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crosshairlovebot · 5 months

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in the dreaming comes the warmth / the domino twins

characters: echo & fives (NOT CLONEC*ST)

description: the ache of missing fives leaves a hole in echo's chest that only his brother's warmth can fill.

warnings: angst. loss. grief. mourning. echo is still grieving despite being part of clone force 99. it's not mentioned, but i imagine this particular moment of pain is triggered by crosshair's chip activation and leaving him behind on kamino.

this was a request from a lovely twitter mutual who wanted a hug between echo and fives <3 i haven't written for echo before so i hope i did him justice. also posted this on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated <3

Echo knew he was dreaming when he recognised the bright white hallways of Tipoca City, which in the waking world sat submerged in the Kaminoan oceans to fade into rust forever. The hallways were as familiar to him as the curves of his face, memorised and so burned into his memory it was no real shock that he could navigate them as he did now in his sleep.

Echo walked through the corridors, passing what he knew were squads of his fellow troopers with faces identical to his, except his dreaming made them blurry, not fully formed. He passed the gangly Kaminoan’s, their large eyes prominent in the haze of their figures, which seemed to blend with the clinical white of the walls. He didn’t exactly know where he was walking until his feet took him to the junior cadet barracks, the ones he and his brothers shared in their brief childhood.

It was surreal seeing it now, as he walked in, the shapes of the beds and the curves of the walls more defined than the hallways, more distinct in his mind. He took it all in, breathing in the scentless air. The last time he was here, he didn’t even have his name yet – none of them did.

The beds were so much smaller than he remembered. He smiled and sat down on one. He ran a hand he shouldn’t have over the cloth blanket, its fibers feeling as familiar as his own skin. An ache formed in his chest for all he had lost.

The door whooshed open, and his head shot in the direction of the noise. It was then he saw himself run in and climb onto the nearest bed, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms.

Echo blinked in surprise.

His child self was curled into a ball, as tight as he could manage, and Echo could only see the curly dark hair of his head. He remembered he used to do that when he got overwhelmed, but he couldn’t remember when he stopped. He watched his child self grip onto the sleeves of his standard issue cadet uniform tightly, the knuckles on his little hands white.

His child self didn’t see him and made no moves to show that he knew Echo was there at all. It was strange to see himself like this. To see a snapshot of the person he was for a short amount of time.

Echo slowly stood up, the urge to know what it was that made his child self cry when the door opened again, and his breath got caught in his throat and his eyes stung when he saw who it was that stepped in the door.

This was not just a dream, but a memory.

Fives’s tiny face was the same as his had been, except his brother’s seemed to be perpetually twisted into a smirk, and if it wasn’t, it itched at the corners of his mouth, ready to bloom at a moment’s notice. But his face now held no impishness, instead, his small brows were furrowed as his gaze landed on his brother’s curled-up body on the bed.

“Hey, 21-0408, why the long face?”

Echo had to sit down and cover his mouth with a hand to stop the sob that dared to escape his throat. His brother’s voice, albeit that of his child self, felt so incredibly comforting. He thought he’d never hear it again, even if it was that little boy’s voice that all clones had as young cadets. To Echo, it just sounded like him; like Fives; like it did in his fuzzy memories.

His childhood had been a fleeting blur of training programs and accelerated growth, so he didn’t remember much of it. But he didn’t forget moments like this, where his brother’s love had engulfed him.

Echo watched his child self slowly peek his eyes out from his arms at his older brother.

“Go away,” Little Echo mumbled.

“Come on, 21-0408,” Little Fives said and climbed up onto the bed next to him, trying to pry open his arms. “What’s wrong?”

Little Echo ripped his arm away and wiped his tear-stained face and nose with his sleeve. Echo grimaced as he saw the dark line that now appeared on the red fabric. He forgot kids could be gross sometimes, even himself.

“I said, go away, 27-5555,” Little Echo grumbled. “I want to be alone.”

Little Echo had no idea just how much time he would spend alone.

“Why?” Of course, Fives never let up about anything, even as a child.

Little Echo scowled at his shoes on the bed. “I…I keep messing up…”

“This module is hard, vod’ika,” Little Fives placed a hand on Little Echo’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Fives was barely older than Echo, but his older brother never let him forget it. With the Mando’a nickname ‘little brother’ sticking to Echo for practically as long as he’d known Fives. He pretended to hate it, and he’d give anything to hear it again. So, hearing it now, Echo’s heart seized. He wanted to grab his younger self by the shoulders and tell him to treasure the nickname; to never roll his eyes and pretend to hate it; to call Fives ori’vod in return because he knew he’d get a kick out of it.

“But everyone’s good at this module except me…” Little Echo voiced quietly, not entirely convinced.

Echo tried to wrack his brain for what module his younger self was talking about, but his dreaming made it too hazy to pinpoint; like if his subconscious ventured too far away from the scene in front of him it would fizzle away, and his dream would move onto something else. And he wanted to stay in this for as long as he could.

“You’ll get it eventually; it just takes practice,” Little Fives reassured.

“I’m going to fail…and never be a soldier…” his younger self sniffled. Echo saw his eyes gloss over again with unshed tears.

“Don’t talk like that,” Little Fives chastised, punching him lightly in the shoulder, a furious look on his face. “You’ll be fine. I’ll help you.”

Little Echo’s face lit up with hope. “You will?”

Little Fives nodded. “That’s what brothers do. We look out for each other; have each other’s backs.”

Echo watched his younger self sniffle as he looked at his older brother, who gave him a reassuring smile.

“Promise?” he said.

“Promise,” Little Fives said with so much conviction, that it made Echo’s heart squeeze again. He was always so sure of everything, never faltering – not even for a second. Once Fives believed in something, he didn’t waver. Ever.

Little Echo smiled, and wrapped his arms around his brother, who hugged him tightly. Echo watched them embrace, anchoring themselves to each other. He didn’t realise he was crying until he felt a tear fall on his hands in his lap. He reached up to wipe them away, scoffing lightly at himself.

“Hey, Echo, why the long face?”

Echo’s heart seemed to expand and stop as he turned around, seeing Fives standing there behind him several metres away. He turned back to where their younger selves sat on the bed and saw they had vanished, that the room had melted away into a long bright endless plane.

“Fives?” Echo wiped his face again and he saw Fives grin at him, before walking over. Echo blinked around the tears to take the sight of him. His figure was much clearer than anything else he’d seen so far in his dreams. Fives was adorned in his ARC trooper armour; helmet tucked under his arm with a proud smile stretched across his face. He willed his subconscious to stay in this moment, that it would be cruel to rip him from it with no warning. He needed time with him.

“Don’t look so happy to see me,” Fives joked when he came closer, his mouth quirked in that smirk that was so incredibly familiar seeing it felt like coming home.

Echo laughed tearfully. “Your ugly face is just so scary, I can’t help but cry.”

Fives threw his head back in a loud guffaw before punching Echo lightly on the arm. “It’s good to see you, vod’ika.”

Echo’s heart filled with so much warmth at the affection. “Good to see you too, Fives.”

Fives smiled at him before Echo asked, “What are you doing here?”

Fives didn’t respond, he just looked at Echo thoughtfully. Echo cleared his throat and shook his head. “When they found me on Skako Minor and you weren’t with them…”

He felt Fives’s heavy hand land on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I know. But I’m here now.”

Echo felt his lip tremble and he willed himself to take a breath. “I missed so much time with you.”

Fives shook his head. “Don’t think about that.”

“How can I not? I missed everything. I missed…”

“I wouldn’t have wanted you to see that anyway.”

He didn’t need to say the words for Echo to know what he was referring to.

“I…I would’ve believed you.”

“Then you would be dead too.”

Clones were conditioned not to linger on the losses of their fellow brothers. It was the nature of what they were bred for. Born knowing they would die. They were taught to take a moment to mourn, then to keep going. There was no time to let the grief linger in war.

But this was much harder than Echo had been conditioned to think.

Echo’s grief for losing Fives was too complicated for that. Echo lost Fives after the fact. He was mourning him outside of the mourning period, outside of the war. And it was something he didn’t know how to handle. The grief could sit for longer, dawdle almost now that there wasn’t another mission to focus on instead. And it was painful. A never-ending agony that oscillated between a dull ache to suffocating sharpness in the hole of his chest.

Fives had been a constant in his life, from cadets to losing their squad on Rishi Moon, to joining Rex in the 501st, all the way until the fateful night of the Citadel rescue. Fives had been there for all of it. Even thereafter, in the brief lucid moments in cryostasis on Skako, his thoughts would drift to his ori’vod. So, to be released into that mourning, to realise he was free, but without his beloved brother by his side was lonelier than stasis had been.

And hearing how exactly Fives met his end had not made it any easier. It was the unfairest of deaths, and that knowledge almost hurt more. That he wasn’t there. How if he had been, it may have gone differently.

There were so many moments where Echo would think of something he wanted to tell Fives, only to realise a moment later that he couldn’t. It was a cycle of remembering he was gone. Those milliseconds of bliss, before he remembered, were bookended by the searing hurt. And there was no one to share that hurt with.

Rex was elusive in his hiding and had gone through his mourning period. And though Clone Force 99 had provided him with a home, a comradery, that he was grateful for, they had not lost anyone the way Echo had lost Fives. They didn’t fully understand.

Echo just wanted the one person who understood him, who knew him inside and out.

In other, much less complicated words, Echo missed Fives so, so much.

And at those lowest moments when he missed him; when the aching felt never-ending and moving forward felt futile, Echo imagined what it would’ve been like had they both found their ends together. How much easier it would’ve been on his heart, to know that his brother was with him even in death. That if there was an afterlife, it would be spent together. That their hearts had stopped at the same time, one not forced to go on without the other helping keep it in rhythm.

