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theladyfulcrum · 1 year

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Come here children. Come here. Sit down. Take my hands. Listen.

Here’s what we are not going to do. We are not going to let them unravel us and leave us in a heap of bawling bodies. They want us to sob until our eyes fall out and we rupture our abdominal organs because they’re heartless and sadistic and part of STAR WARS—shhh, steady—but we are going to remain CALM. Call it denial, call it call it bargaining, call it what you will, but he’s not gone.

Deep breaths, all together now. Crying is cathartic and necessary for coping with the emotional abuse we endure at the hands of Filoni et al., but don’t cry from lost hope. I’m serious. Was it among the worst things we could have possibly been forced to watch? Has a good majority of the fandom been mulling where the hell we are supposed to find the will to go on after that? Of course. But they’ll be back. And Tech will be, too.

Hush, child. Listen to me.

There was a reason he fell into cloud-cover. He could have been falling into anything. Water can be lethal from that height, yes, but let’s all just remember what Hunter pulled in War-Mantle with falling OUT OF A SHIP and down a LITERAL MOUNTAIN and surviving that with JUST HIS KNIFE. HIS KNIFE, KIDS. Tech accepted what he was doing, and he was okay with dying if that was what this meant, but he’s Tech. Once he fell from view he did whatever he could to increase his odds of getting out of it alive. Trust.

Speaking of falling from view— we know the Clone Wars rules. No body, no confirmed death. Forget that— we know the STAR WARS rules. Even if someone gets SLICED IN HALF before your VERY EYES and FALLS AN INDETERMINABLE-BUT-DEFINITELY-NOT-SURVIVABLE DISTANCE, they STILL aren’t dead. Further still, if you had put the two scenes in front of me with no context, I would have said Echo’s death in an EXPLOSION of FIRE seemed more final and certain that Tech falling away from us. And no, I don’t care about the argument that it’s a kId’S ShOW so they wouldn’t show us the body. Go watch Colt’s death and get back to me. Or you know, pretty much any Clone Wars episode.

BUT THE GOGGLES, you wail. I know, dear heart, I know. I see the cracks in them every time I close my eyes. But Hemlock getting his hands on those isn’t confirmation of anything other than what we already know— no matter where he wound up, Tech is having a Very Bad Time™️. Whether he lost them on the extremely unpleasant way down or whether he’s being experimented on in critical condition is hardly a nicer thing to know, but we’ll take just about anything right now if it means we’ll see our boy again, won’t we?

Shhh, I’m not through. We also have that scene with Phee. If it had been a true goodbye, if Tech had shown an ounce of the development he had with Omega about differences in emotional processing and communication, you’d have seen my soul depart through the atmosphere. But no. That scene’s entire purpose was to be unresolved. Was it just to make us incurably sad in retrospect? Maybe. But my gut says no— there’s more he needs to say to her.

On that note, the same goes for Tech and Crosshair. I refuse to believe we’ll never see them together again. I don’t have anything stronger than my refusal, but my feelings on this are rock solid. There’s also the important issue of THE Bad Batch theme— you know how they’ve established a precedent of not using it unless the whole Batch is together? Collectively, we’re going to refuse to believe they’re going to break that now. And there’s too much love for that theme to never hear it again.

Finally, beloveds, we come to our old favorite: story analysis. You know I’m insufferable about this, but listen. If we look at screenwriting, if we look at story structure, if we look at BEATS, this is the old “DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL” for the Batch (and us obviously). It’s the ALL IS LOST. The EVERYTHING IS AWFUL AND THE HEROES ARE AT THEIR LOWEST LOW. It’s the classic “oh my god this second installment is EMOTIONAL TORTURE HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO ME” that we can point to in novels, shows, and film series again and again. It’s the ESB ending, it’s the Catching Fire ending, it’s the Rebels S2 AHSOKA IS D E A D AND ANAKIN KILLED HER ending. S3 will open as they enter Act III, where they use what they’ve learned to move upwards toward the finale of this particular story arc. Doesn’t that sound like something nice to cling to?

There now. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you all the choice of k!lling me first or tossing me alive out of a plane with no *hard swallow* parachute, jet pack, or functional grappling gun. But I truly believe you won’t have to.

In the year or two we have to wait, cry for his absence, cry for the Batch being more fractured and farther apart than they ever have been, cry for Hunter feeling like he’s failed everyone he loves, cry for all of it, but not because you’ve lost hope that all might not be lost.

Tech will be back.

