#tbb hunter x oc
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 (𝐏𝐓 𝟏)
PAIRING: sergeant hunter x fem!oc reader
SUMMARY: the assignment of miri rocksled to clone force 99 brought an even higher success rate than the two groups presented on their own; in the times of the clone wars a well working and formidable team was necessary for the republic, but little did it know that the decision would become the biggest thorn in the empires side. master rocksled had never been like other jedi, and the bad batch had never been like other clones, and as they navigate the end of everything they had known and the beginning of something dark those traits are put to the test. rules no longer exist, lines are blurred, and forbidden waters are tread as the bad batch fight the great fight for everything they deserve.
WORD COUNT: 3.1k
RATINGS + WARNINGS: general audiences, mature themes, angst. female oc, use of she/her, mentions of death and order 66. eventual series. follows the bad batch timeline.
NOTES: bada bing bada boom another one?! what?! im just fuckin good like that (im really not this has taken me a bit but im done and now im ready for you all to see it)
STAR WARS MASTERLIST THE GREAT FIGHT MASTERLIST
The scene that Clone Force 99 and their General walked into was familiar to them at this point.
Chaos, in its entirety, had consumed Kaller as Republic forces fought off Separatist battle droids coming from every direction. The ground, covered with snow, was black with ash from the repeated firing of weapons; this battle had been long, and it was not over yet.
Depa Billaba had requested backup, and though these were not the fighters she had wanted, they were all she was going to get. The Republic was stretched thin, it had seemed they had reached the climax of the Clone Wars and though it was only an inkling, it felt as if something was just over the hill.
“Master Rocksled!” Someone called from the treeline. The young Caleb Dunne, sent to retrieve said backup, watched in awe as the stories he had heard came true right in front of him.
Miri Rocksled was not like other Jedi, and in very fitting fashion, her troopers were not like other clones. Master Billaba had told him that was why she was assigned to them, and together they were the odd ones out of the GAR.
Caleb’s words had been lost in the noise, but eventually the last droid had been smashed and all attention was on him. “Master Rocksled,” he repeated, breathing slightly heavy.
“Commander Dunne, it looks like we’re your reinforcements,” she replied, grinning slightly as she walked closer towards him, the clones following suit. “What’s it looking like down there?”
After a plan was devised, the padawan was sent back to his master with the promise that they were right behind him. There was doubt, and a lot of it, upon his return. It did not look promising, him showing up empty handed with talks of five clones and one Jedi, but he asked for trust anyways. And it was not in vain, as the giant boulder that had caught the attention of the droids came crashing into view, making for a grand entrance.
Clone Force 99 made quick work of things with detonators, blasters, their very skilled sniper, brute force, strategic maneuvers, and one orange bladed lightsaber.
“I don’t believe it,” Captain Grey started, lowering the binocs as he watched. “That’s Clone Force 99.”
The two Jedi turn their heads to glance at him, and then one another. “And that’s Miri Rocksled,” Caleb whispered to his master, eyes blown wide.
……..
“Master Billaba,” Miri greeted, sheathing her lightsaber and clipping it to her waist. For a split second she gave thought to the second saber she was set to receive soon and the excitement to have an addition to her signature handle.
“If you’re done hiding down there, I suggest you launch a counterattack,” Hunter interjected, helmet under his arm. “Another droid battalion’s approaching.”
Grey stepped forward, on attack mode in the presence of clones who regarded the protocol he was held to as merely a suggestion. It was even evident in the way they had just addressed a Jedi General, someone who outranked them all as an army. “The General is the one who gives the orders around here.”
Billaba held out her hand, an effort to ease the clone's frustrations as they were not needed, nor helpful.“He’s right, Captain. This is our chance,” she nodded her head slightly, sure of her words. “Launch the counterattack.”
With that, the men were sent on their way and Master and Padawan came out into the open. “There you are little Jedi,” Wrecker stated, pushing his way to the front. “You missed all the fun.”
Caleb, who pulled his hood off, grinned. “Watching your team in action was all the fun.” Miri was reminded of being a padawan and being in awe of some of the Masters when she watched them spar, or went on assignments with them.
Billaba stepped forward, placing a hand on the young boy's shoulder. “Care to introduce your new friends, Caleb?”
“Yes, Master. This is Wrecker,” he gestured to each one as he named them off. “Hunter, Echo, Tech, and Crosshair.” He turned back to her when there was only one left. “And, you know Master Rocksled, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do,” she affirmed with a slight smile before turning her head back to the rest. “While I’m not sure ‘fun’ is the sentiment I would express, I agree with my Padawan. Your exploits were quite impressive. The Council was right when we assigned you to them,” she directed at Miri, who only shrugged one shoulder.
“Exploits?” Wrecker questioned, confusion written all over him as he looked around.
Behind him, Crosshair walked by with his rifle propped on his shoulder. “Don’t overthink it, Wrecker,” he commented, as snide as ever. Crosshair had been an acquired taste, but his attitude was tolerable with some time.
“Thank you, General,” Echo stepped up, almost as straightlaced as ever. As a reg, Echo expressed different traits than that of the experimental unit when it came to working with others, but that was not a testament to his place within the Batch. Echo had found a home in Clone Force 99, one that he had not thought he would get a chance at after the Citadel.
Master Billaba’s inquisitive eyes were once again on her fellow Jedi. “Would you care to explain where my actual reinforcement are, Master Rocksled?”
Miri sighed ever so slightly, for her answer to that question was not a good one, nor a helpful one. “Rerouted to the capital. I’m afraid we’re all you’re getting, my friend,” she replied lowly.
“Ha! We’re all you need,” Wrecker boasted, hands on his hips. And for almost the first time since this interaction had started, Tech looked up from his device.
“Actually,” he held up a finger, a signature pose for the brainiac of the group. “If my intel is correct, the General will not need any of us. The Clone War may soon be over.”
Intrigue trickled down from the crown of Miri’s head at his words. Her feeling, the one that had been nagging and nagging, that something was to come entered the forefront of her mind. She did not hear the responses to Tech’s statement, but she did hear him begin once again, more information to unload. “I am referring to the encrypted comm chatter. Clone intelligence is reporting that Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi has found and engaged General Grievous on Utapau.”
“No way,” Miri whispered. This had been something her, Obi-Wan, and Anakin had been trying to chase for ages now, and it would seem one of her friends had finally reached their goal. General Grievous was the answer to ending the droid army that upheld the Separatist’s defenses.
“If he captures or kills Grievous, the Separatist command structure will collapse,” Echo affirmed her thoughts.
“And most likely the droid armies along with them.”
“A fascinating theory,” Master Billaba cut in, “yet unfortunately not something we can control from here. I suggest we focus on the task at hand.”
Hunter glanced at Miri before looking back at Billaba. With a shrug of his shoulders, he stepped forward. “Any orders? Or shall we do what we do?” Helmets were placed on heads, and Wrecker cheered, boisterous voice filling the space around them.
“Let’s blow something up. Yeah!”
Caleb had watched them this entire time with a smile on his face, and it made Miri feel giddy. She always got a kick out of impressing the younglings and padawans. “Well, Caleb, shall we let them do what they do?” Master Billaba questioned, as if she had seen the same thing. It was nice, to see her Padawan smile in these trying times he was forced to grow up in; a welcome change when circumstances permitted.
“Only if I can go with them,” he countered eagerly, looking up at his mentor.
She glanced over at Miri, who only nodded before the woman grinned. “Very well,” she conceded.
“Hey, kid, you ready for this? We move fast,” Hunter emphasized, deep voice coming out gravelly through the modulator.
“Good,” Caleb shot back with a quirked brow, “that’s the only way I know.” He earned a laugh from Wrecker before they started to dart off, but Miri remained where she was. It was Hunter who shot her a look over his shoulder, a silent question.
“I’m going to speak with Master Billaba for a second,” Miri answered, playing off the heaviness on her shoulders. “Go on, Sergeant. I’ll catch up,” she smiled, hoping it would be enough to send him off. She was his general, and technically she had given him an order that he could not go against, but things were different in the Batch.
Things were different between Miri and Hunter.
As inappropriate and forbidden as it was, the pair had found themselves harboring something of a romance. It was not spoken of, it couldn’t be spoken of; but it did not need to be. Miri knew she was special to Hunter, and he knew he was special to her. It was as simple as that, for the Jedi Order would only let it be so.
It had worked, however she knew she would be questioned later. The pause before he nodded told her he had picked up on whatever it was she was trying to keep at bay, and even though he ran off after one final salute she still felt his presence as she turned to her colleague.
“What is it, Master Rocksled?” Billaba questioned, eyes still trained on her padawan in the distance.
“Do—” she started, but had to rethink her wording once again. “Do you feel like something is about to happen?” She asked, sincerity written on her face because she was desperate to know why she had grown heavier by the minute. Billaba’s focus had now moved to her, squinted eyes watching the young woman as her question hung in the air. “Like…like we're at the top of the hill, but what’s on the other side isn’t what we’ve been expecting?”
“Miri…” She whispered, shaking her head ever so slightly as her mind registered and her thoughts raced. She never got to continue, however, as behind her Captain Grey received a message through the commlink in his helmet. As Miri’s eyes watched him turn away from them, she grew ominously cold. Dread poured over her body, and in her peripheral she saw Master Billaba cautiously look over her shoulder, as a hologram activated.
A cloaked figure, hunched over with a voice almost familiar to them, spoke directly to the clones. “Execute Order 66.”
Captain Grey did not respond verbally, but he did comply by putting the holo device back on his belt and staring at the Generals before him for a moment longer, before drawing his weapon and firing two shots off, both aimed at their heads. Lightsabers were drawn as the pair dodged the blaster fire, but more troopers were closing in.
Depa Billaba and Miri Rocksled found the same weapons their soldiers used against their enemies aimed at them instead. In the back of her mind, Miri knew this was it. The crest of the hill they’d been climbing for three years, the cause of the sick and twisted feeling in her stomach, and the ultimate demise of the Jedi Order as a whole.
In the distance, it would seem that the same feeling had reached Caleb; the dread had stretched through the air and clouded around him through the Force, and he slowed his pace until he was still. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he heard the sounds of saber blades deflecting blaster shots, and he slowly turned.
Troopers, his troopers, drawing in on the two Masters, shots aimed to kill. His ears began to ring and he sprinted toward them, drawing his own saber. “Master!” He shouted, a desperation in his voice he knew would raise brows, but he didn’t care. Horror filled his body Billaba and Rocksled were separated, and the distance between the troopers and the Jedi was growing smaller and smaller. He stopped in his tracks as his master risked a look at him.
“You must run!” She screamed, hand held out in a desperation she knew would be frowned upon, but she didn’t care. As his feet remained glued to the ground, her eyes remained on him. With her back exposed, a shot landed on her shoulder that rendered her arm almost useless as she tried to defend herself. “Run, Caleb!” She cried out, words echoing as her padawan turned and followed her orders.
Miri had been pushed far enough away that the Bad Batch couldn't see her when they turned and watched the kid run towards the brutal scene, but she was close enough to still see the fall of Jedi Master Depa Billaba, and every emotion that she had been warned about filled her to the brim. Fear, horror, anger, grief, they washed over her until her limbs felt like they were made of stone. Sweat covered her face despite the snowy climate of Kaller, and she felt every burn from a grazed blaster shot, every bruise from trying to fight them off, and when the first successful shot landed on her left thigh, she fell to the scarlett stained snow. As they drew in closer, like predator hunting prey, one hand reached out on instinct. The Force, a power not to be trifled with yet one she was not even sure one would come to her, pushed them back but did little to stop them.
One opportunity, that she was lucky enough to have given herself, to escape. To where, she did not know. With whom, well, she knew it would be nobody. She was on her own, and she deliberately pushed the existence of Clone Force 99 out of her mind. She could not afford to think of them participating in this betrayal, could not afford to feel the debilitating heartbreak of her boys turning on her. Instead, she grunted as she struggled to rise from the ground, the cold seeping through the gaps between the bits of armor she wore as she held a hand out towards where her friend lay. Depa’s lightsaber flew to her and smacked against her palm, and she grasped it with a tight fist as she retreated. Pain radiated from the wound on her leg, and her skin stung as it rubbed against the fabric of her clothes, but she used it to push her forward, to fuel her escape as she attempted to form a plan in her hazy mind.
The treeline was the obvious choice, more things to hide behind, more things to block their view as they aimed at her. She skirted through the woods, not caring for the prints she left behind; she was too weak to hide in the treetops to avoid the snow so she did the best she could to make up for the trail leading them right to her. Trickery.
They would find her, and they would shoot at her, and to them they would succeed. Miri Rocksled would fall at the hands of the Cone Army, and it would be logged somewhere for someone to keep track of.
But this would not be so, as the drop off before her filled in the gaps of her plan. She would need to pull out some theatrics, rather unconventional for a Jedi but she never claimed to follow the grain, and perhaps she could pull off this scheme.
And so, when the shots started firing in her direction once again, she did not dodge them. She ran towards the drop off, feeling the heat from the blaster fire as it got closer and closer, and once the edge was in sight she drew Depa’s saber, turning as if she was cornered and this was her last chance to fight. Convincing, as the troopers took her bait and opened fire directly on her, and she only put up as much of a fight as she needed before the real test began. Her focus drifted from the men before her, and the outside noise drowned itself out. The Force, as present as ever, was all around. It was one with her, and it was always with her.
Her heart slowed in her chest, and it seemed as if things moved in slow motion as she let Captain Grey shoot her in the abdomen, the pain harsh but dulled with the rest of her senses as she used the Force to put her body in a state of comatose. She dropped the lightsaber, using the momentum from the shot to send herself over the edge. She let herself plummet towards the snowy abyss below, slowing herself slightly. When her body collided with the ground, clouds of powdery snow erupted around her, almost shrouding her as the clones looked over the edge.
Her eyes weren’t quite shut, lashes touching as she lay with her head rolled to the side, arms splayed out. Her heart was barely beating, her body mimicking all signs of death in the very name of preservation. In her mind, she thought of her own clones as the ones above confirmed that they had taken out both Jedi Generals. They scooped up the lightsaber before retreating, the presumed dead woman left to freeze on Kaller only a small blip in their minds.
Memories of her squad replayed in her mind as time passed, the coast long since clear as she remained stuck in the icy hold of the world around her. Memories of Hunter, of how beautiful he really was to her, how much he wanted to protect her.
If you don’t move, you’ll die.
His voice, just a whisper of him, echoed in her ears when all noises had been blocked out by the ringing silence.
You are going to freeze. You are bleeding out.
Wake up, Miri. Wake up.
It was with the last snap of his words that all her senses rushed back to her at once, jolting her from her stupor. She gasped, eyes wide as her body worked to resume its normal functions after such a pause. Pain seeped in as much as the cold, and she reminded herself that she was fighting the great fight; she did not have time to dwell on such things. Escape was imperative, and time was dwindling. She had been trained for this, her whole life had been learning how to survive against all odds with the gift she had been given, and this was not going to stop her.
all works on this blog belong to hesthermay.tumblr.com: do not copy, repost onto other sites, or claim my content as your own.
#uhm hey#another oc!#woop woop!#tbb hunter x you#tbb hunter x reader#tbb hunter x oc#tbb hunter#sergeant hunter x reader#tbb hunter fic#the bad batch x reader#the bad batch x you#the bad batch series#tbb series#jedi oc#jedi!reader#tcw#tcw x reader#the witch: writes#—signed; hunter#star wars oc#the bad batch oc#hunter x f!oc
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Gonna try to start up a Bad Batch fic but i have no idea how to promote it in any way when I get it written
It’s gonna be a Hunter x OC and it’s gonna hopefully cover all 3 seasons
Any tips?
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Hunter's turn with a partner!
Meet Jung-Myn Yun! A selective mute Jedi who survived Order 66 and is in a queer platonic relationship with Hunter.
The last addition to the collection of Bad Batch significant others :D
Check out the others:
Crosshair's BF
Echo's GF
Wrecker's GF
Close ups under the cut!
Hair care buddies :)
#pushing my oriented aroace hunter agenda#mwahaha#tbb#the bad batch#tbb oc#sw oc#original oc#oc x canon#queer platonic relationship#queer platonic partners#hunter x oc#tbb hunter x oc#tbb hunter#jedi oc#jung myn yun
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"Vagabonds"
Ongoing OC x Hunter/Bad Batch Fanfic Series
Introduction: "Chaos On Coruscant"
And Chapter 1: "Weight of the Galaxy" (posted 8/14/2023/reuploaded 1/2/24)
ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ 18+ ᴅɴɪ.
(Credit: Cool moving star dividers by @4ngelic-wh1spers )
BACKGROUND: The following story takes place in the Bad Batch Star Wars Universe, and I tried to keep within the timeline of Season 1-2 before the Batch Left Ord Mantell for Mount Tantiss. The OC characters of my invention are Maadienne “Mad Momma” Dax and her genderfluid Teen named Love. Mad is an older single mom.
Mad and Love also are coded as belonging to something similar to the American Nomad population in the US. Think Nomadland, off-griders, bikers, Slab City transients, hobos, tramps, hippies, punks, carnies, faire circuit vendors, survivalists, societal dropouts, etc. And they intersect with other nomadic groups coded as similar to the Roma (Romani), Travelers/Tinkers (Irish), Romanichal (British/UK). All of these people in this story universe refer to themselves as “The Star People”.
WARNINGS: Shades of neurodivergence, mention of deep sorrow/depression/hurt/lost love/relationship breakups/estranged parents/heavy mental baggage/ugly crying. There are hints of the beginning stages of fascism and xenophobia. Some mention of erections, arousal, sexual/sensual feelings, flirting. Lots of swearing (Star Wars swears mixed with Earth swears). Fictional prejudicial slurs. Poverty, class struggle, slavery, war, child abduction, politics, very amorphous mention of genocide, animal cruelty living conditions (brief), animal death (postmortem) and both of these are redeemed.
FYI-We WILL get to Hunter! But first I need to introduce my OC’s!!!
Introduction: "Chaos On Coruscant"
The outer streets of Coruscant started to show their seediness and poverty the longer Mad and Love walked away from the bustling city center. They had just picked up a considerable payment of credits after dropping off two young orphans to a well-heeled couple living within the upscale high rises of the capital. They had the help of clearances, chain codes and disguises. Both wearing a bland headscarf veil and shift dress over their clothes and skin tattoos. Mad’s face was uncovered and Love’s full coverage. To anyone who passed on the street, they were two household nannies taking care of their rich owners’ children.
The orphans, Edda and Oddo, were refugees from a distant Outer Rim planet that the Empire had newly “colonized” for resources. The people of that planet fought and lost control of their sovereignty. Many lives were lost in the battle. So many refugees and newly orphaned children were begging to flee the planet to avoid becoming slaves of the Empire. Mad and Love saw an opportunity to take whomever they could away from that situation and bring them here to a better life. They hated the Empire. Before that The Republic. Before that…whatever governing forces that had killed, enslaved, or pushed their people out among the stars. Homeless Nomaadi that nobody wanted. Dirty marked “Caitiff” scum. Now the Empire was doing this to other “outsiders” all over the galaxy.
When Mad and Love dropped off the children, the stipulation was it had to be at the back servant’s entrance. The couple wouldn’t let it be any other way. Even though Mads contacts were secure, and this job was very low on the risk scale, there was no room for compromise. The couple didn’t come out expressly and say anything prejudicial about Nomaadi delivering the children. But it was heavily implied through the thin veneer of niceness as they opened the door to welcome the children. Mad and Love were instructed to wait at the threshold, to hug Edda and Oddo and say a hurried goodbye. The siblings protested tearfully, but gave in. Mad caught a fleeting look at the large opulent apartment, meeting the eyes of the servant at attention on the other side of the room. The husband, giving them a brusque “thank you” while handing over the bag of credits, shut the door in their faces. Standing in the servant’s hallway, Mad and Love looked at each other in sad silence. The siblings had travelled with them on the Beldame several weeks before. Bonded with them. The children didn’t care who Mad and Love were. They were so grateful to be safe and have someone in their life that cared.
The credits helped smooth the sting…a little. The encounter was so jarring and surreal, but par for the course. Mad and Love couldn’t eat or survive without steady revenue coming in. The couple who paid for the lives of these children paid handsomely. To them it was just a drop in the bucket, easing their guilty conscience. Taking in homeless orphans as their own children…while not using any of their privilege to stand against the Empire seemed like a glaring example of blind privilege. Love was neutral on the subject, looking at the glass as half full. The children have good homes now. Mad saw the glass as leaky with a huge crack in it. The damned thing didn’t work well and was fundamentally broken.
