Went through and changed a few things in this chapter lol
Hunter gestured to the small table, taking a seat. Alona slides into the spot across from him, nervously chewing her lip as she waits for him to start talking.
But they sit there in silence, exchanging looks for a good few minutes. Then Hunter sighs, placing one of his gloved hands on the table. "Talk." He finally speaks.
Alona frowns. "You talk. You're the one that pulled me away." She says stubbornly.
"You know why I pulled you away. Talk." He retorts. Alona stares at him, sending him the same challenging look that he was giving her. She crosses her arms and leans back.
His look deepens and she rolls her eyes. "Go on, ask it. I won't answer until you do." She replied.
Hunter taps his fingers on the table. "What happened to Anakin?"
She had to admit, she thought he wouldn't ask. She hoped he wouldn't ask. But he did, and she knew she had to answer truthfully. Somehow he could tell when she was lying. She opened her mouth to speak, but she froze. It was like the word refused to come out. Alona had never spoken it into existence, it had been marinating in her mind for the last few days. If she said the words, then it would all become real.
"Alona." Hunter called, his eyes still focused on her. She finds herself looking at the side of his face that was tattooed like a skull. But then her attention is pulled to the hand that he subtly placed over hers. "What happened?" He asked. He had taken her silence as his answer to his previous question. She was silent because the worst possible thing happened.
Alona took a deep breath and focused on his gloved hand over her bare one. "He joined the Sith, turned to the dark side." that wasn't even all of it. She stopped herself after that single sentence. She couldn't say anymore, so they sat in silence while Hunter repeated her words in his mind.
Anakin did what everyone said Alona would do.
Alona's attention is temporarily pulled away by Omega and Wrecker, who were going around the entire ship. Wrecker was explaining the purpose of each button, screen, switch, and object...per Omega's request. She really was a curious little thing.
"So Anakin and Palpatine are the ones running the Empire?" Hunter finally asks.
Alona closed her eyes and shook her head. "Just Palpatine." Her voice quivered. Her eyes were full of unshed tears. It burned to hold them back. "...Obi-Wan and I had to do it." Alona then blurted, pulling her hand away from Hunter. She wrapped her arms around herself. It took a few seconds but Hunter finally put together what she meant.
Her and Obi-Wan had to kill Anakin.
Instead of asking more questions, he got up to retrieve one of her lost items. Alona stays sitting, taking deep breaths while tilting her head back and blinking away the tears. She hated being so vulnerable, so afraid. She cried more in the last three days than she had the last nineteen years.
Hunter comes back a minute later, holding a long cylinder shaped piece of metal. He grabs Alona's hand and places it in her palm. "You left it on Kaller. Figured you'd want it back." He says, sitting back down. He watches as she stares at the hilt like she had forgotten she had more than one. "Don't worry, I made sure the guys didn't mess with it. I hid it under my mattress, they had no idea I had it." Hunter smiles.
Alona nods, but her eyes made it look like her mind was somewhere else. "Yeah, thanks." She said quietly. Alona stood, but stumbled back and grabbed onto the wall for support.
Hunter had thrown an arm out behind her like he was trying to catch her. She waved him off. "Are you hurt?" Hunter asked, jumping to his feet.
She shook her head, letting out a weak laugh. "Just used a little more energy than I normally do in a week. I'm fine."
Hunter looked at her tired face and he instantly knew that she had hardly slept at all over the last few days. "The beds are in that room right there, the top one on the left is-" he gets cut off by Alona.
"I'm not sleeping in your bed, Hunter." She argued.
Hunter chuckled. "I was actually offering you Wrecker's bed, but suit yourself." he held his hands up, taking a second glance to check on her once more before going back up into the cockpit with Tech and Echo.
Seconds later Hunter poked his head back out of the cockpit. "Seats are more comfortable up here, just so you know." He smirks. Alona glares at him and sits down in the metal chair. She sighs, holding her newly returned lightsaber in her hands. She spun it around slowly, running her thumb over the grooves. The seat really wasn't that comfortable, but she would never tell Hunter that.
