(ON HIATUS) Execute Order Sixty-Soup: A Crack Fanfiction!

Chapter Four: Pursuit of Happiness

Ord Mantell had the reputation of an indolent hunk of brown rock, but after spending a few weeks there, Hunter would disagree.

It was his third trip to the Halabord Marketplace where they went to stock up on rations and medical supplies. This was the day when most citizens were off work, so the marketplace was bombarded with every alien species you could think of. He preferred to go when it was busiest so they could blend in.

Blending in also required that he was stripped of his armor and in his green civilian disguise gifted to him by Cut Lawquane. Echo was in "droid mode" with that suffocating mask covering his face.

Hunter wondered if it would be deemed socially acceptable to put Omega on a leash because the hustle and bustle of the marketplace made her dart like a mouse droid on steroids.

"It's all amazing!" she shouted, a trademark twinkle in her eye.

The sights, the sound and the smells were hard for Hunter's senses to organize. Someone was making a stew with insanely spicy additions, a trio of Weequays banged on rusted cans like drums, the Ord Mantell Broadcast played horrendous dubstep, and a group of kids looked like ribbons as they dashed back and forth with a ball. With the electromagnetic pulses humming and a major lack of sleep, the overwhelm was tricky to contain on this day.

Echo spoke through his filtered mask. "Didn't sleep?"

"Yeah," the sergeant replied. Omega had some Kamino-related nightmares, and when one person tossed and turned, so did he.

"You better get some rest when we return," the cyborg suggested.

Hunter nodded, but he knew that nod was of false promise. Echo was the very first of anyone to suggest him to prioritize himself, and he wasn't ready to do that.

He scanned his surroundings urgently to make sure Omega hadn't followed another voorpak, but she was in front of a book stand, staring intently at the colorful hardcover propped in the center of the display.

He hadn't seen a physical book since they visited Theed on Naboo. Most people didn't use them since they were so primitive in comparison to electronic mediums. He approached the stand and watched Omega struggle to read the title.

"The Chronicles of Fangorn," Omega read. "What is it? It's so pretty! Can we get it?"

The cover of the book was quite alluring, a hand-painted nebula stretching above a forest of conifers in a midnight sky.

Echo shook his head. "Sorry, Omega. It's not in the budget."

Omega's smile dropped for a moment with an "oh..." but it propped right back up when she took notice of the giant jukebox playing music. A few civilians were standing in front of the machine cutting a rug.

"Look at that!" she pointed at the machine excitedly, then grabbed Echo's hand. "Can we go dance?"

Hunter wasn't able to see Echo's expression, but he smiled when he sensed his spike in his blood pressure.

"Absolutely not," Echo protested.

"Why?" Omega asked.

"I don't dance," Echo asserted.

If there was a medal for "The Biggest Lie in the Galaxy", then Echo just won it.

"I just learned what dancing was a few weeks ago," Omega explained. "It can't be that difficult." She tugged on Echo's hand a few more times.

The cyborg looked at Hunter with a silent cry for help, but the sergeant encouraged their bonding time. "Go on. We have to wait for our ration order, anyway."