#i can't get over the smug adjustment of the goggles

[twstinginthewind]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! These are spectacular! And yes, the potions sprites have way more variety than the usual Dreamworks Expression they give him in the history lessons. Aaaaaah he's so Normal! 🥰

Unchibified Trey! I love my average ahh man, so very normal 😌 @twstinginthewind

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain"

Chapter 16

"The Test"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

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

A/N: Hopefully this one isn't too rushed either 😅 Enjoy!

《 Chapter 15

》 Chapter 17

All chapters

Explanation: Kimber's skills and worthiness are put to the test in a battle simulation. Will she impress Lama Su or will he attempt to ultimately separate her from the Bad Batch?

While Hunter was off with the Prime Minister, the rest of the Bad Batch made their way to the weapons room below the training facility, where there were shelves of different firearms for Kimber to choose from.

"What is your weapon of choice, Kimber?" asked Tech as they came into the room and he was going to one of the shelves.

"Two blasters and a sniper rifle," Kimber answered him.

Tech retrieved two blasters from a shelf while Crosshair, already knowing what she wanted, was in the process of assembling a rifle for her.

Then Tech explained to her, "These are all training weapons, so they will not be using live fire, as will the weapons that will be used against you in the simulation. Everything is set to stun."

"Good to know," Kimber replied as she took the blasters, switched out her real ones in her holsters and then handed the real ones to Wrecker to hold onto.

Crosshair held out the rifle to her and said, "You've got this. Show the long-necks that you've earned the right to be here."

She grinned. "Oh, you bet I will."

Then he stepped forward, put a hand on her shoulder, leaned closer and said quietly, "I know the last time you were being shot at, you froze up in a panic. Just keep a clear head and remember your training."

"I think I'll be all right this time because if I get shot here, I'll just be stunned."

"Even so, remember what I said."

Kimber bowed her head in understanding and Crosshair took a step back.

Echo then came up by her and said, "More than likely, they'll have you fight a squad of Droids, so there's something you can expect."

She nodded. "Got it."

"You could always smash the Droids. That's what I like to do," Wrecker then put in.

With a snicker, Kimber said back to him, "You know, I would if my strength was even close to a fraction of yours, Wrecker."

Right then, the door slid open and Hunter walked inside the room...and Kimber had to fight to hold back a huge smile at seeing him.

"Everything okay, Hunter?" Echo asked him.

"I might have...had a word with the Prime Minister," Hunter answered coyly.

"By 'had a word', I assume you mean that you threatened him or put him in his place for his actions from yesterday?" clarified Tech, adjusting his goggles.

Hunter, with a smug look, replied, "Both."

"Hunter...you shouldn't have done that," Kimber chided him. "He's already displeased with you over me. I don't want you to make things worse."

He casually shrugged. "To me, it was worth it. He needs to know that we won't take anymore disrespect from him."

Wrecker chimed in, "He's right. The Prime Minister can't talk that way about you when we're here."

"Now, go make us proud, sunshine," stated Crosshair, gesturing to the lift door that was beginning to open, meaning that the simulation was almost ready for her.

With that signal, the rest of the squad made their way out of the room to let Kimber get ready. Hunter was the only one who stayed behind.

"Are you ready?" he asked her once they were alone.

She sighed. "I think so," she said with a hint of nervousness. She had felt fine until Hunter had mentioned he had gone to the Prime Minister. Now her hesitancy had returned. While she appreciated that he was defending her, she now worried that the Prime Minister might try to retaliate.

He could still feel her stress, so he moved closer to her and gently took her face in his hands. "Everything will be okay, Kimber. No matter what happens, you will still be with us."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you because of me," she told him, her voice trembling with worry.

Running his thumb over her cheek, he assured her, "What sets our squad apart from the regs is our affinity for disobedience. This is really nothing new for us."

"Hunter...," she groaned.

"Don't worry about us. You focus on showing the Kaminoans what you can do. I believe in you."

Hunter's hands slipped to the back of Kimber's head and he pulled her to him, kissing her strongly and conveying all the faith he had in her. A wave of warmth shot through Kimber as Hunter kissed her and she could feel all her apprehension just vanish instantly. This was something they both knew they could get used to.

