#veetch the bad batch

[themistymountainscold]

i don't know about you guys but i'm mad hexx and veetch were faceless. and don't give me the "they're clones we know what they look like" alright i know that. but they just... died. it didn't mean anything for anyone.

but i guess thats the point isn't it.

the clones aren't anything anymore. nothing to the empire, and barely anything to themselves. their continues deaths are for nothing. like for fucks sake they died protecting fucking stormtrooper armour.

thats how pathetic the empire is.

and how nolan fucking stood and watched as mayday died, ignoring crosshair's plea to get him help.

and how that scene contradicts "we're clones sir, we're mean't to be expendable." "not to me" scene.

the clones mean nothing and is pisses me off.

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

"Hold Still" / "Yeah, kid, we're fine"

@summer-of-bad-batch prompts week 9 & week 11 Plus bonus prompt from the original voting form (mods have confirmed that this one sadly didn't make the cut but I loved it and have been desperate to use it anyway) "I'm drinking a smoothie on this pristine beach. Unless someone is dying, leave me alone."

Fandom: The Bad Batch Characters: Mayday, Hexx, Veetch, Echo, Mox, Stak, Deke, Jax, Eva, Sami Set after season 3 when everyone is living happily on Pabu and clearly the Outpost boys didn't die and were just held captive on Tantiss and rescued along with the rest of the clone prisoners there Word Count: ~2945 Read Here on AO3

Synopsis: Mayday is relaxing on a pristine beach with a smoothie, and doesn't want to be bothered. But the beach is never free of drama.

Content Warning: near-drowning, CPR, vomiting

Author's Note: Threw the rulebook out the window with this one. No main POV character, it keeps switching, just a sweet happy story of the Outpost boys relaxing on the beach because they deserve some fun after, y'know, what I put them through in Welcome to the Outpost. @royallykt Veetch playing in the waves as promised :) <3

Veetch stood at the edge of the surf, foaming ocean waves tickling between his toes as he sank marginally into the wet sand. He shielded his eyes against the glare of sunlight on water – so alike and so different from the glare of sun on snow – and watched the swell of an incoming wave build and rise as it approached.

“You ready?” he grinned, tilting his head casually to the younger clone cadet stood by his side.

“I was made ready,” was Mox’s reply, the playful scorn in his voice belied by his wide smile. His damp hair, growing shaggy with the long, easy days on Pabu, was held back by a bandana. Veetch’s own curls were close-cropped, and ran rivulets of water down his spine.

A silent signal passed between them and the two clones broke towards the swelling wave in a run, splashing ungainly through the shallows.

Veetch reached it first, throwing himself headlong into a somersault to dive over the breaking wave and into the deeper water beyond. Mox wasn’t far behind, his own flip sending up a plume of spray as he hit the surf.

They staggered back to the beach, laughing, Veetch with one hand on Mox’s shoulder whilst the younger clone dashed water from his eyes.

“No kriffing way you jumped higher than me, no way!” Veetch was howling, tears of laughter joining the saltwater glaze on his skin.

He yelped in dismay as a stinging missile of wet sand slapped him in the chest.

“Language,” Deke warned with a grin from where he crouched just beyond the reach of the waves, shaking clinging damp sand from his hand. “There’s children present.”

Veetch made a show of rolling his eyes, but glanced apologetically at the cluster of Pabu children who had been watching the clones compete at somersaulting into the water. His sheepish but exaggerated facial expressions drew a laugh from them, and Mox merely clapped him on the back and grinned, knowing it would make his rival even more incorrigible.

From his position reclining on a lounger higher up the beach, Hexx raised his sunglasses to peer at the commotion down at the water’s edge.

“Think you ought to go down there and remind him not to go too hard on those lads?” he asked casually, leaning across towards Mayday.

On the neighbouring sun-lounger, the Commander’s expression was unreadable behind oversized sun-shades, a large straw hat pulled down low over his brow whilst he basked in the sun. His left arm hung lazily over the edge of the bed, a large glass filled with tropical juice in hand, the brightly coloured umbrella in the drink gaily winking in the sun.

“I’m drinking a smoothie on this pristine beach,” he said slowly, enunciating each word clearly from beneath the shade of his hat. “Unless someone is dying, leave me alone.”

Hexx chuckled and levered himself up from the sun lounger, grimacing a little at the ache in his bones that no amount of rest seemed to dispel. He set his bare feet in the sand, wriggling his toes, then pushed up and sauntered down the beach towards where the young clones played in the waves.

“Veetch,” he called as the younger surfaced from the water again, shaking droplets from his skin as he tried to clear one ear of water. “Why not switch to a game they can all enjoy?”

He nodded clearly towards the smaller children, some of them forbidden by parents from charging into the waves with such abandon. The muscular clone teenagers and Veetch might have the strength to withstand the tides, but the smaller ones didn’t.

With an affable grin Veetch waded from the water, wringing out his shorts, and immediately moved to the cluster of small children. A couple of gasps of excitement met his approach – they were all used to seeing clones around the island by now, with so many recuperating there after being liberated from Tantiss, but few of them had much to say to the children and even fewer would consider playing with them.

“Alright!” he said, crouching down to bounce on his heels, spreading his arms wide in a gesture that encompassed the small crowd of waiting youngsters. “What are we playing then?”

Smiling as the clone cadets quickly joined Veetch with the smaller kids, Hexx made his way back up the beach to slump on his own lounger at Mayday’s side, poking his best friend in the ribs.

“You should watch this. Veetch is a natural leader. Look at him organising those kids for a game.”

Mayday swatted his hand away, then brought his drink up to his lips and sipped slowly.

Hexx continued with a wide grin. “Wonder where he learned that.”

Humming a non-committal noise, Mayday deigned to shuffle up the lounger and nudge the brim of his sunhat up, surveying the scene on the sand. “What’re they playing now?”

“Looks like Team Tag,” said Hexx approvingly. “Makes it fair, by tethering the older boys and Veetch to the little ones.”

Indeed, further along the beach, on the dry sand now, Veetch was holding hands ever so carefully with a youngster who barely stood as high as his hip. The other clone boys, Mox, Stak and Deke, had been living on Pabu for longer know, and knew all the children by name.

They seemed relaxed and at ease as the game started up, one pair nominated as ‘it’ and in charge of racing after and catching the others. When they were ‘tagged’ the new pair would tear after the others – although ‘tearing’ was subjective, speed limited by the leg length of the shorter.

When Veetch got tagged he simply swept his small team-mate up into his arms, charging along the beach at full tilt with the youngster laughing raucously in his grasp. Cries of delight and dismay echoed from the others, the clone boys complaining the loudest.

“That’s cheating!”

“No fair, Veetch!”

The game of tag quickly devolved into a brawl on the sand, the clones and the younger children dogpiling Veetch and pinning him down. The clone thrashed in the sand, every movement exaggerated, howling with laughter as the teenaged cadets held him in place whilst the Pabu kids began to bury his legs.

From his position watching from the sun lounger, Hexx snorted a laugh. “So much for that game.”

Mayday only smiled behind his beard, and took another sip of his smoothie.

A shadow fell over their encampment, and both clones looked up to see a pale-skinned clone with cybernetic enhancements opening a beach umbrella so that it shaded their position. He looked down with a smile, honey-gold eyes sparkling above prominent cheekbones.

“Commander… Sargeant. Hope you don’t mind me robbing you of a bit of your sun. All the lotion in the world doesn’t stop me burning in this heat.”

Both clones nodded their acquiescence, and Mayday added, “It’s just Mayday and Hexx, now.” He twisted in his seat, taking the sunglasses off and perching them on the brim of his hat. “You must be the ARC Trooper.”

Hexx rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder. “’The ARC Trooper’… That’s Echo, the Hero of Anaxes that you’re talking to!” He stood and offered a hand, which Echo clasped firmly. “I had batchmates who made it out of that conflict alive because of you. It’s an honour.”

Echo’s smile twisted with an ache of grief, but he gave Hexx’s hand a brief squeeze before releasing it. Hexx sat sideways, and Echo perched on the end of the sun lounger.

“About that. We’ve got many more brothers who we’re hoping to get alive out of the Empire’s testing facilities. I hear you might be up for the fight?”

Mayday nodded slowly, rubbing one hand through his beard. “Crosshair talked to you?”

“Yeah. Said you’d be a great asset.”

Flicking his gaze to Hexx, Mayday grunted a laugh. “Didn’t realise we’d made such an impression on the lad.”

“Well, you did,” said Echo matter of factly, then added, “and it takes a lot to impress Crosshair. Especially as a reg.” He chuckled at some private thought, and gestured with his scomp. “I’m not asking you to come with me right this minute. Was just going to give you my com code, so when you’re recovered enough, you can get in touch.”

Hexx pulled out his com, handing it to Echo, who programmed in the details.

