Told You The Nickname Would Come In Use!!

Naw this is too good!!!

We Were Golden Part 3

Summary: You get less than ideal news about your future with the Batch and of course they do something about it.

Pairing: Crosshair/F Medic!Reader , (Eventual???) Hunter/Reader

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; Angst, anger, wounds

WC: 5.1K

A/N: I'm actually really excited to take you guys on this journey, because I promise you... If you think you know where this story is heading, no you don't. Or maybe you do. Idk lol. Either way, I'm excited.

Part 2

TAGLIST FORM

“How is he?” Hunter asks as he leans against the wall in the corridor. 

You smile softly at Hunter’s concern for Echo. “He’s fine. He’ll wake up soon.”

You lean against the wall, next to him, watching as Wrecker teases Tech and Crosshair about something. Hunter’s eyes are on you when you turn back to face him.

“What?” Your eyebrows raise.

“Nothing. You’re just really good at your job.” He smiles.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” You chuckle. 

“Not with them around.” He nods in the other guys’ direction.

“So true.” You nod in agreement as one of the shock troopers approaches Hunter. 

“You’re being summoned by the prime minister once you are done here.” He tells him.

Hunter glances at you with a roll of his eyes. “Sounds about right…” 

“Thank you.” You nod to the shock trooper, who nods back and walks back down the corridor from the way he came. 

“So anyway, I was thinking after our next mission, we could take a few days and-” Hunter starts but cuts himself off when he hears something behind the medbay door. “Echo’s awake.”

You push off the wall and start to walk into the medbay, reminding yourself to ask what Hunter was going to say, later. Right now, you need to tend to your batchmate. 

When you walk into the room, you hear the Azi unit rambling on about some numbers and then you make eye contact with Echo as you come over to his side to check on him.

“Ha! Told you he’s alive!” Wrecker booms, startling Echo slightly and then points at Crosshair. “You owe me two credits!”

You roll your eyes at Crosshair. “Please tell me you didn’t think that Echo wasn’t actually going to make it.

“CT-1409’s condition is stable.” The Azi droid speaks up, hovering in front of Omega. 

“See, Echo? You’ll be fine.” You squeeze his hand and he smiles up at you, slightly. 

“However, I have some distressing news for the rest of you.” Azi turns away from you and Echo. “According to your test results, you all appear to be genetically defective clones.”

“Tell me you’re not surprised.” You look over at Tech, who looks like he’s in deep thought.

“I will leave you to process the shock of this revelation.” The droid hovers away.

“We’ve got a problem.” Echo speaks up, sitting up more.

“Not really. We’re more deviant than we are defective.” Tech shrugs, but somehow you don’t think that’s what Echo was talking about. “Not that.” Echo shakes his head. “Admiral Tarkin is here. He’s the one evaluating the clones. 

“The same Tarkin from the Citadel rescue when you, uh…” Tech struggles to be delicate in choosing his words. “How shall I put this?”

You give him a soft, encouraging smile.

“Blew up?” Wrecker grins. 

You shake your head at the larger man and sit on the edge of the bed by Echo’s feet. 

“And turned into that.” Crosshair takes his toothpick out of his mouth and points it at Echo. 

You shoot the sniper a glare, knowing that you’re definitely going to give him an ear full later. There’s no reason for him to be so rude about Echo. You know that they’re completely different as people, but they’ve gotten along this far, right?

Echo doesn’t seem to mind Crosshair’s rude remark. He just sighs. “Yes, and he’s not a big supporter of clones.”

Hunter crosses his arms. “We’ll soon find out. We’ve been summoned by the Prime Minister.” 

“Guess he didn’t find that mess hall fight amusing. But I sure did.” Wrecker chuckles.

Of course he did. You’d expect nothing less from Wrecker. It’s one of the things that made you care about him, though. You wouldn’t change the man for anything.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Hunter nods toward the door. 

Echo hops off the exam table and you start to follow him out of the medbay into the corridor. Being summoned by the Prime Minister was definitely not something you’re looking forward to. Prime Minister Lama Su gives you the creeps. In fact, most of the Kaminoans do. There’s definitely something… secretive about them. Something you couldn’t put your finger on. 

“Wait! The fight was my fault. I’m going too.” Omega zooms in front of the group before you can leave, halting you all. 

“Not happening. We’ll handle this.” Hunter tells her, walking past her. 

“But, I-” Omega starts again. 

“Listen, Kid… Our squad’s nothing but trouble.” Hunter tells her firmly. “For your sake, keep your distance. Got it?”

He has a point. A child has no place with this squad. You’re always in danger or on the move. You give her an apologetic nod and head out with Hunter, leaving the child behind in the medbay. 

As you walk down the corridor, you try to catch Crosshair’s eye, he just sideyes you like he used to do back in the early days before you got together. You quirk your own eyebrow up and he smirks, slightly… barely… 

“That was a good hit earlier.” Crosshair compliments you. 

You break into a grin immediately, appreciating the feeling of normalcy. His smirk goes straight to your heart, a reminder that this is the man that you love with your entire heart. The man you’d go to war for. The man that can’t imagine your life without. 

“Do you think that there’s a way for-” Echo starts to ask you, but you're cut off by a Corrie captain stopping your squad.

“Where do you think you’re going? The training facility is that way.” The captain tells you with a rather rude tone, making you all turn toward him.

It’s the captain from earlier. The one who told you that the war was over. 

“Training facility?” Hunter steps in front of you, clearly confused.

“For a battle simulation.” The captain approaches Hunter. “Admiral Tarkin has requested to see more of your squad in action.”

“Then, we are not being reprimanded?” Tech asks from behind the group now. 

“No, you’re being tested. Now go gear up.” The captain moves his helmet in a way to look at you. “Except you. You’re not needed.” 

“So, we’re not in trouble, and they want us to fight more?” Wrecker looks downright gleeful, playfully bumping elbows with Tech, who doesn’t look appreciative of it. “Ha! Maybe this Empire thing isn’t so bad after all.”

You follow the guys to the area that’s just below the training facility so that they can gear up and grab weapons. With Echo mentioning Tarkin, you can’t help the bad feeling in your stomach that just seems to get worse. 

“You got everything you need?” You ask Crosshair as he looks down at you. 

He nods, seemingly distant again, putting his helmet back on. You give his hand a squeeze anyway and he tilts his head at the action, staring down at your hands.

“Good luck.” You smile up at him, anyway.

“We’ve done this hundreds of times.” Crosshair tells you, voice modulated, just making him sound more distant. 

“Right. Of course.” You let go of his hand and walk over to Hunter.

“Watch out for him.” You pat him in his plastoid arm piece.

Hunter smiles with a nod and you start to walk past Wrecker who gives you a fist bump as you walk out. You have to trust that everything is going to work out. Everything is changing, you know that. You’re just going to have to change with the times, you suppose.

It’s been a while since you’ve been without the guys breathing down your neck so you decide to go do some investigating. You need to know more about this “Order 66”. Like, why it’s even a thing. Why would they have an order ready to execute all the Jedi? 

Making your way to one of the server rooms that you know will be clear of any personnel, you try to get into the brain of Tech, knowing he’d know exactly what to look for and where to look for it. 

Pulling up a seat, you try to get into the server, not finding it incredibly difficult. You type “Order 66” and “Execute Jedi” into the search at the top of the large screen. What comes up, confuses you even more.

There’s nothing there. At all. It doesn’t make any sort of sense. No information. No names of Jedi who were executed… 

You know that you’re going to need Tech for this. 

You clear out the search and start to make your way back toward your barracks, only stopping at the mess hall to grab something quick to eat since you didn’t really get to eat dinner. 

You hear your name called, fondly. When you turn, you’re met with brown eyes and orange sun rays.

“Commander.” You smile, widely. 

Before your time with the batch, you spent time with the 212th. That’s how you met the Batch. Through Commander Cody. 

“How are you?” He asks you as you start walking out of the mess hall with your light snack. 

“I’m…” You start but then remember General Kenobi. 

Did Cody… He wouldn’t… There’s no way. They were joined at the hip, a mutual respect between the two of them like you’ve never seen with the other generals. Other than Skywalker and his men. 

“I-I’m just really tired today. I’ve taken a couple of naps and still feel exhausted…” You try to ignore the nauseous feeling easing its way into your stomach again. 

Please don’t throw up… Please don’t fucking throw up…

“It was a long day for sure. But the great news is, the war is over.” Cody smiles. 

“Thank the Maker.” You nod as you get ready to turn down the corridor where your barracks are.

Even Cody seems… different. More rigid than usual. 

“Indeed.” Cody agrees with a nod. “Tell the boys I said hello.”

“I will.” You nod back and walk back down to your barracks, walking in and sitting in your bunk against the wall. 

Don’t think about Kenobi. Or Skywalker. Or Ahsoka Tano. Or or or… 

You sit your loaf on a napkin on the crate by your bed, your appetite suddenly gone. All you want to do is lay down again. Deciding to do that, you hear the door swish open. 

“Live rounds? They used live rounds! On us!” Wrecker storms in, angrily, bringing his fists down on the table. 

“We were there, Wrecker. We know.” Tech sets his kit down on his workstation. 

You sit up immediately, looking to Hunter for an explanation. “Live rounds?”

“I tried to warn you about Tarkin.” Echo says, a deep scowl on his face.

You get up and walk over to Wrecker to examine him, instantly unclicking his armor and letting it drop. Echo guides him over to a seat so that you can take a better look.

“Who’s that Imperial snake think he is?” Wrecker grumbles, hitting the table as you pull his shirt up to inspect the blaster shot to his chest. 

“Stow it, already. You got shot.” Crosshair says with a stone expression. “It happens all the time.” 

Wrecker looks like a kicked puppy and you give Crosshair a glare before turning back around to face Wrecker. 

“Echo, grab my kit.” You point over to it by your bed.

Echo goes over to your bed and grabs your kit as Tech starts to argue with Crosshair. “There’s a fundamental difference between taking fire in battle and being used for target practice.”

You nod in agreement, angrily. Tarkin has always been a sketchy sort of guy, from what you’ve heard. You have half a mind to go and give him a piece of yours. 

“Exactly! We’re not dummy droids.” Wrecker fires off at Crosshair. 

You’ve never seen Wrecker so worked up. It hurts your heart that Crosshair’s being like this, knowing that you still needed to find answers. Making a mental reminder to talk to Tech about it, you’re about to ask Wrecker to take his shirt off when you hear a voice in the doorway.

“That much we can agree on.” 

Everyone stops to look at the sinister looking figure in the doorway, standing in between to shock troopers. Tarkin gives Hunter a warning stare sending everyone into attention, backs straight, eyes ahead. Wrecker pushes you away slightly so that he can stand at attention. You refuse. You stare the gray haired governor down. How dare he use your squad as target practice… Wrecker could have been killed! And it wouldn’t have mattered at all to this man.

Hunter catches your eye and gives you a “Be respectful look.” so with a roll of your eyes so hard that they could pop out of your head, you stand at attention as well, in between Wrecker and Crosshair. 

“That was quite an impressive display.” Tarkin muses as he steps into the barracks. 

“Didn’t have much choice.” Hunter grumbles and you look over at him. 

He’s clearly incredibly unhappy with what went down in the training facility. You should’ve been there. You should’ve gone with them… You’re a part of this squad too.

“Our new Empire may have methods that seem a bit unorthodox, but so does this squadron.” Tarkin replies, looking at each man. “Both certainly have their merits.”

It sends your skin crawling, the way he’s looking at them… Like they’re objects… things.

“Nala Se speaks quite highly of her five enhanced clones.” Tarkin stops to look up at Wrecker, his eyes roving over Wrecker like he’s just a thing that can be bought or replaced. “She claims you're more capable than an army.”

The need to give this man a piece of your mind starts to become stronger, but Hunter gives you a warning look, almost as if he could read your thoughts. It’s always been like that… Hunter understands you more than you understand yourself a lot.

Tarkin doesn’t even glance your way, as if you’re invisible.

