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Wrecker slowly lumbered up behind Crosshair. AZI had finally cleared the large clone from bed rest after the final assault to destroy Mount Tantiss had been a success but left him with multiple cracked ribs. Not that the little droid could keep him in a cot any longer anyways. He was ready to get up and move.
Tech, Echo, and Omega backed Wrecker as he let loose a louder than necessary cough, gaining the sharpshooter's attention.
Crosshair lowered his firepuncher and stared at his family members who were hemming him in, nonplussed. "What do you want?"
Wrecker chuckled dangerously, crossing his arms, "Well, well, well. How the turns have tabled?"
His brother squinted judgmentally.
At his side, Omega, who had had her arms crossed, mimicking Wrecker's stoic figure, coughed quietly and elbowed him.
"What?" Wrecker broke his tough guy character and glanced down at his sister. Realization dawned on him. "W—wait. That came out wrong."
"We p'acticed this," sighed Tech, facepalming.
"Lemme do it again!"
"No," denied Echo, waving his hand. "The moment's lost."
Wrecker groaned, "Aw, man."
Crosshair's stare said that he was judging his siblings even harder.
Finally, Wrecker gave up trying to act, crowing excitedly in his brother's face, "You have a friend! A lady friend~"
Tech and Echo smirked smugly.
"You like her," supplied Omega with a wide grin.
"Who?"
"Who?" spluttered Echo. "The ex-Sith you're taking pot shots at right now!"
Crosshair looked between his firepuncher and the small figure standing down on beach below. Asajj had her hands on her hips, waiting for him to finish yapping and start firing again. He signaled down to her that they were done, knowing his brothers were up to no good. She acknowledged him, walking away.
"Did the Techno Union mess up your eyes too? You're idea of romance is pretty skewed. Oh wait, isn't your idea of a date going over legislature with Chuchi?"
Much to Crosshair's disappointment, Echo didn't take the bait and remained focused on terrorizing him. "No, no, no. Don't even try that. We're talking about how your idea of showing love is through violence and that you've finally found a match for your prickliness."
The ARC trooper looked far too smug about the fact he could finally begin getting back at his brother. Once Crosshair had decided he had accepted Echo's and Tech's partners, his more teasing side came out. There was hardly a moment the pairs could be in each other's presence that Wrecker or Crosshair wouldn't be making embarrassingly juvenile comments.
It seemed that Crosshair was finally reaping what he sowed since a certain former Separatist had caught his eye. Tech and Echo had schemed to use this as an opportunity for retribution. All was fair in love and war and Wrecker had no reservations about which of his brothers he got to tease. All it took was one mention to the larger clone about Crosshair's new affinity for him to pick up a new target.
"I believe con-gratu'ations are in order," quipped Tech, smirking as Crosshair's expression turned even more sour.
"Look at him, landing a former Sith," teased Echo. He shared a look with Tech. "I thinks that's even more unbelievable than us getting with a pirate and a senator."
Crosshair's scowl did nothing to cow them. "I didn't 'land' anything. We're sparring partners."
Wrecker jumped on his poor word choice, "Hah! Partners!"
"Which means we're amicable enemies at best. Nothing more," hissed Crosshair defiantly.
"Have you accounte' the fact she is... Datho-mirian?" brought up Tech.
"What's that have to do with it?"
Tech's eyes gleamed with mischief as he adjusted his goggles. "Well... the Dathomi-rians adhere to a mat'iarchal order. The females choose a mate base' on which male survi-ves the selectio' process. I' can be ra'er violen'."
That was news to Crosshair. His eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly as he wracked his head, rethinking every slightly aggressive, antagonistic interaction he had shared with the Dathomirian. Had she thought he'd been flirting with her? Had she been flirting with him?!
"You're blushing," pointed out Omega after he had remained silent for far too long.
"Cross' likes a woman who can kick his shebs," laughed Echo. "Told you your love language was aggression. Now you've got a woman who can match it."
In a split second decision, Crosshair threw his other brother under the Venator, "So does Hunter!"
That caught Wrecker's attention. "What?!"
Tech, nosy man that he was, casually waved him off, "Oh yes. I am well aware of Hunter's... holone' fling. However, than' you for the confir–mation."
