STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

C H A P T E R T H I R T Y-S I X

FERN'S POV

"Oh, look what the Lothal cat dragged in." Cid 'greeted' me as I hobbled through the entrance. "I heard you had quite a blast on Raxus."

"Are you done?" I rolled my eyes and hopped myself on top of the bar counter. "I could use a drink, though." The Trandoshan scoffed incredulously, but nodded, spewing an alcoholic beverage into a glass and sliding it down the counter into my waiting hand. Taking a sip, I dramatically groaned, causing her scaly brow to raise.

"Alright, alright," she nagged. "I'll bite. What's eating you?"

"You've met clones in the past."

"Other than you, Tiny, and your boys? Sure, a handful. Why?"

"Do you think we are capable of..." I briefly struggled to word my query accurately. "growing a...strong attachment to someone else?"

"You got to be kidding me." Cid threw her arms up and started trudging back to her office. 

"Hey, it's a legitimate question. Wait, don't walk away!" I raced after her and locked the panel door behind me, crossing my arms as the reptilian boss plopped down behind her desk. "I'm being serious here."

"And I'm telling you, I don't care about your lovesick crush on Bandana!" she snapped.

"Crush? That's just it, Cid!" I groaned, growing annoyed with her unhelpful attitude. "We're clones! I shouldn't even have that mindset!"

"Looks like you were wrong." she shrugged. "I've seen the way you two make googly eyes at each other. It's sickening!" She let out a dramatic gag. "So you almost get blown up, and he's all worried about you. He and the rest of the boys minus Goggles then walk up in here with sad faces, when Tiny was making bank for you lot. Dampened the mood, let me tell you."

My own mood dropped as she described what happened after we returned from Raxus. I had been unconscious at the time, and Hunter had to break the news to Omega... Suddenly, guilt shuddered through my soul. Cid immediately noticed, sighing in defeat. "Look, Princess, Omega and those boys, they care an awful lot about you, so of course, they are going to be worried when you are hurt, especially with an injury like that." She thrusted a finger towards my chest. She couldn't see it, so I assumed Tech must've informed her. "Furthermore, Bandana and you have a history together, and when separated and reunited, of course those feelings are going to return! It's just nature! You are a living thing, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah?" I replied, though I probably shouldn't had slurred it into a question. 

Cid jumped from her chair and circled around her desk. "Then, it's only natural you'd be attracted to your partner! No need to hide it! I still remember what you told me all those years ago. Second meeting, right? Over spotchka? It'd only had been a couple months since you and Bandana split. You said, and I quote, 'What can I do now that he's no longer my partner. Without him, I am nothing.' Makes me sick that I actually remember that..."

My past's words echoed in my ears... Without him, I am nothing... I did recall feeling that way, but I had eventually found my purpose in the Army of the Republic, serving impeccably alongside Jedi generals and other clone squads from a distance. Literally. I had mostly forgotten Hunter, after that. Right up until he came to extract me and Omega from Kamino. Ever since then, especially after we realized the Kaminoans that separated us on purpose, we've grown closer than ever before when we were partners....

"So," I stammered uncharacteristically. "I...l-love Hunter?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding! The princess has finally awakened from her beauty sleep!" Cid sarcastically cheered, twirling her index finger in the air with a roll of her eyes.