#Gonky fell over

[anstarwar]

Hunter told a dad joke. Or did a dad sneeze. Either way, he deserves this look

[lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom]

Hey! Hope I’m requesting in the right place! If not please let me know and I’ll rectify that.

Could I request some Hunter on Pabu please? Something domestic and fluffy for the galaxy’s greatest Dad? I’d love to see him sitting outside during dusk trying to relax after a long day, only to be interrupted by something or someone loud…

I leave the rest up to you 😉 Also totally happy for it to be x reader or not, whatever you want to do. I hope that gives you enough to go off.

As a side note, thanks for doing requests. It boggles my mind how amazing it is that people write for each other. I love this part of the fandom 🩵

Moment of Peace

Hunter x Reader

Summary- Hunter relaxes after a hard work day on Pabu, only to be interrupted by Gonky and reader. Fluff ensues!

A/N- Thank you so much for requesting! I'm so happy to be able to fulfill your request, you are AMAZING! I wish I was able to make it longer, but I didn't know what else to write!

Word Count- 1,259

His view over Pabu was a sight he hoped to never forget.

Hunter looked out to the ocean, feeling an unfamiliar tinge of peace. Calm was a luxury, silence was strange, and rest was foreign. The thought almost made him uneasy.

Almost.

Hunter stretched his arms over his head, shirt slightly rising with his stomach peaking out. With a content sigh, he relaxed further into his chair. His eyes threatened to close on him, possibly from his long day.

He wouldn't have minded, he had all the time in the world now.

It was hard to believe for him, it took hours of convincing from you. To prove to him he deserved this. That he deserved this feeling of peace. The countless times you held his hand, cradled his head, or soothed him with your words.

After dedicating half his life to the Empire- the other running from them- he needed a break. It was beyond deserved.

You certainly thought so.

In any moment of doubt, your words echoed in his head. "The things you have risked for Omega alone, that is enough to earn your place."

With a smile he let his mind fade, and eyes rest.

While he was no longer fending for his life everyday, everyone still had to play their part on Pabu.

For a man of Hunters skill set, he was extremely useful. This typically led to many citizens coming to him for help on repairs, transportation, fishing, and harvesting.

Hunter had never complained once, simply grateful for the new life he had been given with you. That being said, he still had select days.

The seemingly never ending waves of heat and questioning, it was all worth it to come home to you. Not to mention the relief his muscles feel when he settles into his favorite chair on the porch.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he began his nap, but when his eyes opened the sun was almost finished setting.

His arm hair was standing, heightened senses on edge. Something was about to happen, he could tell.

Eyes shooting back and forth across the horizon, then head turning to look beside him.

Breath quickened when he saw nothing was out of order, but his mind wandered to you,

You were inside, alone. Had something happened?

He was on his feet, but before he could open the door to his home- he heard a loud crash and a yelp.

He knew your voice immediately, it only drove him to slam the door open, running in. He didn't know what to expect, but he was ready to fight whoever he needed to.

Confusion flushed over him when he heard you laugh. Though, he didn't let himself settle until he saw you.

His feet moved as fast as his body would let them, coming to a brief halt when he was greeted by you in the living room.

A beeping and chirping noise also followed, almost like a greeting.

You were on your back, having fell on the floor. The cause of the crash and noise was Gonky, rested on top of you.

"Hunter! Oh, my savior!" You managed out, having a fit of giggles.

Gonky wobbled, unable to get up.

"What happened?" Hunter spoke, rushing to pull the power droid off of you.

It was easy for him to lift the unit and place him on his feet. Though, he was more worried about you, even in your laughter he stressed.

Now crouched down at your side, you answered him. "I forgot Wrecker had dropped Gonky off. When I came in to watch that new holofilm, he scared me!"

He fitted him hands under your arms to pull you up as well. You were aware that you could have stood on your own, but you let Hunter do as he pleased. It was another way he could make sure you were unharmed.

"How did you end up on the floor?" He looked you over, once you were clear of scrapes and blood- he followed you to the couch.

You heard the urgency in his voice, it was one your hadn't heard since your time on the run. "Hunter, I'm okay. Really, I just tripped over Gonky when I turned into the room."

He nodded, not looking so stiff anymore. "Are you okay?" You asked him.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hunter." You gave him hard eyes, knowing you weren't getting the full truth.

He sighed, "My senses just... I guess I haven't felt them that extreme in a while."

It was daily that he still felt his heightened senses, they still came in handy. Altering him where to fish, or if a stray ball flew his way from children playing. Not to mention Wrecker and Crosshairs antics.

Of course he had a downside to them, always had. Everything was amplified, it was difficult sometimes. Though, the worst of it was when he felt the way he did a few minutes ago.

When it was about you or Omega, it felt different. More urgent, almost painful.

"Hey, its okay. I'm here." You lifted a hand to hold his tatted cheek, you smiled up at him. Gonky beeped over at the commotion.

"I think he's trying to say 'sorry'." You tried to lighten the mood.

It worked well enough, as Hunter cracked a smile. He even reached over to place a pat on top of Gonky's box. Just before he lounged fully back on the couch.

"Wrecker said someone needed to watch Gonky while he was on his fishing trip." You explained, leaning into Hunters side.

"I still can't believe he agreed to a week long boat trip." Hunter started.

"I'll give it a few hours, he'll be back tonight to get Gonky, I bet."

He put his hand up, "I say two days."

"You have a deal, Wrecker will never last that long." You grasped his hand in a shake.

A few moments of calm silence went by, "What does the winner get?" You proposed.

Hunter hummed. When you looked up at him you saw his eyes closed.

"The winner of the bet?" He looked at you, but you could see the heaviness slowly reappearing in his eyes. He was trying to listen, but now the adrenaline was gone. His exhaustion was coming back.

"How about the loser has to clean Gonky." He teased, slowly closing his eyes again.

You simply cuddled up to his side, wrapping an arm across his stomach. He responded with a gentle hand to your back.

"That's too easy."

"With Wrecker watching."

"Well, that's not fair! It'll take hours, Wrecker is so picky when it comes to Gonky." You light heatedly argued.

He smiled, chest rising in a deep laugh. "Then you better hope he comes back in a few hours."

You gave in, a competitive grin rested on your face.

Gonky beeped again, shuffling to a corner to rest himself.

Peaking up once more, you saw Hunter still fighting sleep. You leaned up, placing a kiss to his cheek. "Good night, Hunter."

He mumbled something in return, you assumed it was along the lines of 'I love you.'

You would both be proven wrong when Wrecker would complete his week long trip, braving the waters. His reasoning? He didn't have to bathe...

As gross as you thought it was, you and Hunter decided you were both losers. Keeping up your end of the deal, you both washed Gonky. Months of caked up dirt took almost all day to get off. Although, you couldn't have picked a better helper.

A/N- Thank you for reading!!! Please let me know of any typos or constructive criticism!

Tags- (lmk if you want to be tagged as well!) @thethreeeyed-raven @dangraccoon @knight-of-flowerss

[hugmekenobi]

S2: The Bad Batch (10)

Chapter Ten: Retrieval

Gif by @dreamswithghosts

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: Luck seems to shift in your direction as you discover the location of the Marauder but getting it back will still be a challenge.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, swearing, mentions of food, feelings of sexual frustration, reader can't handle Hunter in this episode/chapter (cause I couldn't lol), mentions of Hunter's enhanced senses, light fluff with mild spice (flirty dialogue, making out, briefest hints of competence and authority kink)

Word Count: 5.2K

Author's notes: Pretty much stay on the episode plot here, just added a lil something extra at the end! Hope you enjoy! Excited to begin work on Ch11 :)

The wind howled as you, Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker continued working on the repairs of the very run-down speeder you had found in the spaceport.

Wrecker tossed his head back with an aggravated grunt. “I’m bored, I’m hot, and I’m starving.”

“I told you to preserve your rations.” You said with a small sympathetic smile.

“Well…” Wrecker sighed. “… I got hungry.” He tried to hammer in a part of the speeder, but it immediately fell back out. He dramatically sat away from it. “We’re wasting our time.” He grumbled. “This skiff’s a heap of junk.”

“Yes, but with a few repairs, it’ll be a slightly operational heap of junk.” Tech countered. “The energy cells have just enough power to get us to the town on the other half of the hemisphere.��

“Power?” Omega mused from where she was sitting. And then it hit her. She stood up excitedly. “We forgot about Gonky. He’s still on the Marauder.”

“I’m afraid since the thief disabled the ship’s transponder, we will not be able to locate him.” Tech said.

“Not the ship. I mean we can track Gonky.”

Brilliant. You applauded whilst Hunter nodded and smiled in her direction.

“Oh. Ingenious idea.” Tech praised. “Try doing a trace on his binary reference code.”

“On it.” Omega said determinedly as she walked over to the satellite.

Wrecker chuckled. “Don’t get your hopes up, kid.”

You chucked him a spare ration bar of yours which he eagerly accepted. “Shut up and keep working.” You said with a grin before you got back to your section.

--

“I’m getting a reading. I think I found Gonky!” Omega said with a gasp.

Wrecker released an absentminded laugh before he registered what she said. “You- What? You found him?”

Omega walked over to Hunter and Tech and showed Tech the datapad. “His signal is 100 kilometres east. If Gonky’s still on the planet, the Marauder must be too.”

“Let’s get this thing running and find out.” Hunter said.

--

Once the repair work was complete, Tech started directing you all to where you needed to sit in order for adequate weight distribution. He then told you and Hunter where to go.

Hunter nearly choked as he heard his brothers instructions.

“Sit on his lap?” You repeated, your mouth going dry. That was quite possibly the worse thing Tech could say to you right now. Situating yourself like that would not help quash the ever-present sexual frustration.

“Yes.” Tech replied simply before he got in position and powered up the speeder.

You refused to look at Hunter as you sat across his lap. Helmet or not, having that type of eye-contact would serve to make things worse. You kept your head down and your hold on his shoulders was anything but relaxed as Tech got the speeder in motion.

Hunter had an iron grip on your hips and his fingers were wrapping themselves tightly in your clothing. The jolty speeder ride was only adding to the pain of keeping himself under control.

--

It felt like eternity before you reached the destination.

Well, that was uncomfortable. Youlet out a deep sigh as you moved off him.

“Not exactly the word I would use.” Hunter mumbled as he stood up.

The five of you stared at the town in the distance ahead.

“Gonky’s signal is pinging from down there. I’m reading minimal life-forms in his proximity but an unknown number in the subterranean level.” Tech divulged.

“This place looks worse than the abandoned spaceport.” Wrecker said.

“We’ll do a split approach. Stay alert.” Hunter ordered.

--

“What am I gonna do with a defective power droid?” Benni said to the droid in front of him.

“That’s our defective power droid.”

Benni cowered at the voice turned around to see two armoured men staring down at him.

“Now, where’s our ship?” Hunter asked the young boy.

“Oh�� You see, the thing is-” Benni dashed to the side and made for his speeder.

Hunter and Tech just shared a non-concerned look. They’d expected as much.

Wrecker stuck his arm out as the bike rounded the corner and the kid wiped out from his speeder.

Benni got up and tried to run again but he was forced to back down by a young girl with a bow and a woman pointing her blaster at his face.

“Why is it they always try to run?” You said, your tone filled with boredom as you holstered your blaster whilst Wrecker grabbed the boy and the four of you headed back in the direction of Hunter and Tech.

“Beats me.” Wrecker said before he tossed the kid to the ground in front of their lost droid. “Hey, Gonky, you okay?”

The droid let out a few cheery sounding chatters.

“What do you care how that thing’s doing?” Benni asked. “It’s just a beat-up old battery.”

“Not to us.” Omega said fiercely.

“Let’s try that again.” Hunter said to the boy as he took off his helmet. “Where’s our ship?” He asked aggressively.

“Can you be more specific?”

“The one you stole yesterday.” You clarified, finding his stall tactic unamusing.

“Oh, right. That ship.” Benni chuckled nervously. “Well, Mokko has it. He gave me the droid as a gift.”

“And who is this Mokko?” Tech asked.

“Who’s Mokko?” Benni repeated, stunned that none of you had any idea about him. He stood up. “He runs this whole town. He’s the boss. Your ship’s his now.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Wrecker barked.

“Take us to it.” Hunter ordered the boy as you all closed ranks a bit more to back him further into the corner.

“No way. I can’t help you go against Mokko. You don’t know what he’s done for me.” But one quick growl from the tall one had his shaky resilience crumble. “All right, all right. I can show you where your ship is. But if you get caught, you don’t know me.”

--

“Techno Union ran this mine during the war, but Mokko took over when they were forced out. He’s kept this operation running ever since.” Benni elucidated as he showed you all what lay below.

“So, you’re an ipsium miner and a ship thief?” Omega challenged.

Benni turned back to the girl. “Mokko says they’re useful skills.”

“Stealing’s not a skill.”

“It is when you’re good at it.”

Tech brought up a holomap. “The central portal is ray-shielded, and all subterranean entrances appear to be guarded in shifts.”

“Ah, we’ve stormed tougher strongholds than that.” Wrecker said, dismissing any potential threat.

“You can’t use blasters inside an ipsium mine. You’ll destroy everything and everyone in there.” Benni pointed out. “Cut your losses now.”

“There is one covert infiltration point.” Tech said before he pointed it out. “From there.”

A large cloud of exhaust left the top of it.

“Figures.” You said with a sigh.

“The stack has a lower access hatch inside. If timed correctly, we can rappel down between exhaust cycles.” Tech explained.

Hunter looked at it through his macrobinoculars. “How big of a window is there?”

“Sixty seconds.” Tech replied.

“Plenty of time.” You and Omega said together.

“Glad you’re all so confident, but getting cooked alive wasn’t on my agenda. Good luck. I’m rooting for you.” Benni got up and turned to leave.

You placed your hand on his shoulder to prevent him from going any further.

“You can go once we have our ship back.” Hunter said coolly before he signalled to you to let him go.

--

“Oh, boy.” Wrecker said anxiously as he looked down from the top of the exhaust vent at the town. He really needed to stop doing that. It was then though he noticed the boy trying to slip past. He grabbed him and led him over to where the rest of you were.

“Set.” Hunter told Tech.

“On my mark.” Tech replied as a rush of steam was released.

“This is a very bad idea.” Benni fretted.

Please be careful.

Hunter nodded at you before he went over to the edge of the vent.

Tech’s timer beeped. “Now.”

You were glad your mask was on because it meant you could appreciate how much of a show off he was being without drawing attention to yourself. He didn’t have to stand up like that and he didn’t have to gracefully tip over the side like that, but he did it anyway. He was playing with the time he had, and you found it both attractive and amusing. You only hoped that would be the main thing you were feeling as he did this since you knew even the simplest appearing tasks tended to go wrong so you watched closely from the top as he made his way down.

--

Hunter got just over halfway down before he had to stop as a droid entered the bottom of the vent. He waited quietly as the droid analysed the area.

“You said it was unguarded.” You hissed at Tech. Now you were starting to get nervous. Sixty seconds had felt like plenty of time but now it was disappearing rapidly.

“It was at the time.”

“Thirty seconds.” Omega whispered.

“He’s not gonna make it. I’m telling you. You gotta bail before it’s too late.” Benni said in a panic.

“We don’t do that.” Omega replied.

“This is not good. This is not good.” Benni fretted.

Omega gasped as he knocked the torch out of her hand, and it started to fall.

You got ready to reveal yourself and stop it, the trouble it would cause being worth it if it protected Hunter’s cover, but you didn’t need to. What a show off. You thought to yourself as you watched him catch it. Despite the nerve-wracking situation, you couldn’t help but have a moment of falling victim to the base feelings attraction. The entire build up was filled with small, subtle moments that highlighted his skills and they were enough to get your blood to run hot. If you weren’t already too far gone and in love with him, you’d have been embarrassed at how easily he was able to reduce you to a hot mess.

Those feelings swiftly evaporated as you realised time was still ticking away. “Hunter, you have to move.” You urged into your comm.

Hunter pushed off the wall to move a few more metres down before he pushed off the wall and leaped towards the droid. He tackled it and used the momentum of tumbling forward to kick the droid over him. He got to his feet quickly and parried the hits from the droid. When there was an opening, he pulled it towards him and pushed him into the middle of the vent. He opened the door and dived through just as time ran out.

You all ducked as the hot exhaust exited the vent.

Hunter checked the space ahead before cleared the steam. “All clear.” He said into his comm.

Benni glanced warily between all of you. “You definitely aren’t ipsium miners.”

“Nope. You stole the wrong ship.” Omega said smugly.

You all slid down the wire and joined Hunter in the next corridor.

“Let’s move.” Hunter said.

You gave him a meaningful glance but ignored the questioning tilt of his head as he caught your eyes.

--

Benni held a finger to his lips as he glanced back behind him before he looked on and waited for the right moment to move out.

You took in the scenes in front of you. The various doors and settlements built within the mine were all connected by a series of bridges, and it appeared the workforce consisted of children and young adults that were watched on by security droids. It was by no means a safe environment and you knew these kids were being mistreated in some way or another.

“The conditions of this mine are less than ideal.” Tech commented.

“It’s because the ipsium’s become degraded.” Benni explained. “Mokko had to lower wages just to keep this mine up and running. At least we’re still working.” He changed the subject as he saw a gap opening up. “Your ship’s in the upper garage bay across from the central tower. Come on. I know a shortcut.”

Hunter caught his shoulder before he moved. “No tricks.” He warned.

“Hey, I’m not trying to get caught either.” Benni said by means of reassurance. He led the way to the garage.

--

You all had removed your coverings once you realised the garage was secure and you saw the welcome sight of the Marauder.

“Well, there’s your ship.” Benni stated as you all walked into the garage. “I held up my end of the bargain, so I’ll be off.” He turned on his heels and went to leave.

“Hang on.” Tech held a hand out to keep him from turning back. He walked over to examine the ship. “The hyperdrive has been removed.”

The rest of you glared at the young boy.

“You didn’t ask me what condition it’d be in. How’s that my fault?” Benni said defensively.

Wrecker lightly shoved the kid in the back and walked off with a frustrated growl.

“Relax. It’s not a complicated fix.” Benni said breezily.

“It better not be.” Wrecker growled.

“Grab the hyperdrive. Let’s make this quick.” Huner ordered Wrecker whilst you and him got to work on checking out the rest of the ship.

“What about the ray shield? We still need to shut it down.” Omega reminded you all.

“You can only do that from the central tower.” Benni stated.

“Let’s go.” You said as you half turned to face him.

“No way.” Benni objected. “You stick out too much. If you don’t trust me to go alone, she’ll blend in easily enough.” He indicated to the young girl who was still stood next to him.

Hunter considered the proposition for a moment before he spoke to Omega, “Don’t let him out of your sight.”

Tech walked over and handed a spare datapad to Omega. “Transfer the data onto this and I can access the shield remotely.”

“Let’s go.” Omega got ready to hassle out, but the boy stopped her with a scoff.

“Not looking like that.” Benni said before he handed her his jacket.

--

“How’s is looking?” Hunter said into his comm as he kept a lookout for any potential trouble.

“I can get most of the systems back online easily enough, but we are not going anywhere until we get the hyperdrive reconnected.” Tech said from inside the ship as he lay underneath the main console.