“Crosshair said there were three of you?” the cyborg clone asked, glancing up to seek the third.

With a snort of laughter, Hexx gestured along the beach. “You can take Veetch now. Might burn off some of his energy.” He gave an exaggerated, wistful sigh. “Oh, to be that young again.”

Veetch had freed himself from his sandy entombment and was back at the water’s edge, washing the prickly stuff off his skin.

All of a sudden a cry of alarm went up from further along the beach – a child’s voice, high and panicked. Immediately all three clones were on alert, Mayday almost dropping his smoothie in his haste to stand.

“Jax! Jax fell in the water!”

Mayday squinted to see where a pair of small children were climbing on the rocks. It seemed to be two girls, one rosy-skinned, one blue. They were gazing at the water, urgently clinging to each other.

Without needing to speak, the clones burst into action, sunbeds and parasols forgotten as they raced towards the rocks.

Veetch was closer, and had heard the same cry, responding in the same way. He reached them first, immediately splashing into the water and beginning to swim out with strong, sure strokes.

When they reached the two girls Echo reached out to them, carefully helping them down from the slippery rocks. “What happened?” he asked, crouching down to their height. He seemed familiar with them, and Mayday and Hexx hung back a little to watch. “Eva? Sami? Can you tell me?”

“A big wave came,” said the blue-skinned Pantoran girl, her voice small and frightened. “It pulled Jax off the rocks.”

By now the clone cadets had caught up, along with the other Pabu children, and both girls shrank back, clinging to each other. Echo glanced at Mayday and gestured for them to give them some space, so he turned with his arms spread and waved the others back.

“Okay, back up a bit,” Mayday said, glancing around the Pabu kids. “Who knows where these kids’ parents are?”

“They don’t have any,” said a boy in a small voice. “They came from Tantiss, like you.”

Mayday paused, startled. He glanced back at Echo with the girls, then out to sea just in time to see Veetch take a deep breath and dive under the water.

Kicking down beneath the waves, feeling the strong current snatch at him this far out, Veetch just barely spotted the green-skinned boy as he sank, dragged down by the weight of waterlogged clothes. He surfaced, took another breath, then dived again strongly, kicking hard to reach the boy. Locking his arms tightly round his waist, he reversed his kicks and fought to bring them back to the surface.

Breaching the surface of the waves, clone trooper and Mirialan boy both gasped in a lungful of air. The boy was coughing and spluttering, but still found the energy to fight his rescuer, flailing wildly against Veetch’s grasp.

“Hey, kid! Hold still!” warned Veetch, then yelped as a bony elbow cracked against his face. Pain lanced through his senses as his nose gushed blood, and for a moment his grip slackened in shock and the boy slid under the water again.

Mox had reached him now, treading water as he helped Veetch pull the youngster up again. Another submersion, and another lungful of swallowed water, had sent the fight out of the boy and now he lolled listlessly in Veetch’s grasp.

Veetch gestured that he was fine, even as blood streamed down his chin and neck, and rolled onto to his back to fight against the current and haul the boy back to shore.

As soon as they reached the shallows and Mox’s feet touched the sandy floor, he grabbed Jax from the older clone and ran up the sand, clear of the waves. Mayday met him and helped guide the unconscious Mirialan down to the sand, assessing the situation in a moment before dropping to his knees and tilting the boy’s head back, breathing life into his water-filled lungs.

“C’mon, lad, wake up for me,” he murmured as his hands pressed on the small chest, pumping a regular rhythm. Hexx was knelt on the other side, ready to take over.

With a start the boy convulsed and choked up a gout of water, gasping against his suddenly clear airway. With a hand on his shoulder Mayday helped him roll to his side, letting him vomit up the swallowed seawater onto the sand.

A sigh of relief and a ragged cheer rippled through the anxiously watching crowd. Veetch was out of the water now, coming up to join his squad-mates with fingers pinched to the bridge of his broken nose.

Rolling to his hands and knees, Jax shakily staggered to his feet. When Mayday held out a hand to steady him, he dashed it away.

“Stay away from me, clone!”

The former commander recoiled in surprise, glancing at the others. Jax stumbled back from him nervously, into the waiting arms of the girls he had been with on the rocks.

He didn’t seem to mind Echo’s presence.

“Woah, you’re okay,” soothed Echo, catching hold of the boy’s shoulder and kneeling at his level. “Eva, Sami, do you know where Emerie is?”

“She took Baryn for a nap,” said Eva, the Iktotchi girl, pointing back up towards the houses of Lower Pabu.

Echo looked at Stak and Deke. “Can you find her for me?”

With a nod, both cadets took off running.

Leaving Echo to wait with the green-skinned boy, Mayday turned uneasily towards Veetch and guided him back along the beach to check over his broken nose.

“Quick reactions, lad,” he praised as he examined him, nodding when he was satisfied. “You too,” he added, giving Mox an approving nod.

“Trust you to pick up an injury when you’re not even on active duty,” teased Hexx affectionately, clapping Veetch on the shoulder. Then, in a lower voice, “Well done. You did good.”

Veetch merely nodded, still catching his breath from the water and the shock of the elbow to the face.

“Um… sir?”

Mayday turned and glanced down in surprise, finding the pink-skinned Iktotchi girl standing there cringing up at them.

“Yes?” he asked, slightly bemused. Nat-borns were one thing, but nat-born children were a whole other confusion.

“Are you okay?”

At her meek but concerned question, Mayday broke out in a grin, crouching down to her level as he had seen Echo do.

“Yeah, kid. We’re fine.” He gestured up the beach. “Your friend okay?”

She nodded. “Jax won’t say thank you. He’s scared of clone troopers. But… you’re good ones. I can tell.” A shy smile spread on her face as she glanced at Veetch, and her hand curled in a tiny wave.

Veetch waved back, smiling behind his bloodied nose, and Mox crouched next to Mayday, extending a hand to Eva.

“You were very brave,” he told her, giving her a reassuring smile as she took his hand. He stood, glancing at Mayday with a nod that told him ‘I’ve got this’, before starting to lead Eva back to her friends. “Well done for raising the alarm.”

“Your brother is really good at swimming.” She hesitated on the word brother, like she was still learning to understand what linked all the clones.

“We have to be,” Mox told her with a smile. “Kamino, where we grew up, is all ocean. We had to know what do to if someone fell in.”

“Think you’ve got a new fan,” Hexx joked gently, giving Veetch’s wet hair a fond ruffle. “Alright, hero of the hour, let’s get you off the beach and mopped up.”

“I didn’t mean for him to be frightened of me,” said Veetch, a little subdued, but Mayday clasped a reassuring hand to his shoulder.

“It sounds like those kids have been through a lot. As much as we have, most likely. Don’t take it personally.” Pausing to retrieve his smoothie, they turned to start heading back towards the docks buildings which had been converted into refugee housing for the clones. “Anyway, after that display of heroics, I’m sure Echo will be even keener for you to join their Resistance.”

Veetch’s eyes lit up. “We’re going?” he said hopefully, immediately brighter.

Mayday gave a grim smile and nodded.

“Haven’t got it in me to turn my back on a brother in need,” he said, glancing at Hexx who nodded his support. “And we can’t let you go without us.”

Veetch grinned, throwing one arm round each of their shoulders. The three of them walked together, the younger clone supported by his two older brothers, heading slowly back along the sand.

“It’s like I said,” murmured Mayday softly, tilting his face up to the sky. “Brothers stick together. I told you I was requesting you for my squad, wherever we end up.” Something wistful crossed his face, before he squeezed Veetch’s shoulders hard. “Can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be, than with you boys.”

Hexx grinned. “Sun’s gone to your head. You’re getting soppy.”

Veetch laughed at their banter, pulling them both close.

“It’s us three. Forever.” “Forever,” echoed Hexx and Mayday, as the three of them walked into their future.

[tangents-within-tangents]

I see your ‘Tech’s alive bc the show knows how to explicitly confirm deaths and gave us multiple on screen examples of that’ and raise you one ‘Tech’s death wasn’t meaningless, insignificant, or just for stakes and shock value bc the show gave us multiple on screen examples of what that actually looks like’

[starwarsdinosaur]

TBB S2E12 SPOILERS

I have had Hexx, Veetch, and Mayday for a full 5 minutes and if anything happens to them I will commit arson

[endversewinchester]

The Bad Batch: 2x12 - The Outpost headers (3/3) Like/reblog if you take any!

[mooonjin]

we got crosshair back. but at what cost...

spoilers for tbb 02x12!!

commander mayday, i love you

WHAT NO IM SOBBING

he got blinded and still took the shot *swoon*

its "deadweight" but he carries mayday ALL the way back...

also this just made me so sad like this is a huddle cuddle :*(

biggest frown on my face

shot the lieutenant dead not for himself, but for his brother mayday. the clone he cared about whether meeting him for just a day but still treated him like one of his. this brought a new side of crosshair. a side that gives us crosshairs breaking point for the empire.

