouse-like voice enunciated. She scooted forward and squinted at this, this, thing in Lou's hand that was supposed to be food?!

"The galaxy's worst brand of cigar?" Lou goaded, rolling it between her fingers. She held it close to her face and sniffed it unsurely. Her nose wrinkled because it definitely didn't smell like her father's earthy and spicy blend of good tabac leaves. What a shame. She couldn't even put words to the odd smell of this thing. But it definitely did not make saliva pool into her mouth.

"It is a ration bar." Tech deadpanned, "They provide you with all the nutrients you need to survive, and once your body has absorbed all those nutrients, it minimizes the waste produced."

Only here Lou and then Molli acknowledged him, by way of a disgusted look.

Crosshair took a page from Hunter's bok and began counting. 'One Christophsis, two Christophsis, three Christophsis, four Christophsis -'

(Seventeen Minutes Later)

'1025 Christophsis, 1026 Christophsis, 1027 Christophsis' - Their ladyship's were not even halfway done with their ration bars! They were taking the daintiest bites in existence.

They had already gone through half the water supply though, replenishing themselves after not drinking nearly enough yesterday afternoon and evening, so that evened everything out, right?

NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Molli was visibly uncomfortable with the staring of the cross-armed clone who, despite not even having his helmet off, thoroughly communicated that he wore beady eyes and surly frown. And while he was tip-tapping away at his strange datapad, the one whose strange face was exposed had a crease in his large forehead caused by a frown that revealed he was holding back frustration. Yet it did not make Molli eat any faster, only seemed to make her gun shy and slowerrrrrrrrrr...

Lou was brushing off Tech's every insistence to make haste, and flagrantly REFUSED to eat any faster. What was more annoying to Crosshair was how she did it in such a condescending way by not even thinking his brother was worth a verbal response. No acknowledgement was given whatsoever. The haughty ignorance incensed Crosshair like never before. Even Talla had not driven him to insanity so fast, and with so little words exchanged. As a sniper, Crosshair's job required him to be calm and patient, but for sithspawns sake, he'd never craved the relaxing elements of a cigarette more until this moment. Sure, the relief might be temporary as Tech always badgered him with, but it could save these pretty ladies smooth brains being blown to bits.

Crosshair kept on counting but swore his blaster was calling to him. '1061 Christophsis, 1062 Christophsis, 1063 Christophsis -'

Tech suddenly leaned closer to Crosshair, "The clankas have not shown up to our diversion because I suspect they are waiting for us at Lord Elea's crash sight ten clicks from the cliff's edge." He said quietly into the sniper's auditory processor.

Anger switched to excitement as the adrenaline began pumping, a very welcome change. "I'd rather pick them off without the dead weight, wouldn't you?" Crosshair proposed with an obvious bloodthirsty smirk.

The brothers nodded to each other, strapped on their gear and resumed scaling the cliff without a word to the ladies.

"Where do you think you are going?" Lou demanded, only now acknowledging the clones, who... ignored her! The nerve of them! Vivi's favorite took out two contraptions out of his pack and clicked one onto the broken off barrel of his rifle, handed the other to his teammate, all without answering her! As gracefully as she could, Lady Thea-Elouise pushed herself off the dirty ground and drew her battered body to its full height, "You will remain here and escort us as Duke Depon ordered."

"Waiting for droids is not really our thing." Tech stated, and tilted his head so Crosshair could use his shoulder to keep steady and scope out a sturdy target. "We will ensure the path is clear at the top, neutralize the droid scouts indubitably waiting for us at Lord Elea's crash sight, and you can meet us up there once you have regained your strength."

*PEW!*

Lou did not know blasters were able to shoot something other than cables, but she hid her amazement behind folded arms and a disapproving frown. "Clones are designed to follow any orders given to them."

"If you have the authority." Tech riposted factually. He reached up and clicked on the second grappling hook, attached the first cable to his belt and-

*PEW!*

He caught the other end of the grappling hook and held it out for Crosshair, but while sliding his rifle into its place on his pack, Crosshair had slowly turned and set his irate gazes on Lady Thea-Elouise.

From a nearby rock, Vivi chittered anxiously, and flitted to her mistress's crooked shoulder pauldron, and curled her long tail around her mistress's waist. Lou's frown merely deepened. "Lady Molvaline and I are daughters to two of the most prominent households in the galaxy." Lou reminded them both with a hint of a scornful chuckle.

"You are a plebe from a military standpoint." Crosshair asserted, taking a step closer, hypervigilant to her reaction, and chuckled, "Hn, lower, because our kind of plebes know how to use a blaster before they're out of nappies."

Vivi affectionately nudged her mistress, but Lou took a step forward herself, "We hold more power than any Senator or Jedi in the Republic," She raised her chin to make herself feel tall because unfortunately, without the heels, he was taller. "So you will follow orders or I swear to you on my parents grave that if you veer off program you will be reprimanded to the fullest extent."

Oh, she had done it again. Some people used the word 'clone' to accurately describe what the Grand Army was made up of, but all Crosshair could hear was it used like a slur, like the majority of people did in this kriffed up galaxy. If there was one measly thing he shared with regs, it was the disdain for it, especially because he was worth more than a thousand regs, and she would learn that. It would all be for show but she didn't need to know that - Crosshair leered over her, "Shove that ration bar down your throat, get off your ass and start climbing -" For dramatic effect he reached behind him and tapped the vibro holster he'd strapped to the back of his belt, "Or we cut off the dead weight."

Lou did not flinch, and even more disappointing, Vivi did not attack like Crosshair had been hoping. Guess he wouldn't be able to kill two birds with one stone. The rising sun intensified the unreadable glint in her sapphire blues as they roamed the helmet that barred her from spitting in the sniper's face. "It seems 'no one left behind' does not apply to clone troopers." Lou accused him of.

"That can be applied to the living, or to the dead. So you will be up that ridge by the time the sun is directly overhead, or by the sounds of it, your guardians will be relieved of an enormous burden." Crosshair swallowed the self-loathing lump in his throat. He could never stop until there was an explosive reaction or no more pushback.

Vivi affectionately cooed over her mistress. Salt was shoveled into the only wound he'd seen a true reaction too, and Lou did not flinch or back down. She kept her eyes trained on his visor. Her eyebrow-like facial markings drew together inquisitively, "Did you really believe that I would buy into the ruse that a member of the Grand Army could harm the daughter of a KDY shareholder and get off scot free?" She patronized, and tilted her head. "Is your brain, perchance, so smooth and polished that I could see my devastatingly beautiful reflection?"

It took a second for Crosshair to find his voice. What in the galaxy would it take to make this woman snap?! "Terrible accidents can always happen behind enemy lines."

Still nothing. Even if her family technically orphaned her, the jogan did not fall far from the tree. "Let me explain it to you again, clone: In the real galaxy, the more money you possess, the more power you possess, and as you climb down the ladder the power one holds becomes less and less - you clones are the lowest of the lowly, not even worth giving a proper ID, and even wildlife has more rights than you do." She was now the one who took a threatening step towards him, and they were face to helmet. "One. Sentence." Lady Thea-Elouise stated in a low, menacing tone, "That is all that's needed from a woman of my status, one sentence stating how you tried to harm me in some way, and you clones will be locked up in a cage for the rest of your life with no trial."

