#cody goes awol

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

It took 2 people to fully convince Crosshair to do a 180 on the Empire - but neither of those people were Bad Batch members.

They couldn't be. What would a squad of defective clones who had been disobeying orders since day 1 know about loyalty to an institution determined to establish order for the good of the galaxy? What would they know about finding purpose in being "good soldiers"?

Now, I DO think the seeds of Crosshair's eventual defection were planted by his brothers. Hunter pointing out that "Blind allegiance makes you a pawn" and then telling Crosshair "All you'll ever be to them is a number" are statements that are proven later to be true. But it takes Cody and Mayday to drive the lessons home.

Cody and Mayday share several characteristics that place them in unique positions to influence Crosshair:

Both are regs who accepted and befriended Crosshair - Cody says he specifically asked for Crosshair for the mission, and Mayday is upfront and friendly to Crosshair right from the start. (Contrast this to the other regs getting up to move tables when Crosshair sits to eat, or the other clone troopers who walk past Crosshair to get onto the shuttle without even sparing him a glance.)

Both are commanders. (I believe Crosshair ultimately respects authority for the most part: even when he was arguing with and challenging Hunter in "Aftermath," he still deferred to Hunter's orders until his inhibitor chip was intensified and he was then promoted to commander.)

Both are loyal soldiers who have served the Empire well - again, these regs are still commanders even under the new government. And we all know how important loyalty to the Empire is to Crosshair at this point.

Both save Crosshair's life during their missions.

In short, both are regs, but they are still soldiers Crosshair can quickly identify with and trust.

I think it's key that Crosshair encountered Cody before Mayday, though. And despite their similarities, both soldiers drive home different points.

CODY

Cody is one of the few regs we know Crosshair already respected - and still respects, given that Crosshair almost smiles when he recognizes him.

(Some proof in case it isn't apparent: Crosshair goes from frowny face...

...to relaxed almost-happy-if-you-squint-just-right face)

Anyway, while Cody does drop some hints early on that he has doubts about the Empire, he is willing to carry out the mission to rescue "Governor" Grotton, showing he will follow orders to a certain extent. However, he shows more restraint than Crosshair might have: he doesn't attack the civilians despite their obvious mistrust of the soldiers, he comes to an understanding with Tawni Ames, he's NOT willing to follow an order to execute her, and he is clearly dismayed and disappointed by her death.

And so, at the end of a "successful" mission, Cody more plainly reveals the depth of his dissatisfaction with following orders against one's own moral scruples:

Hunter had said "Blind allegiance makes you a pawn." And Cody, unwilling to blindly and unquestioningly be a pawn - or act like a battle droid - any longer, goes AWOL.

But that lesson alone isn't enough to make Crosshair turn on the Empire. Instead, he needs Mayday to give him the final push.

MAYDAY

First, Mayday indicates how appalled he is by the idea of anyone leaving their own behind - which we know is a sore spot for Crosshair. But most importantly, Mayday has demonstrated since he was first introduced that he strongly believes in soldiers being loyal to and looking out for each other (which is far different than just being loyal to the Empire).

Second, Mayday unknowingly challenges Crosshair's belief that serving the Empire provides meaningful purpose. (Remember that one of Crosshair's main arguments to his brothers about joining the Empire was so they could "find purpose again.")

Then, he unwittingly goes for the jugular and rips apart the motto Crosshair had adopted.

And then, in case Crosshair has any lingering doubts about the answer to Mayday's rhetorical question, Nolan decidedly answers the question for him.

Hunter had said "All you'll ever be to them is a number," and he is proven right in the most heartbreaking way.

Crosshair had accused his brothers of not being loyal to him; unfortunately, now he sees what true disloyalty looks like. And for Crosshair - severe and unyielding - realizing that he has misplaced his loyalty by giving it to an entity that mocks him and casts him AND those he cares about aside for doing so... this is the final straw.

Thankfully, Crosshair has now rediscovered the people who are worthy of his loyalty.

[cloned-eyes]

Content warning: suic!de attempt

(click for better res)

so i have this hc that Cros and Wrecker are the "close brothers". And especially after Kamino and Cody (considering if his chip got burned out in s1) he deals with heavy depressive moods, guilt and regret.

something that heavily haunts him is the fact how easy it was to shoot his brother during their first escape. After Cody goes AWOL he feels himself sink into a deeper hole. the noose around his neck getting tighter and he just drowns in loneliness, regret and the pain of rejection.

in the end he doesn#t get through with it but he struggles staying afloat

also big thanks to @therisingdarkness for helping me out with the monologue <3

[gospelofme]

Tales of the Empire

I wonder if we’ll get any clone material in Tales of the Empire. Tales of the Jedi touched on a couple different Jedi, it wasn’t just one character and/or storyline. We even got a clone episode with Ahsoka’s training sessions that built up to her having to use those skills to help her and Rex survive Jesse and his battalion. I’d think Tales of the Empire would be the same layout, with different storylines and characters.