The galaxy had not been so kind to grant him that.

“I…I know,” Echo replied quietly, his throat thick.

He watched Fives’ face study him for a moment before his brow settled into a crease, and his hand tightened on Echo’s shoulder. “Echo…don’t be sad.”

Echo looked at him with disbelief. He could see all the texture in his face and feel the puff of breath against his nose. It was as if he wasn’t dreaming at all. “How…how can I not be sad? You’re not here.”

“No, but you are. You have a second chance, Echo. A second chance to live.”

Echo shook his head. “You should be here too.”

“Maybe. But my path was different to yours. You finally get a chance to choose what you do with your life. Nobody else; you, vod’ika. That freedom I was fighting for? You have it now. You have for both of us. Do something good with it. Something we’d both be proud of.”

Echo looked at his brother searching his face for something he couldn’t name. Maybe he wasn’t searching at all, but memorising. Memorising the look Fives was giving him now; the pride, the unwavering belief he had in him. He hadn’t seen it in such a long time. No one had expected anything of him in just as long.

“Promise me you will, Echo.”

He didn’t even need to think about it. “I promise.”

Echo could feel the waking world calling him, so before Fives faded away, he wrapped his arms around his brother. Fives dropped his helmet and didn’t hesitate to embrace Echo back. Arms tightly holding each other, hearts pressed together and beating in time. Echo could feel Fives’s solid chest and his warmth as if he were awake. Everything felt right in the brief, brief moment. That anchor had returned. That pain in his heart had dulled in his dreaming and been replaced with the warmth of his brother he’d been wishing for. He gripped the edges of his brother’s armour, afraid to let go, to leave this moment. But knew he had to. He’d made a promise.

“I love you, Fives,” he choked out.

He felt Fives’s palm run over his hair as he spoke against his ear. “I know. I love you too. Remember, I’m looking out for you.”

Echo jolted awake. His chest heaved as he tried to remember where he was, and his body ached like it just run a marathon. Across the small corridor, Wrecker slept, soft snores sounding. The nightlight in Omega’s space glowed softly through the curtains, and Hunter had fallen asleep on the floor, his back leaning on the wall next to the ladder, no doubt guarding their sister’s bad dreams. He could hear Tech tinkering away in the cockpit, on watch as they flew through hyperspace. Where was Crosshair?

Oh. Right.

Echo ran a hand over his face and turned towards the wall, his eyes stinging with tears. He curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his middle, ignoring the bulk of his scomp. He tried to preserve the warmth he felt from his dreams which threatened to evaporate in the chill of hyperspace. He pressed his eyes shut, willing himself to go back into that dream, to return to Fives and get one last look at him, but it was no use. He was here. And Fives was there, or somewhere.

It could’ve been a few minutes or an hour when he heard a voice. “Echo?”

He turned to see Tech looking down at him in his bunk, adjusting his goggles. “What is it, Tech?”

“I’m afraid it’s your turn on watch.”

“Great. Thanks,” Echo grumbled.

He tried to inconspicuously wipe his eyes as he swung his metal legs out of the bunk and stood up, stretching his neck. He watched Tech remove his goggles and rub his eyes and sat down on the edge of Echo’s bunk. They had limited space, and Echo didn’t mind sharing.

“Sweet dreams,” Echo told him as Tech lay down, falling asleep almost immediately, as he tended to do.

Echo walked to the cockpit and shut the door so the light from their travels wouldn’t disturb the others. He sat in the pilot’s seat and sighed, putting his head in his hand, no hair on his head to clasp as he tried to recentre himself. He took in some steady breaths, focusing on a screw in the floor panelling. He did everything he could to quell the turning of his stomach and the throbbing in his chest. Just as quickly as it had filled in his dream, the waking world had returned that giant hole in his chest, seemingly aware that something had filled it again briefly, and now it felt the absence more.

When would this feeling of emptiness end?

The Marauder shifted in its hyperspace travels, tilting off course slightly, triggering some alarms. Echo immediately sprang into action, and his hand and scomp grabbed the controls to steady the ship. With a frown, he checked the stabilisers and saw they needed recalibrating. Didn’t Tech just deal with this after they’d left Ordo Moon mere hours ago? He tried and failed not to get annoyed – he just needed to fix this, and quickly so they didn’t veer off course and fall into a star. He sighed, knowing they’d have to come out of hyperspace for these repairs. Maybe the ship had been more damaged than he thought.

Echo slowly pulled back the hyperdrive lever and the ship came to a halt in open space. He hoped no one woke up with the disturbance and that this wouldn’t take long. They didn’t have time to waste. He placed the Marauder in idle whilst he scomped in and started recalibrating. It was a lot easier now that Tech had upgraded his cerebral interface, so there was less strain on him. He was able to scomp in and load up the commands without much effort. As the commands processed through the system, he watched the stabilisers respond and recalibrate in his mind’s eye.

It was then he felt a shiver run up his spine.

A monitor beeped, interrupting his realignment, and Echo looked at a screen searching for the alert among the pop-ups when he noticed the time.

05:55. Echo’s breath hitched.

He heard the door behind him slide open but didn’t look away from the monitor. He couldn’t.

“Everything okay in here? I felt something,” Hunter’s voice thick with sleep asked.

Echo kept his gaze on the numerals, and he allowed himself to smile, that warmth he’d been longing for slowly filling the hole in his chest.

“It will be,” he told Hunter.

Fives was keeping his promise, so Echo would too.

banner art by @vimse thank you for reading! <3

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#larissa writes #the bad batch fic #echo fic #echo bad batch fic #domino twins fic #fives fic #the bad batch angst #clone trooper fic #clone trooper angst #501st fic #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #tbb echo fic #gen fic #what even are the tags for a gen fic on here

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supremechancellorrex · 1 year

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I hear a lot of anti-Jedi and pro-Jedi going back and forth on this platform, but I wonder if we're only dealing in absolutes. That's it, everyone on tumblr is a Sith. Confirmed.

But, seriously (I was serious), are the Jedi good? Are they evil? Are they somewhere inbetween? And what is the system they support? Are they being their 'best selves' by the twilight years of the Republic? Am I a jerk? Are they jerks? Are you a jerk? Well... let's look at both sides and canon as it is, and see where it goes.

Should we ignore the problems and implications?

Dogma: "No! We have orders! We have to go through with this!"

First things first, let's start with negativity, because that's life possibly. There are a number of criticisms which are levelled against the Jedi in the canon. The Star Wars writers didn't always just put scenes and lines in for fun.

Slick: "It's the Jedi who keep my brothers enslaved. We serve at your whim. We do your bidding. I just wanted something more."

The Jedi are accused of slavery in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was created by George Lucas as Executive Producer, along with Dave Filoni and a whole host of writers working in collaboration. When Slick accuses the Jedi of being his and other clones' slave masters, it is never refuted by any of the characters, even Obi-Wan and Anakin who he is speaking to. It's never refused by the narrative at all.

Canonically, the Jedi as citizens and being military generals act as the clones superiors and also masters by proxy in the command chain. Slick's accusation is that the Jedi "keep [his] brothers" enslaved, not that they even necessarily enslaved them in the first place. He is indicating that the Jedi have power and agency, which they do as natborn citizens, but they don't direct it for justice and meaningful change in regards to clone rights.

Satine Kryze: "I remember a time when Jedi were not Generals, but peacekeepers."

Now, people have argued that the Jedi do help the clones and they are "in charge of [the clones] care", as Master Shaak Ti says during a continuing arguement where her and Nala Se debated on who Tup, Fives and clones in general belonged to as "property". The Jedi could think themselves better caretakers of the clones troopers than natborn officers like Tarkin, although this verges on character speculation. Canonically, we do see evidence of care, such as Shaak Ti advocating for Domino Squad and calling them "living beings" that didn't deserve to be "cast aside", Mace and Plo Koon and other Jedi do show concern for their men's lives.

But, arguably it doesn't account for much when the Jedi are still working in the framework and structures of slavery instead of protesting it. Being kind to clones doesn't mean much when you prop up the meat-grinder of a system that uses them as cannon fodder.

This is exemplified in the show itself.

Ahsoka: "It's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders, to keep them honest, and hold them accountable if they're not.”

Unjust actors and systems are to be challenged. The Jedi being nice isn't an absolution for their participation in this system, just as a slave master or a deputy slave master being nice in any context doesn't change the fact that they are still in command of slaves getting thrown into the meat grinder every day. If you support an unjust system, you bear responsibility.

And, moreover, despite moments of compassion from Jedi, for people who value life, the Jedi as an organisation still show a concerning ease with clone death as the war progresses. The Citadel Arc is a great example of this. As Clone Trooper Charger falls to his death and collides with a shock mine, Obi-Wan sasses "Well, they know we're here now" as the other clones still are reaching out in horror. Every time a clone dies on that mission, they leave them behind, even Echo (who turns out to still be alive and is captured by the enemy and tortured). However, despite the urgency of the mission, when Jedi Master Even Piell dies, the Jedi pause the mission to give him a funeral and burial even though the enemy is closing in. If there was ever a message that the Jedi value their slave soldiers' lives less, this is it.

Further evidence includes the fact that Jedi Master Pong Krell's casualty numbers were well-known in the military, to point Torrent Company were openly debating them, and yet no other Jedi General had felt the need to propose a military investigation. Additionally, when the Jedi were fed the cover story the inhibitor chips in their men's brain were just designed to make them less aggressive and more docile, there is no evidence they protested this mental violation. Another neglect in a series of many. Taking this into regard, I think the unfortunate implications are clear.

