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the-bad-batch-baroness · 9 months ago

Text

Infectious

TBB & Fem!Reader

Chapter 3: Rumors on Scorro

Summary: You're completing your final practicum on Kamino as part of the experimental non-clone Combat Medic program. After graduating top of your class, and being inducted into the prestigious 407th Medic Unit, you get assigned to Clone Force 99. Neither of you are excited to be working together and tensions run high. However, those tensions dissipate when the Bad Batch unexpectedly falls ill while on a covert mission. Running against an unknown clock, it’s up to you to figure out what’s causing the illness before it ultimately kills you all.

Pairing: TBB & Fem!Reader

Characters: Hunter, Echo, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech

Tags & Warnings: BAMF fem!reader, enemies to friends, humor, action, angst, hurt/comfort, canon typical violence, mild suggestive themes, explicit medical descriptions, whump

Word Count: 5.7k

Author's Note: WE'RE BACK BABY!!! Yeah, that's right. Finally. After all of this time, the next chapter has arrived 🥳 I told y'all I would be updating my other series fics in the new year, and I meant it. This chapter has some Echo angst in it, because why not. FYI, since it's been 9 months, I went back and edited the first two chapters to match my current writing style. No plot elements changed, just style, grammar, word choice, etc. As always, please enjoy 💚

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3

As the ship leaves the stormy atmosphere of Kamino, you turn your head to look out the transparisteel viewport and are greeted by the sight of endless stars twinkling brightly across the ebony horizon. You smile wide knowing this view will never get old. The galaxy is vast and beautiful, and getting to see it up close and personal, while also doing something you love, is priceless. This really is a turning point in your life. A new chapter to be written and explored.

When the ship levels out, you unstrap from the jump seat and start exploring the Marauder. You have a feeling you’ll be spending a lot of time aboard this ship, so you want to familiarize yourself with it as much as possible. You walk back towards the stern, where Wrecker is, and look around, but there's not much to see. Then make your way back up toward the bow and step aboard the bridge. You weave between Hunter and Crosshair, and stand behind Tech.

“So, where are we going?” you ask while looking over Tech’s shoulder at the controls.

Without turning around, Tech answers. “Agamar. It’s a rather barren planet found in the outer rim. The terrain is inhospitable to most, but we will manage.”

“What’s the mission?” you ask further, excited by the prospect and intrigue.

“There’s a separatist base they want us to route,” Hunter says. “A simple in-and-out mission.”

You nod your head at the explanation, but he makes it sound like routing a heavily guarded separatist base is a walk in the park. You have to remind yourself that they are an elite force of clones and are genetically modified for the toughest conditions. It amazes you that such clones can even exist and your fascination with them grows. You wonder how they look in action and if they live up to all the rumors the regular clones whisper about on Kamino. Only time will tell.

Hunter rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck. “Get some sleep, all of you. We’ll be there in a couple hours.”

You want to say something funny, like 'aye aye captain', but decide not. Instead, you simply nod and make your way back to the bunks. Laying down on the flat rack, you stare up at the ceiling. There are too many pre-mission jitters vibrating through your body to fall asleep. Even after shutting your eyes and calming yourself, it's just not enough. So, you toss and turn, getting more aggravated that your body won’t drift off, since being tired for your first mission is not an option.

You sigh and sit up, then peer around at the others who are soundly asleep in their bunks and chairs. You’re not sure how they can fall asleep so fast. It’s either a genetic thing or a military training tactic, but whatever it is, you don’t have it. You decide to get up and pace around to try and wear yourself out, and when you do, you hear something. The ship is quiet and your ears perk up immediately at the sound. Wanting to investigate it, you quietly slip around your squad.

One by one, you pass by them, waiting and listening to hear who made the weird sound. Not Wrecker. You move on. Not Crosshair either. You check the next one. He’s making noise for sure, but not the sound you heard. It’s not Tech either. You move towards Hunter, a little nervous that he might wake up and catch you staring at him, but you pause and listen. Nope, not him. You purse your lips. That only leaves Echo. Carefully, you tip toe over to him, wait, and listen.

He's not making a sound, and with a shrug, you turn to leave, thinking you’re a level of crazy for hearing things on a quiet ship. Then it happens again. You turn back around and look at Echo. He’s sleeping rather soundly, with soft rhythmic breaths and gentle rises and falls of his chest. No breath obstructions, you note to yourself. You wait and watch for a moment, then he says it again. It’s faint, breathy, and almost unrecognizable as a word, but you hear it regardless.

Fives.

You knit your eyebrows at the odd utterance, and wait a little longer, listening to see if what he mumbles changes or if he’s repeating the same word. After a couple standard seconds, Echo says the same breathy word again. Fives. You wonder what it means. Maybe it’s a special numerical sequence from his time back on Skako Minor? You shrug at the mystery, but are happy that it’s not a breathing issue. You turn to leave him be, but he mumbles something else.

Fives come back.

Oh. Your heart drops. It’s a person. He’s dreaming about someone he knows, or maybe someone he once knew. You sigh and let your eyes turn soft, knowing exactly what it’s like to dream about loved ones. It’s been several years, but you still dream about your parents. Sometimes you can’t fill in all the gaps of your dreams as you slowly forget things, but it still pulls at your heartstrings every time they show up to give you a hug in the realm of sleep.

As your thoughts wander a yawn escapes past your lips. Finally, feeling tired and ready for sleep, you return to your bunk and crawl onto the hard surface. Laying on your back, you close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to settle yourself. You still wonder who Fives is and what they mean to Echo. Your psychology books tell you that dreams can be a subconscious escape or a subconscious desire. Knowing next to nothing about Echo’s past, it could be either one.

You take another deep breath and exhale slowly. Closing your eyes, you let yourself drift off to sleep, but in a split moment, a rough hand shakes you back awake. You shoot up and hit your head on the bunk above you. Ouch. Nursing your newly formed bump, you use your other hand to rub the sleep out of your eyes. When you come out of your groggy haze, you can hear snickering coming from the rest of the squad. Ha ha, yes, very funny. You think to yourself.

“Rise and shine,” Hunter mocks as he walks away from your bunk. “We’re here.”

Gathering your composure, you swing out of the bunk and head over to the cockpit for the landing. You look out the viewport as you enter the atmosphere of Agamar and your face lights up with excitement. This is it. Your first mission. You want to squeal, but something tells you that no one else is going to appreciate it, so you keep it internal. The ship lands on the rocky surface of the planet with only a slight wobble. Tech wasn’t kidding when he said it was inhospitable.

Your excitement grows as the squad gears up with their packs, and you follow suit the same way. You double check your pack to make sure you have all the medical necessities and do a mental headcount of your supplies. Once satisfied with your inventory, you sling it across your back and toss your bucket snug on your head. You’re all set to go on your first mission. The ship door opens, light beaming in, and your heart begins to race. This is it. This is your moment.

You take your first steps forward to leave the ship when Hunter stretches an arm out to stop you. “Not you,” Hunter says. “You’re staying here.”

“What?” you question. “But what about the mission?”

“Your mission is here,” Hunter says. “You’re staying on the ship with Echo.”

“But, sir!” you argue. Your feelings of excitement crumble. “I belong in the field!”

“You belong where I tell you you belong, medic,” Hunter snaps back. “Or are you ignoring an order from your commanding officer on your first mission?”

You huff and clench your fist. “No, sir."

“I didn’t think so,” Hunter says, then turns to face Echo. “We may need a quick extraction, so keep your ears on.”

“Understood,” Echo acknowledges with a nod.

Hunter nods back and heads out of the Marauder with the rest of the squad, well, the rest of the squad except you. You remove your bucket, plop down on your bunk with an angry grunt, and lean your head back against the wall. This entire assignment has been one big pissing match, and every time you think you’re making progress, you get sidelined. How are you supposed to make Kix proud if you don’t see any action? You release another angry grunt and cross your arms.

“Careful,” Echo says. “You’ll lose your voice if you keep grunting like that.”

You roll your eyes. “Aren’t you upset being stuck here?”

“No,” Echo answers. “It’s not unusual for someone to be left back with the ship. Keeps people from stealing it.”

With such a small squad of men to work with, you guess that makes sense, and since Echo is your unofficial chaperone, it makes sense that you were left on the ship with him. However, even though you try to explain it to yourself in those practical terms, you still think it's to spite you. You sigh. At this rate, you’ll never get to prove your worth as a Combat Medic to any of them. To these special clones, you’re just useless dead weight and not worth their time.

As the planetary rotation moves forward, you find odd things around the ship to busy yourself with, but you’re still bored. Echo is not much of a conversationalist and he hasn’t moved from his spot in the cockpit. You end up sprawling yourself across the seat in the gunner’s nest and looking out the window at whatever draws your attention. There’s some trees, a little snow on the ground, and a few stray wildlife that come into view. Nothing too spectacular, that’s for sure.

Finally, after hours of sitting by yourself, you decide to go back to the cockpit and sit with Echo. You're still curious about this Fives person he mentioned in his sleep, and you think maybe now might be a good time to ask him about it. You walk into the cockpit and sit down in the chair across from him, bending one leg up onto the chair and resting your chin atop your knee. Echo silently acknowledges your presence and returns to looking at the setting sun over the horizon.