We could end up getting an explanation on Cody’s whereabouts and how Wolffe goes AWOL as well. Both of those would be considered Empire Tales. We might even get more Bad Batch stuff, since I’m sure they’d assist Rex or Echo if asked, which would also be considered Empire Tales.

[mformarsala]

ok long-ish post with my thoughts on how tbb might end

Kinda of a fixed point we have is that Hemlock's research should be successful to a certain degree and lay foundation for cloning Palpatine.

My understanding is that Omega's blood function as a medium, substrate that allows to clone force sensitives while maintaining M-count. So you need Omega's blood and someone force sensitive.

Therefore, either Omega stays at the Tantiss (and tbb all die) or she stays just long enough for them to get enough blood (and than gets rescued by tbb)

While tbb casually kills a lot of characters it does not feel in the tone of the series to go the first glum route (and it does not really fit into overall plot).

I think there will be another time skip where they get enough data of Omega before she is rescued and it will serve to explain why after s3 the empire is no longer after Omega or tbb.

Plus partial success would explain why remnants of the empire are after Grogu in the Mandalorian. Say tbb rescues the force sensitive children and Omega, than the empire has enough of Omega's blood but needs more force sensitive children for experiments. And Hemlock is demoted because of the fiasco and it creates the delay till the Mandalorian in the program.

In s1e2 Cut says "You wanna know how to dissapear? Put being a soldier behind you and make a new life for yourself." so it seems likely to me that the ending of tbb is going to be akin the ending of the Mandalorian and they'll settle as farmers somewhere out of the way.

Maybe with the force sensitive kids, maybe they'll offload them onto someone "who can train them".

Emerie is probably going to defect and stay with the kids.

I hope clones imprisoned on Tantiss will be rescued by tbb. Omega keeps bringing it up for a reason, right?

Comandos... Tbb does not seem to be too focused on forcefully removing chips/programming so they'll probably be reassigned to other projects (in assumption that Tantiss closes at the end of tbb) or disposed off screen.

As I'm writing this I'm realizing that i see tbb ending either with a small farm just for tbb and Omega or a big farm for tbb and all the kids accumulated on the way. My money on the small farm though.

There is a possibility I suppose that Omega IS force sensitive and she goes with the other fs kids and tbb goes to live somewhere else.. But like the only thing that suggests that ending is that one line from Ventress. And I think the whole obsession with Omega's blood works differently. It's not confirmed high M-count, it's confirmed high M-count replication.

With how little Echo was in this season it does seem likely that the rumors are true and there will be another animated series. The story of Emerie, comandos, and freed clones might continue there.

Big question of course is the identity of CX-2.

Narratively I think the only option that makes sense is Tech. Plus observations I have seen online regarding speech patterns and fighting moves do seem convincing. However, I do have some reservations here. CX-2 is almost.. too good to be Tech? Absolutely no shade to Tech but he was always part of a team and not a sole operative and focused on technical aspects and his weapon of choice were pistols rather than a rifle. Idk if time skip was enough to retrain him.

CX-2's distorted voice is different from CX's distorted voice. On one hand Tech's voice is different from reg's so it's a point for team Tech. On the other CX's voice sounds nothing like clone's and it was a bit of a reveal in s2 that the operative was a clone so maybe it's neither here nor there.

The second obvious option that comes to mind is Cody. Rampart knows about CX program; a clone that expresses doubts regarding empire is send to a secret reconditioning program and if anyone asks "he went AWOL". I mean it sounds plausible. Plus Cody is usually depicted wielding DC-15 either carbine or rifle so it's perhaps an easier switch to the CX's rifle. Though this season noone is mentioning Cody so it does seem far fetched. Unless face reveal is like the final frame of s3 and is used to pivot into the new series.

[liontalon1]

The bad batch is great and all, but I’d have much preferred a show about Rex and Echos efforts to save the clones. Something like Andor a darker show, this season’s already shown the horrors the troopers are going through let us see those fighting against it.

Or a show about Cody after he goes AWOL, yeah we saw how the batch handled deserting but they weren’t overly loyal in the first place. I’d have loved to see Cody struggle after over coming his chip, trying to both escape figure out his place in the universe.

