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starrylothcat · 8 months

Note

Hello there! I absolutely love your writing, I often feel bad I’m constantly littering your notifications 👉🏼👈🏼

I’m not sure if you’ve done this but I would love a hunter x f!Jedi reader with spicy prompt “make me forget today” with either side being angsty.

In my mind the dynamic between the two is similar to codywan- really close but duty comes first. Could take place during clone wars or bad batch show, whichever you think would work best! Can definitely be NSFW, whatever you’re comfortable with.

And of course, feel free to pass if this ask isn’t for you. I completely understand! All the love! 💕💕

Conquest of Spaces

Pairing: Hunter x Fem!Jedi Reader

Summary: You and Hunter give in to one another, your hidden feelings set free. It’s something that you both know can’t continue, but when you meet again after Order 66, are you finally allowed to have what you’ve always wanted?

WC: 3600

Warnings: NSFW, 18+. PiV sex, angst, happy ending and Soft Hunter Bad Batch. Reader is a fem Jedi, looks not described and no pronouns used. Takes place before and after Order 66.

A/N: Never feel bad for spamming my notifications! Oh do I love me clone and Jedi angst. Thank you so much for the amazing prompt, I hope you enjoy it. It’s fluffy and angsty and hopefully kind of romantic? Lol 🥹👉👈

“Please make me forget today.” Those five words, spoken in broken desperation, sealed your fate. “Please.

You didn’t mean for this to happen, to allow feelings to bloom between the cracks. You tried plucking out the weeds, clearing those aggressively growing sentiments from your subconscious but they resurfaced stronger every time.

Your voice shook as you whispered those words in his ear, grasping onto his armor like it was a lifeline, you knew it wasn’t fair.

It was unjust to both him and yourself.

He could have said no, pushed you away.

You could have attempted to hold yourself together, to put on the in-control, strong Jedi facade one more time, though that mask was beginning to fracture.

You weren’t sure how much longer you could hold it up before it would shatter completely into dust.

You were assigned to work with him and his brothers often, building trust with the team that few others had.

You and Hunter shared a strong camaraderie, a fellowship forged by mutual respect and dedication to your roles in the Republic. Your ability to understand one another with just a glance, how perfectly you fit together, could not be denied.

You tried to disregard the growing lingering glances, the way his tone would soften when he addressed you, or how he frequently invaded your dreams.

You could tell he was restraining himself, too. He knew the risks, the dangers of letting emotions divert you from your defined roles in this war.

Maybe in a different life, you could have more, but not in this one.

You locked those feelings away, though it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore them.

It wasn’t until you returned to Kamino after a disastrous mission that you left that hidden chest of feelings unlocked, whether you did it purposefully or not.

You had lost most of your squad. It wasn’t your fault, but you were bearing the burden.

You had known Hunter was on Kamino for a short leave, and comm’d him to meet you. He was the only one you could talk to.

Hunter met you, knowing immediately something was wrong. Hunter listened to you speak, your words quickly coming out as quiet sobs, feeling lost. You were supposed to be a protector, a peacekeeper. You felt as if you were failing. You told him of all your uncertainties about the war, and how you didn’t feel like a protector when all you did was fight for something that seemingly had no purpose or end.

You don’t remember the exact timeline of events, but after you breathed those words, his arms were around you, pulling you into a firm embrace as you leaned against his armor.

He murmured that he understood, and the burdens of being a leader weighed heavy on him, too.

You had looked up at him, locking on to his honeyed eyes you often found yourself lost in, almost too gentle to belong to a born and bred warrior such as him.

Hunter’s face was so close to yours, that you could see the speckles in his cornea and edges of his tattoo where the ink had bled into his skin.

His musky, spicy scent overtook your senses right before his lips met yours.

Hunter’s lips were warm, his stubble lightly scratching your face as his tongue slid against your own, your previous tears now long dried.

He pulled away, giving you the chance to say something.

“If I’ve gone too far-“ He started, but was cut off as you pulled him back in, your body buzzed with a craving you didn’t realize was possible.

This kiss was more fervid, and desperate as he wrapped his gloved hand in your hair. You were weightless in his arms, your mind spun with excitement, guilt, desire, and regret.

You shouldn't be indulging in this, letting him whisk you off your feet as he carries you into a nearby weapons closet, his mouth nipping and licking at every pressure and pleasure point on your neck.

The door slid shut, mouths crashing together again, tugging off armor and robes alike as everything that had been built between the two of you was finally set free. The thin, fraying tether that was keeping your professional relationship and what you truly desired apart had finally snapped.

It was a moment of weakness for you both.

But neither of you stopped.

You didn’t know where either of you began or ended, bodies burning with need as he slid into you, his mouth leaving marks along your collarbone.

Hunter’s pace was rigorous, knowing you didn’t have much time. Even as he desperately pounded into you, his touches were generous and worshipful, almost like you’ve done this a million times before.

He knew exactly where to feel you, he knew exactly what you wanted and when you wanted it. He rasped between strained groans about how beautiful you were, and how long he’s been wanting this.

You didn’t respond, knowing if you did, it would make this situation even more complicated than it currently was.

All you could do was gasp his name, pulling him closer and closer to you, wishing that you could stay in this weapons closet for the rest of time, just you and him.

Afterward, as you lay sweaty and messy, awkwardly perched on a weapons locker, there was so much you wanted to say.

Instead, the words hung in the air with your heavy breaths as you quickly dressed.

You could feel Hunter’s eyes boring into your soul, not knowing exactly what to do next. Hunter broke the silence, speaking the words he knew he shouldn’t say, the utterance like blades piercing your heart.

“I love you.”

You bit your lip which was now trembling, tearing your eyes from his, unable to look at him.

“Hunter…”

Why did he have to say it out loud?

Guilt weighed in your gut, as heavy as durasteel, knowing you shouldn’t have given in.

You wanted to cradle his face, kiss him, run your fingers through his locks, and tell him you loved him too.

Of course you loved him. You’ve always loved him.

You wanted nothing more than to just be with him, but you both knew that was a fantasy.

The war was only becoming more devastating, more clones and Jedi were needed by the day to keep the peace.

Hunter was the one his brothers looked to for leadership. He couldn’t leave his squad, his family.

For you to be the perfect Jedi the Council wanted, you needed a clear conscience and a pure heart. That meant no selfish attachments to cloud your mind.

Hunter placed his thumb and forefinger under your chin, seeing your face darken at his words. He tilted your head toward him.

“I know you can’t say it back. But I want you to know.”

His lips met yours once more, chaste and restrained, before exiting the closet without looking back.

You almost called out to him, to return the forbidden words. Instead, you let him walk away.

It was the last time you saw him before the galaxy erupted into chaos a few short weeks later.

Everything you once understood, once thought to be true, was burned and spread with the ash of the Jedi Temple.

You narrowly escaped, losing contact with everyone and anyone, hiding on remote planet after remote planet, not staying in one place too long.

You thought of Hunter, nausea wrenching your gut. Was he alive? How many Jedi has he killed? Was he with the Empire now?

The thought of him pointing his blaster at you, his viroblade at your throat, the tender glint in his deep, brown eyes replaced with bloodlust made your stomach lurch.

It made you sick, wishing so desperately you would have told him you loved him, said it out loud. You wished you had not been afraid, tethered to the Jedi Code that now meant nothing.

As you wandered and hid, you found yourself holding your comm, wanting to contact Hunter.

You knew you couldn’t, but not knowing whether he was alive, dead, or worse, ate at your soul.

Whether it was The Force, cosmic fate, divine intervention, or pure coincidence, you would see Hunter again.

You caught wind of a smuggler offering credits for jobs on Ord Mantell, in desperate need of work.

When you saw Hunter and his brothers sitting at the bar in Cid’s seedy establishment, you thought you were dreaming, or stepping into a trap.

They just stared, just as shocked to see you.

You whipped out your blaster, memories of clones pulling their own blasters on you, firing without mercy as you begged them to stop as you barely made it alive out of the Temple.

“I-I don’t want to hurt you!” You stood your ground, trying to hide the fear in your voice.

No, no, no, no, this can’t be happening!

Hunter was the first to stand up slowly, your name leaving his lips in quiet surprise.

You gripped your blaster, waiting for the moment he drew his.

Tech stood up slowly next, raising his arms.

“We won’t hurt you.” Tech said. “The chips did not activate in us.”

“Chips? What chips? What are you talking about?”

Your blood was ice, stepping backward toward the exit.

“Please I don’t want to…“

Your finger hovered on the trigger, not knowing if you’d have to fight those who you once called friends, the man who you once loved, and still did.

Hunter examined you, as if not believing what he was seeing was real. Maybe you were a ghost. You sure felt like one.

Your eyes darted between them all, none of them reaching for their weapons.

Your body shook, tears in your eyes, never expecting to see anyone you knew ever again, especially not them. You slowly lowered your blaster as Hunter approached you, placing his hand on your wrist as your legs almost gave out from the adrenaline coursing through your body.

“Is it really you…?” You choked out, your blaster clattering to the ground. Hunter nodded, pulling you in close for an embrace, saying your name with such profound relief you could have fainted.

Hunter pulled away, his eyes swimming with emotion, as were yours. Before you could say any more, the rest of the squad were surrounding you.

You hugged them all, too, happy to see them alive, and not trying to murder you.

It was a bittersweet reunion, catching up on all that had happened once they convinced you they weren’t dangerous.

They explained everything.

The chips, the conspiracy, Crosshair, Omega.

Your mind spun, trying to process it all.

All the while, Hunter’s eyes never left yours in all the hours you sat at the bar.

There was so much you wanted to say, but it had to wait.

They invited you on their next mission with Cid, even offering a small cut of the credits when the job was completed.

You agreed, having no other option than to say yes, though it made you nervous to join them, especially since the Empire was already on their tail.

Adding an (ex) Jedi to the mix could make things messy.

They didn’t seem too concerned, as long as you didn’t make yourself obvious.

Hunter gave you a small smile, a knowing look in his eyes flashing momentarily, his hand coming to your shoulder as you stood up from the bar to head to The Marauder.

“I’m happy you’re coming with. We’ve…I’ve missed you.” Hunter spoke quietly.

“I’ve missed you too, Hunter.” He nodded, wanting to say more, but Echo was gesturing to him to go over the mission details.

He squeezed your shoulder. “See you on the ship.”

You stepped onto The Marauder, and not much had changed, besides Crosshair’s absence and Omega’s new corner of the ship that she proudly gave you a tour of.

As you took off from Ord Mantell, watching the planet get smaller as you ascended into the atmosphere, it felt like before, when things were more simple.

Eager for your next assignment, ready to serve the Republic and make the Council proud.

You sat in a blast chair, watching the boys talk and Omega peering over Hunter’s shoulder as he set the hyperspace coordinates.

It felt like old times. Almost.

The job was simple, at least that’s how Cid described it. You were to retrieve a package from an arms dealer who was expecting you in a small village of the heavily forested planet you were heading for.

You weren’t to meet him until the next day, so you had downtime the evening before.

Tech landed the ship in a small clearing on top of a hill, most of the planet thick with old-growth trees. A lake was nestled amongst the trees down the sloping hill a few klicks away.

The water reflected the sun that was almost set as two moons drifted into the sky to replace the star in the sky.

Tech and Echo were busy looking at the map, deciding the best way to get to the village the next day while Wrecker and Omega played a game of Dejarik. Hunter was quietly and diligently cleaning his blaster, sneaking glances at you as he did so.

Hunter was respecting your boundaries, not wanting to push you into anything too quickly. He wanted nothing more than to kick everyone off the ship, wrap himself around you, feel you against him, proving that you were indeed real. He assumed you were still weary of clones, which he didn’t blame you for. He was just happy you were alive, and safe. That was enough for him, if nothing else.

You knew he was looking at you while you were organizing your things. You desperately wanted to talk to him alone, about the last time you saw one another.

Did he still love you? Did he mean what he said? Could you even pick up where you left off, after all that’s happened?

You peered at the clones you shared the ship with, tears filling the sides of your eyes, memories flooding back to you of your time with them. It seemed so simple back then. But now…what were you? They were still clones but now untethered by what they were bred for.

You were free as well, though the Jedi Code still burned into your skull, finding it hard to forget. If you weren’t a Jedi anymore, then what were you?

“Are you okay?” Omega noticed you, your hands trembling.

You sniffed, quickly wiping your eyes. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you, especially Hunter’s.

“I…just need some air.” You stood up, shoving your pack under a blast chair. “I’ll be at the lake if you need me.”

You smashed the button to lower the ramp and headed out before it even touched the ground, before anyone could say anything to you.

Intense emotions swirled in your chest, briskly walking toward the serene water. The cool air of the evening calmed the ache in your being slightly, your hands still trembling.

The man you loved was in the ship behind you, and yet your footsteps led you further away from him. It was almost too much, suddenly being back with them, with him.

You roamed silently to the lake, sitting down near the edge of the water.

You closed your eyes, trying to meditate, focusing on your emotions. You honed in on the water lapping at the shore, the breeze rustling through the leaves, and the distant call of a nocturnal predatory bird.

You knew Hunter was there before he spoke.

“Everything is different now.” His voice was low. “It’s…still hard for me, too.”

You nodded, biting your lip, your eyes still closed.

“I tried to find you, to see if you were alive. But I didn’t want to risk endangering you.”

You slowly opened your eyes, focusing on him. He was looking right at you, his form illuminated by the glow of the moons.

“I didn’t know…I was afraid…” You stammered. “I wanted nothing more than to know if you were alive…I’m sorry that I never…” Your next words were caught in your throat as Hunter’s lips met yours, soft and loving. You were transported to your first kiss, all that time ago.

That ache in your chest was suddenly gone, replaced with a weightlessness only he could make you feel.

He pulled away almost as quickly as he leaned in.

He silently gazed at you, a hand coming to caress the side of your face.

You leaned into his touch, bringing your hand over his. “I never stopped thinking about you.” He whispered, his thumb tracing your cheek.

“Can I kiss you again?” He murmured.

“Yes.”

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Soon, you laid out underneath him, your clothes a makeshift blanket under you on the shore of the lake.

Instead of in a cramped weapons closet, you were free in the evening air, the endless sky above you.

You took your time re-exploring each other’s bodies, relishing in languid pleasure as the moons hung heavy in the night sky.

Hunter did not leave an inch of your body untouched, bringing you to your peak over and over again with his hands and mouth, making up for the lost time.

When he was satisfied you were ready for him, he positioned himself on top of you, his hair hanging from his headband, haloing his face above you.

He slowly entered you, moans leaving both of your lips, your hands coming around his shoulders, welcoming the stretch as he sank into you. It was mind-melting pleasure, feeling him so close and real.

Hunter stopped once he was fully seated in you, dropping his head to your side.

“I still love you.” His lips were right at your ear, deep inside you, but not moving. Not yet.

You cradled his face, just as you wished you did all that time ago as he searched your eyes for an answer.

Part of him worried you had just made the same mistake as before, giving into your carnal desires when there was still so much uncertainty.

Was this something you should be doing, was it selfish to want one another when others were still suffering?

You kissed him gently, tears catching on your eyelashes, his worried thoughts evaporating with your touch.

“I’m sorry I never said it back.” You traced his tattoo with your fingertip, his eyes closing, relishing your touch.

“You couldn’t. I knew you couldn’t.” He muttered, his brows furrowed. “I shouldn’t have put you in that position…”

“We can now. We can say it.”

Hunter’s eyes opened, a gentle smile on his face. “Then say it.” He pressed his forehead to yours.

“I love you, Hunter. I always have.”

He smiled as he nuzzled the side of your face, the world melting away as he began to move, bodies entwined as one.

You were boneless and safe in his embrace as his fingers and lips molded to you perfectly.

His thrusts were slow and purposeful, his eyes never leaving yours.

Hunter touched you like before, like you’ve been lovers for 100 years, mapping your body so lovingly, so exquisitely, so perfectly.

He was afraid if he didn’t intricately memorize every curve and soft swell of your body, you might slip away again, and he wouldn’t get another chance.

You locked your ankles around his waist, changing the angle. Hunter let out a low whine, his head falling to your shoulder as your pleasure grew.

You were thankful for the slight breeze coming off the water, sweat forming on your bodies as your passion intensified.

You lightly tugged at his hair, his name leaving your lips in breathy mewls, his baritone moans thick with longing, dropping an octave as you clenched around him.

Hunter brought a finger to your clit, drawing tight circles, his thrusts hitting you in such a way you couldn’t discern the stars in your vision from the ones in the sky above.

Your fingernails dug into his muscled shoulder blades as your body arched toward him.

