Chapter Text
As far as jobs went, lounging on a beach planet wasn't so bad.
Aynaboni was stunning. Crisp, sugary sand – bleached nearly white in the sun – stretched as far as the eye could see, untouched except for the verdant green jungle that hedged the beach. Glistening blue water glimmered beneath the gentle sun, ranging from the darkest of sapphire out in the deep, to the purest of turquoise in the shallows.
Saedii stretched her arms out, folding them beneath her head. One was soft and warm. The other, cold. Made of metal.
The sun felt nice against her face as she closed her eyes, resting on the sand. She was supposed to be helping Tech with diagnostics, but she was very confident that he wouldn't miss her. He didn't often enjoy having company while checking on his precious Marauder.
The soft sounds of the water lapping against the shore was intersped with calls from cuttergulls high above. A nice change compared to the roar of the engine over the past few days. It had been nearly a week straight of running jobs for Cid. Hunter had promised this would be their last. Then, they'd be able to go home.
Crunching footsteps made her look up, finding Echo walking towards her. Looking stern. "Kind of hard to run diagnostics from out here, isn't it?"
Like Saedii, he'd been ordered to stay with the ship. Hunter had been confident this was a three-person job, so he, Wrecker, and Crosshair were the only ones truly working. The rest of them were supposed to have the ship ready to go.
Saedii grinned. "Trust me. I'm helping more out here than in there. Tech doesn't like it when I hang over his shoulder."
"Didn't Hunter order you to stay on the ship?"
Her smile turned mischievous. "Technically, he said stay with the ship. Not on it."
Echo raised a brow. Not impressed with her semantics.
"Come on, Echo," she said with a sigh. "I was going crazy on board. Hunter never lets me off."
"We're just trying to keep you safe."
"From what? The cuttergulls?"
His lips thinned at her sarcasm. But after a moment, he let out a long breath and joined her in the sand, placing his helmet next to him. "Five minutes, then we go back onboard."
A short distance away, Omega fished off the ramp of the Marauder. Ignoring the holopad next to her, which she was supposed to be studying. Apparently, Saedii wasn't the only one avoiding her responsibilities.
As Saedii watched, Tech emerged from inside, blinking at the sudden sunlight. His gaze slid first to Saedii, lounging on the sand, then to Omega, who leaned over the water, eagerly watching the quick flashes of silver scales beneath the waves.
Tech reached down, picking up the holopad. "Does this unscheduled break mean you are fully versed in every ship in the Imperial fleet?"
A petulant look twisted Omega's lips. In the past nine months, she'd grown quite a bit. At least three inches, and had shed some of the baby fat around her face, making it leaner. She looked more and more like a teenager every day. And was quickly getting the attitude to match.
"Do we have to do this right now?" she bemoaned. "We're on a mission."
"That does not give you a pass on your studies." Tech handed her back the holopad.
Omega rolled her eyes. "But Saedii's not working."
"Hey!" Saedii pretended to be offended. "I'm working very hard over here. Someone has to keep watch."
Next to her, Echo huffed a laugh. "I thought you were avoiding Tech?"
"Same thing."
Tech turned a withering look in her direction. "You're supposed to be helping me run diagnostics."
"Last time I tried to help you, you told me to stop hanging over your shoulder like a tetrychal vine."
"You were standing too close. As I pointed out, you can still learn from a distance –"
A sharp crackle on their comms shut them all up as Hunter's voice called out, "Tech! We've got the cargo, but we could use some firepower!"
Saedii jumped up to her feet, an eager grin spreading across her face. Her lightsabers were in her hands in seconds. Ready.
Omega, too, hopped to her feet. Looking excited.
Tech looked strung out as he replied, "Wrecker woke the pod, didn't he?"
"Yeah, and they're not happy. We need a pick up!"
"We went over the plan five times," Echo grumbled as he stood, clicking on his helmet. Together, he and Saedii ran up the ramp and onto the Marauder as Tech switched on the engines.
"Wrecker's got enthusiasm. He can't help it," Saedii said.
"Wrecker has the tact of an infant and the patience of a Yarbec," Tech quipped from the pilot seat as he powered on the thrusters.
Behind Tech, Omega barked into her comms, "Copy that, Hunter. We're on our way!"
Saedii reached into the forward aft weapons wrack, grabbing Omega's plasma bow and her helmet – a recent addition that Hunter insisted she wear on every mission. "Megs, gear up," Saedii said as she tossed them in Omega's direction.
Omega caught both, hanging the bow on her back and sliding her helmet over her head. Months ago, her hair was so short that it would have been swallowed by it, but now, a few tufts stuck out from underneath.
Echo stood at the open entrance ramp, helmet focused on the ground as the ship began to rise up.
From the steel line still in the water, there was suddenly a sharp jerk. Echo reached out and grabbed Omega by the shirt collar as she nearly tumbled out the open door.
"We caught something!" Omega said in bewilderment.
Tech huffed an impatient sigh. "We do not have time for this. Cut the line."
"I've got it," Saedii said, powering on a lightsaber.
But Omega was already reaching out for the cable herself.
Suddenly, the ship veered sharply to the side as the line gave a massive yank. With a squeal, Omega tumbled out the open door.
"Omega!" Echo called as something large collided with the top of the ship.
Saedii braced herself as the ship struggled, stalling in midair. A loud, terrible crunching sound from the front announced that whatever had hit them was ripping the ship apart.
Down below, Omega had latched onto the cable and dangled above the beach. At the end of the line below her, a massive aggrocrab burst from the water, swinging its massive claws towards her.
"Hang on, Omega!" Echo pulled out his blasters.