“You have a mission for us sir?” Hunter asks. 

“Indeed. We have tracked a group of insurgents to the Onderon sector. They must be dealt with.” Tarkin approaches Hunter. 

“What sort of insurgents?” Echo speaks up.

“Separatist forces intent on keeping the galaxy at war.” Tarkin tells him and you look up at Crosshair, who remains stone cold and expressionless. “If you neutralize this grave threat, you will be looked upon most favorably as I assess the needs of the Imperial Army.” 

“You, however, will no longer be needed.” Tarkin turns toward you. “You’re to meet with Mistress Nala Se when this squad leaves. I would say your goodbyes.”

At that, Tarkin nods and walks out of the barracks, leaving you and the Batch quiet. 

Saying your goodbyes? You don’t understand… You’ve only been with the Batch a year, but it feels longer… Like you’ve known them your whole life. How could you just leave them?

“Alright. Sit back down.” You guide Wrecker back down to the seat so that you can patch him up.

You can feel all the guys’ eyes on you but you need to focus on the large man in front of you, trying to remember to think before you speak. They’re all at a loss for words like you, probably. 

“Stop looking at me like that.” You turn to Echo, briefly, before returning your gaze to Wrecker. “And you too.”

“We… we didn’t think we’d ever have to say goodbye…” Wrecker mumbles, sadly. 

You finish patching him up and pat his shoulder lightly, giving him a sympathetic smile and shrug. “We knew this wouldn’t be forever.” 

When you turn to look at Crosshair, he’s watching you. But you ignore him and go to pack your bunk up. 

“I’m sure I’ll see you guys around.” You shrug.

Unsure of what else to say, you turn back around to face them. Hunter approaches you first and offers his hand. You look down at it for a moment before looking back up at him and then throw your arms around him. He seems startled for a moment but wraps his arms around you as well.

“Thanks for everything, sarge. I’ve learned a lot from you.” You pull away. “From all of you really. Especially you, Tech.” 

You smile over at the goggled clone and he looks slightly flustered, giving a nod and then fixing his goggles. 

You hug Echo next. He’s more accepting of your reassignment, knowing this is how it is in the military. But Wrecker looks like he’s about to cry. Wrecker doesn’t do well with change, you all know that, so it’s going to be up to the guys to try to help him adjust.

When you look at Crosshair, he just nods. It’s final and definitely a break up. But it doesn’t mean it hurts any less. 

“That’s all?” Echo asks him. “A nod?” 

“What, do you want to throw her a going away party?” Crosshair rolls his eyes, putting a toothpick between his lips. 

“It’s fine. It was never that serious anyway, right?” You shrug, grabbing your pack and then heading over to Tech to shake his hand, knowing he’s not the hugging type. 

He squeezes your hand a little longer, though, surprising even you. 

“You will be missed.” Tech murmurs. 

You smile up at him and nod. “You too.” 

When you let go, you head to the doorway, turning to look at them one more time. They all still look at a loss for words, but when you look at Crosshair, he’s sitting on his bunk, rubbing his forehead as if he’s got a headache. 

Oh well, not your problem anymore, right?

As you walk down the brightly lit, white corridors, you remember you didn’t even get to tell Tech about what you found. You’ll have to send him a transmission later, if possible. He’d be able to find out more, with or without your help. Not that he needs it anyway.

You try not to think about how much you’re really going to miss the guys. You try not to think about Crosshair and your past together, or Your and Hunter’s late night talks, or Echo’s trust in you to have his back, or Wrecker’s laugh when the two of you would goof off, or Tech’s ability to teach you something new every single day. 

This was going to be a huge change. Something you’re not ready or prepared for. 

“Do you want to know what I think?” Echo asks Crosshair as they’re in hyperspace on the way to Onderon.

“Don’t care.” Crosshair rolls his eyes. 

“I think you love her and you’re afraid to-” Echo starts.

“Shut up and mind your business. Before I make you.” Crosshair points his toothpick at Echo, warning him.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?” Echo rolls his eyes. 

“Keep talking and you’ll find out.” Crosshair promises him.

“Aren’t you going to stop them?” Tech asks Hunter.

“Huh?” Hunter looks up, deep in thought. “Oh… Both of you shut up.” 

Echo and Crosshair listen to their sergeant and quit their bickering. It’s enough that they lost you… but to have in-fighting immediately after you’re gone? And then with Crosshair still acting weird, and the wariness he got from Omega trying to warn him about Kamino changing? It’s just too much for Hunter to handle right now.

“What are we going to do without her?” Wrecker grumbles from the cockpit doorway. 

“We can’t think about that right now, Wrecker. We need to focus on the mission.” Hunter sighs from the co-pilot seat. “I know it’s going to be hard, but we have to finish the mission. And then we can figure it out from there. Alright?” 

“Okay.” Wrecker mumbles and then goes back to the bunks.

The thing is… he doesn’t know. He never thought this far ahead. Not without you… He doesn’t know how he’s going to manage without your laugh or your smile every day. Or when you remind him that he needs to sleep. Or the way that you always seem to know exactly what he needs and how he knows what you need. The way that you’re both so in sync that it almost scares him…

How is he supposed to carry on like normal? What did they do before you, and why can’t he remember? 

When you make your way to Nala Se’s lab, you find the Azi droid from earlier. 

“Um, hello.” You wave. “I’m looking for Nala Se, have you seen her by chance?” 

“She went to find her medical assistant. She will be back momentarily.” The droid tells you.

“Thanks.” You nod and go to look out the window at the raging seas below. 

It’s raining and storming, of course. Nothing new for Kamino, but with all that’s going on, it just feels even more gloomy than usual. Like the sky is maybe a little too caliginous… Like what you feel on the inside without the Batch. 

You hear your name behind you and find Nala Se with Omega, who has a look of concern on her face, but when she sees you, the concern fades away and a look of relief takes its place.

“I was told to come find you, by Governor Tarkin.” You tell her.

“Yes, you will no longer be needed with Clone Force 99. I would like to give you the option to either stay here on Kamino and assist me, or you can join the new recruits coming in.” She tells you.

“New recruits?” You ask, confused.

“There will be a new army… of non clone humans. They will need medics as well.” She replies.

You look at Omega momentarily and she shakes her head. You tilt yours, confused. 

“Omega, will you go get Taun We please?” She asks the child. “Azi, please assist her and make sure she stays on task.”

“Yes, mistress.” Azi follows Omega to the door.

Omega gives you one last pleading look, which you still don’t understand. But you decide that no matter what, you’re going to figure it out. The Kaminoans have always been secretive about things, but you can’t help but think that this child has something to do with the Batch. Why else would she know who they were?

“I actually forgot some stuff in my barracks, so I’ll be back in a bit.” You lie to Nala Se. “If I run into Taun We, I’ll let her know my decision.”

The Kaminoan woman nods and you head back out and down the corridor to find Omega. And hopefully to also find some answers. 

“Pack up their gear and take it to the hangar.” You hear inside your barracks and then see a few troopers entering the room, one of them the Corrie captain from earlier. “You. You’re coming with me.”

You get to the door in time to see the captain trying to grab Omega and the Azi droid trying to stop him.

“Hey, why don’t you pick on someone your own size.” You get his attention in time to punch him in the helmet, a little stupidly, you might add, because pain shoots up your arm instantly. 

Ignoring the pain, you jump on the captain’s back trying to get him to let go of Omega, but unfortunately you don’t see the two other troopers come for you. You only feel a jolt of electricity shoot throughout your body, realizing you’ve just been stunned as you drift into unconsciousness, trying desperately to tell Omega to run. 

On the way back to Kamino, Hunter paces the Marauder, thinking about what the Empire is doing. He starts thinking about those innocent kids that Tarkin wasn’t even thinking twice about wiping out. He thinks about his argument with Crosshair. He thinks about you. About how it seemed pretty final between you and Crosshair. Would he ever stand a chance with you? It doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is getting you and Omega back, where you’ll be safe. He’ll keep you safe, no matter what it takes.

“I know why you’re really going back.” Crosshair tells Hunter when he’s back by the bunks.

Hunter doesn’t acknowledge him. He doesn’t have to. He knows what Crosshair’s going to say.

“Don’t think I don’t notice the way you look at her.” Crosshair sneers. “Or the way you pine after her like some lovesick pup.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” Hunter says, turning to face his brother, leaning against the wall.

Crosshair lets out an unamused laugh. “Don’t worry. I see the way she looks at you too.” 

Hunter’s chest tightens. What does Crosshair mean by that? 

“I guess since I’m done with her, you’re going to want a turn?” Crosshair continues to try to push Hunter’s buttons.

Hunter’s stare hardens. “You better stop talking, vod.” 

Crosshair smirks and walks back up into the cockpit. He was clearly not in his right frame of mind. There’s no way he’d actually ever say that about you, right? Hunter knows that Crosshair loves you. He’s heard the way that the man’s heart picks up when you enter a room. The way that Crosshair smiles at you when he thinks no one is watching. The way that Crosshair’s touch lingers on your body when they’re out in the field. 

Crosshair isn’t fooling Hunter and Hunter intends to find out what’s really making him act this way.

“Well, the plan wasn’t a total failure.” You hear Tech’s voice before you open your eyes. 

It’s followed by your name murmured by Hunter and then you feel hands on your face. 

“Goody…” You hear Crosshair’s voice.

You slowly open your eyes, a little disoriented, and try to sit up, rubbing your head and then remembering what happened. “O-Omega!” 

You try to stand up but Hunter pulls you back down, trying to brace you so he can keep you steady. 

“She’s here. She’s alright.” Hunter says.

When you look beside you, she waves, smiling sheepishly. 

“Where-” You look around, seeing the guys out of their armor, only in their bodysuits and then take notice that you’re in some sort of jail cell. 

“I warned you to not come back…” Omega tells Hunter. 

“Had to. We were looking for you.” Hunter smiles. “For both of you, actually.” 

“Me?” She points at herself, unable to believe it. 

“What do you say, kid? You wanna come with us or did we get captured for nothing?” He asks her.

You smile at her as you lean against Hunter, still not quite sure you can stand up just yet. 

“You came back for me?” She can’t believe it. 

The wonder in her eyes pulls at your heart-strings and then you realize that she wasn’t expecting anyone to come for her and that makes your heart clench. 

“That’s right. Or you can stay on Kamino if-” Hunter starts but she cuts him off.

“No, it’s like I said before. I want to go with you.” She insists, standing up. 

Hunter helps you stand long enough to sit you down on the bench against the wall.

“How touching.” Crosshair sneers from behind the group with crossed arms. 

You all look at him. He somehow doesn’t even look like himself right now. You know that this is him… obviously. But the way that he’s glaring at Hunter… At Omega… It just doesn’t sit well with you.

Hunter glares right back at his brother, looking like he’s prepared for a fight. You rarely see Hunter scowl so deeply.

Wrecker coughs, awkwardly. “Um, Hunter. How are we getting out of here?” 

Hunter’s glare doesn’t ease up. “I’m working on it.” 

Hunter and Crosshair continue to glare at each other in a way that seems deeper than what’s going on. You look at Crosshair but he refuses to break first. 

“You know what you should work on?” Crosshair steps toward Hunter with his finger pointing at the sergeant. “Explaining when you went soft.”

“Stow it, Crosshair.” Echo gives him a gentle push, not letting him get any closer to Hunter. 

You stand up, finally, your legs finally feeling a bit stronger, and step in front of Omega, protectively.

“Don’t you see we’re locked up in here because of him? He had us disobey orders.” Crosshair fumes, anger clear on his face for the first time ever. 

It worries you to see him like this. You just want the old Crosshair back. 

“I never thought you disobeying orders was a problem.” Tech fixes his goggles.

“Yeah. We do it all the time.” Wrecker tries to level with Crosshair, clearly not understanding why his brother is being like this either. 

“Good soldiers follow orders!” Crosshair tells his brothers angrily. “Every choice you’ve made since Kaller has been wrong. First, the padawan, then Gerrera. And now…” 

He glances at Omega and then you. As if you weren’t worth coming back for. He doesn’t have to say it. You know what he means. 