At his brother's questioning expression, he gave his usual know-it-all smirk, "What? You thin' I wouldn't know he create' a dat-ing p'ofile with your help?" He noted, "There were a few embellish-ments in the biographi'al section. Was that his doing or yours?"
Crosshair didn't feel as though he needed to justify himself to Tech, stubbornly keeping quiet and looking away.
Omega's face lit up in delight, "I'm getting another sister?"
Tech shrugged, "It's within possi'le para-meters. If his and Fennec's 'secret' date proceeds wi'out issue."
With an ecstatic gasp, Omega ran off to go undoubtedly bombard Hunter with a million questions about his romantic life.
Wrecker seemed content to do the same, not caring about switching teasing targets, but paused for a moment, a hilariously incredulous expression plastered on his face. "Fennec? He matched with Fennec?"
Echo raised his hand and scomp helplessly. This was all news to him as well though there was little about this family that could truly surprise him anymore. "Senator, ex-Sith, pirate—what's a bounty hunter added to the mix?"
As Wrecker ran off he called to Tech, "Send me his dating profile, I wanna see!"
Tech confirmed, "Of 'ourse!"
Crosshair cringed. Oh boy. At least Hunter couldn't go and get all upset with him. He technically hadn't even revealed anything since Tech had already known.
Echo and Tech weren't about to let Crosshair up from the proverbial fire just yet.
"No shame in a'mitting affini'y for her. She seems to share the sen-timent," commented Tech.
"I don't!" Crosshair's denial lacked some of its usual venom as multiple thoughts cycled through his head thanks to his brothers bluntly calling him out.
After their first disastrous meeting, relations between Asajj and the Bad Batch had smoothed over, especially since she'd been right alongside them as they stormed Mount Tantiss to free all their brothers. They were on speaking terms but that didn't mean he liked her like that. Did it?
Sure, it wasn't like she was bad to look at. He'd seen her mugshots. Compared to the Clone Wars, she seemed to have significantly improved. Which was rather rare and remarkable considering most who had fought the Clone Wars were markedly changed for the worse or were straight up deceased.
Okay, so maybe he'd observed her too much. Unlike Hunter who was such a worrier, he could read her body language well enough now to understand that while she sparred roughly, she meant no genuine harm. Besides, was it a worthwhile sparring session if you didn't leave with a few bruises? Hunter was just jealous he'd soon be good enough to rival him at melee combat.
And yes, sometimes they'd sit side by side without saying a word as they meditated facing toward the sun. But that wasn't like the sappy romantic stuff Phee and Tech liked to do, right? Just two individuals sharing a quiet moment. Simple acquaintances who tolerated each other's presence and violent, snarky impulses.
Although now that he thought about it, she really didn't tolerate anyone else in the same way. Did she? When had he ever seen her want to hang around any of his other brothers? She didn't nearly smirk or taunt as much when she was kicking Wrecker's butt in comparison to his.
Echo and Tech waited patiently as horrible realization seemed to dawn on their brother. They managed to do him the courtesy of not laughing in his face, though they did call him out.
"Yeah, no. You can't deny that's a fat red blush across your face," argued Echo.
"Shut up!"
"Oh no, dear brother. It's our turn now to take stock of your addition to the family."
The floundering retort Crosshair was trying to come up with died in his throat as Riyo politely interjected herself into the mix.
"Crosshair, could you help me with my blaster? I feel like it's hesitating every third shot."
Riyo seemed to almost have been touched by the same sunshine magic as Omega because Crosshair often found it rather difficult to refuse a request from her. Echo said that was a typical occurrence among those in the Clone Rebellion as well. However, the regs' infatuation with the ARC trooper's partner didn't worry him in the slightest. He knew Riyo was loyal.
What had begrudgingly endeared Crosshair to Riyo was that she treated him with civility even if he could be a harsh critic of her blaster handling. To his befuddlement, she accepted his criticism graciously. Recently, he'd become a bit of a trainer to her. She'd survived the strike on Tantiss and actually got a shot or two on some of the guards. Crosshair personally liked to give himself some credit for her performance.
