#vagabonds chaper 15

[skellymom]

"Vagabonds" Chapter 15 "Get In Losers"

Ongoing fanfic Hunter x Reader/Fem Reader/OC

Hunter meets a smuggler Nomaadi Star Woman with a powerful force sensitive teen who changes the trajectory of CF-99's lives...as they ALL try to escape from The Empire together.

ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ 18+ ᴅɴɪ

To read Chapter 14 "In Confidence":

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/757579231979077632/vagabonds-chapter-14-in-confidence?source=share

Word Count: 2.7K (sorry, tried to keep it under 1.5, but failed this time)

Background: A message from Cid which gives Hunter has some character growth. The crew of the Marauder and Beldame sit down for a meal and a fun card game. Basically some fun fluff in-between all the action and angst...but the memory of Crosshair won't be forgotten! And...Tech has an important message for Hunter!!!

*The card game CUTTHROAT is a combination of Gin Rummy, Poker, and Uno with differing/ever changing House Rules depending on where you play it. It's meant to be a high stakes betting game that is played ruthlessly and obnoxiously. Cheating is not against the rules, either. A favorite of Arc Troopers, Bounty Hunters, and card game casinos but the Nomaadi have their own version, usually less fatal (people have been shot dead during hands played by Bounty Hunters-think old Western card games) and a LOT more fun!

*Hammer, Datapad, Cutting Torch! is TBB equivalent to Rock/Paper/Scissors...as paper and scissors don't seem to exist in this universe...

Warning: Star Wars Canon Violence, earth swears, bodily functions (boys being silly), hints at horniness/sexual innuendo/humor.

(Credit: Cool moving star dividers by @4ngelic-wh1spers )

Recap:

Sil put his hands up to his face in shame.   Echo could barely make out the next muffled statement from Sil. 

“I’m happy that man is dead.” 

Wrecker, who had been sitting nearby playing on a datapad, and unable to NOT hear what was being said turned to Echo with an extremely horrified expression. 

Echo met Wrecker’s expression with a mournful one. 

Sil broke into loud sobs and let the tears overtake him. 

“Does he need a hug?”  Wrecker whispered. 

Echo shook his head.  “I don't’ think he wants ANYONE to touch him right now.” 

Wrecker nodded.  “I’ll...uh...go make a fresh pot of caf.  Ok?” 

“Good idea.”  Echo replied.  “Going to be a very long night.” 

"Get In Losers"

Awhile later Mad and Hunter Emerged from the back of the Marauder and made their way to the front of the ship. 

An incoming communication alerted Tech, and he sprung up from the game of Balaans he was playing to sit in the cockpit. 

“Hunter, Cid is attempting to contact us.” 

Hunter stopped with a mistrustful look on his face. 

“Should we even answer it?” Echo asked.  “Empire has probably taken over Ord Mantell.” 

Everyone eyed each other, waiting for Hunter to make the final decision. 

“Tech, if we answer the comm how long before our coordinates can be traced?”  

“Approximately 60 seconds.  Anything over that we have a high probability of detection.” 

“Hunky, you DON’T have to do this!”  Mad was worrisome. 

“I do.  Let the comm through.”  Hunter was determined. 

A blue hologram projection of Cid appeared in the middle of the Marauder’s cockpit.  She looked PISSED. 

“BANDANA!” Cid shrieked.  “Where have you boys been!  Need you to do another job for me.” 

“We’re DONE working for you, Cid.” Hunter seethed. 

Then Cid noticed Mad standing with the Batch.  “I should’ve known.”  Cid crossed her arms.  “The love birds flew the coop... after ALL I've done for you!”   

Cid’s eyes betrayed her.  For a second, they flitted offscreen...as if SOMEONE was urging her to keep them talking to give up their position. 

“That’s a load of Bantha Shit, Cid!”  Hunter was about to give the signal to end the comm. 

But Cid wasn’t done.  She had ONE more petty thing to say: 

“And WHERE is my expensive settee from The Oasis that’s been missin’ since you two were up there???” 

