22 BBY, Month 9
Crosshair
Getting into the warehouse was easy, but trying to be quiet was a whole different story. Wrecker couldn't stop himself from giggling in anticipation of possibly blowing something up, and Hunter had to silence him multiple times.
Once again Wrecker giggled under his breath, rubbing his hands together. "Any moment now."
Crosshair gave him the side eye. "Are you trying to get us killed?" he asked, venom dripping from his voice.
"I'm just trying to get something blown up," Wrecker said, a chuckle rumbling in his chest.
"We have to first find out the recipient of the smuggled bombs before we blow them up," Tech muttered, twisting a knob at the side of his goggles. "Ah, I see a few heat signatures in the main hangar."
Sil hovered over Tech's shoulder to look in the direction he was gazing. She clicked a button on the side of her Mandalorian helmet, the rangefinder flicking down. She hummed to herself. "Yep, there they are." She did a hand motion much like Hunter always did. "Let's move in."
Crosshair forgot how skilled Sil was when it came to traversing unnoticed. She slunk into the shadows silently, and if one was not paying attention, she would have disappeared from sight completely. Her dark armor definitely helped. It was reminiscent of Jango's armor, yet the coloring was a dark black which absorbed light rather than deflected it. She had a few grey and red markings across it, but the dark coloring was what gave her the title "Black Venom." She was a gentle person, though in her armor and on missions, she was known as the ruthless mercenary. She always talked to Cross about how she carried on the legacy of her donor, though she never delved into who that was. Though Sil had similarities between Jango, she looked vastly different in many ways.
"Can you see them?" Wrecker asked, snapping Crosshair from his thoughts. He glanced over the hulking figure of his brother to spot a bunch of crates in the center of the hangar, a group of armored men talking to smugglers. Death Watch.
"What are they doing here?" Sil asked, lifting her rangefinder back up, tapping the chin of her helmet in thought. "I thought—nevermind. Crosshair, shoot a bug on one of the crates. I want to listen in."
With a nod, Crosshair unshouldered his rifle, loading in a bug-shot before he raised the scope to his eye. And he shot. Perfect.
He tapped a button on his wristcomm, before connecting the line to the comms in the frequency of their helmets.
"We hope these are up to your standard, sir," a reptilian smuggler said, rubbing his hands together. "You won't find any higher-caliber explosives around."
Wrecker scoffed. "Except for me," he whispered. Crosshair fought a grin, turning back to the conversation below them.
"I think these will suffice," a gruff man's voice answered. One of the Death Watchers. Something about him was familiar. "This will help justice prevail. Our people will no longer be looked down upon."
Crosshair didn't like how that was sounding. The Death Watch was already trying to assassinate Duchess Satine who was a peaceful ruler, so what were they planning with a bunch of explosives?
Before the two could continue conversing, a female Death Watcher rushed in, without a helmet on. She had a red bob of hair and a head-piece. She looked familiar, too, but Crosshair doubted he'd seen her before.
"Berb, there was an infiltration at the Archives. Someone tried accessing the file and took it."
The Death Watcher called Berb removed his helmet, revealing a head of white hair. Crosshair's breath hitched. It was the Mandalorian sniper that stabbed him. I thought I shot him, Crosshair thought, eyes narrowing, ready to put another bullet through him then and there.
Hunter placed a hand on Crosshair's shoulder, shaking his head.
"Who took it?" Berb asked, stalking towards the girl.
The girl looked at her wristcomm. "According to the footage, it looks like a jedi. Face analysis confirms her as Rylann Tetra."
Crosshair's heart stopped. She was in danger. What was she doing meddling in Death Watch business.
"That jedi scum I fought on Mandalore," Berb said, tapping his foot. "Bo, you finish this while I take care of the loose threads. I've got unfinished business to attend to." Berb flung his helmet on, running out the door.
It hit Crosshair like a shuttle bus. Berb was going to find Rylann and kill her. And Cross wasn't just going to let it happen.