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cross-my-heartt · 1 year

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Three antagonists, three distinct attitudes, all representative of what the Empire stands for as a whole

I wanted to take a moment to appreciate what a good job TBB has been doing with its antagonists so far, especially our three imperial officers here. A good antagonist is so important to a good story and I love how each of these characters has a distinct feel about them even though they’re all meant to represent the Empire’s worst qualities. (Yes, Hemlock isn’t included here. That guy's a whole new category of yikes.)

Tarkin: ruthless authoritarianism

Tarkin is the perfect representation of unfeeling single-minded power. He's willing to go however far it takes to accomplish the Empire's goals, eradicating all that stand in its way or dare to oppose it. He hated the jedi for their reluctance to go against their moral code and their unwillingness to bend to the Republic’s will and he hates the clones for much the same reason.

Tarkin believes that nothing should stand in the way of victory. He is the face of a regime that tolerates no opposition, no hesitation and no failure and shows no inhibitions when enforcing those rules.

Morals and human lives are meaningless when the interests of the Empire are at stake.

In a way that simplicity is what makes him so intimidating – his is a straightforward but absolute point of view. That’s scary as hell when it belongs to someone with so much power.

Rampart: calculating ambition

Unlike Tarkin, Rampart represents those that see power as an end rather than a means to one. He’s the rank climber. The smarmy bootlicker. The ambitious overachiever who’s willing to make concessions in the name of success.

We learn that the implementation of chain codes was his initiative. That he’s the one behind project War Mantle. We see how animated and obsequious he is when talking to Tarkin only for him to show his true (dismissive and arrogant) colors to those he considers his subordinates later.

He readily uses and manipulates those he can use for the sake of his own personal gain. This could be the renegade batch or Crosshair to whom he's open about his doubt in regards to his loyalty and that’s where he and Tarkin differ.

He’s dangerous because he is cunning and his cunning allows him to exploit the opportunities the Empire has to offer. He may or may not care for the system itself, but he certainly cares about what it can do for him, which is why he works to further its cause.

It's the kind of self interest that has little regard for morality. Rampart isn’t tolerant of anything that threatens his reputation and by extension his chances of success and he will dispose of anyone who isn’t convenient to him.

Which makes it all the more ironic that he himself was disposed of when he became inconvenient to the Empire.

Nolan: bigoted loyalty

If Rampart was the calculating opportunist, Nolan is his (even more) despicable counterpart. He’s the small insecure man who nonetheless profits from his political alignment, not because he’s competent but because he’s a good little imperial henchman and it gives him a sense of importance.

All in all, he’s the precursor to all the bumbling imperial officers we see in later star wars media, who stand not on merit but on selling themselves to a regime.

A man who cowers at a little turbulence

and has no experience under his belt and yet touts his rank and considers himself better than the clones.

He’s the typical bigot who tramples over others – resorting to derogatory labels (such as 'used equipment') and treating them as less than human – just because he can and because it gives him a power high.

If Rampart saw the clones as a resource that could be used to the very end, Nolan sees sparing medical supplies for one as a ‘waste of resources’. Which is bullshit of course. But prejudice is pretty bad at pretending it’s logical. And the show does a good job of showing us the various little pathetic excuses it tries to hide behind.

(I thought I couldn't hate this guy more and yet I somehow managed it after writing this lol.)

#tbb #the bad batch #tbb meta #admiral rampart #wilhuff tarkin #lieutenant nolan #tbb rampart #grand moff tarkin #tbb season 2 #my meta #honestly I wanna hear you guys' opinions too #I have a feeling we all hate nolan the most #tarkin and rampart are more on the scary side #nolan is just begging to be prevented from reproducing (good job Crosshair)

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niobiumao3 · 1 year

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Havoc Marauder Interior

Someone made a post about this a while ago but apparently they de-activated so it is possibly lost to the mists of time. Here is what I put together for myself as a writing reference. Image heavy, meta heavy.

Last edit: 2023/11/03

Edits: Replaced garbage text layout with actual ship overhead. Realized the two concept art images face different directions. This likely explains the magical moving jump seats. Also added discussion of a cargo hold. Added discussion of ship dimensions (specifically length). Replaced old guesstimates with numbers from Dawn of Rebellion. Added commentary about the magical seat.

I think people under- and over-estimate the Marauder's interior potential. Given its overall size and intended use (transporting about 10-15 troops plus assorted equipment and providing air support in a forward area), there's not much room left for creature comforts.

Except the Batch aren't 10-15 people, they're 5, and the shuttle is referred to as modified numerous times. This leaves plenty of room to make assumptions and freeform. So, as to what we have actual, visual evidence for from episodes and concept art, here is a rudimentary floor plan:

An important point about the two concept art images: they do NOT face the same direction. The top image faces to the aft/back of the ship, i.e. the tailgun. The second image faces to the fore/front of the ship.