When he pulled away, he whispered to her, "We'll be watching on the balcony. Go win the fight, soldier."

She lifted her gaze to meet his and replied with a grin, "You got it, Sergeant."

The lift below the training facility moved up with Kimber on it as she put on her helmet and readied her rifle. She released a heavy breath. Guess this was it...there was no turning back now. It was time for her to show the Prime Minister what she could do and to make her squad boys proud. She hadn't had a ton of formal training thus far, but enough that the Clones felt confident in her abilities, which was good enough for her. She came up into the training facility and found it was a vast, gray room with small, square cover stands spread about the floor that also had ramps and different levels. There were multiple towers with turrets and guns on the far wall. When she looked up, there was a second level balcony where she could see Lama Su, Nala Se, Taun We and the Bad Batch looking down into the room. In the corners of the balcony were two other Kaminoans standing at two control panels.

"You may begin," she heard Lama Su say through the sound system.

Then Echo's voice spoke in her ear over their comms, "Good luck, Kim."

"Thanks, Echo," she replied before running to the nearest battlement and crouching behind it, her rifle at the ready. When she peered over the top, she saw couple large doors open at the other end and two groups of battle Droids and super battle Droids came out.

"That's a lot of Droids for just one me," she thought.

Then she raised the rifle, propped it on top of the battlement and started firing at the incoming Droids, who were also now shooting at her. There were a couple close calls at first, but she was quick to duck her head down and then continue firing. Her first three shots hit the droids clear on the other side of the room square in the chest. Then she figured she couldn't just stay there the whole time, so she vaulted over the stand, slid down the ramp that led to the center of the room and ran towards another spot for cover.

A blaster shot whizzed right by the left side of her head and she ducked back behind the battlement. Then she looked around the side and started taking shots at the ones coming around the side on her left. Then she saw in her peripherals that more of them were flanking on her opposite side. Lama Su was definitely throwing her in the deep end with this simulation...but she had a plan for that.

From her belt, Kimber took out a Droid Popper detonator. Before the Clones had woken up that morning, she had snuck back to the Marauder and took some from the Batch's stash of detonators. She hadn't seen any in the artillery room with all the training weapons, which made her wonder if they were even allowed in a simulation, but nonetheless, she didn't care. If Lama Su didn't want to play fair, then this was what he'd get. Besides, she was part of the Bad Batch now. They didn't do things by the book anyway...so neither would she.

Putting her rifle on her back and withdrawing one of her blasters, she twisted around to the other side, lobbed the Droid Popper at the other group of Droids and then shot at it with her blaster in her other hand, where it went off with a whirring bang and jolts of electricity shot out and disabled a cluster of the Droids.

"Yes!" she cheered to herself.

"Good shot," she heard Tech comment over comms.

"Was that one of our Droid Poppers?" Wrecker's voice then asked quietly.

Taking more shots at the Droids, Kimber replied, "You know it."

"Way to go, Kimber," he softly cheered.

However, she saw Lama Su nod his head to one of the Kaminoans in the back who tapped something on their control panel. Right after that, the turrets on the towers activated and turned her direction.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked aloud.

The first turret fired at her and she had to get down lower behind the battlement as the larger blast hit close by.

Up on the balcony, the Bad Batch all tensed up at seeing the towers now firing on Kimber.

"Prime Minister, that's too much!" cried Echo, shooting a glare at Lama Su.

"There's no possible way she can take the Droids and the towers on her own," added Tech tensely.

The Prime Minister remained silent without so much as even a backward glance at either of them.

Echo and Hunter exchanged both frustrated and worried looks. They didn't like where this was going at all.

Kimber crouched as low as she could behind her cover so as to not get hit by the turrets. Those were going to be her biggest problem now, so they had to be taken out. However, whenever she would try, she would nearly get hit by gunfire from the Droids. She pulled out a second detonator, threw it over and took a quick shot with her blaster, hitting it and taking some more Droids out of commission, before shifting back down to avoid more fire from the turrets.

"Those towers are going to be a problem. It's now or never, Kimber," she told herself in her head.

