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substantial-exposure · 11 months

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Summary: Crosshair meets a Jedi that catches his eye. Too bad he fucked up his first impression. Was it his poor attempts to show off? Was it her self righteous attitude? Or is all this just because he thinks she's pretty? Whatever it was, things started off on the wrong foot and now he's trying to fix it.

Warnings: 18+ (MDNI) Things get a little steamy by the end of the chapter. Canon level violence and Crosshair being mean to a girl he likes.

Wc: 3.2k!!

(A/N): This is a Crosshair x Oc fic! My first time writing for him so I'm a little nervous but I'm really loving how this turned out! This is a little bit enemies to lovers but 🤫

Dasibri Taraay was a Jedi Knight of great renown. She'd been stationed across the Galaxy all throughout the clone wars. It was a never ending battle. She'd frequent many planets, offering aid whenever it was called of her without any hesitation. Granted she would of preferred to be back at the temple, not living in a slate of constant war zones like she was now.

She found herself in a small barren room, fit to be her bedroom for the duration of her stay on Dantooine. Being the only female around on base didn't bother her much, up until it came time to call it a night. Nothing sounded worse than spending the night in the barracks with the clone troopers.

While yes, she was very fond of them. And yes, she was quite friendly with some of them, it didn't mean that she was content with staying with them. Just as Master Windu had his own room, so did she.

Dasibri didn't care for spacious rooms and lush decorations. The room was bare, containing nothing but a small dresser and a bed. It was more than she would of even asked for. She'd of been more than content with a cot in the hallway. But this would do nicely. There was a single window that had shown with the moonlight.

Her stay on Dantooine wasn't over yet, that much she knew. As a matter of fact, Dasibri was certain she'd be staying quite a while longer. After the long day she'd had she thought it best to meditate before bed. To ready herself for rest and whatnot.

She was hovering only a mere few inches off the ground, deep in her own personal thoughts. She was trying to expel the emotions of the day, rid of the ones she wasn't proud of: Except that was when a loud knock sounded at her door. Despite the late hour, they knocked with a harrowing insistence. With a roll of her eyes, her feet hit the ground and she dropped from her meditation space. Dasibri went to answer the door. Before she even made it halfway across the room, she used the force to unlock it and send the door open.

She almost wished she hadn't.

Standing in her doorway was a clone, atleast she thought. He looked different from the others. His hair was cut short silver, and his facial markings weren't any she'd ever seen before. Dare she say it. He was quite handsome. Then she gazed down and saw the helmet he was holding in his hands.

Oh.

It was Crosshair. That very same clone from earlier that day. The longer she looked the more sense it made. The marking on his helmet matched his tattoo. Not to mention the look on his face seemed to make a lot more sense. This was the one who was starting to make a home under her skin. He made her crawl with agitation. And he was getting very good at it.

"Crosshair." The Jedi stated. She took a deep breath, she approached the door and looked up to him. "Who do I have to thank for sending you here?" She said, sarcasm nipping in her tone. Granted, it was a lot harder now that she could see his face, see his eyes staring into hers.

The clone spoke up, his stance rigid and he hid his nerves well. "I thought it would be best to check up on you after rounds. Make sure I didn't rough you up too much" He said to her. He looked down at her, eyes raking over her body. She looked different than she had hours ago, her hair was down and still slightly damp, she wore different robes, and her face was clean and free of any dirt or soot. And she certainly didn't seem as uptight as she did before. "I wanted to see how you were holding up.. after earlier." He confessed.

Dasibri was quickly reminded of the mornings and the rest of the days happenings on the field. A shower had certainly helped to ease the ache in her body but remembering the event caused a phantom pain.

-Earlier that morning-

Debris and dirt filled the air as explosions sparked across the battlefield. Dasibri raised her arm to cover her eyes, she tried not to breathe it all in. Things weren't looking too good, which made sense, it was exactly why they called in reinforcements. Except, they hadn't only just called her in.

Dasibri had surely never heard of the clones that she was meant to accompany before. She hadn't know a think about them up until her debrief when she was already on world and they were standing in the room with her. The experimental Clone Unit 99 had left her feeling uneasy. Dasibri liked things concise and particular. A troop such as this did little to comfort her. Introductions had been brief, there was barely even a plan by the end of it. She stared over the battlefield. Watching as droids and troopers went against each other, a voice came up behind her, loudly in fact.

Arc Trooper Echo, a solider she'd met and fought alongside many moons ago, yelled across the field. Commanding the attention of everyone in earshot and on his communications to boot. "Couple of rogue Clankers! Incoming!" Echo called in warning. He certainly didn't go unheard. In fact, everyone acted accordingly.

Quickly, almost simultaneously as Dasibri ignited her saber, Wrecker drew his machete, Hunter his gun, and Crosshair lifted his rifle. Everyone took their stances, ready for the war that lied ahead of them. The group stood in a tight formation, each within an arms reach of eachother.

Dasibri eyed the situation with precision, focusing on the incoming droids. Up until a cool low baritone reverberated in her ear.

"Relax. I'll handle this." Crosshair called out. He effortlessly raised up his rifle and with a heavy thud, he unceremoniously dropped it onto the Jedis shoulder. Groaning at the initial impact and weight that was dropped onto her shoulder, she shifted. It weighed her down, pulled her shoulder lower. Before she could fully complain Crosshair began to shush her. "Quiet. Hold still" he grumbled. He looked down the scope and rather gingerly fired several shots.

Each one making contact and destroying every droid he had shot at with a perfect accuracy.

Dasibri almost immediately shoved the rifle off her shoulder. He removed his finger from over the trigger just in time. She let gravity take it. "You got quite an eye there" the Jedi said watching as Crosshair quickly lunged to grab his weapon. His hands wrapped around the scope of the gun, holding it tightly. He turned to stare at her, aggravated with her already. She certainly didn't sound impressed. The recoil had felt unbearable. It had wracked through her entire body.

Crosshair looked her up and down. As if he hadn't cared to finally notice her till now. As if he didn't just use her as his own personal rifle rest. An arrogant chuckle left him. " of course I do." He sneered. He watched her through the slit in his visor and looked over her face. Her grey eyes studied him. The way they narrowed at him almost felt like a challenge. One he would certainly try and live up to.

She rolled her shoulder and winced. An ache traveled down her back. "Do something like that again and I'm gonna start forgetting whose side you're on." She threatened. She grimaced as she moved her arm and held her lightsaber tightly. Her gaze shifted to stare intently at his helmet, the markings, the scratches, she took a particular interest in staring into the visor.

Crosshair leaned onto his rifle. Letting it support nearly his entire body weight as he leaned forward, hovering over the Jedi to shoot her a response. He knew that she couldn't see through his visor and see his eyes, but it was like she saw right through him anyway. Through his very psyche. His voice projected from his helmet. "Noted." He finally said.

Dasibri took a single deep breath before she walked away from him. From them all. As a Jedi Knight of her skill, she prided herself on her ability to keep her own peace. She carried grace and serenity in her very step. And for some reason, since the moment she laid eyes on this clone, she was agitated. Before she even had a reason too, she didn't like him. And he certainly wasn't helping his case.

This team of clones was unbearable. To her at least. They were arrogant. Who cares if they had a one hundred percent success rate? So did she. In all of her years in the order, Dasibri had never not delivered. These clones thought that they could do whatever they wanted.

Not on her watch.

Dasibri was well aware that her head should of been in the field. She should of been planning her strategies. And yet instead she was fuming over this sharpshooting clone and his team of equally weird defects. They were enhanced, and they were cocky. It was a combination she didn't like.

She looked to the other side of the battle field. Her own troopers were on their way to a certain victory. But she could see the cracks in their formations, in the back of her mind she could see exactly how they could lose. She rushed to their aid, desperate to assist and guide them to get another win. As her saber extended from the hilt she ran into the battle.

It had been a near full day that the battle raged on. Hours upon hours of mindless fighting. The sun had set long ago and and it was almost impossible to see any of the enemy droids coming.

The shine of a green lightsaber illuminated the area around the Jedi. She kept herself centered, even as her muscles ached and her body drained, she kept going. She couldn't see any droids around her, she held her blade out ahead of her. Dasibri moved in circles. She couldn't see them, but maker could she feel them. She could sense them, hear the ticking of their insides and the metal that made them. Rather tired and wanting this to end, she reached out with the force.

The four droids rose into the air, hovering feet off the ground and came raising straight towards her. As she raised her saber to strike, each droid had been blown back a few feet, all before her lightsaber even touched them. She stared dumbfounded.

Before she should think, before she could even blink, blaster fire whizzed past her face. Effectively hitting one of droids heads and sending it directly into another. It was a near instant display, the shot made contact, it flung the debris into another droid, and they both combusted. Dasibri heaved out a breath as the fire was all that was left to illuminate the field.

She looked back to where the blaster shots had come from. High atop his perch, laid Crosshair. His rifle in hand as he looked through his scope, looking for any more droids below him. He couldn't see anything.

It was finally over.

But that felt like it was so long ago. It had only been a mere few hours since the battle finally came to an end. Now, Crosshair stood in the doorway of her makeshift bedroom, staring her down. He had walked into the room, completely unwelcome. He stood silently. Not sure what else to really say. He just stared, watching the water droplets fall from the girls dark hair.

He fished a toothpick out from his case on his belt. His words came out soft, much softer than he intended. "You put on a good show out there. Pretty good, for a Knight" He hummed. He watched the way her eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you alright? Seems you took a lot of damage today" he asked her, closing the door behind him.

Dasibri looked at the now closed door, making a mental note of it. She looked up at him her eyes looking over his face, still getting used to seeing him without the helmet. "I'm alright. A little sore. But nothing a good nights rest won't fix." She said with a solid nod. She kept her eyes fixed on him, still looking over his tattoo, his eyes, and how he kept that toothpick in between his almost snarled lips.

Crosshair inhaled deeply as he stood in the room. It was rather stuffy and the air was saturated with the smell of a Jedi's incense. He could just see the end of it burning out along the windowsill. "That's good. Don't think I'd ever hear the end of it otherwise." He grumbled. His eyes cast down and immediately took notice of the small smile that pulled on the girls face.

He found himself rather sheepish after that. Not that she'd ever know. His stare remained the same.

Dasibri looked around the room and took a long awkward breath. "So... are you and your friends sneaking out or turning it in for the night?" She asked arching a brow. Antics like this weren't too common but they did happen. And these clones seemed just the type.

"Is that of any interest to you?" He asked, his eyebrow raised. What would she care if 99 went off world or even a town over. He stepped closer, looking down at her. Her eyes looked different, no longer were they as hard as durasteel, with the perfect color to match . They were softer and yet dare he to say it, tired. The longer he looked the more his mind wandered. He had to keep his sarcastic words and inappropriate responses at bay. But he wouldn't end up keeping them to himself.

She stared up at him, not sure how to respond. The mischievous glint in his eyes, gave off an impression she couldn't quite follow. Dasibri was well aware of what could happen come morning. But the way his jaw set as he bit onto that stupid little twig. She wasn't sure if she was blushing. "If it was?" She finally spoke. She was trying to be as vague as possible for the sake of deniability should this turn out unfavorably.

Maybe he was reading things the wrong way. But Crosshair made up his mind. He tossed the toothpick to the ground with one hand, and with the other pulled the Jedi Knight closer. Crosshair shifted his weight and leaned down. "You know" he shared trying to hide his excitement. "I always wanted to ruin a Jedi" his poker face fell and a smirk was all that was left. Nothing but his arrogance and his want. It might have been the most attractive thing Dasibri had ever seen. He was so forward... and his change of tone shocked her. The way his voice dropped was whole other variable she didn't have the time to even process.

The Jedi looked up at him. She hadn't felt intimidated by a clone like this in a long time. Granted these circumstances were... different. The feeling of his hand against her neck accompanied with the near scowl on his face as he leaned down to look her right in the eyes.

"Ruin? I don't think you'd quite know just what to do with me." Dasibri said slyly. She could see the shift in his eyes, watching his jaw clench. Those eyes, though... Dasibri had met a lot of clones, but none like him. The way he looked at her was strange. His stare was intense, but the longer they seemed to keep the banter going she could see his eyes softening. See his pupils grow wider. The barrier between them was breaking down. Being torn apart with their words and their own bare hands. She could of jumped his bones right then.

He scowled, and a cold chuckle left him. This girl had no idea what she was starting with him. Cross looked down at her, taking a deep breath. Her grey eyes drew him in further. "I'll tell you now.." he started, stepping closer. He was making sure his intentions were crystal clear. "I've never let a poor girl go unsatisfied." He stated simply. "Something tells me girls like you dont get around too much." He told her with a smile. It was downright sinister.

"Something tells me you haven't met a lot of girls like me" she quipped. Dasibri was part of the top bracket of Jedi Knights, there weren't many like her to start with. Most Jedi chose celibacy in fear of creating romantic attachments. However, Dasibri had never had such problems. She didn't suffer from such afflictions. Not yet anyhow. "You sure like to talk though" She laughed pulling from him a bit. She was still trapped in his grip.

That pulled a laugh out of him. Crosshair was many things, talkative wasn't one of them. "I can do other things besides talk" he hummed. His armored and gloved hand reached out and moved her hair behind her shoulder, his eyes narrowed in on the skin of her neck. His gaze traveled further down until her skin was covered by the fabric of her robes. He was still checking her for a bruise. His fingers pulled at the taught fabric, ruining the tight precision of her appearance as he tugged. "No bruise?" He asked her. His eyes slowly raked over the skin.

It all felt so wrong. The action alone had her turning scarlet. Dasibri was practically holding her breath as he started to mess with her robes. All of her tabards and tunics were secured thoroughly, just as they always were. But once he started to mess with that... it felt scandalous. It was like he was defacing her image, her entire religion. She would never admit just how wet it was making her.

"No." Dasibri scoffed as she remembered the incident. She grabbed the collar of her beige tunic and pulled it back to cover her shoulder. But the damage was already done, because as she tugged the robes over her shoulder, the displaced fabric left a generous gap over her chest.

Crosshair let out a low whistle as he looked down. "Do you want me to keep doing the dance?" He asked leaning down close. Eye to eye. He could see the girl study the marking around his eye. "Or can't I just get you out of these now?" He asked reaching towards her utility belt. Without breaking eye contact, he pressed the center button and opened it.

Releasing a breath it felt like she held for an eternity. Dasibri leaned forward, capturing his lips with hers. Cross almost stumbled, not shocked but taken aback by the force of it. All bets were off once their lips connected. Almost immediately his hands made it to her waist, unwrapping her obi that was snuggly wrapped around her stomach. After that, the rest of her robes fell with general ease. All that was left was the loose binding around her chest.

His eyes trailed to her shoulder again, silently checking once again for a mark. It was a quick moment. Less than a few seconds later he began to take off his armor. His helmet had been long abandoned after he entered the room. Each heavy piece of wear was discarded and thrown carelessly to the floor. Down to his under armor, Cross pulled away from the Jedi to pull his shirt over his head.

It was her turn to gawk and stare.

"Enjoying the show?" Cross drawled out as he dropped the black fabric to the floor. Not that he required a confidence boost, but watching and being able to see her stare at him was quite nice. That same smirk from earlier returned to his face as he grabbed ahold of her cheek and pulled her in closer for yet another hungry kiss.

Ahhhh this is the first Bad Batch thing I've actually posted! Hope you guys like! There might be a part two coming soon if I have some spare time! Thank you for reading 🫶🏻

#bad batch #crosshair #tbb crosshair #the bad batch #clone trooper crosshair #Star Wars #Star Wars fic #Star Wars oc #Jedi oc #Dasibri Taraay #the bad batch smut #crosshair smut

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photogirl894 · 7 months

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"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 29

"All Too Easy"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Back again, my lovelies! Another new chapter just in time before Bad Batch season 3 (y'all, I am NOT ready 😫😫)

However, I wish I could say this chapter will be all sunshine and rainbows...but I'd be lying 😅 Cuz you know, we're on Bracca...we all know what happens there. Also, I skipped over a couple parts of the episode for the sake of brevity and cuz I didn't wanna split it into two chapters 😝

Enjoy anyway!!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @cole-kenxbi , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @sverdgeir

《 Chapter 28

》 Chapter 30

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: While still on Bracca, things take an awful turn for the Bad Batch.

Kimber found herself somewhere in the middle of the Bracca shipyard, sitting on an edge and watching the sun setting in the distance. For the first time in a long time, she felt content; like everything was back to the way it was.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a sunset,” said a familiar, nasally voice.

She turned and smiled at Crosshair, who had just seated himself beside her. He was back in his Bad Batch armor, which made her smile even more.

“I’d imagine. The sun isn’t seen much on Kamino,” she said.

He didn’t say anything and just simply grinned.

“I’m glad we get to watch them together again,” Kimber told him, nudging him lightly with her shoulder.

His arm came up round her shoulders and he answered, “Me too, sunshine.”

Her smile grew even more as she laid her head on his shoulder. Hearing him call her “sunshine” again on top of him just being there made her happier than she could ever put into words. This was the way things were meant to be; the way they should always have been.

As the sun got lower, her eyes drifted down slightly and watched the line of the sunlight going down Crosshair’s body. However, as it descended, she noticed something was happening to him. As the sun line passed, his armor was shifting from red and gray to black...changing back into his Imperial armor.

Just as the realization hit her, Crosshair’s hand that had been resting on her shoulder suddenly moved up and grabbed her roughly by her face, pulling her up right next to his head.

“Did you really think it was going to be that easy?” he hissed in her ear.

“Crosshair--!” she gasped, but he silenced her by moving his hand up over her mouth.

“I’m not coming back for you,” he said with a growl. “You’re leading me straight to all of you, which is what I want. You will be Clone Force 99’s downfall.”

She struggled against his hand. “No!” she cried.

There was a rumble next to her ear as he chuckled, amused. “I’ll be seeing you soon…sister.”

Next thing Kimber knew, he shoved her off the edge and sent her falling towards the ground. As she hurtled towards the ship parts down below, she heard Hunter’s voice crying out for her, followed by the sound of a blaster shot and then Omega screaming for Hunter.

Kimber jolted awake with a gasp and it took her a moment to process that she was out of her nightmare and back inside her bunk in the Marauder. It had been a while since her last one.

The bed shifted slightly and Hunter came into her peripheral vision. “Kimber? Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?” he asked her, laying a hand on her arm.

It took her a moment to compose herself and then she nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he then inquired.

Any other time, Kimber would’ve relayed her dreams to him without question, but this was a different situation. Her nightmare had been about Crosshair and in order to explain why, she would have to tell him about the conversation she’d had with him prior…as well as all the messages she’d secretly sent to Crosshair for weeks. Despite not wanting to keep secrets from Hunter, she knew she had to keep this a secret for now. Hunter hadn’t been very receptive to talking about Crosshair for some time now, which was part of why Kimber had to cope with Crosshair’s absence in a different way. If Hunter found out what she’d done, it would not go over well. She just figured it’d be better to reveal everything once Crosshair came and she could explain everything. Hopefully once he and the others knew that Crosshair was going to get his chip removed, they’d be more receptive to him and then everything could go back to normal like they all wanted.