He looks back at Hunter. “You’re becoming a liability.” 

“We can debate my choices later. For now, let’s focus on getting outta here.” Hunter tells him, glancing at you to make sure you’re alright. 

“There’s that look again. The one you think no one notices.” Crosshair sneers with crossed arms. “Even though it's obvious to everyone.” 

Echo, Tech, and Wrecker look between Hunter and Crosshair, prepared to step in if Hunter’s gonna throw a punch. It’s not completely undeserved.

“Stop it.” You step in front of Crosshair, gently pushing him away from the group. “Stop saying things just to be hurtful.” 

“I’m only saying things that are true, Princess.” He shrugs, leaning in, voice low. “Besides, like I told him… now that I’m done with you, he can have you.”

This is the first time in a long time that you’ve ever been made to feel so… used… like you didn’t mean anything to him… 

With wide, hurt eyes, and anger coursing through your veins, you shove him away from you and go sit on the opposite side of the cell and don’t notice the way he sits down and rubs his temple. You also don’t notice the way that Omega goes to sit next to him. What you do notice is Echo sitting down next to you, placing an arm around your shoulder. 

“If… you want me to punch him… just let me know.” Echo murmurs, trying to get you to crack a smile.

It works, obviously, and you can’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I may take you up on that just this once.” 

“We’ll figure it out.” Hunter tells you from the wall, quietly. You nod to him, not knowing exactly what he means by that. Does he mean what’s going on with Crosshair? Or this new Empire? Or with Omega? Or with… the two of you? Not that there’s really anything to figure out. He’s your best friend. Right?

TAGS:

@twistedstitcher27 @misogirl828 @rebel-finn @grievouus @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @agenteliix @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @quigonswife8 @idlenesses @redheadgirl @dnxgma @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @brownstalebread @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaw @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @nahoney22 @where-is-my-mind-tho @jediknightjana @erishimoon @witching3

The Rise Krispies talk?! What kind of drug are you on Crosshair because Imma need to try that

You know you're having a bad day when even the Rice Krispies give you silent treatment

As someone dealing with a Chronic illness this should be said more often. YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN! 🫶🏼

you are not a burden.

mental illness is. chronic pain is. prejudice is. hate is. harm is.

but you, you are not a burden. the things you endure are the burdens.

He’s finally done! The second addition to my Bad Batch pinup series is everyone’s favourite asshole Crosshair <3

I took creative liberties on his tattoos - I’m giving them all one matching tattoo anyway (their teams emblem, just altered to suit their individual personalities) I went with a bandolier around one arm and a snake for him too, because I think that’s extremely fitting.

I’m sorry this took so long, life got very busy, but I’m hoping to do the rest quicker! Who do you want me to do next?

I was screaming, crying, smiling, and puching air all at once. I was in pain 

WHEN CROSSHAIR’S THEME STARTED AT THE END AND THEN-

I completely forgot tumblr was a thing for a solid 3 weeks and was literally living life. Almost died a few time. Here I am back to this sh!t show, why do I do this to myself.

Me the whole week

I know I was picking you’re an amazing writer and so excited to see where this story is going!! UwU you’re the sweetest human I swear.

Chapter 5 - Push the Limits

Nocticulent: a Hunter love story

Previous

Next (coming soon!)

Chapter List

Read it on AO3! Or here below the cut

Summary: Just when things seem tolerable, Hunter and Lav find themselves in a difficult position as things seem to only get worse after they've gotten better in regards to the Empire.

Tags/Warnings: Lots of angst in this one. I know that’s not typical in my writing but this story kinda requires it (oopsie!). Mentions of slavery and undignified treatment. Mentions of execution, canon typical violence. So sorry for all the angst in this chapter, I promise the next chapters will be a lot lighter!!!

Word count: 9.5k

Notes: this chapter (and the story in general) was inspired by this post right here.

(taglist at the bottom)

That was the first time Lav actually noticed the way the stars shone on Geonosis. It wasn’t the breathtaking, pure glow from Daro, partly due to the emissions from the factories as well as the dust that lingered in the air, but they had something. That combined with the debris rings surrounding the rusty-colored planet gave the stars and any celestial bodies a similar orange hue while the sky had a purple undertone to its midnight blue. In all the nights prior to that one, Lav hadn’t bothered to focus on the sky’s beauty. Only one person had occupied her mind, though it had been with worry. Now, Hunter occupied her thoughts similarly, but in a note of relief and satisfaction as well as the longing to feel his lips on hers again.

Her room was still silent, but its solitude was more comforting than it had been the previous nights. Hunter was okay, he was healthy and recovering quickly, and most important, he not only returned her feelings, but he’d agreed, like her, to finally foster them. It seemed as if things were somehow falling to place; much as Lav still wasn’t infatuated with the Empire, Hunter did help out a lot with that. Working with him made things bearable, made them have a purpose, and she refused to think about things that could change that.

Hunter. She cared about Hunter at the moment. The memory of the sweetness in his eyes when he parted from that first kiss they’d shared had her smiling at nothing as her gaze rested gently on the wall, perched on her bed and not quite bringing herself to sleep yet. She had half a mind to run back outside, go to the med bay, and spend the whole night with Hunter. That would put them both at risk, of course, she’d barely managed to reboot the medical droid attending to him before medical personnel wanted access to the room just before she left. She’d take what she had, and she’d cherish it with her heart.

Her heart… Lav’s hand instinctively went up to her chest, where the folded picture of her family still rested safely inside her blouse. At least now being where she was wasn’t as heavy of a burden. She was confident that the purpose she had with her family and Hunter’s feelings for her would keep her afloat, and she felt faithful she could keep that up. For the first time in a while, Lav began to feel like something better than she imagined was in store for her.

She reached out to turn off the already dimmed lights, leaving her room mostly in darkness except for the faint light that peeked in through the outside. With those memories in mind, she drifted off to slumber, noticing how quiet the barracks were, and her sleep didn’t take long to deepen.

Several buildings away, in the med bay, Hunter also lay in his bed as the lights of the room had also been turned off for the night and it was empty except for him. Though his eyes were closed, his mind continued to wander. Her lips had left a print on his in the form of a faint tingling sensation, and Lav’s scent had also remained on his skin, of which he could catch whiffs of from time to time, further comforting him and lulling him to peaceful sleep. He couldn’t help his smile at the thought of her and how she’d gone to see him, to kiss him. He couldn’t wait to be out of the med bay to see her; just looking at her would suffice. Lavender had engrained herself in his heart, and he was ready to merely stand next to her if that was all he’d be allowed to do from that moment on. He’d take it gladly.

With those thoughts, Hunter didn’t even notice the moment he fell asleep, and the next time his eyes opened, the lights of the med bay were on again and there was movement of personnel up and about as well as the typical morning greetings. He’d had a full night’s sleep, there were no nightmares, no interruptions, not even insomnia. Hunter had slept through the whole night for the first time in ages.

Thanks to a fast recovery and state of the art medical procedures, Hunter was told he’d be able to return to his duties that day, so long as he stayed clear of intense activity. He was confident he wouldn’t need to do any of that, and he found he actually looked forward to getting back to his regular schedule. Of course, the only reason for that could be summed up in that faint, flowery scent that still lingered on him, one that fit all too well with her name, just as delicate as she was.

He gathered his things and left the med bay, not without thanking every doctor, nurse, and even medical droid who had cared for him. He scoffed. Hunter had never visioned himself thanking a droid, but he had the premonition some things could change for the better. He had no trouble finding his way around the compound despite having been wounded the first day he was there and not having had much chance to go around it like others had, and he knew where to go since he was told from the beginning where he would be required. No new orders had been given to him, anyway. He was free to make his way where he’d been told to in the first place.

And there she was. Lav was up and about, her hair braided down her right shoulder like it always was, a datapad in her hand and her clear voice guiding her peers around what had to be done in the factory. She was shorter than the other engineers, and yet, she was clearly the one in charge. Hunter could not have been prouder of her, and she was so dazzling that he didn’t even notice the reinforced security within the factory. He walked over to her and the smile returned to his lips, and he silently cleared his throat when he was behind her, catching her attention and making her turn around.

A smile instantly appeared on her face too and her eyes seemed to gleam when she looked at him, and Hunter barely held enough composure to not fall to his knees or take her in his arms and spin her around. Instead, he stood upright, making Lav’s smile widen a bit more as she addressed him with a light bow.

“Captain,” she said softly. “It’s good to see you around here.”

“It’s good to finally be back.”

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” The concern was evident in Lav’s eyes. “I know you’ve had a good recovery, but maybe you should take some more time. We’ve been making good time and everything’s going well, you can really take more time if you need it.”

Hunter smiled at her. “I appreciate it, but if I can manage moving around, I’d prefer to be here than stuck another whole day in the med bay.”

“Yeah, I get it,” she said, her grin tilting a bit more. “I’d rather you were here too. But only if you can manage it.”

“I would never lie to my star engineer, would I?” His smile remained. “Now go on, tell me how you’ve progressed. Don’t let out any details.”

“Right,” she led Hunter back to the squad, who was running daily maintenance checks on the machines before starting them up fully. “The first couple of days were all about adapting the factory to our current needs and implementing the processes I came up with for our multiple products. The next couple of days were for optimization; reducing startup and idle times, increasing quality ratio, and even monitoring where we could implement some automatization.”

“Hm,” Hunter eyed the machines. “Impressive.”

“It’s standard industrial engineering,” she replied as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, you make it sound standard,” Hunter said. “I’m sure it’s far more complicated than it seems.”

“Well, there are a lot of operations to get to the end result, but you get the point.”

“And can I assume you’re making good progress?”

“We’re ahead of schedule,” Lav replied proudly. “So you see, you really could have stayed in the med bay another day to rest.”

“Let me worry about my health,” he told her with a subtle smile.

“You know I can’t do that,” she answered. “I’m sorry, Captain, but you’ll need to give me a different order.”

Lav turned around and continued to type away in her holopad while Hunter continued admiring her. Back on Daro, Lav hadn’t had much of the spotlight put on her. Her former teammates were the ones with all the attention with their explicit military training while she worked in the labs, hidden from most eyes. It wasn’t until that moment that Hunter noticed what a leader she could be, a swift one who led with charisma, whose kindness motivated people to work with her. While observing her, he also noticed some of the looks she received from the engineers under her jurisdiction. Many of them were legitimately shocked one of their higher-ups, essentially Imperial, could have such a kind and delicate demeanor while getting so many things done.

For a while, even Hunter seemed to be taking orders from her. He didn’t mind; in his own squad, he was never the one who knew about machinery. All he did was direct and rush droids head on. He probably could have done more heavy lifting, but Lav denied any request he made, still concerned for his well-being. In short, Hunter spent most of his time next to her, and Lav mostly just directed the operation.

Still, there were a few small, almost unnoticeable moments in which the two were able to make eye contact, and Lav would direct a tiny smile at Hunter, a detail so small it almost made him love it even more. Every time, despite the obvious risk, Hunter couldn’t help but smile back at her.

In the middle of one of those gestures, the two were surprised by their admiral coming into view. Whether he had seen it or not was irrelevant to them at the moment, the two simply stood up straighter and greeted their Admiral the way they should have, purposely giving off the image that everything was going smoothly.

“Admiral,” Hunter said.

“Captain, good to see you out of the medical bay. I trust you are in condition to be out here again.”

“I am, sir,” Hunter answered. “Though I’m pleased to see Lavender has made good progress in my absence.”

“Indeed,” Rampart acknowledged Lav with a nod. “This is the fastest we’ve seen a factory become adapted to our current necessities, and it’s remarkable given how particular these processes will be. Your engineer has truly done a great job.”

Though never having been the biggest fan of the Empire or many of the things that happened within its walls, Lav allowed herself to feel some pride with what Rampart was saying.

“Thank you, admiral Rampart,” she answered.