Her confidence in the so-called irrefutable position she had with the Depon family - that would be her downfall, because Crosshair clearly saw the reality, and she could not, or would not. But Crosshair finally cracked the case. He ended this confrontation with a short, condescending chuckle, and vibro was unsheathed, and wiggled in front of her face in a taunting manner, "You at the very least know how to use a knife, hm? Aim for the head." In a split second decision, Crosshair tested Lou's limits even further, and with less-than-skillful fingers to the professional eye he flung the vibro at Molli. Well, he aimed for the backpack on the ground by her, it sheathed halfway and Molli jumped with a yelp. It had a small effect, Lou whirled and quickly examined her friend for any injuries. There weren't any, thank the maker, but Lou shot the sniper a glare so heated that given the power, it could have melted his helmet off. "Aren't you a doll?" She seethed through clenched teeth, which flashed some fang.

"No, but at least I'm not dead weight." Crosshair pointed a finger above him, "Up that ridge. Midday. Or get left behind." He broke away from her, "Hope you don't get caught in any accidents, ladies - good day." He singsonged in parting, and left her at that. He returned to Tech, and snatched that cable from his hand.

"'People of their grand station in life are used to a certain measure of decorum when being addressed, and it generally helps them to respond to different points of view more favorably, which will also be needed if we are going to be able to provide counsel from our own experience with fighting the Separatists.'" Tech quoted General Kenobi as they prepared to climb, the ladies fussing behind them. "Was such a failed display of brutality necessary?"

Crosshair scoffed, and pondered the cliff with a tilt of his bucket head, "I didn't pierce flesh this time - Hunter will be proud of my progress."

You could see Tech visibly roll his eyes, but he had to admit, even he was not complaining that they could now use their blasters grappling hook extensions, for the reason they had not yesterday was because the dead weight refused to put their lives in the hands of 'a mere rope and a hook.'

"Um, uh, pardon me." Tech and Crosshair turned, and that frightened Molli, she scurried back a couple of steps, and her face was brightly flushed as she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt and rocked on her heels, "I... am in need... of a commode?" By the looks of her clenching her thighs together, it was urgent, and the only motivation in the galaxy that got her to approach them first.

The poor thing. Crosshair seemed to take on a semblance of compassion, and took the initiative to unhook himself and walk back, pass Lou who also looked in need, and he picked up one of their field packs. That he dumped out in a big ol' mess, and picked out a tiny hand shovel and a kit that biodegradable clean up supplies. "I bid thee farewell, ladies." He pushed the shovel in Lou's hands, the kit in Molli's, and both blinked down at these in horror.

Crosshair returned to Tech's side, and accepted his cable back again.

"Shouldn't we inform them of the logistics Talla had to work out, to prevent any mishaps?" Tech wondered.

"That's above my pay grade." Crosshair hooked his cable to his belt, and gave it a light tug to make sure the line was secure. "You scanned lots of bodies of water before we crashed, we can throw them in if needed."

---

(ONDERON)

Talla had the best afternoon's sleep since coming to Onderon. Eight hours straight was just what she needed. It was now dusk and the air creeping through the shudders was fresh and actually cool! As lazy as it made her feel, she did lay in her bunk a few extra minutes, focusing on inhaling and exhaling the sweet, pungent aroma of the rain pitter-pattering on the roof. It washed away so much tension, so much agitation out of Talla's system. Outside, in the courtyard, she could hear Steela and Ahsoka begin guiding rebels who were hauling in supplies, which were sneakily donated by new supporters after the Madlive Square brouhaha. After a real rocky start, Ahsoka and Steela seemed cordial now. While Steela was part of the trio who were watching Talla like a hawk for some random reason, it was nice to see they had reached some sort of an understanding. Talla made a mental note to ask Ahsoka for an update on the whole thing; she'd been too caught up in her own problems to keep tabs.

For just a blissful moment Talla felt refreshed, almost her old self again. A small smile actually graced her chapped lips.

Until that first clap of thunder. It reminded her of Kamino. The mission. It was time to get back to reality. Her eyes snapped open, and she was met with a dark and weathered wooden roof instead of blinding white lights with a pristine white roof. She was on Onderon, she had lost her cool, she was suffering the consequences that was guilt, shame, regret, self loathing- 'Positive, positive, Talla.' She chastised herself with a sigh. 'Accept and let go. Purpose before feelings. Keep a stiff upper lip.' She gave into a moment of weakness yesterday, but she was gonna come out stronger, fiercer, and smarter. Talla forced herself to list off positive developments: Things were okay now between her and the CO's, even after she nearly killed Rex and gave Ahsoka an aneurysm. The bombings yesterday might have shaken her up a bit but it had gotten some positive results - more recruits. She got to talk to at least one of her boys recently.

Talla slipped a hand under her pillow to get out the smallest stick of black eyeliner known to the galaxy. No more than the top half of her thumb in length, she had cut it off from the unused end of a rebels full stick, and justified the minor theft for a good cause. She lifted up the edge of her glove and to the best of her ability and memory, traced onto her inner wrist the sun symbol that was on the datachip Convor left her. The chip was left in her barracks on the Marauder, so she had to make do with a crappy lopsided sketch to ponder over at every spare moment. 'Maybe Hunter can give me a few private art lessons.' The corners of Talla's lips briefly twitched upwards in a smile. Her heart fluttered and skin became flushed and tingly at the memory of that last evening on Saleucami.

And right on time, that longing ache crushed her chest, for the calm, closeness, and warmth he'd been providing her even before their first kiss - since her accident on Silva. But there was no time to mope. There was much work to be done, and she was being lazy. Talla heaved a sigh again, it was as if the sleep did nothing for the exhaustion hitting her like a bantha running at full speed.

"Everything good, soldier?" A regs voice sounded from the bottom bunk.

And she just got caught being lazy by her commanding officer. Talla jumped up, "All good, Cap'n." And hoisted herself over the small railing and hopped down, jolting the room when her feet made impact with the thin wood floors. There Rex was, with a long bacta wrap around his neck, looking up at her with concern. If anyone was undeserving of it, Talla felt it was her. He didn't seem in any pain, but she felt the urge to ask, "How's the uh -" Rex pushed himself up on his forearms, she got flustered and just waved her hand awkwardly in his direction, "The uh, you know-"

"At ease, no need for eggshells. Rested the whole afternoon, medic's orders." He joked with fake eye roll exasperation, the punchline being that medics outranked everyone, including the Captain, even if she was a rebel recruit.

Talla's cheeks puffed as she let out a breath in relief. She plopped down on the bottom bunk across from him, and leaned down to pick up her boots off the floor.

"Something wrong?" She heard Rex ask, in reference to her sigh.

'Lie with pieces of the truth.' Talla occupied herself, her hands mainly so they wouldn't fidget, by slipping on her boots. "Just, missing my squad." She mumbled, open with her sad eyes, "We've never had to be apart like this since I joined, and I've discovered that I don't quite like being alone." Her hands seized at the edge of her boots, "I - I mean yes, you know, you guys are here, but -" She jammed her foot in, then sharply gestured in his general direction with flushed cheeks, "Oh I'm sure you know what I mean by now!" Talla didn't raise from her hunch. She took her sweet time making sure her pants were tucked in comfortably.

Stupid foot-in-mouth syndrome. The dull pitter-patter of rain filled the brief awkward silence.