[ladykagewaki]

[thegalaxys-edge]

tbb s2e12 thoughts (spoilers)

x

x

- fucking FINALLY MY BOY, crosshair i miss you every second you’re off screen

- out of uniform? leave him alonee

- crosshair defending clones instead of feeling ostracized by them

- immensely worried that crosshairs arc is gonna end in him dying..

- new commander BARK BARK WOOF

- i’ve had hexx and veetch for 2 seconds and if anything happens to them i’ll kill everyone in this room and then myself

- commander MAYDAY?! be still my heart

- crosshair choosing to give his name instead of his number is everything

- NOOO NOT HEXX AND VEETCH I CANT HANDLE THIS :,,(

- seeing crosshair actually worried about things is fantastic

- literally everything about disarming the bomb

- him carrying mayday back, i’m not crying, you’re crying

- NOOOO FUCK ALL I MISS MAYDAY

- the symbolism of crosshair being like the ice vultures, mean but finding a way to survive in a harsh environment

- YESS YES GET HIS ASS

- oh my god he’s at the new facility

[wolverina2002]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon)

Relationships: CT-9904 | Crosshair & Clone Commander Mayday; Crosshair & Hexx & Veetch & Mayday

Characters: Crosshair (Star Wars: The Bad Batch); Clone Trooper Hexx (Star Wars); Clone Trooper Veetch (Star Wars); Clone Commander Mayday (Star Wars)

Additional Tags: Dragons; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Shapeshifting; Learning to Fly; Recovery; Found Family; Fluff and Hurt/Comfort; sleeping in piles; Clone Troopers Deserve Better (Star Wars)

Language: English

Today with pictures:

Crosshair

Mayday

Hexx

Veetch

And Mayday and a little Waxer for scale

[sandwichmustbetasty]

ah, yes, i forgot why you should never get attached to clone troopers. i had hexx and veetch for about 30 seconds in which they said nothing, and now i don’t have them, but i do have a broken heart. again.

[fwitolei]

Febuwhump 2024 - Day 18: Too Weak To Move

Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars) Characters: Checkmate, Flame, Canvas, Mayday, Veetch, Hexx Word Count: 812 Content Warning: None Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist

Summary: Mayday and his men find it difficult to withstand the harsh conditions of Barton 4.

Mayday gritted his teeth as another gust of freezing wind tore through his armor. It was another freezing night on Barton 4, just like the night he and his squad first landed on this planet. The Empire had ordered that they protect a shipment of precious cargo, for the contents of the crates were imperative for the Empire’s growth. Mayday didn’t know whether to fully believe that, considering he didn’t know exactly what he was protecting.

There were many variables to this operation, from the subzero temperatures and hostile creatures to malfunctioning equipment that insurgents used to their advantage to get the upper hand. It seemed like every week rebels were sneaking into the outpost, stealing cargo, and killing clones to the point where Mayday had to set up a schedule determining who would stay at the outpost’s edge on watch and for how long. Shifts were getting longer as he lost more men, and he didn’t know how long before they were all killed off.

“Commander,” Veetch’s voice blared through Mayday’s helmet. “Commander, come in!”

“What is it?” Mayday answered, jamming his finger into the loose comm button at his ear. His voice cracked with lack of use, his mouth dry. He made a mental note to check the water filter back at base.

“It’s Canvas. I think… I think he’s dying.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Mayday’s chest tightened as he sighed, the cold air freezing his lungs. “I’m headed in now.”

Mayday trudged through the snow, the icy ground swallowing his legs with every step. He switched to a public channel and said, “Back to base, men. Something’s up with Canvas.”

A flurry of acknowledgments filled Mayday’s helmet. He looked up to see three other clones tramping toward base, some shaking the snow from their armor. One trooper bounded toward Mayday, asking, “What’s with Canvas? Is he okay?”

Checkmate. Mayday placed a hand on the clone’s shoulder and said “I’m sure he’s fine. Probably just sick again. He’ll push though, he always does.”

Mayday didn’t have to see Checkmate’s face to know the trooper wasn’t so sure. Flame and Hexx caught up to them, and the four clones entered the base together. The stronghold was dark inside, with stacks upon stacks of crates almost reaching the ceilings. A protocol droid walked by, carrying cargo here and there. The four clones found Veetch standing beside Canvas, who was bundled up in a multitude of ponchos and stray cloth.

“I did the best I could, Commander,” Veetch said, his voice strained. “But I don’t think he’s gonna make it.”

Murmurs drifted through the room as Mayday’s men whispered amongst themselves. Checkmate balled his hands into fists, turning to the nearest protocol droid. “You! Come here, he needs a medic!”

The protocol droid froze in his tracks and stared at Checkmate. “I am not a medical droid. It is not part of my programming.”

“Then find someone—!” Mayday cut Checkmate off with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Check,” Mayday said, locking his gaze on his brother. Checkmate stared at Mayday, then at the protocol droid. 

“But—”

“There’s nothing we can do except send him off. We’d be doing more harm keeping him alive.”

Checkmate shuddered from something other than the cold. Mayday gently led him back to the others, who were surrounding the dying clone. “Commander?” Canvas shuttered. He raised his hand an inch from the blanketed mound he lay on, only for it to fall limp at his side. Mayday took Canvas’s arm, squeezing his hand.

“You’re gonna be alright, brother,” Mayday said. “It’s just a cold.”

A weak chuckle escaped Canvas’s lips. “No kidding, Commander. Is… Is backup here?”

“They’re coming,” Mayday answered. He saw Checkmate step forward in his peripheral, moving to grab Canvas’s other hand, but Flame held him back. Hexx placed a hand on Checkmate’s shoulder as the tears streamed down Checkmate’s face. Checkmate had been assigned to Mayday’s squad along with Canvas, and they spent every waking moment looking out for each other. It was always hard for Checkmate when a brother left him, but this one might hit hardest.

“Commander…” Canvas started again, attempting to sit up. His elbow slipped out from beneath him, and he fell back with a grunt. “Commander, I—”

“Easy, soldier,” Mayday said. Checkmate sobbed behind him. He’s so weak. “You’re gonna be alright.”

“My drawings…”  Canvas strained. He let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes as a small smile played on his lips. “My drawings… give them to Checkmate, yeah?”

“Sure thing, shiny,” Mayday answered, tears welling up in his eyes. Canvas’s chest fell slowly as Mayday pressed his fingers to Canvas’s wrist. No pulse.

Mayday placed Canvas’s hand on the shiny’s chest before standing. The other five clones watched as he lifted a hand to his face and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Sure thing.”

Canvas, Checkmate, and Flame are original clone characters I came up with for the sake of the story since we only saw Hexx and Veetch in 2x12 “The Outpost”

Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist Ultimate Masterlist

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

Under The Same Sky

@summer-of-bad-batch week 9 alt prompt 'Stargazing'

Fandom: The Bad Batch Characters: Clone Trooper Veetch, Original Clone Trooper Characters Helix & Dene Set on Barton IV with Mayday's squad, as featured in my fanfic Welcome to the Outpost Word Count: ~670 Read Here on AO3

Synopsis: Barton IV may be austere, but there is still beauty to be found.

“Keep up, Veetch,” muttered Helix, “before you freeze to death.”

“’M not that far behind,” came the protest over the com.

The snow muffled the sound of Veetch’s footsteps as he jogged to catch up with where Helix and Dene trudged through the icy, midnight wasteland.

“Did you see it too?”

“See what?” asked Dene gruffly, immediately alert. The perimeter sensors were down, so they were forced to patrol despite the sub-zero temperatures and the dark, wary of attacks from the local raiders who had started targeting what was meant to be their quiet, remote outpost.

“The sky!”

Dene snorted. “What about the sky?” he muttered, glancing up cautiously.

Veetch had caught up with them now and slung an excited arm around Dene’s neck, pulling him to a halt, turning him back to face along the valley.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

Helix turned too, and the three troopers merely stood in the snow, gazing up at the sliver of sky lit bright with the stardust-glow of the galaxy. A million million points of light winked and twinkled in the firmament, a plethora of diamonds strewn against the velvet cloth of night.

“One of those is Kamino,” said Veetch, his voice soft and reverent in the darkness. “Do you think we’ll ever see it again?”

Helix clapped a hand to the top of his bucket, rubbing it fondly just like he’d ruffle the younger trooper’s hair if they were back at the depot. “Not likely,” he said, tone grim. “Krake heard from a brother in the fleet that they’re shutting down the cloning facilities. No need for more of us now the war is over.”

“Helix,” admonished Dene, cuffing his squadmate without any real force behind it. “Don’t spoil it for the kid.” He too mirrored Hexx’s gesture towards Veetch’s helmet, a brief moment of connection where Veetch still stood with his arm around his shoulders. “’Course you’ll see Kamino again, lad. Providing the Empire hasn’t forgotten that they left us out here on this freezing rock.”