Perhaps the Jedi should find better use for their mind tricks and lightsabers than cutting up droids and planetary militias all while propping up an unjust regime?

Master enablers

Jedi Master Dooku: "The Jedi blindly serve a corrupt Senate that fails the Republic it represents."

Canonically, the Jedi are deeply flawed as an organisation. They are politically centrist in a way that does not benefit either themselves or the Republic in end, shown to be enablers that uphold the system and law as it is, regardless of how unjust.

How can the Jedi have the high ground when they appease a Senate that supports slavery regardless of how the writers try to downplay it? How can they be morally righteous when they bow down, without much resistance if at all, to such system that uses slave soldiers? Clones die under Jedi command, they work in the Jedi Temple as both soldiers and technicians. The Jedi claim they just can't get involved in changing the system because it's beyond their mandate when what's on their doorstep, what's in their temple, is slavery, slavery that they even benefit from arguably to even maintain their transports and technical systems.

For any person or group in any system, there's a breaking point where things have gone too far, but how much one tolerates up until that point says a lot about their moral character. The Jedi were drafted by the Chancellor (Oh you) and perhaps they thought being 'kind' to the clones when they interacted with them was enough, but it wasn't. And while the Jedi continue to believe in the Republic far beyond acceptable, victims mount.

During the Wrong Jedi Arc, the Jedi Order also show themselves in bad light. It would have been one thing to believe Ahsoka was guilty and leave it at that, yet they practically threw Ahsoka under the bus for politics in reality. Mace kept talking about the politics, essentially showing Jedi PR was a more important factor than Ahsoka's life.

Mace Windu: "I understand your sentiment, Obi-Wan. But, if the council does as you suggest. It could be seen as an act of opposition to the Senate. I'm afraid we have little choice."

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan advocated for Ahsoka briefly, expressing doubts at her guilt, but at best casts a vote in her favour when he knows it won't be enough. Give it to Anakin in this instance, at least he did an actual private investigate to prevent a wrongful conviction instead of sitting back. Like Asajj Ventress said when confronted by Anakin, the Order abandoned Ahsoka and appease a Senate that supports authoritarian policies, kangaroo court trials and a slave army. What a state to die for.

Ahsoka: “This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi. I had, too, until I was reminded of what the Order means to people who truly need us.”

How can the Jedi believe in the Republic to the point they were surprised when they got inevitably screwed over? Again, the narrative supports the idea the Jedi have lost their way and become enforcers for the Senate, however fascist and dangerous it has clearly become. You kind of have to have in order to become key leaders of a slave army when you were peacekeepers beforehand. The Republic is failing, but so are the Jedi. They fight the war with the tools they are given, from their lightsabers to their slave soldiers, with no solution or appropriate concern for the legislative catastrophe happening at the heart of the Republic until they realise Palpatine's been in a little long with his executive powers. They enforce laws, unjust systems and follow orders.

Fives: "I'm sorry. I cannot just follow orders when I know they're wrong. Especially when lives are at stake."

Captain Rex: "You will if you support the system we fight for."

Fives: "I do support it. I do! But I am not just another number! None of us are!"

TCW shows us that following rules and regulations when they're immoral is the wrong course of action, yet no matter the signs and warning, the Jedi continue to play into Palpatine's hands with their misguided patriotism as the Republic becomes increasing draconian and despotic. The most problematic factor about the Jedi is that they don't acknowledge the problems and the fact the clones' situation is unacceptable on every ground. They don't acknowledge the clones' situation, they don't acknowledge the Republic is bad or try to think of solutions to that even if they don't work. The situation is complicated, but the Jedi went along with bad options when they should have known what the Republic was by this point. How can the Jedi enforce justice when they enforce the corruption of it?

The Jedi continue to believe in the Republic and their part in he hierarchy when it seems more akin to a hostage situation with slaves in the balance. If they're blind, they're fools. If they knew, they're knowing enablers.

A tight spot

Obi-Wan Kenobi: "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic... before the dark times... before the empire."

Now, the flaws in the Jedi are clear, but it's all well and good to critique them. What could the Jedi have done effectively instead? If the Jedi were more keyed in on the Republic's unsalvageable system and decided to be proactive in regards to it, what could they do realistically? Aside from the emotional weight of getting people to abandon their home and a multi-generation relationship the stretches back centuries and centuries, the logistics of getting 10,000 people to desert and transporting them without the Republic and GAR noticing and stepping in feels unrealistic. Not only this, but they'd be ditching the clones to slavery yet again, as it's not like the Jedi can all desert and take the clones with them like they're plushie toys. Each clone is a different individual and deprogramming child soldiers is difficult.

People like Dogma, Neyo and Bacara wouldn't canonically desert without the right circumstances, Captain Rex wouldn't just desert with Anakin, nor could Obi-Wan sashay Commander Cody and his troops away like some of the fandom thinks. A lot of clones were indoctrinated to be loyal to the Republic from a young age. If the Jedi had just flat out tried desert, Order 66 would have likely happened earlier and Palpatine would have easily painted the Jedi as traitors.

Of course, there are the inhibitor chips as also a factor, but we can only judge the moral character of the Jedi based on the knowledge they did have and what they chose to do with it.

Barriss Offee: "An army fighting for the dark side. Fallen from the light we hold so dear. This Republic is failing. It's only a matter of time."

However, this is no excuse for the Jedi Order choosing the worst option out of a bad bunch. The Jedi crossed the moral precipice. They crossed it ever since AOTC when they decided that indoctrinated, slave soldier of dubious origin were just what they needed to throw into the desert meatgrinder that is Geonosis as the war started. There reasons make sense in their way, there's millions of units of droid army marching their way and the Republic and Senate have only a ten-thousand strong Jedi and the Judicial Forces. At the same time, the reasons for that humanitarian crisis aren't justifications. 'Cool motive. Still slavery' applies here.

Ethically, Yoda and Mace shouldn't have just gone along with the draft without any counter-strategy, especially if they cared about the clones as human beings and a people. They could have pretended cooperation and done discreet resistance at least. Of course, the Jedi even if they resisted weren't probably gonna have a happy ending, as generations under Republic thumb had neutered them and taken their passion and power, but they would have taken the moral and right action.

Instead, the Jedi remain the face of the war effort, using a Trojan Horse slave army just given to them with no real protest. If the Star Wars had truly wanted the Jedi to be wholly good, they'd have had them be more begrudging, cynical and weary at being pressured and coerced by the state. There'd be growing Anti-Republic sentiment, which would have been a start. Rebellion, dissent and mutiny would have been even more valuable and expected. Instead, the Jedi Order are loyal to the regime until the very last moments of the war.

In Conclusion

In the twilight years of the Republic, Palpatine really used every weakness of the Jedi against them. As an organisation, the Jedi really can't save themselves. Individuals can, as shown by Ahsoka leaving, but the Republic destroyed the Jedi, it took their soul, it bureaucratised and militarised their culture, and the Jedi just slid down that slope. That's part of why the people felt abandoned by the Jedi, as the Jedi were too melded to the system both functionally and idealistically, trapped in the snake, them and what they stood for slowly digested as they safeguarded and enforced unjust status quos. Even when Dooku was young, as The Tales of the Jedi said, they were already damned. Ahsoka left, every Jedi should have at that point. The Republic definitely would fight an en masse desertion, but it'd have been the right thing to do.

Some Jedi realised and left, others were too committed the belief of a Jedi Order that had become a shadow of what it was. The Jedi are a warning of what happens when governments, hierarchies and religion connect and influence each other for centuries. At the same time, adult Jedi were responsible for their actions, and each could have done more for the clones than they did.

Fives: "We must be trusted to make the right decision, especially when the orders we are given are wrong!"

#star wars #the jedi order #jedi #anti jedi #pro jedi #i try ok #individuals are lovely #the clones #clone troopers #clone rights #the clones deserve better #star wars tcw #the clone wars #arc trooper fives #ahsoka tano #barriss offee

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celestial-specter · 2 months

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So I finally got around to watching the first three episodes of the final season, and I’ve got to say, I’m very intrigued by the addition of the three clone cadets! Most of my interest comes from their names- and since I haven’t seen anyone else discuss them yet, I thought I’d throw my own thoughts out there.

As we have seen in many star wars projects over the years, character names seem to be overwhelming literal, either revealing elements of their background, or foreshadowing their future (think how in Rebels, Kanan means ‘little wolf’, while his true name, Caleb, means ‘dog’, foreshadowing his link to the Loth wolves.)

Of course, we know that the clones either name themselves or have the name bestowed on them by their brothers (think of Echo getting his name). The trio of clones that we meet in Paths Unknown are named Deke, Stak, and Mox. There hasn’t been much information released regarding at what age clones typically receive their names, however in the Clone Wars episode Clone Cadets, we see Cutup take his name from a trainer who criticizes him for his attitude. As that episode focuses on Domino squad’s final training simulation before graduation, and that they all appear to be fully grown adult clones, it can be assumed that they are all around ten years old, the same age of most clones sent to war. Given that we see Cutup choose his name during this episode, and that Echo is struggling with his nickname and remembering Fives’ name, it suggests that Domino squad had only recently begun thinking about what name they would choose for themselves.

While we haven’t been given a definitive age for Deke, Stak and Mox they are all still clearly children. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t even have names by the time they were taken off Kamino, and had to create names for each other while trying to survive on the planet they were stranded on.

To begin with Mox, his is the name I could find the least amount of reference for. There seems to be three possible interpretations:

Mox is a type of fuel designed for use in nuclear reactors.

Mox is a shortened version of moxie, meaning ‘energy, courage, and determination.’

Mox is the Latin word for ‘soon.’

