STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

BONUS CHAPTER ONE: Alternate Ending

This scene begins on Daro, with Fern catching Hunter when he jumps from the mountain and proceeds to slip in my original ending...Instead of Fern letting go of the ship to stay with Hunter, he misses her hand and falls/gets captured alone...

THIRD PERSON POV

Fern scurried back to the open ramp, her heart was racing from either desperation or adrenaline, swinging her whole body off like before, her fingernails dug into the doorways' frame as her other hand stretched out to the two remaining clones on the mountain's ledge. "Hunter! Echo!" Echo jumped first, Fern caught him and hoisted him behind her where Omega steadied him, and slung her arm out to grab the last man. "Hunter!" The female clone screamed.

Suddenly, blaster fire exploded into the rocky wall above the tunnel. Tech was forced to veer the ship on its side with the ramp facing up. Fern nearly lost her balance from the rapid jolt, but her eyes remained on Hunter as he descended down towards her...Her open palm extended so much the muscles cramped...Alas, hers and Hunter's fingers graze by a touch...

Fern watched in horror as Hunter lost his footing and disappeared over the edge of the ramp. Her dark eyes widened while her mouth gaped, but no words were audited. With her arm still outstretched to where Hunter should've been, she was abruptly yanked into the ship by two arms wrapped around her waist and the ramp folded close.

It was as if Fern was frozen in time. She could make out muffled shouting around her. She could feel the ship accelerating underneath her feet. It wasn't until Echo was violently shaking her shoulders to break her trance.

"Fern!" Echo shouted once more. "Fern! Wake up!"

The female clone gasped awake, her hands shooting to her mouth as she began hyperventilating. "No, no, no, no..." she whimpered. "He was right there. I could've caught him. It's my fault. It's my fault!"

"Fern, deep breaths." Echo squeezed her shoulders. Out of a burst of anger, Fern shoved Echo away. "Why didn't you go back for him?! Don't you understand what's going to happen now?! Crosshair is going to come for him the moment that base reports his capture!"

"Hunter gave the order—"

"I DON'T CARE!" Fern shouted over Echo.

"Calm down, Fern." Wrecker said from behind. "You're scaring Omega."

"She should be scared!" Fern snapped. "Hunter is in more trouble than any of you seem to comprehend—"

"We know exactly what predicament Hunter is in." Tech stepped forward and forcefully gripped Fern's left arm to get her attention. His usually monotoned voice ruptured into a growl..."The very notion of you thinking less of us in that way is ignorant and hurtful, Fern."

Fern stared into Tech's serious light-brown eyes through his goggles, and her bottom lip quivered as her anger melted into utter sadness...Her forehead collapsed on Tech's chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. She clung onto the sides of his armorplate. The intellectual clone relaxed his grip on her arm, moving it across her back. With his other hand, he patted the back of her head.  "We're not abandoning Hunter." Tech assured her in a calm voice. "Once we are able to repair the Marauder, we'll return at once to retreive him."

"I'm sorry, Tech...I'm so sorry..." Fern wept, while Tech quietly shushed her, switching from patting to smoothing down her braid.

"This may be a bad time," a warped high-pitch voice sounded behind Fern. "But by chance, Fern, do you remember me?" Fern stiffled her tears and slowly pulled herself off Tech's chest. When she turned around, she came face to face with a clone with a slicked haircut with the sides and back shaved off. She sniffed with a half-smile. "I knew I recognized that number... Hey, Gregor."

"You two know each other?" Wrecker asked.

"I was part of the rescue team that brought him home after his...excursion on Abafar." Fern sighed. Gregor let out a broken chuckle. "Yeah, excursion, followed by, an explosion!"

"You look good," Fern wiped the last of her stained tears from her cheeks. "You know, since the last time I saw you..."Gregor scoffed and nodded.

"It's good to see you again."

"Likewise...You're hurt?" Fern finally noticed the blaster marks on his chestplate. Gregor shrugged. "No big deal. I'm fine."

"Sit." Fern ordered with a firm voice that no soldier could disobey. "Wrecker, help me remove his armor." She began tending to Gregor's wounds, mostly to ease her mind to something other than Hunter. After removing his undershirt, she began applying an ointment and medical patch to the bruises on his sternum. She didn't realize her fingers were trembling until the patient pointed it out. "Sorry," she muttered, continuing her task.

"I'm sorry, too, about Hunter." Gregor sighed, feeling guilty.

"Don't be." Fern shook her head. "It's an occupational hazard, after all. I'd be a hypocrite if I believed otherwise." She finished patching him up and began the bandaging process, slowly maneuvering the wrap under his arms and over his left shoulder in several rounds to secure his chest area, every once in awhile, she pulled gently to tighten the bonding. Her mind wandered back to when she tended to Hunter's injuries after he lost a gunfight to Cad Bane...Her dark eyes closed as her heart clenched. Fern finished and Gregor expressed his gratitude to her.

When the Marauder eventually exited hyperspace and stationed itself into the spaceport, Tech, Echo, and Omega immediately went to work repairing the ship. Fern wanted to help, knowing she could work her hands into the electrical system with more efficiency, but Tech thought it more helpful if she escorted Gregor to crash with Cid.

Reluctantly, Fern complied. When she and Gregor descended into Cid's parlor, the reptilian boss scoffed, unsurprised that the clones had taken in another stowaway. Then, she noticed the solumn look in Fern's eyes and sighed. "What happened?" she gave in.

"Hunter's been captured by the Empire." Fern said. "But we are going to get him back the moment the boys repair the ship. It was my fault that the Empire captured him...and now someone from the squad's past is coming for him."

"Fern, your tone is telling me you are absolutely calm about this, but I'm not liking the look in your eyes." Cid admitted. "Remember, assess the situation, then act."

"We don't have time for that." Fern scoffed and was about to dash out of the parlor, but Cid snatched her wrist. "Let go, Cid. I need to help with repairs if we are going to get out of here faster."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Cid tightened her grip when the female clone tried to break free. "Listen to me! You are going to get yourself killed if you go in there using your heart instead of your head!"

"I can't—"

"Can't? Can't?!" Cid scoffed dramatically. "That's not in the Princess's vocabulary. At least, not the Princess I know. The Fern I know will hang on to her feelings inside her heart and use her smart brain to come up with a plan to save Dark and Broody!"

"I know, Cid." Fern's eyes softened, satisfying her friend. "I know what I need to do. And I'll protect everyone else as well."

"Good girl." Cid released Fern's wrist. "Well, get going. Thanks for dumping another clone for me to babysit."

"Thanks, Cid." Fern smiled and sprinted back to the ship, where she dashed up the ramp, forced Tech out from under the console, and dove under herself, bringing the systems back online.

"Let's go get Hunter."