Hunter sneered “WE FUCKED IT TO DEATH AND BURNED WHAT WAS LEFT!” Then signaled to Tech to immediately cut the comm. 

The LAST expression ANYONE saw from Cid was a look of wide-eyed disgust.  Then the hologram disappeared. 

“Transmission terminated before detection.” Tech remarked. 

Everyone else was silent for a few seconds...then erupted into laughter. 

Hunter leaned down to face Omega.  “Sorry you had to hear that, Kid.  Was uncouth of me.” 

“I’m not sure EXACTLY what you said...but I think you got the desired reaction.”  She grinned. 

“OHHHH!  I NEED DETAILS!!!”  Wrecker slapped Hunter on the shoulder. 

Hunter blushed deeply and glanced up at Mad.   

She had that devil-may care smirk on her face. 

Echo chimed in at Hunter “No wonder the Empire found us!”  Then turned to everyone else on the ship. “They sent a HUMPING BEACON!” 

Hunter covered Omega’s ears.   

It didn’t matter as Tech was recording EVERYTHING.  She’d see it sooner or later. 

Everyone was slap happy having escaped a terrifying situation...and for some crew members possible death... 

“Coming and going” Love Force signed with a silly face. 

“Breaking and entering” Sil added with a deadpan expression. 

“Get in loser...we’re busting stuff up!” Omega chirped, staring RIGHT at Hunter with a snarky smile. 

Wrecker slid off his chair and laid on the floor in a laughing fit.  Tiggy jumped up and down on him in glee. 

Hunter sighed...” Trying to keep her innocent here!” 

“Good lucky, Hunky.  Ain’t gonna happen with this bunch.”  Mad ran her fingers through his hair. 

After the laughter EVENTUALLY died down, Mad made an announcement. “Whoever’s hungry come downstairs to the ‘Dame’s galley.  I’ll whip up something good.” 

She made her way to the bottom entrance of the Marauder. 

Hunter took his hands off Omega’s ears “I had such high hopes for you...” shaking his head at her, then winked. 

Omega beamed back, then hugged him.  He squeezed her back, then got up.  “I’d say keep out of trouble...but that isn’t gong happen, is it?”  Glancing at her, Sil, and Love. 

Everyone nodded innocently “No”. 

“Well...can’t say I blame you.  Remember four brothers who were troublesome kids, too.”  Hunter glanced around the cockpit, then followed Mad. 

A feeling of melancholy hit Hunter in the heart...while he meant himself, Wrecker, Tech, and for right now Echo...even though Echo joined their squad later in adulthood... 

...he couldn’t help but think of Crosshair.  His most favorite troublesome brother.  They got into so many fun shenanigans while on Kamino thanks to Crosshair.  He was SUCH an instigator... 

Where was he?  What was he doing right now? 

Mad noticed the faraway look on Hunter’s face. 

“What’s bothering you, Hunky?” She stroked his jaw gently. 

Hunter popped back into the present.  “Just a memory...nothing...” 

Mad stared empathetically into Hunter’s eyes.  She could relate.  So many memories...so many FEELINGS. 

“Proud of you telling Cid off like that.” 

Hunter beamed.  “Felt REALLY good.”  Then feigned a badass expression. “Fuck her.” 

“OH MY!  Angry Hunter is sooo HOT!!!” 

He chuckled.  “Alright...let me climb the ladder FIRST.  Then I can help you down.” 

“Whatever you say HOT STUFF.” 

The ‘Dames small galley pantry was almost empty. 

Everyone had filed down from the Marauder into the Beldame, looking for a meal. 

Wrecker apologized “I ate a LOT of what was in there...sorry.” 

“You don’t have to apologize, Wrecker.” Mad poked him in the belly playfully.  “A ship this size can store more than that dinky pantry.  Love, show them what I mean.” 

Love floated towards the back of the ship, past the cabin bunks and Mad’s stateroom.  From what the Batchers could see were only engine compartments and miscellaneous mechanical panels. 