Number key:

1: We know this is where the ramp and door are located from War Mantle and Metamorphsis.

2: We know about this upper storage area from Cut and Run

3: The access to the tail gun has changed visual from TCW s07e02 and various TBB episodes.

The Magically Appearing/Disappearing Seat

In Cut and Run we have this moment with Hunter and Omega, but in most other shots each of these consoles has only one seat (eg. Tech and Echo in prior frames). I think this is actually NOT a magically appearing seat. I think it's the other console seat, because I suspect they can be moved. I base this one this shot from Replacements:

That looks like a seat with a moveable base.

Obviously this is bad design for a ship which is doing barrel rolls and what-not, so I have to assume they're magnetically locked. Even if it is the same seat, in the shots right before that one above, Omega walks up and it's not in that space. So it's almost like the scene was longer and was shortened, and we missed a few frames of her or Hunter unlocking it and moving it over.

Meta Discussions

tl;dr: I think of the Marauder as a small fishing vessel or a van-conversion RV. You can put a lot into a small space if you get creative.

Bathroom I know the writers have made weird assertions there isn't one and omg they all smell gross from no hygiene but that makes zero sense. Soldiers are constantly under stress, they're getting injured, they need to stay clean when possible or they're going to get sick and die from a systemic infection in short order. Anyone who's glanced in the general direction of military history knows this. You can argue about clone expendibility all you want but the Batch minimally qualify in that regard, being Nala Se's pet project. Can you imagine losing one of them to a staph infection because there's nowhere for them to bust out some no-rinse antimicrobial soap or get their scalp clean? I'm not saying they'll be doing photoshoots in between missions (well maybe Hunter would ) but, come on. (And are you going to tell me Mr. Sensor Sensoria is cool with doing long hauls with 4 people who don't bathe? Just, no.)

But that much aside, anyone who's ever been in an RV, a commercial airliner, or a modest-sized sea vessel knows you can cram a bathroom into a tiny space. Yes, you're going to be spinning in circles doing things, but the benefits of a spot to clean up, manage waste, and tend to injuries far outweigh any other use of that area. So regardless of what the writers say, a transport without a minimal refresher (to use the SW term) is counter to the ship's designed use. It has to be able to accommodate Wrecker, of course, but in the end it can double as storage when not in use. There is zero reason to not have one. Added to this, we now officially have a length for the Marauder, which is 30.3 meters (see below). RVs which are 1/5 of that size have bathrooms. You're going to tell me the Marauder doesn't?

If nothing else, since the TCW episodes and the beginning of S1 have pointed to them going on extended deployments with long hops between stops, they're going to need one or constantly be handling waste in much less efficient and sustainable ways.

Added to all of this, it's specifically called a modified variant of an Omicron. We're probably meant to think this means 'Tech would like to fly faster than the GAR and ship engineers think is reasonable for a shuttle' but IMO it extends to changes like this as well. So, there's a refresher in there, feel free to choose a spot. Right across from the fold out racks is a good candidate because in most imagery it's just weapons storage, and there's an entire upper-deck space which you could use for that.

Galley Definitely not one of these. The Batch are eating rations any time they're not on Kamino. You can make an argument they (and all clone units) have cook kits for improvised eating in the field; in the Batch's case I suspect that's a given, as they'd just start doing it because who's going to stop them? Additionally, the sheer amount of rations you would need to carry around to feed Wrecker would be ridiculous. (Remember when Wrecker talks about never being full in S2E13? I feel like this is an indication they did and still do, in fact, have to improvise a lot of additional caloric intake. Hunter probably thought Cut and Suu's farm was a genius idea. 'Grow your own food! Wrecker will never be hungry again! Fucking incredible.' Then Tech got the ship impounded.) I think you can argue for one being added, like with the refresher. Do they actually need those weapons racks anymore? Definitely no. But, it's not on there by default.

Beds As you can see in the concept art above, there are at least 3 racks that fold out from the wall on the port side. They're at a minimum wide enough to accommodate Wrecker, they may also be long enough for him to not need to curl up (unclear because in this shot from Bounty Lost his knees are bent and he's hugging Lula):

Three is a weird number since originally there were four of them. I figure the options here are:

The pilot/copilot/second row seats all look 100% more comfortable than the racks. We actually see Tech sleeping in one, at one point, so this has actual evidence to support it.

It's war time, they're never all asleep simultaneously. Someone is always flying the ship or on watch.

