#because crosshair refused to turn her over to the empire even then | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

themovieblogonline · 1 year

Text

The Bad Batch Season 2: Can Crosshair Ever Find Redemption? Should He?

Star Wars fans love a good redemption story. Hell, the original trilogy was all about the redemption of Darth Vader. And then we spent another trilogy going backward to find out just how good he initially was, thereby adding more weight to his sacrifice, leading to his eventual redemption. So with two seasons into The Bad Batch, I’m wondering if we’re headed down the same path with a former member of the Batch, Crosshair. With season 2 starting strong, creator Dave Filoni looks to be planting seeds that hint at that. But it’s still too early to tell where we are going with Crosshair’s storyline. With The Bad Batch’s Crosshair now officially the odd one out, will he ever find his way back to his brothers? I think so. Read on to find out how I think Crosshair could find redemption. Spoiler Warning: The following will contain spoilers for The Bad Batch season 2 episode 3 titled ‘The Solitary Clone’. The Bad Batch’s Crosshair Has Done Horrible Things Before discussing if Crosshair’s redemption is forthcoming, we should probably look at what he’s done so far. In season 1 of The Bad Batch, Crosshair orders the execution of a camp full of innocent civilians while looking for Saw Gerrara. Throughout the rest of the season, he similarly kills, hurts and hunts others, including his own brothers, The Bad Batch themselves. Initially, we, as well as the Batch, think Crosshair’s actions are due to the inhibitor chip that caused all Clone Troopers to betray the Jedi in Order 66. However, we soon find out that Crosshair removed his chip early on. So his blind loyalty to the Empire isn’t a result of mindless programming through technology. But rather a choice Crosshair made. This is what made Crosshair such a good antagonist. The misdirection of the chip being thought of as the cause of his actions, only for the reveal to show that he is accountable for them, was heartbreaking. But The Bad Batch and Crosshair’s dynamic gets even worse with the revelation in the third episode of season two. The Solitary Clone Chooses His Own Actions Episode 3 of season 3 sees Crosshair team up with another popular Clone Trooper from The Clone Wars animated series, Commander Cody. Cody was another friendly clone who worked with all the Jedi for years before Order 66 made him turn against them. He returns in this episode, serving the new Empire, and carrying out missions for them. Just like Crosshair. However, when faced with a less-than-black-and-white decision, Cody takes pause. When the representative of a planet is refusing to join the Empire, because they want peace, Cody promises to hear her out, and even take her request to his superiors. However, before he can follow through, Crosshair shoots and kills her at the command of an Imperial Officer. Without hesitation, because, as Cody says earlier— ‘good soldiers follow orders’. What Bad Batch's Crosshair's Actions Mean For Clones Everywhere By the end of this episode, we see Cody struggle with Crosshair’s action, leaving him disillusioned with his service in the Empire. We then hear about how Cody is now AWOL, meaning he deserted his post, due to this questioning of the Empire’s motives and actions. What this shows us, is how the Clones aren’t evil, and that the chip didn’t make them evil, but that they know right from wrong. And when faced with the Empire’s evil ways, many Clones deserted their posts. But even more important, what this means for The Bad Batch’s Crosshair. Knowing now that despite the chip, Clone Troopers can think for themselves and choose to leave the Empire’s service, it shows Crosshair in a different light. It proves, one and for all, that everything Crosshair has done up until now, has been his choice. Not the chip. Not the brainwashing. But Crosshair alone. Which makes it much harder for any possible redemption arc. If Crosshair chose to do all the horrible things he did, despite having an alternative but quite literally choosing the Empire over his brothers, redemption’s going to be hard to come. And while the show definitely looks like they may be setting up for that. It’s going to be hard to cheer for that eventual redemption arc, knowing that Crosshair can’t justify his own actions besides a ‘following orders’ rationale. Episode 3 of The Bad Batch season 2 is now streaming on Disney+. What do you think about The Bad Batch’s Crosshair and his actions? Do you think he can ever return to his family? Or is he too far gone? Let me know in the comments below. Read the full article

1 note · View note

superhusbands4ever · 3 years

Text

That scene where Crosshair drew his rifle to save Omega and everyone drew their weapons on him because they thought he was going to kill Hunter absolutely gutted me, but I also loved it a lot. Because it showed us a lot about where Crosshair is going, and his relationship with the Bad Batch right now, by doing very little.

Firstly, it showed that Crosshair still cares about The Bad Batch. He knew it would destroy them if anything happened to her. It showed that, on some level, he cares about Omega. He didn’t want her to die. And, most importantly, I think it showed that he still has at least some small sliver of good left buried within him.

However, it also showed that, right now, The Bad Batch does not trust him. They obviously still care about him — you can tell by the way Hunter refused to leave him, the way Omega tried so hard to save his life, the way Wrecker and Tech were hurt that Crosshair never tried to find them just like they never tried to find him. And you can tell by the way they all turn to Crosshair and still offer to take him with them even after everything they’ve done to hurt each other.

….but.

They don’t trust him. And I don’t blame them. Up until Return to Kamino they could excuse Crosshair’s behavior as the inhibitor chip forcing him to do what he’s done. But after Crosshair reveals that his chip was taken out (whether it’s true or not), at this point in time they have to accept that Crosshair chose to attack them. To hurt them. To try and fry them alive in an proton engine. If what Crosshair said is true and his chip is gone, and they don’t know for how long, then that means Crosshair was actively choosing to work against them this whole time. And if Crosshair was choosing to do all of that before, why would he stop now? Especially once he reached safety at the surface of the ocean. It would be so easy for him to just shoot them all, let Omega drown, and take their ship. They see Crosshair draw his rifle on Hunter and have to assume the worst - that he’s going to kill Hunter. Because they have no reason to think he wouldn’t. Hell, in that moment, even my first thought was “what is shooting Hunter going to do” before I realized what he was doing. And I like Crosshair! I want him to be good! I believe that one day he’s going to realize he’s wrong and leave the Empire! But I also recognize that he’s an antagonist, and the Bad Batch has every reason to be wary of him based on what’s happened up to this point and what they know.

I think that moment may have been a big part in Crosshair’s decision to stay behind. Because Hunter and Wrecker and Omega can talk big game about how Crosshair is family and they are willing to take him back and be brothers and sister again. But Crosshair knows they’re afraid of him. He knows they don’t trust him. He knows that if he goes with them, things will never be how they were before. They’ll be looking over their shoulder every time Crosshair sneezes and Crosshair will be walking on eggshells constantly trying to prove to them that he doesn’t want to hurt them. Ultimately, I think choosing not to go with them at this point was the right call. Crosshair needs to redeem himself and prove himself a little for that to happen, and for that to happen he needs to realize that the Empire is wrong. That Crosshair is wrong. And do something about it.

It doesn’t mean that they won’t ever be reunited. It doesn’t mean that they’ll never trust Crisshair again. It doesn’t mean that Crosshair will never realize his mistakes and go back to them. I firmly believe this episode was meant to set up a long-game redemption arc for Crosshair. I think Hunter pointing out that the Empire left him for dead, his interactions to Tech and Wrecker in the tube, and his conversation with Omega in Nala Se’s lab did get through to him enough that the seeds of doubt are planted. You can see the conflict on his face as they’re leaving at the end of the episode. Hopefully with that, combined with how much he obviously still cares for his brothers, he’ll start to realize throughout season 2 that everything he believes about the Empire is wrong. Then hopefully he’ll start the process of making amends and doing the right thing. This episode actually ended up giving me a lot of hope for the future of Crosshair and The Bad Batch.

428 notes · View notes

ahsokasleftbicep · 3 years

Text

Name and Soul: Chapter 1

Alright everyone here is the first chapter of the series. Apologies for the delay, I had a lot of editing to do. I hope you enjoy it!

@mqgriett

Crosshair x F! reader

Word Count: 3440

Warnings: Amnesia like stuff. Language. Bad Batch SPOILERS: DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE TV SERIES!

It’s odd how quickly things change on the battlefield. This kind of change you never expected. You and the Bad Batch met about a year after the war started and with your sharpshooting and other combat skills, Hunter offered that you join their team. You got along with most of the group very quickly, with the exception of Crosshair. Over time, after a lot of sneers and eye rolling, the two of you grew closer. After a particularly grueling mission, both of you admitted how you felt and now the two of you barely went anywhere without the other. You were the perfect duo, with both of your skills combined, missions went without a hitch almost every time.

The group had been called to the planet Kaller to assist Master Billaba. Her padawan, Caleb, you believed his name was, led you and the boys to his master. That’s when it happened… that change, the shift in the air. The troops turned on the Jedi and fired on her. Order 66. Caleb bolted, running off into the woods, sliding down hills with a certain hatred in his eyes that you had never seen in someone so young, so… innocent. You, Hunter, and Crosshair ran after him. The woods were so peaceful compared to the chaos everywhere else.

It was quiet and Caleb seemed to disappear. You looked around and saw him in the trees. “Hunter, Crosshair, I found him.” While Hunter tries to convince the kid to come down, Crosshair aims at the kid. “Crosshair no!” You tackle him down into the snow.

Caleb runs off, Hunter yells out, “Crosshair, what are you doing?”