You fidget with your fingers as you mull over whether to ask him about what you overheard last night. It might be private, and he may not want to tell you, but your curiosity is getting the better of you. “Echo,” you ask. “Who's Fives?”

Echo shifts uncomfortably in his seat and stays silent for a couple of minutes. “How do you know that name?” he asks. His words hang heavy in the air.

“You…” you begin, then pause, unsure of how to tell him. You don't want to sound creepy, but honesty is the best policy. “You said it in your sleep.”

Echo sighs, but doesn't turn his gaze from the orange sunset. “Shouldn’t you have been sleeping too?”

“I’m not used to sleeping on ships,” you answer. You can tell by the tone of his voice that this is a sore subject and you're starting to regret bringing it up.

Echo swivels his chair to face you and worries his lip. His eyes are full of sadness and his countenance is engrossed in pain as he searches for the words he's looking for. A small smile flashes across his lips. You wonder if he's thinking about a memory.

“He was my brother,” Echo says, his voice quiet at the strain of saying his thoughts out loud.

You can tell by his choice of words and his tone of voice that this brother isn’t around anymore and you feel a twinge of sadness settle in your gut. You understand a thing or two about the loss of a loved one. “What happened to him?” you ask.

“He was murdered,” Echo says, his fist tightening as he looks back out the viewport. “By one of our own.”

Your expression turns from sadness to shock and then confusion. A clone killing a clone? Does that even happen? Why would a clone do that? Your mind rushes a mile a minute trying to wrap your head around the idea, but you cannot seem to reconcile it. It’s too bizarre of a concept to comprehend. Every clone you've ever met was a brother to the one next to him. So, for a clone to kill another clone, it’s like a family member killing another family member. It’s unheard of.

“I’m sorry, Echo,” you offer as a consolation. “You must miss him.”

“Yeah,” Echo says, his voice distant. “I do.”

“I miss my parents all the time,” you say, trying to bridge the gap and build a connection.

“I remember you mentioning they’re dead,” Echo says as he turns to face you.

“About ten years ago,” you add. Now it's your turn to look out at the sunset.

“I’m sorry,” Echo says.

“It’s fine,” you shrug. “It hurts, but it doesn’t hurt like it used to. I know they’re out there watching over me, somewhere.”

Echo snorts. “You believe in that Jedi force stuff do ya?”

“Not really,” you answer with a small laugh. “But everyone needs to believe in something.”

“That’s fair,” Echo says.

“When I look up at the stars,” you begin with a smile while staring fondly out at the horizon, “it’s almost like I can feel them with me, you know? Watching over me as I make my way in the galaxy.”

“Sounds nice,” Echo says.

“I bet Fives is watching you too,” you say, then look at Echo with soft eyes. “He hasn’t left you alone, just like my parents haven’t left me.”

“Maybe,” Echo shrugs, then chuckles. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he came back to haunt me.” His brief small smile fades as his countenance reverts back to a frown.

“We’ll see them again some day," you say, trying to stay hopeful. “I just know it.”

“That would be something, wouldn’t it?” Echo half-jokes, but you can hear the part of his heart that wants what you're saying to be true.

He wants to see his brother again, desperately. So much so that he calls out to him while he sleeps. He must agonize over Fives’ death. You understand because you’ve been there. You’ve stared death in the face, the kind of death that leaves you thoroughly alone. You don't need to understand psychology to know what his subconscious thinks about on a daily basis, and your heart hurts for him, but you know there's nothing in your medpack to mend a shattered heart.

You and Echo stare out of the cockpit in silence and watch the sun fall beyond the horizon, sharing in this solemn moment and appreciating the company. The veil of night arrives and the stars begin to shine in the dark sky. The billions of bright burning lights feel comforting. The stars aren't very visible on Kamino, but here, on this planet, they are bright and beautiful. You relax your shoulders and lean back, thinking that maybe this assignment isn’t so bad after all.

However, your sweet moment is interrupted by Hunter’s voice over the comms. He’s calling in that quick extraction now and by the amount of yelling and blaster fire in the background, this is going to be a hot one. Echo relays the affirmation, sets the coordinates, and lets Hunter know that both of you are on the way to pick them up. You're slightly surprised that Echo included you in the transmission, but now is not the time to be celebrating your first taste of inclusivity.

“Civvy, strap in,” Echo orders as he starts pressing buttons and flipping switches to get the ship going. “This is going to be a bumpy ride and I don’t need you falling out of the ship.”

Ah, there it is. You sigh and head back towards the jump seats and strap yourself in for the wild ride ahead. Echo expertly maneuvers the ship to the squad's location and brings it in low so they can climb on board. You can hear the blaster fire outside and as the door opens to the ship, you watch them file in while firing off blaster bolts to cover each other. It’s the first time you’ve seen any of them in action and you're a little awestruck. They don’t move like other clones.

Tech next to Echo and Hunter yells for them to get them out of here. The ship moves again, this time more aggressively, as the enemy continues to fire at the Marauder. Wrecker moves to the gunner’s nest and shoots down the vulture droids that are following behind. You tightly grip the bars on the jump seat as the ship rocks from the blasts. Thankfully, the shields are up. The ship flips upside down, sideways, and every other way you can think of to out maneuver the droids.

At long last, the ship breaches the atmosphere and moves into space. Tech initiates the hyperdrive and pulls the handle down to enter into hyperspace. Once safe in a hyperspace lane, you let out the breath you were holding in, then flick the safety release on the jump seat and push them over your head. You get up from the seat and wobble forward, not realizing your legs turned to jelly from all of the excitement, and let your feet stabilize before trying to walk.

“Woah, that was fun!” Wrecker hollers as he brushes by you and moves towards the cockpit. “Echo, you should have seen this place. It was crazy.”

“Not as crazy as being sling-shot across a ravine,” Crosshair grumbles and pushes past you. He sits down in one of the swivel chairs and starts cleaning his rifle in silence.

“I said I was sorry,” Wrecker apologizes. “But we won!”

“Correction,” Tech says as he lifts a pointed finger in the air. “I won.”

Crosshair rolls his eyes and pulls a few credits from his pocket and hands them to Tech.

“Much obliged,” Tech says as he stuffs the credits in one of his many satchels.

The exchange has you lost in bewilderment. Clearly, something happened during the mission and you’re curious to know the details. You look at Echo, hoping he'll ask for more information about it, but he doesn’t, leaving you more curious. You do find it odd, however, that they had some form of amusement out on the battlefield. From your time on Kamino, most clones don't find blaster fire fun. Clone Force 99 really is different compared to the rest of the clone forces.

“I assume your mission was a success?” Hunter asks while walking by you, breaking you from your thoughts.

“Yes… sir,” you answer with a twinge of hesitancy, a little unsure of what your mission was other than staying on the ship with Echo.

“Good,” Hunter says. He reclines in one of the empty swivel seats and clasps his hands behind his head. “Glad to hear it.”

You can’t tell if he’s being serious or if he's trying to make fun of you. Either way, you brush it off and focus on more pressing matters, like what's next on the mission agenda. Will you go back to Kamino? Or will you wait for more orders? That’s what good soldiers do, isn’t it? Follow orders? You’re still unfamiliar with all of this, so you’re not sure what to ask or what to do with yourself. Rather than make new issues by asking more questions, you retreat back to your bunk to relax.

But the boredom of waiting creeps in and you start to doze off. Your eyelids are heavy even though you barely spent any energy this rotation. It doesn't take you long to remember that you didn’t get much sleep the night before and now that the adrenaline is wearing off, your body is telling you it needs rest. You don't fight it and let your body go to sleep, hoping you won’t be woken up. As a medic, you must get rest whenever you can so you can be at your best at all times.

This time you wake up on your own terms, when your body feels rested. You’re not sure how long you were out, but no one bothered you so you assume everyone is still waiting for new orders to come across. You sit up in your bunk, without hitting your head this time, and stretch out your arms. You roll your shoulders and crack your neck. The bunks aren’t exactly soft, but they do their job. Swinging your legs over the side of the bunk, you get up to use the refresher.

As you head towards the refresher, the rest of the squad is huddled around and speaking amongst each other. Hunter looks serious and has his arms crossed, which can’t mean anything good, and Echo is arguing with him, again. You forget the refresher for a moment and walk over to add your presence to the mix. Hunter notices and glances at you before turning back to Echo. Not realizing where you are standing, Crosshair gives you a small jab on your behind with his rifle.

The sudden touch startles you. “What was that for?”

“You’re blocking my view,” Crosshair hisses. “Move.”

You roll your eyes. “You could've just asked me to move, you know. That's borderline harassment.”

“If you looked more like a window than a door, I wouldn’t have to borderline harass you,” Crosshair snarks and flicks his toothpick in your face.

Your nose scrunches and eyes close when the little wooden projectile hits your face. As your frustration builds, you take a deep breath to calm yourself. You want nothing more than to tell that sniper where he can shove his rifle, but you won't. It's not worth it because it will only fuel his bullying further. Instead, you choose to let it go. This time. There are points where you will cross the line, and he keeps dancing around that line. If he ever crosses it, you'll let him know.

