#I think I just need some Crosshair d-- | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zoeykallus · 1 year ago

Note

Hey I really like you’re hc and wanted to ask you how the batch would react to there child failing math and possibly having to repeat the year if they can’t get a 4 (D) in there final

My parents are gonna kill me and I could really use some genital parenting and who’s better far that then the dad batch

Aloha! I'm so sorry, I'm so late with this one! I put the reader in "the kid"'s shoes. Hope that's alright.

The Bad Batch x Offspring!Reader HCs - Gentle Parenting

Comfort

____________

Hunter

When you finally confide in him and tell him about your math grades, he looks at you with raised eyebrows. And although Hunter has never been unduly strict, your guts suddenly tighten. "Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble with this earlier? We could have gotten you tutored," he says quietly. You avoid his gaze and say, "Dad, I've been tutoring, secretly. I thought I could handle it. I didn't want to let you down." Hunter blinks, thinks for a moment, then you hear him say softly but firmly, "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Kid." You lift your eyes again, surprised at the indulgent expression on his face, the softness in his eyes. "Nobody's perfect. Sometimes there are things you're not as good at as others. But you're better at other things. Repeating the year is not the end of the world. However, you'll have to study harder to at least make it through. Uncle Tech and Uncle Crosshair are good at math, I'm sure they'll be happy to help you."

You smirk, "Uncle Tech for sure, but Uncle Cross will just roll his eyes again" Hunter smirks as well and says, "He still loves you, and he likes to help you too, even if he won't admit it" Hunter sits down next to you and says, "Look, when all this schooling is over, you don't necessarily have to choose a career where you need this math stuff. What's important is that you find something that you like to do, something that makes sense to you. Many people spend years in education, jumping from job to job until they find something that makes them happy, or at least not unhappy." "You don't expect me to do anything in particular?" Hunter laughs softly, "Why should I? That wouldn't be wise or fair. Everyone has different strengths, desires and sensitivities. You may be my child, but you're your own person. Just try to be happy with what you do, that's all I ask."

Echo

He lowers the holo newspaper he has just read and looks at you piercingly, so piercingly that you automatically have to swallow. "Math?" he asks, as if he hadn't heard correctly. You nod silently. Echo thinks for a moment, then sighs. "Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea," he says thoughtfully, lifting his gaze and saying somewhat reprovingly, "You knew you had trouble with it before. Why didn't you approach me sooner?" You scuff your foot nervously under the breakfast table and say, "I thought I could handle it. I didn't want to disappoint you." "You were so afraid you'd disappoint me, that's why you're just telling me this now?" You nod meekly. Echo sighs again.

"Then I must have done something wrong in raising you. I thought you knew that you could come to me at any time, no matter what the problem. Did I put too much pressure on you? Is that it?" he asks gently. You blink in surprise. You didn't expect this reaction. "Not exactly," you say softly. "But?" "Dad, you're a soldier, have been all your life, and you often act like one. Everything strictly on schedule, everything has to be in order... sometimes I feel like I can't keep up." Echo smiles sweetly and laughs softly, "Oh Kiddo, sometimes when I'm like that, you have to remind me that I'm a father too, and we're not at the academy here." He leans forward at the table and says conspiratorially, "Your Uncle Hunter was pretty bad at math, did you know that? He was pretty darn good at just about everything, but math wasn't his thing at all" You look at Echo in surprise. "You're serious?"

Echo nods with a smirk. "Nobody's perfect, kiddo. It's not the end of the world. But for the future, you now know you can come to me with any problem, right?" You nod eagerly, earning a satisfied smile.

Wrecker

Contrary to the expectations of many, Wrecker has always been good at math, not at the Tech level, but much closer than you think. There's no way around it, anyone who works with explosives should know what they're doing and be able to calculate the amount of ingredients, explosion radius and much more. Wrecker can calculate things in his head, which would make some people dizzy. So you're all the more nervous when you give him the bad news. "Really?" he asks, puzzled, "Math? Hmm, I guess you didn't inherit that from me then." "I'm sorry," you say quietly. He looks at you questioningly. "Why? You've been studying hard, haven't you?" "Yes, I have" Wrecker puts a hand on your shoulder and says gently, "Then there's nothing to be sorry about. Some things you can't force. You'll find other strengths in yourself"

Du starrst ihn.

"You're not mad?" His expression is almost startled. "Mad? Why would I be mad? That wouldn't be fair, would it? Take a deep breath. I know all the exams have drained you, and you've been under a constant state of stress. Treat yourself, do something good for you. Maybe we should go to the fair in Naboo? You could take some friends with you" "You're rewarding me for my failure?" Wrecker laughs heartily. "No, Kiddo, this has nothing to do with failure. I'm rewarding you for working hard and want to give you a way to distract yourself from all the stress" "You're the best, Dad" He grins. "I know"

Crosshair

He's eerily quiet, just looking at you piercingly. "Dad?" "Math?" he asks as if he has to taste the word. You clear your throat nervously and nod. "Yeah, Dad, math." Crosshair sighs softly, pushes a new toothpick between his lips, and says, "I knew that sharing the same gene pool with Hunter would eventually doom me in some way." You look at him in disbelief. "What do you mean?" you ask cautiously. "Your Uncle Hunter is terrible at math". Surprised, you sit up in your chair. "So it's Uncle Hunter's fault?" Crosshair raises his eyebrows critically and asks, "Have you been studying? Tried tutoring?" You nod eagerly.

"Well, then it's Hunter's fault," Crosshair says dryly, "But that aside. You can't force something that isn't there. Some people can calculate absolutely anything for you, like your Uncle Tech, and others can just barely count their own fingers, like your Uncle Hunter." You look at him critically. "It's not that bad," you say quietly. Crosshair looks at you, his expression softening. "I know, Kiddo, I'm just making fun of your uncle, not you. You have other qualities. Besides, you're still young, you still have time to find your calling and the things you're good at and happy with"

Tech

He blinks so often and so fast for a moment that you begin to think he's having a stroke or something. Nervously, you wait for him to regain his composure. "Math, then," he finally says quietly, "I could have tutored you." You sigh and say, "Dad, your math is always so complicated, I can't keep up. I've looked elsewhere for tutoring, but it hasn't done me much good." Tech puts his holopad aside and looks at you. "Everyone has different strengths, my brothers and I are the best example of that. You have plenty of time to find yours." You ask cautiously, "You're not disappointed?" He shrugs and says, "Well, with the situation, maybe, but not with you. I'm proud of you, of your hard work and everything else you've accomplished so far. You still have a lot ahead of you, this is not the end" "That's really a relief," you say honestly. "You never have to be afraid to open up to me, I hope you know that". You nod with a smile. "I know that, dad"

"Good," Tech says with satisfaction, "Now we'll see that you don't fail a second time. You don't have to become an ace, I don't expect miracles and neither should you. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." You slide around a bit uneasily on your chair. "Do you think I can do this?" Tech nods gently and says, "Of course. But even if you can't, it's not the end of the world. We'll find another solution if we have to. Don't ever let that discourage you."

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@antishadow2021

@sleepycreativewriter

@starwarsnerd111

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stars-n-spice · 8 months ago

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Silly Squad Alignment Charts

Because I thought it would be fun and silly :)

Find out more about the Silly Squad here!

Of course, have to start with the classic:

Hunter will say they have food at home and it's literally like probably two slices of bread, a bottle of ketchup, and a head of lettuce

Viram KNOWS how to cook so you best be happy to eat her food instead of having Mcdonalds

Khea and Echo it depends on their mood whether they pull up and order a single black coffee before leaving (Echo would never do it if Omega is in the car)

Crosshair doesn't even like their coffee but he does it to be a little shit

Feel like Tech is also kinda in the middle because he'll be like "Technically we have food at home-" but he also needs his caffeine

Phee will ALWAYS pull up to the Mcdonalds, especially when Omega's with her. Then Omega always holds it over Hunter- "Well, PHEE takes ME to Mcdonalds!"

Tay is the definition of a bastard (no seriously)

Phee is bastard (affectionate) but would technically be more of "Badass" than anything

Khea, Crosshair, and Tech are the Bitch Trio and if you put them in a room together they WILL tear each other apart (emotionally most likely but Tech will goad Crosshair and Khea into physically fighting each other while he records)

Majority of the squad is Babey though

Echo is also "Bad Ass" but he could also be a Bitch if he wanted

Hunter is Bastard just because I think it's funny

Dumb Bitch Hunter my beloved <3

Echo is sad dick because he has no dick

I use dumb affectionately with Wrecker (not with Hunter and Tay)

Tech just has big dick energy to me idk

Khea's a sad hoe but she'll never admit to it (the being sad part)

If you've noticed, I really like making fun of Hunter that's why he's there in the dumbass squared category

Wrecker, Khea, and Phee are all smart as fuck but have more fun pretending that they aren't really

Tay is good at pretending that he is smart - he is not

Then of course, Tech, Cross, and Echo are all smartasses

This fit so perfectly I was dying

Hunter is laughing nervously because he's aroace lmao

Omega would be like "Thanks! :D" and just carry on

Jung would most likely do *thumbs up* instead of finger guns though

When you pair up the couples, it's funnier

If Tay said "I know" after Cross told him that he loved him, Crosshair would dump him on the spot

Khea tells Wrecker she loves him for the first time and he short circuits and probably would say something along the lines of "YEET!"

Viram and Echo both have issues and would not be able to comprehend why someone would love them - I'm sure Echo's got insecurities and Viram knows she's a workaholic and therefore difficult to be in a relationship so she apologies in advance

If Phee told Tech she loved him and he went "a horrible decision, really" she'd probably laugh

And of course, who doesn't love Phee? If you don't, get out of here.

Crosshair could care less, he ain't dealing with that shit

Tech would say this ominously as if he's seen the future and knows your death is imminent meanwhile Khea's is more of a - "you probably will because everyone close to me has already died" sort of way :/

I feel like Omega might also be "i'd die for you first" too

Hunter, Viram, and Echo don't want to deal with that shit either, they've already got so much loss, guilt, and other things on their plate

Tay's probably not listening when someone tells him they'd die for him while Phee's like, "Oh, neat. Anyways, as I was saying about my last adventure-"

Jung is ready and willing to put his life on the line and Wrecker would probably more like a "Nu uh" because he's got your back and would look out for you

Phee will also do it for some credits or a cool treasure

Tay is going to fight god (and he's going to lose)

Tech could do so much more than take down the government, but he needs incentives (him and Phee can take down the government together <3)

Khea is a bounty hunter, her job literally requires her to stab people sometimes in order for her to get money

Crosshair would stab without anyone needing to ask him

Echo's taking down the government no matter what, but especially if Rex asks him to come along

Jung is going to fight god if you ask them to (and he'll win)

Viram is the type of friend who is an excellent tutor and you end up understanding the concept after getting her help meanwhile Omega will explain what she knows and then the homework becomes a group project of figuring out what the fuck it's asking

You can copy Hunter's homework but there is no guarantee that the answers are right (most of them are wrong)

You can copy Jung's homework and there's a high chance the answers are right

Khea had better things to do than homework - like get frustrated over it and cry for a bit before giving up on it

Phee did some of the homework but she'll only help you out if you give her something in exchange

Wrecker and Tay, beloved himbos, they had no idea and even if they did do the homework, you wouldn't want to copy off of them

Crosshair also didn't do the homework but he also doesn't want to respond

Tech and Echo both did the homework and it's correct but they don't tolerate copying work to even have suggested it is offensive so now you're left on read

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sinfulsalutations · 1 year ago

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hi babe! may I please request:

an angry kiss in the rain with Crosshair 👀

➼ ᴋɪꜱꜱ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ ʟɪꜱᴛ (ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴅʀᴏᴘ ɪɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ!)

⋆ ★ ᴏʜ ʜᴏʜ ʜᴏʜ, ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴇɴᴛ ꜱᴛʀᴀɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱʜᴀɪʀ'ꜱ ᴄʜᴏᴋᴇʜᴏʟᴅ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ. ɪ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴄᴀɴᴛ ʜᴇʟᴘ ɪᴛ, ɢᴜᴇꜱꜱ ɪ'ᴍ ᴀ ʙɪᴛᴄʜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍᴇɴ ᴡʜᴏ ᴀʀᴇ ʙᴀᴅ ᴀᴛ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘꜱ. ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʟʏ :)

➼ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ ☆ ᴀɴ ᴀɴɢʀʏ ᴋɪꜱꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴀɪɴ

➼ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ ☆ ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱʜᴀɪʀ x ɢɴ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

➼ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ☆ ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱʜᴀɪʀ ɪꜱ ᴀɴ ᴀꜱꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʙᴀᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ (ꜱᴏʀᴛᴀ…ᴍᴏꜱᴛʟʏ. ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ), ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ɪꜱ ᴀ ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱɪᴄᴋ ꜰᴏᴏʟ

➼ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ ☆ 967

You didn’t expect Crosshair to follow you out here.

After what he said to you, with that avoiding glance and mumbled agreement to your accusation, you’d expect him to turn his back and not say a word. Do exactly as he had intended to even before you called him out. That’s always what he does; leave you in the dust, kicking up any lingers of dirt he leaves for you on the floor.

Maker, you deserve better.

His steps linger behind you just a few feet, devotedly staying just on your tail but never too close for what feels like an eternity. You’ve left the medical compound on Kamino by now, circling the outside perimeters with no real direction.

There’s no real point to you being outside here, anyway. You don’t need one.

As the light pelting of rain gets heavier, you shiver and glance behind you. Crosshair, ever so casual in your frustration, looks completely comfortable dressed in his full kit.