"You're in on this too," noted Crosshair flatly, gaze flickering between her and Echo.
Riyo had a coy smile on her face. "Am I?"
When his face didn't twitch, she pressed. "Well, I am going on that mission with Rex tomorrow. It's supposed to be diplomatic, but I thought it'd be smart to have my equipment in working order, right?"
Crosshair let out a long-suffering sigh. There was no getting Asajj out of this. "Fine."
As he allowed Riyo to lead him away, he mouthed over his shoulder, "Be nice."
Echo sent him a deadpan expression as he called, "I'm nicer than you are!"
Before he left to track down the Dathomirian, Echo turned to Tech to confirm their strategy. "So I take it you'll be taking care of Fennec while I go for Asajj?"
Tech tilted his head, already pulling out his datapad to track Hunter and Fennec's activity. "I though' it was obvious."
~~~~~~
Echo mulled over what he'd address first as he trekked down to the beach. How could he gauge the verity of Asajj's affections? Crosshair had vetted his and Tech's girlfriends in his own annoying way, so it was only fair he returned the favor. But unlike Phee and Riyo, Asajj was a truly dangerous threat. She'd obviously mellowed since the Clone Wars, but it was hard for Echo to shake the memory of 99 dying in his arms in the Battle of Kamino. A bloody battle that Asajj had been a major leader of, skewering brothers left and right with no remorse.
He found the woman sitting cross legged in one of the sea caves.
"I wiped this cave floor clean with your brother's faces. I have no issue adding you to the list," threatened Asajj, maintaining her meditative stance as he drew close.
"I'm not looking for a fight," calmed Echo, though his tenseness said otherwise. "I just want to talk."
She opened her eyes, her sharp gaze seemingly piercing through him. Huh, she had the same intense yet haunted stare as Crosshair. Maybe that was why they belonged together.
"Talk or interrogate?" she asked curtly.
Echo was not one to beat around the bush. "What do you want with Crosshair? You seem to pal around with him an awful lot."
"Oh, so it is an interrogation," grumbled Asajj. She shrugged. "Maybe I'm a danger, looking to play around and break your brother's heart. That's what you think I am, don't you?"
The ARC trooper stared at her sternly. Her only response was to scoff, "You clones are very sentimental, even to traitors."
Echo's lips twitched as he fought back a slight smile. So, Crosshair had dared to share his transgressions with Asajj. That was a rather juicy tidbit of information. He explained, "We look after our own."
She eyed him suspiciously as he lowered himself to sit beside her but keeping himself a respectful distance away. Her tone was bitter, yet almost melancholy as she acknowledged what she perceived as his warning, "Right. Understood."
"Nah, I don't think you do," said Echo. "You're one of us too."
Asajj's head snapped up so fast it nearly looked like she'd broken her neck.
He affirmed, "The kid's already adopted you, and Cross tolerates your company. In turn, I think you tolerate him 'cause you see a mirror of yourself. His hands aren't free of blood and he's not one to pretend to be nice. You can play off each other, pretend to be borderline cruel, and not get upset 'cause you both understand each other so well."
She appeared highly unnerved by being called out so directly.
He shrugged, "But... that's maybe only what I want to see. I need to hear it straight from you... why him?"
The former Separatist assassin surprised him with a rueful smile as she admitted, "I don't really know. You might've just put it better than I ever could've." She peered at Echo's prosthetics. "When you're born for death and war then tossed out like yesterday's trash, it's easy to connect with people with the same experience."
Asajj being rather awkward at being vulnerable, added in a lower tone, "He's learning to heal and so am I. We have the same coping methods."
Echo laughed, though his voice was not unkind as he said, "So Crosshair's 'sparkling' personality and sparring ability really drew you in."
At the nonplussed expression that Asajj shot him, he struggled to not chuckle harder. Yet, he couldn't help but find the humor in the turn of events. Crosshair actually found someone to care about in his own unconventional way and an ex-Sith of all people. Plus, he found it almost unbelievable watching Asajj flounder to explain her newfound connection with his brother. She most definitely was not the same ruthless assassin who fought in the Clone Wars. This interaction made him see a spark of true humanity he had failed to recognize in the standoffish Dathomirian before.
