Inevitable {Tech}

Chapter Twenty Two: Pantora

After realizing they were low on fuel and completely out of rations, the Bad Batch decided it was best to hold off on settling on Idyflor. Pantora was the closest planet and the jump to get there was quick, but unfortunately without the Republic supplying them with these items, they had to sell most of their ammunition (to Wrecker's dismay).

"You can't sell that explosive, it's our last one!" Wrecker groaned as he threw down the last cargo box, making it clearly known he wasn't okay with their plan.

"And it's the only thing we have that's worth any money," Hunter assured while carefully placing the bomb in his backpack.

"You wanna eat, don't you?" Echo remarked.

"Why do we have to do all the repairs while you get to go sightseeing?" Wrecker angrily pointed a finger at his brothers.

"Sightseeing?" Omega repeated as she hopefully looked to Hunter.

"No, no, no," Hunter stuttered and shook his head. "This is a supply run, in an out, quickly and quietly."

"You can't stay quiet enough to blend in...and your hair is recognizable in at least a couple thousand star systems." Echo agreed and gestured to Wrecker and Cass. "You two stick out too much."

"Oh, and you don't?" Wrecker countered.

Echo smirked and lowered his metal visor, completely covering his face. "Not like this."

"Alright, let's get moving. Mega, you're with us," Hunter directed.

"Yes!" Omega cheered and bounced on her heels.

Hunter began leading Omega and Echo into the city in search of someone to buy their goods, while the other three stayed behind to remain unseen.

"Hey! Bring back something good to eat!" Wrecker called out, then reluctantly continued unloading onto the dock.

Cass laughed and ran up beside Tech, who was pushing a load of cargo away from the ship.

"So how exactly do we scramble the ship's signature?" she strolled beside the taller clone.

"We are going to have to find the signature key. It's encapsulated within the hull so taking out the needed parts is going to be a hefty task," he explained and set the cargo boxes aside.

He turned on his heels to walk back to the ship with her closely behind, though he wished she wasn't so near to him. Being in such proximity only made it harder to concentrate, especially after what happened on the ship a few hours before.

He replayed the moment in his head, over and over. Her skin, her lips, her voice...everything. He was drawn to her like a Dagobah moth to a flame...except she wasn't like a flame. More like a glistening star, twinkling and drawing in its onlookers with her energy. He was enraptured by her intelligence first, but he wasn't shortsighted by how beautiful she was. He wasn't known to make these kind of observations, but Maker—he would have to be blind not to notice.

Every time he would try to glance at her through the side of his goggles, his heart would jump and his head would dizzy. He thought that if perhaps he never directly looked at her, he would be fine, but that wasn't the case.

It was obvious that they were linked somehow, though he might not have fully understood the process. But he felt her aura wherever he went. No matter how many times he ran to the cockpit to take a breather, his chest still felt heavy with her energy. And that's exactly what he was feeling in that moment.

"Tech?" Cass waved a hand near his goggles. "Pantora to Tech," she laughed.

He swallowed hard and nervously peered at her. With her force sensitivity, it was hard to deny the energy that radiated off of him, and she couldn't help but smile when she felt it.