"You did what!?" Hunter exclaimed, his jaw clenched as he and Alona ran outside in time to see the Marauder getting taken away by the authorities.
Alona's jaw drops.
"Tech." Hunter growls into the communicator.
"This was the simplest solution." Tech replies, obviously clueless. Wrecker and Cut walk over to the two panicked people.
"Getting our ship impounded is not my idea of a solution." Hunter retorted. The Marauder is out of sight now.
"We'll meet you at the spaceport with the chain codes. I have this under control." Tech says calmly, hoping to ease his tense teammates.
Alona takes the communicator from Hunter. "Yeah, there's just one small skank in the scud pie, Omega's on the ship." She says to the two oblivious clones that came up with the crazy idea.
There's no answer from Tech or Echo, so Alona assumes that they've realized the problem that they have. Nighttime was nearing, which Alona took as a good thing. It was easier to pull off their operations around this time of the day.
Cut, Suu, Jek, and Shaeeah ran inside to get the rest of their bags and then everyone headed into town. Alona pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and turned her belt so that the hilts of her lightsabers were behind her instead of on her hip. She kept her head down as they walked towards the spaceport. Wrecker was beside her in the very back.
The Twi'lek children had made many comments about their worry as they passed clones that were in all white armor. Even Alona had her worries. The war was over, the clones should be wrapping up their work. Instead they were here enforcing the new Empire code of conduct.
"Have your chain codes out and ready for inspection." A clone said as he walked down the line of people waiting. Alona made her way up to Hunter, who still hadn't heard from Tech about the chain codes.
"We're running out of time. This line is moving fast." Alona urged, unable to see Hunter's face due to her peripheral vision being obstructed by her hood. She could sense nervousness radiating off of him, though. He wasn't the only one.
Hunter's comm beeped. "Chain codes are en route...with Omega." Tech announces. Alona and Hunter immediately panicked.
"By herself!?" "You let her go by herself!?" Alona and Hunter whisper shouted into the comm. This plan just keeps going downhill.
"Well, we didn't let her go."
Alona scoffs, stepping out of the line. "Wrecker, come with me." She orders, then turns to Hunter. "We're on it." she reassures before running off with Wrecker. They cut through the dark shortcuts, coming up on the Marauder in no time.
Wrecker spots Omega by a pile of crates, a black and yellow droid beeping very loudly. The two of them run as fast as they can before the clones track the source of the droid. Wrecker slams his fist into the astromech, leaving a huge dent. "Crikey, Wrecker!" Alona exclaimed quietly before kneeling down to Omega. "You okay?"
Omega nods and hands the chain codes over to Alona. Wrecker holds out his hand to help Omega up. It was funny looking at the size comparison between the two.
Wrecker's comm beeps. "Wrecker, we could use some help over here." Echo says urgently. Alona places a hand on Omega's shoulder.
"I will get Omega back to Hunter at the dock. Go ahead." Alona says, guiding the blonde in the right direction. A looming sense of dread filled her as they began walking. They were moments away from departing from the young girl. Wrecker runs off to help Echo and Tech at the spaceport.
The girls didn't even reach Hunter before blasters were heard firing at Wrecker. "I should be used to the chaos that comes with him by now." Alona mutters. They run faster, the dock coming into view.
"We're here!" Omega announces. Alona stops in front of Hunter, handing him the chain codes. "Tech accidentally made five disks instead of four." Omega chuckled. Alona looked at Hunter with a confused expression. Cut turned to him too.
"You didn't tell her?" Cut questions.
"Tell me what?" Omega asks.
Hunter kneeled down in front of Omega, placing a hand on either of her shoulders. "The extra chain code is for you."
Omega took a step back. "Why? Did I do something wrong?" She asked, her voice shaking.
Hunter immediately shook his head. "They're good people. They'll give you the life you deserve." He replies.
"But...I want to stay with you and Alona." Omega said sadly. Hunter turned to Alona for help.
She kneeled down beside Hunter, moving her hood back slightly so Omega could see her face. "Living on the run is no life for a kid, Omega. Just standing here with us right now puts you in danger." Alona wanted Omega to have the childhood that she didn't get.