“Following orders. Get off me Y/n.” Crosshair shoves you off him before getting up.

You follow him, an angry look on your face. “What the hell is going on with you?”

“I’m following my orders. We need to find that Jedi.” The man walks off, you tailing behind him.

“Crosshair, we don’t even know what the order is.” You grab his hand, “Just wait until we know what’s happening.”

He turns his head towards you before scoffing, “Fine.”

Good soldiers follow orders. Crosshair mumbled that before Hunter sent you back with the others. When all of you got back to the ship, Tech explained that all the clones had been ordered to execute the Jedi. Saying that they committed treason and tried to kill the Chancellor. The war was just somehow over. None of it made any sense. According to the sergeant, Caleb died in a fall. You all got ordered back to Kamino, offloading and heading to your barracks.

“Hunter let that Jedi kid escape, or do you want to keep lying?” Crosshair sneered.

Hunter gets up, “I don’t like to think of executing our commanders as an objective.”

“An order is an order, Hunter.”

“Since when Cross? You’ve never been one to follow orders, why are you starting now.” You raise your voice to the two men. Everyone goes quiet.

“Don’t act noble y/n, you’re as much to blame as Hunter is for letting that Jedi escape. I could have gotten him if you hadn’t stopped me.”

“He was a child!” You walk up to him, glaring into his eyes.

“He was a traitor!” Crosshair pushes you back before continuing to clean his weapon.

You speak up after a while. “This doesn’t make any sense. General Billaba and her battalion have been in numerous battles, serving alongside each other for years.”

Echo speaks up this time, “How could they turn on her like that?”

“Because of the regs programming. It’s been documented that the Kaminoans inhibited the functions of clones to engineer them to follow orders without any question” Tech explains. “They manipulated everything, Crosshair’s sharpshooting and Hunter’s enhanced sense. And of course my exceptional mind. I assume that we are immune,” Tech glances at Crosshair. “at least, most of us.”

All personnel report to the staging area for a briefing on the state of the Republic.

You felt so out of place in the staging area, surrounded by clones that felt off to you. Their mannerisms were different, more robotic. You were drawn back at attention when Chancellor- no Emperor Palpatine began speaking.

....And the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed. But I assure you. My resolve has never been stronger! In order to ensure the security and continuing stability…

… the Republic will be reorganized… into the first Galactic Empire!

“Galactic Empire?” You look over to your team in confusion. Sudden cheers ripple across the room, the other clones celebrating like it's the greatest thing in the world.

Tech and Wrecker were arguing at the table. You kept looking at Crosshair, he was acting odd, well more that usual. He’s still acting like a prick, so that’s a good sign. He let you sit next to him, so that was good too. But he kept rubbing his head, like he had a migraine of some kind… so odd. You nudged his thigh.

“Are you feeling well, Cross? You look sick.”

“Thanks for the compliment, y/n.”

“You know what I mean... tell me what’s going on.”

“Just a migraine, don’t worry about it.”

“An Imperial’s been sent to evaluate the clones.” Hunter speaks as he sits down.

“What kind of evaluation?”

“Hopefully not mental. Clearly we’d never pass that… well, maybe y/n could.” Tech nods his head to you.

“Oh I doubt it, with all the stuff we’ve been through together, I’d probably fail.” You take a sip of your water before something catches your eye.

Omega shifts awkwardly, “Hello again. Omega. From earlier?.... in the corridor.”

“Yeah, kid. We remember.” Hunter raised his eyebrow at the child.

Hunter was about to ask about the kids parents before a couple regs interrupted. “Check it out. The defect squad’s got themselves a recruit.” Before you can react, Omega throws her food at the clone. Hunter tries to diffuse the situation, but you didn’t get your throw in so you grab your tray.

“Y/n, don’t.” Crosshair attempts to grab your wrist but just misses you.

“Don’t worry, Cross. I won’t miss.” You wink at him.

“Hey Wrecker, let's show the kid how it’s done, yeah?” You aim before to throw the tray at the clone. “Oops, my hand must’ve… slipped.”

All hell breaks loose and punches are thrown. Echo got knocked out, when the boys got up to go get him, you walked by Crosshair. Here goes nothing.

“Crosshair?”

“Hm? What is it?”

You grab his hand and pull him into a hall. “What happened on Kaller? Tell me what happened.”

“I told you, it’s just-”

“Why are you lying to me?” You pull his hand, drawing him closer.

“There’s nothing wrong with me, it’s you all. You’re the ones who refused to carry out the order.”

“An order to kill a child, Crosshair.”

“That child was a traitor to the Empire.”

“But a child nonetheless.” You retort.

“You don’t understand, none of you do. Just drop it.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Crosshair, you’re worrying me.”

The man looks down at you, he looks so lost. “There is nothing wrong. I promised I would never lie to you when I proposed.” He tugs at the delicate chain around your neck, fiddling with the ring that he gave you just weeks before.

You look at him, skeptical, “And you’ll tell me if something is wrong? Cross your heart?”

His lips tilt up, “Cross my heart.”

Echo told you all about Tarkin. When you all started heading towards the training facility, the shock troopers stopped you.

“Y/n L/n? Admiral Tarkin has asked you to sit out of this battle simulation.”

You furrow your brows, “He’s asking me to not train with my team?” You look at Hunter and shrug, “I’ll be watching, I guess… Be careful, something doesn’t feel right.”

Wrecker speaks up, “Oh don’t worry Y/n, we’ll be fine!”

When you arrive at the observation deck, you are greeted by Lama Su and who you assume is Admiral Tarkin.

“Ms. L/n.” The prime minister greets you in a monotone voice.

“Prime Minister, may I-” you were interrupted by Tarkin.

“We can dismiss formalities, begin the simulation. Ms. L/n, you will be answering some questions for me.”

“....Of course, Admiral” You stand next to the man, watching the boys go through the course.

“What is your opinion of this team, L/n?”

“My opinion, sir? Well they are the best group I have worked with. Their skills are the most impressive I’ve seen.” You speak as you watch Crosshair take out the tower cannons. Wrecker is having the time of his life by the looks of things. So far so good.

“Switch to live fire.” Your blood runs cold, live fire? What is going on here? You watch the new droids take their place down below, Wrecker got hit and you tensed, unaware that Tarkin noticed your worry.

“And what of your relationship with these clones?”

“My relationship sir?” Your eyes catch onto Crosshair in the tower, moving to run out the door when he almost falls from the tower. Tarkin didn’t miss that either. He turned his head to you, an eyebrow raised.

“Surely you’re aware that relationships within the military are forbidden, especially with these… clones.” The bile in his tone made you sick, you wanted to punch him.

“I’m not sure what you’re suggesting Admiral, but I can assure you that my relationship with my team is strictly as comrades.”

“I’m sure of it then. I will be sending Clone Force 99 on a mission. I ask that you stay in Kamino during that time. And one more thing.” Tarkin turns to you. “Did your team carry out Order 66?”

You grit your teeth, “Yes sir, the death of the general and her padawan were confirmed, was that not clear to you?”

“Only the death of General Billaba was confirmed, a counter report was filed by one of your own says otherwise.” Tarkin turns and walks out. “That will be all Ms. L/n, you are dismissed.”

Once Tarkin was out of sight, you ran back to the barracks. You rush in, seeing the boys, frustrated looks on their face. “Who’s that Imperial bastard think he is?!”

Echo turns, “Y/n! Are you alright? What happened?”

“He questioned me about you guys. Asked of my opinion… and of my relationship with you all…”

“That bastard,” Echo clenches his fist, “He knows everything about everyone. He’s got it out for us.”

You look at Crosshair, “Tarkin said that one of us filed a counter-”

The door slides open and the devil himself walks through, “That was quite an impressive display, Nala Se claims that you are all more capable than an army.”

Hunter steps forward, “You have a mission for us, sir?”

“Yes, a group of insurgents in the Onderon sector. They must be dealt with. Unfortunately, Ms. L/n will not be able to join you. She will be staying here on Kamino while you complete this task.”

You help Tech load the last bit of supplies on the ship. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll stay in the barracks until you come back.”

“It shouldn’t take us long. If everything goes according to plan that is.” Tech says.

You smile and walk down the ramp.

“Y/n.” Crosshair calls you over.

“Yes Cross?”

He takes your hand and runs his fingers over your wrist, avoiding your eyes. “There’s something-”

“Crosshair! Let’s go!”

He looks back at you, apologizing. You squeeze his hand, “It’s okay Crosshair, we can talk about it when you come back.” You lean up and kiss his cheek. “ Be careful, okay.”

“Okay, y/n.” He pressed his lips to your temple before climbing up the ramp. They take off and you turn around, finding Omega behind you.

“Hey, uh, Omega right?”

“Yeah! And you’re y/n.” You can’t help but notice the worry in her features.

“Is something wrong?” You lean closer when the child just nods

“Kamino isn’t safe anymore, we need to get out of here. Something is going to happen, I just don’t know what. But the boys aren’t safe here.”

You kneel to her height, “Okay, I believe you. Something has been off ever since the order was declared. Keep quiet for now, okay. When the boys come back, we’ll figure something out.” Omega nods and runs off to Nala Se.

“Y/n!” Omega rushes into the barracks.

