Nu Kyr'adyc, Shi Taab'echaaj'la

Part 3

Crosshair walked along the halls of the star destroyer he was aboard. After the destruction of Tipoca City he had been picked up by the Empire and brought aboard Admiral Ramparts personal ship and was forced to spend several months in the brig as the empire was unsure about his loyalty. But, they had no way to prove he had killed the troopers and he had claimed he only was working with Hunter to save himself. After months of that story the Empire had chosen to believe it.

Crosshair smirked under his helmet. It felt nice to know he was useful, something Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch seemed to have forgotten. And it was all the kids fault. She had done something to alter the minds of Crosshair's brothers and he was going to have to find a way to fix it. The rest of his old squad had grown far too attached to her and because of that had failed to see their purpose.

Crosshair entered Admiral Rampart's office and found the admiral sitting at his desk with his hands laced on the top of the table. When Crosshair entered, a smug smile tugged at the corners of Rampart's mouth. Crosshair removed his helmet and stood before Admiral Rampart standing as straight as he could. "I'm glad to see you received my message, Commander." Admiral Rampart said.

Crosshair nodded. "What mission do you have for me, Admiral?"

Rampart pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up, clasping his hands behind his back. "Imperial intelligence noticed something I believe you will find most... interesting." He grabbed a data pad off his desk and walked over to Crosshair. "One of our spies on Alderaan noticed something in one of Aldera's many landing bays. I believe you will recognize this ship."

Crosshair accepted the data pad and his eyes widened slightly when he saw a blurry picture of the Havoc Marauder. "What would Clone Force 99 be doing on Alderaan? They might not be smart enough to know to join the empire but they aren't stupid enough to go to one of the Core Worlds."

"Perhaps, but that is their ship is it not? Perhaps they have something to do with the recent attempted robbery in one of the largest museums on Alderaan. Besides, I thought you would be more eager to have them located." Rampart said as he took the data pad back and set it back on his desk. He then walked back around the table and took a seat. "You asked what your mission was? You are to go to Alderaan and eliminate Clone Force 99. Every single one of them, even the child. You still need to prove yourself after what you pulled at Tipoca City." He chuckled dryly, "If your story is true like you claim it to be then wiping them out should not be a problem. That is all, Commander."

Crosshair nodded stiffly before replacing his helmet. As he walked out of Admiral Rampart's office he couldn't help but sigh. He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to kill his brothers. He was mad at them, infuriated with them even, but he hadn't been able to kill them before and he certainly couldn't now. What he could do, however, was kill the kid. The Bad Batch thought they could replace him with a child and Crosshair was more than ready to show them they couldn't. Besides, it would hurt them.

Crosshair couldn't kill his brothers but he could make them feel the same pain they caused him.

...

Evening quickly came and went and soon the sky had fallen completely dark. However, much like any core world, the streets were far from quiet. Normally that made Hunter uneasy but today the crowds were their cover. Hunter, Echo, and Tech were quickly making their way to The Museum of the High Republic. According to what Tech had found it had closed about an hour previous which meant strolling in wasn't an option.

"You know," Echo whispered, "tomorrow I think we should sneak in during the day and just hide out until the place closes. That way there would be no messy break in."

Tech adjusted his goggles. "Technically we would still have to sneak in since you can only get in if you have purchased a ticket which is too expensive for us to afford. Plus if there are patrols there would be very few places three grown men could hide.