"All my father wanted was peace on Ryloth. Why is this happening?" Hera asked, wrapping her arms around herself.
Alona leaned against the Marauder, biting the inside of her cheek in contemplation. Were they just going to leave? Tell Hera that she would grow up an Orphan, that she'd never see her parents again?
"He's a voice the people stand behind. That makes him a threat to the Empire." Echo explained, joining the others beside the ramp of the ship.
Hera shook her head, her lekku swinging from side to side. "I don't care about any of that. I just want my parents back." She expressed.
Chopper came rushing out of the Marauder with Tech, chattering about all the new information he had received. Tech tapped on his device. "We're all over the Imperial comm channels. They've increased patrols within the city."
Alona sighed, running her hands over her face. She hated making decisions. It doesn't seem like there is a possibility for any good outcomes. Hera's got them in a knot.
"Crosshair will expect an attack. The element of surprise is gone...There's nothing we can do." Hunter says unfortunately. Alona's expression drops and she refuses to look at Hera.
"Wait, you can't leave." Hera argued. Alona scrunched her eyebrows together to avoid showing she was upset about it too.
"I told you no guarantees. We'll get you off world and take you somewhere safe." Hunter sighed, starting up the ramp.
Hera grabs onto his arm. "Stop! I-I'll pay you double." She stammered. Alona's face twisted in sadness as she felt Hera's pain. She wanted to help Hera, this girl didn't deserve to lose her parents.
Hunter shook his head. "All the money in the galaxy won't matter if Alona gets taken by the Empire and the rest of us are dead. What you're asking us to do, it's not worth the risk."
Hera's eyes watered. "Not to you." She said before turning around to walk away.
Omega stood in front of the adults, an angered glint in her eye. "You shouldn't have said that." She expressed.
"Being strategic means knowing your limitations, Omega." Hunter replied, trying to teach the blonde an important lesson.
"She's trying to save her family, Hunter. I'd do the same for you." Omega retorted, going after Hera.
Alona pushed off of the Marauder, walking up next to Hunter. "I want to help Hera, too, Hunter. The kid needs her parents. Especially now when the galaxy is so dangerous." She said quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. And she knew how lonely and uncared for someone would feel when they were all alone. Alona never felt loved. She didn't know what family felt like. Until she was taken from Tatooine. She experienced a family-like love with almost everyone around her.
She watched Hunter's eyes flicker and she knew he was considering it. He was laying out all the options and possibilities. His thoughtful expression then lowered to fear. Alona could feel it radiating off of him. "But what if you get captured? There's no telling what they would do to you." He expressed, raising his hand to place it on her face, but stopped when he remembered the other members of the squad were right there.
They would tell them...one day.
Alona sighed, understanding his fear. But she did not care what could or would happen to her. "We'll cross that path if we get to it." She determined, giving him a reassuring smile. She eyed the room down the hall where Hera and Omega were. "You know the girls are in there plotting against you. I'd be surprised if we didn't end up going through with what Hera has asked us to do." She smirked, bumping shoulders with him.
Hunter sighed, though Alona caught the way he was fighting a smile. "Yeah, I know. Omega knows it's strategic, she'll come up with a plan and I'll have no choice but to say yes." He admitted, giving up on the fight with his smile. Alona mirrored his expression.
Just like the couple had said, the girls came back with a plan.
"Attack the Capitol? Wh-that was my plan." Wrecker says proudly, his face lighting up.
Omega shook her head. "Not the Capitol, the Imperial refinery on the outskirts." She corrected from her place beside Hera. Chopper displays a hologram of the outskirts.
Alona smiled, placing her hands on the back of Hunter's chair as she listened intently to the girls. She had a feeling Hera would make a good fighter one day. Omega too.
"I've been spying on their activity. I know their routine. If we attack there, reinforcements will be diverted from the Capitol." Hera explained, waving her hands around passionately. She had a fight in her that was enough to persuade the others that she knew what she was talking about.