I think it’s because we’ve known these characters for so long, the regular clones for so long. We watched them struggle without special abilities, we’ve seen them be used as cannon fodder all the while the clone wars makes you care for them. And yeah I’ve grown to love the batch, but I’d be lying if i wasnt constantly looking for Echo or Rex or any of the others. And yeah I’m annoyed with how dismissive they were in previous seasons of the regs and what they were going through, this season is much better thankfully.

What I’m trying to say is that this season better not be the last we see of the clones. There are so many different stories out there to be told, look at how well Andor did. That shows that darker shows work, and an animated show would probably go over just as well. The clone wars came out when i was a kid now as an adult it’s still my favorite Star Wars media. I’m sure I’m not alone in that, and there are plenty of fans that would love that type of show.

[acebirdofprey]

The bounty hunter AU

This is an AU for the Bad Batch

The main thing is how did everyone become bounty hunters.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Obi-wan

He would have to find a way of helping Beru and Owen (they didn’t want Like as there son and believed it was important to keep him as family, Owen even let’s obi-wan live with them). They’re struggling with money and the moisture farm isn’t getting enough. Obi-wan goes and joins the bounty hunter guild and repainted the armour he got from when he went to Mandalore to save Satine. He’s the best bounty hunter in tattoine and is well known because of his force abilities and his great sowrdmanship.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Cody

Before he went AWOL he gave a comm to Crosshair for emergencies. Cody runs and has a bounty placed on him (the bounty only shows his armour). Obi-wan picked up the bounty and they thought. When Cody’s Helmet came off Obi-wan stopped and took his off. Obi-wan took Cody back with him to tattoine. The kiss a lot. Beru and Owen are happy that Obi-wan found his true love again. Obi-wan explains that he’s a bounty hunter to make more money for their small family. Cody decides to become a bounty hunter as well.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Fox

I don't know how just yet, but he's the stay at home mother. I mean someone has to look after Luke and he just wants a quite life.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Crosshair and Mayday

When looking for the armour Crosshair commed saying he wants to leave the empire. Cody say's he is in the same system and will come pick him up. Cody does and they also take Mayday with them. They all live together on tattoine (Cody and Obi-wan sharing a room, Mayday and Crosshair sharing and Fox get's his own room). Both become bounty hunters and Crosshair is the best sniper in the galaxy.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Tech

Crosshair takes a bounty on the planet that summit is set on and he see's a figure fall through the clouds and hit the water. Straight away he recognise's it is Tech, becuase Twin instincs. (Tech and Crosshair are twins, you can't convince me other wise.) So he saves him (Tech's glasses fell of midfall) and brings him to tattoine. When Tech wakes up Crosshair and Obi-wan explain what is going on. Tech talks with Fox and he decides to stay and help Fox as he doesn't want anything to do with war or anything else.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

I hope you enjoy this - more to come and you are welcome to do art if you want to.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Desix vs. Barton IV: how two missions reflect Crosshair's character

I'm back with another Crosshair analysis. One thing I noticed on my rewatch of "The Solitary Clone" and something I discussed with my cousin was the whole mission on Desix. The mission plays out like an episode of Clone Wars. Think about it: Crosshair is under the command of Cody, a seasoned military commander, they have to go fight separatists and droids, and liberate a government official. In Clone Wars, we have tons of characters fighting against separatists in order to liberate something or someone. Even Rebels had an episode like this called "The Last Battle." I personally think that this was intentional. The writers didn't have to bring back Cody or have a whole mission that plays out like a Clone Wars episode. It was something that my cousin said that made everything click: the mission is similar to Clone Wars because it represents everything Crosshair's holding on to.

Before the Republic fell, Cross and his brothers would be constantly going on missions to fight separatists and swarms of droids. In the Empire, the missions are to occupy planets or assassinate potential defectors and anyone who stands against them. When we meet Cross in the second season, he's struggling greatly; his internal conflict his eating him alive. His conversation with Cody at the end indicates just how tormented his truly is. But when he goes on the mission, he's presented with very familiar things that are reminders of days long past: Cody, separatists, and droids. Being a soldier is a big part of Crosshair's identity because he doesn't know who he is without it. I think in his mind, Crosshair continues to hold on to the Empire because of familiar missions like Desix. This reminds him of the good old days and if he can keep it that way, then he'll be fine. After all, this is what he was made to do and it gives him purpose. At the end of the mission, Crosshair shoots the governor after Cody refuses. And in my eyes, there are two interpretations as to why he made this decision. The first being, he's sparing Cody from making a hard choice. Cross is clearly attached to Cody as I mentioned in my past post. When Cody can't take the shot, Cross takes it to spare him from facing the other imperial governor's wrath. The other, even bigger, reason is because he's still holding on to his deep desire for belonging and the past. If Crosshair doesn't shoot the governor, then what happens to him? What happens to Cody? Will he be discarded? Abandoned? Crosshair can't fathom that idea. And so, in order to preserve everything that he fears will be lost, he makes the shot. On another note, Desix's color palette is all warm colors. While not very inviting colors, there's still a warm undertone nonetheless. Warm colors make people feel comforted and that's certainly something Crosshair wants.