I’m not overly drawn to the first idea, but I can understand the second - as Mox is clearly the eldest and protective over his younger brothers, I can see him taking a name which shows that side of his personality. I also see Mox as a direct parallel of Hunter; both are the eldest brothers of their respective groups, and are both incredibly wary of outsiders due to their need to keep their brothers safe.

However, I much prefer the third choice. The idea that Mox’s name means ‘soon’ can have both good and bad implications. For starters, Mox is clearly the most emotionally conflicted throughout the episode, unsure of his place on the mission, and of his place once they leave the planet. Hunter assures him that he has time to consider being something other than a soldier, and Mox offers his hand to Hunter. This action could be foreshadowing that soon, Hunter himself will be able to retire from this lifestyle, by finding Omega and Crosshair. Alternatively, Mox’s name meaning soon could be a very bad omen for the batch, as it could foreshadow the clone cadets being used as leverage against them (I’m thinking this could come into play when the empire attacks Pabu if the cadets are there).

Moving on, the word Deke was originally coined by Hemingway as a shortened form of the word decoy. We do not see him act as a decoy in any way during this episode, so I believe it is solely to foreshadow future events. Considering the many parallels drawn between Deke and Tech during this episode (e.g. Stak dubbing Deke ‘the smart one’ and Deke almost falling to his death in the base) his name meaning decoy only makes me more convinced that Tech is still around in some capacity (even if that capacity is just his body being used for cloning experiments).

Finally, Stak is most commonly considered to be an old version of the word stick, which makes sense when you consider the basic stick-based weapons that the cadets carry, and Wrecker’s first words to Stak and Deke when he meets them: ‘Blaster beats stick, kid!’ Knowing that the Star Wars writers love foreshadowing, this comment has me thinking things might not end so well for Stak. Interestingly, another link I found while researching this is that Stak is a common phrase in the Rogue Trooper series, in which a war is fought between facist Norts and democratic Southers (you can already see the obvious parallels to Star Wars here). In the series, in an attempt to win the war, the Southers create genetically engineered soldiers, but only one, known as Rogue, survives. Even more links involve one of the main stories of this series being titled ‘The Marauders’, and each one of the genetically engineered soldiers having a bio-chip in their body. While not a direct link, these coincidences do make me think there is a direct link between the two medias, it is possible that there is a fan of the Rogue Trooper series within the team behind The Bad Batch.

Either way, I’m very happy to finally be getting some explanation into what happened to the young clones who never saw the battlefield during the clone wars - though I am a little concerned that their worth being tied to their unexplored identity as soldiers could lead to them taking risks in further episodes in the hopes of proving themselves.

#star wars tbb #star wars analysis #star wars spoilers #star wars the bad batch #star wars #sw tbb #sw:tbb #sw #the bad batch season 3 #the bad batch theories #the bad batch spoilers #the bad batch #tbb mox #tbb deke #tbb stak

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vodika-vibes · 4 days

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Hi! I'm new on Tumblr so sorry if I trapass any line asking this.😅

Recently I read an immagine about our Batchers and their numbers and I noticed that they're a squad no? But normal clone squads are composed by 5 clones not 4.

And then I realised that 99 is the number of the clone force. What if the missing clone from the Bad Batch was in fact clone 99? And something happened in his gene modification and he turned out like that.

(I know it's long but I need a lot of word to express myself. Also English isn't my first language so sorry if there are any mistakes. Love your work btw☺️)

Hi there! Welcome ~

So, as far as I understand, Commando squads, such as the batch, are generally made up of four men.

For example, Delta Squad. Which is made up of Boss, Fixer, Scorch, and Sev.

The Batch follows a similar makes with Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair. With the same specialties.

Hunter/Boss being the squad leader. Tech/Fixer being the tech expert. Wrecker/Scorch being explosive ordinances expert. Crosshair/Sev being snipers.

Regular squads, such as Domino Squad, are set up a bit differently, being made up of five parts rather than four. Why this is, I have no idea. I can hazard a guess, based off of what I remember if their personalities, that the squads would have the same basic make-up as delta, but with an additional "face" person. You know, the charming one who is naturally good at dealing with civilian.

Of course. I could just be pulling this out my ass. It's entirely possible that squads are always made up of four men and domino squad is just weird.

As for 99...if I remember correctly, his proper designation is Alpha-99, which would put him in the same area as Alpha-17. If I remember correctly there was a problem with the increased aging gene with 99 so he aged a lot faster than his brothers and the Kaminoans didn't bother to try and fix it.

Although, perhaps 99 was meant to be their trainer? Which would explain why they have designations CT-9901 to CT-9904.

But really, this is just me rambling at this point. Train of thought writing, ftw lol.

And no need to worry about the language thing! You probably speak English better than I do and I'm a native speaker!

#star wars #answered asks #vod'ika rambles

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blackkatmagic · 10 months

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Just binged all of when the dead tree flowers and I loved everything about it but especially how readily Grants is ready to lie. Like all the time. And sometimes not even subtle lies he just says things with his whole chest and he’s good at it I love him

(Tbh I love protagonists/antagonists who just. fucking lie to everyone's faces. It's an underrated character trope, imo.)

“Do you know yet what Jedi the general is meeting?” Kix asks quietly. He scans the tunnel warily when Rex leads them around a sharp bend, tense, but—he doesn’t like small spaces much. Rex wouldn’t have picked him for this, except Coric isn't good enough with a blaster. Rex would have had to add in another trooper, and this is supposed to be a small, fast mission where they get in and get out as quickly as possible.

For all the headaches Domino has caused, and will definitely cause in the future, Rex is looking forward to having an ARC squad attached to Torrent again. The last one was his own, before the commander of the company had died and Siri had tapped Rex to take his place. It’s going to be especially nice to have an ARC medic around, though there were plenty of other reasons for Rex to recommend Domino for the course.

Keeping them somewhere secure until the mess with the Kaminoans and Granta can be worked out is just one among many, but—a pressing one.

“Not yet,” Rex says. “All she got was the extraction request. Blackout’s got her, though. They’ll be fine.”

“Maybe it’s General Olin,” Jesse says, pointed, and Kix instantly huffs, embarrassed.

“Commander Fox would like that,” he says with dignity, like he hasn’t been mooning over Siri's former padawan since Ferus swept in to rescue them with Bacara and all of his Marines like a gift from the Force itself.

“Commander Fox is going to have to fistfight Commander Bacara for him,” Denal says, amused. “If you want to get between them, Kix—”

“I wouldn’t get between them,” Kix says. “I’d sneak around the side and grab the target while they were distracted.”

Rex laughs before he can help it. Kix looks sweet and easygoing, but it’s good to remember that he’s one of the longest-surviving members of Torrent for a reason. “General Olin could probably use a month tied to a bed,” he says without mercy, and Kix's splutter is delightful. “So if you’re willing to try that, General Tachi would probably even help you—”

“Captain,” Kix protests, and Rex snorts.

“You're one to talk, Captain,” Jesse says. “Wasn’t Commander Cody just telling us about how you picked up that one assassin and threw him over your shoulder as you carried him to safety—”

“We,” Rex says, maybe a little too loudly, and he can feel that his ears are going red again, “aren’t taking anything Cody says as the truth. He’s a liar.”

There's perfect, judgmental silence from the three troopers behind him, but Rex ignores it for all he’s worth.

#when the dead tree flowers #kat answers

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kybercrystals94 · 6 months

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To Fight Alongside Heroes

By KyberCrystals94

Read here on Ao3!

Whumptober 2023 | Day 28 | Prompt 28: Sacrifice

Rating: G

Words: 593

Summary: Fives sits with Echo while he grieves lost brothers.

Fives wakes up in the middle of his sleep cycle to the sound of the barrack’s door sliding open and closed. He glances at his chrono. There isn’t a shift change for another two hours. He leans over the side of his bed to look down at Echo’s lower bunk. Empty.

Worried, Fives kicks off his blankets, drops to the floor, and makes his way out of the barracks as quietly as his sleep addled brain will allow.

Fives can’t help but marvel at how quickly the destruction of the battle has been cleaned up. There are still major repairs that need to be done to the outside of the city; however, the halls, which only a few hours earlier were stained in the blood of their brothers, are back to their pristine, sterile white. Like nothing even happened, like lives weren’t lost. Swept away like a bad mark on a record.

If it had been natborns killed on their home planet…

Thinking like that doesn’t help or change anything, so Fives pushes it to the back of his mind, putting his focus on finding his batch mate. Echo doesn’t usually go off on his own, and certainly not in the middle of the night when he doesn’t have a shift of some sort. So, Fives wanders on hastened steps, checking down each hall he passes.

He ends up at their old training room, the door’s lock unactivated. He goes inside.

Echo sits on one of the benches along the far wall. He is leaning forward, elbows propped on his knees, hands knotted together in tight fists, head bowed. Fives sits down next to him but doesn’t say anything. Echo doesn’t move, absolutely still. Fives sits back against the wall, eyes taking in the familiar room shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the safety lamps dimly illuminating the floor.

After several long minutes, when Echo still hasn’t moved or acknowledged him, Fives asks, “Are you alright?”

Echo’s head turns slightly. “I should be.”

“On who’s orders?” Fives leans forward, mirroring Echo, so that they are shoulder to shoulder. He nudges him. “Is it about Ninety-Nine?”

“It’s about all of it,” Echo growls. “It’s about every sacrifice we make for the Republic. I know what I said to Rex and Cody, but…it’s not fair. And I know that life isn’t fair, and never will be — but I’m tired of watching our brothers being used as cannon fodder.”