“You shouldn’t follow me,” you tell him, biting your lip.

Crosshair squints his eyes, almost perplexed.

“Why?”

You huff, turning the full way in his direction and instinctively cross your arms as a way of protecting yourself. It won’t do much.

“Because,” you begin, suddenly losing your train of thought as his stare pierces your eyes, sending a thrilling shiver through you. “You’re not gonna get what you want out of this.”

With a tilt of his head, Crosshair takes a step further in your direction and turns his chin inward, all to get a better look at your expression, study it. Of all the times to be considerate of how you feel, this certainly was not a good one.

“What do I want?” There’s a genuine sense of misunderstanding in his avoidance that pulls a helpless whine out of you.

“I don’t know,” your hands fly out and land at your sides; rocking back and forth on your feet is the only thing keeping you the slightest bit level-headed. “You tell me.”

Crosshair’s eyes flicker away in that same avoiding manner that led you two here in the first place. You shake your head and brush some hair away from your face, blinking away droplets of rain gathering on your eyelashes. Crosshair watches diligently.

“You were going to leave without telling me.” You don’t mean for it to come out as choked as it does; it just happens that way. You lean back on your heels, suddenly feeling he is too close for your liking. “On a six-month deployment, Cross. And you weren’t going to tell me. No comm, no message, nothing. You were just gonna… leave.”

You must seem so desperate. Your voice strains while you speak, almost dying out when you finish. You blink and look away, composing yourself and taking a few deep breaths before you look back. It isn’t fair. He gets to act so composed and uncaring, turn you into a mess of emotions while he stands unbothered.

Maker, how you hate him.

You’re going to miss him so much.

“I…” Crosshair’s mouth falls open, the word aimless with no connection to more of a sentence; just something to soothe your frenzied mind. You blink again, jaw tightening as you wait for him to come up with at least something.

Something to make this goodbye just a little less aching.

“...I want to kiss you.”

Your lips part. Just when you think his eyes will flicker away in discomfort and a fleeting attempt at evasion, he keeps his eyes on you. Another step leaves less than an inch of space between each of your chests. He leans his head over you, shielding your body from the rain. You stand incredulous, dismayed at his words, dismayed at his audacity, but don’t move an inch.

“Can I kiss you?”

No answer is given as you wrap your arms around his shoulders and pull him down to your lips.

It’s clumsy; not as composed as either of you try to be usually. Your noses press together in an almost claustrophobic way and your teeth knock against each other once or twice as you angle yourself, making you hiss and Crosshair hold onto you harder. His hands grip your waist. One comes to the back of your head, creeping up to grip your hair and keep you close.

He feels all your frustration with him; your helpless, besotted, lovesick frustration. You only know this from the way his eyelashes flutter against you and his tongue barely prods into your mouth. But it’s there and it’s considerate and you want to slap him in the face so hard then hold him and never let him leave your grasp.

He pulls away first, pensively swiping his tongue over his lips and gazing over your features, trying to read how you feel. Your chest heaves, each deep breath leaving you more breathless than the last; that’s not how that’s supposed to work.

“Could that be a suitable goodbye?” Crosshair asks in a borderline confiding manner like he found shame in anyone else hearing.

There’s little you can say. Equally due to your breathlessness, and your bewilderment he’d acknowledge any of his behavior. So you just nod and go on your tip toes to wrap your arms tighter around his shoulders.

The action can barely be considered a hug. His hands lazily rest on the sides of your body and don’t grip harder when you do, and your chests only graze each other. But you press your forehead to the top of his chest plate, and in a few moments, you feel his chin resting on your head.

“Just come back to me,” you request, but you doubt he hears you. Like most of your shimmering, fleeting moments of affection with Crosshair, it comes better without words.

ragu list: @pb-jellybeans @corrieguards @badbatchbabe @ladytano420 @jediknightjana @sleepycreativewriter @shinyshayminflower @thebahdbitch @secondaryrealm @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @kimiheartblade @followthepurrgil @wolffegirlsunite @starrylothcat @sev-on-kamino @aconstructofamind @padawancat97 @littlemissmanga @starqueensthings @anxiouspineapple99 @freesia-writes @wings-and-beskar @clio3kantarella @idontgetanysleep @523rdrebel @dystopicjumpsuit @mandos-mind-trick @sunshinesdaydream @clonemedickix @andrakass2 @crosshairlovebot @wizardofrozz @dangraccoon @lickylickylicky @thebomb-diggity @urmomsmattress @jedi-hawkins @who-would-want-a-broken-heart @ladyzirkonia @multi-fan-dom-madness @moonlightwarriorqueen @eyeluvmusic21 @mythical-illustrator @imarvelatthestars

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seeking-elsewhither · 21 days ago

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Here, you can have some silly placeholder fic titles for your day.

(@margindoodles2407 come peruse my wares)

congrats! you’re all dads! (no we don’t care if it wasn’t a part of your training) <- this one isn't Ik'aad btw, but a crack what-if

aftermath, but you are her dad (you’re her dad, boogie woogie woogie)

the missile is eeby, she eeby and neebies to sleebies

ugh, raise your hands if you don’t like nala del rey or whatever

out on a mission and— is that a kid who needs cheering up?

ohohohoho we trashing kamiNO

tantiss, but you are her dad (you’re her dad, boogie woogie woogie)

bit of feral hunter, an’t please yer grace

bit more feral hunter, but this time with a dash of distraught cross

pov you’ve been ‘dead’ all these years only to discover you’ve become an uncle and brother-in-law

just your average day meeting a grown up traumatized version of your kid

hugs!! for!! a Marshall!! Commander!!

makin my way down hyperspace, driving fast *brooding dad and daughter* driving faster

me looking at cross: mmmm giving you more trauma mate

cross: don’t you think I have enough already

me: nope :D

unhinged Tech, unhinged Tech, uNHINGED TECH—

a menemoneoemoeonemnee

Fox FINALLY takes a nap

agony, sorrow, pain

me taking one look at Hunter: yeah, okay, but what if you die?

nooo baby sickkkk :((((

great, the Sarge’s broken

Daro but it's Alpha 17 (sorry mate, first Bracca, then Daro. whatnext,eriadu?)

Megs on Tantiss is having an osik time, thank you very much

cross~ you’re such an idiot, cross~ your brother loves you, cross~ your daughter misses you, cross~

Toddler Megs is the sweetest kid everrrr

after Serenno, but you are her dad (you’re her dad! boogie woogie woogie!)

Alpha 17: Hunter you need to chill the kriff out for like, 2 seconds

asdfghjkl why do cross and megs get all the happy times?

me staring at these idiot brothers: you guys have serious issues, will you please work it out?

them: *try to kill each other*

me: *facepalms*

I just want these guys to work things out like reasonable adults, is that too much to ask?

Hunter and Crosshair: Yes

me: tired loud sighing

kay more sadness I guess

oh look I made myself sad

sad estranged family shenanigans

give 👏 this 👏 sniper 👏 man 👏 some 👏 ptsd👏

go OFF King

oh megs

pov you’re gonna go feral

stars?

get rid of your face Sarge

Hunter’s being a di’kut again, hiding his kriffing injuries and bleeding out in the sonic

y’know how sometimes you’re just,,, laying on the bed, head hanging off the side and watching your daughter upside down?

;-; cody holding his tiny bu’ad’ika’s hand

yesss more Hunter getting hurt

tech, don’t stab your ad’ika (don’t care about your ori’vod though, go ahead)

let Omega be a little osik, she’s the daughter of little osiks after all

[Exeunt]

#look!! words!!#inkpot #the ones in bullet points are little notes I can add onto the page #to mayke

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twinsunstars · 8 months ago

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Follow the Stars - a Bad Batch epilogue fic

Hiiii! So I wrote this fast even though I need to do a lot of coursework, so I hope you enjoy this fic I whipped up (as a May the 4th treat) about what I think happened when Omega told her brothers she wants to join the Rebellion, me adding some little tiny things to the scene with Hunter and Omega at the end (though that scene was already so perfect), and some other touches I think you guys will love. I also felt like the others would be more okay with letting her go than Hunter, so I just wrote this quickly based on how I see things lol. Also, forgive me, I have no fashion sense.

Feel free to share with others, and i hope you enjoy! Let me know your thoughts, I'll be happy to hear them!

@magicandmundane you're going to enjoy this :D

read under cut here if you just want to read on here than AO3 (I appreciate all comments left anywhere :)

The sun was warm on Pabu. Another wonderful day for a stroll or a boat ride out on the waters. The island barely changed over time, staying safely away from the Empire’s hands and its residents living in harmony as the days went on.

Omega stretched her arms out. She looked in the mirror, expecting her morning hair out of the shower to be the usual frizzy blond locks needing a heavy brush, but it was actually somewhat neater for once. Omega gave herself a confident smile, tying up her layers into a ponytail and reaching for her red bandana. Hunter had given his old bandana to her as a gift after they had escaped Mount Tantiss all those years ago, and Omega felt like trying out some new hairstyles.

The battle at Mount Tantiss was so many years ago, and Omega still remembered every bit of the struggles she went through. They had won the battle, and everyone was safe and free to put aside their lives as soldiers, filling those days with warm sunshine, ice cones, and family time. Eva, Jax, Sami, and Baryn had been safely returned to their families after Rex managed to locate them. Omega missed them every day, praying for their safety as young Force-sensitives.

The Batch had settled themselves into a small home in the middle of the island Shep had offered them to take after it had been vacant for so long. Wrecker had taken the responsibility of decorating, and Echo had many debates with him about positioning certain objects so the home was kept neat and tidy. Omega’s room was the only place Wrecker wanted to do completely by himself, just as he had done when they had the Marauder. Wrecker had put up some orange string lights similar to the ones he had put up before, and he was lucky to find them in stock at a nearby shop run by a local. There were also some light curtains and soft bedding that Wrecker had put his heart into finding and setting up delicately so that his little sister would be comfortable.

Omega had recently returned to Pabu a few days back after a small scavenging mission with Phee, retrieving a golden heirloom that was adorned with feathers and crystals from the depths of a cave Phee had described as “spiritual and archaic”. They had found the heirloom near a mystic waterfall that Phee said was rumored to grant wishes and protect those who come by if an individual sprinkled some of its water over themselves. Intrigued, Omega had done it herself, relishing the pure scent of the beautiful waterfall. The heirloom was safely delivered to a family whose ancestors had created the heirloom to bring peace and divinity to their village.

Omega adored all the adventures she would have with Phee whenever she came by and still listened closely to her stories like she was still fourteen and mesmerized by the way Phee would narrate all of those adventures she had before meeting Omega. Often, her brothers would tag along mostly because Omega wanted them to go with and she wanted Crosshair to have his first treasure-hunting adventure. Even Lyana got her chance to attend her aunt on one of those adventures once she got a bit older and Shep allowed Lyana to experience worlds outside of her home. Lately, the squad who always called themselves the Bad Batch preferred staying close to home and staying safe rather than risking themselves in places they barely knew things about.

The Empire was heard to be growing stronger each day, though there were many rebels out there who did everything they could to slow down their work and fight to bring their tyrannical reign down. Echo was one of those rebels, continuing to fight with Rex and the other clones who had survived the rescue from Tantiss, all willing to keep up the rebellion they had started. Omega heard a lot of stories about the Rebellion from Echo, and she would sometimes hear things from Phee whenever she witnessed rebel activity anywhere she went. Omega had left fighting and being a soldier behind after Tantiss to allow her life to have a childhood and live peacefully with her family, but something about the Rebellion’s cause and determination pulled her heart closer to the fight that called her name in her dreams.

“Omega, you ready yet? The ship’s landing soon!”

Omega heard Wrecker’s call, adjusting her jacket and taking a quick look at the red and black skull patch she had added onto her jacket; the symbol of her squad. Echo was coming to visit today, and he was bringing Emerie along. Phee had also said she was coming back to Pabu today after visiting an old friend, and it was perfect timing. Omega had planned a dinner with all of her family, and it was her chance to reveal what she had been wanting to tell her family for so long.

“Coming!” Omega hurried out of her room, smiling wide at her younger brothers who were waiting in the family room. Her brothers gave her a bright smile, their wrinkles starting to become more and more visible.

With their accelerated aging, Omega’s brothers were growing day by day, the gray streaks visible in Hunter’s hair and beard. His soft hair had grown a bit longer, which he had tied some into a small ponytail while leaving the rest down. Crosshair started to grow a beard that matched the gray hair he was already born with, allowing his hair to grow around his burn scar, and there were more wrinkles near his eyes. Echo had given Crosshair the robotic hand he had obtained during the battle at Tantiss, keeping his scomp link arm, which was still really beneficial. Wrecker had grown a full beard that was growing more gray to balance out the dark brown, and he had grown a liking to it. They all didn’t quite have much of a strong soldier’s figure anymore, but they were still able to show their strength.

The three of them were dressed in casual clothes native to Pabu, as Hunter wore a blue and red sweater with a brown bandana that Omega made for him with a blue cardigan and brown pants. Crosshair wore a dark gray knitted sweater with black pants, and Wrecker wore a red shirt with dark orange baggy pants. All comfortable out of the armor they had long placed in the treasure hall on Pabu to cherish the memories.

“Come on, let’s go meet Echo,” Hunter said. Omega nodded, following her brothers outside to head to the landing zone.

Pabu’s local market was cheery as always with everyone heading in to grab a savory snack or an ice cone as a treat at this time of day. Mox, Stak, and Deke were helping out the citizens who were out fishing, catching a few themselves and making deliveries to the shops. They had grown to the standard height and appearance of a regular clone, styling their hair the way they liked it and relaxing in their comfortable clothes. The young triplets never got to experience the life of a soldier like they had dreamed since their birth, but they enjoyed the childhood the boys were able to create for themselves on the island.