Compare that to the mission on Barton IV. Barton IV is an ice planet; it's cold with an even colder color palette. There is no life other than the harshest creatures and people. The faces are also very unfamiliar to both Crosshair and us: Nolan and Mayday. In "The Solitary Clone," we still had Rampart and Cody, two characters we've known for years. If Desix was everything he was holding on to, then Barton IV is the complete opposite. In this episode, we see Crosshair letting go, both willingly and unwillingly. Cody made a choice to go AWOL, but not Mayday. Mayday wasn't given a choice and he died. Crosshair had to witness someone he cared about die before his very eyes. Has that ever happened to him before? Probably not. The mission itself is anything but familiar. There are no droids or separatists. It's actually a very dull and mundane task: watch cargo. When you think of the clones and their purpose, the first that comes to mind isn't watching cargo. And that cargo turns out to be nothing more than equipment for the new recruits aka, not clones. Is this what Crosshair signed up for? No. He's a soldier and the Empire is giving him a purpose. They are willing to keep him and send him out to do missions and maintain its grip on the galaxy. But that's not what we see on Barton IV; Barton IV is where the scrap heaps go: a rookie lieutenant who hasn't been on a mission in his life, unwanted clone troopers whom the Empire could care less about, and a forgotten sniper that desperately clings on to the remnants of his past. This is not a place for anyone.

The juxtaposition between the two is clear as day: Desix is warm and full of familiarity. Barton IV lacks any source of familiarity and is as cold as ice (pun intended).

Furthermore, "The Outpost" is Crosshair's breaking point. After trying to cling on to everything in "The Solitary Clone," he has to let it all go in "The Outpost." There is no life on Barton IV; it's all stripped away. Now that I think about it, "The Solitary Clone" represents Crosshair's mask while "The Outpost" is his true self underneath. The mission on Desix feels very familiar and makes Crosshair feel useful. But in "The Outpost," we see a dull, barren wasteland with a mission as bleak as the terrain itself. Crosshair's internal mental state is also just as bleak. He knows he can't keep going the way he has; all semblance of the old days are gone. The Empire doesn't care if he dies. If anything, the Empire is trying to rush along his deterioration so they can get better replacements.

It's so interesting to see how two different missions on two very different planets can reflect a character's internal growth. Crosshair is such a well written character and I love him so much. He's definitely one of my favorite character of all time.

I do have one more analysis planned, this time on the rest of the BB so keep an eye out for that. Thank you for reading and take care!

[eomereadig]

Snippet: What Comes After (Chapter 4)

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing: Commander Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi (eventually)

Rating: M

Tags: Cody-centric, Cody needs a hug, post-order 66, post-ROTS, angst, self-loathing, excessive amounts of introspection, emotional hurt/comfort, Clone control chips

Full chapter here

Cody raised a questioning eyebrow. 

“Chips?” 

The word seemed familiar to the clone, though for the life of him, he couldn’t remember why. It felt as if a memory were there, just out of reach. There was some kind of fuss made about them, Cody thought, before the purge. But that was all he was able to recall. 

Bail paused — the first real moment of hesitation Cody had seen in him so far. 

“You’re here now, so I thought… Is yours still active?” Bail seemed horrified by the prospect, but Cody could only blink at him, nonplussed. 

Was there something wrong with him? Cody seriously considered the question. When he’d gone AWOL, was he supposed to have done something? Did Bail think he was a spy? The Senator’s expression didn’t change, giving Cody no clues. 

“I’m fully operational, if that’s what you mean?” Whilst Bail didn’t seem reassured by that, he didn’t seem scared, as he might have been if he really did think that Cody was a spy. No. He looked panicked. A disconcerting expression on someone who usually radiated calm. And still, Cody was left with more questions than answers, dumbfounded at where this conversation was headed. 

At length, Bail rubbed a hand down his face, exasperated. 

“I’m sorry, my friend. I’d assumed, because you’d left, that you’d discovered this terrible truth for yourself and had your chip removed. Their purpose is total obedience, after all, but perhaps yours has degraded — not impossible considering your age. They have a tendency to do this, the older a clone is, so I’ve been told.” 

