STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

C H A P T E R F O R T Y-F I V E

FERN'S POV

"Guess who's back?" I marched onto the Marauder and popped into the cockpit with a dramatic entrance. Wrecker and Omega were sitting opposite of each other with Gonky the Droid in between. On his flat top was a piece game, in which very little progress seemed to have been made. Omega, upon me breaking the silence, hopped from her seat and rushed over to me with those round, brown eyes widened. "Where are the others?"

"We discovered a massive Imperial military base integrally-constructed into the mountain's core. Hunter, Tech, and Echo are infiltrating it as we speak. We believe they are holding CC-5576 there, though there's no way to be 100% certain. We almost turned back, but Echo managed to convince the others. I decided to return since four would be a crowd sneaking in and out."

"But, shouldn't we go help them?" she asked with concern. "What if something goes wrong?"

"That's why we stay here." I knelt down and squeezed her shoulders. "We're backup in case that happens. But, I have faith in them. You should, too."

The young girl nodded, though her avertedly-downward eyes didn't convince me she was fully on board with the plan. Patting her shoulders, I smiled. "So, how have you two been killing time?" 

I nearly sputtered a laugh when she rolled her eyes. "We are trying to play a game, but Wrecker has been taking too long on his turns."

"Hey, I've been thinking!" he defended himself.

"Sure, you big oaf." I shook my head in amusement. I then rose to my feet and gestured to the open ramp. "Let's go for a walk. What do you say?" Omega nodded and I ordered Wrecker to watch the ship and monitor comms while we were gone. "We'll be back soon. Contact me as soon as Hunter checks in."

"Will do." Wrecker leaned back in the copilot's seat, propping his giant feet on the console and tucking his hands behind his bald head.

Omega and I exited the Marauder and headed west down a straight path through the thick, vibrant forest. The clean air was fresh and quiet. Some fallen leaves gently crunched underneath our light feet. Strolling next to me with her hands folded behind her back, Omega gazed up and asked, "Do you think they are okay?"

"Are you really that worried about them?" I inquired back. She hesitated before nodding; that small frown seemed permanent. I pondered over what I could say to ease her worried mind without sounding redundant. She truly cared for everyone on the squad, in addition to feeling left out on the exciting portion of the mission. It was as if she wanted to be there not to just feel included, but to also be there to protect them. As much as I sympathized with her, being on my own for the majority of the war taught me you must trust whomever you're allied with, and always have faith they will fulfill their duty as long as you fulfill yours.

And that's exactly what I told Omega...

"I understand." she finally smiled.

"Good girl." I nodded. "Let's head back, Half-Pint."

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THIRD PERSON POV

Lazing about the Marauder almost bored Fern. She pondered on what could possibly be taking Hunter and the others so long to, at least, report in. She chose not to call in herself, for she had no idea what their status was -- she could possibly compromise their position. Nonetheless, it had been a couple hours now...

Wrecker was still relaxing, claiming he was 'charging up before he charged in'. Omega had began nervously pacing, clinging her Tooka doll to her chest. Fern found her waning onto her side of the spectrum. Regardless if something had gone wrong or not...perhaps their communications signal was being jammed? There were a number of possibilities she calculated that could explain their extended absence. Reasonable and not. However, Wrecker was fully convinced Hunter and the others had everything under control.