Batcher pranced around the market on her morning stroll, saying hello to many locals and getting pets and scratches underneath her woven collar. The lady she had befriended during her first time on the island had grown older and sat in a chair near a stall selling handmade bracelets, as Batcher enjoyed spending time with her. Batcher was growing older in hound years, yet her playful nature kept her lively.

She noticed Omega walking by with her brothers, barking and running up to her family. Omega smiled at Batcher, walking alongside Hunter to the landing zone. Batcher settled herself near Crosshair, displaying her soft smile at the man she helped heal and take care of ever since she had run off Wayland.

The family was just in time as a large cargo ship headed its way towards the landing zone, slowly setting the engines low and touching the ground. The ship opened up its entrance, revealing Echo and Emerie. Echo visibly looked like an elder, heavy wrinkles forming on his face and his stubble beard growing in, likely not having enough time to shave lately. He was dressed in some new armor the clones had helped him put together and painted in a design of red, white, black, and blue–representing both his family in the 501st and the Bad Batch.

Omega hadn’t seen Emerie in a long while, and she was glad her sister could carve out some time to visit. Emerie hadn’t aged much in physical looks, but she had cut her brown locks into a shoulder length hairstyle, letting it fly freely. She had gotten rid of those rose-tinted glasses she was given when she worked at Tantiss, comfortable in a maroon shirt with a blue jean jacket and dark teal pants, dark brown heeled boots adding a small inch to her tall height. Emerie had a small thin necklace that was made out of silver and adorned with orange crystals; a gift from Senator Chuchi.

She walked alongside Echo off the ship’s ramp, smiling wide at her sister. Omega ran over to the two, embracing them in a group hug. Batcher barked and ran over, excited to see Echo again. “I’m so happy you’re safe,” Omega said to them.

Echo chuckled. “I’m still in one piece. The Empire can’t dull my strength.”

Echo continued to fight against the Empire with Rex and the other clones as the Rebellion continued to grow in numbers, and had helped many clones settle down and find their place in the galaxy. The clones may have been growing older, but the fire they had as soldiers kept them willing to fight for the right cause. Some had remained on Pabu, their choice being to live a peaceful life away from the fight and the torture. They had settled themselves down in homes, and two had gotten themselves married to locals on Pabu they had connected with.

“You’re still growing old,” Crosshair piped up with a grin. Echo got a look at his brothers, and they definitely did not look like the same young energetic clones he had gotten to meet after being rescued from Skako Minor. They all smiled at their older brother. Wrecker came in for a big hug, causing Echo to nearly suffocate. Emerie chuckled.

“It’s good to see you again, sister,” Emerie said, giving Omega a personal hug. Omega gave her a soft smile.

“You changed your hair again. I like it,” Omega said. Emerie returned the smile and brushed a hand on Omega’s cheek. Her sister had grown so beautiful and so strong.

Luckily, Phee’s ship had just touched down as well. Phee stepped out of her ship, which remained painted in the colors Tech had painted his armor in when she had first met him years ago. Phee honored his sacrifice that way, remembering the man she grew so affectionate of. Tech loved sharing so much with her; Phee just wished there was more time for her to share more of herself with him.

Phee headed over to the family, Omega giving her a hug. Gray streaks ran through Phee’s dark brown curls, adding more color to the gold she already had intertwined in her hair. Phee may have been growing older, but her beauty never faded away.

“You’re getting bigger every time I come back. You’re as tall as me now,” Phee said.

“She’s still our little girl,” Hunter added. Omega gave him a smile. She wasn’t all that little now, but she knew Hunter would always see her that way.

Phee let out a laugh. “Of course she is. Now, what’s this about a special dinner you’re going to set up?”

Omega gasped. “You are all going to love it. Lyana’s helping me set up right now and cook. It’s a gift from me to all of you.”

“We’ll help too!” Wrecker exclaimed, Batcher adding in a happy bark. Omega nodded, the family heading over to the upper levels of Pabu to help prepare the food and set the table together.

Omega walked with Emerie and Phee, happy that she would be getting a chance to spend quality time with the people she loved one more time before leaving.

“Have you told them yet?” Phee whispered to Omega.

Omega sighed. “No. But I plan to soon. At dinner.” Emerie, Phee, and Lyana were the only people she had told about what she planned to do. They were supportive of her choice, and now Omega just hoped her brothers would be as well. Especially Hunter.

“I have a feeling this will not go well.” Emerie continued to walk with her hands behind her back, a habit she had developed growing up. She had listened to Omega tell her about her wish a while back during a comm call together. Emerie was worried about her and didn’t know if she was ready to join a fight that big, but Omega was free to make her own choices. Emerie made her own choice to join Senator Chuchi and the others to fight against the Empire and share all she learned to know during her time there, and if Omega wanted to do the same, she would honor it.

Omega had a feeling it wasn’t going to go well either. But she had to give it a try. She lived the rest of her childhood on Pabu. It was time for her to set off on her own adventure.

***

As Pabu’s sun began to grow golden in color, the dinner table had been set. Lyana helped Omega set down a few salad and rice bowls, setting a plate of bread rolls in the center. The dinner table was surrounded by many delicacies popular on Pabu, commonly the fish and seaweed rolls most people loved.

Everyone settled themselves down at the dinner table, ready to eat. Echo had changed out of his armor, sticking to a gold sweater with some blue pants. Shep and Lyana joined in, and Batcher napped next to Crosshair, her belly full after asking for food samples while everyone was cooking.

“First, a moment to present a blessing,” Shep began. He reached his hand out to his daughter and Phee, who sat next to him. Everyone held their hands together.

“We thank everyone for this wonderful food, and for Omega to help put together a beautiful dinner. May her life be filled with safety and happiness, and may we all prosper for the future to come.”

Everyone nodded, beginning to eat. Omega stuffed a fish and seaweed roll into her mouth, chewing to try and avoid talking. She wanted to express her feelings to her brothers, but now that the opportunity has arrived, she was too nervous to open her mouth. Emerie noticed her nervousness, shooting her sister a look of comfort. Phee and Lyana silently ate, waiting for Omega to make her move.

Omega swallowed, looking at Emerie. Her eyes told Emerie that she was nervous and felt like she couldn’t do this. Emerie gave her a smile, believing in her. Everything would be okay.

“Omega, you’ve been quiet.” Crosshair broke the silence, making Omega’s shoulder’s jump. Crosshair had noticed his sister was acting uneasy ever since they were helping to cook, and he had a strong feeling she was hiding something. “Is there something wrong?”

Omega swallowed, setting her fork down. She took a strong inhale in, slowly nodding a yes.

Hunter, sitting next to Omega, placed a hand on her shoulder softly. “What is it, Omega? We’ll listen. We can help you.”

I hope you can. Omega exhaled, deciding to stand up. “I have an announcement to make.”

She looked at her entire family, observing their soft faces, waiting for their sister to speak. Omega hoped everything would be okay and they would understand, just like Lyana told her.

“I have decided to leave Pabu and join the Rebellion. I want to help fight them and end the Empire’s tyranny. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

The table was silent. Omega waited for a response before saying anything else. Her heart was racing, and she felt like she would start to cry at any moment. Phee, Lyana, and Emerie looked around the table, observing the Batch’s faces.

Echo was the first one to ignite a smile, and then Wrecker. “Kid, that’s great! You’ll bring the Empire down!” Wrecker exclaimed, proud of his sister.

Omega smiled wide. “So you’re okay with it? I can go and fight? I’ve already got in with Senator Organa and the coordinates from him, he’ll be so happy to hear-”

“No.”

The sharp tone diverted everyone’s eyes to Hunter. Omega blinked. “What?”

Hunter looked up at his young sister with strict eyes. “You’re not going to go fight in the Rebellion. You need to stay here.”

Omega wanted to cry. She had a feeling Hunter wasn’t going to accept this easily. “Hunter, please. I’ve lived my life away from the fight ever since we won. The Empire is growing stronger, and the Rebellion needs more people for their cause. I need to help them-”

“And what if the Empire captures you again?” Hunter stood up this time, ready to debate. “The Empire could hurt you again and keep you hidden. Take your blood, torture you until you can’t breathe.” Hunter wanted to cry. He couldn’t imagine Omega getting hurt out there with him nowhere near her to help her heal. “There’s so many deaths out there in the Rebellion, what if you can’t escape?”

“I can handle that!” Omega felt like screaming. ““Hunter, I’ve fought the Empire so many times when I was young. You all know how I managed to survive Tantiss mostly on my own. I’ve been trained my whole life for something like this. You all taught me how to fight and how to be a soldier, and this is my chance to use those skills to help the galaxy be safe.”

Hunter was about to add another rebuttal, but Echo took his spotlight. “Hunter, she’s right. Omega can’t just keep sitting around on the beach and relax. She wants to do more, and her chances are out there.”

Hunter looked sternly at Echo. “Echo, don’t encourage this.” He blinked. “Did you get the Rebellion into her head? Is this why she’s bringing it up and wants to leave?”

“And what if I did?” Echo snapped, making Batcher wake up. “Omega has always had that rebellious heart inside of her, and you know how strong she is. Hell, she’s even taught me a few tricks. She can do this.”

“Echo-”

“Echo’s right, Hunter,” Crosshair piped in. “As much as I don’t want her to go either, she’s had a lot of training, and we’ve protected her since we won that battle. You all have more than me. This is her chance to make a change in the galaxy. You know you won’t be able to stop her.”

“Crosshair, you know what they did to you. What if they try anything on Omega? I won’t allow anything to happen to a girl so young.”

“Hunter, I’m not a baby!” Omega exclaimed. “I’m as tall as Emerie, I know how to take care of myself. I’m not afraid of the Empire.”

Wrecker frowned, afraid to say a word to try and avoid Hunter yelling at him. But he never liked it when Omega and Hunter argued with each other. “Hunter,” he said softly. Hunter turned to him with an angry look, and Wrecker felt like shutting up. But he wanted to be supportive of Omega.

“Omega is a strong girl. We should give her a chance to live a life outside of Pabu. We had our life, it’s her turn. She wants to follow the stars.”

“Wrecker-”

“Hunter, breathe,” Shep advised. He didn’t want to say more, afraid that Hunter could get more angry. Wrecker breathed, thankful Shep stopped Hunter before he could yell at him.

“You’re not going anywhere. You’ll stay here, safe and sound.”

After saying that, Hunter looked at Omega. Her lips trembled, tears welling up in her eyes. Hunter’s anger went cold as he looked at his little girl who was about to cry.

“You had told me that I could be whatever I wanted. I’m choosing to become a Rebellion fighter, becoming a soldier just like you all were. Why won’t you support that?”

Before Hunter could say anything, Omega stormed off, tears streaming down her face. Hunter’s shoulder slumped. He knew he had just made a mistake. But how was he going to be able to fix it in a way that would make sure everything would be okay?

Lyana and Emerie went after Omega to make sure she was okay. The rest of the table remained silent, refusing to eat more. Batcher whined, worried about Omega. Crosshair gave her a pet and a glare at Hunter. The brothers stood up, leaving the table to head back into their home.

Phee stood up to leave to check on Omega. “You’ve got some thinking and making up to do, Hunter.”

Hunter exhaled. He sat down in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose and wanting to let some tears out. Shep stood up, walking over to Hunter and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Kids grow up fast. It was hard for me to let Lyana out of Pabu with Phee, but she’s old enough to go out and explore on her own. You helped Omega grow up and taught her everything she needs to know. You know she can do this.”

Hunter knows. He didn’t know what to do about it though. He didn’t want his little girl to leave.

***

Morning dawned with the small moonyos awake and squealing as they ran around the land. Batcher ran after them, while Crosshair tried to get her to stay with him on her daily morning walk.

Omega breathed in, looking out her window at the sky. She loved flying up there, and she would miss it.

She got her bag ready, placing it over her shoulder. Omega had a lot to do. She stepped out of her room, meeting Hunter standing in front of her. He held a plate filled with sliced fruit.

“How did you sleep?”

Omega tried to take the frown off her face, but she just couldn’t. She gave Hunter a small smile and a nod. “Good. I need to go meet Lyana in the treasure hall. I’ll be back.”

“How about some fruit? There’s some sliced meiloorun,” Hunter offered the plate, knowing it was one of her favorites.

Omega looked at the plate of fruit. She stepped forward, taking the entire plate off his hands for her way. “Thanks.” She quickly hurried out. Hunter wanted her to sit down and eat, but she had already left.

Hunter knew she was really upset, and he felt sorry for being really strict with her. Ever since they had picked her up off Kamino, she was always willing to help save and protect those who needed it most. She never stopped fighting for the clones who became subject to the Empire’s experiments, playing a vital role in bringing that to an end. Omega was his little fighter, and she wanted to fight more.

Hunter just didn’t know if he was ready to allow her to go and fight. He had to fix this.

***

Omega walked to the treasure hall with the fruit plate in hand and nibbled on a slice of meiloorun, taking in the scenery around her in the market. She loved the aromas swirling in the air, remembering the times she would buy a lot of the sweet sticky treats that were covered in maple syrup and served on a stick. She loved them so much, Crosshair had to stop her once so her teeth wouldn’t rot and her stomach wouldn’t hurt. Omega was happy her childhood could become full of things natural-born kids were happy to have: ice cones, sweet treats, games, and a good family.

Omega walked nearby the central tree on Pabu, looking up at its blooming leaves. She circled around the tree, kneeling down in front of it.