“We’re working on it.” Wrecker replied testily as he held another part in place for you to secure.

--

More time passed and you were now keeping guard with Hunter on top of the ship since Tech had insisted that he do the next set of repairs himself and you were fine with that- you knew he’d be faster, and he knew the ship better than you.

“The motivator is installed, but I still have to connect the primaries to the guidance system and adjust the navicomputer.” Tech commed in from where he was now under the ship.

“Weapons system’s online.” Wrecker added.

“We’re not engaging.” Hunter informed. “The situation for these kids is bad enough.”

“Mokko appears to be using his powers and means as leverage over his workers. It is a similar tactic used by the Empire.” Tech theorised. “Although, this operation is on a smaller scale.”

It was then you saw from your position two kids climbing up the ladder to the garage. You nudged Hunter’s arm and the two of you hid behind part of one of the wings of the ship.

“Didn’t Bryce and Hugh say they removed the hyperdrive?” One of the kids asked his companion as he studied the scene in front of him. It was then he saw two men working below it. “Hey, who are you?”

“Uh, Mokko sent us.” Wrecker said.

The wary looks the two boys gave each other didn’t fill you with confidence. You and Hunter jumped down and slowly approached them.

“Easy.” Hunter said steadily.

“We’re just here for our ship.” You said calmy but it wasn’t any good. The two boys darted back down, and you and Hunter were left with little choice but to follow them before they blew your cover.

“Get the engines online.” Was Hunter’s last order to Tech and Wrecker before he followed you down the ladder.

--

“Any luck with the shield code?” Benni asked tiredly. She had been at it for a while now and was showing no signs of being any closer.

“Not yet.” Omega said as she stayed focused on her task. “Most of this data is just Mokko’s profit reports. I thought you said the ipsium here’s degraded.”

“It is.” Benni replied.

“Not according to this.” Omega said as she studied the numbers on the datapad.

“Let me see that.” Benni approached her and looked at the screen but then, thanks to his earlier actions of alerting Mokko to their presence when they had first entered the room that he was now immediately regretting, Mokko and two security droids came through the door.

“My thief caught another thief. Nicely done, Benni.” Mokko said gleefully as he limped towards the young girl. “I’m impressed. Where are the others?”

Omega gave Benni an accusatory look before she was back up further by the imposing creature in front of her. Mokko looked to be more machine than anything else.

“Garage bay.” Benni answered glumly. “Sorry. I had to.” He said to her.

“That’s my boy.” Mokko praised. “The title of top earner is definitely in your future.”

Mokko left first and Omega was escorted out by the two droids, leaving Benni with the datapad.

--

You and Hunter ran sprinted through the door and glanced around but you couldn’t see the two boys anymore.

“Dammit.” You whispered, more to yourself if anything. Then Tech’s voice came through the comm channel.

“The hyperdrive is nearly online.”

Hunter sighed as he responded, “We lost our spies.”

“And they called in backup.” You said as you saw more people walk on the bridge in the distance. You and Hunter pulled out your blasters and kept your eyes on the bridge.

--

“It appears we have uninvited guests.” Mokko said as he walked across the bridge. “Care to show yourselves?”

Tech and Wrecker instantly came through the door that opened onto the bridge with their blasters drawn.

“So, you think you can come here and steal from me?” He asked the intruders angrily.

“Technically, this ship belongs to us.” Tech disputed.

“Not anymore! And I’d rethink the blasters.” He chuckled sinisterly. “One stray shot, and we’re all done for.”

“We don’t miss.” Wrecker said confidently.

Mokko merely laughed again. “I believe you, but I think you’ll reconsider.” He indicated up to a half-built bridge where the young girl he’d captured was being dragged to the edge of.

You all looked up to the sound of Omega’s struggles and immediately the stakes had changed.

“Lower your weapons, or she goes over.”

Tech and Wrecker dropped them slightly.

You also put your away whilst Hunter brought out the grappling hook from his pack.

You could tell what the type of plan that was formulating in his head. You or me?

“Probably better to have you on standby in case this doesn’t quite go to plan.”

Just make sure it goes to plan.

--

“Trespassing and attempted theft. Ten years in the mines seems like a reasonable punishment, if you survive that long.” Mokko sneered at the two men. “Take them below.” He instructed his workers.

Wrecker and Tech shared a nervous glance as the kids advanced towards them.

“Stop!” Benni yelled as he came out of Mokko’s office with the datapad that illuminated the lies he and his fellow earners had been told.

“Not now, kid. I’m busy.” Mokko said dismissively.

Benni wasn’t going to be dissuaded and he everyone deserved to know the truth. “You lied to us, Mokko. The ipsium’s not degrading! You’ve been cutting us out and keeping the profits for yourself!”

“That’s a lie. Don’t listen to him!”

“You never cared about us at all.” Benni spat angrily. “And I have the proof right here.” He held up the datapad.

“Let me see that.” Drake took it from him and saw the truth for himself. He scoffed, “What’s going on, Mokko? We toil down in the mines while you enjoy the spoils?”  

Mokko could feel the odds turning against him as all the kids stopped paying attention to the two soldiers and were now fixing their gazes onto him. “I was taking my share! None of you would’ve survived without me! Don’t forget that.” He nodded to his droids to take up position both in front and behind him before he then turned his attention to the droid with the young girl. “Throw her over!”

--

Omega saw the grappling hook wrap around one of the bridge posts and she knew what she had to do as the droid started to drag her to the edge. She held onto its arm and waited for Hunter to get closer and once he was, she used all her strength to pull the droid over with her. The droid past her and fell into the chasm below but she reached out her hand and found Hunter’s who held onto her tightly as they followed the line of the grappling hook back to the bridge.

Hunter guided her onto his pack and she climbed onto his shoulders to get back onto firm ground.

--

Such a beautiful fucking show off. You thought to yourself with a longing sigh as you watched him catch Omega and they both successfully made it back to the bridge. You drew your blaster again and watched for what was going to happen on the bridge next.

--

“No one’s going to take what belongs to me.” Mokko said, his panic rising as his ranks closed in around him. “Take care of all of them!”

Tech and Wrecker each fired a shot that disabled the droids before they had a chance to follow Mokko’s order.

Mokko raised his cane as his head darted between the two groups surrounding him. “I’ll deal with you myself.”

You fired a shot that skimmed the right by his foot and that, plus the added momentum of the careless swing of his cane as his ranks closed in on him saw him go over the side of the bridge.

Mokko’s cane caught on the bars, and he dangled helplessly.

“Grab my hand!” Benni cried as he reached between the bars for Mokko.

Mokko merely sniggered and used his mechanical claw to get a tight hold of Benni’s outstretched hand and tried to pull him through. “You never should’ve crossed me, kid.”

Benni grunted in discomfort but was grateful to the hands that kept him secure. He could only watch as the grip Mokko’s other hand had on his cane failed him and he fell screaming into the abyss below.

--

With Mokko’s reign ended, the five of you were able to get back to your ship and get ready to leave.

You stood by Omega and Hunter whilst Tech performed some final checks and Wrecker greeted Gonky.

“Good to have you back.” Wrecker said with a chuckle as he lifted Gonky.

You caught the exchange out the corner of your eye, and it made you smile.

“Here’s your stuff.” Benni said as he steered the platform in front of the three of you.

“All of it?” Hunter asked with a firm stare.

“Yeah, don’t you trust me?” The immediate silence to Benni’s question was answer enough. “Okay, that’s fair. But it’s all there.”

You and Hunter took it over to the ship, leaving Omega alone with him.

“So, what will all of you do now?” Omega asked.

“I guess we’ll keep mining ipsium. It’s what we know.”

“You can be whatever you want.” Omega said encouragingly. “It’s a big galaxy. You don’t have to stay here.”

“It’s not so bad. And with Mokko gone, we’ll all be getting an equal share of the profits now.” A voice in the distance got his attention.

“Benni, chow time!”

Benni waved over in acknowledgement before he focused on the young girl again. “Thanks for showing me the truth. Hey, if you ever need a thief, I owe you.”

Omega smiled as she watched him go before, she got lost in thought.

“What is it?” Tech asked, noticing her demeanour as he approached her.

“The Empire’s not the only threat.” She turned to face him. “We’ve seen so many in the galaxy like Mokko.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Tech agreed solemnly but he looked back to where the rest of you were putting the stuff back in the Marauder. “But there are many like us as well. And that is something.” He said with a slight smile as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

The two of them joined the rest of you on the ship before it took off.

--

“You’re supposed to be following the examples of the others and be sleeping.” You chastised quietly as Hunter came to join you in the cockpit. He was in his sleep clothes with the necklace you’d given on display. It was a sight that never failed to get your heart beating just that extra beat faster.  

“You’ve spoiled me. It would seem that getting to sleep is more difficult without you next to me.” Hunter admitted as he came to sit in the chair opposite you. “Anything to report?”

“Not a thing.”

“Makes a change.” Hunter mused.

You nodded in agreement and ran your hands up and down your bare arms. “You know we’ll have to get in touch with Cid at some point?” You asked carefully.

Hunter released a tired sigh and hunched over. “I know. Figured I’d let us all catch up on some rest and then bite the bullet.”

“And the plan is still to part ways?”

“Yeah. What just happened proved we can’t stay with her. Don’t exactly know where we’ll go but…”

“We’ll figure it out?” You guessed with a smile.

Hunter huffed out a laugh. “Exactly.”

“Sounds good to me.” You moved from your seat and crossed the short distance to stand in front of him.

“Thought you were on watch?” Hunter said with a smirk as he leaned back to allow you to sit, and he let his hands fall to your hips.

“Lucky for me, there’s another set of eyes here.” You threaded your hands through the ends of his hair and tilted his head back.

Hunter suppressed a groan, “This isn’t- this isn’t very professional.” His voice lacking any sort of authority that he was only unenthusiastically trying to find anyway.

“Would you like me to call you ‘sir’ then?” You flirted as you brought your lips to temptingly close to his, but you didn’t close the distance yet.

“Fuck.” Hunter rasped.

“Or ‘sergeant’?” You breathed against his lips.

Hunter sighed deeply. The limited willpower he possessed was rapidly evaporating.

“Or I can stop.” You offered sincerely. You traced the small Jedi symbol on the necklace and pulled back to look at him properly.

Fuck, no, he didn’t want that at all. “It’s just- I don’t know if there’s time for- or even if we should-”

“I know. Wrecker takes over in ten minutes. Let us have this.” You knew things couldn’t get too hot and heavy with the limited time you had, and you didn’t want things to extend that far given the current living situation but you both just needed a moment, not matter how small. You bridged the gap and kissed him.

Hunter’s hands caressed your back as he kissed you back. “I noticed some interesting things on this past mission.” Hunter said as he broke away and let you plant some light kisses to his neck and jaw.

You recognised the teasing and inviting lilt in his voice, but you played along. “Oh yeah?”

He curled a finger under your chin to stop you and bring your eyes to his. “There were quite a few instances were your heartbeat and body temperature skyrocketed.”

You couldn’t prevent a natural reaction to seeing him be as capable as he was during the mission, but you should’ve known it wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. “I don’t um know what you could possibly be uh referring to. You’re mistaken.”

It was Hunter’s turn now to take his time paying attention to you. You were also in your sleep clothes, so he had free reign. His lips left a trail across your clavicle. “I’m not wrong about this sorta thing. It’s in my genes to be right.”

“First time for everything.” You deflected, biting back a sigh as you let your head hang back to give him more access to your neck.

“You’re squirming.” Hunter teased quietly.

“I am not.” You argued half-heartedly as you were becoming more focused on the feeling of his lips on your bare skin.

“You are. Don’t really think I’ve seen you squirm before…” He trailed off to focus his ministrations on the sensitive spot just behind your ear. His lips grazed the shell of your ear before he murmured, “What was it?”

You couldn’t resist. You could bare the humiliation so long as he just kept doing what he was doing. “You, you ass.”

Hunter smiled against your mouth. He kissed you softly before he turned his attention to the other side of your neck. “Keep talking.”

“You were- you were just so unnecessarily capable and- and you were showing off with it. And dammit it you looked really fucking hot. Is that what you wanted to hear?” You let out a soft groan as he gently bit down on your pulse point.

“I should do things like that more often if it gets you like this.”

“You’re just saying that cause I’m on your lap as I’m doing it.” You said shakily as an attempted deflection but the smirk you felt against the skin on your neck told you that it wasn’t a very good one. You sometimes forgot that as easy as it was for you to read him and get a glimpse into what he was feeling, it was just as easy for him to do it back, if not more so. You sought out his mouth once more but you both paused at the faint noise in the background.

The sound of rustling in the corridor behind you and the indication of boots hitting the floor told you both that your time was up. You got to your feet and hastily went back to your original seat. You made it with a perfectly respectable number of seconds to spare.

“Thing’s are good here, Wrecker. Can’t imagine you’ll have to do much.” You informed as you and Hunter stood up.

Wrecker gave you a thumbs up. He didn’t question why Hunter appeared to be with you. He’d honestly expected as much and was just happy he hadn’t interrupted anything. “You two go get some sleep.”

You and Hunter made your way back to your bunk and within moments of lying down, the two of you fell fast asleep, comfortable, and secure in each other’s arms.

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @starwarsnerd111

[tbnrpotato]

Our Own Choices

Chapter 15

Warnings: Violence, swearing, possibly blood

When we all return to the Marauder, Tech takes a look at the lightsaber wound on my arm, applying some cooling burn cream and injecting some sort of medicine into the wound, before bandaging it up.

"Thanks," I sigh as the cream numbs the burning feeling.

"You do not need to thank me. It is standard protocol that wounds are tended to after a mission," Tech replies without even looking at me, typing away at his datapad, before heading to the pilot's seat.

I sit at the back seat with Echo, Tech and Wrecker had them installed when we went for a quick supply run shortly after I joined them. 

Gonky waddles over to me from the back, making some "gonk" sounds, which I understand as "Is your arm okay?" I smile and pat Gonky on the head. "I'm fine."

He seems to enjoy the gesture as he nudges me a little with his metal body. I take off my helmet and pat Gonky on the head again, breathing in the scent of the ship as I lean back in my chair. I can never get sick of the smell. The familiarity of Echo's scent, that minty one from Crosshair, the dirt from Hunter because he always sniffs it like it's cocaine, gunpowder for Wrecker, and Tech smells like the 501st barracks if the air was sour. Hunter says I smell like chlorine. I love the smell, it feels so welcoming, almost like the 501st, but in a different way.

I put my helmet back on as I remember that I'm supposed to act like a "good soldier" who "follows orders" to gain Crosshair's trust and maybe help him remove his chip like how Fives did.

I sigh as we take off for Kamino. If order 66 was issued, most Jedi would be dead by now.

Even General Skywalker.

At least Commander Tano left the order, so she should be safe.

How's Rex? Will he be back on Kamino? Is he okay? Should I comm him?

Echo puts a hand on my shoulder, noticing my worry. As much as I try to hide it, he's known me long enough to notice the little habits I do when I'm worried.

"Ad'ika, everything's going to okay," he says, looking at me with a slight smile.

"I'm just worried about Rex. Maybe I should comm him-"

"You can do it when we get back to Kamino."

I sigh at the mention of our home planet. I never wanted to go back there. Never wanted to go back to the white, sterile prison I escaped from just before the war started. But hey, it's not like I have much of a choice.

I keep my helmet on throughout the journey. It's more comfortable, really. No one gets to see my face in case I commit a war crime or something. Crosshair and Hunter fall asleep on their seats while I turn on the music from my datapad and connect it to the earpiece in my helmet, listening to Avicii music.

After a few hours of finding a bunch of music to listen to, I hear Tech say, "We are coming up on Kamino." 

I switch off the music, still keeping my helmet on.

"It's good to be home. How long has it been?" Wrecker asks.

Not good to be home. And 180 rotations based on their schedule. 

"180 rotations in a standard cycle, but galactic zone changes but the adjusted figure at around 205."

Oh. Damn.

"Wut?" Wrecker asks.

Are you that stupid?

Echo sighs. "A long time." He sounds so fed up, rolling his eyes when Wrecker agrees.

I sit behind Hunter and Crosshair, listening in on every conversation. I notice Crosshair turning to look at Hunter, who responds, eyes closed, with a "What?"

"You sure that Padawan died when he fell?"

"Sure I'm sure. Why?" Hunter opens his eyes as he talks.

"Well, usually when someone falls you look down, not across."

"Well some of us don't like to watch," Hunter replies as he stands up and walks to where Echo, Tech and Wrecker are. Crosshair and I remain at the back, I silently observe as he crosses his arms. 

I hear thunder crashing from outside the ship, and it shakes me to my core. Only Kamino thunder sounds like that. I remember hiding in my bunk every night, trying to drown out the sounds of waves crashing against the supports. My squadmates laughing at me for being a coward, saying it was because I was defective.

One of the days the storms were much worse than usual. The thunder too loud for my liking, I could almost feel the waves reaching to the platform. I was sneaking out of my barracks, when I saw 99 carrying blasters to the weapon storage area.

"Hey Aris," he called out when he noticed me. "What're you doing still up?"

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted. "Thunder was too loud."

99 puts the blasters he was carrying to the side and puts his arm around my shoulder, guiding me into the barracks where the rest of my sleeping squadmates are.

"Cmon kid, let's get you to bed."

I climb into my bunk as another crash of thunder startles me, and I curl up into a ball in my bunk.

"Everything's going to be okay kid. Just relax and think of something else," 99 says as he puts the blanket over me, tucking me into bed. I smile up at him. "Thanks 99."

He gives me a short nod, his half-smile making the wrinkles on his face even more pronounced as he walks out.

That night I had the best sleep of my life.

And now 99's dead. And I'm all grown up. I sigh as I push the urge to cry down and focus on the present.

"Unidentified transport, transmit your clearance code," A voice from the front of the ship says.

"Clearance code? Don't they know who we are?" Echo asks.

"Must be a protocol drill," Tech replies. "Transmitting clearance code."

"Authorization confirmed. Proceed to landing bay one-tac-one."

Tech pilots the ship into the landing bay. The door of the ship opens and Hunter and Tech walk out first, with me following behind them. If I'm in the middle, hopefully no one will notice the new addition to the squad. Echo, Wrecker and Crosshair walk out behind me, all of their helmets off except me and Crosshair's.

Clones patrol the landing bay, and I spot the familiar crimson armor of the Coruscant Guard troopers. I scoff at the sight.

Fucking Coruscant Guard. Murdered a good soldier who just tried to do his duty. I would kill them any day.

"Shock troopers? What's the Coruscant Guard doing here?" Hunter's voice interrupts my silent trash talking of the Coruscant Guard. 

Oh. Right. Forgot they were supposed to be on Coruscant.

"Level five lockdown remains in effect. Security teams, report to the command center." A voice on the speakers says.

Lockdown? For what? Kamino doesn't look like it's in any danger.

"This isn't a drill," Tech observes.

How perceptive.

"Aw man. What did we miss now?" Wrecker sounds disappointed.

"The end of the war," a random shock trooper answers. 

"Say that again, trooper?" Hunter asks.

"General Grievous was defeated on Utapau. The separatist leadership has collapsed. The war is over."