Hunter was drunk on your smell, your body, his senses absorbing every small sound.

Your intense arousal filled his nostrils, tasting your sweet skin as he left open-mouthed kisses on your neck.

Your body was on fire, overwhelmed by his tenderness, his devout passion, wordlessly telling you how much you meant to him.

“I’m right here, I have you.” Hunter rumbled, pressing his lips to yours, feeling your body tremble as you teetered on the precipice of your final orgasm. “I’ll always have you.”

He swallowed your pleasured sobs as you came, constricting and trembling around him, sending him over the edge.

Hunter let out a shuddered groan, pressing his hips into yours one final time, filling you with his release, his lips still on yours.

Your hands delicately roamed his back, your eyes fluttering open to meet his as he rested his weight on his forearms around you.

Your bodies stilled, trying to catch your breaths, the only other sound the tranquil waves splashing on the shore behind you.

You held on to one another, not wanting this moment to end. Hunter left feather-light kisses on your jawbone, leading to your lips, sliding his mouth to yours for an immensely passionate kiss.

The future was uncertain and unmapped, just as it was back when you were Jedi and soldier. You may have to take up your old roles once again, putting duty before all else.

You made peace with that, knowing how you felt for one another would only make you stronger, having something real to hold on to as you traversed into the unknown.

Taglist: @crosshairlovebot @blueink-bluesoul @kimiheartblade @wizardofrozz @clonemedickix @din-miller @sunshinesdaydream @kashasenpai @freesia-writes @multi-fan-dom-madness @coraex @aconstructofamind @dreamie411 @dystopicjumpsuit @starqueensthings @idontgetanysleep @secretthegriffin @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @secondaryrealm @littlemissmanga @maybethatfanfictionwriter @pb-jellybeans @wanderer-six @king-chaos-world @the-cantina @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @523rdrebel @sleepingsun501 @wings-and-beskar

Dividers by @idontgetanysleep

#Hunter x reader #Hunter x you #Hunter tbb #Hunter x jedireader #the bad batch #the bad batch fanfiction #the clone wars #the clone wars fanfiction #Star Wars fanfiction #x reader #reader insert #tbb Hunter #Hunter tbb x reader #hunter x fem!reader #sergeant hunter #tbb #starrycatwrites

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hugmekenobi · 4 months

Text

Return to the Light

A Bad Batch Post S2 Oneshot

Gif by @spacemagicandlaserswords

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Summary: Being separated from one another had taken it's toll and the search had been hard but in all the darkness, a glimmer of hope remains

Warnings: Mentioned canon-typical violence, swearing, my made-up timeline, limited use of y/n, some choice interrogation techniques, sad flashbacks, mentions/descriptions of torture, mentions of death, mentions/descriptions of injury and sickness, reader is not in the greatest of headspaces and takes it out on Lyra, talks of self-sabotage/sacrifice and self-loathing, my interpretation of all things Force, dodgy Star Wars medical techniques, slight manipulation/miscommunication, kissing, overall a pretty angsty time but there's some fluff sprinkled in

Masterlist for S1 and S2

Word Count: 18.2K (don't look at me, idk what happened lol)

Rating: 18+

Author's note: Huge shoutout and thanks to my friend @burningfieldof-clover who supported and provided many helpful tips as I struggled though this!! And its finally here! I am so sorry it took so long but I hope you all enjoy it despite the wait! I have another one planned to follow that hopefully will not take as long haha so I'm excited to get to work on that too! Also praying that by posting this, I can manifest a S3 trailer haha

Nelvaan

Ever since the disaster of Ord Mantell and from the second they’d managed to flee; Hunter had been doing everything he could to find you and Omega again. He’d tormented himself with the various possibilities of what could be happening to the two of you. Every day he’d been apart from you both had seen him fighting with himself. Possible informants and Imperial soldiers he could cope with just fine, what had been proving to be a struggle was fighting the complete hopelessness that had overwhelmed him as the weeks dragged on with no sign or information on the whereabouts of either of you. Every failed lead had left the bitter taste of disappointment and there were times when he felt like he would be crushed by the weight each defeat brought.

Things had started to shift however when they came across the various wanted posters and holoimages of you that were strewn across the galaxy, particularly in the Outer Rim. So, when Echo had decided to do some work on his own and went back to working with his contacts within the Empire and reported back that you hadn’t actually been taken, he’d felt that flicker of hope he hadn’t been able to find for a long time and the plan changed. Echo would continue to utilise his allies in the search for Omega whilst he and Wrecker looked for you. Once Hunter had you back, the four of you would reconvene and find Omega.

To get to Omega, they needed your skills and… and Hunter just needed you but there were moments in the early stages of the search where it seemed impossible. Knowing you were out on your own helped with finding his way out of the darkness but knowing you were alive and finding you alive were very different things, the latter was proving to be incredibly challenging.

You may had stopped hiding what you were, but you were remarkably good at making an impression somewhere but still finding a way to go unseen. Every location they’d gone to, they’d been too late, and you appeared to have moved on. You never stuck around anywhere for too long and it was making things a lot harder.

The most recent trail of half-baked information he and Wrecker had followed had led them to this pawn shop- ‘Hidden Gems’. According to rumour, you’d been in asking about them, yet another piece of knowledge that only added to his frustration that they always seemed to miss you by a matter of weeks. Hunter opened the door, but the owner’s back was still turned to them as they pashed the threshold.

Kedrin heard the bell clang as the door opened and shut. “I’ll be with you in a flash.” He said as he finished writing up the recent sales. He closed the book and turned around with a salesman smile on his face, but that and his words of welcome instantly died on his lips as he saw who had walked in.

Immediately upon seeing these men, Kedrin was reminded of a description given to him a while ago by the Jedi everyone had been talking about and he did not want them here. He did not want to deal with this anymore. “Ah, well actually gentlemen, I was just closing up for the afternoon. You’ll have to come back.” He said, wringing his hands nervously as the bigger one split off and began wandering the shop whilst the one with the bandana stayed where he was.

Hunter leaned his back against the door and lazily played with his vibroblade. He knew by the beads of sweat on the owner’s brow and the anxious pounding of his heart that they were in the right place. “Where is she?” He asked, his voice low and hostile as he turned the sign from open to closed, his eyes never leaving the owner.

Kedrin retreated to behind the counter. “I um…” His throat was as dry as sand and he swallowed to get some moisture back so he could speak properly. “I don’t know who-” He cleared his throat again. “Who you are referring to. Perhaps-”

“There’s not point in lying to him. If I can tell you are, he definitely can.”

Kedrin’s eyes darted to the bigger one who had offered the advice, but he had to bring his attention back to the tattooed soldier who was staring at him with such cold and dark eyes that fear creeped up his spine, making his hair stand on end and goosebumps rise on his flesh.

“Where is she?” Hunter asked again as he pushed off the door and steadily walked towards the man.

“I’m- I’m afraid I don’t- don’t have the answer you seek.” Kedrin stuttered. As the soldier drew closer, Kedrin reached under the table and grabbed the blaster he kept concealed there. But, as he lifted it out, in the blink of an eye, the weapon was shot out of his hand and his head was smacked down and being pressed harshly into the countertop- a strong hand on the back of his neck reducing his struggles to break free to be no more than a pitiful effort. His resistance ceased altogether when he felt the sharp tip of a blade being pushed into the back of his hand and he cried out in discomfort as the metal broke the skin and blood began to spill from the cut but there would be no respite for him.

“Try again.” Hunter hissed as he brought his head down to the man’s level.

But all Kedrin could do was whimper in pain.

“She was here. We know she was here. Where did she go?” Hunter growled into his ear, applying more pressure to the point of the blade, ignoring the agonised yelp.

“I don’t know!” Kedrin protested in distress, his voice slightly muffled as his lips touched the cold material of the counter. He hated this part of the job, it wasn’t his fault he had access to other ports of information, it just worked out that way and for the most part he hadn’t gotten into too much bother. But ever since that Jedi woman had come to him with her threats, he’d vowed to himself that he would turn over a new leaf. He’d leave this element of his work behind, and he wouldn’t just be a pushover to whatever or whoever came in demanding his extra services. He felt the hand leave the back of his neck. He uneasily straightened up and tenderly analysed his injury on his hand but was grateful to see that it had felt and looked worse than it was. He took out a handkerchief from the lapel of his jacket and wrapped it up before he tidied his hair in an attempt to regain some calm and control over the situation. “Now, I ask that you leave this instance before I call the proper authorities.” He demanded, but he couldn’t shake the quiver in his speech which removed any forcefulness. He walked around the counter and gestured to the door.

Hunter ignored his requested. He simply took a step back and nodded sharply to Wrecker who cracked his knuckles and neck in intimidation.

Well, he could always start next week. “Wait wait wait! I actually might have something!” Kedrin back peddled fearfully as the larger one stalked towards him and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, raising him to his tiptoes. “My brother runs our partner pawn shop on Christophsis and he’s said there’s been Jedi activity there. Apparently, it’s been going on for a while now. Could be who you’re looking for?”

Wrecker glanced back at Hunter who signalled to him to drop the man.

Hunter silently turned on his heels and led the way out of the shop and back to the Marauder. He’d been powerless for far too long and had failed one too many times but that wasn’t going to happen anymore.

This time they weren’t going to miss you.

Christophsis

When the hour had finally got late enough, you grabbed your blaster and sheathed your vibroblade and made the final adjustments to your armour before you sneakily opened your door to dark and empty main room of the run-down apartment. You pulled your hood and mask up as you stepped out and headed for the exit.

You got as far as activating the panel for the door to open before the lights turned on.

“You’re going out again.”

You closed the door and huffed out an irritated breath. You swivelled on your heels to see Lyra standing in the doorway of her room. You tugged down your mask. “Yeah… and?”

“And I thought after the last time, you were going to take some time and-”

“You know I can’t do that.” You interrupted icily.

“You’ve barely recovered. I just think-”

“I’ve recovered enough.”

“It’s just one more night. If not for your sake, then do it for mine… please.”

“We’ve already settled here for you, didn’t we?” You retorted.

“After I begged you too! If it were up to you, we’d still be living on that hellhole of a ship and never staying anywhere for more than two weeks! And I don’t know if what we have right now is all that better!”

“I gave you an out months ago! Back on Ord Mantell and again on Corellia! You didn’t have to follow me!” You snapped angrily.

Lyra scoffed. “Corellia was when you finally deemed it fit to fill me in on the whole story after I saw you choke the life out of a man without laying a hand on him. I had known something was off in the weeks since Ord Mantell and then Corellia told me you needed someone. Forgive me if I wanted to stick around to try to help you!”

“I don’t need saving.” You said tightly. “And anyway, he got what was coming to him.” You said utterly uncaring with a simple shrug of your shoulders. “Now, can I go now? Are you done scolding me?”

Lyra looked at you imploringly. “Don’t you see what this is doing to you? You’re losing who you are and it’s-”

You couldn’t listen to the speech again. “I’m not doing this with you again, Lyra. Just go back to bed and I’ll be back later.”

Lyra looked at you in disbelief. “Later? Last time you said that I didn’t see you for three weeks and you came back tortured and half-dead! You’re no good to them if you die in the process of finding them!”

You just shook your head and lifted your mask and turned to open the door again.

“I can’t watch you kill yourself for this anymore.” Lyra said quietly to your back, her words laced with pity and sadness.

“Then don’t look.” With that, you stepped outside into the night.

Kirion stepped into the small kitchen in the back of his shop and sifted through the second cupboard. Instinct meant he didn’t need the light and he found what he was looking for.

“Trouble sleeping?”

Kirion yelped and dropped his mug. It smashed to the ground but that was not his concern anymore. The dark outline by the window was. “I don’t want any trouble.” His voice trembling.

“Do you know what they say about people who can’t sleep at night, Kirion?” You asked as you hopped off the counter, the yellow hue of the streetlights coming through the window illuminating your figure.

“N- no.”

“Plagued by a guilty conscience. The crushing weight of knowing you’re not doing enough, or you’ve gone too far can get to you. Or say, being a pawn shop owner intent on ripping everyone off for that extra bit of profit.”

Kirion cleared his throat nervously. He didn’t know how you knew that, but you’d gathered quite the reputation in the time you’d lived here, and he didn’t want you around. “Why are you here then?” He asked shakily. “Guilty conscience too?”

You laughed humourlessly. “You get the pleasure of my company because you have something for me.” Somewhere deep down, you had a different answer, but you wouldn’t allow yourself to bring that to the surface. It would get you nowhere.

“I don’t. I swear I-”

“Oh, this’ll go a lot better if you don’t lie to me.” You said, your voice hardening. You patted him roughly on the shoulder as you stepped past him.

“I don’t know if I have the information you’re looking for.”

“You know who I am?” You flicked the light on and waltzed into the storefront filled with clear glass cases with various pawned off items. Heirlooms, artifacts, jewellery, random items- all seemed to have a place here, whether they were genuine or not. You beckoned him to come in.

“It’s um kind of hard not to.” He wringed his hands anxiously as he followed you in and signalled to the front of the store. He took that opportunity to press the button under the table by the credit register.

You followed his stare and chuckled as you saw the backs of the posters in the front window. “I can sign one for you later.” You started scanning variety of items he possessed. “Quite the business you’ve got here.”

“Keeps-” He swallowed nervously. “Keeps the credits coming in.”

“Shame a lot of it is all garbage.” You smashed your elbow against one of the glass panels. “Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber?” You snickered as you picked up the item and sure enough, you got nothing from it. “Please. Nothing here but a bunch of dressed up metal material and a design anyone with access to an old holonet could copy. Then again, you probably knew that, but it doesn’t stop you underpaying for it and then charging a steep fee for the poor sucker that falls for it.”

Kirion gulped as he watched you continue your assault on his store.

You shattered a few more glass panes with claims of ‘Jedi artifacts’ in them. “Some of this is just embarrassing. You actual convince people that this stuff is worth the price?”

“What do you want?” Kirion interjected swiftly as he saw you getting ready to break another one.

You paused your movement and angled yourself to face him. You mimed applause. “That’s the right question. See, you gave yourself away earlier, Kirion. I’d expect you to know who I am, but to know that I’m after information? You had no way of knowing that, not officially and it’s the fact that you do know, that makes you of use to me.”

“Of use?” Kirion repeated fretfully.

You stalked closer to the desk register, the broken glass crunching beneath your feet. “You run this place in a back alley and get everyone from all walks of life coming in here pawning off their shit that you then rip off, but I really don’t give a fuck about that. What I do give a fuck about is that you hear things. People will tell you their stories, the things they’ve seen and overheard in the streets or on their travels. You are a fountain of knowledge of the underground happenings in this galaxy. Or, at the very least, you know people that run in the circles that have what I’m searching for.

“I-”

You placed a finger on his lips to shush him. “Here’s how this will work: So long as you don’t lie to me, and you don’t call the Empire, I won’t hurt you and you get to keep your life. Are we clear?” You removed your finger.

“C-crystal.” Kirion stuttered, very much regretting what he’d done in the beginning of this meeting.

“Good.” You released a short breath. “Now, I’m looking for a group of clones. They don’t look like the ones you may come across these days, rare as that seems to be now. One wears a red bandana and has a tattoo on the left-side of his face. Looks like this.” You pointed to the white insignia on your top. “But it’s black. The other is tall and bald with a scar on his left temple and he’s blind in his left eye. Heard of anyone like that?”

“I don’t know. No one like that’s come here.” Kirion shifted his feet awkwardly.

You tossed your head back in aggravation. “I really don’t have time for this.” You summoned the Force and lifted him against the wall and started to compress his airway. “I told you; I don’t like liars.” You gave him a pitying stare as he couldn’t help but clutch desperately at his throat. “Wanna try again?” You relaxed your hold slightly to give him the chance to speak.

“Okay- they- they- could be- be- coming here.” He gasped.

“They’re coming here?” You double checked as you eased your grip and let him get his feet back on the ground.

Kirion panted as he felt the invisible hold around his neck loosen. “Yes, my other store got a visit from some men that match what you’re saying. The manager there told them there was a Jedi here and called me earlier to let me know they might pass this way. That’s all I know, please, get out!”

You narrowed your eyes at him because despite his now honest words, you could tell he was getting anxious, and it wasn’t all because of you now. It was then that you heard the familiar pounding footsteps grow closer and halt outside the front door. You released an exasperated sigh and tutted. “Kirion… I thought we had an understanding.”

“No- wait! I-”

You called on the Force and snapped his neck before he had a chance to finish his plea and a second later, you heard the door crash open.

“You’re-”

“Under arrest?” You finished as you watched Kirion’s limp body slide to the floor. You heaved a sigh and turned to face the squad of ten stormtroopers that were lining the rows and blocking the path between you and the door.