“Omega! What are you doing here?” You walk up and close the door. “Oh hey AZI.”

-“Ms. L/n. Omega, Nala Se instructed us to stay in the medical wing.”

“You guys can stay, think of it as a research assignment.” You smile at the girl.

Omega and AZI are looking around the barracks when troopers come to the door.

“You are not authorized to be here.”

You speak up, “Omega is fine, I’ll keep an eye on her.”

The trooper turns to his partner, “Pack up their gear and take it to the hangar. You two, you’re coming with me.”

“We’ve done nothing wrong, and you are not touching our stuff. Back off!”

The troopers grab you and Omega.

“Let go of her!” You struggle against his grip, then everything goes black.

You groan and open your eyes.

“Y/n! Are you okay? They hit you a-and then threw us here!”

You grab Omega’s hand. “Slow down, I don’t know what’s happening, but you need to stay calm okay?”

The door slid open, revealing the batch, they were missing their armor. “Guys!”

“Y/n, what happened?” Hunter helps you off the ground. Crosshair just rubbed his head and walked to a corner.

“I don’t know, they just threw us in here.” You rub your head. “What are you guys doing here, what happened to the insurgents?”

Hunter pauses, “They weren’t droids, they were people. There were children and elderly. We didn’t hurt them.”

From the corner, Crosshair interjects, “Because Hunter went soft, he had us disobey orders.”

“What? Crosshair, they were living people.” You look at him, confused.

“We’re locked in here because of him. First the padawan, then Gerrera. You’re becoming a liability, Sergeant.”

“Enough.” Everyone looks at you, “None of this is helping us get the hell out of here.”

After Omega spoke to your fiance, you quietly sit next to him. “Crosshair, I know you’re the one who filed the report.”

“How smart you are, y/n.”

“You don’t have to do this. You would never do this.” You're interrupted by the man that threw you in here.

“CT-9904, you’re coming with us.”

Hunter jumps up, “Oh, no, no, no. We stay together”

“Stand down!”

“Crosshair!”

“I said stand down!” The trooper shoves you back into the cell.

As Crosshair puts on his armor, he notices a chain with a ring around his neck. He doesn’t remember who or what it’s for. Help me, please. Don’t hurt them. Don’t hurt y/n.

Tarkin approaches him, “CT-9904, the prisoners have escaped from the brig. Make sure they don’t leave this planet.”

Crosshair tucks his helmet under his arm. “Yes, sir.” Good soldiers follow orders.

You tighten your hand in Omega’s as you run through the halls to get to the hangar.

“All right, this way. Let’s make this quick.”

Tech runs to power up the ship, and the hangar door opens.

You tighten the grip on your rifle, “Omega, get down. Do not get up until Hunter says so, okay?” You look up and see him.

“Crosshair, it’s me. I-”

“Crosshair?”

“Best stand down, Sergeant.” His eyes flit over to you. “You as well.”

“Lower your weapon.”

“Y/n” Hunter looks at you. You nod and raise your rifle.

“I can’t do that Crosshair. I’m sorry. I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

One of the troopers fire, blaster shots flying everywhere.

“Omega, go!” You yell out. You glance back and see Crosshair take aim at Hunter. A shot fires, knocking the rifle out of his hands. Omega. You take aim at his rifle when he tries to grab it again and fire. Crosshair shoots up as you run to the ramp, grabbing Omega and throwing her inside. Crosshair kept firing with his pistol, you returned fire, but did not hit him. You couldn't hurt him.

After the Marauder got into hyperspace, you sat down in Crosshair's room, your shared room. You fiddle with the necklace when the door opens, revealing Omega.

“Hey, are you okay?” The mattress bends a little.

“Yes… no, I’m sad and confused.” You feel tears welling in your eyes but blink them away. Omega looks at your necklace and points at it.

“What’s that?”

You smile softly at her. “It’s an engagement ring.” You chuckle at the confused look on her face. “It’s something that a person gives to someone that they love so much, that they want to spend the rest of their life with them. Crosshair gave this to me.”

“So he loves you and you love him?” The girl scoots closer out of curiosity.

“I love him very very much. I miss him very much too.”

“How did you two meet?”

You raise your eyebrows. “You really want to know?” The girl nods enthusiastically. “Well, it’s actually a pretty funny story. Before I joined the batch, I lived off the grid. When the war started I joined a local militia on Batuu, I was a sniper like Crosshair. Kept innocents safe, took out droids. One day there was a larger group of Seperatist droids causing trouble, I got sent out to look around and take them out.” You look over at Omega and she nods. “Things didn’t go exactly as planned, and a couple of civilians got caught in the middle. A droid was about to take a shot and my rifle had jammed. So I just ran towards it and tackled it. At the same time, someone shot me in the leg. When I looked back, I saw Crosshair standing on a building, all tense. Well, he was grumpy that I blocked his shot and he carried me back to the ship. After I healed up, Hunter offered me a spot on the team. And I’ve been with them ever since.”

The girls eyes widen. “So you’re a sniper too? Can you teach me?”

“Teach you? What, to shoot?” You look at the girl in surprise.

“Yes! I want to help however I can. Can you teach me? Please?” Omega got on her knees and bounced on the bed.

“I’m not the best-” You sigh, “Okay, okay. We can ask Hunter tomorrow.”

“Yes! Thank you, thank you!” Omega hugged you, smiling.

“Of course, why don’t you get some rest. You’ve had a long day.” You pat her head. “You can sleep in here until we set something up for you.”

“I’m not tired though.” She could barely hold her eyes open and she kept yawning.

“Sure you aren’t. Come on, bed time.” You pick the girl up and lay her in the bed across from you. You tucked the blanket around her and got up to leave, but she tugged on your hand. “Y/n?”

“Hm?”

“We’ll get Crosshair back, I know it.” She lets go and closes her eyes.

You crouch down and smile softly, “I know we will too, Omega.”

Crosshair sits on his bunk, staring at the necklace in his hands. He looks again at the engraving on the ring. O'r gai bal runi.

“What the hell does that mean?” He grumbles and turns the ring in his hand. I don’t remember why I have this. That women… y/n… she had the same ring around her neck. Who is she? Crosshair puts the necklace on the side table.

He rubs his head, furrowing his brows. Fight back! Fight back dammit! Get out of here!

“Shut up already…” Crosshair climbs into the bunk and stares at the ceiling before closing his eyes.

Everything hurts. NO! NO! Don’t let me hurt them again… I can’t hurt my brothers. I can’t hurt her. Y/n, y/n, please don’t leave me. HELP ME!

“Crosshair!” You shoot up from your bed, gasping for air. You look around wildly in the darkness. I heard him. I swear I heard him.

A small voice calls out, “Y/n? Are you okay?”

“I- Yeah, I’m alright, just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep Omega.”

You lie back down in your bed and grab your necklace, moving it around in your hand. We’ll find you Crosshair, we’ll bring you home.

#name and soul #clone trooper crosshair #crosshair x reader #the bad batch #tbb spoilers #star wars

166 notes · View notes

skyvaikers · 3 years

Text

𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 [ 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 ]

SUMMARY — after he gets his chip removed, she comforts him.

WARNINGS — fem!reader, angst and fluff

———

IT TOOK EFFORT to restrain crosshair to get his chip out, though not as much as the others thought. there was an unspoken willingness to crosshair; he wanted to have his chip removed. the others could see that, but no one said anything.

crosshair didn’t say anything after his chip was removed, even after he woke up. the guilt that resided in his chest was strong, it was something the sniper wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get over. so, he sat by himself on his bunk, his head in his hands. he let down his brothers, he tried to kill them; if he were them he’d never speak to him again. but that’s not what happened, they took him in, removed his chip, and welcomed him back as their brother. the one person crosshair was worried about the most was y/n. she hadn’t said anything to him ever since he got his chip removed, and it broke him. was she afraid of him?

footsteps stopped at his door, and the sniper didn’t need to look up to know who was standing at his door. his heart yearned for y/n, for her touch, for her voice, but he sat there. he didn’t move and he didn’t make a sound.

“cross?” ah, there it was, the sweet sound of her voice. he felt his chest heave from the impact it took; maker he missed her.

he didn’t move as he heard her footsteps start again, this time walking closer to him. she took a seat next to him, lifting a hand to his face. she gently took his hands away from his face, but he turned his face away to hide the tears. she sighed and used one hand to guide his face back to hers. he met her eyes for a moment, allowing y/n to see the pain in his heart. y/n cupped his cheek with her hand, rubbing her thumb along his cheekbone.

“you,” she whispered, analyzing his face, “are not at fault.” she felt him lean into her hand. crosshair’s chest tightened with the tears that threatened to spill, but he refused to show any weakness.

“how can you say that?” he tried to speak with his familiar drawl, but his voice broke at the end. a soft smile bloomed on y/n’s face, her hand still on his cheek.

“because i love you, crosshair. i am not the only one who believes it’s not your fault. the empire controlled you, used you for your abilities,” hearing those words made him choke up, but he still refused to cry.

“i still…” he couldn’t say it. he couldn’t say he killed innocent people, even if it was true.