The floor is in effect the same as a rack, arguably preferable as you can't fall off it in the event Something Happens while you're out. So, one of them might actually be ON the floor sometimes.

They're not really intended to sleep on the ship for extended periods, but narratively we're lead to believe they have, many times, and needed to make adjustments to it as a result. Notice how quickly Wrecker whipped up a bed for Omega? IMO, not the first time they've done something like that--they did it for themselves first.

Cargo Hold Based on that screenshot of Omega above and the below shot from Cut and Run, the 'hold' of the ship is actually a storage area overhead, running the length of the ship. In that shot above of the rack, there are a series of yellow rungs which imply you can climb up somewhere on the port side. This is probably alternate access to that same overhead storage space.

In Cut and Run we see Echo, Omega, and Tech hide in it, coming back out from a slide-open hatch:

Given Tech's height this is probably somewhere around 1.5m high.

We can be reasonably certain the hold isn't under the ship, or at least storage there is minimal, due to a couple of things:

In all instances where the hyperdrive has been pulled, it's under the ship on the belly, and takes up a reasonable amount of space. Eg., in Retrieval, here's a bunch of stuff which has been pulled from the ship:

In instances where they're working on the ship from the outside, like in Cornered, the sides and belly never have panels open which contain empty space unless the ship's hardware have been removed to reach something:

So, the cargo hold is probably that space on the top from Cut and Run. It doesn't have much room; reasonably speaking, the area with the weapons and sleeping racks was probably a cargo hold as well, they just converted it to a more general purpose area. (So IMO this is a stronger argument for putting a commercial airliner-style bathroom in place of the weapons racks, particularly once they bail on the Empire.)

Dimensions - updated 11/3/23 Dawn of Rebellion has a Bad Batch section, and indicates the Marauder is 30.3m in length, 36.65m wide (presumably with the wings extended, and 12.41m tall (this probably includes the central stabilizer).

I will edit this to update it as we get more pictures. Since the toys that I know of have no basis the show from an internal perspective I didn't include anything from them.

Image sources:

All screencaps by me. Use at will.

Marauder underlay

Bad Batch Concept Art, Marauder Interior

#havoc marauder #meta #marauder #tbb marauder #did I use shots with tech #on purpose?#yes I did #because he's not dead #>:(#the bad batch #star wars

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trapezequeen · 11 months

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Hunter Smiling in Every Episode -> War Mantle (1x14)

#sergeant hunter smiling #sergeant hunter #hunter #tbb hunter #Dee Bradley baker #the bad batch #bad batch #tbb #tbb season 1 #bad batch gif #Star Wars #Star Wars the bad batch #Star Wars gif #the marauder #war mantle #1x14 #s1e14 #clones #clone force 99

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hugmekenobi · 11 months

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The Bad Batch (14)

Chapter Fourteen: War Mantle

Gif by @kamino-coruscant

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: You joined the Batch 8 months ago and everything was going well. But then, Order 66 happened and suddenly the galaxy around you changed. Now, not only do you need to be careful given your new ‘social status’, but you also need to navigate your feelings towards a certain Sergeant.

Chapter Summary: After reluctantly accepting a request from Rex to rescue a Reg, you and the Batch find yourselves caught up in a bit of trouble and not everything ends well.

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, swearing, mild spicy thoughts, two very quick injury mentions, canon-deviation with regards to Gregor’s timeline and past, Gregor being a flirt, kinda jealous Hunter, more internal deflections (yay), angst.

Word Count: 3.8K

Rating: 18+

Author’s notes: Again, new readers please see Ch8 for consistent warnings that are not longer included with every chapter. We’re in the Endgame now folks lol. Enjoy!

Oh, fuck. Why, oh why were you like this? Could you not control yourself for five minutes? Hunter’s movement had caught your eyes earlier and now you were just staring at the way his fingers moved as he played with his vibroblade. It shouldn’t be hot, but it was, and your mind began to wander as you thought of what else those fingers…

“We’re being hailed. It’s… Rex.” Echo called out.

Thank the Force for that. You jumped up quickly, too caught up in your delusions to realise that you were sitting on your bunk, so your head collided with the one on top. “Crap!” You shouted, clutching your skull.

“You okay?” Hunter asked, holding back a smirk as he walked past you.

“Mm hmm.” You said through closed lips. You really hoped he hadn’t caught you staring at him. You dodged his stare and made your way into the cockpit with the others just as the hooded figure of Rex appeared.

“Hello, boys. Sorry to cut right to it, but I could use your help.” Rex said.