“Get-”

“On my knees? Place my hands behind my head?” You interrupted, boredom evident in your tone as you crossed your arms and leaned against the till counter.

The troopers faltered slightly at your blatant dismissiveness of them.

You pretended to look confused for a moment. “Now, I can never keep track of where the Empire is in that whole phasing out thing so I always gotta ask this- any of you got a CT number?” You straightened up and hovered your hand over your blaster. “It’s always much simpler when none of you do.”

“Last chance, Jedi!” One of them called out as they readjusted their stances.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Yeah… you all say the same thing.”

You quietly walked into your place and pulled your hood and mask down, ignoring the sting of pain as the material caught on the cuts on the bridge of your nose and your lip. You ran your tongue along your mouth and could still taste the harsh metallic taste of blood as it continued to ooze from the wound. Your nose was also still bleeding so you turned on the dim kitchen light to find something to stop it.

“Thought you’d be outta here by now.” You commented cooly without looking up as you heard her door open, and the soft padding of footsteps walk towards you. You fished out a cloth and ran it under some cold water and wiped away the congealed blood on your face before you held it to your nose.

“We don’t have a ship anymore, remember?” Lyra reminded you as she sat by the small kitchen table.

You’d forgotten about that. After the two of you had found this place, you’d sold it to someone who claimed to have word from Hunter. Unfortunately, that had turned out to be a rather bad deal and it was your first experience of dealing with the Imperials stationed here. “There are transports.”

Lyra just shook her head at you. “You still don’t get it.”

“Don’t really see what there is to get. Just hop on the next ship outta here, I won’t stop you.”

“I care about you, dumbass. Whatever is happening to you, I can’t just leave you alone in it.” Lyra replied wearily. Part of her wanted to, she’d even started packing a bag this time, but after these months spent with you and especially after what you went through recently told her you were one step away from a full-on breakdown and whether you would admit it or not, you still needed someone.

You ground out a sigh and stared down at the floor. She kept doing this. She kept having that faith in you that you couldn’t see but you didn’t deserve it. She should leave, she’d be better off without you but you didn’t have it in you to give her that final push. So, you worked on freezing her out, pushing her away until she realised you weren’t good for her or anyone else. But she refused, she was still here with you, and you couldn’t fathom why.

“Did you get what you were looking for?” Lyra asked, deliberately avoiding asking the state of the people that had clearly got in your way tonight. She’d seen what you were capable of but found that living in as much ignorance as she could saved her a lot of trouble. That and reminding herself you were not yourself right now.

“Yup.” You rinsed out the cloth and got ready to move into your room.

“I need to check your stitches. You weren’t ready for a fight yet.”

You knew what she would find if she looked. “No, you don’t.”

“(Y/N), let me see.” Lyra caught your arm as you went to move past her.

You huffed out another irritated breath but took your armour off before you lifted your first layer over your head. “Knock yourself out.”

She pushed up your vest top. “Yeah, you ripped a few open.” Lyra winced as she saw the lines of blood secreting from the sore and irritated looking now open wounds on your back.

“It’s fine.” You said dismissively. The pain wasn’t bothering you. You needed to come up with a plan of how to know when they got here.

“It’s not. Sit down.” She insisted as she went for the medkit. She had gotten well-acquainted with the item over the months, the most recent incident in particular had really tested her skills.

You released a resigned sigh and sat across from her and let her start cleaning them and closing them up again.

“They’re coming here, Lyra.” You found yourself whispering into the silence.

Lyra paused her process. “You’ve been told that before. The same thing happened on Cermau a couple months ago and it didn’t pan out. You-”

“I know what happened on Cermau. This isn’t like that.” You said defensively. It had to be different. You thought to yourself. You weren’t sure how many more dead ends you could take.

Lyra finished up the last few stitches. “You can’t know that.”

As soon as you felt her complete that last stitch, you stood. “Yes, I can.” You grabbed your armour and strode had over to your room without another word and shut the door.

You braced your hands against it and took a few deep breaths. You did have a way you could do but it had been so long since you’d gone near it, and you didn’t know if you could cope with the failure it might bring.

You settled in the middle of your crappy bed, the mattress sinking to the bedframe beneath as you shifted around to attempt to find some level of comfort. When you had found what you figured would be the ‘best’ spot, you crossed your legs and placed your hands on your knees.

You inhaled slowly, deeply, blocking out all the distractions of your mind and the sounds of the late-night life outside, and closed your eyes. You reached into the Force but what met you wasn’t any familiar signature. It was scenes and voices that you had tried so hard to forget.

Flashes of the people you’d hurt… you’d killed.

All that happened to you a week ago.

Tech hanging below the rail car.

Plan 99.

Omega, unconscious and injured on the ground.

Such an exquisite creature.

The torture he made you go through... and enjoyed.

His words to Hunter- To lose one of your own, it must weigh heavily on you as their leader.

Omega being carried off.

Hemlock letting you and Hunter have one last goodbye before you were taken away.

I love you.

No, it was too much. You couldn’t do it. Your breathing was shaky as you tore yourself out. You wiped the cold sweat from your palms. “Come on, get it together.” You told yourself as you took a long calming breath. You needed to do this right.

You centred yourself and went again. Except this time, all you could see was a vast space of darkness. No light, no hope, only darkness. Was this to be your fate? To be tormented by the fact you had let yourself fall and there was nothing left for you. How could you find them in this? You had no light left in you to give.

Spark.

You felt yourself twitch in discomfort. You knew that voice. That name. Only one person ever called you that.

Spark, you’re still not focused.

Let go of your anger. You’re not as lost as you view yourself to be.

No, no it couldn’t be. How could it be? No, this wasn’t right. You pulled yourself out and you looked around your room in a blind panic as you fought to get your distressed breathing back under control.

But it was only you in there. How could you hear him? It had to be some trick your mind was playing on you. Payback for all you’d done.

You exhaled heavily and braced your hands behind your neck as you looked to the ceiling. You stood and paced the confined space, shaking your hands as if you could shake away the bad feeling sitting on your chest.

You sat back on the bed and rolled your shoulders as you found your focus again. Faint rays of sun now came through the cracks in your window along with the sound of rain pattering against the fractured glass, but the new time meant nothing to you.

You didn’t care how long it would take; you were going to find them.

Hunter and Wrecker walked out of the ship and departed the bay to enter the streets of Christophsis- the rain sliding down their armour as they moved between the crowds.

“Well, we’re in the right place.” Wrecker commented as he nudged Hunter in the direction of the first holoscreen that had your image appear and a quick look at the immediate buildings followed that theme since they all had multiple paper posters in their windows and on their doors.

Hunter swallowed tightly as he saw holographic picture of you. There’d been one too many ‘right places’ in his search for you. He wasn’t going to accept that philosophy until he had something more than a wanted sign for you. “Come on. We’ll start with Kendrin’s brother.”

“So, you’re saying you saw a figure head in that direction after the disturbance last night?” A trooper pointed in said direction as she questioned the current resident on her list whilst the rest of her squad proceeded to clear the pawnshop.

“This looks like her handiwork, Sarge.” Wrecker uttered from the corner of the street they were observing from as he studied the scene ahead. Squads of troopers had cornered off the street and where questioning the civilians that appeared to live in the neighbourhood. And being carried out on stretchers were the dead bodies of troopers, but not all had blaster burns on their armour.

Hunter nodded his agreement and felt his heart beat that little bit faster with the flutter of hope. “Come on, we can’t stay here too long.” He directed as he and Wrecker turned away from the pawnshop.

As Hunter began to track your movements based on what he’d heard the trooper say, this finally being the right location was starting to feel a lot more plausible now.

There it was! You saw that faint glimmer of light in all the dark. It had to be them! You could feel it!

You jumped from your bed and grabbed your top and armour, hastily putting them on as you opened your door and bolted for the exit.

The weather had taken a turn for the worst, but you barely registered the pouring rain as you left the building. Your clothes were already soaked but it didn’t matter, you were too focused on holding onto that feeling of them.

“You’re the Jedi everyone is searching for.”

You whipped out your blaster and turned in the direction of the voice.

“No, wait! I don’t mean you any harm!” She came out from behind the skip with her hands in the air. “My name is-”

“Don’t tell me.” You interrupted sharply as you studied the Twilek before you. “How’d you find me?” You asked coldly. You didn’t lower your blaster either.

“It wasn’t easy. I’ve been following you since I knew of your arrival here. I thought I’d lost you when you disappeared for those three weeks.”

The fact you hadn’t sensed her presence at all told you that you were not what you used to be. You never used to be so sloppy. “I can’t have you knowing where I am.” You rested your hand over the trigger.

“Wait!” She reached a hand out to you. “I haven’t told anyone, and I won’t. I just need your help!”

“My help?” You repeated. “I can’t help you and I’ve got somewhere to be so-”

“Please.” She begged. “My sister, she’s sick and we barely have enough credits to feed ourselves, let alone get medicine.”

“Not my problem, I’m sorry.” Satisfied though that she wasn’t a true threat, you put your blaster away and got ready to leave.

“It wasn’t my sister’s problem that she got caught in a blaster fight and her wound got infected! No one asks for that!”

That made you pause. You’d had your fair share of shootouts in this place but you’d also you’re your best to minimise the damage to outsiders. “Where was the fight?” You found yourself asking quietly.

“About a month ago by the old shipyard on the outskirts of the city. We’d been told we could find some cheap transport off world, but something went down with the Imperials stationed there and my sister… I didn’t tug her down fast enough. I didn’t know what to do and then I heard of the Jedi that had landed in Christophsis and I knew I had to find you.”

A month ago… but that was where and when you’d gone to sell the ship… where’d you’d first been ambushed by the Imperials… no, there wasn’t meant to be anyone else there. Maybe you could… no, you didn’t have the time. Your aim was always good, it wouldn’t have been your shot that hit her. “I can’t.” You said dismissively, but there was a fading sense of conviction in your voice. Some part of you wanted to do the right thing by her. But it wasn’t enough to stop you pushing past her.

“I thought Jedi helped people!”

You stopped in your tracks and made a noise of resigned frustration as you turned around to face the young Twilek. “Wait here.”

You hastily ran back into your building, silently entered, and grabbed a few spare medical supplies from your kit before you ran back out to meet her again. “Alright, show me.”

Your place looked like a luxurious penthouse compared to where this young twilek and her sister were staying. It was virtually a single room with cracks in the walls and ceiling and there was a distinct damp aroma in the air. It was no wonder that they wanted to leave this place.

You then saw the smaller and younger twilek lying on a small mattress in the middle of the floor. There were drops of sweat dotted across her brow and she was shivering uncontrollably.

You’d never wanted anyone innocent to be affected by what you were doing yet it had happened with Lyra and now this child. “I’m sorry.” You whispered to her as you kneeled down beside her. You saw the bloodstain on her clothing and delicately lifted the end of her shirt to see the wound on her hip being covered by nothing more than a ripped piece of a shirt.

“Can you help her?”

You half- turned to face the sister who was looking on fretfully. “I can clean the wound and reclose it. After that, it’ll be down to her. But the fact that she’d held on for so long is a good sign. She’s strong, she should be okay.”

The sister sighed in relief.

You brought out the supplies and recleaned and applied to bacta before you re-dressed the wound. “Do you have water?” You asked.

The sister nodded and dashed over to grab a cannister. She passed it to you.

“Lift her head.” You instructed gently.

She murmured words of comfort to her sister as she propped up her head.

As tenderly but as effectively as you could, you pushed the pill past her lips and got her to swallow it down with some water.

When her breathing had grown more controlled and her shivering had subsided, you go to your feet. “I’m leaving you some bacta and wound dressings along with some pills that’ll help with the fever. That’s all I can do now.”

“Thank you.” She clasped your hand tightly. “I won’t forget this.”

“It’s better that you do.” You said grimly. “And once she’s better, if you still need a way out of here, use the actual transports off this planet.” You chucked a bag of credits on the ground before you walked out of the room.

You rounded the corner but swiftly pressed your back against the wall since there was a group of stormtroopers directly in your path. You would have no chance of finding them with those soldiers in your way. You needed to find a way around them and what better way to do that than going from roof to roof. You summoned the Force and jumped to the top of the building and got moving.

You would get a better view from above anyway.

When another small squad of troopers made their presence known ahead, Hunter signalled him and Wrecker to an alleyway out of the line of their sight. He knew they were close to you, but the Imperial presence was making it hard to track you effectively.

“We can’t keep hiding like this, Hunter.” Wrecker grunted in frustration.

“I know, Wrecker.” Hunter agreed, equally as irritated. “If I could just-” He stopped suddenly.

“Hunter?”

“Someone’s here.” Hunter muttered quietly as his hand fell over his blaster.

“You’re getting sloppy, Sergeant. I’ve been following you the past 3 blocks.”

The voice that he’d been longing to hear and that was so familiar, he’d recognise it anywhere. His breath hitched with the realisation at what this finally meant. Hunter took off his helmet and turned around to the distant sound of feet hitting a puddle in the ground. And it was you. Standing there before him. It was finally you.

“Hello, Hunter.” You said softly, so softly you could barely hear the words themselves due to the sound of your own heart thundering in your ears. If it wasn’t for the flash of recognition in his eyes or the way Wrecker’s jaw dropped as he propped his helmet atop his head, you wouldn’t have been certain that you’d said anything at all. You tugged down your coverings and let yourself be unprotected to the rain.

He felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs. Hunter dropped his helmet and something akin to a choked gasp fell from his mouth as he could at long last lay his eyes on you. He started to slowly walk towards you but that soon became a run, water kicking up against him, but he didn’t care.

Your feet slapped against the wet ground as you met him halfway and crashed into his arms with a thankful sigh and buried your face in his neck. Even as you held him tightly to you, part of you still couldn’t believe that it was him. You felt something swell in your heart, a feeling you couldn’t place but knew you hadn’t felt in a long time.

Did you deserve this? Did you deserve to have him back after all you’d done? Pushing the thought away, you readjusted your embrace as if you could somehow hold him even closer.

He twisted his hands in your clothing and breathed you in. He’d imagined this moment for so long. When things seemed too dark and hopeless, he’d clung on to this. To think about how it would feel to finally see you again. To hold you again. And imagination couldn’t compare to the utter joy in his heart that reality brought him. He almost didn’t want to let you go for fear that you could be taken away again but practicality took precedence, the two of you couldn’t stay this way forever, as much as he might want to.

Tears mixed with rain streamed down both your cheeks as you parted from one another.

You cupped his face in your hands. “You’re here? You’re actually here?” You murmured, your voice cracking with emotion. You’d driven yourself crazy with picturing this moment, you needed to make sure this wasn’t your brain’s idea of a cruel joke.

Hunter removed your hands from his face and kissed your gloved knuckles. “I’m here.” He whispered back, his breathing still shaky as he pressed pressing his forehead into yours.

“You’re here.” You repeated as you looked into his soft brown eyes.

Hunter’s thumb gently caressed the cut on your lip, and he noticed the other wound on your nose. “Did they-”

You pulled his hand away. “Doesn’t matter. This is all I care about right now.”

Before Hunter could push the matter, he felt his brother approach.

“And what about me?”

You glanced past Hunter to the indignant but affectionate voice. “Hi, Wrecker.” You met his open armed invitation and let him swing your around as he hugged you.

“Good to see you, (Y/N)!”

“How’d you find me?” You asked as he placed you back down.

“You didn’t make it easy.” Wrecker griped. “We always seemed to be two steps behind you.”

“I haven’t exactly been hiding though.” You disputed as you pointed to a discarded wanted poster on the ground beside you.

“Between the Imperials and dead end leads and your rather annoying ability to hide in plain sight, it was tough. We got a lucky break with a guy whose brother owned another pawn shop here. Saw the results of a fight and figured we’d finally caught up with you.” Hunter explained as he came to stand in front of you and took his helmet from his brother.

You gulped. You’d be careful to make sure the people you’d gone after had no one they’d be leaving behind. You didn’t realise you’d messed up with that this time. “He- he had a brother?”

Hunter tilted his head at the unusually emotive response. “Apparently but I’m assuming you had a good reason for ending it the way you did.”

You coughed. “Yeah, totally.” You straightened your back and changed the subject. “Where’s Echo?”

“Using his contact to try to get more intel on Hemlock. We still don’t know where he’s holding Omega.” Hunter kicked the ground. “Don’t suppose you have anything?”

“I wish I did but everything I gathered was either old or what we knew already. He’s good at laying low.” You seethed.

“We’ll get him, though. We have too.” Wrecker stated firmly.

“How soon can you leave?” Hunter asked.