Instead, after taking a deep breath, she just responded to him, thinking it would be enough to deter him, “It’s nothing…I dreamt that I was drowning and being pulled underwater by the dianoga we faced earlier. It just…startled me.”

Hunter seemed convinced and just gently hugged her close to him. “It’s all right, sweetheart. I'm here, you’re safe. Nothing’s gonna hurt you.”

She snuggled up closer, nestling her head in his shoulder and taking in his warmth. “I know.”

Instead of leaving Bracca right away, the Bad Batch had decided they would stay the night and rest and then figure out their next plan the following day. They were all exhausted from the day’s events, so luckily they all rested well. Then the next day, Wrecker and Omega went out for a while because they’d found a thermal explosive and, realizing there could be lots of them throughout the shipyard, Wrecker wanted to teach Omega how to disable an explosive as a precaution and test her.

Hunter and Tech stayed behind at the cruiser while Kimber and Echo went out on their own, as well, to just kind of scout the area as well as seeing what else they could find.

“Keep your eyes out for any scrappers,” Echo warned Kimber as they walked through the shipyard.

“Got it,” she answered.

Though, as they kept going and searching, she kept her eyes on Echo. Something about him seemed off and she couldn’t exactly place why. Maybe he was just still recovering from the surgery and wasn’t quite feeling himself at the moment. Though, she still couldn’t help but wonder if it was something else.

“Hey…are you okay, Echo?” she inquired. “You seem a little…off this morning.”

He stopped and sighed loudly. “I’m fine. I just…I talked to Rex last night sometime before he left.”

“Oh? What did he say?” she asked.

Her best friend looked a little dejected as he responded, “He told me of his plan to find other Clones and get their chips out. Not only that, but he’s hoping to build up a network to resist against the Empire eventually. I just think we should’ve gone with him instead of staying here.”

She then understood his predicament and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve always been unwaveringly loyal to Rex as well as your reg brothers. I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do.”

Turning to face her, he asked back, “Do you agree with me, Kim? Don’t you think we’re meant for more than this? There’s more we could do to fight against the Empire and helping Rex build up a resistance would be better suited for us.”

She gave it thought for a few seconds and replied, “If we were up against the Separatists, I would’ve agreed in a heartbeat…but this is the Empire we’re now facing, an enemy of a much grander scale than they ever were. Not to mention an enemy that’s hunting us specifically. It’s better for us to remain under the radar the way we are now.”

“But think of all the good we can do for the galaxy if we’d gone with him,” he countered.

“I know and I don’t disagree,” she said back. “Perhaps, one day, we will be able to join up with Rex and help him find more Clones, but it’s just not the right time for us at present. That doesn’t mean we still can’t help in our own way, but we have our own problems to figure out first.”

Still mildly dissatisfied, he turned away, diverting his gaze to the ground.

However, Kimber brought her hand to Echo’s cheek and gently guided his eyes back to look at her. “You’re not wrong for wanting to do more. I understand what you’re thinking, I do. The time for greater bravery will come. We just need to wait everything out until that time comes.”

“I’m just impatient,” he stated.

“I know you are,” she said, nudging him with her elbow.

“I don’t want us to have to keep working for Cid. It’s a waste of our time and skills,” he added. “You know she’s just using us to make money and doesn’t care about us at all.”

She rolled her eyes. “Believe me, I know. I don’t like working for that miserable, old dragon lady either. It’s not ideal, but we still have our debt to pay and it’s just what we have to do for now.” Then she muttered, “Though, I’m half-tempted to see if Kida has any family funds she can pull from to just cover our debt and we can get out of it.”

“I’m sure she’d do it,” he commented. “At this point, I’d try anything.”

However, Kimber shook her head and said back, “No, I won’t do that. We’re not that desperate yet.”

Then Echo groaned in exasperation. “You really had me going there.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” she said with a chuckle.

He bumped her with his shoulder teasingly, causing her to laugh a little more.

Just then, Echo’s comm chirped and they heard Hunter’s voice, saying, “Echo, Kimber, head on back to the cruiser. Get Wrecker and Omega, too.”

“Copy that,” Echo replied.

Putting her hands on her hips, Kimber declared, “Well, let’s go find the two troublemakers.”

The two of them ventured off and didn’t take them long to find Wrecker and Omega as they heard Wrecker loudly yelling, “Too late! Run for it!” in the distance.

“Something tells me Omega messed up on diffusing the explosive and he’s messing with her,” Kimber commented to Echo.

He snickered. “Good thing he thought to use a smoke bomb,” he responded.

They made their way over through the wreckage until they came to a hill, where down below they spotted Wrecker teasing Omega about being afraid of a smoke bomb instead of a real explosive. Echo called down to the both of them, telling them to pack it in because Hunter wanted them all back at the cruiser. Then both he and Kimber jumped down from the ledge they were on to meet up with the other two.

“How’d the test go?” Echo asked Omega, who looked frustrated.

To further confirm that she was, she looked away and grumbled, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Cheer up, kid. I failed my first disarming test, too,” Wrecker reassured her. “With my help, you’ll be a pro in no time.”

“I failed my first, too,” added Kimber. Then she smirked up at Wrecker and said, “I think Wrecker’s just a lousy teacher.”

“Ouch, that hurts,” replied Wrecker, feigning pain by putting a hand over his chest before punching her lightheartedly in the arm. “I’ll remember that the next time you want a swimming lesson.”

They all laughed and proceeded to all walk together back in the direction of the cruiser. However, as they were walking, they could see light reflecting off of something in a crevice nearby and realized it was a scrapper watching them. Echo and Kimber then spotted more than one hiding together, watching them.

Keeping casual, Echo muttered under his breath to warn the others, “We’ve got eyes on us.”

“Yeah, I see ‘em,” Wrecker replied quietly.

“How many?” Omega whispered.

“At least three,” Kimber answered.

“Stay casual,” Echo told them. Then turning slightly over his shoulder, he asked, “Wrecker, Kimber, you ready?”

Wrecker responded, “Waiting on you.”

“Ready when you both are,” answered Kimber.

They all threw on their helmets and took off running towards the scrappers, hoping to catch them off guard. It seemed to work because once the scrappers saw them coming, they panicked and started running back to their large, round speeder. Wrecker was quick with his blaster rifle and was able to stun two of the three, but the last one managed to dodge the stun blast and got the speeder ready to take off.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Wrecker cried out, grabbing the edge of the speeder to keep it from leaving. However, as he grabbed hold, the one scrapper started to speed away, taking Wrecker with them. “I've got this under control!” Wrecker called over his shoulder.

“Not good,” Kimber commented. Then she got on her helmet comm right away and said, “Hunter, Tech. We were spotted by scrappers.”

Then Omega chimed in, “Wrecker is in pursuit. He says he has it under control.”

“Kimber, get a visual,” Hunter ordered over the comm.

“I'm on it!” she answered.

Quickly, she looked around for a good vantage point. The scrapper was driving in circles around the area in an attempt to shake Wrecker off. There was a tall, makeshift hill made of ship parts just a couple yards away that would help her.

“Echo, cover me!” she cried out as she took off towards the hill.

Without question, Echo followed after her, keeping his eyes out for the scrapper’s speeder coming back around.

Kimber climbed up to the peak of the hill, getting her rifle ready as she reached the top and crouched down. She raised it up, peering through her scope as she looked for the scrapper.

“Kim, on your left!” she heard Echo call to her.

As he did, she saw the speeder come around a corner just as Wrecker let go and dropped to the ground into a roll. The scrapper zoomed by, passing just meters in front of her.

“I don't think so,” she said out loud as she took the stunning shot.

She hit her mark and the scrapper fell unconscious at the wheel, sending the speeder crashing into a wall and the driver was thrown from the speeder over a ledge.

As she stood up and rested her sniper rifle on her shoulder, Echo commented, “Nice shot.”

“I still got it,” she replied, giving a confident shrug of the shoulder as she started walking down to join him.

They jogged over to where Wrecker had landed and where Omega was now handing him his things he'd dropped in the pursuit.

Kimber asked him, “Are you okay, Wrecker?”

He took his blaster rifle from Omega and responded as he put it on his back, “I was just waiting to make my move.”

Chuckling, she replied, “Of course, you were.”

“Come on, let's grab the scrappers and then meet back with Hunter and Tech at the cruiser,” ordered Echo.

After gathering all the unconscious scrappers, the four of them went back to the cruiser just as it was beginning to get darker outside. Hunter told them he wanted to go through the ship and gather as many weapons from inside as they could in order to clear their debt with Cid. Tech also indicated he could gather intel from the ship's central system that could be worth selling, as well. Omega and Wrecker were indifferent to the situation, but Echo didn't fully agree with it, arguing that they were soldiers, not arms smugglers. Kimber understood both sides. Echo was still stuck in the past of being a dedicated soldier as well as wanting to fight more against the Empire, but they were in a difficult predicament with Cid and Hunter was doing his best to try and get them all out of it. They wouldn't, at least, be doing this for forever. Hunter didn't leave much more room for debate as he stated they had to take this opportunity while they could and retreated inside the ship. The others went after and Echo was the last, following reluctantly.

Everyone was going to the artillery bay while Tech was heading for the bridge to gather the intel as well as getting the power to the ship back online. Kimber decided to go with him in case he needed any help. The bridge was dark inside, save for some natural lighting coming from outside and the occasional sparks that fell from the ceiling. Once they got there, Tech began pushing a few buttons and switches on the central console.

“Will this banged up cruiser still have power left?” Kimber asked him.

“Most Venator cruisers have rather large power reserves that last a long time,” Tech informed her as he started doing some scans on his datapad. “Even if the ship is out of commission like this one, it's still possible to tap into the backup power.”

After his scans were done, he began trying his hand at the buttons again until finally, there was a hum that emanated from the console and spread through the bridge. The lights on the switches flashed on and the ones in the room flickered dimly.

He activated his helmet comm. “The power's back on,” he told the others.

“Yeah, we can see that,” Wrecker responded.

“Nicely done, Tech,” said Kimber. “Now the question is: is there still salvageable intel in the central system?”

“A question I intend to answer momentarily,” he stated as he got to his knees, laid down on his back and inched underneath the main console, getting out his welding pick.

While Tech got to work, Kimber glanced outside the viewport at the landscape full of crashed ships and wreckage of all sorts. The sky was beginning to get cloudy and dark as evening was falling. Her gaze wandered up to the sky for a moment, wondering when Crosshair would be arriving. After she’d told him where they were, he said it wouldn’t take him long to get there. It was a bit difficult to determine if she was excited to see him again or not. While she was glad to know he was coming back so they could all be together again, she had a feeling the meeting with the rest of the squad wasn’t going to go over all that well at first. Especially with Hunter. Despite that, she was certain they’d be able to get things worked out. After that, they’d get Crosshair’s chip out and then they’d be a complete family again.

After a short, contemplative moment, she shook her head and brought herself back to the situation at hand. She peeked down at Tech, who was still prodding away with his welding pick. “How’s it looking?” she asked him.

Coming out from under the console, he responded to her, “We’re in luck.” As he then plugged in a cord connected to the console into his datapad, he informed her, “Whoever scuttled this ship didn’t wipe the hardware’s data imprint. I’m transferring the files, but I still need to copy the master drive.”

“I can do it for you,” she offered.

Tech then withdrew a computer spike from his belt and told her the master drive was under a certain panel on the console. Kimber took the spike and was about ready to plug it in when a button on the console started flashing red.

“Tech, this button’s blinking. Isn’t this the proximity sensor?” she asked him. He’d taught her a couple things regarding ship controls, but it had been a while since they’d last discussed such topics, so she wasn’t entirely sure of what the button was off the top of her head.

He came out from his spot, stood up and walked up next to her. “You are correct. It signals when there’s an approaching vessel. It’s most likely a short circuit,” he answered dismissively.

Right then, they both heard the sounds of incoming ships…and to their surprise, three ships zoomed overhead of the cruiser.

Recognizing the types of ships they were, Kimber stated aloud, “Those are Imperial attack shuttles.” The Empire had found them! But how?

Immediately, Tech got on his comm and said, “Hunter, we’ve got company.”

Hunter’s voice came through, inquiring, “Is it more scrappers?”

“No…it’s the Empire,” Tech answered.

“You’d better get up here,” Kimber added over the comms.

“I’m on my way,” Hunter replied.

Tech quickly unplugged his datapad from the central console and started typing things out on it right away. Kimber went up to the console, got down onto a knee, withdrew her sniper rifle and set it on the console, using the long-range scope to keep an eye on the shuttles. How had the Empire discovered where they were? Had they gotten to Crosshair? Is that how they’d figured it out? She saw Imperial Clone troopers exiting the two shuttles on the sides and forming up in lines outside. The middle shuttle was the last to let its troopers out.

It didn’t take long for Hunter to get to the bridge. Just as he got there, he took out his binoculars and watched the last group of soldiers coming out of the shuttle. “That must be the command shuttle,” he pointed out.

Just as he said that, a group of soldiers in dark armor dismounted the shuttle with one soldier at the front without a helmet…and Kimber’s blood ran chill.

It was Crosshair.

Hunter sighed and then said, irritated, “It’s Crosshair, all right.”

Kimber couldn’t move or speak as she watched Crosshair through her scope. No…it couldn’t be. He was supposed to come alone; he was supposed to come back to them. Yet there he was with an entire battalion of soldiers to come after them. Then it all hit her at once what was going on.

Crosshair had used her.

He had lied to her and, in her desperation to have him back, she’d given him their location, thinking he’d been truthful about his intentions…which now, she realized she should’ve known better. He still had the chip in his head, so why would he suddenly show interest in returning to them? How could she have been so stupid?

“Oh no…what have I done?” she whispered, her rifle lowering.

Behind her, Tech relayed to Hunter, “He won’t be able to detect us. I’m blocking their scanners.”

“That won’t stop him…,” Kimber told him in a low voice. If she knew her old partner, this was not going to be an easy escape from him by any means.

She felt Hunter’s hand on her shoulder and when she looked up at him, he told her, “Don’t worry, we’ll get out of this. Come on.”

As he turned and ran out with Tech, Kimber had a feeling he was mistaking her reaction for fear at seeing Crosshair there. This was not going to be good. Preparing herself for whatever was to come, she put her rifle back in its place on her back and followed after Hunter and Tech.

They found Echo, Omega and Wrecker already waiting for them outside of the corridor that led up to the bridge. Echo had a cart full of crates--most likely filled with weapons or artillery of some kind--and Wrecker had a proton torpedo resting on one shoulder and another crate slung over the other.

“How many troopers we talking about?” asked Echo as they all came together.

“Three attack shuttles’ worth,” Tech told him.

“We already got what we came for. Let’s get to the Marauder,” suggested Wrecker.

“Wrecker’s right. We need to move now and fast,” added Kimber.

Hunter stated that they needed a covert way out since Crosshair and the Imperial troops were already on board the cruiser. Echo suggested they alternate corridors as he predicted the Imperials would do a forward-to-aft sweep. With that plan in mind, they moved quickly yet quietly through the corridors. Tech was tapping into the enemy's comms to monitor their movements. At one point, they had to hide in one of the halls to avoid detection as troopers came marching through. Just as the soldiers left, Tech got through into the enemy's comms and they heard Crosshair's voice give his orders: to push the Bad Batch towards the hangar…which was where they were already headed. With that in mind, Hunter told them to cut through the artillery deck instead, hoping to get ahead of the Imperials.

As they went, Kimber could feel her anxiety building with every step. If they ended up crossing paths with Crosshair here, she was in huge trouble. He would definitely reveal how he figured out where they were. If they somehow managed to elude him, she could easily lie and say she didn't know how the Empire found them…but she knew it would kill her even more to lie and keep such a secret from her boys. Even more so from Hunter.

Soon, they got to the artillery deck; a long, wide room with several huge cannons aimed through the sides of the walls. Echo, Tech and Wrecker went and peeked over the edge to see the long drop down to the ground.

“Okay, I'm not going out that way,” Wrecker stated nervously.

“Hopefully, we won't have to,” Kimber assured him.

“There they are!”

Doors on all sides of the room burst open and suddenly, the Bad Batch found themselves surrounded by the Imperials. Wrecker, Echo and Tech ducked behind one of the cannons while Hunter drew his blaster and pushed Omega behind him. Kimber pulled out her rifle and positioned herself behind Omega, keeping the girl protected between her and Hunter.

Then a voice she hadn't heard in person for some time spoke up mockingly behind her: “Tapping our comms to track our movements? So predictable.”

“Blast! He really does know our every move,” Kimber thought to herself. Slowly, she looked back over her shoulder and sure enough, there was Crosshair, standing on the other side of the room with his rifle aimed at them and several Imperials standing behind him, all with their weapons drawn.

Wrecker scoffed aloud and peeked out from behind the cannon. “Nice to see you, too, Crosshair,” he retorted sarcastically.

Kimber gulped at seeing Crosshair. She had a bad feeling about this.

“Look at you all, scavenging like rats,” Crosshair taunted them, his attention on Hunter for the moment. “How pathetic.”

“Why come after us?” Hunter demanded.

“You're traitors,” Crosshair answered, giving the signal to the other soldiers to surround them.

“Crosshair, wake up!” Hunter pleaded. “You're being controlled by an inhibitor chip.”

Kimber’s grip on her rifle tightened. “Oh no….”

Then Omega stepped out and said, “He's telling the truth. The Kaminoans put chips in all the Clones.”

She was about to say more, but Crosshair interrupted her, “I know all about the chip already.”

“What? How? When?” Hunter asked.

There was a small moment of silence before Crosshair gave his answer. Three words that changed everything:

“Kimber told me.”

She flinched at hearing him say her name and she clenched her teeth together, having been dreading this moment. Then she could feel everyone's eyes on her. Then she turned fully around to face Crosshair, ignoring the fact that Hunter was staring at her and glad that she couldn't see the inevitable look of shock and disappointment underneath his helmet.

“What is he talking about, Kimber?” Hunter asked her, a slight tremor in his voice.

Before she could answer, Crosshair spoke up in a snide, condescending tone, “Oh…she didn't tell you, Hunter? She's been sending me secret transmissions for weeks, pleading for me to come back. I knew the moment I decided to answer her and play along, she would tell me anything in her desperation to get me to come back...and she gave me everything I needed. She led me straight to you.”

All the Clones’ eyes were back on her. However, Wrecker then cried in defense, “Kimber would never do such a thing!”

“If you don't believe me…ask her,” Crosshair jeered back.