They bumped several of the panels with their fist and an entry door slid open.  Lights flickered then snapped on, illuminating a hidden larder of food, weapons, and other miscellaneous items.  Mad stepped in followed by The Batchers. 

“Extraordinary!”  Tech exclaimed. 

Tiggy ran past him and yanked a bag of grain meal off the shelf, shaking it furiously. 

“Drop it!”  He ordered.  She immediately dropped the bag, with a hole now in it, white grain powder coating her snout. 

“You are SO dumb.” Echo looked down at Tiggy. 

“She is technically a very normal puppy.  Full of energy and mischief.” Tech corrected Echo. 

“My bad.  You are SO normally troublesome.”  Echo teased. 

“Wow.”  Hunter glanced around.  “Must sustain you for months.” 

“Depends on how many people are on board.  Believe it or not, the amount of people staying on this ship currently is NOTHING close to how many people we’ve crammed in these spaces to smuggle them out of danger.  And fed them for weeks.” Mad explained. 

Sil added from the doorway. “There’s another secret pantry flanking the other side of the ship, too.  But that one isn’t as full.  It’s mostly for hiding people.  Occasionally animals, too” 

Then there is the top crawlspace above us. Love signed.  Another hiding space for people and supplies up there.   

Wrecker, Echo, Tech, and Hunter stared back at Mad incredulously. 

“Hey, I can’t take all the credit.  This ship belonged to my Uncle Taavi before I owned it.  He designed and built the Dread Beldame himself.  He was quite the smuggler back in the day.  Now, he just builds stuff for fun and money.  The ‘Dame was a gift from him when I had Love.  We needed a home...and he gave us one.” 

Mad smiled.  Then wiped a tear just forming from her eye. 

Mom? Love signed.  Are you ok? 

“Yeah.  Just hit me right in the feels.  I’m not sad.  Just miss that scruffy nerfhearder.  Anyhow, l need help restocking the galley pantry and fridge.  Then we’ll throw together some grub.” 

You didn’t have to tell everyone twice.  They set to work IMMEDIATELY. 

Dinner consisted of a hearty stew and fresh baked bread, made from ripped grain meal package.  Mad had help cooking and baking from Hunter and Sil.  Wrecker put together dessert: nondairy whipped topping and cookies on the verge of going stale.  Omega got together plates, napkins, and cups.  Love found something to drink for the kids.  And something to drink for the rest of the adults who could imbibe in alcohol.   

Echo brought down the rest of the caf from the Marauder.  Then poured a mug for Mad. 

Tech, while setting the table, henpecked Echo for pouring such a large mug. “She shouldn’t ingest too much caffeine.” 

“Oh, I’m sure those Jedi eggs will be just fine!” Echo rolled his eyes. 

He handed Mad the mug.  “Thank you Echo.”   

Echo omitted to Tech how much sugar and creamer he loaded into the mug.  Tech would have a cow.   

Mad threw back a mouthful of caf while stirring the stew.  Then grimaced and spit the caf back into the mug.  “This taste...gah...HORRIBLE!  Like...soil!!!”  

“Oh, NOW I'm OFFENDED!”  Echo scowled.  “Fixed that cafe EXACTLY like how I drink it.”  Echo addressed the caf drinkers in the room “Was your caf horrible.” 

“No.” Wrecker, Tech, and Sil answered in unison. 

“Let me have that.” Hunter took a sip from Mad’s mug.  “If you mean horrible by ALL the sugar and creamer Echo put in it.  I agree.  But the coffee portion is just fine...” 

“Ohh...Mr. It’s Not Coffee Unless It’s Black...” Echo teased. 

“Right.  It’s not coffee.  Just sugar sludge.”  Hunter teased back. 

“Time to eat, children!”  Mad turned the burner off on the galley stove.  Then handed the mug to Wrecker, who downed it like a liquor shot.  “I appreciate the thought, Echo.  My tastebuds are just crap tonight.” 

Everyone dug into the food like they had never eaten before. 

The meal was decimated.  Everyone sat around in a food coma.  Tiggy passed out under the table.  The kids had other ideas. 