Veetch was still craning his neck up, too awestruck to be perturbed by the others’ dour comments. “My batchmates will be out there somewhere too,” he said with quiet reverence. “I hope their postings are more exciting than mine.”

Dene snorted. “Trust me, lad, you want as little excitement as we can get.”

“Raiders is more than we bargained for,” agreed Helix. “Thought this was going to be a routine guard duty. Didn’t realise we’d actually have to defend the cargo.”

“Would love to know what they’re storing in those crates,” said Dene darkly. “And why it needs such cold temperatures. Sure they coulda posted us somewhere warmer.”

“Saving on the cost of running refrigeration units,” sniggered Helix, turning away from the star-strewn sky. “C’mon. Let’s get moving before we freeze in place.”

Dene turned too, Veetch’s arm slipping from his shoulders as he trudged after Helix. After a moment, he turned and glanced back over his shoulder.

“You coming, Veetch?”

With wistful sigh, Veetch offered a silent salute to his brothers scattered among the stars. Then he gripped his blaster again, turning to the patrol route once more.

“I’m coming,” he reassured them, falling into step between the other two.

“Night patrols in these temperatures are a joke,” grumbled Dene as they walked. “They’d better send Ferox the parts he needs to fix the sensor fault soon.”

“Relief ship will be here any day now,” Helix said with a smile they could hear in his voice. “We’ll have fresh food, maybe they’ll even send some games. Only so many times we can ambush Veetch here with snowballs before it gets boring.”

“Heyy!” protested Veetch as the other two laughed, but the teasing was good-natured. The Barton IV assignment was a miserable one, always cold, intensely lonely. The twelve troopers here had bonded quickly, regardless of the circumstances that had brought them here. “Come on,” said Dene with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. “First one back to base gets to sleep closest to the heater.”

Tags by request for @royallykt :) <3

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

@royallykt I can't decide what I treasure more, the fact you tag me in Mayday art or the fact you call me 'mate'! :) <3

My beloved husband Mayday. You'll be missed!

Beautiful art by Uzuri Art on Twitter.

[hugmekenobi]

S2: The Bad Batch (12)

Chapter Twelve: The Outpost

Gif by @dreamswithghosts

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: Crosshair's mission for the Empire finalises what he'd feared would happen to him. Meanwhile, you and the Batch take on a tame job yet you find yourself filled with anticipatory dread but you have no sense of why.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, angst, Lieutenant Nolan, character death, my interpretation of Crosshair's thought process, Force-related anxiety, descriptions of exhaustion, poor attempt at kidnapping, light injury descriptions, reader isn't quite on top of things, briefest instances of innuendo (it's tiny and you might not even notice it but including just in case), me making up some of Hunter's past, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 5.9K

Author's notes: Told you I hadn't forgotten about Crosshair lol, the poor boy goes through it. Also added my own thing to go with it and thank you to @fuckoffthanos and @arctrooper69 for helping me out with deciding how this should go! Also, @arctrooper69, loved your idea and had to incorporate it somehow but just the way other things panned out, it's a bit on the tamer side but thank you again! Hope you everyone enjoys!

He waited by the shuttle and watched. He watched the group of newly redundant clones walk past. It was the same spiel from the Imperial officer every time- “The Empire thanks you for your years of service and wishes you well on your retirement.” Like that would really make a difference.

“CT-9904?”

Yes, that was who he was to them now. Just a designation, but at least he still had a purpose here, not like the countless others he’d seen be forced out. He turned to face the lieutenant who addressed him.

“You’re out of uniform.”

Right, yes. Can’t be seen to look too different. He put his helmet on and awaited his instructions.

“I’m Lieutenant Nolan, your commanding officer for this mission. We’re heading to the Imperial Depot on Barton-4. High-value cargo stored there has been targeted by local insurgents. We’re to secure it until it’s transferred at week’s end.” Nolan paused as he heard the faint voices of the clones already in the shuttle. He let out an irritated sigh. “Fantastic. More clones.”

“Problem, sir?”

“Yes. I don’t like used equipment.” He boarded the shuttle. “Let’s go.”

Right. ‘Used equipment.’ He couldn’t afford to give that more thought. There was a mission to complete. He grabbed his sniper rifle and stepped onto the ship.

--

Barton-4 was an ice planet. And a hostile one at that. The cold wind howled and worked its way through to his armour and seeped into his bones, and the gusts of snow made it hard to see ahead. It was understandable how things had been going so wrong. Getting caught off guard by native insurgents in a place like this would mean the squadron here would have no chance of defending themselves successfully.

The group made their way into the main cargo haul and Nolan addressed the droids moving the shipments. “Where is your supervisor?”

“You must be our reinforcements.”

They all turned in the direction of the voice who emerged from behind one of the containers.

“We expected you 36 rotations ago. Did you get lost?” The clone asked coolly.

“We work on the Empire’s schedule, trooper, not yours.” Nolan replied.

“It’s Commander, Lieutenant.”

“Well, Commander, your orders were to guard and protect this facility and its cargo, yet this outpost is grossly unguarded.” He followed the clone round the corner. “Where are the rest of your men?”

“Dead.” He replied bluntly before he introduced the clones cowering round a heat lamp. “Hexx, Veetch, and I, we’re all that’s left.”

Their names. He was using their names. Not designations.

“Your failings will be dealt with later.” Nolan scolded. “For now, I am in charge here until the cargo is transported.”

“I feel safer already.” The commander drawled.

“Look here, clone, you speak to me with respect.” Nolan snapped.

“In my experience, respect is something to be earned.”

The Lieutenant sneered. “Yet the Empire assigned you to this desolate rock, were you let the majority of your squad get killed.”

The commander didn’t rise to it. “Tell me, Lieutenant, how many missions have you commanded?”

Meanwhile, he watched the interaction between these two men with hidden interest. He liked that this clone wasn’t backing down so easily.

“That’s what I thought.” The commander said as his question was greeted by silence. He addressed his group behind him. “Boys, why don’t you help the new boss get situated?” As soon as they all left, he focused his attention on the soldier in black armour that had followed the lieutenant in. “You, uh, know the lieutenant well?”

“For about two hours.” He responded.

The commander scoffed. “Two hours too long, I bet.”

He hummed in agreement and was both surprised and grateful to see his fellow clone bring over the heat lamp.

“So, what’d you do to get stuck with this mission?”

“Just lucky, I guess.” He said distantly.

The commander’s laugh turned into a sigh. “The name’s Mayday.” He looked at the clone expectantly.

He debated for a moment. It had been so long since anyone had wanted to know his name and cared enough to ask about it. “Crosshair.” It almost sounded foreign; it had been a long time since he’d had a reason to use it.

“Welcome to The Outpost.” Mayday with faux celebration. He grabbed his helmet and blaster. “I’ll give you the lay of the land.”

--

Nothing was out of the ordinary, the ship flew peacefully through hyperspace, with you all deciding that you were going to heed Cid’s instructions- after all she had said you shouldn’t return if you didn’t scavenge anything from the crash site so you were doing as you were told and the added benefit of not being in her employment worked things out quite nicely.

So, why as you sat on the edge of your bunk, was it that with nothing being out of the norm, you had a deep sense of dread lingering in your heart? This was the worst it had been; you had sensed it creeping in the days since the failed mission from Cid and your sleep had been very limited but you had put the cause down as being the mission and assumed it would go away. It hadn’t. And last night had been the worst. It overwhelmed you and had prevented you from sleeping entirely and the exhaustion you were feeling wasn’t helping matters. A light tapping on your leg forced you out of your head.

You glanced down to see Hunter kneeling in front of you, hand on your knee. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“What’s going on?”

“Didn’t sleep well.” You said briskly, not wanting to create a fuss.

“Something on your mind?” Hunter asked kindly. He could tell you were putting a brave face on but even that couldn’t hide the dark shadows under your eyes and the way you could barely keep your head up.

You shook your head. You didn’t want to bother him with something you couldn’t even put a cause or label on. “Is something happening?” You jutted your head in the direction of the cockpit where the others were gathered.

Hunter let your deflection pass for now. He knew you well enough to know that he couldn’t push you to talk. You would come to him when you needed it.

“Phee got in touch. She’s got a mission for us, but she needs us to get some credits from a contact first.”

“And the catch?” You asked, stifling a yawn.

“Her contact seems to have five possible addresses to keep people guessing his location.”

You nodded slowly. “Honestly was expecting worse.”

Hunter gave you a small smile. “I’d figure I’d keep Omega with me and the rest of you split to check out each of the other addresses?”