Talla and Rex snapped to attention when they heard Ryth call out Steela's name in a panic outside. If memory serves Rex, Ryth should have been returning from a scout in another hour, but here she was. Talla took the initiative to jump up and crack open the blinds, in time to see Ryth bolting down the staircase and toss her rifle and macros aside, completely distraught and nearly lost her footing on the slippery stone steps. "They're executing King Dendup tomorrow in Yolahn Square!"

'That son of a -' Behind the shutters, Rex and Talla exchanged narrow-eyed looks.

"Where did you hear this?" Steela asked incredulously, both her and Ahsoka putting their hands on their hips, eyebrows snapping together.

Rex joined Talla at the window, and several other rebels down below stopped in time to hear Ryth reveal: "Malgan Market - the merchants. The Separatists are saying he's behind our attack!"

Steela huffed, shook her head angrily, "More lies." She wandered back into the townhouse, out of view, "They're making him an example, to humiliate us." She trailed out of hearing range.

Rex and Talla quickly grabbed their gear and hightailed it out of the barracks.

They speed-walked down the first flights of stairs. "My first time saving a monarch from execution." Talla announced to Rex, and he briefly looked back up to raise a brow at Talla, only to feel butterflies when seeing her excited grin eager to lighten the dreary mood, so very like the one he'd seen post-battle on Kamino, "This should be fun, even if I have to sTaY oN tHe SiDeLiNeS."

They turned a sharp corner and were upon the second staircase. "I'll believe it when I see it." He murmured sarcastically, tossing her a ghost of a smirk over his shoulder to show he was playing along.

They joined the others congregating in the dimmed main room, rebels coming in and out and taking their sweet time to eavesdrop. Near the front door, Steela, Ahsoka, Lux and Saw were on opposing sides, and guess who was the lone wolf once more?

Saw Gerrera was vividly bent out of shape by Ahsoka ending a statement with, "-only make him a martyr."

Saw raised his fists, "We can't let him die! We have to break him out somehow!" He declared, fiery eyes flicking downwards as the cogs in his mind turned.

"No." Steela immediately disagreed, "We should wait until he's in public, at the execution."

Ahsoka nodded, and Lux stood at Steela's side too, firm and unwavering. Just behind them, Talla crossed her arms and leaned against a stack of new crates, Rex not far behind at a respectful distance.

Saws fists lowered, yet they remained clenched at his side because they were all ganging up on him. "That's where they'd expect it, Steela." He said as if to call into question her strategic intellect. In front of the troops.

"I know," Steela soothed, and her composure made Talla green with envy. "But this is our moment - We'll save him for all of Iziz to witness!" Saw opened his mouth but she shook her head once, "We don't have much time -"

"They're counting on us to show up." Saw turned his back on Steela with a swoosh of his cape, and marched out the door.

Steela stepped forward with a hand out, "Where are you going?!"

"Trust me."

Steela drew her shoulders back and stood tall as she could. "Stop." She commanded.

Saw froze in his tracks. A thunder clap only enhanced the pinnacle shift between the sibling dynamic. For months the eldest Gerrera sibling did as he saw fit with no one having the authority to try putting a leash on him, only had his little sister nagging him and Bonteri irritating him to no avail. But when crunch time finally came, Steela was chosen to call the shots, and Saw had not.

But did she really think the fancy title would make her triumphant in putting a leash on him? Resistance to unfair authority in Saw's eyes became a major character trait the day the Separatists invaded. He halfway turned back, grave-faced. "Let me take care of this." Of course, this wasn't a petition for permission. There was a certain threat underneath the defiance this time.

'What are you gonna do, slap restraints on me and lock me in the storage closet - I dare you, sister.' Steela easily translated on her mind, and she actually sneered at Saw. "This isn't about you."

Lux had the audacity to step forward. "We can't afford a reckless move right now." He added firmly, always trying to help, which only pushed Saw further away.

He smiled wryly, crossed his arms under the cloak, "Yeah?" He chuckled with no mirth, "Go write a speech about it."

Around the room, rebels exchanged glances of confliction, of anger, of reluctance. Talla felt herself smoldering on Steela's behalf, because Saw was being anything but useful. She hated how this rebellion wasn't as organized and single-minded like the Grand Army was, and definitely had her doubts about its survival if he kept this up. But what could she do? She wanted to do more! She still wanted to help! She wanted to smack him in the face, WITH A CHAIR!

Saw could feel the heat of Agent Talla's glare, he'd grown quite familiar with it, he returned it, even with the previous threats to castration by blaster.

Ahsoka felt like a bantha had sat on her chest, but she kept calm and passive. "You have to weigh the risk." She soberly told Saw, and could do nothing more.

Saw's eyes flicked back to the young Jedi. "That's why I'm going alone." He revealed, pulling his hood up with a dramatic air that could make a Jedi Master jealous. Saw Gerrera disappeared from view down the rainy alleyway, to apparently infiltrate the most secure building on Onderon without any backup, visible weapons, or a real plan going in.

Ryth, who started this all, grimaced in unnecessary guilt at the fight between the siblings. She stepped towards the door as if to shadow him, then thought better and looked to the leader for permission.

Steela's heart was pounding in her chest, yet her face was flushed in suppressed frustration. "Follow him." She permissed with a nod.

Just then, an idea came to Talla, a loophole to save lives - damn, that sounded so wrong - she pushed off the crates, "Belay that." She said, raising a hand, and Ryth did stop, with Ahoksa and Steela turning back and looking at the Agent in confusion and insult. Talla clasped her hands together and comically asked the Jedi Commander, "Oh, please let me go after him instead."

Ahsoka put a hand on a jutted hip, she looked at Talla with a rightful suspicious frown, "I thought you didn't like him."

"There's nothing to like so far," Talla snorted, and Steela glared over Ahsoka's shoulder at the Agent with much offense taken, "But there can be an art to chaos, and it's my squadron's specialty." Talla pointed to Steela, who was glaring at her with severe distrust, "You want him to make it back alive, right, and not be sent back on a bag and trolley wrapped in a bow with a fake condolence note from King Rash?" Steela's harsh features softened, only a little, "He's walking into some sort of a trap, there's a massive surge of energy surrounding the Palace."

"It's the only structure in Iziz allowed to have that luxury." Steela deadpanned bitterly, eyes briefly scanning their dark corridors.

"I'm not talking about light usage, I'm talking about enough energy to fuel some sort of protective barrier that's somehow..." Talla half-shrugged, "For a lack of better words, invisible to you, but it's there and it's not gonna end well."

Lux came to Steela's side, folded his arms and squinted at Talla suspiciously. "Why did you not mention this before?" And Ahsoka did have to raise a facial marking to that too.

"Well one, I thought it goes without saying that even King Rash wouldn't be stupid enough to solely rely on tin cans for security and two, I didn't think any of you would be stupid enough to take on the Palace this early into the fight." Talla's sassed back.

Murmurs of confliction, of anger, of reluctance sounded again. Everyone was divided, and Talla didn't mean to make it worse. Politics definitely caused divisions.