Echo silently gave props to his brother, 'Okay, Crosshair. You didn't make a totally terrible choice by inadvertently falling for Asajj. Good luck to her putting up with you though.'
~~~~~~
"Phee, what's everyone getting ready for?" questioned Omega as she tagged alongside the pirate.
Like a troop of moonyos, Emerie and the rescued children from the Vault followed. Omega and Phee had been showing them around the island when the young clone had noticed more hustle and bustle than usual among the residents of Pabu.
Phee appeared thoughtful and looked between Omega and the children, appearing to debate whether to keep it a surprise or tell them. "Well... every year we hold a Festival of the Sea to celebrate the bounty of the waters. It's an all day affair, starting early in the morning where the fishermen head out to catch as many fish as possible. Winner with the largest haul gets a prize. Most of the day is spent preparing food, spending time with family, and watching all the games and competitions. Then at the end of the day, there's more feasting, with dancing and music. It'll be quite the experience."
Omega practically had stars in her eyes as she tried envisioning all that Phee had described. "I've never been to a festival before."
"You'll love it," assured Phee, her gaze trailing over to Emerie and the kids. "You all will."
Internally, the treasure hunter certainly hoped the latest additions would enjoy themselves. They were certainly the guarded bunch. No surprise given their history, but she hoped that, like the rest of Clone Force 99, they would find a place in Pabu and learn how to live not just survive.
After finishing her tour of the island, Phee left the group up to their own devices. As she made her way toward Upper Pabu, she caught sight of Tech talking with a dark-haired woman with a helmet tucked under her hand. She squinted, not out of jealousy, but out of confusion as she tried to place who her partner was conversing with. The woman was vaguely familiar but definitely not a resident, otherwise she would have recognized her immediately.
As she approached the two, she smiled fondly as she listened to Tech speak. His speech had been improving so much. And, she noted with pride that he stood more assuredly and his hands twitched less at his sides. Both improvements were thanks to special bracers he had created with Echo's assistance for his limbs. She hadn't understood all his technobabble but she knew it had something to do with structural support and neural pathways.
"I want to ascer-tain your inte'tion with my brother."
The woman appeared noticeably uneasy, shifting her weight as Tech addressed her so forwardly.
"We've been discussing business."
"Wha' sort of business woul' bring you to a remote location like this?" pried Tech. "There is no mon-etary value here. You clear'y seek something else. Companionship is my theory." To further provide evidence, he pulled up her and Hunter's separate dating profiles. While they both had used aliases and edited certain details, Tech could clearly make out their true identities.
"It is mos' improper to sneak away with one's family member wi'out informing the others."
While he didn't necessarily hold her past actions against her, he deemed it necessary to still keep tabs on her and make her aware that he was monitoring her. Hence the reason he had confronted the bounty hunter when she so clearly had been trying to remain inconspicuous. Her involvement in trading vital information with them about the layout of Mount Tantiss placed her in good standing with the Bad Batch, but enough to become his brother's female companion? Tech had yet to determine that.
Phee couldn't help but laugh as she overheard them speak. Tech was not a naturally vindictive person but his straightforward personality could come off as such occasionally.
At the sound of her laughter, Tech's expression automatically brightened as he turned his head to seek her out. She took it as her invitation to join in the conversation.
As she ambled closer, it finally clicked in her mind where she'd seen this woman before. "Ah, Fennec. Didn't think you'd be out here."
"I was just... taking in the scenery," bluffed Fennec rather lamely. She eyed Tech, trying decipher just how much he knew or thought he knew. "I'll be going now."
Tech shifted. He hadn't meant to chase her away. However, if she was so easily cowed by him, what hope did she have of integrating well with the rest of the squad.
"Don't go so soon. We have a festival tomorrow," invited Phee, easily catching on to what Tech was trying to do and offering Fennec an easy opportunity. She winked. "Might even be able to snag a dance with a certain sergeant."
Fennec appeared to battle between her pride and temptation. Her temptation won out. "Very well. I suppose I have time to stick around."
Tech noted quietly to Phee as the bounty hunter slipped away from them and blended in seamlessly with the rest of the Pabu residents, "I know for certain that is not the firs' time she has 'stuck aroun''."