"We can use that distraction to rescue Hera's parents." Omega revealed, smiling proudly at herself. Alona offers a supportive nod when the blonde looks in her direction.
"Any heavy defenses at the refinery?" Echo asked, though he too was nearly convinced.
"Five perimeter cannons." Hera replied, but rushed to get out, "But they are unmanned."
Tech lifted his head wearily. "Auto cannons are extremely vulnerable. Where is the control console?" He questioned, looking down at Hera expectantly.
Hera pointed to a spot on the hologram. "Right inside the main gate. It is heavily guarded, but Chopper can slip inside with the other droids and disable the cannons."
Hunter stood up, staring at the hologram before making the decision. "All right. You two go with Chopper as backup, but at a distance." He said wearily.
Both kids' eyes widened in excitement. "Really?" They asked in unison. Chopper chatters excitedly too.
Tech looked at Hunter questionably. It was a shock to everyone that Hunter would allow that, given how protective he is of Omega. "By themselves?" He asked in bewilderment.
Hunter nodded in conformation, dropping his arms at his side. "Tech, Wrecker. Wait until those cannons are down and move in. Echo, Alona, and I will scale the Capitol wall and free Hera's parents." He orders, then looks down at Hera. "I guess we'll follow your lead."
–
It was nightfall by the time Alona, Hunter, and Echo got to the tall stone wall of the Capitol. Hunter pulled an extra pair of climbing claws out of his backpack, holding them out to Alona. She took them, though she didn't plan on using them.
Alona breathed deeply, touching into what the Force was telling her. There were two clones at the top out on guard. She could take them out easily by herself.
Hunter and Echo started climbing the wall as stealthily as they could. Alona jumped, using the Force to make it all the way to the top of the wall. She landed behind the two regs in their plain white armor.
Alona smiled, dropping her hands to her sides. "Hello there, troopers." She announced herself, knocking both soldiers' heads together by doing a swinging hook kick. They were unconscious before they even knew what happened.
Alona leaned over the edge of the wall, grinning at Hunter and Echo, who were only about halfway up the wall. "Come on, grandpas. We don't have all night." She teased, holding her hands out and feeling the pull of their weight through the Force as she made them float to the top. She dropped them not so gracefully.
The two stand up, eyeing the unconscious clones. Then they both turned to her and stared. Alona wished she could see the looks on their faces.
"At least let us have some fun." Echo blurted, looking back down at the regs.
She handed the unused climbing claws back to Hunter. "Your time will come. You just have to move faster." Alona teased the ex-ARC trooper. She led them inside the Capitol at a quick pace.
They stunned or knocked out every trooper they passed, so far managing to stay out of sight from Crosshair. Alona made them slow down their pace just a little when they reached the cell block and cleared it of troopers.
She speed-walked down the corridor, eyeing each cell for that familiar orange Twi'lek while Hunter and Echo busied themselves with unlocking all the other cells. She stopped about halfway down with a relieved smile on her face. "Hey, Cham. This prison cell doesn't seem like your thing." She teased, unlocking the cell.
Cham stepped forward, recognition clear on his face. "Alona? You've grown since I last saw you." He smiled.
Alona nodded, reaching out to shake his hand. "Been a while." She replied, checking on Echo and Hunter before turning back to the Twi'lek. "Anyways, Hera hired us to come and save you. Let's get going." She explained.
The two clones stood on either side of Alona, keeping watch. They had opened all the other cells so that the imprisoned Twi'leks could be free.
"Hera? Where is she? Is she safe?" Cham asked, expression drowning in worry.
The alarms started going off in the Capitol. Alona nodded. "Yes, now let's go. We have worn out our welcome." She urged.
The three Bad Batch members led the dozens of Twi'leks through the winding halls. They stopped upon reaching the hangar, preparing to open the sliding doors and make their escape.