"Just like I said," Tech says. 

Of course. He's usually right.

Wrecker gasps dramatically. "It is just like you said."

I roll my eyes at Wrecker's comment as I watch troopers carry a body laid out on a stretcher covered by a piece of cloth.

A body? On Kamino? No battles happened recently...

A lightsaber falls out from under the cloth and onto the floor.

A Jedi.

So I was right. Most of the Jedi are dead.

The shock trooper picks the lightsaber up from the floor as the rest of the batch look at each other with a look that says, "something's not right".

"Is there a problem?" The shock trooper asks.

"No...problem. We'll just head to our barracks then," Hunter says, looking back at the rest of us for a moment before walking off, with the rest of us following.

"Best hurry. There's a mandatory general assembly at 1500," the shock trooper says.

We walk through the sterile, almost blinding white hallways of Kamino. I instinctively stay close to Echo, not to the point of looking like a clingy child, but still within half a meter radius of him.

Echo looks back at me. "You okay?"

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Yeah. I just...never thought I'd find myself back here. Again." It's my way of saying, "I don't want to be back here. I'm so scared." 

Echo gives me a short nod, which is his way of saying, "Everything's going to be okay" in public. We pass rows of troopers marching towards somewhere, in an almost robotic way.

"It's not just the clones on Kaller," Hunter says. "All the regs are acting strange." Tech looks around. "Let's test that theory." He proceeds to walk up to a random clone and asks, "Excuse me, trooper. What division are you from?"

Obviously annoyed, the clone elbows him in the side with his blaster. "Step aside."

"Oh, well they seem the same to me."

"I'm not surprised. I'd be annoyed too," I speak up, trying to lighten the mood. No one replies.

We reach their barracks and the moment the door opens, I'm greeted with the scent of oil, rotting food, and sweat. I scrunch up my nose under my helmet.

Tech walks in first, then Wrecker, who exclaims how it's good to be back while setting his helmet on a crate.

"The smell's getting worse," Echo comments.

"You're still new. You'll get used to it," Hunter reassures him, patting him on the shoulder. Crosshair pushes past the both of them. "Speak for yourself."

I hesitantly walk into the barracks, the smell gets stronger when I enter. I look around, observing my surroundings. It's quite messy, Tech has a bunch of random parts scattered on the table, Echo has a hammock at the side, and Crosshair's bunk has crates in front of it to block people from entering it.

This is the first time I'm entering their barracks. The last time they went back to Kamino I refused to go, and they went to pick me up in a few days. Those few days were the best of my life.

Crosshair goes to sit on the crates blocking his bunk while the rest of them go to sit at the table in the middle of the room. Wrecker marks the board for the number of missions we completed.

Still keeping my helmet on by instinct, I walk over to Crosshair, who's currently chewing on a toothpick, helmet off.

"Um. Can I have one?" I awkwardly gesture to the toothpick in his mouth.

"No," he replies. "Go away."

"Look we need to get you to the medbay right now or as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Because there's an inhibitor chip in your head which basically makes you follow orders blindly and it's working for all the other clones except us but it's working for you and-"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not you carried out Order 66 and-"

"Shut up," he says in a dangerously low tone. My temper starts to flare up.

"Make me."

Crosshair stands up from the crates and cracks his knuckles, ready to draw his knife if things escalate. I draw my knife and get into a fighting stance.

"Woah woah woah. Easy," Hunter says as he pushes us apart. I glare at Crosshair, and he glares back. Not breaking eye contact, I sheathe my knife and shove Crosshair over just for good measure before heading over to sit next to Echo. 

"11 more successful missions," Wrecker says with a grin. "Like there was any doubt." He goes to sit on his bunk, picking up his tooka doll.

"Kaller wasn't a win," Echo says. 

"Says who? We completed our objective."

"Not every objective," Crosshair speaks up, picking up his rifle and examining it. I draw my sword from my back and start sharpening it absentmindedly, just needing something to do with my hands. 

"Hunter let that Jedi kid escape. Or do you want to keep lying to us?"

Hunter stands up and looks out the window. "I don't like to think of executing our commanders as a mission objective."

Crosshair stands up from his position on the crates. 

"An order is an order."

"Since when?"

They glare at each other for a moment before Echo breaks the tension. "None of this makes sense. Those clones served alongside General Bilaba for years. How could they turn on her like that?!"

"Because of the regs' programming," Tech speaks up.

"What programming?" Hunter breaks his death stare at Crosshair to ask.

"It's been well documented that the Kaminoans inhibited the cognitive functions of clones-"

"To engineer them to follow orders without question," I finish. Tech glares at me like I just committed a horrible war crime.

"Ha! We sure don't!" Wrecker shouts, assaulting Crosshair with his tooka doll.

"Obviously we are different. They manipulated pre-existing aberrations in our DNA resulting in your brute strength, Crosshair's sharpshooting skills..." Lucky son of a bitch. "...Hunter's enhanced senses and my exceptional mind. My guess is we are immune to the effects of the programming. Though I can't be 100% certain of it.

"Well Crosshair isn't and he's in fucking denial," I say with a sarcastic smile underneath my helmet. Crosshair is walking over to probably punch me in the face when Echo gives him a glare which makes him back off. He knows how protective my ori'vod can be. 

"What about Echo? He was a reg before he joined us. And Aris," Hunter asks.

"Well see guys Echo was probably damaged on Skako Minor because look at him right now no offence ori'vod, and since I'm an actual defect they probably didn't even bother I mean they were gonna terminate me anyways," I laugh under my helmet. Echo pats my shoulder. "Good thing they didn't then."

"All personnel report to the staging area for a briefing on the state of the Republic," a voice says over the speakers.

"This is one meeting I don't want to miss," Hunter says, walking to the door.

"First time for everything," Tech comments as we all head to the staging area. Troopers stand in neat rows, helmets on as they stare up at the holotransmission of a hooded figure, they look almost robotic. The thought of their individuality...Fives and Echo's chaotic nature, Hardcase's constant urge to shoot something, Uncle Wolffe's sarcasm, Rex's parental instincts, all gone...it gives me chills. I'm hardly paying attention until I hear the word "Jedi".

"...And the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated!" The hooded figure says. "The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed."

"You can say that again," Wrecker says. I almost burst out laughing.  

"But I assure you, my resolve has never been stronger! In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the FIRST GALACTIC EMPIRE! For a safe and secure society."

Galactic Empire????? Man the Republic sounded so much better though-

Everyone starts cheering, except me and the batch. What's so exciting about Jedi getting killed? Right. Must be the inhibitor chip.

I look around to try and find any 501st members. None here. I'll comm Rex later. Right now, I need to focus on getting Crosshair's chip out.

I sigh as I glance at Echo, who looks equally confused as me.

"Ori'vod?" I turn to Echo.

"Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you in the barracks later. It's about Fives."

He lets out a sigh. "Okay vod'ika." 

a/n: IM BACK IN THE HOUSE BOISSSSSSS

[fives-girlfriend]

A/N: New here? Start at First Impressions, part 1!

Unscheduled Maintenance

When the Marauder breaks down in transit, Asha and Tech have some much-needed chatter.

Characters: TBB, OC (Asha Kurr)

Warnings: None, apart from a slight falling scare

Word count: 3,400 (boy, I love rounded numbers!)

———————————————–

Asha awoke with a start, the dream she had been so blissfully enjoying fading away like distant neon and the warmth of a lost touch. She let out a soft groan, sitting up from the flimsy mattress that was padding the floor of the gunner loft, and rubbed her eyes as she peered out the window. The swirls of hyperspace were still rolling by, and the ship was silent. What could have awakened her, she wondered? Everything was still, and after a few moments, she laid back down and turned her gaze out the window, slowly allowing herself to begin drifting off, maybe chasing that distant memory again.

Stillness was shattered with an unsettling CHUNK.

The Marauder buckled, rather uncomfortably for everyone aboard – Asha had to vault out of the loft in a dead sprint just to keep Gonky from falling over. The 99 crew had been in the process of changing hyperspace lanes, dropping out of hyperspace for the briefest of moments, when the whole ship suddenly lurched, sending everyone jolting forward.

"What the hell was that-?!" Wrecker's voice was the first thing calling out, and Asha stood up, making her way towards the cockpit as everyone began emerging from where they'd been sequestering themselves away. She knew the feeling of that jerk all too well, and as Tech swiveled around in the pilot’s seat to address the others, it seemed he did too.

"The hyperdrive-"

"-failsafe kicked in-"

"-I'll run a diagnostic-"

"-but I think the navigation array-"

"-misaligned when we dropped-"

"-we should land so I can work on it."

Asha and Tech's voices rang out in tandem, and the two of them both looked towards each other in quiet bewilderment. Silence fell over the cockpit, before Asha stepped over to claim the copilot seat.

"...good idea," she muttered, not looking up at Tech. His expression betrayed his thoughts, giving her a rather quizzical look before he turned back to the controls. Why did she seem so embarrassed? They simply had the same idea at the same time - a remarkable feat, all things considered.

"There is a habitable moon not far from here," Tech stated plainly, "and preliminary scans show it to be uninhabited."

"I'll get started on the ship diagnostics," Asha continued, sounding slightly more confident. "That way we'll know what's wrong by the time we land. The navigational array is likely misaligned, but if we missed that, then who knows what other problems there might be…"

"Good idea," Tech replied, earning a startled blink from Asha. "I'll run an atmospheric scan when we land."

The words 'good idea' were still ringing in Asha's head as they made their way to the uninhabited moon, orbiting what appeared to be a large gas giant. Tech said she had a good idea. Tech, who was always so painfully indifferent to her, ever since she joined this squad. The very same Tech who never so much as gave her a second glance in… just about any regard, even as she admired his mechanical skill from afar. That Tech, the man designed to be a perfect genius, said that she had a good idea.

A warmth bloomed in Asha's chest, the smallest of smiles on her face as they made their way to the surface.

With difficulty, the ship was brought down planetside – there was sparse flora, more close to a tundra than anything. The atmosphere was quite frigid, and while Asha was wrapping up her diagnostics on the ship, Tech was beginning his atmospheric scans.

“So we were right - the navigation array is out of alignment. And seems like one of the engines has a 32% lower output than the other, which is… less than ideal, to say the least…” she spoke mainly to herself, thinking out loud. She wasn’t expecting Tech to be listening, not since he was working on his scan – but to her surprise, he acknowledged her, even without looking up from his datapad.

“I see. I will begin recalibrating the navigation array, if you would care to assist me,” he stated bluntly, making Asha blink a bit.  When he was met with silence, he looked up and tilted his head. "...you seem surprised."

"Yeah- yeah, sorry, I just… wasn't expecting you to ask for my help." Asha rubbed one of her lekku up and down in an ever-present nervous tic, to which Tech was already standing up to start grabbing his tools.

"Have I given off that impression?"

"...kinda-sorta."

"I can't imagine why. You've shown yourself to be very capable. I believed myself to have adequately expressed this thought already."

"Well-" Asha grimaced, shrugging a little as she was already sorting through her toolbelt to make sure she had everything; her response earned an arched brow from Tech. "You can be a little… blunt, sometimes. I… I'm not great at picking up subtle intonations or gestures or stuff, I guess. Not as well as I used to."

Tech's eyes widened ever so slightly as Asha continued.

"But! It wasn't always like this! I used to be really good at figuring out what people were feeling just by like, a look, or how they carried themselves, when I was a kid. It kinda- it kinda went away as I got older. It's like-" she began to gesticulate with her spanner, "it's like now, unless I'm explicitly told what you're thinking or feeling, I- I don't always get it. And if you've been encouraging me really subtly all this time, then I- I haven't picked it up! I- heh, I… I-I honestly thought you kinda hated me."

"That is… an extremely far leap of judgment," Tech quickly refuted. "However, your explanation is… sound. And… I apologize for having given you that impression. I do not hate you, Asha. Far from it. You've proven yourself to be very capable, both as an engineer, and… as a member of this squad."

Now it was Asha's turn to be surprised. A bright warmth rose to her cheeks and she found herself immediately moving to slide underneath the console to start working, her first response to such a genuine compliment being to hide just how much it affected her.

"Careful, Tech." Asha jolted a little as Echo's voice came from the doorway. "She's an easy blusher."

"Oh, shut up!" There was a loud clang as in an instant, Asha was sitting up again and her wrench was hucked across the room, colliding with the wall next to the door. For a moment, she wasn't on the Marauder anymore. For a moment, the bustle of the Coruscant hangar was around her, the laughs of troopers, the clatter of her tools against someone's helmet and the brotherly jeers that went along with it, a blooming warmth in her chest despite the teasing. For a moment, Asha was home.

But when she blinked, she was back home, and Echo was standing there in the doorway with wide eyes, jerked to the side as he stared at the miniscule dent in the wall beside him.

"Oh- oh, stars, I'm sorry, Echo, I-I-" Asha began, stumbling over her words. "It was just a gut reaction, I-I swear I-"

Asha's frantic rambling was cut off with a snicker. Echo was… laughing? He brought a hand up to cover his mouth, and in that moment, Asha looked absolutely dumbfounded. Tech glanced back and forth between them, brow raised, observing the interaction like a scientist would with a microscope.

"Alright, now I know you knew my brothers," Echo chuckled. "No one else would elicit that much of a response to some teasing. Relax, Asha, I'm not upset with you. Just be sure to keep your aim a bit off next time, yeah?"

The sigh of relief that left her was enough to make him smile, certainly. Asha gave a grin of her own in return, and after a moment finally went back to sliding underneath the console so she could get to work on tuning the navigation array again. Silence fell over the cockpit, and as Asha began to zone in to the work she was doing, she didn't notice the footsteps beside her - nor was she expecting to feel a second body come wedging in right beside hers. Tech's lanky form slipped in underneath the console directly next to her, the recording module of his goggles casting a small red glint into the darkened crevice.

Asha froze.

"The atmospheric scan is still running," Tech said quietly, seeming at least vaguely aware of the proximity. "It would be unwise to begin work on the engine until we are certain that it is safe to step outside. As such… working in tandem would certainly speed things up. Hand me the spanner, if you wouldn't mind."

When no response came, Tech glanced over - he found himself nearly nose-to-nose with Asha, and her eyes were wide open, jaw slack in shock, and the white markings on her skin had nearly blended in entirely with how much the blood had rushed straight to her face.

"...Asha?"

“H-Huh?” Asha blinked, and she quickly looked back up at the panel they were now both working on. Fumbling a hand around, she passed Tech the tool he needed, and she was now pointedly looking anywhere but him. It was all she could do to try and calm the frantic beating of her heart. “Right, here… come on, let’s… let’s, just…”

Silence fell over the both of them – they worked well in tandem, Asha quickly realized. There was a pounding in her head she couldn’t ignore, but with four hands all working quickly, the two mechanics fell into a steady rhythm of passing tools back and forth, quietly muttered instructions that barely needed to be spoken, and barely passing glances between each other as they finished their repairs in record time. As the last tweak was set into place, Asha let out a small gasp, and a smile spread across her lips as she turned her head to look over at Tech once again.

“We’re done-!” she said brightly, to which Tech nodded in confirmation. However, Asha made no move to exit the alcove – she simply laid there, staring at Tech. The subtle shift of his jaw, the way his eyes flicked back and forth across their handiwork behind his goggles. It was only a moment later that Tech realized he was being observed, and he turned his head to look at Asha, the two of them nose-to-nose.

Neither said anything, for a long moment. It was Asha who broke the silence however, letting out a small chuckle. She kind of shifted slightly, but gasped as her hip bumped into Tech’s – he moved next, only to find his thigh wedged up against her own. The two of them seemed to slowly realize just how close this close-quarters work was, and beyond their slowly reddening faces, neither seemed to notice the footsteps that entered the cockpit that abruptly stopped the moment whoever was making them noticed the two figures wedged underneath the console. At least, not until they spoke up.

“...er… Tech, Asha? There’s, uh…” Echo’s voice came out, unsure of what to say at the moment. Asha gasped, and she quickly tried to remove herself from underneath the console lest she be caught in such a compromising position – but she was a bit late on the draw, as a very familiar, very snarky voice came from the cockpit doorway.

“He means to say that the atmosphere scan is done,” Crosshair spoke up for his brother, a smarmy grin audible in his voice as Asha nearly slammed her head up on the underside of the console. Great, that’s TWO people who saw them like this. When Asha and Tech finally managed to unwedge themselves from underneath the console, the two stared up at a very baffled Echo who was clearly trying not to laugh, and Crosshair standing in the doorway with the smuggest grin imaginable on his face.

“...thank you,” Tech said curtly, quickly getting to his feet and snatching up his datapad. Asha barely caught it, but she could feel the glare that he shot towards his brothers, who were quick to disperse from the cockpit. Asha remained seated, but she glanced up when she heard a small, pleased noise from the man above her.

“Hm?” she hummed out, finally deciding to join him standing, and she had a feeling that it was going to be something good considering his reaction.

“It appears that the atmosphere is breathable,” Tech replied, scrolling through his datapad with a content nod. “I suggest we begin work on the engine immediately. This region is quite frigid, and–”

“–Echo isn’t good with the cold.” Asha finished Tech’s statement with solemn accuracy, making him blink – but it seems they both had the same idea, because he didn’t continue his sentence. With a quick nod, the two of them gathered their toolkits, Asha shrugged on an overshirt, and they made their way outside the ship’s cabin.

He wasn’t kidding, “quite frigid” was an understatement. The moment Asha stepped outside onto the grassy plain, she was met with a gust of freezing wind that chilled her to her core, and she shivered tensely as she and Tech stepped outside. “Geez, you– you weren’t kidding, it’s freezing here…”

“A few degrees below freezing, to be precise,” Tech added without looking up from his datapad, before he finally tucked it away and began making his way to the rear end of the ship. The two of them would really have their work cut out for them repairing the engine, and it looked like they were going to have a long evening ahead otherwise.

—

“...you know, Tech?”

Silence.

“Tech?”

Another beat. Asha knocked on the outer hull of the ship, and after a few moments, she could see Tech’s head poke out from behind the engine thruster.

“Apologies, Asha. With you all the way up there it’s difficult to hear you while I’m working,” Tech stated quickly, before he vanished from view once again. “What is it?”

“I was just thinking,” Asha spoke up from where she was seated atop the Marauder, a panel popped open in front of her that she was working away at. The two had been at it for a couple of hours now, and Asha’s fingers were stiff with the cold. “Earlier, when I said that… that I thought you hated me? I guess I wasn’t… well, I wasn’t really being clear. And I– I didn’t get to elaborate before Echo interrupted us.”

“Really? You sounded quite blunt to me,” Tech responded, not an inkling of irony in his voice. Asha inwardly kicked herself. “Did you mean something else by that comment?”

“I– I guess so,” she mumbled, before realizing he probably didn’t hear that. “I guess I did. What I meant was that… you’re always so absorbed in your work and everything else, and I can kinda… I can count on one hand the amount of times you and I have actually spoken at length. And I told you before that I’m kinda good at reading people–”

“Used to,” Tech corrected. “You said that you used to be good at reading people. I am quite curious as to what changed, however.”