Fives reaches over and tugs on Echo’s wrist until Echo gives him his hand. Fives grips it painfully tight. “You can’t think like that, Echo. Our brothers deserve to be remembered for the heroes they were, for the lives they saved. Ninety-Nine died exactly where he wanted to be…on the front lines serving with his brothers. And we were there for it, Echo, we got to fight alongside him.”

Echo grips back. “I know,” he whispers.

“He’d be proud of us,” Fives goes on, “becoming ARCs. Domino Squad too. After they got over the shock, that is.”

A ghost of a smile trembles on Echo’s lips. “You didn’t seem surprised today, when they told us about our promotions.”

“I’ve always known we’d make ARCs someday,” Fives says.

“You could’ve let me in on the secret.”

Fives chuckles. “And ruin the surprise? I wouldn’t deprive you of that.”

“I miss them, Fives.” Echo’s voice breaks on the syllable of Fives’ name.

Fives wraps an arm around Echo’s shoulders, holding tight. “I know. I miss them too.”

And that’s when Echo finally begins to cry.

END

Tag List: @isthereanechoinhere96 @followthepurrgil @amorfista @mooncommlink

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sunshinesdaydream · 9 months

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Happy Together Part 1

Pairing: Wrecker x Female Reader AU: Right to Love Clone Matchmaking AU Rating: SFW for this part but minors DNI as future parts could be NSFW. Summary: It's Wrecker's turn. Word Count: 1208 (not counting the extensive notes below) Note: So this is an EVERYONE lives AU for me. Echo never got blown up. So to fix this we have a couple things going on. 1-The Domino Squad "Adopts" The Bad Batch sort of when they are on Kamino 2-Fives and Echo tell Rex about them and Rex insists Cody introduce them 3-Rex semi-adopts the BB (shared custody with Cody) 4-This is Crosshair PRE-trauma. He is based on is behavior in the Clone Wars Arc, not The Bad Batch 5-Yes the rest of Domino is still alive. We will get to it later (I said I was digging myself in over my head didn't I?) 6-the future fics related together the X Reader will be "You" and not likely use y/n. However the other partners to the guys in each fic will have a place holder name (no, you can't be all of them at the same time. That would be confusing) Link to Playlist I use for this AU

Part 1 / Part 2 Masterpage

Wrecker was impatient, tapping his foot as he waited for Hunter and Tech. “If you two don’t hurry up, I’m going without you!” He bellowed towards the communal ‘freshets. “Geez Wreck, I think some of the guys ten levels up didn’t her you!” Fives complained, leaning into the corridor. “Ah, sorry Fives,” Wrecker apologized, “They are taking forever,” “Just messing with you,” Fives grinned, “and good luck,” “Thanks!” Wrecker said, brightly as Fives disappeared back into his bunkroom. Tech appeared just after Fives left, ”There is no need to disturb the entire building, Wrecker. We have sufficient time to travel to the office before they close,” “Yeah but if we aren’t back before Omega is done with training,” Wrecker began. “She’ll just go harass Rex or Cody or some of their boys,” Hunter said, joining them. “Ready to go?” “Am I not invited?” Crosshair drawled from where he was leaning in the door to their bunkroom. “We did not think that it would be something you would be interested in,” Tech responded. “Why not?” Crosshair asked. “Because you are a crotchety old pain in the shebs,”Fives poked his head out again. “Shut up, or I’ll give you a pain in the shebs, “ Crosshair answered. “Not now, you two,” Hunter stepped in between what was sure to become yet another snark battle between the two. “Cross, if you are going let’s go”

You weren’t sure what to expect, going to Right to Love. Other than you didn’t want to go to the clubs and compete with the perfectly pretty dolls that lurked there for all of the male attention. You had gone, of course. And had your fair share of fun. But you realized it was at best a haphazard way to meet someone when you were looking for a partner in life. You had gone in the week before, filled the profile out and been interviewed. You had gotten the information packet and had read through it twice. You expected to get a call, which you did. But they were calling for you to come in. Special circumstances he had said. “Don’t worry, just Isa would like to have time to talk with you. She is very excited.” So here you were walking back into the building the next day after you had managed to get away from your family's bakery.

You are greeted by the same man as last time, a clone with long curls he wore down and a warm smile.

“Good to see you,” he said, “Come this way, please,”

He led you to an office, with many holos on the walls and desk. The lady, Isa you remembered, stood as you entered.

“Hello!” she says, excited tone to her voice and her eyes lighting up. “Have a seat while we talk,” she motions to a pair of chairs by the window.

Isa picks up a datapad and follows you over, taking the other seat.

“I don't understand,” you say, “I thought I would be getting a phone call,”

“Typically, yes,” Isa nods. “But there is the rare special circumstance. Just want to verify a couple of things first. We already talked about the possibility of someone still active in the GAR? Someone that might have to go off planet for periods of time?”

“Of course, as I said before. I expected it would be a possibility,” You answer, “I have two sisters that co-own and work the bakery with me, along with some good friends and neighbors. I have an excellent support system,”

“Yes, I have a further question,” Isa says, “Do you think you could cope with someone that is special operations, someone that is going to be in more dangerous situations than the average trooper?”

Now that wasn't something you had considered. Even though the war was over, plenty of men went into dangerous situations as the republic tried to rid the galaxy of slavery. Even the ones on planet had to venture to parts of the lower levels in their line of work.

“I believe I would be able to,” you respond.

“As a note I'd like to highly recommend therapy with someone who specializes in this specific area should your match be successful and you end up in a long term relationship with someone in this level of danger,” Isa said, “Even in the short term you may want to discuss this with a typical therapist. I am sending some recommendations and other resources to you now,”

You remind yourself that they liked to be overly cautious, and make sure you have all the resources that you could possibility need. And then you nod for her to continue.

She smiles brightly, “So let me tell you about him. His name is Wrecker, and he's definitely special. He was part of a particular,” she paused, a look of distaste on her face as she searched for a word, “Program where the Kaminoans discovered differences in some and enhanced those differences to be beneficial as a solider. More specialized than just slightly more muscle mass,”

“Such as?” you ask.

“Well, with this particular man...significantly more muscle mass. Also quite a bit taller than average,” Isa explained. “Also, due to injury he has significant scaring and a cybernetic eye,”

“Okay,” you answer, having expected the possibility of scars and prosthetics and the like due to the nature of war.

“As you know, due to some updates in policy we utilize holos now,” She scrolled through her data pad to bring up the holo she was looking for.

You expected the image of someone very gruff, worn. When she handed you the data pad to show you his image you let out an involuntary “Oh!”

The man in the image radiated a kindness that surprised you. Somehow he even managed to make his cybernetic eye convey warmth.

You look up at Isa and ask, “When?”

“So... how did it go?” Hardcase asked Wrecker in the mess the next evening when he came in from his patrol.

Wrecker shrugged, “About the same as everyone said, form work, a lot of talking. The people there are nice,”

“Unlike some people,”Crosshair said, joining them on the other side of Wrecker and looking pointedly at Fives.

“Only you don't me, everyone else...”Fives began.

“Thinks you are obnoxious and a pain,” Kix cut in.

“You're siding with him?!?” Fives exclaimed.

“Well,he's not wrong,”Echo added.

“I think you're nice, Fives!” Hardcase said.

“You're more obnoxious than him,” Crosshair pointed out.

Hardcase smiled, “Yes, yes I am,”

“I think you're nice!” both Tup and Wrecker joined in.

“That's because you two are too sweet for your own good,” Jesse “Don't look at me,” Dogma said, “I think all of you are obnoxious,”

“I concur,”Tech agreed as he and Hunter joined the table.

Wrecker's com beeped, he looked at it and saw who it was and paused.

A chorus of “ooooo” went around the table.

“You better get that,” Crosshair said in a sing-song way.

Wrecker nodded and answered,”Hello?”

“Hello Wrecker, this is Greatheart from Right to Love. I was calling to tell you about a match,”

Thanks for reading! Check out more of this AU @tcwmatchmakingau

❤️Love and Wrecker Hugs!❤️

Tag list (Send a message, ask or use this form to join or be removed)

@lightwise @captainbutterflynonsense @sleepycreativewriter @523rdrebel @inneedoffanfics @cloneloverrrrr @Trappedinlimbo15 @chubbyhedgehog @blueink-bluesoul

#tcw matchmaking au #wrecker x you #clone matchmaking au #wrecker x reader #star wars #the clone wars #the bad batch #sunshine writes

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mandos-mind-trick · 1 year

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Here’s To The Future - Part 3: Cornered

Summary: The war’s over. That should be cause for celebration, except the wrong side won. Things begin to change quickly, and it doesn’t take long for Midnight to realize something’s not right among the clone army. She should be glad the war is over, but the threat of her losing her boys is all too real. She did swear she would do everything she could to keep them from being separated when the war ended.

She’s not going to give up on that promise. Even if it kills her.

Pairing: The Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Warnings: NSFW, Lots of emotions, arguing, Hunter is a little bit of a dick, some rehashing of CW pain, badly written smut

A/N: May the 4th be with you! Here's the much anticipated update. I combined Episodes 3 and 4 for this one, since I wanted to focus more on Midinght and less on following the plot of the show. Stuff still happens, but significantly less action than the previous two chapters. Lots of feelings, lots of angst.My Hunter girlies, I did promise.

Also I am still looking for a beta reader for this one, so if you’re interested…

< Previous | Next > | SERIES MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST

She can feel him.

Arms snake around her, a firm chest presses against her back. His nose presses into her hair, inhaling deeply. She can feel the thump of his heart, long fingers lacing with hers. The musky smell of him, mixed with blaster residue and plastoid. He’s warm, he’s real.

There’s a hand on her but it’s not his.

She’s clutching his pillow, face half buried in it. Tears are streaming, wetting the pillow.

