The morning came all too soon, and yet not soon enough. You slept on your own ship last night for the first time in a few weeks. It was both easier and harder to sleep without Wreckers snoring, and the night terrors seemed unchanged. Thankfully because you were in your own ship you had more time to meditate and the force flowing through you calmed you.

Today was the day you were going back to the city of Ord Mantell, back to Cids parlor, and probably back to working the bar. You and Tech did not have coffee this morning because you were all busy cleaning up the rest of camp to make your presence disappear. Then you all packed up and flew back.

Again, a short flight, no negative interruptions and you didn't see any obvious changes to the city. But as you flew over and came down you sensed a shift had taken place. Ord Mantell wasn't a bright and cheery place, but it was darker now and more darkness was coming.

You landed in your previous spot, after flying behind the Marauder. Already a sense of nostalgia tingles your senses. It's hard to explain but you do like this place. Yeah, it's some 'off the wall' bar with criminals and bounties changing hands but it's also where you met the bad batch and were given a second chance. --Better than the brothel down the street-- you think to yourself. Seeing the exterior reminds you of some of the first times you saw Tech.

You could go out on a limb and say 'I've always liked Tech' but that would be false. Initially he was attractive and handsome but they all were in their own right, you had just wanted to know more about him. Now the more you knew, and the more time you had spent together, you could definitely confirm you were crushing hard. You happy-sigh to yourself as you walk up to the back door and meet the guys there. Just as you were all getting to the stairs the back door burst open and Cid appeared.

"About time you all got here. We need to talk, NOW" and she turned away.

Cid spoke to you just as expected, but her serious tone threw everyone off. You all followed Cid into the parlor and then into her office. With all of you in there it got a bit stuffy, but everyone was too focused on Cid to care.

"You remember why I had sent you guys off?" Cid began.

"To ensure our continued operations for you and.." Tech began.

"Yeah yeah, somethin like that. But the Empire was coming to town and all the crime bosses, even minor Innocent ones like me, needed to close their doors and audit their books." Cid crossed her arms, and her scaly brow scrunched together in frustration "Now the Empire has decided our location is a nice spot for a base. They've kicked out one of the larger powers, arrested some local leaders and are starting to ship in their newest trainees who I've heard are just as trigger happy as you lot. They've even got some 'Inquisitor' coming through''.

The group, especially you and Tech, perked up at the mention of an inquisitor. The information they had stolen from Mygeeto had laid out the inquisitors as dark side force users with special orders from the Empire. From what Tech had gleaned they were given every handout imaginable, and sent to locations regardless of tactical power. Their mission and purpose was kept tightly under wraps but as a user of the dark side it could only be sinister. Their presence brought fear and their actions brought death. Preferably avoidable in Techs opinion.

Upon hearing the mention of an inquisitor your mind conjured the image of the white faced man with the red markings and yellow eyes. --Him, it must be him-- you realize and feel a shiver of fear. The group is very tense now, and Hunter noticed your increased fear after hearing that word but everyone tensed up so he could be imagining things. His attention was quickly drawn back to the matter at hand.

After Cid had really gotten your attention with talk of the base and the inquisitor a defeated look came to her eyes. "This type of heat is too much for me, you guys will all have to go. Especially if you don't want to get sold out" she finished her sentence with a hiss as though it was a threat, but truly Cid felt vulnerable. The other bosses knew too much already, and the 'bad batch', Omega, you and her would all be in danger the moment someone snitched.

Hunter nods "Thanks for the heads up" and the group collectively realizes all of you will need to go somewhere else. Tech is already searching up nearby options and as you all head back out to your ships Cid catches up to Hunter "Bandana, the rest of your shipment came in. Have muscles come get it."

Hunter nodded, and Wrecker moved past Cid to collect a large container that he loaded onto the Marauder. As you went back onto your ship you noticed Cid still standing in the doorway to the shipdock. She was watching the guys load up and you faintly heard her call out one last thing.

"You did good work, Bandana. Stay alive out there".

Tech sent you coordinates to a nearby planet Numidian Prime and it's not long before you take off and are orbiting this new planet. Everything seemed to have happened so quickly that you felt caught up in the excitement. You haven't had time to really process what was happening, or the terror that lingered at the end of your senses.

