Chapter 26 - Home Is Where Your Heart Is (2:1)
Author's Note: I know I started this chapter a bit oddly, but considering how much time-skipping I've been doing, I thought it might flow better.
Also, I'm up to drafting Tribe. Should've done it earlier. I can't look at Wookies the same way anymore. Thank you, Kelnacca.
~ Rivana Rita
I thought it'd be just a normal mission when it started. Okay, it was a normal mission when it started, all the way until we made it back to Ord Mantell, but backtracking just a bit, it was normal until Tech threw Omega and me off the ship.
Which.
Okay, it was an accident – some giant crabs were attacking the ship, and we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – meaning on the ramp.
"Omega!" Tech calls, alarmed at her yelp and my squeak as we catch onto the line – I jumped off the ramp after, okay? This happened with Hunter on Daro. I got a bit of a right to freak out – so we don't fall head-first onto the very, very rude creatures down below. "Vision!"
"We're okay," Omega calls back to him.
"Hang on," Tech orders, and he's trying to take off, but I don't think it's working. Some of the hopelessly rude creatures climb onto the front of the ship and start jabbing at it with their gigantic pinchers.
"They're wrecking the ship!" Omega calls from below me.
"I cannot shake them," he replies.
"Never mind," I call up to him, "We'll get 'em off for you. Omega, we gotta go down."
"On it," she replies, looking down before swinging off. I let myself slide down, swinging off the line onto one of the crab's backs before rolling off, drawing my blaster. Omega's already on the ones on the ship, shooting them a couple of times and knocking them off, so I turn to fire at the ones near us. Y'know, the hopelessly rude monsters that tried to eat our fishing line.
The crabs instantly duck though, and their huge shells are unfortunately blaster-proof. Oh, yay. There's rustling from behind us as more monsters approach.
"Uh oh," Omega says, eyes widening.
"C'mon!" I urge, grabbing her arm one-handedly, "Time to run." I fire at them over my shoulder, hoping to at least slow them down. "Hey, Tech?" I ask into my comm as we run, "Do you think stunning these things would work? Cuz these monsters have at least three times as many legs as I do, and there's only so long I can run from huge monsters."
"I suspect their size would make a stunbolt ineffective."
"How'd you know? Have you stunned Wrecker?"
"Why would I have stunned Wrecker?"
"For the same reason you threw Omega and I off the ship?"
"I am coming around," Tech replies, wisely ignoring me – oh, first smart choice. "Grab the line."
I slide my blaster back into its holster, and we scramble onto the line. I go first, despite my reluctance, because a hand-blaster is really hard to use against things from far away. Omega's bow is very useful that way – it's something you use both hands on, which she does after hooking the end of the line onto her belt.
"Why are Omega and Vision hanging off the ship?" Hunter asks over the comms,
"It is... an unscheduled study break," Tech replies with a pause long enough to obvious avoid the. Well. Real story. I am not mean enough to sell him out, even if it's tempting. He nearly got us pinched to death by giant crabs, and I don't appreciate the sentiment.
I jump onto the ramp, shooting down at the thingies even if half my shots are missing wildly. Omega and I cover for them as they approach until our brothers climb onto the crate they needed to get.
Omega and I head back inside once they're close enough, and I pull my helmet off, holding it against my hip.
"I thought the beach was gonna be relaxing!" Wrecker whines, flopping face-first onto the crate he dropped on the floor.
"Nah. Nothin' ever is," I shrug, rolling my shoulders, heart still pounding a bit from the rush of adrenaline fading out. "Besides, there's water here. I still hate it." Haven't been able to see it the same way since I nearly drowned, anyway. Dunno if that's stupid, but I... can't.
"Appreciate the backup, but try staying inside the ship next time," Hunter requests.
I snippily give him a two-fingered salute. Try not to think about how that's what Crosshair probably would've done. In a lotta ways, though, that's what I am.
"I'll try," Omega says cheerfully, pulling her helmet off, "But it was still pretty fun."
Hunter does that totally-done-but-you're-adorable sigh thing he does whenever one of his siblings is annoying him to death and he's too nice to yell at them. I pat his shoulder, moving past to steal a seat in the back. It was fun, though. Really.
**w**
AZI thinks Cid being grouchy is news. Echo's snippy 'well there's a surprise' is literally the best response there is. She's one of the whiniest people I've ever met, and I've met a lot.