Cody didn’t understand, and it was getting old. Obedience/ The clones had been built to follow orders. Good soldiers followed orders. The phrase rattled around in Cody’s mind, making the corners of his mouth tighten into a grimace. At one point, he’d believed that whole heartedly, but now the idea just had him feeling nauseous. 

“Seems a bit redundant,” He tried. Cody wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but Bail seemed stressed. If the clone had learned one thing from his career, it was that natborns were far more likely to tell you things if it came in the form of corrections. “Our whole purpose was to serve the republic, anyway…” 

Alarm bells rang in Cody’s mind when Bail didn’t immediately agree with that obvious fact. Once again, he was given the distinct impression that this was a part of something bigger, only just out of reach. 

Bail sighed and turned to face Cody fully. Two broad, gentle hands came down on his shoulders, moving to clasp at his upper arms. At that moment, Cody felt the age difference between them. They might have looked the same, yes, but Cody was young, painfully so. Old for a clone, but young all the same. Hell, if he were a natborn, he would have still been a child. 

“Yes, my friend. But by design, you are capable of making your own decisions — of waying up the pros and cons of a choice, the morality of it, of adapting to changing situations, of choosing to disobey if an order goes against your mission or wider goal.” 

Cody was with him there, that much was true enough. “The chips take away all of that,” Bail continued. “When they’re activated, disobedience is impossible. You and your men are far superior to droids. To have an army of that skill at one’s beck and call is a dangerous power — and it’s one that the Emperor has abused. The chips are responsible for the downfall of the Jedi Order, after all.”

Cody visibly recoiled. Already, his mind was playing catch up, trying to process each piece of information in turn; the presence of the chips in every clone’s mind, their function, the level of control… but Bail pressed on. 

“Why else do you think scores of loyal clones, clones who had served their Jedi faithfully for years, would suddenly turn on them without a second thought? Have you ever wondered why you did so when your loyalty to your General was unmatched?

Of course I’ve wondered that! Cody wanted to scream, though all he could do was splutter and stutter. The question had played on his mind day after day, floating around in his mind each time he tried to sleep. What made him kill his best friend? The love of his life? Cody had disobeyed plenty of orders in the past, why not this one? 

And of course, Cody had come to his own conclusions. He was a monster. That had been the only explanation he was able to come to. Cody was a ruthless leader, able to sacrifice anyone to get the job done — even his own riduur. 

The explanation, the excuse, had always rang hollow — even if Cody really did believe he was a monster. 

Bail chose that moment to continue, pummeling at Cody’s mental defences as if pressing his thumb into a bruise. “It was the chip, Cody. Your behaviour control chip. That’s the only reason you gave the order that day. I know this is difficult for you to hear, but you didn’t have a choice.”

Why was Bail telling him this? That was the most pressing question. What would it solve?

Behavioural chip or no, Cody still ordered that shot. He was still the reason Obi-Wan was hurting. Nothing could absolve him of that. 

But still, Cody couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that it hadn’t been his choice. 

It made him feel sick. A rubber band sat around his chest, restricting his breathing and making his heart pound. 

Distantly, Cody could feel tears welling up in his eyes as his mind raced a million clicks an hour. He found himself both unable to process what Bail had said whilst also being entirely overwhelmed by it. 

The Senator squeezed his shoulders, seemingly prepared for Cody to have some kind of meltdown.

“It wasn’t your fault.” He insists for a second time, as if he could force Cody to believe it through sheer will alone. “I would have led with that fact, if I’d known you had no idea…” 

Cody didn’t have the extra processing power just then to appreciate the sentiment. As with all planet-shattering revelations, this one took a long while to even begin to sink in, for mud to start oozing into those cracks and force them into gaping chasms. 

Distantly, the Commander realised he was crying. His breaths came out in small hitches, tears trailing down his cheeks. Bail rubbed at his shoulders in comfort but didn’t crowd him or offer empty platitudes. 

There was nothing that could be said to make this any better. 

Slowly, Cody was able to wrestle his mind out of its overwhelmed loop, Bail patiently waiting it out. 

He’d never had a choice — in any of this. Not really, just the illusion of one.

Full chapter here

[mereelskirata]

.

Finally had a dream of Cody, and of course its him being caught and beat up by civilians after he goes AWOL 😭😭

He does end up escaping but still. Poor guy can't get a break.

[warsamongthestars]

Oh shit, one thing I did forget.

S2 - Cody "goes AWOL".

Uh...