After Tantiss, the Batch had set up a small memorial for Tech. The memorial was made out of flowers Omega had chosen with her brothers and Phee, and a few of Tech’s favorite items that were salvaged (though burnt) from the Marauder’s explosion, all arranged in a circle. Omega often came by the memorial to talk to her brother.

“Hi, Tech. Today’s a big day. I’m going to go join the Rebellion and become one of their pilots. You taught me to fly, and now I can put what you taught me to use. I hope you’re doing okay. Phee always told me you’re flying up in the sky, watching over us every day. I hope you’ll be up in the sky with me.”

Omega placed a slice of fruit down and took out some flowers from her bag, setting them down on the memorial. She stood up, saluting her brother and giving him a smile. Omega knew Tech was always with her, and she was ready to take him with.

Omega reached the treasure hall, entering to meet with Phee, Emerie, and Lyana. “I brought fruit.”

They were ready to say goodbye before Omega headed on her way tonight. Last night, the three had consoled Omega, and Omega had decided that she was going to leave on her own terms. The three knew they couldn’t stop Omega if they tried; it was Omega’s new dream she wanted to chase.

Phee, Emerie, and Lyana gave Omega warm smiles. Lyana approached Omega and wrapped her in a hug. Letting go, she took out a small handmade bracelet from her pocket. “To remember me by. We’ll match too.” Lyana raised her hand, a bracelet on her wristing looking identical to the one she gave Omega.

Omega smiled, putting the bracelet on her left wrist. “It’s perfect.” She looked over at Phee and Emerie, who were standing near the most valuable treasures to Omega which remained in this hall. She approached the two treasures, stroking one of Lula’s ears. She stroked the ears of the tooka doll that was gifted to her by Wrecker when she was young, missing the times she had slept with Lula snuggled next to her. Tech’s goggles were settled next to Lula, now held gently in Omega’s hand. Omega chose to have his goggles remain in the treasure hall to keep it safe.

“You said you planned on taking them along. You sure you don’t want them to remain safe in here?” Emerie asked.

Omega turned around to Emerie. “Tech taught me to fly, and I’m going to become a pilot because of him. I want him to be with me all the time. And Lula would love to accompany me on the missions.”

“Brown Eyes would be so proud of you,” Phee said.

“He would let you go.” Omega heard Crosshair’s voice, just as he, Wrecker, and Echo walked into the room. Gonky was with them, honking noises happily.

Wrecker rubbed his arm. “We… we’re not ready to let you go either. But it’s your choice. And we’ll talk to Hunter.”

“We’ll make him understand. You deserve a life on your own, and the Rebellion would love to have you as a fighter,” Echo said.

Crosshair walked up to Omega. She had grown so much, and yet he tried to harm her when they first met, all because of that stupid Empire. He had left all that behind, staying loyal to his sister. “Give them hell, Omega. They’ll never see it coming.”

Omega smiled, unable to hold back tears. Except for Echo, her brothers were long retired from the fight, but they chose to be supportive of their sister’s choice to keep fighting, just like they had always done. She leaped into Crosshair’s open arms, hugging her little brother close. Wrecker joined in, letting Echo join the hug as well.

“Thank you.” Omega broke away from the hug, wiping tears away. “Let Hunter know how much I love him, and I will miss him.” Omega wished she could tell him in person. She wanted to try and reason with him, but she didn’t want to argue with him again like yesterday.

Her brothers smiled at her, proud of the girl they raised. Gonky honked, talking to Omega.

“You want to come with?” she asked Gonky. Gonky honked more. The droid had some fight left in them, and they wanted to be with Omega all the way, offering their help.

Omega smiled. “Of course you can come.”

“Try to comm us when you’re there, so we know you’re safe,” Crosshair said. Omega remembered how much he loved to check on her, making sure she was safe and protected in every corner. Omega nodded.

“Comm us anytime you can, we’ll be waiting to hear all about it,” Wrecker added.

“If you ever need me, I’ll be a call away,” said Echo.

“As will I. I always want to be connected with you,” Emerie smiled.

“You’ll be one of the strongest pilots of them all. Let me know if you find any ancient treasures, or if you want to hear any more stories,” Phee said.

“Promise to stay in touch?” Lyana asked.

Omega smiled warmly at her family. “I will. I promise.”

***

Hunter sat on a rock, listening to the waves while the breeze ran through his hair. He heard Batcher’s barks coming closer, smiling softly. She was always around whenever someone needed help or comfort.

Batcher sat down next to Hunter, rubbing her head next to his arm. Hunter petted her, looking out at the water. He remembered all the times he had spent with Omega here. Swimming in the water, playing catch with Batcher on the beach, going out for a morning walk together. All the beloved memories with his young sister. She was technically older than them, but to Hunter, she was always their kid. His kid.

“I’ve got to let her go, don’t I?”

Batcher looked up at Hunter, letting out a small whine.

“I know, it hurts me as much as it makes you sad. She’s growing up, and Omega’s right. We taught her how to fight. Now it’s time for her to become whatever she wants to be.”

Hunter sighed, looking over at Batcher. “Come on girl, let’s go give our young one a farewell.”

***

Pabu’s silent nights were beautiful as always, the lights glowing around the water. Omega could hear the birds’ chirps grow more distant as she packed in her room. Everyone was getting ready for bed, while Omega got ready to leave. She fixed up her hair and made sure she had everything packed in her bag, the rest of her items ready on her ship. Omega was going to miss her family and friends so much, but it was just like Tech said; Change was something that everyone needed to learn to accept.

Omega stopped by her brothers’ room, the door half-open. She slowly opened the door without trying to make a loud creak, wanting to say a silent goodbye as he slept.

Omega had decided to write a note for Hunter, telling him her choice and that she loves him. She knew her brothers would let him understand. While Hunter slept, Omega carefully left the note next to the lamp.

Omega breathed, ready to leave her home. She headed down to the caves and looked up once more at the glimmering island, the home she grew up in. Omega cherished all the memories made here, and she would carry them with her whenever she went.

Heading into the cave to reach her ship, Omega listened to the water dropping nearby. She reached the part of the cave where her ship was landed, kneeling down and turning on the lantern. Omega heard a bark, looking up to see Batcher and Hunter. Omega smiled.

Of course he would be here. He’s always near me whenever I need him. Omega stood up, heading over to her brother.

“Thought you could just sneak off? Time hasn't dulled all my senses.” Hunter had sensed Omega near him while she had put down the note. He had waited until she had fully left to sit up, reading the note. He knew he was going to try and go against her word, and his brothers already let her go. Batcher wanted to say goodbye too in person, so he had taken her along.

Omega laughed, sitting down next to Hunter. “This shouldn’t be a surprise. The Rebellion needs pilots now more than ever.”

Oh, Hunter knew. She had already left them once before for the sake of their protection. He knew Omega was willing to leave on her own terms to help protect others.

Omega sighed. She had to stand up to Hunter. “I made my choice, Hunter. I want to do more.”

Hunter swallowed. “And we want to keep you safe.”

Protecting Omega had become their life ever since they had took her off Kamino and saved her from the Empire’s hands. Omega knew how much he wanted to protect her. “You have. But I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to worry about me.”

She had grown up, but Omega was always a kid in Hunter’s eyes. He could never get over how tall she got all of a sudden one day and how she couldn’t fit the clothes he had gotten for her anymore. Omega had gotten so big for Hunter way too fast, it felt like it was just last year that he held a small girl in his arms every night.

“You’re our kid, Omega. You always will be.”

Omega placed a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Hunter, you've all fought enough. This? It's my fight. I'm ready.”

Omega let go of his shoulder, standing up to head to her ship. Hunter wanted to reach his hand out. He didn’t want her to go at all. He wanted her to keep staying by his side. He wanted the little girl who would bury herself into his arms to remain with him every night, letting him sing her a lullaby to sleep.

Hunter sighed. “Yeah, I know you are. But I'm not.”

Omega turned to Hunter with a comforting smile. She gave Hunter a tight hug, holding her younger brother close. She let go, already missing his warm touch. She told him to keep an eye on her other brothers and Batcher.

Hunter nodded. He placed a kiss on her forehead, giving her a smile. “Off you go.”

Omega smiled. She hurried off to her ship, Gonky waiting for her to come onboard. She knelt down to Batcher, giving her some pets.

“Omega.” She stepped onto her ship, stopping when she heard Hunter.

“If you ever need us, we'll be there.”

Omega nodded, heading into her ship. She set her bag next to Lula, who sat in a chair, ready for the adventure. Omega powered up her ship, adjusting Tech’s goggles in front of her. She had decided to place them in front of her so she knew Tech would always be alongside her whenever she flew. The ship was ready to go, and so was she. Her adventures in the stars were calling her name. She looked over at Hunter, who gave her a salute. Omega returned it, ready to go.

The coordinates to the rebel base were in, and Omega lifted off, rising up to the night sky. Hunter watched her go with a proud smile on his face.

Batcher whined next to him, already missing her best friend. Hunter gave her a pet. “It’s all right girl. She’ll be fine.” Hunter switched the lantern off, looking back as Omega’s ship rose up to space. Batcher watched before following Hunter to head back home.

Hunter felt like crying, watching his little kid go. He knew she was strong, and she would be okay. She’ll be a strong fighter and a strong Rebel.

This was her calling. Omega was ready to follow the stars, as they would guide her to her destiny.

29 notes · View notes

saturn-sends-hugs · 7 months ago

Note

Fruit ask game time!

🍈🍈🍈

HAHAHHAHAHA oh anon i love you

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

this might come as a total shock but he's this silly little guy from star wars and he's a clone and his name is Echo it's Echo none of us are surprised lol

This question is weirdly difficult to answer? Like, so many of my headcanons are either just so ingrained in fandom that they're barely headcanon anymore or I just use them so much that I forget they're not canon lol, but I'm sure I can find a couple:

Echo and Crosshair are besties. If you saw them, you'd probably assume they absolutely couldn't stand each other and the rest of the batch were worried that they'd kill each other in their sleep one night, but they are basically inseparable. Not that you'll ever catch them relaxing together, cause if someone else is in the room, they're probably having a verbal brawl, but yk.

Between him and Fives, Echo was the worse menace. The only reason Fives gets that title from everyone else is because he was a worse liar and no one believed him when he said it was all Echo's idea. Echo just pulls his innocent little smile, says Fives' dragged him into it, and lets everyone roll their eyes and forgive him. Then he turns to Fives with the most shit-eating grin in the world because even if it was his idea, no one will ever believe Fives. Echo knows the rules back to front, and that only lets him break them without anyone noticing. (Rex is very suspicious, but he can't actually prove anything.)

Although I don't make it obvious in every fic, I write Echo as autistic. He reads reg manuals for fun, repeats orders, and gets anxious when people don't follow the rules/the plan they laid out. This is largely projection on my part, but I love highlighting these parts of his character because it kinda bugs me when people write him as boring mom character who's pretty much just there to be backup. I just think it's fun to highlight his struggles and give him some badass character moments at the same time :D

Going along with that, Echo is a picky eater!!! If there's one headcanon that's most important about him to me, it's this one, because I am a seriously picky eater and of COURSE i'm gonna project that on my comfort character. They allude to it in the show of course, but I like to take it from being comic relief into being an actual thing he struggles with and feels self-conscious about. I seriously need to write a fic about it lol, there's so much stuff I want to say.

WHEW ok that feels like a long enough rant lol, I hope these were fun to read! I have like a million more but we don't need an entire essay here lol. Thanks so much for the ask, anon!! <333

#saturn sends thoughts #ask game #tbb headcanons

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jordosprout · 8 months ago

Note

Howdy! It's @stars-n-spice with asks for the Bad Batch Ask Game :D 1, 12, 22, 24, and 40! 🩵💫

Hii! Thanks for sending asks I've been needing to explode about Bad Batch all day

Favorite thing about the show?

I am super indicvisive so there's a few-

I really love the familial dynamic with the Batch it's very comforting

I enjoyed seeing how they changed their armor throughout the seasons

I loved researching the armor modifications they have

The community is very creative and skilled

The humor was well written and so was Crosshairs growth!!!

12. Which Batcher do you think would be your best friend?

Best friend would probably be Tech (not just cause he's my favorite) because I love listening to people ramble. Also because he is blunt and direct which would make interacting with him easy for me. I'm relatively quiet and enjoy calm people and parallel play. But on that note I can see Wrecker being up there too. Physical touch is a huge part of my love language and he definitely shows it's his as well. I can imagine him giving big hugs after rough missions. Honestly I'd love to play games with Wrecker, he has amazing reactions and such a sweet personality.

22. Which Batcher inspires you the most?

Crosshair absolutely. He shows that people can change for the better, and that if given the opportunity, you can heal. I hope someday we get some sort of media showing his healing process/journey.

And Tech (lotta these answers are going to be Tech I'm so sorry). He shows that autism isn't evil. That someone can be successful, strong, and smart while being autistic. That someone can be loving, and that expressing emotions differently doesn't mean they aren't felt. I love hearing his point of view on Crosshair joining the Empire, how you can understand why someone does something without agreeing with it.

24. Do you have any hot controversial takes?

I personally don't think Tech being brought back would lessen his sacrifice. I dunno if that means he simply finds his way back to the others or something else. But I don't think someone needs to die in order for their sacrifice to mean something. Hell doing something knowing you could die is already enough. I will always always believe he's alive, even if he canonically isn't. Personally as mentioned in other posts, I am not diagnosed with autism, but online screenings and outside opinions lead me to believe that I am autistic. And with that said, I related to Tech. Him being shutdown when he was excited or wanting to say something, him not displaying emotions in a way that others understood, and so much more. Him 'dying' was a huge betrayal to me. I finally found a character I could relate to in Star Wars, and he was taken away so quickly. And it felt like there was not enough talked about on that part. It could just be me feeling hurt by it and wishful thinking. But losing Tech was awful.