"Well, well, well. The space lugs decided to finally show up," Cid gripes when we come into her office, but I freeze in the doorway, eyes zeroing in on the someone who is very much not supposed to be there. She's a dark-skinned human, and something about her is. Well. I instantly don't like.
"Better late than dead, I always say," the newcomer snips.
"And who are you?" Hunter demands, tensed up like a bomb's about to be set off in his face. Kinda agree with the sentiment, and I step closer to Omega instinctively.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she throws back, rounding Cid's desk, holding a glass of stars-know-what. "So, this is the top team you've been talking about? The rogue clones on the run from the Empire, huh? How juicy."
"You told her?" Hunter demands, half betrayed, half angry.
"Don't get twitchy," Cid scolds, waving a claw at him, "Phee's a friend. She's the most trustworthy pirate I know."
"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Echo asks dryly.
Yeah. I thought they were like. Bad. Or whatever.
"Aren't clones supposed to look alike?" Phee – if that's what this freak's name is – asks, and I instantly tense further. Oh. Here we go. I can't say how many times I've heard people make snarky comments about this, and I already want to smack her in the face with the hilt of my vibroblade. I haven't wanted to hit somebody this badly since Kamino, since Crosshair, and that's saying something. "So much for quality control. This one's too big. These are too small." Omega's glaring, and I snarl, a quiet growl-hiss in the back of my throat. "This one's got a face tattoo. Yeah, real subtle." She turns past us, eyes falling on Tech, brightening enough that I want to smack her in the face even harder. "Oh. Hey now. Got a name, brown eyes?" Phee crows.
"Tech. However, the phenotypic eye color for all clones is brown," my allegedly genius brother starts rambling, like there's actually a way to reason with this – this – ugh.
"Blah, blah, blah, whatever," I snap, stepping forward, arms crossed and glaring. "His name is Tech, not whatever you decide to call him this morning. And what makes Omega and I different is that I bite, and she just purrs."
"Well, as fascinating as this has been, I have places to be," she interrupts, ignoring us entirely, drinking the rest of her glass and dropping it in Cid's lap. "You," Phee says, bonking Wrecker's shoulder as she passes him. "Let's see those muscles in action. Grab that and follow me." She motions to the crate we fished out of crab den. Wrecker looks at Hunter, who nods to him.
"Uh, y-yes, ma'am," Wrecker mutters, picking up the crate.
I pat his shoulder sympathetically. "Good luck with Miss Meanie," I whisper, not so quietly as he turns to the door.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he promises unconvincingly.
"And, Cid, that intel is not free. I expect a cut if your 'top team' comes through," Phee adds, finally exiting the room.
I want to throw something at her. Very badly.
"What is she talking about?" Hunter inquires.
"Your next mission. You lot are heading to the Outer Rim," Cid replies, turning on the holomap, and we gather around to look at it. It's... some sort of building.
"That is Castle Serenno, the former home of Count Dooku," Tech says instantly. How he recognized it so fast, I have no idea.
"Who's that?" Omega queries.
"A Jedi who betrayed the Republic and led the Separatists in a war," Echo replies. There's a dark tightness in his voice – Echo loathes him. Personally. Either something about Anakin, or he blames him for all of our brother's deaths'.
"With him being dead, Dooku's entire war chest is up for grabs," Cid continues, "The Empire has already started pillaging his palace, but there is still time to strike before it's all gone."
"Too much of a risk," Hunter replies flatly, firmly. He's changed a lot, I realize. He's not so afraid to stand up for himself anymore. "You want that war chest? You go after it." He turns away, leaving the room. Cid looks grumpy about it, but I shrug to her and follow.
She wants us to go up against the Empire? Again? Is she insane? We already told her no. That's the one thing we'll never cross. Crosshair might've chosen to fight us, but Hunter meant what he said when he said we didn't have to be enemies. I'm not going to fight him, no matter how desperately achingly badly I want to rip the Empire to shreds.
I'm not going to hurt him. I won't let myself fall to the same level that he did. I'm – I'm not that petty. Or maybe it's just that I'm petty enough to prove I'm better. Dunno. Doesn't matter.
**w**
Hunter takes 'mega and I off to keep teaching us ship stuff. He's so much less pushy about it than Tech and it's so un-annoying it's not even funny. Except – Cid's talking to the others, and I don't really know what's up, but I don't like it.