“We need to break out the cards!” Sil suggested. 

Love nodded and floated away towards a storage locker. 

“Music too!” Omega blurted out. 

Tech perked up “I have a collection of antique recordings...” 

“NO!” Echo cut him off.  “NO MORE of your antique folk songs.  Maker, you had them on REPEAT since Ord Mantell!!!” 

“WHY?  They are entertaining AND educational.” Tech attempted to explain. 

“Can we PLEASE have a break from something...educational?” Hunter threw in his opinion. 

“How EXACTLY do you suggest we decide on WHO picks the music selection.” Tech groused openly. 

“Hammer, Datapad, Cutting Torch!”  Wrecker blurted out.  “READY!” 

“I’m NOT getting involved.”  Hunter leaned back to watch the shenanigans. 

“One, two...” Wrecker started 

“Wait!  This is completely arbitrary.  Echo...YOU CANNOT USE YOUR SCOMP...it is UNFAIR!” Tech tried to stop the process but couldn’t catch himself from mimicking his brothers and sister’s hand signals. 

“THREE!!!” Wrecker bellowed. 

Three hands and a scomp slammed onto the table. 

“I WIN!!!” Omega yelled with glee. 

“Ugh...WHY are we resorting to childish games of chance to make decisions???” Tech rolled his eyes.  “Because...” Echo bumped him “It’s fun!” 

“Hand it over!”  Omega wriggled her fingers at Tech’s datapad. 

Tech sighed and handed it over.  Omega scrolled through playlists to find “her music.” 

Mad leaned into Hunter and laughed “You guys REALLY are siblings...”  

“Heh, this beats the OTHER childish game we used to do...were MUCH younger then...” Hunter trailed off. 

“Should I ask?” Mad was curious. 

“I DEFINITELY wanna know!” Sil leaned in. 

Tech perked up “As young cadets we would urinate off the platforms of Kamino into the ocean to see who could eliminate the furthest.” 

EVERYONE around the table gave Tech a dead eyed stare...except for Hunter who chuckled, and Wrecker... 

“I could pee the FURTHEST!” He preened proudly.  “Crosshair was the MOST ACCURATE if we threw something in the water for target practice!!!” 

Good ole’ Crossy, Hunter thought.  He was SUCH a HOOLIGAN! 

Omega’s hand shot up in embarrassment.  “I. Uh...wasn't involved AT ALL!” 

Echo eyed his brothers strangely “Yeah, glad I missed THAT one, too.” 

“As I recall Hunter and I were neck and neck as far as distance.” Tech reminisced. 

“Uh...huh...that’s NOT weird...” Echo quirked an eyebrow at them. 

“Was all fun and games until we did it on a windy day.  Really spoiled it.” Hunter joked. 

Sil couldn’t hold back “It TOOK a windy day for you guys to figure that out???” Then burst out laughing. 

Mad snorted with glee. 

Love returned to the table and tossed two decks of cards onto the table.  Tonight we play CUTTHROAT! 

“OH!  Haven’t played this since my Academy days!”  Echo excitedly blurted. 

“What’s Cutthroat?”  Wrecker asked.  Tech leaned in to listen curiously. 

Mad interrupted “If you play this on the Beldame, there are Special House Rules.  We are a betting House, and we add new rules ALL the time.  Keeps the game fresh and everyone ready to play like a...” 

“CUTTHROAT!!!” Sil yelled with a crazed expression. 

Love pumped their fist in the air. 

“OHHH YEAHHH!!!” Wrecker shouted excitedly.  They had gotten HIS attention. 

“Sounds Intriguing.  I’m in.” Tech excitedly pulled out the cards from the box and started to shuffle them. 

Omega put on her tunes and turned up the datapad’s volume to max, which wasn’t much with all the talking and noise. 

“Omega, hand that to me.  I’ll plug it into our speaker system.” Mad offered. 

The brothers stopped stunned. 

Mad smirked.  “Hey, we LOVE our music...and Uncle Taavi installed them all over the ship BEFORE he gave it to us.”   