40. Favorite scenes?

TAY-0 getting obliterated

Tech's little head tilt when TAY-0 says he repairing him wrong

Tech and Omega's cave scene

Crosshair meditating

Big hug with Cross, Wrecker, & Hunter

Wrecker showing Omega her own place on the Marauder

Cross, Hunter, & Omega's hug

"You're as bad as Hunter" "Oh, I'm much worse"

"That's not her ugly side?"

Tech getting excited while a zillo about to kill him

"It is an unscheduled study break"

"My left femur has been fractured by approximately 150 kilograms of pressure... so no"

Most of it is Tech and all of the soft sides of Bad Batch, and there is a lot. But at the end of the day, this show has made me so happy (and sad) on so many different occasions.

Sorry for all the extra yapping

#clone force 99 #tbb tech #the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #the bad batch season 3 #star wars the bad batch

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spacemagicandlaserswords · 1 year ago

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The Clone Wars: Return of the Thoughts

I’m over half way through my first watch through of The Clone Wars (I’m part way through the Onderon rebels arc at the moment) and it has been An Experience. I have really enjoyed watching it, even though so much of the story is just pain and despair. If it isn’t already completely obvious from my reaction posts, I have completely fallen for the clones. New hyperfixation unlocked. I love and adore all of them. This brings about its own problems because for a show called The Clone Wars, there isn’t exactly a great focus on the clones. They’ve basically been sidelined in their own show (Hmmm, I wonder where we’ve seen that done to a clone before?). When we do finally get some decent clone-centric episodes, they are all just pain, misery, angst and despair. Which explains why I’ve been dreading watching so many of the various arcs in TCW.

I’ve found that my anticipation of episodes falls into either 'outright dreading', 'generally looking forward to', 'somewhat interested in', or 'fairly ambivalent about'. Out of the three seasons I have left to watch, the only arc I’m actually looking forward to is the opening arc of season 7, because:

a) Baby Bad Batch b) ECHO c) More clones! More clone interactions and personality and character development and depth and emotions and all the things! d) Jesse and his ARC tits running around being an absolute unit e) Kix! *weeps for his beautiful hair* f) Rex being a BAMF as usual but also being all soft and concerned when he gets one of his Domino Twins back after he thought he’d lost them both. g) We even get a bit of Cody too, before he gets squished by a larty and Wrecker has to lift it off him. h) Non-chip controlled Crosshair! He smiles! He laughs! He’s snarky and sarcastic! We finally get to see the toothpick with a soul before it’s ripped out and trampled into the ground by the Empire. i) I think the season 7 premiere is where Obi-Wan cuts an actual missile in half to save Cody, and if that isn’t the most hyper competent way of conveying your love for your space husband, then I don’t know what is.

On the other side of things, there are a number of arcs that I am dreading and almost don’t want to watch.

I’m not overly looking forward to the Mandalore arc in season 5, mainly because we have to watch Obi-Wan watch Satine get brutally murdered in front of him by Maul. Along with being utterly cruel and completely devastating, it’s also another wholly unnecessary fridging of a female character. There’s already enough man pain in this series as it is, we don’t need to add to it by killing off one of the few female characters with depth.

Straight after this is the Jedi temple bombing arc, which I almost don’t want to watch. The way Ahsoka was treated was utterly horrendous and appalling. No wonder she left! What they did to Barriss was just as awful.

Then it’s straight into the chip conspiracy arc, which is just more pain, misery, suffering and death for the clones. First Tup, then Fives, in what seems to be generally regarded as one of the most devastating deaths of the entire Clone Wars series. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot of sobbing at the end of it. I also cannot wrap my head around the fact that Fox is the one to shoot Fives. I cannot believe that a clone would ever shoot another clone. That a vod would kill another vod. It’s just inconceivable. From what I’ve read, the generally received headcanon seems to be that Palps was controlling Fox via the chip or the Darkside. This makes complete sense, is a believable in-universe reason, and is definitely the headcanon that I’ve accepted. Blasters have a stun setting! Fox is the Commander of the Coruscant Guard. He’s a command class clone and he has a kama so presumably he’s got ARC training as well. There’s no way he’d be that sloppy as to not have his blaster set to stun. I know this is leading up to my inevitable internal conflict between fandom Fox and canon Fox (which is already brewing), but that’s another rant for another day. Either way, I'm absolutely dreading watching this arc.

I’m not really looking forward to watching the Rush Clovis arc in season 6. I touched on this in 2.04 ‘Senate Spy’ and I should imagine that this arc involves more of Anakin being abusive and controlling of Padmé, which both @0bianidalas and @coraex basically confirmed in the comments. For a multitude of personal reasons, I am really not comfortable with watching something like this. That said, I should imagine it will be a clear example of Anakin’s further descent to the Dark side and give a greater understanding to how it happened, which I gather was a key reason for the existence of The Clone Wars series in the first place.

Finally, there’s the Siege of Mandalore arc, which is just pain, misery, death and despair for everyone involved. We have to watch another perspective of the genocide that is Order 66, and by all accounts this one seems to be one of the most heart-wrenching and devastating. All of the clones are forced against their will to turn into brainwashed, controlled, mindless monsters. Jesse is turned into the very opposite of everything that he is, stood for, and believed in. Ahsoka is hunted by the very men she thought were her friends. Rex has to shoot his brothers out of self defense and to protect Ahsoka. All of the 322nd die. Rex cries. The only saving grace to all of this is that Rex is finally free, but at what cost. At what cost.

(Editor Me: My heart is already aching just going through the various gifs from these arcs. I'm going to be an absolute wreck I watch the actual episodes.)

After all of this, I somehow have to power through 4 seasons of Rebels before Ahsoka premiers on August 23. I’m probably going to have to binge watch Rebels and come back to it later for the reaction posts but we’ll see. While I have spoiled myself on Rebels in the same way I did for TCW, I haven’t been looking up what happens in Rebels quite as much as TCW. I’ve forgotten a fair amount of what happens so I think I’m going to try and keep myself as spoiler free as possible for Rebels. Hopefully that way I’ll be able to avoid this ‘dreading watching particular arcs’ problem that I’m encountering with TCW.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. There are moments in particular episodes that I’m looking forward to.

Hondo turns up again in the younglings arc and I am all for more Hondo. My interest in this arc falls somewhere between ‘somewhat interested’ and ‘fairly ambivalent’ but Hondo is an absolute riot and I love his particular brand of chaos. He was hilarious in the season 5 premiere and stole every scene he was in so I’m very glad to see him appear again.

We finally get to meet Gregor! He seems like a fan favourite and I’ve been looking forward to meeting him. If the droids mission is anything like R2-D2 and the reprogrammed B1 droids in the Citadel arc then this should be fairly amusing too so I’m generally looking forward to this.

In a way, I am looking forward to parts of the Mandalore arc in season 5. Obi-Wan in Mandalorian armour! More sass and snark from Obi-Wan is always enjoyable and at least we get to see him rescue Satine before it all goes horribly wrong. I know I’ve made this point before but I also love it when we get to see just how damn good a Jedi Obi-Wan is. There’s a little bit of this in the season 4 finale when Obi-Wan teams up with Ventress to fight Maul and Savage (after he’s thrown about like a rag doll and we get even more Obi-Wan whump. TCW has been a surprisingly excellent source of Obi-Wan whump.) But you really get to see it in the season 5 premiere. At one stage Obi-Wan is dual wielding lightsabers like an absolute madman while fighting both Maul and Savage at the same time. Sir, your lightsaber form is Soresu, what are you doing?

I’m looking forward to ‘The Lost One’ because we get to see a bit more of Wolffe, Plo and the Wolf Pack and I am always happy when we get to see more of them. Even if it's only for a tiny bit at the start of the episode.

As painful as the Siege of Mandalore arc is going to be, there are also some good moments that I’m looking forward to. Rex and Ahsoka reunite after she left the Order. I’ve really been enjoying watching the gradual evolution of their relationship, from Captain and Commander, to colleagues that respect each other, to friends, and then brother and sister. Or ori’vod and vod’ika, if we’re going with the headcanon of clones knowing Mando’a and creating their own culture out of what they can glean from their Mandalorian origins. Rex is definitely ori’vod.

Rex is finally promoted to commander so we get a little bit of Commander Rex for a while, and isn’t that just a delicious thought thot.

Ahsoka essentially gets her own company in the form of the 332nd and they all paint their helmets in a pattern inspired by the markings on her montrals, which is just so damn sweet and adorable.

Rex and Ahsoka fighting side by side, even if some of it is against chip controlled clones.

From what I can gather, this entire arc is mainly about Rex and Ahsoka, with a showdown with Maul thrown in. They both go through the wringer and there’s going to be everything from hilarious one liners, to heartfelt moments, to the absolute emotional devastation that is Order 66 and all that it wrought upon them.

Out of the arcs that are left, they’re a mix of ‘somewhat interested’, ‘fairly ambivalent’ and ‘really not sure what to expect’. I’m fairly ambivalent about the rest of the Onderon rebels arc, which ends in another unnecessary fridging of a female character. At least Steela was more sensible and had more nuance. I could see her evolving into a great leader, in a similar vein to Leia. Saw is just another boring arrogant male who turns into a ‘for the greater good’ monster. The consequences of his actions have disastrous effects for the Empire and the rebels, or anyone who even slightly opposes the Empire. He’s not a good person and definitely falls into the ‘an enemy of my enemy is my friend/temporary ally’ camp.

I’m ‘fairly ambivalent’ to almost disinterested in ‘The Disappeared’ arc. Anything involving Jar Jar Binks is always deeply painful and uncomfortable to watch, a point I’ve made before, so I’m not going to blither on about it again.

The final arc of season 6 just sounds weird and all very ~mystical~ Jedi. Or more Jedi osik as the more cynical of the clones would probably say.

The Ahsoka arc in the middle of season 7 is one I’m really not sure what to expect from. I’m looking forward to meeting Trace and Rafa and I’m all for more women of colour in Star Wars. It’ll also give more context to the episode ‘Decommissioned’ from The Bad Batch and help understand exactly who they are and why they’re coincidentally looking for the same Separatist tactical droid as the Batch. It’ll also be interesting to see what happens to Ahsoka after she leaves the order and get a sense for what she’s been up to and how she’s managed to survive and cope since. I’m not sure if this arc is in chronological order with the rest of the season. Though the last episode does appear to link into the Siege of Mandalore arc, so maybe it is. The official chronological order lists this arc as happening before the Bad Batch arc and after the season 6 finale arc, so I guess that solves that then.

Aside from The Bad Batch arc, there’s no whole episode or arc that I’m actually looking forward to watching. This seems to be the main structure to TCW, hilarious comedic moments and heartfelt scenes interspersed between a whole lot of emotional devastation and heart wrenching endings. I’m still glad I’m finally watching The Clone Wars but the emotional ride from certain episodes and arcs has been something else. I’m so glad fix-it fics exist, because I’m going to need to read so many after all of this is said and done.

I know this might seem like I’m complaining but I’m not. I’m simply being open and honest about my experiences watching The Clone Wars. I am enjoying watching it all, even if ‘enjoying’ doesn’t quite feel like the right word with all of the pain and despair and misery that happens.

I’ve got a lot left to watch and not much time to watch it in but I’m also going to make sure I enjoy it as well. I’ll be sad when it’s finished but I am very happy and glad that I finally started watching The Clone Wars.

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inkstainedhandswithrings · 2 years ago

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S2 Ep14 of TBB Thoughts!!

oh frick, oh darn, oh heck

HOWZER HOWZER HOWZER HOWZER HOWZER HOWZER HOWZER HOWZER

I need to stop eating breakfast while I watch these eps, eventually im gonna gasp so hard I'll choke on some food (this is based on me almost choking on my food when HOWZER showed up)

So I knew Echo'd be in this one, but I was actually also a 100% Rex would be there too, so I was a little bummed about that? like why would they release Rex's poster now if he isn't gonna be in the ep? and like ik this is a show about the batch, so they wanna show off Echo and I love that for him bc I love Echo but like,,, Rex🥺 yanno?

that being said, Echo and his team infiltrating that ship, fcking GREGOR?? amazing, loving that shit, eating it up

another suicide? this is getting intense. like this season has given us deeply seeded political issues about clone rights, depictions of blood, brainwashing and two suicides?? like??? things are heating up, the writers are getting more real and I actually kinda,,, love that even though its intense

CROSS MY BOY🥺🥺🥺🥺

clone sipping coffee :)

ye :)

me @ howzer:

he knows someone, eh? THAT'LL BE MY MANS TECH :DDDD

ofc he snatched the gun, you rlly coulda seen that one coming dipstick

it struck me as really odd that Crosshair didn't shoot the female doctor. like the rest of the batch and most of the clones use stun guns ALL THE TIME whereas Crosshair has always shot to kill. again, "severe and unyielding", meaning he takes intense action, committing all the way all the while being so stubborn he hardly ever backs down. honestly, him sparing her is some serious character development. he recognised she was being kind to him and he decided that that was enough reason not to hurt her. either that, or he wanted to abuse her kindness later on

he never wanted to get out, he just wanted to warn his brothers, which is AGAIN SO DIFFERENT from the Cross we've gotten to know in these last two seasons. I actually don't think that's growth anymore. that's Crosshair standing by a choice that he knew was bad for far too long (SEVERE. AND. UNYIELDING.) and now finally admitting he was wrong and going back to what he always wanted and always knew to be right.