I don't pay much attention until Hunter turns away, giving us back the datapad, and I hear him saying a "convince me about what?" I pause, looking up, frowning.
"Uh, well, we took a vote, and we wanna go after the war chest," Wrecker replies, and he's looking away, as if somehow ashamed of disagreeing with Hunter and I – I think he ought to be, considering what we're talking about.
"It's unanimous. Even killjoy over here agreed," Cid says, and I sigh.
Hunter's just trying to look out for us, and I – I don't want to make this even more difficult than it already is.
Hunter's angry at them. I can tell, even if he hides it well, and he's glaring pointedly at Tech.
I can't believe Cid talked to them about it without him. Okay, yeah, I can, because that's totally something she would do. She cares about money more than us, and she doesn't know why we're hiding from the Empire. If she did, I don't think she'd care. Okay, maybe that's not fair, but – I'm still angry at her for going around Hunter's back like that. Having his brothers turned against him is literally his worst fear. Same for me.
And of course, Cid pulled Wrecker aside to talk him into it. He wasn't there when we first got the briefing – he doesn't understand the risks. He just said yes because Echo and Tech did, and – do they think he can puppy-eye Hunter the best? Ugh.
Honestly.
All of them.
Cid is going into a long speech rant about how she can give us a future with this mission and blah-blah-blah. I'm not sold, but Hunter is, and honestly, I dunno how he'd be able to argue with all three of our brothers, anyway, so here we are.
Up against the Empire.
Against Crosshair.
Again.
**w**
And that, I think, was the first of a very, very long string of mistakes we all made. But sometimes, it takes the worst mistakes to lead you back to where you need to be, to lead you back home, even to the people and nightmares you fear the most.
**w**
I'm lounging in the back with Hunter, pointlessly twirling my knife in the same way he does. I'm totally not copying him. I'm just bored.
'course that's when Echo comes to the back, too. He's scowling, and I – oh no. Not another argument, please. All my siblings wanna do anymore is argue. I don't even remember what it was like to feel united anymore.
"I know why you agreed to this mission," Echo says fiercely, "But we can do better things with Dooku's fortune than hide, Hunter. With what we're up against, we have to be prepared to fight. That means numbers and weapons."
We? Who's the we in this, Echo?
"That's not the kind of life these kids deserve," Hunter replies flatly. He's talking quietly, but I can hear him, anyway, and I think he knows that.
"Our lives are like this because of Vision and Omega," Echo snaps back.
Ouch.
Hunter stands, shoving Echo back with a glance at where Omega's pulled the curtain over the gunner's mount. Knowing her, I suspect she's hearing this, too.
"Taking them off Kamino was the right thing to do," Echo continues firmly, "But there are others out there who need our help. We've seen what the Empire is doing throughout the galaxy. We should be doing more."
"Echo," I hiss, pushing myself to my feet, sliding my knife away – I still carry it on my belt, though I'd really, really like to have a proper vambrace to strap it to. "We've talked about this! You promised me you wouldn't talk to Hunter about it. It's not that I don't care, but we have other things to worry about. All I ever wanted was to fight, but if I can't means I'll have a family, that's what I want. I'm not going to apologize for having kept all of you alive."
"Other people need our help. We can't turn our backs on them."
"Says who?" I hiss, catching his shoulder and lightly shoving him farther back, because I don't want Hunter to have to overhear a long conversation about him. "We're free now, Echo. We get to make our own choices. I don't like it, either, but I cannot – I can't fight the Empire! I won't. You can't ask Hunter to do that. It's not fair."
"We're soldiers, Vision. He can take it."
"No," I hiss, shaking my head. "Don't. He needs our help, too, Echo. That's what family does. Why can't we do it for him, too? I know why you're angry, but we – we can't do this. Hunter's role is to protect us. Not everyone else."
Echo sighs. I think he's tired. He looks like he is. He still has people out there, brothers I never knew or cared about. I can't imagine what that would be like.
It feels like I'm not being fair to him, but I don't get it, because I – I am trying. Really. Probably need to try harder, though – Echo needs us to understand him, and no one else really does. I can't say I do, but I know why he wants to think so. It's... easier to think Hunter's strong enough to handle anything, and not have to worry about constantly second-guessing his every choice, which I have to admit I'm guilty of.
"We'll make this work," I promise, "And from there, we'll... figure something out." I have to... get something. For Echo. If that's what it takes to hold our family together.