“you didn’t, the empire did,” she reassured, and that’s all it took to break crosshair. tears flowed freely from his tired eyes as he laid his head against y/n’s shoulder. she brought him closer, wrapping her arms around him and allowing him to release all of the pain he’d been bottling up. she’d never mention how vulnerable he was again, since being this open was hard for crosshair, but it was a relief to know that he trusted her.

“i love you too,” he whispered against her chest, holding onto her tightly. it was in that moment crosshair knew he found a good one, someone who was never going to let him go. his home was with his brothers and his love; he was never going to betray them again.

———

AHHHHHH I NEEDED SOME CROSSHAIR LOVE SO I WHIPPED THIS UP. anyways enjoy this little thing of crossy because i’m sad from friday’s ep.

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars imagines #star wars imagine #the clone wars #the clone wars imagine #bad batch #bad batch imagine #crosshair #crosshair my baby boy #crosshair imagine

63 notes · View notes

kopykunoichi · 3 years

Text

Just some thoughts on The Bad Batch finale...

First of all - great episode. I never thought I'd feel sad about watching Tipoca City get blown up, but here we are. Now the Empire has all the data and research for the clones, which makes me wonder if Nala Se will be instrumental in Palpatine's research for transplanting his "essence" into another body. But I digress.

Omega's knowledge of Kamino and her revelation that she was there when the Bad Batch were being enhanced is very interesting. We know that Boba was from the first batch, so we can assume Omega was too. She would be 13 now, though a little small for her age (late bloomer, so to speak). If she remembers them, she had to be at least 5 when they were brought into the lab. They might have been a little older too when they were further enhanced because it would have taken time for their abilities to manifest. Perhaps they are 3rd gen (11 years old making them physically 22 now) and they were brought in for further enhancement when they were two years old (physically 4), which would make Omega 5 years old when she saw them. Theoretically, they could have been brought in even older than that and still not remembered because they were in tanks. Either way, it's very fascinating to realize that for a brief moment in time, she was about the same age as them...and she knew them.

Hunter and Crosshair. Oh, so much good stuff between them in this episode. Full disclosure, I'm not a big Crosshair fan and I never was (even in TCW), but I also try to give him a fair shake. I don't doubt that he felt betrayed after being left behind and I can sympathize with those feelings. On the other hand, I also think he's an extremely manipulative individual and he played up his hurt in order to control Hunter.

First off, let's talk about the clone supremacy thing. TBB was always biased against regs - they *all* thought they were superior to them. I think this had more to do with their training than with just genetics (sort of in the same way that Navy SEALs see themselves as superior to army grunts because they are elite special forces). But I think Crosshair truly believes his life is worth more than other clones' lives because of his genetic mutations. This was hinted at back in TCW when they rescued Echo and he outright said it today. "Not the ones that matter." Conversely, I don't think Hunter and others feel the same way about regs anymore after spending time with Cut, Rex, Howzer, and Gregor - which is why those interactions were so important over this season. They changed for the better while Crosshair has doubled down on his superiority complex (the core of the Imperial mindset). Crosshair sees his batch brothers as equals and he wants them to be a team again fighting for the Empire, but he rejects Omega.

This leads to the abandonment matter. Crosshair feels as though his team betrayed him when they left him behind - even though they didn't have a choice at the time. He counters Hunter with the argument that he didn't have a choice either. Except, he then undermines himself when he admits that he took his chip out "a long time ago", which means he *did* have a choice. Crosshair easily kills his new stormtrooper squad, demonstrating that he could have escaped on his own and joined his brothers a long time ago, but he chose not to because he wants them to join him as Imperials. If he cared about his brothers more than his new job, he could have joined them a whole lot easier than they could have extracted him (especially because they believed they would have to catch him, hold him, and then find a place to de-chip him while he was fighting them the whole time).

When Hunter brings up Omega, Crosshair counters with a seemingly solid argument about how if Hunter really cared about her, he'd leave her someplace safe, which, of course, Hunter attempted at the very beginning with Cut, but changed his mind when Omega ran back to them. It almost makes Crosshair seem as though he genuinely cares about her, but he contradicts himself again when he shifts his argument to "join the Empire so you can have purpose again". As if his brothers caring for Omega and keeping her safe isn't "purpose" enough, but that's a whole other thread. Crosshair has made it abundantly clear with how many times he has tried to kill Omega that he doesn't care about her - which says to me he was just manipulating Hunter.

Crosshair's feelings of betrayal clearly resonate with Hunter, but throughout their interactions, he shows that he still doesn't fully trust him (probably because of the chip). When Crosshair reveals that he no longer has a chip and refuses to answer when he removed it, Hunter's trust is further broken. And yet, even knowing that Crosshair is now loyal to the Empire of his own free will, he still saves him. Perhaps he thinks that Crosshair can be turned back now that he's no longer under the chip's influence.

Next week will tell if Crosshair will get the chance to shift his loyalties back to his brothers and join the good guys again. One part of me wants to see them all together and fighting the good fight as a team again. Another part of me really wants the writers to continue down the path they are taking - where Crosshair is a sort of foil for Anakin. Instead of the Jedi who joined the Empire and then hunted down the other Jedi, we'd have the clone who joined the Empire and then hunted down the other "disloyal" clones. Crosshair is a complicated character, which makes him an interesting antagonist, because many people still really like him. Or...he may just get the typical redemption=death Star Wars treatment. I hope not - I'm rather over that trope.

Here's to hoping everyone will make it through the finale episodes alive and well.

#the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #crosshair #hunter #omega #the bad batch finale

45 notes · View notes

gospelofme · 3 years

Text

Things I want to see in The Bad Batch season 2

They’ll likely return to Cid’s place honestly, but I do want them to have a moment to reflect on what happened with Crosshair. I want them to talk about him with each other. I wonder if they’ll go to wherever Cut settled down. They went to him after leaving Kamino the first time. He is someone they know they can go to to regroup and ask advice.

Rex and Hunter need to have a sit down. Rex has had experience dealing with things that Hunter is just now going through. Rex trying to talk Jesse down is very similar to Hunter talking with Crosshair.

I want to see what Rex has been up to. I hope the finale was a turning point for Clone Force 99. I hope they decide to work with Rex for a bit. If they have any hope of getting Crosshair back, they will need help. They’ll need someone with experience in getting clones out.

Ahsoka: I really hope she makes an appearance. Even if it’s brief. I know Rex is being protective of her and her whereabouts since it would be deadly for her if the Empire discovered her. They likely consider her dead, like they consider Rex dead, but that can change.

We know Rex will likely pick up Gregor at Cids, or maybe the team will drop him off with Rex. But I do want to see him get Wolffe. And I want it to be challenging. I want them to basically kidnap him OR I want Wolffe to realize what is going on. Maybe Rex will ask the team for help in getting Wolffe.

I don’t think we’re done with Hera and her story either. I hope we see Cham and Eleni take back Ryloth and free Howzer. I don’t see them leaving him behind, not after he risked his life to save them.

Crosshair

- I am hoping we get an arc with him alone. Him trying to figure out where he wants to be. I honestly have doubts about whether or not he’ll go back to the Empire. They did leave him for dead.

- We need a clear answer on whether or not he has a chip. I know the writers have said he doesn’t but they’re likely just preserving the current narrative until they give the whole “surprise!” moment.

- Quite honestly I hope he tracks down Rampart to kill him. I feel like he’d want to enact revenge on the Empire for leaving him.

We do need some interaction with Darth Vader. Honestly I feel like that should happen, but I do like how there aren’t a ton of classic canon characters (Obiwan, Vader, Palpatine, etc). Granted there aren’t many left alive…

Cody! We need an attempt by Rex to get Cody. Or some Cody cameo. Something. Although I know it’s more likely we’ll see him in the Obiwan series, since the dramatic impact would be great!

More information on Omega. There has to be something more to her. Why make a clone with no accelerated aging? What purpose does that serve? We know why it was that way for Boba: Jango requested it. But I doubt he was aware of or requested Omega.

Rampart: what’s his goal? Does he want to get ahead, become more important than Tarkin? Probably. All but one of his elite soldiers is dead, so what’s his plan there? Will he train up more elite soldiers? Does he have more waiting in the wings?

We need a clone trooper rebellion. I can’t help but feel that some of them hated seeing the destruction of their home. The clone who reported it to Rampart seemed distraught over it.

I do think they need to have some Jedi action. Even if it’s not Ahsoka. They need to know there are some who survived Order 66. I need Hunter to know Kanan survived. I have a feeling he’s so protective over Omega because he couldn’t protect Kanan. That he knows there was a kid, albeit a Jedi but still a child, out there on their own. He seems to have a natural father instinct that didn’t activate until he spent more time with kids.

I don’t see Hunter giving up on Crosshair either. I know he sees Crosshair has having made his decision, but he’s also seen others like Howzer staying to try to get though to their brothers. I know he felt something when Howzer alerted them to the trap and then refused to leave his men (even though it could mean his death if he stayed).

Bora Vio: I hope they go back there. A whole satellite Kaminoan cloning facility just abandoned? With experiments still in their tubes? Why? What was that place for? That seems to be a place with a lot of potential to uncover some of those Kaminoan secrets that Echo talked about.

