FERN'S POV
When we finally caught up to Muchi the Mini Rancor, she was tossing the Zygerrians around like they were ragdolls, whacking three across the rocks with one in her claw. Wrecker scoffed, "She's doing fine on her own." Muchi roared and took out the last of the guards. Then, she faced us and charged briefly; Hunter pushed me behind him and stopped Tech and Wrecker from drawing their blasters.
Suddenly, a brezak, carrying the Zygerrian boss, screeched above us as it glided and touched down on the ground mere yards from us. The boys fired their blasters at it, but were easily knocked aside by the creature's whip-like tail. I've seen a similar species of it before on Utapau, specifically the one General Obi-Wan Kenobi was riding before he fell...
No, no, I shook my head, which continued to throb substantially. I definitely had a knot underneath my single braid, but there was no time to worry about it. The leader upon his brevak was charging right towards the rancor, and Hunter and I needed to intercept it. We sprinted after them, and while I circled behind it as it slowly approached her, the sergeant tackled the Zygerrian off his pet. Muchi took off and the gliding reptilian creature pursued it.
"You're going to pay for this, skug." the boss growled.
Behind us, Tech and Wrecker arrived. Hunter threw out his hand to them. "I'll handle him. Go after Muchi."
"You mean, we'll handle him." I corrected, unsheathing my vibro knife. Hunter nodded his head— I couldn't see his expression since he wore that bucket of a helmet, but something told me he was not complaining having me as back-up. Our squad members ran on ahead, and the Zygerrian struck his electrical whip.
The sergeant charged forward first and used his armored forearm to catch the fall of the weapon as the Zygerrian flung it down over his shoulder. I darted past Hunter and thrusted my knife forward. Our foe dodged it, kicked me aside, and switched on the whip, electrocuting Hunter's body through his coiled arm. He groaned and panted as he endured the attack, but he mustered just enough strength to seize the thong of the whip and yank it free from the Zygerrian. The moment the weapon dropped, I roundhouse-kicked with my right foot and used my left leg to drop-kick him straight into the dirt, knocking him out cold.
"You okay?" Hunter asked me, his voice modulator was heaving as he rose to his feet and put his hand on my shoulder.
"I could ask you the same thing." I smiled, but could not deny I felt dizzy from my head injury. "Come on, let's catch up with Tech and Wrecker." Clinging onto his arm, we helped each other reach them.
When we all arrived, Echo and Omega showing up not long after, we were surprised to find Wrecker and Muchi's wrestling match, or at least the conclusion of it. What probably started out as an exciting brawl had dwindled into tiresome smacks and pushing.
"How long have they been at this?" I questioned Tech, who was spectating from the side with his datapad.
"Too long. He's losing his touch." Wired-Brain replied.
Eventually, it was a fair draw as both the adolescent rancor and the muscular clone dropped out, collapsing on top of each other. Omega approached them, tilting her head with a smile. "Aw, she's kinda cute up close."
"Nicely handled. Wrecker." Hunter nodded, and Wrecker just scoffed with a thumbs-up.
"You've sure made yourself useful today, you big oaf." I quipped, and then my body slowly lowered itself to a deep squatting position. My head hung down in dead-weight.
"Fern!" Omega exclaimed, rushing to my side. The boys minus the wearied Wrecker did the same.
"I'm good. Just a headache." I managed a grin. Tech knelt behind me and massaged his gloved fingers through my raven hair until they grazed over the predicted bump, at which I flinched and sucked air through my clenched teeth. "There's no blood. Slight abrasions. You'll live."
"Thanks, Doc." I cracked.
"Let's get Muchi to the ship." Hunter instructed. He then removed his helmet and backpack, and he handed them to Omega to carry before kneeling down in front of me facing away. "Hop on."
"Excuse me? You can't be serious." The corner of my mouth twisted.
"I am. Now get on." he ordered. Hoping my face wasn't as red as it felt, I draped my body against his back; my arms slowly wrapped around his neck. He then scooped his forearms underneath my bottom and hoisted me up. I lowered my head to cover my deep blushing; in doing so, my forehead lightly bumped against his head with every other step. The sergeant carried me all the way back to the Marauder. At some point, I had settled my chin right where his bare neck and chestplate met. As I breathed calmly, I inhaled his scent and absorbed his warmth. My body responded by relaxing, as if the natural aroma of the outdoors soothed me. I found myself briefly savoring the sensation of protection and familiarity...
Hunter only released me once we reached the short ladder so I could rest in my and Omega's room. As I clung to the rungs, I turned my head to him and breathed quietly so only he could hear, "Thank you." He gazed up at me; the soft lighting behind me accentuated his skull tattoo and strong cheekbones and jawline. Those dark orbs expressed only compassion. He said nothing, only nodded, but I received the message. Once he walked away, I huffed a light exhale, smiled to myself, and arranged myself in the gunner's mount to get comfortable. I fell asleep the instant I curled up, hugging the side of my head in the crook of my arm.
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THIRD PERSON POV
Muchi was very cooperative for an adolescent rancor. She marched right down to the parlor, with Omega saddled on her shoulders. Fern, now sporting a bandage around her head instead of her usual grey bandana, followed alongside Hunter and Echo. When the clones arrived, the client, a pale, strange-looking specimen with his singular head-tail draped around his neck, was waiting for Muchi with open arms and a gracious attitude, paying Cid up front with no issue.
"Bye, Muchi." Wrecker and Omega waved as they parted. The rancor paused to give one last grateful roar.
"Gotta say, fellas." Cid scoffed. "I wasn't sure you could pull this job off."
"You could have told us we were going after a rancor." Echo pointed out.
"Hmm, tell them, Princess, of my 'bad' habit." Cid waved at Fern, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with a sigh. "Must've slipped her mind..."
"You heard her." Cid shrugged, and then pointed at Fern and Hunter. "Princess, Dark and Broody. My office." They did as they were told, and the three of them gathered around the holo-table, where Cid uploaded the image of the female hunter.
"Your bounty hunter is Fennec Shand." Cid delivered the intel she had obtained while they were on the rescue mission. "She's new to the scene, but has already proven herself to be cunning and ruthless."
"Who hired her?" Hunter questioned.
"Unknown." Cid shrugged. "My sources in the guild say she's working on a direct commission. With someone like her nipping at your heels, you're going to need two things: friends and money. Mostly money."
"Yeah, well, we are sorely lacking in both at the moment." Fern scoffed, arms crossed, and then smirked. "I guess it's a good thing we reconnected, huh, Cid? And speaking of money?"
Cid caught on and handed over one of the three cases of credits she obtained from her client. "There's more where that came from, if you're working for work."
"We'll...think about it." Hunter nodded, taking the case.
"It's still interesting, a bounty hunter of Fennec's caliber being after you." Cid chided. "You two must be holding something pretty valuable, or maybe yourselves being the valuable ones? Eh, Princess?"
"As you would know..." Fern's voice lowered. Hunter only stared.
The Trandoshan didn't flinch. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm good with secrets, as you would know, Princess."
"Come on, Hunter." The female clone pulled onto her partner's arm and they exited the office, rejoining with the rest of their squad. "Can we trust her?" Hunter whispered to me.
"She can keep secrets." Fern replied. "That's all that matters."
"What's our next move?" Echo asked, opening up the case and subconsciously admiring the credits inside.
"We lay low." the sergeant decided, then looked over at the woman next to him. "If Fern trusts Cid, then we can stay here until we have a next move."
Fern returned a smile and nodded.