Folks, you understand you received that info from Admiral Rampart, right? Who was, giving an attitude like he was purposely fucking with Crosshair?

Why would Admiral Rampart tell Crosshair anything about Cody, except to fuck with Crosshair and make him fuck up?

Cody could've easily just... gotten transferred. Its not like fuckin anyone else was knew where the hell anyone else was anywya, and its a Galaxy. You aren't exactly going to randomly run into someone you know in the nearest Space 7/11.

Either way, I wouldn't fucking trust a word Rampart said.

( Then again, given the Writing has decided to go "We're just gonna say whatever the hell we want and make it true!"... it might as well have happened anyway. )

[miss-musings]

Before Mayday, Cody was the closest thing that Crosshair had to a friend.

He starts out 2.03 completely alone, isolated and shunned.

His brothers "abandoned" him again. He spent 32 days alone on Kamino. He comes back and probably spends weeks recovering with no real support system.

He has no one.

Finally, he's cleared for active duty. He was clearly excited at the prospect of leading a squad again (for a number of reasons, I imagine). But, he's demoted and assigned to someone else's command.

I imagine he didn't like that, but then he finds out it's Cody and he's... actually OK with it. He probably didn't mind serving under someone else as long as it was someone he already knew and respected.

Not only that, but the respect was mutual!

Cody wanted Crosshair on his team. When was the last time that happened?

I imagine that, for the first time since 1.01 "Aftermath," Crosshair feels not only that he's fighting alongside someone he trusts and respects, but he probably feels like he's fighting alongside a brother again.

Cody listens to him and basically lets him take charge in some respects. Cody praises him and commends him. Cody looks out for him and saves his life.

After spending so much time alone -- both physically and emotionally -- Crosshair finally remembered what it was like to really be part of a team again.

And then Crosshair makes the choice to look out for Cody. He shoots the Desix governor because Cody hesitated. Maybe it was because he was simply "doing what needed to be done" or maybe it was because he didn't want Cody to be reprimanded.

Either way, Cody is clearly horrified by everything that happened on Desix and he hints as much to Crosshair.

Cody: You know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions, our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

Crosshair can't sleep that next night. Unlike earlier in the episode, he's clearly awake before the alarm goes off.

He reports to Rampart, who praises him for his efforts on Desix, and Crosshair looks pleased. BUT the second Rampart assigns him to someone else, Crosshair's proud expression vanishes.

He's clearly shocked, almost upset, that he's not under Cody's command now. Did Cody not want Crosshair on his team anymore after what happened?

In a sense, Crosshair actually questions or talks back to Rampart, his commanding officer, to find out:

Crosshair: Why not Commander Cody? Rampart: Cody? Crosshair: CC-2224.

When he hears that Cody has gone AWOL, it throws him off balance. And then Rampart questions Crosshair's own loyalty to boot.

But, Crosshair doesn't have time to process everything. He has to report to his new commander for another mission.

So, he walks through the corridor alone.

After a fleeting moment of brotherhood, he has once again become the Solitary Clone.

I think we tend to underestimate just how much of an impact Cody had on Crosshair.

I LOVE Mayday, and Mayday was THE turning point for Crosshair to actually defect, sure; but I'm not sure Crosshair would have been ready to accept Mayday's more cynical opinions about their role in the Empire if Crosshair hadn't worked with Cody first.

Cody was the reg that Crosshair trusted and respected, even back when we first met the Bad Batch. He also was a commander (and I do believe Crosshair respects hierarchy/authority to a certain extent) who specifically asked for Crosshair to be assigned to the Desix mission, which had to have made Crosshair feel really good especially considering everything that had gone down with his former squad on Kamino, AND the fact that all the other regs are still shunning him, AND the fact that he has just barely been cleared for active duty again.

So Cody is a friendly face who respects and compliments the "solitary clone" Crosshair all throughout the mission, and then at the end shares his reservations about the Empire and ever so subtly challenges Crosshair's belief that soldiers simply "do what needs to be done" with no questions asked. And then he defects from the Empire himself.

Yeah, I'm convinced Cody's influence was THE key to shifting Crosshair's perspective just enough that Mayday could have an impact down the line.

[kybercrystals94]

Poisoned

Read here on Ao3!

Febuwhump 2024 | Day 7 | Prompt 7: Suffering in Silence

Rated: G | Words: 328 | Summary: After being arrested for treason, Crosshair is left with silence. [Character Focus: Crosshair]

There was a time that Crosshair longed for silence.

When Wrecker was too loud in a small space; when Tech couldn’t seem to run out of words to say about an impossibly dull topic; when Hunter lectured them about picking fights with the regs. Crosshair longed for silence in those moments.