Talla reached out and pulled Ashoka aside, so it was them and Rex. "We need to make sure King Dendup isn't executed - our entire purpose here is to help free Onderon. I am not a politician by any means but what good would free Onderon be without a leader? Would the Rebellion even continue at all without its mascot? Would Onderon align with the government who allowed their leader to be killed?" Ahsoka folded her arms and exchanged an unreadable look with stoic Rex, so Talla eased up and slipped her fidgety hands into her pockets, "I know I've been a menace when it comes to letting go of the reins, but if there's one moment you can grant me the luxury of interfering, this is it - The Jedi way, the diplomacy method, and the family guilt tripping have all failed, so let me shadow Saw and then when he's broken down from his mistake - that I will fully allow him make," She made sure they knew, "I can build him back up into something that's actually useful and will stop all the whining and liability risks." If she could get Saw to stop putting people in unnecessary danger, Talla forced herself to believe that the risk for casualties would greatly decrease. In her eyes, he was the root of many close calls because of either inexperience, premature action, terrible orders or brash behavior like now. "Allow me to give us some insurance on this one, I doubt even the Council can deny that it would be bad if Dendup was offed, and all the credits and supplies would be wasted when the rebellion crumbled." Talla's hands made jittery gestures, "I just, I have a hunch, that Saw might only learn the hard way, don't ask me why, I just do, and he needs to learn before he ruins everything."

Ahsoka and Rex knew why. They knew very well why. It appeared she had not quite connected the dots. Rex and Ahsoka had a silent conversation with their eyes. Ahsoka was tightlipped, Rex was stoic, yet they somehow communicated what needed to be communicated.

The young Jedi placed a hand on the Clone Agent's shoulder, "You know I had a bad feeling about Saw the moment I laid eyes on him," Talla nodded, and then Ahsoka looked... Apologetic? "We'll get a hold of the Masters, for a second opinion, and see if they see this as paranoia, or necessary action to ensure the Rebellion doesn't fall after all the effort we've put in."

Though, Ahsoka already had an idea as to what would transpire, and her heart sank to her stomach.

---

(KUAT)

At the top, Crosshair was down on one knee and halfway behind one of the millions of boulders lining the cliff's edge. His rifle was up in ready position and the Sniper peered through the scope to search the midlands, a place that was a forest of thin rock spirals of all shapes and sizes organized in perfectly straight lines and towered in the skies as far as the eye could see.

And Crosshair could see farther than most humanoids. There was neither hide nor tail of any disturbance to the rather barren landscape, compared to the picturesque landscape of the rest of the planet. There were only hundreds of billions of colorful stones coating the land around the rock spirals. "Thought you said the escape pod landed there." He remarked to Tech when he couldn't find it on the ground floor at the coordinates given him, roughly one click down this particular hall of rock spirals.

Behind him, Tech drew his eyebrows together. "If my flight trajectory was correct, which it was." He knew better than to ask 'Are you certain?' because just like his intellect, and Hunter's senses, and Wrecker's strength, they're enhancements were seldom faulty. He got out his datapad, and like it was yesterday, last night, and this morning the entirety of his heat signature scanner was aglow by an overwhelming amount of swirling colors that were useless to try reading. Tech emerged from behind the boulder, took a few steps forward while tapping the side of the electronic a few times. "As we climbed further up the cliff, there has been a massive heat source registering as far as my scanner's circumference of visibility, which is preventing me from pinpointing the exact location a second time."

Crosshair sighed with enough dramatics that even Tech could pick up on it, and lolled his head to the side. "How many times have we discussed telling us what's cooking inside that big egghead of yours before we are blindsided?"

Tech was already onto the next thing. He walked around a little aimlessly, but he wasn't dazed and confused, he had one arm extended and he was... feeling the air. "Do you also feel it?"

"Context?"

"The temperature has spiked dramatically, and there are these sporadic bursts of -" Tech made an Aha! noise, when something apparently brushed against his fingertips way up high in the air. He got his datapad out and held it up. The group had been veering to the left as they climbed the cliffside, so he chose to walk to the right.

And he kept walking.

And walking.

And by the one klick mark about ten minutes later, Crosshair had unshouldered his rifle and was using it as a crutch to lean on. He could clearly see tinier Tech wave up his datapad to get his attention.

He pointed at Crosshair. 'You.' He made the hand signal 'stop' and waved the hand to and away from his face. 'Go back.' He pointed directly to his right eye. 'Watch.' He faced his palm forward, put the hand behind his auditory processor where his ear would be, fingers touching he ear. 'Listen.'

Crosshair watched tiny Tech take out his macros to see his response. Crosshair made the hand signal 'stop' but faced the palm towards himself, and waved the hand back and forth to and away from his face. 'Come back.' He pointed at the ground twice, then raised his hand above his head and waved that pointer finger to the sky, making a circular motion.'We'll rally back here.'

Crosshair saw Tech's thumbs up and returned it. He turned, righted his rifle and took a few steps in Tech's opposite direction, but thought better before he got any further. The sniper reluctantly returned to the cliff's edge and glanced over. The ladies were a quarter away from his position, surprisingly making good time. Crosshair didn't feel moved enough to feel sorry for giving her lip for wasting supplies, he was merely glad that they could speed things up a little.

It was eerie, Thea-Elouise seemed to know he was watching. After she helped Molli up onto a ledge, she didn't have to search him out. The noblewoman lifted her face up towards the heavens and it was like a beacon led her to gaze straight at the sniper's visor on the first try. The jolt he experienced made him feel humiliation prickle all over his flushed face and neck like a thousand hot needles. But he refused to become frozen like yesterday, and did not look away first. Only when Molli recaptured Lou's reluctant attention did Crosshair tear himself away from the cliff's edge. He figured by the time they reached the top, Tech would be here.

He was light footed and cautious when venturing away from Tech and away from the cliff, further into spiral rock forest. It was clear everything was man made, because all of these rocks that ranged from tan to light blue with the occasional white could not naturally appear in such perfect concentric circles around each rock spiral. He wasn't looking through his scope, and kept slowly turning his head from side to side and straining to hear anything that came through his auditory processors. He got help in that department because there was no wildlife, just the humming of bugs.

He passed by a rock spiral more closely and felt it - an unnatural puff of hot air, like those experienced near shields. He noted this and he continued past two more to make sure these puffs weren't flukes. They weren't. So he stopped, and he listened. All the hair underneath his body glove wanted to stand on end - this area rampant with electricity. No, there weren't bugs humming, Crosshair's new perspective was that there was something being powered out here, and it grew louder and louder when it seemed to be originating along this stretch of rock spirals he was heading in the general direction of. Crosshair stopped in his tracks two thirds of the way into the circular rocks surrounding one of them, because a burnt rubber smell reached his nostrils. The heat being expelled from the spiral was so intense that the closer you got, the humming became more prominent, the heat would cause your entire body to be coated in a sheen layer of sweat, and the hotter the rocks got, and the bottoms of Crosshair's boots could be heard beginning to sizzle.

Since he had no idea what this was or how sensitive or volatile this mystery was, Crosshair left the hot zone and returned back to his original position half a click away.

From back here, Crosshair surveyed that stretch of rock spirals again. Almost every single one was unique in texture, yet the exact same height, except for those ones. Those two lines of rock spirals started much lower than the rest at that part of the cliff's edge, and gradually grew taller and taller until they matched the height of the rest, probably several miles inland but his range of visibility from down here was limited.

... but it kind of mimicked the shape of the supports for a ramp you'd see for an elevated highway on Coruscant. His enhanced eyesight picked up on something odd with the sky peeking through. He took a couple steps forward and zeroed in. He squinted his eyes underneath his visor. It was hard to pick up at first but the sky had a peculiar shiny gloss that was rippling. "Huh."

Tech reached his side not a moment later. "Up there." Crosshair told Tech, nudging his chin upwards. Tech pulled out his macros and followed Crosshair's line of sight. "You catch it?"