“Kimber…please tell me he's lying,” Hunter implored her. “Please tell me you didn't do what he said.”

She turned away in shame for but a moment and then looked back at Crosshair, her anger boiling within her. “You used me,” she said, seething. “I thought you wanted to come back. You manipulated my feelings and you betrayed me!”

“You made it all too easy,” he said back dismissively.

“A mistake, I swear I won't be making again,” she vowed, raising her rifle up and aiming it at him.

Crosshair stepped forward. “I suggest you drop your weapon--”

Suddenly, the cannon next to them where Tech, Echo and Wrecker had been hiding behind activated and fired a shot, causing a kickback in the machine that slammed into Crosshair and his troops and knocked them off their feet. The rest of the room trembled from the shot, but the Bad Batch used that to their advantage. They all began firing at the remaining Imperials around them that were still standing. Some of the ceiling began to collapse and they had to jump out of the way of the falling debris. Once it seemed the way was clear, they all ran at Hunter's orders towards the doors on the other side. They were stopped in the doorway by a trooper who shot a jet of flame at them with their flamethrower, but Wrecker was quick to act and he launched his proton torpedo at them, knocking them back.

“Direct hit! Yeah!” he cheered before picking up his other case and running with the others.

“I've got a plan to get us out of here! Follow me!” cried Tech.

They didn't stop running until they reached a corridor that they were able to seal the doors behind them so the Empire's forces couldn't pursue them. For further insurance, both Tech and Hunter welded the edges of the door together.

Once they finished, Tech stated, “There. That should keep the Empire at bay for now.”

Kimber stepped up and stated, “Guys, I can explain.”

“I don't want to hear anything right now,” Hunter abruptly cut her off, simply walking past her.

Echo then asked, “Hunter, shouldn't we at least hear her out?”

Stopping and turning back, Hunter responded, “Nothing she says will matter if Crosshair or the Empire catches us, so let's get out of here.” Then without waiting, he continued onward.

The rest of the boys looked back at her for a second and then kept walking after Hunter.

Kimber stood there, watching them walk away and doing her best to fight back tears. She knew she'd messed up big time and now, her boys were angry at her. Hunter, more than the rest…which she'd predicted right away. They all were now paying the price for her mistake. Even if they all made it off of Bracca after this, it wasn't going to feel like a victory at all.

She felt a hand on her arm and she looked down to see Omega looking sadly up at her. “Don't feel bad, Kimber. I'm sure you had your reasons for doing what you did,” she tried to reassure her.

“I thought…I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was helping him…but he lied,” Kimber replied.

“He can't help it. It's not your fault,” Omega said.

“The boys won't see it that way,” said Kimber.

Omega took her hand and began pulling her along with her. “They'll come around. I'm sure they will.”

Unfortunately, Kimber did not agree with that sentiment, but she chose to say nothing as the two of them went after the rest of the squad.

They were led into the ion engine chamber of the Venator, where Tech stated it was their ultimate egress off the cruiser. They made their way deeper into the chamber all the way to the other side that led to the outdoors. However, as they came to the edge of the engines, a shot rang out that nearly hit Tech and Hunter had to catch him before he fell out. To their dismay, Crosshair had headed them off and had been waiting for them outside with another shuttle of Imperials. Hunter ordered everyone to double back, but as they did, they felt the whole engine starting to rumble. Hunter surmised that it sounded like the engines coming back online, but he didn't think that was possible. Although, Tech countered saying that it was possible since he'd restored the ship's main power core when he accessed the central system, so the engines could technically still be activated.

“Crosshair wouldn't do that…would he?” inquired Omega nervously.

“Honestly…I wouldn't put anything past him at this point,” Kimber grumbled.

The air around them began to swirl around and get ducked into the engine as the engine continued powering up. They wondered what they could do and couldn't come up with anything right away. Wrecker suggested Plan 7, but was quickly chided by Echo who reminded him that Plan 7 had nothing to do with their current situation whatsoever. Luckily, Hunter and Tech speedily devised a plan to use the explosives from the armory on the cone of the engine to break away before the engine engaged. They each took an explosive and placed them where they could around the ring of the engine. The quaking intensified, which meant that the engine was close to activating and they were running out of time. Wrecker took out the control to activate the explosives and everyone got down to the ground just as he pressed the button. The explosives all went off, severing the cone from the engine with multiple small explosions. Once that happened, the floor beneath them lurched along with them. The cone fell straight down and they had to run along the floor, which soon turned into a wall they had to climb and grab onto to keep from falling. Soon, the engine cone hit the ground and lurched again, causing most of them to fall. Wrecker caught Echo, but Hunter and Tech fell a few feet and landed on a ledge. Omega landed right onto Hunter and he tumbled over the edge, but quickly flipped back and grabbed the ledge with one hand while holding Omega against him with the other. Tech caught Kimber’s hand and halted her fall.

“Hang on, Kimber!” he called to her.

The cone began to lean again, prompting them to get back to their feet, but seconds later, it crashed and split down the middle. Kimber felt the ground beneath her jolt and she fell backwards as the half she fell into started rolling. Her body rolled and she was getting tossed about painfully, colliding with the ridges of the cone for a few moments until finally it stopped rolling. It took her a second to get her balance and regain her bearings. Once she got to her feet, she realized that Hunter and Omega were close by, but there was no sign of Echo, Wrecker or Tech.

Just as she was about to get on comms, Echo's voice came through in her helmet: “Hunter, Kimber, we landed on the port side. What's your status?”

Hunter looked over to see Kimber was with him before answering, “We're by the engine and we've got company.”

Just then, one of the shuttles flew overhead and shot down at them. Fortunately, it missed, but the shots came close to hitting them.

“Meet back at the Marauder,” Hunter ordered the others as he and Omega took off running.

Kimber followed them for a few yards until they ducked behind a large metal pillar to stop and catch their breath.

“Do you think we'll make it back all right?” asked Kimber.

“You'd better hope we do. You're the reason we're in this mess in the first place,” he spat back.

“Hunter, I'm sorry,” she said with despair, his stinging remark cutting deep.

“Let's hurry,” he said before running again, seemingly ignoring her apology.

The three of them ran as fast as they could, making their way through all the ship wreckage back in the direction of where they had parked the Marauder. All the while, they kept their eyes out for any Imperial shuttles in the sky.

They climbed their way up into the area where the ship was and were surprised to see a docked Imperial shuttle next to the Marauder and a few Imperial soldiers…all lying dead around the ship.

“What happened to them?” Omega whispered.

Hunter and Kimber stealthily moved forward to examine the closest dead soldier.

“Someone's here. This wasn't the scrapper's handiwork,” Hunter stated quietly.

Then another voice; a deeper, alien-like voice spoke nearby, “Wasn't much work.”

All three of them looked up to see someone leaning against the open doorway to their ship. A Duros; a blue-skinned, red-eyed alien with tubes attached to his neck, who was wearing brown leather armor and a wide-brimmed hat. Two blasters rested against his hips in their holsters. Whoever this guy was, he looked very dangerous. Very much like a bounty hunter.

“Omega, get behind us,” Kimber told the young girl.

The newcomer casually strode down the steps of the ship towards them, being followed by a small boxy Droid hovering on two boosters in its legs.

He said to them, mostly to Hunter, as he nonchalantly took out a toothpick and put it between his razor teeth, “I've taken down so many Clones over the years. Once you figure out one, the rest are easy.”

“You're in for a surprise,” Hunter challenged him.

“I doubt that,” the Duros responded.

Omega then observed aloud, “He's a bounty hunter.”

“Ain't you smart?” the now-confirmed bounty hunter said to her sarcastically. Then he said as an aside to his Droid, “The kid's got it all figured out.”

Kimber took a step forward. “Don't you dare speak to her.”

“Better watch yourself, missy,” the bounty hunter warned her, “or things are gonna get messy real fast.”

The little Droid then taunted them in a higher-pitched voice, “You're in trouble now.”

“Who hired you?” Hunter asked firmly.

“Son, that's confidential information,” the Duros simply replied back. “Now hand her over.”

He was looking at Omega.

“She's with us. She's not going anywhere,” Hunter told him, moving forward into a defensive position.

The bounty hunter also stepped forward, drumming his fingers on his blaster. “That's unfortunate…for you.”

Kimber watched Hunter carefully as he ever so slowly edged his hand just above his own blaster, never taking his eyes off the bounty hunter. The tension in the moment was almost physical; like she could feel it or even taste it. There was no telling how this was going to go, but she was confident in Hunter's abilities. He'd surely take care of this threat without issue. She sidestepped slightly to put herself in front of Omega.

Then everything happened so fast.

Both Hunter and the Duros whipped out their blasters and fired and suddenly, Hunter dropped to the ground, unmoving and with a smoking blaster hole in his chest.

His own shot had diverted and hit the Droid in the leg. The Duros quickly holstered his blaster without a second thought.

Kimber's heart ceased beating. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't seeing this; it wasn't real. Her Sergeant couldn't have been beaten like this. Flashes of a previous nightmare she'd had a long time ago of seeing Hunter shot in front of her and then her recent one of hearing his voice followed by a blaster shot filled her mind.

“Hunter!” she shrieked in terror.

In her anger, she went for her own blaster, but then she heard Omega cry out Hunter's name behind and suddenly, out of her peripherals, she could see the young girl running towards Hunter.

“Omega, no!” she shouted, moving and reaching out to grab her.

There was the sound of another blaster shot and searing pain shot up from just above Kimber's knee through her whole leg, causing her to fall to the ground with an agonized yelp. Omega halted, calling out for Kimber before looking back at the bounty hunter, terrified.

“Sorry, little lady,” he said to her, pointing his blaster at her and firing a stunning blast at the girl just as she drew her bow, making her drop unconscious.

“No…!” Kimber cried through a pained moan. She reached for her blaster, but as she grabbed it, the bounty hunter's Droid swooped in and knocked it from her hand.

The bounty hunter came over and towered over her, his almost glowing red eyes leering down at her menacingly. “I wouldn't do that if I were you, missy. If you know what's best for the kid…and unless you wanna end up like your Clone friend….” He then raised his boot and stepped down right on her leg where she'd been shot, pushing slowly down on her and eliciting a scream from her. Then he finished his threat with, “Then you'll stay down and not cause a scene.”

She clenched her teeth tight and tears spilled out the corners of her eyes as she fought the agony in her leg. Even if she wanted to risk fighting this bounty hunter to protect Omega, she knew there was no way she'd be able to even stand on her leg, let alone walk or fight. He'd wounded her badly and she knew, to her great dismay, that she was down for the count.

She watched in despair as the bounty hunter scooped up Omega’s limp form and slung her over his shoulder, calling for his Droid to follow. They got into the Imperial shuttle and before long, the ship lifted off the ground and took off. A yell of anguish, both from the pain of her wound and the pain of losing both Hunter and Omega, ripped itself from her throat. Her nightmare from the night before returned to her mind. She heard Crosshair’s voice telling her she would be Clone Force 99’s downfall…and for once, her nightmare had come true.

Because of her, everything had gone wrong.

Kimber had failed.

She crawled her way--albeit painfully--over to Hunter, tears falling down her face as she cried his name. He couldn’t be dead…he just couldn’t be. When she reached his unmoving body, she pressed her hand to his neck. To her immense relief, there was still a pulse. Hunter was alive.

Knowing that, she activated her helmet comm and spoke through grunts of pain, “Echo…Tech…Wrecker…help!”

“We hear you, Kimber. Where are you?” she heard Tech respond.

The wound in her leg was throbbing intensely and she moaned again, getting out what words she could, “Marauder…Hunter…and I…been shot. Hurry!”

Then she heard Echo reassure her, a hint of urgency in his voice, “Hold on, Kim. We’re coming!”

Kimber collapsed next to Hunter, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. “I’m…so sorry, my love,” she whispered, knowing he most likely couldn’t hear her. “I’m so sorry.”

He stirred slightly and she heard a light groan from under his helmet.

“Hunter?” she asked, inching closer to him.

Just then, she heard running footsteps approaching and heard Echo call out for them as he, Tech and Wrecker appeared in front of them. Echo knelt at her side and helped her sit up.

Picking up Omega’s bow that had gotten left behind, Wrecker demanded, “What happened? Where’s Omega?”

“Bounty…hunter,” she answered as she sat up, gritting her teeth from the burning in her leg. “He…shot us…and took her.”

“Hunter has been shot through the chest plate. We have to get him onboard,” Tech informed the others.

As Echo got Kimber to her feet, Wrecker yelled out, “Incoming!” and started firing behind them just as more soldiers came into view. Tech pulled Hunter up and pulled him into the ship while Echo scooped Kimber up into his arms and carried her inside. Once they all were onboard and the door was closed, Tech practically leapt into the pilot’s seat, powered up the ship and they sped away from the planet.

Wrecker removed Hunter’s helmet and his eyes were open. He clutched at his chest where he’d been shot and then inquired, “Where’s Omega?”

“A bounty hunter took her. Kimber told us,” Wrecker informed him.

To everyone’s surprise, Hunter whipped around and asked Kimber angrily, “You let him get away with her? Why didn't you protect her?”

Echo was guiding her down into one of the chairs and she replied in equal anger, “I was shot, too, Hunter! There was nothing I could do.”

Hunter’s eyes flashed wide for a second at hearing and seeing that Kimber had been hurt, but his own frustration at her and what she’d done was more powerful in the moment.

“That isn't very fair, Hunter,” Tech stated over his shoulder at him. “Crosshair was one thing, but I'm certain Kimber had nothing to do with the bounty hunter being there.”

“Though if Crosshair hadn’t shown up and chased us around everywhere, we could’ve been off planet before the bounty hunter even got there,” Hunter said back.

“Hunter, please!” Kimber pleaded.

He spun his chair around with a slight wince of pain and declared, “No! You put all of us in danger and because of you, Omega’s now gone!”

Echo stepped in between and exclaimed, aggravated, “That’s enough! We can discuss everything later, but right now, we need to tend to both your wounds and we need to get out here before the Empire catches up to us.”

Hunter said nothing and simply cast a look of disappointment at Kimber, a look just as sharp as his vibroblade that cut down deep. She didn’t know what hurt more at that moment, her leg or her heart. Her head fell back against the headrest of the chair and she sucked in air through her teeth.

If they managed to evade Crosshair and the Empire, the rest of this flight was not going to be enjoyable at all.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #sergeant hunter #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and rain fanfic

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thegreymarveljedi · 29 days

Text

It’s Not Your fault

Anakin (x Padme) + Daughter! Reader

So, this is something different from what I normally write because I am usually an x Reader type of writer only but this idea popped into my head and I couldn’t let it slip away.

This is another AU where the war has gone on a lot longer than the clone wars canonically is. Anakin and Padme have another daughter before Luke and Leia and she is the same age as Ahsoka. She is Obi-wan’s padawan (like father, like daughter) and the council knows about Anakin and Padme. (Don’t try and work out the time line, for the sake of the story don’t question it🤣)

Metric is my, I guess, OC! Medic for the 212th. This is also a story where Echo didn’t die at the citadel. Yes Obi-wan and Cody are a couple in this story, ANY HATE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! You will be blocked and bared from my account.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Warning: 18+ ANGSTY AF, near death experience, wounds, blood, gunshots, General grevious is a coward, tears, self doubt, insecurity, feelings of failure, hurt/comfort, canon-typical violence, happy ending, the force works how I need it, Anakin and Padme have a healthy relationship.

Words: 6359

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Frail, fragile, pale and lifeless

The only words to describe how she looked laying on the bed in the med bay. A ventilator and a heart monitor, hooked up to the wall as well as her. Her once vibrant blue and brown eyes, the ones she got from her parents, were now hidden beneath her eye lids. Her once long, tame, soft brown hair was now tousled and hidden under a bandage.

Her injuries were bad. Even after three rounds in a bacta tank, she still had not woken up and it’s been almost a week. Anakin sat beside her in a chair, his hands folded and eyes closed, meditating and trying to figure out what to do.

Padme had not been able to visit yet, with everything happening in the senate until this point. Anakin had been here for more time then he should have been but it was his daughter laying in that bed.

The council knew of the relationship between the three but had let it slide on grounds that no one had done anything to harm the order or the republic. After the news broke, the council had taken a deeper look into the order. They found that half the Jedi of the order including certain members of the high council had broken the code. It was a scandal really, but because they could not just expel half the order, the code was amended and changed to allow for attachments.

The only condition to that new rule was that the attachments will not interfere with the Jedi’s business. Thus far, not many Jedi had taken advantage of this new found freedom. Some had, and it had not affected their work at all. Even Master Windu had begun to see someone and he seemed a lot happier and more relaxed.

The accident had happened on a mission with the 212th and 501st together.

~Flashback~

Obi-wan and (Y/N) had been fighting Grevious while Anakin and Ahsoka had been gather intel. There was a scream from behind (Y/N), Cody being hit by a stray shot from a clanker.

“Cody!” (Y/N) screamed and that split second distraction allowed Grevious the upper hand.

He separated him left arm, pulling one more lightsaber from his back and turning it on. Obi-wan noticed a little too late and couldn’t warn his padawan before the blade found its way through her midsection.

Everything seemed to slow down as (Y/N) looked down at where she had been impaled. There was pain, but it felt so dull. The lightsaber retracted before (Y/N) was thrown by Grevious, hitting a near by rock and falling face first into the grass.

“(Y/N)!!” Obi-wan screamed. His padawan lying there lifeless. There was a collective roar from the 212th and 501st as they watched their commander be tossed around like a rag doll, the clones all pushing themselves more. The droids began falling faster then flys in mist, being driven back by the ferocity of the clones battalions.

Grevious watched as his army was decimated, the clones advancing as the remaining droids retreated. Now it was Grevious turn to get distracted, Obi-wan taking advantage of this fact and moving faster than lightning, chopping off one of Grevious arms from the joint.

Grevious yelled and stepped back, using his unharmed arm to try and block Obi-wan’s strikes. As Grevious looked at Obi-wan, he noted that there was no emotion in the Jedi’s eyes. His eyes were dull and he moved with a determination that Grevious had only seen from Dooku. That frightened the droid army’s leader, causing him to withdraw from the frey and run, his evacuation shuttle landing a few feet away.

“Until we meet again Kenobi!” Grevious laughed as the shuttle flew away, the droid army withdrawing its forces. Obi-wan watched for a moment longer before he retracted his saber and ran to where his padawan had landed. Kix and Metric, the 212th medic were already there, tending to (Y/N) as fast as they could.

Obi-wan came to a sliding stop, dropping to his knees next to his padawan. There were no words exchanged as more of the 212th and 501st gathered around, knowing that their friend was fighting for her life.