She got up, set the datapad into a docking station and jacked into the Beldame’s sound system.  Upbeat pop/club music emanated through the ship with a crisp bass beat. 

“NICE!” Wrecker and Echo jammed to the beat. 

Tech bobbed his head and tapped his feet while taking instructions from Sil on dealing cards.  Omega and Love were teamed up with love hovering behind to oversee and instruct her on gameplay. 

“You guys in?”  Sil asked Hunter and Mad.   

Hunter nodded “I’ll pass this time.  Think someone is getting sleepy.” 

“I’m not sleepy...just...don’t want to do anything that requires TOO much thinking.” Mad mumbled. 

“Suit yourself.  Gonna be a WILD game.  These guys are CRAZY!!!”  Sil seemed genuinely excited and happy. 

Hunter and Mad leaned back cuddling in their seats watching the game. 

And, true to Sil’s observation, the game was indeed WILD!  It started out as each person having their own hand, then as players had to fold, those “out” chose sides.  As it progressed, snacks and drinks broke out.  Kid friendly drinks for Sil, Love, and Omega.  Spotchka for everyone else, which worked to their advantage, as the kids seemed to be whipping the adult's butts.   

Tiggy had awakened, wandering around the table begging... 

...she was also an effective card mule.  Both sides covertly tucked cards into her collar as she crawled under the table to deliver them...and was rewarded with a treat. 

The Betting Pile was indeed growing larger as time went on: Credits, a bar of expensive Coruscant chocolate, death sticks that SOMEONE stole from the secret compartments (nobody on the Beldame smoked, but Mad always kept a couple cartons for trading purposes when they ran out of credits), Lula, Echo’s scomp, a full roll of toilet paper, and other odd assorted objects that made NO sense whatsoever. Wrecker helped Echo with his cards since...he was down one working appendage.  Tech tried to use his vast intellect and strategy, but The House Rules befuddled his Spotchka infused brain. 

“Hunky...” Mad whispered. 

“Hmm?” He hummed into her hair. 

“I’m gonna go lay down.” 

“You ok?” He seemed concerned.  She seemed more tired than usual...and his senses picked up a slight difference in her body chemistry the last 48 standard hours during the time she had passed out. 

“Yeah.  Not really tired...just...I don’t know.” 

“You want me to come with you?” 

Mad smiled.  “I SHOULD say stay and watch the game or play a hand.”  Then she stopped, concentrating...  

“Hey...” Hunter noticed an uptick in her heartbeat, then caught a faint whiff of...  “Oh...hey...” 

Mad smiled recognizing Hunter’s expression “Yeah...horny...kinda out of nowhere.” 

“Well, let’s get you to bed.” 

Hunter helped Mad stand.  “Lads, kiddos, we’re off to bed.” 

“Goodnight, all” Mad nodded. 

Everyone bade them goodnight as Hunter and Mad made their way towards Mad’s stateroom.  The whoops and hollers amid dance music intensified as Echo gained some ground, but Omega blocked him with a hidden card. 

“Hunter?” Tech had left the table and followed them. 

Hunter turned to see his brother’s expression slightly uncomfortable, yet soft.  He could smell the booze on Tech’s breath. 

“Eh, what is it, Tech?” 

“I... uh...need to speak to you...privately.”  Tech shifted pushing his goggles up the bridge of his nose. 

Hunter turned back to Mad “Go ahead and get comfortable.  I’ll be in shortly.” 

Mad nodded. “Goodnight, Tech.” Then wandered into her cabin, closing the door. 

“Goodnight Maadienne.” Tech flustered, realizing he had called Mad by her “proper name” NOT the one she preferred. 

When he had Hunter’s full attention, Tech reached down under an instrument panel, pulling out a small metal box and handed it to him. 

Hunter, awaiting an explanation and getting none, opened it... 

PLEASE like, comment, and/or REBLOG!

To read Chapter 16 (SMUT!)

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/758770205138845696/vagabonds-chapter-16-trip-like-i-do?source=share

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