Kix. According to his Wookieepedia page, he uncovers the secret of the chips. He knows that Fives was right all along. He was on his way to the Jedi Council to warn them, but he was captured by Dooku. He was tortured and put into stasis. Dooku puts him on a shuttle and orders the droid pilots to not allow him to fall into Republic hands. They flee a Republic ship that pursues them, crash lands on a planet, and he’s eventually found 50 years later by the Crimson Corsair and his crew.

But I want to see Rex noticing his disappearance. I want to see Rex looking for him, even after Order 66. I know he looked for him, he gave him the task of investigating what Fives had been going on about.

Hunter needs to admit to the rest of the team that he’s scared. That he isn’t sure what to do. That may go against everything he was taught, being a leader and all. But Crosshair took some pretty big hits at his leadership skills while on Kamino.

While I’ve liked them interacting with Cid, she’s got them out of their comfort zones in a way, I do want them to go off on their own again. I want them to find Rex and start working with the early stages of the Rebellion. Perhaps even Bail Organa makes an appearance. I doubt Obiwan will since he’s on Tatooine peering at infant look over some sand dunes, but maybe. Rex said that there were others out there, so this makes me think early Rebel Alliance stuff. They could use Clone Force 99’s skills and it would put them back into a more comfortable place. And they’d have more resources available to rescue Crosshair.

#star wars #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #crosshair tbb #commander crosshair #Captain Rex #sargent hunter #tbb hunter #tbb howzer #captain howzer #captain gregor #tbb gregor #commander wolffe #obiwan kenobi #bail organa #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb season 2

39 notes · View notes

eyayah-oya · 3 years

Text

My Brothers

66 FOLLOWERS!!! Thank you to everyone who has followed me and stuck around as I mess around with Star Wars and the Clone Wars. This fic is for you all!

Also, I’ve had this story idea rattling around in my brain since last Saturday. I hope you all enjoy and I’m sorry in advance.

Rating: T

Pairing: none (maybe Rex/Echo if you squint)

Warnings: canon typical violence and death (I’m sorry a named clone gets killed off screen ToT)

Ao3 link

Echo let his blaster fall to the ground from his numb fingers. The Empire had sent Crosshair after them again, with five full squads of troopers, trying to terminate the traitors. They’d finally managed to subdue them all, including Crosshair, and had removed his chip. All that was left was waiting for him to wake up and help him deal with being under the control of an evil regime.

Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Omega gathered around Crosshair, just like they had done for Wrecker when his chip had activated, and waited. And suddenly, Echo found he couldn’t stay there a second longer. He had other duties to attend to.

The small clearing the Empire had cornered them in was covered in the bodies of fallen stormtroopers. If Echo blocked out the past year, he could even believe that these were squads of shinies and that the rest of his brothers would be at a camp nearby, mourning the loss of the ones killed in action. But the Empire destroyed everything good left in the galaxy and left behind flimsy illusions of a perfect society.

Rather than pay any kind of attention to his team—because they weren’t quite family, not really—Echo moved to the closest stormtrooper, clad in the new, weaker armor the Empire supplied its army with. He knelt down in the blood-soaked dirt and pulled off the trooper’s helmet, needing to see their face.

The clone that looked up at the starless sky with blank eyes couldn’t have been older than eight. They had probably only just been deployed before the Order went out and the galaxy fell. Echo brushed his fingers over their eyelids and closed them. “Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la, vod’ika,” he whispered. Echo wished he knew their name. Instead, he slipped the tags from around their neck, emblazoned with their CT number, and placed them in his hip pouch. There wasn’t anything he needed in there at the moment, and it was more important that these brothers be remembered.

Echo moved to the next one and repeated the process. Again. And again. Some clones were older, like Rex or even Echo himself. Others were obviously shinies, sent to die for the new Empire. Most fell somewhere in between. All of them carried the face that Echo had spent his whole life looking at, a comforting familiar that he no longer could indulge in. None of the clones he had teamed up with shared a clone’s face. The only one that Echo had seen since they’d left Kamino was Rex.

Force, Echo missed Rex. He wished Hunter had taken Rex up on his offer and they could have gone off and actually made a difference in this awful galaxy. Maybe Echo could have helped save his brothers instead of slaughtering them.

But.

Standing among the bodies of his dead brothers, Echo felt like wailing. Like crying. Like giving up for once in his short, pathetic life. He hadn’t felt this way since Rex had told him exactly what had happened to Fives. And Hardcase. And Kix. And Jesse. And the rest of the brothers that Echo loved and fought beside. They were all gone.

When he’d been rescued from the Techno Union and realized the full extent of what they’d done to him, Echo had sworn he would never hurt another brother again as long as he lived. He’d already been the weapon used to kill countless numbers of clone troopers (and Echo really didn’t know how many brothers had died because of the information the Techno Union had dug out of his brain), he refused to be used like that again.

Echo stood in the middle of a clearing, surrounded on all sides by the bodies of the brothers he had helped kill to save one. How many could he have saved if he’d just spoken up to the rest of the Bad Batch? How many would still be alive if he’d had the courage to present his own tactics instead of relying on Hunter’s?

The next bucket he pulled off revealed a face that was more familiar to him than all the others. This was a vod he knew personally. His hair had been shaved down, but from the tan lines on his head, it was obvious he had had a mohawk for years. There was the cute scar on his lip from when he’d sparred Commander Cody and bitten through his lip. Echo had laughed with Fives and congratulated the shiny on lasting longer than usual against Commander Cody.

There wasn’t a speck of 212th gold on Wooley’s armor.

They’d stolen his mind, his free-will, his identity, and Echo had stolen his life. He’d killed the adorable floofy-haired kid with the most lethal tooka eyes in the entire GAR and a wicked right hook. The one who loved stories and songs from far off planets and could weave the most incredible tales around the fires after a battle. His sightless eyes gazed up at the stars he’d loved so much.

With a silent sob, Echo fell to his knees and pressed his forehead against Wooley’s, cradling his body as best as he could without a hand. “Ni ceta, vod’ika,” he rasped as tears streaked down his cheeks. “Ni ceta. I’m so sorry, Wooley. I should have saved you. I could have saved you.”

There was nothing but the still-warm skin of Wooley’s forehead pressed against his own. No shaky breaths or snarky comebacks or easy forgiveness. Nothing but the soft murmur of Hunter’s voice as he assured the others that Crosshair would be alright. Nothing but Echo’s own gasping sobs as he mourned the lives he had taken with his own hands.

“Echo?” Omega’s voice startled him, and he nearly reached for the blaster he’d dropped before he registered that she wasn’t a threat. “What are you doing out here?”

“It’s nothing, Omega,” Echo said, his voice rougher than usual. “Just gathering intel. You should go check on the others, make sure they’re holding up alright now that they have Crosshair back.”

“I’m sure they’d all feel a lot better if you came and joined us,” Omega suggested. She sounded worried. Echo didn’t have the heart to turn around and comfort her, knowing she would see the tears on his face.

“I’ll come back when I’m done. He’ll probably be waking up soon anyway.”

For a moment, there wasn’t any sound behind Echo, but he refused to turn and look. Someone had to be the voice of reason for the Bad Batch, even if they didn’t listen very often, and he couldn’t do that if they saw how broken he really was. Not even sweet Omega.

A gentle, small hand settled briefly on his shoulder, and then Omega walked away, picking her way carefully through the dead bodies. Echo let out a shaky sigh and set Wooley down on the ground again. As gently as he could, he closed Wooley’s eyes and ran a finger down his cheek.

“Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la, ner vod’ika. I’m so sorry, Wooley. I will do everything I can to free the rest of our brothers. Haat, ijaa, haa’it,” Echo vowed softly. He wore Wooley’s tags around his neck, rather than putting them in the pouch with the others. Echo wanted—needed—the weight to keep him grounded even as he continued to mourn and honor the brothers he’d killed. Dread and grief weighing down his every step, Echo moved through the remaining bodies, removing their helmets and collecting their ID tags so he could remember every one of them. There were a few more brothers he recognized from the 212th and the 327th, though he hadn’t ever been as close to them as he had to Wooley. It still hurt, looking at these men whom he’d loved and cherished, knowing that he was the one that had killed them. Knowing that he was responsible for them dying as slaves of the Empire.

At some point, Echo heard Wrecker’s joyful yell, Tech’s babbling lectures, and Hunter’s quiet reassurances. Even Omega chattered excitedly. Crosshair must have woken up, then. Echo didn’t move to greet him or welcome him back to the world of free-will. Instead, he focused on his task. There were only a few left, and then . . .

And then what? What would Echo do? He had the commlink Rex had slipped him before he’d left them on Bracca, but could he really abandon the Bad Batch now that they were all reunited?

Yes, Echo realized. Omega was the only one that he would miss extensively. He just didn’t belong with these off-color clones. He might not really belong anywhere, but he had a duty to his brothers and to Rex. His last true brother. Echo would try to contact him.

But first, Echo couldn’t leave his brothers like this. Left rotting in some forgotten clearing on some forgotten forest moon in a forgotten sector of the galaxy. It felt . . . wrong to leave them like this. Echo knew there was a shovel among their gear on board the Havoc Marauder. It would be difficult, but he could bury them. Give them each a proper send-off.