Their ship, the Dread Beldame, was parked on the outskirts of the capital city to keep a low profile. That meant a lot of walking, but it kept the Coruscant Police off their backs. Getting the hell off the planet relatively undetected was the goal now.
The narrow streets led to a small public square complete with an open-air second-rate vendor market. Tourists visiting the Capital, locals, and Neuvo riche citizens of the city center visited these spots due to lower prices on goods. The awful smell of the exotic meat vendor wafted up into Mad and Love’s noses. The smell of a hundred naturally and genetically designed animals housed together in a small space.
Mad ignored the smell and kept a brisk pace. However, was surprised by a familiar voice and warm Nomaadi greeting.
“Auntie?”
Mad Stopping in her tracks and looked past the front counter into the shadows towards the back of the stall. A familiar face slowly stepped out. Mad thought she was looking at a ghost.
Nephew Sil, covered in dirt and slaughter offal, underweight and wearing a slave collar sadly smiled at her. She hadn’t seen him since he was a boy, when he was abducted from his family. Now Sil was a teen. The Nomaadi chest tattoo a clear identifier. Her experience was that many Nomaadi children were stolen. The authorities didn’t care to help the families to find them, so they were easy pickings by slavers and traffickers.
Love, totally unaware of Sil, followed the scent and was shocked by the scene at the meat vendor’s chopping block. A small live puppy was held aloft shrieking and scruffed by the butcher who was barking at any possible patrons in the crowd.
“Loth Wolf-Vornskr hybrid! Tender delicacy. Butchered fresh right here. Last one goes to the highest bidder!!!”
In his other hand was a very large meat cleaver.
Love was mortified to witness this. As their eyes looked past the puppy, cages upon cages of trapped animals came into view. Small wire cages stacked up high holding dirty tortured souls stuffed into small spaces. And beyond that, a bigger reinforced pen holding a large bellowing beast hiding in the shadows. The smell of animal shit, fear, blood, death, and pain hit Love in the gut and assaulted their senses. Patrons rushed forward with their money to bid on the last small life in the butcher’s hand. Love was knocked aside and bounced from one patron to the other before being shoved down onto the hard pavement. The obscene display of crude materialistic greed while being trampled was too much for Love. And concern for the pup brought anger out of them, vibrating the very air within the space.
Mad called out to Sil, “Come with us!”
“I can’t” and winced as he touched the shock collar. It was electronically locked, live and would not allow him to leave the market stand. Sil was the meat butcher’s property and locked in, just like all the animals stuffed in the cages around them.
Mad unbuttoned the top of her blouse to reach for the credits stowed in the security pocket of her binder. The high neck fell open to reveal her own circular Nomaadi chest tattoo. She could attempt to buy Sil back from the Butcher and help locate his parents. The job’s payment would allow this luxury and still have enough for them to live on until the next job. Before Mad could pull out any credits, she could feel every hair on her body stand on end. Sil could feel it too. Mad knew exactly where it was coming from.
“LOVE! NOOO!!!”
Mad suddenly turned to see Love levitating 10 ft above Coruscant street. The patrons facing the butcher never saw what was coming, but he had a front row view. The butcher froze and his eyes went wide. Mad could feel the raw emotion and power pulse from Love’s body. They were gonna blow, and Mad couldn’t do a damned thing about it.
The puppy and the animals in the surrounding cages fell silent.
All. At. Once.
What happened next to Mads recollection was in slow motion. A silent Force scream emanated from Love’s mouth. It shorted out EVERYTHING within that city block. All the technology, transportation, everything…and the locks on all the cages within the meat stall. Everything was at a standstill for 5 seconds. Love still levitating above the street, the butcher standing in the same position, the vendors at a standstill.
Then things sped up.
And… THE SHIT HIT THE FAN!
The animals, sensing freedom, burst from their cages in a frenzied wild blur. Screams could be heard from patrons slowly realizing what was happening as animals escaped beneath their feet, swooped near their faces, leaped on or past them. Love still levitating as people and animals ran pell-mell through the square. Nobody cared to notice a skinny veil-shrouded teenager floating above them. The butcher let loose a litany of curse words and pointed the meat cleaver in Love’s direction…while still holding onto the puppy.
Love reached out with the Force and snatched the puppy from the Butcher’s grasp. He turned 3 shades of red and chucked the meat cleaver at Love. They cradled the puppy and force deflected the cleaver. It fell ineffectually against the pavement below. Love was still levitating at 10ft and giving a calm intense death stare to the Butcher. He foamed at the mouth in a rage, stooped down and yanked a laser rifle out from under the counter, swinging it around to aim right between Love’s eyes.
Love, unfazed, didn’t move from his aim. Mad almost shit her pants in fear. It was all too much. They were going to get caught, and Love’s luck was going to run out. Today was the day she would see her offspring’s brains all over the streets of Coruscant.
The Butcher pulled the trigger…which did absolutely nothing as Love’s scream had shorted out his weapon. He was thwarted once again from dispatching this teenage menace, and absolutely lost his composure, chucking the weapon at Love.
They calmly Force pushed the weapon aside, keeping the death stare. Having nothing left to assault Love with, the Butcher leapt onto the counter and launched himself up towards them…
…and was immediately taken out by the large animal held captive in the shadows of the meat vendor’s stall. There was an explosion of metal, wood, and small animals…that hadn’t escaped from the first rush to freedom. The Behemoth ran past Love and caused total mayhem to the remaining people in the square. More blood curdling screams mixed with angry animal cries.
Love calmly turned on a dime and floated airily away from the scene, pulling off the veil and gracefully dropping it to the ground below. Their Nomaadi tattoo in full rebellious glory to all of Coruscant. Love’s facial expression calm as ever, still cradling the puppy.
It was a total sight to behold. Mad was beside herself watching Love float away from the scene. And then yanked almost off her feet as Nephew Sil ran past and grabbed her hand. He ripped the now inactive slave collar from his neck and threw it aside. Behind them a cab and several speeder bikes fell from the sky and exploded on the pavement, they had shorted out as well.
“We gotta go, go, go! Run Auntie Mad!!! Where’s the ship???” Running high on adrenaline he dragged Mad out of the square into the narrow streets for cover. They tripped over scurrying marmots. And, Mad had to pull a small, flighted escapee from her hair as they tried to catch up to Love.
“Love, come down outtya head! Or we are gonna lose ours!!!” Sil let go of Mad and ran ahead. He took a huge running leap and yanked on Love’s leg, pulling them out of levitation mode. It was like he was trying to catch a balloon. Love landed on two feet with a proud smile.
They signed “Hello” warmly and presented the puppy proudly.
“You CRAZY!” Syl shook his head “Causing big trouble.”
They were interrupted by a bedraggled Spice Head grabbing both teens by the back of their shirts. “Catiff scum! You should be worth some credits!!!”
Mad had enough of everything that had gone to total shit today. Anger welling up, she would have shot him on the spot had her blaster not shorted out. Instead, she ran full tilt into the assailant, knocking him to the ground. From there, proceeded to grab handfuls of hair and repeatedly pound his head into the pavement accentuating each screaming curse:
“KEEP. YOUR. HANDS. OFF. MY. KIDS. YOU. KRIFFING. BANTHA. FUCKER!!!
He started bleeding, lost consciousness, and stopped moving. He was still breathing, though. That was a plus. Mad’s view cleared and could feel Sil and Love pulling her off the man.
“Mommommom!” Loves voice echoing inside Mad’s head.
“Auntie, stop! Please get up!!!” Sil’s voice outside her head.
Looking up, more Spice Heads were watching the scene unfold, shrinking back into the shadows. Fear on their faces.
“See this? Keep your hands off us and your mouths shut! We were never here!!!”
Mad gathered herself, stood up and firmly barked, “Get your asses in gear, the Dame’s this way!” Sil and Love, clearly shaken, followed behind.
She gave murderous glances to the onlookers, who cowered as Mad, Sil, and Love passed. One threw the Eye of Protection sign, showing the fear Outsiders had of The Bad Fate believed (wrongly) spread by the Nomaadi. Mad sometimes wished she could really curse these people to silence so her family could escape safely. Every excursion was dangerous to her people. Snitches were a constant hazard.
From there, they ran several blocks to the outer port where the ship sat waiting.
The Beldame with its mismatched junky exterior looked so welcoming. The sensors picked up Mad and Love’s proximity and opened the gangplank. All three ran in and found their seats. The Dame automatically closed its gangplank and Mad got them out of there quickly. Two local precinct police speeders appeared in hot pursuit firing handheld blasters at the ship. The speeders could only follow so far before falling behind…but not before shorting out the Dame’s antiquated deflector shield.
While the Dame exited Coruscant’s planetary atmosphere, Mad brought up the coordinates for Ord Mantell, scrambled their jump signature, and punched the ship into hyperspace.
You could cut the silence inside the ship with a vibroknife. Both teens unsure if Mad was still…MAD.
Both were seated behind her. The light of stars coursing past casting shadows down Mads back. It was an uncomfortable 15 minutes before she swung the chair around and met Love with an intensely serious stare. Only Love heard Mad’s voice in their head.
“Dank Ferrick, Love…what the hell was that back there!”
Sil sat watching a silently animated display of physical movements while both Love and Mad argued back and forth inside their heads at each other. It was like watching manic mime comedy. He knew they both could communicate like this. Just never seen an argument between the two since he disappeared years ago. He could only guess what the row was about.
“I couldn’t help it. Everything about that place was so horrible. All those animals living and dying like that. The people trampling me. And… I miss Edda and Oddo. I’m sad we let them go.”
“We needed the money. We were broke, Love. Can’t keep everyone we ferry across the galaxy. What you did in the town square…it was over the top. You blew our cover. Our contacts that we worked so hard for won’t help us now. We will NEVER be able to go back to Coruscant again!”
“Good, that place is fucking POODOO!!!”
“But we had allies there, Love. Without allies we can’t do any business there. We just lost a good steady income. The Outer Rim only pays us enough to scrape by. And now we might have eyes actively looking for us! You don’t really understand how dangerous everything is now for us…YOU…especially since the Jedi were murdered, do you???”
Silence. Surprised face.
“DO YOU??? We already have shit rain down on us normally. Things are getting worse out there with the new Empire.”
Silence. Angry face.
“And what the hell was that…thing you did? It shorted everything out! That’s new, Love. You need to control whatever the hell that is. What did you do?”
Silence. Offended face.
Mad sighed. “I’m sorry I upset you. I’m sorry I yelled. It scared me. The thought of losing you scares me. I love you”.
Silence. Neutral face.
“Ok…” Exasperated sigh. “I… We’ll talk later. “
More silence. Still neutral faced, Love starts to levitate and zone out. Swaddles the puppy tighter.
Mad knows she overreacted again. The rebellious Love was something she wasn’t prepared for. No idea on how to control these powerful urges. A Jedi might be able to help if there were any left. But then, the Jedi were problematic and antiquated. Had they not been, Love would have been a Padawan long ago…and probably deceased now. With a heavy, tired sigh Mad turns finally to address Sil.
“I missed you so much Nephew. I’m sorry for the drama.”
Sil immediately got up and hugged Mad. She grabbed him in embrace and squeezed hard.
“It’s been so long. Your parents will be happy to know you’re safe.”
Sil was quiet. Then Mad heard soft sobbing and felt his body shake. She kept quiet and just held on until he wanted to be let go. Love, dropping their angst, floated over and placed a hand onto his back and slowly rubbed in circles.
He eventually let go and stood up. Both Mad and Love spoke at the same time: Mad verbally and Love signing in Basic, “In your own time. I’ll be here. I love you.”
Sil wiped his eyes. “I’m hungry, Auntie”. He was so thin. Clearly, he was underfed while gone. Probably starved to be kept in line, in addition to the shocks he received. An outline of rough scar tissue from the slave collar worn into his neck stood out. It was a very sobering thing for both Love and Mad to consider.
“Let’s see what we can rustle up, huh?” Mad got up and made a beeline for the ‘Dame’s tiny galley kitchen.
“I missed you too Couz.” Love signed. “Can you hold Tiggy for me while I help mom?”
Sil nodded and took the puppy from Love. “Hello, Tigglet” he whispered while settling into the pilot’s chair to watch the stars and Purrgils float past.
Thanks for your patience. Hunter makes his entrance in this next chapter!
Chapter 1-"Weight of the Galaxy"
Back at Ord Mantell, Mad knocked back the Spotchka to steady her nerves. While leaning on the bar of Cid’s Parlor with head in hand, she contemplated the huge clusterfuck that transpired on Coruscant.
They were so kriffing lucky! Especially finding Sil like that and getting him freed. Being able to keep all the credits from their last job without having to haggle for his freedom. The animals and exploding vehicles provided diversion. The Butcher was being scraped off the concrete, so he wasn’t talking. The Spice Heads might present a problem…if anyone cared to listen to a bunch of Tweakers. The only reason they were pursued and lacked a shield was due to the Coruscant Police suspecting those running away from the scene and fleeing the planet were to blame for the crime of…property damage.
The authorities and media didn’t give a Womp Rats ass about the dead butcher, his sketchy meat market front, or the slaves he ran through it. They feigned some concern about the injured citizens of the downed vehicles and those maimed by the market escapees. The News Holos were calling the incident “eco terrorism” by a small band of indigents who set the animals free. Fortunately, a well-known Enviro Group stepped up and claimed responsibility, inspiring its many supporters to clog the streets around the Capitol building in open protest. The Butchers Trade Org, Pro Meat Groups and rando hooligans looking to profit and cause havoc clashed against them. This brought out the Coruscant Guard to try to bring order to the chaos. The upper crust of Coruscant railed against the inconvenience to their day and clutched their pearls. Total mayhem and a convenient smokescreen.
This kind of luck is what Nomaadi Maami Dall would call “A Gift from The Force”.
“But make NO mistake, the Force is Fickle. It won’t last for long. Get out of yer own head, or it will be your end!” Could hear her Elder preach the message like she was sitting right next to Mad at the bar. She sorely missed Maami Dall…and Paapi Dall, Brothers, Sisters, Aunties, Uncles, Couzins, Friends of The Nomaadi Star People. The whole Community. It had been so long since they could all safely come together for Reunion. Fond memories of feasts, Hand Fastings, Parting Ceremonies, musicians in drum circles around large bonfires, people singing and dancing all night, helping to repair transports during the day and restore supplies for travel, children playing, community coming together to share news, information, trade, settling disputes, healing family rifts, making love, birthing babies, and just safely relaxing from the nomadic lifestyle for a while.
Oh Maker…the nostalgia HURT. Being transient was The Way. Everyone had a different journey. Paths diverging, converging constantly. Nomaadi were encouraged to leave, live their own truth, and be independent. Plus, their survival depended on it. Too many of them in the same place for a long period of time made the community sitting ducks. This is why they would occasionally meet for Reunion by word of mouth and never permanently settled anywhere.
Mads’ thoughts shifted back to their luck…this time. How long before it ran out? Love started as a quiet introspective child. Their use of the Force started early. It always manifested itself as gentle, non-threatening, defensive and never offensive.
Mad also deeply regretted the show of temper. She really hoped to not permanently injure or kill the Spice Head. He was stupidly dangerous and a victim of a fucked-up system that kept so many down on Coruscant. Hell, the universe. All the people on the bottom fighting for the scraps that the powerful occasionally threw at them. She sighed…when was it ever going to kriffing change?
Mad’s only plan for tonight was ordering several more drinks to help forget the rising worry in her mind: After the wholesale slaughter of the Jedi and those showing Force abilities, how was she going to keep her powerful and now rebellious child safe?
At the other end of the bar slumped Hunter, attempting to drink himself into oblivion. He was at the start of his journey tonight several drinks in.
His brothers and sister were back at the Marauder. Tech and Echo had mechanical Maintenace to do. Wrecker planned to take Omega for Mantell Mix and browse the Traders Market. Hunter didn’t feel any of it, except guilty for turning Omega down when she begged him to come along. He couldn’t get the vision of Crosshair out of his head, standing alone on the platform of Kamino as they left the planet. Oh, and he felt guilty for that too. Sad as well, and some frustration that his brother wasn’t touched by the plea of brotherhood offered by most of The Batch. He very briefly considered having Wrecker drag Cross back inside the ship, refusing to leave without him, or stunning the sniper to do so. It would have not changed Crosshairs mind in the long run. Stubborn brainwashed sibling. Hunter still loved him.
All the while the remains of his home…no, his family’s home lay in the Kaminoan sea smoldering. The remains of which The Batch narrowly escaped from. Almost resigned to a watery grave. What happened to all the future unborn and young clones he had seen at the facility the day the Empire took power? Were they safe? Even alive? All The Regs brainwashed by the chip. All the Jedi murdered by them. Did Caleb Dume ever make it to safety? If so, was he scarred for life after seeing his master gunned down on Kaller, then having the Clones turn on him too? It was all too much. He felt small and overwhelmingly powerless. Like absolute miserable shit. The only thing he could do was drown his emotions in whatever Cid’s bar was serving.
Sometime later, after draining his drink, Hunter’s senses tingled. Sitting up and rubbing his face, he caught a scent. His nose found the source down the opposite end of the bar. She looked and smelled intriguing, and was staring intently into an empty glass.
“Hey”, Hunter addressed Cid and nodded down the bar, “Who’s she?”
The Trandoshan rolled her eyes, “Why? Ya looking for a world of hurt, Bandana? “Cause that’s all you’re gonna get with that one.”
“No seriously, what’s her name?”
“She comes here to drink alone. The last idiot who didn’t respect her space left a permanent stain on my carpeting. That Momma has zero patience for Bantha shit”
“Momma???”
“Yeah, she’s got a kid. The dad split. Just the two of them now. And she’s protective of her kiddo. They’re ‘Nomaadi”, so they tend to keep to themselves.”
“Nomaadi?”
Cid sighed and rolled her eyes again gesturing wildly, “Nomaadi! Travs! They wander the galaxy with no known homeworld. Come on, Bandana, you never heard of ‘em? Met ‘em??? Her people are scattered all over the place. You must have had to move them along while you were working for the Republic? The Republic considered Nomaadi trash, so they got pushed out. And they just keep on moving around the galaxy. This new Empire absolutely hates them.”
Hunter let that sink in while staring down the bar. Cid contemplated these two sad saps sitting at either end.
“She reminds me of someone I know. Got the weight of the whole galaxy on her shoulders.” Hunter’s gaze immediately snapped up to meet Cid’s eyes. She held his gaze for a long, uncomfortable moment hands on hips.
“Her name is Mad.” Cid finally answered as she turned and walked away.
Mad. Was her name Mad for angry or crazy? He couldn’t tell, but he wanted to find out. She was a welcome distraction from the things he wanted to stop thinking about tonight.
Mad’s inner stream of consciousness was abruptly interrupted by Cid. “Find any amazing revelations in the bottom of that glass? You’re here to drink, not meditate.”
Immediately she looked up to meet the bright green eyes of the Trandoshan. Cid’s first language usually was heavy sardonic sarcasm tinged with menace, but Mad saw a bit more in her demeanor. A tiny bit of empathy shining through…before the sarcasm blocked it out again.
“Dark and Broody at the end of the bar wants to buy ya a drink if you’re interested.”
Cid pointed towards a very handsome man with a red bandanna and face tattoo staring up the bar at them. He raised his hand in a brief two finger wave and cheesy half smile. An attempt of levity with some drunken smolder.
Heavy sigh and groan from Mad. “No creepers, Cid. Remember last time?”
Cid leaned in against the bar. Her voice finding some softness, “He’s ok. Done some jobs for me. Got a kid of his own, no partner. Kinda lonely. You both look like you need a drink and time out of your own heads. Whaddya say?”
Another sigh from Mad. What did Mad really have to do tonight? The next job wasn’t until tomorrow afternoon. And Love was back at the Beldame with Sil fiddling with the shield generator. The puppy was probably tearing up and crapping all over the ship. Maker, what was she gonna come back to? Mad didn’t want to deal with any of it tonight. Luckly, Sil seemed somewhat responsible enough, and Love rarely if ever left the Beldame without Mad at their side. Both teens had dragged Mad down the gangplank in the direction of the bar. “Go have a drink!” they chimed in unison “We got this!” as they ran into the ship. Oblivious young'uns, dear Maker, now she had two…three with the four-legged pot roast they just “adopted.”
