I really must be an idiot, honestly considering helping out someone who wasn't even an official crewmate with something as crazy sounding as this, but if I did nothing I'd feel guilty otherwise since I felt like as her leader I should stick with her if her heart was set on this. Besides, there were potential benefits about helping save a Separatist senator–especially if he was connected to any Separatist Holdouts that were still around, that needed a good supplier…
However, Cid might just save me the trouble of answering either way.
"Thanks for the offer, Furball, but I don't know you," Cid stated as she snatched the datacard out of her hands. "And this mission is paying too much for me to trust it to a total stranger that Buckethead picked up from some backwater planet, who for all I know is a total amateur. I'm going with those who I know I can trust to get the job done, got it?"
Yes! Thank you Cid! Huh… never thought I'd hear myself think that.
"I just said we aren't gonna do it," Hunter pointed out, to which Cid turned to him with an annoyed look.
"This is the only mission I got lined up right now, and if you don't do it you'll be in my debt for all your upkeep costs, until I can get another one set up. Which I highly doubt is something you want," she pointed out as she waved the datacard in his face. "A job's a job."
Hunter gestured to Cid to walk a bit away and speak in a quieter tone, but it wasn't exactly hard to listen in if you focused on it.
"I'm not bringing Omega to a planet swarming with Imperials," Hunter harshly whispered.
"So leave her with me," Cid suggested as she looked Omega over. "I'll keep an eye on her."
"I don't exactly trust you either," Hunter pointed out.
"Good, you shouldn't," Cid said honestly. "But if keeping the kid safe means more money in my pocket, it's in my best interest to do so, isn't it?" Cid stated as she pressed the datacard into his chest, making Hunter grab it. "Besides, who else do you have to rely on?"
"Nick for one," Hunter stated.
Awwww, Hunter trusted me to babysit Omega! That or I was just a better alternative to Cid, which to be fair was a pretty low bar all things told.
"Sure, you can trust Buckethead, but given the way he is looking over at us and the way his new pet acted, something tells me they ain't sticking around," Cid pointed out, making them both turn me way and made me quickly look away like I wasn't eavesdropping… which I admit was pretty bad at faking as I even started to whistle nervously.
Damn nervous ticks!
"Besides… without the kid you'll be down a team member. And despite what I said, Furball looks like she can hold her own," Cid pointed out. "And I'm sure Buckethead has some use too if you look real hard."
I could say the same about you, Cid. I'm sure someone needs a stuffed lizard to mount somewhere.
Hunter was silent for a moment before speaking up again. "If anything happens to her-"
"Yeah yeah, Bandana, just get out of here, will ya?" Cid waved off his threat and walked off. "And work out how you share your cut with them among yourselves if you do bring them along. Not my problem."
With that, Hunter walked back over to the bar to Omega, who was already preparing to leave with a smile on her face. Which made the next part understandable, especially given recent events, but still sad.
"Ready when you are, Sergeant," Omega saluted with a smile as she made sure her energy bow was in place on her back.
"Not this time, Omega," Hunter stated as he bent down to her level. "You're staying with Cid."
"But t-the mission," Omega stated with confusion. "I'm part of the squad too."
"Then following orders shouldn't be a problem," Hunter stated as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Stay close to Cid, and don't leave this parlor. Got it, soldier?"
"Huuuuh, yes sir," Omega sighed in defeat as Hunter nodded and stood up, leading the Bad Batch out of the parlor as Wrecker patted her on the shoulder on the way out.
Rowv was quick to follow after Hunter, leaving me behind as Cid walked up to Omega.
"Hey, Tiny, I got a mission for you," she said as she waved a sponge in her hand before tossing it to Omega, who caught it. "Now get scrubbing."
Omega just silently sulked and got to work, making me frown at how Cid was basically treating her as free labor, as I walked over to her.
"Hey, Hunter is just worried about you after that whole mess on Bracca and the bounty hunters," I explained. "From what I heard, they were really worried about you and it was a very scary situation you got yourself out of."
"But I did get out of it," Omega argued as she scrubbed. "That means I can help."
"Yes, it does, but you just gotta be patient and make Hunter realize that too," I pointed out. "I have no doubt that he'll figure that out soon, and in the meantime try to make the best of a bad situation while you're stuck here."
"You're not staying?" Omega asked curiously.
"Rowv really wants to go, and I'd be a pretty bad captain if I didn't go with her," I pointed out. "Don't worry though, after a mission with her Hunter will likely be begging for you to come back."
"Rowv isn't that bad," Omega defended her new friend.