“Hey.” A quiet voice whispers, the hand shaking her.

She turns on her back, blinking through the tears. She can’t see clearly, but she doesn’t need to.

“Come on.” He motions with his head, stepping back from the bunk.

Midnight sniffles, wiping her face. The dream had felt so real. For a moment she thought he really was here. He really had crawled into the bunk and held her like he had so many times before. It had only been a dream, though. He was still gone. He was still missing.

Midnight crawls out of the bunk, dropping down quietly. Tech’s bunk is still empty, but Wrecker and Hunter’s are occupied. She follows Echo to the hull, watching as he kneels down, pulling a panel off the wall.

It’s quiet for a few moments, Midnight watching him fiddle with some wiring. She shifts on her feet, unsure if she should be helping, or if he’ll ask her to. It wasn’t unusual for Tech to drag her somewhere and expect her to jump in and help him without direction. Echo was usually more straightforward.

“Back when I was a reg, I was really close to one of my batch mates.” He starts talking, his back still to her. “Fives, we called him, because his designation number was all fives. We were assigned to the Domino Squad during our training. We wound up being the only two of the Domino Squad to survive and we were placed in the 501st.”

Midnight sinks down onto the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. She’d heard about his early days, how he’d come to join the 501st before, but he had never mentioned anyone specific besides Captain Rex. She knew what happened to him to an extent, but he avoided talking about his time before Skako Minor in detail, unless something specific came up. She knows he’d rather move on from it, he’d rather not remember.

“I never asked Rex when he died, or how.” He shakes his head, sitting up on his knees. “I know he’s gone because if he were still alive, he wouldn’t have given up either. He would have been right beside Rex, doing everything he could to rescue me.” He places the panel back in place, keeping his back turned to her. “I know it’s not the same. I can’t even begin to understand what it feels like. We’re taught from a young age any of us could die at any moment. That doesn't mean we don’t feel it, but we bury it because we have to keep fighting.”

Tears burn Midnight’s eyes once more, her grip tightening around her legs as she tries hard not to cry again. “It hurts.” She sniffles. “It hurts so much.”

“I know.” He turns to face her, a sad look in his eyes. “Hunter told us what happened, what Suu told him. I know you want to do this alone. I don’t blame you. None of us are really good at this.”

“I’ve always had to do it alone.” Midnight laughs, more at herself than anything else. “We’re not that different, you know. I never got to mourn anyone. My mom disappeared when I was ten years old. I couldn’t do anything but miss her sometimes because I had to take care of myself. So many friends either left or just disappeared and you never blink twice at it because that’s just the way things are. That’s just...life.” She sobs quietly, fresh tears falling. “This hurts so much worse.”

“Because Crosshair didn’t just disappear.” Echo says, taking her hand in his. “He betrayed you. He betrayed all of us.”

“Does it ever go away?” She whispers, clutching onto his hand tightly.

“No.” He says. “Not entirely. You just...begin to feel it less and less often.”

She wipes her tears, a futile action since more just keep falling. “I wish I had done something sooner.”

“You couldn’t have known.” Echo says, pulling her to her feet. “None of us could have known. Don’t beat yourself up too much. Don’t beat the others up either. They’re trying their best.”

Echo does have a point. It’s not just her that’s lost Crosshair. On top of everything else that’s happened, she’s not helping any.

“Come on.” Echo takes her hand, leading her towards the door. “If you want to sleep more, you can use my bunk. I’ll be working on repairs for a while.”

“Can I...do anything to help?” She asks.

He shakes his head. “No offense, but I don’t think you’d be much help.”

Midnight shrugs. “I can fit into small places.”

“You’re not the only one that can.” Echo gives her a grin. “I’d rather have you resting.”

Right. Omega. She hadn’t spent much time with the kid. Kids aren’t really her thing. She avoided them as much as possible on Coruscant, since she knew most of them would beat her up for spare change or something to eat. She feels a little guilty for basically ignoring the kid. Maybe she should spend some time with Omega. For female solidarity or something like that.

Midnight takes Echo’s offer, slipping into his bunk. She doesn’t sleep, instead she lays awake, staring at the top of the bunk. Echo did have a point. It wasn’t like they weren’t trying to help her. She knows Hunter was only trying to help her, offering her an option if she wanted it.

She probably shouldn’t have gotten so upset about it. The thought of leaving them, even if it was safer for her, hadn’t even crossed her mind. She’d rather face danger head on with them than leave them behind. Even if Crosshair is gone, she can’t fathom the thought of losing the rest of them.

She’s not sure how long she’s laid there when the privacy curtain is pulled back, Hunter leaning down with a box of rations in his hands. “Food time.” He says, holding it out to her.

Midnight doesn’t feel hungry, but she knows she should probably eat. They were running low and safe places to stop were going to get harder and harder to find. She takes a bar, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk. “Thanks.”

“Are you...alright?” Hunter asks, eyeing her hunched over position.

He’s not asking if she’s wholly okay. He wants to know if she’s physically hurt. Is she okay? No. Is she injured? No.

“Yeah.” She nods, trying to smile but she’s sure it looks more like a grimace. “Not my first firefight, remember?”

He nods, looking down. “Right.”

He turns, looking like he wants to move away but she stands, calling out to him. “Hunter?”

He turns to face her and she gets lost in his eyes for a moment. She had gotten used to seeing the stern face of her Sergeant recently, and had missed the softness he used to look at her with when they weren’t in a fight or running for their lives.

“I-”

She’s cut off as the ship violently jerks, nearly throwing her from her feet. She manages to catch herself on the edge of the bunk, keeping her feet under her. Hunter runs for the cockpit, and she follows, barely able to keep her feet as the ship continues to violently shake.

“Getting thrown out of hyperspace. I’d say that’s pretty critical, Tech.” Hunter says, bracing himself on the back of the pilot’s seat.

They were no longer in hyperspace, instead plummeting straight towards a moon.

“It’s not affecting life support. We’re fine.” Tech says, like they’re not about to crash land on some moon they’ve never even heard of.

“Are you kidding me?” Hunter asks in disbelief.

“The power capacitor’s blown. We need to land immediately.” Echo says from the copilot’s seat.

“Strap in!” Hunter yells, moving to the seat behind the copilot.

Midnight takes the seat behind Tech, holding on for dear life. They plummet through the thick clouds of the moon’s atmosphere, alarms blaring from the ship. Midnight trusts Tech’s flying abilities, but while crashing? The gonk droid slides up into the cockpit, many loose items clanging around in the back as they continue to nosedive towards the surface of the moon.

Tech pulls up on the controls, managing to flatten out the Marauder before it slams into the moon’s surface, sliding to a stop. Midnight lets out the breath she was holding, hands still clutching the seat tightly.

Hunter rises to his feet, helping the gonk droid up before looking in the back. “Everybody all right?” He puts a hand on her shoulder and she nods, still holding onto the seat.

Is she really okay?

No.

Definitely not now.

***

Midnight stacks empty crates back in their place, working with Wrecker and Omega to put everything back where it belongs. The mess wasn’t as bad as she had thought it might be, or at least what it had sounded like.

Despite the mess, it’s probably the cleanest the ship has been in a long time. Probably since it came off the line.

“I suspect one of our capacitors sustained damage during our firefight with the regs.” Tech says. “We won’t be able to take off without replacing it. Inventory analysis indicates we have one spare onboard.”

“Is it in here?” Omega asks, moving a crate.

They all turn to look at her, Midnight’s stomach twisting painfully. They’re all quiet, all of them thinking the same thing.

“What?” Omega asks as they continue to stare at her.

“That’s Crosshair’s weapon kit.” Hunter explains slowly.

Wrecker groans. “Fine. I’ll say it. I kinda miss him.”

“He shot you, remember?” Echo says.

“Ha! I sure do. That hurt!” Wrecker says, moving his once injured shoulder.

“It’s worth noting the possibility that Crosshair’s actions were influenced by his inhibitor chip.” Tech says.

“It can do that?” Echo asks.

“That’s what it was designed to do.” Omega says.

“So, it wasn’t Crosshair’s fault?” Wrecker asks.

“Well,” Tech goes to start but Hunter cuts him off.

“Look, debating this won’t fix the ship. Right now we need to find that capacitor and get off this rock.” Hunter says, walking towards the cockpit.

Midnight stays still, thinking over Tech’s words. She knows Crosshair. As much as he was an asshole, betraying his squad? Shooting two of them? He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t betray them like that.

Not willingly.

***

Midnight swivels the chair back and forth, staring at the screen. She’s not really sure what she’s looking at, but it was better than looking at nothing.

“Are you...alright?” Hunter asks, coming to stand next to her.

“I won’t be if you keep asking me that.” She snaps, but immediately deflates. “Sorry.” She shakes her head. “Nothing ever goes our way, does it?” She scoffs. “My mom would say ‘the universe is just giving us all the bad now so it can save up all the good for later.’”

“She sounds like she was a prolific woman.��

Midnight snorts. “She was drunk. Drunk and desperate. I used to think maybe she found a way out, she made herself a better life somewhere. I know that’s not true. Not with the kind of people she spent time with.”

Hunter puts a hand on her shoulder squeezing gently. It’s a comforting touch, something she hadn’t realized she was missing.

Their moment is disturbed as Wrecker walks by, groaning in pain.

“What’s wrong with you?” Hunter asks, turning to face him.

“I must’ve hit my head in the crash.” He groans, holding the side of his head.

Tech and Echo reenter the ship, joining them in the hull.

“The capacitor’s in place, but other systems are now failing.” Tech says.

“Something’s causing damage to the exterior hull.” Echo says.