“What do you need, Captain?” Hunter asked.

“I received a distress signal from a clone trooper, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment to retrieve him.”

“You want us to recover a reg?”

“He’s an old friend, and he’s in trouble. I need you to get him out.”

“Out of what exactly?”

A device beeping in the background cause Rex to look behind in alarm. “Can’t talk right now. Sending you, his signal. I’ll be in touch.” He signed off.

“What was that about?” Wrecker asked.

Tech examined the panel in front of him. “The distress signal sent by CC-5576 is originating from Daro, a terrestrial planet in the Outer Rim with no known settlements or installations.” He turned his chair around to face the group once more.

“What’s he doing all the way out there?” Hunter asked.

“Well, does it matter?” Echo said.

“We’ve gone on missions before without much intel. But this would be stretching it.” Hunter explained.

“Rex wouldn’t ask us for help if it wasn’t urgent.” Echo replied.

“Echo’s got a point.” You and Wrecker said together.

“May I remind you that we are in the middle of a job for Cid. If we deviate, we will not be compensated. No money means no food.” Tech added.

“Oh, yeah. Tech’s got a point.” You and Wrecker both said again.

“But Rex’s friend is in trouble. That’s more important than getting paid.” Omega included.

“Well, the kid’s got a point.” You and Wrecker said in unison again.

Hunter stared at you both. “That’s not helpful.”

“Look, it’s Rex. We trust him and Echo’s right, he wouldn’t ask if he really didn’t need our help, plus I have some credits left over. Dealing with Cid wouldn’t be a problem and Omega’s also right, I’d rather help a friend than do some sketchy deal for the sake of money.” You said seriously.

Hunter looked from you to Echo who stared at him imploringly. “Fine. We’ll check things out. But…” He broke off with a sigh. “I don’t like it.”

“We are approaching Daro’s atmosphere.” Tech said as the ship came out of hyperspace. “I’ll bring us in low to avoid any possible tracking scanners.”

“We’re banking a lot on a clone we don’t even know.” Hunter said.

“Rex trusts him. And I trust Rex.” Echo said.

As the ship landed, you pulled your coverings up as the others put on their helmets before stepping outside. If it weren’t for the circumstances, you could quite easily see yourself enjoying spending time here. It was a pretty planet. The sun shone through the trees, and you were sure the mountains had some interesting paths. Tech’s voice interrupted your thoughts.

“The signal is coming from that direction.”

You walked for a short while before Tech stopped. “The beacon should be right ahead.”

Omega darted over to a fallen tree and pulled the beacon off the trunk. “Found it.” She said, handing it over to Tech.

“So, where’s this reg?” Wrecker asked.

You watched as Hunter removed his helmet and picked up a broken stick. “Hunter?”

“We’re already too late. The clone was being hunted. He was dragged. That way.” Hunter said, putting his helmet back on before breaking out into a run.

“Hang on.” Hunter paused and crouched down and weaved his hand through the dirt before looking ahead.

Again, with the hands. The added competence element to the whole display really wasn’t helping you keep calm.

“There’s something here, inside that mountain.” He continued to say as he stood up.

“I believe you are right.” Tech agreed as his scanner beeped. “My scans are being jammed.”

“You said there was nothing on this planet.” You said.

“That data appears to be inaccurate.” He replied.

“Wrecker, you and Omega wait on the ship.” Hunter ordered.

“Wait, why can’t-” Omega began to argue.

“Coming here was up for debate. This isn’t.” Hunter said firmly.

You patted her shoulder sympathetically before you, Echo, and Tech followed Hunter as he moved closer to the mountain.

“What is it?” You asked as you watched him kneel down and examine the ground again.

“A shuttle landed here.”

“What exactly is in that mountain?” Echo asked.

Hunter sighed. “Only one way to find out.”

“Oh great, I was wondering when I could fit in some extra cardio.” You mumbled as you looked up the mountain before the four of you began the long climb up.

You finally reached the top and knelt down as you looked over the edge and you were surprised by what you saw. It looked like the entire inside of the mountain and been hollowed out and in its place was now a kind of army base. “This looks like some sort of military base.” You said out loud.

“Not one that I’ve ever heard of.” Tech said.

The sound of an engine caused you all to lie flat and you angled your eyes up to see a shuttle fly overhead.

“Come on. Let’s get a closer look.” Hunter said.

You made your way down onto the metal rim of the base and went down on your stomachs once again.

“I’m clocking a couple of commandos and squads of clone troopers.” Echo said as he looked through his binoculars. “And they’ve updated their armour.”

“Let me see.” Hunter said.