She put away her blaster, pulled out her rifle from her back, popped out from behind the battlement, took her aim...but it was too late. As soon as she raised her gun, the turret fired and she was hit right in the chest. She was knocked back a couple feet, her rifle flying from her hands, and she landed hard on her back. After she hit the ground, her vision went hazy for a second and she heard the gunfire cease and the Clones crying out her name from the balcony.

Then the droning voice of Lama Su boomed over the sound system, "You have failed your test. You are unfit to serve with Clone Force 99 and you will be taken away from this facility and this planet immediately."

"No...," Kimber cried weakly, unable to move from the stunning blast, as then she heard the Droids walking towards her to carry out Lama Su's orders.

She had failed.

"No!" shouted Hunter furiously.

Without hesitation, he, Echo, Wrecker and Tech dashed for the door of the balcony where they could make their way down to the training floor.

Crosshair, however, had a different and quicker approach. He took out his sniper rifle, attached a cable to it and fired it onto a tower close to where Kimber laid on the ground. He took the other end, stuck it to the wall and then slid down the cable all the way to the training floor, hitting the ground running immediately. He shot at a few Droids in his way before sliding onto a knee in front of Kimber.

"Don't even think about it," he spoke up, raising his rifle in a defensive position at the incoming Droids.

Right then, they heard Wrecker's boisterous voice, "Hang on, Kimber! The Cavalry's coming!"

The other four burst from another set of doors, weapons out and they immediately began firing at the Droids from behind, which then forced them to turn their attention to the Clones. Hunter withdrew his vibroblade and was slashing his way through the Droids. Wrecker soon put away his heavy blaster and took to just slamming the Droids to the side or into the ground while Tech and Echo kept firing with their blasters.

Seeing the Droids were distracted and the others had it handled, Crosshair put his rifle on his back and then moved around to Kimber's other side, removing her helmet and pulling her limp form protectively against him.

"Crosshair...," Kimber said, strained.

"You did good, sunshine...now you let us handle the rest," he told her.

It didn't take long for the Droids to all be taken out by the rest of the Bad Batch and they all rushed over to Crosshair and Kimber.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked Kimber as they approached.

"I'm fine," she replied as Echo knelt by her on her other side.

With that confirmation, Hunter looked back to the balcony with a scowl where the Kaminoans were still standing and had just watched the entire situation.

"Kimber gave you what you wanted, Lama Su!" he shouted up to him. "She proved her worth; she lasted longer in this simulation than any civilian would! She's earned the right to be here!"

"The amount of time is irrelevant," replied Lama Su over the speakers. "She still was hit, which is an automatic failure."

"No one cares!" yelled Wrecker.

Echo then stood up and cried out, "We won't let you take her away!"

"Boys...," Kimber urged them, still feeling weak as Crosshair got her to her feet and had her leaning on his shoulder.

"She is a part of this squad and we'll take on a whole army of Droids before we let you do anything to her!" Echo continued.

"Guys, please!" Kimber blurted out, wanting them to stop before things got worse. They all glanced at her and all she could do was just shake her head, signaling them to not go any further.

Hunter saw the worn out look on her face and decided it was time to go. "Come on, lads, let's get out of here. We've overstayed our welcome," he said loud enough for the Prime Minister to hear.

Even from down on the training floor, they all could see the displeased look Lama Su was giving them before turning their backs on him and the other Kaminoans. Crosshair had draped Kimber's arm over his shoulders and helped her walk as she was slowly regaining mobility while Echo walked right behind them and kept his hand up on Kimber's waist to help maintain her balance. Tech had grabbed her helmet from the floor and followed them.

Hunter stopped for a second, looked back up at Lama Su and stated in a louder voice, "We'll leave Kamino for now, but make no mistake: we'll be back. All of us."

Upon leaving the training facility, the Bad Batch wasted no time in returning to their barracks and gathering their things. Crosshair and Echo were going to take Kimber straight to the Marauder, given she still wasn't fully mobile yet, and the rest of the group were going to get their things for them.

They got Kimber onto the ship and set her down into one of the chairs.

"How are you holding up, Kimber?" Echo asked her, kneeling in front of her.

She groaned. "Physically, I'm getting better. Slowly, but surely. Emotionally...I want to shoot that bug-eyed, long-neck freak in the head."

"He would deserve it," Crosshair agreed, an icy edge to his voice. "He cheated you with that simulation."

