This is the start of season two, so SPOILERS AHEAD:)
"Shit, man what were we thinking!?" Alona shouted, breaking past the treeline behind Echo.
He reached the coastline and his legs froze up in the salty water, causing him to fall face first into the liquid. Alona tripped over him and went under, her left hand sparking and sending a shock up to her shoulder. She yelps, jumping back up to her feet.
Hunter broke past the tropical trees with Wrecker right behind him, hoisting Echo up as they continued running.
"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Wrecker screamed with the black metal crate held tightly against his chest. The enormous crabs broke past the treeline, screeching as they continued chasing the mercenaries.
Alona shook her hand, cursing when it stiffened up. She removed it from the flesh of her arm and flailed it around Echo as they continued running from the large crab creatures. "That was very MA, wasn't it?" She asked with a grin.
"MA sucks." Echo complained, nearly falling again. He had never run on wet sand with his metal legs. It was like learning how to walk all over again.
"What the hell is MA?" Hunter asked from the front of the group.
"That's for Echo and I to know and you to wonder." Alona teased, looking over her shoulder at the hive of creatures chasing them through the tropical planet.
"We went over the plan five times!" Echo said to Wrecker, holding out a hand to show five fingers.
"I got the package, didn't I?" Wrecker retorted, gesturing to the large crate in his hands. The crabs were gaining on the group.
"Just keep moving!" Hunter ordered with a stern voice.
Alona closed her eyes as they continued running, taking deep breaths, allowing the sounds around her to tune out. She called out to the Force, feeling the wet sand and the water crashing against the coast. The palm trees blew in the coastal breeze and the plantains slowly grew atop the healthy bark.
Attempting a new trick, Alona thought of one of the most terrifying, gargantuan, nightmarish creatures she's seen, and asked the Force to help her recreate it. She felt energy drain from her shoulders, her arms, her legs. She felt heavier, more tired. But she knew her attempt was successful when–
"What in the name of Quacta hell is that!?" Hunter exclaimed in horror.
Alona smirked and opened her eyes, her expression lighting up at the large Zillo Beast standing about twenty feet from them. Even the crabs stopped and stared. "A distraction, let's go." She shouted, continuing to run down the beach. She runs through the illusion she created, calling for the other three to follow.
The illusioned Zillo Beast roared and the crabs cowered back, clicking their claws as an act of dominance, stating that this particular island was their territory.
The three clones ran through the illusion, peering up at it in amazement. But Alona felt the energy continuing to drain out of her and she watched the Zillo Beast begin to disappear starting from its head.
"Tech, we've got the cargo, but we could use some firepower." Hunter said into his comm. Alona paused to admire his new armor again, something she and Omega took the courtesy of helping him paint. They did all of the other's armor too.
"Wrecker woke the pod, didn't he?" Tech questioned, not sounding surprised even in the slightest.
The Zillo Beast was now gone completely and the crabs gained sight of the mercenaries, continuing their angered hunt for them. Adrenaline sent the humans running, the boys firing the blasters over their shoulders as they picked up the pace.
"Yeah, and they're not happy. We need a pickup." Alona replied for Hunter, who was busy shooting at the crabs. "And maintenance on my hand once we're out of here." She said a little more shyly.
"Not again, Alona, this is the fourth time this mo-"
"Copy that. We're on our way." Omega interrupted Tech.
Alona smacked the robotic hand with her mutilated appendage, trying to get it to function again. "Tech wouldn't have to do maintenance on this thing if he had built it to sustain damage. I mean, really, what line of work does he think we're in? Loth-Cat sitting?" She questioned, flailing the hand around. "Oh, that reminds me, we should take Omega to Lothal. She'd love the Loth-Cats."
"Let's discuss travel plans when we're not about to die." Echo retorted, banging his scomp against his blaster to unjam it.
Alona faked offense and whipped around and stopped in her footsteps. The boys run right past her, giving her a confused glance. Mentally insane was a phrase often thrown towards her recently.
But Alona was gaining strength every day, she had these new powers she was learning to control. She could protect her family. She could bring balance to the Force. She wasn't mentally insane, she was powerful.
Hunter wouldn't allow her to do most of the things she wanted to attempt, however. He grabbed onto her bicep and dragged her along with them, the crabs now mere feet from them. "Now's not the time to try out new tricks." He scolded with worry.
Alona raised an eyebrow, not fighting against his hold. "The Zillo Beast worked, did it not?" She questioned, holding her metal hand up and waving it around.
"Hardly. The crabs are still chasing us and you've used up a bunch of energy." Hunter retorted, resuming his blaster fire at the disturbed creatures.
"Tech, where are you?" Wrecker questioned, trying to break the tense air the couple was beginning to create with the start of another squabble. There had been many throughout the last few months. Hunter was worried to lose Alona, there's no doubt that he's being overprotective of her now more than ever because of that. It drove Alona nuts.
"But I made a huge illusion, aren't you impressed?" Alona grinned with a glimmer in her eyes. Hunter sighed loud enough it was heard through his helmet.