"Go ahead and land here" Hunter said over the ships comms, sending over another set of coordinates related to the planet's surface. Already you had noticed how deeply green this planet was and as you descended into the atmosphere a part of you began to rejoice. It was a jungle planet. Not quite the fungus filled jungle of Felucia but the trees were tall, sturdy and lucious.

The location Hunter had sent you was a clearing about 40 clicks away from the nearest inhabited location. But it was still suitable enough to set down, at least for tonight. You flew your ship in, carefully going through the trees and landed next to the Marauder again. You almost run off your ship in your excitement to get outside and as soon as you lower the ramp you can smell the delicious air about you. All about this clearing are trees ranging from tall, to beyond your sight. Their leafy green bows extend everywhere and the forest floor is littered with bark, leaves and smaller patches of grass and shrubbery. Vines and moss cover almost every surface and the flowers of this season are budding.

-Numidian Prime... I have waited to meet you-- You think to yourself, as you pull your eyes away from the trees and back over to the crew now descending the ramp. Omega is also taken by the jungle about her, but the others are more concerned about the current situation rather than location.

"Everyone stay sharp" Hunter is instructing "This place is known as a hiding place for thieves and smugglers. Don't get caught up in trouble while we are here".

"What are we going to do?" Echo asked, inadvertently saying what was on everyone's mind.

"We will need to make a plan," Tech said, stating the most obvious answer.

"What plan do we need?" Echo replied back sarcastically.

"This will work as our base of operations for a short period of time" Tech continues " the greatest challenge is income. Cid did not pay us well, and what we have already used for our stay in the desert will not be enough to last us for long."

"So we need another job?" Wrecker asked.

Everyone had gathered round in a circle to talk, some leaning on the ship or sitting on the ramp. Others sitting on the grassy ground or standing.

"We either need a big break, or a string of substantial missions" Tech said "By my calculations our current finances will last us a week or more. Less if we need to refuel or repair the ship".

"What about finding a more permanent base?' Hunter asks "If we find a location where we are all hidden and can support ourselves we wouldn't need to continue this bounty hunting".

"That would be ideal, however my research on such places has been limited due to other projects taking priority. Even if I were to find a location we would still need a significant amount of funds to get there and start ourselves off".

"You don't need credits to rough it in the woods," Wrecker commented.

"But we wouldn't be 'roughing it'. The most ideal location for us would be a community that could provide for Omega while also hiding us" Tech corrected Wrecker. Omega perked up when she heard her name mentioned but she added in "I'd still want to stay with you guys though, and I'm sure we can find more missions to help us get there".

"We will all be together" Hunter said, the others giving him glances at his comment. " What is the next move for this moment?".

"I would say connections" Tech replied "Perhaps there is a local area, such as the trading outpost we passed, that can give us information on missions. Otherwise I know that Cid had a database she checked which I can get access to and see what the market is looking for."

"Go ahead and start looking into what some of the possible options are and we will check back" Hunter decided. "The rest of you, let's set up a perimeter and become more knowledgeable of our surroundings"

"Finally some action!" Wrecker exclaims, happy to no longer be listening to Techs monologue. You hadn't minded listening to everything that Tech had to say, but you were ready to stretch your legs and get moving again. There would be more opportunity to discuss things and you needed time to process what had already occurred. Not to mention you were beyond ready to climb into the trees.

A perimeter is established by the group breaking into two parties, each walking around the edge of the clearing and venturing into the forest. From what you could tell this planet was fertile and alive with rich soil and thriving plants.

"Glad to have a pause" Echo commented to no one in particular as you walked about in the brush surrounding the campsite. Wrecker and Hunter had taken the other side so you had come over and joined Echo.

"A lot has happened" you reply back, not sure if he is trying to start a conversation or not.

"That's an understatement. Should have known the Empire would catch up to us eventually. It was only a matter of time."

You weren't sure how you could continue that train of thought, so you didn't reply. Echo's words had been true, and if anything it frightened you how naive you had become. First you had settled into being a bartender at Cids parlor, then you had settled into the desert life believing they would leave. Now both of those realities had shifted into a third. The inquisitors were real, and they were really searching for you. -Echo is right, it is only a matter of time-.