“Um, well-” You cut yourself off as your sight drifted past Hunter’s shoulder to the end of the alley at the lone trooper that had a blaster pointed at Hunter’s back.

“Watch out!” You yelled as you pushed Hunter out the way of the incoming blaster bolt. You drew your blaster and fired a shot that landed in the centre of the trooper’s chest, and he dropped to the ground. But you knew, where there was one stormtrooper, there would be at least five more behind them.

“We need to move out.” Hunter urged as he got back to his feet and put his helmet on. “A firefight will draw too much attention.”

“No time.” You stated simply as you pulled your hood and mask back up.

“We’ve got more incoming!” Wrecker confirmed as he lowered his helmet and opened fire on the small squad of troopers that had arrived.

The three of you took cover behind a skip, only firing defensive shots back. You needed to draw the soldiers closer before going on the offensive.

When they had gotten close enough, Hunter threw a smoke bomb, the action allowing the three of you to advance and take out the troopers one shot at a time.

As the firefight continued, however, you began to feel unsteady on your feet and your movements felt unbalanced. Your tingling limbs ensured that your aim was skewed too. All that, combined with the wetness you felt pooling from your stomach meant the trooper had better aim than you credited them for- you’d been hit. You couldn’t afford to think about what this meant, right now, you needed to get outta here.

But you’d been distracted long enough for one downed soldier you’d dismissed as being a threat to come around and jab their blaster against your knee. You grunted with the impact but turned your blaster on him and he lay limp on the ground.

Hunter and Wrecker tidied off the few retreating stragglers. They could deal with this small group but anything more would prove difficult.

With the last trooper taken care of, you braced yourself against the wet wall. The fading adrenaline in your system now being replaced by agony and you ripped your mask down and took deep but laboured breaths.

“Their reinforcements won’t be long. We made a bit of noise.” Wrecker said as he holstered his blaster.

But Hunter wasn’t paying attention to what Wrecker was saying. His gaze was fixed on you and the way you were struggling to hold yourself up against the wall. “(Y/N), what-” He stopped as he saw the crimson drops that mixed with the rainwater drip from the hand pressed to your stomach onto the ground. No, no, no. He thought to himself. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t lose you when he’d only just found you again.

Your knees buckled and you fell to the ground, Hunter catching your shoulder was the only reason you were able to stay sitting up but without the distraction of the fight, the pain was overwhelming. Black spots danced in the corners of your vision, but you couldn’t succumb to them, not now. Not after all this. You tried to lift your head to speak but all that left your mouth was a tortured groan.

As collected as he wanted to be to deal with this, he couldn’t totally keep his panic at bay. His hands trembled as he attempted to get you to look at him. He delicately brushed some loose strands of hair from your face. “Sshh, I’ve got you.” He whispered tenderly, fighting to keep the worry out of his voice. What made it all the worse was that he knew this wound didn’t occur through the fight they’d just seen out, you’d been hurt shoving him out the way of that first shot that drew the rest of the stormtroopers in.

How could he have allowed this to happen? What good were his enhanced senses if he couldn’t protect the people he loved. You shouldn’t have needed to push him out the way of that blaster bolt, he should’ve known the trooper was there and now you were paying the price for his mistake.

“What can we do?” Wrecker asked quickly.

You winced and tried for words again. “Medical centres are a no. Where’s- where’s the ship?”

“Landing bay 6.” Wrecker replied.

You inhaled sharply. Your current state made things all too easy for the Imperials to catch you making your way there. “Too far. We- we gotta get to my place. She- she might kill me but- argh!” You broke off with a cry of pain as you reached a hand up to Hunter. “But it’s safe there and- and she’ll know what to do.”

“Hold on.” Hunter rasped as he took a grip of your forearm and signalled to Wrecker to keep an eye out as he pulled you to your feet.

You pressed your hand into your side with a pained gasp as Hunter put his arm around you and supported most of your weight and the three of you got on the move.

“This is it?” Wrecker asked- his scepticism evident despite the pressing matter at hand- as he stared at the condemned building.

“All the regular penthouses were taken.” You kidded before you swayed on your feet as a wave of dizziness struck.

“Woah, easy.” Hunter cautioned as he strengthened his grip.

“Second floor.” You hissed. “And mind the fourth step on the second staircase. Half of it is missing.”

“It can never just be simple.” Hunter grumbled anxiously as Wrecker opened the decrepit door to the building.

“Would it really be a reunion if everything went well?” You joked deliriously.

“Right now, yes I would definitely prefer it.” Hunter fretted as he saw your head dip. You were losing the battle of staying conscious with each passing second. The next time it happened, he wasn’t sure you would be able to lift your head again.

Lyra had barely any time to process the familiar people standing in her doorway as she answered the pounding knock. All she could do was stare at you, half collapsed against Hunter’s side, your hand cradling your stomach, and then her eyes caught sight of the trail of blood that had followed your path up. “What-”

“Hey, girl. Remember- remember how I promised I wouldn’t put you through something like this again? Turns out, I shouldn’t- shouldn’t have done that.” You said through gritted teeth before you stumbled as you tried to take a step forward, prompting Hunter to lift you up.

“Please.” The hoarse plea was all Hunter managed to say.

“Lay her here.” Lyra quickly stepped aside to let the three of you in and pointed to the couch.

Hunter hustled inside and delicately placed you on the worn soft. He took off his helmet and kneeled by your head and stroked your hair back from your forehead. “You’re going to be alright. You need to hold on for me, okay? I’m not losing you again.” He whispered against your temple before he left a light kiss on your brow.

“Good news, it’s not as bad as last time.” Lyra said as she examined the wound before getting up to go gather the medical supplies.

“The bar is rather low on that front, Lyra.” You moaned.

“Last time?” Hunter found himself asking as he tore his stare from your bloody injury to Lyra.

Lyra didn’t respond, she was too busy staring at the depleted supply of medical care. She took a deep breath and braced her hands against the countertop. “(Y/N)… what happened to the bacta?”

Seemingly forgetting that you were currently in severe pain and bleeding out, you went to prop yourself up but Hunter’s hand gently pushing against your shoulder stopped you. “Hey.” You protested wearily.

“You can answer the question like that.” Hunter chastised.

“The bacta?” Lyra pressed as she rifled through the other cupboards in case it had somehow been misplaced.

No, not yet. You told yourself as the black dots returned. You blinked them away and took a strained breath before you answered. “I- I may have given it away…”

“You-” Lyra had to take a deep, calming breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You gave it away? What in all the galaxy would possess you to do that?”

“Well, I saw someone in need and decided-” You broke off with another pained wince. “Decided to finally be a good citizen.”

Lyra released an exasperated sigh. “Do I need to remind you of your track record? You need bacta like the rest of us need water.”

“In my defence, I wasn’t planning on needing it anymore. This- this time really wasn’t my fault.”

“I quite frankly don’t give a fuck! You can’t just-”

“Can we do this later?” Hunter interrupted as he saw your face contort in discomfort. “Preferably when she’s able to hold a conversation without convulsing in pain?”

“I can run back to our ship and get some.” Wrecker offered as he lifted his helmet.

“Go.” Hunter said with a nod, but Lyra held out a hand to stop the bigger clone from going.

“She doesn’t have that kinda time. I can cauterise it the old-fashioned way, but it’ll just hurt like hell.” Lyra said with a grimace.

“That’s fine because I don’t think I’m going to be conscious for much longer.” The darkness encroaching on your vision was all too tempting and you were completely exhausted.

“No, you stay awake.” Lyra ordered sternly.

Hunter and Wrecker turned their attention sharply to you.

“Come on, (Y/N). You gotta hang in there.” Wrecker urged as he reached over the back of the couch and placed a large hand on your shoulder.

“Sweetheart, keep your eyes on me.” Hunter begged as he saw them flicker open and shut but it was a battle that he knew you were going to lose.

You wanted to; you really did but you just couldn’t. You shut your eyes and embraced the peace of the darkness.

“Hunter, she’s still breathing right?” Lyra asked as she picked up the last few things she needed.

“Shallowly but yes.” Hunter said with a thankful sigh.

“That’s good enough.” Lyra ran back to the couch and began to start to process of stabilising you.

You were in a dim corridor. The only light seemed to at the end of the long passageway. You made to walk towards it, hoping it would show you a way out but as you walked, it seemed to move away from you. You broke into a run but the distance between you and the light only grew. You paused your run as you thought about what this could mean. It was then though that a voice spoke up and a figure appeared next to you.

You won’t get to it.

You faced the figure. It almost sounded and looked like you but there was something off about it. There was a yellow shimmer in the eyes and the face was gaunt and mean-looking, with lips that seemed to be in a permanent sneer. The voice carried a cruel, sinister overtone that made your blood run cold and the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

It’ll keep staying away from you.

But why? You studied whatever it was before you as they circled you. When it walked, it was cast in constant shadow.

You think after all you’ve done; you can have that light back? You think you deserve it?

Before you could form a reply, your attention was drawn to a scene unfolding to your right.

Aww this was your first failure. But it brought me to the surface, so I remain pretty grateful.

Your breath caught in your throat as you recognised the moment. You saw your master completely surrounded by battle droids, taking hit after hit. And you saw yourself as a Jedi Knight sprinting to reach him. You went to turn away, but a strong hand grabbed the back of your neck, forcing you to keep looking.

There’s you. Being too late to save him. Do you remember the last words you said to him?

You did and they were words you had regretted ever since.

‘Stubborn, foolish, out of touch, old timer whose only purpose was to be a pawn for the orders of the Jedi Council’ I believe they were.

Stop it.

He died knowing you failed him.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you heard the final shot that sent your master crumbling to the ground.

You got a taste for it then.

Despite the fact you wanted to refuse, you found yourself opening your eyes to seeing yourself utterly decimate the remaining droids by your master’s dead body. You saw the merciless gleam in your eyes and the callous smile that graced your face as you destroyed them. You had enjoyed that. The scene finished with you repeatedly bringing your lightsaber down on the final droid, the blue blade moving in unrestrained fury. Why did you show me that? You asked bleakly.

But the darkness didn’t give you a proper answer. It only pushed an icy finger on your lips. Pay attention, we’re not done yet. It took you a while to accept that this was always in you. You worked on shutting me out. You managed for a while… but then she left.

You wanted nothing more than to leave this place and this darkness before you, but all control had been taken from your body. Your feet began moving of their own accord and you were directed to another moment on your left this time. You were stopped and the hand took a harsh grip of your neck again. You were forced to watch Ahsoka walk out the Council Chamber doors, with Anakin following her and then you viewed yourself in horror as you saw the rage written across your face and heard the venom in your words as you yelled at the Council. Had you really been that uncontrolled? That angry?

Even though you finally left those uptight pricks, you still insisted on keeping me hidden though. Rather irritating I must say. I wondered what it would take for you to accept me. And then he came into your life.

You were pushed along the hall again to the next part which was replaying your first interaction with Hunter and your chest felt tight. Leave him out of this.

Oh, but he’s the best part. Your figure taunted nastily.

The scene switched and were now being greeted with flashes of your intimate moments with Hunter. Enough.

The only reply came in the form was an unkind laugh.

Giving into that lust felt good, didn’t it? The possessiveness, the selfishness that came with having someone just for you was too enticing to pass up.

No, that wasn’t what it was at all. Stop.

You liked the feeling of knowing you could use that attachment to excuse any darker actions. You would be doing it for him, so it made it okay. It wasn’t love for him you were feeling, it was a love for the freedom to channel me that you craved. He was merely a convenient vessel.

No, you’re wrong! You insisted but your voice lacked conviction, everything was getting so twisted that you were now doubting the feelings you thought you never would.

The darkness just gave you a pitying look. Just keep watching and you’ll see I’m right.

So, you did. You were shoved further up the corridor to see you and the Batch together. Memories that you once would’ve looked back on in fondness were now tainted by pain and disappointment that you’d dragged them into your mess. The darkness took no notice of your distress, it just continued talking.

Much to my delight, you grew to care for all of that group. I knew that attachment would lead to something marvellous for us and then it finally happened.

You moved along to the next scene and your breathing grew uneven as the image of Eriadu appeared. You couldn’t bear seeing this again but once more, you were left with no choice but to hear Tech say that dreaded plan and watch him fall to his death.

Of course, he was another one you were too slow to save but-

You wouldn’t hear this. No, we didn’t have the time. There was nothing I could’ve done. What happened was-

Oh, I know you tried telling yourself that, but my very existence tells me that you know if you’d allowed me in earlier, the situation itself wouldn’t have happened. You’d have killed Gerrera before he even had a chance to set those explosives off.

No, you’re wrong. You said through a shaken whisper, but you didn’t believe the words you were saying anymore.

Although I must say, I’m glad you didn’t quite give in then since I am rather pleased with how it all turned out. His death was the catalyst to a glorious chain of events. So much loss and broken trust. Finally, you had the reason to welcome me without restraint or regret.

You felt your anger rise as the voice kept talking whilst the scene changed from his death to Cid’s betrayal and Omega being captured and you being separated from Hunter. Nothing about that had been a blessing. It couldn’t have been. Shut up. You snarled. But the figure only smugly beamed.

There it is. There’s that power. You can deny it all you want but that was the best thing that happened to you. You let me in and from that point on, nothing stopped you getting what you wanted. And it felt divine. You know it did. Look at how formidable you are with me being a part of things.

You were dragged along the hall and all that appeared around you were the people in the galaxy you’d threatened, brutalised, and murdered. You had no other option but to watch and hear their tortured pleas and screams. You didn’t need the darkness to talk you through these this time, you recalled very clearly that during all of this, you’d felt not one bit of remorse. You’d thought they deserved it. You’d fallen so far, and a way back now seemed impossible.

The darkness commented on a particular time where you were torturing a woman who’d been very difficult to track and get information from. Even when you did find her, she’d been loyal to the Empire, insisting you should’ve died with the rest of the Jedi traitors. You’d responded by cracking the individual bones in her fingers and hands before moving up to the bones in her arm. You’d broken her right clavicle before she’d finally told you what you needed to know. I particularly liked this moment. Do you remember how she couldn’t stand afterwards? All she could do was writhe on the floor in agony. Quite a humorous sight.

You remembered them all and it made you feel sick to your stomach now as you watched the endless stream of tormented and pained faces of people you had tortured and killed in your quest for information.

The last scene disappeared and despite the fact you had been walking along the corridor that whole time, the light had still remained far out of reach.

See? No matter how far you go, you’ll never reach that light. Why bother searching for it anymore? You know you’re better off alone. All you need is this power and you’ll be unstoppable. But since I know some part of you still cares for your clones, don’t trouble them with this. It’s not something that can be shared or fixed.

The figure faded and you collapsed to your knees in defeat. You had succumbed to that darkness and hurt and killed too many people. You’d crossed that line, and you weren’t sure there was a way back for you and you wouldn’t take Hunter down with you. Or Wrecker and Echo. They deserved a chance to rescue Omega and set things right, and if being with Hunter meant that chance would be at risk, you wouldn’t take that from them. Even if it would kill you, it would be the last thing you did to protect your family. ‘No attachments. There is no emotion, there is peace.’ You had to finally listen to that part of the Jedi Code that you had fought against for years and… and you would let them go.

Once it seemed things were more under control, Wrecker broke the quiet. “I’m going to go keep watch.” He said before walking out.

There were a few minutes of silence, the only noise being the quiet hiss of Lyra sealing shut your injury now that she’d cleaned it.

“Didn’t know you had this skill set.” Hunter said into the quiet as he watched Lyra.

“I tell myself it’s not so different from stitching and making clothes. Plus, she kinda made it that I had to learn quick. There were just some things she couldn’t handle on her own.”

There was a dip in conversation again.

“I was sorry to hear about your kid... and Tech.” Lyra said quietly as she worked on you. She placed a bandage over your now closed injury and started to put away the medical supplies.

The mention of his brother’s name had him stiffening his posture. “Yeah, well, we’re going to find her.”

Lyra nodded understandingly before she indicated to you. “She’s been non-stop since Ord Mantell. She wouldn’t rest until she found you. Didn’t matter how dangerous things got, she wouldn’t stop.”

Hunter continued to stroke your brow. “She’s not the only one.”

“I almost wished she would. I thought the search was going to kill her. Especially after what happened last time.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d mentioned this now. And from the dynamic between the two of you since arriving here, he figured there was key subtext he was missing. He glanced over to Lyra. “What are you talking about?”

Lyra took a short breath. “It was a few weeks ago. She-” Lyra stopped as she heard you let out a soft groan.

“Hey you.” Hunter said softly as you slowly opened your eyes. “How are you feeling?”