It was a good plan. Echo knew that the others wouldn’t understand. They’d be angry with him, probably try to make him change his mind. Maybe even tell him that these “regs” weren’t worth the effort it would take Echo to bury each of them. Especially since he only had one hand. Handling a shovel would be difficult, but he would do it. For his brothers. Regardless of what the squad said or complained about.

With a final, murmured Remembrance, Echo stood and made his way back to the ship. Tech probably kept the shovel in the cargo hold with the rest of the gear they didn’t use as frequently. Most likely with the other survival gear he’d dubbed “unnecessary until necessary”. Echo knew that feeling very well.

As cluttered as the cargo hold was, it actually didn’t take Echo very long to find the shovel, and soon, he walked back down the ramp to go find the best place for a mass burial site.

“What are you doing?” Tech asked, and Echo stopped in his tracks. “Why do you have our shovel? Is there some kind of specimen that would be beneficial to take with us?”

Echo’s grip on the shovel constricted and he very carefully didn’t look at the others. “Just a little bit of maintenance and storage,” he answered, voice tight with anger. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Is there something wrong with the ship?” Hunter asked.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with the ship,” Echo answered, a bit shorter than he’d intended. “Relax. I have everything under control.”

“Oh, great,” Crosshair drawled, and Echo had to fight to keep his shoulders from climbing to his ears. He’d forgotten how caustic the sniper could be. “We’re taking orders from the reg now.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Wrecker boomed. “Hunter’s still our Sarge!”

Echo decided it would be better just to walk away. Until a soft, sweet voice halted him in his tracks.

“Echo, are you going to be digging holes for the stormtroopers?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Omega. That would be illogical. Echo wouldn’t spend time burying a bunch of stormtroopers, especially as he doesn’t have two hands and can’t hold the shovel properly,” Tech scoffed.

More machine than man, Echo sighed heavily. He turned around and faced the Bad Batch for the first time since they’d managed to take down Crosshair without killing him. They would see the red, sore eyes and the tear tracks down his grimy cheeks. They’d see Wooley’s tags, standing out against the dark paint of his armor. As much as he should be worrying about showing them that vulnerability, Echo had reached his breaking point.

“Yes, Tech, I am going to bury them. It’s the right thing to do,” he said slowly and evenly, desperately trying not to lose his temper.

Tech heaved an annoyed sigh, like Echo had been placed on this team specifically to bother him. “Again, that is illogical, Echo. The Empire will send someone out to dispose of the corpses, or the wildlife will eat them before anyone else arrives. We will need to move shortly to avoid detection, especially since they’ll know we have Crosshair once they see this failure.”

Failure? Echo swung the shovel off of his shoulder and dropped it to the ground. “Is that what you see? A bunch of failures that we merely disposed of?” he growled softly.

Wrecker gulped and muttered a not-so-quiet “uh-oh” while Hunter’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Omega looked like she wanted to hug someone, maybe somehow prevent this fight, and for a moment, Echo regretted starting anything. She was the bright star left in his life, but he was fighting for all the other bright stars that he’d murdered. He needed to say this.

Crosshair didn’t actually say anything, and Echo couldn’t help but be relieved at that. He only had to deal with Tech.

“Well—yes,” Tech fumbled, clearly confused as to why Echo was clarifying anything.

“You know what I see?” Echo asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “I see my brothers that we killed to save yours. I see my brothers that I swore to never harm again, murdered by my hand. I see men who had as much choice in their actions as Wrecker or Crosshair, killed simply because they were in our way while we saved Crosshair.”

“We didn’t have a way to save them all,” Tech argued back. “Besides, they’re just regs. Crosshair is a modified clone who would be more dangerous in the hands of the Empire than any other average clone. It was logical to rescue him above the others.”

“Tech—” Hunter tried.

But Echo snapped.

He pulled Wooley’s tags from around his neck and held them out, a vicious snarl on his face. “Do you know who these tags belong to? Of course, you don’t. These tags belonged to my little brother. Wooley from the 212th. I watched him grow up from when he was a just a little shiny, rescued from the Separatists who had been planning on selling him to the Trandoshans to be hunted down for sport. I watched him learn how to fight from Commander Cody himself until he could hold his own for several minutes. Wooley had a stupidly adorable, fluffy mohawk and the best tooka eyes in the GAR that he used liberally on General Kenobi to get him to go to medical. He loves music and stories and the stars. And I killed him. I shot my little brother, my vod’ika, so you could save yours.

“I’ve killed hundreds of my brothers, men that I served proudly beside for two years, to save your brother. I swore to never harm another brother, and I broke that promise for you, just so you could save Crosshair. And now, you want me to just leave them here to rot? For the Empire to find?” Echo shook his head with a sharp, bitter laugh. “No, I’m done. I refuse to turn my back on my brothers and if you can save yours, then I can save mine. Get Crosshair and Omega out of here and lie low so the Empire doesn’t find you, but leave me here. I’m saving my brothers, this time.”

He leaned down and picked up his shovel. Really, he had no idea how he was going to dig fifty graves with only one hand, but he had to do it. He had to try.

“Echo,” Omega whimpered and he couldn’t help but drop to his knee and hold his arm out towards her. She immediately rushed into his hug and Echo held her close for a moment, dropping his shovel back to the ground. “Don’t go, please?”

“Omega, I don’t want to leave you,” he said softly. “But my purpose is elsewhere in the galaxy. Hunter and the others will keep you safe, but right now, I have a duty to save my brothers and I intend to do it. I can’t do my duty if I stay with the Bad Batch.”

“What if we came with you?” Omega sniffled.

Echo locked eyes with Hunter, and then Tech and Wrecker. Crosshair didn’t even bother looking up. “These guys are your family, Omega, and they need to do what’s best for you. You shouldn’t have to experience war, and that’s exactly where I’m going. I’m a soldier and a weapon that any rebellion against the Empire could desperately use. That’s what I was made for.”

“You’re not—” Hunter started, and Echo could see the desperation and uncertainty in the Sergeant’s eyes. “You’re not just a soldier or a weapon anymore, Echo. You have a place with us.”

“I’m a droid,” Echo said. He gently nudged Omega back and pressed his forehead against hers for a second before giving her a little push towards the rest of the Bad Batch. He stood up and looked at the other clones, so unsure of what to do in this kind of situation. “I was turned into the ultimate weapon against my brothers, and Tech said it himself. I’m more machine than man now. All I’m good for is doing menial repairs on the ship and being sold for credits. I was “just a reg” before I became a prisoner of war, and you wouldn’t have even given me a second look if I wasn’t torn apart and put back together again. I’m just a replacement that can be used when one of you isn’t able to fulfill your duties. A stand-in.

Echo took a deep breath. “I need to fight against this Empire the best way I can, and I need to save my brothers. That is my mission now. I will fulfill my duty.”

“But you can’t go,” Omega said, and there were tears glistening in her eyes. “Echo, you’re a part of my family and I just got you.”

“Omega, you’re a part of my family, too. But you know that we’d do anything to save our family and I have a whole galaxy filled with my brothers who all need to be saved.” Echo reached into one of the pockets on his belt and pulled out the secondary secure communicator he had built just in case. “I’ll always be there for you, Omega. I’m only one call away, and if you or the rest of the Batch get into trouble, I’ll come and help. But I need to do this.”

She took the comm in trembling hands, then with a sob, threw her arms around Echo’s legs and shook. “I’ll miss you so much, Echo.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Omega. But don’t worry, I’ll keep in touch as much as I’m able to. And we’ll see each other again. I know it.”

Echo let Omega hug him for as long as she needed as he ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. He would miss her a lot. In fact, she reminded him a lot of Ahsoka when she was a youngling at the beginning of the war. Naïve and just wanting to prove her own worthiness. Eventually she stepped back, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

“I understand why you need to go,” Omega said with a watery voice. “I’ll call you every day, okay?”

He chuckled. “Maybe not every day, but as often as we can both manage. I promise.”

Hunter stepped forward and put his hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Echo—“ he began, but Echo held up his hand.

“It’s alright, Sarge. Just—take care of her and each other. And if you’re ever stuck in a situation, give me a call and I’ll come help.”

“Are you sure we can’t convince you to come with us? There’s plenty of room for you.”

Echo shook his head. “You saved your brother. It’s time I saved mine. And you need to do what’s best for Omega. Taking her into war zones would be a terrible idea.”

Hunter stared at Echo for a long time, likely trying to figure out if there was any way he could convince him to stay, but Echo held firm. He didn’t belong with the Batch. Never really had. They were good for a temporary posting, just to help readjust since Rex was busy with the war and dealing with the loss of so many brothers before everything went to hell. Echo was ready to get back into the thick of the fighting.

“Wrecker, go grab Echo’s gear and whatever rations and medical supplies we can spare,” Hunter ordered. He turned back towards the rest of the Batch. “Tech, get Crosshair on board and start up the engines. We need to get going as soon as possible in case the Empire returns. Omega? You should probably go get strapped in for takeoff.”

The Batch scrambled to obey, though Echo noticed both Wrecker and Tech giving him uncertain looks. Little brothers were always the same. They always wanted to make sure they were doing the right thing and looked to their ori’vode for advice and help. Hunter had filled that role for so long, but Echo had carved out a tiny space for himself, too. As much as Echo wanted to help them, he had his duty. And he could only really help them if they actually listened to his advice. But it didn’t hurt to leave them with a few last suggestions.