“Can we get back to more important things?” Hunter asks, shifting his gaze between you and Crosshair.

Echo huffs and shakes his head. "I don't like it."

"We don't have to like it," Hunter says. "Orders are orders."

"What orders?" you ask.

Hunter swivels to face you. "There's rumors of an imperial base operating out of Scorro." Tech pulls up a holo of the planet and Hunter continues his explanation. "According to our intel, the GAR sent a squad of clones to scout the base, but their comms suddenly went silent. Another squad of clones were sent after them with the same result. Now they want us to investigate."

"Do they know what happened to the clones?" you ask, curious as to what's causing Echo's skepticism.

"No," Hunter crosses his arms. "They were never recovered."

"No one went back to get them?" you ask.

"It would be a waste of resources," Tech adds. "Besides, based on the trend, sending another clone squadron would yield the same results."

"But aren't we another clone squadron?" you ask, this time your nerves bleed through.

"Stop worrying!" Wrecker exclaims. "We can take on whatever they throw at us!"

His words don't make you feel better about the situation. While Echo is the only one openly objecting to the new mission, Hunter's facial expressions tell a different story than what he's leading everyone to believe. Your first inkling was the fact that he hasn't shoved you aside for this conversation. In fact, he's answered your questions without issue. He's serious about this in a way he hasn't been since you've met him. The fact that Hunter is worrying, has you worrying.

"I still don't like it," Echo frowns. "How'd they lose two clone squadrons without so much as one distress signal?"

"Maybe a new type of droid?" you offer. "Or their signals were jammed?"

"Groundbreaking ideas," Crosshair says.

"Everything is a valid option," Echo adds.

Crosshair rolls his eyes.

"Enough," Hunter says. "We're going to Scorro to investigate the rumors and to find the missing clones. Double-check our supplies and prepare for anything."

With the sergeant's final words, everyone scatters to prepare for the mission, except for Tech who punches in the new coordinates and sets the course for Scorro. You linger in the cockpit, silently observing Hunter as he pulls out his knife and twirls it around his fingers. The mission makes you nervous even though it shouldn't. You'll probably end up staying on the ship again, but maybe that's not a bad thing. You shake your head at the thought. That's not why you're here.

"Sergeant–"

"You too," Hunter says before you get a chance to ask. "You're coming with us."

You smile and nod. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't get the wrong idea," Hunter adds. "I need Echo for this mission, and I'm not leaving you alone on the ship."

"Yes, sir," you frown then turn back towards the bunks to get yourself situated.

Of course it would be too good to be true. For a second, you thought he actually wanted you on this mission, but he just wants to keep an eye on you. As a medic, you can help the missing troopers if they need medical attention, which you're confident they will. Your presence on the mission should be vital, not just an afterthought. Although, you shouldn't be upset that you're going on a mission, but you wish it was because of merit and not for the sake of babysitting.

Regardless, you will do your best on this mission and prove to Clone Force 99 that you are a good medic. That they need you. You're not sure how, but you will. When you get back to your bunk, you triple-check the supplies in your pack and stock as many bacta patches and stim shots as you can fit, plus some essential fluid and mineral packets, ration bars, and a few medical odds and ends that make sense to bring along. You want to be prepared for anything.

With your preparations made, it's another waiting game until you reach Scorro. You don't remember reading about that planet in your studies, but apparently it's rather primitive in nature, which is why no one has settled on it. It's an abandoned planet, making it a great outpost for mercenaries, pirates, and separatists. Pulling out your data-pad, you do a little more research to see what you can find out, but come up with the same dismal results that your holo-texts had.

It's not much longer before the Marauder drops out of hyperspace and the olive-green planet comes into view. When the holo-text said that Scorro was primitive, it wasn't kidding. It looks new and unabused by modern progress, and its vegetal hue is highly alluring. Your curiosity has now surpassed your trepidation about the rumors and missing clones. You're excited. This is a great opportunity, even if it's dangerous. The closer you get to the planet, the faster your heart beats.

“According to the scanners, there are no active fauna on this planet,” Tech states. "But the air is breathable."

“Just because the air is breathable doesn’t mean it’s good for you,” you point out. “Carbon monoxide is breathable but you’ll die before you figure out it’s bad for you.”

“Correction,” Tech adds. "The air is non-toxic towards human life-forms."

"Glad we could sort that one out," Crosshair says. "Any more words of wisdom?"

You narrow your eyes at him. "No."

"Take us in," Hunter says. "Land just outside the coordinates of the last clone squadron."

"Affirmative," Tech says, then flips a few switches before piloting the ship into the planet's atmosphere.

Once the ship has landed, Hunter addresses the group. "Our mission is to locate the two missing clone squadrons and investigate the rumors about an separatist base of operations. We'll use teams of two and spread out in an 800 meter radius from the last known coordinates. Keep the comm lines open and have your blasters at the ready."

Everyone nods and gears up, including you. Before you put your bucket on, you glance at the medic mark on your shoulder pauldron. No matter what happens, you have a job to do. You're a medic first. These men, your squad, are in your care and it's your responsibility to make sure they all survive. Steeling yourself for what's to come, you bite back every lick of fear that tries to take hold in your mind. You've trained hard for this, and you're not going to get cold feet now.

The side loading ramp opens and the bright sunlight of the planet blasts into the dimly lit ship. No turning back now. You follow the rest of the squad out of the ship and step onto the fresh earth of Scorro. For someone who grew up on Coruscant and spent the last cycle on Kamino, this much vegetation is mesmerizing. The sun is so warm, and the earth beneath your feet is so soft. This virgin planet is breathtaking. You take a few more steps forward, then Hunter stops.

"Tech, Crosshair, go east," Hunter says while pointing in that direction. "Wrecker and I will go north. Echo and Civvy, you'll go west.

The group nods and heads out in their respective directions.

"Stay frosty men," Hunter says over the comms. "There's no telling what we'll be up against out here."

You and Echo silently walk towards the western end of the perimeter, keeping your eyes peeled for any signs of the clone troopers or separatists. After a couple minutes, the silence grates on your nerves, but Echo seems focused right now. A little too focused. You know this mission bothered him from the beginning, but there seems to be something else about the way he carries himself that indicates it's not just about the mission being odd. There's something deeper.

As you continue forward, your foot kicks something hard. Looking down, you catch a glimpse of the familiar white plastoid clone trooper helmet, which is attached to a body shrouded by tall weeds. Your stomach flips. You weren't expecting to find one of them so quickly.

"Sarge," you say in the comms. "I found a trooper." Crouching down, you check for a pulse, but as you expected, there is none. "He's dead."

"We're making our way to your position now," Hunter says. "How'd he die?"

While your medic training didn't have an autopsy course, you inspect the body for the usual suspects. The armor is still intact and there's no signs of a struggle, which you find odd. There's no blaster marks, claw marks, bites, or scratches on the armor either. The black bodysuit isn't even ripped. He must have died from something. You pull back some of the black bodysuit and notice the tissue is necrotizing, but you don't see anything suspicious. Then you scan the body.

"Civvy, status," Hunter interjects over comms.

"I'm not sure how he died," you admit while reviewing the results of the scan. Echo looks over the body too, but doesn't come up with anything substantial. Not that you needed a second opinion.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Hunter asks. "You're a medic, you should know how people die."

"There's no wounds," you explain. "He looks normal. Fine, even. Besides being dead." You don't mention it, but the fact that there are no organisms feasting on the clone's flesh also baffles you. You'd figure there would be more decay markers, but there's not even a single worm.

Hunter and Wrecker make it to your position and Hunter looks over the body, confirming what you said. "Then how the kriff did he die?"

You look up at Hunter from your crouched position next to the body and shrug. "We'd need a full autopsy to determine that, but the scans indicate no internal injuries either."

"So, he died from nothing?" Echo asks.

You shrug again. "Maybe he had a heart attack. That doesn't show up on portable scanners."

"Eighteen clone troopers died of a heart attack?" Hunter asks, his voice sounding distant.

"No," you rebut. "But maybe this one did."

Hunter points past you and you stand up to see what he wants you to look at. You tilt your head from side to side, scanning the area he's pointing at, when a glint of white pops up on your HUD. Then another. And another. Your eyes widen and your mouth gapes. The ground is littered with seventeen more troopers half-covered in tall weeds. The first squad and the second squad, dead mere meters from each other. You've never seen so many dead bodies before.

You feel your stomach grow queasy, and you rip off your helmet to vomit. As a medical student, you've seen cadavers, held organs in your hands, been bathed in blood, but nothing prepared you for the sight of a mass death. There's something menacing and sickly about it. You know most clones are never retrieved from battlegrounds and you know most clones will never see a proper burial, but knowing and witnessing are two different things. It's heartbreaking.

"You all right?" Echo asks.

You pant from the spasmic exertion, but find your voice. "I'm fine."

Tech and Crosshair arrive at your position soon after, and take note of the bodies. Everyone feels it now, the pressure looming thickly in the air. Something happened on this planet. Something killed these eighteen troopers and it killed them silently. There's an anxiety that creeps in as you wonder what it possibly could be. What is the silent hunter? How does it find its victims? And how can you and your squad escape from it? Perhaps, it may even be too late.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Echo says to Hunter.