“Come on vod’ika. You’re not dying on us now,” Kix muttered, doing everything he could to save the generals daughter. Her eyes were open and trained on Obi-wan, her hand slowly inching toward his. Obi-wan immediately took her hand, gently cradling it in his own. His eyes were tearing up as he looked at his padawan, her eyes conveying acceptance.

Obi-wan shook his head, silently pleading with (Y/N) to stay awake as his com went off, Anakin’s hologram popping up.

“Hey master! We got the intel and are on our way back… what’s wrong?” Anakin started, his positive attitude turning sour as soon as he saw his masters tears.

“Anakin…” Obi-wan whispered and his former appearance knew almost immediately.

“No!! No no no,” Anakin yelled as he began running, the muffled voices of Ahsoka, Rex, Fives and Echo following him.

“D-dad…” the strained voice of his daughter coming through the com.

“(Y/N) stay awake! That’s an order! You’re not allowed to die on me you hear. Your mother would never let me live it down. I’d never let myself live it down,” Anakin said frantically as he ran like he never had before, pushing himself harder than ever. “I’m almost there honey. Don’t you go anywhere,” He continued as his hologram disappeared.

(Y/N) smiled at Obi-wan, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. She managed to mouth the words, ‘it’s not your fault,’ as Kix placed a breathing mask over her face, Metric doing what he could to stitch up the wound as the medvac finally arriving. (Y/N)’s hand went limp and her eyes closed as she was lifted onto the stretcher, the medical staff quickly taking her the gunship. Anakin came to a stop outside of the gunship as the doors closed, taking off immediately.

Obi-wan sat there on his knees, his thoughts running wild as tears streamed down his face. Cody came up next to him, his shoulder having been patched up. Waxer and Cody tried to help Obi-wan to his feet as Anakin came over, but their general made no effort to stand.

“What happened?” Anakin asked as calmly as he could, Rex and Ahsoka coming over as well. They had been filled in on the situation by Boil, both of them terrified for their friend.

“She got distracted,” Obi-wan whispered and tilted his head back, blinking rapidly to try and get the tears out of his eyes. “Grevious took advantage of her distracted state and…he..” Obi-wan couldn’t finish his sentence, the grief overwhelming him.

Anakin looked down at his feet, his fists clenched and eyes burning with tears. Before he did anything too rash he turned away from Obi-wan and began walking towards the gunships.

Anakin wasn’t angry at Obi-wan, the tensions of the battle were high and there were so many variables. Anakin wasn’t even angry at any of the clones, he was angry at himself. For not being there to protect his daughter, for not being there to keep her safe. With his head bowed and tears running down his cheeks as he walked, all he could think about was how he failed.

He needed to be with his daughter.

“MOVE OUT!” Anakin’s voice boomed over the field, the remaining 501st troopers standing at attention and walking towards the gunships coming to get them. Obi-wan stayed still for a little while longer before Waxer and Boil each took hold of one of his arms, helping him towards the gunships. Cody ordered the rest of the battalion to follow, making their way over to the gunships.

Cody entered the gunship that Obi-wan, Waxer and Boil entered, the four men being the only ones in this particular gunship. Waxer and Boil sat Obi-wan down on a crate, moving away to let him have some space. Cody came over to Obi-wan, kneeling down in front of him and taking his hands in his own

“I failed her, Cody,” Obi-wan whispered, resting his forehead on Cody’s shoulder. Tears continued to stream down his face, his mind racing and heart pounding. Cody nodded in understanding, his helmet long forgotten in the other corner of the gunship. He placed one of his hands on Obi-wan’s head, the other remaining by his side still in a little pain from being shot.

“There was nothing you could’ve done, Ben,” Cody said softly and Obi-wan’s eyes closed at the sound of the name. “(Y/N) knew the risks. And I’m sorry I got shot and distracted her. It was my fault,” Cody said, tears gathering in his eyes. Obi-wan shook his head and lifted it, looking into Cody’s eyes.

“It was not your fault Cody. Do not dare place this burden on your shoulders,” Obi-wan said and Cody looked away, catching Waxer and Boil’s eyes as they nodded along to their generals words.

“I will try my best not to general but I can’t help but feel partially responsible,” Cody said and Obi-wan pulled his face closer, laying their foreheads together.

“Please do not blame yourself my love. Please I can not bare it,” Obi-wan replied, hearing Cody sigh and close his eyes. They took in this rare moment of affection, even if there were others around. The moment was unfortunately interrupted by Waxer who cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry to you both for interrupting but we’re coming up on the cruiser now. Kix has already moved (Y/N) to a bacta tank and for now she’s stable,” Waxer said, a sigh of relief falling from Obi-wan and Cody’s lips.

“Thank you Waxer,” Cody said and stood up to retrieve his helmet, stopping short when he felt a hand grip his wrist. Cody turned back to Obi-wan, a pleading looking in the Jedi’s eyes for him to stay. Cody smiled softly and came back over to Obi-wan, cradling the generals head against his stomach.

“I’m not going anywhere Ben. And neither is (Y/N). She’s a fighter and she will make it through this,” Cody said and scratched at Obi-wan’s scalp. Giving him a massage to ease some of the tension from the battle. Obi-wan could only nod as all four of them felt the gunship slowly descend into the cruiser. Cody bent down and gave Obi-wan a gentle kiss to the top of his head before reluctantly pulling away. The latter made a soft noise of protest but didn’t push any further as the doors opened.

~ With Anakin~

The ride to the cruiser was quiet, no one wanted to speak and disrupt the already tense atmosphere of the gunship. Rex and Ahsoka stood with Fives and Echo on one side as Anakin sat on the other side with his head and his hands. Even with the small space of the ship, the Arc troopers and captain wanted to give their general as much space as possible. It was his daughter who got hurt after all.

Ahsoka was more reluctant to stay away, not wanting to see her master fall down a path of grief and distress. She had an idea of what he was going through, her best friend had almost been killed but she was not a parent. She didn’t understand what that was like. Seeing her master sit there with his head down and silent, she looked towards Rex for any hint of what she should do. However, Rex’s eyes were downcast as well, trying his best to hold himself strong.

Ahsoka turned back to Anakin and walked over to him, sitting next to him and gently taking his hand. No words were exchanged but Anakin responded in his own way, resting his head against Ahsoka’s. He gave her hand a squeeze, showing his appreciation for her presence.

“I have to tell Padme,” Anakin said, his voice so quiet she almost missed it. Ahsoka sighed softly and nodded, understanding that the senator needed to know about what happened.

“That can wait, for now, just breathe. Please,” Ahsoka said, no demand or malice in her voice. All she wanted was for her master to stop and process, even if it was difficult because of the situation.

“I-I failed her Snips. She’s my daughter and I failed to protect her,” Anakin whispered, no matter how much rage he was feeling, grief and sadness overwhelmed him even more.

“She’ll pull through Skyguy, I know she will,” Ahsoka reassure her master, positive that (Y/N) would be okay. “She’s too stubborn to stop fighting,” Ahsoka continued, giving Anakin’s hand another squeeze. That got a small forced chuckle out of Anakin, his hand falling limp now.

“She gets it from her mother,” Anakin said and Ahsoka laughed. She nodded and looked to Rex, Fives and Echo, whose eyes were trained on the duo. There were smiles on their faces as they watched Ahsoka bring Anakin’s mood up just a little, but it was something.

“I think she also gets it from her father,” Fives added and Anakin chuckled again, lifting his head a little and giving Fives a look.

“Stow it trooper,” Anakin said, though his word were playful because he knew the Arc trooper was right. (Y/N) had two very stubborn parents so she wouldn’t go down that easily. “Thank you guys,” he finished and squeezed Ahsoka’s hand one finally time before slowly letting it go, trying to stand up. Echo and Fives came over to help, Rex pulling Ahsoka to her feet.

“I’m sure she’ll pull through general. Our vod’ika is a tough one to crack,” Rex said and Anakin gave his captain a small smile, knowing that the captain’s words were true.

(Y/N) was a sister to all the clones. They all treated her with such respect not just because she was a generals daughter, but because she treated them like human beings. She treated them like people and not objects. She had a special bond with the 501st and the 212th, both being units she worked along side so well. She was an extremely bubbly, beautiful and kindhearted Jedi, her heart big and determination unmatched. They were all sure she would be okay.

“I need to tell Padme,” Anakin said again, his mood quickly falling once again at the idea of telling his wife about what happened to their daughter. The tears came back again and began running down his cheeks, his anger and sadness off the situation overwhelming.

“Do you want me to be with you,” ahsoka offered and Rex, Fives and Echo stepped up as well, wanting to support their general in any way possible. Anakin only nodded as he took out his personal commlink, pressing the centre button and placing it on the floor. It beeped for a moment before Padme’s hologram came to life, a smile on her face before she noticed the tears running down Anakin’s cheeks.

“What wrong Ani?” She asked immediately and before Anakin could even get the words out, the tears began to run faster down his cheeks. His fell immediately and Padme’s worry ramped up to a new level.

“Anakin what’s wrong?” She asked again and Ahsoka took her master’s hand as Rex came to stand next to his general on the other side.

“It’s (Y/N), senator. She was injured during our battle,” Rex said, ripping the bandaid off no matter how painful it was to watch Padme’s face turn panicked. Her eyes darted to Anakin who looked at her with so much regret and sadness. Padme turned away from the hologram for a moment and nodded to someone behind her. There was another moment of silence before she turned back, tears now gathered in her eyes.

“H-How bad?” Padme asked, voice cracking as she watched her husband break down.

“We’re not sure ma’am,” Echo spoke up, pulling Padme’s attention away from Anakin for the moment. She turned to face the two Arc troopers who had stayed quiet until now.

“Our medic Kix and Metric, the 212th medic went with her when the medvac came. As of right now she’s in a bacta tank and stable but that’s all we know right now,” Echo finished, bowing his head in apology to the senator.

“Thank you, Echo,” Padme said and turned back to Anakin. He was leaning against Rex, Ahsoka trying her best to be there for support as well. Padme found Anakin’s eyes and called his name softly. His eyes met hers and behind them there was no negativity or anger, only understanding and compassion.

“It’s not your fault Ani. I promise you that,” she said and that caused Anakin to break down a little more, shaking his head and trying to disagree. “Don’t fight me on this,” she continued and Anakin’s eyes met hers again, hoping that he would find some comfort in them. “She knew the risk. We all did. And I know she’ll pull through. She your daughter after all, stubborn man,” Padme finished and that got a laugh out of all of them present on the gunship.

“That’s what we all told him ma’am,” Fives piped up and Padme giggled, knowing that her husband was in good hands. Anakin managed to compose himself long enough to stand on his own. He turned to face his wife again, wiping his eyes with his robe sleeve.

“I failed her Padme. I didn’t protect like I promised I would,” he said, self doubt and insecurity seeping into his mind. Padme shook her head and raised her right hand, looking at Anakin expectantly. Anakin sighed and raised his left, placing it against Padme’s as if she was there.

“Anakin Skywalker,” she started and everyone knew she was serious. Anakin met her eyes once more and the love in them overwhelmed his senses for a moment, calming him down and allowing him to breathe.

“I want you to repeat after me okay?” She said and Anakin nodded.

“It is not your fault.”

“It is not my fault.”

“Again.”

“It’s not my fault.”

“Good, now I want you to be with her and keep telling her that you’re there for her. Rest and be with her and I will try my best to come visit once you return to Coruscant okay?” Padme said and Anakin nodded before turning to look at the others in the gunship.

“Thank you all for looking out for him. Keep doing it,” she said and everyone nodded before Padme smiled at Anakin.

“I love you Ani,” she said and lifted her hand again, Anakin instinctively raising his again and connecting them.

“I love you too,” he replied before her hologram disappeared. Just as the hologram disappeared, The gunship came to a slow descent into the hanger, Anakin took a deep breath as the gunship doors opened.

Anakin quickly took off toward the medbay, knowing the way there off the top of his head. He passed by Obi-wan’s gunship as it touched down, not having time to spare a glance at him master. He needed to get to (Y/N). He ran down the winding halls, caming to a stop outside the door as two 501st stood at attention. Anakin nodded to them before the doors opened to reveal the medbay, the white walls were unsettling. He scanned the room before his eyes landed on the other door that lead to the Bacta tanks. He made his way over just as Kix and Metric came out.

“How is she?” Anakin asked, taking a moment to catch his breath, Kix and Metric gave each other a nod before Metric left, Kix beckoning Anakin to follow him.

“She stable for now general,” Kix said as they made their way into the room. There in one of the four bacta tanks was (Y/N), having been stripped down to her underwear tunic and leggings. There was a clear hole in her stomach, one that Anakin could almost see right through. The sight almost brought him to his knees, but Kix kept him upright.

“Oh my god,” Anakin whisper, not being able to his eyes off his daughter. She looked so fragile and pale. Kix held onto Anakin and they neared the tank, helping his general as much as he could. Anakin slowly lifted his hand to the glass of the tanks, placing it there and trying to convey through the force that he was there. Once Kix was sure Anakin would fall over, he took a step back.

“I’ll leave you be General. If you need anything just give me a call,” Kix said and Anakin nodded, thanking his Medic before he walked out. Anakin was now left alone with (Y/N) and his thoughts. The self doubt began to creep in again, his mind swirling and his insecurities coming back.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N). I failed you, and now you’re hurt because of me. It’s my fault,” Anakin whispered as he rested his forehead on the glass next to his hand. The only response he got was the steady beeping of the monitor, telling him that you were alive. That was the only comfort he found at the moment, knowing you were alive by the beeping of the monitor. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Just then the doors opened and Obi-wan walked in slowly, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere of the room. Anakin turned his head slightly to acknowledge his master before he went back to looking at (Y/N), praying that she would open her eyes.

Obi-wan walked up to Anakin and stood beside him, his eyes landing on his Padawan.

“She looks so peaceful,” Obi-wan whispered, his voice filled with worry.

“Too peaceful almost,” Anakin responded, his voice just as quiet.

“I’m so sorry Anakin.”

“I know. But it’s not your fault master.”

“It’s not yours either, my friend.”

“Everyone keeps saying that. But I don’t feel like it’s true,” Anakin said with a sigh. He couldn’t bring himself out of his turmoil, his mind racing. His anger was rising, but so was the defeat. He felt like a failure.

“Anakin,” Obi-wan began, taking his former apprentices hands in his own. Anakin looked conflicted, like he wanted to put away but refrained, knowing that he needed his master now. “This burden is not on you. It is squarely on that coward Grevious. He is who did this and he is the one who will die in the end,” Obi-Wan’s words held so much venom that Anakin was taken aback, only ever hearing such Venomous words spoke by himself.

“Master,” Anakin started but Obi-wan held up his hand, indicating that he was not yet finished.

“I know she is your daughter and that you blame yourself for this tragedy but it is not your fault. Grevious is to blame and I will make him pay. He will suffer far worse than we are suffering right now, and I will make sure of it,” Obi-wan finally finished, his eyes dark and the aura around him clouded. Anakin, for once in his life, was scared of what Obi-wan would do. This was not like his master at all.

“Obi-wan please,” Anakin pleaded and pulled his former master into a hug, holding him as if he was a lifeline. Obi-wan’s heart beat was erratic and his breath came out in short bursts, his forehead burning up and his eyes dark with rage. This was different side of him. Before Anakin could comfort his master more, there was a rapid beeping that brought both men out of their conversation. Their eyes snapped up to the bacta tank that (Y/N) was in and could see she was convulsing. Kix and Metric quickly ran in along with a few other Medics as they rushed to get (Y/N) out of the tank.

“What’s happening?” Obi-wan questioned, panic clear on his face as Anakin stood frozen.

“General, you need to leave,” one of the medics said and stood in front of Anakin and Obi-wan as Kix and Metric got (Y/N) out of the tank.

“What’s going on?” Obi-wan asked again, this time his voice was demanding, scaring the medic in front of them a little but he stood his ground.

“I’m going to have to ask you both to leave,” he said again, his voice more firm.

“That’s my daughter, I can’t,” Anakin said, his voice pleading. Cody and Rex came rushing in as well, each standing next to their generals.

“Captain, commander, you need to take your generals now,” the medic said, turning to look at Kix and Metric who were now performing CPR.

“I’m not leaving my daughter!” Anakin yelled, his anger palpable and his worry clear. Rex gently grabbed hold of his arms, Ahsoka rushing is as she heard the yelling.

“Ben, we have to leave,” Cody said quietly and Obi-wan shook his head, shaking off Cody’s hands as her took hold his arms the same way Rex did with Anakin.

“Leave now! Let us do our job to save the commander!” Another one of the medics yelled. It took more struggling than anticipated but Cody, Rex and Ahsoka eventually managed to get the two Jedi out of the room and to the resting area.

~End Flashback~

It had been a scary feeling not knowing what was going on but Kix and Metric had been able to get (Y/N) back. Anakin had been on the verge of a panic attack as he could feel his daughter’s life force slipping away but he reached her through the force and begged her not to accept it.

He could feel her life force returning slowly, fighting as much as she could. It was another hour or so before Kix and Metric came out to give the news. Having let the other medics take over. Anakin and Obi-wan had both breathed a sigh of relief when they were informed, Obi-wan collapsing into Cody’s arms and Anakin falling to his knees. There was more waiting but eventually (Y/N) was brought to the resting area with a heart monitor, IV, breathing mask and many more wires and machines.

Obi-wan had left after the second day in the medbay, not being able to bare the sigh of his padawans struggling. Anakin had stayed put. Only leaving to shower but even then he used the medbay showers only while Rex or Ahsoka were there to take over watch.

They had arrived back on Coruscant on the third day, (Y/N) being rushed to the halls of healing at the temple and placed back into a bacta tank. She was taken out again on the fourth day and ever since, she had been laying in the bed to rest ever since. The monitors and machines as well as the IV had been reconnected but now it was up to (Y/N) to pull through.

Anakin had stayed here for almost a week straight, not wanting to be away from his daughter. Master Yoda had allowed it even with the protest of Master Windu and Master Mundi. Anakin was greatful for the grandmasters kindness and lenience, making sure to thank him as much as he could. Master Yoda only smiled and nodded before he turned to walk away, Anakin being left alone with (Y/N).

Obi-wan had come to visit not long ago but he was called to a council meeting and then shipped off to find Grevious. The council had no idea how angry Obi-wan was in this moment, even for a Jedi who never let his emotions cloud his judgement, he was seething. He was ready to kill Grevious and Anakin knew it.

His thoughts were interrupted when the doors to (Y/N)’s room slid open and Padme came rushing in, coming to Anakin first and hugging him from behind. Anakin immediately melted into his wife’s arms, his tears coming back as he looked to (Y/N) lying lifeless on her bed.

“I failed her Padme,” he whispered, feeling Padme’s arms tighten their hold.

“You didn’t fail her Ani. This is not your fault at all and she knows it. She knows that this is no one’s faulted but the separatists,” Padme said but her words fell on mostly deaf ears.