The Marauder flew into view, firing down at the group of crabs that had circled in front of the group. Hunter spotted a certain blonde girl hanging onto the cargo line, firing her Zygerrian bow at the shells of the crabs. "Why is Omega hanging off the ship?" The sergeant asked sharply.
"It...is an unscheduled study break." Tech replied as Omega returned to the steps of the mid-flight ship. She continued firing the bow, now with ease after gaining more muscle. She sent the line back down and Wrecker attached the crate.
Alona, Wrecker, Hunter, and Echo hopped on top of the crate, blasters firing at the crabs as they began their ascent up to the Marauder.
Upon reaching the top, weapons were put away and Tech pulled the ship higher into the atmosphere. Hunter sat in the red chair, manspreading his legs and removing his helmet, resting it in his lap.
Alona tore her drooling gaze from him, walking over to Gonky and placing her robotic hand on top of the droid, leaving it there as she went and sat in the chair beside Hunter's.
"I thought the beach was gonna be relaxing." Wrecker grunts, placing the cargo crate up against the wall.
Hunter leaned forwards, placing an elbow on his knee to keep his eyes level with Omega. "Appreciate the backup, but try staying inside the ship next time." He urged softly, understanding Omega was still learning.
"I'll try." Omega nodded with a smile, removing her helmet. Her hair had grown longer and fluffy. She couldn't wait until it was long enough for Alona to braid. "But it was still pretty fun." Her smile turned into a grin, which spread onto Alona and Hunter's faces.
When the Marauder was finally in hyperspace, Tech emerged from the cockpit while adjusting his goggles. He grabbed Alona's robotic hand off of Gonky and sat in a chair, turning on the flashlight attached to his goggles, assessing the damage done to the artificial appendage. "The hand short circuited upon emerging in the water. This won't take long to fix, but I suggest you stop damaging it." He diagnosed.
Alona smirked, pulling her legs into her seat, placing her chin on her knees. "Sorry, it's not like I wanted to faceplant in the ocean." She chuckled, looking over at Echo, who was busy drying off his metal legs. Luckily his legs weren't wired to listen to his brain's controls, unlike Alona's. Her hand could move like a real one, just by listening to the signals sent from her cerebellum. Tech made it himself.
Though it took a while for her to agree to getting a robotic hand. She struggled with not associating herself with Anakin. She still sometimes struggles with that, panicking while begging someone to remove the hand because she was afraid to touch it. She didn't know why it set her off so bad, why a metal hand was so haunting.
"And am I unwell or did I see a Zillo Beast on a tropical planet?" Tech questioned like he was genuinely scared that he was coming down with something. He thought he was losing his mind, the one thing that kept him and everyone else on this ship alive.
Alona smiled proudly. "That Zillo Beast was an illusion, my biggest one yet." She revealed. Omega grinned and held out her fist, giving Alona a fist bump.
Tech's shoulders untense, letting out a relieved breath while finishing the minor repair on Alona's robotic hand. He wiped it off with a cloth and handed it back to her.
Alona ran her teeth over her bottom lip, inhaling and holding the air in her lungs. She looked down at her left limb, the metal piece permanently attached to her was nauseating to look at. She reattached the metal hand and reached into Hunter's backpack, pulling out her black gloves and sliding them on, finally letting out that breath when the image of her metal hand was gone. "Thanks."
"Who's ready for some Mantell Mix?"
–
"Greetings. It is I, AZI-345211–"
"Yeah, yeah, we know." Wrecker interrupted, leading the squad into Cid's parlor. AZI watched them all flood in, nearly dropping the tray of drinks he carried. Cid was quick to put the droid to work when they had returned from Kamino with him.
"You are all quite late. Mistress Cid has been extremely vocal about her displeasure." AZI warns, delivering the last drink to Bolo.
"Well, there's a surprise." Echo scoffed sarcastically, following in the very back of the group.
"Mistress Cid?" Alona echoed with a humorous tone. "AZI, did you call her mistress Cid?"
Hunter grabbed her right hand and pulled her along down the hall. The doors to Cid's office slide open and the second the reptilian woman catches sight of them she says,
"Well, well, well. The space lugs decided to finally show up."
"I beg your pardon?" Alona quipped while Wrecker sat the crate down on the floor. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing the mysterious woman sitting in Cid's office chair.
"Better late than dead, I always say." That woman chimes, swirling her drink in her hand.
"And who are you?" Hunter asks carefully, holding in a breath. They were all silently praying it wasn't another sudden zero intel mission like the one on Daro.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" The woman says smugly, standing from the chair and walking around the desk to get a better look at the squad. "So, this is the top team you've been talking about? The rogue clones and nutjob woman on the run from the Empire, huh? How juicy."
Alona squinted, looking at Cid with a fake hurt expression. "Nutjob woman? Am I really that bad?"
Cid gave her a challenging look.
"You told her?" Hunter asks Cid. Alona sensed him beginning to grow uneasy about the situation.
Cid held up her hands. "Don't get twitchy. Phee's a friend. She's the most trustworthy pirate I know." Cid poorly comforted, walking towards the squad.