Hunter sighs. "Me too."

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3

Masterlist

A03

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book--brackets · 4 months ago

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Codebearers by The Miller Brothers (2008-2010)

After one of his infamous pranks backfires, Hunter unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient book and key. Little does he know the mysterious book is a gateway to Solandria, a supernatural realm held captive by the Shadow. In Solandria, Hunter joins forces with the Codebearers, a band of highly trained warriors who form the Resistance to the Shadow. But before he can complete his training in the ways of the Code of Life, Hunter is sent on a mission far more dangerous than he ever bargained for. Now with his life in peril and the future of Solandria hanging in the balance, Hunter is headed for a showdown with the Shadow and a battle to save his soul from a fate worse than death! Is Hunters knowledge of the Code deep enough to uncover the secret of the Shadow, or will the truth be more than he can bear?

Merovingen Nights by C. J. Cherryh (1985-1991)

Merovin, the world the C. J. Cherryh built, a low-tech, inhospitable planet where the human survivors of a colony nearly destroyed by an enigmatic alien menace still dwell, salvaging what they can, while awaiting the return of the alien menace or rediscovery by the Terrans who abandoned them in that long-ago terror.

And in Merovingen, the fantastic canal city, where the wealthy and powerful reside in the highest towers, and beggars, spies, thieves and boaters like Altair Jones ply the highly polluted interlacing waterways below, intrigue, thievery and revolution are the very breath of life. And now with the Festival of Scouring approaching, C. J. Cherryh has invited some of today's finest writers into Merovignen, to weave together this tale of Festival Moon, a time of mystery and murder, of power games both high and low, a Festival after which this world will never be quite the same again...

Dragonlance: The New Adventures by Tim Waggoner (2004-2008)

Nearra does not know who she is or where she lives, but she does know one thing: someone wants her dead. Her only hope lies leagues away, in an ancient temple, where healing clerics may be able to restore her memory.

A helpful young ranger, a failed warrior, a sneaky elf, and a kender wizard offer to accompany Nearra on her journey. She soon learns her newfound friends have secrets of their own. As goblins, an angry minotaur, and a vicious green dragon attempt to stop them at every turn, friendships are tested and all of if may come to ruin from the one Nearra trusts the most.

Creature Court by Tansy Rayner Roberts (2010-2018)

A war is being fought in the skies over the city of Aufleur. No one sees the battles. No one knows how close they come to destruction every time the sun sets.

During daylight, all is well, but when nox falls and the sky turns bright, someone has to step up and lead the Creature Court into battle.

Twelve years ago, Garnet kissed Velody and stole her magic. Five years ago, he betrayed Ashiol, and took his powers by force. But now the Creature Court is at a crossroads … they need a Power and Majesty who won’t give up or lose themselves in madness …

Spellbound by Vivian Vande Velde (1997-1998)

Welland was less than a slave. Slaves are human, and he was wolf, allowed to assume human form only when it suited the sorceress Daria.

Daria kept an army of changelings mostly wolf but some lynx or weasel, a bear or two, and at least one rat. She used them to hunt and kill. And sometimes to pretend to be human, so she could pretend to be a lady.

Weiland hated the lie almost as much as he hated the truth. Then he met a burglar, a thief named Shile, who offered to help him steal what he had never owned. His own troubled soul...

Welkin Weasels by Garry Kilworth (1997-2003)

Long ago, long before Sylver the weasel was born, the humans all left Welkin. Now life for a weasel—under the heavy paw of the vicious stoat rulers—is pretty miserable (unless you happen to be a weasel who likes living in a hovel and toiling all hours for the benefit of the stoats).

It's certainly not enough for Sylver. Or for his small band of outlaws, both jacks and jills. but slingshots and darts can only do so much against heavily-armed stoats and life as an outlaw has a fairly limited future (probably a painful one, too). That's when Sylver comes up with his plan—a heroic plan that could destroy the stoats' reign of power for ever. He will find the humans, and bring them back to Welkin! And the first step is to follow up a clue from the past—a clue that lies in a place known as Thunder Oak...

Evergreen by Devin Greenlee (2024)

All seventeen-year-old Quill wants is a break from the family business. Flowers, plants, the generations-old garden. What he wouldn’t give for a taste of the outside world. Normalcy. But his mom won’t let him out of the house, telling him he’s just not ready…

All because he’s a dryad. Well, not just any dryad, but a male dryad—the first ever. And unlike everyone else in his family, he hasn’t a lick of magic. Just a shock of green hair, matching green eyes, and a growing frustration that there’s an entire world out there waiting to be discovered. Until the night when the outside world—specifically his new neighbor—discovers him.

Liam Watson lives in a culture filled with electronics, mobile devices, and social media—where there is no magic or even the belief in it. And as much as Quill finds Liam irritating (he’s so cute it’s annoying), he can’t help himself.

Now Quill’s getting a taste of the outside world and of Liam…and he wants more. But all is not well in this magical, urban garden, and someone—or something—is changing the very essence of it.

And wherever Quill goes, the danger grows…

Unicorns of the Mist by R. R. Russell (2013-2014)

Deep in the heart of a mist-shrouded island, an impossible secret is about to be discovered.

Twig is used to feeling unwanted. Sent to live on a pony ranch for "troubled" girls on a misty, haunted island, Twig is about to discover the impossible — someone who needs her. Jolted awake from a bad dream, Twig follows the desperate whinny of a terrified horse out to the stables. There in the straw is a bleating little scrap of moonbeam. A silver-white filly with cloven hooves and a tiny, spiraling horn.

A baby unicorn.

Now Twig knows what secret is hiding in the island's mist: the last free unicorn herd. And a mysterious boy named Ben who insists that this impossible creature is now Twig's to care for. That she needs Twig's love and protection. Because there's something out there in the deep, dense shadows that's hunting for them...

Chronicles of Avilesor by Sara A. Noe (2020-2021)

Cato is the only true half-human, half-ghost hybrid in existence. He's powerful and unique with two divine powers instead of one.

The United States government believes he is the key to developing a devastating weapon that will give humankind an advantage when war inevitably erupts between the Human Realm and Avilésor, the Ghost Realm.

After being an unwilling test subject in Project Alpha for two years, Cato and the rest of his "lab-family" survive a transport accident to find themselves stranded and powerless in the middle of the wilderness. Hunted every step of the way by ghostly Shadow Guards with supernatural abilities and human Agents desperate to recapture their prisoners, the eight young fugitives are drawn to Cato's hometown where the Rip between Realms connects the worlds.

Cato wants nothing to do with his past, but as his enemies close in, he realizes he's willing to do anything to protect his lab-family . . .

. . . even kidnap the daughter of a ghost hunter and make a dangerous deal to become a mercenary.

Knights of Liofwende by Garry Kilworth (2002-2004)

Faerieland. It's like a reflection of your world... a warped reflection. And Jack has just stumbled right into it - with a whole lot of trouble on his tail. Trolls, goblins, ogres and giants ... all after one thing. But Jack's got no clue what. He needs some allies, like now. A wizard maybe. Or a High Fairy. Someone who can do serious magic. Someone who can help him get home. Anyone. Just not a dreamy young boggart named Spiggot...

#best fantasy book #poll #codebearers #merovingen nights #dragonlance: the new adventures #creature court #spellbound #welkin weasels #evergreen #unicorns of the mist #chronicles of avilesor #knights of liofwende

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elsewhereuniversity · 1 year ago

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I know the Gentry aren't fond of science, but how do they feel about science fiction? Of literary magic dressed up a chemicals and cogs? Do they like it? Do they consider it exotic? Is there enough interest to start a black market book business?

At least one violinist has been ransomed back to campus for the price of twenty pounds of yellowing sci-fi paperbacks. A new story is a new story, and therefore worth its weight in gold, whether it's a novel adventure or a familiar tale in fresh wrappings.

Many of the older Gentry fled our world around the time of the industrial revolution, as it became increasingly run through with iron, inhospitable to them. The younger ones may not even recall that, only seeing the changing technology students use without being able to interact meaningfully with most it. Therefore there's always some worried uncertainty and/or incredulous delight when reading about the kinds of far-flung tech depicted: sure, some of it sounds implausible, but humans went to the moon! the moon in the sky! It's hard to judge what's plausible from the Elsewhere.

#sci fi

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just-here-with-my-thoughts · 6 months ago

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The Bad Batch Fanfic Round-Up

Long Fics & Series

Test Subject / System Upgrade AO3 (Complete, ~35k words) Echo's ordeal doesn't end when he is rescued from Skako Minor. The clones are Kaminoan property; they want to know how his altered body works, and upgrade the Techno Union hardware that keeps his body functioning. After that, he has to integrate with his new squad.

Pieces Of The People We Love AO3 (~28k words, In Progress) Seeking to improve their most valuable export, the Kaminoans develop a new breed of enhanced clone. CT-9904 'Crosshair' grows up alongside his batch-mates.