“Fuck it. You’re right. Can’t turn down free Spotchka.”
Cid winked and turned away to grab a glass. Mad straightened up, looked down the bar, and gave her best devil may care smirk. She then gracefully signed “thank you” in Basic Sign Language to Dark and Broody.
Cid plunked down the Spotchka. Mad tipped it back with abandon, enjoying the feel of the drink on her tongue. The pleasant burn. The warmth of it down the hatch…
“HELLO.”
Mad choked and spit the drink right onto Cid.
“Smooth move, Bandana”, disgusted and slightly pissed Cid retreats to wipe herself down. Dark and Broody had suddenly and stealthily materialized in the seat next to Mad.
The pleasant burn is now a fire in Mad’s nose and throat. Spotchka ran down her chin and onto the bar. “Are you trying to Kriffing kill me!” in between coughs. Anger rising. What the fuck, this guy! Dark and Broody looks embarrassed and concerned. She briefly considers punching him in the face.
“Sorry…I should have given you more warning” he replies while offering several napkins. Mad grabbed some from his hand holding them to her mouth.
Cough subsiding, nose still burning, Mad takes in the visage of Hunter: Head of amazing thick black hair, trim body, muscular, deep brown eyes that she could get lost in… She shakes her head and his smokey, sexy voice slides into her ears, “You ok? Anything I can do?”
Mad’s expression was ambiguous while trying to calm down. She sits staring intensely at Hunter. He noticed the depth of her eyes: flecks of yellow mingled with green. While her surface demeanor gave little away, Hunter’s senses pick up anger, confusion…and a slight glimmer of attraction. She looked like she might attack and eat him alive. The prospect seemed exciting. His eyes dropped and scrutinized her chest tattoo for the first time.
“My eyes are up here, Stud” she growls. He notices her noticing him looking at her chest and immediately becomes embarrassed. His expression shows it, as his eyes widen and immediately shoot back up to her face. “Just looking at your tattoo. Honest” he raises both hands in surrender.
“You always this smooth with the ladies?”
“Little off my game tonight. Can I try again?” Hunter gives Mad a sly smile.
Cid sidles back up to the bar, “Drinking only, no maiming…and NO sex in the bathroom. If ya wanna do that, then leave my bar!” Hands on her hips, looks across the room and suddenly shouts, “SHUT UP, YOU TWO, and mind yer own business!”
Bolo and Ketch stop laughing and solemnly return to their game of Djarik.
“Mad, I need Dark and Broody here in working condition for my next job. So go easy on him. He’s harmless. Bandana, quit being such a laser brain. You guys are stinkin’ up the joint with your buffoonery” she nods to Hunter, then Mad “and your angst.”
Both Hunter and Mad, taken aback by Cid’s scolding, soften and relax.
“Cid’s right. I really am harmless…and a laser brain. My name is Hunter.”
He extends his hand to shake. Mad continues to stare into Hunter’s deep brown eyes for several beats before extending her own and taking his hand. As her fingers slide into his grasp, there is an intense warm wave that passes between them both that ends in a tingle. Hunter and Mad’s body hair stands on end as the tingle runs up one arm, crosses their hearts and runs down the other arm.
Hunter, trying to maintain his cool, gives a lopsided attempt at a smoldery smile while still holding Mads gaze. Mad was never prepared for this sensory experience and immediately inhaled while her pupils dilate, and her face slightly flushes. Hunter can hear her heart skip a beat, then pick up to a frenetic pace. He smells perspiration as it begins to form upon her skin. He also smells a faint hint of arousal.
“Mad…” She’s thrown off by what just happened and quickly pulls away. She’s used to whatever crawls into the bar trying to daftly impress, threaten, cajole, talk down to, manhandle, or manipulate her. He’s self-depreciating, disarming, and a bit goofy…while smoking hot. She’s confused and warming up to this Hunter guy. But the walls are still up. The urge to bust him in the chops has left her mind.
“Wooo. That was…intense!” Mad’s feral demeanor fell away to shit eating grin and head tilt. She fans herself with her hand. That sensation was amazing! What the hell did HE do?
Hunter chuckled. “Uh, yeeaaah…” Casually crosses his legs to hide a semi erection. That sensation was amazing! What the hell did SHE do?
“That happen often?”
“Nope. You’re the first.”
“Shush…flattery will get you everywhere” Mad leaned in closer to Hunter, still not breaking intense eye contact. She was falling into the pool of those warm brown eyes. Basking in them. Hoping not to drown.
“I can only hope,” he counters. His heart flutters first, then he feels a second flutter between his crossed legs. Physically he feels amazing. Mentally, he feels like an idiot.
Cid, leaning against the back of the bar, rolls her eyes. “Can I get you love birds to move the party to The Oasis? I can’t handle the melodrama. Give ya a bottle of free Spotchka to get lost.”
“The Oasis?” Hunter said suddenly. He was very confused. To the best of his knowledge, Cid never mentioned it.
“It’s a secret little hideaway. She doesn’t let just anyone use it.” Mad winked at Cid then gave Hunter a conspiratorial grin.
Cid wrinkled her nose and shot Hunter a nasty look, “I never let your Batch in on it…except for Tiny. Your ship smells like poodoo. If you trash my Oasis, you’ll owe me FOREVER!” She followed this up by pointing her long bony Trandoshan claw at him.
Yep, that did it: Totally killed Hunters erection.
Cid plunked down a full bottle on the bar. Mad grabbed it as she got up from her bar stool. “Care to join me for Spotchka under the stars…Hunky?”
Two loud and very offended scoffs from across the room, “How come we don’t’ get free bottles?”
“SHUT IT!” from Cid “Or you both are gonna get a bottle each…upside your heads!!!”
Hunter could only answer with a smile and nod, grateful he could now get to his feet without embarrassment from a certain bodily function. He followed Mad to Cid’s office and through a hidden doorway.
“Don’t trash my Oasis! I MEAN IT!!!” came Cid’s shrill threat from the other room.
Mad grabbed Hunters hand and led him through several dark winding stairways, many doorways, purposeful twists and turns that confused the sense of direction. The last door opened to a rooftop area…
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A Village Romance (Hunter x F!OC) Ch 1: Strangers
Chapter Rating: 16+ for one suggestive comment made towards the end, and the overall tone further chapters may have -- If I choose to write further chapters.
Content: Fluffy intro to what I will hope to be a friends to lovers romance. Teacher OC because we all know Hunter would love a partner good with kids. First person narrative cause I'm lazy lol.
Wordcount: ~1580 because I haven't written in months and I need to ease back into it.
A/N: Hi friends, I've been gone a while but decided to jump back into ff. I want to start working on other creative pieces but I have Clone Brainrot so ff it is I guess. I haven't been writing at all so if it sucks, I know.
Song: Down by the Water by Abigail Lapell
The first night Hunter and I spent together, we were strangers.
Heavy storm clouds had swallowed the sun hours ago, and the draft through the schoolhouse in town sent chills through all of my students. By the time all of my students were gone, the rain had begun and my speeder bike was already soaked. The air got colder and the wind picked up the further I made it up the mountain. It was drizzling, the raindrops turning to ice on the leaf litter and my jacket. The wind ripped through the trees, shaking the limbs directly above me, and howling through the greenhouse. The windows on the greenhouse were frosting over, the tarp covering my firewood thrashed, and my potted crops tipped in the garden, splattering mud everywhere. I rushed to secure everything.
I was kneeling in the mud, trying to salvage one of my plants when I heard a branch snap on the edge of the clearing that made up my yard. I paused and looked around, but didn’t see anything. I scooped up the plant and brought it to the greenhouse. I didn’t see the faint shadow cross the windows inside, or the door. As I came around the corner to walk inside I almost walked directly into someone, which is horrifying when you live alone on the side of a mountain.
He was broad-shouldered, half a skull painted on his helmet, and a full head taller than me. He had also startled me so badly, I’d apparently dropped my plant, since he was standing there holding it with mud splashed on his armor.
“Sorry,” we said simultaneously.
And we stood there for a moment, in the rain, staring at one another. Like morons. A little girl’s voice called from the other side of the cabin, “Hunter?” Little footsteps ran closer until they reached the doorway, “Hunter did you – oh. Hello!”
I looked at the little blonde and smiled, then back at who I then knew was Hunter: “Can I have my plant back?” I asked, pointing to my sad little potted crop in his hands.
“Oh, yes,” he said, handing it back to me.
I walked into the greenhouse and tried to quickly stabilize the crop so I could gather the remaining plants outside.
“You’re the pretty teacher! The one in town! Miss Tala!” The little girl said excitedly.
“Omega!” Hunter scolded her.
I looked up at them with some surprise, “And you’re my…stalkers?” I said with a raise of my eyebrows, half joking. I did recognize them from the market square. Some whispers had gone around of some clones that settled on Pabu and were working with a couple of traders.
“N-no! We’ve been working for Mr Tanaka, he told us who you were,” I could hear the embarrassment in Hunter’s voice. Omega looked up at him, giving him a knowing smirk. “We were just passing through when we came across your cabin.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where to find these, would you?” Omega showed me her data pad, a familiar sight on the screen: Storm mushrooms.
“There are some that pop up nearby, but you’re running out of time. Come help me with this, and we can go.” I nodded towards the door. Omega helped me carry the last of my crops inside while Hunter secured the tarp over the wood. Hunter walked over to us as we locked up the greenhouse.
“We didn’t properly introduce ourselves, I’m Hunter, that’s Omega.” He held out his hand towards me.
I took it, “Tala.”
We walked single file down a game trail towards a set of downed trees, whose trunks were sparkling with the bright blue mushrooms. I took out my knife and sliced off a small one, cutting it into three pieces. I popped one piece into my mouth and handed Omega and Hunter the other two.
“Why are these considered dangerous?” Omega asked, snacking on the piece I handed her. The three of us started slicing away mushrooms and tucking them into Omega’s satchels.
“Inexperienced foragers underestimating how fast the weather changes up here,” I replied. “A few have died in the past or gotten very close to it. Now most people who hire foragers usually have shelters and cabins near sites so there’s a safe place to weather the storm after harvest. I didn’t know Mr Tanaka had a cabin this far up.” I looked at the two of them, and to find them looking at me a little dumbfounded.
Hunter and Omega looked at each other, “We’re staying in town,” Hunter said.
The drizzle turned to rain, a few snowflakes fluttered down with it and Omega was doing her best not to shiver.
“Well, lucky for you I know a place,” I said, quickly slicing away at the mushrooms.The wind almost ripped my back door off its hinges when I opened it. The three of us shuffled inside as the first inch of snow started to cover the ground. I pointed Omega to the refresher to start getting out of her wet clothes, and Hunter towards the fireplace to stoke up the fire I’d prepared, while I ran upstairs to find clothes. He was looking at some photos on the mantel when I came downstairs with clothes for him and Omega. I set her clothes outside of the bathroom door, and walked over to him. His helmet sat on the kitchen counter, and his scarf had ended up bundled around Omega’s head on the hike home. The fire was still low, casting a soft light over his features. I had seen him before, multiple times, but I’d never really got to appreciate him. His wide shoulders made his waist criminally small. His bandana, and thus his hair, was slightly disheveled, and he looked tired. In the forest, I’d missed an opportunity to watch him work with the knife he carried, but I watched as they rested on his hips and moved to pick up different photographs. Not wanting to get caught ogling, I walked up and handed him the dry clothes. He looked down at them, a frown briefly flashing across his features. “Your husband going to be okay with me borrowing these?” I snorted, then upon realizing I snorted, I laughed, “Sorry. That’s probably one of the many reasons I don’t have a husband. What made you think that?” “These are a man’s and you got them from upstairs,” he gave a short laugh of relief. “It’s not an unreasonable assumption.” “Those are my brother-in-laws, and no he won’t mind.”
Omega stepped out of the refresher, bundled up in a set of my pajamas, looking clean and quite content. She settled under some blankets in a chair by the fire, while Hunter and I split off into different refreshers to clean up and warm up ourselves. When I came down the stairs, Omega was curled up in Hunter’s lap asleep on the couch, and he had his head tilted back with his eyes closed. His bandana was off letting his wet curls flop wherever they pleased. The fire crackled, warm light flickering across their faces as they dozed, faces so relaxed and peaceful. I sat in my armchair and admired the pair for a moment; until Hunter’s eyes opened and immediately found mine. They were a warm gray in the firelight, and very tired.
“We left you some room over here,” he whispered. “We’ll be warmer together.”
“I don’t sleep with strangers,” I said as I grabbed my book off of the end table. When I looked back up at him, his cheeks were flushed and he averted his gaze.
“Right. Sorry that was forward of me.”
“It’s nothing against you–” I said, moving my head into his line of sight to get his attention.
“No, I understand,” he said, still looking away.
“I don’t really sleep much anyways, strangers or no strangers.”
He looked at me again from the corner of his eye and gave me a half-hearted smile. Snuggling into the couch he wished me a quiet goodnight, leaned his head back, and fell asleep.Omega stirred early, while the end of the storm was blowing through. Hunter awoke to the smell of breakfast. Well, more accurately, to Omega burning half the breakfast and the two of us giggling about it. Maybe my staring should have told the both of us at the time that I was at least attracted to him. But he was too busy smiling at Omega’s tragic attempt to make eggs to notice my ogling. He looked so warm to the touch, standing there half-asleep in wrinkled sleepwear, smoothing Omega’s unruly curls while she made another attempt to cook breakfast. I stopped staring and joined them, and eventually the three of us had something edible. The rest of the morning was spent playing card games together. By the afternoon the storm had passed, and they were dressed to leave. Omega gave me a hug before she bounded down the front steps of my cabin, leaving Hunter and I alone for a moment on the porch. He held out his hand, “Thanks for all your help.” I took it, “Anytime. See you around town then?”
He gave it a short shake and nodded his head with a soft “yeah” as he turned to leave. Before he reached the last step I said his name, making him turn back to me.
“Don’t be a stranger,” I said.
And a hint of color came to his cheeks.
#bad batch fanfic#tbb x reader#bad batch hunter x reader#tbb hunter x oc#tbb hunter#star wars the bad batch#the bad batch x reader#tbb x oc#the bad batch x oc#the bad batch hunter
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Serenno
Chapter 2 of Moonwalker: The Flame
{series masterlist} {next chapter} {previous chapter}
{crossposted to Wattpad} {crossposted to AO3}
Summary: As Sarah keeps trying to avoid Hunter and the others, a mission on Serenno brings notions into the air that will move the squad forward and makes Hunter aware of feelings brewing between Sarah and Tech.
Tags/Warnings: Mature. Allusions to polyamory. Angst, canon-typical violence, description of wounds.
Word count: 7.7k
Songs: Nocturne
A/N: This chapter is well over a year late and it makes me so happy to finally post this baby. I hope y'all enjoy some angst.
The sound of the training bolt echoing around the walls of the landing bay faded as Sarah stood still, remaining in firing position with her hereditary rifle in her hands. On rare times when she was alone, she’d sneak off and train with it in the landing bay, the one place she could be alone under the condition she never used live fire.
She figured she could make that shot a tad more perfect and, gazing down the scope and aiming directly at the tiny reflector disk she’d stuck to one of the walls, she fired again. The training bolt hit it better than it had last time, and the bolt bounced once, twice, and then a third time before finally hitting the ground.
When it did, the unwanted memory of the first time she saw Crosshair doing that invaded her mind—the audible smirk in his voice, the way her knees shook at how good he was with his rifle, the way she smiled at his cockiness and at how he was obviously pleased to have finally impressed her.
With a heavy sigh, Sarah lowered the Firepuncher and returned to the present. She walked over to the barrel she’d placed a few feet to her right where the holo image of Tech’s calculations rested. It seemed she’d finally gotten the angles right, but it was only a calculation made for three disks. For some reason, Sarah never saw herself using as many disks as Crosshair would, not by a long shot.
Then, in an abrupt rapture of the silence that surrounded her, her comm began to beep.
“Come in,” she answered, hesitant.
“Sarah, you are needed at the cantina,” Tech’s voice came from the other end.
“Why?”
A brief rustling came from the comm, a sign that it was being shifted from possession, and then Wrecker’s voice came in.
“We need you to convince Hunter to do something,” he said, his tone somewhat shy.
“What makes you think I can do that?” Sarah rolled her eyes as she reached for the holo-image and began to pack her things up. “I’m on my way, but I can’t promise anything.”
“If you coerce him, he just might do it,” Tech answered. “I predict he will be left vulnerable against your big eyes.”
“And your hips,” Wrecker cut in. “Maybe do that thing where you squeeze your arms at the sides of your chest and it makes your tits—”
“Please tell me Omega can’t hear you,” Sarah interrupted.
“She cannot,” Tech confirmed. “Are you on your way here?”
“You want me to manipulate him?” Sarah couldn’t help but chuckle. “Damn. Stay put, I’m heading there.”
“Interacting with you should be enough to lighten his tension,” Tech replied. “All of ours, frankly.”
Sarah sighed and cut the comm connection, heading straight for the cantina. When she arrived, she noticed Tech, Wrecker, and Echo huddled around a table with Cid. Of all of them, Cid was the first one to lay eyes on Sarah, directing at her a dim smile.
“Hardly see ya around here anymore, Strider,” Cid said.
“Sorry,” Sarah answered, her tone gentle and sincere towards Cid, who’d never once questioned Sarah for how she felt. “What’s going on here?”
“Dark and broody doesn’t want to go on the next mission I’ve arranged for ya,” Cid answered.
Sarah was mad at Hunter and that wouldn’t change for a long time, but she also knew him enough to know that whenever he didn’t want to go somewhere, he had a good reason for it. She figured convincing him of anything would be more difficult than swaying hips and batting her eyelashes at him, that was, if she didn’t agree with him for the first time in months.
“Where to?” Sarah asked.
Tech looked at her, solemn. “Serenno.”
Sarah scoffed, the disbelief knocking on her as well as the dismal memories that name invoked of the war and every person Dooku somehow managed to torment in its duration.
“Yeah, even I can see why he doesn’t want to go,” Sarah said.
“Which is saying a lot,” Cid muttered. “But the loot you can get from this mission will be enough to set you for life, and I’m not even exaggeratin’. We all agree you guys should go for it, all we have to do is convince bandana.”
“Convince me of what?” Hunter’s voice drew everyone’s attention onto him. Much as he had the currents against him most of the time, Hunter was still their leader, and the way his presence commanded dominance and respect made Sarah’s heart squeeze briefly.
But she managed to hustle through the feeling when Hunter’s gaze landed on her, partly upset at her, partly begging her to speak to him.
“I take it they’ve told you about Serenno,” Hunter told Sarah.
“They have,” she said.
“And are you going to try to convince me?” He asked.
Sarah sighed, rubbing a hand over her forehead. “I don’t know. I hate the idea of Serenno, but if pulling this mission off will make us safer in a way, then I think we should do it.”
“We won’t be safe if we put ourselves in the way of the Empire after staying off their radar for so long, and I’m not willing to—”
“That’s the problem, you’re not willing to do many things you should do,” Sarah bit back.
The group fell silent with all eyes either on Hunter or on Sarah, each member expressing their own form of disdain from the argument. Finally, Cid cut through the tension by clearing her throat and looked at Hunter with understanding eyes.
“You’re never too late to want to protect your squad,” Cid told him. “And I care about you guys too even if it’s mushy to admit it, but hear me out. The loot from just one of those containers could help you buy your freedom. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“We’re already free,” Hunter told her, secure.
“Then you’re not payin’ attention,” Cid said. “The way the Empire was on Raxus, Ryloth, soon they’re gonna be here, and that means no more work for me, and no more work for you. You’re gonna have to move eventually and unless you start pullin’ off heists like this one, I won’t be able to help ya when that time comes.”
Sarah looked at the hologram projection of Castle Serenno and the freighters spotted around it, her thoughts swarming across many different fronts. It wasn’t long before she felt gazes on her and she looked up once more at everyone expecting an answer from her, as though anything she said would define their course of action.
As if what I want even mattered.
Sarah gave a soft sigh. “She’s right. With the way the Empire’s spreading, pretty soon we won’t be able to live like this, and we need to prepare.”
“We need to do more,” Echo told her.