You both continued to walk through the brush, taking note of the different aspects of your environment. It would be challenging for anyone to sneak up on you, unless they knew what they were doing. Jungles are noisy but their noise can become so rhythmic that a disturbance would give you away.

Echo watches you looking up to the trees which you had already been doing a lot.

"They're right there" He jokes at you, grabbing your attention from the leafy boughs above you.

"what?" You ask, confused by his comment.

"The branches" he replies "Why not just climb up, since they are right there."

You smile as you realize Echo was teasing you. "Didn't want to make you feel left out" you reply back with a wink.

Echo chuckled, "You told us you are used to tree travel." he looked up to the branches and then back to you. "I'd love to see an example".

You didn't mind taking the opportunity, and with a swift jump you grabbed onto one of the branches above you. Using your momentum, you swung forwards, flipping yourself up onto the branch. As soon as your feet touched down you jumped off onto a higher branch, jumped off that to grab another, which you then used to swing onto a third.

Before long you were high up the tree and could see Echo below you. His eyes were wide with shock and he was grinning up at you. If he had any doubts, they were gone now. His reaction made you smile, and you looked up to admire the view of the forest surrounding you.

A part of you comes alive again and the view before you restores a broken part of you. The landscape of green leaves, birds flying here and there and the quiet calls of afternoon animals. This was so similar to your life on Felucia that it felt nostalgic even if you had never been here before.

*Beep* "Are you coming back down for lunch?" Echo asked over the coms, you could hear the amusement in his voice.

"In a bit" you reply back over the combs as you settle down on the branch. You rested your back against the tree and continued to gaze off into the afternoon sky.

"See you back at camp" Echo chimed in, before walking back to the clearing by himself.

Now that you were alone, relaxed, and taking some time to commune with the force surrounding you, you could think over what had happened. It had happened fast, but you were thankful that Cid had warned you and given you a chance to leave. Your ship was going to be fine, and rations would last another day or two before it started getting desperate.

-If the inquisitor is looking for me, I wonder how they go about tracking us down- you think to yourself. They cannot have more than a crumb trail of rumors to follow which means you have some chance of staying out of their way. -Staying here would be nice- You ponder, -but no doubt Tech is going to come up with some crazy plan and we will need to leave here tomorrow-. You sigh, knowing you would have liked to stay here longer. "Tell me" you say out loud wishing for someone in the force to hear you "What do we do next?".

You feel the breeze brush past your face, and you feel yourself become one with the force. The ebb and flow of the trees surrounding you and the rivers of energy flowing in every direction unimpacted by your physical body. You felt a sense of calm sooth your worries, and you took deep breaths hoping that something would whisper the future to you.

Closing your eyes you start to see visions flash before your eyes and they begin to grow more focused and clear. A city, crowds of people, the clink of glasses and smells of food. A voice, which oddly sounded like Echos, but it wasn't Echo. You scrunch up your eyebrows searching through what the force was showing you. The images were still fuzzy, the voice faint, and you were trying your best to focus in when ...

*BEEP BEEP*

Your eyes fling open and you check your comm. "Y/N" came Omegas voice "Wreckers going to eat your lunch".

"Defend it for me" you reply back, as you stand up from your branch "I'm coming back".

--Guess I'll have to try meditating more later- you conclude, and you begin your swift descent through the trees. Just as you had climbed by using your momentum while jumping you used the same momentum to swing through the trees back towards the campsite. You only go through a few trees before the campsite is back in view and you begin to jump down, branch to branch before you get close enough to somersault down to the ground.

The guys had seen you approaching, Hunter being the first. Echo has the same grin across his face as you land and come running over. Omega hands you your lunch and you settle down on the containers the guys had brought out to sit on. "Now that was some climbing," Wrecker exclaimed and Hunter nodded in agreement. Echo elbows Tech with his big 'told ya' grin and Tech sends back his neutral glance.

You are only seated for a moment before Tech gets up to explain his findings. As he was loading up his holopad, you realized that Tech had purposely sat between Echo and Hunter. It didn't mean anything to you, but knowing how much Tech preferred to sit by himself it seemed odd that he would purposely position himself between those two.