“In fact, that is why I am here,” Rampart continued. “I wasn’t counting on you being out of the medical bay, captain, but your presence here only makes things more efficient.” Rampart turned around and began walking towards the exit of the factory that would lead them to the area outside that had been adapted into a hangar for drops and deliveries, and Lav and Hunter followed. The sunlight soon hit them, bright and almost scorching under the Geonosian sky.

“Had it not been for your efforts, the Geonosians probably wouldn’t have been so keen on accepting any deal on our part,” Rampart said. “The only reason they agreed to take a risk was because every design, every process was so thoroughly laid out,” he stopped walking and faced Hunter and Lav again. “That was you, Lavender.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Lav said again. “Though I wouldn’t want to take all the credit. A lot of hours, days even, went into the work. At times, I was exhausted,” she looked over at Hunter, “but it was my captain who helped keep me on track.”

“I’m aware,” Rampart said, eyeing them both. “Well, the virtue of a good leader is to keep their followers on task. You both are to congratulate. Both of you are held in high regard by the Geonosians and the Empire. I believe it is safe to say you will be part of the Empire for a long time to come.”

Lav mustered a smile of approval in a way that she almost seemed please. Almost, as Hunter could see differently. His enhanced eyesight could allow him to pick up on details others couldn’t, and he could almost hear the way Lav’s muscles went cold when Rampart mentioned staying there.

“I’m honored to hear that, Sir,” Lav said with a subtle stammer.

“As am I,” Hunter agreed, both to follow up and to remind Lav he was still beside her.

The roaring of jet engines filled their ears as a large freighter ship began descending upon the bay. It was just another ship to the uneducated eye, but it had Lav looking in doubt at her holopad, instantly knowing it was a bit off.

“What’s in that ship?” She asked, her eyes still on the holopad. “I don’t have any more arrivals scheduled for today?”

“Ah, this is for a matter of workforce scheduled to arrive today,” Rampart answered.

“Oh,” Lav lit up. “Well, if it’s for the factory, I’d be thrilled to show them around—”

“That will not be necessary,” Rampart cut her off. “I will see to this matter, for now, you two see to the factory itself.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Lav said, stuttering a bit again. She guessed she’d simply grown used to being notified of everything, but she remembered she wasn’t in charge of everything. Somehow, that brought her comfort.

It did except for what Rampart had said about being there for a long time. Yes, it guaranteed good results, it guaranteed everything her family would ever need, but what was it she wanted? For starters, she’d love to not have to sneak around with Hunter. She was positive Rampart had seen the way the two had been smiling at each other, and if he didn’t tell them anything, a thorn nagged at her letting her know it wasn’t a good thing. Rampart wasn’t the type to keep things to himself for purely benevolent purpose, or in this case, letting two people be in love. No, it just didn’t fit him.

“Well, that is all I wanted to tell you,” Rampart said. “That and to congratulate you once more on this achievement. However, I’m afraid I am needed elsewhere at the moment. I suggest you get back into the factory to keep up current momentum.”

“We’ll see to it, sir,” Hunter said.

They saluted and Rampart was off, and in that time, the freighter had just finished up its landing procedures. As they walked back into the factory, they could both hear the steam coming out of the ship’s exhaust ports, and they were inside the factory before its rear door fully opened.

Still, a few steps into the factory, Hunter’s pace began slowing. Lav looked at him, worried he might be feeling bad from his wound, but her concern grew when she noticed the look in Hunter’s eyes. He looked like he was wary of imminent danger, like something was terribly wrong.

“What is it?” The fear in her voice was evident.

Hunter didn’t answer immediately. He focused every one of his senses on that ship. He knew the sudden dark feeling he’d gotten had been from that ship, but why would it be if it was simply workforce? Concentrating, he was determined to find any signs that would point him to an answer: a stale scent, the wave of heat that moved around the already scorching Geonosian air, the very few hushed voices, almost weak, contrasted by loud shouts of command.

“I have a bad feeling about that ship,” Hunter said.

“What about it?”

Hunter continued looking in that direction, after which he looked around their area to see if they weren’t being watched. When the coast seemed clear, he took Lav’s hand and tugged her alongside with him as he made his way back outside, discreetly staying behind the doorway and only looking enough to get a sight of what the ship was.

A small sight was enough to get a glimpse of how awful it was. The freighter was large and could hold many people, but exiting it were too many people. Humans, Twi’leks, Rhodians, males and females of countless species, most of them young with the exception of a few who were older, and all of them frail. Dark spots of dust and dirt covered their skins in patches, and those who had hair wore it messy and tangled. They all walked slowly, only keeping a certain pace due to the Imperial officers shouting at them to keep moving.

Lav felt a mix of horror and dismay at the sight. They were all slaves, there was no questioning it, and the fact that Rampart had described them as workforce now seemed morbid to her. Those people were meant to work at the factory—a factory she had conditioned, enable to produce in the first place, brought it up to working standards enough to require said workforce. She tried convincing herself it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t ordered the capture of people who had the right to remain free, but that didn’t help her much. Someone else in the Empire had, along with several others who agreed with them, and now those people were condemned to a life of arduous work in less than dignified conditions.

“We have to do something,” Lav said quietly as her tension grew, and Hunter could hear the way she was trembling. She stepped forward and went onto the hangar, suddenly realizing there was nothing she could do at the moment. Instead, she looked disoriented standing there, gawking at the sight, her holopad hanging loosely beside her.

“Is there a problem?”

Probably the last voice she wanted to hear at that moment, Lav turned around to see Rampart, his gaze on her harder than it had been before.

“I only came to verify the shipment, sir,” she said, refusing to appear intimidated by him. “Just procedure. I wasn’t expecting this.”

She realized that last statement slipped out on accident, but there was hardly anything she could do about it now. All she could do was keep her back as straight as possible and her body as still as she could manage, but the horrendous sight paired with Rampart made it far harder for her to achieve that.

“Well, perhaps having stuck to your actual duties would have helped,” Rampart said, his voice deceptively calm as he went to stand next to Lav and also looking at the crowd of slaves before them, not looking at her for a moment. “I meant what I said. Do not make me regret it.”

Lav couldn’t bring herself to look at him, not even in the light of that obvious threat. “I wouldn’t dream of it, captain—”

“It’s Admiral.”

She went cold. At last, she had no choice but to look at Rampart, aware this time she’d failed her initial intention. She was afraid, and she was showing it.

“But perhaps you’re right,” Rampart said, his voice now smooth like it always was. “You should return to your captain,” he emphasized the last two words and there could only be one explanation for it.

“Right away, sir,” she answered. Doing her best to keep protocol, she stood up straight, saluted, and went back into the factory, not once daring to look over her shoulder. Hunter greeted her and walked discreetly beside her; he would have taken her hand, made any gesture to comfort her, but he’d seen and heard everything. All he could do at the moment was look at her from time to time and try to keep stable around her as she continued, or rather tried, to keep her fellow engineers working and making good time. But she was off, and everyone noticed. The one thing Hunter knew about her was that she wasn’t one to hide emotions.

The day could not have felt longer for both of them, with the occasional friendly smiles and cute comments completely gone. The whole time, Lav felt a hole in her chest that was already pounding with her heartbeat, a swarm of thoughts devastating her mind, and her trembling barely easing up with time. Like a good captain, Hunter oversaw any operations she led and stuck by her even after downtime, when he found himself walking her back to her room.

The hall was dark, quiet, and empty. Given the events of that day, it was no longer comforting to have a place be so alone. As Lav stood in front of her room door, she looked up at Hunter with wide, sad eyes.

Being aware that no one else was in the hall at the time, Hunter took her hand and squeezed it as he tried to comfort her with a soft gaze.

“Try to get some sleep,” he said.

She averted her eyes. “Hunter…”

He took both of her hands as though he’d be able to make everything right with that gesture. Lav took a deep breath and cleared her throat enough for her voice not to break whenever she spoke.

“I can’t,” she said with a gentle shake of her head.

“What?”

“I can’t let it happen.”

Hunter sighed, his eyes growing sad as well. “There’s nothing we can do.”

When he noticed her lips trembling, it all but broke his heart, and he took a hand to cup her cheek and wipe away any tears that fell.

“That’s what this is,” he told her. “The reason I’m here.”

“And so am I,” she said.

A bitter silence hung among them as Hunter tried to find more words, but he didn’t settle on anything that could improve her mood much.

“Rampart knows,” Lav broke the silence.

Hunter began to take his hand away from her, but she reached for it and set it back on her cheek, leaning into his palm to feel any sort of comforting warmth rather than the suffocating heat Geonosis offered.

“Don’t,” she said. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to stop, it’s just…” She trailed off, sighing and feeling pathetic. “I don’t know, Hunter… it’s all so messed up, it’s too much! It’s awful…”

“Hey,” he pulled her into an embrace where she could weep.

“It’s my fault,” she said.

“No,” Hunter managed firmly and looked her in the eyes. “Listen to me, this isn’t your fault, you hear me? You didn’t bring those people here, and you’re not capable of hurting a fly. It’s not your fault.”

“They’re here because of my work.”

“If it hadn’t been your work, it would have been someone else’s. It was not something you could control.”

She leaned her head on his chest again and let a few more tears drop out of her eyes while Hunter gently stroked her hair.

“What now?” She asked him.

Lav felt his chest slowly move up and then down with Hunter’s deep breath.

“I hate to say it,” he answered.

“But?”

“But we go on,” he told her, hating the fact as much as she did. “There’s nothing we can do or say to anyone.”

She parted slightly so that she could look him in the eyes. “It just feels wrong… and if Rampart knows I’m not on board with the idea, he’s going to be on me like a hawk. What if I don’t do enough and I’m thrown out? What if he takes it out on me, or you, or us?”

“Lav,” Hunter spoke with a soft, low voice, its deep hum somehow calming her down. “You’re going to be fine, alright?” He paused to kiss her forehead and resumed stroking her hair. “I promise you’ll be fine. You won’t be thrown out. Do your best with the factory, keep it in good conditions for whoever will work there. And regarding us, if Rampart does know and he hasn’t done anything about it by now, I don’t think he will. He cares about results, and that’s what we’ll give him. You’re in charge of that factory, Lav. It’s in your power to give those people better conditions.”

“He’ll see right through my efforts,” she told him.

Hunter gently stroked her cheek and had her look up at him. “Just do your best.”

Lav sniffled and wiped her eyes dry, all so that she could look at Hunter’s gorgeous, honey-brown irises in the darkness.

“Kiss me,” she whimpered quietly.

With a sad smile, Hunter acknowledged her request. Holding her firmly, yet sweetly, he pressed his lips to her, hoping desperately he could make her feel any better. With his hand, he secured the back of her head, almost molding her body into his, and Lav kissed him in return with strength as a couple of moans escaped her lips. They both needed this, they needed each other. They knew they’d be the only thing to pull them through that entire mess.

When Hunter began to pull away, Lav chased his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for another kiss, this time more craving than before. Hunter knew she was vulnerable, and while her passion grew every second, he firmly took her shoulders and held her in place, opting to press a soft kiss to her forehead instead.

Lav sighed, knowing it was right. Her eyes looked at his again as she set her feet back on the ground and settled on one conclusion.

“I don’t want to stay here a long time,” she whispered, afraid unwanted ears would hear her.

Her eyes were wide, hopeful even, and Hunter knew what she meant. The memory of Daro returned to him, of that night in the forest when nature and night wildlife had treated them so well. He’d wrapped his arms around her, pinned her to a tree, been so close to kissing her for the first time. He’d proposed to run away together, to forget the Empire and everything that held them back.

And for every logical reason, neither one of them had acceded to such an illusion. Yet there was Lav, all but pleading Hunter to put that possibility back on the table, and he knew she had every reason to want to leave. Still, she also had reasons to stay, and so did he. He feared what it would take to get them both to agree to leave.

No, he wouldn’t allow himself to think of it at the moment.

“It’s what we’ve got for now, Lav,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Try to rest, okay? You need to clear your mind, but if you need anything, contact me.”