Phee gave him a playful nudge. "Ah, let her live. Your brother's entitled to a bit of fun every once and a while too."
"I'll allow tha' when I can deter-mine her p'imary objec'ive."
The treasure hunter rolled her eyes. "Between you and your brothers, I'm not even sure how any women manage to hold interest and not get scared off by your shenanigans and poor attempts at 'shovel talks'."
Tech eyed her doubtfully as he pointed out. "You were not."
"Well, I'm obviously a 'statistical outlier'."
"An excep'ional one at that," agreed Tech with a small smile adorning his expression.
~~~~~~
When Phee said the Festival of the Sea started early in the morning, she meant early. While most of the children were bright-eyed from eagerness to experience something new, most of the adults squinted sleepily at Phee with an almost accusatory expression.
Hunter blearily glanced around, jumping slightly as he realized a grumpy-looking Fennec was among the gathered adults. She caught his eye and shot him a rueful grin as if to say, 'I have no idea what I'm doing here either.'
Wrecker was the first to question as he yawned and stretched, "Why'd ya hafta get us up so early?"
Tech did not appreciate the griping tone his brother had taken with his partner. "Wrecker, it is no' tha' early. Now is the op'imal time for fishin'."
Wrecker still chose to complain, despite being a trained soldier who was supposed to be used to being alert at all times of the day. "Well, can't the fish wait to come out at a more reasonable hour?"
Before Tech could begin lecturing about the behaviors of marine life, Crosshair shushed him.
"Let's do girls vs boys," suggested Omega, competitiveness alight in her eyes.
Clone Force 99 looked momentarily crestfallen that their sister had so easily turned on them.
Sami nervously piped up, "But there's so many of them."
She eyed the Bad Batch, clone cadets, and Jax with trepidation.
"So? There's a lot of us too," assured the blonde teenager confidently, motioning to the gathered girls. "Besides, they'll need the extra hands if they want to beat us. We have the Force on our side."
At that, the Bad Batch teasingly matched their sister's competitiveness.
"But we have Wrecker," noted Hunter.
Wrecker playfully smirked and flexed his muscles.
"And we have the Force too," piped up Jax indignantly.
"Mmm, I'm pretty sure girl power beats all that," argued Lyana, crossing her arms. "Plus, me and Phee know the best fishing areas way better than you."
"Nah, Tech'll just pull out some super smart fish finding gadget and we'll have all the fish," contended Wrecker.
"I will no' be joining," admitted Tech. "Qui'e frankly, I am no' sure I am capa'le of swimming."
"Yeah," agreed Echo. "Sea water and prosthetics don't really mix well, and I'm not looking for Wrecker to have to haul my soggy shebs from the ocean."
"Neither of you are coming?" Omega's sad expression was almost enough to make Tech and Echo immediately hop in the boat.
Echo eased her concerns, playfully saying, "We're just helping even out the teams a bit."
"Okay, okay," waved Phee, shooing both teams onto their respective boats. "The longer we spend yapping, the less fish either of us will catch."
As they shoved off, she gave an informal salute and wink to Tech, "Don't have too much fun without me, Brown Eyes."
Turns out, between both of the teams, they managed to catch a grand total of... zero fish. The supposed peaceful fishing trip quickly devolved into a sea battle of, what the kids called, "epic proportions." Water guns had apparently been a secret commodity that the boys and girls alike had smuggled on board their respective vessels. The original intent had been to sabotage the opposing team via distraction, but one blow turned into retaliation which then erupted into open fire from both teams.
When Mox offered one of his water guns to the Bad Batch, the water fight became even more intense. Crosshair paired with a water gun turned out to be a dangerous combination.
However, the fighting came to an abrupt halt when Emerie was knocked overboard by a well-timed shot by Crosshair when Phee was steering the boat into a sharp turn in a bid to outmaneuver Hunter who was steering the other ship. Crosshair wouldn't admit if the outcome had been purposeful or not, but his brothers did suspect a slight grudge being repaid from the sniper's miserable time on Tantiss.