“Perhaps,” Sarah looked at him. “But whether we like it or not, we’ll want to have some resources on our hands before we can even decide on what ‘doing more’ actually means for us.”
“We’re not in the position to do more. We’re fugitives, all of us,” Hunter said. “And the moment the Empire spots us, all the running away, all the hiding from planet to planet returns. I’d rather not be constantly running.”
“All the more reason for you to do this now, bandana,” Cid persuaded. “If you wanna go to a distant planet and live in peace, this is the way to start it. Think of it as buyin’ your ticket there.”
Sarah watched as Hunter turned his gaze towards Omega, who was sitting by herself at the bar reviewing study material Tech had given her. Watching him, Sarah felt her chest aching, a heartache that was uncomfortably common whenever she was around Hunter. She thought back to what she wanted to do when the war ended, and how she’d lost sight of it. She thought of how attractive the idea still sounded, to live on a far-off planet, forage for food, live in peace, forget about weapons and sorrow and loss and fear.
But after being torn from Crosshair and suffering Hunter’s betrayal, Sarah had stopped believing that was possible.
Hunter then looked back at the group and gave a short nod. “Alright. We’ll do it. We’ll ship out at first daylight.”
Around her, everyone seemed victorious and celebrated the fact that they’d go on the mission after all, but Sarah couldn’t feel that same resolve. Her heart sank; she knew that, despite having been asked to, Hunter hadn’t made his decision because of her.
The group scattered to make their preparations for the mission, and as Sarah made her way towards her room, she felt Hunter reaching out for her wrist, stopping her before she could get away from him. She hadn’t repelled him immediately like she normally would have, but Hunter wouldn’t get his hopes up too much because of it.
“I…” Hunter sighed. “I wanted to make sure this was okay with you.”
Sarah sighed. “Better late than never, I suppose.”
“Sarah—”
“I don’t care if we go to Serenno so long as we all return alive,” she said. “That’s how I feel about every mission now.”
“But you don’t deserve to feel like that,” he said.
Sarah scoffed at him and curved her lips in a smile riddled with disbelief. She then turned to look at Omega, who still sat at the bar, oblivious to most of the tensions that the adults in her family held between them.
“Ultimately, you decided because of her,” Sarah said softly.
“Yes,” said Hunter.
Sarah landed her gaze on Hunter again. “I envy her.”
Every glimpse of hope Hunter felt vanished from his eyes.
“You decided thinking of what was best for her,” Sarah added. “You made this decision because it’s what’s best for her. And ultimately, you will do for her what you wouldn’t do for me.”
“It isn’t like that—”
Sarah yanked her wrist from his grip. “I’m glad to know that’s where we stand.”
She walked off to her bunk room without looking back and resolved not to speak another word to him until it was absolutely necessary.
*
On the quiet flight to Serenno, Sarah sat in front of the Marauder’s left holopanel with her arms crossed, utterly silent. Opposite from her was Hunter in front of the other holopanel, his back turned on her as he scanned a planetary map for worlds that hadn’t yet been touched by the Empire, and probably wouldn’t be.
While it had been just the two of them avoiding each other in a ship that didn’t give either much freedom to escape, Echo soon walked into that section of the ship, his gaze heavy, yet somehow pleased that he’d caught Sarah and Hunter in the same place. Sarah knew her best friend well enough to know when something was on his mind, and this was clearly one of those occasions when Echo looked like he wanted to speak up. Sarah met his gaze, raising her eyebrows softly, prompting him to speak.
Hunter, who had felt Echo coming in, turned around to see why he’d taken so long to begin speaking. Once Echo had both of their attentions on him, he gave a sigh.
“Maybe we ought to talk about why we’re on this mission,” Echo lowered his voice. “And what we’ll do with the payment.”
“Hide,” Hunter replied.
“With the galaxy in its current state, you really think it’s sensible to take off and hide?” Echo said. “With the amount of people in need around the galaxy?”
“We can’t risk ourselves for everyone the rest of our lives,” Hunter added, “and living in constant war isn’t the life that kid deserves.”
“You should know, Echo,” Sarah spoke up, her gaze darting into Hunter. “He wouldn’t risk himself for his brother even if being oppressed by the Empire isn’t the life he deserves.”
Hunter looked at Sarah, his patience finally wearing off. “You want to talk about something?”
“No,” she replied, cynical. “I’m just taking every chance to remind you why we are the way we are.”
“Well, this isn’t the time to do that,” Hunter told her.
Sarah sighed and looked over at Echo. “When we get to Serenno, I’m finding a cliff to snipe from. I have the range.”
“No, I’ll need you with me,” Hunter told her.
“Wow, you’ve decided that already too,” she remarked with fake shock, shifting into a more regular tone afterwards. “Hunter, we’re stepping into Count Fucking Dooku’s home planet, and it’s laden with Imperials. The less blind we can walk in, the better, and you need an eye in the sky for that.”
“We have to stay as together as possible,” Hunter explained. “Two of us alone on different fronts will leave two members vulnerable, and we can’t risk that. Besides, we already have a shooter.”
Sarah scoffed. “Really?”
“What?” Hunter asked.
“You’re going with that?” She was practically mocking him.
“Going with what, Sarah?” Hunter asked again, exasperated at her.
Sarah stood up from her chair and in no time she stood in front of him, looking up with angry, hurt eyes. “She’s a child and therefore she shouldn’t be our shooter.”
“Lower your voice,” Hunter said through gritted teeth.
“You talk a lot about this not being the life she deserves, and I agree,” Sarah obliged, talking in a lower tone. “Then why are we still bringing her along when we already have a marksman?”
“I get it, you’re the one with the rifle—”
“I don’t mean me,” Sarah growled as a low rumble could be heard around her.
Eerie silence fell on the ship, and soon, the rumbling around Sarah ceased. She took a breath, centering herself; she didn’t want the ship being thrown out of hyperspace because of her.
“The rifle isn’t mine,” she continued, hushed. “I won’t bother you by saying his name out loud, but we both know he should be here, and he could be if you hadn’t been so selfish.”
“Sarah—”
“You could have stunned him. We could have dragged him back onto the Marauder and figured it out, but instead, you’ve let a child replace him as your marksman,” Sarah finished. “You let her replace him.”
“I think it’ll be better for all of us if we focus on the bigger picture for once,” Echo cut in, stepping between the heated pair, turning to Hunter. “Our lives are like this because of Omega. Getting her out of Kamino was the right choice, and now we have to think about how we can do more against the Empire.”
Echo then turned to Sarah, his best friend, whose frown softened when she looked at him. Though Echo wouldn’t always condone the amount of direct hits she was capable of launching at Hunter whenever they fought, he sympathized with her. She’d lost Fives and it had nearly destroyed her—he knew that only from what she told him. He hadn’t been there with her when it happened. And since then, she’d lost her way of life, she was unable to return to her home planet because of the risk of being spotted in the one place she’d be expected to hide in by the Empire, and she’d lost Crosshair, the only one who came close to being the love of her life after Fives.
“Getting Crosshair out of Kamino would have been the right choice as well,” Echo’s tone softened at her. “But that isn’t how it turned out, and as much as it hurts you, there is an entire galaxy outside of him. You can’t let your anger keep you from doing the right thing, Sarah. I know you, and I know you’re bigger and better than that.”
As Sarah looked at Echo, she thought of the amount of times he’d hinted at wanting to do more. It then dawned on her that she had a very clear image of what life would be like after the war, and now, she had no clue. She didn’t know what she wanted, and she couldn’t see any sort of future while Echo seemed to know clearly what his calling was. After Kamino, she figured her life would be drifting through the galaxy, returning to Ord Mantell every so often, and she then realized she wanted anything other than that. What her heart truly yearned for wasn’t possible, and now she had to find something she’d be able to live with.
But at that moment, as she felt the emotions bubbling inside her too much for her to conceal them, all she wanted to do was hide. All Sarah wanted to do was run into the arms of someone who could keep her safe, someone who could protect her, who’d care for her while she cried and mourned everything she had to mourn.
This isn’t freedom.
Before her eyes could fill with tears, she took a step back and breathed in deeply, forcing herself to be stoic a few more seconds. She spoke in a whisper, unable to trust in her own voice, “I’ll be at the cockpit.”
She missed her Y-Wing more than anything at that moment; at least she’d be alone and bothering nobody. Instead, her feet carried her to the cockpit behind the pilot’s chair where Tech was sitting. He didn’t remove his gaze from his datapad while the autopilot was engaged there in the middle of hyperspace, but Sarah knew he was aware of his presence. And with Wrecker asleep in the chair next to him, it felt like enough privacy for her.
Sarah rested her chin on top of the back of the seat and let her body sulk down, lips pouting to silence her sobs as her eyes finally filled with tears. Whether Tech realized she was crying or not didn’t matter to her, in fact, the less questions she had to answer, the better.
But soon, Tech’s hand reached across his body to the left side of the chair where one of Sarah’s hands rested and gently pressed his fingers over hers.
She finally began to silently weep.
*
Staring into the ruined cities of Serenno would fill any bypasser with dread and drain them of all hope they could feel. The sight of ashen buildings and the eerie silence that emanated from the city forced one into staring at it, much like Sarah had caught herself unable to tear her gaze away.
How many innocent people had perished? And for what?
“Sarah?”
A tiny hand nudged the side of Sarah’s arm and managed to bring her attention back to her team, her gaze now falling on the young girl who’d brought her back to reality. Sarah managed a soft smile at Omega; whatever else was happening, Omega’s big brown eyes would always be enough to remind her there was still light in the universe even in the face of something so dire. After all, Omega wasn’t to blame for the galaxy, for Crosshair, for Hunter’s choices—that much would always be clear to her. If there was anything that pained Sarah, it was that Omega still had to be in battle, even if it was usually the kid herself who refused not being there.
After Omega returned Sarah’s smile with a sad one, Sarah looked up at the squad. “Sorry. Got distracted.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame ya,” Wrecker said lowly, his frown audible through the modulators of his helmet. “It looks like hell’s ruins down there.”
“We’re splitting up,” Hunter said similarly.
She looked over at him, remembering what he’d said on the ship. “Right.”
Before heading off with Hunter, Sarah walked over to Tech and met his gaze—it was one of the many times she was grateful that his helmet didn’t cover his eyes with a pitch-black visor, but rather left them visible. Those brown eyes of his had become a source of comfort whenever all she wanted to do was disappear.
She had to acknowledge how fond she was growing of those goggled brown eyes.
“Take care, will you?” Sarah spoke softly.
“You as well,” Tech responded and powered up the holopad in his hands, ready to set out in the direction his part of the squad would take.
On the spot, Sarah turned around trying to acknowledge Hunter. But she found that, for once, he wasn’t already looking at her. Instead, Hunter seemed to be looking over in Tech’s direction, his gaze lingering on the team’s engineer for a while before he looked back at Sarah briefly before turning around and leading the way down into the forest.
Sarah braced for the awkwardness of being left alone with him.
*
Radio silence. That was the course of action after things, as usual, went sideways for Clone Force 99.
Sarah had heard the last transmissions Tech had sent of how they’d been trapped in the cargo container, how their escape was uncertain, how they’d been in a crash-landing. Thinking about it all made her feel cold, with her marks feeling like swirly trails of ice on her skin. A part of her regretted having listened to Hunter and staying with him throughout the mission, now accompanied by Wrecker; and though Omega and Echo were in the same situation, much as she worried about them, she couldn’t help it when Tech was at the top of her worries. She had one of her gut feelings about him, and it wasn’t a particularly good one—if it weren’t such a foolish idea and she didn’t risk her transmission being intercepted, she’d be dialing Tech’s frequency on the spot to check on him.
Sarah was never good at losing touch with those she cared for—it was why she hated splitting up in the first place. And now it was only worse—the mission had gone from going mildly according to plan to having derailed completely, and now, Sarah, Hunter, and Wrecker were scurrying around the ruined streets of the city on Serenno hoping not to be spotted on every corner they turned. The sun was going down and the ruins got darker by the minute. Pretty soon, it would become difficult to see anything.
The trio stopped at the sound of whirring gunship engines approaching. As quickly as they could, they hid under whatever large piece of rubble they could find and waited it out, until the sound of the ships flying over them became louder and then faded once more. That had been the third time they’d had to pause to hide from air forces, and at that point, it was clear that the Empire wasn’t going to rule out the possibility of them being in the city. On the contrary, they were onto them and they knew it.
A modulated sigh came from Hunter as he glanced through his helmet’s visor over at Wrecker and Sarah. He then got down on one knee with his hand brushing the ground only to look up at his two teammates again. “They’re less than one klick away.”
“And we might need more than two blasters and one rifle to hold them off?” Sarah asked.
“It’s a whole platoon, so my answer would be yes,” Hunter said as he got back up. “Wrecker, spot anything we could use?”
Wrecker had begun laughing with excitement when Hunter stopped talking. He then pointed his large hand out eastward saying, “That. That right there. That’s what I want!”
Just as Sarah pulled the scope of the Firepuncher rifle to get a better look at what Wrecker was pointing at, the large clone ran off in a childlike manner. She finally got a better look at the Separatist tanks piled over rubble and debris and understood why Wrecker had been so cheerful about spotting them.
“Do they even work?” Sarah questioned.
“Oh, I’ll handle that!” Wrecker lunged himself into the first tank he reached.
“I’ll stay with him,” Hunter told Sarah. “Can you pick them off from above?”
“I was hoping you’d ask,” she nodded before turning around and heading for the nearest cliff. After the climb, she had a perfect view of the platoon that was headed their way, and she quickly managed to spot Wrecker and Hunter messing with the tanks, most likely hoping to get one of them to function. She knew that if they didn’t succeed, their bright plan would be a total failure, meaning that was her cue to begin sniping the army of imperial clones.
One by one, with the Firepuncher set to stun, Sarah took down the clones from the front lines to the rear, managing to buy Hunter and Wrecker at least some more time while they figured out what they were doing on their front. It wasn’t long before Wrecker got hold of not one of the tanks, but its cannon. Even being at the top of a cliff sniping, Sarah could hear Wrecker’s laughter booming, preceding the first of the cannon blasts.
And then chaos reigned over the scene. Wrecker steadily advanced, his laughter filling the gaps between the blasts from his new favorite toy—he even made Sarah smile. She would have loved to sit back and watch him, as he clearly wouldn’t need her help anymore, but that was when she heard clone chatter coming up from behind her.
Sarah didn’t have enough time to react. If she had, she probably would have been able to dodge the blaster bolt headed towards her, and in a sloppy attempt to move out of its way, it wound up hitting her on the shin. She cried out as the laser burned through the surface of her skin, the pain searing through her leg as she tried not to fall to the ground. She hooked the rifle onto her back and unholstered her hand blaster instead to stun the first troopers to emerge from the darkness.
“Sarah!” Hunter cried out from below invaded with worry after hearing her cry in pain.
Sarah registered the sound of his voice and the sound of the marching that approached, and she realized her blaster efforts wouldn’t be enough. Too many of them were heading her way, and the same could be said for the troopers down there. They were outnumbered and one marksman down; Sarah wouldn’t be much help in a wounded state. With the amount of troopers cornering her, Sarah looked over her shoulder and realized there was only one way out of that one.
She leapt off the cliff, bending the Force around her hoping to lessen the impact of her fall. While not fatal, the pain from the blast on her thigh worsened when she hit ground level, and it was enough to knock her down with her back against the floor. There, she could process the vibrations of the army through the earth: the platoon in the east, the fraction of it on the cliff, with another pack of reinforcements heading in from the north, not far behind the cliff Sarah had just fallen from.
If they didn’t act fast, they’d be done for.
All Sarah wanted to do was lie on the ground and see the stars plastered on the night sky, but as she did that, she found a couple of rocky vertices on the cliffs that surrounded the area. From that angle, she spotted one she could blast away with her own rifle on the cliff next to her, but for the other one, she’d need Wrecker’s help. They couldn’t take all of those troopers just the three of them, but they could easily stop them from coming with a couple of carefully placed blasts.
“Wrecker,” Sarah spoke into her comm. “See that large spike on the cliff towards the east?”
“Yeah,” Wrecker answered.
“I need you to shoot it,” she said.
“Negative,” Hunter entered the comms. “Where are you, anyway? I can’t see you.”
“I’m safe from whatever debris may fall, if that’s what worries you. I have a plan,” Sarah told him. “Wrecker’s going to take that cliff down, I’ll handle the other one close to me.”
“We don’t know if that’s really going to work,” Hunter debated.
“Will you two stop fighting for once?!” Wrecker boomed into the comm. “Sarah, tell me when.”
“Now!” Sarah cried out.
The next thing she heard was another cannon blast being fired, and she saw the ray of light rising up to the cliff she’d told Wrecker to fire at. When it hit, the rocky cliff exploded into hundreds of rocks and boulders and began making its way downward onto the platoon that cornered Wrecker and Hunter. It was Sarah’s turn after that, and with the strength she had, she pulled through the burning on her shin and stood up, aiming the Firepuncher at the weak point on her own cliff. She set the rifle to kill, figuring the blast would be stronger that way, and focused the crosshair on the medium rock that seemed to hold the cliff in place. Sarah breathed out, steadying herself, and when even the pain of her blast wound disappeared she fired the rifle.
The blast hit exactly where she had intended to, and she sent the cliff collapsing down on the army that had tracked her down, but it created a lot more rubble than she had intended at first—rubble that was now crashing down on her. Quickly as she could, Sarah ran for cover, but she wouldn’t get far in her current state. When the debris nearly hit her, she raised her hands and used the Force to shield herself from any of the rocks, levitating them away from her.
Eventually, the debris stopped falling and it settled around her. Sarah waved her hands in front of her, coughing up all the dirt that had made its way into her lungs.
“Sarah?” Hunter inquired through the comms. “Sarah, come in!”
Sarah finished coughing and pulled her comm up near her lips as she examined the pile of rubble she’d just created, her heart sinking.
“I’m here, I’m alive,” she said. “Though I’m afraid I just created a wall between us, quite literally.”
“Stay put, I’ll go and get you,” Hunter said.
“No,” Sarah replied. “I’m injured and I’m only going to slow you down. You and Wrecker get to the ship, I’ll rendezvous after that.”
“Sarah, no—”
“Hunter!” She raised her voice, caring little for who or what would hear her. “I am telling you this because it’s the best option. For once in your life, listen to what I want and do as I say.”
Silence filled the comms for a moment until she heard him sigh.
“Alright, Wrecker and I will get to the Marauder. But we might need to go radio silent again,” Hunter agreed.
“You know how to find me,” Sarah replied, her tone much softer. She turned her comm off, knowing it would be safer not to use it anymore, and she turned around on her spot to find that she was at the edge of the forest.
Sarah took a few paces and kneeled on the ground, her fingers digging into the soil beneath her. Like she’d done many times before at that point in her life, Sarah began to absorb the life Force of the planet, and slowly, she felt the wound on her shin beginning to close and the pain easing off from her. She let out a long exhale, finally able to release the tension she’d been feeling until that moment, and even her mind cleared.
Now thinking straight and with her hands still pressed to the ground, there was something Sarah could feel through the earth. It was someone close to her, someone dear to her, but he was slower. Weakened. Vulnerable.
Tech.
She knew better than to not pay any mind to it, and if she could feel him that clearly, he couldn’t have been that far from her. If he was injured too, she’d have to hurry. Through the earth, Sarah focused on him until she was able to know exactly where he was. With that clear, Sarah prepped the rifle in front of her and set off running in his direction.
No troopers or traps were found as she ran through the forest, and though it felt like she’d been running for ages, it finally wasn’t long before she heard the sound of blasters and speeder bikes. She could still feel Tech’s presence—as long as she could feel him there, everything would be alright—and when she felt she was close enough to still remain hidden, she stopped and aimed the rifle.
Through the scope, she could see Tech. He was standing, but his posture was slightly hunched over. It wasn’t until she saw him moving that he noticed he was limping, and he pulled his blaster out to stun a trooper before hiding behind the trunk of a tree. Sarah then located the troopers that were cornering, and without thinking about it, she aimed the Firepuncher at one of them and fired.
She didn’t bother changing it back to stun.
When the trooper fell, she fired at another one. The last one that crept up on Tech did so a tad too quickly, but Sarah saw through the scope that Tech fired his blaster at the trooper, stunning him to the ground. After that, Tech wobbled and fell down to the ground himself.