"Interesting." Tech briefly lowered his macros, "My scanner did not detect any flammable vapors that would combust." His macros returned to his eyes. "Shoot a bolt." He instructed. "But do not hit rock."

Far be it from Crosshair to deny some sort of action, even if this lit up the place. He did lift off his helmet, to air out the sweat accumulated on his face and hair. He leaned his Firepunher like a crutch again, took out his hand blaster, ready, aim and -

*Pew!*

The shot didn't ricochet. It became a crackling bolt of energy trapped in suspended animation, never to be released unless someone cut the power to this tractor beam-like force field being extended from these plateaus. "Fascinating." Both said, one in genuine awe, one in playful mockery. And they both bet that the escape pod had landed on the flat top of one of these rock spirals ten clicks down the ramp.

"KEAARR!" A happy bird signified the ladies closing in. Vivi spawned on Crosshair's pauldron, and her eyes were wide in what he believed he could describe as excitement - could birds get excited? It certainly seemed so, at beholding his face for the first time. First came some aggressive head nudges and rubs against his stubbly cheek and neck, lots of cooing and happy trills, and then Crosshair visibly cringed at feeling a beak exuberantly preen the hair just above his left ear. Feeling a beak against skin felt weird and he had to grab a hold of her tail, swishing so crazily that it kept hitting him in the face, temporarily blinding him with irritation.

He swore he saw Tech's datapad being held up and pointed at him, "If your recording this, Tech -"

"Say hello to Talla." The cheeky brainiac said.

"Teeech." Crosshair growled, trying not to give into the panic, because what if this bird pecked out his eyeballs?!

"Wait a mynock minute!" He heard Lou exclaim when they cleared the ridge. "Molli, that is the bridge that leads to Cosiima."

"Oh thank the maker, no more cliffs." Crosshair heard her collapse onto her back and gulp in the air.

And he heard Lou's footsteps pick up the pace as she intended to circle Vivi's favorite clone, who was barefaced and vulnerable.

He managed to shake the mother hen off and have his helmet back down just as Lou caught the right side of his face, and the edge of a tattoo over his right eye. "Guess your guardians are going to have to bear the burden a little while longer." His distorted voice praised and insulted in the same breath.

---

(ONDERON)

Twilight was upon Iziz, and the city was going to sleep. Steela and Lux had claimed the makeshift conference room to single handedly go over the pending plan for tomorrow - a major step towards taking off the training wheels, which was a bitter pill to swallow but Talla soldiered up and did.

The barracks were full of sleeping troops, the kitchen had some lingering rebels too. Talla and Ahsoka had to meet with whomever they could get a hold of on a secure comm by themselves, nestled in the hallway between the main room and kitchen, sitting side by side on a small crate with the long distance comm placed on a taller one. Rex trusted that while Ahsoka was a bit overwhelmed, she could manage this without his support, and took the first window watch in the main room. They were both apprehensive about Talla joining a Council Meeting, but she had to learn to maintain composure with exposure, they supposed. They felt they'd put in enough hours in this war to trust their position and not be punished too severely for a subordinate's lack of impulse control.

Over the hologram, Obi-Wan was doing his beard stroking throughout the entirety of Agent Talla's proposal to put surveillance on Saw Gerrera - the irony was not lost on him.

When Talla finished, Obi-Wan glanced over at Ahsoka, whose eyes were glazed over and trained at a random point in front of her. Her shoulders were drawn up with tension, and she had her elbow perched on the taller crate so her palm could support her heavy head. Her fingers were curled towards her face in a way that he could tell she was trying to shield her lip gnawing from his line of sight. "I sense fear in you, Ahsoka." He said matter-of-factly.

Ahsoka's facial markings scrunched, and she released her dry, cracked lip from between her teeth. "The rebels are divided." Ahsoka divulged, finally looking at Obi-Wan's small holographic figure instead of through him, "If they try to rescue the King now, I'm afraid we might lose them."

"We cannot control their fate." Obi-Wan patiently reminded her again. He briefly scanned Talla but she maintained composure (From the neck up anyway - in her lap, out of his line of sight, her fingers picked at a thread on her pants)

"It's just, they're risking their lives to save just one." Ahsoka tried, feeling a bit uneasy at speaking like these real live people were pawns in a dejarik game, to prove her nonexistent detachment.

"Do not underestimate the king's power." Obi-Wan actually contradicted, and Talla's hand movements ceased. "He represents hope, and is critical to their success."

Hope bloomed in Talla's chest, 'Oh sweet merciful mystical maker PLEASE -'

They were briefly forced to silence as a rebel passed them by on the way to the kitchen. Ahsoka's flighty eyes watched the guy stomp by, then she had a moment of open conflict within herself. Talla was internally saddened seeing Ashoka lean in as if she was paranoid of being overheard, "I feel responsible for them too, master." The young Jedi looked so guilty admitting.

Obi-Wan observed as Talla's eyes slanted in empathy, and she placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. How could someone so caring be suspected of such ominous intentions? The Force worked in mysterious ways... and gave him a feeling that perhaps she was half right about something. "Step in only if you must, but remember, if this experiment is to become an effective strategy, they must learn to survive on their own."

Talla's heart felt like it sank to her stomach. Her eyebrows drew together as she squinted at Obi-Wan. "An experiment?"

"There are pockets of these insurgents all across Separatist space, and this Rebellion is an experiment to see if the Republic can spare a few trainers and some supplies a piece so that they can have their own foot soldiers to fight off the Separatists, instead of requiring clone presence." Obi-Wan explained, and Talla's hackles simmered down...some. Obi-Wan folded his arms, "I sense much fear and frustration in you, Agent Talla. It has come to my attention that you have struggled with letting go of the reins... but in this instance, I believe some insurance is allowed so that supplies and credits will not be wasted by the Rebellion failing prematurely."

'So if this Rebellion failed, saving what lives we could would be a waste?' Talla forced herself to grin from ear to ear as would be expected. "Thank you, General." She gave Ahsoka's shoulder a squeeze, who found enough strength to smile the smallest of smiles. Talla made to leave, but stopped herself, remembering the poor opinion Obi-Wan had of her and her squadron because of their unorthodox ways, and believed this was why she had also picked up on some scrutiny on his part. "I understand you have mixed feelings about my squadron, General, but in spite of their lack of military protocol, and my terrible performance recently, they have taught me well, and they're the top squadron for a reason. The good thing about being chaotic is that when we face battle scenarios that don't quite fit any of our chaotic plans, we can improvise without a second thought and no hiccups."

She was proud of herself. She didn't point out how horrible it was to be a part of an experiment. What she focused on was that she was going to ensure all this wouldn't be for nothing.

She parted ways with Ahsoka and General Kenobi. On her way out the main door, Talla snagged one of the few cloaks they had on hand for those who had to venture out in the rain, and it hadn't let up all evening. Talla did a two finger salute to Rex in goodbye and his eyes widened a tad in surprise but he nodded.

Outside in the rainy twilight, Talla pulled up her hood and she made to turn the corner into the alleyway, but paused when her enhanced ears heard a *click* through the rain and thunder.

Rolling her eyes, she heaved a big sigh, continued and gave a deadpanned look at the barrel of Steela's sniper rifle.