“She been in and out of the force three times since the accident and I haven’t been able to do anything but beg her not to give in,” Anakin said and Padme gasped, not knowing what to say. The thought of Anakin fighting with their daughter to keep fighting was heart breaking. Padme came to kneel in front of Anakin, taking his face in her hand and forcing him to look at her.

“Ani,” Padme pleaded and Anakin looked into her eyes, finding only love and adoration. “She’s your daughter. I know she won’t give up. She’s strong and capable and she will pull through. I know she will,” she encouraged and Anakin’s eyes drifter to (Y/N). He took hold of Padme’s wrist gently and stood from the chair he had been sitting in, pulling Padme up with him. He brought her closer to the bed and Padme was horrified at how pale (Y/N)’s usually surmised face was. Tears pricked her eyes as she looked at her daughter, her hands cold and chest moving slowly.

“She looks so peaceful,” Anakin said and Padme nodded, taking (Y/N)’s hand in her own. She held it between her hand and Anakin’s hand, hoping to convey the warmth of a parents love.

“(Y/N),” Padme spoke quietly, using her other hand to brush some of the hair out of (Y/N)’s face. “It’s mom and dad… we’re here for you. We’ll always be here for you, no matter what you choose to do,” Padme’s words hit Anakin like a speeder, his eyes closing as he listened to his wife speak softly to their unconscious daughter.

“You’ve always been a strong, smart, amazing kid with a heart of gold and a soul so warm it can turn even the hearts of the coldest people soft. Even if you’re stubborn sometimes, you’re so sweet and fun to be around. Everyone you meet is drawn in and they all want to be around you because of the friendly Aura you give off. We all love you (Y/N) and we want you here (Y/N),” Padme finished speaking and Anakin wrapped his other arm around her, Holding her as they continued to just be present with (Y/N).

~Time Skip~

It was a few hours later when Anakin felt a tugging in his mind, a signature pulling at his own. He had returned to the chair he had sat in while Padme had pulled up another one to sit next to him. They had stayed like that for a little before Padme left to get them some food. She had been gone for about twenty minutes now but all Anakin could focus on was the pull of the force.

He could feel warmth and love curling around his force signature, like a hug on a cold day. He looked over to (Y/N)’s bed and saw that her head had tilted slightly towards him, eyes still closed. However, her breathing had began to speed up to a more normal pace, her heart rate on the monitor beginning to level out as well. Anakin sat up straighter, moving his chair closer to (Y/N)’s bed so that he could hold her hand.

“Sweetheart?” Anakin asked quietly and he felt another small tug against his mind. His eyes went wide and he brought (Y/N)’s hand closer, clasping it in both of his own and closing his eyes. He focused all of his energy on her signature in the force. What was once a fading consciousness was now visible connection, strong and unwavering.

Anakin grasped onto (Y/N) in the force, holding onto her like he was her life line and in this case, he had been.

“It’s not your fault dad,” he could hear (Y/N) say to him through the force and that brought Anakin to tears again. He sobbed as he felt her signature hug his own, a light illuminating them in the force together.

Anakin’s hand tightened their grip on (Y/N)’s, remaining firm yet gentle as his eyes opened. The sight that greeted him made him cry out in joy. (Y/N)’s eyes slowly opened and found her fathers own vibrant blue eyes, the tears continuing to fall.

(Y/N) smiled from under the breathing mask, taking a deep inhale and exhale as she looked at her father. With as much strength as she could muster, she squeezed his hand in, indicating to him that she was alright. Anakin laughed and brought her hand to his lips, giving it a kiss before he brought out his comm. Padme responded almost immediately, he voice coming through a little panicked.

“Is everything okay Ani? What’s wrong,” She asked and could only register a sob from Anakin before he spoke the words that made her almost drop the food she had gotten for them.

“She’s awake,” Anakin whispered, keeping his eyes on (Y/N) who smiled and nodded. There was no verbal response from the other end, only the sound of rapid footsteps as Padme ran through the halls of the temple back to the halls of healing.

“I’m almost there,” she said and Anakin spoke a gentle ‘okay’ before he ended the transmission. A minute later the doors slid open and Padme rushed, making her way to (Y/N)’s other side.

“Honey?” Padme asked and (Y/N) slowly angled her head in Padme’s direction, reaching her hand out for her mother to take. She quickly got the hint and took hold of her daughter’s hand, giving it a squeeze as tears of joy pricked her eyes.

“You’re okay!” Padme exclaimed happily and (Y/N) nodded as best she could, returning the squeeze that Padme had given her. Anakin and Padme made eyes contact with one another, their faces lit up with happiness at finally having their daughter back with them. Anakin pushed one of the buttons on the wall by (Y/N)’s bed to request a medic to their room, wanting to make sure (Y/N) was really okay.

The Jedi medic walked in a few minutes later, followed by Master Yoda. Anakin and Padme stepped away from (Y/N) bed as the medic got to work, closing the curtains around the bed to give them privacy. The couple turned to the grandmaster and bowed in respect, Yoda smiling at them.

“Happy I am, to see young (Y/N) is alright,” He said, smiling as Anakin brought Padme closer to him.

“So are we, Master Yoda,” Padme said. Anakin remained quiet, thinking over everything that had happened in the last week and a bit. Master Yoda could sense that Anakin was still spiralling, grappling with his emotions and the fact that he almost lost his daughter.

“Young Skywalker, loud your thoughts are. Sense your turmoil I can. Nothing to fear have you, safe (Y/N) is,” the grandmaster said and Anakin sighed, knowing that he couldn’t hide much from the wise elder.

“I know master. It’s just been a very stressful week,” Anakin said, feeling anxious before Padme took hold of one of his hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Stressful yes. Blame yourself, you do, yet you should not,” Master Yoda continued and Anakin hung his head.

“You’re the tenth? Or so person to tell me that but I still feel responsible,” Anakin quipped. Master Yoda just looked at him before shaking his head slightly.

“Say something that should, that no one, not even (Y/N), blame you for this,” Master Yoda reiterated to Anakin. The Jedi knight took a deep breathe before he met the gaze of the grand master, then Padme who looked at him with love and adoration. His eyes fell to the curtains around (Y/N)’s bed, knowing that his daughter was in there receiving what help she needed. Before Anakin could respond to master Yoda, the curtains were pulled back by the Jedi medic.

There, sat up slightly with the help of the bed was (Y/N), a smile on her face. Her skin looked to have more colour in it, her eyes shining once again and her hair having been placed into a high ponytail. Her eyes met Anakin’s and she gave a him an even bigger smile.

“Dad..” (Y/N) said and Anakin rushed over to her, pulling her into a very gentle hug, being mindful of her still fragile and injured body.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Anakin asked. (Y/N) nodded and gave Anakin a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m okay dad. I promise,” she said. Anakin gave a big sigh of relief and sat down in the chair that had remained next to her bed. Padme came over as well and sat on the other side, taking one of (Y/N)’s hands. (Y/N) turned to her mom and gave her hand a squeeze.

“Hi mom.”

“Hi honey. I’m glad you’re okay,” Padme said.

“I know mom. Have you told dad it’s not his fault?” she asked making Padme giggle, as she looked pointedly at her husband.

“I have and so has everyone else but he still doesn’t believe it,” Padme said.

“Hey, he’s right here!” Anakin said exasperatedly and the women giggled.

Master Yoda smiled at the family of three and made his way out of the room, knowing that Anakin would eventually come to terms with how this situation was not his fault.

—————

There we go! I hope this was enjoyable for you readers out there! This is something different from my normal and I’m actually very happy with how it turned out!

With this story I wanted to make Anakin less angry and a little more sad and doubtful of himself. Chop it up to him having a daughter he loves and cares for.

See you guys soon!

#star wars #sw tcw fanfic #sw tcw #obi wan and anakin #anakin and padme #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #obi wan x cody #star wars ahsoka #captain rex #clone trooper waxer #clone trooper boil #general grievous #the clone wars #anakin x padme #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo

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staycalmandhugaclone · 2 years

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If you're new, this all starts with Touch Starved - Echo! You can read this little chunk as a standalone, or head back to the beginning for the full experience!

Why do these keep getting longer?! I really need to try to tone it back a bit lmfao. References to Panic and Secrets Revealed.

Febuwhump Day 9

Found Footage (Alt) – OC&TBB – A pleasant moment at 79s is shattered when someone tries to blackmail doc with footage of the crash on Agamar.

Warnings: Huge PTSD warning here. Flashbacks, disassociating, past injury description, blackmail, grief, angst, some alcohol use (social, not abuse), cursing

WC: 6227

The lounges of 79’s weren’t meant to hold a group of six, particularly with a man of Wrecker’s stature, but squeezing into the circular booth was part of the fun, back reclining against the massive clone’s side with his arm absently draped over my chest while my legs sprawled over Echo’s lap to avoid the accidental stomp of the big man’s heel. Tech was squished on Wrecker’s other side as Crosshair had adamantly claimed the end seat.

“-so I ripped the whole ramp clean off and used it to barrel right through ‘em! Clanker’s never even knew what hit ‘em!” I’d heard the story before, but he was already halfway through his fourth mug of something that looked like a sunset and smelled like motor fuel, and the enthusiasm in his thunderous voice was infectious in its own right.

“Technically, the processing speed of B1-series battle droids would have made them fully capable of analyzing your assault well before their demise; however, inadequate maintenance of their internal tactical components has led to compounding decreases in-”

“Ugh! Come on, Tech! Those things can’t process the difference between a tauntaun and a tooka!” Wrecker interrupted, arm swinging so violently that Echo had to duck sharply against Hunter to avoid getting hit. I’d long since abandoned my drink for fear of the man’s expressive gestures knocking the glass from my hand or bumping me at just the wrong moment, but I found very little need for such things in moments like this. If I was drunk, I might not have noticed the knowing look Crosshair offered his annoyed brother, nor the fond exasperation in Echo’s weary gaze as Wrecker’s anticks surely reminded him of his late squad.

“Doc,” I quickly turned my gaze as Hunter’s voice just breached the chaotic rabble of the bar, “Think your comm’s going off.” He nodded to my waist. Wrecker barely noticed my struggle to push him back enough to reach down for the thin device. The quiet alert chimed at regular intervals to indicate a video message. Slipping it partially into a chest pocket, I shifted to begin the process of escaping from the mass of bodies around me.

“Probably some reminder to recertify something,” I guessed, “I’ll be right back.” The Sergeant was already standing to let me out, but I didn’t bother waiting for Echo to do the same, instead simply scooting over his lap much to his surprise, and I couldn’t help but snicker at how he froze in that half-second of movement. I didn’t hear Crosshair’s snide remark, but his laughter was almost as loud as Wrecker’s, and that alone was worth the chastising look Hunter gave me.

“You want one of us to go with you?” He asked, leaning close enough for me to feel the heat of his breath so he didn’t have to shout to be heard. Cocking an eyebrow, I shot him a teasing smirk.

“It’s 79’s, Hunter. I’ll be fine for five minutes.” His expression instantly darkened, as though the words actually had the power to jinx the scant bit of time I’d be out of sight. I bumped my shoulder against his chest with a quiet chuckle and started through the mass of identical faces masking vibrantly different personalities dancing and shouting and enjoying this moment of freedom to the fullest.

The sudden quiet that loomed just beyond the front doors was striking. I could still hear the booming music and raucous voices, but, with just a few steps into the cool night air, it faded enough to allow a displaced sense of stillness that felt almost wrong after so long in the roar of the bar. Dismissing the strange sensation, I slipped the half-concealed comm from my pocket and walked toward the ally for whatever privacy I could find before transferring the file to my datapad to watch the video.

I didn’t understand what I was watching at first; not consciously. I didn’t understand why the dance of blues and grays beneath the occasional flicker of red sent my heart racing, why the line of distant trees too grainy for anyone else to make out trapped the air in my lungs long after it staled. I tried not to recognize the insignia of that sleeping tooka shoddily painted in hot pink and baby blue below the red medic symbol on the stolen Separatist transport; tried not to feel the icy sweet seeping over my skin as my eyes automatically sought out the crumbled door that I’d nearly broken my arm to wrestle open.

I could hear the flames, saw the glow steadily spreading to illuminate every crack in the shattered durasteel hull as the engines flares from fuel leaking precariously through broken pipes; watched the trembling form tumble from the slim opening I’d only just been able to make through welded and ruined machinery. I heard my heart hammering against my chest, felt the chill of panic flood my veins.

“Emmy!” My body crumbled against the wall at the utter hopelessness in the electronic distortion of my own voice breaking through the speakers of my datapad; at the desolate wail that seemed to go on for eternity immediately after. I didn’t realize I’d screamed back then, but the video zoomed in to show my face, deathly pale from blood loss and shock, expression twisted into a grief that tore through me as violently now as it did then.

My mind absently categorized the injuries of the figure on the screen that I found myself almost convinced wasn’t me: burns marred her hands and forearms, the front of her flightsuit nearly covered in black despite the flame-retardant nature of the fabric, likely indicating severe damage to the flesh underneath it; blood covered the right side of her face, hair heavily matted and near black with it – a concussion at the very least; and the amount of crimson-stained fabric wadded around that ankle was enough to leave one wondering if there was enough flesh to be saved beneath it all.

“Emmy!” That figure crawled barely a meter from the wreckage before shrieking that name again. And again despite how her voice shattered and failed.

I didn’t notice the image blur; even if I had, I couldn’t tell if it was from the tears pooling atop my eyes or the violent trembling of my hand, knuckles gleaming white as my fingers gripped the device hard enough to make the metal casing creak.

She was clawing into the scared ground below her, spine arching as though there was some hope of guarding against the agony rending through her chest, body writhing as she cried, unsteady movements slowly dragging her further and further from the burning mass of twisted durasteel.

I didn’t notice the writing begin to creep over the top of the image, barely registered that the video had been sped up. It didn’t feel like it. It felt like I was trapped in that moment; suffocating beneath the overwhelming scent of fuel weighing down the air, body locked in a panic between shivering against the unbearable cold and the memory of that terrible heat; the sound my skin had made as I’d crawled atop blistering metal, and the sickening absence of touch where I should have felt dirt and pebbles and grass. I remembered the way my body convulsed in fits of agonizing coughes from that cool air sweeping down my raw throat; the heavy taste of copper each one brought with it.

Between the disconnect separating my mind from any reliable sense of time and the way the footage seemed to fluctuate between too fast and too slow, I couldn’t begin to guess how long I’d been left like that, weight held precariously atop my forearms as I screamed and screamed and begged for someone to help me; to save her…

When those figures finally appeared from the distant tree line, I immediately recognized Commander Wolffe, his rifle trained carefully on the visage of my ruin. Barely a few seconds passed before General Koon gave a subtle signaled for him to stand down. Wolffe hesitated a moment but didn’t object when the cloaked figure approached me. I don’t think I was screaming anymore, body absently rocking in time to the still rapid flutter of my heart.

“Miss?” I didn’t remember this either. “Miss, I am Jedi Master Plo Koon. Can you tell me your name?” I knew there’d been some kind of conversation between us, but the details had been lost to me. Wolffe stepped protectively nearer as Koon carefully touched his hand to my shoulder. My head jerked only slightly at first, movements disjointed, before managing to look up at the Jedi’s masked face, and the madness-fueled hope in my eyes shone clearly through the grainy recording, mangled hands desperately reaching up for him.

“Pl-please! Please!” I begged. Koon didn’t shy from my blood-stained limbs, even reaching out with his own for me to cling on to. “Help-he… help her! Please! Please!” The way my hoarse voice shattered through my raw throat made even the Commander flinch. Koon glanced passed me to where the flames were finally beginning to fade before turning his attention back to me.

“I am sorry… there’s no one still alive in that ship.” Even then, I’d felt no doubt for the depth of his remorse, and something about that sincerity robbed me of even the taste of denial, head shaking weakly, begging him for something I knew he couldn’t give. For a long while, he said nothing more, merely let me hold onto him as I broke, body shaking amidst fresh sobs as every hope of happiness I’d had was ripped apart.

“What’s your name?” Only after those hiccupped, shuttered gasps began to quell did he press, voice gentle, calm in a way that give some fleeting quiet to my frenzied thoughts, granting me enough clarity to answer him. Hearing him repeat it in that same calm tone a moment later was a balm, eyes slipping closed as I merely existed in the echo of his words. “Why did you come here?” My lips moved without thought, without trepidation of the consequences for the secrets I freely told him.

“We’re medics… we… we help after… heal the ones left behind… find them passage home.”

“You help clones?” He clarified, a note of surprise just touching his voice, and I watched my head nod listlessly in answer. “Why?” He asked, lowering himself more as though he knew how his very presence seemed the only thing allowing me the strength to speak.

“I… I believe in them – in what they’re fighting for.” He was quiet a moment.

“Then why not leave? Defect from the Separatists and join the Republic?”

“Emmy.” Her name ripped another sob from me, but the words kept coming, “She couldn’t leave her family… So this… this was the only way we could help.” His hand shifted slightly against my shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, and, in that instant, I’d known they were the ones who shot us down, and not for even a fleeting second did I blame them. This was war. We’d known the dangers. “I’d like to help you now, if you’ll let us.” He murmured.

I remembered thinking over that offer for a long while, remembered knowing I could deny him, demand they leave me there; that I would die on that field… or, I could join them; fight for the cause Emmy had died for. The faint nod barely registered on the small screen, but Wolffe stepped forward a moment later. My skin prickled at the cry that tore from my lips as he hoisted me over his shoulder, rifle still held ready before he and the General walked out of sight.

There was no pause of static or flash of black before the image of the freshly crashed transport returned to the screen, and my eyes remained trained on the blurry picture with the same obsessive attentiveness as though I was watching it for the first time, yet I somehow failed to notice those callused fingers slide over mine, carefully loosening my grip until he could slowly pull the datapad away. Didn’t matter. I continued staring at the space that screen had been, no longer needing the footage for my mind to replay it all over and over and over

“Doc?”

“Emmy!” That first, broken shriek seemed to ripple through me, stomach finally seizing. I barely noticed my body convulse against the violent heaves, mind consumed by the distant shrieks still crying from those speakers. Vaguely, I realized someone turned it off or silenced it or threw the damn thing into the seemingly endless cavern stretching out below 79’s platform. Still, I didn’t need that recording to hear them. They’d been seared onto my consciousness, and I would never unhear them.

Some distorted rumble of an almost familiar voice sounded near me. I knew that voice… I knew… no… Emmy! Was someone touching me? Help-he… help her! The terrible memory of that night replaying in my mind sounded more real than the speech of whoever stood before me.

“We need to get her off the street.” Please! Please!

“There is an inn two clicks from here.” Emmy!

“Why’s she breathin’ like that?” I’m sorry.

“She’s in shock – potentially disassociating.” The scent of burning flesh.