“Sounds good, Seargeant.” You said as you stood up to go to the refresher. You splashed some water on your face, and you caught a glimpse of your reflection. You did look pretty rough. Your eyes were puffy and dark circles graced the skin underneath them. Maybe a distraction from this feeling would be a good idea. There wasn’t much you could do about the tiredness expect for push through but even doing a small job might help with forgetting for a little bit.

--

Not only had it sounded like Mayday and his team had been hung out to dry with degraded equipment and poor support all the while protecting cargo the Empire hadn’t deemed necessary to inform them of what exactly it was, but it also hadn’t taken long for the first attack on the depot to occur since he and the rest of them had arrived.

The raiders had made it in and out fast and had caused the deaths of the rest of Mayday’s team and had stolen more cargo. The only saving grace had been that Crosshair had been able to hit one of them as they retreated, and the blood trail led to a system of ice tunnels that had allowed them to slip through undetected for months.

Upon Nolan’s request, he and Mayday had gone in search of the crates, and they started with the ice tunnel.

--

“You sure you’re up for this?” Hunter asked you gently as the others stepped off the ship.

You knew he was coming from a good place, but your sleep-deprived state took it as more of an insult. “Yes.” You said tetchily.

Hunter raised his hands in appeasement. “I’m just checking in.”

You exhaled wearily and ran a hand across your face. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s probably best to just leave me be for the moment.” You lifted your hood and mask up.

Hunter debated pushing the matter further, but he decided to wait until this task was over. “Okay.” He put his helmet on and let you leave the ship first.

--

It turned out that Wrecker had the current address and after he confirmed everything went smoothly, Hunter had said you were all to head back to the ship. You cut down an alley way that was a shortcut but also a means to avoid a public scene since you’d been followed once you’d rounded the corner from one of the contact’s alternative residences. “Please, I’m in no mood to do this today.” You said tiredly as the figure dashed in front of you, halting you in your tracks. You stared the Weequay. “What do you want?”

“How’d you know about the money? I’ve been watching that house, and I heard your comm. Where’d you find him?”

“I don’t have it.” You ignored the crux of his question.

“No, but someone you know does. And you’re going to help us get it.”

You really couldn’t be bothered with a simple kidnapping. If you were going to be threatened today, you’d rather it be a bit more interesting than this. “You know you’re not actually going to get anywhere with that plan, right?”

The Weequay simply sniggered and drew a blaster.

You sighed heavily and reached for your holster. Your entire body was slow. You’d never felt so sluggish.

And that was probably why you didn’t pick up on the ‘us’ or register the person that came from behind and smacked the butt of their blaster across the back of your head.

--

“Alright, let’s get going.” Wrecker said cheerily as he stepped on board and put the case down. He took his helmet off.

Hunter glanced past him. “(Y/N)’s not with you?”

Wrecker shook his head. “Was she supposed to be?”

“She’s not come back yet, and we haven’t heard from her.” Omega informed him, her own troubled face matching Hunter’s.

Hunter reached for his comm and tried for you, but he got no reply. “She wouldn’t go radio silent without being told to.”

“You guys aren’t in a fight, are you?” Wrecker asked.

Hunter shot his brother an irritated look. “No. And even if we were, she knows better than to ignore any of us if we’re checking in.”

“(Y/N), come in.” Omega tried but again was met with no response.

Both Wrecker and Tech also attempted to get in touch with you, but nothing came through.

Hunter started pacing. You wouldn’t ignore all of them. You just wouldn’t, no matter what was happening. The panic was starting to set in now. It was something he rarely did and when he did do it, he didn’t like it, but now he was thinking he should’ve pulled his rank with you and at least made you stay on the ship. He’d known you were in not shape to go out there, even if it was a simple mission, whatever you were going through and the exhaustion you were experiencing would have an effect on anyone.

“Hunter, it’s her.” Tech called over from the cockpit as the ship’s main communication control lit up. Only it wasn’t your voice that came through.

“If you want to see her again, meet us with that lovely case of credits you picked up in 30 minutes.”

“How do we know she’s with you?” Hunter asked, doing his best to keep his voice level.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Her top has half a white skull on it.”

Dammit. Hunter paid no attention to the looks the others gave him. He needed to know more. He needed to know if you were okay. “I want to hear her. For all I know, you just saw her and that was the first thing you noticed.”

The voice chuckled unkindly. “She’s currently… unavailable for speaking. If you want that to be a more permanent state, then by all means, don’t do as we say. But, if you want her back, you better be here.”

“If you’ve hurt her-”

“It’s 20 minutes now. By all means, keep talking and pissing me off if you want her to suffer but I’d suggest you start walking.”

“Wait, but where are-” Omega started to say but the transmission cut out. “How are we supposed to find her?” She addressed the others.

“They used her own comm. I can trace it easily enough.” Tech said calmly as he got to work.

“The rest of us will go over her steps.” Hunter directed before he led the way off the ship.

--

If it wasn’t for the throbbing radiating throughout your skull, you might’ve been grateful for being knocked out. It was the closest thing you’d had to a rest. But the resulting headache and embarrassment at being so easily caught took precedence over any relief at being able to not think about what signals the Force was trying to send you. Now that you were awake, the feeling was back.

“Ah good, you’re up.”

You ignored the voice and took in your surroundings instead. The room was dark, the only light came from the faint glow of a lantern, and you were sitting with your back to a damp wall. Your hands were tied loosely in front of you with a piece of frayed rope. It was the worst attempt at kidnapping you’d ever experienced.

“Don’t worry. We’ve been in touch with your friends. Once we have the money, we’ll let you go.”

Your eyes had adjusted to the dimness, and it was then that you saw the two Weequay men standing by the doorway. You snorted. “Yeah, I’m not all that worried.”

“Oh yeah?” The one that had originally cornered you in the alley said.

“You two really don’t do this a lot, do you?”

“What are you talking about?” The one you didn’t recognise asked.

“Kidnapping people. You two are clearly new to the game.”

“Meaning what?” The first Weequay asked suspiciously.

You released an aggravated huff. You were too tired to do this, but it was your way out of here. “Meaning if you were regulars at this, you wouldn’t have used my comm to send your demands to my team- I’m assuming that’s what you did, right?” Their anxious glance to one another gave you your answer. You continued, “Ideally, you also would tie my hands behind my back, or, at the very least, you would double check the strength of the knot.”

“Check it.” The one you had seen first ordered his companion.

Perfect. As he kneeled down in front of you, you punched him on the underside of his jaw, and he crumbled to the floor. Acting quickly, you broke your hands out of their restraints, and you fired a stun blast from his blaster to the second one, who had been too taken aback by your actions to get his blaster out in time.

You grabbed your stuff and headed for the door, but it was then you heard the faint sound of someone grunting. You were still pretty out of it so as you moved to dodge the blade, your reaction wasn’t quite fast enough. You inhaled sharply as the knife sliced the part of your forearm that wasn’t protected by your armour. It wasn’t much more than a graze, but you could feel blood slowly secreting from the wound and it stung like hell. You whipped around and fired a stun bolt to the half-collapsed figure, and he fell unconscious.

You opened the door to be greeted by three familiar faces. “Oh. Hey, what brings you all here?”

“We were coming to rescue you.” Omega said as she peered around you to see the two knocked out Weequays.

“I appreciate it, kid. I’ll save you something to do next time.” You dug deep for the smile that graced your face as you touched her shoulder. “Thanks for coming after me, guys.” You said to the group.

“Did they hurt you?” Hunter asked urgently as he scanned your body for any obvious injures.

You shook your head. “Nothing major. It was my fault anyway. I completely switched off.”

“Yeah, what even happened?” Wrecker asked you.

“Don’t really wanna relive the humiliation at the moment, Wrecker.” You took a breath. “We good to go?” You asked Hunter who nodded and the four of you walked back to the Marauder.

--

“Tech, would you mind bringing the medkit down here?” You asked as you boarded the ship and sat down on your bunk. “Also, thanks for helping find me.”

“No thanks are necessary. Although, it was a relatively simple mission; I do not understand how this incident occurred in the first place or how you managed to injure yourself.” Tech said frankly as he pulled the medkit down and started to make his way over to you.

He was right but you were embarrassed enough to be so caught off guard like you were and you didn’t need more reminders. “Tech, what about my general demeanour right now makes you think I’m unaware of that fact?” You said through gritted teeth as you tossed your vambrace with a little too much zest judging by the way it smacked off the wall by your bed. You were doing your best to keep it together. You were determined to not let your mood affect the relationships around you.

“I only meant-”

“Tech.” Hunter warned him off calmly as he took to medpack from him. “Just get the ship in the air, okay?”

“Very well.” Tech said with a nod before he turned back for the cockpit.

Omega and Wrecker followed him.

“Do you want-” Hunter started to offer.

“I can do it myself, it’s a really small cut.” You said touchily as you held your hand out for the case.

