25

"Saedii!" Hunter called after her as the meeting ended and she went straight for the door.

She ignored him, running down the steps two at a time. She didn't have time to talk. In fact, she didn't even want to talk. They had less than forty minutes until the extraction team was heading out. That left her only enough time to pack and head towards the landing bay.

The halls were busy. Clones rushed back and forth as captains stuck their heads into barracks to wake up the troopers that had been hand-selected by Rex. Most Clones were already in their armor with a pack of gear strapped to their backs, but a few were in disarray, running around in sweats and with sleepy eyes.

In her own room, Omega blinked groggily as Saedii flicked the lights on. Saedii was in such a hurry, she didn't care that she'd woken Omega out of a dead sleep.

"What's going on?" Omega asked, voice thick with sleep.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." Saedii went straight to her trunk, grabbing her pack and shoving things inside. A spare set of robes. A respirator. Rations.

When she clipped her lightsabers onto her belt, Omega bolted up in bed. "Are we going somewhere?"

"I am." Saedii's tone was decidedly bitter.

Omega frowned. "What do you mean? We're not splitting up, are we?"

The door opened then. Hunter looked wary as he stood in the frame, looking between a panic-stricken Omega and a pissed-off Saedii.

Saedii yanked her pack on her back. "Ask him," she grumbled, shoving her way past.

"Saedii, hang on a second." Hunter grabbed her arm, halting her in place. "Let me explain."

She yanked her arm away. "Don't bother."

"You can't go to Hareth. It's too dangerous."

"I'm going. It's already been decided."

"You're walking into a trap."

That was enough to stop her. She paused, long enough that the footsteps of the rest of the Batch quickly making their way down the hall finally reached her ears. "What do you mean it's a trap?"

"Crosshair and I talked to Rex. His source forgot to mention that he learned about the prison through an accidental security leak," Hunter explained.

She frowned. "So? Those happen all the time."

"It was broadcast on a public channel."

A public channel? That would be a hell of a mistake. A mistake worth losing your life over.

"The leak came only two days after our escape from Talthera," Hunter continued. "We think the Empire let the location slip to force you out of hiding. They missed an easy chance on Serenno, and you were close on Talthera. Now, they want you to come to Hareth."

"Does Rex know about this?" Saedii asked quietly.

Hunter's expression tightened. "Yes."

"Then why didn't he say anything?"

"He couldn't. Not after you pulled rank."

She thought of the uncomfortable looks Rex and Hunter had been exchanging. The anger and frustration that had radiated off of them. And she suddenly knew that for all the talks of Rex filling her in on his plan, he'd already had a plan.

And it hadn't included her.

"You were going to do this without me," she said suddenly, growing angry. "That's why he called this meeting at night. Why you wanted me to go back to sleep. Rex was just going to leave me here."

Hunter didn't even pretend to look ashamed. "Rex agreed the risk was too great. Howzer didn't report it in there, but he's pretty sure the was an Inquisitor wandering the grounds."

If that was true, then this wasn't just dangerous. It would have been a suicide mission for any Clones that went running off to Hareth for a rescue.

"If it's so dangerous, why doesn't Rex just call it off?" she challenged.

"He can't. Now that the other Clones know about the prison, they'd never let it go. He has no choice but to get them out."

"So he was just going to go in and face an Inquisitor on his own?"

"He was going to try."

The others were close enough now that Echo was scowling. He looked between Hunter and Crosshair, demanding, "Why didn't either of you say anything? You were just going to let Rex run off and die on Hareth? You knew what he was walking into!"

"If he wants to die for a couple of half-dead regs, that's his choice," Crosshair said without much sympathy.

"Hey." Echo loomed in Crosshair's face. "I was a half-dead reg. Those Clones deserve a chance as much as I do."

Saedii crossed her arms. "The fact there's an Inquisitor waiting on Hareth means that I have to go. The Clones can't handle that on their own."

"We should go, too. You'll need help," Wrecker insisted.

"You're going to face an Inquisitor?" a small voice squeaked.

The Batch all looked up. Omega stood in the doorway, blonde hair sticking up in every direction, one of Wrecker's shirts hanging nearly down to her ankles. And a terrified expression on her face.

"Omega," Hunter urged gently. "Go back to bed."

She ignored him, looking only at Saedii. "You can't go. You'll get hurt."

"I have to," Saedii argued, though with none of the fire she'd had a moment ago. "Rex, Wolffe, the Clones – they need me."

"We need you." Omega's eyes glistened.

Something flipped in her stomach. Looking at how tiny and fragile Omega was, standing there in her too-big t-shirt, made the anger in Saedii's chest fizzle and die. If this was a trap, Saedii didn't want Omega anywhere near it.

Her arms uncrossed and the frown slipped from her face as Saedii said, "I get it, Hunter. This is dangerous. You guys have a choice, but I don't, alright? I can't leave Wolffe and the 104th. I have to go."

"Saedii." Hunter sounded tired. Torn.

Crosshair cut him off. "Just leave her, Hunter. She wants to go find her real family."

Saedii's eyes flashed to him. "That's not –"

"We were always just a placeholder for you, until you got Wolffe back," he said lazily, eyes glittering. "Your true allegiance has always been with him."

"Cross, enough," Hunter ordered.

But Crosshair didn't yield. "That's why you kept the cruiser a secret. You were always planning to run off with your real family the first chance you got."

