Accolades
500 Words
Timeline: Pre-Order 66 Era Bad Batch
Summary: Hunter turns official accolades into something more meaningful for his brothers.
Clone Force 99 never accepted accolades. It wasn't their thing. After all, they were created specifically for the missions no one else could do. Being rewarded for it seemed pointless.
And Hunter didn’t disagree…
…but when accolades were assigned, he always ended up sneaking out after his brothers had settled in for the night to speak to Commander Cody.
The conversation was always the same.
“I’m sorry your brothers couldn’t make it…again,” Cody would say, handing the medals over.
“Yeah, well, they’re tired from the mission.” One of many excuses he had given Cody during this war.
“Tell them that, on behalf of myself and the generals, 'Keep up the great work, soldiers.'"
“Will do, Commander.” Hunter always said this with a smile.
Cody returned that smile. They both knew Hunter wouldn’t relay the message. They both knew these medals weren't for his brothers, they were for Hunter.
Hunter had a painted box full of medals and ribbons for each of his brothers.
There was a digital skull skewered by a lightning bolt on Tech's box.
A bomb with a happy face for Wrecker.
And a skull with a crosshair vector over one eye for his youngest brother.
Recently, he added a box for Echo too. He went with a blue handprint for his newest brother, to honor Echo's old armor before the Separatists took nearly everything from him.
With the exception of Echo’s box, Hunter had been filling these boxes since they were cadets. Their earliest medals had simple accolades from simpler times:
“Fastest Swimmer” - Tech.
“Most Bullseyes in 60 Seconds” - Crosshair.
“Feats of Strength” - Wrecker.
“Leadership and Valor” - Hunter
The accolades shifted after graduation. They came from dangerous missions that ended in violence. Assigned to a bad batch of clones who were somehow expendable, yet the only ones who could survive these impossible situations.
This last mission had taken their toll on the whole squad. Too many clankers, not enough intel, they won the day, but throwing medals at them felt like an insult, even if Cody's appreciation was genuine.
Hunter wanted to turn those medals into something meaningful.
And so, Hunter sat on his bunk, a small laser tool in his bandaged hand, etching over each medal with his own accolades for his brothers.
Tech was awarded “Shooting the most clankers while slicing an AAT-1 and throwing barbed insults at Echo”.
For Crosshair: “The most WIZARD precision shot through a tank’s barrel while spitting a toothpick in a clanker’s eye”.
Wrecker received: “The loudest laugh while mowing down four dozen clankers and eating a hamburger simultaneously”. Hunter still didn’t know where he got that burger.
And finally for Echo, “The most somersaults during a stealth mission while throwing barbed insults back at Tech”
Hunter hesitated over his own medal, as he always did.
Giving himself accolades never sat right. He could never think of anything, anyway.
So he wrote what he always wrote: “This medal is awarded to Hunter for being the proudest oldest brother in this Badass Batch. I love you guys.”
He tucked the medal away in his own box, a skull with cross-vibroblades beneath it, and tucked it under his mattress with the other boxes.
One day, this war was going to be over.
And on that day, Hunter planned to give these boxes to his brothers.
He couldn’t wait to see their faces.
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