Alona rolled her eyes, putting her lightsaber on her belt with its brother. She walks through the Marauder, entering the cockpit that had four seats that were padded with what looked like leather. "Don't say it." She says to Hunter, who had an I told you so look on his face.
"Did I say anything?" He questioned from his spot in the back left chair. She sat down in the back right chair, which was behind Tech. She gave him a dirty look. "I didn't say anything." He says with a grin.
Hunter watched Alona fight against sleep for a few minutes, but when her head lulled to the side he knew she had lost the battle.
—
"Unlimited power!"
"You must choose a side!"
"When the time comes the boy must become a Jedi."
"We can't trust her, what if she turns like he did?"
"He killed all of them. The younglings are dead."
"Padme."
"Execute Order 66."
"Anakin, don't trust him!"
"I can't-I-I'm too wea-weak."
"Anakin help."
"Twins."
"He turned the Jedi's own army against them."
"Only together can we survive this."
"What have I done?"
"You were my brother, Anakin."
"CT-5555 had discovered the inhibitor chips."
"There's a possibility that the chips the Kaminoans put inside of us have a purpose we don't yet know of."
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes."
"We will do what we must."
"I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new empire."
"We must hide. The time of the Jedi has ended."
"Alona, we've gotta get going."
Alona jumps awake, her hand reaching for her lightsabers. Hunter lets go of her bicep and grabs her wrists to stop her from taking the hilts off of her belt. Alona let out a few breaths, not realizing she hadn't been breathing.
"We're on Saleucami, we need to get moving." Hunter says a little more quietly. He let go of her wrists once her shoulders untensed and wasn't in fight or flight. "Sorry I scared you." He muttered, placing a hand on the doorway. The rest of the team was waiting by the ramp.
Alona shook her head. "It wasn't you that scared me." She said it so quietly he thought he misheard. But she brushed past him to join the others.
Omega looked ecstatic. She couldn't wait.
The ramp slides down and they walk out single file. The Batch kept walking, but stopped when they noticed their two girls weren't following. Omega stood halfway down the ramp, her eyes closed as she took a big whiff of the fresh wilderness air. Alona was standing not too far past the ramp, watching Omega react in the same ways she did when she finally left Tatooine. Alona felt like she was looking at a younger version of herself.
The younger girl walked the rest of the way down the ramp, dropping to her knees in the dirt. She picks up a handful of it and lets it fall through the cracks of her fingers. "Woah. What is this?" She asked, her voice full of wonder and amazement. Alona turns around to face the group of men that were watching Omega.
Tech holds up a finger. "That would be dirt." He says without an ounce of judgment.
Omega stands up, dragging her feet across the ground and then kicks the dirt. "It's amazing!" She exclaims, skidding her feet to make a trail behind her as she walks towards the group. Alona smiled when she saw Hunter's softened face. This time when he noticed her looking, the expression never changed.
But when thunder crackled and boomed in the distance, his face hardened up as he turned around and began walking down the trail. "Come on. Let's get moving." He says, leading the group.
Alona sticks to the back, making sure Omega doesn't stray away or get too far behind. The younger girl gasped at a moth as they passed tall trees that...actually didn't look like trees at all. The entire planet had a yellow-tinted atmosphere. "Huh?" Omega smiled, jogging towards a very cool moth-like creature that was resting on one of the spherical plants. Omega gets too close for the moth's comfort and it flies away with a weird gurgling sound.
Omega turns around, walking backwards while facing Alona. "How many planets have you been on, Alona?" She asked, her eyes sparkling in curiosity.
Alona's face twisted in thought. She was hoping she could give Omega an exact number, but she couldn't. "So many that I've lost count. I've been to Saleucami before though." She replied.
Alona decided to tune into the conversation that the others were having while Omega continued staring at everything in awe. "You trust a deserter?" Asked Echo.
"Why not? We're all deserters now." Tech shrugs.
Hunter holds up his fist, signaling for everyone to stop moving. Omega unfortunately either doesn't know hand signs or wasn't paying attention. She kept walking, nearly passing Hunter. Luckily he stuck a hand out and stopped her before she triggered a trip wire.