“Tech!” Sarah cried and pulled the rifle down and ran the remaining distance between her and him. When she reached him, she collapsed to the ground next to him and took him in his arms, and even in the darkness of the forest, she saw his brown eyes glistening with the faint light as he looked at her.
“Sarah…” Tech sighed. “I am hurt.”
She then looked at his leg and noticed the swelling and the unnatural angle it had. She felt her blood going cold at the sight of his broken leg, but more than that, her heart broke for him. She’d never fathomed the idea of Tech being hurt before, and it felt wrong, like it should never even be a possibility.
“Tech…” Sarah whimpered, her hand reaching for the cheek of his helmet. “Let’s get you out of here. Where are Echo and Omega?”
“Over the cliff,” Tech grunted in pain after speaking the words. “Omega went to the chest and Echo followed her.”
“And where is the chest?”
“Over the cliff,” Tech repeated. “At a very inconvenient precipice, might I add.”
“I could help with that,” a third, unfamiliar voice filled the area.
Sarah didn’t hesitate to react. She pulled the rifle and aimed it at the stranger, but she kept herself from pulling the trigger when she saw it wasn’t a soldier or anyone who even looked Imperial. It was an old man, a friendly-looking one, at that, who raised his hands above his head when she aimed the Firepuncher at him.
“Sarah, he’s a friend,” Tech told her.
“Ah,” said the old man. “So this is the famous Sarah.”
She lowered the rifle, releasing any tension she held. “Who are you?”
“Romar Adell, at your service,” the man lowered his hands. “Don’t worry, I mean you no harm.”
Sarah lowered the rifle, humbled by the fact that Tech had mentioned her in the short time they’d been apart. “Can you help me get him up?”
Romar paced towards her and secured Tech’s left side while she took the right, and together they helped him up to standing.
“I told you that you wouldn’t get too far in your current state,” Romar told Tech. “Now stay here, Ace.”
Sarah’s features softened and she looked at Tech. “Ace?”
Tech locked eyes with her, and beneath his goggles, his gaze softened at her as well. The tenderness in her voice was undeniable, as was the vulnerability in the word she’d spoken.
“A coincidence,” Tech told her.
“Excuse me?” Romar inquired.
“Someone we care about used to call her that,” Tech explained.
Before Sarah could allow herself to feel any more emotion, the loud roaring of engines filled the area around the forest. What was alarming about that was that it was not the sound of the Marauder. Sarah recognized it as the sound of V-Wings.
“There’s a speeder bike and a cable we can use to get your friends out of the chest,” Romar looked at Sarah.
“Why don’t I give some cover, and you can get them out?” She said.
“I don’t mean to disrespect you,” Romar hesitated, “but how are you going to cover us against fighter ships?”
Sarah held the Firepuncher up. “Target practice.” She then looked over at Tech. “You stay here, I don’t want your leg getting any more hurt than it already is.”
“I suppose telling you it cannot get much worse will not change your mind?” Tech asked her.
“Stay here,” Sarah reaffirmed, and with a look over at Romar, she gestured it was time to follow through with their improvised plan.
The two ran nearer to the cliff where the trees cleared out; Romar attached the long cable coiled at the edge to the lonely speeder bike and got on it, putting its thruster in reverse at max speed. While Sarah felt hopeful she’d see Echo and Omega again soon and safe, she locked her sights on the first of the V-Wings that approached at a daunting speed.
Keeping track of the fighter ship seemed more difficult to do through the Firepuncher’s scope, and steady as she was, Sarah fired and missed up to three bolts.
Focus, she told herself. Planting her feet more firmly on the ground, Sarah inhaled deeply and looked down the scope once more. Much to her fortune, that first V-Wing seemed to be approaching her directly, making it easier for her to aim at the ship’s cockpit. Before giving it the chance to move anymore, Sarah pulled the rifle’s trigger, sending the bolt straight through the middle of the cockpit.
The ship spiraled out of control and crashed on the ground in flames, and upon impact, Sarah felt the icy cold sensation returning to her marks. Though unpleasant, she paid no mind to it at the moment. She couldn’t when there were another two V-Wings threatening her and her family.
Just as Sarah was aiming for the next ship, she heard the familiar whirring of the Marauder approaching. The modified Omicron-class attack shuttle rarely looked so beautiful as it did at that moment, and it quickly outmaneuvered the V-Wings enough to give the rear turret a clear shot, sending the second one crashing down.
Only one remained.
“We need to go now,” Hunter said through comms. “Can you take the other one down while we make an approach?”
Sarah pulled the comm near her lips. “I sure hope so. Make your move.”
Being so focused on the last V-Wing, Sarah hardly even noticed when Echo and Omega emerged safely from the cliff. They grouped behind her and waited for the Marauder to approach as well as for Tech to emerge from the forest aided by Romar, and now that they were all together, there was only one priority left. The Marauder made the approach and its platform opened, revealing Wrecker.
“Sarah?” Hunter spoke through the comms again, audibly worried.
“Hang on…” Sarah whispered, aiming for the ship.
It was moving directly towards the Marauder. At that angle, she wouldn’t have a clear shot like she did with the first one, and it was too close a call to mess it up. She’d have better odds of taking it down if she aimed for the engines. She calculated the speed at which it moved, angled herself, and when the time was right, Sarah fired the rifle and the blue bolt flew through the air until it impacted the ship’s engine, and it spiraled down crashing into the war chest below, and a heap of rubble, smoke, and flames fell down to the lower levels of the forest.
“Nice shot,” Hunter said.
Sarah put the rifle away and turned around as Echo and Omega climbed onto the Marauder. Sarah supported Tech as he tried to stand, and the two faced Romar, realizing it was time to say goodbye.
“Thank you for helping him,” Sarah told him with a slight bow of her head.
“Don’t mention it,” Romar answered. “You’ve got some skill and decent firepower despite that just being a rifle. Do me a favor and make it count.”
The words resonated with Sarah, and for a moment, she thought back to what Echo was saying about doing more. Seeing that Romar lived on Serenno, she figured he of all people had cause to hate the Empire, to be tired of tyranny and destruction. She thought of her own reasons to hate the Empire, and with resolve, she nodded.
“I will,” she said.
Romar then looked at Tech. “Take care, Ace. Or I’ll ask her to take care of you.”
“Don’t worry,” Sarah smiled. “He’ll be safe on my watch.”
Romar nodded at her and Tech, and finally, it was time for them to go. Echo and Wrecker held their arms out to help Tech onto the ship, and once he was safely in, Sarah jumped in. As the Marauder took off, Sarah managed one more salute at Romar before the ship’s platform closed, and wishing him well, they were now on course to leave Serenno.
Sarah rested the Firepuncher rifle on the wall after locking its safety pin, and quickly, she ran over to one of the passenger seats in the cockpit where Tech was sitting and getting his leg examined by Echo. She kneeled on the durasteel floor and reached for his hand, giving him a gentle squeeze with her fingers.
“I’m here,” Sarah told him.
Tech grunted in pain, but he managed a smile. “You know, seeing you emerge from the forest like that, I figure that’s what other clone captains and commanders would feel when seeing their Jedi general amidst battle… before the end of the war, at least.”
Sarah grinned. “Yeah, well, you could never hurt me.”
The slightest hint of a smile appeared on Tech’s lips before he groaned in pain, squeezing Sarah’s hand even harder.
“This will just last a bit,” Echo reassured.
“It is customary to provide painkillers before making any limb adjustments,” Tech began. “Although, given the urgency of this fracture and the need to provide treatment, I would understand the lack of reason behind waiting for painkillers to set in, though I certainly wouldn’t complain. After all, it’s not as if I have not waited long enough already. Several hours have already passed since the incident.”
“You should have given him the painkillers first,” Wrecker nudged Echo.
“Leave him alone,” Sarah defended. “I think the infodumping as a pain management technique is adorable.”
“You think droids are adorable,” Wrecker pouted.
Echo, Tech, and Wrecker continued to bicker, and all the while, Sarah realized she hadn’t let go of Tech’s hand. There was no problem. She found that she didn’t want to let go of his hand anyway.
Sarah did, however, notice a set of eyes looking at her hand in Tech’s, and rather than focusing on flying the Marauder, they were laden with sorrow and with jealousy. Then, Hunter finally looked Sarah in the eyes. She maintained eye contact with him before finally averting her gaze and gave Tech’s hand one last squeeze before getting up.
“I’ll look around the ship and see what we can use to stabilize that let,” Sarah said. She then walked away from the cockpit and made her way towards the back of the ship, where Omega was sitting with her trooper doll in her hands. Her big eyes looked at Sarah, and the usual warmth of her smile made Sarah realize how cold her marks still felt.
“That was some really good shooting, Sarah,” Omega said. “I…”
Omega looked over at the Firepuncher resting on the wall, and then she looked at Sarah again. “I think Crosshair would say the same too.”
The hole in Sarah’s chest deepened at the mention of his name as multiple thoughts swarmed through her mind. Crosshair, Tech, Tech’s injury, the fact that Sarah had just ended the lives of multiple troopers. Still, the sight of Omega smiling at her eased some of that. If a child as pure and kind as Omega could still look upon Sarah and smile, she maybe didn’t have anything to feel terrible about.
Eventually, Sarah found it in herself to chuckle. “Nah, Crosshair would be teasing the hell out of me. It’s his way of showing love.”
“Well, then…” Omega continued. “We should find him and tell him about today. See how he reacts.”
Sarah looked straight at Omega. She refused to use the child to convince Hunter to go after Crosshair again—she wouldn’t open that can of worms again. However, after Kamino, Sarah hadn’t really thought of seeing Crosshair again.
It had really felt like the end at one point.
“We should,” Sarah agreed.
Omega smiled and put her doll aside. “Can I help out with Tech?”
“You sure you want to do that?” Sarah asked her. “It’s not going to be a pretty sight.”
“I know, but I can handle it,” Omega replied. “I was in the medical wing before we met, remember?”
Yet another reminder that hit Sarah like a training bolt. Sometimes, all she wanted to do was think of Omega as a child, not as anything else.
Sarah gave as cheerful a smile as she could manage. “Right.”
Omega jumped off her chair and went to look for a couple of steel rods she knew happened to be lying about the ship, and with excitement, ran off to the cockpit to aid Tech. Sarah stood in the empty midsection of the Marauder thinking about what would come next.
But, for now at least, Tech needed her with him. She’d have more than enough time to begin her own quest when they returned to Ord Mantell.
Thank you for reading! Please reblog to support me!
Taglist: @nunanuggets @rexandechosandwich @redheadgirl @coffeyorky @arctrooper69 @wildmoonflower @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @stardust9905
Let me know if you want to be tagged!
Next Chapter ->
#the bad batch#the bad batch fanfic#the bad batch fanfiction#moonstrider writes#oc sarah adhara#tbb tech#tbb hunter#clone force 99#tbb tech fanfic#tbb hunter fanfic#tbb tech x oc#tbb hunter x oc#tbb crosshair#tbb wrecker#tbb echo#tbb omega#star wars tbb#star wars fanfic#tbb fanfic#tbb fanfiction
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Saachi and Hunter exploring the waves of Pabu together.
Inspired by this one-shot from @sev-on-kamino
#if anything happens to pabu-#jen when i catch you jen#lizart#my art#saachi gunder#sunter#sergeant hunter x oc#tbb hunter x oc#star wars oc#the bad batch oc
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Safe Haven
Inspired by the Whispers of Ghosts Series by @queenquazar. Check her out if you love Hunter, Paz Vizla, Call of Duty, or anything Pedro Pascal!
Notes/Warnings: Aftermath of torture/interrogation. Part two to Interrogations and Scraps of Hope, background TechPhee. Bright is meant to be read as both an OC and a Reader Insert.
When Bright woke up, there was a woman standing in the doorway of an unfamiliar room.
"Who-" She coughed from a dry throat, "-Who are you?"
The woman, with dark skin and matching ringlets coiled on top of her head, motioned for Bright to calm herself and handed her a glass of water. It was cool and refreshing, with a light fruity taste that hinted at vitamins.
"The name's Phee, Liberator of Ancient Wonders, at your service," She gave a bow, "And you're the famous Bright."
Bright's breath caught in her throat in a mild panic. Where was Hunter? Had she dreamed her rescue? Where was she?
Phee smiled at her kindly.
"Don't worry, you're safe. You're in my hometown of Pabu. 'Mega and her friends have told me all about you.
Bright bit her lip, trying not to act like the startled child she certainly felt like.
"Where's Hunter?"
Phee nodded just past Bright's shoulder, and Bright realized what she'd mistaken for a rather heavy blanket was, in fact, Hunter, with his arms wrapped tightly around her chest and her waist, his calm, even breath stirring the hair on the back of her neck. She bit her lip to keep from crying at how sweet he looked when he was asleep, and how safe she felt just knowing that he was there.
"No one could pull him away from you. Not that there was much excuse to. He came out unscathed. Brown Eyes saw to your injuries. You've been asleep for a while, but you're gonna be fine."
"Brown Eyes...?" She thought she was the only one with that kind of nickname.
"Tech," Phee's smile softened just a touch, "I assume you wanna get up and walk around a little?"
Her legs were starting to cramp a bit.
"I... I don't want to wake him up," She whispered, looking back at Hunter.
Phee blew off her concern, "He'll be fine. Besides, I wanna see the look on his face when he wakes up and sees you're not here."
Phee's chuckling was contaigious, but as Phee reached for her hands to pull her out of bed, Bright felt a sleepy growl reverberating deep in Hunter's chest and crawling up her spine as his arms tightened around her.
"Keep your hands off my SW."
The heat rushed to Bright's cheeks as Phee rolled her eyes.
"I can't get anything past you, can I Dark-and-Broody?"
"I'd like to see you try," Hunter kept his eyes shut as he buried his face in Bright's hair.
"What's with the nicknames?" Bright asked, feeling a bit left out.
Hunter lifted his chin to rest it on her shoulder, eyes still half-closed in drowsiness. "A habit left over from our charming former employer. Tech has the pretty nickname because she's sweet on him."
"And what about it?" Phee cocked her hip to the side and folded her arms.
Hunter grunted, and Phee rolled her eyes with a smile, making her way out of the room.
"There's fruit on the table if y'all get hungry!" She called over her shoulder.
Bright listened as Phee's boots echoed through the house until a door shut behind them. She heard Phee outside a moment later, talking to what sounded like Tech. The window next to the bed she was laying it was open, and a breeze drifted over them. Bright closed her eyes, savoring the moment for as long as she dared.
"How are you feeling?" Hunter asked.
She blinked her eyes as they watered just a bit.
"Sore," she sighed.
Hunter propped himself up on his elbows, and bright turned on her back so that she could look up at him.
Hunter gently caressed the back of his finger along her cheek. His knuckles were calloused, but his touch was soft. Bright's eyes fluttered shut again as Hunter leaned down, gently kissing her brow where a fresh scar rested.
Bright tensed at the reminder.
"I have to get back to Alderaan-" She swung her legs over the side of the bed and ignored the thrumming in her head.
"Mesh'la," Hunter grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him.
"I have to get back, the refugees, Rex-"
"Rex is reorganizing his people. You need to rest." Hunter succeeded in pulling Bright back into his arms, once again wrapping an arm around his waist and the other around her shoulders. He tugged at the loose fabric (one of his uniform shirts) to allow him access to place a kiss on her shoulder.
Bright went limp in his arms. Though she hated it, the inner social worker in her soul knew he was right.
Her bottom lip trembled, and Hunter felt it in her entire body.
"What's wrong? What're you feeling?" He asked.
Bright took a shaky breath.
"I didn't tell them anything," She repeated uselessly, "Not about Crosshair or Omega, or you, or us-"
Hunter took her chin in his hand, turning her to face him as he planted a heated kiss on her lips before her thoughts could spiral further.
"I know," He murmured gently, "I'm so proud of you."
Bright took a shuddering breath, trying to calm herself, and rested her head against his chest. Hunter held her close, and gently lowered them to lay on the bed.
He knew she would rather die than let innocent people suffer. The imperial and the bounty hunter who had snatched her were dead. Nothing was revealed, everyone was safe. For now.
They wouldn't be the last to come after her. The Empire would hardly be deterred from stopping a rebellion after one upset. And her operation had been compromised. Someone had betrayed her.
She wasn't safe.
"The people I've helped, what if the Empire goes after them?"
"That's not going to happen." Hunter said firmly.
"Rex will find the traitor. They won't be able to hurt anyone else again."
Bright shook her head. "That's not enough. I cant trust anyone anymore. I'm going to have to start everything from scratch."
Hunter was quiet for a long time.
"You can trust me," He said quietly. But he sounded uncertain. Was he asking if she trusted him?
She did. That was the unflinching truth. She trusted him on Kamino, and she trusted him now. Even when she thought so little of herself that he wouldn't come for her, he ignored every warning and found her.
He came for her.
Bright pressed her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes. She thought of the safety she had felt, just knowing that he was close, that he was there, that he would do anything and everything to keep her safe, even if it risked certain death.
"I know."
#lizart writes#sergeant hunter x reader#sergeant hunter x oc#tbb hunter x reader#tbb hunter x oc#hunter bad batch x reader#hunter bad batch x oc#whispers of ghosts#wog#queenie 👑
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Starry could I get
7. cuddling and eventually falling asleep
Author's choice on OC but I think Sola would be really cute for this one
(With much love, @dickarchivist )
Peace
Pairing: Hunter x OC (Sola info here)
Summary: Hunter and Sola cuddling.
Warnings: None. Fluff.
WC: ~500
A/N: Thanks for the ask, friend! This is my first time posting anything Hunter x Sola related and I am soft for them. 🥹
Sola lay on her bunk, the steady sound of rain pelting The Marauder oddly comforting. They had just returned from a mission and were back on Ord Mantell for a few rotations, a nice break amidst the back-to-back jobs she and 99 were sent on by Cid.
She was trying to research their next assignment, but her eyelids were heavy in the rare tranquility of The Marauder. The boys and Omega were still at Cid’s parlor, having a drink and decompressing. Sola had her drink and retreated to the ship, wanting to take this opportunity to hit the refresher and relax.
Sola perked up when she heard footsteps up the gangplank, Hunter stepping aboard the ship.
Sola smiled, knowing he probably wouldn’t be far behind her.
“Mind if I join you?” Hunter took off his helmet and began undoing his armor.
Sola sat up more in her bunk.
“Only if you hit the ‘fresher first.” She lightly teased, watching as he meticulously stacked his armor near his bunk.
Hunter let out a low chuckle, now just in his blacks. “If that’s what it takes.”
Sola hummed in response, laying back down on her bunk.
Hunter stepped into the refresher and emerged not too long after in a fresh pair of blacks.
Sola scooted over in her bunk, Hunter settling in next to her. There wasn’t much room, but neither of them minded. Sola tucked herself into Hunter’s side, his arm keeping her close to him. She rested her head on his chest, and she heard and felt him let out a long breath.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the rain the only sound in the ship as Hunter’s fingers drew gentle circles on her arm, letting himself unwind.
Sola’s eyelids were fatigued again, Hunter’s warm body and steady breaths lulling her further into a state of relaxation, something they both realized they hadn’t had in some time.
Hunter could hear Sola’s heartbeat slow as she melted against him. Her scent enveloped him as he pressed his lips to the top of her head, feeling her snuggle even closer up against his body.
“How long do you think we have until they come back?” Sola mumbled, barely fighting off sleep.
“Not long.” Hunter’s own eyes were falling heavy, his body and mind begging for rest.
“Then we better enjoy the quiet while it lasts.” Sola murmured, threading her fingers with his across his chest.
Sola felt safe, unworried as Hunter’s hand gently squeezed hers. Feelings she thought she’d never feel again before being in Hunter’s arms.
Soon, Hunter’s soft snores joined the sound of the rain. Sola faded into a serene slumber shortly after, entwined in one another, content and at peace, at least for a little while.
Taglist: @crosshairlovebot @sev-on-kamino @kimiheartblade @wizardofrozz @clonemedickix @sunshinesdaydream @kashasenpai @freesia-writes @multi-fan-dom-madness @aconstructofamind @dreamie411 @dystopicjumpsuit @wings-and-beskar @starqueensthings @idontgetanysleep @secretthegriffin @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @secondaryrealm @littlemissmanga @maybethatfanfictionwriter @pb-jellybeans @wanderer-six @king-chaos-world @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @523rdrebel @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @sleepingsun501 @cw80831 @dangraccoon @din-miller @mythical-illustrator @eternal-transcience
Divider by @dystopicjumpsuit
I will be tagging my OC posts as OC:Sola if you aren’t interested in OC stuff!