"Yeah, he was being unfair by adding those turrets," said Echo.

Kimber mustered a bit of a snicker as she replied, "Well, I'd imagine he only did it because he wasn't pleased with me sneaking in a Droid Popper."

That earned a chuckle from Echo and a pleased smirk from Crosshair.

"Now, that was a move worthy of the Bad Batch if ever I've seen one," Echo complimented her.

"You're really starting to think like us. All the more reason you deserve to be in the squad," added Crosshair.

Kimber smiled gratefully at them. Now she really was glad she hadn't decided to leave them after all. The Clones had all rushed into the training room to keep the Droids from taking her away, openly defying the Prime Minister of their home planet in the process. There weren't any words to describe the gratitude she felt for all of them after seeing how fervently they would defend her.

Crosshair laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and stated, "Even though you got hit, you still made us proud, sunshine."

"Did I?" she questioned as she looked up at him, feeling unsure about her actual performance.

"Absolutely," Echo answered. When she turned her head to look at him, he then said, "You handled everything well. You lasted longer out there on your first time than I did as a cadet."

Hearing that made her feel a little better. She shifted slightly with what movement she had and said, "Thanks, Echo. Thanks, Crosshair."

Just then, they heard footsteps on the ramp to the ship and Wrecker, Tech and Hunter all filed inside with their gear.

"Let's get out of here before we do get an actual army after us," Hunter ordered as they came in.

"It wouldn't be the first time," stated Tech as he took his place in the pilot's seat.

Wrecker just laughed and responded, "They can certainly try."

As Tech was getting the ship powered up for takeoff, Hunter came over to Kimber, which prompted Echo to stand up and move over beside Crosshair, and knelt down in front of her, reaching up to tenderly caress her face for a moment before grasping her arms.

"Are you all right, Kimber?" he asked anxiously.

Seeing his interaction with her just then, Echo and Crosshair glanced at each other as both of them raised their eyebrows knowingly.

She reassured him, "I'm okay. I'm getting some feeling back and most likely will be able to walk again in a little while."

"Good. You did great back there," he told her, his face beaming with pride.

Kimber just smiled back at him.

"We're ready for takeoff, Hunter!" Tech called out.

"Then take us out, Tech," Hunter responded.

As the ship lifted off the ground and exited the hangar, Kimber spoke up to all of them, "I'm sorry we have to leave your home so soon because of me."

"Don't apologize for anything, Kim," said Echo.

"It was our choice to leave," Hunter said in addition.

"Yeah, the Prime Minister doesn't get to talk bad about you or be unfair to you and then expect us to stick around," stated Wrecker.

Kimber looked around at all of them, overwhelmed at the care they were all showing her.

"What did I ever do to deserve you guys?" she asked appreciatively, unable to hold back a smile.

Hunter took her hand. "You were just yourself...and that was enough."

She knew there was more behind that statement coming from Hunter and she could feel it in the way he grasped her hand. However, she wouldn't let on that she knew in front of the others.

"Well...I imagine we won't be going back to Kamino anytime soon," said Tech.

"Probably best not to," said Echo, sitting down in the other front seat.

"So what happens now?" Kimber asked.

"We went to Kamino for your armor and you've got it, so we did what we set out to do," stated Hunter, standing back up. "Now...I guess we fly through space or find a place to crash and wait for our next mission, like we usually do."

With a hearty laugh, Wrecker replied, "Sounds good to me."

Directing his attention to Kimber, Hunter asked her, "Anywhere you want to go, Kimber?"

In that moment, Kimber realized she had more feeling in her legs, so she pushed herself up using the arms of her chair, easing herself onto her feet. Hunter noticed this and right away was quick to assist her, bracing her with his hands under her forearm and on her back.

Once she assured him she was fine and he let her go, she grinned and answered, looking around to all of them, "Hey, I'm with you boys. I'm already where I want to be."

They all exchanged looks of gladness at her words.

"Well then...make the jump to lightspeed, Tech," ordered Hunter. His gaze turned and found Kimber's as he then said softly, his hand entwining with hers, "Let's see where the stars take us."

Kimber grasped Hunter's hand tightly in return, anticipating whatever new adventure was waiting for all of them.