The team fell out of single file, becoming more of a cluster. "What are we looking at?" Omega asked in confusion.
"A booby trap." Hunter said simply.
Alona and Wrecker moved to the front of the group. "Single trip wire, that's cute." Wrecker laughed, stepping over the wire to continue walking. He didn't see the laser sensor that he ended up triggering. Battle droids popped up everywhere and Alona's heart rate picked up as she ignited her lightsabers.
Hunter threw himself in front of her, holding his hands out. "They're not real!" He shouted, then turned to Wrecker, who had whipped out his blaster and fired at a few of them. "Wrecker, easy!"
Alona snapped out of it and saw that the droids were in fact part of the booby trap and no longer functioning. She switches off her orange sabers, but doesn't put them back on her belt. Alona shakes her head, mentally repeating to herself that the war was over. That the droids were disabled, that Grievous is dead.
"What do we have here?" A purplish pink Twi'lek asked, moving her blaster back and forth between Alona and Wrecker. A clone stands beside her, holding a blaster too. "More clones who have lost their way. And a Jedi." The Twi'lek continued.
The clone beside her lowers his gun, motioning for her to do the same. "It's been a while, fellas." He says. This was the friend Hunter knows, Alona finally pieced that together.
The Batch's friends lead them to their hut. Hunter is the only person who took a seat. The others preferred to stand and Alona felt safer the closer she was to the door and the furthest from the strangers.
"I see a few new faces." The Twi'lek says, carrying over a tray of refreshments.
Hunter nods, a slight smile on his face. "Echo, Omega, and Alona. Guys, this is Cut and Suu." He introduces.
The Twi'lek, Suu, nods her head. "Pleased to meet you."
Echo bows his head. "Ma'am." He says nicely. Omega waves with a smile on her face and Alona just nods.
Cut, the clone, scanned the room curiously. "Where's Crosshair?" He asked.
Hunter sighs. "It's complicated." He answered.
The side of Cut's mouth perked up. "Sounds familiar. Rex told us about the clone troopers turning against the Jedi."
Alona perked up, her eyes widening. "Rex? He's here?" She asked.
Cut shook his head. "He passed through yesterday." he said while taking a sip of his drink.
"Where'd he go?" Echo asked.
Alona took a few steps away from the door. She needed to talk to Rex.
"Didn't ask. He was going on about some behavioral implant." Cut replied.
Alona frowned. "Behavioral implant?" She questioned.
Omega chimed into the conversation. "He must mean the inhibitor chip." The short blonde said.
"The what?" Hunter asked, turning to look at Omega.
"Inhibitor chips. The Kaminoans implanted them in the clones to modify their behavior." She explained.
Hunter then turned to Tech. "You said the regs were programmed but you never mentioned a chip." He said, obviously frustrated from not having all the information.
Tech shrugged. "How else did you think it worked?"
It clicked. Alona exhaled, shaking her head. "It's bigger than any of us, than anything I could have imagined." she quoted in disbelief. They all turned to her.
"What, Alona?" Hunter asked, his brows furrowed.
She blinked heavily. "Fives said that just before he died."
"But Fives died almost a year ago." Wrecker said in confusion.
Alona nodded. "Yes, but about a year ago Tup shot me and killed Master Tiplar. He said the same thing that all of the clones said when Order 66 was executed. Tup was the first and when Fives tried to warn us of what's coming he got shot by Commander Fox."
Before anything else could be said, two twi'lek children run into the house. "Mom, dad! There's a ship outside!" one of them yelled.
Wrecker gasped. "Shaeeah, Jek! Remember me!" He exclaimed. The two children ran over to him.
"Uncle Wrecker!" They both shouted, then turned to the only other small person with curious faces. "Who are you?" Shaeeah asked.
Omega showed her face from behind Hunter's seat. "Omega." she said shyly, keeping her hands on the chair. Alona found it cute that the girl stuck near Hunter for comfort.