Her heart sank, but she knew he was right. Her thoughts were on a similar line as his, and the realization that they’d both be stuck there for a while slowly spread through her like an illness. He was right, the best they could do was their best. To remain in good terms with the Empire so that they and their own could be safe.

Lav then nodded and squeezed Hunter’s hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

He tried his best to smile comfortingly at her, and after one more kiss on her forehead, Hunter was off down the hall while Lav entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Mindlessly, she took off her armor. The room was so hot that she turned on the air conditioning and took her blacks off, only left in a silk top and her panties, not even bothering to put any socks on. All the lights turned off, she crawled into the bed to try to sleep, but she couldn’t. It seemed she’d been lying awake for hours with visions and flashes of images she’d seen of the people leaving the freighter. There would be no way for her to sleep if she didn’t take it out somehow, and if she was sleep deprived, her mood would worsen, so would her attitude, and who knew what would happen if she was so irritable that she was at risk of disrespecting a higher up, further putting her in a bad image…

She stopped. She sat up and realized there was a storm in her mind, one that wouldn’t get her anywhere. She looked out the small window of her room and was no longer in love with the rusty look the stars had in contrast to the purple night sky. Pacing around the room, Lav tried her best to think of a way to do something. About what, she didn’t know. She just wanted to do something that would make her feel a little less condemned.

After a loud sigh, her eyes drifted to her armor and blacks on the floor, through which the corner of the picture was barely peeking out. She bent over and grabbed it, looking at the picture, barely making out the silhouettes of her Grandma and little sisters in the dark. It then hit her how much she missed them, how long it had been since she’d heard from them and they’d heard from her. With a new spark of determination, Lav went to sit on her bed and pulled the holopad from her nightstand, powering it up and setting it to write a message.

No words came to her at first. Most of the messages she’d written to her Grandma had been in high hopes, talking with optimism about her work if only to try and convince herself even further. But things were hard for Lav, so much harder, and she felt guilty for wanting to leave. She felt guilty for not doing things gladly for her family’s sake, when she knew the right thing would have been otherwise. She thought of all her grandma’s sacrifices when she’d been growing up, all the hard work she had to do that she probably didn’t enjoy, but that meant bringing Lav and her sisters up. But then again, that work didn’t have to do with slavery.

Before she drowned in her guilt, Lav’s fingers began moving instinctively on the holopad, finding words unconsciously as she began writing the message.

Hey, Granny.

I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner. To be honest, things have been really busy since we arrived on Geonosis. Things have been going well, or so it seems. I don’t even know anymore. I know you might get mad at what I’m about to say, but sometimes I don’t see the point of being here. Not because of you guys, though. Believe me, you and my sisters are on my mind constantly. I know I’m doing this for you.

But (and don’t tell anyone about this, please) we had a shipment of slaves come in today. Slaves, Grandma. You know it’s not right. None of it is right, and yet I’m managing the very operation they’re going to work in. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. Just when I was starting to feel like something good was going on, like I could keep up the good work here, this happens. And I can’t do anything about it without there being bad consequences either. I just feel trapped.

I’m sorry this message is so downcast, the last thing I want is to upset you with any of this. I just really needed to talk to you, to hear from you, and know that you’re okay. I feel like that’ll sure keep me going longer. Because honestly… I don’t like being here. I never did. The Empire’s awful, they do everything with such a tough hand that I fear, sooner or later, everyone will get a taste of how terrible they can be. I’ve lost sight of a lot of things.

But well, I know a big part of that is just me complaining and I don’t want to bring down the mood with you, you’re free to just not pay attention to my rambling. There has been some good too, honestly. Because you’re still my Grandma, I won’t go into much detail, but I’ve fallen in love with my captain and I really think he returns my feelings. He’s really handsome and strong and protective, I think you’d like him. And don’t worry, we’re being careful and everything—about not being caught, not about… what you’re thinking. (Please don’t get a heart attack).

Anyways, I hope you’re doing well. Say hi to my sisters for me, and tell them to behave in school. If they’re anything like me, they’re around the age when they’ll like talking back to their teachers, and while I’d be proud of them, I don’t want them getting into trouble. And I hope you’re doing fine as well, Granny. I miss you.

With love,

Your little Lavender

Lav debated whether or not to send the message. It was dark near the beginning, but that was the way things were. Was it right to let her Grandma know of everything going on, or should she just scratch the message entirely and rewrite it with a simple everything’s fine! Nothing bad’s happening here! and be safer? She sighed. She figured the worst that could come of it would be Granny worrying for her, and that being the case, Lav could really use someone else listening to her.

Without much more thought, Lav hit the send button and turned the holopad off, putting it on the nightstand again and lying back down on the bed, twisting and turning for another long while before finally sleeping.

The morning following that was neither easy nor difficult. Lav simply put on her blacks and armor after showering quickly with cold water to get her mind in the world, and she strutted down to the factory to get working.

She’d expected there would already be slaves working there, and nothing could prepare her mentally for that. To her surprise, though, there were no slaves in the factory when she arrived. It was just the squad of engineers she’d been working with, and soon, even Hunter arrived. His presence at least soothed her a bit, and she figured maybe there was some hope. Of what, she wasn’t certain. Hunter simply made her feel not everything was lost yet.

She did notice one thing though, which was the absence of the increased number of Geonosians in charge of looking after security. None of them were there, and it was then that she realized the factory was too quiet. Hunter had noticed it too, as he could often hear the clicking and fluttering of the Geonosians. He and Lav exchanged a look, both of them concerned, both still way on edge from the events of the day before. Despite that, Lav continued working, even if the hole in her chest made an appearance again.

A couple of hours went by and it seemed things were going relatively well. Lav made sure to increase ventilation in the factory as well as light intake from the outside, hoping those efforts would keep the factory in humane conditions. It may not have been a lot compared to the bigger picture, but she was satisfied with her little something for the time being. Barely allowing herself to feel positive for the first time that day, she and the others heard the heavy doors of the factory opening, and in came a group of Geonosians led by an Imperial officer.

Nobody knew what was up with them, but somehow, they all agreed their presence couldn’t be a good thing. The officer scanned the group with unfriendly eyes and then spoke, his voice booming and echoing around the factory.

“Lavender Earthapple,” he said.

She became worried instantly upon hearing her name, and she looked back at Hunter hoping maybe he had answers. Still, when Hunter seemed as worried as she did, she began to lose some hope. Summoning all her courage, Lav stepped to the front of the group.

“That’s me,” she said. “What can I help you with?”

“Arrest her,” said the officer, turning around and barely looking at Lav from the corner of his eye as though she were merely dust.

“Wait, what?!” Hunter stood between her and the Geonosians. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“That’s not up to you, captain,” the officer spit the word out. “Miss Earthapple has been found guilty of treason and is to be taken to the Geonosian Arena. An example has to be made of her.” He then pulled out his blaster to threaten Hunter. “Now step aside and don’t make more trouble, your presence is requested alongside Admiral Rampart to witness the execution.”

“Execution?!” Hunter questioned, trying to appear menacing above the crushing fear he felt.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” the officer loaded the blaster.

Hunter realized how powerless he was. Two Geonosians circled around him and went towards Lav, whose eyes were already filled with tears and wide as they looked at Hunter in terror.

“There’s a mistake,” she said as the Geonosians began cuffing her, and she resisted on instinct but only earned a sting from a shocking device they were carrying on them.

“Don’t hurt her!”

“Hunter!” Lav wept as she began to be carried away by them. “Hunter!”

“Lav, it’s going to be alright!” He called as the Geonosians took her away from the factory, still haunted by the sound of her cries that faded painfully slowly as they got farther.

Everyone in the factory remained silent; Hunter was outraged, afraid, helpless. He wanted nothing more than to go after her, but he already had a blaster pointed at him. Who was to say the officer wouldn’t find a way to take it out on him too, or on the other engineers who were just as terrorized by the scene they’d just witnessed?

Hunter only knew he was disgusted at his inability to do anything.

“You all must be there too,” the officer commanded. “That is an order. Captain, I will not ask again.”

Hunter raised his hands slightly in surrender, and he followed the officer out of the factory, not even being able to look back at the other engineers.

He had to find Lav. He had to figure out where she was and why they’d suddenly charged her with treason. She hadn’t done anything wrong, looking at the slaves and appearing horrified was only a human reaction, there was no treason in that. Or perhaps it was because of her relationship with him—but in that case, he would have been taken too. Or perhaps there was something planned for him he didn’t know about. The possibilities were horribly endless.

Rampart. Hunter knew that, for better or for worse, Rampart could be an answer to their problem. He had to talk to him, appeal to his better nature and get him to spare Lav. Whatever it took, he had to save Lav…

Away from the Imperial compound, Hunter was taken to a large structure embedded within one of the large Geonosian mountains. Its halls inside were dark, and even from there, he could hear the roaring of a crowd, and the sound of clicking and fluttering returned. In little time, Hunter arrived at a balcony that overlooked an arena where large pillars were set, surrounded by cages and with one Imperial guard in each of its cardinal directions, four total.

“Captain, you have arrived,” Rampart began speaking.

“With respect, what is going on?” Hunter asked, the worry unmistakable in his voice.

“Your engineer has committed treason.”

“Admiral, whatever relationship goes on between us, it has not hindered her work. That’s hardly a reason for—”

“That is not why she’s being prosecuted,” Rampart interrupted with a dismissing wave of his hand. “I in fact don’t much care for whatever it is goes on between you and her. You’ll find out the reason for her betrayal soon enough.”

“Sir,” Hunter insisted. “I know Lavender. She wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything. Whatever reason, it must be a mistake. I’m begging you to reconsider, don’t let her be executed. Look at her work, she’s done so much.”

“She can be replaced,” Rampart said without an ounce of care. “We already have everything we needed her to do, the rest can be picked up by other workers.”

Hunter was speechless, indignant at how disposable Rampart regarded her to be. Of course, that was how the Empire saw those loyal to them, and even more so those who weren’t. Even as a clone, Hunter had never heard something of the sort, and he’d been bred to go to the battlefield and possibly die, all for the Republic. It disgusted him.

“Captain,” Admiral Rampart faced Hunter. “You have done a good enough job not caring about those close to you enough for it to step between you and your duties so far. Don’t let that change now.”

Rampart then walked forward to the edge of the balcony and caught the crowd’s attention. “Bring in the prisoner.”

*

She’d barely processed anything. Lavender felt her body shaking, her legs about to give out beneath her. The Geonosians stripped her of her weapons and uncuffed her only to throw her in a cell that smelled like it had been rotting for years. She couldn’t see much, but she heard the roaring of a crowd as well as occasional banging and growling from behind the adjacent walls. Nothing would make her calm down or even see a glint of hope.

She didn’t even keep track of how long she was in there until she noticed the door opposite to the one she came in through began opening, revealing a second door made of bars that began lifting. A guard came in with a spear and began urging her out; the sunlight blinded her the moment she stepped into the sandy ground and she took a while to process her surroundings. The seats of the arena were filled with thrilled Geonosians while the balconies hosted Imperials, and at one section of the seats, the slaves and even generic Imperial workers were hosted.

Lav was forced to walk to the center of the arena facing south, and her heart sank. Next to Rampart stood Hunter, and even from that distance, Lav recognized the agony he was going through. Then, Rampart raised his hands and the crowd quieted down, leaving enough silence for his voice to be amplified and hear by everyone.

“The former Imperial engineer Lavender Earthapple has been found guilty of treason through words that came out from herself,” Rampart began. “Last night, a message sent from her to her family in which she states herself how much she is against the Empire.”

“What?” Lav said quietly, but all for show, her voice was amplified as well.

Rampart then read from a holopad: “None of it is right, and yet I’m managing the very operation they’re going to work in. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. Just when I was starting to feel like something good was going on, like I could keep up the good work here, this happens. And I can’t do anything about it without there being bad consequences either. I just feel trapped.