What hadn't been intentional was her disappearing beneath the waves without a trace and failing to resurface. After a few terrifying heartbeats as reality sank in, Wrecker cannonballed into the surf after her.
Much to Emerie's chagrin, Wrecker had to ungracefully haul her back onto the boat like a drowned tooka. The revelation of her swimming ineptitude came as a surprise to the clones, considering that pretty much every cadet raised on the water-world of Kamino had learned how to swim what seemed like only days after decanting.
When both teams docked, Echo and Tech took in their soaking forms and noticeable lack of fish in either boat.
Tech shared a significant look with Echo. "Perha's we shoul' have ac-companie' them after all."
Echo laughed, "No, Phee said its a holiday, so I'm not on babysitting duty."
"We don't need to be babysat," argued Wrecker as he hopped of the boat, shaking himself like a lurca hound and spraying droplets of water on everyone in his vicinity.
"So says the bigges' baby of th-em all," snarked Tech.
"I don't think the true baby of the family can say much," retorted Omega with incredibly smug expression.
Birth order wasn't something that greatly affected the Bad Batch's dynamics, considering age was already a wacky factor for clones. However, it was clear from the way Tech's narrowed his eyes in contemplation that he did not appreciate being reminded that, by all technicalities, he was the youngest in the squad.
To be clear, Tech would never, ever raise a finger against Omega. He would die before that ever happened, however... they were still siblings and sometimes siblings were just asking for a firm slap upside the head. But of course, he was above such childish behavior.
Omega quirked an daring eyebrow at him, knowing very well that he was fighting the urge to plot her demise and that he wouldn't touch a hair in her head. Her look challenged, 'What're you gonna do about it?'
Her smug expression was quite literally wiped away when a blast of water hit her square in the face. She spluttered, pulling her soggy bangs from her face, "Tech!"
The brother in question shrugged and attempted to look nonchalant as if hadn't just proved himself as the bratty youngest sibling.
Crosshair blinked, looking down at his empty hand and the water gun now situated in Tech's hand. He couldn't help but comment, "Huh, your aim is back."
At that point, Omega couldn't even pretend to be annoyed and threw her arms around Tech's middle in a tight embrace. She knew how persistent he'd been in regaining motor control over all his limbs and would not allow him to casually wave off such a milestone.
While there was the temptation to continue the water fight from the sea on land, Phee skillfully diverted the children's attention toward other festivities.
Hunter clearly had conflicting emotions about the swimming races. While Omega enjoyed watching as she whooped and hollered along with the rest of the crowd, modesty was a rather low priority for the competitors. His subtle attempt to draw her away was met with stubborn refusal.
"Don't look so upset, Sergeant Serious," nudged Phee at Hunter's sour expression.
"They could stand to put on some pants," gritted out Hunter lowly.
To his chagrin, he noticed Wrecker and Crosshair stripping down and racing across the beach to the ocean's edge.
Toward the back of the crowd, he caught Echo's stare and narrowed his eyes in displeasure. Between the two of them, they were usually pretty good at reigning in the shenanigans of the rest of the crew. The ARC trooper was no help as his response was to flick down the sunglasses that he'd obtained from who knows where and take a long sip from the martini in his hand.
Ah, right. Vacation time.
Wrecker ended up winning his heat during the swimming race, but that was only because the rest of the competitors realized that winning was not worth trying to compete with the destructive tidal wave barreling towards them. That isn't to say that Crosshair didn't try, but his recovering atrophied muscles didn't offer much of a challenge.
Once his brothers were done with their shenanigans and on the beach with towels safely wrapped around their waists, Hunter scolded his brothers for being poor examples for the little ones. Not that Wrecker and Crosshair paid him any heed.
"Wrecker!" admonished Hunter sharply, catching sight of his brother's large hands slowly reaching towards the unattended kebabs on a grill.
"We've been fishing and playing around all morning. I wanna eat!" whined the demolitions expert.
Phee wagged a finger in his direction. "Not until the evening feast."
"Am I supposed to starve until then?"
"Yes," answered Crosshair and Asajj mercilessly at the same time.
An extremely sharp glare from Crosshair kept Wrecker from blurting what was certain to be an embarrassing comment about their synchronization.