Welcome To The Outpost Tumblr | AO3 (Complete, ~32k words) Clone Commander Mayday is given the unenviable task of managing a storage outpost on the remote, inhospitable planet Barton IV. Adversity takes its toll on his squad, but will things change when an elite Imperial sniper arrives with the relief transport destined to relieve them of their long patrol? Tales of the Outpost includes additional short stories about Mayday's squad Distinguished | Under The Same Sky

Savage Hunter AO3 (~7.5k words, In Progress) Enhancing Hunter's senses came with the side effect of heightening his feral instincts. When his family is threatened, he cannot always control it. Rope Burns / Adrenaline Crash | Adrenaline Crash 5+1

Beach Days & Hair Braiding AO3 (~36k words, In Progress) Tantiss is destroyed, and Hunter and Omega have settled on Pabu. The Empire is still out there though, and Crosshair fights alongside Echo in Rex's Resistance to keep his family safe. Despite it all, they find time to explore the tentative new depths of their feelings for each other. Beach Days & Hair Braiding | All The Time In The World | Fairground Date | R U Mine?

Short Stories

The Bad Batch Short Story Collection Tumblr | AO3 (33 stories, most under ~2k words) Assorted short stories written for various writing prompt events. Check here for Cadet stories, birthday cake, whump, brotherly feels, obligatory nerf nugget transport fic, Tech/Phee, water gun fights, settling down on Pabu, Omega gets a girlfriend, ugly haircuts, how Wrecker got Lula, Outpost Boys at the beach, Domino Twins on Pabu and more.

This is the last time I abandon you Tumblr | AO3 (~11k words) AU in which Mayday survives, and later returns to the Barton IV outpost with the remaining members of the Batch

A Fair Price To Pay Tumblr | AO3 (~12k words) Crosshair is determined to get Omega out of Tantiss, even if their freedom comes at a price. Along the way, Omega saves him too.

Ink AO3 (1099 words for CT-9901) Despite his status as a CT-99, Hunter bore the same face as the millions of regular clones. Although his sensory abilities were altered, his genetic code hadn’t mutated in a way which caused differences to his appearance. He could have passed as normal – if only he had wanted to.

i'm not trying to replace you (only hold on to your memory) Tumblr | AO3 (~2k words) Omega misses the quiet rituals that had been hers and Tech's alone, and turns to Hunter for comfort.

Radio Silence Tumblr | AO3 (~4k words) After Eriadu, Hunter tunes the com to a familiar frequency and sends a message out into the void, hoping beyond hope for an answer.

i reach for you in the night (you're still my brother after all) Tumblr | AO3 (~2.5k words) Since his return from Tantiss, things between Hunter and Crosshair have been nothing but tense. But even in his anger, Hunter is unable to ignore how distressed Crosshair is when he is trapped in a nightmare.

Hot Chocolate (Your Absence Has Torn A Void In My Heart) AO3 (~2.5k words) After fleeing Kamino with the enhanced clone Omega, and leaving their brother Crosshair behind, Echo takes a moment to check in on Hunter.

Phobia Tumblr | AO3 (~365 words) Omega helps the Batch deal with an unwanted guest.

Soup of the Day Tumblr | AO3 (~1.5k words) In which Crosshair gets to eat an undisturbed meal, with a side-helping of angst.

[Untitled HuntEcho] AO3 (~1k words)Inspired by this fanart - Hunter is reluctant to bid farewell to Echo as he leaves to join Rex

The Bad Batch Stardust Collection inspired by @kybercrystals94 The Batch get a space-hamster. Chaos ensues. A Cosy Bed | Elusive | R.O.U.S.'s

Fanart

Bad Batch S3 Launch Party Cupcakes Because icing cupcakes counts as fanart, right?

Swimming Lessons Scene illustration to accompany 'Beach Days & Hair Braiding'

Batch-mega Fullmetal Alchemist x The Bad Batch Crossover

Others' Art Fanart produced by some of the wonderful members of the Tumblr Bad Batch Fandom for my stories

#the bad batch #fanfic #fanfiction #the bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch fanfic #tbb fanfic #tbb fanfiction #just_thoughts

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rendomski · 11 months ago

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“Indomitable Heart" by Kihvod

One more captivating WIP action fic on AO3 - “Indomitable Heart" by Kihvod. The author made Tech fall even before it became canon (sorry, couldn't miss the parallel 🥴). Tech is dropped from the ship on his solo mission, he is hurt badly but alive. His brothers, not getting any communication from him, are sick with worry, each in his own expressive way.

But the most important and fascinating part of the story is the place Tech has gotten himself into. The prison planet for clones where we meet not only well-known canonical offenders like Slick and Dogma but also dearest (presumed) departed Fives and Tup, and many more OC clones. The place is inhospitable, the conditions are harsh, and the supplies are sent irregularly. It seems nobody cares much about the clone prisoners; no surprise here. At the moment, I'm more intrigued by why anyone bothers to send them into that hellhole at all instead of just disposing of them quietly, but perhaps this question will be answered later in the story.

Up to now, the story has a bunch of clones surviving basically in the wild and building a quaint commune there, and very in-character autistic (but emphatic! ❤️) Tech who falls (literally) into their lives to save them, but has to be saved himself at first.

#the bad batch #tbb tech #arc trooper fives #tcw #tbb fanfiction #tcw fanfic #fanfiction recommendation #star wars

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g-witchsulettaneedsahug · 1 year ago

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Hello and welcome back to Simping For Prospera! We will once again be ⭐️controversial⭐️. In this post, we shall ask the following question:

Why would Prospera winning be so bad?

Taking a step back, its fascinating to see what kind of world the authors have written for this series. In what seems to be an almost post-capitalist hellscape, mega corporations have all the power over both its employees as well normal people in a way means it has powers thats only appropriate for an institution thats democratically elected by the normal people.

The Benerit Group has tremendous power, control and resources in space and opress the people of earth, using both economic and physical violence to crush those who oppose it. At its beck and call is the organisation Cathedra and it subdivision Dominicus, a para-military organisation. Once again, a corporation has the power and military might we, in this and age, normally only give to governments.

At its core, all organisations involved in the Benerit Group are military ones. Vying for subsidies and funding from governmental bodies and wealthy investors alike, using weapons programs to keep it all turning. Peil, Grassely, Jeturk, they all produce mobile suits and are the primary members of the group, which exists out of many corporations.

At the same time the Space Assembly League seems to have some sort of authority over the members, allowing them to freely investigate. Likely this is because they are an actual political organisation, perhaps actual representatives of both earth and space and not the corporations. Yet this faction and/or organisation, which may or may not be the only non-corporate controlled form of government there is in space and thus the only other faction with any "legitimate" power, work together with terrorists such as the Dawn of Fold in order to take down the Benerit Group which shows how much power the group really has.

All of this goes to show how spectacularly corrupt the whole society and every active participant inside of it is. Money is basically only invested if its in the interest of the powerful and whats in their interest is to primarily invest in the means and technology to utterly crush those who may threaten their power. Weapons, resources, property, means of travel, they all utterly dominate it. In other words, buisness men and women are at the top of it all. People who only care about and for money.

Then where are all the others? The artists, researchers, teachers, etc? Right under the tumb of the upper class of course. The rich are the ones who decide who gets funding, why they get funding, how they get funding and how much funding they receive. Medicine is beholden to the ones who can provide the funding for it.

The Vanadís Institute, where research was done on the GUND-format by Cardo Nabo and her staff, is one such faction that had to align themselves with more militaristic organisations in order to receive funding for their research. Instead of being able to focus purely on the improvement and freeing of humanity through the use of technology to make themselves more durable against the hardships of space, the institute had to work together with Ochs-Earth and bend to the whims of the military to even more powerful mobile suits then there already were, Gundams.

Instead of being a way to save lives and advance humanity, the GUND-format was seen as a way for Earthians to gain power and to get on even footing with the Spacians by developing weaponry that could fight rival or even surpass Spacian tech. Such is the world, violence almost always prevails.

And Spacian rule has not been kind, not to Earthians or lower class Spacians. Mercury is so inhospitable, raising a family there is considered borderline insanity (see, Cradle Planet and read between the lines). The risks are simply too great. In the show we can see that Mercury is basically considered some backwater, irrelevant place in the middle of nowhere, far away from the Earth sphere. The Space equivilant of the middle of nowhere, of a falling apart mining town almost.

Its not nearly as severe as what the Benerit Group does upon Earthians and Earthian aligned people however. Look no further then the massive amounts of indiscriminate murder committed against the researchers of Vanadís for daring to create mobile suits which might threaten Spacian rule or the violence which they turn upon the Earthians in order to keep them surpressed when they protest the injustices done upon them by the Spacian leeches, sucking the earth dry of its resources and siphoning its wealth. The violence caused by greed is truly incredible.

And then we have Prospera. Prospera, who is Elnora Samaya. Prospera, who was mentored and likely cared for by Cardo Nabo, lead researcher of Vanadís and ardent believer in the GUND-format. Prospera, who truly believes in the ideals of the Vanadís Insitute and what it wished to accomplish with GUND technology. Prospera, who lived on Folkenvanger which housed the institute, who was married to a manager of the project. Prospera, who was a tester and pilot herself. Prospera, who had her whole *life* inside of the institute: family, friends, collegues.