**w**
Omega seems oddly quietly distant. I spend a while in the back with her after talking to Echo, and that stays true even as we get to Serenno and do a situation scan.
Not much to see, except the Empire is already preparing to transport the wealth off-world, which means Cid's intel was very, very late, and we have a very, very short timeframe. And, the Empire apparently did an orbital bombardment here, too. At least we weren't the only ones, not that I'm happy about it. I'm not that mean. I don't think?
Hunter stays behind to watch over us and cause a diversion, as he always does. It's more sickening than anything else. He's the one who didn't want to come, and he's taking the greatest risk. He won't complain, because he never does, and it drives me crazy. I have no doubt something's gonna go wrong, but when doesn't it? I just hope Hunter will be okay. Wish it felt like someone else was worried – I can never stop worrying about him disappearing.
The war chest is – it's enormous, and I'm admittedly a bit amazed by it, but Echo points out the things we need to find, and I get to work. We have a loooong way to go.
"Oh, look at this shiny stuff!" I crow, opting to completely ignore how Tech was whining about Wrecker stunning someone instead of letting us get caught. "I think this is important! Whoa, wait, are these coins? That's –"
"Echo," Omega whisper-hisses, awed, leaning over another crate.
"I'd say that qualifies as high value," he agrees.
"How could all of this belong to one person?" Omega inquires, picking up a gem.
Whoa. They are beautiful.
"It is safe to assume that the majority of Dooku's fortune came from the many worlds he controlled and exploited. All in the name of his war effort," Tech replies, tone dipping with bitterness.
"That's what corrupt people do," Echo adds.
"But isn't that what we're doing?" Omega asks.
"Depends on how we use it," Echo answers.
"Not really," I reply, "We're taking this to free ourselves, and it belongs to the Empire now. Stealing from someone who stole from someone else isn't wrong."
I pinpoint a few more chests before stepping back and pacing – there's not much point getting too many, is there? I still have my backpack, which I could fill with stuff and that would be easy, but taking the chests is faster.
Distant and muffled, I can hear someone demanding through the stunned clone's helmet, asking where he is.
"Hunter, I think we're about to have some company," Echo calls warningly over our comms.
"Are you clear?" he queries.
"Negative," Echo answers, "We could use that diversion about now."
Huh. Apparently, he is capable of talking to us without actually arguing. Okay, now I'm just being snippy and mean.
"I'm heading your way. Be ready," Hunter calls over the comms – I still wish I could've been there in person to see the distant explosion I heard.
"Let's speed this up. Wrecker, that one goes first," Echo says, pointing to the first chest 'mega found. Wrecker picks it up and moves for the door, looking around before jumping down and making for the forest.
I feel something heavy and worriedly empty as I watch him go. It feels like – I don't know, like something's going to happen, but those feelings are so vaguely distant I can't See it the way I once did. I miss Seeing. Sometimes, I wish I could again.
The doors hiss shut with a sudden slam. I jump, squeaking quietly. Uh oh. Omega snatches her bow up, turning around with a soft, panicked gasp.
There's a scramble as we turn our flashlights on, and I groan. "Ah, great! Stuck in a cargo container now? Tech, can you get us out?"
"That is concerning," Tech announces, as if everybody in the galaxy didn't already know that. "Though this is something Echo should be able to handle."
Echo stabs his scomp into a computer port, and I see it whirring.
Ah. Great.
I step closer to Omega, grabbing her hand. She feels cold. We'll be okay, just – I don't know how to get out, unless we cut our way out? I gotta keep her safe, though. That's always what I do first. "Can we cut our way out?" I ask in a rush. "Never mind – we won't survive that jump." Come on, think. We can't get shipped off to stars-knows-where. We gotta get out before the Empire locates and captures us. Maybe that diversion wasn't what we needed, after all.
"It's externally sealed," Echo reports, "I can't open it."
"Hunter, we're trapped in the container," Omega calls into her comm frantically. "We can't get out."
"On our way," Hunter promises.
Yeah, of course he is, because he's always the one to rescue us. And we're never there for him. Sometimes, I hate – well, honestly, there's not much I don't hate. I've hated everything since Crosshair, and it's never changed.
The ship is moving, and it's moving fast. I can feel the distant vibrations, and I have no idea how far off the ground we are by now. "I don't think we have time to wait," I object, "There were squads of troopers down there. I doubt they'll make it to us any time soon."
Echo and Tech glance at each other.