#oc:sola#the bad batch#hunter x oc#tbb hunter x oc#the bad batch x oc#tbb oc#the bad batch oc#star wars oc#hunter tbb#tbb hunter#clone x oc#jedi oc#starrycatwrites
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Febuwhump 2024 - Day 6: “You Lied to Me”
Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars)
Characters: Jaye N'Cante, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Omega
Word Count: 661
Content Warning: None
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Summary: Hunter’s cryptic farewell leaves Omega worried
***
Omega raced through the spaceport, finally arriving at the Marauder to find Hunter and the Batch getting ready to leave. She watched as Wrecker and Tech took inventory, arguing about weapons and explosives. Wrecker’s grumbles rang throughout the port as he begrudgingly dropped a crate and walked off, leaving Tech shaking his head in disappointment. When the burly clone had told her about the mission, she had started to worry, wondering why she hadn’t been told about it earlier. Omega scanned the scene until she found Hunter leaning against a pillar a ways off, his arms crossed as he seemed to be talking to Jaye.
“...I know, I know, but since Echo is off with Rex, I need you to take care of her while we’re gone,” Hunter murmured, rubbing Jaye’s upper arm with his thumb as she wiped her eyes. “We’ll be back soon, I promise.”
“Please don’t say that, we both know it’s not true!” Jaye shot back, her voice cracking as she spoke. A sense of anxiety spiked in Omega’s chest. What are they talking about?
The young clone’s shoes slapped against the floor as she approached them, alerting Hunter of her arrival. Jaye saw her and pulled away from Hunter, turning her back to them as she recollected herself.
“Hunter?” Omega asked. “What’s going on? Where are you going?”
Hunter kneeled before Omega. “We’re… going on a mission. It’s really dangerous, so you and Jaye are going to stay here.”
“But,” Omega started. She glanced at Jaye, who had pushed her hair behind her ear and was watching her and Hunter out of the corner of her eye. “You promised that you wouldn’t leave me behind.”
“I know, kid,” Hunter answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I need you to do this. We’ll be back as soon as we can, and as soon as we are, I’ll bring a big carton of Mantell Mix to celebrate, alright?”
Omega said nothing. She was still apprehensive, still confused on why it was so important she and Jaye stay behind. Hunter sensed her confusion, so he reached over and grabbed his helmet from a nearby crate and handed it to Omega.
“Hold on to this for me, will you?” Omega stared at the helmet, then at Hunter. He smiled half-heartedly as she took the helmet and held it close to her chest. Hunter stood, ruffling Omega’s hair before turning to Jaye. Tears continued to stream down her face as Hunter pulled her close, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Jaye buried her face in the crook of his neck, her eyes screwed shut. Omega's heart hurt at the sight. She didn’t understand what was happening, why Jaye was so devastated when Hunter promised he’d return.
“Hunter!”
Omega looked to see Wrecker waving Hunter over, he and Tech already in the ship. Hunter glanced back at Jaye, who nodded through teary eyes. Hunter squeezed her hand before turning and hurrying to the Marauder. He ran up the ramp and glanced over his shoulder, meeting Omega’s eyes. Omega stood there, watching Hunter as the ramp raised, concealing him from view. She gripped his helmet in her hands as the Marauder took off, glancing at Jaye to see her still crying, a hand covering her mouth as she watched the ship disappear.
“Why…?” Omega cried, tears streaming down her face as she fell to her hands and knees. Stars from far away galaxies lit up the night sky, their glow drowned out by Ord Mantell’s light pollution. It had been weeks since Hunter and the Batch had left, only to hear from Tech and Wrecker that their brother had sacrificed himself for the sake of the mission.
Hunter’s helmet lay before Omega, practically untouched by the young clone as she waited for the arrival that never came. Omega wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed, her tears dissolving into the ground as she whispered, “Why? Why did you lie to me?!”
***
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Ultimate Masterlist
🫶🏽 Like, Comment, and Reblog! 🫶🏽
#febuwhump#febuwhump 2024#febuwhumpday6#the bad batch#tbb#tbb oc#tbb oc jaye#tbb hunter#tbb wrecker#tbb tech#tbb omega#tbb hunter x oc#hunter x jaye#janter#star wars#fanfic#fandom#writing community#creative writing#writers on tumblr#writeblr
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So.
For reasons (involving my in progress Hunter x OC fic)
How does one describe a Togruta.
Because I am STRUGGLING to do so with Florence and I need to for the next chapter (spoiler, it’s Hunter’s perspective and in his head he acts like a lovesick puppy. Only in his head though)
So if anyone can provide help it’d be greatly appreciated!
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Sooooo.....
The Bad batch is back in town baby😎
I made this drawing when s2 was coming out, and I thought I would upload it here because more drawings are coming with my OC❣️
(not rn because of artblock :<)
#the bad batch#the bad batch hunter#the bad batch oc#bad batch oc#original character#sergeant hunter x reader#hunter x reader#tbb hunter x reader#tbb hunter x oc#the bad batch season 3#star wars#starwars fanart#swtcw#sw tbb#digital art#oc#oc art#i hope this reaches the right audience#too much tags#lmao
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Illicit Affairs - Chapter 17
Captain Rex x OC
Chapter Summary: Talia catches up and unwinds with some old friends on Kamino, but does she make a choice she'll regret?
Chapter Rating: E
Warnings: Angst, Smut. Piv, drinking, drunk sex.
A/N: please don't hate me you guys lol. I swear things will get lighter for a moment. Getting close to the endgame now! Thanks as always to @galacticgraffiti for being a wonderful Beta reader! As always, comments/likes/reblogs are so SO appreciated.
Ao3 Link
Series Masterlist
Rex had one time tried to tell Talia that every day on Kamino wasn’t rainy, that sometimes the sun peaked out behind the gray veil of clouds, but the past two days spent in Tipoca City felt shrouded in time, Talia’s internal clocked screwed up as she shuffled from briefing to briefing. She met with cadets, all of whom seemed in awe at the presence of a Jedi. It was sweet how they spoke with excitement, but Talia couldn’t ignore the twist in her gut as they vowed their unwavering support to the Republic. So young, yet that was the only life they were told about. At lunch she ate with Storm, who had attended his own sessions to assist training cadets as well, but Storm could sense something had been going on with Talia lately. He had been watching her closely since Turia, maybe just checking in on her as she recovered, but by now she was ready to snap at him, no longer wanting to deal with his probing gaze.
It was almost dinner time, and she knew he would be waiting again. But Talia wasn’t hungry, and didn’t feel the urge to risk him asking too many questions about why her mood was so downcast as of late. She debated heading to a training room again; she hadn’t gotten much further with her progress with force lightning. She really did rely on an output of rage to create it, so each burst seemed weaker than the last. She tried delving into her mind, finding fuel for the energy while she trained, but the dark place it took her was taxing. She was torn between the drive for the power, and the mental wall she had put up against it. She knew it was risky even dabbling with it this much. But she wanted to try it more. There had to be good use for a power like this, the Council just didn’t see it yet.
She knew also that she shouldn’t push herself, though; the process was physically and mentally draining. Her knuckles were raw and bruised already from not taking proper care in her earlier training. A residual ache lingered in her body from the exhaustion of pushing herself past her limits. Talia had enough sense to know she shouldn’t push it more for the day, but now found herself wandering the too-bright pathways of Tipoca City.
Pacing through the halls, Talia paused to watch the ever-storming weather outside, her gaze following a graceful aiwha as it flew out of the water, battling against the wind before diving back into the thrashing waters.
“General Riva!” A booming voice called from her side. Talia didn’t have time to turn but she didn’t need to see who it was; only one clone had such a presence, and quite honestly had the nerve to swoop her up in a wampa-hug that threatened to break her ribs.
“Wrecker!” Talia coughed out in laughter as her feet left the ground. Wrecker quickly placed her back on the ground – the man meant well, at times he just forgot his own strength. Talia grinned at him and took in the rest of Clone Force 99 behind him. She had met them about a year ago, when they had helped the 412th on a mission when the battalion was still in its rebuilding phase after the vicious attack from Maul.
Hunter stood to the side of Wrecker, a small smile of greeting on his tattooed face. Tech seemed more interested in something on his datapad, but mumbled his greetings, while Crosshair stood the furthest back, a signature toothpick in his mouth.
“Good to see you all! Nothing ever seems to change with you guys. Crosshair, your smile is as lovely as ever.”
The sniper rolled his eyes at that, but Talia caught the smallest flicker of a grin threatening to peek through. Hunter stepped forward and held his arm out, which Talia accepted to shake as he spoke, “Good to see you, General. What brings you to Kamino?”
“Just some repairs, picking up some new troops,” Talia shrugged. She tilted her head back, “You all heading to the mess? I guess I should finally head over and get some food.”
“We just got back from a mission-“ Hunter started
“-and don’t feel like dealing with that many regs,” Crosshair added under his breath.
“So, we were just going to head to our quarters,” Hunter finished, ignoring the statement from his brother. He glanced at Talia, back at his squad, then back to her “We actually have some…uh… contraband, if you’re looking for something to do tonight?”
“Offering alcohol to a General? That’s a bold move,” Talia scoffed, crossing her arms. For a moment Hunter looked flustered, as if he were worried she might actually reprimand them when Talia laughed, loosening her posture and slapping him on the shoulder. “You have no idea what I would do for a drink – I’m in.”
The Bad Batch were truly unlike any clones Talia worked with; besides their physical differences, they had their oddities that made them an interesting bunch to hang out with. What they had in common with their reg counterparts, was their bond with each other. The way they would nag and tease one another, a flair for embellishment when recalling war stories. And for Talia it was a needed break, listening to them goof off after having a few beers.
Wrecker found a way to grow more boisterous under the influence of alcohol, Tech would fall into slightly slurred tangents that were loosely related to the topic of conversation which would prompt Crosshair to teasingly taunt him to ‘turn the page’ to the next topic, but Talia caught the way his normally stern face slipped into a smirk as he joked with his brother. Hunter leaned back in his chair, slowly nursing his drink, a light flush on his cheeks. He would occasionally toss Talia an apologetic glance when one of his brothers made a particularly crass joke, but Talia always waved it off with a smile.
The night quickly moved on, Talia and the Batch drinking more of the beer they had stashed away. It was cheap stuff, even more watered down than what Republic offered for free to clones at 79’s; but it worked to give Talia a light buzz. She leaned against the table, laughing and tossing out jokes once she felt more comfortable- Talia knew the Kaminoans would disapprove for so many reasons, but she didn’t care.
Talia thought back to herself at the beginning of the war, unsure and a bit uncomfortable in her new role as a General. Many nights she had secluded herself in her own quarters as the Venator drifted through space, reading into the late hours. Then one time as the ship was docking in Coruscant, Church, Storm and a few others had invited her to 79’s for the first time. She’d been hesitant, but she accepted.
It was nice, seeing her men more at ease; even if they were as unsure how to act with her off duty as she was with them. But they settled in, getting a bit drunk and enjoying each other’s company. For Talia, that was the moment it hit her how close she was in age to the men she served with, how normal hanging out with them in down time felt. She started to make a habit of going, or relaxing in the barracks after a long mission. Maybe it was unprofessional for her as their technical superior, but Talia grew to rely on the downtime. She felt it from the men too: the longer they fought the more they needed these little moments where they could dull the stresses of war. And when soldiers passed on, she was able to look back on those nights as a way to remember them, remember the way they laughed or the dumb jokes told.
That’s why she felt at ease whenever she went out with the 501st, or even now drinking with the Batch. She didn’t know them as well as her own men, but it was easy to sit in and relax with them. The beer was hitting her head, how little food she had that day more obvious as she could feel herself getting drunk. But she didn’t care, she hadn’t laughed this hard in awhile. She felt like the weight that had been resting in her gut ever since Turia was slightly lessened, the laughter easing the tension that settled over her and the alcohol numbing the bitterness she felt. Maybe this was made easier by how different Rex was from the Batch. They didn’t look like the regular clones, their voices even sounded slightly different so she didn’t feel that jolt of pain she had been feeling any time she talked to a soldier since she had last seen Rex.
Shit. She’d done it again. She’d thought of Rex.
Talia glanced at the empty bottle in her hand; the drink was obviously not doing its job if she was still being reminded of him. She reached for another full bottle, cracked the lid open and gulped.
“How do you drink so much for someone so tiny?” Wrecker’s voice called out from across the table, a teasing grin on his face. Sure enough, about half a dozen empty bottles sat in front of him, and the large clone seemed barely buzzed.
“I handle my booze just fine,” Talia answered seriously, not realizing the evident slur that would lay in her voice nor predicting how when she waved her hand, she would knock over the empty bottles in front of her. The boys laughed at her clumsiness, and she grinned bashfully, reaching down to pick up the bottles. “In my defense, I would have done that sober.”
It turns out the Bad Batch had a decent beer supply, pulling out a new case and drinking more. Talia still more observed their conversation, her eyes being drawn to the waves outside the window once more. How they thrashed against the foundations for Tipoca City, the lights from the buildings reflecting against the surface before it faded into darkness, the waters a black void in the nighttime that would occasionally be illuminated by bolts of lightning.
Talia was vaguely aware of the boys getting into a brotherly argument, catching a glimpse of something that sounded vaguely like a plan to head into the shooting range. As the ranking officer present, she probably should have had the sense to say something along the lines of ‘alcohol and blasters don’t mix’ but she was more fascinated with the sight out the viewport. The door slammed shut, a silence settling in the room with the absence left from Tech, Crosshair and Wrecker. Hunter grabbed a few bottles, placing them together to slightly tidy up, his eye flicking to Talia as she sat with her thoughts. She held her bottle in her hand, the cool glass against her skin as she twisted it in her fingers, the ale sloshing inside, a poor mimicry of the waves outside.
“Everything ok?” Hunter asked, nudging Talia and breaking her from her silent periphery. Her head jerked to the side, glancing at him. Talia stilled her movements of the bottle, instead, tilting it back and swallowed the remaining booze.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Talia answered right after as Hunter raised a brow doubtingly. Talia sighed. “Just had a long training day, that’s all.”
Hunter huffed out a laugh. “I understand that; whenever we come back around the Kaminoans run us through every possible test and training routine.”
“Coming home isn’t just all fun?” Talia asked, already knowing the answer. Kamino might be home to the clones, and some had differing degrees of sentimentality to it, but there was nothing ‘homey’ about the aquatic world that she had witnessed these few days.
“It’s not all bad; don’t have to deal with clankers, but I guess we have to trade them in for the Kaminoans,” Hunter answered, earning a giggle from Talia.
“Not that I’m complaining, because it was nice to see a more relaxed side of you, but why did you spend your night with us? Surely you must have had more exciting things to do?” Hunter seemed sincere with his questioning, a curious glance in his eye.
“Not at all; I’m not a very exciting person.” Talia shrugged, earning a disbelieving huff of laughter from the clone next to her.
“I doubt that,” Hunter replied, leaning against the table to smirk at her. Talia rotated on the bench, swinging her legs over it so she sat facing him. Maybe it was the influence of the cheap beer, but it really was hard to tell he was a clone. Hunter didn’t have the same sweet honeyed eyes of his brothers; his were smoky, like everything else about him from his long hair to the tattoo covering half his face. Talia always felt the tattoo acted as a mask half the time; imperceptible emotions hidden away under it. A fierceness that hid a layer of softness underneath. She couldn’t quell the curiosity in her mind that wondered how far the skeletal pattern went on the rest of his body.
“Oh, I mean it,”” Talia insisted, taking one last sip of the beer in her hands; she didn’t even realize she had been that close to finishing another one. Her cheeks were warm, the room slightly swaying but she contributed a part of that to the waves rocking outside. Talia pressed her arm against the table, leaning against it and mirroring Hunter’s pose facing her. “Don’t really get up to much. Unless you count that one time I was kidnapped by bounty hunters and held hostage by Count Dooku.”
Hunter looked taken aback for a second at Talia’s blunt delivery, but his face broke into a grin as he shook his head. Talia giggled, feeling a bit lighter by the minute. Maybe this was what she needed. A distraction, her head being somewhere else.
“Still, hanging out with me and my brothers probably isn’t up to your speed,” Hunter continued. “Hope the boys haven’t been driving you too crazy.”
“Hunter, I would be perfectly capable of leaving if I was bored,” Talia rolled her eyes. “Besides, you all are…refreshing. And I needed to unwind a little.”
“So did it help?” Hunter asked, spreading his arms wide on the edge of the table behind him. Talia’s eyes flicked to the way his biceps pressed against the tight material of his undersuit, quickly correcting herself to bring them back to his face. “Hanging out, do you feel less stressed?”
“A bit,” Talia nodded, ignoring the heat settling in her cheeks.
“Anything in particular bothering you?” Hunter asked once again, his voice filled with sincerity. The liquor loosening her lips tempted Talia to talk about everything on her mind; about her own insecurities with the Order and as a leader, how stuck she felt, about Rex. But her last shred of composure allowed her to keep it in, stoppering the bottle of emotions in her.
“Just had a lot of long campaigns in a row,” Talia answered vaguely. It wasn’t a lie. Just withholding the finer details.
“I understand,” Hunter sighed, leaning into the table. “Half the time we aren’t even finished with one mission before we’re getting our next assignments.”
“I just want it all to be over with,” Talia admitted. “No more fighting; I’m good at it, but I never wanted to be a soldier.”
“What did you want then?” It was the type of question that had run through Talia’s brain often these past few days. In theory, it should be simple to answer. But Talia felt a weight pressing on her chest every time she even tried to delve into it.
“I’m not sure, but I know this isn’t it.” Talia answered softly. Hunter’s brows cinched, searching for something comforting to say. If he knew her better, he probably would probe her more, trying to get out of Talia what was really troubling her, what left her in this limbo of doubt. His eyes met hers, soft and reassuring and Talia allowed a smile back, something to signal she was ok.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Hunter assured, “It’s a pretty wide galaxy out there. Besides, you’re an amazing woman, and I don’t think there’s much you can’t do.”
Talia resisted the urge to sarcastically laugh, thinking of all the things she failed at. But Hunter was being so sincere, something about his presence was so strangely calming. It was…nice having this sort of reassurance. Even if she didn’t want to talk more in depth about it, someone being there and seeming to care was comforting. And he was familiar. The way his face scrunched when he thought, the small smile he gave, even the sound of his voice; it was scratching the surface of what she knew. And maybe she had been wrong in secluding herself so much lately, because even just this moment of company was partially filling a vacancy that had been left within her. Or maybe it was the drunken haze settled into her, driving some innate need of hers to be with someone else, to feel something else than the loneliness that she allowed to seep in recently.
Talia wasn’t sure what propelled her to do it, whether it was just the beer or the way he smirked at her, or just how much she craved the touch of another person. But Talia leaned in, pressing her lips to Hunter’s, chasing him back as he mumbled something in surprise.
Hunter did not protest, instead his hands found purchase on her hips as Talia clumsily straddled his lap, his grip steadying her and pulling her tighter to him. Talia moaned into his mouth as her core grinded against the bulge forming in his pants, eliciting a curse from Hunter as he gripped her harder, encouraging her to keep moving against him. The kiss was needy, desperate, remnants of beer lingering on their lips. Talia slid a hand up Hunter’s neck, gripping his hair and tugging lightly. Hunter pulled back for air, and for a moment Talia was worried she had crossed a line but before she knew it aHunter’s hands were sliding lower to grip her ass as he stood.
Talia yelped as she was jolted up. Hunter picked her up and turned them around, just to place her at the edge of the table. He leaned down, kissing her again as Talia’s hand’s found purchase on the front of his shirt, tugging the fabric up.
“Are you sure?” Hunter asked breathily, pulling back to search for any hesitancy from Talia. She shook her head and tugged at his shirt once more. She bit her lip and met his eyes.
“I’ve always wanted to know how far down this tattoo went,” Talia smirked, pressing her hand to his face. Hunter returned the smirk and helped her remove his shirt. He was leaner than Rex, Talia observed, and the skeletal tattoo continued down his torso, black lines over his toned chest and disappearing beneath the waist line of his pants. Before Talia could reach to pull more off him, Hunter’s hands met the hem of her tunic, unwrapping her robes. His eyes glanced up to hers once more and she nodded, her hands meeting his to help speed up the process.