But Alona got a bad feeling and she placed a hand on Hunter's forearm. "I think Crosshair knows what we're doing. He knows how we think. I sense multiple life forms just outside these hangar doors." She expressed her sense.
Hunter's helmet tilted down to look at her. "And you think one of them is Crosshair?" He asked slowly, glancing at Echo who had joined their small huddle.
Alona shook her head, trying to reach out to confirm it. "I can't be sure. There's too many people out there to make out just one." She sighed in defeat.
She and Hunter whirled around at the same time to face a clone Captain. Teal and white armor. Hunter and Echo pointed their blasters at him.
"You're walking into a trap. There's a squad out there waiting." The Captain warns. Alona gets the feeling she can trust him, so she places her hands on the tops of Hunter and Echo's blasters, lowering them.
Alona took a step towards the reg. "Yeah, we just realized." She replied, crossing her arms behind her back.
"Let me help." The Captain said, taking a step closer. Hunter and Echo raised their blasters again. "What the Empire is doing is wrong. You have to get out of here. They have the exits blocked."
Eleni, Hera's mother, spoke up. "We can use Senator Taa's shuttle in his private tower hangar."
Alona lowered the blasters more forcefully this time, allowing the Captain to walk up to Cham and Eleni.
"I'm sorry, General. I should've stopped this sooner." The Captain sighed guiltily.
Cham placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder. "Howzer, our fight for Ryloth is not over. We will return." He reassured.
Eleni nodded. "You can't stay here. They'll know you helped us." She warned.
The Captain, Howzer, shook his head. "I will not abandon my squad. They're good men. I have to try to get through to them. Go, while there's still time."
Alona smiled kindly at the loyal Captain. The sudden turn at the end of the war was horrifying, something that everyone who experienced it will have to cope with for the rest of their lives. Alona hopes Howzer might find peace. She hopes everyone will have peace soon.
Cham and Eleni lead the group back into the corridor and up to Senator Taa's private tower hangar, loading onto his shuttle as quickly as possible.
"Tech, Omega, we have alternate transport. Meet at the rendezvous." Hunter said into the comm, leaning up against the wall. He pressed his side into Alona, partly because he wanted to, but also because the shuttle was packed with Twi'leks. But mostly because he just wanted to be touching Alona.
"Gladly. Because there are multiple Imperial vessels inbound." Tech replied before the comms go silent.
–
Alona and Hunter stood on the ramp of the shuttle, conversing with Cham and Eleni. The other Twi'leks had been safely transported to a place the Empire would never locate them.
Eleni held out a box full of credits. "Here's the payment Hera promised."
Alona shook her head with a kind smile while Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. "Keep it. You'll need it." The enhanced clone replied.
"These occupations are happening not just on Ryloth, but on many other planets as well." Alona added on, silently wishing she could help every planet that was suffering the same way. But she knew that was damn near impossible.
"I was hoping to have fought my last war, but our people need us now more than ever. We must organize." Cham sighed, watching Hera talk to Omega in the distance.
"Well, that's not something we can help with, General." Hunter admitted, placing a hand on Alona's elbow and looking into her eyes before glancing behind him at the others. "I have my own people to look out for." He said a little more softly.
Eleni glanced at the hand Hunter had on Alona and smiled softly. "That's understandable. You two look very happy together." She complimented.
Alona and Hunter turned their heads, exchanging the same look. They were happy.
"Hera, come along." Eleni called after her daughter, who smiled and waved goodbye to Omega, running up the ramp past Alona and Hunter. "It is time for us to go."
Alona nodded, looking at Cham. "Your daughter is very smart, you must be very proud of her."
Cham and Eleni smiled, looking at their sweet daughter. "That we are. Goodbye, Alona. Thank you for all your help." Cham replied, nodding a farewell.
The human couple walked down the ramp, standing beside the other members of their team and waved a final goodbye to the Syndullas as their shuttle lifted off the ground.