"We never see kids around here!" Shaeeah exclaimed. "Come with us!" Jek smiled. Shaeeah grabbed Omega's hand and pulled her to the door. But Omega stopped and turned to Hunter, who smiled and nodded as both encouragement and approval. The girl smiled and ran outside with the Twi'lek children.
Hunter stood and leaned against the door that was propped open, watching the Shaeeah and Jek teach Omega how to throw and catch a ball. Alona went and sat in the seat that Hunter abandoned. She traces the wood pattern on the table.
"I'm heading into town to book us a transport off-world. Saleucami isn't safe anymore." Cut announces.
Hunter turns from his place in the doorway. "We could get you where you need to go." He offers, but Cut shakes his head.
"No, it's too risky. You're all wanted men and with a Jedi with you, you're probably number one on their list. I have to do what's best for them." he nods his head at his two children.
"I caught it!" Omega shouts, her voice carrying all the way inside. Hunter smiles at her.
An hour passed. The entire group changed into normal clothes in order to fit into the town. Alona just threw her robe on, considering all of her things were on a cruiser that had crashed. Hunter and Cut sit at the table with the others after returning from the town. They didn't look happy. "It appears all public transport is now restricted without chain codes." Tech explains.
Suu sighs. "Which Cut can't sign up for. He'll be arrested when they discover he's a deserter."
Cut's face twists in anger. "The next shuttle leaves in a few hours. Codes or no codes, we need to be on it." He says strongly.
"Mom! Mom, it's Omega! She went out past the fence!" Shaeeah shouts, running inside. A roar is heard and Alona jumps up, running out the door first. She slides under the gate and puts herself between Omega and the large white and black feline creature with four red eyes.
Hunter was right behind Alona, his blade in his hand as he pulled Omega back. The feline creature snarls, planting all four of its paws on the ground in an attack position.
Alona pulls out one of her sabers, igniting it. The creature hesitates, letting out a low series of growls. Then it pounces, its mouth open as it prepares to rip Alona to shreds.
Suu fires a shot at the creature at the same time Hunter tackles Alona to the ground, her lightsaber switching off and rolling from her hand. The feline falls to the ground and whimpers, taking another hit. It starts to back away.
One more blast has it running back into the woods.
Hunter rolls off of Alona, who sits up and gives him a ridiculous look. "Are you nuts!? You could have lost a limb tackling me while I had a lightsaber in my hand!" She shouts, her eyes scanning his body to make sure that actually didn't happen.
He scoffs, standing back up. "Would you rather me let it eat you?" He asked.
Alona crossed her arms stubbornly from her place on the ground. "At least you wouldn't have risked losing a limb." She retorted.
He takes the time to test out both arms and legs. "Looks like they're still attached." He shrugs, holding his hand out to help her up. She reluctantly takes his hand, getting pulled up without any effort.
She dusts the dirt off of her hands and looks at him. "...thanks." She said before walking in the direction she saw her lightsaber roll.
Alona found the hilt hidden in the crops. She picks it up and slides it onto her belt with the other one. She turns around to see Hunter scolding Omega, but not in a way that a child should be scolded. Cut immediately took charge, bending down in front of Omega.
"Easy. She's not a soldier." He said to Hunter, then moved his attention to the guilty girl. "Are you hurt? Now, let's take a look here." He looks her over for any injuries. All good.
Omega clutched the ball close to her chest. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to get the ball. I didn't know." She said, burying her face into Cut's shoulder.
"You're safe. That's all that matters." He patted her back and picked her up, carrying her inside.
Hunter looked guilty now, too. Alona bumped her shoulder with his. "Hey, you're both learning. Don't be too hard on yourself." She said quietly. Hunter nodded, his eyes flickering from her eyes to the scar that ran over her lips.
She didn't know that it wasn't her scar he was looking at.
"All in all, I think that could have gone much worse." Tech blurted.
Hunter looked away from Alona, clearing his throat. "Tech, you think you can forge some chain codes?" he asked, getting a shrug from the clone with glasses.
"I only learned them moments ago, but yes." Tech replied.