“I… I don’t know,” Asha shrugged. “It just… died down. I stopped trying to focus on how people might feel and more on what they do and what they show. And after I started doing that, my whole… reading-people thing kinda stopped. It’s a lost skill, I guess. But my point is, I guess I just… I thought that… maybe you didn’t want me in this squad.”

“...that is not a baseless assumption,” Tech said, and it startled Asha so much she nearly dropped her wrench. “However. In the first days of you being a part of this squad, you are not wrong in that I was quite indifferent to your presence. I have a particular way of doing things, and having another engineer on our team would prove to be… detrimental to me, somewhat.”

“...you were afraid that I’d replace you,” Asha surmised.

“No,” Tech quickly refuted. “Nothing so brash. I was under the impression that you would get in my way. However, as you’ve become acclimated to this squad, I’ve found you to be… quite helpful.”

Asha blinked, and she slackened slightly from where before she’d been painfully tense. A small smile touched her lips, and she let out a small sigh that huffed into a little cloud in front of her in the frigid evening air. So he was coming around to her after all.

“That’s really sweet of you, Tech–” Asha moved to gesture with her wrench, but it all but flew out of her hand thanks to the cold stiffening her fingers. She gasped sharply as the tool banged loudly against the side of the ship, and on instinct she shot a hand out to catch it – and her whole body shifted.

Asha’s eyes went wide, and all she could manage was a startled yelp before her whole body slid. She didn’t hear Tech calling for her, she didn’t hear the gangplank open up again in response to the loud clatter, she didn’t hear Hunter’s footsteps come thudding out of the ship. No, all she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears, as she went sliding off of the Marauder and plummeting towards the ground below. She didn’t know where to reach, what to grab, where to look – her eyes locked on the engine in front of her, and she reached a hand out to grab, but nothing came. She reached and reached, but in those sparse few seconds between when she slipped and when her back would unceremoniously collide with the frosty dirt and rock beneath her, she could only reach. She reached, she gripped–

And she landed.

The impact was startlingly soft, softer than she had expected. Her breath left her in a huff of air so harshly that she was sent into a coughing fit, and she had landed a bit too awkwardly on her rearmost lekku as her head banged against the ground. Her ears rang with the contact, only briefly – but as she glanced over and saw Tech rushing to her side, Hunter skidding ‘round the corner to her, she saw something else that made her blink in confusion, even as the two were helping her sit up, even as Hunter was examining her for injuries, even as Tech was telling her to be more careful. She barely registered any of it.

—

“Engine output looks good–”

Asha sat silently in the copilot’s seat, running diagnostics while Tech spoke.

“And the navigational array is fully realigned. It seems our repair time has been all but cut in half.”

When he fell silent for a beat, Asha looked up – and when she met his eyes, she found herself surprised by how genuinely thankful he looked. It pulled a smile from her, instinctively.

“Thank you for your assistance, Asha. I… will have to work with you again in the future.” Such a genuine admission from Tech was surprising to her, but all Asha could do was offer a warm smile and a nod as she sat back in the copilot’s seat. With the ship fully repaired, and Asha wholly uninjured from her fall, the squad decided to get some sleep here before taking off again in the morning – Asha had offered to take first watch. As Tech lingered for a moment before finally leaving the cockpit, Asha sat back and stared out the window at the rolling tundra valley they had stopped off in, her mind racing.

There was one thing that she couldn’t quite grasp, one thing that was inconsistent. It was a miracle she was unharmed from earlier, and she was chided quite extensively by just about everyone for being so reckless in throwing her tools around like that, or in trying to grab it, or for letting herself fall (Crosshair had earned a whack from Wrecker for that comment). The one thing she couldn’t stop thinking about though as she watched the stars glittering above that frigid plain was what she had seen as she laid on the ground, just after she had fallen.

All she could register in that adrenaline-addled moment was the wrench she had thrown, once again gripped tightly in her hand from the moment she had landed.

[stardustandash]

Through Darkness Unknown - The Bad Batch

Tags: Post s2, hurt/comfort, whump, medical procedures

Chapter 4 - Recovery

“I feel bad too, y’know. So does Echo. It was my fault Tech fell. I couldn’t hold onto the rail car. It’s my job to be the strong one, and I couldn’t hold on. Echo brought us the intel that spurred us into the mission. You can blame us, but don’t blame yourself. You’re the one who wanted to stay on Pabu.”

First Chapter       Previous Chapter          AO3

The Marauder had never been so quiet in the years that Hunter had lived on it. Between his brothers, Gonky, and for the last year, Omega, it had always been full of life and the sounds of his family. Now it was silent. He stood in the cockpit as he had many times before yet never had he felt like this. One hand gripped the back of the pilors’s chair, Tech’s chair. He may be the Sargent of his squad, the leader, but Tech was their pilot, their brains, and the Marauder would not be the same without him. It was part of the reason they were saying goodbye. The other, more practical reason, was that it was definitely flagged when they escaped Ord Mantell. To Hunter it felt like a betrayal to leave the Marauder behind.

Wrecker had come through earlier and removed their few personal possessions to Echo’s ship. They had all pretended he wasn’t crying when it came time to take down Omega’s things, and no one had stopped him when he moved Tech’s stuff over as well. They had emptied the Marauder of everything but the memories, and now it was time to leave it behind. At least Phee had offered to hide it on Pabu for them, if they ever wanted to come back for it. She’d almost managed a smile as she joked that it was just another relic she could return to the proper people in time.

The loss of Tech and Omega had caused a rift between the remaining members of the bad batch and the friends they had made on Pabu. Or maybe it was that the three of them had pulled away. Both parties knew the batch would not stay now, not with Omega in the hands of the Empire, and it was easier to break a thinner bond.

With a sigh Hunter let go of the chair and made his way off the Marauder for what might have been the last time. Echo and Wrecker were waiting by the hatch of Echo’s ship in silence. None of them had been overly chatty in the few days since losing Tech and Omega. The landing pad was otherwise deserted. They’d said their goodbyes already and no one wanted to draw them out, least of all Hunter. Every second here was a second they weren’t hunting down the Advanced Science Division’s location, where he had no doubt Omega, and Crosshair, were being held.

The three of them made their way onto the ship, Echo going to the pilot’s seat, Wrecker to the back where the cramped bunks and living quarters lay. AZ and Gonky were nowhere in sight, both droids probably laying low themselves in the aftermath though Hunter could hear the whirring of their components echoing faintly off the hull of the ship. Without knowing what to do with himself Hunter eventually found a seat in the cockpit at the comms station. He set his jaw in a hard line when the quiet sounds of Wrecker crying reached his sensitive ears.

“Rex said he had intel on another prison transfer,” said Echo once they were in hyperspace.

Hunter perked up, looking over at Echo. He was staring out the viewport with a look on his face that Hunter only associated with serious missions. The sort of expression that said he was ready to take on anything to get the job done.

“That where we’re going then?” asked Hunter. “To intercept?”

“Not quite. Gotta stop on Coruscant first, pick up more of a team,” said Echo. “We’re in no shape to do a mission right now.”

Hunter bristled. “What are you implying?”

Echo gave him one of his patented exasperated glances.

“I’m just saying, are any of us okay right now? I don’t have to have enhanced hearing to know Wrecker is crying back there, just like I know you’re about thirty seconds away from either yelling at me or breaking down yourself. Our heads aren’t in it, and they have to be if we’re going to get them back,” said Echo sadly.

“You’re right,” said Hunter after a long moment. “Kriff, you should just take over. You’d do a better job at leading what’s left of us.”

“Don’t say that,” said Echo sharply. “Everything that’s happened has been out of our control. There’s nothing to say the Empire wouldn’t have found you on Pabu and destroyed it just to get to Omega.”

“You know, you could really work on the pep talks, Echo.”

“Shut it, Hunter, you know I’m right.”

Hunter just looked down at the comms panel. “How much longer until we get to Coruscant?”

“A good few hours. Enough time for some rest. We all need it.”

Hunter nodded and left the cockpit. He could take a hint when Echo smacked him across the face with it. He paused outside the door that led to the few bunks and took a deep breath.

Wrecker was sitting on one of the three bottom bunks, Lula cradled delicately in his giant hands. The neck brace had come off the day before and now he could curl in on himself even more than he had in days before.

“Echo says Rex has a lead on a prison transport,” said Hunter. He’d never really been good at the emotional stuff with his brothers. Omega had drawn that out of him, but it felt awkward with them.

Wrecker hiccupped and scrubbed at his eyes. He looked up at Hunter with a faint attempt at his usual reckless grin.

“We gonna kick some Imperial ass?” he asked, voice rougher than usual. “I gotta say, I’ve some grenades I need to hand to a particular mad scientist.”

Hunter chuckled. Or attempted it anyway. “Not yet, but soon. We’re meeting Rex first, gathering more firepower, then we’ll take on the Empire.”

“Good. I can’t sit here all day crying,” said Wrecker before he sniffled again.

Hunter clapped him on the shoulder before dropping onto the bunk opposite Wrecker. He may as well try and get some sleep before they land. Or at least give Echo his space and Wrecker some company.

The hours ticked by without note. Hunter didn’t sleep, but both Wrecker and Echo at least attempted to get some shut eye in. Good. He needed them both to be at their best if they were going to attack a transport. By the time they landed in Coruscant the dark circles beneath their eyes were looking a little smaller and lighter. The sight of the two of them looking more refreshed soothed some of the fraying edges of Hunter’s nerves.

The sub-level hangar bay wasn’t the safest option for a safe house, but Hunter had to admit the hiding in plain sight approach was likely the best way to survive on Coruscant. It was big enough to hold three mid-size ships and Echo’s fit perfectly into an awaiting space. Rex was waiting for them as they exited the ship. He gave Echo a quick supportive hand on the shoulder before turning to address the group.

“Hello boys,” said Rex, his tone sombre. “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too, Captain. Wish it was under better circumstances,” said Hunter. He’d let Echo handle the comm to tell Rex what happened with Tech and Omega. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep himself strong for the call and had gladly relinquished that responsibility.

Rex looked them all over, a furrow forming between his brows. “You sure you’re up for some action? I can take some of my boys and give you all a chance to make a plan.”

“Respectfully, Sir, we’d need the information from the transport to make a plan,” said Hunter.

“Kriff that, we’re coming,” said Wrecker at the same time, his voice booming over Hunter’s.

Rex gave them a tight smile. “I had a feeling you’d say that. We will ship off tomorrow. Tonight is for going over the plan and resting up, you look like you need it.”

Hunter nodded in agreement even though the thought of waiting even another hour rankled him. They needed to get to Omega. Who knows what that doctor had planned for her. From what little information they had on the Advanced Science Division he knew it was nothing good.

Echo looked between them and Rex. Knowing what he wanted, Hunter put a hand on Wrecker and turned them both towards the main part of the hanger. Let Echo have a moment to talk with his friend and former captain, there were enough ghosts already haunting him and Hunter knew Rex was the best person to hear out Echo’s sorrows.

Hunter let Wrecker find them a spot to sit in the hanger and let his brother try and talk about what weapons he’d seen the other clones with and which ones he recognized in the crowd. Hunter couldn’t care less about either but it was nice to have something to focus on to drown out the sounds of the hangar. He took out his knife, spinning it through his fingers absently. With every twirl he imagined what it would be like to sink the blade into the doctor. Maybe it would be his chest. Maybe his back. Maybe his neck. It didn’t matter. The man would die for Omega, for Tech, even for Crosshair, and Hunter would be the one to end him.

“Uhh, Hunter? You hear anything I’ve been saying?” Wrecker’s voice cut through Hunter’s thoughts.

Hunter shot him a look and Wrecker’s shoulders slumped. The bigger man rested his elbows on his knees and stared at his hands.

“I feel bad too, y’know. So does Echo. It was my fault Tech fell. I couldn’t hold onto the rail car. It’s my job to be the strong one, and I couldn’t hold on. Echo brought us the intel that spurred us into the mission. You can blame us, but don’t blame yourself. You’re the one who wanted to stay on Pabu,” said Wrecker sadly. Hunter got the feeling he probably missed something important.

“Who said I blamed myself?” growled Hunter. He did, he absolutely did, but the fact that everything was his fault wasn’t going to change that it happened.

Wrecker threw up his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m just saying, its okay to not be okay.”

“No, I’m not okay,” said Hunter. “And I won’t be until we get her back.”

“Me either,” agreed Wrecker.

The rest of what passed for night in the lit up hangar bay was quiet. Wrecker was restless and left Hunter to his brooding partway through, no doubt to go engage Gregor in an arm wrestle or find Gonky to do some lifting. Clones came and went, only a few actually staying in the hangar bay. All of it registered in the periphery of Hunter’s senses but he didn’t care enough to tune into anything happening around him.

When morning finally came Rex called his team together for going over the plan. Echo stood next to him proudly. Hunter had no doubt he’d been part of the planning process. Guilt swam within him. He should have been helping plan their attack, but instead he’d been wallowing in self-pity. Hunter pulled his shoulders back and stood a little straighter. He if he couldn’t be part of the plan he’d be damned if he didn’t pull it off perfectly. Clone Force 99 had never failed a mission for the Republic, and this mission was far more important than any of those.

He desperately tried to ignore the part of his mind that whispered that they hadn’t truly succeeded a mission since the Republic fell. Since they lost Crosshair to the Empire. Since meeting Omega.

“We’re going to use the electric pulses to shut down the transport. We’ll only have a window of about five minutes before the back up power completely restores the systems to board and get in position. Hunter, Echo, you two will head to the bridge. Echo, you’ll slice into the computer and get the ship logs and any data you can off of them,” said Rex. He was in his element, shoulders straight and helmet held under his arm.

“Yes Sir,” said Echo.

“Wrecker, you, Fireball, and myself will rescue the prisoners. This may be a mission for information, but we are not going to leave any brother behind.”

“You got it,” said Wrecker, nudging the clone next to him and nearly knocking him out of his seat.

“Gregor, you’ll be at the helm once we’re all inside. Nemec and Tailspin will be here on standby in case either team needs backup,” finished Rex.

Gregor gave Rex a little salute before they all made their way into the ship. The mood inside as they got underway was tense. The pre-mission jitters never truly went away and to Hunter the air inside the ship practically vibrated with it. There was a focus to his brothers that Hunter hadn’t seen since the war. Gear was taken apart, cleaned, then cleaned again. Comms were monitored for any sign of Imperials that might ruin the plan. Space was tidied up and room was made in anticipation of new brothers joining them. Wrecker had moved their personals away from the rest, except for Tech’s goggles. Those he moved to the cockpit of the ship and placed them delicately on a shelf, above and out of reach of the regs. Hunter thought it was a good reminder, to see what they’d lost.

“Dropping out of Hyperspace in a twenty count, everybody get ready,” said Gregor into the ship comms with a little giggle.

Hunter slid his helmet on and joined Echo in the leech ship. He was beyond ready.

The jolt of the ship leaving hyperspace was a familiar tug behind Hunter’s stomach. Through the leech ship’s small viewport he could see the Imperial transport in the distance. They hadn’t learned from any of the previous raids Rex and his brothers had undertaken; no fighters accompanied the ship.

Gregor took them in with speed and control, no fancy flying from the commando. The electric pulses shot before the transport even had time to lock the guns onto them.

“Get ready boys, impact in five, four, three, two, one,” said Rex over the comms.

The transport rocked and went dark as the blue bolts hit. At the same time Echo disengaged the leech ship and the two of them sped towards the transport. Gregor was close behind, making for the aft airlock, closest to the prisoner cells onboard.

Echo got them to the fore airlock without incident and immediately sliced into the transport ship’s security to open the door. Hunter stood behind him, blaster at the ready. The second the door was open Hunter scrambled through it, blaster up and shooting. Of course there were the so-called Stormtroopers on board, and just Hunter’s luck they had decided to defend the path to the bridge. Beneath his helmet Hunter wore a feral grin. They might have night vision in their helmets to help them see in the dim red of the emergency light, but Hunter was Hunter, nothing could compare to him.

He charged into the fight, blasting one trooper and swinging the body into another. He slid neatly around another to shoot one that peered out behind cover before swinging back with the butt of his blaster to crack the first one across the helmet. The trooper dropped in a clatter of duraplast armour.

There was no time to breathe as several more troopers rounded the corner and started shooting. Without even thinking of getting into cover Hunter drew his vibroblade knife and launched himself into the closest trooper, digging his knife into the soft skin of the trooper’s neck and using him as a springboard to flip over another and get a headshot.

“Hunter, what are you doing,” said Echo from the doorway he was using as cover. “Get down.”

“We have to get to the cockpit before the system reboots. Come on, Echo, get moving,” shot back Hunter as he fired his blaster.

The Stormtroopers were quickly dispatched, with Hunter doing most of the dispatching. Moving, fighting, it felt good. On the battlefield, cramped as it was inside a prison transport’s corridors, he could take steps and move forward.

When they reached the cockpit Echo scomped in without Hunter needing to ask, though the look he sent Hunter even beneath the helmet was scalding.

The doors opened with a whoosh to reveal a nat-born officer in a crisp uniform who looked like he was about to piss himself, and two Stormtroopers with blasters at the ready. Hunter hadn’t bothered to take cover and shot one and then the other, but not before taking a lucky shot from the second to his shoulder.

“Hunter!”

“I’m fine, focus on the mission.”

He was fine. Though the bolt at close range had knocked him back, it hadn’t taken him off his feet. No, he had an Imperial to question first.

“Where is this transport headed?” Hunter growled lowly, bringing his blaster up with his good arm.

“I-I’m just a nobody, I promise I don’t have the information you want,” said the Imperial. He was young, still a childish roundness clinging to his face.

“Where. Is. This. Transport. Headed,” said Hunter, emphasizing every word with the barrel of his blaster. “Surely your superiors gave you coordinates.”

“I won’t tell you anything, I can’t,” said the officer.

“Hunter,” said Echo in warning.

Hunter sighed. The lights in the cockpit flickered back to life. The ships systems were back online.

“Time’s up kid,” said Hunter.

The officer’s grey eyes darted from Hunter to Echo. Behind Hunter Echo started to move, not towards the scomp link but inexplicably towards the officer.

“Don’t do it kid,” said Echo quickly, to Hunter’s confusion.

“What?” said Hunter.

At the same time a look of determination came over the kid’s face as he bit down on something. Hunter watched with a detached sort of horror as the kid fried himself and dropped, smoking slightly, to the deck.

“What the kriffing hell was that?”

“Don’t know. Last transport we intercepted the officer did the same thing,” said Echo. “Keep watch, I’m going to plug in and see what I get.”

Hunter hefted his blaster and took position by the door. Beneath his helmet he grimaced as the pain from his shoulder started to filter through his adrenaline. No other Stormtroopers came towards the cockpit. No doubt they were distracted by whatever was going on in the rest of the ship.

“How’s it going back there?” asked Hunter into the comm channel.

“Imps got a few lucky shots in, but we’ve got everyone and are heading back to the ship,” replied Rex. There was something in the relief in his voice that niggled at Hunter. He’d found a brother he was close with was Hunter’s best guess.

“Copy that, Captain. We are copying the ship’s data now, should be back to the leech to rejoin soon.”

It only took a few more minutes for the data to copy over onto Echo’s data stick and soon the two of them were making their way back to the leech ship. Once in, Echo quickly set them on a course back to the main ship, already detached and waiting.

