Something to Prove (A Bad Batch Fanfic)

The Encounter

Warnings: Cursing

     You step off the Marauder and on to the metal floor of the docking bay. You turn behind you to press the button to close the door to the ship. You're incredibly anxious right now. You've never gotten far when you've tried to escape in the past. This is important, though. You need to meet up with Captain Kaldor. So many thoughts are racing through your mind: Where do I found Kaldor? How can I get a message to him? I could lead them right to the squad.

     You begin to pick up your pace, keeping your eyes on the ground in front of you. The only sounds you hear are the hum of electricity and the sound of your heart beating. You then begin to think of a plan. If you're able to get off of this planet and send a signal out, Kaldor could know it was you. You'd have to act fast though: the Marauder could easily pick up your signal. You take your eyes off of the ground and look around for some sort of transportation station. You've only been on this planet for a few days, so you don't know what's around here. Through the darkness you're able to make out some sort of ticket stand in the distance. You begin to walk that way. 

A tired looking Twi'liek sits behind the counter. A dim light illuminates her face. 

"Is this where I buy a ticket to get off of this planet?" You say, realizing your tone sounded harsh.

The Twi'liek yawns. "Yeah. 15 credits." 

You dig through your backpack to search for what limited credits you took with you. You're able to scrounge together the credits and slide them over to the woman. She slowly takes them, not out of suspicion, but because of how tired she is. 

"Wait over there. The shuttle arrives in..." She checks her old watch, handing you a ticket. "4 minutes." 

     You quickly take your ticket and look around for the area the Twi'liek was speaking of. You're able to find what you believe she was talking about. You find a few credits on the ground which you take, feeling a little guilty for. There are barely any street lamps here, so the only way you find where a bench is is by running into it. You fidget as you wait for the shuttle to arrive. The wait is only a few minutes, but it feels like eternity. After a few minutes, you hear the screeching of worn brakes from the shuttle as it comes to a stop. The doors open. You hurriedly step on. Only two other people are on the shuttle, paying no attention to you as you walk in and take a seat.

"Next stop: Cantonica." A robot voice says over the speakers. 

Cantonica... never heard of it. You think. It's perfect.

~

     You're jerked awake as the shuttle halts to a stop a few hours later. You're the only one to get off at this stop. You put your backpack over your shoulders and step on to the platform. Your eyes sting as a big gust of wind blows sand into your eyes. 

"A desert planet. Great." You rub your eyes. "I've never liked sand..." 

     You walk out of the station and into the city. You're surprised. You weren't expecting a planet like this to be so inhabited. Locals even seem to be out. Many of them look drunk, probably from the large amount of bars around here. The city is lit up with billboards. Many of them advertise casinos. You now notice how cold this planet is. It makes sense given that it's a desert planet. You put your hands in your pockets as you walk, looking for a place to find warmth. You head back to the train station and approach a man behind the ticket stand. 

"Excuse me, do you know of any places to stay around here?"

The man looks surprised as you ask the question. "Places to stay? Huh. You're different from the rest. Most of the tourists just go straight to the casinos... Anyway, you can find a fairly cheap hotel if you go down two blocks and then turn right. It should be the 3rd building on the left. It's not... great, but it'll get you out of this cold for the night."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." You say, turning around and following his directions.

I bet Kaldor won't expect that I'm here... You think. And Hunter is probably looking for me now. 

You try to shake those thoughts out of your head as you approach the hotel. 

~

     You enter the hotel. The wallpaper looks worn, same with the carpet. It smells old here, and not in a good way. 

"How much is a room?" You ask the older looking woman at the counter. 

"10 credits." 

10 credits? That's less than I paid for my shuttle ticket...

You fish the credits out of your bag and hand them to the woman. 

"First door on the right up the stairs."

You say no more to her as you go up the creaking stairs. You open the door with the key she gave you, locking it behind you. You sit on the old bed and wrap a blanket around yourself. You take out an transponder that Tech made a long time ago. 

"This should work, but I need to act fast." You say. 

You tune the frequency to the frequency of the Imperial channels. You've memorized it by now. You set the transponder down and wait a few minutes before turning it off. 

If that doesn't work, then I don't have a chance. 

You check that the transponder is fully off. 

I suppose I can just sleep and wait for him to get here. 

You lay down on the uncomfortable bed and close your eyes.

~

     You wake up as you hear the yelling of a familiar voice barking orders. 

"Search every room until you find her!" 

You check the time and see it's only 4 AM. You feel even more tired despite your rest. 

You hear a gunshot hit the lock on your door. You stand a few feet away from the door, waiting for him to enter. Someone kicks the door in and Captain Kaldor stands in front of you.

"What the hell is this about, huh? Have you come to turn yourself in? I'm not surprised you don't have your friends with you. After all, you're the hero, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't call myself a hero. We need to talk about why you were protecting me, and what's happening to my father." 

"He was protecting her?" One of the guards mutters. 

"Silence!" Kaldor shouts. 

He sighs. "Fine. We'll talk, but don't expect to see the rest of your precious squad for a long time."

"That's fine." You say confidently. "They're probably pretty upset with me since I just left them without telling them."

"Always so damn snarky." Kaldor mutters, grabbing one of your arms. "Prepare the ship. We're going to Weyland."