ALSO I JUST WITNESSED CROSSHAIR MISS A SHOT TWICE LIKE WTH??? THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE

partially rebuilt Pabu :)))

Hunter being questioned abt being more than just a soldier lol

like sir, the answer is "I am dad, actually."

TECH AND OMEGA FLYING TOGETHER

CACKLING

HE ADJUSTED HIS GOGGLES TWICE IN LIKE 3 MINUTES

HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS FEARING FOR HIS LIVE I AM DYING WITH LAUGHTER FCK

"Up. Up! Up, Omega, pull up!" <- im sorry but Tech's always been just,,, so cool in stressful situations, like almost dying, no biggie. falling out of the sky in a storage box and having a heavy object crush your leg, naaahh we got this. fcking staring a Zillo Beast dead in the eye as it growls at you, easy as pie. omega's flying? panic

"The Tech-Turn? really?" "Now that is not what it is called, but I rather like it. I suggest you proceed before I come to my sen-- AAAAAHHHH."

D Y I N G

did Echo only race Omega to torture Tech? yes, why do you ask?

okay listen I love him, but without his kama Echo looks half naked

TECH FCKING STUMBLING OUT THE SHIP I CAN'T

HUGGIES!!!! ECHO AND OMEGA HUGGIES!! :DDDDD

hmmm the summit huh??? interesting

Tech sounded so worried when he called Hunter over??? waaaaaahhh

Hemlock? more like Hemcock (yes I've been waiting a while to make that joke leave me alone)

YES CROSS IS WARNING YOU. NO HUNTER YOU CAN TRUST HIM GO AFTER HIM GO FIND YOUR BROTHER HE NEEDS YOUR HELP GODDAMN WAAAAAAAAAAAHGGH

Crosshair being offered his freedom and just stubbornly staring back? Severe and unyielding hero edition. I love him, Hunter go get him pls he needs you.

help why did this one feel so short

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differentfandomsandthings · 2 years ago

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( TBB S2 EPISODE 7 & 8 SPOILERS)

CLONE BAR

Some Clones are not happy about Kamino being destroyed. "All those cities, all those people." Lots of guilt. Questioning Rampart specifically. Everyone thinks a cataclysmic storm destroyed Kamino thanks to Ramparts cover up. Now with the clones out the way Rampart is trying to push a recruitment bill.

New clone names Cade and Slip :D love the beard Slip😌

Cade really texted Rampart and gave him an ultimatum. "You tell the empire or I will!"...yeah that's not going to end well😬😬

Annnd Cades dead..but slip gave them...the slip 😉..sorry..

Was that Crosshair?👀...Nope!

Bail Organa!

CHUCHI!!!!

Old hag of a senators (can't remember her name atm) wants to decommission the rest of the clones because of their accelerated aging 😡🤬 but Chuchi is fighting for them❤ "They are not droids we can just discard! How can we make a new army without a plan in place to take care of our current one!" " How do you know what the clones need? Have you asked? Do they know about their future?" I love Chuchi!! But I have a feeling Rampart might want her out of the way...

Rampart is acting tough but I know he's feeling the pressure. The bill has been put on hold many times. If people start digging and find out what really happened to Kamino its not going to end in his favor.

Chuchi is legit, ok. She went to talk to the clones about what they want. They want to keep fighting but she's like " Yeah I understand but what happens when you get to old for that? Let me help." She really cares about them🥺

Slip tells Chuchi what really happened to Kamino and warns her to be careful.

Annnd Slip is dead 😔

REX!! and he saved Chuchi.

Assassin clone? He calls himself A believer?

End of episode 7

Episode 8

Gonky!!!!

Gungi taught Omega how to meditate but she said it doesn't work for her the way it does for him...but she still likes to do it. Asked Echo if he wants to try.

Echo said he doesn't like being alone because of Skako Minor. Said the bad batch saved him.

Omega: Is that why you joined?

Echo: It Was were I Was needed at the time....Echo PLEASE DONT LEAVE THE SQUAD 😭😭

I liked that he opened up about his pass to Omega a little though.

Bad batch meet up with Rex and Chuchi. They are going try and get the data from Ramparts ship. They are going to split up, Omega is going to go with Chuchi to the senate.

Let's get to work >:(

Lol Omega mean mugging Rampart 😠...and did Rampart not recognize Omega?...Did he meet Omega in season 1?

Omega: Where is the clone Senator? We're part of the galaxy too :(

Senator Burtoni...she don't give AF about Kamino or the Kaminoans or so she says.

That pissed Omega off. Just spilled the beans on her being a clone and being on Kamino when it was destroyed

Chuchi is really fighting for the clones and trying to get proof. It makes me sad knowing it's all going to be in vain😔

Once again..Echo PLEASE DONT LEAVE THE SQUAD 😭😭

✨️stealth✨️

Holy crap they actually got the evidence! Poor Omega has to watch that again though😔

Palpatine 😡

They threw Rampart under the bus!! Like yeah he did it aresst him!🤣🤣 I was not expecting that🤣...is Rampart out of the picture? Like for good? Can't be. Definitely not.

Palpatine blames the clones as well for follow Ramparts orders without hesitation. This gives him an excuse to pass the bill and make clones obsolete. Making way for stormtroopers.

The music! The music!

Everyone played right into his hands again!

Omega learned a lesson again. Just because you tell the truth doesn't mean the consequences are always good.

Echo: The fate of all clones are now sealed because of us!

ECHO IS LEAVING!! I knew it! They have been hinting at it this whole time but nooooo!!!😭😭😭

Omega: you can't leave! We're a squad a family🥺

Echo: I'm going where I'm needed

Omega: we need you too😭

Echo: it's not forever. Keep up with your training

Omega:HUG..yes sir🥰🥰😭😭

The music! The music!

The end scene with Omega hugging lula alone I'm crying man 🥺😭

The batch took Echo leaving in stride but I have a feeling Omega is really going to take Echo’s absence hard and I wonder how the rest of the batch will handle it. Maybe that's why she's going to tell Tech "We're more than that, we're a family."

I know they're going to reunite with Echo at some point because of the leaked screen shot of her hugging Echo again. I just wonder how long they are going to be separated for🤔 🥲

10/10 episode even though it ended on a sad note. At least no one died. None of the main cast at least.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb season 2 spoilers #tbb spoilers #the bad batch season 2 #such good episodes #riyo chuchi

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havocdream · 5 months ago

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Unheard and Unseen - Three

Summary: Vintra hosts a meeting between fellow senators in her office to discuss the most threatening issues ahead of the next Senate session, and her new security team is able to prevent two possible attacks. As Hunter evaluates both cases, he realizes that real danger may already be in motion.

Word count: 7.4k

Warnings: Mentions of bombs and sniper | Allusion to attempted murder | Threatening | Conspiracy | Some characters die

Notes at the end of chapter

Chapter Two -> Naive ideals

Masterlist

A bad feeling about it

It was past midnight when Hunter finished working out the general plan, so now he’d focus on that day’s arrangements. But before doing so, he brought his gaze to the door of the senator's room.

She had said, several hours ago, that she was going to rest. But Hunter could sense what was going on inside that room, even hear. The senator had been awake all night. He listened to keys of her laptop being pressed, felt the electric current on her datapad, even heard the senator's tired sighs.

The sergeant wondered what could take a politician so long for her day not to end when she left the Senate building.

Hunter looked at the hologram map of the central city of Coruscant. He already had the orders for each guard and for each of his brothers, and he’d lay them out for them in the morning. That night, the guards had been ordered to keep vigil on each floor. Tech, who was the one who would be sharing shift with Hunter in the nights, monitored the top floors using the cameras, sensors and listening devices.

Tech had already finished setting up everything needed in the building, but had yet to complete places like the surrounding complexes and, of course, the Senate building. He’d already gained access to Coruscant's security and was monitoring the cameras and microphones in the streets. The control room he had set up in one of the vacated apartments was huge, filled with screens with images, graphs, results from some sensors, and programming for key pattern recognition to identify suspicious activity.

From all that access, Tech could control crime on Coruscant. But they were Special Forces, tasked with a high-priority mission. They weren't there to be local cops, but, in Tech's eyes, to protect democracy itself. He couldn't focus on anything other than Senator Selana's safety.

“I don't like her,” Hunter told him over the intercom. The brains of the group was focused on the cameras in front of him, making sure everything was working in order. “I don't think she knows what she's talking about,” his brother added, sounding irritated, as if he’d just had a fight with Crosshair.

“I don't agree with all of her opinions,” Tech commented, as he mused on the list of times he hadn't sympathized with her speeches, “but I consider her one of the best senators in the Republic, along with Senator Amidala, Senator Organa, Senator Mothma...”

“Yes, well, maybe there are other things she must be right about...” mused Hunter with Tech, “but she should stick to those in her speeches and bills, not to war and military stuff,” Hunter wrote down more details on the report he´d brief later to the troopers, concerning the vigilance of the senator’s residential building while she was out.

“I assure you she’s one of the most competent politicians to speak about these matters. Senator Selana is titled in interplanetary relationships with distinction in politics and economics. Many systems in the Republic recur to her for efficient studies and projections, and bill proposals, to increase their domestic gross and population’s wellbeing.

She’s also responsible for the arrest of several mafia group leaders, corrupt businessmen and separatist spies. Has successfully exposed hundreds of money laundering enterprises, and in each of her cases she fights for compensation for damages to all those potentially affected by these crimes. Honestly, I find it complicated to dislike her,” defended clone with goggles, who could memorize thousands of Senate speeches, but almost all his favorites were those of Senator Selana.

Hunter let out a sigh. “Just because she champions other good causes doesn't mean she can´t be wrong. According to her, we shouldn't even exist,” the sergeant complained, still uncomfortable with the conviction with which the senator believed the clones were untrustworthy and the cause of more death in the galaxy.

“Hunter, I doubt that a senator who has put her life on the line to defend the lives of millions, who don't even know she's carrying the full political weight of their survival, wants an entire species to not exist,” Hunter furrowed his eyebrows, and pondered that a bit. Tech might have a point, but he didn't like to give in to it.

“I still don't like her,” the sergeant confessed, which, despite giving the senator the benefit of the doubt, he still found irritating. He found it hard to swallow someone who supported disbanding the military, and who lived by such innocent ideals as negotiations with separatists.

“You don't have to like her,” he heard Tech's voice in his ear, “you just have to keep her alive,” Tech reminded him. Hunter was about to respond, when he heard movement in the senator's room. Shortly after, the door to her room opened. The senator stepped out and was surprised to see Hunter on the business meeting couch, right where she had left him hours before.

Vintra was wrapped in her robe, ready to go get a glass of water, but stopped herself when she found the sergeant still awake. She hugged herself and hid as best she could her breasts behind her arms, as if she felt naked going in only her nightgown and robe.

Hunter looked her in the face, all makeup removed, and hair undone. In front of him, she didn´t look like a senator at all, just a woman wrapped in an inconvenient situation. Her surprised countenance reminded the sergeant of a hopeless deer that had just been spotted by its killer. Not at all the demeanor she projected earlier, that gave him the impression of someone that could never be crumbled.

“May I offer you some water?” suggested Vintra on her way to the kitchen. She watched as the sergeant nodded, a little hesitantly, but came back with an extra glass for him anyway. Hunter thanked her with an uncomfortable grimace, which made the senator feel even more uneasy.

A hush flooded the room, which at that time of night weighed quite heavily on the clone and the ederian. Hunter listened to the senator's nervous heartbeat. It wasn’t exaggerated; it carried the compass of discomfort.

Vintra bit her lip before letting out a sigh of defeat, and walked to the opposite couch, where she had been hours earlier. The curtains on each window blocked the view of the city, someone had unfolded them. Probably the sergeant, as a security measure.

Watching the senator take a seat, Hunter grabbed the macrobinoculars from the table and headed for the windows behind her. Vintra followed him with her eyes.

“My team sent me the rest of your requirements. I evaluated them all... they look good to me,” Vintra said, her eyes glued to the back neck of the clone, who, moving the curtains a little, was looking out the window at the buildings. She wondered if he was trying to ignore her.

“Fine,” was all that the clone said to her. Vintra relaxed her shoulders, as if to get rid of an annoying weight on her back.

“Look,” she started, but calmed down before continuing, not wanting to start an argument at that time of night, “I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for your squad or for you to be pulled off the front lines to come watch my back. I understand that following orders that involve giving your life or the lives of your brothers to protect someone you don't like isn’t the kind of mission you were created for, but here we are,” continued Vintra, who hoped to find common ground between her and the sergeant. “I know that, at the end of the day, you’re here to protect me and will do your duty, despite my reservations with the clones,” Hunter lowered the macrobinoculars and turned back to watch her, though not for long before turning again and looking out the other window at the city. “But I hope you understand my position as well. I don’t know the codes of honor that exist between soldiers, but I am aware of the law and how certain scenarios can disserve me. So, I will seek to negotiate with you those cases that seem inconvenient to me before the law, but I promise you my cooperation with your orders. The least I can do, if you’re here to risk your life for me, is to respect your decisions,” she concluded, and her passive voice aroused no desire in Hunter to incite another discussion.

“All right,” said the clone, who lowered the device with which he was observing the city and placed it on one of the pillar tables that divided the windows. The clone turned to look at the senator, and a slightly more smiling look greeted her. “I take your point.”

Vintra took a breath, satisfied with the resolution, and settled better on the couch. She could tolerate that, and she had to. They were there with orders, and she doubted they wanted to tarnish their reputation by failing to keep her alive, much less planning to kill her.

The senator noticed the hologram on the table, where several datapads and papers were scattered about. She saw numbers, letters and blueprints. However, what caught her attention the most was the hologram. It showed a 3D map of the area around the Savanta building. Her apartment was crossed by quite a few red lines connecting to other buildings.