“Ok Captain, we’re off. Wrecker, do your thing,” said Hunter into the comm channel once they were clear.

Whatever response Rex may have had it was drowned out by Wrecker’s whoop and the sound of the transport exploding behind them.

Hunter chuckled, but stopped when Echo caught his eye. There was a look of cool disapproval on Echo’s face as his eyes flickered from Hunter’s down to the blaster burn in his armour.

He was so kriffed.

Next Chapter 

[fanfictasia]

Angstpril Day 10

Sacrifice

Spoiler: This is an excerpt from Doomsday

Echo jumps one moment after Crosshair did, but the combined movement of the ship and the angle, plus the fact that he’s literally one-handed, off-balances him enough to fall. And miss catching onto the edge of the ramp.

“Echo!” Omega yells, lurching forwards, Crosshair grabs her arm to keep her steady, stumbling inside, nearly thrown off himself. Echo is already out of sight. It was just – so fast. He should’ve been a moment closer, and he could’ve caught Echo, but all of that is pointless now.

Instincts kick in, and Crosshair pulls Omega inside. The ramp hisses shut behind them.

He just feels… numb, like it didn’t happen, because his mind clearly hasn’t accepted the fact that Echo just fell off that cliff and there’s a very, very high chance that he could die when he lands. He’s half metal though. That’s their only hope. That’s Echo’s only hope.

He settles himself into the seat behind Tech, where he normally sits. (Once, Hunter would be across from him. Hunter would –)

Gonky, presently plugged into the wall, beeps loudly as the ship is hit again and something in the ship short circuits, a surge of electricity overwhelming the droid’s circuitry.

“Multiple system failures,” Tech calls, “We cannot take many more hits.”

“Go,” Echo’s voice crackles over the comm. He’s alive. He’s – conscious, at least, and that’s a good sign. “I’ll find another way.”

“Negative. The odds of escape are not in your favor,” Tech argues firmly.

“I got us all into this mess,” Echo replies sharply, firmly. “I’ll get you out. Leave. Now.”

Everything feels cold. “We don’t leave our own behind,” Crosshair snaps. This is exactly what he was saying to Rex on Skako Minor, he remembers. That they couldn’t go in blindly, drivel solely by emotion and a likely misplaced hope that they can succeed.

“Oh, I don’t blame you. I would’ve left him for dead, too.”

“I’m not letting you get yourselves killed for me. Get out of here.” The line goes dead.

For a moment, nothing happens.

“We have to go back for him!” Omega protests fiercely, desperately, “We can���t leave!” She sounds moments from crying.

Then Tech pushes the Marauder forwards, and Tech brings them upwards towards the upper atmosphere. He’s… right. They have to go. They don’t have a choice, because going back will get them all killed when their ship is this badly damaged.

Echo… made this choice. He’s sacrificing himself so they can move on, can keep living. And find a way to get him back, too.

One by one, they’re losing people. First Hunter. Then Omega, even if they got her back. Now… Echo. And he has no idea how they’re going to get him back.

[engagemythrusters]

Okay. Hhh. Here we go. Plan 99.

I am afraid.

No really I am afraid.

Please get Crosshair back

Please no anyone die.

Wrecker just trying to remain positive good for him he’s improving

Big jump!!

How come that has power but not the cars itself?

Tarkin I fucking hate you

RUN TECH RUN

TE—oh okay

AAAHHHHHHHHH

If he dies I’m killing someone

NO DO NOT SEVER SNYTHINF

No no no no

NOOO

No no no no

No

NO THAT CANT BE WHAT PLAN NINTY NINE MEANS

no no no no

Oh my god my site literally crashed again why TBIS IS NOT OKAH

I’m sticking in a feedback echolalia loop of “no” and I can’t stop

Boss just texted me while I’m DYINF oh my god I’ll be back…

Did some work found another site

DONT FUCJING DO IT TECH

NO

No

No

No no no no

No

No.

No

No

They fell too I’m

Oh I’m having a panic attack

If he’s dead I can’t handle it I was preparing for echo.

DONT LEAVE HIS BODY

Find his body you can’t do this

You can’t do this to me.

YOU CANT GIVE ME REPRESENTATION AND THEN KILL HIM

I need him

I can’t…

I can’t do this.

I’m. Im pausing to look.

Okay. I’m better. I looked for the spoilers because I was having a serious beginning to a panic attack.

Still hurts so bad

The way Exho looks over to techs chair…

Gonky I love you.

Cid I fucjing hate you.

Commando clones I love you

HEY DINT HURT THE COMMANDO CLONE

hemlock I hate you so. So. So much.

And I hate you too Cid. Fuck you.

Paternal…

HIS GOGGLES

Please please stop

Omega no

How can she hear them from that far

Or see them well enough

Scorch??? Yo scorch please… no.

Hey did they ever get Sev back??

Oh this is going to end on a cliffhanger

Oh my god.

THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO GET CROSSHAIR BACK WHAT IS GOING ON

you can tDO this to me.

I’m so tired… I just want the family back together again…

I feel like there’s nothing left inside me. I just need a very long cry

GO AFTER HER PLEASE FOLLOW THEM PLEASE

why this painful music

The shot of wrecker holding the goggles… of lonely Lula and bedroll…

Hunter is going to tear the galaxy apart for her

They’re going to tortur her aren’t they…

Oh god I can’t TAKE this anymore.

Crosshair??

No not c…

CROSSHAIR

Please don’t let him be dead

Oh thank god

WHAT THE FUCK

Oh so. So tech is dead.

I … can’t do this.

I can’t.

[kaminocasey]

Clumsy

Summary: Reader has a giant crush on Tech and can barely keep her balance around him.

Pairing: Tech x f!reader

Word count: 900

Warnings: None

A/N: I heard the song “Clumsy” by Ferguson and thought of Tech.

“You got me trippin, stumbling, flippin, fumbling

Clumsy cuz I'm fallin in love

You got me slippin, tumbling, sinking, fumbling

Clumsy cuz I'm fallin in love

So in love with you”

You can find it on AO3 Here!

The Marauder always felt quiet when you were traveling in hyperspace. Wrecker was usually lifting Gonky. Crosshair was usually cleaning his rifle. Hunter was usually searching safe places to land during jobs. And Echo and Tech were always piloting the ship. That just left you. You were usually sitting next to or near Crosshair, reading some thrifted novel you managed to find in your downtime on Ord Mantell.

“When are you going to tell him?” Crosshair asks you.

You look up from your book. He was talking about your feelings for Tech. Which was something you had only discussed with Crosshair. You look around to make sure Wrecker wasn’t listening. You didn’t care if Hunter could hear because you knew he wouldn’t care. Wrecker was absolutely terrible with secrets.

“Why do you care so much about my love life?” You question him with a quirked eyebrow.

He rolls his eyes and takes his signature toothpick out of his mouth, leaning in close.

“Yesterday, you tripped over your medical bag when he told you ‘good job’. You fell over earlier when he just said your name. It’s not that I care about your love life per se, but I do think it would make you look silly if you, our medic, got yourself hurt over something as dumb as tripping over your bag because of a crush.” He shrugs as if he’s made a point.

Maybe he has made a point.

“Coming out of hyperspace in 10 seconds.” You hear Tech call back to you guys.

Just thinking about telling Tech how you felt made your stomach turn into knots. You had tried to get over your crush on the genius clone. But it seemed like everything he said or did just reminded you of why you felt that way about him.

Like when he would info dump about things that mattered to him. Or when he would push up his glasses on his face 100 times a day. Or the way he would look up from his holopad, so innocently, when someone would talk to him. Or even the way he flew the ship. When you would be sitting in the copilot chair, your stomach would be in knots just from him talking to you. It seemed like a lost cause to try to get over him.

“Hey Tech, want to walk with me to the thrift store?” You ask him once you land back on Ord Mantell.

“I can’t see anything of importance to me being in a thrift store.” He says, not looking up from his holopad.

You know he wasn’t being rude, but it still stung a bit.

“Oh. Alright.” You say, looking pointedly at Crosshair, who rolls his eyes.

“Tech, maybe you should walk with her and make sure she stays safe?” Crosshair suggests.

“Wouldn’t Wrecker be better suited for that?” Tech looks up.

The disappointment must be clear on your face because Tech sets his holopad down with his helmet and walks over to you.

“Alright. I suppose I have some time before it gets too dark out to work on the ship.” He smiles.

A few blocks into your walk, as Tech is talking to you about something he found that would help with the darkness in the bunk room on the ship, you manage to trip over your own foot, distracted by the way Tech looks in the sunlight. Thankfully, Tech catches you before you hit the pavement.

Before you can apologize, Tech speaks up.

“Are you aware that you do that a lot when I talk to you? You don’t do that with the others.” Tech notices.

You feel yourself redden. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I just find it peculiar.” He makes sure you’re standing upright before letting go of you.

You really wish he wouldn’t, though.

“Is it something I do or say that offsets you? Do you get upset when I say certain things?” He questions you.

You can feel how warm you are in the ears, wanting desperately to drop the subject. “No. Nothing like that.”

“Then… what is it?” He looks at you.

“It’s just… you.” You struggle for words.

He looks like he’s at a loss for words, trying to think. You decide to be brave. You decide to step out of your comfort zone. If it doesn’t work, you can just apologize profusely and transfer to a different squad, right? And you’ll have to find a therapist if you don’t die of embarrassment.

You take his hand, which is unusually soft for someone who messes with stuff all day long, and place a soft kiss on his lips. He goes completely still, which kind of makes you afraid to pull back and see the rejection on his face. When you do pull away though, he slowly opens his eyes, looking down into yours.

“Did Echo put you up to this?” He asks, suddenly, red in the face.

“Echo?” You ask, confused.

“He’s the only one who knows how I feel about you. Is he the one who put you up to this as a joke perhaps?” He questions you, looking around.

This poor man thinks the only reason someone would kiss him would be for a joke? And did you hear that correctly? Tech has feelings for you?

“Tech.” You pull his face to look at you. “I did that because I have feelings for you too.”

“You… you do?” He asks, completely surprised.

“Yeah. I thought it was obvious by the way I can barely walk around you without almost breaking a bone. You call yourself a genius.” You tease him.

He chuckles. “Well, I guess it looks like you’ve quite literally fallen for me.”

“Oh, he’s got jokes now.” You laugh.

He smirks, pulling you into his arms to kiss you again. You could definitely get used to this.

[phantom-of-the-501st]

TBB Ep 10 Thoughts

Spoilers for TBB Season 2

Today on The Bad Batch, child slavery!

Let's get into it.

The way Wrecker stares at the part that fell off the speeder for a second and then falls back. 🤣

The timing of that cracked me up.

They're gonna try and fit all 4 of them on one speeder???

GONKY IS HOW THEY FIND THE MARAUDER?!

Omega being a smart bean. 🥰

Honestly, the amount of Gonky in this episode makes me so happy!!!

Excuse me, but Mokko is not the metal-handed guy that I wanted to see.

ALL OF THEM BALANCED ON THE SPEEDER HAHAHAHA

"That's our defective power droid"

Fuck yeah it is!

Don't mess with Gonky. The dads will come after you. 😠

Wrecker activated Intimidation Mode ™️

Okay, yeah, cool, we're all just gonna abseil down a chimney, sure.

That seems totally safe. 😐

"Plenty of time". Omega's so one of them omg. 😭 She's grown so much. 🥲

That brief slow-mo when Hunter falls forward. 😍

Than animation this season is so good!!!

Ngl, them all sticking their faces over the chimney stresses me out.

Smooth take-down from Hunter, there!

Mokko is a dick. 😡

I'VE JUST REALISED THAT THIS IS WHAT JENNIFER'S CRYPTIC TWEET WAS

Omega's head poking out from the oversized coat! 🤣🥰

Bitch, you did not just press that button. YOU DID NOT JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON!

Omega giving Benni her ration even though The Batch don't have much food. 😭

Wrecker hanging upside from the ship is one of my new favourite things.

Okay, I understand why Benni did what he did. I'm still pissed though. 😤

All the stuff about kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy is so sad. 😭

Sorry, did Mokko really expect his "let's make the Batch work in the mines for a decade" plan was gonna work???

Although, he does say something about if they survive that long, so best bet is he was just gonna leave them to die.

Like I said. He's a dick.

ALSO THREATENING TO THROW OMEGA OF THE PLATFORM?! HOW DARE YOU SIR!

He's actually lying to the kids and keeping the ipsium for himself? How surprising (note strong sarcasm).🤨

OMEGA THROWING HERSELF OFF WITH THE DROID BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HUNTER WILL CATCH HER 😭

That scene might be my favourite of the episode. Especially with the altered Bad Batch theme over the top.

Ngl, the fight with Mokko was underwhelming.

The guy literally fell over a railing by himself. 😭

Although he was also a pathetic dickhead so a pathetic end is kind of what he deserves.

WRECKER HUGGING GONKY!!! 🥰

Even though they were all in competition with one another, when it comes down to it, the kids actually do all care about each other. That's sweet.

Wrecker is reunited with Lula! 🥲

TECH AND OMEGA THIS SEASON ARE GIVING ME SO MANY FEELS!!!

Was hoping the Echo and Crosshair convo would carry on this episode but oh well.

Also, we never saw Tech and Wrecker apologise to each other. 🥲

Overall feeling about this episode is that I think it might be one of my least favourites of the season. I didn't dislike it but with how good the others have been, this episode didn't stand out a whole lot to me.

There were specific moments that I absolutely love though! Wholesome Batch moments just hit me right in the feels. 🥲

And Wrecker's "I'm working on it" reminded me of Echo in Season 1. 😭 I still miss that man.

Weirdly, I don't feel like I have much to say about this episode right now. There's some more stuff delving into the idea of kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy, so I'm happy they're continuing on that narrative. I maybe would've liked to have seen a little bit more from the other miners? I don't know.

Normally when I watch an episode, one or two particular things sticks out to me as something I want to talk about more but I didn't really get that much from this episode. Think I may just have to sit on it for a few days and see what comes to mind.

Still liked the episode, but I definitely think that the first half of this two-parter was much stronger. Very excited to see what Metamorphosis is going to be about though! My hope is to see Echo and Rex again, but that's more wishful thinking than me believing it's actually going to happen. 😅

Edit: This was supposedly a breather episode, so that may explain why it fell a little flat for me. I think I got really hooked up in the more high-stakes episodes and that swayed my judgement on this one. 🤔

[proxyoddo]

The Right Approach

One-shot: Tech x gn!reader

Words: 2K

Summary: Tech hasn't slept for a few days, and you're worried about him. No one has been able to convince him to a bunk, but Hunter thinks you might be able to get through to the goggled trooper.

AN: This week has been kicking my ass, and I've not had much time to focus on Derecho. Part 4 is almost done and will come soon, but I felt bad because I haven't posted in a while. So, have this kinda cute fluff with Tech that I wrote trying to get my mind into writing.

(I am also shite at titling things 😅 )

Warnings: None, only fluff and snuggles.

It had been four days, and Tech had not slept. With the repairs needed for the console in the cockpit, he had been working endlessly to be sure that the Havoc Marauder would be at 100% working capacity before they next took off from Kamino. The rest of the Batch did what they could to help, but much of it was intricate - more than one hand would not help.

Currently you were standing outside the ship, staring up the steps ready to stomp inside and give Tech a piece of your mind. How did he think he would get you all off the ground if he ran headlong into it himself?

You heard a clunk and a curse from inside, coming from Tech. You frowned, and were about to take the first step into the Marauder when a hand firmly grasped your shoulder.

“Y/N,” came Hunter's voice, and you sighed heavily before turning your head to face him. “You know he won’t stop. Especially if you’re just going to just tell him outright ‘get your ass to bed’.”

“Well what the kriff are we supposed to do then?” you asked with a slight hiss, frustration getting the best of you.

Hunter fixed you with a sympathetic gaze, and shrugged sadly. “Eventually he’ll just pass out in there-”

“And break something while he’s at it? Hurt himself?”

“There was a 'but' in that sentence, Y/N,” Hunter said, smiling a little and giving you a push towards the steps. “You might be able to get through to him.”

You looked at him incredulously, causing him to actually chuckle.

“Tech likes having you around. He’d probably listen to you if you approach it the right way. And based on how much you also seem to care about him, I figure you’re stubborn enough to get him to a bunk,” he said, as if he were just talking about the clouds passing through the sky. You could feel heat rising up your cheeks. “And yes, before you ask, I’ve known for a bit. Heightened senses, remember?”

You cursed internally. When you had joined the squad as their combat medic, you had taken an immediate liking to Tech. And with time, it just grew. Certainly he could talk for hours, and sometimes it was difficult to keep up with his excited chatter, but he was an amazing man. Strong, insatiably curious - and even with his oftentimes hard, matter-of-fact tone - incredibly caring. You had flirted with him from time to time, sometimes not even recognizing it yourself until afterwards. But the trooper seemed to be none the wiser to your actions. Never stopped your heart from racing whenever your hands accidentally touched though, or if he gave you one of those rare Tech smiles. That must be how Hunter knew; he could literally hear the thunder of your heart when the two of you were together.

“You really think I can get through to him?” you asked quietly.

“Worth a try,” Hunter said. “Besides, the rest of the squad are also getting antsy. If I have to listen to Crosshair go on about knocking Tech out with Gonky anymore, I might have to hide the droid.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“Crosshair likes to sleep in his bunk,” Hunter replied. “At this point he’d go to whatever lengths, I would imagine.”

You laughed, and nodded to the sergeant. He waved you on before turning away, likely to head back to the others. Turning and looking into the ship, you steeled yourself before going up the steps and stopping outside the cockpit.

“Tech?” you called.

“Yes, Y/N?” came his voice, seemingly bright as if he was actually still getting a regular amount of sleep.

“How… How’s it going in there?”

Another loud clunking sound and dropping equipment had you stepping inside, looking to find Tech on the ground under the console. The plastoid that normally covered his chest and back was gone, propped up against the wall next to the console.

“It’s going fine!” Tech growled, tossing something out of the compartment he was in giving you just enough time to skirt out of the way before it clanged against the wall opposite of him.

“Hmm, sounds it…” you muttered, before squatting down. He continued on whatever he was working with while you thought for a moment. “Hey Tech-”

“Y/N, please, I am attempting to get the comm frequencies on this damnedable thing working in proper order,” he said, and you could see him turn to look at you for a moment with a reflection of his goggles. “While the Marauder still has functional comm capabilities, the extensive damage from our last encounter with the Separatists has weakened the signal strength, which poses a threat to us while in the field which as you can understand-”

“I have a question,” you interrupted. He stuttered to a halt, and there was silence for a few moments before his hands appeared at the lip of the console and he pulled himself out. The words “sleep deprivation” practically screamed at you from the features of his face.

“Yes?” He seemed intent to answer whatever it was that you were going to ask, even if he had been frustrated a moment ago. Maybe Hunter had been right, and you could get through to him.

You swallowed a little, his tired face filling you with resolve. “What happens to someone when they do not sleep for 4 or more days?”