She felt safe there, she felt comfortable. She was amongst like-minded people, with people she trusted, trusted enough to raise her precious daughter there. To have a family.

And then they were all killed.

(almost) the whole institute was wiped out, from researchers to managers to technicians and other employees, including their families. In the grand scheme of things, its just an other event where many innocent lives are lost to the hands of Spacian and specifically corporate oppression and control.

That being said, looking at it from Elnora's perspective this is absolutely a beyond traumatic event. Her whole world was turned upside down. She lost her collegues, her friends, her mentor, her husband and later on her precious daughter. All the while those who ruined her life sit high upon their fancy chairs, enjoying their wealth and with not a real worry in the world, playing god in their meeting rooms.

No justice would come to them for their actions, oh no. There is no law which would hold them accountable for their indiscrimimate murder, they ARE the law. They are the judges, the juries and the executioners.

Isn't that just crazy to think about? The insanity and the hubris of the most powerful Spacian faction? Evil is often described as something "profoundly wicked and immoral". I'd say that the actions of the Benerit Group, the Mobile Suit Council, Cathedra, Dominicus and even the Space Assembly League are quite wicked and immoral.

Then tell me, do you blame Elnora for wishing to take them down? To bring down the Benerit Group? To not work with the Space Assembly? Should her actions not be seen as admirable, in a way? Her desire for revenge against the injustices done upon her and her drive to take down those who are her enemies?

Is it wrong to cheer for the opressed instead of the oppressor?

Sure, one may argue that Prospera's actions are too violent, as she basically sacrificed the inhabitants of Quinnharbor, but what is one town/city in the face of the many atrocities perpetuated by the Space Aseembly League and Benerit Group? What is one town compared to the safety and happiness of her lovely daughter within the Data Storm, as well as close to 2 decades of planning and preparing?

As for Suletta yes, she might be a "repli-child" who, was simply a "key" and yes Eri might be her main focus, that does not mean she did not treat Suletta well. In the first season, prologue as well as Cradle Planet we can see how gentle Elnora is. She is sweet and smiles and is patient with her daughters. She listens to their worries and and indulges in their chatter. Suletta obviously loves her and feels safe with her. This shows that even if Elnora didn't think of her as her daughter, she still treated her well. She treated her gently and she made her feel loved. Eri is her first priority yes, but that does not mean that she doesn't care for Suletta. Prospera is thus not personally an evil person who revels in the pain of those who cannot fight back, such as a young child. She even agrees with Eri that Suletta should be happy, even if its not with them.

But what does Prospera, Elnora, want? What is her goal with Quiet Zero and would it be that much worse then the Benerit Group? The Quiet Zero project seems to be a collaboration between her, Delling and whichever organisation is helping her. Besides wanting to expand the range for Eri so she can live more freely, what else is the project for? They for sure likely cannot care less about Eri, thats not their daughter and for all they care its just an extremely advanced AI with the imprint of a dead child.

Quiet Zero, most likely, is an attempt to forcefully put an end to most of the fighting. Since basically everything uses permet, entire stations and other Spacian infrastructure and even some Earthian ones use Permet, they'll all be vulnerable to being taken over by the Quiet Zero data storm and thus Eri. This power would allow Prospera and Eri to forcefully take over all the organisations who oppose them and to get their revenge against those who ruined their lives. They and everyone else on their side who aid them are likely so disillusiomed with the system and the consatnt tragedies caused by corruption and greed, they are entirely willing to take over everything themselves. They are likely planning to take over the Earth Sphere and the rest of Spacian territory by force and to have them at their mercy, easily dismanteling them, especially as they'll be unable to resist.

There are no good good guys in gundam, there are only desperate people clawing for power and control.

Suletta and the Earth House aren't the "good guys" or "heroes", they're normal school kids going to a military academy under the control of major corporations who just wanna do their best and survive and are at the mercy of corporate giants and their spawn. The Benerit Group aren't heroes/good guys, and neither is the Space Assembly League, Ochs-Earth, Dawn of Fold, they're all evil as fuck imo. There are no good guys, there are only victims and perpetrators.

So tell me, what exactly are we rooting for in this show? Why should Suletta "talk" or "reason" with her mother? Why do we not want Prospera to succeed? I can understand Suletta reaching out to her mother and sister in order to understand where they are coming from and why they had left her, why they never told her of their plans even. To have open communications. But I don't understans for the life of me why Suletta or Earth House should give a single singular shit about Prospera upheaving all of Spacian society. Miorine and Guel perhaps do, but they are benign to the Earthians and likely wouldn't mind in the long run/could be reasoned with. It depends.

So, with all of this said: why shouldn't Prospera win?

(Anyway I have a whole lotta fears and specukation about the SAL and Suletta, as well absolute red flags for her and I am fucking manifesting annother season at this point for more Suletta and Eri development)

#g witch #gundam: the witch from mercury #suletta mercury #gundam witch from mercury #g witch spoilers #lady prospera #prospera mercury #world building #gundam

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thatonebirdwrites · 7 months ago

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As I write ficlets here, I dump them in my Books of Destiny. Newest chapter is the idea for the Fallout AU. I wanted to keep Kara feeling alien, and the best way to do that is for her to be a vault dweller who ventures into the wastelands for the first time. This puts Lena as a wastelander (secretly with the Railroad but working as a scavenger). I'm mixing the plots of Fallout 3 and 4 because I liked Fallout 3's plot better, but I prefer Fallout 4's setting and factions. (Have played these games dozens of times.) What is the Fallout Universe?

If Fusion Power was invented and became commonplace in the 1950s, where even cars are run on fusion, only for a nuclear war to break out. Two hundred years after the War, the character leaves their vault knowing little to nothing about the wasteland. It's a dark satire with ridiculous elements. As a fun easter egg, in Fallout 3, you can find Bethseda's offices. Yes, they put their offices in the game.

Year 2278, May 12 - 200 Years After the War

Two days after leaving the vault, Kara realized that the world did not fit what the overseer had described. In fact, everything she'd been told about the world seemed to be terribly wrong.

The giant cockroaches and mosquitoes? They weren't supposed to be that big! When she saw the furless mongrel dogs and cows with two heads, she quickly realized that the Vault's biology book was utterly useless for this wasteland. The land itself mostly dried grass, vine-drenched trees, and over-sized, glowing mushrooms.

How was Kara supposed to find a clean source of water and better foodstuff to replace their lost stores? The wasteland looked so inhospitable, and nearly all the water sources held far too much radioactivity. Her Geiger counter kept bouncing up to warn her away from the more dangerous areas -- her vault suit didn't quite protect against the radiation, she should have worn a hazmat suit -- but in other areas that did harbor life, none matched her biology vaultbooks. So she had no idea what was edible.

Up ahead, Kara sighted three figures. She darted behind a rock. Last thing she needed was a fight. The last one with that creepy, fur-less and rabid dog had nearly gotten her killed. Her arm still ached from the dog's claws. She'd had to use three stimpacks before the injury began to slowly repair itself.

So she huddled behind a rock and watched the approach of humans. The first she'd seen since leaving the vault. She had a knife with her, canned food and water, and some tech from the vault. The gun she'd found in a rundown shack yesterday was out of ammo. Not that she was any good at it. Shooting wasn't part of the vault curriculum.

Two of the humans were dressed in leather coats, black pants with knee pads, and a hard helmet. A giant, hulking robot walked next to them, but a human voice emanated from it. It looked like one of the power armors Kara had seen in the textbooks from the war.

One of the humans looked like a woman. She held a device in her hand and moved it back and forth over the ground. Her skin was sun-burned, her black hair tied back in a loose ponytail, but her eyes were so, so green. As green as the tree drawings in Kara's vault textbooks. She was gorgeous.

The trio walked closer, and their voices drifted over the broken trees and shattered road. "Jack, are you certain this was the coordinates? Because I'm not picking up any signals." Even the woman's voice sounded beautiful.

"We've been over this, Lena. The triangulation pinpointed the crash to this location," Jack said, his deeper voice held an accent Kara didn't recognize. "We simply need to cover more area."

"Perhaps we should split up?" The power armor person said. Their voice was a low alto. "Cover more ground?"

"Bloody hell, Sam, we'd be easy pickings for any enemy then," Jack said with a dramatic flourish of his hand.

"You would be fine, Sam," Lena said with a roll of her eyes. "You got the power armor. Besides, the idea isn't feasible. I have the scanner. Without it, you're looking for a cap in a lake."

Kara blinked as their words filtered through her. Wait. A crash? She'd seen lots of crashes since leaving the Vault. In fact, one had been still smoking. It resembled the Vertibirds from her textbooks of the war. She'd passed by it yesterday when she'd sighted the giant cockroach and almost fell off a cliff in her eagerness to escape it.

Without thinking it through, she darted to her feet. "Hey! I saw a crash!"

And soon found herself facing three weapons -- a flamethrower in Sam's hands, a hunting rifle in Jack's, and a laser gun in Lena's.

Kara threw up her hands. "Please don't shoot! I don't mean any harm. I just heard you talking about a crash, and I saw one."

Lena lowered her weapon first. One eyebrow rose as her gaze swept over Kara. "You're wearing a vault jumpsuit."