Echo passed him the binoculars.

“The mountain’s natural composition makes this base well-fortified and nearly impenetrable.” Tech added.

“This is no longer just a simple extraction.” Hunter said, passing the binoculars back to Echo. “Let’s get back to the Marauder and leave word for Rex.”

You didn’t follow his lead. You stayed there with Echo while Hunter and Tech began to move away. “But what about the mission?”

“We do not know for certain if CC-5576 is even in there… or if he is still alive.” Tech said, turning back to face you.

“We’d be going in blind without any reinforcements.” Hunter added.

“Like we haven’t done that before?”

“You did that on Skako Minor when you rescued me.” Echo added. “I’d still be trapped in that place if you hadn’t. If there’s a chance that trooper’s being held against his will, we have to try and get him out.”

You hadn’t been there for that mission, but you knew all about it. You laid a hand on Echo’s shoulder as he turned back around. “Come on, Hunter. Rex, this reg, they’re counting on us. We can do this.”

Hunter sighed before tapping the side of his helmet. “Wrecker, do you copy?”

“Yeah, we here ya. Did you find the reg?”

“Not yet. But we did find an Imperial base built inside this mountain. We’re going in.”

“Wait for us!” Omega said. “We’ll help.”

“Negative. Stay on the ship. You’re our backup.” Hunter ordered. “Comms will be jammed once we’re inside so keep alert.”

“I’ll need to tap into the central database to pinpoint CC-5576’s location.” Tech said, tapping his datapad.

“There are entry points we can access in the lift shaft. That’s our way in.” You said.

You waited for the lift to come to a stop before the three of you stepped on top of it.

“Get ready to jump.” Hunter said.

The four of you successfully jumped off the lift and manage to hold on to the side of the wall, only moving into the corridor once Hunter gave the all clear.

You found a port for Echo to plug into.

“Anything?” You asked.

“This encryption’s new. This might take a while.” He responded.

You and Hunter went to one end of the corridor to keep watch while Echo and Tech worked on finding a way in. You watched as a group of troopers walked past but fortunately continued straight through one of the doors and they didn’t even look your way. With the coast being clear, you both headed back to where the other two were.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Echo said. “The muster report lists 50 clone commandos and 1000 TK troopers.”

“TK trooper?” Tech repeated. “I’m not familiar with that designation.”

“How much longer?” Hunter asked.

“Almost got it.” Echo replied. “Found him. Cellblock 25, four levels down.”

“Are you CC-5576?” Echo asked the clone in the cell.

“That depends. Who’s askin’?”

“Rex sent us.” Hunter said, turning off the cell door.

The clone chuckled. “In that case, the name’s Gregor. Now let’s move out.”

You all carefully and as quietly as you could manage made your way through the corridors to find a way out but had to stop as a there was a group of troopers standing at the end of the corridor you needed to go down.

“They’re gathered for inspection. There’s no way past ‘em.” Gregor said.

“If we can’t reach the lifts, we can’t get out of here.” Echo said.

“I can redirect them.” Tech said, running over to a port.

“Armour like that, I take it you’re CCs like me?” Gregor asked. “Although can’t say I recall there being someone who looked like you on Kamino and with eyes like that, I’d sure I’d remember.” Gregor said as he looked at you.

You let out a soft laugh. “Not the worst line I’ve heard actually.”

“CT-99s.” Hunter interrupted sharply.

“Defective clones? How’d you wind up with them?” Gregor asked you as he chuckled again.

“Long story.” You replied.

“Hmm well, it we make it out of this, you’ll have to fill me in over a drink.”

You only chuckled and rolled your eyes before you went back to monitoring the corridor.

Hunter swallowed harshly under his helmet and ignored the glances from his brothers at Gregor’s words.

“Well, if you ask me, it’s the ones who want to stay here who are really defective.” Gregor continued, turning his attention away from you to address the others.

“What was your assignment?” Echo asked.

“I was an instructor-”

The sound of an alarm blaring cut him off.

“What’s going on, Tech?” Hunter asked.

“I keyed a Code-16 to redirect their forces. I don’t know what happened.”

“Clone codes don’t work here. You just triggered a security alert.” Gregor explained.

“Oh, well that would’ve been good to know earlier.” You said, ducking as blaster fire began to head your way.

Tech let off a smoke bomb which allowed you and Hunter to move in and take care of the troopers before they could fire any more shots.

Hunter bent down and took on of the trooper’s key cards and looked at Gregor. “Is there another way off this base?”

“Only one way out. Up.” He said as he grabbed a blaster.