“What are all those lines?” she pointed her index finger at some of them, unsure if it was a good or bad thing. Hunter turned away from the window and took some steps until he got behind the senator, who turned to look at him when her answer took a little while.

“These are all direct points where a sniper could shoot you, right at this very moment,” said Hunter, who took a stiff stance. “From here, I'm blocking at least nine of them,” the clone could see the senator's face soften the muscles, and he could almost hear her brain processing what his words implied. He’d already set to work, for he knew that every kind of danger didn’t rest, and thus he had to always be on his guard. Even if it was some inexperienced or stupid criminal.

“Okay... so... what's the plan?” was all Vintra could say, for the idea of someone pointing at her head with a big rifle at that precise moment hadn’t gone down well with her. Hunter folded his arms.

“The idea is to control as best we can any threat before an attack is carried out. Explosives, bounty hunters or assassins... with the recognition of everything around you, we can catch an attacker without the need for you to be in danger,” the clone explained to her. Vintra nodded and turned her whole body to look at him. “You’ll have four guards who’ll follow you everywhere, along with Wrecker and me. Your other eleven guards will be at specific points near your location to monitor and pursue, if necessary,” she wanted to protest, but found no argument to refute the sergeant's logic. Hunter noticed, but let it go. “The shock troopers will be responsible for identifying every person who enters this building, and absolutely no one will have access to your apartment without prior notice. Everything you eat or drink will go through me first, looking for poisons or explosives. Your windows will be reinforced with retractable iron sheets, although they will remain activated at all times.”

“Sergeant...poison? snipers? really? It all sounds like measures someone like the Chancellor would have,” Vintra suggested, not considering that a criminal expert would want to finish her off. “So far, all my attacks have been building break-ins, very failed attempts at explosives, or someone out of control in the crowd,” Hunter shrugged.

“It doesn't matter. If you don't know who it is, you don't know what might come next. I'd rather you’re prepared for anything rather than being overconfident,” there was no deception in Hunter's gaze, so Vintra didn't bother to contradict him. The truth was, she felt better knowing that they couldn't harm her in any way. “We will locate a specific place to transport you after any attack, and will remain there until we register and clean the surrounding area and your apartment. For sniper attacks, Crosshair has mapped out an escape choreography,” Hunter pointed to a piece of paper on the table, which Vintra picked up and looked at. It consisted of zigzag lines. “Ideally, Wrecker or I should be at your side, but if we’re not, you'll have to move on your own, it's not ideal for you to stay still under attack,” Vintra stood up and walked to the front of her room's door, where there was enough room to move around. Hunter followed her, always with his body interposed between all possible points of view from outside and the senator. He watched as Vintra began practicing Crosshair's steps. “You’ll carry a military grade parasol, in case of an attack that requires keeping you in sight, that way you’ll block thermal visions...” Hunter noted several errors in the senator's stride when practicing the zigzag escape, he’d remind himself later to practice them with her. “And, lastly, I need you to carry a weapon.”

Vintra stopped in her steps and looked at him a little surprised. Hunter anticipated the senator's rejection, but not necessarily because of her body's reaction, but because he’d already gotten an idea of who she was. He already knew she wasn't a proponent of violence, the last thing she’d want would be to carry a gun with her. But it was worth trying to convince her.

“Will it be one with a stun option?” she asked, to the clone’s curiosity. He narrowed his eyes.

“Yes...”

“Well, that's fine then,” Vintra confirmed, with an unsure tone that also made Hunter hesitate.

“I thought you weren't in favor of violence,” he provoked, but Vintra didn't sense annoyance, only inquisitiveness.

“Self-defense is not the same thing as a violent response. I know that negotiating with an attacker directly is almost impossible, it’s not the same when negotiating with the orchestrators behind a war. If someone raises their weapon at me, my only way out is limited to my immediate options, right? I lack the experience to disarm, and I'm not willing to kill... luckily, there are weapons that only stun... that's good enough for me,” there was still doubt in her tone, but Hunter didn't give it any more thought. He had what he wanted.

“Essentially, I'll tell you what to do in every situation that comes up, but those would be the general directions for the time being. They probably won't all be necessary in the end, but it's not my job to assume how high the danger is before I see it for myself,” Vintra noticed that Hunter was still covering her from any threats outside the window. She saw no trace of insecurity or doubt in his expression, as if taking a shot for her didn't matter in the least.

He expected it from ederians, for she was their senator. Her guard had sworn to die for her if necessary. But Hunter was a clone, a soldier for the Republic, and, especially, didn't like her. But there he was, carrying out his orders.

Or maybe he didn't think she was in danger at all.

“I appreciate your instructions, anything else?” she said, giving up on the zigzag choreography on the paper and laying it on the table. Hunter looked at her, and then the door of her room, that stuck out over her shoulder.

“I need to search your room, every night,” it was logical, her bedroom was the only place where she was completely alone.

“Okay,” she said in a whisper, and pointed to the door behind her, “go ahead,” she indicated the clone, who didn't wait for her to enter first.

Hunter was met with a stunning sight. That room, as he had assumed, was huge, but had very little in comparison to the rest of the apartment. From the entrance, the senator's bed was attached to the wall, overlooking the large windows covered with brown curtains. It was a wide bed, not very high, and with lots of pillows and stools on either side, adorned with night lamps.

In the opposite corner, close to the window, there was a gray sofa-bed, on which there were plenty of papers. And at the opposite end, to the left of the entrance, there was a desk. Bigger than the one in the living room, black in color and with hundreds of things on it, not just papers.

At the back, the bathtub area could be seen, as the partition was also made of pure glass. From his position he could see it and a blue sofa facing the city.

He assumed that the slight hallway in the background and next to the entrance to the tub area, was the one leading to the private bathroom and the closet. He approached to confirm and found two doors at each side leading to both, one behind the tub area, and the other behind the wall of the bed, with the senator's clothes and footwear on either side of the compacted room. A huge mirror reflected his silhouette on the far wall.

“My previous guard installed a bunker under the bed,” he heard the senator's voice behind him. Hunter perceived no threat inside the room, but he was concerned that the windows in front of the bed were not yet reinforced.

Vintra led the sergeant to the entrance of the small bunker she usually hid in when her guard alerted her to an attack. It was right on the wooden base that surrounded her bed, at the front of it and almost imperceptible. The senator hit the wood hard, and a piece of it destabilized. Hunter bent down and examined it.

There was an iron door behind it, which opened the second Vintra typed the key into a keypad installed in front. Inside, there was nothing, although he could see that it provided enough oxygen and could fit at least three people lying down. Hunter thought the idea was good, but didn't say so.

“Senator, if you are not going to rest tonight, may I ask you to work at the desk in your living room?” asked Hunter, for it was late and he sensed no intentions in Vintra of wanting to go to sleep. She’d probably continue her work there, so it shouldn't be a problem for her to do so from where Hunter could remain alert.

Vintra's alarm blared from inside her chamber, and the Ederon senator rose from the desk in her main hall to go turn it off. She glanced at the time stamped on her holo-alarm: five o'clock.

She hadn't been able to get any sleep once again, but her body didn't seem to demand that she did so. Occasionally she managed to get a short nap, and that was all she needed to stay active for another forty hours. After all, there was a lot of work to be done.

The senator returned to her room’s door and faced the sergeant. They had been practicing the zigzag choreography in her living room for some time, and both had managed, somehow, to make the other let out a chuckle thanks to her inability to keep up with him, and the sight of a Republic Senator tripping and falling.

A smile on her face couldn’t be avoided. The sergeant, despite the time and their initial collision, behaved nicely with her while teaching her that crucial information, as well as when describing more details of his general security plan. Although, Vintra wondered if that was the case because she didn’t talk at all about her job or her opinions.

Her smile faded.

“I'll be ready in two hours,” the senator said to the sergeant, who stood at some distance from the senator and blocked certain points of view from the outside with his body. Those were the first words Vintra had said to him in two hours, during which she had been immersed in reports and her computer.

Hearing her, the sergeant drew his eyebrows together and hurried to catch up with her. Vintra was about to close the door to her room behind her, until she was stopped dead in her tracks by Hunter's hand.

“What do you mean, two hours?” the clone demanded to know, not sure if the senator was actually serious. She shrugged, not understanding the confusion.

“I have to take a bath, dress, do my hair and makeup...what do you think that takes, half an hour?” asked Vintra, as if the clone's doubts were so stupid she couldn't believe he didn't know. Hunter folded his arms.

“Senator Selana, every second you're alone is vital, I'd like to keep it as short as possible for your own safety,” Hunter insisted, but Vintra’s face opted for the expression Hunter was already beginning to learn well. Eyes narrowed and hands balled into fists.

“I am a senator, sergeant, I cannot present myself to the Senate as someone who could be confused in the multitude of planets. I represent, at all times, cultures and the honor of an entire species,” her tone was harsh and gave no room for contradiction, different from what Hunter had heard so far, “I don't get into all of this just because it pleases me to look beautiful in front of everyone, I do it because it’s part of my duty as well, and I’ll take what time I need to get the best result every time,” and with that said, she closed the door in front of Hunter´s face.

“I'm beginning to think this is indeed punishment,” he heard Crosshair's voice behind him.

Hunter used those two hours to brief his brothers with the instructions he’d work on, examine the senator's routes, and think of any other measures they might need to take. The guards already had their orders and roles, Tech had the city under his watch and all that was left was the installation in the Senate Building of sensors, the location of the secret shelter, and the senator's iron shutters.

Until then, Hunter could give the clean environment order. Until then, the senator was still in unknown danger.

Crosshair had just retreated to go to the building he had chosen as a checkpoint, when the door to the senator's chamber finally opened. Wrecker and Hunter turned to see her, she was wearing a long velvet wine dress, which covered her chest and lower neck and molded to her figure, defined by the curves of her hips and breasts. Her bare arms were slightly covered by the cape that hung from the back of her neck to her heels, raised slightly off the ground by dusty pink high shoes.

Her hair was loose, though neatly lined and smoothed with gel behind her pointy ears, making it look neat and tidy. It was adorned with a gold piece in the shape of wings that encircled the senator’s head from the back until the front, where it didn’t end up closing. And with her makeup, it gave her an air of solemn, elegant authority.

“I'm ready,” the senator said, with a beaming smile that caused Wrecker and Hunter to share a glance, to confirm that they saw the same thing as the other, a splendid change.

Vintra was receiving many looks of confusion and concern as she made her way to her office, which was located on one of the top floors of the Senate Building. The main reason was because of his two bodyguards in peculiar clone armor, in addition to the four personal guards who were closing the parade. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the Ederon Senator had already suffered a variety of attacks. However, that didn't stop some senators from needing to comment on it.

“Well, Senator Selana, weren't you one of the main opponents of the law admitting the use of the clone army to suppress separatist attacks? Does this mean you will vote in favor of producing more troops?” ambushed her the Umbara Senator, Mee Deechi, an unfriendly white-haired man with grayish markings on his face. Vintra smiled cordially at him.

“I didn’t request a squad of clones to protect me, Senator Deechi, it was General Kenobi's suggestion that I'd accept this unit,” defended the Ederon Senator, who kept her countenance serene before the provocations Deechi might start. That was already a routine for a politician like her.

“Still, you could’ve refused,” suggested the man, who frowned as he pressed further on the hypocrisy he perceived from the young senator.

“I'm in no position to refuse, Mee,” Vintra replied confidently as she called him by his name. “If it bothers you so much, let them make an attempt on your life a couple of times within the same month and maybe you'll get an army sent to protect you,” Vintra boasted, and Senator Meechi stopped in his tracks to let her continue on her course, but not before offering her a grimace of displeasure and a not very pleasant insult for her haughtiness.

Wrecker and Hunter had visited many places, even on Coruscant, but that was the first time they’d seen the Senate Building from the inside. From their visors, they observed rooms and offices on either side of the circular corridor, and it was filled with individuals of every alien race carrying papers, devices or larger things that were hard to identify. But it was easy to pick out the senators, with their fancy clothes, pretentious hairstyles, and an air of authority and elegance that made them unmistakable. Senator Selana, of course, was no exception.

“Is someone waiting for you inside?” asked Hunter when Vintra finally stopped in front of a door, on which a title read ‘Senator Vintra Selana of Ederon’. His heightened senses allowed him to perceive activity inside the senator’s office, but didn’t seem to be hostile or hidden suspicious. Still, the clone had to make sure.

“No, is someone there?” the confused tone from Vintra was all Hunter needed to signal Wrecker to take up a defensive position as he drew out his blaster. Vintra blinked twice before deducing what might happen. “Maybe it's the other senators, we're in the middle of a—” but she was interrupted by the clone.

“That's for me to judge,” Hunter pressed the button on the door to open it. He quickly stepped between the senator and the interior of her office, only to reveal, in fact, a group of senators who turned to him. Their grimaces of anticipation transformed into ones of confusion. Hunter lowered his gun and stepped aside for the senator.

“Sorry for the surprise, my friends, I'm afraid the subject of my security has become a bit more demanding,” the senator explained once she approached the rest of her colleagues to greet them. Wrecker stood, on Hunter's orders, on the hallway side of the door as he and the senator's personal guard entered the office.

A group of six senators were in the room. Hunter knew three, human: Senator Amidala of Naboo, Senator Organa of Alderaan, and Senator Mothma of Chandrila. The other three were Senator Farr of Rodia, Senator Kelvos of Kaar Pa, and Senator Dugan of Hexcar. The first was a Rodian, with large eyes whose reflection resembled the image of the star-studded galaxy, with blue skin and average height. The second was a white haired with blue eyes human, and the third was a Hexcaran, with a grayish, almost pale, complexion, completely yellow oval eyes, and two ears on each side, one on top of the other, the upper one of a larger size.