Tech frowned a little, before going into his answer. “Typically after 3 days of no rest, a person’s urge to sleep will get worse and they will begin to experience microsleeps. Perception is also significantly impaired, and reaching 4 days without adequate rest will continue to distort it. In some, the urge to sleep will become unbearable. It can result in sleep deprivation psychosis.”

You nodded along throughout his entire explanation without saying anything. When he finished, the two of you stared at one another for a few moments of silence.

“Oh,” Tech said with quiet understanding.

“C’mon,” you said warmly, standing up and holding a hand out to him.

Tech shook his head, and you briefly considered going to find Gonky. “I understand your concern, and though it is appreciated, I just need to complete one last thing with the comms before I believe they will be properly functional,” he said. Tech began looking around before his eyes fell on his datapad behind you on one of the seats, and pointed to it. “Could you pass that to me?”

You took the datapad in your hand, but didn’t hand it to Tech. He looked at you with confusion as you began to step away.

“If you want the datapad, Tech,” you began, stepping out of the cockpit, “you’re going to need to come and get it.”

You smiled a little when you heard him getting up from the cockpit floor behind you. “Please, Y/N, I need to calibrate it.” You ignored him, continuing to the bunks before crawling up into the one you usually slept in. You sat back on the bunk, back leaning against the wall, holding the datapad up next to your head.

Tech entered the room, looking even more tired as he stared up at you. “I’m unsure what you are attempting to accomplish here other than getting on my nerves.” You just smiled in response, waving the datapad at him. With a big sigh from him, you watched as Tech pulled himself slowly up to the bunk, and then knelt in front of you between your feet.

“Give it,” he said, losing any formality. You shook your head, waving the datapad again.

In any other circumstance, Tech literally crawling into your lap with a determined expression like he currently had, would have left you breathless. But your intent to get him exactly where he was now, reaching for the datapad and face so very close to your own, helped you keep focus. When Tech’s fingers firmly grasped around the datapad, you let go and leaned forward. Your arms wrapped around his torso and your legs around his, pulling him directly into your embrace, his chin hitting your shoulder.

“Y/N?” Tech tentatively asked, a bit breathless against you.

“You need to sleep, Tech,” you whispered against his ear, arms squeezing just a little tighter as he tried to move. You felt his sharp intake of breath and he completely stilled in your arms, tensely holding himself up. “Relax.”

“I… I need to-” he began, but his sentence was broken by a soft groan as one of your hands began to run up and down his back. A soothing motion, fingertips ghosting over his side as your palm ran along his spine. Your other arm moved under his, your hand reaching up to the back of his neck and gently running through the short hair found at the base of his skull.

You leaned your head gently to the side, pressing against his. “Please, Tech,” you pleaded, and you felt him begin to relax in your arms.

“Cyar’ika...” he sighed, and his voice was thick with sleep. His resolve gone due to your ministrations, he finally let his whole body slump against you, and he turned his face into your neck. You could feel his warm breath and cool goggles against your skin and you couldn’t help the small shiver that spread through your body.

“That’s it, Tech,” you cooed, loosening the grip of your legs so he could settle more between them. In doing so he slid down your chest a little, making you glad that at some point he had decided to discard his chest plate. You heard the datapad hit the bunk’s thin mattress as Tech's arms wrapped around you, pressing his face more firmly into your chest with a deep breath.

You felt a gentle warmth spread through you as you both embraced one another. You couldn’t help but smile down at Tech, and you gently reached up to carefully slide the goggles from his face before setting them down on the bunk near the datapad. It was mere moments before you could tell Tech was asleep against you. Moving carefully, you pressed your lips against the top of his head and leaned back again.

“Comms will still be there when you get up,” you said to his sleeping form, before closing your eyes and feeling a bit drowsy yourself.

It was a while later that you woke to the sound of someone entering the Marauder. You had no idea how long you had been asleep, and you opened your eyes slowly, looking about the compartment to find Crosshair standing there. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was looking at you with a smirk. He just nodded when he saw your attention was on him, and climbed into the bunk below the one you currently occupied with Tech.

Speaking of, the usually goggled clone was still sleeping soundly against you. You smiled before gently running your fingers through his hair, feeling him sigh and snuggle more into your body.

“Hey Cross?” you called out, careful not to be too loud.

A grunt of acknowledgement was the sniper’s response.

“...what does ‘cyar’ika’ mean?” you asked after a moment’s pause. Tech had said it earlier, but you didn’t know what it was.

You were met with silence, and you were beginning to wonder if Crosshair was actually going to answer you. You resigned yourself to mystery when he finally spoke:

“It’s Mando’an. It means ‘darling,’ ‘beloved,’ or ‘sweetheart’.”

You froze. Tech had called you that? A blush creeped up your skin, and you knew if Crosshair had been looking at you he’d see just how red you were in the semi-darkness of the Marauder.

“Th-thanks,” you said back, before looking down at Tech. You didn’t think you had ever seen the trooper look as relaxed as peaceful as you did right now, and you couldn’t help but smile. Leaning down just a little, you hugged him a little tighter.

“Cyar’ika,” you soothed, and smiled more as Tech’s arms squeezed you tighter as well in response.

[emperor-palpaminty]

you already know I’m asking for soft crosshair, idc what it is, just give me content on my hubby please Minty 🥺💗

- lots of love, crosshair’s moonwife 💜🌙

Soft! Soft! Soft! Also kind of modern au i think?? Maybe! Idk it's vague

You had no idea when you fell asleep on the couch, the weight of the tablet on your chest. It made a soft beep to note that it was low on battery, begging to be plugged in. You blinked, groggy as your were pulled out of your nap. You grabbed blindly for the tablet and skimmed the screen, squinting at the screen and time.

“Oh, crap,” You whispered, throwing your legs over the couch and standing. “Cross!” You yelled. “Hon, I’m sorry, dinner is-” You skidded into the kitchen, socks sliding on the wood. “... Gonna be... late?”

Crosshair didn’t even look up from the counter, pouring a batch of waffle batter into the maker. “I already took Gonky on a walk, and to the vet. You won’t be late.” The puppy barked from his bed nearby, head raising up at your entrance. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as Crosshair shut the waddle iron, running his hands on the towel. “You were tired, meshl’a.”

You nodded, quietly, as his arms opened and you were ushered into his chest. You gave a soft sigh as your eyes slipped closed. A nap was always good- it was refreshing, but it was this that really centered and calmed you. Every breath from him was clean and smelled like his aftershave, spices and sandalwood filling your lungs. “Waffles for dinner?”

“You like them.”

A small laugh escaped you as he kissed your head again. “You snore.”

“I do not.” You mumbled, turning your face into his shirt. Crosshair only offered a half-chuckle as he leaned on the counter, still cradling you. 

[treesnutsandleaveswrites]

Left Behind

Pairing: The Bad Batch x Reader (Polyam)

Summary: After staying with Roland Durand, you make up with the team and head out on another mission

Warning: Angst, some fluff, ANGST, injury, Imperial!Crosshair at the end, mentions of shooting and violence, Bad Batch spoilers ig

Word Count: 2445

A/N: I’m kind of on a writing kick rn lol

pt xx, pt xxii

XXXXXXX

You woke up to the sun reaching your eye-line. It was an odd thing to wake up to. The sun barely shined into the flat Cid was letting the Batch borrow, and there was barely any sunlight on Kamino to wake you up either. You sat up in the bed and let the silk sheets pool around. If it wasn’t obvious already, you had stayed the night at Roland’s, deeming it a bit late to buy off a speeder and head back to Cid’s. Beeping came from the communicator of your armor, which made your heart skip a beat.

“Ah, kriff…” You muttered before getting up and grabbing it, “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Hunter asked with a hiss in his voice, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… I’m still in town.”

He sighed and you could basically hear him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, “Just… try to get back before the sun is at its highest point or else Echo is gonna reign hellfire on the city to find you.”

You nodded, “Yeah… got it.”

The communicator went dead as Roland walked in wearing a new set of clothes.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?”

You smiled while still looking at the communicator, tossing it slightly in your hands, “Like a baby…”

He observed your movements and his face fell, “Duty calls?”

You nodded, “I should go.”

“Alright… I’ll have a few of my guards escort you. Get ready, I’ll be waiting downstairs.”

“Okay…” You whispered as he walked out.

*******

You made your way out of the building and found a few guards waiting in a speeder.

“Where’s Roland?”

“Dealing with some business. He said to take you back to Cid’s.” One of them explained which caused you to nod and get into the speeder. It wasn’t long until the speeder pulled up in front of Cid’s parlor, where Hunter was talking with Echo and Wrecker. You hopped out of the speeder and waved them off before they pulled out and turned the corner.

“Ad’ika! There you are!” Wrecker grinned before picking you up into a tight hug.

“Hi, Wreck.” You smiled as he set you down and followed them inside.

Tech was sitting at the bar with Omega, showing her something on his datapad. He glanced up at you, then pulled out his blaster and aimed in your direction. The others had done so and were facing the threshold, which made you turn. Roland was standing there in one of his guard’s uniforms, holding the helmet under his arm.

“I’m not here to take your things again, don’t worry.” He said nonchalantly.

“Why are you here?” Cid wondered, leaning against the bar.

He didn’t bother to answer her as he turned his attention to you, “I had to see you were safe…”

You shook your head, “You shouldn’t be here…” You urged back into the threshold, “Please, go…”

“Lodestar…” He whispered, stopping your motions and holding your hands, “You’re welcome anytime, you know that?”

You nodded, not looking into his eyes, “I know…”

“Be careful.” He whispered, kissing your knuckles and leaving the parlor.

You stood in the threshold for a moment before making your way into the parlor.

“So you’re working for anyone now?” Cid asked maliciously.

“I didn’t do a job for him…”

“Well, then what the hell were you doing?”

“Nothing. If I did a job, I would’ve given the money to you.” You admitted, placing your helmet down.

“What did he want?”

“Nothing, he has no interest in your parlor anymore.” You murmured.

“If I catch you slipping up again, you’re out! I don’t care what these boys say!” Cid stated which caused you to nod. A hand was placed on your shoulder and you turned to see Tech.

“Darling-”

“You’re right…” You said plainly, “You shouldn’t trust me.”

“Lodestar-” Echo started.

“I… should have never left with you.”

“Don’t say that, ad’ika.” Wrecker pleaded.

“Cyare…” Hunter murmured, going up to you, “you’re struggling… with something many people struggle with. We aren’t gonna give up on you just like that…”

“Tech was drunk, and whether he likes it or not… he’s not always right.” Echo insisted.

“For once, I agree with that statement.” Tech remarked.

“Please, don’t go.” Omega whispered, “You’re our family. We need you.”

You looked at her for a moment before nodding. She hugged you tight and you hugged her back gently.

“Okay! Enough with the hugging! It’s hurting my eyes!” Cid groaned, “I guess you can stay in touch with Roland, be a double agent or somethin’.”

You smiled gently, but then Omega spoke up.

“What was with the hand kissing thing?”

“Yeah…” Hunter crossed his arms,”What was that?”

You rolled your eyes, “Nothing happened. I guess… he just has slight feelings?”

“Slight?! When we were held hostage, he couldn’t keep himself away from her!” Omega laughed.

“Omega!” You exclaimed.

“You can stay friends with him… but make sure he isn’t too comfortable.” Echo instructed.

“C’mon… you really think I’d give up the four of you for one of him? It’s gonna take more than sweet talk and a four course meal to get out of your hooks.” You crossed your arms. Wrecker laughed and scooped you into his arms.

“That’s our girl!”

All of you headed towards the Marauder and you looked around in confusion.

“Wrecker, where are you taking me?”

“Ah, we have a mission!”

“Seriously? Huh, I guess your enhancements help you recover from hangovers quicker…”

Wrecker set you down once you were all loaded into the ship.

*******

You were looking over some data on the computer while Omega was working on some wiring on Gonky and Hunter was sitting next to you, flipping his knife around.

“We’re being hailed.” Wrecker called out, “It’s from Rex!”

You all looked at each other before heading into the cockpit. Echo opened the transmission on the projector and you saw Rex in a large cloak.

“Hello, boys. Sorry to get right to it, but I could use your help.”

“What do you need, Captain?” Hunter wondered.

“I’ve received a distress signal from a clone trooper, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment to retrieve him.”

“You want us to recover a reg?”

“He’s an old friend, and he’s in trouble. I need you to get him out.”

“Out of what exactly?”

Beeping went off in the transmission, which caused Rex to get frantic, “Can’t talk right now. Sending you his signal. I’ll be in touch.” Then the transmission ended.

“What was that about?” asked Wrecker.

“The distress signal sent by CC-5576 is originating from Daro: a terrestrial planet in the Outer Rim with no known settlements or installations.

“What’s he doing all the way out there?” You wondered.

“Well, does it matter?” Echo asked.

“We’ve gone on missions before without intel, this is stretching it.”

“Rex wouldn’t ask us for help if it wasn’t urgent.” Echo insisted.

“Echo’s got a point.” Wrecker agreed.

“May I remind you that we are in the middle of a job for Cid. If we deviate, we will not be compensated. No money means no food.”

“Oh yeah, Tech’s got a point.” Wrecker said.

“But Rex’s friend is in trouble, that’s more important than getting paid.” Omega butted in.

“Well, the kids got a point.” Wrecker finalized, which caused you to chuckle.

Hunter hesitated before having a small staredown with Echo. He sighed gently, “Lodestar, what’s your say?”

You sat back, “I am ‘Lodestar the Liberator’… you already know my answer, love.”

Hunter nodded, “Fine. We’ll check things out.”

You all nodded in agreement and prepped for Daro.

*******

Tech landed the ship and you all trailed out, following Tech as he tracked the clone’s signal. You looked around, staying behind the group in case of any surprises.

“The signal is coming from here.” Tech announced, which caused Omega to go ahead and find the beacon connected to a large log.

“Found it!” She handed it to Tech.

“Where’s the reg?” Wrecker looked around. Hunter took off his helmet and looked at the ground. You crouched when you felt some uneven earth.

“Hunter… track marks.” You announced, “Fresh… maybe from last night or early this morning.”

“We’re too late… the reg’s been caught.” Hunter concluded, “He was running, then he got dragged this way.”

You all followed him as he moved further towards the mountain just nearby.

“There’s something here.” Hunter looked up at the mountain.

“You’re right. There’s something jamming my signal.”

“I thought you said there was nothing here!” Wrecker exclaimed.

“That data appears to be inaccurate.” Tech stated.

“Wrecker, you, Omega, and Lodestar head back to the ship.”

“I thought-” Omega started.

“Coming here was up for debate. This is not.” Hunter said sternly before turning to you, “I need you to help fly the ship just in case Wrecker needs to bring in heavy fire.”

You nodded and urged Omega to follow Wreck back to the Marauder. Before you went to join them, you grabbed Hunter’s helmet and bumped it with his gently.

“Be careful…”

He nodded before urging his brothers to the mountain. You watched them for a moment before heading back to the cruiser.

Omega paced in the shuttle while waiting for her brothers to come back. You were adjusting the scope on your helmet while Wrecker sat back in one of the chairs. “Meg… come here.” You called, which caused her to hesitate before she stood in front of you. You let out a small laugh and caressed her cheek, “Y’know who you remind me of?” “Who?” She asked grumpily.

“Me.” You smiled, “I was never allowed to go with the others on the field… they made sure I stayed on the ship.”

“They’ve been on so many missions, how could you stand it?”

“I trusted them and they trusted me… of course, I was worried, but they ended up coming back at the end…”

She groaned, “I’m a part of the team now! I should be a part of the action!”

“Dealing with bugs on Ord Mantell wasn’t action? Or co-piloting a shuttle?”

She sighed, “It was, but I want more!”

You chuckled, “You really are a clone at heart… always ready for the action.” You sighed and cupped her face, “But even clones your age need some preparation and training before going into big battles.”

“The clones who are younger than me look as old as Rex!”

You shook your head, “Patience, ‘Meg… there will be a time when you will lead them… right now, we wait.”

She sighed and nodded, going back to her pacing. You went back to cleaning up your armor as you all waited. Eventually, you were in the main part of the ship tending to D-5.

“Maybe let’s not leave you in the mount next time, D-5.”

“D-d-d-damaged?”

“It’s not bad, buddy. Your balance module is just out of place again, and you bent your antenna.”

You finished fixing him and set him next to Gonky, “Stay there, okay?”

“O-o-okay.”

You shook your head and spoke to yourself, “Why do I expect him to listen?”

You made your way into the cockpit, seeing Wrecker and Omega doing the same thing.

“How can you be so calm?” Omega burst at Wrecker.

“I’m recharging! I’ll be ready to go when they call!”

Suddenly, the comm channel opened, “Wrecker! Omega! Lodestar! Meet us at our location!”

Omega got into the pilot's seat with Wrecker, “We’re on our way!”

You stood behind them, hanging on to the back of the chairs.

“Focus, Omega! Stay steady!” You instructed.

“Got it! We are on approach!”

You headed towards the hatch and opened it, pulling out you blaster and stunning the troopers behind them.

“Meg! Get closer!” You called, hanging onto the threshold. Wrecker came to join you as you helped Tech and the other clone onto the ship. You heard an approaching ship.

“We’ve got incoming, 6 o’clock!” You called to Tech, who took over the ships controls.

“Wrecker, get on the gunner’s mount!” Tech ordered. You nodded to Wrecker as you shot at the incoming troopers. You hopped off the ship to help them fend off the attackers as the ship swooped out to avoid the airfighters.

“I said stay on the ship!” Hunter ordered.

“Well, do you want me to jump off the mountain and fly to them?!”

He shook his head as you helped Echo fight off some troopers.

“We’re coming back around! Be ready!” Tech announced on comms

The ship pulled up and Echo jumped onto the ship as you and Hunter shot at the troopers. You looked back to make sure he got on safe, getting hit in the arm in the process.

“Ah!” You were flung back by the blast, losing your balance.

“Lodestar!”

Tech maneuvered the ship to try and catch you, but to no avail, you were already off the platform. Hunter tried to jump for the edge of the ship to catch you, but he missed and he too fell down the cliff.

“Hunter! Lodestar!” Omega called, but Echo grabbed her and urged her into the ship.

As Hunter fell, he tried to dampen his fall by latching into the mountain with his knife, but it wouldn’t hold. He had landed just before a clearing and looked up to see where you fell.

“Lodestar!” He called, “Lodestar!”

“Multiple system failures, we can't take anymore hits!” Tech said on comms.

“Get the ship out of here! I have to find Lodestar and we’ll get back to you!”

“Negative, the odds of escape are not in your favor!”

“I’m not leaving her behind! Go Tech! That’s an order!”

He looked ahead, seeing a shuttle land multiple troopers approaching.

“No! Turn around!” Omega cried, “Hunter, tell them to come back! Order them to come back!”

“Sorry, kid… I can’t do that…” Hunter sighed before sheathing his dagger and surrendering to the troopers.

*******

Crosshair arrived with his squad and looked to the commanding officer who approached him.

“Commander, the other clones got away but we have their leader.”

“What about the other girl?”

“Troopers reported she fell off the cliff. She’s most likely dead.”

“And if she isn’t? That woman has connections all over the outer rim. Do you want the Pykes or the Hutts to be involved with our affairs?”

“N-no, sir.”