You didn’t answer him. Whatever soreness you were experiencing wouldn’t come close to the misery your next course of action would cause you. “Thank you. Again.” You said to Lyra instead.

Lyra nodded. “I’ll go keep Wrecker company.” She said before grabbing her sniper rifle and making her exit.

Hunter brought his focus back to you and provided a supportive hand on your back as you sat up. “Take as long as you need. I figured once you’re feeling more up to it, you can say your goodbyes and leave with us. After-”

“You have to go.”

“Yes, I know…” Hunter said, tilting his head at you. “But you need a bit of time and-”

“No, you need to leave without me.”

Without you? No, you couldn’t mean that. “What’s-” He stopped for a moment to try and recover from the confusion your statement caused him. “What’s changed between that alleyway and now?”

You knew he wasn’t going to make this easy but every minute you had to do this was tearing you apart. “Everything has. The Empire knows what I am. It’ll add unnecessary heat.”

“We’ll cope.”

You swallowed harshly and grimaced as you readjusted your sitting position. “It’s not just that. Things changed when we got separated. I changed.”

“That doesn’t scare me.”

“It should. All I’ve done…” You trailed off and gulped. “I’m not who I used to be.”

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of too. But we can-”

“Hunter, I don’t belong with you anymore.”

Hunter couldn’t accept that. “You’re one of us. You always have been. Since the first moment you stepped in front of those droids on Devaron, you were one of us. I don’t understand why-”

“There’s someone else.” You blurted out and fuck you hated yourself for it. You knew by the way he recoiled from you and from deep hurt and betrayal that flashed across his face, you would’ve been better off hitting him. You knew you had to hurt him. Even if he left hating you, you could find a way to let him go. But you hated that you had to do it.

“There’s someone else.” Hunter repeated quietly, his throat bobbing as he kept his voice tight.

You had to push it. It was the only way, but it felt like your heart was being ripped out of your chest as you said the next words. You forced yourself to keep your voice cold and level. “I’ve moved on. I only needed to know that you were alive. And now I do. You can go now. Just leave and don’t think about me again. It’ll save us all a lot of bother.” You couldn’t face the wounded look in his eyes and you turned your own away from him and had to blink away the tears that threatened to fall.

Hunter clenched his jaw and swallowed thickly. “Look me in the eye and tell me that again.” He implored.

He knew you too well. You wouldn’t do it. If you did, he would know you were lying. So, you opted for something worse- you would manipulate his heart. “If any part of you still cares about me, you will go. That’s all I want now. I need you to leave. You’ll only be hurting me more if you stay.” You said firmly as you faced him again.

You sounded so sure, and even if he thought he could see something in your eyes that took the conviction out of your words, he’d never want to cause you pain, he wouldn’t be able to stand it. Better him be the one to take the hurt, no matter how unnatural it felt, no matter how much every fibre of his being yearned to stay by your side and work this out. So, Hunter got to his feet and walked over to the door. “Every part of me still cares about you.” He murmured back to you before the door opened and he walked out. He was walking out on you- something he thought he’d never do- and it left him feeling like he had a gaping hole in his chest.

As you heard the door shut, a broken sob left your lips and you let the tears fall.

“Where is she?” Lyra asked as Hunter came out from the door behind them.

“Keep her alive.” Hunter said numbly to Lyra before he walked away.

“Hunter-” Lyra started to say but the clone wasn’t stopping.

“Eh, well, I guess it was nice to see you.” Wrecker said hurriedly before he darted after his brother.

“Bye.” Lyra said with confusion as she watched the two clones go. She turned to go back inside and hopefully knock some sense into you.

You’d managed to drag yourself into the sanctity of your room, but the isolation wasn’t helping things. The regret you were feeling was overwhelming but what was done was done. You needed to stand by your choice, it was what was best for them, you just needed to learn how to cope. You needed something, anything, to distract your brain from the self-doubt running rampant in your head so, staying mindful of your wound, you tentatively sat back on your bed and closed your eyes, drowned out the pouring rain smacking against the glass, and found your centre again.

Not to your surprise, you were only surrounded by darkness. You’d let the last light in your life go, there was nothing left for you now.

Spark.

Not that voice. Not again, you couldn’t handle that. “No, I’m not doing this.”

Yes, you are. You need to listen to me, Spark.

You sighed and saw the figure of your old master appear in the vast space before you. “So, either I somehow took a turn and I’m dead or I’m hallucinating.”

Your master simply chuckled. Must it always be extremes with you?

“You taught me what I know, you tell me.”

Well, based off your past choices, I would say you’ve forgotten much of what I taught you.

“This is why you’re in my head? To lecture me about my choices? Yes, I broke the code, big whoop. I never liked it anyway. And now I’ve given into the dark side, sorry to have disappointed you.” You grumbled as you looked down at your feet.

He sighed. It hurt him to see you look so defeated, this wasn’t the young Jedi he’d raised. Evidently, you were going to need more help than he expected. This isn’t some meditative trick. I’ve always been with you, Spark, and now I’m with you because you need help. You’ve strayed from your path, and you need guidance.

“You’re a few months too late, Master.” The title came back into your vocabulary so naturally, you’d nearly missed the fact that you’d reverted back to your student/teacher dynamic so quickly.

That defeat you’re feeling is exactly why I’m here now. This dark side you seem to think is your destiny is not decided, but if you continue to stand by the decision that you just made, it will be. There’s a chance for you, Spark, don’t throw it away.

You couldn’t bring yourself to believe him. “If you’ve truly been around for all of this, you’ll know what I’ve done. You’ve seen what I’ve become. I wasn’t as strong I thought I was.”

You haven’t fallen yet. He reiterated. What you’ve gone through would wreck most people, the fact that you’ve only strayed from the light now is a credit to you. But this choice you’ve made to let them go is what will seal your fate.

“What are you talking about? I was on this path long before what happened on Ord Mantell. I saw it!” You said, your voice rising in frustration and distress. Why was everyone around you so insistent that you could heal from this? You’d shown your true colours years ago, you were only doing what you were obviously meant for.

He raised his hands to calm you. Spark, listen to me. You’re not-

“I had to let him go! I had to let them all go! You should be glad, Master! I’m finally following the teaching you worked so hard on getting through to me!” Your breathing grew more uneven and the word that left your mouth were filled with self-loathing, but you couldn’t stop them. “I’m damaged goods, I have been from the beginning, and I couldn’t bring him down with me! I couldn’t bring any of them down with me!” You felt tears slide down your cheeks as the emotion you had been trying to hard to push down came crashing to the surface.

And is letting attachments go part of the Jedi or Sith philosophy? He asked gently.

His genteel manner caught you off guard. You huffed out a quick breath. “Why does that matter?”

Answer the question, please.

You released an agitated sigh. “Jedi, I guess but-”

And let me ask you this, you said you saw what you’ve done? How?

You regained some composure. “I don’t know how to describe what it was I saw, but whatever it was took me down a lovely stroll through memory lane and I saw what I was. There’s no denying it now.”

It was starting to make sense to him now and with this new understanding, he finally knew the best way to help you. Yes, the dark side can be very manipulative that way. Especially when it knows there’s been pain plenty of pain and sorrow. It preys upon that and I’m just sorry it got to you before I could.

“What are you talking about?”

What you saw, it wasn’t the whole truth.

Not the whole truth? “What do you mean?”

He looked at you with intrigue. What do you think I mean?

You inhaled deeply to find some patience. “Master, please. I’m not your padawan anymore.”

He bowed his head in acknowledgement. You’ll always be my padawan, Spark. But I understand this may not be the best time for one of my lessons.

Despite everything, the nostalgia his teaching persona brought you had you humming out a quiet laugh. “I guess working together on whatever cryptic lesson you’re going to impart on me will be fine, for old times sake if nothing else. Just don’t leave it all to me. I’m not clear-headed enough to do all the thinking.”

He nodded and smiled knowingly at you. It will be less cryptic that the lessons I used to give you. Let us begin.

You knew that gleam in his eye and you forgot that no matter how agitated or frustrated you’d been growing up as his pupil, he’d always found a way to put you at ease and you’d been more open to learning again. Even dead, he still seemed to possess that ability. And it was because of that, you found yourself getting ready to welcome whatever wisdom he felt could get you out of this hell you’d put yourself in.

Now, I understand that you are feeling a lot of guilt and self-loathing, correct?

Feeling it? You felt like you were drowning in it.

And you have convinced yourself that your clones, particularly… Hunter, isn’t it? He waited for your nod before continuing, are better off without you because you’ve done too much. Stepped over that line one too many times? A lost cause, yes?

“I guess you could say that.” You mumbled.

He hummed in thought before he spoke again. You mentioned something about you were this way from the beginning. Can you tell me to which beginning you are referring to?

You inhaled shakily. “I- I saw you die again. I watched myself destroy the rest of those droids in undisciplined rage and- and I was reminded of what I’d said to you.”

Ah yes, that was quite the day. Rather humiliating on my part, I must say. I should’ve just listened to you from the start. My we exchanged some choice words. He ruminated with a small chuckle.

You remembered him having a rather dry sense of humour, but this just seemed absurd. You’re laughing about this?! I was awful to you! I saw you die and all I could do was wreak havoc on a group of droids and I enjoyed it! I held your dead body in my arms and the last thing I had done was insult you and forget everything you’d taught me for some fucking battle droids!”

He held up his hands to appease you. You’re right, I shouldn’t have laughed but that wasn’t quite how it went.

You furrowed your brow. “What? I saw it! I remember it pretty clearly, even without the reminder. I’m haunted by it and you’re telling me that wasn’t what happened?!”

He shook his head. Not quite. Remember, the dark side has a remarkable ability to alter events to fit its needs. It only picks out the moments necessary to draw out those darker emotions. What you saw was true, from a certain point of view, but it didn’t show you everything.

“Then what am I missing?” You asked, desperation in your voice because if there was anything that could help ease the ache from that day, you needed it.

I wasn’t dead when I hit the ground. Fret not, no amount of medical attention would’ve saved me. He interjected hastily as he saw the panic that graced your face. Although the sadder truth is I did in fact die in your arms but… He angled his head to catch your eye again as you had shied away from him upon hearing that. He started again, but your last words to me were not fuelled by irritation or cruelty, you apologised for what you said as well as how you handled those droids. You told me that I was the best teacher you’d ever had, and you promised you would continue to work on what I taught you and to make me proud. That was the last thing you said to me before I passed on. And I can honestly say, Spark, that you kept your promise, despite how it might seem currently.

You went to speak but found that you didn’t have the words. All these years spent being tormented by a memory that in fact had another side to it, could that be right? Seeing it again had made it seem all the more true but there was nothing but sincerity in his face and voice as he told you this. He wasn’t looking to feed you a false narrative, there was no vindictiveness in his tone.

You don’t have to believe me immediately, I know things have been tough but we’re going to go through this and I’m going to help you see the truth, okay? He said tenderly.

You could only nod.

Okay. He straightened up. I’m going to make an educated guess and say that if that incident was the starting point, the next situation would’ve been that unfortunate time with Ahsoka and the Jedi Council and also the day you decided to leave?

You gulped and found your voice again. “Um, yeah.”

And I expect you were shown yourself in an untamed rage with little concern over the words you used?

You gave a stiff nod of your head.

Uh huh, well, once again, you were shown a manipulated memory created from shame. You were unhappy, and I can’t say I blame you, they really fucked that up if you pardon the phrase.

You couldn’t help but snort at his gentlemanly manner and you were reminded of the many telling offs for language you’d received growing up.

And while you were disappointed in them and frustrated, you never lost control of yourself. Your voice was raised but level. You were clear in your points, and you never said anything untoward save for some unsavoury language sprinkled in. He watched you impart the familiar eye roll as he said that last statement, but he took that as a positive sign. Your attachment to Ahsoka didn’t cloud your judgment, your decision to leave was made with a steady heart and a focused head. And I watched you do it and I knew it was the best decision for you. It did set things in motion, but they were good things for you, Spark, and it’s important that you realise that again. He looked at you earnestly.

You held his gaze, and, in his eyes, you saw the master that had been with you through thick and thin. The master that had put up with your questions and doubts about the Jedi Order that the Jedi Council could hardly tolerate. You saw the master that had mentored you and fought by your side for years. He was one of the people that had known you best. He wouldn’t lie to you, and you felt your heart opening up to what he was saying to you.

Shall we continue? He asked after giving you a minute to process.

You shook your shoulders and exhaled heavily before you looked at him and give him a single, firm nod.

He had taken you through various events bit by bit. Pointing out that elements that demonstrated you were still being pulled towards the light. Things like you would’ve either left or killed Lyra the second she’d gotten you out of Ord Mantell and her use was over. Things like you wouldn’t have offered so many opportunities for people to talk to you before you injured or killed them, you would have hurt them first and asked questions later- killing and pain had never been your first port of call. And any firefight that ensued, when possible, you made sure you remained the primary target and civilians would be out of harms way.

Concern for others and worry about the consequences of your actions… Sith and dark side users tend not to feel or allow for these things. He surmised.

Even if what he was revealing to you was the whole picture, there was still the pressing matter of how you’d been in the recent months. “But Eriadu and everything that followed after… I let something in, what was it if not the dark side?”

He gave you a sympathetic smile. You had never experienced loss and betrayal in such quick succession before. What you let in was the anger and anguish you were feeling which you weren’t trained to handle properly. The more you went on, the more those emotions twisted your brain which allowed the darkness to creep in and make it more effortless to act on said emotions. It was easier for you to get what you needed with your emotions being what they were, and you didn’t have to think about who was getting hurt. You got a rather bad case of tunnel vision- you were doing bad things for good reasons, but they were not senseless acts of violence.

“But I have done so many bad things.” You said with self-directed disgust.

Yes, but what you can do now is work towards finding that line again. To finding that control you had in the past. You’ve been on that path since this morning, the self-awareness of what you’ve been doing wasn’t present in the months before today. However, you cannot get back to that place alone anymore, you’ve changed since you left the Order and most of it was for the better, but more attachment means more support. You will not be able to find that balance if you let your family go. He said with a sense of urgency. He needed you to grasp what he was telling you, no matter how unnatural it might feel.

Your pulse quickened. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting what you thought he was? “What are you saying, Master?”

Do you know where your nickname originated?

Confused as you why this was suddenly relevant, you angled your head at him. “I always figured it was because word spread that I made my lightsaber slightly wrong the first time and nearly set it on fire when I first ignited it.”

He chortled. That acted more as a visual aid and a helpful addition to the true origin.

“Then where did it come from?”

He took a deep breath. In the weeks leading up to the time for us to choose a youngling to take under our wing, you caught my eye from the start. It wasn’t just your natural ability with a lightsaber or your quick grasp of the Force, it was how you interacted with the people around you. During the trials, you had a heightened care for how the others were performing and you aided them whenever you could without a second thought. It made you more focused, more effective. You were unique from your peers in that sense and in a way that I’d never seen before, and I knew I had to get to know you more to understand what it was I was picking up on.

“Yeah, I remember. I’d never expected someone to choose me so eagerly, especially since my disciplinary record was far from perfect, even at that age.” Youreminisced with a sigh.

Yes, my fellow Jedi were surprised at my decision, but there was just something within you I had to see for myself. As we got to understand each other and I could officially begin your training, I watched you continue to demonstrate this quality and I could feel it residing in the Force within you. You had this spark, this fire that drove you which would worry even the most disciplined Jedi Masters but with you, it was as much a part of you as the Force was with the rest of us. You were completely at peace with it, and it was something you probably didn’t realise was so rare. You could feel attachment without rejecting the light side of the Force to do so.

So, the name made a bit more sense after all these years, but you still couldn’t see why this was being brought up. “Okay…”

He could tell you were still hesitant to all this. Do you know which General had the most victories with the fewest casualty numbers? Quite a feat to have during war time I might add.

You huffed a heavy breath from your lips. “I have no idea. The war was such a mess and there were so many of us that it was hard to keep up with the results of each battle.”

Fair point. He conceded, but that doesn’t change the answer which is that it was you.

You were taken aback for a moment before you thought back to that period and part of it did make sense. Many of your strategies had seen you take on the most dangerous elements for the sake of the clones in your battalion despite protests from them, your master and pretty much everyone that was involved, but all that mattered to you was that they worked, and you did what you could to protect everyone else.

He knew you enough to recognise that face and he figured whatever it was you were thinking about would relate to his next question. And which General had the most visits to the medical wing? Another impressive award. He added with a hint of disapproval, his mask of control slipping slightly as he frowned at the memories of the countless notifications he’d receive of your admittance to the healing wards of the Jedi Temple.