Hunter didn’t fight you on it and he was prepared to give you space, so he handed it to you. “I’ll be in the cockpit with the others if you need me.” He risked a step forward and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

You did feel instantly more tranquil after he did that. “I’m sorry.” You uttered quietly as he stepped away.

Hunter tenderly rubbed a thumb across your cheekbone. “Get some rest.”

--

Crosshair and Mayday rounded the corner of the tunnel, and the blood trail came to an end. Both their lights found the dead body of the raider hunkered against the wall.

“He didn’t get far.” Crosshair said wryly.

Mayday kneeled down to examine the body. “Not sure what bothers me more. That he’s wearing armour stolen off my men or that his cohorts just left him here.”

“No point in carrying deadweight.”

Mayday glanced back at Crosshair. “Remind me not to die on your watch.”

Crosshair didn’t pay the comment much mind. He just carried on walking past, but he didn’t get very far as he suddenly came to a complete standstill as he heard the activation click of something hidden in the snowy ground. His best chance was to not move a muscle.

“Pressure mine.” Mayday stated.

“Mm-hmm.” Crosshair nodded.

Mayday brought his light down to examine it. “What were you saying about deadweight?”

“Do you know how to disarm it?”

“I’m not an explosives expert, but since I don’t feel like carrying your body back to the outpost, I guess I’ll give it a shot.” Mayday took off his helmet and put his blaster on the ground as well as his torch- but he kept the light trained on the pressure mine- as he crouched down. He blew away the flakes of snow still covering it. “Hmm. This mine’s a little different than ones I’ve seen before, but I’m pretty sure they’re all the same. Guess we’ll find out soon enough, huh?”

It wasn’t the most comforting of statements for Crosshair to hear, but he’d take any help he could get at this point.

Mayday pulled out his tools and carefully got to work. “I wish I had the proper equipment for this, but the Empire’s ignored all my requests. I’ve learned to improvise though. I guess all clones have had to since the war. Can’t say I ever thought much about the war ending…” he sighed, “… until it did.”

As Crosshair stood still on the mine and waited for Mayday to get him out of it, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander and start thinking about his old squad and how different this mission would be going. Tech would have the suitable equipment. Hunter would’ve known where to step to avoid a situation just like this and he’d have made finding these raiders look easy despite the conditions. And, even if one of them still found themselves in this position, Wrecker would’ve disarmed it with a degree of ease and sophistication people wouldn’t necessarily expect from him. While he would never admit it out loud, he was finding that he missed them. Mayday’s question to him pulled him out of his thoughts.

“What unit were you with?”

That was a question he did not want to answer. “It doesn’t matter.” He just about manged to grind out.

“Humour me. I could use the distraction.”

Well, if he wanted them both to make it out of this, he had to do what Mayday was asking of him. “Clone Force 99.”

“What happened to them?”

“They’re gone.” He replied subduedly. It wasn’t a lie. They were gone and he didn’t know where they had wound up or even if they were all still together and alive. It had been a long time now since that day on the platform on Kamino.

“And here we are, the survivors.” Mayday peered up at Crosshair. “Hmm. Combat troopers stuck babysitting cargo shipments.”

If he let his mind start to drift down that path any more than he already had on occasion, then he’d lose all sense of purpose. He’d lose that purpose he was so sure this Empire would provide. “Mission’s a mission.”

Mayday chuckled sarcastically. “Yeah, I used to say the same thing.” He inspected his work and grabbed his gear before he stood up. “There. That should do it.” As he saw Crosshair start to move, spoke up swiftly. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t pick up your foot yet. Wait until I tell you, then lift it, but real slow like.” He started to walk past him. “I’ll wait around the bend. If I don’t hear a boom, then I’ll know it worked.”

“Glad your confident in your work.”

Mayday put his helmet back on as he continued to walk away. “Oh, I’m confident. I’m just not stupid. Remember, nice and slow. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”

Crosshair lifted his foot and sighed in relief when there was no explosion.

The two of them made their way out the tunnel into the storm. It was then they saw the light radiating from the raider’s base and they put their plan of attack into action.

--

It had been going well. The enemy bas was destroyed, and they were able to reclaim the cargo. They went down to the area where the cargo had spilled. But it was then when it had started to go wrong as they both discovered what it was they were risking their lives for and what it was Mayday and his men had men had devoted their lives to defending. And… and it wasn’t worth the fight they had put in.

“Gear?” Mayday said aloud as he examined the boxes. “We’ve been risking our lives to recover equipment we could have been wearing this whole time?”

Crosshair nudged a helmet with his foot to expose the design. “It’s not clone trooper gear.” Because why would it be? They were disposable after all.

Mayday picked up a breastplate. “New toys for their shiny new military, and we get the scraps. After all the clones have done, all we’ve sacrificed… We’re good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?”

Crosshair didn’t have an answer for him. He thought he’d been a good solider but how was that being rewarded? He couldn’t see it. If he had any lingering doubts about where his place in this Empire was, this mission was doing a good job of eradicating them. He, Mayday, and all his fellow clones weren’t valued. They weren’t worth anything to this Empire.

Suddenly, a growing rumbling echoed around them.

“Go!” Mayday ordered as he saw avalanche hurtling towards them from the mountain behind them.

They ran as fast as they could through the deep snow, but they couldn’t outrun it, the best they could do was make it past the rock ahead.

Crosshair didn’t know what happened. One minute both of them were running side by side, and the next Mayday was knocking him past the rock and letting himself get swept up by the snow first which meant he smashed into the rockface.

Crosshair’s helmet was knocked away and the best he could do was take a deep breath as the snow smothered him.

--

Crosshair punched a hand through the top of the snow before his head followed and he breathed in the cold air. His entire body was numb and shivering but he couldn’t dwell on that for too long since he’d caught sight of Mayday’s helmet a few metres ahead. He heaved his way through the waist deep snow towards it and started to desperately dig through to find his companion.

It was after a few moments that Mayday’s face came into view, but his eyes were shut, and his body was limp as Crosshair propped him against the rock behind him. “Mayday? Mayday, wake up!” The faint groan from Mayday’s mouth was enough of an indicator that he was alive… that there was hope for him. “Come on. We have to move.”

Mayday’s eyes flickered open. “Go.” He gasped. “I won’t make it.”

Crosshair didn’t know what possessed him to grab Mayday’s helmet and put it back on his head. All he knew now as he supported Mayday’s body was that it was something he had to do. He had to make sure they both made it back and Mayday would survive. He was going to get them both through the storm.

--

Hunter came back from the cockpit to see everyone else asleep but you. You were perched on the edge of your bunk looking utterly shattered and anything but relaxed. You still had all your gear on, minus the one vambrace you’d taken off to tend to your cut earlier. “Sweetheart, you need to get some sleep.”

“I can’t.” You mumbled, utterly defeated, as you brought your head down to lean against his shoulder.

Hunter rested his head on top of yours. “Tell me what’s wrong?”

“I can’t because I don’t know.” You sighed deeply and pushed your face into the crook of his neck. “I’m just so tired.”

“What can I do?” Hunter asked softly.

“Knock me out until we rendezvous with Phee.” You suggested, only half kidding.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea, but we can keep it as an option.” Hunter said lightly. “Come on.” He gently nudged you up, ignoring your slight groan of protest. He went to the ground in front of you.

“Okay, but I’m pretty tired, can’t promise I’ll be super enthusiastic.” You attempted levity but your tone was too flat.

“Hush you.” Hunter said with a slight grin. He got to work on taking your boots off before he came to sit next you. He started to delicately take your remaining armour off before he reached for the ends of your first layer. “Arms up.” He prompted tenderly.

Your arms felt heavy, but you did as he asked and he brought it up and over your head, taking care to not let you get caught in the material. “Now what?” You asked drearily.

“Now you lie down and close your eyes.”

“You know, I have tried doing that.” You said drily.

Hunter gave you an imploring look. “Just trust me, okay?”

You did and so you found yourself lying back down.

Hunter enveloped you. He rubbed, light, soothing patterns across your arms and back. He could feel how tense you were. He kept his voice quiet and low to create as restful an environment as he could for you. “I want you to focus on me. Nothing else. Nothing else matters. It’s just you and me here right now. Switch off. Focus on my voice. Focus on my heartbeat. Breathe with me.” He stared taking slow, deep breaths whilst continuing his peaceful touches. “It’s just us. I’m right with you. You don’t have to think about anything else. I love you. I’ll always be right here.”

You did as he asked. His hands were warm- if a little rough- against your arms but years of wielding a blaster would have that effect and you welcomed that feeling. It reminded you of all that he had survived, of what you all had survived and that he was there with you. Deep breaths. He’s here. He’s okay. Everyone’s okay. Shut it off. You thought to yourself. You mirrored his breathing and continued to listen to his words.

As the minutes grew longer and you continued to listen to him, you felt yourself start to relax into him. Your eyes grew heavy, and it was easier to keep them shut this time. How’d you know how to do this so well?