"If we accessed the ship's main hold, we could commandeer an escape pod," Tech admits. "Assuming Hunter cannot locate us, first."
"What'd he even do?" I demand. I don't want to point out the obvious fact that he can't do everything, because it feels like a betrayal somehow, and I don't think it'll help. More likely, it'd just make the others even... ugh-y-er towards him, and I think that's the very cause of all the... disagreements he and Echo have been having for ages.
"Hunter, where are you?" Omega demands desperately.
It twists something in my heart, hot and sharp and burning. Hunter and Wrecker are out there, facing off against who knows how many, when they could've made it back to the Marauder already safely. We might need Hunter to be our leader, but we don't – we can't rely on him to breathe. We have to do things by ourselves sometimes, and he's in far more present danger than we are. Both he and Wrecker. They're the ones we should be worried about, not us. We're still hidden.
I know Omega's used to being constantly protected, and she should be, but I – I can't help the frustrated hurt. I hate myself for it – she doesn't deserve that, but neither do they, and – I miss the days where things were simple, and 'mega always came first.
"Sorry, kid," Hutner replies, sounding a little breathless. "We got a little sidetracked. You need to get off that ship before it jumps to hyperspace."
"Never mind that, Hunter," I interject, "We'll get to the escape pods. Just – get out of there safely."
"Do it," he agrees, "We'll get to the Marauder and recover you."
"Good luck," I say, shutting my comm off.
Tech is working on one of the hatches, trying to get it open.
"Are you sure this hatch will lead into the ship?" Omega asks anxiously.
"If I am incorrect, we will instantly be sucked out and perish," Tech announces proudly, typing on his datapad. "I am seldom wrong." The door hisses open right on cue, revealing the dimly lit interior.
"Congratulate yourself after we escape," Echo gripes, and we step into the corridor after looking both ways.
"The closest escape pod is five corridors away," Tech reports, looking up and down the hall after he and Echo drag out the crate we're keeping.
"Not too far," I shrug, "Let's get going."
Get going goes 'til we walk face-first into a group of maybe-regs. Between a stun grenade from Tech and Omega's shooting and my stunning, we take them down, but they're coming too fast, and somebody already figured out we're heading for the escape pods. Tech throws a stun grenade at the regs to cover us, so he and I can dart back across the hall to rejoin Echo and Omega.
"There has to be another way off of this ship," Tech says, working on one of the panels.
"'course there is," I mutter.
"Other than overtaking this vessel, what do you suggest?" Echo inquires.
"This is a class four freighter, isn't it?" Omega volunteers.
"Yes, why?"
"Containers on class four freighters are equipped with reentry thrusters. We can escape in a cargo container."
Tech immediately grabs for his supposedly life-saving datapad and pokes what must've been like, four keys before offering a "You are correct. I am impressed", and I'm firmly convinced that was just for show.
He could not have typed that fast.
"However, the containers must be ejected before leaving the atmosphere, which means our window is rapidly closing," he continues.
"Wanna speed up?" I ask, "Cuz there's probably more troops on their way right now."
Right on cue, the door opens, and our idiot brothers have to drop the container again, and Tech flips the lid open for cover. Tech throws a smoke bomb at them, and we fall back into the container, sealing the door behind us.
We have to leave the chest we were trying to care, which I am grumpy about, but well – those things happen. We can pick up a bunch more if we need to.
"Normally," I grumble, panting a little as Tech works in initiating the cargo release, "I'd say I wonder why I have a bad feeling about this, but who am I kidding? 'course, this is gonna go bad." Actually, on that note, we better tell Hunter about the change in plans. He needs to know what's going on, too.
"Hey, Hunter," I chirp with fully feigned cheer into my comm, "If you see something falling from the sky, it's us, and if I die, I want my droid head to be named Sophie."
"You made it to the escape pods?" Hunter asks tiredly.
"Nope! They ejected the escape pods, so, we found another way off. In a crate. Don't worry! We'll be fine. You guys okay down there?"
"Yeah," Hunter replies. Think there's way more than that, but I don't ask.
"Good," I say and shut it off, because for all that I'd really, really like to know more, we don't have time to talk, and they're no doubt busy. Well, here we go. Time to crash.
Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^
Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)
We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA
ALSO: We have SW gift request forms for General, Anakin-Clones-centric, and Bad Batch fics. :D (delete spaces) bit . ly / CourtesyTrefflinFicRequests