"Just wait till she tries training you," I grumbled. "We'll be back soon, promise, and I'm sure you'll get the chance to prove to Hunter that as part of the squad you should always be by their side. In the meantime, find a way to contribute even while you are stuck here."
"How can I do that?" Omega asked curiously.
"Find something even Cid will take note of and exploit it," I whispered. "Something money related if possible, since goodness knows that is what she most cares about."
With that I patted her on the back and rushed out of the parlor, quickly finding Rowv and Hunter having a 'passionate' discussion.
"Honor demands I must go! You must take me with you!" Rowv demanded.
"Like Cid said, I don't know you… other than the fact you are a Separatist," Hunter pointed out. "That doesn't give me much cause to trust your skills or you on this mission."
"I-" Rowv started, only for me to interrupt.
"Hunter, this is really important for my crewmate, so what if you let us do this with a minor cut of pay? Once Cid sets up a buyer for our cargo we should earn a ton from that, and we stand to gain a great deal from this mission if I can make a connection with the senator, but that won't happen unless he is rescued," I suggested. "Besides, this is Raxus; so given the amount of Imperials that are on the planet, you are gonna need some kind of backup if things go hot. I know you guys are commandos and this kind of thing is old hat to you, but you will be going in with no support besides yourselves."
"What do you have in mind?" Echo asked curiously.
"Well… this is just off the top of my head, but extraction missions like these tend to go better when the enemy is distracted by something big, right?" I asked, an idea bouncing around in my head.
"By roughly 60% on average, yes," Tech answered.
"And right now Raxus is playing host to a large Imperial garrison, which means that there will be military installations that would react like a kicked hornet's nest if, I don't know, somebody blew something important up?"
"Oh, I'm liking this idea," Wrecker commented before turning to Hunter. "Can I join their team?"
"No," Hunter stated, making Wrecker sulk, before a look crossed his face. "You think you can infiltrate a base, pull off such a 'distraction', and get out without being spotted?"
I just grinned and reached down to activate my stealth field generator belt in front of them all, the flexible metal wrapped around my waist, and enjoying the looks of surprise on everyone's faces as I vanished from sight before turning it off again.
"I have my ways," I stated. "And in fact, I also have access to a holographic disguise matrix that should more than assist you on your part of the mission as well. What do you say?"
Hunter hummed to himself before looking over at Rowv. "You trust her?"
"I trust in her abilities and desire to retain her honor, and nothing else is more dishonorable than betraying your allies, right?" I turned and asked Rowv.
"I would sooner throw myself into the void itself than turn on those I swore to do battle alongside, so long as they do the same for me," Rowv stated solemnly with a hand over her heart. "This is my vow, and may the manda reject me and leave my spirit to linger forever alone in the void if I turn my back on it."
There was silence for a moment as the Bad Batch looked among each other at the vow, a flicker of understanding passing over their faces, until eventually Hunter gave his answer.
"Alright, but she is your responsibility," Hunter declared towards me.
"As her captain, that is a given," I nodded.
Hunter just nodded as he and the Bad Batch walked off, leaving me and Rowv behind for a moment as she turned to me.
"I appreciate-"
"Hold that thought, cause what you just did back there seriously undermined me as your captain," I stated in a serious tone. "I agree that the job is a good one to do, if not for the same reasons as you, but you never volunteer my ship for jobs without talking to me first, especially without going over the risks, negotiating on the price, and like a dozen other things at least. Pull something like that again and I'm dropping your ass off and you can find your own ride home. Am I clear?"
Rowv had the good sense to at least look ashamed by her actions, bowing her head at me in remorse.
"Crystal," she stated. "I overstepped my authority a great deal, and for that all I can promise you is that it will not happen again. I give you my sincere apologies for my rash actions."
"Alright… just so long as you understand," I crossed my arms, trying to look stern, even with my helmet on, but in truth having already accepted her words for the most part. Still, I would have to be on the lookout for anything like that again in the future. "You can make up for it by making sure this mission goes well, which I also expect you to listen to orders during it, so let's get moving."
With that taken care of, we were off to Raxus.
Hunter made it clear that, given this was an extraction mission into a heavily defended location, we would all be going in the Marauder rather than risk things with another ship. This meant that the Slephir was grounded for now, which was understandable since the Bad Batch's attack shuttle was better built for this kind of mission, but I did stop by it to 'pick up' some equipment that I would need and bring along my powersuit.
I figured it would all be needed given where we were going.
At least when I headed to where their ship was docked it meant I was able to meet up with Thing 1 again!
He looked quite roughed up, having taken a number of blaster bolts to various important systems before Tech fixed him up, and felt quite apologetic for failing my earlier orders, but I was quick to assure him that he did the best he could.
He thought otherwise.