You cringed as you remembered the fact you had been on a first name basis with all the medical personnel. “I did.”

He nodded. Attachments didn’t bring you down, they lifted you up. Their most negative consequence in that period seemed to be the recklessness they gave you- and my hair greying faster than I would’ve liked. He couldn’t help but say before he continued, but they didn’t unbalance you like they did most of us. And it is on that point my dear Spark, that I failed you.

“Failed me?” In what galaxy could he have possibly failed you when you were the one that had forgone all you stood for and was one slip away from total self-destruction.

When it became clear to me that this was indeed one of your best qualities and strengths, I was thrilled! It presented a challenge for me as you Master that I was looking forward to exploring! Your emotional attachment to people and causes was one I wanted to teach you to manage, not forbid. Your love and care didn’t make you more susceptible to the dark side and its dangers, it drew you closer to the light. That fire that burns within you isn’t a threat, it’s your way to become something greater. But the Council… He trailed off with a regretful sigh. They rejected my proposal that I mentor you in this way. So instead, as you got older, I worked on forcing you to dampen that flame within you but- He stopped for a moment and chuckled wryly. As you may remember, that was when the root of our conflicts started. Foolishly and rather selfishly-and this is an example of how even those of us that followed the Jedi Code to the letter slip from time to time- you passing your trials into Knighthood gave me profound relief. Not only did it mean I could see you become the Jedi you were always meant to be, but it meant my duty as your teacher was over and I could stop doing something I was against. But I shied away too much and stopped teaching you altogether, had I just been less of a ‘pawn of the Council’ as you quite rightly put it, what you’re experiencing now could have been avoided.

You took a moment to let his words sink in, but you wouldn’t let him blame himself for how you’d behaved in recent times. “I still made the choices to hurt those people, Master. You’re not responsible for my actions.”

Perhaps not, but I could’ve done more to make sure you were better equipped to deal with the loss attachment could bring rather than just tell you to stop feeling it altogether. Not that you listened to that anyway. He added with a slight grin.

You allowed yourself half a smile at that before his face turned sombre again.

But I should’ve stood up for you and for that I’m sorry.

You bowed your head in acceptance of his apology. “But what does all of what we’ve talked about have to do with where I am now?”

Everything I’ve shown you, everything you’ve felt in these recent months illustrates someone who had to cope with a tremendous amount of grief when they had been told their whole life to not feel or get attached. Even with your strength and abilities, Spark, that was a big ask, your actions, and the internal conflict you’re going through is an understandable outcome. But even in dealing with that struggle, you were never purely evil or sought to abandon your Jedi teachings. The only time I grew truly worried before now was whatever you did a few weeks ago. Even I couldn’t see you; it was like the very light around you was getting snuffed out. Care to tell me what you did?

You shook your head adamantly.

Very well. As I was saying, all you’ve learned, all you’ve done and means you can heal from this. You are not a lost cause, not a source of darkness and despair. You are good at heart, Spark!

But Master, I-

No, don’t talk yourself out of this. Really think about what I’m telling you. You never abandoned Lyra, you did your best to ensure no civilian would be caught up in your fights, you offered chances to those people before you hurt them. And you were able to sense Hunter and Wrecker arrive. That source of light wouldn’t have shown itself if you were too far down that dark path.

Maybe so but-

He wouldn’t let you second guess yourself anymore. And when you realised that they were indeed on this planet… what did you do first?

You pondered for a moment before you remembered. I helped those sisters.

And when you found one another, you felt alive and hopeful again but because you’d been lost and confused for so long, it got manipulated into that guilt and regret and hurt you are experiencing right now that has left you exposed to this darkness. But before that, you were ready to free yourself of it, whether you truly realised it or not.

“Right…” You said distantly as you were slowly starting to understand what revelation he was guiding you towards.

I can see you working it out, you’re almost there. He encouraged.

Each lesson and aspect of this entire conversation began to click into place. “So, you’re saying that Hunter’s my light? He’s my way out of this?” You uttered quietly.

Isn’t he? He challenged with a supportive smile. And I believe he too made that fact very clear before you sent him away.

“I thought that was what I was supposed to do.” You said in dismay as your mind finally began to listen to what your Master had been telling you and you gained some proper clarity. What had you done?

He looked at you fondly. You were always a bad student when it came to applying and learning the history of our Code, it would fit that the first time you apply the philosophy to your life would be the poorer choice. They never unbalanced you, Spark. At the very least, they’re your way of staying true to the light side and your dark side knew that, hence it’s enthusiastic efforts to turn you.

You hid you head in your hands in embarrassment. You wouldn’t know a right decision if it smacked you in the face.

Oh, and with regards to Cid and Hemlock, I leave that side of things entirely up to you, with your family by your side, I know punishing them however you like won’t ruin you.

“Thanks, Master.” You replied, a smile in your voice.

Not every Jedi gets the chance at a family, Spark, don’t throw it away now.

You glanced up in time to see him fade away but what was around you wasn’t pure darkness anymore; rays of light had broken into the gloomy space, with more fighting to get through.

You opened your eyes sharply and wiped away the damp residue of the tears that had escaped your eyes from your cheeks. He was right, they were the light in your life, and you’d been so stupid to let them go.

Ignoring the lingering pain of your injury, you hastily got to your feet, grabbed a couple bags of credits, and left your room only to be greeted by the disappointed and unhappy face of Lyra. “Hey, I was just-”

“You need to go after them. I’m sorry but I’m drawing the line here. I have not watched you put yourself through hell and risk your life month after month to find your family again only for you to throw it away for some stupid, fucked up, self-sabotaging reason! If you let them go, it will destroy you and as someone else who cares about you, I cannot allow you to do that! They’re your family, you need them, and they need you. And your kid needs you, you can’t just stop! And Hunter… that man is so in love with you it’s sickening, and you are as equally disgustingly in love with him! Whatever is holding you back, the two of you can get through together!”

“Lyra-” But she held up a finger to stop you.

“And you don’t need to worry about me, I will be fine. I’ll get a job and might even find a place that’s not a condemned building to live. You have to go!” She finished with a nervous exhale as she awaited your reaction.

“You’re right.” You agreed.

“Yeah, I am and- wait… what?” Lyra stared at you, shocked.

“I’m going after them.”

“You are?” She double checked.

“Yup.”

“Oh, thank fuck!” Lyra exclaimed before she darted forward and wrapped you up in her arms.

“How long were you coming up with that speech?” You kidded as the two of you hugged.

“For however long you were holed up in your room.” Lyra said with a laugh. “And in case you didn’t listen to that, I had my rifle set to stun and was fully prepared to drag you.”

“Glad we could avoid that.” You replied drily. “Also, ‘sickeningly in love?’” You quoted.

“I meant that as a compliment. Most people can only dream of that.”

You managed a short laugh. “I was an ass to you.” You mumbled shamefully.

“You were, but you were going through a lot.” Lyra said kindly as she removed herself from your hold.

“I was broken and hurting but that wasn’t an excuse to treat you how I did and I’m so sorry. I’m truly grateful for you and your friendship and well, just everything you’ve done for me. I won’t ever forget it. There are some spare bags of credits from those jobs I pulled whilst we were on the move in my bedside drawer, take them. And if there’s anything, and I mean anything you need, I will be there. You only have to get in touch.” You passed her the details of the Marauder’s comm channel.

“Go get ‘em.” Lyra said with a grin.

You gave her one last quick hug before you ran out the door, concern for your injury was pushed far to the back of your mind. You only prayed to the Force that you hadn’t left it too late.

“But I still don’t understand why we’re going without her. What you’ve said makes no sense.” Wrecker questioned as he followed Hunter up and down the Marauder as he got stuff ready for take-off.

“Not my problem, Wrecker. I don’t really want to relive it all again so that it makes sense to you.” Hunter said gruffly as he avoided making eye-contact with his brother and instead focused on keeping himself busy.

“She met someone else and you’re basically doing the whole ‘if you love someone you let them go?’”

“I guess that about sums it up.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Wrecker-”

“I’m sorry, Sarge, but it’s true.”

“You weren’t there. You didn’t hear her.”

“She can’t have meant it! She still has your insignia, if there was someone else, why would she keep that?!”

“Wrecker, drop it.” Hunter said sharply. His brother’s insistence that you were making all this up was only rubbing salt in the wound.

“We’re really just going to leave and forget about her?”

“Yup.”

Wrecker just couldn’t accept that. “If you love someone, you fight for them! Otherwise, what’s the point in what we’re doing right now, why should we bother going after Omega?”

Hunter paused his pacing by the doorway and released an exasperated sigh. “What do you expect me to do?”

Wrecker went to speak but changed his mind as to what he was going to say as he saw the figure in the background. “Actually, I don’t think you’ll have to do anything.” Wrecker said, looking past Hunter’s shoulder.

Hunter turned to follow his gaze and that was when he saw you. Standing in the torrential rain a few feet away from the steps to the Marauder, was you and you were obviously trying to catch your breath.

You started to speak before you caught your breath, so your words were leaving you in a desperate and winded manner. “I was always a bad student.” You raised your voice over the sound of the pouring way. You wiped some drops away from your face, a futile gesture given the intensity of the downpour, but the motion assisted in grounding you for this moment.

Hunter studied you from afar for a second, unsure as to why you’d started this way.

Sensing his uncertainty, you cleared your throat and started again but your words still spilled from your lips in a nervous ramble. “So, it turns out I was always a Jedi who developed attachments and love for people, but apparently that’s a pretty strong and unique quality and applying the Jedi philosophy of ‘letting attachment go’ is a mistake and- and it felt like one. I have such a poor grasp of that concept that even when I went to use it properly, I got it all wrong. I was always a terrible student but for once, for once in my life, I have never been more grateful for it.” Your voice quivered as you said these next words. “I love you! I love you so much it hurts but it’s the kind of hurt that I can’t imagine not having in my life. You, this team, are what keep me balanced and alive, and I was stupid to think letting you go was the solution to everything I have done!”

Hunter could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he listened to what you were saying.

“Finally seeing you again made me feel hope and brought a newfound sense of purpose in my life I didn’t think I’d have again but it got all twisted, I let it get all messed up! I saw you and Wrecker, and I felt that love again and it terrified me at first! I had been acting out and miserable for so long that I didn’t think I deserved to feel this way again or that I should burden you all with my past. I needed to be punished and this was the best way I could think of. I allowed whatever darkness that had been driving me for that period we were apart to convince me that you were better of alone and I had to say whatever I could to get that to happen and for that, I am sorry!” You were in full flow now, all the emotions you’d been supressing came crashing to the surface and for once, it actually felt good. You weren’t existing as a husk of armour anymore.

Hunter couldn’t stand the gap between you anymore and he got his feet in motion. He needed to be near you, he needed to hold you again. You didn’t seem to notice his movement though because you carried on talking.

“There was never anyone else, there could never be anyone else! You’re it for me and this-” You stopped and gestured to the half white skull insignia on your top layer. “When I had this and said that you were a part of me, I truly meant it! Even when we weren’t together, that feeling never faltered. Half my heart beats for myself and this family I was fortunate enough to find. The other half beats for you! You are so deeply engrained in my very being that when I didn’t have you, I could hardly call it living! And then I got you back, and I was flooded with all the emotions I’d been missing since that day we were separated, and they collided with everything I’d done wrong, and I just panicked! I entered self-sabotage mode and thought letting you out of my life was what I had to do! I ruined one of the few remaining good things in my life and was preparing myself to let it be so. Thankfully, it was pointed out to me just how incorrect I was and I’m sorry!”

Hunter kept slowly walking down the steps towards you, the heavy rain instantly cascading down his face and body, but he didn’t care. His sole focus was on you now and the words you were saying. The words that were now healing the open wound he’d had since leaving you in that run down apartment.

“I need to come back. I need to be with you and I’m sorry I got everything so wrong! I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but you have to let me come back!”

“Yes.” He said as he continued to shorten the distance between you both.

“This family is the light of my life. You are the light of my life. So, either, let me come with you or just shoot me because without you, without this squad, I am just a shell of a human being and I’m done feeling like that now! You have to let me come back!”

“Yes.” Hunter said again as he stopped in front of you.

“And I-” You cut yourself off as you finally registered what he was saying and that the space between you both was now only a matter of inches. “Really?”

Hunter nodded and his hand fell to your waist whilst the other cradled the side of your face.

“I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.” You whispered softly as your hand rested on his now unarmoured chest and you got utterly absorbed in the feeling of his heart pounding beneath your fingertips- each beat emphasising that this was real, you were actually with him now- and you had no doubt that he could pick up on the way your own pulse was racing.

“It’s okay.” He breathed. “I love you too.”

“I love you.” You croaked out again as you felt the emotions rise in the back of your throat.

“You never stopped being a part of me either.” He murmured, his breathing heavy as his self-restraint was hanging by a thread, but he needed you to be sure. “Can I-” Hunter started to ask as he angled his head and slowly brought his lips closer to yours.

“Yes.” You cut him off. If he didn’t kiss you now, you felt as though you might stop breathing.

Hunter swiftly bridged the remaining distance and the dread he’d been experiencing at the idea of never finding you, at the idea of leaving you behind instantly evaporated in this moment as he finally placed his lips on yours.

You sighed into the sensation of experiencing this again and what began as hesitant and careful, soon became a kiss between two people fuelled by passion who had been apart for far too long and who would never be apart again. You wrapped your arms around him and pressed yourself against him.

Hunter first made sure he held you securely in his arms but as the kiss progressed and both of you became more immersed in feeling each other once more, his hands started caressing everything he could find. The actions elicited a small but desperate noise from you which he already felt drunk off of and he needed to hear more of you. The rain that had once felt like a harsh cascade of cold, damp water now felt gentle and tepid. He got utterly absorbed in your warmth and he tasted the water on your lips, but the interference didn’t bother him, he just relished the feeling of having you back in his embrace again.

You faintly registered the sun breaking through and the rain lightened in its deluge as you kissed him. If it wasn’t such a perfect moment, you might’ve laughed at the cliched nature of it all, but you were too caught up in this feeling that you ignored it. You threaded your fingers in his hair and lightly tugged, soliciting that raspy and familiar groan from him and your stomach fluttered at the feeling.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t ignore your current injury any longer and you felt it strain as Hunter held you tighter to him in response to your actions.

Hunter forced himself to pull away upon feeling your wince, his chest heaving as he worked on getting oxygen back into his lungs, but you interrupted his incoming question by continuing to plant light, affectionate kisses on the rest of his face and he couldn’t help the low but happy laugh that he let out. He lightly grabbed your shoulders and took a slight step back to take you in. The way the sun fell across your face had his breath catching in his throat. Your eyes were bright and looking at him with an adoration that he knew was reflected in his own gaze and the blissful smile on your lips beautifully captured the feelings of this moment. He rested a hand on the side of your face.

You looked into his own shining dark brown eyes and leaned into his touch with a soft and content sigh.

Hunter continued to slowly caress your cheek. “Not to disrupt your healing journey, but I have to ask… where do you stand on Cid and Hemlock?”

“Oh, don’t worry, they’re getting fucked up. I have permission on that front.” You said with a decisive nod. “I just have to watch the line with those that aren’t exactly personally involved.”

Not going to question where this permission came from exactly, he was just grateful whatever had happened, had brought you back to him so he just focused on the last part. “I can help with that. And you can look out for me too. We don’t have to do this alone anymore.”

You gave him an agreeing and grateful smile before you planted another tender kiss to his lips and grabbed his hand as the two of you walked back to the ship.

“This you officially back with us now?” Wrecker asked with a grin as you stepped aboard.

“You won’t be able to get rid of me.” You replied with a small smile as you gazed around you. There were times where you had felt uncertain as to whether you would stand amongst these comforting and familiar walls again, and your senses were flooded with the memories you had created and shared here. You swallowed harshly as you saw Omega’s and Tech’s spaces, but you regained your composure as you walked along the hallway. Your hand traced along the bunk you shared with Hunter and a soft sigh left your lips as you were instantly reminded of the slightly more personal moments you had experienced there.

It felt good to be home.

“Ready?” Hunter asked as you finished in the cockpit. He came beside you and wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you tight to him as Wrecker put the ship in hyperspace.

You nodded. “Let’s go get our girl.”

Next Oneshot>

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

#the bad batch #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch s2 #hunter x reader #hunter x female!jedireader #hunter x fem!reader #hunter x female!reader #sergeant hunter x reader #sergeant hunter #hunter tbb #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch hunter x you #hunter x y/n #tbb hunter x reader #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars #angst #fluff #friends to lovers

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jedi-hawkins · 9 months

Text

Shockpack - WIP - Hunter x f!jedireader

Summary: Just another day in a spaceport as f!jedireader and the Bad Batch go about repairing the Marauder, when something goes horribly wrong. Happening at some point during the Clone Wars pre-Echo.