“My squad and I will find her with help from your troopers. Get a shuttle ready.” Crosshair ordered and watched as the commanding officer rushed off.

“Commander, do we really need the girl? Isn’t the leader enough?”

Crosshair sneered at his squad member, “Like I said. She has connections in the outer rim. She’s valuable. We aren’t leaving here without her.”

XXXXXXX

Taglist:

@darkangel4121 @lightning-wolffe @alucas528 @rintheemolion @shadowfoxey @butch-medusae @gabile18 @incandescentlywarm @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @spidercrush3

[darthzero22]

Alone with you

Crosshair x Reader

At least half an hour ago you went to the Marauder's control room, which was in hyperspace. The funny thing is that you fell asleep, because you were bored, but you wouldn't last long like that.

Warning: dirty talk 

Your snoring wasn't usually loud, but you did snore from time to time. You had your back fully against the back of the seat, and you had your head tilted to the left almost resting on your shoulder. It was a very uncomfortable position, you would probably wake up with neck pain, back pain, or both. You should have been asleep for about ten minutes, but you wouldn't last longer than that.

In your dreams you begin to feel that someone was touching your nose giving you an itchy, and that's why you wrinkle it. You were still sleeping, until you now feel your nose being squeezed, and it definitely takes you out of your sleep. You straighten your back and the first thing you do before opening your eyes is to run your hand over your nose because it itched.  

“What…?” you open your eyes.

In front of you was Crosshair, who was actually on your left side, but he leaned toward you so you could see him as soon as you woke up.

“Cross! You…?”

“Not for nothing, but you look ridiculously adorable with saliva in your mouth” he laughs derisively with a toothpick between his teeth.

You quickly bring a hand to your mouth feeling that your lips were indeed wet from your saliva, and then wipe it off with the back of your hand. Your blush on your cheeks increases as you hear and see Crosshair laugh again, always in a mocking manner.

“Don't make fun of me!” you gently push his face to the side.

Crosshair was smiling, then he takes the toothpick out of his mouth for a few moments to give you a little lick and a bite on your left ear, and straightens his back while laughing at the sight of your completely red cheeks.

“It's impossible to do that, mesh’la” he puts the toothpick back in his mouth.

“Uh-huh. If you said so, dummy. So you come to ruin my nap to make fun of me?”

“Really? You call that a nap?”

“Yes! I was planning to take a nap, but you interrupted me”

“And I feel so bad about it” he said with sarcasm.

“I have a vague hope that someday you'll say that without sarcasm”

You get up from your chair and the bones in your back rattle because your sleeping posture was not the best of all. You open your eyes wide as you feel even the bones in your neck rattle, then you look at Crosshair who was looking at you with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't look at me like that, Cross. You now it's not the first time I've slept in a bad position”

“Oh, I know that well. But then you blame me for interrupting your perfect nap”

“Hey, I never said it was perfect. I just said it was a nap, but I see that it wasn't very... comfortable” you caress the back of your neck, and you tried to rattle the bones in your back by moving your shoulders.

“And now you realize” he sighs. “Let me. You make me nervous”

Crosshair grabs your shoulder, forces you to turn your back to him and you feel him start to massage you, making your bones and muscles relax. The bones in your shoulders and back rattled, that relaxed you even more, though nothing beat the feeling of his hands massaging your shoulders.

“I didn't think you would massage me” you smile.

“Hmm. I shouldn't be doing this after you blamed me for saving you from your bad sleeping posture”

“You'll make me remember it all the time, won't you?”

“Count on it”

“You are very spiteful. Careful, that's bad for your health, old man” you said to him with affection, all the time you were smiling.

“So that's how you thank me, huh?”

“Everyone has their own way”

“You are quite ungrateful, you know?” he murmurs in your ear. “While I am considerate and want to heal you of your clumsiness, you disrespect me”

“You know I like to tease you. It's my hobby. Besides, I learned it from you”

“Well, we agree on something”

When he finished massaging your shoulders, you turn to face him and grab his face with both hands and start stroking his cheeks with your thumbs.

“Thank you, Cross, really” you smile.

“Hmm. What a poor thank you from you”

You raise an eyebrow while still smiling, then lower your hands from his face and grab his toothpick to remove it from his mouth. Luckily you were alone, so you proceeded to thank him in a way he would accept. You wrapped your arms around his neck and brought your mouth to his in a kiss that was more passionate than loving. Crosshair reciprocates, wrapping his arms around your waist to pull you closer to him, and the kiss was increasingly passionate to the point that you include your tongues. You rubbed your bodies together, feeling the heat rising faster and faster. You only break apart because of shortness of breath, but you resume the kiss and it's still just as passionate. In the middle, one of Crosshair's hands reaches down to your butt and starts massaging it.

It was more than obvious what the result would be if the two of you continued like this, but what made you break away from the kiss, other than the lack of air, was hearing the typical droid noise. You look to the side and see none other than Gonky, who is honking.

“I believe we are not particularly alone” you said to Crosshair with a smile, resting your hands on his shoulders.

“Ugh. Go away, droid” he said to Gonky after grunting in annoyance.

You found it adorable that Crosshair got more annoying than usual when something or someone interrupted you, and so you chuckled a little.

“The droid has a name, Cross”

“I'm not going to call it by that name”

“Why not? It's a cute name. I want to hear it coming from you” you were smiling.

“Ha. That will never happen” he looks at Gonky again. “Now go away, droid. I am not going to repeat it”

Gonky only honks.

“Now what happens to that thing?” he asked.

“Maybe if you stopped calling Gonky as ‘that thing’. Maybe he needs to have his systems checked”

“It's a defective unit, that droid always needs to be checked”

“Well, I'm going to check him”

“What? You can't be serious”

You wink at your boyfriend, then approach Gonky to start checking his systems. Crosshair crosses his arms with a frown, still annoyed by what happened earlier, and leans his back against the wall watching you fix the droid.

“Just as I thought, Gonky needed to be checked”

“Good for you” he said with sarcasm.

“I can't do much, but this will be enough. Done!” you stand up and pat Gonky. “All set, Gonky. You're good to go”

Gonky honks in a happy way and begins to walk to the other side, leaving you alone in a few moments.

“Cross, really? You look like a wayward child”

“You sure know how to ruin moments, mesh’la” he smiles.

You were surprised that his face had changed so quickly, now he was smiling, and you raise your eyebrow showing your surprise.

“You weren't angry?”

“I was. But then I remembered that you have to make up for this”

You laugh feeling your cheeks blush a little, then you move very close to Crosshair and bring your face close to his, making him lean his back more against the wall.

“Maybe, maybe not" you smile. 

“You are innocent if you think 'maybe' is an option for me”

“I already knew that. At least tell me that my way of thanking you was enough for you"

Your eyes gave Crosshair an inexplicable feeling, actually you gave him an inexplicable feeling. Your smile, your lips, your caresses, everything. You were so beautiful to him, someone unique, and he kept thinking about how you were attracted to him. For all those thoughts, he got lost in your eyes, that's why you bring him back with a caress to his cheek. 

“It was more than enough" he said finally. 

Crosshair gently grabs your chin and he brings his lips close to yours, then that closeness disappeared and you joined your mouths in a kiss full of passion that didn't seem to stop soon. You only separated to catch your breath, and sometimes, in those moments, you give him little kisses on the ear.

"Are you trying to provoke me?" he asks you with a smile. "Because you know what happens when you try, mesh’la”

"Me? I would never think of that, Cross" you tell him also with a smile, and a playful tone.

“Well, you sounded exciting"

You kiss again, and this time much more passionately involving your tongues. Crosshair breaks away from the kiss to start kissing your neck and pulling you closer to his body, and you feel a pleasurable sensation in your spine as you close your eyes and bite your lower lip. With some roughness, but at the same time in a passionate way, he forces you to lean now your back against the wall and continues with the kisses on your neck, now adding also your ear. You feel him give you a small bite on your neck, you let out a groan of surprise, and you begin to moan in pleasure as you feel him lick you where he bit you. 

“If you knew how much I need you...” he starts to say.

“You have me, and you will always have me”

Crosshair raises his head to kiss you again, and you obviously reciprocate, directing your hands to his face so you can caress it with all the adoration you had for him.

[wanderinginksplot]

One-Shot: Crosshair + "I'm not cold"

Crosshair x f!reader, pre-Order 66. No one requested it, I just wrote it for my own amusement. Mostly because I realized I had never written for Crosshair before and I wanted to try it.

Word Count: Roughly 3400-ish

Warning: Reader threatened with a blaster

---

“Watch out, Gonky!” Wrecker warned, his voice loud in the small space.

“Gonk!” Clash. Clatter. Thud.

“Wrecker?” you called. “Is everything okay back there?”

“Yeah, Gonky just knocked over Cross’s kit,” Wrecker explained.

From the noises you could hear in the back of the Havoc Marauder, the large trooper was trying to clear up the mess. It didn’t sound like he was entirely successful, especially with all of the swearing from him and gonking from Gonky.

Ever helpful, you bounced to your feet and headed back there. Sure enough, the tangle of weapons from Crosshair’s kit was only being scattered further by Wrecker’s attempts to put it all back in the neat box.

“How about I take care of this and you get Gonky somewhere safe?” you offered.

“That sounds great,” Wrecker accepted with gratitude. He picked up the GNK droid and moved past you with it tucked under one of his massive arms. Wrecker’s free hand patted you warmly on the shoulder and you smiled up at him. “Thanks!”

“Not a problem!” you chirped. You were always willing to lend a hand, especially since you knew that Wrecker had the next guard shift and would probably try to catch some sleep while he could.

Working with Clone Force 99 was a dream assignment for you. Your constant good mood made you especially willing to help out with anything you could aboard the small ship. Cheerfully, you began to disentangle Crosshair’s rifle from a length of cord that had managed to wind itself around everything.

You were so deeply absorbed in your task that you didn’t hear Crosshair’s light footsteps approaching. “What the kriff do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

You jumped at the sharp question, but smiled up at the sniper regardless. “Well, your kit fell over and spilled out. I’m just untangling this so that I can-”

“So that you can steal my rifle?” Crosshair interrupted, ignoring your immediate horror at his suggestion. “Maybe you just plan to rob us, or maybe you’ll finish the job and put a bolt in each of us before you run away.”

“What are- Of course I would never do that!” you gaped. “Why would-”

“There has to be a reason someone like you would volunteer to work with us,” he told you, squinting suspiciously as he scanned you up and down.

“Someone like me?” you asked, fighting not to shrink into yourself. Sure, you had less active combat experience than any of the Bad Batchers, but you were a specialist. Your job was to stay back from the action and perform analysis work. “What does that mean?”

“It means-” Crosshair started, but Hunter called him from the front of the ship.

“Your guard shift started two minutes ago, Cross,” Hunter reminded, glancing between the two of you.

Crosshair turned back to you with a sneer. “It means I’ll be taking my rifle,” he said evasively, ripping the weapon in question from your grip. He left before you could offer additional apologies or explanations.

Cheeks burning, you continued to clean up. When everything was neatly organized in its original place, you pushed Crosshair’s heavy kit back where it always sat. You started to walk out of the armory, but your gaze caught on a smooth, dark gray surface.

"Did Crosshair already leave?" you asked urgently, stepping into the main hold of the Havoc Marauder.

Echo frowned in thought. "I think he headed out for his sentry shift a few minutes ago. Why?"

“Because he owes her an apology,” Hunter ground out darkly. You blushed again when you realized that he had heard Crosshair’s accusations. You really should have guessed that he had, since the combination of a small space and Hunter’s enhanced hearing had often surprised you in the past.

You hurried to assure the sergeant before he could warm to his subject. When Hunter thought something was morally required, he didn’t leave it alone and you had no time. “I don’t want an apology, but he’ll probably be wanting this.” You held up Crosshair's helmet.

“Crosshair never leaves his armor behind,” Tech informed you from the doorway of the cockpit. “He would live inside of it if he were given the choice.”

“I think he was distracted by the- by the situation,” you said, diplomatically leaving out the details. “He must have forgotten it.”

Echo grimaced. "It's karking freezing out there, excuse the language. He'll need his armor if he doesn't want frostbite by the end of his shift."

As he finished the sentence, Echo hauled himself to his feet. He had just come back inside from his turn at guarding the Marauder. You hated the cold and had no desire to go outside of the warm ship, but it had been your fault that Crosshair had left his armor behind. Besides, you distinctly remembered Echo mentioning how the metal-based implants in his body reacted poorly in cold temperatures.

You held a hand out to stop him as you bounced restlessly on your toes. "No, I'll go."

Echo watched you with surprise on his thin face. You had always been willing to do extra work for the members of Clone Force 99, but your aversion to cold weather was well-known. Still, you didn’t give Echo a chance to talk you out of it. You returned to the small barracks and gathered the rest of Crosshair's armor before stepping outside.

The cold took your breath away, even through the additional layers you had put on before you left the ship. Despite the shivering that had started almost immediately, you began to look around for Crosshair. The sooner you found him, the sooner you could stop worrying about his safety.

"Stop there, hands on your head," a voice ordered.

It was Crosshair, but you didn't let yourself relax. He knew who you were and had still told you to stop. You wouldn't put it past the cranky sniper to hit you with a stun bolt just for his own amusement.

You rested the pile of armor on the ground slowly and did as Crosshair had ordered.

"Are you planning on shooting me?" you asked, trying to keep your voice light.

"I might," he returned sharply. "You deserting?"

"Deserting?" you repeated incredulously, half-turning to look at him.

"Don't move," Crosshair snapped. "And answer the question."

You turned to face forward again with an apologetic nod. "Of course I'm not deserting! I came to find you."

The odd, mechanical noise of a shifting grip on a modified sniper rifle cut through the cold air. Sounding almost reluctant, Crosshair said, "You can turn around."

“Why would you think I was deserting?” you asked as soon as you were facing him. Surely he knew you had no plans to abandon the little team, especially since you were getting such useful information from observing their battle tactics.

He scoffed. “A talented civvie who could work anywhere chooses to be attached to a squad full of rejects and I’m not supposed to be suspicious? You could go anywhere with any battalion of the GAR, and you choose the group of five misfits. Sounds like someone trying to disappear, to me.”

“I chose to work with you because I’m a combat analyst who believes that your processes could help save trooper lives if adapted to fit large groups,” you replied, trying not to show how offended you were. Surely he didn’t realize how inappropriate his suggestion was. “Not all of your plans rely on your unique abilities. Those plans could be used by other troopers.”

“Unique abilities,” Crosshair repeated with a sneer. “Nicest way I’ve ever heard a civilian say it.”

“I’m not a civilian,” you reminded slowly, pointing to the GAR emblem embroidered on the sleeve of your coat. It was dark and snowing on the frigid planet, but you knew he could see it with his enhanced eyesight. “I work for the GAR, remember? I am an officer rather than a soldier, but I’m certainly not a civilian.”

“And why are you out here in the cold with a lowly soldier, officer?” Crosshair asked, putting far too much emphasis on the title.

A defensive rejoinder sprang to your lips, and you wanted to remind him that you pulled guard duty just as everyone else did. This was your day without a shift according to Hunter’s rotational system. Crosshair’s day off was yesterday, so he knew better. Still, you bit back your retort. Crosshair knew the rotations as well as you did - he was just bleeding off the poison of his anger.

Instead, you smiled politely at him, holding the helmet out. “You forgot your armor. You left it in the barracks. I thought I would bring it to you.”

“Concerned about a Kaminoan science experiment?” Crosshair stared down at the helmet for a moment before the typical cloud of disdain shifted across his face again. He turned his back to you. “Don’t bother. I’m not cold.”

You gaped, astonished by his rudeness despite all of your previous experience with it. You had brought his armor, tried to look out for his well-being, and he was going to refuse? And to think you had believed you saw a human emotion on his thin face as he looked at his helmet. “You can’t be serious! It’s dangerously cold out here. You need your armor if you don’t want permanent nerve damage before you come back inside.”

You tossed the helmet to him, shivering openly. It was seriously freezing and you wanted to get back inside of the ship as soon as possible… something you realized might be impossible as Crosshair threw the helmet back harder.

“I’m not cold,” he snapped again. “Take your pity elsewhere.”

“Pity?” you repeated, befuddled. “I’m concerned for your well-being. That’s not pity. Please put on your armor? Even just your helmet. The rest of you has some protection from your clothes, but you don’t have anything on your head.”

“No,” Crosshair refused.

You sighed, stepping closer to him. “Crosshair, I can see your lips turning blue. Is it so hard to believe that I might care about your safety? That I don’t want to see you get frostbitten on a guard shift?”

“Get away from me,” he ordered. You took one more step, meaning to set the helmet on the ground in front of him. Maybe if you could just leave it out here with him, he would put it on after you had left. When his pride wasn’t at stake.

You stopped moving altogether when he pulled his rifle up. The geometrical part of your brain - the same one that helped you determine angles of shots in combat situations - warned you that a shot fired at that angle would hit directly through your unprotected forehead. You froze in position.

“Get. Away.” The hissed warning was low and deadly serious.

Wordlessly, you turned around and returned to the Havoc Marauder, depositing Crosshair’s armor next to the door. When you turned to face the room at last, the other members of the Bad Batch were watching you with expectant curiosity.

“What, he didn’t want his armor?” Echo asked.

“No, he didn’t,” you replied simply, unwilling to delve into the details. “I’m going to turn in for the night.”

Hunter held out a hand to stop you when you tried to pass, studying your face intently. “What exactly did Cross say to you?”

“He-” your voice cracked a bit. You cleared your throat and gave a weak smile before continuing. “He threatened to shoot me. I guess he really didn’t want his armor.”

Hunter’s expression darkened as he rose from his seat. “He what?”

“I’m just going to go, Sergeant,” you repeated softly. “If that’s okay?”

“Of course,” Hunter agreed, letting you walk to the back of the Marauder where you set up your cot every night.

“Hey, everything okay?” Wrecked asked loudly as you passed through the barracks. He was leaning up on one elbow to look at you.

You nodded and gave a little shrug. “Everything is fine, but I’m a little tired. Not sure why; I didn’t even do any hard work today. But you should go back to sleep. You have plenty of time before your shift starts.”

“Yeah…” Wrecker agreed slowly as you kept walking.

Setting up your cot took only a few moments and you kept your tears from the recent tension silent. You had collected yourself and fallen asleep long before Crosshair came back inside of the ship, but low voices and quiet conversation brought you slowly back to half-consciousness

“What the kriff were you thinking, Cross?” Hunter asked, sounding thoroughly displeased.

“She kept babying me,” Crosshair muttered, barely loud enough for you to hear him.

“Oh, by caring whether you survived a guard shift?” Echo sounded displeased, too.

“You lack the necessary body fat to survive long in conditions such as the ones found on this planet,” Tech reminded.

“I would have been fine, even if Wrecker hadn’t thrown my armor at me,” Crosshair insisted.

“By my calculations,” Tech argued, “you would have suffered permanent nerve damage before your shift had ended.”

“And she’s the only one who even noticed that you left your armor behind,” Hunter told him, rapidly headed toward full lecture mode. “If it weren’t for her, you would have actually had to swallow your pride and come back yourself.”

“Fine,” Crosshair agreed sourly. “I could have been nicer to her.”