"Yes?" Kara looked down at the blue and yellow suit. The number 101 was emblazoned across the front. Was it a bad thing to be a vault-dweller? She wondered if maybe she should have lied. Too late now. "I left it two days ago."

"Wait, you're a vault dweller?" Jack slid the rifle over his shoulder and grinned. "Our luck is in! Can you take us to it?"

Kara lowered her hands, confused. "Why?"

"Most vaults are powered by fusion," Lena explained, "and we're low on fusion cores. Is your power still functioning?"

Kara shifted uneasily back toward her rock. "I'm not sure." She'd left the vault intact, meaning her family was still there. Leading these people to it just for them to take the vault's power? That would put them all in danger.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Sam asked. She had lowered her weapon, but her voice was still intimidating due to the power armor. "Come on, you just left it, didn't you?"

"I can take you to the crash," Kara said, firmly. Alex and the others relied on her mission to find a better water source. Leading strangers there to steal power was not part of the mission. "And maybe we can negotiate if you help me find a clean source of water."

"Now see here," Jack started to say, but Lena held up her hand to stop him.

"Negotiate we definitely can. So what's your name?" With a smile, Lena stepped in front of the others and held out her hand to Kara. "I'm Lena, this is Jack, and that's Sam."

"Kara from Vault 111." Kara shook Lena's hand with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you."

#supercorp #writing #lena luthor #kara zor el #kara x lena #fallout au #fallout 4 #fallout 3 #fallout universe #ficlet #supercorp ficlet

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askmadcomcrew · 7 months ago

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Hmm, how about...

To everyone: General opinions on zeds?

Hank: Annoying, if in large groups. One zed isn't much to worry about, and is easy to kill with a headshot or knife to the head. It's the hordes you have to watch out for.

Sanford: Zeds are basically animals at this point, mindless and roving. They're only really capable of convertin' others into more zeds, and they just keep doing that forever until they run of of folks to convert. They're not so bad in open areas, but they can really get the jump on you in tight spaces.

Deimos: They're creepy and weird, and I really don't like 'em too much. I prefer to deal with them at range with guns, Sanford likes to let 'em get close so he can stab 'em in the head, or just uses his hook. Letting them get close is just about the worst thing you can do, but it helps to know what to do when one is on top of you tryna much on your face. A quick knife to the head usually does the trick.

Doc: Zeds are the result of Enmeshment, tech I theorize was stolen from me around the time of my arena experiment by an...Unsavory character. Unlike most zombies in media you're used to, their bites are not fatal, as myself and most of my men have suffered zed bites which can be treated like any other wound. Dr. Christoff notably weaponized a massive horde of Zeds during his insurrection on Nexus City, causing the deaths of hundreds and larger numbers of zeds to spread throughout the Nevadean wastes. Needless to say, they can be rather troublesome, but are not a consistent factor in my day to day life.

Jeb: I am not overly fond of the existence of Zeds, they are an affront to nature much like many of the Nexus Core's experiments. However, that does not make them any less useful. Zeds in large numbers can be sent towards a specific target, and if that target is unprepared to deal with an infestation, they can prove quite effective. You do not have to worry about morale or morality with Zeds, they simply move towards the next closest source of food, and onto the next when that food source has been exhausted. They also make for veritable meatshields.

Tricky: ME 'N ZEDS GET ALONG LIKE BREAD AND BUTTER!!! MOSTLY CONSIDERING I AM ONE, OR AT LEAST USED TO BE. I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT I AM ANYMORE AFTER I HAD THAT RUN IN WITH THE AUDITOR!!! OH WELL, I GUESS IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER. I USUALLY LIKE TO STRAP BOMBS ONTO THEM AND SEND THEM ON THEIR MERRY WAY!!! IT'S ALREADY BAD ENOUGH TO HAVE A ZED TRYING TO EAT YOU, EVEN WORSE WHEN THEY EXPLODE!!! HAHAHAHAHAAHA

Crackpot: Well, I have quite the...Special relationship with Zeds, needless to say, being their creator and all. Zeds are my greatest scientific success, and were part of the reason I was briefly made head of Project Nexus when Christoff got the can. My zeds may not have been as directly capable as Christoff's sleepwalkers, but we could make so many more of them to keep Project Nexus afloat. It's a shame that bastard Christoff misused them in order to help bring the city down.

Sheriff: Well, considerin' they still dominate an entire sector of Nexus City, I ain't too fond of 'em. My boys are putting in a lot of resources in trying to clear out the Zed infestation over in Residential. It's slow goin', but we're whittling their numbers down one by one. I got round the clock snipers on any vantage point that's safe enough to snipe from, just shootin' 'em down as they see 'em. At some point in the future the streets of Residential should be relatively safe to navigate again.

Phobos: Another wonderful byproduct of Nexus Science, Zeds are one of the many ways I continued Project Nexus. As inhospitable as they may be, they proved to be very useful tools in keeping more S3LFs out of the other place. The Nexus Core had no shortage of corpses, so we could pump as many S3LFs into them as we desired.

Auditor: They are of little concern, however they are known to assault certain AAHW bases closer to the outskirts of Nexus City. Massive, wandering droves of Zeds can reduce a fortified position to rubble and more zeds extremely quickly. I occasionally dispatch anti-Zed units to clear out Zed infested areas, in order to keep population low. If Zed numbers are allowed to get too high, they can pose a great threat to my operation here.

#Everyone answers #Zeds

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silverwings22 · 7 months ago

Text

Song of the Sea: Chapter 7: Here There Be Dragons

Chapter warning: child endangerment, communication is 9/10 of conflict Series warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a

Previous Chapter:

Next Chapter:

The buzzing of an alarm and pulse of red lights woke Shiani from her fitful doze in her new overhead berth. She opened the door from within, sticking her head out. "Blinkers?"

Wrecker held up his arms. "Yeah. We broke something coming off Salucemi. We're gonna have to land to fix it. Come down?"

She nodded and dropped into his arms. "What broke?"

"Our capacitor." Echo sighed as Wrecker set her down. "Tech says we have a spare. We're landing on… Ordo Moon, I think he said. Honestly, I'm tired and I was only half listening."

"You work hard, Chainbreaker Echo. Let me help fix it?" She offered. He did look exhausted, and she wanted to prove she wasn't useless. If Tech wouldn’t be the voice to keep her here, she needed to solidify her friendships with the other members of the squad. She

Echo smiled. "You know how to replace a capacitor?"

"I was building my own ship. I know lots of parts… but I don’t always remember names." She nodded. “Just need to see it.”

"You were building a ship?" Omega squealed from beside her.

“I was getting off Kamino one way or the other." She nodded.

"That's pretty clever. Where'd you learn that?" Hunter chuckled.

"Tech taught me. Tech… taught me lots of things. But he still thinks my brain is full of bubbles." She shook her head. “I’m smarter in my own language, I promise."

Echo glanced back towards the cockpit. "What's your own language?"

"Hearts. Siren’s talk by singing, and we feel what the other feels when we do. We only sign when we need to be quiet, like hunting…" She explained, looking up at the blinking lights. "Sometimes it’s easier that way, because you’re never misunderstood… but when someone knows how you feel and ignores it, that’s hard. Frustrating."

Wrecker patted her head. "I want to hear you sing now."

"Later, I’ll sing for you." She nodded as they moved to land. “But first, we fix the ship. It’s your home, gotta keep it safe for you and Baby Mega.”

"The air on this moon is not safe to breathe." Tech walked into the hold as they touched down, offering Echo a respirator. "We only have two, Shiani, so you should remain-"

"I’ll be fine." She grumbled, brushing past him to follow Echo to the hatch. Down her ribs and tentacles, blue light pulsed that he’d only seen glimpses of before. At least the blue rings were gone... She certainly still seemed angry, but Wrecker had been so sure she wasn’t.

He groaned and followed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Hunter looked at Wrecker. "We've got to figure something out. Omega needs a place to sleep."

"I've got an idea." Wrecker grinned.

"Then get on it." Hunter smiled. "I'll go try to figure out supplies."

"Yes sir!" The kind giant grinned and picked up a crate, heading to the gunner's mount.

Outside, Shiani's gills opened on her ribs to filter oxygen from the inhospitable air. She let Echo boost her into the guts of the ship to find the blown capacitor, the cyborg secretly delighted to both have help and witness the annoyed look on Tech's face when the siren wouldn’t talk to him. Tech had never had to compete for Shiani's attention before. He’d had it, undivided, whenever he wanted since he was child. She always answered his comms, always was there when he visited… Had he taken that for granted?

She passed the broken part out to Echo and pulled the new one to her with a tentacle, freezing suddenly and her blue light going dark. "... Nexu on this moon?"

"No, I do not believe so." Tech huffed.

Shiani poked her head out of the ship, looking around with a pinched expression. “Somethi- eee!” Her words were cut off when something knocked the siren out of the side of the ship, snatching the capacitor from her hands. She tried to hiss and swipe, but the creature flattened her with its tail before she could get more than a cursory glance. It was a very large, reptilian something that took off with their ship part in its mouth, vanishing into the dark.

“Are you injured?” Tech knelt where she’d been knocked to the ground, checking her over when Echo drew his blaster.

