THIRD PERSON'S POV
"I get my own comm device?" Omega exclaimed as Tech finished attaching the gauntlet on her skinny forearm. The intellectual clone tilted his head as he clarified, "Technically, it was Crosshair's, but seeing he has no further use of it, I modified it to fit your size."
"Icko, what's your position? Over." Omega tested the device out, her unique accent echoed through all the clones' comms. He raised a brow. "It's also not a toy."
"Copy that." the young girl said in the microphone, grinning sheepishly.
Tech then rose from his knee and approached Fern. "Your turn. I'll modify your gauntlet's comm to link with our channel. Hold still." He attentively handled Fern's left arm as he poked and punched in a few calibrations. Fern found herself staring at Tech as he worked; she subconsciously leaned her body forward, closing their proximity. Through his advanced spectacles, she noticed his eyes were just a shade lighter than the rest of the clones'.
"There." He closed the panel over her wrist. "That should do it."
With one brow raised and her nose scrunched teasingly, Fern pushed a button on her newly outfitted device with a single finger and said, "Much appreciated, Tick." Omega laughed as the female clone's voice echoed through everyone's comms. Tech rolled his eyes, then glanced over at the computer. "We should be exiting hyperspace soon. There, we'll locate this Cid you and Echo are familiar with."
"Are we sure we can trust this guy?" Wrecker grunted as he bench-pressed Gonky the Droid with one hand.
"Well, the Jedi did." Echo presumed.
"The Jedi who are all dead." Tech reminded.
"I don't hear you offering any alternatives, Wired-Brain." Fern frowned with her arms knotted. The intellectual clone didn't object, and abruptly all their comms announced, "She's got a point." with Omega's voice. Everyone peered down on her as she cheeked a nervous smile. "Right, not a toy."
"Remind me, Half-Pint, and I'll teach you how to alter your microphone so your tone changes. Even switch up your accent and dialect." Fern winked at the young girl, whose round eyes lit up with anticipation. "Really?"
"That will happen much later." Hunter scoffed. Once more, Fern scrunched her nose at him with a mischievous smile.
"Exiting hyperspace now." Tech announced, taking the controls in the cockpit, then directly states, "Fern, I prefer a co-pilot when landing."
"I'm on it, Wired-Brain." She hopped into the seat next to Tech and performed the necessary procedure when landing a space shuttle. As they pulled into the main city of Ord Mantell, a circular, urbanized colony with terrace-like levels climbing up in the center, Omega awed through the window; her cheek smushed against the viewport. Pilot and co-pilot touched down in one of the many hangar thresholds bordering the major trade port with no hassle.
"Before we leave..." Fern shut down the thrusters and spun dramatically in her chair, eyeing the young girl. "We need to set some ground rules for you."
——————————————————————
As the clones travelled to Cid's location, they instantly noticed how skeptical the alleyways appeared. Rusty neon signs, a stench-ridden atmosphere, and locals, most of them rugged and armed, generated a scene that prompted Fern to subconsciously guide Omega in front of her so that she had at least one eye on the young girl.
As they sauntered down, Hunter quizzed her, "Remember the rules that Fern discussed?"
"Don't wander off, keep my eyes and ears on my surroundings, and trust no one but my squad." she listed, using her fingers.
All very important since all three were broken on Pantora. That's how Fern viewed it, anyway.
"And if you get into trouble?" she reminded the last dilemma.
"Use my comm and give my location."
"Good girl." Fern winked.
Echo led everyone to the entrance of a parlor, which involved a dinky staircase leading down to a darkened doorstep. "This is the place." he declared. His mouth formed a grimaced line when he noted the conditions.
"Charming." Tech sighed monotonously.
"Wait until you see the inside." Fern muttered with the same enthusiasm. The two exchanged looks before following behind everyone down the steps and into the questionable establishment. The interior was just as sloppy as the neighborhood... There weren't many customers, so the chances of finding the intel broker were decent.
"Which one is Cid?" Hunter asked after removing his helmet.