“Five soldiers try to get in a cab with her like that, someone’s going to ask the wrong kind of questions.” The feeling of razors in my throat as I screamed.

“Well, we can’t stay here, Crosshair, so go with Echo and find us transport.” What’s your name?

“Tech, who the kriff did that come from?” The roar of flames and taste of fuel.

“I’m already tracing the connection, but it may take a few minutes.”

“Doc? Come on, Doc, try to come back.” Some fractured corner of my mind recognized the face leaning over me, felt their hands gently grasping my cheeks, but I couldn’t see them beyond the wall of twisted durasteel that I somehow needed to break through before the flames burned me alive.

“She don’t look so good.” Pl-Please!

“When you find who sent it”

“I’ll overclock their processors and short out their coolant systems. If there happens to be security measures in place for the door to their server rooms, I think that may also experience a spontaneous failure.”

“Wha’s that mean?” The terror in that split second before forcing my ruined ankle into the brace.

“He’s going to set their computers on fire.”

“Courtesy of Rex – I’ll owe him a pretty big apology next time I see him, but I doubt he’ll notice until after we’re long gone.” Those voices.

“Alright, Doc, I want you to walk with me, okay?” That touch slipped from my cheeks to wrap around my shoulders, and my body shivered violently against their warmth, legs dragging listlessly beneath me as some driving force eased me forward, and, for a moment, it wasn’t fuel I smelled. Some struggling corner of my mind remembered them, trusted them.

“I… I s…” His gentle, guiding movements froze the instant those stuttered attempts at speech fluttered from my lips.

“Doc?” My eyes wondered blindly over a face I so nearly recognized but couldn’t manage to grasp those thoughts long enough to be sure.

“I-I screamed.” I heard the wisps of words tumble from numb lips but couldn’t understand the sorrow that washed over his face. “I… I didn’t realize I… I screamed her name.”

“That was a long time ago.” He murmured, hands tightening where they held me firmly against his side.

“Do you… do you think sh-she heard me?” I think I recognized the way my name sounded in that smoky voice, briefly noting heartbreak in umber eyes before falling back into those flames.

“Doc-”

“Hunter.” A crisp voice interrupted him, and a moment later I belatedly realized he’d begun moving again, felt the hard plane of a chest plate pressed to my cheek.

“Watch your step.” That whispered murmur offered a comfort in its very tone, but the words held no meaning as we came to a stop. The sensation of floating should have been disorientating, but it was barely a thought as he moved an arm beneath my knees and gently lifted me to his chest before handing me off to someone else. And then it was dark again, the world moving around us in time to the hum of an engine.

“I have located the source but will need something stronger to bypass their firewalls.” Numb, I merely existed in the sound of those voices as someone held me, the strong scent of alcohol sharp enough to keep the memory of burnt skin at bay. Someone else wrapped chilled fingers through mine, and still another touch settled over my shoulder

“Park around back, Crosshair. Tech, if I get you access to one of the command centers on base, can you make it untraceable?”

“With Echo’s help, yes.” That grip tightened gently.

“Fryin’ some hunk of metal’s a kriffin’ joke. Where are they? I think we should make sure they ge’ the picture to leave’er alone.” I felt that voice rumble against my cheek.

“Given they are well behind Separatist lines, that is not a viable option; however, I can prevent any future attempts at contact.”

“Tech, you have the best chance at passing for a civi. Put this on and get us a room.” The world seemed to shift slightly, and I vaguely heard the sound of footsteps, the hiss of a door opening and closing, body too disorientated to even flinch at the brief flood of light.

“Echo, send Rex a message. I’d rather we tell him than have him report it stolen.” Those cool fingers started to pull away and some part of me panicked, grip tightening possessively, breath hitching. I didn’t notice the moment of silence, but when another hand touched mine, gently guiding my hold from that cool hand to his, I didn’t question it, again only distantly noting the brief flare of light.

“Doc? Can you look at me?” Something swept slowly along my thumb. The mass of warmth surrounding me shifted until a face came into some fleeting semblance of focus before me. “Hey.” I watched his lips move but couldn’t quite associate them with the quiet whisper of that deep voice. “You don’t need to say anything, but I want you to try to listen to me.” My brows drew weakly together, unsure if his voice was the memory, or if the calm rumble of Koon’s earnest apology was. “You trust us, right?” There’s no one still alive on that ship. Trust. What did he say?

My shoulder felt too cold, and I vaguely realized it was because he’d moved his hand back up to cup my cheek. My eyes blinked, almost surprised to see that face still staring at me when they opened again. For a moment, I didn’t feel the numb agony of burns, the sharp fire tearing through my ankle. Trust… yes. It may have been the only thing I could be certain of, but I knew I trusted him. The unsure movement shifting my head in a nod felt strange, muscles reluctantly remembering their own existence. His hand tightened around mine, briefly drawing my gaze to that contact before hesitantly returning to his face.

“Good.” He breathed, and I think I should have withdrawn from the attentiveness with which those eyes studied me, but, in that moment, I needed to be seen; needed him to see me to keep from vanishing back to that scarred meadow lit only by the dancing flames. “We’re taking care of it, alright? We’re not going to let a damn thing happen to you, so I want you to just take a breath. Do you understand?” He spoke slowly, quietly, as though talking to a frightened animal. That realization struck me seconds before the realization that no, I didn’t understand… I couldn’t…

My jaw shifted listlessly in a poor mimicry of speech but couldn’t manage more than turning my head into his hand in a silent ‘no’, gaze belatedly lingering on the rich tan of the nicked skin covering hard lines of tendons and muscle. His thumb swept over my cheek, touch easing my eyes back to him.

“That’s okay.” He promised. “Do you remember my name?” His… I should… I should know that… I knew his name. Confused panic stole the breath from my lungs, body rocking slightly as my teeth ground together. Why couldn’t I… Where was I? I didn’t hear him call my name, wide eyes darting around the small, dark room, head twisting back at the sudden realization that I was being held by someone, blind to the worry twisting through those kind eyes as frantic awareness jolted through my body, limbs jerking to life.

“Wai-wait, Doc, I wouldn’-”

“For kriff’s sake, Wrecker, let her go.” A third voice chided from further ahead. The instant I realized I was upright, my body surged from them, hands throwing open the door without any conscious understanding of its existence before tumbling to my knees the instant I was free of that dim room, stomach churning anew amidst the rush of turmoil and dread and confusion.

“Whoa! Hey-hey, easy.” How could that voice sound so calm when my heart felt like it was trying to rip itself free of my chest? He whispered my name with such gentle concern, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away when his hand carefully swept along my back. “Shh, you’re going to be alright, Doc.” Something about the knowing sympathy in that murmur consumed me, body straining to still seizing muscles if only to better hear him. “I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but this will pass… I promise you; this will pass.”

He knew... of course he knew… because… I remembered… I remembered holding him through his own nightmares.

“Echo.” His name broke over my lips in a whimpered sob, and I felt the tension leave him in a slow sigh.

“I’m right here.” He whispered, shifting just a breadth closer to me. I didn’t realize I was crying until the sound of my own sobs seemed to drown out the distant hum of the city. That touch on my back offered only the faintest shift in a subtle invitation, and any hesitation fled me. In an instant, I turned into him, burying my face against his neck as I clung to him, and my heart shuttered at how quickly he locked his arms around me. “Alright… it’s alright, I’ve got you.” Those softly spoken words sent a chill down my spine as they fluttered through my hair.

“She was…” I gasped, hiding in his embrace as the wretched ruin my own voice shattered around me, “She was ri-right there! I le- I left her – how could I leave her?!”

“I know,” He murmured, and, in that moment, I loved him. I loved him for not telling me it wasn’t my fault. I loved him for not telling me there was nothing else I could have done. And I loved him for holding me regardless. “But, right now, you’re here. You’re with me and Hunter and Wrecker and Cross, and we’re damn glad for it.” Those words caught me off-guard, mind pausing to work over them for a long while before slowly pulling back to find those amber eyes, to see the truth in them.

“Tech got us a room. Think you can hold onto me for a minute?” He asked, voice only just loud enough for me to hear.

“I can… I can walk.” The feint of confidence wasn’t enough to fool either of us, but the drive to feel my feet beneath me, to move of my own volition balked at the thought of being carried again.

“Doc…” I didn’t give him the chance to argue, trembling legs already straining to remember how to stand. He quickly shifted to pull my arm over his shoulders and slowly eased us both upright. I had to cling to him more than I anticipated, body swaying violently for several seconds before regaining any semblance of stability. He waited patiently until I took that first step and carefully matched his strides with mine, guiding us toward an open doorway.

Those few steps helped shed that lingering sense of displacement, and the clarity that granted threatened me with a far more desperate fear. We’d barely stepped into the room when the very real threat of what I’d seen sent my heart racing.

“Wait…” I could taste the horror dripping from that single word, barely seeing Echo’s attention dart back to me. “W… where… who sent that video? H-How…” The frenzy of everything that footage implicated washed over me in a flood of panic.

“Easy, Doc; we’re already-” Hunter’s reassuring words fell on deaf ears.

“Wh-where’s my… my datapad-where-” Eyes darting around the room, I only vaguely noticed Tech before pushing forward to try to wrench it from his hands, but Echo held me back, quickly stepping between his brother and me.

“Doc, listen to me: there’s nothing on that datapad that you need to see.” He said, voice just hinting at that commanding power of an arc trooper.

“Get out of my way, Echo, and give me my kriffing datapad.” I growled sharply. Writing. There was writing at one point, right? Scrolling along the top of the screen? I tread quickly around Echo, eyes locked on Tech. He glanced uncertainly passed me, and I didn’t have to look to know he’d sought Hunter’s orders before allowing me to pull the device from his hands.

Painfully aware of the attentive stares of the five men crowded into the small room, I forced my attention to the screen; and then it was all I could see. The video was frozen in the moment after that first scream. Instantly, that tremble stole back through me, hand shaking violently mere inches from that nauseating image, muscles refusing to move even enough for the brief tap needed to play it.

“The sender included a ransom note.” I don’t think I’d ever heard Tech’s voice drop into such a gentle whisper, gaze darting to his with a silent, desperate plea. Tell me. Tell me everything so that I didn’t have to live through that nightmare all over again. “They’ve demanded an extravagant sum of credits in exchange for the original footage, and threatened to turn it in to the jedi counsel should you refuse.” My eyes went wide, face falling slack. Tech easily caught the datapad as it slipped from suddenly limp fingers.

“General…General Koon… I h-I have to warn… Wolffe…” I couldn’t hear the terror in my own voice, guilt tearing through my chest. “They’ll… Wolffe – they’ll decommission him for this!” It wasn’t until Hunter shouted my name, hands clasped tight around my shoulders that I even realized he’d been speaking.

“Breathe.” The word left his lips in a measured, firm order, but I could see the concern darkening those eyes. Blinking back the threat of tears, I vaguely realized my chest was fluttering with those shallow, rapid gasps that offered little more than a fleeting taste of air. His hold softened slightly, and his shoulders began to lift in a slow, deep inhale. Jaw tensing, I struggled to follow his lead despite the way my breath shook with each violent shiver, still, the attempt alone was enough to grant him some sliver of relief.

“Tech already traced it.” He explained in that practiced calm of a hardened soldier, and I found myself hanging onto his every word. “He and Echo are going to find every copy of that video, wipe them from the holonet, and fry every computer it’s ever touched, and we’re going to make sure whoever sent it to you is too afraid of us to ever touch a datapad again.” His thumbs shifted gently over my arms, eyes locked pointedly on mine. “No one is ever going to find out about this.” My diaphragm jerked against the tears clawing up my throat at the words still trying to find voice atop my tongue.

“If it doesn’t work,” I started, but his lips parted to interrupt me. “If it doesn’t work,” I said again, louder, leaving no room for him to object, “You have to promise me… all of you… promise me you won’t go down with me.” I demanded, looking to each of them in turn, loathing the way they balked at my words. “If anyone finds out where I’m from… I’ll-” I couldn’t bite back the sob the very threat of those words tore through me, tears finally slipping from my eyes, but I forced myself to continue, “I’ll be removed from the GAR, probably imprisoned…” I stole a quick breath in the vain hope that it might offer some measure of stillness, but my voice shattered over my next words, “but you… what they’d do to you if they found out…” Again, I let my gaze shift over each of their faces.

Hunter’s hands whispered gently over my cheeks, thumbs absently wiping at the lines of tears as his tall form curled around me. He didn’t say anything for a long while, eyes burring into mine as his jaw worked silently over words he couldn’t seem to settle on.

“If it doesn’t work,” he finally started, only just breathing the words, “I promise you, we’ll figure something out.” A broken scowl twisted over my mouth, but, before I could say anything, he gently touched a thumb to my lips. “You and me, and these di’kuts… we’ll figure something out… but don’t you dare ask us to give up on you… and don’t you dare give up on us.” The fierce determination in those eyes robbed me of any will to argue, strength abandoning me with a suddenness that left me staggering.

Without another word, he pulled me harshly against him, chest swelling with a carefully controlled breath. Instantly, I wilted into his touch, unable even to lift my arms to return that crushing embrace, face hiding against the crook of his neck as I wept, overwhelmed by the fear and guilt and exhaustion. His hand swept up my back, my neck, fingers tangling into my hair. I could feel the steady power of his heartbeat thrumming up his throat, let myself be mesmerized by the calm cadence of his breaths as I tried to believe him, tried to remember the depth of my trust for each of these amazing men.

“Rex is here.” Echo’s whisper held a visceral regret in the simple necessity of being spoken aloud, and Hunter let out a deep sigh.

“Alright. Cross, Wrecker, stay here – no one comes through that door but us. You two, with me.” He continued speaking with that gentleness as he turned his attention down to me. “Is it alright if Wrecker holds onto you for a while?” He asked quietly. I tried not to think about why he’d felt the need to ask, unwilling to even pretend I didn’t need this form of comfort in that moment as my head simply nodded. Still, he didn’t release me until Wrecker’s massive hands slipped around my still shaking form, and I turned into the towering man without hesitation as he enveloped me in those powerful arms.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can, but it might be a while.” I didn’t need to look at him to know he was talking to Crosshair, and, without another word, he, Echo and Tech were gone.

“Couldn’t give two kriffs where they are…” It wasn’t a full minute before the quietly growled words rumbled through his chest. “Wish Tech would just tell who they are… I’d make sure they’d never even think about threatening you again.” The anger storming through him was heartbreaking in itself. I treasured the brilliant glee that usually lit up his voice. Knowing I was the reason he was so filled with fury…

“Wrecker.” There was a quiet warning in Crosshair’s voice.

“I know you lot don’t think I can be stealthy, but this’d be worth it! In-an’-out quiet an’ fast; then we wouldn’t even have worry about”

“Wrecker!” The sniper hissed. Belatedly realizing the effect his words had on me, Wrecker’s shoulders sank, arms softening into something almost tentative.

“Sorry.” He whispered, and I broke anew, teeth burring into my lips to stifle the sobs at the guilt for his own remorse. A quick sigh sounded behind us. I didn’t hear his footsteps, but, when those elegant hands pulled me away from Wrecker’s hesitant embrace, I wasn’t surprised to see those harsh eyes studying me.

“They’ve got a shower here, Wrecker. Use it and sober up.” I wanted to say something, to promise Wrecker that he’d done nothing wrong; that I adored him and knew he only wanted to protect me, but, when Crosshair silently pulled me against his chest, I was too taken aback to speak. Wrecker paused for only a moment longer before reluctantly walking away.

“Come on.” It was an order, but there was a foreign softness to his voice that I couldn’t begin to fight, limbs automatically moving to follow him as he guided me across the room to a worn bed. Only then did I realize he’d already stripped his upper body of armor; felt the heat radiating from the broad muscles of his chest. He didn’t bother kicking off his boots though, holding me firmly against him with one arm while absently shifting the pillows with the other before turning to sit atop the edge of the mattress, easily pulling me with him and, mere seconds later, he was reclining leisurely against the wedge of padding, an almost bored expression staring blindly toward the ceiling as he held me casually against him, one leg cocked at my hip as I hid comfortably atop his chest.

“This alright?” I barely heard the whispered words. He didn’t move, eyes still locked on some invisible point beyond the stained paneling above us. I nodded, watching as my hand flared over the soft fabric beneath my cheek. “I think you insulted Tech.” He mumbled, but there was a subtle note of humor in his voice that eased a nearly silent laugh from me before the reasoning behind my doubt crept back in – not in the brilliant man’s capabilities but from the mere weight of the consequences should he fail.

“I ca-I can’t lose you,” I whispered on trembling breaths, fingers shifting to cling to that sleek material, “any of you.”

“We’re soldiers,” He hummed bluntly, but my head jerked so sharply in a silent ‘no’ that whatever else he was going to say was bit back in the absent churning of his jaw. Letting out another sigh, he merely relaxed beneath me, eyes sliding shut.

I couldn’t seem to draw my attention away from the slow dance of this powerful heartbeat against my cheek, from the gentle ebb and flow of his chest swelling beneath me. He was perfectly still at first, arms merely resting around my back, but, as the seconds ticked by, his hand began shifting absently against my shoulder, fingers slipped along the my ribs, his head tucked down to just brush his jaw against my hair; only brief, thoughtless movements, then falling still again for several seconds before allowing himself another stolen touch, and how could I feel anything but safe amidst the silent promises whispered in those fleeting moments?

The chorus of deep, leisurely breaths gave the air a comforting weight. The simple proximity and peace in those unhurried sighs and occasional listless shuffle of a limb spoke of absolute safety in the simple ease of their existence. My eyes parted just enough to see the soft light filling the small, derelict room, and my heart jumped at the sight before me.

Hunter lay tucked along the very edge of the bed, one arm folded beneath his head while the other had reached out to grasp my hand in his. Echo was beneath him, one knee hiked up at the very bottom corner of the bed while the other had fallen over the edge at some point, head pillowed atop one of my thighs. Tech was curled against my legs on my other side, arm draped over me for his hand to rest absently on my hip. I could only just see Wrecker’s legs stretching out behind him. And beneath me… Crosshair.

In perfect silence, he brought a finger to his lips, gaze shifting lazily over the sleeping forms of his brothers sprawled out around us. I followed his gaze for a moment before turning back to him with a small nod. He returned gesture, chest swelling beneath a deep breath, the movement gently rocking me against him, and he settled back into the nest of pillows as though it was the most natural thing in the world. I found myself hesitating barely a second longer before letting the tension slip away from me once more, melting into his warmth and that powerful, slow dance of his heartbeat against my cheek. When his hand shifted to sweep tentatively through my hair, I let out a deep sigh, nuzzling subtly into him with a love and gratitude I knew I’d never be able to speak aloud.

Fanart!! - by @mythical-illustrator

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hastalavistabyebye · 16 days

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Hi Hasta! Please tell me all about your OCs, Marcia and the Cantina Ghosts. I know absolutely nothing about them but I would like to!