This was no flight of passion, not a moment of devotion and need for one another, where they were the only thing that could satisfy the other’s need; no, it was instinct, it was desperate and rushed.
It was craving the touch of someone else, almost pretending it was something more just to fill the void.
Talia quickly tossed off the last of her clothes, just for Hunter’s rough hands to meet her skin. She moaned as he cupped her breasts, arching herself to press into his touch. His head dipped and he took a nipple into his mouth, swiping over it with his tongue. Talia gasped at the tingling pleasure brought on by Hunter’s mouth, her hands once again landing on his head. Hunter seemed to like it when she tugged on his hair, because he started to suck on her breast, his hand roughly squeezing the other as she cried out.
Hunter pulled back and glanced over her body, the remnants of his spit still glistening over her chest, her legs spread wide and revealing herself completely to him. It suddenly struck Talia, the intimacy of it all, almost too much for what she wanted. She flipped herself over, resting her forearms on the table and sticking her ass out for him to see.
“Fuck me, Hunter,” she sighed, glancing gover her shoulder at him. His eyes were wide as they trained on her wiggling ass. “I want you inside me.”
“Are you sure?” Hunter asked once again as he slowly, hesitantly gripped his cock.
“Yes, just… fuck me already,” Talia ordered, facing forward once more.
Hunter’s hands gripped her waist, his thumbs massaging over her skin as the head of his cock nudged against the lips of her pussy. Her heart was pounding, a thud in her head that could be partially contributed to the ample amount of alcohol in her system. Hunter slowly pressed into her, groaning at the tightness around his cock. Talia winced slightly from the stretch with no foreplay, but relaxed into it, moaning as he settled all the way inside her. The fullness made her eyes roll back into her head, that satisfying relief of having that which she had been craving.
Hunter’s hips slowly rocked back and forth, his breath rugged and hoarse above her as he squeezed the flesh of her hips. His cock dragged along her walls, her cunt squeezing around him.
Talia’s body was still wound tight, a need for something still stirred in her gut and as good as it felt having him inside her she needed even more. Her palms pressed flat on the surface of the table for more leverage as Talia bounced her ass back to meet his strokes. Hunter cursed as Talia met his thrusts, his cock hitting deeper inside her. It ignited something in him, maybe knowing she wanted more was the right push he needed to give it his all. He placed a hand between Talia’s shoulder blades, nudging her down against the table as he fucked into her harder.
Talia’s cheek rested against the cool surface, the edge of the table imprinting along her thighs. Talia squeezed her eyes shut, listening as the room was filled by the jostling of the table, slightly skidding on the floor with each thrust, the slap of Hunter’s hips meeting Talia’s ass, his grunts and her high-pitched gasps echoing along the walls. She felt his hand as it firmly held her back in place, his fingers spread wide against the smooth and now sweat dampened skin. Blood was rushing through her head, her mind numb as she succumbed to the feel of Hunter burying himself in her, each buck of his hips like a lightning strike of pleasure to her gut.
Even in her state, that prickling feeling in the back of her mind reminded Talia how the rest of the batch could walk back in at any moment, that they could see her naked and bent over the table they had all been drinking at moments ago, having all sense being fucked out of her by their Sergeant. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. She needed this, needed to feel him using her for his pleasure. Needed to feel the touch of someone else, get to that precipice of an orgasm that wasn’t from her own hand. Needed to feel something.
Talia’s legs were twitching as they hung off the side of the table, no longer able to rest on the ground as the hot waves of pleasure began to spread through her body. Hunter’s breath grew more frantic, his grunts getting louder as his pace grew sloppy. He lowered himself so his chest pressed into her back, their skin clinging to the other. Talia almost cursed at him for changing the angle when her orgasm was so close, but her words were lost to a cry of pleasure as he slammed himself into her deeper and harder. His head fell in the crook of her neck, his breath hot on her skin. His rasping voice in her ear telling her how good she felt, how hot she was, and grunting her name before he pulled out, spilling hot spurts of his cum on her ass.
Hunter stepped back, his breathing still heavy, his voice husky as he asked, “Did you finish?”
“Yeah,” Talia lied, her own breath still tense. She could feel Hunter’s gaze on her, his own doubt in her words palpable but he didn’t voice it.
Hunter stepped away, murmuring something about getting a towel as Talia slowly pressed herself up. Through the glass on the window she caught her reflection, her hair disheveled, her cheeks flushed, but mostly what she caught was the exhaustion in her face. Her heart rate slowed down,the orgasm slowly fading away, and she was left wrung out. It had felt satisfying while it was happening, it had seemed like what she wanted. But an ache settled in her chest because it wasn’t enough, because it only scratched the surface of what she really wanted. Who she really wanted.
After considering the past few days a victory for having not cried, Talia couldn’t stop the flow of tears that suddenly cascaded down her face. It seemed as though her body was trying to release every bottle up emotion she had through her tears as she heaved out a sob and crouched to the ground.
“Shit, Talia?” Hunter’s called out, rushing back over to crouch where she huddled and hot flashes of mortification hit Talia. She didn’t want to be crying right now, but it felt like a dam had burst, and she could not stop herself.
“I’m so so-sorry,” Talia choked out, trying to stop the tears but all she managed to do was cry harder. Naked. On the floor. With Hunter staring at her as horrified as Talia truly felt.
“Don’t apologize, I should apologize!” Hunter hurried to grab the remnant of Talia’s clothes where they were scattered about. He brought them over to her, seemed like he was going to try and put them on her again but retracted his hands and just held out the clothes for Talia to shakily accept. “Please, what did I do? Did I hurt you?”
“No you didn’t, you were great. I’m just in love,” Talia’s voice cracked out in a sobbing drunken slur.
Hunter stared at her, his horror fading into confusion, then ran a hand through his hair. “Gen-Talia, I’m very flattered but uh-“
Talia actually managed to hiccup a laugh in between her sobs, as she loosely wrapped her tunic on. “No, n-not you. I’m not that drunk.”
“Let me get you some water,” Hunter stood up to grab a canteen as Talia redressed. He pulled his shirt over his head as she gulped it down, then kept a watchful eye on her until she finished it. “Listen, I’m so sorry if you felt I pushed you to do anything, I thought you were more aware and wanted-“
“Hunter, I wanted it,” Talia cut him off. “It’s just…I recently got out of a relationship and thought this would-.”
Talia couldn’t finish the sentence because she herself didn’t know the answer. Did she really think having sex with someone else would magically make her feelings for Rex go away? Did she just want to numb the pain she was feeling and used the first person she could find?
Hunter stared at her for a moment, understanding dawning on his features. He didn’t need Taia to explain further. He just nodded and sat next to her, “I didn’t think Jedi did the whole relationship thing.”
“We’re not supposed to, at least not fully,” Talia explained, still sniffling. “We’re encouraged to love, but are supposed to be able to let go. I’m struggling with the latter.”
“Who was the guy?” Hunter asked after a beat. As Talia bit her lip and looked down he quickly added, “You don’t have to-“
“He’s another clone,” Talia admitted softly. Her hand reflexively went to her neck, searching for the necklace she would usually fiddle with whenever she was thinking or nervous. In another jolt to the gut she remembered she didn’t have it anymore. “He ended it because things were too complicated.”
That was putting it too simply, Talia knew it. And she had a hunch Hunter knew it too by how he looked at her, but he didn’t question it.
“But you love him?”
Talia nodded, wiping her face with the back of her forearm. “Didn’t get to tell him that though.”
Hunter and Talia sat in silence after that. He offered her more water as tears still fell from her face. When she couldn’t cry anymore, she could barely keep her eyes open, the sweet temptation of sleep calling to her.
“You can crash here if you need to, I don’t mind sleeping on the floor,” Hunter offered as he stood up. He held out his hand to Talia, which she accepted while shaking her head.
“No, I shouldn’t. Besides the walk back to my quarters might do me some good,” Talia waved him off. Hunter looked doubtingly at her to which she just rolled her eyes, “I can message you when I get back, does that make you feel better?”
“Yes it does; you can barely stand straight and I don’t want to think you fell into the ocean,” Hunter nudged her with a smirk. Talia actually managed to giggle a laugh at that. She made a last attempt to make herself appear a little bit together in the event that she walked into anyone on her route back, but she accepted it was a lost cause.
The halls were empty, their white glow adding to her already forming headache. She didn’t rush her walk back; even though she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep she was already dreading the feelings that would come in the morning. The guilt she was feeling was gnawing at her, guilt for her own embarrassment, for how Hunter had to see her in that state, and that bit of guilt that made her feel like she had betrayed Rex.
Every bit of this planet reminded Talia of Rex. She should have known drinking would just make that worse. She didn’t expect it to make her admit the depth of her feelings for Rex. How much she missed him calling to check in on her, the thought that she could meet up with him on leave sometime soon, or that they even could have a mission that would bring them together. These empty white halls and the thousands of identical faces just made her ache for the one that now probably wanted nothing to do with her. If she had told him she loved him back on Turia, would he have still ended it? Or would he have fought to keep her, like how she wanted him too?
Talia found herself in her quarters, once again plunged into that darkness with nothing but the void of the sea outside her window. The rain had slowed, the waves lightly rocking instead of thrashing; she wondered if it would actually be a sunny day tomorrow. Her fading buzz tingled through her, her eyes growing heavy as she collapsed in the bed, holding her comm in her hand.
Dawn on Coruscant felt timeless in parts of the city; the buildings rose so high that on certain platforms you couldn’t tell the sun was rising, a peculiar haze just settled into the city. There were remnants of bar goers still out from a few of the clubs that stayed open later, night and morning shift workers trading places in their commutes, freight vessels landing in the atmosphere carrying food, medical supplies, and all the miscellaneous supplies the people of the Republic’s capital needed. It was a bit of a walk from Naobe’s apartment to the train station; Rex had stayed there longer than he should have, but he was still slipping out before she could wake up.
Rex needed to clear his head; he had done nothing wrong technically, but he couldn’t ignore the feeling in his gut, that guilt that made him feel like he had. Maybe Naobe would be upset to find her empty bed that morning, she had seemed fairly interested in him, but Rex wasn’t planning on seeing her again. It was a stupid distraction. One night with a random woman wasn’t going to make him forget how he was feeling. Wouldn’t make him forget Talia. He had known that, yet he still felt disappointed.
Still, he couldn’t dwell on it. He was Captain Rex of the 501st. He had a duty to the Republic, to the brothers who served under him; he couldn’t let his emotions get in the way of that. He would push through like he had pushed through everything else that had come his way.
Rex arrived at the train station; it was empty apart from a couple sitting on a bench near the ticket booth. It was a quick ride to the base, and the next train should only be a few minutes away. Rex glanced at the couple, a Twi’lek man and woman. The man held a bag in his hands, and the woman was leaning on his shoulder, eyes drifting closed as she fought to stay awake. Rex looked away, fiddling with his comm as he felt like he was invading on something too private.
He had muted his comm while at Naobe’s, and had a couple messages. Nothing urgent it seemed, mostly the chat he was in with a few of the CC’s going off. Flicking through them to clear the notification, something else caught his eye that punched him in the gut.
Talia had left him a voice message.
Rex stared at the screen, unsure of if he should wait until he got to base, play the message now, or just delete it and save himself the trouble. But his own desire to hear the sound of her voice won out, and Rex hit play, letting the message echo through his helmet.
--
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"Vagabonds" Chapter 3
Hunter x OC/fem reader - Ongoing Series
Link to Chapter 2: https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/728315714878980096/background-hunter-and-mad-bond-make-love-and?source=share
ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ 18+ ᴅɴɪ
Word Count: 670 (Went REALLY short this time!)
Background: Hiding evidence, meeting a new supporting character. My apologies, this is a connecting chapter and while not super exciting, I think it's sexy cute/bit angsty.
Warning: Nudity, mentions of sex/making love, Hunter fluff, OC angst.
(Credit: Cool moving star dividers by @4ngelic-wh1spers )
Recap: The wooden settee collapsed, having broken in several places, dumping them both onto the rug underneath.
Hunter and Mad laid there shocked for a few seconds.
“FUCK! Cid’s going to have my ass for this!!!”
Mad howled in maniacal laughter.
“Not funny.” Hunter scowled. “She really hates me.”
“We break it up, burn it in the bonfire, and remove the evidence. Then just say we never saw it. We aren’t the only ones who have used The Oasis. You stick to your story, and I stick to mine. Nobody drops the dime on each other, and we might just get away with it.”
Hunter looked at Mad like she lost her mind.
“Trust me. I've known Cid a lot longer than you have. We can do this.”
“Thought you both were friendly or...business associates?”
“Ooh Hunter, my sweet summer Hunk” Mad playfully booped his nose “NOBODY is Cid’s friend. She will do you, I or anyone dirty given the chance. Don’t trust her too much. She’s convenient in small, occasional doses.”
Hunter sighed heavily and gazed down at the broken settee. It was going to be a very long night.
Surprisingly Mad was the first to awaken. Usually, Hunter awoke with the rising sun, however, last night’s activities wore him out. He slept peacefully in Mad’s embrace, snoring soundly. They both smelled of dried sweat, sex, and smoke. The ashes in the firepit from the burned settee occasionally stirred with the gentle morning breeze. The only evidence of their shared conspiracy.
Stretching her arms and legs out from under the blanket, Mad groaned quietly, then embraced Hunter again. She gazed down at him, marveling at how the morning sunlight illuminated his hair, the tattoo on his face, his dark skin. He seemed like such a sweet man. But she didn’t want to get her hopes up that last night would be any more than two people temporarily coupling to quell their inner pain. He was too handsome to stay with one person. He could have anyone he wanted. Candy coated trouble, potentially a bittersweet heartbreak. She steeled herself to be content with what she had last night. Nothing more. Don’t get too attached.
Mad could hear stirring down below on the street. People getting up and starting their day.
A familiar voice called up to the Oasis. “Good morning, Love Birds!” cackling. That guy...again? The drunk from last night. Mad had to get a good look at this character. She carefully slid out from under the covers, grabbed her shirt and slipped it on, parting the potted plants to gaze over the wall to the street below.
A skinny, disheveled man with stringy hair and a beard gazed back up at her and waved. He was coated in dirt and trash. Had she been closer, she would have guessed he might have...a smell. “Hey pretty lady.”
“Don’t you sleep?” she sassed him. “Go home!”
“I am home. This IS my home.” He gestured at the trash piles on the street that were set out for pickup. “How can you expect me to sleep with you and your boyfriend being so noisy?” He smiled innocently.
Mad intended to tell him what a dirty old Gill-Goat he was when a hand suddenly cupped her bare bottom. She screamed in shock and whirled around.
Hunter stood there buck naked and grinning.
“Ohh, you HAVE to stop doing THAT! You’re lucky I don’t have my blaster handy.”
“No pants, no blaster, no worries.” Hunter smirked. He put his arms around Mad and pulled her close. “Who's the stinky guy hitting on you? His funk woke me up from a sound sleep.”
“The drunk from last night. Hey...” Mad half turned to look down at the street below. The man was gone. Disappeared into thin air. “Where’d he go?”
“Mmmm...convenient. Won’t hear your screams of ecstasy when I make passionate love to you again.” Hunter teased. With that he picked Mad up, slung her over his shoulder and took her back to bed.
Pedro says: Please like, comment, AND REBLOG, ya sexy bitch!
To read Chapter 4
https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/730320896366149632/vagabonds-chapter-4?source=share
#the bad batch#star wars#tbb#bad batch#tbb hunter#clone force 99#hunter#sergeant hunter#tbb x reader#hunter x reader#sergeant hunter x reader#tbb hunter x reader#skellymom#tbb fanfic#the bad batch fanfic#tbb hunter fan fic#tbb hunter x oc#star wars fic#clone thirsting#sergeant hunter smut
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Hunter: General-
Nyx: No, no, hold up, rewind.
Nyx: My tongue was down in your throat just a second ago and now you're calling me General??
#star wars incorrect quotes#incorrect clone wars quotes#incorrect star wars quotes#bad batch incorrect quotes#tbb hunter#tbb incorrect quotes#incorrect tbb quotes#tbb hunter x oc#tbb hunter x female oc#tbb oc#bad batch oc#oc: nyx vhagara#jedi oc
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Old Friends
Chapter 3 of Moonwalker: The Flame
{series masterlist} {next chapter} {previous chapter}
{crossposted to Wattpad} {crossposted to AO3}
Summary: Sarah makes contact with someone from her past in an attempt to track down Crosshair. Meanwhile, conflict emerges between her and Hunter due to her closeness to Tech.
Tags/Warnings: Mature. Allusions to polyamory. Angst, mentions of injury (bone fractures) and medical stuff, not graphic.
Word count: 5k
Songs: dirtmouth
Crosshair
The siren whirred with a dull latency in the background. The darkness around him broke with only the faintest of lights, and then he saw the faces. His brothers, all looking at him with remorse. His little sister, disappointed at what he’d become. The nebulous eyes framed by blue swirls and a crescent moon, the only pair that still had any hope in him.
The visual of his family—if he could still refer to them as such—faded when his eyes finally opened and he took in the dark gray walls that confined him into his room. When he realized he wasn’t on Kamino with them, Crosshair felt a hollow sensation in his chest and he ran his hand over his face to try and rub away whatever exhaustion he still felt.
Another day.
He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bunk, his back hunched as he rested his elbows on his knees. The alarm that woke him up wouldn’t stop—it wouldn’t for another minute or so. It never helped that it was the same siren as the ones in Tipoca City that had no other purpose but to ring during the sinking of the cloning facilities, alerting what was so painfully obvious during those eternal moments. That pointlessness had lingered with Crosshair every day when he woke up and prepared himself for another day of physical rehabilitation, but it faded from him that morning when he remembered he’d finally been cleared for duty.
He could finally call himself a soldier again. He could finally do something with his life instead of lingering in the past.
Against his will, the thought of Sarah’s unnaturally starry and colorful eyes returned to his mind. Crosshair repressed the thought as if he could do it with his bare hands, his upper lip curling into a grimace, baring his teeth. He loathed the memory of Hunter stunning her when they both knew she expected something different from them. Crosshair could only imagine the state she’d gone into when she woke up and didn’t see him there. Mercifully—or at least, he told himself that—he didn’t get to see that aftermath.
Crosshair got up hoping he’d get a mission assigned to him at last. Anything at that point would be better than staying stuck on that facility doing everything all over again for one more day.
Sarah
"Hold still, Tech," Echo crooned.
The small room at the back of Cid’s cantina felt crowded with the four of them. Tech lay on a bunk improvised as a medical bed while Echo sat next to him glued to a datapad, his back turned on a larger computer screen he and Wrecker had managed to bring in from the Marauder to make it easier to look out for Tech’s wounds. Sarah sat at the side of the room, the back of her chair pressed to the wall in an attempt to not interfere with anything Echo had to do—all that mattered was Tech’s recovery. And lastly, AZI-3, the medical droid Sarah had met back during the war when Fives was still alive, hovered around Tech scanning the fractured leg, seemingly to no avail. Any time AZI would hover near Echo, Sarah would linger her gaze on her best friend as she tried to decipher what was going on in the former ARC trooper’s mind.
Sarah could see it. The seriousness in his eyes, the way he wouldn't remove them from the datapad. She could even hear it in Echo's voice, low and stern, with only an occasional tremble that gave away how Echo truly felt whenever he had to perform a checkup on Tech's broken leg. Sarah could wonder to herself what it felt like for Echo to the point where his tough exterior would break.
Was it perhaps that he was nervous since it was usually Tech performing the medical checkups? Or did the nerves stem from the fact that Tech was Echo's best friend, and seeing a best friend with such a wound would be distressing for anyone? Or did the x-ray machines and needles and computers beeping with vitals put Echo on edge due to his past in Skako Minor? Perhaps being on the opposite side of all of that would be reassuring, but Sarah would understand it if it was too much for Echo.
"I can take it from here," Sarah quietly told Echo.
Echo's hard brown eyes softened and he finally looked at her instead of the datapad. "No, it's fine. We're almost done. How's the imaging coming, AZI?"
The tiny medical droid hovered over towards Echo once more and wired his right servo to Echo's datapad. "I would describe this x-ray image as mediocre at best."
