Half-Moon Glow

Don't Look Back

"So he was a filthy Separatist?" Cody rubbed his forehead, visibly tense through the hologram.

"All this time," Hunter replied.

"I should have known," Cody answered. "There was always something about him I didn't like, and General Kenobi often commented on it too. And the spy?"

"It was his," Hunter said. "It was following our whereabouts, feeding intel about us back to Sobeck, and no doubt about our enhancements over to the Separatists. We've removed the spy from the picture, but I can't assure you we'll recover any intel that was stolen, or that it hasn't been shared already."

"No, there's little we can do about that," Cody said. "Right now focus on getting Aurora out of there, and shut down that facility. Bring Sobeck in for questioning if you can. Setting up a base on Christophsis can wait."

"We might need backup, commander," Hunter added. "We barely made it out the first time."

"My men and I are too far away from you to make it there in time, but I'll send someone your way," Cody said. "You guys go ahead with the mission."

"Thanks, Cody," Hunter gave a nod and then the hologram was off.

"Hunter," Tech called him. "I've finished charting a map of Sobeck's facility and pinpointed the location of the detention cells."

"You sure that's where she is?" Hunter asked.

"She'll either be held in one of the cells or she'll still be in the command center with Sobeck," Tech speculated. "Either way, I suspect we'll have to split up to get to her."

"We're going to have to wait for reinforcements first," Hunter commented.

"Dammit, how long before they'll be here?!" Wrecker yelled. "We don't have that much time!"

"Sobeck will know something's up if we stall," Tech added. "We may not be able to afford to wait for reinforcements first. Do you know who will come?"

"No, Cody didn't say," Hunter said lowly as his gaze drifted to the back of the cockpit where Crosshair brooded by himself.

Staring at the wall, it was clear that the sniper was fuming. His features were hardened by anger, a telltale sign that his mind raced with possibilities and regret.

"What is it?" Hunter asked him.

Crosshair side-eyed his oldest brother before looking away again. "Get me on a skyscraper, I'll shoot Sobeck and be done with it."

"Crosshair, no," Hunter replied.

"If you take Sobeck out from afar, we have no guarantee his droids won't hurt Aurora," Tech reasoned.

"And something tells me you'd rather be up close where you can keep her safe," Hunter told Crosshair, not expecting an answer from the marksman. "I'm not going to let you do anything rash."

Crosshair stared down at Hunter, his gaze sharp. Over the years, the eldest of the brothers had given Crosshair many a scowl, and much to Crosshair's disgust, Hunter had usually been right. The most recent arguments involving Aurora had been no different, and the strike to his ego only made it more difficult for Crosshair to accept the truth staring him in the face.

Sobeck was right. He had abandoned her, but he'd done it far before they even arrived at Christophsis.

"Hang on," Tech spoke up when the Marauder's comm system began to act up. The engineer decrypted the message that had arrived and read it carefully, faster than anyone else could, and just as he was done, he directed more power to the thrusters, sending the ship down in the direction of the facility they'd only just escaped.