STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

C H A P T E R F I V E

FERN'S POV

My adrenaline began to simmer down once we exited Kamino's atmosphere. Collapsing on one of the seats built into the interior, I hunched over my knees, catching my breath from the 'excitement'. To my left, Echo was treating the whining Wrecker of his blaster wound that Crosshair so casually inflicted upon him. His own comrade...

"You alright?" A rough, smoky voice asked above me. Lopping my head upward and realizing it was Hunter, I sighed with honesty. "I'm fine now that we are off Kamino." My eyes wandered over to Omega, who was exploring the cockpit. I noticed Tech eyeing her attentively while he handled the ship's navigation. "It had better been worth it." I breathed, subconsciously grinning at the spectacled clone. Hunter didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded in acknowledgement and walked away to approach the young girl to speak to her. I sat there for another moment before hoisting myself to my feet after feeling the need to join them. 

"Where to?" Tech asked, setting up to plug in coordinates for a jump.

"Well, I thought we'd lay low for awhile," Hunter brought his hand to his chin. "But with Crosshair gunning for us, we don't have many options."

"What about friends? Can't they help us?" Omega brought up, and I couldn't help snickering.

"That'd be a short list, Half-Pint. But..." I smirked. "I can think of someone that tolerates all of us."

"Saleucami." Hunter seemed to read my mind. I hated when he did that.

"Plugging in coordinates. About to jump to hyperspace." Tech announced.

"You might want to strap in, kid." Hunter said. "You're not gonna want to miss this view." Omega plopped herself on the co-pilot seat and smiled up at the sergeant, who returned the gesture. Spectating, I couldn't help but wonder how there was already a bond between them, especially since Hunter has never been the one who...how should I phrase this? 'Warm up' to anyone outside the militia.

As the ship zoomed into hyperspace, I gripped the back of Omega's chair for support. Hunter did the same, and our fingers grazed. I was quick to shift my hand away, all while avoiding eye contact. We are going to have to watch ourselves on these close encounters. I couldn't afford to think about us going back to how it was before...

"May I talk to you?" Hunter suddenly breathed in a low voice. My immediate reply would've been "Not now." We had just escaped Kamino and frankly, I believe we both needed some space from each other. But curiosity has always been my fatal flaw - I followed Hunter to the rear of the ship. Once we were alone, our bodies standing about a foot apart, I leaned against the imbedded ladder (which led up to the gunner's mount) with my arms cross while Hunter posed with both hands on his hips in thought.

"To answer your question before," He kept his voice low despite there being a significant amount of distance between us and everyone else. "We couldn't save General Billaba, but the Padawan managed to escape - no help from Crosshair, I'm afraid."

"What happened?" I asked, genuinely interested. Hunter divulged into how he had tried to convince the young Jedi to come with him, but Crosshair's pursuit on him had made it difficult and thus futile in the end. As Hunter spoke, I noticed how the dimmed lighting accented the skull etched on the right side of his face, particularly around his eye and brow, and how he had chosen to grow a bit of a clean stubble along his chiseled jawline. He still donned that iconic red headband with a white skull across his forehead. His dark hair was longer than I remembered.

"We could've helped him." Hunter concluded, sighing heavily. "And now, he's out there alone, with the entire galaxy against him."

"Oh...I see." I realized.

"What?"

"Nothing," I waved it off, and then sighed, which induced Hunter to focus his "Hunter" gaze on me: When his dark eyes narrowed and his mouth frowned as if he was concern with every fiber of his being.

I won't fall for that look. I won't fall for that look. I won't fall for that look.

"I was on Utapau when the order was given." I conceded as I rubbed my knotted arms. "I watched General Kenobi take down General Grievous. It was...amazing." A smile escaped my lips - it disappeared as quickly as it came. "I watched Commander Cody return General Kenobi's lightsaber to him, and not a moment later receive the order... The general was riding a varacytl when he was shot down and dropped down in a chasm. I don't know if he survived..."

"Did you go looking for him?"

"I tried my comm...Nothing." I veered my eyes away from Hunter's gaze. "If he did survive, he probably thought I was one of them."

Hunter didn't say anything. When I caught him raising a hand towards me, I snapped with my nose scrunched in disapproval. Slapping it away, I turned my back on him. "I meant what I said back on Kamino. Once we reach Saleucami, I'll find my own way."

"Fine." was all Hunter said. He then left me to join Tech and the others at the bridge. My narrowed eyes bored into his broad shoulder blades as he trudged away.

Infuriating...

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HUNTER'S POV

She hasn't change one bit...I gritted my teeth. All these years and she's still holding a grudge...

I took a load off next to Tech, who was fidgeting with some sort of machine. I figured he wasn't aware to anything but his own thoughts, so I reverted to silently contemplating my frustrating thoughts. Turns out I was wrong.

"Don't ask me." he bluntly quipped.

"I was - I wasn't going to ask you anything."

"Of course, you weren't." Tech glanced a side-eye at me, and then continued to fiddle the wires in his hands. "This is just my observation, but I think it would be wise to let Fern make her own decisions from here on out. If she does, in fact, plan on leaving our company once we get to Saleucami, we should let her."

"I never said otherwise." I continued to deny Tech's assumptions. If Fern wanted to leave like she said, then so be it. I won't stop her. She never wanted to be part of this squad to begin with...

"Mmm." Tech hummed, clearly not convinced.

"I think I'll go check on the others." I rose from my seat and walked back into the main cabin. There, I found Wrecker and Omega fast asleep. "Well, this is a first." I scoffed. "The action finally got to them." Echo approached me from behind.

"She's just a kid, Hunter. What are we going to do with her?"

"One matter at a time, Echo." I replied, reaching for some small blankets from a side compartment. I put the first one around Omega, who slept upright against our tilt-over droid, and lightly tucked it over her shoulders. I gazed up towards the back of the ship and found Fern had also fallen asleep and was exhibiting her strange sleeping habits. She laid flat on her back with one leg straightened out and the other propped up and leaning outward; one arm was draped over her stomach and the other was raised up above her tilted head. She wasn't snoring, instead she was breathing heavily through her nose. I shook my head at the sight. Really hasn't changed in all these years.

I quietly knelt down next to her and laid the propped leg down and brought the raised arm to her stomach. I then flipped a blanket on top of her. The moment the fabric touched her body, Fern curled up, tucking it her feet and chin under it, as if she was a child. Then, I heard mumbling coming from under the blanket.

"General... Can - do you read...me?"

My mouth tightened on one end. She must've been dreaming about General Kenobi and what happened on Utapau... That got me thinking about Caleb Dume, the padawan on Kaller who managed to escape.

My eyes drifted back over to Omega, and I had the visceral instinct to make sure she didn't suffer a similar fate, now that we and the rest of my squad were considered traitors to the Empire...