“Hunter, don’t trust Cid. They’re only looking out for themself and will likely betray you if it’s profitable enough. Find someone you can really trust and have them teach you how the galaxy works so no one else can take advantage of you. And take care of yourself and the others. Especially Omega.”

Hunter nodded and saluted Echo. Echo gave a weak grin and returned the gesture before he picked up his shovel once again. He had work to do.

It didn’t take long for the Havoc Marauder to take off, and he watched the ship silently until he could no longer see them before turning back to the field of white, broken bodies. His hand slipped into his belt pouch and removed the secure transmitter Rex had given him before they’d parted ways. Without hesitation, Echo flicked it on and called the only saved frequency.

“Rex? Yeah, I’m gonna need a pickup. Got room for one more in your little rebellion?”

(Hours later, and after Echo had finally finished burying the last body, Rex’s ship touched down in the clearing. The door slid open and five notes were whistled out of the opening. It was a call Domino squad had come up with while on Rishi and one that he and Fives had continued to use in the 501st. The only person left that would know that tune was Rex. Echo grinned and returned the whistle. Seconds later, a shape that was definitely not Rex barreled out of the ship and into Echo’s arms. Ahsoka was taller than he remembered, and a lot more weary and sad. But she was alive, and that’s what mattered most.

Echo looked over her montrals and grinned at Rex, who leaned against the ship and just watched him reunite with his long-missed jetii’ka vod’ika. The Empire may have taken everything good out of the galaxy, but a few small pockets persisted. They had hope and they were willing to fight for it.

“Let’s go save our brothers,” he said, arm wrapped around Ahsoka’s shoulders as they walked back to Rex. Echo only paused once to look back at Wooley’s grave. He would not be forgotten, and Echo would make sure that for every life he took, he’d save two more. It’s what he owed them. It’s what his brothers deserved.

Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la. Not gone, merely marching far away.)

#mom echo #clone trooper echo #the bad batch #tbb omega #mando'a #what I think should happen #echo has trauma #i'm so sorry wooley #i didn't want to kill you

17 notes · View notes

itsclydebitches · 3 years

Note

I’m the tin foil hat anon and I wanted to thank you for the response on my bb submission, you make great points. Although I was frustrated that some of them raised even more questions I didn’t think of myself… UGH… lol the S2 wait is gonna be painful

On the point of crosshair thinking his chip was removed a looong time ago(meaning before bracca or even as early as ep1) it wouldn’t make sense bc of his response to Hunter’s “you tried to kill us, we didn’t have a choice”. He says “and I did?”. So he seems to be aware he couldn’t control himself in all their previous encounters. Does it mean he knows his actions were due to chip then?

And you say crosshair avoiding the “when” question can be due to him not caring if the horrible actions he committed are chip or himself and it’s meant to show that he truly is despicable and evil. It could be the case because he shows absolutely no remorse or regret over slaughtering civilians, never apologizes to his brothers for not only trying to kill them but almost successfully incinerating(!!!) them. On top of that (apparently) without a chip he casually murders his own squad without a blink of an eye right in front of them.

On the other hand, he shows care for Omega’s safety in that episode and wants a better place in the universe for his brothers(even if it’s obviously a mistake). He sounds hurt and betrayed by them yet he still wants what he thinks is best for them. He seemed genuine and sincere in that moment. Even after they refused to join he protected them against the droids. He had multiple opportunities to shoot Hunter or others in the back but never did(and looked like didn’t even consider it). BUT after all of that he decides to raise his gun and try to shoot hunter who already has his gun drawn?! And in front of the whole squad holding him at gun point!!! WTF was he thinking?! WHY? I know they rejected his offer but still. Did his reveal completely change his plans? I just don’t understand. I know he is meant to be “complex and nuanced character with layers” but what a mood swing lmao

As much as I loved and enjoyed the bad batch overall I’m beginning to think that all these inconsistencies aren’t meant to be a crafty set up for next season. What they most likely are is just writers being vague on purpose so they don’t write themselves into a corner.

And as to why the batch and Omega didn’t even try to rescue their brother could just be so that Hunter and Crosshair would have this drama and disagreement at the end. Despite brad rau claiming their argument was over ideological differences. And Jen Corbett saying in that same cursed interview that the batch always love and support each other no matter what because they’re family. Well, I guess not crosshair, he doesn’t count anymore lol

And I agree with you I’d rather see the batch acknowledging they could have done more to try and rescue him than go into the chip details. However, I have a suspicion the real reason or explanation on why they never went back for him isn’t going to be brought up ever. Even *in universe* it simply does not make sense. Just makes me sad seeing how many people also try to come up with explanations. That should have been the writers job to provide something besides Hunter’s “you tried to kill us” bc that’s a weak argument and a total bs since he was SHOCKED to learn crosshair doesn’t have a chip.

Btw sorry for the long posts lol I just found your takes very intriguing

The season two wait is something awful and I only just started it lol. No worries about long asks though! My blog has become quite meta heavy over the years, so this is normal for my inbox. Besides, it’s a bit of a pot and kettle situation. It's not like my answers are particularly concise :D

Okay first, I have the unpopular (?) opinion that Crosshair was never planning to shoot Hunter, partly for the reasons you lay out here. You’re right, it doesn’t make sense, and rather than just accepting that he had that kind of “mood swing" (which would be pretty bad writing based on everything else we've seen) I think it does make sense that this was never his intention at all. Rather, it’s just a setup to make the audience think he’s about to shoot Hunter—that’s the obvious goal of that moment: the shock, drama, confusion, and then relief—but that doesn’t mean that in-universe that was ever Crosshair’s goal, even for just a split second. Omega leaves the pod. Echo, crucially, says that he can’t see her, setting up that Crosshair with his enhanced sight is probably the only one who could. He grabs his rifle off screen and as he does, Hunter leans over the side of the pod as he prepares to jump in, precisely where Crosshair needs to aim to hit Omega. Hunter is in his way. He’s directly in the line of fire, not because Crosshair is aiming for him, but just because that's where Omega is and they're both aiming for her: Crosshair with his rifle, Hunter ready to dive. The little shift Crosshair makes reads to me as him ensuring he doesn’t hit Hunter, despite him being right where he needs to aim, not him full on changing targets.

Even if we choose to read it as him deliberately aiming at Hunter—because yeah, the scene is meant to be ambiguous—I don’t think he, like, meant it meant it. Crosshair, as we’ve seen throughout TBB and TCW, can be pretty antagonistic. He likes to do things to get a rise out of people, like staring at regs until they snap at him, or pushing Rex’s buttons until he swings. If he was choosing to aim at Hunter in that moment, rather than Hunter just being in the way, I think it’s only bravado. Remember the “Don’t make the same mistake twice. Don’t make me your enemy” line? Crosshair has a need to remind others of his skill and power—whether it’s playfully like in TCW, or more seriously in TBB—and that’s likely what this is here. “Hey, Hunter. Look. I got my weapon back. I’ve got you cornered. I’m about to save our sister when you can’t. Remember that I’m good and you need me.” Those feelings of abandonment are tied up in that need to be needed, so when Crosshair is seething at being left behind, brutally showing them how he can get a drop on their leader and doing the thing they can't (save Omega) is a great way to remind them of what they threw away/re-boost his own self-esteem. But none of that means shooting Hunter was ever a real possibility. Because nowhere else do we see Crosshair willingly trying to harm his team. He does while under the chip’s influence, but then he never hurts Hunter when he’s captured. He kills his new team before they can hurt the batch. He helps them fight off the droids. There’s a tussle, but it’s not choreographed like either he or Hunter truly intends harm. Crosshair demonstrates no aggression during the entire escape, willingly gives up his weapon after saving Omega, and just stands there as they leave. If this guy actually wanted to hurt them, he would. Which is more likely, that Crosshair had a split second of real murder intent across two episodes of doing everything possible to help his team, or that this was just a mean bluff?

But personally, I don’t even think it was a bluff. I think the coincidence of Crosshair needing to aim there and Hunter already being there is just meant to imply an attack for the audience, not imply that Crosshair, in-universe, ever intended to hurt him, even for just a second. If he had, he wouldn’t look so surprised and sad when he realizes the others are pointing their weapons at him. If he was out to shoot Hunter, even if only for a moment, seeing his brothers come to his defense would be expected; a given. But if he only ever intended to save Omega, then seeing their weapons trained on him would produce the emotions we saw: shock that they’d turn on him and then severe disappointment. From Crosshair’s perspective, he didn’t do anything wrong and never intended to do wrong either. Hence, looking away in disbelief that his need to aim through Hunter was taken as a serious threat. He's realizing that they honestly believe that he would hurt them. Not the chipped version of him, but just him, all on his own.