Echo sighed. "We're going to need to run another scan. Tech, you have to stop moving around."
Tech's head fell on the pillow behind him as he looked absently at the ceiling through goggled eyes. "See what it is like to deal with a difficult patient?"
"See what it's like to be a difficult patient?" Echo replied.
"Patients are difficult because they're in pain," Sarah cut in. "AZI, can we give Tech more painkillers?"
"He already has consumed the daily recommended amount," AZI answered her. "A higher dose would result in symptoms such as drowsiness, fatigue, and accelerated heart rate."
"I do not need more painkillers," Tech said. "It is to be expected that a fracture such as this one would involve higher levels of pain, but I will live."
"No kidding," Echo looked at Sarah. "You should have seen the size of the crate that fell on him."
"I don't even want to imagine it," Sarah suppressed a grimace. "Would it help if I held Tech's leg during the scan?"
"I suppose," Echo set the datapad down while typing into a computer to reprogram the x-ray scan. "Needless to say, Tech, if Sarah holds you, it'll hurt."
"Do what you must," Tech answered. "I understand the importance of medical necessity over comfort."
Sarah moved closer to Tech and looked at AZI for confirmation on when to take hold above Tech's knee and below his ankle. The medical droid then made eye contact with Sarah and gave her a little nod, and Sarah held Tech with as much of a blend of firm and gentle of a touch as she could muster. Upon her touch, Tech flinched in pain and his hand flew over to Sarah's wrist, squeezing her wrist as he tried to manifest the pain on any other part of his body that wasn't his broken leg. Sarah was half expecting Tech to try and get her hand off him, but instead, he held onto her, and all she could do was look at his brown eyes underneath his goggles to try and distract herself from the gut-twisting feeling of seeing him in pain.
"There you go," Echo spoke with a lighter tone when AZI's scanner reached Tech's ankle, a sigh of relief noticeable at the end of his words.
Sarah took a quick look as AZI hovered over to Echo to try and make the imaging visible on the computer, and then she looked back at Tech, who hadn't let go of her wrist yet.
"You did good," Sarah told him, removing her hand from over Tech's knee to help with the pain, but her free hand went to hold the one Tech already had on her.
Tech let out a heavy sigh. "Perhaps... I could try more sympathy towards Wrecker the next time I perform a checkup on him."
Sarah smiled at him. "I'm proud of you for that."
“Well, it looks a lot better than last time,” Echo spoke up and got Tech and Sarah’s attention.
With Sarah’s help, Tech sat up on the bunk and adjusted his goggles to look at the x-ray imaging of his fractured leg.
“My initial estimate of healing time can be reduced by 40% after this observation,” Tech said. “This is good news.”
“Still, no missions for you,” Echo set the datapad down next to him. “I hope you don’t get bored.”
“Boredom will not be a problem for me,” Tech answered. “There are still plenty of calculations I would like to do in order to modify the Ace Auror, plus a couple more improvements for the Marauder.”
“What about that prosthetic hand you had for me?” Echo raised a brow at Tech.
“Even with the 40% reduction in time it will take for my leg to heal, I will have time for all three,” Tech answered confidently. “Though I would need the supplies here.”
“Wrecker and I will get your things before the day’s over,” Sarah told him.
Tech looked at Sarah and smiled discreetly at her, and while still holding her hand, he gave it a light squeeze. Sarah smiled back at him, oblivious to the fact that Echo was looking at them both, his gaze first lingering on the pair smiling at them only to then hover at their hands holding near Sarah’s thighs. Echo gave a soft exhale and found himself smiling softly—it was nice not to see Sarah in pain over a broken heart for a change.
The silence was broken by Wrecker’s booming laughter traveling through the walls, most likely coming from the saloon itself. The much fainter sound of Omega’s laughter followed it, and soon, Wrecker’s laughter turned into a cheer. Sarah figured they could be playing a game of Dejarik to merit such excitement. Maybe Omega had sided with Wrecker and because of her help he’d finally managed to beat Hunter in a match. Sarah would have liked to see that.
Steps then approached the makeshift med bay, and soon, Hunter appeared to fill the empty door frame. His eyes quickly scanned the entirety of the room, and unsurprisingly, he too landed his gaze on Sarah and Tech holding hands. For that moment, Hunter was able to master his own facial expressions and hid his dismay perfectly from the others, but Sarah was still able to feel the pang in his chest, a result of the oath he’d made to her in the kyber crystal caves of Jedha on what had felt like an eternity before that moment.
She should have known none of that would fade.
Hunter averted his gaze from Sarah and Tech and he looked at Echo. “We’ve been assigned a new mission. If you’re all done here, we should go now. Except for you, Tech.”
“How far will you be?” Tech asked him, casually letting go of Sarah’s hand. “If you are in need of technical assistance and are in range, I could perhaps help from here.”
“There won’t be a need for that,” Hunter leaned on the doorframe, crossing his arms. “It’s a simple pick-up and transport of goods.”
“Goods?” Echo raised a brow.
“Weapons,” Hunter clarified. “Just like we did on Ryloth, but here’s hoping we can avoid the whole run-in with the Empire.”
“Let’s hope so,” Echo agreed.
Sarah looked at Tech again. “I’ll make sure to get what you need from the Marauder before they leave.”
“They?” Hunter couldn’t help but question. “You’re coming too.”
“And who’s going to stay with Tech?” Sarah asked in return. “Cid’s hardly the nursing type.”
“AZI is a medical droid, he’ll manage,” Hunter said.
Sarah got up from her chair. “Well, we don’t have to discuss this now. I’ll go get what he needs. Maybe Rigel can help me bring it over.”
Without another word, Sarah left the room and walked down the dark hallway with her intentions of sitting the mission out unchanged. She waved casually at Wrecker and Omega as she walked through the saloon and made her way out into the streets towards the landing bay where the Marauder and the Auror were. When she walked into the landing bay, Sarah’s droid Rigel greeted her with the excitement of a mastiff pup, rolling around her as fast as he could with his servos. Seeing Rigel never failed to lift Sarah’s mood.
“Get a crate ready, will you, buddy?” Sarah told Rigel. “We’re going to take some things back to the saloon.”
Will do! Rigel beeped and got to looking for a crate.
Sarah got into the Marauder and began to round up the supplies Tech would need to work on Echo’s new prosthetic hand while the ship was away. The materials weren’t heavy or difficult to carry, but there were certainly many of them. Sarah had heard Tech talking about the project so many times that she already knew everything she had to get to him, and she was confident she wouldn’t miss anything he’d need.
As Sarah was getting all of the supplies and going back and forth to put them into Rigel’s crate, the squad gradually began to arrive. The first ones were Echo and Wrecker, and they were shortly followed by Hunter and Omega. With her usual excitement for a mission, Omega pranced onto the Marauder, and at a much more normal pace, Hunter would be the last one on the ship, walking up to the platform just as Sarah was approaching the bottom with the last of Tech’s things. Without making much acknowledgement towards Hunter, Sarah walked past him and put the items in the crate, patting the top of Rigel’s silhouette.
“We’re all set, Rigel,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“So you really aren’t coming?” Hunter asked her.
Sarah froze in her tracks—she’d expected Hunter to get on the ship without acknowledging her. She turned around and looked at him only to find him slowly approaching her, armored up and hugging his helmet to his body with his left arm.
“I meant it,” Sarah said. “I’m staying with Tech.”
Hunter sighed. “Alright. I’m not blind, and I’m not stupid either. What’s going on between you two?”
Sarah chuckled. “Am I right to assume you didn’t question Tech this way?”
Hunter’s features hardened ever so slightly. “Well, I’m not mad at him. He’s not the one betraying me with a family member.”
“It’s not betrayal if there’s nothing between us anymore, Hunter,” Sarah looked him straight in the eyes. “You forfeit whatever relationship we had the moment you stunned me instead of Crosshair. Some betrayal you talk about; how do you think I felt when I woke up and realized what you’d done?”
“We’ve been over that again and again,” Hunter said, trying his best to remain calm and to not raise his voice out of respect to Sarah and to avoid being heard by the others on the ship. “What I would rather talk about now is how you just chose to forget about us, about what we had.”
For once, Sarah remained speechless, and she wouldn’t deny that there was still a part of her that wanted to hear him out.
“I mean, do you really not think that our relationship is not worth fighting for?” Hunter continued. “That it’s not worth saving? I know you’re hurting. I know I am responsible for a lot of that hurt, but I have apologized to you over and over. It has been months since Kamino and you still haven’t budged, Sarah. I don’t know what else you want me to do.”
Sarah looked at the ground. “If I’m honest, Hunter, I don’t know what else I want you to do either. I don’t know if I want you to do anything else.”
Hunter sighed, giving a brief shake to his head. “Can you at least promise me that you’re not with Tech just to spite me?”
Sarah looked Hunter in the eyes again, anger and resolve flashing in her nebulous gaze. “Tech has been there for me. He has known exactly how to deal with me every time I’ve needed him, even the times I haven’t known how to say what I feel, what I need from him, from anyone. He has shown me compassion. He has shown me understanding, and I love him for that. So you can rest easy. What I feel for Tech is nothing if it’s not real.”
Sarah could once again feel the pang in Hunter’s chest when she’d said the words even she hadn’t expected herself to say. Hearing Sarah say she loved Tech was a painful truth for Hunter, but it was a truth that needed to be spoken. They needed to be true in what they said to each other if Hunter and Sarah wanted their relationship to survive, in whatever shape it was meant to be. Sarah then gave a brief sigh and looked over at Rigel.
“Let’s go,” Sarah told the droid, but before walking off with him, she stopped herself. She looked back at Hunter with words bubbling in her chest, though she was uncertain of what she’d say to him. Ultimately, she settled for one of the safest things she could tell him. “Good luck, and keep them safe.”
“I will,” Hunter replied. “It’s all I ever try to do. You know that. Or at least, you should know that.”
Sarah looked at Hunter with a blend of disbelief and remorse. A part of her knew that it was true—a part of her had known that all along, even after Kamino, though it had been more difficult to see that truth at the time, and easier to ignore.
She wouldn’t admit it, though. I’ve been hurt too. I was only trying to keep everyone safe and together too, she thought to herself.
With that, Hunter turned around and got on the Marauder. The platform’s hydraulics hissed as it closed, and a whirlwind engulfed Sarah as the ship took off, and she remained there as she watched the Marauder depart, getting smaller and smaller as it flew away until she eventually couldn’t see nor hear it anymore.
Should we go to the cantina, boss? Rigel bleeped at Sarah.
Sarah was still looking up at the starry night sky, her mind slowly drifting back to the more pressing matters at hand.
“No…” She said slowly, her head tilting back down to the ground level. “No, let me do something first.”
She figured now was as good a time as any, away from the cantina, away from the team. Sarah walked over to the crate and found among the items the spare long-range comms transmitter she’d left on the ship, now in her hands. She stood in front of Rigel holding it up, and the droid understood he had to open up the compartment at the top of his head where she could attach it to.
“Thanks, boy,” Sarah told him as she secured the transmitter. Once it was in place, Sarah dialed the frequency she had spent the previous days memorizing, preparing for that moment, an idea that had been planted in her brain by Omega when they were returning from Serenno.
Before making the call, one last step was necessary. Sarah needed to mask the signal’s origin to prevent anyone from tracing her back to Ord Mantell. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him—quite the opposite. But her and her squad’s location was too delicate a matter, and anyone could intercept and trace transmissions those days. So when that was done, Sarah dialed the transmission and waited, hoping he would pick up.
After a few seconds that felt like entire minutes, he finally picked up, and the first thing she heard when she saw his image in the hologram was his familiar, cheerful laughter.
“Well, well, well. My favorite renegade pirate turned fugitive returns!”
Sarah chuckled softly. “Hi, Hondo.”
“My dear Sarah,” Hondo opened his arms as though he would hug her through the hologram. “Too long has passed since I last heard of you.”
“You didn’t think I was dead, did you?” She raised a brow.
“You?!” Hondo laughed heartily. “You can take an army on your own, Sarah. I never thought that for a second. So, what is it you are reaching out for? You have not called and chatted for well over a year now.”
“I’m sorry about that, Hondo,” Sarah’s features softened as she took in that fact. Hondo had looked after her and considered her one of his own after Fives’ death, and she felt awful that she’d essentially repaid him by ghosting. “Things became too complicated after the war.”
“The clones you ran around with turned on you?” Hondo asked with a serious tone now draped over his voice as opposed to his usual carefree demeanor.
“No,” she replied. “Well, one of them… He’s actually why I’m calling you now.”
“I’m listening,” Hondo said.
“One of these clones became an Imperial,” Sarah explained. “He claims it’s what he’s meant for, but I want to break him out.”
Hondo chuckled nervously. “I do not think I can ask my men to raid the Empire for one soldier, Sarah, even with you by our side. Pirates are already under the Empire’s watch.”
“It’s not what I want to ask you,” Sarah reassured. “I just want to locate him, maybe even find a way to track his whereabouts. I’ve been trying to look, but between my mercenary missions and my current team, I need some help in that department. You move around the galaxy more than I do, at least, you did back before the war ended.”
“I still get about now,” Hondo told her. “Not as much, but we make do. Especially around the Outer Rim, but if you’re looking for an Imperial clone, there isn’t much chance he’ll be out here in these lawless planets unless it’s to colonize.”
“He’s not a random soldier, he’s a commander,” Sarah told him. “He leads an elite squad, and I know for a fact he’s been on colonization assignments before.”
Hondo sighed. “You can give me a description and a CT number if you want, and I’d be more than happy to keep an eye out. I’ll spread the word among my comrades and have them let me know if they see him. But it’s a big galaxy. I cannot promise you good odds on this one, kiddo.”
Sarah softly shook her head. “Any odds are better than no odds. This trooper, he’s worth it. And he’s been away from home for far too long.”
She reached out to the long range transmitter and attached the small drive she’d been concealing in one of her pockets, the drive that contained all the information Hondo would need to help her track Crosshair down. The CT number, the tattoo, armor color, the armor details of his squad, his admiral, his rank, everything. Shortly, Hondo received the information, as she could see by a different pirate handing it to him on a datapad.
“You came prepared,” Hondo chuckled as he looked at the datapad.
Sarah chuckled. “Well, we get right down to business, don’t we?”
“We sure do, and I cannot see where you are sending this information from,” Hondo commented. “Very well done.”
“Too much is at stake,” Sarah replied. “We gotta lay low in times like these.”
“Yeah, speaking of…” Hondo said. “You mentioned you’re a mercenary now?”
“Yes,” Sarah answered.
“And you do not work alone,” Hondo inferred.
“My team,” she replied. “And we do report to someone.”
“Anyone I know?” Hondo asked.
Sarah hesitated, but she figured she’d tell him. “She goes by the name Cid.”
Hondo’s features hardened. “Oh… I see.”
“What?”
Hondo briefly shook his head. “Be careful, Sarah. When it’s all about the credits, it’s easy to throw someone under the ship.”
Sarah looked at Hondo as she felt her marks turning icy. She didn’t want to believe the words he was saying. Cid had looked out for them. She’d looked out for Sarah, whether it was with a drink or a roof over her head.
“You don’t have to worry, but I appreciate it,” Sarah told him.
Hondo’s expression didn’t change, and though he was usually talkative, he remained quiet.
“Speaking of credits,” Sarah spoke up. “What’s this favor gonna cost?”
“I won’t ask for payment,” Hondo said, “not from you. Just promise me that if things go south, you’ll come home.”
Home… that was a word Sarah had never thought of in a long time. Her home planet, Jedha, was too obvious of a hiding place for her, and the Empire would find her in the blink of an eye if she stepped foot there. Going to her real home was not an option. And yet, she’d never brought herself to think of Ord Mantell as a home. The concept of home mattered too much to hand it off to a seedy hiding place between missions.
“I can do that,” Sarah nodded.
“Should I send any updates your way using this frequency?” Hondo asked her.
“Yeah,” Sarah said.
“Well then… we will keep in touch,” Hondo crossed his fist over his chest and gave Sarah a brief smile.
“We will,” Sarah hesitated. “Hondo?”
Hondo was about to reach his own hologram projector to close the call, but when he made eye contact with Sarah again, she knew she had his attention.
She was afraid to ask, but she had to. “Anything I need to know about Cid?”
Hondo sighed. “You’ve made it this far with her and you’re in one piece. I assume you’re on her good side and that you have nothing to worry about… but watch your back. It can’t hurt.”
Sarah was afraid of that answer. “Thanks.”
“Call me if you need anything else,” Hondo said, and with that, he cut the connection, and Sarah was left in the landing bay with no one but Rigel, thinking about what Hondo had just said.
She tried to find comfort in the fact that she’d set things into movement regarding Crosshair. She hoped—and prayed—that her and the pirates’ efforts would bloom into something. Maybe the squad had agreed to leave Crosshair to his own devices in terms of his decision, but Sarah knew it was the wrong decision for him and for everyone else.
They’ll find him Rigel beeped softly.
Sarah smiled at the little droid. “Thanks. I really hope so.”
She and Rigel remained there a little while longer before she finally removed the transmitter from Rigel’s chassis and led the way back to the saloon, though not without Hondo’s words lingering with her. He’d warned her, but he’d also told her that if she, and by extension, her squad, had made it this far safely with Cid, they didn’t have to worry.
For once, Sarah would choose to be optimistic, and she’d have faith in Cid and what she’d demonstrated over the months.
The saloon was quiet and empty at that hour of the night. Cid was nowhere to be seen, she’d probably already retired for the night. Sarah walked across the saloon to the back hallways with Rigel and the crate following close behind her, and when they arrived at the room they’d turned into a med bay, Sarah softened at the sight of Tech sleeping soundly.
“Greetings again, Sarah and Rigel,” AZI spoke quietly. “As you can see, Tech is asleep.”
“Good,” Sarah said. “Let’s let him rest. Rigel, you can just leave the crate here.”
You bet! Rigel carefully set the crate down and positioned himself near one of the walls.
While Rigel did that, Sarah walked around the bunk and put herself at the level of Tech’s shoulders, watching him as he slept. His chest rose and fell with ease, the pace deep and steady. Oblivious, Sarah reached her hand out and gently stroked Tech’s shoulder and felt the soft fabric he wore—at least she’d convinced him not to sleep in his armor anymore unless it was necessary. He deserved to be comfortable.
Tech looked peaceful as he slept and, undeniably, beautiful. He’d removed the goggles in order to sleep, and Sarah took in the rare sight of him without them. A soft smile appeared on her lips, and she would have wanted to stroke his hair or his cheek, but she didn’t want to wake him.
“Sarah?” AZI broke the silence.
“Yes?” She asked him.
The little medical droid hovered closer to her. “I found something among my memory backups that I wanted to give you.”
AZI opened a compartment in his chassis and handed Sarah a small drive for her to take and examine.
“It is a recording from a couple of years ago,” AZI said, his voice somber, even for a droid. “The recording is of CT-5555 before things turned… serious.”
Sarah looked at AZI with disbelief. “Fives?”
“Yes,” AZI confirmed. “Not Five. Fives.”
Sarah’s gaze softened as she looked at the drive in her hands again. She hadn’t heard Fives’ voice in so long, or seen the mischievous gleam of his eyes, listened to ideas so bright only he could have them. She missed his laughter and the way he’d look at her, and she missed the way he could balance his fighting spirit with an unfathomable kindness.
Her heart ached as memories of Fives flooded her whole being.
“Would you like to watch it?” AZI asked her.
Sarah stifled a sob. “I would love to, but…” she trailed off. “Echo. He’ll want to watch this too. I’ll wait for him to return.”
AZI nodded. “I believe that is a very noble decision.”
Sarah smiled at AZI. “Thank you for saving this, AZI. You have no idea how much it means to me.”
“I am at your service,” AZI answered. “I can remain with Tech while you get some rest.”
“I can stay awake for a little while longer,” Sarah said. “But I might take you up on that in a few hours.”
“Of course,” AZI nodded again and hovered away from the room.
Sarah took the chair she had been sitting on before and pulled it up next to Rigel so that the two of them could keep Tech company in the meantime. Sarah leaned on Rigel, who enjoyed the proximity, and in the silence, Sarah kept looking at the drive AZI had given her. It was tempting to play it, but Echo was as close to Fives as she was—closer, actually. They were brothers.
Sarah gave the drive to Rigel for safekeeping and remained in the silence with her own thoughts.
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