“Growing up with enhanced senses had its difficulties. I had to learn how to manage it.” He felt you nuzzle closer to him, and a deep sigh left your body. “There you go” He murmured as he kept caressing your body. “Keep breathing with me.”

Things felt easier now as you focused on him, on his scent, on the feeling of his hands on your body, on his breathing. And the last thing you remembered was you telling him you loved him and the kiss to the top of your head from him before you drifted off.

--

Crosshair staggered onto the main platform of the outpost and fell to his knees. He tried to be as gentle as he could when it came to putting Mayday down.

“About time you two returned.” Nolan said harshly as he approached the two men.

“He-” Crosshair broke off with an exhausted pant before he removed Mayday’s helmet. “He needs a medic.”

Nolan ignored him. “I see you didn’t retrieve the crates, which means you’ve failed your mission.”

How could that be all he was concerned about? “Did you hear what I said? Help him!” Crosshair begged as he could feel the pain and weariness creeping into his own body, but Mayday needed the help first. He had to be saved.

“Certainly not. That would be a waste of the Empire’s resources.”

“He’ll- He’ll die.” Did they truly not care? And it was then he heard one last pained cough from Mayday before his eyes shut and he fell silent. Crosshair searched for a pulse but found none. No. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“He served his purpose as a soldier of the Empire.” Nolan said unsympathetically.

Crosshair could feel white hot anger start to rise within him. “You- You could have saved him!”

“Perhaps you didn’t hear me. He is expendable, as are you.”

And there it was. Confirmation of the doubt he had been trying so hard to deny. Hunter had been right. They were only ever numbers.

“And if you speak to me again with such disrespect, I’ll see to it you meet a similar fate, clone.” Nolan continued disdainfully.

Crosshair caught the sight of the shadow of one of the ice vultures. He knew they were coming for Mayday. But it shouldn’t be here for him.

“Now, leave him and get back to work… while you’re still useful.” Nolan started to walk back to the shuttle.

Crosshair looked up to the sky and started at the circling bird. He’d thought he’d found a way to survive on his own too but that had changed. He was supposed to have this incredible ability to see things others couldn’t. How had he been so blind for so long? Well, no more. He’d had enough. He wasn’t concerned about the consequences he would face with what he was about to do. All he knew was that he wouldn’t give this Empire anything more.

He got unsteadily got to his feet and trained his blaster on the retreating back on Lieutenant Nolan. “Lieutenant.” He didn’t hesitate and the shot went straight through Nolan’s chest as soon as he turned around. It was after that final act that he finally let the exhaustion and agony take him and his sight went dark.

--

You awoke with a start and sat up. Things had been going well but that was a new development. You rested a hand on your chest as you felt your heart pounding. You shivered. You were cold, both outwardly and inwardly. There was a deep chill in your veins that left you feeling frozen and unsettled. You took a few deep breaths to settle yourself.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter rasped; his voice still thick with sleep as he sat up alongside you and laid his hand on your back.

“I don’t know.” You murmured uneasily as you fiddled with the bandage on your arm. “Something woke me up. There was this cold shadow and all I could feel was fear and pain, but I couldn’t see what from or who.”

“It was just a bad dream.” Hunter comforted. He kissed the back of your shoulder. “Come on, you should try to get back to sleep.”

“Right… a bad dream.” You whispered distantly as you let him lay you back down. Whatever it was that had woken you up, it felt real, it wasn’t just a bad dream, you were experiencing what someone else was going through but you didn’t have a face to put to the feeling and you didn’t know what it could be. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of Hunter’s arm draped over you, holding you close, but you couldn't shake the feeling like there was something more to what just happened and so sleep didn’t easily come this time around.

--

Crosshair woozily came around to the sound of equipment beeping. He didn’t recognise where he was, and it was then he heard the muffled sound of someone addressing him.

“Hello, CT-9904. Or do you prefer, Crosshair?”

His name. She was using his name. The woman that was speaking to him seemed to be some kind of doctor. “Where am I?” He asked wearily.

“I’m holding you for observation. Once you’ve healed, the doctor will come for you.”

She was holding a needle to his neck, yet she wasn’t the primary medic? “Who- Who are you?”

“Remain calm. Cooperate and you might survive.” That was all he registered before the needle pierced his skin and he fell into darkness once more.

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @starwarsnerd111,

[arcsimper5]

The Return Missing Scene - I'm Sorry

A quick angsty drabble concerning Crosshair's reaction to event in The Return.

Spoilers for Bad Batch Season 3, Episode 5 (and prior).

No warnings except huge amounts of angst (and very little comfort).

“Crosshair?”

The sniper let out a deep sigh as he closed his eyes, fighting against the emotions swelling inside him.

Kneeling in front of the crate which now displayed Mayday’s battered helmet, along with those of Hex, Veetch and the other troopers the Commander had served with, he felt Batcher’s wet nose as she nuzzled his hand where it rested on his thigh, nudging him in a comforting manner.

“Omega,” he responded eventually. His voice was wavering, too quiet, tone too tight.

The young girl silently stepped towards him, dropping to her knees next to him, mirroring his position as he looked back up at the helmets, focusing on Mayday’s.

He’d wanted to tell them, he really had. Even seeing the outpost again had the words clawing up his throat, desperate to be heard. He wanted to tell them about Mayday, about how he’d saved his life, about how hard he’d fought, about how the Empire had betrayed them both.

But Hunter already thought he was dangerous. And dangerous was better than weak.

Would he even believe that he, Crosshair, had befriended a reg? That he’d fought for hours in the bitter cold, through snow and hail and biting winds to bring them back, to try and save his life?

Of course he wouldn’t. He still saw him as nothing more than a murderer. A traitor. The reason Tech was dead.

He didn’t say it, but the glare that narrowed his gaze, the way it flicked pointedly to Crosshair whenever their fallen brother was mentioned, was evidence enough.

“Who were they?”

Omega’s soft question broke him out of his downward spiral, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard, fighting the lump forming there.

“The solders who manned this outpost,” he forced out quickly, fighting the tears welling in his eyes with every fibre of his being, “they were killed.”

“Oh.” 

Omega’s response surprised him a little. He’d expected more questions, pointed ones. Ones like ‘did you kill them?’ Instead, she remained silent, turning her gaze to the helmets, taking in the details of them.

Guilt and grief scrabbled inside his chest as he waited for another question, another accusation, anything, getting nothing in return. Instead, Omega simply bowed her head, closing her eyes as she adopted the same pose he had been in when she found him, a simple gesture of respects being paid.

The sight broke Crosshair, a single tear slipping down his cheek as he swallowed again, his hands tightening into fists.

“Mayday,” he croaked, drawing Omega from her reverie, “the one at the front. His name, it was Mayday.”

She simply nodded to indicate she’d heard him, waiting for him to continue.

“We were sent to retrieve supplies,” he murmured, unsure where this urge to tell her was coming from. Unable to stop, he simply let it all flow, the hurt becoming more and more raw as he spoke, “under a Lieutenant called Nolan. The locals attacked, and his other men were killed. We were sent on a suicide mission to get some stolen crates back.”

Memories flitted through his head, as vivid as the day they were made. He could still feel the cold through his armour, hear the ‘click’ of the mine he’d stepped on in the cavernous tunnels below the mountain, smell the old leather of the extra layers Mayday wore.

“We tracked them, got the supplies, but… there was an avalanche. We were caught in it. He… saved my life.”

Admitting it was like dunking his head under ice cold water, more tears following the track made by the first, welling under his chin and splashing onto his gloved hand below. 

He remembered the roar of the wall of snow, the pressure, Mayday’s shouted warning and the shove of his shoulder, moving him out of the path of the mass.

“He wanted me to leave him, but I… couldn’t. We walked for two rotations, through the snow. Finally made it… back here. He was almost dead. Nolan refused to help him. So I shot him.”

It was all he could bear to tell her. Nothing could possibly soothe the memories of having Mayday huddled against him for warmth, of the way Nolan sneered down at him as he was dying, the way he spoke of them like they were nothing more than droids. It made his stomach twist awfully, nausea overwhelming him.

Just when he thought he couldn’t take another moment in that room, surrounded by the memories of the last true friend he ever made, he felt arms wrap around his shoulders, his breath hitching.

“I’m so sorry, Crosshair.”

The dam inside him broke, a choked sob escaping him as Omega pulled him into her lap, cradling his head and stroking his shoulder.

It wasn’t fair. None of it was. 

Mayday’s words rang in his head over and over.

“We were good soldiers. We followed orders, and for what?”

For what, indeed. Crosshair knew, outside this room, there were three of his brothers who didn’t trust him because of what he’d done for the Empire, another lost forever because of his belated realisation that Hunter had been right all along.

“All you’ll ever be to them is just another number.”