Hi Thirsty !! Thank you very much for the ask <3

You can find Marcia's presentation here (there's add info on him in his tag, including a ficlet I've written for trans clone week) and the Cantina Ghosts' lore here + their picrews

Marcia is my (french) 80s music inspired baby ! She's an engineer of the 327th and the exact definition of a party boy. Gender is just glitter they use as makeup and xey collect pronouns like pretty rocks. He's a bleeding heart chewing bumble gum and drinking the most colorful cocktails available.

I adore zir. She's always in my mind xD

They're loud but care with their entire heart. Vae can be brought into tinkering prank material, vae's a very talented engineer (but she's very expensive). And zir engineer siblings always keep strawberry and chocolate ice cream around because it's the heartbreak comfort food (Marcia falls in love very very easily. Alas she's not always lucky)

I want to write a meeting between her and some of our favorite Torrent troopers. Because there is no way she didn't hit it off with at least Fives. And I'm also thinking of finding Marcia a Corrie partner 🤔🤔

I sadly didn't found a satisfying picrew that was at the same time cute, with 80's vibes outfits, and having both a haircut similar to the one Marcia has and a moustache option :( I might be asking for too much, I know x'D (the closest I did for now was a cute picrew I shared here but it doesn't have Marcia's hair)

The Cantina Ghosts are a music band composed of Whistler (banjo and harmonica + "percussions", deployed with the Wolfpack, more country music, he/him), Ivory (medic in the 41st, pianist, more classic music, she/her), Lydian (Ivory's batchmate, was under Mace Windu's battalion but was the first of the three to desert, trumpet plus some others instruments, jazz music) and Hadil Ziveri, the orphaned Mirilian-Twi'lek girl that Lydian adopt.

During the Empire, they are a very mysterious and famous band that appears in various cantinas and bars across the Galaxy before disappearing again. Every spacer knew about them. Or at least knew the name of the band. Some even tell tales of the time they had been lucky enough to see them perform. An entire section of the holonet is dedicated at following their apparitions. The legends are very thick around them. Nobody knows their name, nobody knows who they are (especially not Lydian who even their pronouns are a complete mystery).

But back into the safety of their ship ? They're a family simply going through the days little by little. Hadil and Lydian learn to cook together, and both are pretty good at it. They love to test recipes from Hadil's different cultures and recreate as much as possible the flavors of her childhood. Sometimes Whistler or Ivory will try to learn too, but it's mostly their quiet moments for just the two of them.

Whistler took a liking to engineering while learning how to repair their pretty ship who's also their home. He's also the one that had created Lydian's earring aid. But regarding the prosthetics of his little siblings he doesn't really have much to do, Lydian doesn't really like to wear their aid (the sounds are all wrong, better to barely hear anything than hear robotic, flat sounds only), and Ivory can tuned her leg prosthetic herself, thank you very much.

And Ivory took a liking to piloting. It's more because she like the sight of the stars from the cockpit than she like piloting in itself (even if it feels meditative too). None of them end up really passionate about piloting really. Especially not when they have to swiftly escape from imperial patrols, but it doesn't happen often (they stay carefully out of the most troublesome areas).

#my babies #all of them #they all haunt my brain xD #they might be some of my favorite ocs #and I really need to write about them one day #as in a fic #i should spam y'all more about my 404th/krell battalion too 🤔 but that would be for later #for now it's music ocs time xD #oc: marcia #the cantina ghosts #my ocs #hi tumblr void #if y'all have more questions about them please dont be shy <3 i wanna ramble x'D

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freesia-writes · 1 year

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Tech, Phee, and a Fix-It Fic

Took this post from @ashyybees-art and ran with it, though it totally got away from me. It should have been wayyyy shorter and more simple. But, alas, here we are. Also... this was really hard to write cause I'm not a huge fan of Phee just yet. :/ Sorry. Prolly cause I was elbows deep in my own Tech/OC fanfic when she came onto the scene. But it's a lil somethin to hold us over with a happy headcanon until we get further news in season three. <3

Words: 2k SPOILERS for the season 2 TBB finale! -=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Phee had always told herself she would be independent. Capable. Self-sufficient. Strong. She didn't need anyone but enjoyed the company of others… a little too much, recently. The squad of "deviant" clones had left a lasting impression in her life that she hadn't quite been able to shake, especially the demeanor and appeal of one bespectacled crew member in particular.

So when she put a tracking beacon on the Marauder, she told herself it was for practicality, for protection. She wasn't one of those clingy sorts who got too attached and fawned over someone; she was a clever and skilled woman who thought of backups and contingency plans for herself and those she… loved? It wasn't something she would utilize unless she absolutely had to; better to have it in place and not need it than to wish she had.

Something felt different the night they left. Omega, typically delighted to share anything and everything with her, had been uncharacteristically cryptic about their covert mission. She'd made an attempt to get a clue from Tech, but he was even more shifty than usual, and eye contact was enough of a struggle to get from him, let alone a straight answer. She couldn't tell if he was distant because of stress or anticipation, or perhaps she had done something to offend him? Perhaps he had changed his mind from the warmth and interest he had shown when they first arrived on Pabu?

Regardless, she had responded to his nervous little goggle adjustment with the typical flutter of the heart and a small smile. She knew him to be incredibly proficient, unassumingly strong, and incomparably intelligent. So they parted with a casual farewell, and she anticipated the next time they would see each other. Perhaps he would share what had been weighing so heavily on him for this particular mission.

She couldn't sleep that night, alternating between tossing and turning with anxious hypotheticals and drifting into periods of sleep that were punctuated with disturbing nightmares. This was unusual, and in the wee hours of the morning she gave up, heading to the balcony of her home to watch the sunrise. It wasn't an obsession, or a need to have him in her sight the whole time… just an undeniable sense of foreboding. She doubted he would react favorably to her shadowing him, but perhaps if he didn't know…

Breakfast found her equally unsuccessful in focusing on anything else. The nagging feeling had only grown, to the point that it was becoming unbearable. She hit her limit. An hour later she was prepped and in her ship, activating the tracking beacon. She'd just take a look, a quick fly-by, to assuage the unrelenting plague of worry.

It wasn't her first time having to sneak past Imperial ships, and she transmitted a trusty clearance code that hadn't failed her yet. As she descended, the radar's beeps came more quickly. She dropped into the atmosphere and her eyes were met with towering rock formations poking above the clouds; it was impossible to tell how far below the planet floor was. Her heart leapt in her chest -- there was the Marauder! It was neatly folded against one of the cliffs, perched on a perfectly-sized ledge. No sign of light or activity, however, so she took a gentle loop to see where they may have gone.

Sudden alarms notified her of the approach of incoming craft, and she peeled away to avoid being seen, diving down toward the forest canopy. Her ship was small and easy to navigate, and she lowered it into a small clearing as a handful of Imperial fighters shot overhead. She whipped out her electrobinoculars, following their path, and the scene that met her eyes made her stomach drop to her feet. Blaster bolts flew between skyrail cars, and the ships pelted them with shots on a fly by before arcing through the air to come around for another run. She spotted Hunter's red bandana leaning out the window of one of the cars as he sent a few shots at the opposite car, and then a swinging figure caught her attention.

She gasped aloud. Tech. Dangling far below the cars by a single wire, attempting to climb but moving too slowly as the fighters approached yet again. Her mind raced. What could she do? She wouldn't be able to launch fast enough before they came by again, and even if she did, she would likely be shot down, outnumbered as she was. Before she had the chance to think of any other options, a single blaster bolt fired from Tech's suspended form, breaking the skyrail coupling, and he began to free fall, along with an entire car following above him.

Simultaneous fear and focus kicked into high gear. She plotted his trajectory, fighting down the waves of nausea that broke upon her, and began to sprint into the forest. The trees and rocks seemed to reach miles into the sky above her, a sickening realization, and she picked up the pace, gasping for air but refusing to slow down.

Crashing through a wall of bushes that scraped along her arms, she let out a cry as she saw his crumpled form ahead, unmistakable with the white armor and colorful accents. His backpack, cracked in half, dangled from a sharp branch above, and his helmet had splintered, scattering shards across the clearing. Collapsing to her knees next to him, she gently rolled him onto his back, taking a sharp inhale at the horror she saw. His fall had been broken only by tree branches, each one leaving a mark as it hit him with full force. One had whipped across his head, shattering his goggles, which dangled from one ear, and horribly disfiguring his face. Dirt mixed with blood and bone, and she fought to maintain consciousness. She didn't know how extensive the damage was, but she had to get him somewhere, anywhere, and fast.

***

Shapes and shadows, muffled sounds… Waves of pain… Dreams of light, always ending in darkness. Weightlessness and water began to form in his mind. The rhythmic sound of mechanical breathing. But all was dark.

Suddenly, weight returned. He was being moved; the ground was shifting below him. He was lying on his back, as far as he could tell, but movement was nearly impossible. Everything felt so heavy, as if he were made of the thinnest glass and could shatter at a moment's notice. And the darkness, the murkiness. He thought his eyes were open but there was nothing but shadows, appearing from nowhere and startling him, taking form and then melting away.

The whirring sound of servos grew nearer, accompanied by a robotic voice, "CT-9902, can you hear me?"

It took a few swallows to remedy a dry mouth despite the recent emergence from water, and his voice cracked as he spoke, "I can."

"I am your assigned 2-1B medical droid. You have sustained heavy damage."

"Diag… diagnostic report," he breathed, fighting a rising sense of panic at the unresponsiveness of his vision. He tentatively attempted to move fingers and toes, shifting his weight to and fro, but he could see nothing but vague patches of dark and darker. As the droid recounted his injuries, his claustrophobia grew. It was irrational. It served no purpose. But the inability to snap out of it, to look around at his surroundings, felt suffocating. Focusing on the droid's analysis as a way to ground himself, he calculated the possibilities of his future.

It wasn't a fruitful endeavor, nor did it have its usual soothing effect. He had always been one to successfully employ mind over matter, logic over emotion. But the sensation of being trapped within his own body was a novel one that was proving to be insurmountable as of yet. The droid finished its debriefing, machinery indicating some kind of movement, and the pit in his stomach grew heavier.

"Where am I?" he asked with a gravelly voice.

But there was no reply.

Time stretched into eternity, and his ability to analyze and predict was significantly less sharp than he was used to. His nose was assaulted with the sterile scents of a medical bay and his ears picked up every beep, whoosh, and whir. His mouth felt dry and metallic, and the sensations throughout his body were a myriad of pain, awareness, and comfort. But his vision was gone. Almost entirely. He assessed the likelihood of what had happened, slowly bringing a hand to a heavily-bandaged face. His eyes were not covered, however, confirming his fears.

Solitude usually didn't bother him, but he found himself yearning for his brothers. The factual analysis of his situation did nothing to improve his mental state. He needed answers, and patience was not a prominent strength of someone who had been able to make things happen quickly and effectively his whole life.

"Well… You've certainly looked better," came a familiar voice, breaking him out of his morose reverie. It was not a voice he had expected, but it was an improvement to the circumstances nonetheless.

"Phee," he said quietly, "What happened?"

He felt a weight on the side of the bed, accompanied by a shifting shadow overhead, then the gentle, warm touch of a hand to his bare cheek that made him flinch involuntarily. A quiet sound of sympathy came from her, and the hand disappeared.

"You decided to go flying without a jet pack," Phee answered, "And the local landscape seemed to have an issue with that. Particularly the trees. And the ground."

"It was necessary," he replied, still struggling to speak more than a short sentence at a time. "My vision is impaired?"

"Your whole body is impaired," she said, attempting to keep it light, though the gravity was betrayed by the emotion in her voice. "You're lucky to be alive. But yes, for now."

Tech let out a small sigh, resting his head back on the pillow in defeat, "That is not ideal."

"You being alive is all that matters. You hear me?" she said with empathetic conviction.

"I do," he answered, resigned to the fact that a satisfactory response would require more stamina than he could afford. Phee rose to her feet.

"Good. Now you work on healing so we can get out of here."

***

The process was painstakingly slow, even with the miracles of bacta and medical droids, but finally the day arrived that they would be able to return to Pabu. Tech managed to shower and prepare on his own, feeling along the walls and fumbling about for each step. The whoosh of the door notified him of someone's arrival, and the identity was quickly confirmed by that euphonic voice.

"What are you wearing?" Phee asked as she saw him. He was wearing the medical bay defaults, which looked similar to his blacks, but had folded and tied an extra shirt around his eyes like a bandana. She wanted to laugh and cry simultaneously. "I think Hunter has already claimed that particular fashion statement."

"It is likely that the appearance of my face is disconcerting, considering the damage from the fall. I did not want to be the cause of any detestation."

"Detestation! Listen to you. Come here, Brown Eyes," she invited, drawing close. "I'm taking this off, alright?"

"You may have to select an alternative term of endearment," he said as she gently pushed the makeshift bandana up and off his head. His face had indeed healed, but the rich brown eyes that had so captivated her were covered in a thick layer of milky white, and moved unseeingly in her general direction. Scar tissue tracked from his temple on one side to his ear on the other, creating a knotted texture on his previously sharp profile. He dropped his chin a bit, in a posture of shame, and her heart broke.

She dropped the folded shirt on the nearby bed, reaching for his hands with her own. His startle reflex had diminished only slightly; it would take a while to get used to a world of shifting shadows. She traced her hands up his arms, feeling him stiffen slightly at the touch, then up to his cheeks, cupping his face with as much tenderness as she could convey. She gazed into those eyes, wishing he could see the emotion on her face as she did.

"You're not gonna get off the hook that easy," she said, gently brushing his cheekbones with her thumbs. "Besides, Brown Eyes, the phenotypic eye color for all clones is brown, you know, even if you can't see them," she said with a grin that could be heard in her voice.

And for the first time since the accident, a small smile curved the corner of his lips as well.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Requested Tags: @32rotations @cocolinagoodnight @thenonsensebatch

If you enjoyed it, feel free to check out other works on Wattpad or Ao3. :) Got a full-length Tech fic, a short cute "first date" with Gregor, a short-ish rivalry of Tech/Crosshair fighting over you, and an ongoing full-length canon-aligned backstory on Howzer. :D

HANG IN THERE TIL SEASON 3! Much love!

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skelevision · 3 months

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heyyy 🎨 :-) i need to draw

polled my friends in the server too but i also wanna poll here.....

doodles for reference (some of these are really old) and some info on each under the cut........... (sorry if theyre underdeveloped or sound like a 16 yr old made them i have like 100-200 ocs and many of them Are from when i was a teen. not that my ocs are better now though LMAO)

auri: cloned pilot who relies heavily on the support system in his mech for emotional and mental stability (doesnt work). short description but i love this guy i could rant about him for hours (i wont, embarrassing)

calin: stole his mech (starstrider) and deserted in his teens. does whatever now trying to get by. he's uncomfortable outside of starstrider most of the time but when he's not stressed he doesn't mind being outside of it, so long as his harmonizer can still connect. he likes seeing new things. i gave him a big comfy coat thats as hot or cool as he needs it to be because thats my dream. he's in the magic world i have actually

EVE: lab grown pilot who is usually connected to giant genetically identical meat mech ADAM. therin isnt here but hes a biomechanic and hes trying to befriend EVE. i did make them A While Before i watched evangelion if anyones wondering

morgan/knife: idk these guys started as spiderverse ocs but then i remembered i dont rly care about spiderman. theyre on earth after an alien corpse drifted into orbit and the research trips to and from it brought all kinds of freaky diseases to earth and caused something like an apocalypse (altho it also kickstarted space travel). knife was a prototype soldier who escaped the lab in his preteens and met morgan on the road. theyve been travelling together for 8+ years idk knife pair-bonded with morgan so make of that wjhat you will

leo/jinx: work at private anomaly control company. that doodle is really bad. leo has a deal with a faustian anomaly for power and jinx (who i kinda wanna rename) basically just weakly shocks anything he touches. and they kiss. badly ‼️

nettle: (the doodle is from when these were ocs in the sims theyre like. a lot different now) host to parasitic anomalous plant. hes nervous all the time. adoptive brother of end and dating alora. his dad got a government job in the anomaly control sector after nettle was parasitized as a child and taken into govt custody

alora: shes very normal actually. supportive parents and loving household. no special abilities, joined wanting to help people, eventually becomes disillusioned to the reality of anomaly control, especially as a government agency

end: self-proclaimed demon of the void. can eradicate up to about 3 square feet of matter at a time. they dont get along well with people but hit it off with most animals immediately, except dogs. nettle's dad basically adopted them after they met

the homosword (other guy not pictured): ancient weapon with a kind of sentient computer in it (i really gotta redesign the sword i dont rly like it anymore). other dude is a type of human that can both endure very high temps and can get really hot with emotions (to the point of possibly burning to death when something like grief or rage is experienced), lives in what is essentially a country-sized junkyard pretty much constantly on fire with his nomadic people (avoiding the Great Firestorm). finds the sword and uhammmmmm ... adventure (and gay love.......)

daisy: anomalous humanoid creature. hes carnivorous and used by an organized crime group to dispose of bodies. not very well taken care of. he might end up as a side character but i like him a lot. older oc, new doodle so u can see him

#spooksposting #polls #oc #art fight! only two days away! i am so distraught about this information (has not been making refs this whole time)#help.....................

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sillyandquiteawkward · 1 year

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:333 can I hear the design process that went into Ford? Or Tate?