"If only I could meet that duros again I would strangle the life out of him and make him eat his stupid hat!" Thing 1 declared.
"Well, we aren't planning on running into him again if we can help it… hopefully," I stated before an idea crossed my mind. "In the meantime, you can make up for it by heading over to Cid's and watching over Omega while we are gone. Can you do that?"
"Make up for my past failure to protect those placed in my charge? I will gladly complete this mission!" Thing 1 saluted before quickly running off.
"Should we be concerned about that?" Echo asked.
"Unlikely," Tech stated. "The BL-series is noted for its great willingness to defend those it considered comrades compared to other battle droid models, so Omega is in safe hands."
"I was a little more worried about Cid's customer base than Omega…" Echo pointed out.
"Then there is nothing to worry about," Hunter stated. "Let's get going, we have a mission to complete."
"And an Empire to slice the eyes out of," Rowv growled dangerously, her heavily muscled hand grabbing the handle of one of her blades tightly.
It looked like she was ready to draw and use it at any moment.
"Have I told you how much I'm starting to like you?" Wrecker asked as we all climbed aboard their ship.
After that it was all a matter of making the flight to Raxus… during which Rowv spent most of the time sharpening one of her various blades in an almost trance-like state, the metal scraping softly against her whetstone, listening silently as we went over the plan.
It was simple in practice, but would likely become more complicated once it went into actual effect as the Empire responded to our actions. It was our best bet to ideally avoid a full on conflict with any troopers if we played our cards right.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy, however, and so the clones came up with a number of backup plans just in case such a thing happened.
I just prayed that we wouldn't need them.
As we were nearing our destination, we all converged on the Marauder's cockpit, which was a very short walk since the attack shuttle was much less roomy than my own ship.
"We've never been to Raxus before," Wrecker noted as he and his teammates took their seats in the front while Rowv and I stood near the back alongside a curious and constantly gonking Gonky, much to the fierce togorian's mild annoyance.
"The coordinates from Cid have us landing outside the capital city of Raxulon, the home of their Senate," Tech noted as he flew the ship.
"I can't believe we are helping a Separatist Senator," Echo said in anger.
So you have said… repeatedly," Tech pointed out.
Considering what another major Separatist leader did to Echo personally, I understood where his anger was coming from. It wasn't just leftover patriotism that was coloring his words, but actual trauma from being forcibly converted into a cyborg and used by the CIS as a means to better kill his brothers.
The only silver lining to all that is that said conversion saved him from being puppeted by his inhibitor chip like most of the other clones, and that the man responsible for said trauma, Wat Tambor, along with the rest of the Separatist Council, was already dead, betrayed by Sidious and cut down by Vader.
Still though, I doubt those feelings would leave him any time soon even if he can put them aside for the mission.
"I always thought we'd make it to Raxus some day," Hunter admitted. "But not like this."
"Yeah, knowing you guys you would have taken the whole planet and won the war right there if you had been sent earlier," I joked.
"You know it!" Wrecker agreed as Tech took us out of hyperspace.
Returning to realspace, we found ourselves outside the gravity well of a very pretty looking earth-like world with large oceans and landmasses that in normal times would be flush with orbital traffic due to the Outer Rim world being not far off the Perlemian Trade Route, most likely a large part of why it was selected as the CIS's formal capital, but now was basically under lockdown by the Empire, its own citizens confined to the world.
As it was, the airspace was disturbingly empty as we flew into the atmosphere and quickly found ourselves flanked by two V-Wings who were quick to contact us to let us know how they felt about that.
"Unidentified transport, this is restricted airspace," one of the pilots told us in a serious tone over the radio. "Transmit your clearance code."
"Input the codes from Cid's client," Hunter quickly ordered, which Tech was just as quick to do.
"Hunter, the client is a Separatist," Echo pointed out again as the code was being transmitted. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"
There was a short period of silence as the code was finally transferred with a beep, to which the V-Wing pilots responded.
"You're clear for entry, proceed," they stated before both fighters peeled off.
"Now are you convinced?" Tech asked curiously.
"No," was Echo's simple response.
"Good," Rowv commented, much to Echo's surprise. "One must never become comfortable when in enemy territory. Your caution does you well."
"Ha!" Wrecker laughed. "Hear that Echo, the Seppie agrees with you!"
"That just makes me even more worried," Echo complained as we made our way to the rendezvous point for the client.
Whatever happened next was sure to grab people's attention.
AN: So yeah, going on mission since good reasons too, but Nick lays down law on Rowv about who is in charge. Pay for mission doesn't matter as much given the potential benefits should it succeed, after all, opening up market to potentially many other clients that are high in credits but low in equipment.