In the darkened alleyway, Agent Talla's steely gray eyes slowly surveying Steela's defensive position with not a shred of fear looked so much more piercing with the reflection of the dim sconces still on before curfew. Agent Talla didn't need to have a sword to Steela's throat to make the rebel feel like she was on the razor's edge. "I want him back alive." The Gerrera sister stipulated, her right eye behind the scope, her right pointer finger hovering over the trigger... but she hoped the Agent thought she was shivering from the cold rain.

"Yah, that's the plan." Talla sassed from underneath the shadow of her hood.

Fire coursed through Steela's veins, and it smoked her cold fear, setting ablaze her blue eyes. Steela took a step forward and pressed the end of the barrel against Agent Talla's forehead. "It's the only results you will bring in."

"I'll try to restrain myself."

"Or don't come back at all." Steela warned her, yet to no avail, Agent Talla. Was. Not. Afraid. Steela trembled again, but out of anger. "I made an oath to Lux, to not strike you down, Death Watch scum - That is the only reason you are still alive at this moment."

It came back to Talla - her brief conversation with Lux on the stone arch, and her mentioning the heat-seeking whistling birds... But how in the galaxy did these lunatics form a crazy theory like that with just whistling birds, and her not being a Jedi, and having a vibrosword? She wasn't even a part of a Mandalorian Clan, she was just trained by a Mandalorian who was deemed to have good bloodlines! 'What the actual kriff?!' This was why they'd been hovering over her?!

Agent Talla wanted answers, and it sent a jolt through her nervous system at how easily she could think up a number of ways to get it out of Steela. Thank goodness for the moment of clarity that Steela was a victim of hearsay, and that Lux was a victim of some odd misunderstanding.

Talla slowly, slowly raised a hand to push the rifle out of her face, "Your brother is chaotic." The rebel leaders' frown deepened as expected, "And you either have deadly chaos under your terms or deadly chaos NOT under your terms, which poses a severe risk for a loss that can be prevented in the first place." Talla held a hand over her heart, "I want to teach this to Saw, I'm gonna make sure he walks away with only a few dings and a good war story to back them up, Steela, I promise."

Steela searched Agent Talla's eyes underneath the shadow of her hood, but they were no longer steely, they were warm, soft pools of genuine kindness and concern and she did not either confirm or deny the Death Watch accusation she became so utterly confused.

---

(KUAT)

(One Hour Later)

"Curse you, steep incline." Lou gasped to herself, her feet, shins, calves, and thighs killing her as the pain medications and stimulants from this morning were wearing off. "Curse you, Separatists." She gave a dirty look to Vivi's favorite clone that was forcing her and Molli to keep the same rapid pace and not pause for a med break, and she was smart enough to know that they were sitting mynocks out here but still, "Curse you." Her eyes flicked to the spectacled one next to him who did nothing, "And you too."

Both rolled their eyes and did not dignify her with a response. Molli clasped hands with Lou and tugged it twice, silently asking her to 'STOW IT!'

The crashed escape pod was up ahead, just where Tech predicted, and it turned out to be at the bridge intersection. A big overhead sign up ahead would inform them in basic and several other languages that one could choose to go straight head into Cosiima, or turn left and travel over the rock spiral forest to the tourist shuttle station, or turn right and travel over the rock spiral forest to the entrance to the highlands, Zevlee Pass. The sign itself was made up of flat white stones stacked high and proud, no doubt kept sturdy with a force field, and the rest was a holo-projection.

There were no droids in sight. Only the soft patter of their boots against the force field filled the silence for the longest time until Lou started complaining.

Tech looked down and observed that as they walked, their feet caused ripples in this force field bridge that was connected by an invisible net across this stretch of gradually climbing rock peaks. "This bridge is fascinating." He opened an info dump session to Crosshair with to pass the time, "It functions similarly to tractor beams, to ensure speeders do not topple over the edge, but even if you do stumble over the edge, there is a stretch of open force field on either side that stops you from skidding over the side, and will keep you in suspended animation until help arrives." Tech didn't need a response, he took a mental measurement and guessed the glass rectangular prisms you could just barely see within were over seventy feet in length and width, and twenty feet in height. When he squinted he could see grooves of various patterns carved into the glass, "It also keeps this glass suspended in midair, like a transparent protective skin that protects the design from wear and tear." Lou was next to Tech, giving Molli a barrier from the strange clones, and he asked her, "Why is there glass in the first place? I have no doubt that this shield would suffice just fine on its own."

Strangely, Lady Thea-Elouise did not snub him. Crosshair swore that he saw some life return to her eyes. "It is not glass, it is ipsium quartz crystal, harvested from mines on an Outer Rim planet named Ipsidon."

She captured the spectacle clones' full attention at new information, "I spent the brunt of my stay in the Ronay Bunker exploring rather than reading up on Kuati history - tell me more."

"You can spout every word in basic in one breath except a simple 'please?'"

Crosshair's hold on his rifle tightened.

Lou pondered unamused Tech briefly, gave a shrug and continued, if only to secretly feel useful instead of useless like Vivi's favorite clone had claimed. "Well, three hundred years ago, before the Republic's relationship with the Techno Union went sour by claiming neutrality in this war, they desired a modest helping of cortosis ore, to research its heat resistance when infused into various metals. They wanted to minimize worker droids being destroyed while they harvested mineral allotropes against the harsh temperatures on an Outer Rim planet they governed named Mustafar." Lou had to pause and adjust her heavy backpack, her pet birdy nestled inside and napping since half of her water was gone. Lou wiped a sleeves over the sweat droplets on her forehead, "KDY offered them a trade - cortosis ore, which we had an abundance of due to our shares on V'Hiina Prime's eighteenth moon, for ipsium quartz crystal from the Techno Unions shares on Ipsidon, since my ancestors had not been able to stake a claim when it was discovered. Our history books claim that the Techno Union was baffled that our KDY scientists wanted to study this mere byproduct, which they had written off as worthless, but they jumped right on this galactic deal." Lou spread her hands, indicating for Tech to look down and clearly see the intricate stone work below, "And our scientists discovered that when refined, melted down and reshaped, the quartz becomes clear, and still absorbs the energy from sunlight as it did with the glow from the raw ipsium. By nightfall, it provides extra visibility, to do away with the need for overhead light fixtures that would obscure the artificial but picturesque landscape, and with countless intricate details hand carved into the bridge, there is not an attraction like this one found anywhere else in the galaxy."

As much as Tech should have focused on the fact that the cortosis mine they discovered the droid foundry in several months back was now definitely linked to this siege, "Ingenious." He commented, very much intrigued, "And by the term 'artificial landscape,' I assume the rocks are genetically modified to be the most durable heat insulators in the galaxy," He peered down at the ground floor again, eyeing the distance, "Though I do not wish to test the theory of applying extreme, focused heat which causes most rocks to explode while standing several thousand feet above ground - our armor offers adequate protection, but you would most certainly perish on impact."

(A/N: ... ik, I'm sorry-)

Lou gave him another odd glance, but at least it was some sort of acknowledgement, "Everything here is genetically modified." She revealed, "From a weedflower you would find in the highlands, to all the wildlife and beyond. My ancestors spared no expense, and created a world where no predators, no ugliness, absolutely nothing unpleasant shall exist - it is a paradise."

"Not anymore." Crosshair goaded, and it earned him a bombastic side eye. But c'mon, one minute, she was a prissy Lady who insulted his brother, and the next she could take needles far better than a soldier and was heavily knowledgeable on the chemical and natural sciences - he was weirded out.