"In the meantime, how're you boys' dancing skills?" questioned Phee.
Her inquiry received blank, slightly panicked stares from Clone Force 99.
"I'll take that as you have none," she noted flatly.
Echo opened his mouth, but Phee cut him off. "And no, shimmying at a bar with some random chick does not count."
Echo closed his mouth.
And just like that, Phee found herself as an impromptu dance instructor. And because she was feeling cheeky, she sidled up to Fennec to whisper, "Told ya you'd get a dance with him."
The bounty hunter could only turn in Hunter's hold to glare at the pirate who already had her attention diverted elsewhere.
"Toothpick, Grumpy, c'mon! This isn't some sparring match. Quit trying to fight each other."
Something about the way Crosshair and Asajj smirked at her said that they understood the assignment, they just didn't want to follow orders.
"And really you two? The robot? That is so not original," cringed Phee, looking over at Tech and Echo. They met her thoroughly unimpressed expression with grins and a thumbs up.
Omega, along with the Vault kids and clone cadets, ambled up beside the exasperated Phee. The blonde held an ice cone in her as she took in her brothers' borderline painful attempts at dancing. Hunter and Fennec kept tripping over each other while Asajj "accidentally" elbowed Crosshair in the face when trying an energetic spin.
"Yeah. I don't think the Kaminoans programmed us for dancing," giggled Omega. She corrected herself, looking over at Wrecker, "Well... most of us."
His movements were admittedly not half bad. At least he had found the rhythm of the music unlike the others, and he seemed to be enjoying himself the most.
Phee dragged a hand down her face. She loved this crazy family of strays she had picked up, but sometimes they weren't the sharpest blade in the arsenal, no matter how they harped on the fact they were an elite clone trooper squad.
"While these fools try to get their act together," said Phee, her eyes twinkling with mirth, "we have a gift for you, Omega."
"A gift?" questioned Omega, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
She glanced around at her friends around her. From their eager expressions, she realized they were also in on whatever surprise Phee had in store for her. Her brothers obviously had no idea as they curiously trailed after her to their destination which happened to be Thea's Tailor Shop.
Phee barred Clone Force 99 from entering much to their loud protests. "It'll be a surprise for you too."
Once inside and with her usual flair for theatrics, she swept back one of the curtains in the tiny shop to reveal a black and red dress on display. "We wanted something elegant but also something that showed off your squad's... unique style."
"We collected the shells for the necklace," explained Eva excitedly.
"And we bargained for the fabric from Midas," declared Mox while cracking his knuckles for emphasis. It wasn't easy to get a good deal from that trader but he and his brothers used their special tactics of persuasion.
Omega froze and fell speechless, almost forgetting to breath as she looked in awe at the dress. She gently reached out, trailing her fingers along the 99 embroidered across the front. The lightweight, almost silky fabric felt soft between her fingers.
"It's really for me?"
"All yours," beamed Phee. "Go try it on."
A few moments later, Omega emerged clad in her new dress. She couldn't stop staring down at herself, feeling like the royalty Phee talked about in her tall tales. "It sparkles!"
Lyana danced in place excitedly. "That's not even the best part. Look!" She pulled Omega's hand to the side of the dress. "It has pockets!"
Asajj appraised the dress, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "It's not acceptable to wear unless you have enough mobility to stab a man."
From the side, Fennec nodded in solemn agreement. "Or have big enough pockets to hide weapons or contraband."
"Okay," Phee hurried the conversation along, "not exactly what we were going for but a good point anyways."
Omega giggled, "Hunter and Crosshair would approve."
She tested the dress, jumping up and loving how the train flared out around her. She excitedly twirled in place, squealing to those around her, "Thank you so, so much! It's so beautiful!"
The entire Bad Batch, battle hardened soldiers that they were, looked ready to burst into tears the moment they saw their sister step out in her dress.
Of course Phee was off to the side, taking a holo to commemorate the happy occasion and the troopers' sappy expressions.
"Now it's really time to party!" bellowed Wrecker excitedly, whisking his little sister away to where the sounds of the evening celebration were beginning to stir.
The rest of the family jovially followed, melding into the merrymaking of the islanders.