"I couldn't tell ya." Echo shrugged. "I only heard about Cid. Never actually met him."
"Her." Fern corrected. Everyone stopped and faced the female clone, who was leaning on one leg with her arms crossed and looking down at something to her left with an undetectable expression.
"Her?" Hunter repeated with a slur.
Fern didn't respond. Instead, she kicked her weight off her leg and approached a Trandoshan with scaly, green skin and yellow, slitted eyes. She wore commoner's clothes over her oval silhouette and a blue-beaded necklace. The female clone towered over the hunched-over creature with her chest puffed, "Long time no see, huh, Cid?"
Cid, as it was presumed, looked up from her task and grimaced, "Oh, look who it is after all these years?"
"Let's catch up, shall we?"
——————————————————————
FERN'S POV
"I had a good thing going with the Jedi." Cid said as we all shuffled into her office. "They valued my insights, but now that they're all dead, the demand for my services has declined. Thanks to this new Empire. But it's so nice to see I wasn't forgotten by my old customers." She was referring to me. There were several times when the Jedi would entrust me to deliver payment or receive intel from Cid.
I slapped Omega's hand as she reached out to touch an unknown weapon without directly looking at her. "Consequently, we aren't here to reminisce, Cid."
"Times have changed...for all of us." Hunter added.
"No kidding." Cid stated with sarcasm. "While Princess here is a familiar face, I've never had the rest of you clone deserters come to me before."
"Yes, well, we separated due to a fundamental difference in ideology." Tech stammered, adjusting his goggles.
"That's cute, you thinking I care." The Trandoshan rolled her eyes with an one-shoulder shrug. Then, she looked at me. "Spit it out, Princess. Cut to it and tell me what you want."
"I can't believe you actually continue to call me that." I growled, my hands balling up at my hips. Meanwhile, Echo on my right took position at the holo-table.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cid chattered. "I can't believe you actually thought I'd stop."
The cyborg clone uploaded a still-frame of the woman with braided, dark hair who attempted to kidnap Omega. Immediately, I noticed Cid's interest level changed. "Well, not sure who she is, but I know a bounty hunter when I see one."
"Can you find out who hired her?" Echo asked.
"That depends on what you lot do for me."
"Not this, Cid." I smacked my palm to my forehead.
"What is she referring to?" Tech questioned.
"Are you fresh out of the tube?" the intel broker scoffed. "You pull a job for me. and I get the information you want. That's how this mercenary thing works."
"Mercenary?" Echo inquired.
"It's a trade, guys." I interjected. "She won't help us unless we help her with some job. That's how she runs her 'business'." I air-quoted with a sneered expression directly at the boss in discussion. "You know, even when the Jedi were still around, you always had to have the last word, huh?"
"Still snooty as ever, Princess?"
"Enough," Hunter pulled me back by my arm before I could make a move. He then sighed, "What kind of job?"
Cid raised a brow while she watched the sergeant slowly release me . "A rescue." She explained the general synopsis of the job, and the moment she mentioned Zygerrian slavers, my mind posted a large red flag... This just got a whole lot uglier... "Bring me the kid and I'll get you your intel."
"Well, who collects the bounty?" Wrecker spoke up for the first time since we entered the parlor.
"Oh, look, it talks." Cid exclaimed, slightly offending the big oaf. "We split the bounty 70-30, my favor. Take it or leave it."
"Grab a kid from a few Zygerrians? Huh, we could do that in our sleep." Wrecker scoffed.
"Looks like we have a deal." The Trandoshan nodded and flicked a tracking chip at Hunter, who caught it mid-air. Then, he followed the rest of his squad, led by Echo, out of the office. I was the last one heading for the exit when Cid stopped me. Once confirming the others could not hear, she nodded with her arms folded across her chest. "Hey, is Dark and Broody the one you mentioned to me last time?"
I hesitated before answering; my mouth forming a straight line. "Yeah." I breathed, and then turned on my heel as Cid added one last comment before the door closed behind me.
"Nice catch, Princess. That tiny kid isn't yours, right?