Everyone was pleased to see the ederian senator.

“And clones no less... I remember your reservations, Vintra, but personally I am very glad to see that you’re in very good hands,” spoke Senator Amidala, a woman of fair complexion and brown hair, with a sweet voice and a honeyed gaze. She was, in Vintra's opinion, the most valuable senator the Republic had. She gave a smile to the clone who carried himself like Senator Selana's shadow.

“Thank you, Padmé,” was all Vintra said at her friend's compliment to the clones. “However, I think it’s inconvenient his presence for the discussion ahead of us, don't you think, senators?” questioned Vintra to the circle the others formed as they took seats on the couches in her office, which consisted of a large rectangular space, with a window behind the senator's desk overlooking the city. There were two chairs in front of her desk, and behind those a group of couches that could accommodate a group of six senators spread out with two wide white leather sofas and a rectangular glass table. There was a restroom on the left side of the entrance, and a bookcase full of folders on the right side.

The senators turned to look at Vintra and Hunter.

“Inconvenient, yes, but I don't think it's a problem,” said Senator Mothma, who agreed that the clone shouldn’t retreat. “He's here to protect you, Vintra, not to share his opinions on politics,” she reminded him, to which Hunter nodded and Vintra rolled her eyes.

The sergeant positioned himself in front of the window with his back to the senators, to observe any weak spots from there. Crosshair had been studying the near surroundings of the Senate Building and had also provided a holomap of the attack points. His brother was in a building he could see from there, diagonally to his left, one of the tallest. Crosshair could watch all the threat points he had marked from there, and Tech monitored the city's cameras and sensors. Any anomalies, one of the two would let him know.

Vintra took a seat in a chair at the end of the couches that faced each other. Padmé spoke first.

“Senator Burtoni plans to propose the creation of five million clones at the next senate session,” she brought up the snag. “Rumor has reached me that for the production of more troops, some have sold their vote in exchange to boost the profits of certain businesses of interest, so these can end up in their pockets,” the senator spoke quietly with concern. Senator Organa stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“It will have to be someone with connections to businessmen, or from planets whose greatest asset is factories,” he proposed, but Vintra extended her arm and unfolded a hologram with a map of information surrounding a specific individual.

“Yesterday I got the report from my informants with certain pieces that make me think it might be Urr Nad's Senator, Ercan Bibra,” the hologram showed the human with long black hair with sharp red eyes, and black markings under them. “I got pictures of a meeting he had three days ago with one of the owners of a ship factory, and two days ago he signed a contract to become a shareholder in it. Communication network records report that about twenty call signs came out of his apartment that same night, although his communicator doesn't show the records.”

“Maybe he used a private line,” Senator Dugan mused, annoyed by the reality Vintra was exposing. “Do you think you can use that information against him and confront him?” Padmé was alarmed at the suggestion.

“I think it's best if Vintra stays out of any confrontation against more senators, the last thing She needs is to make more enemies,” she suggested, to which Vintra sighed in frustration.

“As much as I like to stir the hornet's nest, Padmé’s right, but because at the moment I'm quite busy with the Druad case,” she confessed, and pointed to her desk so it was evident how much work she had with the pile of papers on top of it. “I still have to talk to several senators,” Senator Kelvos gave her a smile.

“No one said justice was going to be served easily,” her sapphire eyes sent a wave of calm to Vintra, as did her smile, laden with experience and mentorship that the ederian appreciated as much as a cool breeze on the hottest of days. Her white hair, which today was pulled back in a very elegant hairstyle and adorned with a silver tiara, made her look even wiser. “It fills me with pride to see young people like you, Senator Amidala and Senator Dugan offer such magnificent fierceness in your speeches, and that your determination holds a powerful key to an entire species to save them from extinction,” Senator Kelvos praised, and the three alluded received with much joy in their hearts the words of such an eminence in the Republic.

“I thank you very much for your confidence, Senator Kelvos,” Vintra said back, her hand on her chest to express how much she appreciated that.

“I’ll take care of Senator Bibra,” Senator Organa said. “Padmé... you, Mon and Onaconda concentrate on gathering the votes against Burtoni,” he gestured to the two women and the Rhodian. “Vintra, the information you receive please pass it on to me and Zan,” he pointed to the Hexcaran, “we will see that the votes are not altered by outside factors; you and Cilla concentrate on your cases,” she and Senator Kelvos shared a look and smiled at each other. It was partly disappointing to Vintra that she couldn’t be as much a part of that case as she’d like, but she understood that for the moment the fate of an entire planet depended largely on her alone.

Tech's voice came over Hunter's communicator. “Cameras near the senator's building picked up two unidentified individuals, and infrared detectors revealed an explosive. The west team has already taken care of them, and the bomb has been located out of range. I need Wrecker to neutralize it,” were Tech's words. The big guy's excited laughter was heard.

“Finally, an exciting job... I'm on my way!” he said as he saw on his holomap the coordinates provided by Tech. Hunter ordered one of the ederian guards to go out and replace Wrecker's position. He then took his finger to his communicator to speak.

“Right, have them questioned before the police arrive,” the sergeant ordered. Crosshair's channel input caught his attention.

“Hunter, I'm detecting movement in building three marked on the holomap of the Senate Building,” Hunter unfolded the device and building three flashed in front of him, it was one about the same size as the political building. “Thirty-second floor, supposedly abandoned,” his husky voice indicated. Hunter pulled out his macrobinoculars and focused on the spot Crosshair was talking about.

“Sniper?” the sergeant questioned. Crosshair made a groan of denial.

“It doesn't look like it, it's too low yet and would only be successful if the senator stood exactly where you are right now,” reprimanded the youngest of the siblings irritably. Hunter rolled his eyes and took a step back. “Besides, he's only peered out with one lens, looks like he's studying the angles,” Hunter frowned.

“Is it possible to get a good shot from there, could you?” the sergeant questioned his brother. Crosshair was slow to respond, for he had many more considerations to make to answer precisely.

“Are there any reflective objects within a six-foot radius?” Hunter turned around to look for something similar. He found a flower jar, albeit without one, on the floor next to the senator's desk. “There's a rifle capable of shooting fire that travels by reflexes. If focused well, that's all someone needs for the shot to end up in the senator's eyes,” the sergeant remained alert to every reflective object near the senator, including the eyes of all the senators. Hunter stepped between the window and the senators.

“Do you think that's the case?” asked Hunter with a frown, doubtful of such an option. He heard his brother sigh.

“No, it's a classified rifle and very difficult to use... but it's a possibility,” Crosshair commented with noticeable discouragement in his voice. He held out no hope that anything so interesting was going to be after the senator.

“A group of guards are already on their way to intercept him,” Tech said over the comm. The bespectacled one was in the control center of the Senate Building, keeping an eye on the cameras and sensors for anything he could access with military codes.

Hunter turned around as he heard several footsteps heading for the door. The senators were finally leaving, and Vintra gave a curious look, cloaked in a halo of fear, to the sergeant as she walked to her desk.

“Everything alright, sergeant?” she wanted to know, since she’d seen the clone move around with a vase and scan the room for something. Hunter nodded and took a firm stance behind her seat.

“Yes, senator,” he told her. He knew there was no need to plant ideas at the moment. Vintra skimmed around her desk a bit, as she thought she’d be able to notice whatever it was that had the sergeant on alert, but failed to do so.

At the end of the day, the people responsible for the explosive were some young men who were into blogging about thusten curiosities and wanted to scare the senator into withdrawing the proposal, and the suspect in the abandoned apartment, despite being a sniper, really thought he could shoot her from there. A pitiful rookie, Crosshair described.

Hunter, who was standing in front of the three captured men with his arms crossed and his helmet off, examined them closely. Although he knew they had told the truth, something didn't convince him.

“Have you met before?” he asked. The three questioned shared a glance, and immediately denied. “Yes or no? I want an audible answer,” the tone of voice was important to him, as he needed to rule out a theory that was beginning to unsettle him.

“No, sir!” replied one of the explosive boys. Hunter discerned no lie in his words, but it wasn't enough, though it didn't suit him to have them all there.

“Tech!” he called his brother, who was now in the control center of Vintra's residential building. “Research their online activity for the last month, tell me if you find anything,” Hunter turned to Crosshair and took the datapad the platinum-haired man was holding from him. Hunter typed in a couple of questions and pointed to the captured sniper with his head. “Take him, I don't care where, and ask him these questions. I want a report on it,” ordered him and Crosshair was quick to obey. Finally, he turned to the two boys with both hands on his hips. Seeing how they both made as little effort as possible to hide the fear on their faces, he decided to use it to his advantage. “You planned all this on your own?” the sergeant inquired with a warning tone, as if warning them that a single hint of a lie could cost them dearly. He heard how one of them swallowed saliva with difficulty.

“Y-yes, it was all o-our idea,” the terrified boy answered thinly. Finally, Hunter got what he was looking for, and at the disappointing response, he proceeded to unsheathe his knife.

Vintra was tapping her fingertips on the surface of her keyboard in her residence, focused on drafting her next speech to the Senate, when the sergeant finally appeared in her apartment. Wrecker, who was blocking the senator's figure from several vantage points from outside, turned to look at his brother.

“She says she won't go to sleep,” the big guy said a little reluctantly and pointed to Vintra, who didn't take her eyes off her computer. Hunter walked over to her and barely paid attention to his brother's complaint.

“Senator, did your previous security team ever inform you of non-threatening attacks around you?” the sergeant questioned once he positioned himself in front of the senator's desk, to cover more exposed points that Wrecker on his own couldn’t. She turned to look at him.

“My captain mentioned it once,” Vintra mused as he recalled a time when a speeder flew so close to them that her vehicle destabilized a bit and was derailed from the lane. “He said there were people unhappy with me who’d be willing to scare me, but weren't capable of actually hurting me...” Vintra watched as the sergeant's eyes shifted as if an infinity of events unfolded in front of him that he could barely comprehend. She frowned. “Why?” she asked, worried about his reaction.

Hunter looked at her for a second, but turned away and made his way to the middle couches as he pulled out a datapad and watched it. Vintra heard him mumbling, probably talking to someone over the intercom, but didn't bother to probe further. Still, she kept glancing over to him, anxious to know the reason of his behavior, suspecting that something was going on regarding her safety.

“You were right,” Hunter heard Tech's voice after asking him to let him know what he'd found. “There is a pattern. For four weeks in a row, there have been two non-direct attacks in the vicinity of the senator's residence and her office, followed by a direct attack that has left no survivors,” Hunter's brain gears began to work as he thought about what that might mean “They're usually explosives or armed robbery attempts—oh,” Hunter knew perfectly Tech's surprised tone.

“What?” the sergeant demanded to know. He turned to look at the senator, who looked quite focused on her computer.

Tech delayed a few moments before answering, he’d probably gone to confirm his data.

“Everyone who carried out a harmless attack is... dead,” Hunter had to stop his brain at that information. “Police reports state that they suffered an obstructed airway,”

“And there are no survivors from the more lethal attacks,” the sergeant mused to himself. If he put together the information obtained by the two vandals from the explosive that day, Crosshair's report with the sniper, and what Tech was telling him....

“It's likely that these sporadic attacks are part of a more elaborated plan,” Tech said aloud what Hunter was beginning to think, “or do you think we're losing sense of proportion?” the question Tech asked was one the sergeant had already asked himself a couple of hours ago, when he still had reason to theorize it.

But he no longer believed it. There was definitely a suspicious streak in those events, one that the sergeant had picked up on since the two attackers that day, aside from looking completely inexperienced, were meant to make the senator nervous for a moment.

“Someone is behind this,” Hunter assured Tech. He didn't have irrefutable proof, but identifying the trail of his prey was his specialty.

“Nothing in their online activity suggests they were contacted by anyone,” reminded Tech, who had found nothing to link the boys to the sniper. “Unless they received written instructions,” suggested the squad's mastermind.

“There must be some connection between everyone, can you take care of that tomorrow?” Hunter hoped that at least that suspicion would make them rule out the possibility of hidden intentions behind all the attacks, but until then he’d treat it as a matter of primary interest.

“I can do that tonight,” Tech complained. “I can't allow myself the luxury of resting on the possibility that someone has orchestrated such a meticulous and patient plan that’s likely to be carried out tomorrow,” he protested, as if Hunter's proposal was an insult to his job. The sergeant blinked once to understand what Tech was referring to, and then the reason jumped abruptly in his head. He’d totally forgotten.

“The audience,” he remembered from the Senator’s agenda for the next day. Tech made a sound of affirmation.

“The Supreme Court will notify the senator about the validity of her proposal. If accepted, the Druad and thusten situation will officially be a legal barrier in motion for thousands of parties of interest in the trade for it,” Tech said it in a way that managed to make Hunter feel like an idiot for not seeing it earlier.

The pieces fit together.

“Shit,” was all he said, for, indeed, they had no time to resolve that inconvenience before a serious attack began its operation. Hunter switched to Crosshair's channel. “Come here, we have a problem.”

Chapter Four -> I want to keep you from being necessary

Thank you for reading!! :)

Ever since I discovered what a fanfic is, wattpad and a page called potterfics (rip) were the only places I was familiar and confident enough to publish. In AO3 and tumblr I was just comfortable reading, but now that I’m posting I’m having a lot of fun🤩 I know I still have a lot to work on to build my proper space in both, but I value so much these moments. So thank you so much if you’re interested in keep reading😋

Next chapter tomorrow!!

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