Or if it was for Fallout OCs, curious on the Kennedy or Bayley “Concept Idea to Current” transition :>>>

<- had too much fun, did everyone mentioned.

oo so when it came to ford and tate, i had a general idea pretty strong from the get go, so there wasnt much exploration, and i wrote general notes i wanted to include in their designs and then kinda just went for it. in my notes and story plotting they were simply referred to as the waiter and the PI.

these are basically the first iterations for them, tho tate took me a while to figure out. tate was also skinnier but then i was like no i need to design with my Heart so i made him more stout instead just a simple tall guy with a dadbod body type. i just always ended up liking how ford turned out so he didnt have many changes (notably it ends up being just his hairstyle).

once i got the gist of the characters down i went back and started looking up clothes and pulling ref images to really hone in on their sense of style and fashion, since that was something for this comic i really wanted to portray. then i went back and drew a bunch of drawings of them in different outfits and tried to figure things out. like tate evolved from trenchcoat and jumpsuits to more simple things like tshirts and jackets.

i made the control meme. and then. i put them on the back burner as i did other things for months. and when the new year hit, i ran to start drawing them again to start the comic on a whim, and did the simple, draw what you remember and see whats the most important character traits. i think i wouldve liked to have more time to really iron more things out before i jumped into the comic but i feared being stuck in planning hell and never being able to Start.

kennedy is a fun one bc i designed him to be a matching cowboy oc pair with raynersjournal and an overall group of four. simply the concept idea for kennedy was red badboy cowboy twink. another kind of design i did in one based on vibes and probably google images of cowboys for clothes insp. i am a little foggy on my thought process for designing ken but that was pretty much it. one and done type guy. i think i was feeling particularly inspired by funky eyebrows and giant sharp nose shapes.

i think kennedy has been pretty consistent in characterization, but i think i tend to draw kennedy less boxy now, and ive smoothed him out because ive shaped him more into this devious snake oil kind of guy that looks sweet, instead of this whirlwind fireball. for a second, i stopped drawing kennedy with his square jawline, but ive been trying to make sure i remember to draw it bc i think its a good trait of his that makes for nice contrast in his feminine design.

bayley is Also interesting bc he had several pre-designs which is different for me. the concept of bayley being a fucked up scientist to be the antagonist for cc's story was first inspired by one of my goretober prompts, where a unknown scientist was attempting to vivisect hancock. his design was very minimal and more of an after thought.

after that came me trying to come up with a story and a scientist for cc to Have his third arm from. then i tried to doodle some scientist design with that inspiration from mr. goretober and came up with this guy.

but i didnt like him! i didnt think it was the right type of dynamic Look and i wasnt in love with the design so i tried again when i went to actually make ccs into comic. which is where we get this guy who looks More like bayley, but without the sideburns.

his sideburns grow as time goes on, longer and longer, until i start drawing them Bushy and big and the rest is history, i think i was inspired actually by how ray drew them one time and i just took it and ran. another bayley off shoot is evil bayley who channels mr goretober in his rancid vibes, while looking like regular bayley, bc i love au clones.

#THANK YOU FOR ASKING ILUUUU #I WENT HAM. SORRY <3 #silly art tag #just gonna put it in the general tag bc itd be fun to stumble across this later. and its art so who cares i make the rules

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ooops-i-arted · 1 year

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It's the last day of June but I have one more post in me for @jedijune but it's a little different. The goal of Jedi June is to appreciate the Jedi, but this time I'm appreciating them in a more meta sense.

I saw Attack of the Clones in 2002 as a wee lil preteen and as soon as I laid eyes on the Jedi, I instantly wanted to be one. I wanted a cool lightsaber and space adventures like many a kid, of course. But I was also hitting those awkward teenage years and all that comes with it and I had no words for it, but I knew I was experiencing it different than my peers. I only heard "gay/queer" as an insult or an opportunity to be bullied or even murdered. I wouldn't hear "asexual" until after college. But I knew that more than anything I wanted to imagine being a Jedi because then I would never have to get married. (Also: they had girls. My sister and I watched the AotC VHS over and over and over again and memorized every single frame that had Aayla and Shaak Ti and Bultar Swan and Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee. Even though you had to be a thin, pretty girl, girls still got to be Jedi.)

And on top of all of that, I was supposed to be too old for toys but I still wanted to make stories. So I took my happy ass and my allowance money to Borders and bought this:

This, here, is Baby's First Fanfiction and Fanart. I wouldn't fall in love with LotR until January 2003. So this is where I got my start as a writer and artist of characters. (I drew all the time since I could hold a pencil, but mostly dinosaurs and animals.) I loved writing and drawing before, but it was the Jedi that first catapulted me into what I've become as a fan artist and fanfic writer now.

So for fun I dug out Baby's First Jedi OCs and decided to draw them with twenty-one more years of art skills:

For a little background, 2002 Preteen Me had a Very Grand Plan of writing a novel, submitting it to Lucasfilm, and getting it published. It would be about Derran Kanis, My Most Wonderful Jedi OC and her life and her adventures, and the very last scene would be choosing her Padawan, whose final line would be "Yoda, my name is." (Preteen Me was confident that since we don't actually see Yoda in action this wouldn't break George Lucas' rule of not revealing Yoda's species or background. The focus would be all on My Wonderful Jedi OC anyway.)

A little Yoda is a lot easier to draw now after all the practice with Grogu! Should I call Favroni and tell them it was my idea first? XD

I was obsessed with the Jedi Apprentice series most of all, so of course there had to be more characters for them to get into Shenanigans with for both generations.

Leronna was Derran's friend, a wise and serious Jedi Master. Derran was the Qui-Gon of the relationship and more of a risk-taker, while Leronna was more solemn to balance her out.

Their other friend was Mukdon, because I thought a Hutt Jedi would be really cool and unique. To contrast Hutt stereotypes, he was rather un-confident and a worrywart.

Of course Yoda needed a friend to get into trouble with, so he had Leronna's Padawan Te-Mon Zeyon. Te-Mon was the serious and play it safe one to contrast Yoda being more reckless (I figured he couldn't be that wise and solemn yet but that cheerfully mischievous side had been there the whole time.) Now that I look at him, I think I accidentally designed a Light Side version of Kylo Ren's TFA outfit.

Last of all my redraws was Tama Ci, a posthumous character and Leronna's first Padawan. Losing her to an illness made Leronna reluctant to take another Padawan and contributed to Te-Mon being more cautious, since he didn't want to risk himself and force his Master to face another loss. I don't remember for sure but I strongly suspect her design was influenced by Aayla Secura, since she's my sister's favorite Jedi and we often tracked down any content or merch of her together.

No I will not post any of the fanfiction... it's baaaaaad. It was written by a preteen and it shows. (No offense to any of you in that age range - just that as an adult, I've learned a lot more since then.) But like favorite dolls you take off the shelf and play with now and then, all these characters hold a special place in my heart. Derran, as my first and most dearest - the core of my first grand plan for a long fic - is very special to me and my oldest "active" OC, now existing as a character in SWTOR.

The Jedi were escapism and a refuge for me as a kid, just like Din Djarin and his friends are for me now. So that's what I really appreciate most. That even as a preteen/teenager, in all those awkward years, I still had a place to mentally escape and pretend I was a badass space monk who never had to get married and could live in a cool building with a huge library.

#jedi june #finished 30 minutes before july starts whoohoo #long post #jedi #oc #derran kanis #leronna #te-mon zeyon #mukdon #tama ci

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monako-jinn-stories · 2 years

Text

Crosshair X Fem!Reader FanFic

Rebel

Just a little sneak peak at Cyar’ika’s future, rhat takes place after It Started With a Vacation

Main Master List

OC Master List

Angst Master List

Warnings: brief mention of miscarriage

“I’m 19, I can make decisions for myself now, buir!”

“But you don’t need to go off and give your life up for war!”

“But it’s what I’m meant to do!”

“No, it’s not. Just because you have it in your blood, that doesn’t mean you have to be a soldier as well.”

“Mom would let me, she actually encouraged me to!”

“You what?” Crosshair snaps his head to look at you, and you let out a sigh as you stand and unfold your arms.

“I didn’t encourage you, Cyar’ika,” you say, “I told you that you need to look inside and meditate, try to find the best path for you to take.”

“But that’s so boring. I know that this would be a good decision! I want to help the Rebels!”

“It may be a good decision, but it might not be the best,” you say. “Cross, you also need to realize that she has a good point.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, a look of betrayal flashing in his eyes. It’s as though he can’t believe you’re taking her side over his. “She’s still young!”

“She’s old enough to make her own decisions,” you counter. “Neither of us ever had that option when we were growing up, and so we need to let her have it.”

“I’m not going to let my daughter run off and join a war against the Empire,” he says, and before you can respond, he storms out of the room. You sigh again, looking back at your daughter. Her silver hair has fallen in front of her eyes, and you walk over and brush it to the side. She keeps her gaze averted as you look at her.

“Cyar’ika,” you say gently, “please look at me?” Slowly, she moves her eyes to meet yours, and you can see the angry tears she’s trying to hold back. “He just wants you to be safe. He’s scared. He knows what it’s like to lose people in war. We both do.”

“But I’m the daughter of a Jedi and a clone trooper. I’m meant for this! Not to mention, you’re Dohbarian and he’s Mandalorian. Even more warrior blood!”

“Just because your ancestors were warriors, and your parents were soldiers, does not mean that’s what you’re meant to be. You are your own person. Isn’t that what you were just arguing about?” “Well, yeah, but I want to make a difference! I want to help!”

“And we won’t stop you if you want to go, but I just want you to understand the risk and what it will be like.” You look at your daughter as she groans, and you laugh slightly to yourself before poking her nose. She scrunches her face in annoyance, trying to swat your hand away. “Why don’t you go for a walk with Major? He hasn’t been exercised in a while.” Your dark furred loth wolf lifts his head from the bed and looks curiously at the two of you when he hears his name.

“Fine,” Cyar’ika responds, and she calls Major to follow as she leaves the palace. He jumps up and lets out a bark of excitement before running to join her.

When the door closes, you sigh for a third time and walk around to find Crosshair. You don’t have to search long, though, as your feeling about him being in the blaster range is correct. He doesn’t notice when you walk in, so you head over to get your own blaster. You press a button so that targets will pop up for you, and then you begin firing. It doesn’t take long until all the targets are down, and when you finish, you look over to see Crosshair watching you.

“Hey Snarky,” you say, and he huffs before looking back towards where the targets had been.

“Not too bad, but I’m still a better shot.”

“I’ll beat you one day. It’s not like you’re getting any younger.”

“Neither are you,” he responds, and you both share a small laugh before you decide to bring up what you know he’s avoiding.

“Look, I know you don’t like it-”

“Really? Is it that obvious?” Crosshair says, picking up his rifle and aiming down range at his own targets.

“Cross, just listen, okay?”

“Why?” he says, hitting two targets with one shot.

“Because, that’s how this works. That’s how we work.”

“I’m not letting my only child run off to get herself killed by some imperial scum.” The words leave Crosshair in a growl, and you see his shoulders tensing with each second.

“I have contacts-”

“It’s not safe!” he nearly yells, and he puts his rifle down before turning back to you. “I nearly lost everything in the beginning of the Empire,” he says, “I messed up with you, I nearly had my brothers killed, I lost all free will, and then we lost our other baby. I can’t risk something like that happening to Cyar’ika, or losing her.”

“It’s not your decision to make on what our daughter does.” Your words are firm, and Crosshair bites down on his toothpick as he looks away. “I have contacts, Crosshair. Sans and Hex are out there, Ahsoka is out there, Caleb and Hera. Even Bail is fighting against the Empire. We can trust any one of them to keep Cyar’ika safe.”

“She’s a princess,” Crosshair mumbles, “she’s not meant to be in a war.”

“I was a princess once too, you know. I trained as any other Dohbarian. I became a fighter while also becoming a Jedi. As queen, I fought as a general in the war that led us together. It does not matter what status she holds, she has her own right to choose what to be.”

“I already missed so much of her life before, when she was young. I can’t risk missing anymore.”

“It’s not your choice to make.”

“Well it karking should be!”

“Crosshair,” you say, resting your hand on his shoulder. His jaw tenses, and you move your hand to his cheek to make him look at you. “I know it’s hard, and that it’s not what you want. But you have to let her grow up and be her own person.”

“Why?” he says quietly, closing his eyes and leaning into your touch. “Why do I have to let go?”

“You don’t have to let go, you just have to let her be free. You know how it felt to not have any free will. Now, it’s not the same, but you’re still limiting her choices.”

“I just want to protect her, to protect our family.”

“I know, but she doesn’t need our constant protection anymore. We’ve both trained her well, she’s a magnificent warrior and soldier. She can take care of herself.”

“I know…”

“Come on,” you say, grabbing his hand and stepping backwards, “let’s go start dinner. We can eat with Ahni and Kwol as well.”

“Alright,” he says, grabbing his rifle before letting you lead him out of the room.

As you walk, you let silence fill the air between you. The halls have seemed much lonelier ever since you returned after rescuing him from the Empire. It had been long since Tayah fell to the darkside and ran off to follow the Sith, and no other children were around the palace except Cyar’ika.

“Has anyone heard anything?” Crosshair asks as you begin to prepare dinner. Ahni and Kwol have joined you, and they each sadly shake their heads.

“We’ve informed everyone who we can trust, but…there’s been nothing.”

“I can still feel her out there,” you assure them, “it’s just…not the same feeling. It’s cold, sad, and lost.”

“I can understand the feeling. If I had lost my brothers, I too would probably have gone…” Crosshair stops his sentence there, not wanting to say the word he’d been thinking. But everyone knows what he was going to say.

“If she’s found, do you think-”

“No,” you say, cutting Kwol off before he can finish his sentence. Tears brim at your eyes as you remember your own encounter with someone you’d loved and tried to bring back to the light. “There’s no chance to bring her back. Not even if you guys try.”

“How do you know, you haven’t even tried,” Kwol defends, and your grip is so tight that your utensil snaps in your hand, but you don’t flinch.

“Because. The strongest Jedi I ever knew, the bravest one, he couldn’t be saved. I tried. I begged him. Anakin-no, Vader, didn’t even falter when I called out to him. We weren’t exactly close as family, but Obi Wan hadn’t been able to help him either. Tayah can’t be saved.”

“So you’ve already given up hope before you’ve even tried?”

“Look, I’ve been in enough arguments for today, can we all just relax and talk about something nice? Like the weather?”

“Sure,” Kwol says, though you can hear the bitterness in his voice. You sigh, looking apologetically at Ahni who offers you a small understanding smile in return.

“Where’s Cyar’ika?” Ahni asks as you all sit down to eat.

“She took Major out for a walk. I’m going to assume they’ll be out for a while.”

“That loth wolf definitely needs exercise. He’s been digging a crater in my garden,” Ahni says, and you laugh before apologizing.

“I don’t know why Cyar’ika hasn’t been taking him out lately, but hopefully she’ll start to again. We got that pup for her.”

“And yet you named him,” Kwol points out.

“I feel like naming him after my fallen trooper was a good decision,” you defend. Kwol snaps his mouth shut then, remembering what had happened.

“Steele would have been honored,” Crosshair says, “and he probably would have tried to steal him for himself.”

“That’s true,” you laugh, fighting back the sadness that threatens to overcome you.

You all continue to talk about random things as you eat your dinner, and soon after you find yourself on your balcony watching the sun set over Dohbar. You sense Crosshair quietly coming up behind you, but you don’t turn to acknowledge him.

“I remember the first time I saw a Dohbarian sunset,” he says quietly as he stops beside you. “It was the most gorgeous one I had ever seen, and yet, it wasn’t the most gorgeous thing I saw.”

“Hmm,” you hum, a corner of your lips turning up in a smirk. “And what was the most gorgeous thing?”

“Mrs. Duree,” Crosshair responds, earning a playful nudge and glare from you. He chuckles before gently tilting your chin up so that he can place a soft kiss on your lips. “You, my Princess Cyar’ika, are the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re never going to drop that nickname, are you?” you ask, and he shakes his head no. “I didn’t think so.”

“Speaking of Princess Cyar’ika, have you seen her come back yet?” he asks, and it’s your turn for you to shake your head. “I feel like she should have returned by now.”

“She’s fine, Crosshair,” you say, taking his hands gently in his. But as you speak the words, something doesn’t feel quite right to you. You don’t let this feeling show, though, because you want Crosshair to remain calm and relaxed. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll send her a transmission telling her that she has to make you breakfast in bed tomorrow.”

“That sounds perfect,” Crosshair says, and you laugh before pushing him back inside.

“Now, can my Snarky Sniper turn on a holovideo for us to watch before bed?”

“Anything for you, my Princess Cyar’ika,” he responds, and after he turns his back, you throw a pillow at him. Instantly after being hit, he throws it right back and jumps onto the bed. Your giggles fill the room as he bombards you with pillows, and when he’s sure you’re too preoccupied to notice, he begins to tickle you.

“C-Crosshair!” you manage to stutter out, “you know I-I hate be-ing tickled!”

“You started it,” he says through a chuckle.

“N-no!”

“Oh yes you did,” he replies. “I’ll stop if you promise to act like an adult and behave.”

“F-fine!” you say, and his tickling stops instantly. You take a few moments to catch your breath before reaching out to the side and whacking him with a pillow. He grabs it from your hand and whaps you in the face with it before getting up and putting a holovideo in. You get settled on the bed and wait for him to join you. When he does, you instantly cuddle up to his side and let his warmth surround you.

“She’ll be back, Crosshair,” you say, and you feel him exhale deeply.

“I know.”

The next morning, the sound of Major pawing at the door wakes you up. His whines are incessant, and so you groggily throw the sheets off and go to see what he wants. Before you can even speak, he lets out a small bark and begins to run down the hall. Something in the way he’s acting is off, and so you follow him quickly.

When you catch up to him, he’s whining at Cyar’ika’s door. You knock and call out to her, but get no response. You reach out through the force to see if she’s sleeping, but she’s not there. A chill runs through you, and you open the door and see that everything looks normal.

“What’s going on, Major?” you ask, and he immediately begins sniffing around. His nose leads him to her balcony, where he barks to get your attention. The door is unlocked, and Major seems to be following a scent that leads out of the palace.

You quickly go back inside and open her closet, and you notice that clothes and boots are missing. You run to her bedside table and open the drawer, and her lightsaber and blasters are gone. Panic fills you, and you frantically look around before seeing a droid that is never in her room. You press a button and a recording shows, and it’s Cyar’ika.

“Hey, mom, or buir, or whoever finds this. Look, I know that I need to choose my own path, and so I am. I’m sorry that I had to leave like this, but…I just couldn’t bear to see your tears. I know this is going to hurt, and I wish I could have said a proper goodbye, but…but I’m going to join the Rebellion. I’ve already contacted uncles Sans and Hex, and they agreed to meet me somewhere safe. I also lied to them, so, you’ll probably be getting a transmission from them. Oh kriff, I hope you didn’t see that before this. Either way, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be safe and smart. I promise I’ll make you proud. I love you all. Goodbye.”

When the message ends, you close your eyes and let out a breath. You wish she hadn’t gone in the middle of the night. You wish you could have made sure she was properly prepared. But you were thankful her uncles would be helping her, and they’d make sure she’s alright.

“I did this,” a voice says from behind you, and you turn around to see Crosshair. There’s fear and hurt and heartbreak in his eyes, and you immediately rush over to hold him.

“No, Crosshair. This is not your fault.”

“If I would have just supported her, she’d have said goodbye in person.”

“We don’t know that, Crosshair.”

“Yes we do. It was all because of me. I drove her away.”

“No, Crosshair,” you say, pulling back to look him in the eye. “You did not drive her away. She wants to fight, she wants to help. One way or another, she was going to join the Rebellion. You can’t hold the blame for this.”

“Why did she have to go?” The question is broken as Crosshair asks it, and you hold him tighter in your arms. You can feel his anguish through the force, and you wish there was a way you could relieve the feeling. You wish you could say words that would make him feel alright, but you can’t think of anything. All that comes to mind is a simple phrase.

“She’ll be back, Crosshair.”

“I know.”

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