“That scaly-thing took the part!” She tried to clamber past him, hand over her mouth. “I’ll get it back-”

“You will not be able to track that creature, nor are you prepared to fight it. We need to alert Hunter.” Tech grabbed her wrist firmly. “You handled the nexu, but that creature eats energy, and will be extremely territorial. You could be hurt.”

Shiani stiffened, looking from him to the direction the creature had taken the capacitor. Every wild instinct in her was screaming to give chase, before it got away. She had to tell herself that things were different on the surface, and the clones knew better. She had to play by their rules, and she didn't even know them until she was told. "Hunter is a tracker… okay. I’ll get him. What… was that thing? So I can explain."

"I believe it was an Ordo Moon dragon."

She nodded, yanking her hand free and darting up the ship steps before he could say anything else that might hurt her already tender feelings. "Hunter? We need a tracker."

"What's wrong?" The tattooed clone stuck his head around from the supply crates, Omega right behind him mimicking the way he walked.

"A dragon took the part out of my hands. Tech said you can track it down, and fight it better than me."

Hunter sighed as Echo and Tech walked in behind her. "You let a lizard steal our spare part?"

"Shiani did try to warn us, but it was too fast." Echo sighed, handing over his respirator.

Omega wrapped herself around Hunter's side. "Can I come with you?"

Hunter looked at her, wanting to say no, but she looked so hopeful… and Shiani had this burden of disappointment radiating off her from where Tech had told her to stay put. "Alright. But you listen to every word I say, deal?"

"I promise." She took the respirator from Tech and followed him out.

Shiani was halfway back up the wall to her compartment when Wrecker caught her. "Hey, can you help me with something? You got more arms!"

"I can help." She agreed, dropping back down and following him to the gunner's nest. He was setting up a bedroom for little Omega, and needed hands to hang string lights to make it cute for her. "This is pretty, Wrecker." She looked up, fascinated with the lights. It reminded her of her string of camp lanterns in the cave; the very first thing Tech had ever given her. She used to lay under those lights and stare at them in the dark of the night, when she missed him most.

Now she wondered if he’d ever actually missed her at all.

"Think she'll like it? A kid should have a bedroom." He grinned.

Shiani nodded. "She will."

"Where do you want your space to be?" He offered. "You're the only other girl on the ship."

"I can stay in the ceiling… I’ll be out of the way." She drooped a little. She wasn't good at concealing her emotions, she'd never had to while living on her own. And it wasn't her people's way anyway.

Wrecker surprised her with a warm hug. "Don't look so sad. And don't hide from everyone, we like you. What's the matter?"

From the cockpit, Tech leaned back in his chair to eavesdrop. He couldn't help it… Shiani had always been cheerful and pleasant. He didn't like the way she'd snatched away from him, or how she'd only spoken to Echo when they were making repairs.

"I’m just… hurt." The siren admitted, and he reached for his med kit.

"That dragon get you?" Wrecker frowned.

"No. Not outside hurt. Inside hurt. Hearts hurt." She explained. "Tech… Hunter said it was his idea to send me away. After all that time in exile, and he was my only friend. It felt like when I got banished… like he didn’t want me anymore." She sat down, hugging her knees. "Tech thinks he knows better… and maybe it is safer far from you guys. But I don’t want safe. Safe is lonely. I want to be here and be a part of Tech’s family. I could keep you all safe, or at least try…"

Wrecker hugged Shiani a little tighter. "Tech always thinks he knows better. Most of the time he's right, but sometimes he's not. You fit with us, so it'll be okay."

"Do you think he doesn’t like me anymore?" Shiani looked up at Wrecker, cuddling back with a heartbroken expression.

"I doubt that. But you might have to talk to him." Wrecker patted her back.

"Ugh, talk. Basic doesn’t have the right words for all this feeling." She grumbled.

"Maybe you can sing, like you said before?" He offered.

Shiani nodded. "I’ll try… I just want things to be the same with him. I was always happy with Tech before, no matter what was happening."

"That's the spirit. How about I make you up a bed in the back by the tailgun? Then you can see the stars. You like those, right?"

"Yes. I love the stars" She nodded, and he hopped down the ladder to go try to pull off a miracle for her and make her feel like she belonged.

In the cockpit, Tech sighed and leaned back a little further, pushing his goggles up his forehead to rub his eyes. Emotions were complicated… but he hadn't meant to hurt her.

When Hunter and Omega returned with the capacitor, Shiani was sitting in a swing made of her own limbs, hanging from the ceiling upside down.

"I chased the dragon down a hole and got the part back! I didn't even have to use Hunter’s blaster!" The girl crowed.

"Proud of you, Baby Mega." A tentacle patted her head. "Wrecker has a surprise for you in the gunner’s seat. Go see, you’ll like it."

Omega skipped off with delight. Hunter gave a wry smile. "She saved my life out there."

"She loves you. She’s a good girl with good hearts." Shiani nodded. "Lights all fixed now?"

"Yeah. We've still got some damage, but we're going to need a more secure landing zone to fix it." He leaned against the wall. "I'd like you to help Tech, if that's not too much trouble."

"I can help." She nodded. "I’ll be your mechanic, if you want. Echo gave me a datapad, I can learn more and faster now, without bothering anyone."

"Good." He smiled. "... you still mad at Tech?"

She flipped upside down, head hanging over the floor a scant inch. "Not so mad… just upset."

"You know he doesn't really want you gone. Once we found out about you, he talked about you all the time. Every time he found something out there, he wanted to show you."

She peeked up. "He talked about me?"

Hunter nodded. “Yeah. Go easy on him, he’s never had a friend that wasn’t a soldier before. And having you here is a big change. Change is hard on him.”

“I’ll figure out how to talk to him.” She said after a long pause that left her non-existent eyebrows scrunched. “This is hard. I don’t want him to hate me, or think I’m stupid.”

“He doesn’t, trust me.” Hunter offered a hand to help her off the floor. She was surprised when he placed a ration bar in her hands. "Now eat and go to sleep. You've got to be exhausted. There will be plenty to do later."

"Thank you." Shiani nodded with a weak smile before going back to the tailgun where Wrecker said he'd made her a bed.

It was a couple thick shock blankets and pillows arranged in a little nest by the window, and the kind giant had even tried to make it cute with some of the string lights like he'd done for Omega. Shiani smiled and sat down on the blankets, taking her boots off and unwrapping the ration bar.

It was chalky and hard to swallow, but she was hungry. After she’d finished it, she pulled up one of the blankets around her shoulders to ward off the persistent chill of space. The stars were just as pretty back here as they'd been in the cockpit… but she liked them better with Tech around.

She heard the other Batchers one by one turn into the bunkroom, leaving their best pilot on duty. Her big eyes were heavy, the need for rest nestled at the back of her neck like a lead weight. Still, something was missing. She'd never turn her brain off if she didn't make up with her best friend in the galaxy; she'd just dream fitfully like she had in the overhead.

Tech was glancing over his maps, deciding the safest place to land the ship, when he heard the door open. Shiani, wrapped in a blanket, padded in softly and sat on the floor beside his chair.

"That is the least comfortable place you could be." He said mildly, as she leaned over and put her head on the seat beside his armored knee.

"Missed you." She mumbled.

"I thought you were upset with me."

"Still miss you." She closed her eyes. "Can I stay?"

Tech sighed, setting his handheld aside and carefully putting a gloved hand on her head. "You wish to stay on the floor?"

"Closest to you." She smiled when he lightly scritched between her tentacles. "That feels nice."

"I am sorry, Shiani. It was not my intention to upset you." He tried not to smile when her ear fins wiggled. "I hope you will forgive me, but it was my intent to protect you."

"I don’t want you to protect me. Or make choices for me, just cause you think they’re best. We could have talked about it together." She opened one eye and looked up at him. “You weren’t even going to say goodbye. That’s not fair, Tech.”

“Would you have agreed to go if I’d spoken to you about it?”

“No. I don’t want to go with strangers just because it’s safer. I want to be with you. It’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to be.”

"What about your home?"

"I didn’t belong there. I didn’t know where I belonged, until the first time you and I looked at the stars together. I belonged wherever you were." She looked up at him with those liquid eyes… and Maker, had she always been so cute? "You’re so smart it makes you stupid sometimes."

"I am exceptionally intelligent-"

"I know that. But you forget other people know what they want."

"And what is it that you want?" Tech's mouth was oddly dry suddenly.

"I want you." She smiled and closed her eyes again, snuggling her blanket more securely around her shoulders. "I want to be wherever you are. However you want me there."

He sat with this admission for a long time, but when he'd processed it enough to try to question further, she was asleep with her head against his knee. He talked himself out of waking her to satisfy his curiosity, slowly stroking her head with his fingertips. "If that is what you wish… then you may stay. For now." He finally sighed.

He hoped she knew what she was getting into… but he wanted her to stay too. Change was challenging for him and dangerous for her, but she'd picked him. That meant something. He'd never had anyone, not even his brothers in their bred-in loyalty, pick him and only him before.

#explict #original character #clone force 99 #the bad batch #star wars #fanfic #tbb tech #song of the sea

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