"For starters, I did manage to find the database of ongoing bounty hunting missions that Cid uses. There are a variety of different options but there are not enough missions within our vicinity to streamline this process and without Cids reputation we may be competing with other more experienced bounty hunters for the jobs we would require. Overall, this is a viable but challenging option for us to pursue" Tech explained, looking up to the group as he finished and then returning to his seat.

"Thank you for looking into it, Tech," Hunter said, standing to address the group. "I'd like a group of you to go to the local trade post for rations tomorrow but until then we've had enough change for one day. Just keep out of trouble, and we will figure out a course of action tomorrow".

With that, lunch was over, the group disbanded and you thought about returning to the trees.

"Y/N" came Omegas voice, followed by Wrecker. "Could you show me how to climb like that?"

"Like earlier?" you ask, looking down into her curious excited eyes.

"Yeah, although maybe without the flipping part".

You laugh at Omegas comment, "Sure, Wrecker did you want to join us".

"I've got nothin better to do" Wrecker chuckled "Might as well give it a try"

"Well, it begins similar to how we did rock climbing. Do you remember the oath?" You ask Omega, crossing your arms and giving her a sly look.

Omega grins back up at you and replies "I look ahead, I choose my target, I accept my slip ups, and I do not put my life or others in danger".

"Theres a oath?!" Wrecker asks after hearing Omega repeat it.

"Its a felucian thing" Omega replied.

"Glad you remember it" you praise her with a smile. "Trees are a little more forgiving than rocks because they will bend and sway. However, this also means that they cannot bear the same weight as a rock can. We will work on vines later, for now lets work on getting up and down".

Omega didn't need any more encouragement, she was already looking up the tree and beginning to lift herself up. Wrecker got under her to push her legs, but you held him back by putting a hand on his shoulder "She'll have to build the muscle for this" you explain when Wrecker gives you a confused look.

Omega struggles to climb up, but after using her feet against the trunk and getting a knee over the branch she manages to pull herself up. "How did you use your swinging earlier?" she asks.

You jump straight up and hold onto a branch above you with both hands. "By swinging back and forth I use my momentum to help push me upwards," you explain. You begin to swing as you had before, and then flip your legs over. The tops of both your thighs are now on the branch and you use this point of contact to better pull yourself up.

Omega had watched you keenly, but still struggled to do it herself. "It takes practice" you say encouragingly. "Let me show you an easier way" and you step over onto her branch. "Getting into the tree is the hardest part, once your up here it's easier to maneuver". You kneel down next to her to be on her eye level. "Remember how we look at a rock for grip holds? We use the same foresight for trees. Look for stable or fragile branches, wet spots, knots in the wood, anything".

Omega looks out at the branches in front of her, and using your input starts to climb, using both her arms and legs. She stood on sturdier branches and used smaller branches as stability holds. Eventually the two of you are climbing along and you can hear Wrecker cheering from below.

* * *

Hunter watches you guide Omega up the tree, a look of concern furrowing his brow.

"I wouldn't worry" Tech comments to him, noticing his expression while he stands on the ship ramp. "Y/N is a capable climber, and Wrecker is an equally capable catcher".

"Not quite the reassurance I was looking for" Hunter replied, stepping inside with both Echo and Tech.

The three men had decided to talk more privately about further options for their group and while the others were occupied they could make some decisions.

"So," Hunter began, now that they were all inside and sitting around the wall computer. "What are some of our back up plans?"

Echo chimed in "I know it's not anyone's favorite, but now that we have the freedom to, we could take this opportunity to join any rebel units that are against the empire. We would get to be working against the Empire, and providing for ourselves"

"Being a rebel doesn't pay," Tech chided.

"And I'd rather we found a way to support Omega" Hunter added on.

"We would be supporting her by fighting for her future" Echo replied "The empire is going to continue with its actions until someone does something about it".

"But we need to support Omega presently" Hunter replied back "growing up in a warzone is not a reality any of us want for her. Whether we fight the empire or not she needs to be taken care of".

"Echo is correct that we are now more free without Cids constraints; however , Hunter is also correct that bringing Omega into active war zones would not be ideal. A possible alternative would be reaching out to some of the contacts we made through Cid" Tech brought up as he felt the argument becoming heated.

"What are our options?" Hunter asked.