But Saedii was way ahead of him. "I've got this."
"Saedii, don't –"
Saedii launched herself out of the ship, landing gracefully on the ground below. In a single deft move, she decapitated the massive claw looming towards Omega's leg and had impaled the aggrocrab between the eyes. It gave a shriek before dropping back into the water, sinking beneath a curtain of bubbles towards the ocean floor beneath.
Omega jumped down beside her, turning towards the ship. With practiced grace, she slipped into a crouch, firing off two shots towards the aggrocrabs hanging onto the Marauder's nose.
Her accuracy was deadly. Both crabs exploded in bursts of sparks, slipping from the hull and into the water below.
"Nice shot," Saedii said.
Omega beamed.
Behind them, there was a sharp creaking and groaning. A flutter against Saedii's skin told her that they were about to get company. A lot of company.
"Time to go," Saedii said as the sharp clicking of hundreds of pinchers began to fill the air. The ground vibrated as dozens and dozens of aggrocrabs clamored in their direction, rushing past trees and kicking up sand in their wake.
Omega braced herself, knowing by now what to do as Saedii wrapped her small body up in the Force and launched her skyward.
Echo reached a hand out, grabbing onto Omega as she landed on the edge of the ramp. He hauled her back inside as Saedii wreathed herself in power and jumped, landing gracefully at Omega's side. Only seconds later, a whole hive of aggrocrabs burst from the trees, swarming the ground where Saedii and Omega had been only moments before.
Next to her, Echo was shaking his head. "Hunter's not going to be happy with you. He told you to stay out of the action."
"Next time, I'll just let Omega get eaten by giant crabs then," Saedii quipped.
"Cut the attitude," Echo said. "You know he doesn't want you putting yourself –"
"It's been nine months, Echo. He can't keep me hidden away forever."
Beneath them, the beach slipped past in a blur of white. Sharp pieces of sand flew in through the open ramp, hitting Saedii's skin like thousands of little needles.
Omega squinted against the sand, holding up a hand to block her face. Saedii reached out, pulling Omega behind her. Blocking her from the sand.
"Tech, where are you?!" Wrecker bellowed over comms.
Ahead, Saedii could feel the Force grow heavy with anxiety. Tech tilted the ship's trajectory towards it as he answered, "We're bearing down now. Get ready."
"Ah, kriff!" Echo cursed beside her, pulling out both blasters as, below, dozens of aggrocrabs burst from the tree cover, heading down the beach. In the direction of the rest of their squad.
He and Omega began to fire off shots, slowing the onslaught of aggrocrabs as Tech leveled out the ship. Lowering it down towards the gentle crests of waves on the beach just as Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker barreled onto the beach.
They were running fast, Wrecker in the lead with a massive chest held overhead. Crosshair had taken cover at the back, where he was felling aggrocrabs with quick shots. But it didn't matter how many he took down. There had to be hundreds behind them, pressing entirely too close for comfort.
With a deep breath, Saedii pulled on the Force around her. Using the charge of emotions in the air, she gathered it together in a swarming, writhing mass of power before launching it straight into the swarm of crabs.
A blanket of sand billowed over the beach as the Force collided with the aggrocrabs. Several of them went flying, casting a ripple down the line as others were pushed back, stumbling over one another. Turning into a writhing, snapping mess of shell and claw in the sand.
Echo and Omega continued to fire down on the second wave of crabs, picking off enough to keep them at bay as the cable lowered down towards the beach.
Wrecker was breathing so hard that Saedii could hear him gasping over the sounds of the engine and blaster fire as he stopped beside the cable, clipping the massive chest to the clasp at the end.
A few aggrocrabs had detangled themselves from the mess behind them and were scuttling forward over the sand. Chasing after Hunter and Crosshair, who were climbing up onto the chest besides Wrecker.
In an unspoken understanding, Echo and Omega both turned their fire straight down, focusing on the aggrocrabs closest to their squad members as the cable began to lift them. Saedii, too, struck out with the Force, pushing others back. Giving just a wide enough bubble for their brothers as the chest lifted up into the air.
From their place on the chest, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair turned, too. Blasting at the crabs that came close. Keeping them just far enough away as they were finally lifted up out of the reach of claws.
When they were close enough, Saedii and Echo helped pull them one-by-one back onto the ship. Back to safety. Wrecker was laughing as he unclipped the chest and pulled it on behind them, closing the ramp.
"That was close!" he exclaimed, swinging his helmet off. A big, shit-eating grin stretched the width of his face.
"That was insufferable," Crosshair hissed, yanking his own helmet off. The look he leveled on his brother was boiling as he continued, "Why do we bother making plans when you break them every time?"
"I don't break them every time!"
"Technically, he only goes off-protocol eighty-two percent of the time," Tech called from the front as he guided the ship up towards the upper atmosphere.
Hunter was breathing heavily as he collapsed into one of the pilot seats and removed his helmet. He looked a little wan as he turned to Tech and said, "Set a course for Ord Mantell. We can drop off Cid's cargo and grab another job –"
"Hunter, you promised," Saedii interrupted him.
He ran a hand over his face. "Cid's going to want this before she pays us."
"We can give it to her in a few days. She won't miss it."
"You know how impatient she is –"
Saedii crossed her arms. Hating how much she sounded like a whiny child as she insisted again, "You promised."
Something like reluctance pulled at the edges of Hunter's eyes. His jaw worked as he took in a little breath and released it.
"Fine," he conceded, though he didn't sound too thrilled about it. Then, with an almost imperceptible tone of unwillingness, he ordered, "Set a course for Teth."