~1.5k words

Pairing: light insinuation between Hunter x f!reader

Warnings: CPR/AED usage, cardiac arrest, sounds of breaking bones, physical trauma, medical treatment, some cuteness/fluff

Notes: This is my first time posting any of my writing. Just a segment of a WIP for my oc (which I may introduce here at some point). Originally written in third person, I changed the pov to second person, which I don't normally write in, so sorry if it seems choppy!

Thank you for reading! please reblog if you liked it so I can start working on more writing to post!

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"Hunter, that needs to be more to the left."

Hunter brings his head back out of the engineering bay he and Tech are working on. Both brothers have removed their upper armor to make it easier to reach into the tight spots. "Tech, why did you ask for my help if you're going to correct everything I do?"

"Because, I need an extra set of hands, Hunter. The General is busy plotting our next mission and you sent Crosshair and Wrecker out for supplies."

You chuckle at the two arguing brothers before turning back to the holomap in front of you.

"Well if you keep telling me what to do, then you'll have to grow the extra set of hands yourself." Hunter snaps back.

Tech sighs. "I'm just saying, if that component is not at the optimal angle, then it may not remain stable-"

"Stow it, Tech. It's attached to the ship. What's next?"

Footsteps signal the return of Crosshair and Wrecker, the latter sets down two large crates as his brother hefts two packs from his shoulders.

"The med supplies are in here, General." Wrecker says, pointing to one of the large crates.

You give him a smile, "Thanks, Wrecker. You guys get everything else?"

"Apparently ration packs are in short supply in this sector, so bars will have to do for now." Crosshair says. "Much to Wrecker's disappointment."

His brother grumbles in response as a few metal clanks and choice curses from Hunter float over from the side of the Marauder.

"That seems fun." Crosshair says, placing a toothpick in his mouth.

You roll your eyes. "Yeah, I think Hunter is getting close to strangling Tech with one of the exhaust hoses."

Wrecker chuckles. "He is particular."

Before anyone can say anything else, a large bang comes from the Marauder. You, Wrecker and Crosshair run over to see Hunter is lying on his back, eyes closed and Tech is shaking his shoulders.

"Tech what happened!?" You shout, sliding to a stop on your knees beside him.

"I-I don't know General. I told him that component could become unstable at the wrong angle."

Your eyes follow Tech's finger that's pointing to a small metal part lying a few feet away from Hunter.

Your eyes widen and you elbow Tech out of the way, nearly causing him to fall over. "Move." You lean her cheek close to Hunter's face and holding two fingers to his neck.

"It happened so quick, it must have hit him in the chest." Tech stammers out.

Wrecker's brow furrows as he watches you place your hands over Hunter's sternum. "What are you-"

"Hunter's heart isn't beating. Shock pack in the med bay. Bright orange. Go." You say.

Wrecker disappears as you start leaning all your weight onto your Sergeant's chest in rhythm. Crosshair can hear you muttering under your breath.

"fifteen... sixteen... seventeen..."

Wrecker returns with the case and sets it down at Hunter's side opposite you. "Now what?" he asks.

You stop pressing on Hunter's chest and whip out a vibro-blade which you use to cut the Sergeant's upper blacks straight up the front. Immediately, you go back to trusting your hands into Hunter's chest. "Open it. Put the pads on his chest like the picture and turn it on. Work around me." You say, your breath starting to become labored.

They falter for a moment when you suddenly press your lips to Hunter's. After a couple seconds you go back to pushing into Hunter's chest and the three brothers realize you're breathing for him. Crosshair and Wrecker quickly work together to follow your instructions. They peel the backing off the sticky shock pads and press them to Hunter's chest. Wrecker presses the green 'on' button and a smooth voice comes from the shock pack.

'Device on. Do not touch the patient."

You stop your movements and holds your arms out to keep the brothers back.

'Analyzing heart rhythm. Shock advised. Do not touch the patient. Deliver shock.'

You reach across Hunter and press a big flashing button on the shock pack and Hunter's body jolts with electricity.

'Continue Compressions.'

You immediately jumps back to Hunter's chest, sweat beginning to bead on your forehead. "Come on, Hunter. Come on." You mutter under your breath.

A few sickening cracks comes from the Sergeant's chest and Tech adjust his goggles. "It appears you have broken his ribs."

Crosshair balls up his fists. "She just broke his what?"

Tech peers over her shoulder. "Are you sure-"

"Of course. I'm sure." You snap as you continue pressing on Hunter's chest. "I've done this. Before."

You lean down and presses your lips to Hunter's again. The brothers look on helplessly as you return to compressing Hunter's chest. Strands of hair fall into your face as you mutter under her breath.

"Come on Hunter. Breathe. Come back." You feel a pull in the Force and you reach out for it, pushing it through you into your Sergeant.

A tear falls from your face and hits Hunter's cheek and suddenly he takes a gasping breath. His brothers immediately lurch forward to be closer to him as you take your hands off him in surprise.

Hunter's eyes move frantically around him to get oriented. "Wh-what?"

He tries to sit up but you press a hand to his chest to keep him laying flat, shushing him gently, "It's okay, you're okay. Just lay still a second."

Hunter blinks. "What happened?"

You give him a weak smile. "Your heart stopped."

"That component that you fitted blew off the ship and struck you." Tech remarks. "What I don't understand is how it caused this."

You stroke a few strands of Hunter's hair and respond without moving your eyes from him. "Commotio cordis. When an object hits someone in the chest in just the right spot at just the right time in their heartbeat, it causes the heart to stop."

Wrecker's eyes widen. "That can happen?"

"It's rare, but yes." You nod as you peel the shock pack pads off of Hunter.

"That's what I get for taking my chestplate off." He says sarcastically.

A laugh escapes you as you shake your head. Hunter tries to sit up again but groans in pain and lays back down.

"I get my heart stopped, but it's working now. Does someone want to tell me why my chest hurts so bad?" He moans.

"The General broke your ribs." Crosshair says simply.

Hunter looks back at you and you make an apologetic face. "Broken ribs or death. Those were your options." You simply reply. "Bacta patches should be on the ship. Do you think you can get up or do you want us to bring one to you?"

Hunter shakes his head. "No, I'm good. I can get up."

You offer Hunter your hand and support his back with the other as he gingerly sits up. Another groan passes his lips as he stands with additional help from Crosshair. The perma-bunk in the Marauder's med bay creaks slightly as you and Crosshair sit him down on it, leaning him back on a mountain of pillows.

"I'll leave you to it, General." Crosshair says. "Try to not break anything else."

You roll your eyes as the door slides closed behind him and you move over to the med cabinet to pull out the tin of bacta patches. After fishing out the correct size, you turn around to Hunter who's watching you intently.

The bunk creaks again as you sit down on its edge. You peel the backing off the patch and gently press it over the center of Hunter's chest where you felt his ribs break. Hunter hisses at the pressure.

"I know, I'm sorry." You say, tossing the patch wrapper in the trash bin.

Hunter shakes his head. "Don't apologize. You saved my life. In the most literal way possible this time."

You give him a smile as you reach over to grab some trauma scissors off the counter. "These blacks are spent, I'm assuming you don't want them?" You say, gesturing to the his upper blacks cut straight up his chest.

He laughs, "I don't know. This could be my new look."

You roll your eyes as you cut up each sleeve, allowing the fabric to fall from Hunter's figure. He leans forward with a grimace to allow you to pull the shirt out from behind him.

"You're going to need to rest for a bit before you're back on your feet. With the bacta a couple hours should be enough." You say, standing up from the bunk. "Here, I can take your armor off to make you more comfortable."

Hunter nods his consent and you gently slide his feet out of his boots and undo the fastenings on his lower armor pieces, leaving him in just his lower blacks. You turn to leave the med bay, but Hunter grasps your wrist.

"Stay?" He asks, pleading wide eyes.

Smiling, you sit back down on the bunk and scoot in next to Hunter. He turns his body to curl into you and rests his head on your chest, breathing in your scent deeply. Your arm wraps around his back and you leans her head back to rest it on the wall behind you, closing your eyes.

Hunter's breathing slows into little puffs of air like it always does when he's sleeping. You just play with his soft curls and let Hunter's soft breathing wash over you.

He stirs for a second and mumbles something you can't quite hear.

"What was that?" You ask.

Hunter lets out a little huff of air, "Tech is never going to let this go."

You let out a giggle before pressing your lips to his forehead. "Next time, I'll work on the ship with Tech."

#star wars #the clone wars #tcw #tbb #the bad batch #the bad bath hunter #tbb hunter #bad batch #tbb oneshot #tbb tech #tbb crosshair #tbb wrecker #tbb fanfic #sw tbb #sw tbb fanfiction #i don't know how tags work am i doing this right?

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nahoney22 · 3 years

Text

NaHoney22’s Masterlist & Navigation

4,500 Follower Celebration

.・。.・゜Clone Force 99 ゜・。.

🤍Tech Works

🤍Crosshair Works

🤍Hunter Works

🤍Echo Works

🤍Wrecker Works

🤍Omega Works

🤍Bad Batch Shots/HC’s List

🤍Prompt List Works - 3000 & 4000 Followers - From The Bad Batch to The Clone Wars such as Wolffe, Rex, Hound, Fives and more.

.・。.・゜The 501st Legion ゜・。.

🤍501st Shots/HC’s

Romancing | (GN!Reader)

🤍Rex

Dress to Impress part one | part two (GN)

Breathing (F!Reader)

Chaotic Good*** (GN)

Have a Seat*** (M!Reader)

Lost & Found (F!Reader)

Secrets on top of Secrets (F!Reader)

Shush, Don’t Tell the General*** (F!JediReader)

🤍Fives

105th Try (F!Reader)

After Hours (F!Reader)

I Need To Tell You Something (F!Reader)

🤍Kix

The Time of Day*** (GN)

🤍Dogma

Flustered (F!Reader)

What’s the Harm in a Little Fun?*** (F!Reader)

Return*** (F!Reader)

Tender Hearts*** part one | part two (F!Reader)

Taking it Solo*** (solo male one shot)

🤍Jesse

It Will be Okay*** (F!Reader)

Relief*** (F!Reader)

.・。.・゜212th Battalion ゜・。.

Waxer

Nothing as Important*** (GN)

Cody

Right Here (GN)

Wolffe

The Faltering Commander part 1 | part 2 | part 3 (F!Reader)

Prompt Request NSFW X F!Reader … “You have the perfect lips for kissing.” & “One more for me, you’re doing such a good job.”

Plo Koon

Forbidden (GN)

❀ Cad Bane Works

Other Star Wars Characters

•Gregor

Gregor - That Laugh (GN)

•Cobb Vanth

A Love We Never Got Over (F!Reader)

•Commander Mayday

Desperation*** (F!Reader)

•Grand Admiral Thrawn

A Warrior’s Needs*** (F!Reader)

Non Star/Clone Wars Works

Doc Ock One Shot

See you again*** (F!Reader)

Ebenezer Scrooge (2022) One Shots

Outcast part one | part two (F!Reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things I won’t write for:

❌ Clonecest

❌ AhsokaxRex

❌Readers OC’s. Did it once, bad experience and never again.

❌Any cheating fics unless it’s about past relationships

❌Any pregnancy stuff. Literally anything to do with reader being preggers.

❌R*pe and pedophilia

❌Poly relationships (nothing against it but just not something I like to write)

❌Character crossovers

❌Any nsfw Jedi x padawan stuff

❌Coprophilia

❌Major character death… you know who I’m on about 😭

#nahoney22 writes #bad batch masterlist #clone wars masterlist #echo x reader #tech x reader #crosshair x reader #hunter x reader #wrecker x reader #bad batch imagines #masterlist bad batch #Star Wars masterlist #212th battalion #501st one shots

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hugmekenobi · 11 months

Text

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>

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

#the bad batch #hunter x reader #hunter x fem!reader #hunter x female!reader #hunter x female!jedireader #sergeant hunter x reader #sergeant hunter #hunter tbb #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch hunter x you #hunter x y/n #tbb hunter x reader #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars #friends to lovers #angst

155 notes · View notes

hugmekenobi · 11 months

Text

The Bad Batch (15)

Chapter Fifteen: Return to Kamino

Gif by @darrye

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: You joined the Batch 8 months ago and everything was going well. But then, Order 66 happened and 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: A rescue mission sees you all returning to a familiar place and seeing a familiar face but, as things tend to go, the mission becomes far more complicated than you anticipated.

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers

Chapter Warnings: Quick injury mention, canon-typical violence, swearing, angst and feelings, also I am basing reactions on what the characters know so certain reveals no matter how dodgy we as viewers think they are, will be taken at face value and as the truth because that’s all they could do in the show (I am aware this is a personal opinion but that’s how I’m interpreting things).

Word Count: 4K

Rating: 18+

Author’s notes: The penultimate chapter is here! New readers please see Ch8 for consistent warnings that won’t be appearing in every chapter! Hope you enjoy!

“Where are we going?” Hunter asked as Crosshair walked into the area of the shuttle that he had been transferred too before it had taken off and gone into hyperspace.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Crosshair said cryptically as he took Hunter’s comm from him and activated it. “And so will your squad.”

“Using my comm won’t work. They’ll know it’s a trap.”

“They’ll still come for you.” Crosshair said before he left.

“Spanner wrench.” Echo said to Omega as he was repairing the ship.

Omega let out an irritated grunt. “This is taking too long.”

Echo stopped what he was doing and looked at the young girl. “Omega, focus.”

“I can’t. We have to get back to Daro and rescue Hunter.”

“We will, but we can’t go anywhere until the ship’s fixed. Hand me the spanner.”

Omega took the tool from him and swapped it with the spanner.

“That should do it.” Echo said, wiping his brow. “The hull’s patched.” He said to Tech as he and Omega both came back inside.

“Nearly finished getting the systems online.” Tech said from his position under a control panel.

“I left Gregor with Cid. She wasn’t too happy about it.” Wrecker said as he walked in.

“What else is new?” Echo replied.

“How long has she been out there by the way?” Wrecker asked.

Echo peered out the ship to where you were just pacing back and forth, occasionally kicking the ground as you did so. “Since we landed… I’ll go talk to her.”

You stared at the cut on the back of your hand. It served as a painful reminder of your failure as you kept replaying it over and over again in your head and each time you kept coming up with a way in which you could have done better.

You could’ve made him go first.

You could’ve turned around faster.

You could’ve held on to his hand tighter.

Your mind was a chaotic mess. Every second a new scenario popped into your head. What if you couldn’t actually rescue him? What if he was already gone? What if you never got the chance to…

“Hey, uh the ship is almost up and running.”

You looked up to see Echo in front of you. “Great.” You said curtly, making to move past him.

Echo grabbed your upper arm. “Are you okay?”

You sighed and ran a hand through your hair. “I shouldn’t have talked him into taking that mission.”

“That makes two of us, but Hunter made a choice. If he really didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t have.”

“I know that up here.” You pointed to the side of your head. “But I still can’t help but feel like…”

“Yeah, I know.” Echo agreed sympathetically.

You exhaled deeply. “Why did I never tell him, Echo?”

“Tell him what?”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Seriously? After all this time, you’re now going to start playing dumb? You know what I’m talking about.”

“I know, but I really wanted to hear you say it.” Echo said, the tracings of a smile tugged at his mouth.

Despite everything, you smiled too. “Please don’t make me do this.”

“Come on. If you do it now, doing it later will be no trouble.”

You gave him a playful glare before letting out a deep sigh. “Fine. I lo- I love him, okay. Happy now?”

Echo nodded.

“Man, that felt weird to say out loud.”

“Now, all that’s left to do is tell him that yourself.”

“But what if-”

“They’ll want him alive. We’re going to find him and then you can put us all out of our misery and tell him. It’ll work out.”

You only hoped he was right. “Well, we better get going then.”

“We are up and running.” Tech said as the two of you walked in, climbing up and stepping into the cockpit.

“Let’s go get Hunter.” Omega said.

Tech glanced down as he heard the console beep. “His communication device has just been activated. It appears he is no longer on Daro.”

“What do you mean? Where is he?” You asked.

He should’ve guessed this is where he’d end up. He walked down the shuttle ramp into the familiar Kaminoian landing bay.

“Where are the rest of them?” Admiral Rampart asked Crosshair.

“They’ll be here. We’ll intercept upon arrival.”

“So you’re the one they call ‘Hunter.’” Rampart addressed the clone. “The destruction your squad caused on Ryloth got my attention.”

Hunter said nothing.