“You wanna narrow that down?” Hunter asks, turning to them.

The ship goes dark, whirring as the entire thing shuts down. The sound of thudding from the top of the ship is loud in the silence, all of them looking up as something makes its way across the top of the ship.

They all rush to the cockpit as something moves across the viewport out of sight. Omega calls out, being the only one who saw it.

“What? What is it?” Wrecker asks, Omega standing on the copilot’s seat.

“Some kind of creature, about this big,” She holds her arms out to show how big it was. “With a long tail. It ran off with the part.”

Echo hits a couple buttons, pulling up the ship's schematic. “She’s right. The capacitor’s gone. And that was our last one.”

“The creature is most likely an Ordo Moon Dragon. A species that feeds on raw energy.” Tech says. “It was probably drawn to the capacitor’s electric charge.”

“Well, that would have been good to know beforehand, Tech.” Echo says.

“You two get those other systems online.” Hunter says. “Wrecker, stay here. I’ll go after the dragon and get our part back.”

“I’m fine. I-” Wrecker tries to argue, still groaning in pain.

“You’re staying.” Hunter commands.

“I’ll go with you.” Omega says excitedly.

“No, that thing could be dangerous.” Hunter says.

“I’m part of this squad now too, right?”

Hunter turns to look at her, casting a glance at Tech and Echo who have also turned to look at her. Echo shrugs, knowing the final decision was up to Hunter.

“All right, kid.” Hunter says. “Just stay close.”

Omega puts on her oxygen mask, running happily towards the ramp.

“What about me?” Midnight asks, noticing Hunter had skipped over her entirely.

Hunter turns to look at her, furrowing his brow like he had forgotten her existence entirely. It hurts a little. “You stay here.”

“But-”

“Keep an eye on Wrecker, and help Tech if he needs it.”

Midnight bites her tongue as Hunter exits the ship, nearly drawing blood. Of course he’d sideline her. She’s not exactly in the most stable mindset, and it could possibly be dangerous. Yet, he’s willing to take a kid with him.

Midnight fights the urge to punch the wall. Wrecker was already hurting. They didn’t need her to be hurt too.

***

Midnight peeks out of the bunk as Tech and Echo pass by. All of them had headed towards the back of the ship, Omega included. She climbs down from the bunk, following curiously.

Omega is sitting up in the gunport which has been decked out and lit up. So that’s what Wrecker had been doing back there this whole time.

“I’ve never had my own room before.” Omega says, plopping down with Lula in her arms.

“Well, you’re a part of this squad now too.” Hunter says.

Midnight smiles softly, leaning up against the wall.

“That’s really sweet of you, Wrecker.” She says as the giant clone passes her.

“Aww, it was nothing.” He says bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. “This way she has her own room and you can have yours back.”

Midnight nods, her smile faltering just a little. “Right.” She knows she’s not ready to leave Crosshair’s bunk yet. Not while it still smells like him.

She shrieks as Wrecker lifts her off her feet suddenly, carrying her towards the bunks. “Wrecker! What are you doing?”

“Well, I just thought since Omega has Lula now, I need something to cuddle at night.” He pauses right beside his bunk.

“Oh, Wrecker.” Midnight shakes her head, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You sweet, sweet man.”

Wrecker climbs into his bunk, still holding onto her. She lays across his chest, not exactly the most comfortable with his armor, but the feeling of his arms around her, the warmth of him makes up for it. She hadn’t realized how much she missed it.

It wasn’t exactly like they’d had time for it. Between escaping Kamino and barely escaping Saleucami, and then crash landing on a deserted moon, they hadn’t really had time to do much else. And now with Omega on board, the entire dynamic had to change.

She hadn’t exactly been in the mood for a cuddle lately either.

Now, though, being held secure against Wrecker’s chest, being moved with every breath he takes makes her realize how much she’s missed it. How much she still yearned for their touch, even if it’s something simple.

She drifts off to sleep easily, sleeping soundly for the first time in a while.

***

Midnight rifles through her belongings, cataloging what she still has. It’s mostly clothes, GAR issued uniforms and the few civvies she had brought with her, the small crate of bathroom necessities, and her armor.

She rifles to the bottom of her underwear drawer, pulling out the hinged box. The top doesn’t close all the way anymore, some of the contents threatening to spill out.

It’s her most prized possession.

She’s been saving credits in it since before she joined the GAR. It’s a lot, more than she’s ever seen in her entire life. Most of it came from her GAR paycheck. She had made meager credits in her job on Coruscant, the box mostly going near empty, or entirely empty a few times. Now it’s almost overflowing.

She had started saving for her new life after the war. If she survived, she was going to buy a plot of land on some remote planet and live her life happily in a wide open space. Of course, her relationship with the boys had changed those plans a bit, but the desire to move to a remote planet hadn’t lessened. The only difference was she wouldn’t be living there alone.

She has more than enough. She knows that. She could easily buy them enough supplies to get to some remote, deserted planet.

She gets up, packing a few credits in a pouch before leaving her room. Hunter has changed into the clothes Cut had given him. Midnight forgets how good he looks in civvies. She glances at Echo who is dressed in...something.

“What are you supposed to be?” She asks, looking over Echo.

“He’s a droid!” Omega says excitedly. “It’s his disguise.”

“Right.” She nods slowly.

“We can’t draw too much attention to ourselves.” Hunter explains. “The less we stick out, the better.”

Midnight glances at the red bandana and skull tattoo. “Uh huh. Here,” She hands him the pouch of credits. “I want you to have this.”

He stares down at her hand for a few moments before pushing it back. “No. You should keep that.”

Midnight frowns. “I have a lot more than this. I want to contribute something, since you’re buying supplies for all of us.”

“We have to figure out a way to get credits anyway.” Hunter says. “Keep yours for emergencies.”

“Does this not qualify as an emergency?” She asks, following him as he moves towards the back of the ship. “We literally have no food.”

“We can figure it out.” He says, opening a crate.

“But you don’t have to!” She says, getting frustrated. “You want to do this quickly, you can skip an entire step this way! This isn’t the time for some chivalry bullshit! Have you stopped to think maybe I’m your expert in living like this? Constantly watching your back, laying low, staying hidden, that’s how I lived my entire life! You only know how to be a soldier! Guess what, you aren’t anymore! Let me help!”

“We don’t need your help!” He snaps, slamming his hands on top of the crate. Midnight flinches, not having seen him this angry before. “Your head is not in the right place right now. You’ll be a danger to all of us. I’m not putting our lives at risk. Stay here. Fix your attitude. We’ll be back.” He turns, making his way towards the ramp.

Midnight seethes, watching him go before she steps into her room, wishing she could slam the door.

***

Midnight sits in the cockpit, staring out the viewport. She can hear Tech and Wrecker thumping around outside. She could go and offer to help, but she’s not sure she could do much. She’d likely just be in the way. She’s not an engineer or even a mechanic. Hell, she’s not even capable of taking care of children. Maybe Hunter is right. Maybe she is a burden.

The comm blinks, Hunter’s voice coming through. “Wrecker, Tech, Echo. I lost Omega. Somebody attacked us.”

“Somebody who?” Wrecker asks.

“A woman. Highly trained. She’s after the kid.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Wrecker says.

Midnight jumps up, heading back to her room. Maybe this is her chance to prove to Hunter she’s not a liability. That her head really is in the right place despite everything. She quickly changes into her armor, tugging it on.

She goes to leave the ship but Tech grabs her arm, stopping her. “Where are you going?”

“To help find Omega.” She says, trying to pull out of his grip, but he’s too strong.

“No. You need to stay here.” He says, using his grip on her to pull her closer.

“I’m going to help.” She says defiantly, digging in her heels.

“Hunter’s right, you know.” He says, not loosening his grip any. “Your head is not in the right place. You’re only a risk right now, and the last thing we need is you lost in the city too.”

Midnight knows he’s right. She has no clue where they are, much less how to help. She refuses to stand down though, hating that two of them now have told her she’s too unstable to do anything.

Tech’s face hardens a bit. “Don’t make me tie you up.”

***

“This is dehumanizing.” Midnight says, kicking the back of the pilot’s seat.

“What happened to you?” Wrecker asks, sinking into the seat beside her.

“She was intent on leaving the ship.” Tech says. “Restraints were necessary to prevent that from happening.”

She’s not even sure where he got the rope from, or why he had it, but he had successfully tied her to a chair in the cockpit. It hadn’t been much of a fight since he was much stronger than her, and apparently was well versed in tying people up.

“Yeah, well, it’s over now, so can you untie me?” She kicks the back of Tech’s seat once again, Omega giggling.

Wrecker turns her seat, undoing the rope in a couple easy tugs. It hadn’t been tight, but Midnight stretches her arms anyway.

“That woman. She has to be a bounty hunter.” Hunter says, joining them.

“A what?” Omega asks.

“Someone hired to retrieve targets.” Echo says.

“And you appear to be the target.” Tech says, spinning around so they’re all facing each other.

“Me?” Omega asks, sounding frightened at Tech’s words.

“Hey, don’t scare the kid.” Wrecker says.

“We have to find out who she is and who hired her.” Hunter says.

Midnight sighs. There goes their shot at laying low on some planet. Bounty hunters always find ways of locating targets. Even the best hidden ones. “It can never be easy, can it?”

“No.” Wrecker grumbles. “I’m starting to get hungry.”

“You’re always hungry.” Tech says.

“But this is worse. We don’t even have any food!”

****

Midnight isn’t exactly thrilled to be sitting in a closet. She’s seated on a crate, leaning back against the far wall. She’s been here for probably two minutes, but it feels like a lifetime. She had so much more she could be doing, like sleeping or flipping through the computer, or crying.

