Jedi Fugitive (The Bad Batch)

25

Astera:

The last mission had been awful. We had still pulled it off, but Cid's omissions had proved to be detrimental yet again and almost cost us the cargo. Saving it had pushed us all to the limits - exhaustion weighed heavily on all of us, even Omega.

"Cid better pay us extra for that mission," Echo grumbled, descending the landing ramp. Wrecker shrugged, the only one of us with any energy left in him.

"Eh. It wasn't so bad."

"Yes, it was." I had nothing left to even try bridling my cynicism.

"She failed to mention that the drop zone would be swarming with gundarks." This was one of the rare times Echo and I were in alignment, and for once he did not scowl or seem otherwise disgusted by the idea. Though still standoffish, even he had grown used to my presence. At least he wasn't openly hostile anymore.

"This is not the first time she has left out key details." Whether Tech was in agreement with us or implying we'd just have to get used to it, he had a point. Even on the lower scale missions I ran solo, there was some key detail Cid missed out that would often almost result in the entire mission being botched. Any complaint we could make would inevitably fall on deaf ears though. If the missions were being completed, Cid wouldn't change a thing.

Three guards dressed in armour lounged in the streets in front of Cid's parlour, helmets obscuring their faces and trying too hard to act casual. It was too easy to tell they were watching us, with all three of them very obviously turning to look at us walking in the streets, and it didn't feel friendly.

I tensed as we passed by them, expecting some kind of reaction or an all out attack, but they merely let us pass, still watching us go. I wasn't the only one who noticed the eyes on us - all four male clones' shoulders tightened visibly, heads subtly twitching from side to side to keep their eyes on the potential threat. The only one who appeared not to notice was Omega, as calm as she normally was walking at the front with Tech.

There were even more guards in the parlour, several of them clearly eyeing us up as the first three had. The place was jam-packed too, possibly the first time I'd ever seen it so full.

"When did this place get so popular?" Something was definitely off if Echo and I were in agreement for the second time in a single day. He glanced around the cantina, taking in the very strange sight of Cid's parlour buzzing with life.

"And who are they?" Tech gestured to one of the guards in front of us. The action did not go unnoticed, the man's shoulders squaring and his posture straightening as if preparing for a fight

"Not our problem." Hunter dismissed any further discussion. "Let's find Cid."

I blanched when two Pykes emerged from the back room, the pair not even sparing us a second glance. Their masks... they were Pyke Syndicate.

What were they even doing here? I hadn't seen any of them since the Mandalore raids. Cid had no business dealing with them. In fact, I'd never heard her mention any major crime family, deeming the likes of them too dangerous to deal with. There had to be something wrong here.

"Where do you think you're going?" My rousing suspicions were confirmed when yet another guard stepped in front of Hunter and pushed him back with a rough hand as he tried to enter the back room. He was much taller than Hunter, closer to Wrecker in height actually, but Hunter showed no fear at all, sparing only a distasteful, half incredulous look at the hand still on his shoulder.

Two quick strikes was all it took to disable the guard, the force of the hits sending him flying into the back wall, where he slumped to the ground, groaning. Hunter stepped over him without a second look, the rest of us following after him.