He assumed it was out of spite that Lou abruptly stopped, when the escape pod was a mere thirty feet away, underneath the giant sign on top of a plateau that connected the four corners. Crosshair went around Tech's back and Lou received a cattle-prod poke with the business end of his rifle, but she only addressed Molli. "Do you hear that?" Molli scrunched her facial markings and shook her head 'No.'

But Tech and Crosshair heard it seconds later. Speeders. Crosshair whipped around and saw a droid patrol detailing cutting across the intersection leading to the city. "B1's, two dozen on single patrols." He told Tech.

Without warning, Molli and Lou were shoved back and back until there was no more footing and they screamed during a brief second free fall. Yet as Tech had pointed out, the shield caught them, engulfing them completely, and while they couldn't move very much they could breathe, not look down, and had the barrier of the crystal between them and the droids. All they had to do was trust two clones they had never met to keep weapons from being pointed at them.

The speeder's high-pitched whistle grew closer and the B1's were drawing their weapons out. Tech and Crosshair darted to the four corner plateau and each claimed a barrier behind one of the stone stands. Tech hovered his palm over one of the layers, and felt no heat pulsating, "These stones will not explode!" He shouted across to Crosshair, "Do not allow anything to crash below the shield!"

"Plan 55!" Crosshair confirmed.

Tech pulled out a smoke bomb, "I'll give us some cover!"

Down below, the ladies had no other option but to sit tight as their bodyguards were engulfed in a cloud of smoke.

As the droids closed in, three blue bolts came from the cloud and blasted off three droid heads from an incredible distance, to draw them in. More blue lit up within the cloud, and red was haphazardly blasted into the cloud beginning to disperse. What awaited the droids was no clones and a single blaster bolt bouncing between two points on a continuous loop, decapitating nine droids before they had a chance to react and veer away.

Fifteen remained.

*Pew! Pew! Pew!*

Three got sniped from out of nowhere, those speeders spun out of control and became a fiery wheel that collided with a stone stand. The holo-projection flickered, and drizzled some sparks.

A cable hung down from beneath the holo-projection, where Crosshair had taken refuge up within the cooling duct. He had shot one of the giant fans to kill the motor, and once inside, laid on his stomach near one of the blades to duck behind when a shot got too close.

The last dozen droids skidded to a stop, and the sergeant at the front waved a hand forward. "Open fire!"

Crosshair had no problem keeping them busy and dodging their pitiful attempts, opening the opportunity for Tech to leap out from behind the escape pod and weave through the front five droids focused on shooting up at his brother. He attached droid poppers onto their backs and while they comically twirled and tried to see what that odd poking was, he tucked and rolled back behind a stone stand. He activated the droid poppers from his datapad, turning them into electrocuted scrap piles. Crosshair shot the last droid in the chest plate, and it was over.

Inside the duct, he soaked in that cold air as he took apart his rifle and backpacked it. With a light tug he made sure the grappling was secure and slid back down onto the bridge.

He rejoined Tech, who was perusing through the dozen speeders they hadn't damaged."If we attach cables to the back of two, and attach the other end to the front of two others, we can caravan to our next destination and make up for lost time." He leaned over one and yanked out a medium sized red cylinder with a voltage sign, and held it up for the sniper to inspect, "While I disable the tracking, harvest these energy cells from the other intact vehicles, they are located between the twin turbines."

Muffled sounds could be heard off the edge of the bridge.

Crosshair smirked. "I'll get 'em." Tech was too busy to negate that, so Crosshair traipsed back over to the ladies.

Lou and Molli were two helpless blobs stuck in a blob, arms outstretched high above their heads as they had fruitlessly tried to latch onto something before they sunk into the force field, their faces frozen in horror but they could still make sounds. Crosshair got out his rifle, and holding it by the barrel he used the hooked end of the handle to snag one of Lou's backpack straps and fished her out just enough so that her head was exposed. She gasped for air like someone who'd been submerged in water for too long. He hoisted up Molli and she did the same, a bit more erratically.

Lou struggled to remain composed as Crosshair left them like this. He laid out his rifle tantalizingly in front of their faces, and got down on his stomach behind it. He supported his upper body with his forearms, crossed them neatly and tilted his bucket head. "Hmmmm, now what was it we were discussing earlier?" He drawled, "Something about ladders and cages - no wait, power. The power of one sentence." Crosshair ridiculed with no remorse or sympathy, "Here's a hint for what I, he who holds all the power to get you out, desire in a sentence from you in this moment."

Lou was glaring daggers, but Crosshair finally saw a glint of fear. "Get us out now." She demanded through gritted teeth.

"Since your idiotic cousin is not here, we are now bound to spend an even more undetermined amount of time tracking him down." Crosshair continued nonchalantly, "I am aware you have never had to ask for anything in your life, so I am happy to teach you the lesson that is: a simple 'please' can go a long way."

Lou made the mistake of looking down, and all healthy coloring left her face. She was suspended upon nothing. Nothing was between here and a gruesome death if droids came back and caused an explosion. "Get us out, you cretin!"

Crosshair tsked and shook his head disapprovingly. "Now I am tacking on an apology, for my brother."

Lou gaped up at him, positively confused. "Apologize?" She sputtered, "For what?"

Crosshair humphed in disbelief. "You're perfectly safe for now." Crosshair leaned the edge up his helmet on a curled fist like he was bored, "I do not mind waiting here all day for you to come to your senses but, golly, what if another droid patrol happens to stop by and investigate the disturbances -"

"For maker's sake Lou, do it!" Molli shrieked, beginning to hyperventilate.

Muffled bird cries came from Lou's backpack, and that is what caused the panic to settle in, "Alright yes, PLEASE, get us out!" Lou raised her voice and hoped this clones 'brother' could hear, "I AM SORRY, but please, Vivi is distressed!"

---

(IZIZ ROYAL PALACE)

Saw Gerrera passed through the final alleyway, and was antsy while waiting for the clanka guards to pass, but he got through it without giving into the urge to kick their tin heads in. The area surrounding the palace lights were on full blast, and they did not see him.

As soon as he was in their blindspot, he darted towards the palace walls.

A cloaked figure dropped out of nowhere into a crouch, cutting off his exit.

They stood, pulled back the hood and there she was. Agent Talla. "You scouted out the place at dusk and waited until it was dark to strike - good foresight." She sardonically praised, putting a hand on a jutted hip, "I knew you had a brain underneath that thick skull."

Saw sneered, and sized her up. "What are you doing here?"

She didn't back down. "I can't stop you, but I can show you how to be calculating with your chaos." Talla slowly reached into her cloak, Saw's hand snapped under his own to touch his blaster, but she only brought out a grappling hook. "You bring one of these?"

Wordlessly, he shifted his hand and Saw retrieved one from his utility belt.

Saw surprised Talla with his agility as they jumped and reeled themselves up the tower. He had improved a lot since that first day where he couldn't even take down a droid tank without slipping and falling. At the top, they slipped down into the junction where the tower and the partial roof to King Dendup's garden prison cell met. There he was, tending to the garden, unaware of their presence, no guards in sight.

Talla's senses were flooded with static and the heat. She leaned over the clear opening and she knew the Seppies weren't stupid enough to give this guy an open-air cell with no guards, even if he was on the older side and looked physically fragile. She knew there was a shield, yet when she pulled out a pebble from her pocket, and dropped it over the edge, it didn't bounce back, and lightly hit the garden floor.