“I’m sorry this message is so downcast, the last thing I want is to upset you with any of this. I just really needed to talk to you, to hear from you, and know that you’re okay. I feel like that’ll sure keep me going longer. Because honestly… I don’t like being here. I never did. The Empire’s awful, they do everything with such a tough hand that I fear, sooner or later, everyone will get a taste of how terrible they can be.”

Lav was disgusted by the dramatization Rampart had given, the laughter and fake shock coming from Imperials and Geonosians alike, and the fact that her message had been intercepted. Rampart had clearly distrusted in her since the ship disembarked, it was the only explanation—and only proof of what lengths he and the Empire itself would go to in order to silence anyone with a mind of their own.

“You had no right to go through that message,” the way Lav’s voice broke betrayed her strong intention to fight back.

“You no longer have any rights,” Rampart said. “We take you in, grant your family everything it needs to thrive and give you high regards within the Empire given your work, and this is the loyalty we get from you?” He looked up at the rest of the crowd. “Let this be an example. The Republic is dead. Its weakness killed it. The Empire is what thrives now, and if you are naïve enough,” he pointed at Lav, “to try and digress from us, you will burn.”

His eyes fell on Lav again, almost in mockery. “Do you have anything more to say?”

She tried her best to steady herself, and while she was still on the verge of tears, Lav knew she had to speak up. “I no longer put anything beneath the Empire. Do what you want now, you’re the one who’s going to burn.”

Rampart seemed almost amused by Lav. “How wrong you are.”

From the center of the arena, Lav continued locking eyes with him. She couldn’t possibly bear looking over at Hunter. Her eyes were still full of tears and her lips trembled as she tried to grasp what was coming, and all she had left now was hanging on to the hope that one day, the Empire would go up in flames.

“Such a waste,” Rampart said dismissively, giving the guards the go ahead to open the rest of the cages.

That final statement tipped Hunter into despair, and he also knew that if he didn’t do anything now, it would be too late after that. As he looked at Lav in the center of the arena, his mind raced. The woman he loved was put in grave danger, and he wasn’t willing to let anything happen to her. He remembered every time she’d smiled at him, how soft she still was, how warm and gentle her touch was, the sweetness of her kisses. He remembered the promise he’d made to himself, to keep her the way she was. Soft. Warm. Hopeful.

He wasn’t arrested, being prosecuted, or anything of the sort. He still had his own weapons. The blaster would do him well and so would the blade, if he played things right, he wouldn’t need anymore. Though, he did realize he was running out of time. Two of the cages opened, one of them revealing a nexu while the other one held a small rancor, most likely one in its early years, but still quite the threat.

Hunter watched as Lav’s eyes widened in horror as she looked back and forth both animals, each one eager to strike at her, baring their teeth and growling. Hunter needed to act now.

He grabbed his blaster and, positioned behind Rampart, he had an opening since everyone’s eyes were on Lav as she was threatened by both creatures. It was then that Hunter aimed the blaster at Rampart and fired it, stunning him and making him land unconscious on the ground. After that, Hunter jumped off the balcony, positioned low enough so that he could survive the fall and land relatively safely.

The crowd roared when they noticed what had happened, but in the middle of the arena, Lav hadn’t noticed any of it. Petrified by the creatures, she barely found it in herself to move before either of them reached her, managing to dodge them and making them crash together, only prompting them to fight each other while she finally found the opening to run away and hide behind one of the pillars. Her chest heaved up and down, shocked that she was still alive, but she was still running out of options. Then, the roaring of the rancor caught her ear and she heard its heavy struts charging toward her, and it then crashed onto the large stone pillar and sent it crashing down.

Once more, she managed to dodge it and get out of the pillar’s trajectory. Its impact on the ground lifted a cloud of light brown sand, making her cough and compromising her vision as well as the rancor’s. When it cleared enough, she noticed the tiny rocks that had split from the pillar after its fall, and she stocked up on several of them to at least have some sort of weapon. While the rancor was busy rampaging and knocking down the other pillars, Lav noticed from the corner of her eye that the nexu was now charging at her. Intimidating with its agile figure, sharp teeth and razor claws, Lav felt she was cornered, and barely saw her life flashing before her when she noticed a figure tackling the nexu away after which she heard the slash of a knife.

“Hunter?!”

“Run!” He yelled in a gruff voice, baring his teeth as he wrestled the nexu relying only on his strength and his knife to keep it away from her. In a split second, he dropped the blaster and Lav took it and tried to find a good angle to shoot the nexu without risking harming Hunter.

Meanwhile, the rancor continued to rampage, and it hit Lav with an idea. The rancor wasn’t targeting her. It was angry, yes because it was in its nature, but because the reason these creatures were extra aggressive was because they were starved and tortured to be conditioned that way. While the rancor continued destroying whatever obstacle it saw, the guards approached it to sting it with their spears, and the rancor had no choice but to defend itself.

Lav knew how to find a way out of there. Running, she caught the attention of the nexu as she made a beeline for the guards and began throwing rocks at them to catch their attention, but also to have the rancor see she was against them as well. The rancor noticed, and the two began fighting against the guards.

It all made the crowd go insane. The rancor had mighty fun fighting the guards, and while Lav ran out of rocks, she pulled out the blaster and stunned the remaining guards, finally clear to go back and help Hunter. Shocked as she was to see the scene, Hunter was still holding his own against the nexu, having successfully kept it away from her and the rancor while they took out the guards. His armor was scratched, but it was nothing too serious, and now, Hunter and the nexu were staring at each other, facing each other like it was a showdown.

Hunter, growling and frowning menacingly at the nexu, held out both of his fists, ready to fight. One of them held the blade, his only means of defense, and while the nexu was getting ready to leap at Hunter, Lav repositioned herself and knelt on the floor to stabilize herself, shooting the blaster and hitting the nexu. The stun mode of the blaster wasn’t enough to take it down, but it did interrupt its leap and it fell limply on the ground, dazed for a moment before it realized Lav had been responsible for its failure. Baring its teeth, it prepared to leap again only to be tackled by Hunter, who finally had an opening to hold the nexu down on the ground.

Lav approached them a bit more and continued firing stun bolts at the nexu. It took at least five more consecutive bolts to finally make the nexu unconscious as its body went limp and it relaxed onto the ground. Hunter sheathed his knife again and ran over to Lav, taking her hand as the crowd began to roar again.

“We have to go!” He yelled.

Just then, Lav noticed more Geonosians were making their way into the arena, unwilling to let them escape. The rancor, still angry and rampaging, helped give them an opening as it threw off any Geonosian who approached. With that opportunity, Hunter and Lav ran into the cells; Hunter slammed into one of the doors and brought it down while Lav stunned any remaining guards. Holding her hand again, Hunter ran at top speed and led her down the halls and outside to the hangar, luckily deserted for the most part as most Geonosians were still in the arena.

That wouldn’t be for long, though, as they heard the sound of wings swarming toward them. Without looking back, the two continued running until they reached the shuttles in the hangar. They entered the first one they saw, a small yet luxurious ship that clearly belonged to someone in the higher ranks. With the door closed, they were at least secluded from the outside.

Lav sat in the pilot’s seat and ignored the way her hands were shaking as she powered up the ship, making sure the engines were at full thrust. By then, Geonosians were already crawling on top of the ship in a fit to prevent their escape, but Lav applied full thrust and got the ship in the air, eventually having it go fast enough to blow off any Geonosians who’d tried to cling to the ship. Soon, they were in space, and Hunter was punching in coordinates and making calculations to jump to hyperspace.

“Make the jump now,” he said, his voice still shaky.

Lav tapped the final controls in order to authorize the jump to hyperspace and finally pushed the lever to the bottom, and in front of them, the stars seemed to displace themselves before they finally made the jump and were surrounded by the white and blue gleam of hyperspace.

Silence then reigned, as if nothing had happened. Lav’s eyes were still wide, and she wasn’t even blinking; from beside her, Hunter watched her, afraid to reach out to touch her in her state of shock. He thought back to everything that had happened and processed what was going on now.

In the most twisted way possible, their idea of running away had come true. They were both alive, that much was important, and what happened after that would be determined on its own. Hunter wasn’t willing to push things anymore, not until he knew Lav was alright.

After a while, Lav finally began blinking, and her breath began to shake. She looked around at the ship, its dashboard, its controls, the flickering lights of hyperspace.

“The tracker,” she said quietly, almost to herself.

“Lav,” Hunter tried reaching her, but she was making her way below the console and dismantling its hull, revealing a bunch of wires and controls. Lav scrambled through them and, while she tried to be careful with most of the controls, she set her blaster to kill and fired at one of the devices inside, ultimately disabling it.

“Lav, what are you doing?” Hunter’s voice was soft.

Lav set the weapon back to stun and locked it, handing it back to Hunter before she hugged her knees on the floor.

“I had to destroy the tracker,” she said quietly. “Now we won’t be followed.”

In silence, Hunter went to sit down next to her. Lav’s eyes were trailed on the ground and she didn’t speak a word, but not long after that, she began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears. On the spot, Lav began to weep, and she instantly leaned her body towards Hunter, who received her in a tight embrace, hoping he could make her feel safe somehow.

“It’s alright,” he calmed her down. “You’re safe, Lav. You’re safe. It’s over.”

Lav continued crying and she wrapped her arms tightly around Hunter and he held her even closer to him, shifting around to cradle her figure in his arms. He pressed kisses to her forehead and temple and stroked her hair while rocking her back and forth, repeating those words over and over until finally Lav’s sobs quieted down.

And they sat together, on the ground of the shuttle’s cockpit, while Lav’s tears flowed quietly down her cheeks and onto his armor. Closing her eyes brought back images of the events on Geonosis, but she found that looking at Hunter’s ingot necklace calmed her down.

It took long, but she finally stopped crying. Hunter’s low, smooth voice whispered soft and comforting things in her ear, until at last he convinced Lav she wasn’t in danger anymore. She was safe, in the arms of her Hunter, the man who’d protect her with his every breath. Pressing her body tighter onto him and with her hands balled up into fists, she finally dared to close her eyes until she became so tired she dozed off.

Feeling her body relaxing, Hunter leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes too, falling asleep with Lav in his arms.

-----

Taglist: @lightning-wolffe @the-sad-batch @kavecika @14mcmd1122 @bb-8 @badbatch-simp24 @mysticalgalaxysalad @novasingularity-s @calypsoshere @hedahobbit98 @Therealnekomari @photogirl894 @masteracewindu @shit-spiced-chai-says @captainrexstan @kybacrystal @itmightbeamaizeing @ladykatakuri @neon-junkie @proadhog @lilianashomaresparza @incognito-lezbean @incandescentlywarm @nahoney22 @knightprincess @sitherin-mxschief @littlemisscare-all @gjrain20-starwars @blackrose4242 @tazmbc1 @leksi-rae @disgruntldd @fangirl-goes-nova @ilikemymendarkandfictional @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @witchykinkybiwife @nimata-beroya @kaorikoizumi @sammi9498 @bad-batch-supremacy

Join my taglist!

My mind sometimes

Kinda rude that a sarcastic sniper isn't cornering me right now 🙄🙄🙄

Crosshair is always "how touching" this "how touching" that.

Bro?

Maybe touch ME for a change- *my mic gets cut off*

We Were Golden Part 4

Summary: You and the Batch break out the cell but what you find is possibly even worse. Pairing: Crosshair/Reader, (Eventual???) Hunter/Reader Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; Angst, blaster shot wound, mentions of needles WC: 4.9k A/N: I have so many other fics that I need to work on but this one is the one that's been keeping me going.

We Were Golden Masterlist (Taglist Form is on Masterlist)

“CT-9904, you’re coming with us.” One of the shock troopers approaches the ray shield to the cell as it comes down, with his gun ready.

You stand up, ready to try to stop them. “Where are you taking him?” 

“That’s none of your concern. Stay back.” He points the blaster at you and Hunter protectively pulls you behind him

“Oh, no, no, no. We stay together.” Hunter puts his hands up, trying to keep them calm. 