As for the rest of his characterization, I think your point that “You tried to kill us” is a weak argument is pretty important. Meaning, Crosshair knows he didn’t attack his team and nearly kill them, the Empire controlling him like a puppet did. He (arguably) doesn’t owe them an apology for something that he was as much a victim for. However, we usually expect one anyway—like Wrecker still apologizing to Omega—because that's how people who have hurt loved ones react, whether the hurt was intentional or not, but that guilt is currently overshadowed by his fury that they left him behind. For him I think it’s a bit of a circular problem. Yes, he nearly killed them… but he wouldn’t have nearly killed them if they’d come back and rescued him. With the obvious disclaimer that the Empire is the real evil here, Crosshair as a threat is a bit of a problem of the batch's own making. If they’d done the right thing and gotten him out, there wouldn’t have been these scary moments like the engine incident. If they’d at least tried, then Crosshair likely would have been more guilt-ridden because he hurt his brothers who were trying to help him. As it stands, he tried to hurt the people who claim they're his brothers, but who left him behind. That's why he presents this second chance as magnanimous: from Crosshair's perspective, they haven't done anything to earn his care, but they're getting it anyway. An apology though? That's pushing things too far. If when Wrecker turned the group had locked him somewhere in the ship and gone off planet, leaving him there under the justification “Well, he tried to kill us!" would Wrecker still return with apologies for his actions... or would he be primarily pissed at being left like that, withholding apologies because they did him harm intentionally, whereas he did harm under another's control? I mean, maybe he'd be forgiving (the huge difference between his and Crosshair’s personalities is another factor), but also maybe not. Having Crosshair apologize for the near-death experiences requires 1. For him to feel responsibility for something that was forced on him and 2. For him to not be absolutely furious at the batch for abandoning him. They've gotta work through that before Crosshair can acknowledge that guilt.

Killing his second team on the other hand… idk if the batch cares, honestly. It was the killing of civilians that they balked at, not other fighters like themselves. Even the Jedis’ execution, something they clearly didn’t like, wasn’t enough to turn them from the Empire, presumably because the Jedi are capable of defending themselves. They fell in battle. It’s only when the Empire asks them to kill kids and untrained civilians that they go, “Absolutely not. This organization is evil.” Murder of other fighters was, you know, not great, but not worth defecting over either. Crosshair’s second team is made up of fighters who have been trying to kill them, so they’re definitely fair game. If we removed Crosshair’s plan from the situation and the batch was just fighting their way off Kamino after a capture, would they have also killed the team without a blink of an eye? Probably. It's self-defense. The second they raised their blasters it became a battle and, unless you’re specifically out to stun someone for some reason, battles end bloody. The shock is which side Crosshair was on, not that one side was willing to murder the other. It’s definitely messed up from our perspective that Crosshair laid a trap to murder his team to prove a point… but from the batch’s perspective? Crosshair killed a bunch of imperial fighters who were threatening them during a battle. That’s just an average Tuesday for them, nothing much to get upset over.

And omg don’t get me started on Crosshair wanting to find Omega a family! Like yeah, it’s obviously a #mistake and his faith in the Empire is Super Messed Up but... the underlying motivation is so good. It’s another situation where there’s no easy answer. Which is more important: Omega’s emotional health where she grows up with clones like her, the people who are now 100% her family, or her physical health, where she stays some place where she’s not always getting shot at, kidnapped, at risk of going hungry, etc.? It’s easy as the audience to go, “Of course she belongs with her dads!!” but if you choose to read the story through any realistic lens, Crosshair absolutely has a point about this being terrible environment for a kid, the exact point the batch themselves were making until Omega begged to stay. I love my feral, compassionate child but let me tell you, I YELLED when she yeeted herself out of that pod. This is a traumatized, formerly isolated kid with absolutely zero self-preservation, combined with, at times, a lack of basic common sense that’s inevitable in children (like not realizing she can’t pull a very heavy droid up through the water). As emotionally gutting as the thought is and, in this particular case, a Very Bad Idea, I really can’t fault anyone for raising the possibility that she go somewhere else, somewhere she’s likely to survive into her teens 😅

#TBB #The Bad Batch #SW #Star Wars #mymetas

13 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 12 Review: Rescue on Ryloth

https://ift.tt/3B8lRMt

This Star Wars: The Bad Batch review contains spoilers.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 12

Look at that: it’s a two-parter after all. The Bad Batch take a bit more of a front role in their own show as they reluctantly help out in “Rescue on Ryloth,” directed by Nathaniel Villanueva and written by Jennifer Corbett. The show still feels too entwined with everything else in Star Wars to have mass appeal, but this episode in particular learned more from Rebels than from The Clone Wars in terms of giving characters the time to talk to one another and allowing beats to sink in between all the action.

I almost hoped last week’s episode was a one-off, just one story in an anthology, but am at the same time happy to see these characters back. It helps that everyone in this arc is just so charming. Twi’lek freedom fighters Cham and Eleni have been captured after the faked assassination of their senator. Their daughter Hera calls Omega, who convinces the Bad Batch to help despite Hunter’s disinterest. Meanwhile, Clone Captain Howzer continues to have doubts about the Empire, but can’t bring himself to act on them. There was a lot of conversation in the fandom over the last week about whether Howzer’s control chip was malfunctioning or whether his doubt came from his personality and/or his friendship with the Syndullas, and … more on that later.

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

I like that the entire Bad Batch gets time to talk through their plans and air their opinions in this episode, which was refreshing. At the same time, the naiveté of their position is grating. (“We can’t put our lives on the line every time someone in the galaxy is in trouble.” “Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?”) After all, these aren’t proto-rebels. Instead, they’re still shocked that the Empire would treat a citizen planet the way the Republic treated a Separatist one. I don’t mind the one-sided approach to soldiery per se, since it fits the characters’ perspectives. In addition, viewers are supposed to know the Batch aren’t entirely in the right here. After all, Hunter thinks the job is too hard and refuses to help the citizens, even when Hera wants to pay him double. Omega’s appeal to family is tested, and it’s only when she pushes that the Batch gets involved.

But the amount of work some conversations, or even gestures and postures, do in this episode was its major, unique strength. Even the rather generic Admiral Rampart looks tired and distracted at one point. There’s also time to develop a little bit of a dynamic between Howzer and Crosshair, who’s on Rampart’s bad side because his methods haven’t been effective. That was also a nice reminder of the larger stakes. Remember, Crosshair is the Kaminoans’ proof that investing in clones is worth the Empire’s money.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Last week, I was delighted to discover my Twitter feed giggling over the reluctant Captain Howzer, who, well, is a very handsome clone. His closeness with the Syndullas show he has a moral center, and one his control chip either doesn’t affect or for some reason can’t touch. Their conversation isn’t revolutionary, but there’s at least some stuff to unpack when it comes to the argument between Howzer, who uses the threat of rebellion to back up his own tentative moral objections, and Rampart, who believes “peace has a cost.” I have mixed feelings about the episode’s utter disinterest in whether Howzer’s choice to act on his doubts is purely from the heart or has something to do with his control chip. After all, the answer has implications for Crosshair, the ambivalence toward which you all know I believe has been a weak point of the show from the beginning.

To me, the movies seemed to say the clones’ control chips kicked in mostly when Palpatine invoked Order 66 in particular. But Howzer’s feelings seem to suggest a good portion of Crosshair’s loyalty to the Empire in the aftermath of the Clone Wars is actually of his own free will. Is Howzer’s decision all-natural? I’m still not really sure, but the questions and the dynamic between the three Imperials were fun.

Star Wars: Why Hera Syndulla Should Be in The Mandalorian Season 3

By Megan Crouse

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 11 Easter Eggs Explained

By Megan Crouse

The last 10 minutes of the episode feature a decent series of action scenes in true Star Wars finale fashion. They’re impressive for the way they intertwine, the tension around Howzer’s attempt to sway other clones against the Empire, and for a particularly heart-wrenching occasion, Hera’s first flight. I adore that she was clearly over-enthusiastic but competent.

However, this episode doesn’t quite balance its main characters with the Twi’lek plot as well. Since Hunter legitimately doesn’t have any skin in this game, his team’s job is less grounded in the plot and setting than Hera’s or Howzer’s.

There’s one major exception to the Batch mostly taking a back seat. Shoutout to Tech, who doesn’t have a ton of depth but does just happen to be the trope in the five-man band I enjoy. His lack of emotion and nerd interests are usually portrayed as useful but a bit off-putting, even to his brothers. He doesn’t have any less characterization or competence than, say, Echo, but usually sticks to a side role. So, it was especially satisfying to see him do some fancy flying in this episode, slaloming a ship around to nearly a dead stop so Wrecker could take the shot.

The other nice thing about this episode is that it doesn’t go for shock: it’s hopeful in the end, pulling some characters out of a fire while making the viewer tense against the burn. It’s already been established in canon that Hera’s mother doesn’t survive the early years of the Rebellion, but I’m glad not to have watched her die today.

While the show continues to feel inessential, the last two weeks have been very entertaining. It also managed to pack a lot of answers to the central question of the show: What happened to the clones after Order 66? It’s turning out to be a hard question to answer, and at best, like today, that feels realistic instead of inconclusive. The answer might end up being that a lot of different things happened and a lot of different people worked according to their interests. “Rescue on Ryloth” ends with Crosshair off the leash, further tying a mostly-standalone episode to the wider story.

The post Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 12 Review: Rescue on Ryloth appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3z79EWE

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

0 notes