Now though, in the silence of a cell, Crosshair tries to hear the ghosts of the booming laughter that shook him to his bones. What had Tech said about energy conductors? Hunter was right about trying to play nice with the regs. They were all he had after his brothers left him…and the regs didn’t want him around.

Except for Cody.

Before he went AWOL.

And Mayday.

Until he died.

Crosshair doesn’t regret the choice that put him here, in this cell…other choices – wrong, horrid choices – however, replay over and over and over again in his mind.

Choosing the Empire.

Choosing to use Hunter as bait to lure his other brothers.

Choosing to stay on that platform and watch the Marauder disappear from his enhanced sight.

And so many smaller but still awful choices in between.

Silence does not distract him like his brothers once did, derailing toxic, circular thoughts. Instead, they echo inside his skull, collide and scrape along the edges of his psyche.

Crosshair growls. He has to distract himself before he goes mad. What was that joke he told Wrecker under his breath that time? The one that Wrecker hadn’t been able to breathe for all the hilarity it struck? What was that thing Tech had explained in great detail that had caught Crosshair’s interest, and he had listened for hours? What advice had Hunter given that morning that Crosshair had planted deep in his mind? Why could he not remember?

Has it been so long?

Have the poisonous thoughts against his brothers finally corrupted his best memories of them?

Do his brothers remember?

Or has he poisoned their memories too.

END

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[zima74824]

What if after Cody goes awol he bumps into zima????

[inky-for-a-bit]

The Bad Batch creators making Crosshair suffer more every time he appears:

[alabyte]

I want to say a lot, but it will be difficult to form it into a coherent text and not miss anything. I will try tho. Summarizing at once: YES TO THE LAST WORD.

Crosshair as a character got a very meaningful development in S2. In fact, he goes all the way from denial to acceptance, and the main leitmotif is the opposition of his two rhetorics: "I had no choice" and "I have a choice now." The words spoken to Hunter on Kamino were dry designations of fact - Crosshair had no choice when he had the chip in his head, but that also applies to his choice to remain on the platform in the finale. His squad treated him just like the Empire, if not worse, given that they considered each other family. In fact, he had a choice to stay there or follow them, but did he have a choice psychologically, given the feeling of abandonment and rejection? Hardly. And episodes 3, 12, and 14 literally show how Crosshair moves from "I have no choice" rhetoric to "I have a choice, but that choice comes with a price."

In episode 3, Crosshair kills governor of Dexis at the behest of an Imperial officer and makes a lot of noise that he is a soldier first and foremost and does what needs to be done. It's still "I have no choice" rhetoric, but with the first moves towards acceptance. He only fires after threats of repercussions for insubordination have been issued, and Crosshair knew that the repercussions would be on Cody as a commander, not on himself. This is where "I have no choice" has become "WE have no choice". In fact, Cody's going AWOL is the price of choice that Crosshair wasn't willing to pay.

Episode 12 marks a turning point for Crosshair, as you said previously. He understands that he has a choice, but this choice comes with a high price: either he remains in the system, allowing himself to die psychologically and simply rot from an inner sense of guilt and self-hatred, or he rebels against this system at the cost of his own freedom, own life, but retains his inner self. Even if this uprising for him was only a scream into the void and a conditional death cramp, this spit in the face of the Empire has great psychological significance. "I have no choice"? More like "I have a choice, even if it means death" now. He is no longer a soldier who does what needs to be done - but a person who does what is right.

In Episode 14, we see Crosshair's final rise through repeated self-sacrifice. He knows that there is no way out for him, he understands that his brothers will not return for him, he realizes that he himself cut down the branch on which he sat and was cornered, but instead of the behavior of a hunted beast, baring his teeth and cowardly tucking his tail, we see an individual with strong convictions, understanding that if he is destined to perish on Tantiss, he will perish with pride (or with what is left of it). It's foolish to deny that Crosshair does carry a huge load of guilt to this episode, but that guilt didn't translate into an internal depressing factor, but rather a motivation to do what's right. "Plan 88" is not his attempt to reunite with his family and seek to build a new bridge of trust. It is an attempt to heal his own self in his own eyes by doing what is right. He has a choice. This choice will likely cost him his life. And he is willing to pay the price.

Throughout these three episodes, Crosshair sacrifices something for those around him. On Dexis, he sacrifices his own soul for Cody, killing the governor. On Barton IV, he sacrifices his identity as a soldier for Mayday, killing Lieutenant Nolan. On Tantiss, he's willing to sacrifice his life to help a family that hasn't just turned their backs on him - they completely erased him from the story.