"You have to go, Omega. It's for your own good." Hunter said, standing back up. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and nudged her in the direction that Cut and Suu were. Alona's heart got heavier with each step the blonde took.
Omega stopped and looked back at the two adults, her expression the most sad it's ever been. Then she hesitantly keeps moving until she is with Cut, Suu, Jek, and Shaeeah. Their chain codes get scanned and they're let through. Alona and Hunter don't move as they watch Omega as long as they can.
"Hunter, Alona, we have worn out our welcome. We need to go right now." Tech's voice comes through the comm. Hunter slowly starts backing up. "On our way." Hunter replies. Alona didn't want to move, and obviously Hunter didn't either.
She noticed unshed tears in his eyes. Suddenly Alona wanted Omega to come with them...just so that Hunter would be happy.
The two began running to the spaceport. Upon arrival, blaster shots were coming from everywhere and for a few seconds Alona wished she was going with Omega. She wanted that life, she wanted to throw away the Jedi stuff and all the chaos. But she knew that if she did that, she would be bored and unable to rest.
Alona jumped over the fence and tripped the first clone, taking his blaster and hitting him in the head with the butt. She senses a second come up behind her so she whips around and hits him in the gut. She ducks to block a blaster shot, then hits the back of the clone's head like she did the other one.
"You know that's not how you use a blaster, right?" Echo's teasing voice calls after her. Alona smiles and throws the gun, using the force to make it fly through four clones. "Never mind, keep doing what you're doing!"
Alona kicks a trooper in the diaphragm and then joins Tech and Hunter behind a stack of crates. "What are we waiting for?" She asked, not flinching when a blaster shot whips past her head.
"The clamp's still magnetized. The system's not responding." Echo replies from his spot by the control panel.
Wrecker knew what he had to do. He threw the gun over to Alona and then went to go take care of the clamp situation. "You just made a mistake! I'm a lousy shot!" She shouted after him, resting the tip of the blaster on the crate. She fired a shot, hitting a crate that wasn't even near a trooper.
Hunter turned his head to her. "At least you're honest." He muttered before taking down two troopers in one shot.
Alona rolled her eyes. "Showoff." She mumbled.
Wrecker rips the clamp off of the leg of the Marauder. "It responded to that!" He shouted.
Everyone made a run for the ramp. The guys kept low to the ground to avoid getting shot, meanwhile Alona was casually moving along like she was going for an evening jog. She would drive Obi-Wan crazy when she did that.
"Wait, Omega's not back!" Wrecker realized, not going up the ramp unlike the others that had filed in. Alona and Hunter poked their heads back out.
"You didn't tell him?" She asked Hunter, who sighed.
"She's not-"
"Wait for me!" Omega screamed, waving her arms as she ran towards the Marauder.
"You see her too, right?" Alona questioned. Hunter looked just as surprised as she was. "Good. For a second I thought I had lost my marbles." She mumbled. Omega ran up the ramp and Wrecker followed right behind. The ramp closes and the Marauder lifts off of the ground.
Omega, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech had taken the seats up in the cockpit, leaving Alona and Hunter alone in the middle of the ship. Hunter was sitting at the navigation system table while Alona leaned against the wall, her eyes focused on him. "You ok, bandana?" She asked.
Hunter swivels the chair to face Alona. He nodded softly, resting his hands in his lap. "Long day."
Alona nodded in agreement. "Long week." She added on, removing her cloak. It was a little too warm in Saleucami for the clothing.
Omega walked over to the two of them, her face bearing a guilty expression. "I know I made a mistake, and I have a lot to learn, but you don't have to get rid of me. I left Kamino with you. This is where I wanna be, learning from you guys."
Hunter sighed. "To tell you the truth, kid, I guess I've got a lot to learn too." He says, glancing over at Alona before turning back to Omega. "If this is where you want to be, then this is where you'll stay." He declares.
"You're stuck now, kid. Once you're with 99, there's no going back. Take it from me." Alona smiled, walking over and placing a hand on Hunter's chair.
Omega smiled, happy to hear those words. She was stuck with them.