Tech turned and pulled up some comm codes on his computer, "From what I have access to here in our database we could contact Mrs.Genoa and see if she has work for us" he said with a sigh. Echo rolled his eyes "Not that pirate again, she almost got us killed".

"Any other options?" Hunter asked, not eager to see the pirate treasure hunter again either.

"I've also got an older code for Captain Rex, but I don't know where that would lead us".

"Maybe he's in a rough spot again," Hunter thought out loud.

"Or maybe he's working on a rebellion" Echo commented.

"Other than those two I could try for some of these others, but they are tied to presumably dead Jedi generals or bases that have now fallen under imperial control".

"Reach out to Rex, see if we get anything back. If nothing else maybe he can start us on a path to something" Hunter decides.

Tech nods in response "Will do."

"You're sure there's not any work we can just pick up?" Echo asked, as Tech started typing out a message to send to Rex.

"From the database Cid accessed its more long distance and it would not pay well enough. Or it would be hunting past allies, which I doubt you would appreciate" Tech explained, giving Echo a hard side glance "When the group goes to the trade post tomorrow they could see if there's more lucrative positions offered there. This is a centralized location for bounty hunters after all, there must be more information".

"What about that one mission Cid sent us on" Hunter began "the one where we collected data to sell".

"There was a buyer interested in that specific location" Tech replied, placing his hand on his chin thoughtfully as he remembered. "But you are correct that more people are interested in Imperial information, especially the larger crime bosses"

"Or rebels" Echo added on.

"Do you think we could hack into somewhere and sell more?" Hunter asked.

"Its possible, but the information would need to be of sizable importance to sell well in an open market. Or we would need established buyers before we hack into anything" Tech explained, dropping his hand and going back to typing.

"Could you sell more chain codes?" Echo asked.

"My work is being copied, so unless I have a specific buyer its best not to sell them on the open market" Tech replied.

Echo nodded, affirming that he had heard Tech and they sat in silence as Tech finished typing the message to Rex. "I've sent it out, it may take a cycle or two before he is reached if this code still works at all".

"Lets get a group together for the trade post tomorrow and check back on any developments. As long as we don't break anything and are wise about rations we have some time to think this over" Hunter states signifying the end of their discussion.

* * *

You and Omega had climbed high enough to just see the top of the trading posts roof far in the distance, and had reached a point where she was getting too tired to climb. After slowly and safely descending, Omega made her way back into the marauder and you got your pillow from your ship before following her. Climbing with Omega had been slow, but you were happy to spend any time in the trees while you could.

You didn't think it would be awkward to continue sleeping on the ship again, and no one made any comment about you bringing your pillow back over. If anything most of them were glad they didn't have to say anything.

After you had fluffed your pillow, and layed down in bed Hunter came up to you.

"Don't get too comfy yet" he said with a chuckle, "The rest of your armor came in".

You quickly sat up "Its here?"

"Yes. It had come in while we were out on Ord Mantell and we loaded it before coming here".

"Let's open it!!" Omega excitedly cheered as Wrecker brough the sizable package out of a storage chest. You and Omega settled down next to it and started to pull out the new white pieces of body armor that the group had purchased for you.

Inside the box were a set of shoulder pieces, forearm pieces, lower arm pieces, andhand plates attached to gloves. There was also a chest piece that followed the shape of a ribcage, a plackart which would cover your tummy, a codpiece, skid plate, as well as leg sets for your thighs, knees, calves etc. At the very bottom there was a pair of new boots that matched this set and could slide inside the calf pieces.

You were so overcome with excitement that you couldn't keep the smile from your face. You and Omega pulled out and looked over each piece with such happy looks on your faces. You already wanted to try it all on and see how it fit. You quickly tried on the boots along with the corresponding calf pieces which got you excited to put even more on. The weight of these pieces could be felt but it did not impede your movement by much.

You turned to Hunter in the doorway and gave him a genuine "thank you" with your huge grinning face.

Along with this armor, Tech had set aside another container that you could use as storage on their ship. You of course had your own ship, but now you had a place to put things since you were on their ship so often. You tuck your armor away into your assigned bin and you and Omega cuddle up in her loft. You were no longer tired after the excitement of your armor and Omega and you were chatting about what you would do tomorrow until Hunter got sick of it and requested you to quiet down.

~ End of Chapter ~