To Phee's surprise, Tech invited her to accompany him in the circle of lively dancers that had started up in the center of the village. She looked over to his other brothers who had begun dancing and narrowed her eyes. "You were all just messing with me when you acted like you couldn't dance."
Tech sent her that crooked smile she found endearingly irresistible. "Mostly."
He flicked his eyes minutely in the direction of Hunter who had been pulled into the fray. The sergeant appeared to be just barely keeping on his feet, being swept along in the movements of those on his right and left. Fennec at his side seemed to be in the same situation.
Phee laughed loudly. "Lead on, Brown Eyes."
To an outsider, it might have appeared as though Echo was relatively relaxed as he leaned against the walls of the village that overlooked lower Pabu and the sea. However, his family could read him better than that. His eyes attentively scanned the partygoers, searching for someone.
A hand gently rested on his shoulder. "Might I have this dance, trooper?"
Echo's expression automatically brightened. "Riyo!" He pulled her close. "The mission went well?"
She arched an eyebrow in a teasingly haughty manner, joking, "When does it ever go wrong?"
Echo chuckled, raising his hand in greeting and thanks to the silhouette of his brother on the beach below. Rex casually saluted him before returning to his ship and taking off.
Riyo smiled up at him. "I hope I didn't miss too much excitement here."
"None more than the usual," assured Echo, gesturing to where Wrecker was dancing around while waving a kebab in each hand which he intermittently took chomps out of.
"I am glad to see you all enjoying yourself," said Riyo, gently pulling Echo forward. "Now it's time you and I enjoyed our time together as well."
As they moved to join in the circle of dancers, Echo whispered conspiratorially to Riyo, "By the way, she loved the dress." He pointed to his little sister jumping around in her new attire.
Omega caught them watching and immediately bounded over, her face flushed from the excitement of the evening. She didn't hesitate to throw her arms around Riyo's waist. "You're back! Thank you for the dress!"
Riyo tilted her head, "How'd you know I had any part in your gift?"
Omega observantly nodded toward the Pantoran's wine-colored dress, "Because you enjoy the finer things in life. And I've talked about clothing with you before." Unable to stay still any longer with so much going on around them and the blaring music, she pulled them toward the festive crowd. "C'mon!"
As the festivities continue on late into the night, Omega found her exuberance waning and being replaced with the warmth of contentment. She tugged on Hunter's hand who had been taking a break from the activities with her. "I want to take a holo with our family."
Hunter's heart warmed. It had been a while since he'd last gotten a holo with his squad. It was definitely time for an update. He motioned his brothers over, hoping none of them had gotten too drunk tonight. "Boys, c'mere."
"No!" Omega's sharp cry of protest made him stop short. "I meant the whole family."
Hunter had to pause momentarily to let her words sink in. What was she talking about? They were whole. However, as his gaze shifted around, understanding finally dawned on him.
Omega smiled up at him as she happily declared, "I have lots of sisters now."
"You sure do, kid," murmured Hunter warmly.
He watched her scurry away to gather her family up herself. If only one could have captured the loving softness in his eyes as they tracked Omega. Hunter wondered if she realized she had been the catalyst that had brought their patchwork family together. If only she knew how miraculously bright the galaxy appeared when he saw its reflection in her eyes. She wasn't the same naive slip of a girl that had found them on Kamino, but she would always be his bright-eyed ad'ika, no matter how the galaxy tried to steal that away.
"Hunta? You ready?" Omega's voice broke through his thoughts.
He blinked, staring into her expectant eyes then looking up at the many faces Omega had rounded up in record time–his brothers, their significant others, Fennec, Emerie, the kids from Tantiss, the clone cadets, even Lyana and Shep had been cajoled by Omega into joining the family holo. For every time fate tried to shatter their small family unit, it seemed that they had gained another person to add to it. Never in a million years would Hunter have thought this was what his post-war life would look like.
"Everyone smile, especially you, Crosshair!" demanded Omega brightly as the timer counted down.
The holo caught the exact moment the sharpshooter dug his fingers into his sister's side, causing her to squeal with laughter, which set off a chain reaction down the line. There wasn't a face in the holo that didn't have a laughing smile on it.