Despite their fight, Hunter doesn’t want Crosshair to be split up from the squad. Which proves what a good leader he is. You hope that Crosshair sees that.

The Shock Trooper doesn’t seem to care, and instead rams his blaster into Hunter’s stomach, hard, making Hunter drop. Crosshair remains glaring at Hunter, shaking his head as your and Omega’s hands come up to your mouths, clearly both shocked by the abrasiveness the regs are showing now. You immediately drop to your knees with Hunter, checking on him. The guys immediately prepare for a fight but the shock trooper points his blaster at them, ordering them to stand down. 

You don’t even realize you’re clenching Hunter’s forearm as you watch Crosshair look at you one last time before following the shock trooper out. 

“A-are you alright?” You ask Hunter, quietly, helping him stand up. 

He nods, watching Crosshair walk away, to who knows where. 

How are you going to get out of here? You look at Tech as you walk over to him.

“We need to figure out how to get the hell out of here.” You murmur. 

He lets out a soft grunt, in agreement. “I am trying to think.” 

“This is Sergeant Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, you know Echo, and this is Crosshair.” Cody tells you and you can’t help but let your eyes linger on the silver-haired man. 

He’s tall, lean, and staring right back at you as you stand next to the Marshall Commander. His stare isn’t necessarily uncomfortable. You’re used to being stared at. Being the only female medic around, clones couldn’t help but stare. A lot of them weren’t used to women. 

But Crosshair’s stare… you almost welcomed it.

“It’s nice to meet you boys.” You smile at them and Crosshair winks, making you go warm in the face. 

You definitely weren’t blind to how handsome the clones were. But, you tried to remain a professional when doing your job as a medic. When Cody had come to you, asking if you’d be willing to do individual care for Echo for a couple months, you told him yes, thinking it’d be a nice change of pace from your usual schedule. 

“Do you have any questions for us, ma’am?” Hunter asks. 

“Just tell me where to put my stuff, Sarge.” You smile. 

“I’ll show you around.” Hunter gestures for you to follow him, smiling instantly.

“Good luck.” Cody nods to you. 

“Back at ya, Commander.” You salute, following the Batch to their ship. 

Crosshair waits at the bottom of the steps of the ship, offering his hand to help you up the hatch. Normally, you wouldn’t dream of letting someone help you like that, but you couldn’t help but wonder what his hand felt like, even gloved.

Taking his hand, you feel the weight of his stare and smirk. You can’t help but smile back which in turn makes him smile a bit wider, and he squeezes your hand.

“Princess.” He acknowledges you with a nickname that would make you otherwise throw up had another man called you that. 

You chuckle and then enter the ship, reluctantly letting go of his hand, just hoping that’s not the last time you get to feel those hands.

Pacing back and forth, you still can’t think of anything. Whether it’s because you genuinely don’t know or because you’re slightly panicked that they took Crosshair, you’re not sure. Normally, you’re not the one with all the brilliant plans anyway. That would be Hunter, Tech, and Echo… Why haven’t they thought of anything yet?

You look over at Tech who’s fidgeting, knee bouncing, consumed by his thoughts. You don’t dare try to disrupt him now while he’s so deep in thought. You look over at Hunter next, with Omega sitting next to him, copying his every move, and wow, is it adorable. 

She already looks up to him so much… You can’t help but wonder why. What are you going to do with the young girl? There’s no room on the ship for a child. You still don’t know how she plays into this… 

Wrecker sinks down to the floor against the wall beside Hunter and you and Echo share a look that lets the other know you’ve still not come up with anything. 

Suddenly, Tech sits up. “I’ve got it. Why didn’t I think of it before?” He moves over in between Echo and Omega, pushing Echo over slightly so he can murmur to Hunter. “This is not a prison.” 

“Yeah, well, I beg to differ.” Echo grumbles.

“This is a Kaminoan facility. It was built prior to the Clone Wars.” Tech looks between all of you. “There were no barracks or prisons when it was constructed.”

“Well, how does that help us?” Hunter asks, not following Tech’s train of thought.

“Because while these cells were retrofitted to hold normal individuals, they could not possibly account for someone like Wrecker.” Tech gestures to the large man still seated on the floor, who immediately catches Tech’s drift and jumps up.

“You mean I could punch our way out?!” Wrecker asks, a little too loudly, but also quickly realizes he was too loud.

Everyone hushes him anyway. You just give him an encouraging smile. 

“Oh. Right… You mean I could punch our way out?” He tries again, softer.

“If you punch the correct spot.” Tech nods. . 

“Right. Show me where.” Wrecker grins, clearly excited to contribute. 

“If this is gonna work, we’ll need some cover. Form a wall.” Hunter looks at everyone as he takes charge again. 

You, Echo, Hunter, and Omega form a wall in front of Tech and Wrecker as Tech runs his fingers down the wall, searching for a hollow or weak spot for Wrecker to hit.

“Hit this. Here.” Tech tells Wrecker, pointing to the spot that he needs to hit.

“Right.” Wrecker moves to where Tech was.

This has to work, right? What else are you going to do if it doesn’t? 

You think of Crosshair… of what awful things this new “Empire” could be putting him through. Does he know that you’re coming for him? Surely he does. 

One of the shock troopers comes back in and that sick feeling you had earlier comes back, looking at his data pad and the other two look at the one in the middle. 

“Tell me when.” Wrecker’s voice is behind you.

Hunter watches to make sure that the shock troopers aren’t going to see what Wrecker’s about to do, before giving him the signal.

“Now.” Hunter nods to Wrecker.

The rest of you act as inconspicuous as possible, keeping your eyes away from Wrecker. You hear Wrecker give a loud thud against the wall and then scurry to sit down quickly. The shock troopers glance up at you, but then go back to what they were doing. 

Wrecker moves back to the wall when it’s safe again and grumbles. “Nothing happened.” 

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Hunter murmurs to Tech. 

You and Echo share an unsure look as he leans against the wall.

“Try it again. A little harder.” Tech murmurs back to Wrecker.

“You’re all clear. Make it count.” Hunter encourages him. 

“Okay.” Wrecker whispers and then brings his fist back before slamming it into the wall as hard as possible, causing a loud ‘ding’ to ring out into the cell.

Wrecker scrambles back to the bench as the shock troopers look back your way again, before ultimately just ignoring your squad.

“Oh… it still didn’t work…” Wrecker grumbles again.

Tech leans back a little to check and then goes to inspect the damage. “Oh, yes it did. Look.” 

Tech pulls the metal paneling back, revealing a hole in the wall. 

“I’ll never fit through that.” Wrecker looks at the hole.

He’s right. It’s too narrow for him or any of you guys to fit through.

“Astute as always, Wrecker, but I was actually going to suggest-” Tech starts but Omega cuts him off.

“I’ll do it.” Omega insists.

“You sure, kid?” Hunter whispers.

“I’m sure.” She gives Hunter a determined look.

Hunter looks at you, like you might detest the idea but you shrug. What other option do you have, if any?

“Okay. Get to the console and hit the level to lower the ray shield.” Hunter nods to her. 

Wrecker and Tech pull back the paneling a little more for her to fit through before pushing it back into place once she’s in the wall. Sending a kid to do a job that normally, five grown men are used to doing makes you a little nervous. What if she gets hurt? What if she gets stuck? 

“Incoming.” Echo murmurs, gruffly. 

You all look to see the shock troopers coming back in, not even realizing they’d left the room. They approach the ray shield, looking around the cell.

“Wait, where’s the girl?” The one with the datapad asks.

“You tell us.” Hunter shrugs.

“Harm her and you’re a dead man.” Echo grumbles, dramatically, and it takes everything in you not to chuckle. 

“Operations, we need a status report on prisoner 0219.” The trooper talks into his comm. 

You all hear a clanking sound in the vents above and you try not to look up. 

“Sorry. These floors don’t hold me so well… on account of them… not being designed for abnormal individuals such as myself.” Wrecker shrugs, thinking he did good.

The rest of you shake your head or roll your eyes. Tech rubs his hand down his face, clearly thinking this plan is not going to go well if Wrecker doesn’t hush soon.

“What’s behind you?” The trooper asks Wrecker.

Wrecker puts his hands behind his head in a relaxing manner. “Nothing.”

“Move away from the wall. Now.” The trooper points his blaster at Wrecker. 

You look to Hunter, concerned. 

“Why don’t you come here and make me?” Wrecker presses.

You realize he’s trying to get them to lower the ray shield and honestly, you think it’s pretty smart. 

The trooper puts his finger to his helmet comm. “Copy that. The girl’s still registered in lockdown. Tell us where she is.” 

You all hear another, louder, bang coming from above and all of a sudden, the vent from the ceiling comes flying down on top of all three of the shock troopers, knocking them to the ground, with Omega rolling off of it.

“Hit the switch, Omega!” Hunter tells her quickly.

Omega gets up quickly and runs for the console. Just as she pulls the lever, the rayshield comes down and you all spring into action as one of the troopers picks her up to try to stop her. Wrecker immediately rushes over to her aid.

“Hey, red!” Wrecker gets his attention before punching him hard, knocking him out.

Tech picks up the blaster and stuns the other one who tries to go to stop him, but ends up dropping back down to the ground as he gets stunned. Echo picks up the datapad as Hunter picks up the other’s blaster. 

“Ha! Not bad.” Wrecker encourages Omega, squeezing her shoulder.

She gives a smile as she pants. 

“We need to figure out where they took Crosshair.” You tell them. 

Hunter nods, agreeing. “Let’s move.” 

You and Wrecker take up the rear as you follow Hunter down the corridor, carefully. 

When Hunter pulls you guys to a stop, Tech sighs. “We’re not going to get very far without our gear.” 

“They started moving all your things to the hangar. Your gear might be there too.” Omega looks up at Hunter with a hopeful expression. 

This is still new territory… sneaking around Kamino, a place that you’d otherwise felt safe at, is now occupied by clones who are no longer themselves… because if Crosshair is like this… the complete opposite of himself… who knows how many regs are facing a similar problem.

“This way.” Hunter nods, leading the rest of you down the corridor that leads toward the hangar. 

“What about-” You start as he looks around another corner, slowly and cautiously.

“You heard Tech. We aren’t going to get very far without our gear.” He cuts you off.

“My gear is already on the ship. I don’t need it.” You tell Hunter, firmly. “I need to get him.” 

“And we will.” Hunter looks down at you.

It’s an unspoken promise. He’s not leaving his brother behind. No matter what bad blood started stirring between the two of them. You don’t leave your own behind. No matter what. 

“Alright.” You nod. 

He gives your shoulder a squeeze and starts to move again.

As you reach the hangar, Tech opens the huge door to the hangar and you glance out of  the bay doors at the storm raging outside. All you can think about is getting Crosshair back. You’ve never really seen Crosshair afraid except a few times and they were only because of close calls, where you’d almost gotten hurt. You can’t help but wonder if he’s afraid right now. 

You all jog over to the crates of your stuff that the shock troopers have gathered up from your barracks. You find your pack, luckily and sling it over your shoulder, realizing you probably dropped it when you attacked that Corrie captain. 

“All right, guys, suit up. Let's make this quick.” Hunter says as he starts to quickly gear up, never taking his eyes off you and Omega. As Wrecker rummages through his crates, looking for something in a panic, Omega starts to make her way toward a couple of crates with her eyes on something. The rest of the guys start to grab what they can as they put on their armor as well. 

You find your blaster and tuck it into your pants and then grab your medical kit and extra supplies, taking it to the ship, quickly. You toss it all on your bunk, along with your pack, before coming back out to the hangar.

“Tech, power up the ship, the rest of us will go after Crosshair.” Hunter tells Tech and then looks at you.

“Thank you.” You murmur so only he can hear you.

Hunter nods with a determined look as he puts his pistol in his holster.

“I don’t think we’ll have to go far.” Omega suddenly says and when you start to ask her what she means, the hangar door opens again. 

All of you duck down behind crates for cover, preparing to take fire. And then what you see, sends your whole galaxy shattering down around you. 