Crosshair turned to Sil, throat tightening with worry. "He's going to—"
"Go," Sil said with a nod, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We've got it covered here."
Hunter nodded to him. "Looks like you've got unfinished business to attend to."
Hunter was right. Crosshair was going to do it right this time.
【 ⌖ 】
Rylann
Rylann tried to quicken her pace on the walk back to the Temple, but she was getting tired. After a full day's worth of training and the adrenaline rush of the Archives, Rylann was ready to hit the hay. Sleep was calling her name.
She counted her steps, trying to stimulate her brain, but then that was growing too boring. Why didn't she take the shuttle bus back to the temple? Oh yeah, she was self-conscious that someone might have somehow found out she stole a library book. Sort of.
Shaking her head of the guilt, she crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the imprint of the book within the folds of her robes. Though she felt bad about it, she needed answers. Her thoughts were on Omega. Sweet girl. The Kaminoans were hiding something about her, that much Rylann knew. But what? She'd find out shortly.
The hairs on the back of Rylann's neck stood up, alerting her of another presence behind her. It was vaguely familiar, but Rylann couldn't put her finger on it. Using the force, she probed out, trying to catch a glimpse of who it could be. A knife and a rifle.
Rylann paled. The Mandalorian Death Watcher? Before Rylann could pull out her saber, it was shot from her hand at alarming speed. Why did snipers keep doing that to her? She spun around to face the man who stabbed Crosshair.
Looking about her, the streets were surprisingly empty. How had she not noted that before? Rylann wanted to hit her head about a thousand times over. Why did she walk herself into an area like this?
"What do you want?" Rylann asked, getting into a fighting stance even without a saber, though she probed for its presence in the force beckoning it to return to her.
The man chuckled to himself, swinging his pistol before placing it in his holster. "I want the file back."
Rylann furrowed her brows. What did Death Watch have to do with Project Conduit? "I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Either way I'll get it back," the man stated, taking a step closer to her. "Either you'll give it to me willingly or I'll pry it from your stiff fingers."
Rylann gulped, fear shooting through her like a bullet as she backed away from him. "Why is a file on Dr. Pro'oz's clone studies so important to you?"
The man chuckled, shaking his head as he continued to back her up. "You are trying so hard, I admonish you for that." He backed her against the wall, sending fear through her veins like ice. "But I'm afraid I'm talking about the Project Conduit file. You jedi are too nosy for your own good."
He paused, and Rylann could hear him receive a transmission in his helmet, though she couldn't hear what was said. He took a step back, pulling out his blaster, clicking a dial on it. "Unfortunately for me, I have to keep you alive. My master wants to get to know this smart, curious jedi. He's heard of your prowess in the force. It could be of some use to him."
"I'll never help the lot of you," Rylann spat, taking a step towards him in spite of her shaky legs.
The man chuckled again, pointing the gun at her. "It's not really up for debate."
A shot rang out and something pricked at her neck. With her hand, she felt a tiny bolt under her chin. Suddenly, she felt a wave of sleep wash over her like the waves of Kamino. It lulled her to sleep, beckoning her eyes to shut. No, she thought. I have to get back.
There was a scurry of movement in front of her as she hung onto reality as long as she could, she stumbled away, trying to move towards the temple for help, but couldn't get far as her vision blinked in and out of focus. She heard gunshots and a few grunts. As she tried to crawl from the scene, a pair of strong arms lifted her up, pulling her back.
She was too tired to scream, but kicked her legs out as much as she could. A calming voice hushed her, sitting her against the wall.
"Rylann, Rylann," his voice called out. Rylann almost imagined it being Crosshair. What was in the drug she was shot with? Cross was back on Kamino. As sleep gripped her still, a pair of hands lifted her face. She blinked away the black, staring into the familiar brown eyes of Crosshair.
"Cross," she whispered, relief flooding into her body. "I thought I was never going to see you again..."
"I'll always be here, Ryle," was all she heard as darkness finally won and she went to sleep.