Omega held him tighter as he gasped for breath, every regret he’d ever had spilling onto the floor of the cold storage room, beneath the gaze of Mayday’s helmet.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped out, to no-one in particular. He knew Mayday was long gone, there was no way he would hear it, but he felt it in his gut, that he could have done more, than he should have realised sooner, “I’m sorry.”

Omega shushed him and continued to rock him gently, glancing up when she saw a flash of movement by the door. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to Crosshair as Hunter slipped from the doorway, his own expression twisted with regret.

“It’s going to be okay, Crosshair,” she reassured him as Batcher shuffled towards them, wrapping her large, warm body around Crosshair’s trembling form, whimpering in concern, “I promise you. We’ll avenge him. We’ll avenge all of them.”

[eriexplosion]

MOVING FROM SOME EASY EPISODES TO THE HARDEST. OUTPOST.

Do y'all remember the hype for this episode like we knew it was THE Crosshair episode and everyone was absolutely thirsting for it.

"A new friend is made on a harsh and unforgiving outpost planet" WHO WROTE THIS SUMMARY?

Like yes technically accurate as it doesn't specify that the new friend survives the friendship.

Crosshair clearly paying much more attention to the regs these days, at this point I do think he's pretty much had all his bullshit beaten out of him when it comes to thinking he's better than anyone else. Just in time for Crosshair's Worse Time Parade to start.

Much like Hemlock, Lieutenant Nolan is established as absolute garbage the instant he sees Crosshair taking like two seconds to breathe out of his helmet and tells him he's out of uniform. If The Bad Batch can do one thing it's write a man that sucks.

AND THEN HE MAKES IT WORSE WITH "I DON'T LIKE USED EQUIPMENT"

Literally would kill this man myself and he's been on screen for 30 seconds

THE ICE VULTURE <3 OUR BOY'S NEW MOTIF <3

MAYDAY. MAYYYYYDAYYYYYY.

HE IS HERE!

God Mayday was complicated because like I loved him from the moment I saw him but also like, coming into this episode just logistically we knew anyone that showed Crosshair a hint of kindness was almost certainly going to get killed, so Mayday is loved for the exact thing that put him on the path to narrative doom. Reinforcements or no reinforcements, it doesn't matter, Mayday was never leaving Barton IV alive.

They waited 36 rotations. 4 days longer than Crosshair was left to nearly starve on a platform. If I remember correctly (I'm not there yet) Crosshair says the trip took 2 hours. None of their lives were worth two hours.

THE WAY MAYDAY HAS TWO, TWO MEN LEFT UNDER HIS COMMAND. ONLY TWO. HE HAD TO WATCH THE REST ALL DIE UNDER HIS WATCH. I AM SO FUCKING UNWELL ABOUT HIM.

I really love the name Hexx btw

"Respect is something to be earned." And immediately Nolan goes nuclear to insult him because he wasn't instantly given unconditional deference.

YEP IT WAS TWO HOURS. TWO HOURS OUT OF THE WAY.

I am going to scream from the layers of unfair this is.

The way Mayday's voice softens a touch when left alone with Crosshair though, always gentler with another clone.

I'm still not over the LONG pause after Mayday introduces himself, like Crosshair is trying to dig past the shields he put up between himself and his situation to remember his own name. He probably hasn't heard it at all since Cody.

Mayday looked at Crosshair and apparently felt the desperation for company rolling off him in smothering waves because he instantly is just like 'you're under my wing now'

That he's been out here over a year meaning that the Empire has been established for over a year is a lot to take in like god Crosshair has been away from home for so long.

"You'll freeze to death in that armor" He is like 10 seconds from wrapping Crosshair in a blanket I swear to god I'm only slightly projecting.

"Vicious creatures, but you have to admire 'em. They find a way to survive." GOD I LOVE THAT LINE. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.

Using the explosion through heat vision to completely screw Crosshair's up for the shot was such a good excuse to have him just wound the guy instead of kill him, lol.

Still was surprised to see a blood trail in this cartoon, but sure they can't show us any sign of Tech's body right (YES I AM STILL ON THIS AND WILL BE UNTIL THEY SHOW US THE BOY)

Goddddd him putting Hexx and Veetch's helmets next to all of the others. His very last brothers, the men he was responsible for, god I am in tatters about it. Every second of this episode is just. Grief and Pain.

"Remind me not to die on your watch" Don't worry you're the only person that's been nice to him in months he will literally drag you through hell to save your life. Crosshair just has what we call "Something is wrong with him" disease and all of his words pass through the cortex that makes him rude before getting to you.

My thoughts on this mine disarming scene are Many but let it just be said that I still cannot believe they put this on my screen, it was made explicitly for me to be feral to.

Mayday has learned fast how to talk to Crosshair though, gotta give him some snark back.

"They're... gone." "And here we are. The survivors."

GOD I AM UNHINGED ABOUT THIS.

"If I don't hear a boom then I'll know it worked." "Glad you're confident in your work." "Oh I'm confident, I'm just not stupid."

I just love this back and forth dynamic that they hit perfectly and immediately.

Hey Crosshair actually wins a hand to hand fight all he has to do is sneak up on them and not give them the opportunity to actually hit him back.

Shout out to the guy whose first instinct was to try and RUN MAYDAY OVER WITH A CAR like it didn't work but impressive ingenuity.

Clones dying to guard the gear intended for their replacements god it makes me ILL.

"We're good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?"

The entire thing is designed to drive a wedge into Crosshair's brain and break through the thick shield he's built around himself where he is so sure if he just follows orders Well Enough maybe he can make everything he's done and lost worth it in the end but he can't because he never had a future in the Empire and no amount of sunk cost fallacy will change that.

AND JUST IN TIME FOR HIS EPIPHANY WE GET THE AVALANCHE.

Literally would be so fascinating to see exactly what was running through Mayday's head when he chose to push Crosshair out of the way of the rock instead of jumping to safety himself. He just met this guy, he's not technically responsible for him, but Mayday has lost every single soldier he was in command of, sole survivor of his unit, and he finally, finally had the opportunity to save someone. If he only saves one person, maybe he's done something worthwhile.

And honestly, Crosshair is trying to do the same back to him. Just Mayday dies knowing he succeeded and Crosshair lives knowing he failed.

I am fucking destroyed by this episode by the way like it is so unbearably good and also tragic as hell.

Mayday trying to get Crosshair to leave him behind and the music when Crosshair decides absolutely the fuck not. That they have one helmet between them and Crosshair put it on Mayday's head and not his own.

THE MUSIC AS CROSSHAIR IS SO DETERMINED TO DRAG HIM BACK AND THE ICE VULTURE OVERHEAD MY GOD.

The moment of them huddling together in a tiny little hideaway in the rock ends me too, like, images that stick in my head forever.

And despite everything Crosshair made it he got Mayday back to the outpost alive, he did everything to accomplish the impossible and it should have been enough, but it wasn't all because Nolan doesn't value either of their lives enough to even lift a single finger for Mayday.

Like Crosshair accomplishing the impossible through sheer stubbornness only to have it pulled away at the last second I am in AGONY.

HE GAVE MAYDAY HIS SNIPER RIFLE TO USE AS A CRUTCH FOR GODS SAKE

Crosshair taking Mayday's helmet off and at least giving him one last moment of human connection before it's over

The voice acting in this moment is absolutely unbelievable but especially on 'Help him' like give DBB all the money in the world because I was shattered.

THE FACT THAT THEY MADE US LISTEN TO MAYDAY GURGLE COUGH OUT HIS LAST BREATH AND SEE THE INSTANT HIS EYES ROLL BACK AND CLOSE

"He served his purpose as a soldier of the Empire" OWN WORDS THROWN BACK INTO HIS FACE LIKE A FUCKING PUNCH

The way Crosshair's words drop back down into a growl as he says "You could have saved him." is so good too.

The music as it all reaches its boiling point, as he sees the vulture's shadow, then Mayday's body, then the vulture itself just. Oh god. This episode is a masterpiece and I'm still not over it. I don't think I'll ever be over it.

Like I still cannot BELIEVE we got this shot? The rock wings? I'm? Inconsolable?

Crosshair really probably thought he was going to die right there next to Mayday and honestly I think he was okay with it, in the worst way possible. Also him unconscious here is literally THE most relaxed I think we've ever seen his face.

But because this is only the start of Crosshair's Life Getting Much Much Worse he gets to live and wake up in a horrible science lab!

The sedative injection is much worse given the way that they torture him later.

"Cooperate and you might survive."

Literally one of the best episodes of anything I've ever seen I still cannot believe that we got it, truly. This episode is like 95% of the reason I have faith in the writers pulling through on the Tech Issue because I don't think anyone that gave Crosshair this episode arc would actually kill Tech off in such a stupid way on a completely pointless side quest.

I'm still on the rock wings and will be until further notice.