Hunter added, “Cut’s a friend.
We need to get his family off Saleucami first.”
Lance’s brow creased.
“The ship’s right here.
Can’t we just bring them along?”
Hunter let out a slow breath and shook his head.
“If this were still Republic times, sure, no complications at all.
Find some quiet planet, take on new names, disappear into a village nobody’s ever heard of.
Done.”
His tone sobered.
“But the Empire’s rolled out new policy.
No legal identity without a chain code now.
You know Cut’s situation.
If the Empire ever gets a lead on him, that’s it.
Without a chain code, exposure’s just a matter of time.”
“We could fly them around indefinitely, sure.
But they’ve got two kids.
Kids need something stable.
Not a life spent constantly running.”
Lance nodded slowly.
“What’s a chain code, exactly?”
Tech pushed his glasses up.
“An electronic identity record, tied to biometric data and personal files.
New Imperial rule: you need one to use transport or enter most public spaces.”
That clicked for Lance immediately.
Basically an ID card.
“So what’s the plan?”
Tech had clearly already worked one out.
“Forging chain codes needs blank disks and an encoder.
Given the Empire’s towing every ship in for registration at the spaceport, and that spaceport runs on clone labour”
“My plan is we hide inside the ship and let them tow it straight in.”
Hunter’s voice jumped a full octave.
“You want the Empire to tow our ship?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Tech’s tone stayed perfectly level despite the outburst.
“Yes.
And it’s currently the simplest, most efficient option available.”
“Once we’re inside, I can crack their system easily enough and grab the disks and encoder.”
He added, almost as an afterthought, “The odds of success are quite favourable, by my estimate.”
Hunter’s jaw tightened.
“And then what?
How do we walk out of a spaceport crawling with security?”
Tech rubbed his chin, thinking.
Lance spoke up.
“I’ve got a way.”
He nodded toward R4 at his feet.
“Send it in.”
The room went quiet for a beat, then everyone’s expression brightened at once.
“Once it’s got the disks and encoder, it slips back out.
Nobody’s going to look twice at a maintenance droid.”
R4 extended both mechanical arms in a small show of pride at the mention.
Underneath the practical logic, Lance had his own reasons for pushing this option.
He still didn’t fully trust this group.
Better to risk a droid than one of their own people.
At least R4 wasn’t capable of betraying him.
The squad traded glances, thought it over briefly, and nodded in agreement.
“That’ll actually work,” Hunter said, then shot a look at Tech.
“Considerably more reliable than your idea.”
With the tension between the two groups clearly thinning, Cut spoke up.
“Why don’t you all come by for tea?
I need to repaint R4 anyway.”
Lance considered it a moment, then agreed.
They walked over to Cut’s small courtyard together.
The two kids came sprinting the moment they spotted their parents, wrapping themselves around Cut and Suu.
Cut ruffled both their heads, pride written plainly across his face.
He pointed to the blue skinned boy.
“My son, Jek Lawquane.” Then to the brown skinned girl beside him.
“My daughter, Shaeeah.”
Both kids had already locked onto Grogu, hands clasped together, eyes practically glowing.
“By the way,” Cut added, “I don’t think I caught your name.”
Lance felt the same warm read coming off him through the Force as before, and let his guard slip a little further.
“Lance Black.”
He tapped Grogu’s head lightly.
“And this is Grogu.”
Jek and Shaeeah exchanged excited whispers, beaming, then looked up at Lance hopefully.
“Can we play with him?
Please?”
Lance still wasn’t entirely at ease.
He shook his head gently.
“Not yet.
He’s a little too young for that.”
Shaeeah opened her mouth to argue, but Cut cut in first.
“We’re leaving soon.
Both of you, go pack.”
Cut offered an apologetic smile.
“Sorry about that.
They don’t know any better.”
“It’s fine.”
Suu emerged from the tool shed around then, holding two cans of black spray paint.
“Good news, we’ve got two cans left.”
“I’ve seen the droids running around the spaceport.
Almost all of them are black.”
R4 let out a clear sound of protest at that, though there wasn’t much room to argue.
A little while later, thanks to Suu’s steady hand, R4 came out looking almost indistinguishable from a standard Imperial unit.
It didn’t seem thrilled about the transformation, sulking noticeably.
Its bright orange-yellow coat, effectively its identity, had just gone entirely black.
Lance waved it over.
“Chin up.
No need to sulk.”
“You’re Agent R4 now.
Not just some maintenance droid.”
Something about that pep talk seemed to land.
R4 perked right back up, waving both mechanical arms with renewed energy.
Beep beep!
Lance nodded, satisfied, and brought it back to the group.
“Let’s get this plan moving.”
After some back and forth, the group settled on Cut and Suu driving the landspeeder into the city with R4 aboard, dropping it near the spaceport.
Years of living here gave the two of them a familiarity with the place and its routines that made them the least likely to draw Imperial attention.
Their kids being back home only strengthened that logic further.
Lance wasn’t worried about them doing anything reckless, precisely because of those kids waiting at home.
That wasn’t him being petty.
Human nature just didn’t hold up well under pressure, and betting everything on trust alone wasn’t something the Jedi Code technically endorsed either.
A flicker of guilt passed through him at the thought, and he pushed it down just as fast.
Surrounded by potential threats the way they currently were, there was no such thing as being too careful.
One small mistake here could cost both him and Grogu.
Hunter clearly read the hesitation behind Lance’s reasoning, and chose not to push back on it, offering his agreement instead.
With the plan settled, everyone started getting ready to move.
Before they split up, Hunter pulled Lance aside privately.
“I need that droid to bring back one extra blank disk.”
Lance blinked.
“We just agreed on four.
Why five?”
Hunter went quiet for a moment.
“The fifth one’s for Omega.”
Lance frowned slightly.
“Her?
Isn’t she already part of your squad?”