This is an absolutely destructive motive of self-sacrifice and healing through it, which echoes the parallel with the self-sacrifice of Tech, once again showing the tragedy of where misunderstanding, clusters of wrong choices and the inability to adapt correctly and without harm to the new world around can lead. Unfortunately, The Bad Batch (and Hunter in particular) has to face these consequences when it's already too late - when two of them have already sacrificed themselves to save the others.

Beyond tragic, once again. But I guess we'll see how far this story will come.

TBB S2E14, Tipping Point & Self-Discovery Under Repressive Regimes

There is a lot of torture in this episode, and I've seen takes that argue Crosshair embraces this as a form of self-punishment. I will argue the opposite and use the thematic developments of the two seasons of TBB + some of TCW to make my point. (mention of a spoiler for the season 2 finale ahead)

—

A core theme of TBB is the toxicity of self-sacrifice. The Clone Army was created in order to be "expendable", but as far as I am aware, TCW only touched on the moral implications of that on rare occasions (Slick comes to mind). TBB on the other hand fills exactly this blank space and puts the ethics of a Clone Army front and center, as we see with the Clone Rights story thread, but also with every individual Batcher.

So far, several Batchers have used suicide as a tool of problem solving, every time with disastrous outcomes. Echo sacrificed himself in TCW in an act that later turned out to be inconsequential only to then be tortured and abused by the Separatists. Crosshair attempted to commit suicide by avenging Mayday, and torture ensued. Tech sacrificed himself in order to save the squad, which was instrument to Hunter's arc: Hunter, the frustratingly passive main character, realizes only after this loss that self-sacrifice isn't the way to go if they truly want to leave behind servitude of the Republic/Empire. (that's a future essay, but I am very excited about Hunter's development)

And Hunter has been demanding sacrifices from himself and the squad a lot for two whole seasons. Sacrificing Crosshair, for example.

You know who else is big on sacrifices? The Empire. I'm not deep enough into the Star Wars lore to know whether or not this is a common motif, but watching how Imperial fanatics kill themselves with suicide pills seems to me krass enough of an image to interpret this as a deliberate point. People within the Empire see themselves as expendable. If the Bad Batch truly aims to detach themselves from the Empire's ideology and develop an alternate moral model, they have to stop sacrificing themselves like the proverbial lemmings. So far, Echo is the only Batcher to spearhead this revolution, with Omega firmly on his side (and Hunter loves Omega, so he will pivot too, eventually).

And there is one Batcher who has been sacrificed by his brothers and understands they have to stop committing the Empire's cruelty to themselves: Crosshair.

I know this may sound hard to believe at first glance, but despite the things that happen externally, Crosshair's arc in season 2 is a positive one if we look at his internal development. In The Solitary Clone, Crosshair's arc could still go either way: either towards self-acceptance or towards self-destruction. In The Outpost, Crosshair comes to terms with his Clone identity just in time to find he no longer has the choice but to pick self-destruction. When this doesn't kill him either, there is no way but forward. In the Tipping Point, he is truly self-actualized to the best of his ability given the crushing circumstances. He is calm and perceptive. His eyes are open. This is not the demeanor of a self-hating man. This is someone who has come to terms with himself and his values, and acts accordingly. Building on the self-acceptance he developed in the interactions with Mayday, Crosshair now allows himself to care for the Batch again and sends them a warning. He knows the price he has to pay, but does it anyway because he finally acts according to his own convictions. Think back to his unusually relaxed expressions; despite being afraid of the torture, he doesn't show desperation, even when he's alone. He is at peace with his decisions, for the first time in a long time.

tl;dr:

Crosshair's internal arc culminates in Tipping Point with successful self-discovery and restored personal integrity in the face of extreme adversity. The Crosshair he is now would never stay 32 days stranded on a platform on Kamino. I mean, the episode is called "Tipping Point". What more can I say? Next step in season 3 is his external arc of mending his broken relationships and to find meaning outside of coercive systems like the Republic and the Empire.

I don't believe Crosshair will die in order to achieve "redemption", and I don't think Tech is dead either. The message of the Bad Batch, ever since TCW, seems to be: Self-sacrifice is not the way.

[immagods]

We make our own decisions, our own choices. We have to live with them to.

You can not tell me that Cody wasn't thinking about order 66. About ordering that shot. About shooting Obi-wan down. Watching him fall. Thinking about how he just killed the man he loves. The man he could truly be himself with. And living with the guilt ever since that day. The day the he lost absolutely everything. His brothers. His lover. His freedom. And he thinks about it every day. And it breaks his heart.