#tbb crew

"Yeah? Like who?" The boy Russell rolled his green eyes. He drummed his fingers on his knee as he propped up his head with his other hand. He noticed that his linen pants had some grass stains that were not there earlier and frowned, knowing that Nara would make him scrub them later. Pieces of his blazing red hair blew into his face and he blew at it with annoyance, but the cool breeze brought them back and his anger flared. Stupid air!

"Be it strangers in similar situations or your future children." She approached him slowly and walked around him to be in his line of sight. "But in the midst of the struggle, it will never make sense, not until you come out on the other side." She crouched down in front of the boy and smiled gently. "I'm sure Inferno has some stories he can share with you. He has been in your boat a few times." 

"A few times is putting it lightly." Spoke a low rumbling voice.

Nara closed her eyes with a chuckle. Russell didn't understand her humor and what she found funny. Did she enjoy other people's suffering? He then looked at her neck and saw that she still wore her collars up high. Shame settled on him yet again and he looked down. Okay, maybe not. 

Nara suddenly stood up facing the west woods listening carefully, and after a minute she spoke. "There's a ship coming."

Russell shot up to his bare feet, ready for a fight. "Are they coming here?" He growled.

"No. To the settlement." Nara placed a hand on her hip and turned back to Russell. Her features grew mischievous with a glint in her eyes. "He says they're different. You want to take a look?"

Russell hated that look. They knew something that he didn't know and they wanted him to figure it out. It was one of their methods of training him, but to him, it felt like they were playing with him. He clenched his fits. “Can't you just tell me like you did before?”

Nara shook her head. “How are you to learn for yourself?”

Russell growled with frustration. He hated this. "Any other instructions?" He asked.

"Bring the armbands. He says one of them will be able to sense you." Nara instructed. Russell nodded. He went back into the house to grab his equipment, which consisted of a knife and a hammer attached to a belt that strapped around his waist, and quickly came back out with a black armband around his left bicep and the other in his pocket. "Inferno." Nara called. "Cooperate with him and make sure he cooperates with you."

"Must you treat me the same as this boy?" The low voice grumbled louder. Nara lost her smile and raised a condescending eyebrow. She didn't need to say anything as her eyes became glaring slits. Inferno made a noise akin to clearing his throat. "Understood." With that, the boy and the dragon left Nara at the cabin. 

She shook her head. "Shepherd, guide these Shameful Good Soldiers. Shameful Good Soldiers….” She looked to the sky thoughtfully and began to hum a tune, then slowly added words as the breeze picked up again and brought the smell of bark, leaves, and grass to caress her face. She took in a deep breath, drinking in the air and smells, she then heard a roar of a bear somewhere in the distance and smirked.

“Shameful Good Soldiers

Shameful Good Soldiers

O come, o come, o come to me!

Tell me of your sorrow

Tell me of your weary

You carry a burden that none can see.

Oh why oh why do you carry this weight?

Oh is this why that at night you're awake?

You're dreams haunt you

Ever to remind you

Of your horrendous horrible mistakes.”

In some universe where Crosshair goes with the bad batch, either on his own terms or is forcibly taken for his own sake after Tapoca City was destroyed (the story changes on who is telling it), he and they laid low on Ord Mantel for a good month doing small jobs for Cid on the planet itself, hiding from the Empire more securely. Crosshair was not at all impressed with Cid or how his brothers, and now himself, were treated like dogs, going here and there for this bar keeper. He especially hated the nickname she had given him when he first met her. "Well aren't you full of sunshine and rainbows, Scowls." She looked at him up and down with disdain. He glared right back at her, not bothering to hide his own spite for her. "You're even worse than Bandana over there," she nodded at Hunter. "Probably just as ungrateful too, judging by your looks." 

"You're not the most jolly person either, judging by your looks." Crosshair fired back.

"You got bark, I see." Cid crossed her arms. "But let me tell you this now, Scowls, as long as you hide in my bar, you work for me. This isn't a charity home out of the goodness of my heart. You boys cost me money, and you will work to earn your keep." 

"If it's all the same to you though," spoke up Hunter who was leaning against a wall, "We'll be laying low for a bit. Just doing jobs on Ord Mantel itself. Nothing off world."

"Well then you're in luck, we have several jobs already lined up." She went back to her desk and pulled out several pucks. "Pick which one you want to do first. And I hope Scowls here is as good as you made him out to be." She threw a puck at Crosshair who caught it easily, which meant that they didn't get to choose the job.

So for a month clone force 99 did odd jobs on Ord Mantel. Mostly run away children, grocery runs, and small pirate bands that caused some trouble. And Crosshair hated it. It wasn't like the missions he had with the Empire or with the Republic. This was petty work for someone with his skill set. And he complained about it regularly, both in front of Cid and in private with his brothers. The money they earned was barely enough to afford the necessities that they needed and had to compromise a few times on what to purchase, including hygienics and water. Showers were few and far between with all of them, and clothes were worn until they couldn't stand the smell. 