“How about not pointing a kriffing blaster at her head?” Echo supplied, voice harsh. “The girl bends over backwards to take care of all of us and you threaten her life because you can’t just admit that you like her.”

Well. You were wide awake at that.

Crosshair seemed surprised by the suggestion as well, if you were to judge by his sputtered questions.

“You act like a shiny on a battlefield when she’s around you,” Hunter said, sounding satisfied by the chance to confront his brother. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed the increase in your heart rate.”

“Because she irritates me!” Crosshair denied.

“Kamino prepared us for many things,” Tech mused, “but they taught us very little in the way of emotional maturity. Perhaps you just feel overwhelmed by your response to her.”

“Stop talking about things you don’t understand,” Crosshair’s voice was low and sharp again as he threatened his brother.

Before things could escalate to violence again, you slipped out of your cot and walked to the main belly of the Havoc Marauder, where the conversation was taking place. As you approached, the conversation faded to a halt and the troopers avoided your eyes.

“Do you mind if I speak with Crosshair for a minute?” you asked quietly.

Hunter, Tech, and Echo muttered agreement, claiming ridiculously that they planned to go outside and check on Wrecker. You tried to tell them that was unnecessary, but they snapped their armor into place with shocking speed and left in a span of minutes.

The silence inside of the ship was uncomfortable and you decided to break it.

“I’m sorry-”

You blinked at Crosshair as he did the same at you. The beginning of an apology had spilled from both of you at the same time.

Soon enough, Crosshair’s befuddled expression melted into his typical scowl. His brow creased, making the tattoo over his eye move in a way you found oddly fascinating. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I left you out there in the cold, without your armor,” you explained haltingly. “Also because I listened in on what was clearly a private conversation between you and your brothers. Though that was an accident. I would certainly never try to-”

Crosshair interrupted your rambling to snap, “Stop apologizing.”

“I’m sorry,” you said automatically, flinching as you realized what you had done.

He watched you with wide eyes. Just when you thought he was going to start shouting again, one corner of his mouth lifted in a small, reluctant smile. “Just… just sit down. Kriff. Please.”

You did as he had forcefully suggested, planting yourself on one of the metal supply crates the Batch seemed to use as permanent seating.

“I’m sorry. For real this time,” he started inelegantly. "I was rude because I don’t think you belong with us."

You winced at that, but Crosshair hurried to add more to his apology.

"I just saw you as an outsider, someone different and soft who we would have to protect and take care of." He sighed, sitting down across from you. "I was wrong about that. About you. You are different, different from anyone we've ever worked with in the past, but you aren't soft, and we don't end up taking care of you."

You gave a small smile at that and he chuckled. It was a nice sound, and you were startled to realize that you had never heard it before. "You end up watching out for us way more often than we have to do it for you," he admitted.

Crosshair finally looked up at you, his dark eyes sincere. "I keep underestimating you, and you keep proving me wrong. I’m sorry about that.”

“Sorry for underestimating me or sorry that I keep proving you wrong?” you joked softly.

“Would you be offended if I said both?” Crosshair returned, laughing quietly with you.

“You should laugh more,” you told him before you could hold back the sentiment. “It’s nice.”

“We don’t get many chances to laugh,” he admitted. “Even then, I’m not the most lighthearted person on the team.”

You pretended to be shocked. “I wish someone had told me!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, but you had heard him actually be upset so often that you knew this time was more for show. “Still, I’ll try to be less of a di’kut from now on, okay? And I’ll stop underestimating you.”

“I appreciate that,” you said honestly. “And I’ll try to be more sensitive to the times you need space.”

“Kriff, no,” he burst out, seeming shocked at his own refusal. “The last thing you need to do is think about other people more. Stop being so nice to us. That should be what you work on.”

“Hmm…” you drawled, tapping your chin. “Who do you think could teach me to be grumpy and inconsiderate?”

“Probably me,” he admitted, looking morose. Sensing that there was something else he needed to say, you let the silence simmer until he finally spoke again. “Did I ever have a chance with you?”

You thought carefully about that. Crosshair was back to avoiding your eyes, but there was a softness in his face, a vulnerability you had seen only a few times before. And he wasn’t rude all of the time. There had been a handful of instances - precious in their rarity - that he had dropped his walls and connected with you.

“Maybe,” you answered. “And maybe you still do.”

His eyes lifted to your face, filled with hope so strong it made your heart clench. For your own sake, you added the warning you had given yourself every time you started to soften toward the standoffish sniper. “But I don’t let the people I date talk to me the way you do. And if you ever point a blaster at me again when you know I’m not the enemy, that chance will drop to absolutely zero.”

“It will never happen again,” Crosshair assured you. “Even if you decide you hate me, I can't do that again. It felt… wrong. Unsettling. You’re part of the Batch now, whether you and I ever… or not. You’re one of us and we take care of our own.”

“Thank you, Crosshair,” you said, touched beyond reason by his acceptance of you into the little family of troopers.

Crosshair nodded, but his mouth snapped shut at the knock on the Marauder’s main hatch. Tech put his head through the doorway, looking cold and sheepish. “Has your conversation concluded? The temperatures out here are extreme, and I need some sleep before my guard shift begins.”

“Of course! Come back inside!” you replied instantly while Crosshair pretended to think about it.

“We’re still talking, leave,” he told Hunter when the Sergeant stepped into the ship.

Hunter rolled his eyes and looked at you. “You could do better.”

You just laughed in answer.

---

A/N - Feel free to make a request or check out other stories on my masterlist!

[agirlinsomefandoms]

Internal • Bad Batch fanfic Part 3

Read on Ao3

Warnings: internal wounds, mentions of suicidal thoughts

Description: The Batch thought they were lucky that nobody got injuried during the fall of Kamino. Turns out, luck can sometimes run out.

Or; How the Batch deals with the aftermath of Kamino

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

Part 5/Final part

“No! Wrecker, stop! That tickles!”

Omega tried to get away, laughing loudly as Wrecker poked at her sides with a big grin on her face. Her feet kicked wildly as her hands attempted to fight away the hands of her attacker.

“Not until you tell me where Lula is!”

Omega giggled, rolling onto her side. Hunter entered the room at the sound of the commotion, smiling when he saw the scene. “Never!” She said dramatically and tried to make a dash for it but was grabbed by her leg when she tried to dive between his legs.

“Hunter! Help me!” Omega laughed, wiggling in Wrecker’s grip. Hunter shook his head. “Even I wouldn’t get in between Wrecker and Lula.”

Wrecker continued his attack, Omega almost in tears from laughing as she continued to try and find a way to get out of the giant clones attack. She kicked her legs out of instinct, one of them accidentally nailing Wrecker in the stomach that caught him off guard.

The enhanced clone breathed out sharply, his attack stopping for just a moment that let Omega scramble away and threw herself up the ladder of the gunners mount.

Hunter chuckled as he watched her, only stopping when he turned back to his brother and saw him rubbing his abdomen in irritation.

“Are you alright?” Hunter asked, concern written on his face. Wrecker grumbled but forced a chuckle out as he stood up straight. “She got me good.” He said and that made the sergeant relax a bit more as Wrecker turned to follow his sisters trail.

“You’re not getting away that easy, kid!”

Before Wrecker could reach the top of the ladder, the blonde clone burst through the curtains, catching the giant clone by surprise as she leapt over his head and slammed to the ground below.

“Omega!”

Hunter gaped when she got up, clearly unfazed when she giggled and bolted to the cockpit. “Tech! Help me!” Her voice faded through the ship. Wrecker busted out laughing, still going after her.

A small smile came back to Hunter’s face when he could hear the commotion. “Wrecker, if you do not leave her alone, I will eject you out of the ship next flight.” Hunter heard Tech threaten as he peaked down the hall and saw Omega clinging to Tech’s leg with his hand on her blonde hair.

“Aw, come on. We’re just playing!” Wrecker said, unconsciously rubbing the spot that Omega kicked. Tech narrowed his eyes. “She is still recovering. Which means she should not be getting riled up every hour.” Tech scolded him as he picked up his sister to take her back to the bunkroom where she’d been sleeping with one of her brothers as she recovered.

Omega stuck her tongue out at Wrecker from where her head rested on Tech’s shoulder, her own little victory motion. Wrecker returned it, both smiling in the process. Hunter shook his head as he watched her face go normal and slump against Tech’s shoulder before they both disappeared into the bunk room.

Wrecker dug around the ship some more and eventually found Lula hiding behind a charging Gonky. “Gonky, I can’t believe you were in on it too!” The giant clone said as the droid woke up abruptly when Wrecker yanked him out of the charging port. Gonky just turned and ‘gonk’d’ in confusion before going off to find Tech as he usually did when he woke up.

Wrecker rubbed his chest as went to the cockpit to sit, Tech eventually coming in soon after and looking at him. “Omega is still very ill! You need to be careful before you get her riled up. She is still complaining of her body hurting.”

“She started it!”

“And I finished it. Let her rest for one more day before she becomes active again. I believe that entire scenario on Kamino made her body quite unhappy.” Tech told his brother as he sat down in the pilot seat. Wrecker grumbled, rubbing his chest before silence fell between the two.

Wrecker drifted off for a bit, almost fully asleep when a hand rested on his shoulder. He jumped and looked up to see Echo looking down at him with a frown. “You good?” He asked and Wrecker nodded slowly.

“Yea! Yea. Just tired.” The giant clone mumbled as he got up. Echo watched him stalk off, noticing him rubbing his chest again. “You sure Wrecker’s alright?” Echo asked Tech. The engineer turned the pilot seat.

“I believe so. Why do you ask?”

“I dunno. He just doesn’t seem like himself.”

“He has been playing with Omega.”

“Yea, once. But he hasn’t lifted Gonky, or been eating as much.” Echo told the engineer. Tech frowned, realizing he was right. “Perhaps it is just mental side effects from Kamino. Wrecker struggles sometimes to keep his emotions intact.” Tech explained and Echo shook his head.

“I don’t think so. I think there’s something he not telling us.”

“Like what?”

“I dunno…I just got that feeling.”

“You always have a feeling.” Tech pointed out, an unconvincing look on his face. Echo narrowed his eyes with a huff before sitting down and crossing his arms.

“I just think you should check him over properly. He may have said he was fine but there might be something else. Even if it is just mental, it’s not good to keep it bottled up.”

“Oh, you’re one to talk.” Tech rolled his eyes and Echo picked up a tool nearby and hurled it at the engineer. Tech dodged it and glared at him.

“Do you know how impossible it is to get Wrecker to be checked over when he is injured? It’ll be a miracle if he lets me get the idea out.” The engineer told his brother, who sighed. “Just try.” He asked nicely and Tech grumbled.

“If it will shut you up.”

~

Wrecker was passed out in his bunk, Omega sleeping in Hunter’s bunk across the room. Tech entered and first checked his sisters forehead as she was passed out. She shifted, mumbling something in her sleep as Tech’s hand retracted and he nodded in satisfactory.

The engineer went over to his sleeping brother with his scanner and quietly did his work scanning him over, working quickly before Wrecker woke up and complained or even stopped him from conducting his tests.

Tech exited the bunk room once he was finished and returned to the cockpit next to Echo, flopping down dramatically as Hunter walked in.

“Watch it, mister. Your stitches are still in.”

Tech grumbled something in response as he set his scanner down to let it run its test. Hunter looked at it, a bit confused.

“What’re you running test for?”

“Echo believed I should check over Wrecker. He thinks there is something wrong with him wether it be physical or mental.” Hunter looked at the half human.

“You know Wrecker struggles with his emotions. He’s probably just having a tough time processing that Kamino’s gone. He loved that place.”

Echo sighed. “I just have a feeling. He’s just been…distant. He’s been dazed in and out, stumbling around…not his normal stuff. Hell, he’s barely put a dent in the rations.” Hunter chuckled.

“Let’s hope that stays that way.”

Tech’s scanner beeped, but the engineer didn’t look at it right away as he fiddled with something under the dash. Echo grabbed ahold of it, expecting Tech to be right as always, a hard look on his face.

Until it disappeared in an instant with a horrified look.

Hunter was now concerned.

“What?”

Tech’s attention was grabbed now, a confused look as he grabbed the scanner from Echo and turned it over. Tech’s eyes widened as he abruptly got up and bolted to the bunk room with Echo following and Hunter as well, still confused but with a concerned look on his face.

The lights flicked on and Tech immediately went to his brother, shaking him. “Wrecker.” He said urgently and careless about how loud he was. The giant clone stirred, hand coming to clutch his abdomen as his eyes fluttered openly tiredly.

“What? I’m sleepin’.”

“Not anymore. Get up. Slowly.“ Tech said and his brother looked confused. “No, no test, Tech. I’m tired and I wanna—“

“This is not up for debate, Wrecker!” The engineer snapped and now he had his brothers attention, along with a waking Omega’s. She rubbed her eyes as Echo went to her, knowing she was going to have questions as to why Tech is yelling all of a sudden.

Wrecker looked confused and startled. Tech never yelled. Why was he yelling at him now?

“Have you been having pain in your abdomen?”

Wrecker was about to answer no but when he thought about it, he realized the here and there moments he had where some pain shot out of nowhere, or from brushing it against something.

Wrecker rubbed the spot.

“Some.”

“For how long? I asked you if everything was alright!” Tech exclaimed, stretching his arms out angrily. “It was! I just thought…you know with my body growing weird, I thought it was that…I didn’t think it was anythin’ to worry about.” Wrecker explained and Tech sighed angrily.

“Wrecker, of course it is to worry about. Do you realize what we just went through?! I did not even know I had shrapnel in me! What do you think could have gone unnoticed?” Tech exclaimed. Wrecker looked unamused.

“Will you just tell me what this is about? I wanna slee—“

“You have a ruptured spleen, Wrecker!”

Hunter’s eyes were now concerned, stepping next to Tech as he breathed out in frustration while Wrecker’s eyes flickered and he scoffed. “I don’t even know what that is.” He mumbled.

“It means, if it had been left untreated for longer, it would be death! You owe it to Echo for noticing you’re strange behavior, or else I would not of scanned you over because I trusted that you were telling the truth when I asked the first time if you were alright!”

“What do we need to do, Tech?” Hunter suddenly asked, trying to deescalate the anger that Tech was bellowing to their brother. The engineer sighed. “From the looks of it, he may not need surgery. Thankfully, he’s been taking it easier than he normally does so it had not increased the injury but that means now he will have to take it even slower if he wishes a fast recovery.”

Tech paused, huffing. “But, I will check deeper into my scans, just to make sure. But either way, you are now on bed rest. If I catch you up for any other reason then to use the refresher, I will sedate you.”

Wrecker stared at him with an unamused face as Hunter stood next to his bunk, arms crossed. “Fine.” He grumbled and Tech looked satisfied before storming off.

Hunter looked at the giant clone. “I think you’ve lost his trust on your health field.” Wrecker shrugged, slumping against his vod’s arm. “Not like I had it in the first place.” The giant clone grumbled as Hunter’s arm wrapped around his shoulder and caressed his scarred face.

Omega appeared and crawled in Wrecker’s bunk, smiling. “It’s okay! We can both be on bed rest together now!” She said and her brothers smiled.

Wrecker chuckled. “Better than no company, I suppose.” The giant clone said, leaning back against the wall. Hunter dropped his hand, smiling at the sight of Omega snuggling up into the crook of her brothers arm, still groggy from her own nap.

“Seriously though, Wrecker. Try not to piss Tech off anymore. It’s not good for him in his own recovery time.”

“Yea, I don’t think i’ve seen him this pissed off since that one mission with that bratty Jedi Padawan.” Echo chuckled from next to Hunter. Wrecker laughed while Omega looked intrigued.

“Ooo, tell me! Tell me!”

The half human and the sergeant silently slipped out as Wrecker began telling the story to a wide eyed Omega until she drifted off with Wrecker soon after.

Meanwhile, in the cockpit, Tech was angrily smacking his scanners as he mumbled to himself. Hunter and Echo watched the engineer angrily go through his supplies, seeing what could help Wrecker.

“Tech, let’s slow down a bit.” Echo said, trying not to piss off the clone anymore than he already was. “Kriff off.” Tech mumbled and Hunter sighed. “You know, you’re really starting to sound like Crosshair more and more each day.” Echo grumbled as he sat down in the copilot chair while Hunter remained at the door.

“If it gets the message through, then I will continue doing so.”

Echo narrowed his eyes. Hunter rolled his own. “Tech, just slow down. From the looks of it, Wrecker’s doing fine.”

“Yes, well, from the looks of it, Wrecker also has had an injury to unnoticed for up to—“

Tech stopped mid sentence when he turned just at the wrong angle and could feel his stitches protest quickly at the action and he gasped, shooting his hand without his scanner in it to the spot.

Hunter moved forward. “Alright, that’s it. Give me the scanner.” Tech’s head shot up as he protested. “No! I can just quickly—“ He tried to pull it out of Hunter reach, only to have try and snag it.

“Tech, you’re gonna hurt yourself more keeping it away. Just give it.”

“No.”

“Alright, you bastard.”

Hunter reached his hand around Tech’s waist and grabbed his other hand, forcing him to spin around and pin him against the dash in a second while his other hand grabbed the wrist that had the scanner.

Tech struggled for the moment he held him down as Echo grabbed the scanner from his grasp. “You did no—that is cheap and rude.”

“If it gets the message through then I will continue to do so.“ Hunter mocked before letting go of his brother. Outmanned, Tech huffed and rubbed his injury.

“Now you just got yourself back on bed rest. Congrats! Go.” Hunter ordered and the engineer went past him with an unamused look, shoulder checking him. Echo couldn’t continue the tiny smirk after watching Tech disappear into the bunk room.

“Didn’t know he could throw a tantrum.”

“You should see him with the regs giving orders.”

~

Wrecker was pretty good about his bed rest surprisingly. They figured it was because Omega was keeping him company, despite recovering from her sickness and getting the all clear to do as she pleases.

There had only been one time Wrecker was caught out of his normal orders of bed rest, which was bed or the refresher, and it was when Hunter got up in the middle of the night to get something from the cockpit and saw his brother standing in the kitchen munching on something he wasn’t supposed to.

Wrecker froze as Hunter put his hands on his hips. “Uhhh—“ “Wreck.” Hunter warned, raising his eyebrows. “Cmon! I’ve been good! I just wanted one cookie that Cid brought us!” The giant clone whined and the sergeant sighed.

“You’re already almost finished, so—“ Wrecker grinned and took the last bite of the cookie as his brother approached him. “Cmon. Back to bed.” He urged, nudging him in the direction of the bunk room.

“You’re no fun.”

“I know, I know. But the faster you heal, the faster you, and us, get to go on missions again.” Hunter said, lowering his voice as they entered the bunk room. Hunter could tell that Tech was passed out with Omega snuggling him while he could sense Echo still awake but didn’t say anything.

Wrecker flopped down in his bunk a bit too hard and Hunter gave him a scolding look. The giant clone shrugged. “My bad.” Hunter rolled his eyes, giving Wrecker a pat on the chest.

“Goodnight, bud.”

“Goodnight, Hunt.”

And with that, Hunter scurried back up to the cockpit, leaving the wandering eyes of Echo to trail after him.