She looks up as the door opens, Hunter standing in the doorway. From where she’s sitting he looks like an imposing figure, his broad shoulders taking up the entire doorway. His brow furrows as he looks down at her, turning to look back over his shoulder.

“I thought you said-”

He’s cut off as something hits him from behind, forcing him into the closet. Midnight barely has time to move as he hits the wall behind her, catching himself. Before he can recover, the door slides shut, closing them both inside.

Hunter hits the button to open it, but the door stays shut. “Tech!” He yells, banging on the door. “Open this door.”

“Sorry, Hunter.” Tech’s voice sounds from the other side. “It seems to be jammed.”

“Tech,” Hunter says, a warning in his voice.

“It’s for your own good.” Echo’s voice sounds. “You both need to talk.”

“Tech you liar!” Midnight yells, slipping under Hunter’s arm so she’s closer to the door.

“My apologies,” Tech says, not sounding sorry at all. “It’s the best way to ensure the two of you talk through your problems.”

“I’m gonna kill you.” Midnight threatens.

“Worry about that later.” Tech says, before leaving them alone.

Midnight moves back to the crate she was sitting on, plopping back down.

“I take it you didn’t know about this?” Hunter says, leaning against the wall next to the door. The closet is small enough she could touch his feet with hers if she stretched them out.

Midnight shakes her head. “Tech said he needed my help in here. I thought maybe this would have a more satisfying ending.” She leans back against the wall, crossing her arms.

“He told me he needed me to take a look at something. I should have known something was up.” Hunter shakes his head, crossing his arms.

Midnight chews her lip, tucking her legs closer. “They are right. We can’t keep fighting each other.”

“It’s too dangerous for all of us.” Hunter moves to sit on the crate next to her. “I know this hasn’t been easy on you, and I haven’t been easy on you either. Cut was right. Omega’s not a soldier, and neither are you.”

Midnight looks up at him, turning slightly to face him. “I never really was.”

He smiles just a little. “You’re good at playing one. Sometimes I forget.”

“I can’t blame you.” She leans her head against the wall. “I am the first nat-born you’ve had extended contact with. I’ve been your first for a lot of things.”

“It’s...an adjustment.” Hunter says. “This wasn’t how I thought things would go.”

“You’re not alone in that.” Midnight says. She looks away from him, curling up in the corner. “I feel like I failed.”

Hunter shifts so he’s more comfortable on the crate. “I know following orders isn’t really our thing, but I think this is one time we should.” He leans up against the wall. “Talk to me.”

So she does.

She tells him everything. How she knew something was wrong with Crosshair, but she hadn’t done enough to try and fix it. She tells him about her conversation with Tarkin, how he’d blackmailed her using them. She tells him about Crosshair’s betrayal. She tells him how she’d signed the contract, not knowing what else to do. She tells him her plan to break them out, about how she feels like a failure.

She tells him about her panic, about how she can’t stop the overwhelming feelings every time she has to fight. She tells him how she feels like she’s falling apart.

She’s crying by the end of it. She’s so tired of crying, but she can’t stop. Hunter’s arms wrapping around her only make it worse, the floods of tears quickly soaking a wet spot on his shirt. Hunter rests his chin on top of her head, letting her cry.

“I don’t want you to treat me differently.” She says, voice slightly muffled by his chest. “I’m still me. I’m still Midnight.”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. It’s been hard, with everything going on. With Omega too...things can’t be exactly like they used to be.”

“I know.” She sniffles. “But they don’t have to change that much. We can adjust. It’s what we do, right?”

He kisses the top of her head softly. “I guess so. We’ve...got a lot to learn. You are right, though. We don’t know how to be civilians, or how to operate in that world in the way we need to.”

“That’s why you have me.” She says. “Luckily, I’m pretty good at that.”

“I think Omega could benefit from some lessons too.”

Midnight snorts. “Girl needs some life lessons.”

Hunter pulls away slightly to look down at her. “You are the expert.”

Midnight shakes her head. “No, no. I am not good with children.”

“I think you’re doing just fine.” He smiles at her.

“I’ve spent like five minutes with her. That’s not nearly enough time to figure that out.”

“Maybe you should make an effort.” He says, shifting her slightly in his arms. “She is part of this squad now.”

Midnight crinkles her nose. “I don’t even know how to approach her.”

Hunter laughs. “She’s not a Loth-wolf, she’s a kid. You just walk up and start talking.”

Midnight stares at him. “Since when are you an expert on children?”

Hunter shrugs. “Just speaking from experience.”

Midnight shifts so she’s sitting between his legs, her back to his chest. He wraps his arms around her, her fingers trailing down his arms to his hands. “How long do you think, until they unlock the door?”

Hunter shrugs. “Not sure. I don’t think they’ll believe us if we tell them we’re done.”

Midnight hums, tracing his knuckles. “Probably not.”

They fall quiet for a few moments, Midnight enjoying the feel of him wrapped around her. She really had missed them, all of them. She knows part of the problem is the pent up energy between them. Normally they could just slip into a bunk and relieve it, but now with a child on board, that wasn’t exactly possible.

“How long has it been?” She asks, tilting her head as he nuzzles against her neck.

“A month?” He asks, lips brushing against her skin.

“Yeah, after Esus when you took down that Octuptarra.” She says. “I was ready to get on my knees right then and there.” She can feel his smirk against her neck.

“You enjoyed that, huh?” His teeth graze her neck, making her shiver.

“Immensely.” She gasps, hands falling to grip his thighs as he slips a hand down her stomach.

He hums in her ear, gripping one of her thighs to pull it to the side. “You know I love watching you use your knife.” He trails his fingers down her thigh, her other one falling open in anticipation. “Easily one of the most attractive things I’ve ever seen.”

Midnight smirks. “What about that time I-”

Hunter groans, his hand closing around her thigh. “That might be the most attractive thing you’ve ever done.”

Midnight laughs, leaning her head back against his shoulder. “It wouldn’t be hard to replicate.”

“Not in here.” He says, kissing the back of her neck. “Once we get a chance to settle down.”

“Is that a promise?” She asks, tilting her head to look at him.

“It’s a promise.” He says, finally letting his hand reach the junction of her thighs.

She’s already damp, quickly soaking through her underwear. She’s so ready for him, so ready to feel something other than the agony and anger that had been burning through her for the last few days.

He cups her through her pants, slowly dragging his hand with enough pressure she can feel it against her clit. She relaxes back against him, letting him take over. They both need this, need to release the pressure between them.

He takes his time, knowing Tech wouldn’t unlock the door anytime soon. He wants to make the most of this moment. It’s not likely they’ll get a chance like this again, at least for a while.

“You look really good in civvies.” She murmurs, rocking her hips against his hand.

“Not nearly as good as you.” He laughs, slipping his hand into her pants. He wants to feel her, get lost in the warmth of her.

“Maybe someday we can hang the armor up for good.” She says, clutching onto his arms as he runs his fingers along her slit. “Maybe someday we can finally relax.”

He slips a finger into her, sliding in easily as her body welcomes him. She moans quietly, quickly biting her lip. They have to be quiet now. The last thing they want is any awkward questions.

“Kriff.” She breathes, rocking her hips in time with his hand as he thrusts his finger in and out of her. “I missed this.”

“Me too.” He murmurs against her shoulder. “Missed your sweet pussy.”

Midnight gasps, clenching around his finger at his words. “Hunter?” She gasps, gripping his wrist. “I need you inside me.”

“Is that an order?” He smirks.

“I can make it one.” She says breathlessly.

Hunter releases her, letting her shimmy out of her pants. He undoes his pants, slipping his cock out. He pumps it a few times, already half hard from the scent of her arousal alone. She sits herself in his lap, his calloused hands dragging up her thighs. She takes over for him, wrapping her hand around his thick length. He groans quietly at her touch, watching her face as she pumps him.

She shifts her hips over him, sinking down onto him. She’s tight around him, gripping him like a vice. He can feel every inch of her, every essence of her being as she sinks down fully on his length. His hands grip her hips, feeling the softness of her, the warmth of her pressed against him.

He wraps his arms around her, stilling her for a moment. They’re still clothed, but he can feel her. The scent of her arousal is thick in the enclosed space. He can hear the quick thump of her heart in her chest. He loves the sound, finding himself seeking it out when he feels stressed or worried.

The worst thing he can imagine is that sound disappearing.

“Hunter.” She breathes, pressing her forehead to his.

“I’ve got you, mesh’la.” He says, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She begins to move, rocking her hips against his. It’s fast and a bit sloppy, both of them wanting to make the most of the time they have.

Hunter presses his lips to hers to keep her quiet, his hands sliding down to cup her ass. He helps her move, feeling how close she is by the way she’s squeezing around him. She whimpers against his lips as her clit brushes against his pelvis, fingers tangling in his hair.

She cums quickly, and so does he, spilling into her. He holds her close, letting her collapse against him. He feels guilty for how he had been treating her. They all were struggling with Crosshair’s betrayal, but she had felt it the most. He could practically feel her anguish and he had gone and said all the wrong things, done all the wrong things. He could have lost her, so many times. He could lose any of them, Crosshair was proof of that.

The thought of losing Midnight hurts the most.

“Love you.” She whispers, clinging to him.

“I love you too.” He says, without hesitation.

There’s movement outside the door. A small shuffle, the familiar hum of electricity then a click. Hunter watches as the button to open the door lights back up.

Taglist:

@amyroswell, @dangraccoon, @hunnythebee, @lokigirlszendaya, @kriffingmeshla, @storm-breaker7

#star wars #star wars fic #the bad batch #the bad batch fic #the bad batch x reader #tbb x reader #tbb hunter #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter x reader

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