In an attempt to hide themselves in the future, Hunter wanted to buy paint for their armor to disguise themselves better and Echo thought of buying new clothes for Omega for the same reason, but Crosshair would argue that fuel and food were more important. And Tech would reluctantly agree. In the end, they settled on digging through the dump to find discarded armor pieces, and the clothes they found were hole filled and ill fitted, but Omega didn't complain. She said she really looked like a real adventurer now, though Crosshair said she looked more like a beggar, ensuing glares from all.

Crosshair fought with Hunter on a regular basis for the position of leadership by always questioning him and telling him he was doing it all wrong, he and Echo ignored each other for the most part because of their different beliefs of the Empire. And he avoided Omega as much as he could, though she somehow still managed to sneak up on him and tried to talk to him, much to his annoyance. Tech and Wrecker treated him as normally as they could and acted as if he hadn't tried to kill them a few times, though that unspoken tension was still there, waiting to be released.

And it finally did, though the one who broke it wasn't the one some thought who would.  "Well, Crosshair," Tech spoke up one night after doing another grocery run. He, Crosshair, and Echo were sitting at a table in the bar while Wrecker and Omega were playing a game with Hunter watching, though his head shifted slightly towards the table to listen better. "I have some good news to add a bit of light to your now dull life." Crosshair, chewing on a toothpick, scowled deeper, only living up to his new name. "Reports had come in from the Scrappers Guild that the Empire finally returned to Kamino to check for survivors." Tech lifted up his head from his data pad with a hard look at Crosshair. "If we had left you there on that platform on Kamino, you would've just now been found, probably half dead at best. So it was beneficial to your overall health that you came with us." 

The silence between all six of them was heavy as Tech and Crosshair had a staring contest, with Omega glancing between them looking worried. She had seen her brothers fight before, but this was different in that Crosshair's belief in the Empire was now being challenged after all this time. No one had brought it up since leaving their homeworld because Crosshair himself was already uncomfortable enough to be around as he didn't hide his disdain. Now, it was like unwrapping a wound that had festered. The wound being his belief in the corrupt Empire.

Crosshair held his ground and didn't break eye contact with Tech, and he was surprised he held on for so long. The news was a bit startling to him, he had to admit, and he tried to think of good logical reasons why the Empire would wait so long to go back. But none of them would've been good for him. Crosshair raised an eyebrow and said in his most sarcastic voice, "How is that good news?"

Echo grew annoyed at Crosshair's response, and his own brow dipped down as his voice grew louder. "You would've been half dead At Best, Crosshair! At worst, you would've died if you didn't come with us!"

"They had their reasons for waiting so long." Crosshair said while flinging his toothpick to the ground.

"The reason being was to starve off any survivors!" Tech didn't like the Empire before for many reasons, but now he hated them. They would've left his brother for dead and they wouldn't have known about it until now. "I respected your decision to go with them, though I heavily disagreed with everything that they stood for, but now seeing this report only shows how little they care for the people in the Empire, both citizens and soldiers!"

"Are you saying that this life as dogs serving a bar keep and wasting our talents is better than serving the Empire?" Crosshair got up and challenged Tech.

"On a moral standpoint, yes." Tech also stood up, immediately prompting Echo, Hunter, and Wrecker to intervene before anything else happened. They didn't want Cid to take any more of their cut if something were to break in a bar fight.

"If you two are going to fight, then take it outside." Hunter suggested as calmly as he could.

"Gladly," Tech said.

"What are you afraid of?" Crosshair jeered at Hunter. "Afraid of getting in trouble?"

"If you boys break anything in here then you can go find another place to hide out in!" Cid warned from the doorway. 

"What would I have to break?" Crosshair asked.

"Don't answer that!" Wrecker bucked in. "It’ll only encourage him."

"Well I'm kicking you all out anyway! I'm even considering banging a few of your skulls together." Cid threw another puck at the group and Hunter caught it.

"What is it?" The sergeant asked.

"A job offworld, seeing how it's been over a month since Scowls joined your party, and if what Goggles said is true, then the Empire isn't looking for you boys."

"Well what's the job?" Echo asked.

"Some settlement has been taken over by a pirate gang on Idaflor and the mayor desperately wants help to get rid of them."

"Idaflor?" Echo repeated. "I thought that planet wasn't inhabited?"

"Well check again Killjoy. According to my intel, the people who have been fleeing the Empire have been trying to make a living there, though a group of pirates have taken over the settlement and have made life almost just as unbearable."

"Pirates? That's it?" Wrecker asked, then laughed as if he heard a joke. "Pirates are easy! We can get rid of those guys before dinner!" 

"Have you forgotten about the time when we got caught by pirates here?" Tech asked.

"Well, uh, that one doesn't count!" Wrecker crossed his arms a little indignant.

"Well I think it counts," chimed Omega. "I helped with distracting them so you could knock down the building." 

"You tripped down the hillside and nearly got yourself killed." Crosshair scoffed. 

Wrecker glared at Crosshair before looking down at his little sister and softened. "Yeah, well you did save us just in time. I think it counts as a successful mission!" He lifted her up with a laugh, causing her to laugh.

"Enough!" Cid yelled. Wrecker and Omega paused, then looked sheepishly around as Wrecker placed her on his shoulder. Cid placed her hand on her temple with a huff of annoyance. "Take the puck and do whatever it is you do to get ready. Just get out of my bar." And with that, clone force 99 left.