Echo crossed his arms. "Is that supposed to be comforting?" He questioned.
Alona shrugged with a plain look on her face. "At least she's not Hondo."
"Aren't clones supposed to look alike?" Phee questioned, eyeing the men and small blonde child. "So much for quality control." She snorted, getting up close in everyone's personal space.
"This one's too big." Phee says, pointing to Wrecker, who did in fact crowd over everyone else. Especially compared to Alona and Omega. He was a whole thirteen inches taller than the Force-user.
Phee pointed to Omega next. "This one's too small."
She examined Hunter, raising an eyebrow. "This one's got a face tattoo." She says it was a hideous feature. Alona clenched her metal fist, resisting the urge to knock her out. Hunter was beautiful. She loved his tattoo. "Yeah, real subtle." Phee adds onto her comment about Hunter's face.
She stopped at Tech, her entire demeanor changing. "Oh. Hey now. Got a name, brown eyes?" She asked flirtatiously, shocking the rest of the squad.
Alona leaned towards the others, keeping her eyes focused on the two while she spoke in a whisper from the side of her mouth. "Did she just–"
An amused smirk spread on Hunter's lips. "I think so." He replies, making Alona grin.
Tech adjusted his goggles and straightened his shoulders. "Tech." He replies stiffly. "However, the phenotypic eye color for all clones is brown. Iris pigmentation was not affected by our mutat–"
"Well, as fascinating as this has been, I have places to be." Phee interrupts, finishing off her drink and handing Cid the empty cup. She began walking towards the exit, stopping between the crate and Wrecker. "You, let's see those muscles in action. Grab that crate and follow me." She orders.
Wrecker turns to his squad with wide eyes before stammering and grabbing the crate. "Uh, y-yes, ma'am." He replies, intimidated by the pirate.
"And, Cid, that intel is not free. I expect a cut if your "top team" pulls through." Phee chimes before leading Wrecker out of the office with her crate.
Alona along with the remaining team members turns back to Cid with questionable expressions. It seems as though they may have another mission already.
"What is she talking about?" Hunter asked slowly, raising an eyebrow at the reptile.
Cid ran her claws together as if she were debating whether or not to actually tell them. She eyed Alona quickly before focusing on Hunter. "Your next mission. You lot are heading to the Outer Rim."
"No." Alona replies swiftly. She knew what Cid was trying to get them to do. She had a vision of it the other day. Dooku's warchest. Now that he was gone, all of his belongings were up for grabs. Only, the Empire has already placed themselves there to try and take it for themselves.
Cid ignored Alona's protest and switched the hologram table on, displaying an image of Dooku's castle. Alona bit down on her lip, not even attempting to hide her scowl.
"That is Castle Serenno, the former home of Count Dooku." Tech mutters, his eyes focused on the displayed building.
Alona's eyes fogged over, the faint echoing of the conversation becoming her only hold on current reality. She tried hard to keep her breathing calm, unnoticeable.
"I've been warning them about the coming darkness for years, never to be taken seriously."
"Who's that?" Omega asks with a frown. She had noticed the disgusted looks on the clones' faces, but the absent, far-off look on Alona's.
"A Jedi who betrayed the Republic and led the Separatists in a war." Echo answered with an angered tone. His brown eyes showed much hatred for the Sith Lord.
"With him being dead, Dooku's entire war chest is up for grabs." Cid continued, her eyes lighting up at the amount of money she could receive from just a small portion of that chest.
Alona blinked, holding her arms tighter against herself. She chewed on her lip, trying not to fall down another rabbit hole. She was tired of the flashbacks, the nightmares. She couldn't sleep at all unless she wore herself out. She accomplished that by overexerting herself through the Force during missions.
"Dead? What happened to him?" Omega asked curiously. The clones and Cid remained silent, unable to answer that question. It was something few knew,
and one of those few was standing in the room with them.
Alona's eyes flickered across the hologram, the familiarity of the castle was nearly overwhelming. "Anakin." She finally answered the blonde, not making eye contact with anyone in the room. She inhaled shakily. "Anakin killed Darth Tyranus."
The Sith rule was that there could only be two at one time. A Master and their apprentice. Palpatine told Anakin to kill Dooku, it was all part of his plan. Not even a day later did Anakin take his place as the apprentice, as Darth Vader.
Alona shook her head and looked over at Cid, her face void of any emotion. "Send somebody else. We're not going." She declared with a strong voice. She refused to risk being found out by the Empire, they had done so well hiding out. Alona actually felt safer, now more than ever. Her as well as Clone Force 99 and Omega were listed as killed in the destruction of Kamino.
Cid gave her a challenging look. "Let me finish, Coo-Coo. The Empire has already started pillaging his palace, but there's still time to strike before it's all gone. You guys are my top team, I'm counting on you."
Hunter shook his head with a frown. "Too much of a risk. You want that war chest? You go after it." He determined, turning from the hologram table and walking out of Cid's office.
Alona let out a sigh in relief, following behind him with relaxed shoulders.
–