But before she had the chance to tell Saw anything, she felt him close in, place a hand over his vibro holster she'd given him and try to jump her. She jolted to the side when he came in for a stab, caught his arm and Saw grunted when his back collided with the palace roof, and froze when his own hand held his own knife against his throat.

"This is why, no matter how patient or how brash you want to be, always scout out the enemy before engaging in an attack." Talla informed him, low and menacing tone, "You're gonna have to be smarter than that if you want to survive the next target of yours that is definitely not a dummy droid." As hard as his heart was pounding, Saw didn't panic that Agent Talla possessed inhuman strength. "You think you're so invincible, don't you? There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, guess which one you are, Gererra?"

There was so much Saw wanted to say, and there was so much he wanted to accuse her of and get to the bottom of, yet he was completely at her mercy. But he held her gaze and used another weapon in his arsenal he had figured out could take Agent Talla down. "It's not enough. I need to do more. I need to show my people that we are strong enough to win." He fervently admitted, letting some of his genuine vulnerability show, "And you treat me like a dog when you do the exact same thing, yet you're trying to control me like your superiors do to you - you and me, we're exactly the same, but at least I have the strength to admit it."

Tall's mask dropped. She was so caught up in trying to fix Saw that she didn't think to look in the mirror and think twice about the real reason why she had been taking out all her frustrations on hot-headed, patriotic, try-and-stop-me Saw. She was unknowingly in a glass house throwing stones.

And her recklessness had already gotten someone killed.

---

(RONAY EMERGENCY BUNKER)

Hunter could never figure out how Tech could make sense of computers, and was dumbfounded at how fast those fingers of his could fly across a keyboard without looking away from the screen.

Around the Sarge, all these bunker technicians manning the dozens of computers and calculating what needed however much of the secondary power reserve made Hunter's head spin. He focused on the empty security console that Commander Narami accompanied him too. Hunter had been charged with helping Wrecker 'hack' into the cams so they could stream the feed to the Marauder's computer monitor.

"There is a fundamental difference between identifying and exploiting weaknesses in a computer system or network to gain unauthorized access to personal or organizational data and threatening galaxy wide HoloNet security and privacy, than simply wanting matters handled swiftly and effectively by implementing a perfectly legal data breach and acquiring crucial information for the sake of the mission." Tech had defended himself to Commander Narami. "My brothers will never be able to match my speed on technical prowess but between the two of them I am positive that they will not accidentally trigger a chain reaction that will shut down the power grid completely."

The security console was sooo much larger than the one in the Marauder and as such, very intimidating. Hunter ignored Commander Narami practically breathing down his neck, and those who gave him judgemental looks as he used his two pointer fingers and did not look up from the keyboard until he was done with Tech's instructions on how to receive live video feed from here to the Marauder without his datapad. He couldn't hide his frustrations and mild embarrassment underneath his helmet because mixing the techy configurations on the visor with the ones on the screen in front of him would get everyone absolutely nowhere. His helmet was being worn like a hat by Corporal Gonky.

Tap. Tap. Tap. *backspace* Tap. Tap. *squint* Tap. Tap. Tap. *backspace backspace*

BEEEEEEEP! -ACCESS DENIED-

Hunter's hand snapped up to his ear with a frustrated snarl.

Maiv stepped forward. "Is there a prob-"

"No." Punching the side of his fist on the backspace button said otherwise but Maiv restrained herself.

... Tap, tap, tap, tap-

BEEEEEEEP! -ACCESS DENIED-

JAB! JAB, JAB, JAB-!

BEEEEEEEP! -ACCESS DENIED-

Gonky waddled a few steps and lightly bonked the back of Hunter's legs, honking encouragingly. He let out a long breath to release tension.

Tap. Tap. Tap... Tap?

*A more inviting* BEEEEEEEP!

Hopeful Hunter threw up his hands. "Alright! Alright, and then I plug in this..." Hunter picked up and squinted at this rod looking thing that was the height and width of a finger, "Hacking doo-dad, into the uh -" Confused eyes glanced down at the puzzle that was the console, and behind him Commander Narami audibly breathed in and out measured breaths to remain calm, "Uhhh..." There were a bajillion sockets available that Tech did not mention, some were locked underneath clear, color-coded plastoid covers. Guess Hunter was going to have to take a gamble by comparing sizes of the sockets available to the end of this thingy. "Nope, nope, too big, way too big, why the kriff would someone need to plug in somethin' that's square -?" This one right underneath the middle bottom monitor looked promising. It was a hair's width too big but this thing needed maneuverability right?

Hunter inhaled deeply through his nose, plugged it in, was able to twist it and-

*A more inviting* BEEEEEEEP!

Pointer fingers were back on the keyboard. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap... Tap?

-DATA TRANSFER IN PROGRESS-

◾◼️ ◼️ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛

Hunter sighed with so much relief. 'Maybe I can ask Talla to give me private lessons.' He briefly smirked to himself.

◾◾◼️ ◼️ ◼️ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛

His girlfriend had been veering away from helping on the technological side of missions recently, claiming she was not as good and fast as Tech, whose response was to push her more.

◾◾◾◼️ ◼️ ◼️ ◼️ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛

She did somehow playfully manipulate him into completing her sword modifications without him realizing what she did until it was too late but from Hunter's limited understanding, Tech refused to help Talla with an idea she had for a helmet modification.

◾◾◾◼️ ◼️ ◼️ ◼️ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ️

*happy* Beep!

Hunter's comm beeped right on cue, and he retrieved his helmet from Gonky and slipped it on, and gave a head pat to the droid in thank you.

"You did it Sarge!" Wrecker cheered, communicating from the computer room in the Marauder II.

"Got sights on the droids out front?" Hunter himself saw that in twelve hours, there was no change in the occupation at the base of the bomb-made dam at the base of the mountains.

"I got a birdseye view o' the droids, Sarge." Hunter heard some mischievous snickering, "Ey, I can see you now!" Hunter's eyebrows furrowed underneath his helmet, he turned and searched around him until he found the cam pointed to the security console, which he saw the lense zoom in, "The cams love ya, I think they're shown' me why Talla's sweet on a bishwag like you." Wrecker teased, and made exaggerated kissing noises.

Hunter rolled his eyes and shut off his comm.

Maiv stepped forward again, to be at his side. "Any changes with the droid patterns, Sergeant?" She asked since apparently, he wasn't going to initiate the update.

He nonchalantly shrugged. "Not one. They haven't moved since yesterday, kid."

"Commander." Hunter felt his hackles rise, but only turned his buckethead towards her and said nothing. She did look sheepish though. "I'm sorry if that sounded rude, but my influence here is fragile," Maiv tugged on her earring, "I need to keep a hold of the shards if we're going to survive this."

Hunter nodded, figuring it was better to play along just this once, he just felt bad about the prejudice. "Wrecker and I will still draw them out, push their buttons a little with the homemade bombs." He turned back to the console, looked at the droids marching in formation, but not engaging. "They didn't attack when we tailed the escape pod til they cleared the atmosphere - Separatists aren't tame like this, that's for sure." He met the kids' apprehensive eye, "Tech and Crosshair will figure out what's going on, but you should prepare yourself and the family heads - whatever they got planned, it's going to be brutal." And Hunter was proud that he sounded so sincere with his concern, instead of excited for the challenge.