“Look at this.” Tech said as he lifted the helmet off one of the troopers. “These are not clone troopers.”

You looked down and saw that Tech was right. This man was just a regular guy.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. These are our replacements. If you can believe that.” Gregor said before leading the way to the way out.

These guys were truly terrible. They could barely shoot straight, you thought to yourself as you all ran down the corridor, knocking each one out, whether that was stun blasts from the others or you just using your own strength.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Tech asked.

“Hey, I’m the one who escaped here before.” Gregor said indignantly.

“And you were captured.” You and Tech said at the same time.

“After I made it out.” Gregor said defensively, stunning a trooper that appeared in front of him before stopping in front of the lift entrance.

“I thought you said you trained these guys?” Hunter said.

“I didn’t teach them everything. That wouldn’t be very smart, would it?” Gregor replied. As the lift doors opened, he and Hunter stunned the two that were already in there before dragging their bodies out into the corridor.

You all boarded the lift.

“We need an authorisation code.” Tech said as he studied the screen.

“Got it.” Hunter said, throwing Tech key he stole from one of the troopers.

You allowed yourself to take a few deep breaths as the lift began to move up. It hadn’t been the smoothest of missions, but it never really was with you guys and at least it looked like you were on your way out now.

“These new troopers, what do you mean they’re our replacements?” Echo asked after a few moments of silence.

“Well, we clones are soldiers of a Republic that doesn’t exist.” Gregor stated. “These recruits come from all over the galaxy. They swear loyalty to the Empire. They’re not as skilled, but there’s an endless supply of ‘em.”

That to you sounded a lot like the logic applied to the droid armies you’d faced during the war. But then one Jedi counted for nearly 100 droids. “Numbers aren’t everything.” You said but just as you said that, the doors opened and you were faced with a group of soldiers.

You and Hunter kicked them back before darting to the side as they fired at you. Gregor shut the door and sent the life back down. So much for getting out, you thought to yourself.

“You were saying?” Tech said.

“We’ll, uh, take a detour.” Gregor replied.

You took cover behind one of the pillars as more blaster shots were fired at you all.

“Hunter!”

Hunter turned and caught the smoke bomb Tech had chucked at him and he threw it in the direction of the advancing troopers but that only gave you a couple seconds head start as you fell back.

Just as you turned the corner, a trooper jumped in front of Gregor and shot him twice in his shoulder.

With Gregor down, the trooper turned to Tech who was able to duck under the first shot, but he couldn’t avoid the trooper’s fist and elbow. When you saw that Echo and Hunter’s stun blasts weren’t doing much to dissuade the soldier, you made up your mind. Fuck it. You called on the Force and sent him crashing into one of the pillars and he fell to the ground unconscious.

“What the-?” Gregor winced out.

“It’s part of the long story.” You said quickly, ducking as more shots were fired in your direction. You helped Tech to his feet before you all began to head back the way you came. You darted into a control room where Tech shut the door behind you and shot the lock, buying you all a little bit of time.

“How bad?” Hunter asked Gregor.

“Ha! Don’t worry about me. This is nothing. I got blown up once and survived. I can survive this.” He said with a small groan.

“Sorry?” You said, eyes wide.

“Long story.” Gregor repeated your words back to you. “Though I’m sure yours is far more interesting. Thought you all were wiped out?”

“If we find a way out of here, you two can talk all you want. Echo, how’s is looking?” Hunter said, not doing a very good job of hiding his irritation.

“Better make that two drinks when we get outta here. I wouldn’t want to constrict us to just one, who knows what crucial details I could miss out on.” Gregor muttered with a strained but flirtatious grin.

You huffed out a laugh. “Relentless, aren’t you?” You said with a roll of your eyes.

“Only when I see a lady worth the time.”

“Echo.” Hunter repeated sharply as he tore his helmeted gaze away from you two with his hands curled into tight fists.

The shift in his demeanour and tone weren’t lost on you but were sure it was just because of the situation you were all in. It couldn’t be anything to do with Gregor’s mildly flirtatious mannerisms.

Echo stopped glancing between you, Hunter and Gregor and turned his attention back to the terminal port. “They have all the access points to the central ring blocked off.”

“There.” Tech pointed up to a grate in the ceiling. “Those pipes are reactor conduits.”

“And?” Hunter said as he loosened his stance and focused on what Tech was saying.

“Well, they should lead to the main reactor’s external exhaust port. That is our path to the outside.”

“The exhaust vent’s halfway up the mountain. We can’t survive that jump.” Gregor pointed out.

“No, but we would be able to signal our ship.” You explained, waving your hand and the grate came crashing down.