"What cruiser?" Omega asked.

"I already told you, that was an accident," Saedii snarled.

"It is also impossible." Tech looked uncomfortable, glancing between the heated faces around him. "Jedi cruisers cannot be operated by one person. Saedii would have been unable to commandeer the ship on her own. Leaving it in its original state on Bracca was the logical conclusion."

The look Crosshair slid Tech's way was insidious. "Tech, how much money could we have made off a fully-intact Jedi cruiser?"

Tech blinked. "It would have been impossible to sell the ship in its current state. We never could have gotten it off-world."

"What about salvaged parts?"

"Well, the engines would have fetched a high price on the black market. Ion engines are incredibly rare, but once again, we never would have been able to transfer it –"

"Would we still be running jobs for Cid if we'd sold salvaged parts a year ago?" Crosshair interrupted firmly.

There was a little pause. Then, in a rather timid voice, Tech said, "No. The credits earned from the engines alone would have been adequate to procure safe living conditions on another planet."

The look Crosshair turned to her was triumphant. "And I'm assuming the armory wasn't cleared out as you said."

She didn't dignify that was an answer.

"More credits," Crosshair continued. His attention drifted towards Saedii's prosthetic. To Omega watching in the doorway. "We could have been safe somewhere else. Kamino and Serenno – none of it would have ever happened."

"That is also impossible to say for certain," Tech pointed out in a steely tone. "There were a variety of mitigating factors that brought us both to Kamino and Serenno. It is impossible to pinpoint one single event –"

Hunter held up a hand to stop Tech before he got going. "The cruiser doesn't matter. What matters now is that you're putting yourself in danger."

"That's my choice," Saedii insisted. "Just like it was my choice to risk my life for you last year on Kamino."

"And look how well that turned out," Crosshair said idly.

Saedii shoved her way past Hunter, in the direction of the flight bay. "Stay if you want. I'll be back in a few days."

"Saedii!" Omega called after her.

"Let her go, Omega," Crosshair's cold voice drawled.

The sound of Saedii's angry footsteps was the only sound as she slipped down the end of the hall and disappeared up the steps.

On the main floor, it had quieted as well. Most of the troopers who had not been selected were heading back off to bed, while those who were going to Hareth had already gone in the direction of the ship. Only a few stragglers still remained, running as they grabbed extra ration bars to shove in their bag.

It was lightly misting as Saedii stepped outside. It felt warm against her face and dampened her braids, making them heavy against her back.

She took a second to pause and breathe in deep. To pull the moist heavy air deep down into her lungs and smell the rain. To try and expel some of that anger that still weighed heavy on her chest.

Then she exhaled. Crosshair's words were still on her mind, but she shoved them aside. There'd be time to think about their argument later. Once they'd escaped Hareth.

And the Inquisitor.

If they escaped.

"Hang on, kid!"

Echo's sloshing footsteps reached her a moment before he did. Little droplets of water clung to the bare expanse of his forehead, gathered down the bridge of his nose.

"I'll walk with you," he said, falling into step as she turned towards one of the landing bays.

She sighed. "You don't have to come. I get why the others are staying. If there's really an Inquisitor there, then it's dangerous."

"You need me," Echo said simply. "So does Rex."

"We could die –"

"We're not going to die. I have faith in you – and Rex for that matter."

Saedii smiled at bit at that. "Thanks, Echo."

He returned it. "Any time, kid."

"I, um, also never apologized for what I said last week. On Pabu," she began slowly, but stopped as he held up his hand.

"Do you really think that was enough to hurt my feelings?" His smile had taken on a bit of a teasing edge. "My best friend was an ARC trooper that cursed like Weequay pirate. I've heard far worse in my time."

He was just trying to cheer her up, she knew. But it worked. She snorted in laughter.

"However." Echo suddenly grew serious. "If I ever hear you use that type of language in front of Omega again, we're going to have problems. Understand?"

"Yes." Saedii fought a smile.

He ruffled her hair.

The Dauntless was waiting on the largest landing platform. As a freighter, it was the biggest ship they had besides their new cargo vessels. The ground vibrated softly as the engines powered on and the air suddenly grew warm with exhaust.

Waiting at the front landing deck, Rex was taking roll.

Saedii scowled at the sight of him. Knowing he'd tried to go behind her back made her early frustration reignite.

Echo stepped in front of her, leaning down to whisper, "Listen, I know you're still mad, but you have to know that Rex still blames himself for what happened to you on Kamino. While I don't agree with his methods, he was only trying to protect you by keeping you here."

A very disgruntled huff tore from her chest. Echo was making it very hard to stay mad at Rex right now.

At the sight of her, Rex straightened and saluted. "Commander."

"Rex," Saedii said tightly.

He braced himself, as if waiting for a lecture.

Instead, Saedii just muttered, "Stop trying to protect me, ok? I can do it just fine on my own."

"Sorry, Commander. Protecting Jedi is what I was trained for," he said stoically. "I've been doing it all my life."

She rolled her eyes. "In the strategy room, you let me make my own decisions. After, on the battlefield, is when you can protect me from the consequences of those decisions. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir." Rex gave a salute, though there was a definite uptilt to his lips.

As she passed by him to board the ship, Rex lowered his voice and whispered, "For what it's worth, I'm glad to have you here, kid."