STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

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

"Look where that's gotten you." Crosshair gestured with his eyes at the situation. "They're all going to die here because of your failed leadership."

"You—" The female clone gripped her only weapon and marched forward, but was cut off by Omega pointing out the window. "No, we're not. Look." Everyone gathered at the viewport and stared at what the young girl was referring to. "We landed on the underwater tunnel. If we use it to reach the base post, we could get back to the Marauder."

"Accessing the tube will be...challenging." Tech calculated.

"Better than staying here." Echo chimed in.

"What other options do we have?" Fern crossed her arms, winking at Omega for her excellent perception.

"She's calling the shots?" Crosshair scoffed in disbelief.

"I don't hear you suggesting alternatives." Fern whipped her head over her shoulder with her nose scrunched angrily, her soaked braid flipped down her spine. "If you care to share on the way, feel free to do so." As everyone filed out of the barracks one last time, she shoved herself purposely into Crosshair's shoulder, glaring at him with mixed emotions.

The clones had to travel to a maintenance deck that was positioned directly above the tunnel to access it. AZI precisely welded through the thick metal flooring using his laser, dropped down to inspect the integrity of the transparent tunnel, and cleared it. One by one, they dropped down and cautiously made their way along the tramrail. For the first time since the whole Imperial aerial assault, Fern acknowledged how brave Omega was acting—or perhaps she was not acting and the female clone had never realized it until now...

Crosshair immediately flinched at the giant cracks in the tunnel's glass structure. "We need to turn back. There must be another way."

"That would be unwise. I am afraid this is our best option." AZI objected.

"You done complaining?" Wrecker grumbled, which Fern found slightly uncharacteristic for the muscular clone. "You know, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Something on your tiny mind, Wrecker?" Crosshair growled, sizing him up. 

This caught everyone's attention, stopping the excursion of escape. Fern stood right next to Wrecker as he bit his lip. "All that time...you didn't even try to come back." he sighed sadly, and hung his head to the side. "We still would have taken ya..."

Tech pushed pass Fern to clasp onto Wrecker's shoulder. "Let it go, Wrecker. Crosshair has always been severe and unyielding. It is his nature. You cannot change that. He cannot change that." Wrecker trudged away while the female clone met Tech's eyes, then rubbed his armored bicep for comfort, nodding softly.

"Why are you defending me?" Crosshair questioned the intellectual clone, in which the latter stepped forward, away from Fern's touch. "I am not. Understanding you does not mean that I agree with you."

"For the record," Fern sighed. "It was your nature I liked most about you before I joined the squad..." She and Tech walked together with Crosshair reluctantly tagging along. They glanced over to each other, and the former twisted her lips in defeat -- no words were required to perceive their corresponding sentiment on the complicated situation. For the next few minutes, the clones proceeded in silence, when suddenly a distant bellow echoed outside the tube...

"That can't be good..." the female clone groaned. 

Hunter sighed in agreement. "I think we have a problem..." 

The monstrous roaring continued, indicating it most likely belonged to a monstrous creature. Unfortunately for the clones, the tunnels, seeing they were not operational, were unprotected... They all stared into the murky ocean with their torches, and out of the ominous abyss emerged a sea monster the size of a small freighter ship. Its gaping mouth, full of jagged-sharp teeth, threatened to chomp down on the tube. 

"Run!" Everyone bolted, the glass clinking under their heels. AZI zipped up ahead to restore the power while the clones sprinted as fast as they could to the end of the tunnel, where it veered upward to a hatch. When Omega tripped, Fern viscerally scooped her up under her legs and across her shoulder blades and carried her as she dashed; the young girl's arms wrapped around her neck. "I got you, Half-Pint."

The creature roared and screeched as it pursued them from outside the tunnel. Once they reached the end, they had to scale the rails. Being the most agile, Fern ordered Omega to hang on, using one arm to support her and the other to climb. Even while hauling the smallest clone, she was still the most agile. The creature then crunched its jaw on the vertical tube, creating spewing holes. Seawater jutted straight into Fern's nose and mouth, causing her to sputter and jerk her head in different directions. Yet, she mustered through. Abruptly, the lights around them flickered on, igniting the protective electrical barrier around the tube and forcing the monster to release it. Just as it rebooted, however, it died out, encouraging the clones to use the brief distraction to their advantage. Eventually, everyone passed the checkpoint, and AZI sealed the safe doors.

For the moment, they were safe... The medical service droid updated them on the situation. "It appears I have caused the structure's remaining power to short out. But, you have survived the transit. This outcome is satisfactory." Fern, still clinging to a soaked Omega, rolled her eyes while the latter shook her head, sighing. The clones did not rest however, until they reached the research lab that Tech, Echo, Wrecker, and Omega had snuck into the city from.

Fern, seeing it for the first time, had an eerie feeling that she'd been there before, but couldn't recall exactly when. Hunter and Crosshair also were stunned from the secret compartment. The former removed his helmet. "What is this place?"

"Nala Se's private lab." Tech answered. "Omega says this is where our mutations were manipulated and enhanced."

"How would she know?" Crosshair skeptically questioned.

"Because she was there... Omega was created before us. Technically, she is older than we are."

"She's a pure genetic copy of Jango Fett..." Fern recalled. "Just like Boba, who ages normally, Omega is the same way..." She sighed in her realization and subconsciously watched the girl mindfully shine her torch along the walls. Everyone followed her lead, and when they approached the glass wall, their hearts sank when they discovered the only path to the Marauder was destroyed... With their original plan scrapped, everyone began pacing, trying to come up with a new one. They needed to hurry, too, for their oxygen level would become critical within a few hours.

"This is what happens when you let a kid call the shots." Crosshair scoffed, glaring at Omega, who flinched.

"That kid saved your life, unlike the Empire, who left you for dead." the sergeant defended her.

"That's your problem, Hunter. You take things too personally." The sharpshooter was picking another fight, and Fern was growing tired of it by the second. Her heart pumped in her chest as the two enhanced clones continue to bicker. 

"...and I am going to be part of it. Hunter, you made the wrong choice." He shoved Hunter's shoulder and secluded himself on the far side of the lab.

"Don't fool yourself. All you ever will be to them, is a number..."

In her peripheral vision, Fern watched Omega making her move to approach him, but she stopped it. "Hang on, Half-Pint." She shook her head. "I'll do it." 

Hunter overheard her, and his brows furrowed. "Are you sure?"

Fern nodded firmly. In the torch light, there was a different glow in her dark eyes." Don't disturb us." 

As Hunter watched her, he recognized that Fern had viscerally reverted to her old ways: the female clone who was aggressive, yet calm, and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty when... Well, Hunter briefly experienced a wave of sympathy for Crosshair and what he was about to undergo. Simultaneously, he also realized he had not spoken to Fern since they were first captured by the Empire... Exhaling softly, he hoped Tech, or even himself, contrived a plan to escape as soon as possible.

Fern marched right over to Crosshair, who had collapsed down in front of the glass wall and hunched over in distress, his head buried itself into his palm. Without hesitation, she slammed her right foot next to his hip and loomed over him with intimidation. The sharpshooter, startled, jerked his head up and scowled at her. "You have something to—"

"Listen up, Crosshair." She yanked him forward by his chest plate, their noses a mere two inches apart. "You and I, are going to have a chat."