Once you were all successfully up, you began to walk to the end of the exhaust vent. You helped Echo support Gregor.

“How did you even end up in this place?” You asked.

“I was sent here with the other commandos…” He let out a pained cough. “And quickly realised I wanted out.” Gregor answered. “It turns out the Empire doesn’t take too kindly to desertion.” He added with a light chuckle.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Echo replied.

Okay, Wrecker and Omega were on their way. You all could still make it out of this. You took a couple steps back as you looked over the edge of the vent. It was a long way down.

“Ooh.” Gregor chuckled as he peered down. “Glad we’re not going that way.”

“We are on approach.” Omega’s voice came through the comm.

You looked to the left and saw welcomed the sight of the Marauder heading your way. “We see you.” You confirmed but then you felt a chill down your spine. “Move!” You shouted just as blaster fire came in your direction.

You all moved to the side, Echo and Hunter stunning the troopers as they came down the passage.

As the ship approached, Tech and Gregor went on it first but before the rest of you could make a move, enemy fighters appeared meaning that the ship had to fall back.

You pushed Echo out the way as a clone commando came charging at him. You pushed his blaster to the side so his shot went wide and landed a knee to his ribs which sent him back into Echo. His attempt to break free of Echo’s hold resulted in him being pushed into the line of fire which sent him off the edge.

“Cover me!” You said to both of them before darting out into the line of fire. You dodged the blaster fire that was shot at you and used your vibroblade to debilitate the troopers as they came through. You weren’t dishing out fatal blows, but you did just enough so that they couldn’t continue to attack you all. Hunter and Echo took care of the ones you either couldn’t get to or posed a threat to you.

“We’re coming back around. Be ready!” Tech’s voice came through on the comm channel.

You glanced over your shoulder as the ship came back into view.

“Go!” Hunter yelled to you as Echo successfully made it aboard.

If it weren’t such a stressful and chaotic situation, you would’ve insisted that he go before you did but you knew there wasn’t time for that. You took your vibroblade out the trooper’s shoulder and ran towards the ship. You landed on the stairs and turned around quickly to make sure Hunter made it on safely.

Then it all went horribly wrong. More fighters appeared which meant Tech had to move the ship away from the ledge and after that it was like everything moved in slow motion. You saw Hunter jump down.

You saw him stumble on the steps.

You saw yourself lunge forward and reach your hand out.

You saw his fingertips graze yours.

You saw the blaster bolt that skimmed the top of your hand, causing you to instinctively draw your hand back.

Then you saw Hunter fall. “Hunter!” You cried out before you felt Echo pull you into the ship. You dashed into the cockpit.

“Multiple system failures. We cannot take many more hits!” Tech shouted as he worked on evading the fighters.

Hunter slowly pushed himself up and he first saw the battalion of troopers that started to surround him. Then he saw the trouble the ship was in. There was no way for to reach him and get out in one piece. “Get the ship out of here.” He said into his comm.

“Absolutely not.” You snapped back as you stood behind Tech’s chair.

“I’ll find another way back.”

“Now who’s doing the self-sacrifice talk.”

“The odds of escape are not in your favour.” Tech concurred.

“Go, Tech! That’s an order!” Hunter said.

You watched as Tech glanced at Echo, then he looked at you before he put his hand on the control that would speed the Marauder up. “I could stop him.” You said quietly just as the ship took another hit.

“You could, but you won’t. You know you need to get out of here.” Hunter said.

As much as you wanted to disagree, you just couldn’t, and it broke your heart. You let out an angry shout and turned away from the cockpit as Tech powered up the ship and began to head out of the planet’s atmosphere.

“Dammit!” You exclaimed, pounding your fist into the wall, the added emotion meant that the metal buckled. Omega’s shouts weren’t helping your mood either, so you walked over to the tail gun where she was tugging on Wrecker’s shoulder.

“No! Turn around! We have to go back for him! Hunter, tell them to come back! Order them to come back!” She resisted your grip as you pulled her away from Wrecker.

“Sorry, kid. I can’t do that.” Hunter replied as he signed off and surrendered to the soldiers in front of him.

“We have to get him back.” Omega said into your neck as you sat down in one of the chairs in the middle of the ship.

“I know. We will.” You said quietly, hoping you were doing enough to conceal your own grief, as the ship went into hyperspace.

“I figured you’d show up.” Hunter said as he looked at the man standing behind the prison ray shield.

Crosshair took off his helmet as he took down the shield. “I was hoping for the whole squad, but you’ll do.”

Next Chapter>

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