“Is that Crosshair?” Wrecker asks, incredulous, as you all see Crosshair wearing new all black trooper armor. 

A year ago…

You’d been with the Batch for a month now. Every day was definitely an adventure, that’s for sure. Fitting in hadn’t been too hard, though. You and the guys get along surprisingly well. 

“Do you want some?” Crosshair holds up a pot of caf, offering you some.

You nod, holding your mug out to him as he pours you some. 

“Thanks.” You give a soft smile as you sit on the steps of the hatch, watching Wrecker and Hunter sparring while Tech and Echo fix something outside of the ship in one of the panels. 

Crosshair sits next to you, closer than he’d ever been before. The feeling of his body next to yours was enough to make you feel like your skin was going to melt. 

“You just set his shoulder and now he’s going to whack it back out again.” Crosshair shakes his head with disapproval at Wrecker, who’d gotten into a fight with a wild rancor last week. 

Wrecker had won the fight, but not without a dislocated shoulder. 

You can’t help but chuckle as you nod in agreement. “I think Hunter knows to take it easy on him.”

“I don’t think Wrecker knows to take it easy on himself, though.” Crosshair sips his caf, letting his knee settle against yours and you can’t help but look down at your touching limbs.

Crosshair’s eyes settle on your face, though, smiling ever so slightly. So slightly, you’d miss it. 

“I’m-” Crosshair starts but is cut off by Echo asking you to give him a hand with something. 

You sit your mug down in your place and look at the sniper that you’d been developing feelings for. “I’ll be right back.”

Crosshair nods, his eyes following you as you disappear under the ship with Echo and Tech. You didn’t know this, but you’d consumed all of his thoughts since the moment you met. The way you grinned at him first thing in the morning, even when he was grumpy. The way you take care of all of them… Your soft snores in the evening when you were exhausted trekking after them. Or even in the way that you kept close to Crosshair when sneaking through whatever place they were in. You’d surprised the sniper. He never expected to fall like he did for you. He didn’t know it was even possible for clones to be in love. Maybe it was part of being an enhanced clone? Because that’s what this feeling is, right? Love? 

Later that night, you and Crosshair sit outside the ship near the fire that Wrecker had made a few hours prior, all the others long in bed. Crosshair watches as you pull your blanket around your shoulders, tighter. He can’t help but wonder what it feels like to pull you into him and wrap his arms around you, what your lips feel like against his… or what they taste like. He’s pretty sure you feel the same way as he does, judging from your lingering smiles and the way you got flustered earlier when your knees touched. It was… cute. Something Crosshair only ever thought when it came to you. 

“Are you cold, cyar’ika?” Crosshair asks, softly.

You shrug. “I’m alright.” 

Crosshair looks at the fire for a moment before deciding this is his chance. If he fucks it up… if he’s been wrong… then, it’ll just make things slightly awkward and you can avoid each other, right?

Crosshair scoots closer, slowly, giving you room to tell him to leave you alone. But when you don’t, he wraps an arm around you. 

Your body goes warmer than the fire and you feel like you’re going to melt. You know you’re slightly rigid from nerves, but when he smiles… all the tension in your body fades away and you relax into him. 

“Better?” He asks, eyes lingering on your lips.

“Much, thank you.” You grin. 

Earlier, Tech had told you all about the constellations for this system, and you’d clung to every word, finding it absolutely fascinating. Crosshair hadn’t been able to stop watching the way your eyes lit up with each story about the constellations that his brother told you about. He knows he’s not the most optimistic person, but since knowing you, it feels like the galaxy’s a little brighter now. Even just your smile makes him feel this way.

“Crosshair?” You murmur.

“Hm?” 

Not knowing what else to say, you just go for it. You do the one thing you’ve been dying to do since the second day of knowing him. You kiss him gently at first and when his arm around you tightens, pulling you closer to him, you can tell he wants this just as much as you do. 

He deepens the kiss, pulling you into his lap so that you straddle his thighs. Your blanket is no longer needed since you’re flooded with warmth, so you drop it to the side and wrap your arms around Crosshair’s neck. His arms snake around your back, making you accidentally brush up against the growing bulge in his pants. 

“Oh…” You smile, softly, starting to reach between you.

He stops your wrist and pulls it to his lips, kissing it. “Not tonight. We don’t have to rush.” 

Your chest tightens at the weight of his words and the realization that he doesn’t just want to fuck you and drop you. He feels about you the way you do him. He wants more of you.

With a content nod, you brush your lips against his again and he lowers you to the blanket so that you’re more comfortable. 

You fall asleep like that, in each other’s arms, under the stars. And then every night after that, you do the same, just in the confined bunks of the Marauder. But as long as you were near him, you felt like everything would be alright. 

Present

Crosshair’s holding Firepuncher up on his shoulder, toothpick between his teeth, with a smug expression and you feel like you’re going to throw up again. 

What is he doing? Is this part of his plan? Did he come up with a plan of his own to get out of whatever predicament he was in before?

“Stay down.” Hunter murmurs to you and then starts to stand up, walking to the middle of the walkway the troopers had made between the crates. 

“Best stand down, Sergeant.” Crosshair tells Hunter. “Make it easy on yourself.”

The urge to stand up and run to Crosshair, to beg him to snap out of it, is strong.

“Have you lost your mind?” Hunter asks him. 

“We should’ve killed that Jedi. You disobeyed orders.” Crosshair scowls.

“I did what I thought was right.” Hunter tells him.

Crosshair glances at you ever so quickly before looking at Hunter again. “You never could see the bigger picture. Now surrender.”

Hunter gives Wrecker and Echo a look and they put their helmets down and point their blasters at Crosshair and the shock troopers. 

“Get Omega to the ship.” Hunter murmurs so quietly that only you could hear. 

“Okay.” You whisper. 

Hunter’s brows furrow as he looks back at Crosshair. “Is that an order?”

Crosshair chuckles humorlessly. “Huh. I guess it is.” 

“Well, I guess I’m disobeying that one too.” Hunter tells him.

Crosshair spits out his toothpick and it feels like time starts to come to a stand still. You can’t take it anymore. 

“Crosshair, wait.” You stand up and start to walk toward him but you hear a blast ring out and then quickly realize one of the shock troopers shot you. 

You look down at your lower abdomen, just above your left hip, and when you look up, you see the regret in Crosshair’s eyes, but it’s too late, blaster fire rains down around you as you fall. You distantly hear Hunter shouting for Echo or Wrecker to get you and Omega to the ship.

With blurred vision, which you realize are your tears, you try to find Hunter to tell him to get Crosshair.

“We can’t-” You try when you feel Wrecker’s arms scoop you up, but the pain starts to take over and you can barely get any words out as he carries you up the hatch and to one of the seats. 

“Get the ship going, Tech.” Wrecker says as he starts shooting out the hatch doors for more cover fire for Echo and Hunter. 

“I’m working on it.” Tech tells him.

Where’s Omega?

“O-omega?” You ask Wrecker.

“Here.” Omega nods, concern clear in her face. 

“Wreck… We gotta… get Cross. Can’t… leave him.” You grit out in between your teeth, knowing you need to get to your med kit. 

“Hunter’s working on it.” Wrecker tells you between shots and then goes back out to help them. 

You can’t hear what they’re saying out there, but you hear Tech tell them that he’s almost got the ship going. You see Omega grab a blaster and start shooting out the door and then it all pauses for a moment as you try to stop her, but when it starts back up again, she and the others make their way back up the steps just in time for Tech to take off out of the hangar.

And then it dawns on you… They left Crosshair. 

“Y-you…” You look up at Hunter, still in pain. 

“I-” Hunter starts but you get a surge of adrenaline and get in his face.

“You promised!” You point your finger into his chest. “You promised me! You’re a liar!” 

“Cyar’ika, we tried.” Echo tells you.

And then you see Wrecker clutching his shoulder and realize he was also shot. You still glare at Hunter as you make your way over to your medkit to fix yourself up before you can help Wrecker. 

You grab a needle and a dose of pain meds, trying to ease it into your skin and then grab the bactaspray, spraying it over the wound before trying wrapping it. You lift up your shirt as you struggle to wrap your abdomen.

“Need some help? Echo and Tech already took care of Wrecker.” Hunter offers, in the doorway. 

You stare at him for a moment before handing him the wrap, reluctantly.

Hunter’s hands are careful around the blaster shot. 

“She’s a clone, you know.” Hunter murmurs. “Omega.”

“She’s a what?” Your eyes feel like they may pop out of your head.

Hunter shrugs. “An enhanced clone like us… but she’s unaltered like Jango’s son.” 

“Wow. I’ve never heard of a female clone.” You look at him again and his eyes are focused on what he’s doing. “That sort of explains things.” 

Hunter nods in agreement and murmurs softly. “I am sorry about Crosshair.” 

“I know… You did what you had to do. You made the best call you could, Sarge.” Your voice is barely above a whisper, almost afraid that it’ll break.

You can’t break right now. That’s not an option right now. Perhaps later in the shower when you’re alone and away from the eyes of everyone on the ship. 

He finishes dressing your wound and pulls your shirt down for you, resting his hands on your hips for only a second longer than you would’ve otherwise noticed. 

“Thank you.” He gives you a grateful look.

You pat his shoulder and join the others, finding Omega standing between the pilot seats, admiring the view of space.

“Your first time in space?” Hunter asks her. “First time anywhere.” She shrugs, looking up at him. 

You and Hunter share a look. It says “This poor kid. She obviously needs someone.” You start to think that maybe this squad could be a good place for her, and you wonder if Hunter’s thinking the same thing.

“Impressive shot back there.” Hunter tells her. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

She shakes her head and then shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ve never fired a blaster before. I guess I got lucky.”

“She’s not the only one.” Tech walks into the cockpit and sits in his pilot’s seat. 

“I’m fine.” Wrecker says, walking in with Echo, holding Lula, and then looks at you. “Are you okay?”

You nod. “I will be.” 

“It’ll take more than a blaster shot to knock us down, huh?” Wrecker teases.

“Absolutely.” You smile, softly. 

“You were down.” Echo reminds him.

“Yeah, well, not for long.” Wrecker shrugs and then winces from the pain. 

“So, what’s the plan?” You ask Hunter.

“Well, you and Wrecker definitely need to heal up before we make any sort of big moves to get Crosshair back. Agreed?” He asks you.

You nod once. 

“Okay, good. I was thinking we could go off on our own. Lay low for a few days.” Hunter tells the group. “But with him gunning for us anyway… I’m rather concerned.” 

“What about your friends? Could any of them help us?” Omega asks, turning to Tech.

You realize that she thinks that Tech’s the one with all the answers. That’s really cute, but you can’t help but snort at her question. The list of friends that the Batch has are like five total? 

“That would be a short list.” Tech sticks his finger up in the air as usual and tells her.

“I can think of one.” Hunter smiles ever so slightly. “Plot a course for J-19.” 

“J-19?” Echo asks, confused.

“We know a guy.” Hunter explains.

“Yeah!” Wrecker laughs, knowing who Hunter’s talking about and then immediately regrets his excitement as he winces in pain from his shoulder. 

“Strap in, kid. You’re not gonna wanna miss this view.” Hunter pats the co-pilot seat for Omega to sit.

When she sits, she watches Tech kick the Marauder into hyperspace and then her eyes become immediately glued to the window. You watch Omega’s eyes absolutely light up with blue hues from the dancing lights of hyperspace, and when you look over at Hunter, he’s smiling down at the child, making your chest tighten at the fondness that came so easily. It only further supports your thinking that Omega belongs in the Batch. 

The only thing missing is the snide comments coming from the back seat from a certain silver- haired sniper.

TAGS:

@twistedstitcher27 @misogirl828 @rebel-finn @grievouus @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @agenteliix @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @quigonswife8 @idlenesses @redheadgirl @dnxgma @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @brownstalebread @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaw @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @nahoney22 @where-is-my-mind-tho @jediknightjana @erishimoon @witching3 @queen-of-many-fandoms