“I leave this to you Commander. Stay on schedule.” Rampart reminded Crosshair.

Crosshair signalled for his group and Hunter to move forward. The waiting game had begun.

“The Empire wants us to come to Kamino. I’m uncertain as to why.” Tech said.

“No turning back now.” Wrecker said.

“Are you positive about these coordinates?” Tech asked Omega.

“Yes. I told you. They’re to a landing pod that we can use in Tipoca City.”

“Every platform down there will be swarming with troopers.” Echo said sceptically.

“Not this one. Trust me.” Omega assured him.

“I’m only seeing three cruisers. Where’s the rest of the fleet?” You pondered as the ship approached the planet.

“Who cares? That’s a good thing.” Wrecker replied.

“Locking onto the coordinates.” Tech said. “Hang on. This is going to get bumpy.”

“Nice to see the weather hasn’t changed.” You grumbled as rain came clattering against the window and lightening flashed around you.

“We are at the given coordinates, Omega. There is nothing here.” Tech said as the ship hovered above the raging sea.

“You have to get lower.”

Tech brought the ship down a few inches, but nothing happened.

“Lower.” Omega repeated.

“If I go any lower, we will be in the water.” Tech said as he stared out the window.

“It’s the only way to activate the platform.” Omega explained.

“Hold on. Scanners are picking up a large structure directly beneath us.” Echo said.

Tech landed the ship onto the platform that had now risen out of the water.

You put your hood and mask up once more and braced yourself against the harsh weather that met you once Tech opened the door.

“Never doubted you for a second, kid.” Wrecker said cheerily.

“Landing was only one problem. How are we going to get into the city?” Tech pointed out. You all were a considerable distance away with no obvious means of transport across.

“We’ll take the tube system.” Omega said, walking across the platform.

“The what?” Echo said as he watched her activate the small control panel.

You all just waited for something to happen. After a few moments the platform opened up and your way in was now established.

“Come on.” Omega said, tilting her head in the direction of the spherical orb that had appeared.

“Nice.” Wrecker said with a chuckle.

You all made your way into it and let Omega get it moving. It was an ingenuous system though, you had to admit it.

“This type of underwater transport system is not documented on any schematics.” Tech said.

“Kaminoans keep a lot of secrets.” Echo said.

“Indeed.” Tech agreed. “Omega, how did you know this existed?”

“Nala Se. This tunnel leads to her private research lab. The others run throughout Kamino.” She said flatly.

“You, uh, alright?” Echo asked, kneeling down beside her.

“It doesn’t matter. Saving Hunter is what matters.”

You angled yourself to face her. In all your worry about getting Hunter back you had forgotten the emotional impact coming back here would have on her. You couldn’t imagine exactly what she was feeling but you figured it wouldn’t be too different from what you would feel like if you had ever needed to return to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple. You put an arm around her shoulder and hoped that this would all be over soon.

“Where are all the regs?” Hunter asked as he was escorted down a near empty corridor.

“When did you start caring about them?” Crosshair asked.

“No Kaminoans either. This facility’s being decommissioned.” He paused before speaking again. “You don’t seem too concerned.”

“Why would I be?”

Hunter stopped walking and turned around to face him. “Because the Empire will be phasing out clones next.”

Crosshair jabbed his blaster into Hunter’s chest. “Not the ones that matter.”

Hunter gave him a dark look before he continued to walk on. He turned the corner and was led into a control room.

“A ship was detected entering the system, but we lost them below scanner range.” One of Crosshair’s men informed him.

“It’s them.” Crosshair said with certainty.

“I’ll notify the scouts.” Another one said.

“Don’t bother. They’ll come to us. They don’t leave their own behind… most of the time.” He said pointedly, taking his helmet off to face his brother.

Guilt stabbed at Hunter’s chest. “You tried to kill us. We didn’t have a choice.”

“Hmm. And I did?”

“That looks like every other Kaminoan lab to me.” Wrecker said as you all stepped out the orb.

“Not exactly.” Omega said. “Most in Tipoca City don’t know about it.”

“Hunter’s comm is still active. I’ll pinpoint his location.” Tech said.

Now that you were here, you could feel Hunter’s energy and it provided you with some much-needed reassurance. He was definitely still alive.

“I’ll tap into the system.” Echo said.

“I don’t get it. What’s so special about this lab?” Wrecker asked.

“It’s where I was created.” Omega revealed, walking over to one of the empty tubes.

“Here?” Wrecker asked.

“You all were here too.”

“What do you mean?” Tech enquired.

“Your mutations were enhanced in this room. Experimental Unit 99 began right here.” Omega explained. “I was there.”

Oh no, you thought to yourself. That would mean… nope. Not even going to think about it.

“What-” Wrecker stammered. “Is that true?” He asked, turning to Tech.

“How could I possibly know that?”

“It was only for a short time before you were sent to be with the other clones.” Omega said.

“Something’s not right.” Echo said suspiciously. “All the central files have been wiped. There’s nothing in the system.”

“Anyone else think that’s weird?” Wrecker said.

Just then, you heard some metal squeaking from behind one of the tubes. You drew your sword while the others drew their blasters.

“Do not shoot! I am AZ-345211-”

“AZ?” Omega gasped, lowering her bow as her friend came out of his hiding place.

“Omega, I am relieved it is you.” AZ said, spinning his body happily as he approached the young girl.

“What are you doing down here?”

“I am in hiding. Soldiers were deactivating droids and forcing key Kaminoan medical personnel onto transports. Those who resisted were eliminated.”

“The clones did that?” You questioned.

“No, these were other soldiers.” AZ replied. “All clone troopers were reassigned and transferred off-world, with the exception of CT-9904.”

“Crosshair’s here?” Wrecker groaned. “Should’ve known.”

“It is not safe here, Omega.” AZ warned the child. “You must leave.”

“We can’t. Not without Hunter.” She said firmly.

“Found him. His comm is pinging from the central cloning platform.” Tech said.

“Come on, AZ. You’re with us.” Omega said, grabbing the droid’s hand as you all ran out of the lab.

Hunter sighed. It wasn’t ideal but he figured now would be the moment to try and get through to his brother. “Crosshair, I’ve seen what the Empire’s doing, occupying planets, and silencing anyone who stands against them. You know it’s not right.”

Crosshair removed the toothpick from his mouth. “You still don’t see the bigger picture, but you will.”

“Can’t you see they’re using you? It’s that inhibitor chip in your head. It’s making you follow-”

The sound of an alarm going off caused him to stop.

“We have an unauthorised entry on platform 5.” A soldier informed Crosshair.

“Right on schedule.” Crosshair said. “Time to go.”

You ran through the desolate corridor, taking cover as you heard the sound of a door opening and you watched as a group of troopers passed by.

“AZ, you said all the clone troopers were gone.” Omega whispered to the droid.

“Correct. Those are not clone troopers.”

“They’re TK troopers, like on Daro.” You realised.

You ran a few more paces after they passed by before Tech stopped you all. “Wait. Hunter’s on the move. This way.”

You had been trying to let go and not fall too deeply into it which was why you had let Tech take the lead in the first place but as you followed him into the sub level of the training room, Hunter’s signature hit you like one of the waves of the stormy Kaminoan sea and you nearly keeled over. He was right above you; he was so close. Tech’s words only served to confirm it.

“According to the comm signal, Hunter is directly above us.”

“The training room? That’s open ground. If Crosshair’s waiting, he’ll pick us off.” Echo said.

“Oh, he’s waiting.” Wrecker agreed.

“Precisely why we will not be going in through the main entrance, like he would expect.” Tech fiddled with his datapad. “We’ll enter through the lift. That should give us a slight advantage.”

“You two wait here.” Echo ordered you and Omega.

“Hell no.” You protested.

“We should stick together.” Omega added.

“No, Echo’s right. Crosshair’s after us, not you.” Wrecker said as he joined the others on the lift.

“Exactly. ‘Us’, you don’t think he will be suspicious if I’m not up there?” You said.

“There’s more risk for you now.”

“Echo, I can keep-”

“You mean to tell me if Hunter’s in danger you wouldn’t use your Jedi abilities to save him?” The mere fact that you hesitated before answering told him all he needed to know. “Stay out of sight. If things go south, we’ll send you a signal. Get back to the ship and contact Rex.”

You walked away, muttering curse words under your breath as they went up.

What greeted them was not a welcomed sight. Each member of Crosshair’s squad had stationed themselves so they could completely surround them at the lift entry point while Crosshair had Hunter standing in front of him, his blaster pointed at his back.

“Well, guess you were wrong about that.” Wrecker said to Tech.

“And here we all are.” Crosshair said, tossing Hunter’s comm onto the ground. “Together again. You won’t be needing your weapons.”

Hunter nodded at them and watched as they dropped their weapons.

“See? Following orders isn’t so difficult.” Crosshair said smugly before he realised two people were now missing. “Where are the other two?”

“You’d think we’d bring them here?” Wrecker chuckled as he propped his helmet on his forehead. “We’re smarter than that.”

“Lying was never your strength, Wrecker.” He signalled to one of his soldiers. “Find them.”

“What are you doing?” Omega asked you as you sat cross-legged on the floor, your eyes closed.

“Meditating to calm my mind.” You replied.

“Is it working?”

You sighed and stood up. “Nope.” Just then, yours and Omega’s comms beeped.

“It’s the signal.” Omega said. “We’re not actually going to leave, right?”

You scoffed. “Omega, I thought you knew me better than that. Of course, we’re not leaving.”

“But per CT-1409’s instructions, we should flee to the research lab.” AZ pointed out.

“No. Something went wrong. We have to help them.” Omega said.

“But that means we will also be in danger.”

“Focus, AZ.” Omega told the droid.

You watched as she looked around. “You got a plan, kid?”

“I think I do.” She dashed over and brought out a row of training droids.

You nodded. “I like where this is going.”

“We’re running out of time, Commander.” One member said to Crosshair.

“Hold your positions.”

“So this was your grand plan? Bring us here and kill us?” Hunter asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“If I wanted you dead, you would be. Not that it wouldn’t be justified. You betrayed everything we stood for. And for what? The Republic?”

“We’re loyal to each other, not some Empire.” Hunter said, fully facing his brother now.

“You weren’t loyal to me.”

Hunter felt the guilt come clawing back.

“I was one of you.” Crosshair continued. “You may have forgotten, but I haven’t. And it’s why I’m going to give you what you never gave me: a chance.”

“I think I’ve almost got it.” Omega said, fiddling with the last row.

“We’ve got company.” You murmured as you felt a disturbance.

“Freeze.”

You both turned as the black-armoured trooper held her gun up in your direction.

“Uh, hello.” Omega said awkwardly as she raised her hands.

You stepped in front of her but kept your hands raised too so as not to appear as a threat. “Hey, so uh, I feel like we can reach an arrangement here. You don’t have to-”

“Sir, I’ve found them.” The female trooper said into her comm.

“Do that.” You finished with a shake of your head.

“Send them in a shuttle off-world.” Crosshair replied.

Panic gripped Hunter’s throat. “Crosshair, don’t.”

“It’s for their own good. And yours.”

“They belong with us.”

“You want Omega living among fugitives where she’s in constant danger? You want (Y/N) to be craving a life you can’t give her? You want to protect both of them, then let them go. Stop pretending to be something you’re not, Hunter. We’re not like the regs. We never have been. We’re superior. The Empire can’t protect the galaxy without strength. This is what we were made for. Think of all we could do… together.” He cut Hunter’s binders off him.

Hunter just stared at him.

“We were brothers once.” Crosshair pushed Hunter in the direction of the others. “We can be again.”

A shimmer caught Tech’s eyes and he nudged Wrecker’s shoulder to signal to Crosshair’s discs that were positioned on the walls of the area they were in.

“Why would we trust you?” Hunter asked suspiciously.

Crosshair raised his blaster. “Stand down.” He ordered his squad.

They hesitated for a moment before one of them readjusted his blaster. “Negative, Commander.”

Crosshair fired onto one of his discs and the bolt ricocheted around, killing each member of his squad. He removed his helmet. “Does that answer your question?”

“I said move it.” The trooper repeated, pointing her gun at you.

“See, we’re kinda busy in the middle of something so no, we won’t be going with you.” You replied, your eyes darting to AZ as he programmed another row of droids.

The trooper followed your gaze but reacted to slowly, the row hit her, and she collapsed to the ground.

“I did it.” AZ said.

You’d never heard a droid sound so proud before.

“Nice work, AZ! Now let’s hurry.” Omega said, finishing setting up the droids before grabbing her bow and the three of you headed off in the direction of the training area.

Hunter backed up as Crosshair continued to advance towards him, his blaster pointed at his chest.

“You all are meant for more than drifting through the galaxy. It’s time to stop running. Join the Empire, and you will have purpose again.”

Hunter stole a quick glance back at his squad before focusing on Crosshair once more. “You really don’t get who we are, do you?” Hunter said.

“Don’t make the same mistake twice. Don’t become my enemy.”

“Crosshair, we never were.” Hunter said sadly.

Suddenly, an alarm began to blare, and large numbers of training droids began firing in their direction.

Hunter tackled Crosshair to the ground while the others took cover and began to fire on the advancing droids.

“Hey, why did you activate the droids?” Wrecker grumbled.

“This was not my doing.” Tech said.

You and Omega watched from the tower. One problem was that Hunter and Crosshair were fighting each other and you couldn’t help but grow anxious at that and the other was that, clearly, you’d misjudged the situation. They were significantly outnumbered now. “Uh, Omega, we kinda…”

“I believe you may have activated a few too many droids.” AZ pointed out.

“We can see that, AZ.” Omega winced out, firing on them from above.

“You stay here.” You directed her.

You jumped off the tower, flipping once in the air before landing on top of one of the droids. You brought your sword out and stabbed in in the head, causing it to collapse beneath you. You rolled along the ground and as you saw Crosshair stand up and point his sniper rifle in Hunter’s direction, you got ready to act but stopped yourself as he fired on the new batch of droids that had appeared instead.

Then things, in a weird way, kinda felt normal. The six of you worked together as if nothing bad had transpired between you and it wasn’t long before the droids began to thin out.

You ran up the side and ducked under the blasts of the droid and as you sliced the legs out from underneath it with your sword, you then used your regular vibroblade to stab it through its face.

As you stood up and looked around, you saw that the rest of the droids had now been taken care of but then your breath caught in your throat. Hunter was pointing his blaster at Crosshair, and you had a horrible feeling of déjà vu but this time you would be sure you were ready.

“Crosshair, forget the Empire.” Hunter implored. “This isn’t you. It’s your inhibitor chip. We can help you.”

“Wrong.” Crosshair said with a small shake of his head. “I had my chip removed… a long time ago.”

Your stomach dropped to your feet.

Tech and Wrecker recoiled slightly.

Hunter’s eyes widened. “Since when?”

“Does it matter?” Crosshair said exasperatedly.

“Yes.” Hunter said tightly. He needed to know. He needed to know how long his brother had been a willing participant in the Empire’s dictatorship. How long had his brother been lost to them? How late was he?

“This is who I am.”

You watched as Crosshair went to raise his rifle but let out a sigh of relief as Hunter beat him to it. Crosshair laid stunned on the ground.

You all made your way towards him.

Omega wrapped her arms around Hunter’s waist and gave him a quick hug.

“Sorry, Omega. I know I promised you’d never have to come back here.”

“You did the same for me.” She replied.

Hunter put away his weapons and knelt down to examine Crosshair’s temple but all he could see was the burn mark, no scar. He didn’t know what to think right now. He then stood up and looked at you.

You stepped forward and threw your arms around his neck, holding him tight to you.

Hunter reciprocated in kind.

“You.” You said, breaking away from the embrace and pulling down your mask. “Broke our deal.”

“I seem to remember someone dropping me.” Hunter teased back.

You smiled at him. “I need to tell you-”

“Hunter, three Venators are descending on the city. We need to leave, now.” Tech interrupted.

Hunter glanced at you.

“It can wait.” You said quickly, pushing your mask back up. There were definitely more important things to focus on right now.

Hunter grabbed Crosshair’s rifle and kit. “Wrecker, grab Crosshair. He’s coming with us.” He put his helmet on.

You nodded supportively at him before you all left the training facility to get back to the ship.

The lights cut out as the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the corridor.

“Hurry! Get to the lift!” Hunter shouted.

As the door to the outer platform opened, you were met with a devastating sight. The Imperial ships were bombarding the whole city and now your way across was utterly destroyed.

“Back inside! Go!” Hunter ordered urgently.

You saw Omega continue to stand and watch so you grabbed her hand and tugged her back inside with you. How were you all going to make it out alive?

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