#he said it in that way crosshair does too. I’ve watched bad batch enough to Know. I Know What You Are

[zeb-z]

foolish gamers roleplaying in Lethal Company instead of trying to earn money, his bad batch/clone wars watchin ass going “good soldiers follow orders” “I always complete my mission”, someone get this man back onto qsmp STAT

[fanfoolishness]

Lightweight(s)

The Bad Batch's first ever night out on the town, early on in their careers. Fluff, silliness, alcohol, general shenanigans and boys being boys. ~4200 words, somehow!

---

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” said Hunter, casting a wary eye at the entrance of 79’s.  Booming music spilled out onto the platform, waves of synth-funk and pounding bass already half-deafening.  The neon lights made his tongue prickle with the taste of ozone.

“Hey, how often do we get to shore up on Coruscant?” Wrecker asked, shoulder-checking him on his way out of the cab.  “C’mon.  The regs are always goin’ on about this place.  I wanna see what the big deal is!”

”The big deal is alcohol, of course,” said Tech.  He folded his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow at the garish neon and the clusters of clones in off-duty blues and standard issue armor milling about.  “And the chance to imbibe it aggressively.  I’ve heard some of the tales that come out of this place, too, and things don’t always end well.  I suggest we take a more moderate approach, given none of us has ever had the chance to drink before.”

“We’ll be fine, Tech,” Crosshair said, adjusting his toothpick.  “We’re defective, remember?  I’m sure we could drink these regs under the table.”

”Don’t get cocky,” said Hunter, though he had to admit he was curious.  “It’s not a contest.”  

They’d just come off their fifth ever mission, riding high on how they’d managed to pit two tactical droids and their armies against each other with epic results, and he thought of the medals they’d been awarded for it.  He’d stowed his safely in his bunk on the Marauder until he could figure out what to do with it, but every time he glanced at it, he couldn’t help but feel a fierce pride.  They did deserve to blow off some steam after that.

Wrecker led the way into the bar, more than a few clones turning and staring at him — then at the rest of them as they filed through.  Too tall, too short, too broad, too skinny.  Though they were wearing their blues, there was still no hope of blending in.  A few stared at Tech’s goggles and Crosshair’s silver hair in particular; most were smart enough to avert their gaze at Wrecker’s bulk, given Wrecker would happily give them a shove if they mouthed off.  

Hunter watched the other clones’ faces carefully, ready in case anything started, but they made it to the bartender without incident.  Under the pounding music, he thought he heard a few whispers, but nothing major.

The clone behind the bar tilted his head, giving them an appraising look.  “Ninety-nines?” he ventured, his face impassive.

”What gave it away?” Wrecker laughed.  

“Problem?” Crosshair drawled, leaning over Wrecker’s shoulder.

”No problem.  Money’s money,” the bartender said with a shrug.  “What’ll it be?”

The four of them looked at each other.  They hadn’t gotten that far.

”Four harvest brews,” Tech said.  The bartender nodded and turned away.  Tech leaned in close to them to be heard.  “It’s a reasonable first drink.  Lower proof, known to be easy to drink.  I suggest we see how that goes and proceed from there.”

 “Did you research the menu ahead of time?” Hunter asked, already knowing the answer.

”What do you think I was doing in the cab?”

”Lower proof,” Wrecker said.  “Does that mean it’s for lightweights?  ‘Cause I’m no lightweight.”

“We’d noticed,” said Crosshair.

”Careful, Wrecker.  Don’t let it go to your head.”

The bartender returned with four large glasses of foamy amber ale and Hunter reached for his credits.  The Republic didn’t pay much, but they had nothing else to spend it on.  Why not this? 

The bartender held up a hand.  “Want to start a tab?”

”Yeah!” Wrecker said before Hunter could stop.  

“All right, sure,” Hunter said, feeling only slightly uneasy.

They took their drinks to a far corner of the bar, where a bunch of regs clustered around a table lined with two sets of glasses.  Hunter watched curiously as one tossed a small light ball into the air, bouncing it off the table until it clattered against the opposite side’s glasses harmlessly.  He groaned, the clones beside him shoving him and telling him to get it together.

”I propose a toast.  It’s traditional.”

”All right, what do you think?” Hunter asked Tech.

”To Clone Force Ninety-Nine,” Tech said, raising his glass high.  

“To the Bad Batch!” Wrecker crowed, clinking his glass enthusiastically.

”To the Bad Batch,” they echoed, raising their glasses.  They each took a drink.

”Phawww,” Hunter groaned, his nose wrinkling, sticking his tongue out.  The ale was bitter and malty, with an odd sour note.  It clung to the inside of his mouth, and he wished they had some ration bars on hand to cut the taste.  “This is beer?  It’s horrible.”

”I dunno, I kind of like it,” said Wrecker, taking a huge drink.  He coughed and sputtered.  “Maybe I don’t like it that much.”

”Perhaps it’s an acquired taste,” said Tech, looking less than pleased with his drink.  He took another sip, grimacing slightly.  “Or perhaps the intoxicating effects make up for the musty flavor.”

”I think it’s fine,” said Crosshair, drinking a quarter of his glass in one go.  He stifled a cough by chewing frantically on his toothpick, and Hunter rolled his eyes.

”So we just… sit here?  Drinking?” Wrecker asked, doing just that.  He looked puzzled.  “That’s really what people do here?”

”I suppose,” Hunter said.  “You put it like that, it really doesn’t sound like much.”  He tried his beer again, bracing himself, but it wasn’t as bad the second time around now that he knew what to expect.  

“Well, we could always play a game,” Crosshair said slyly, glancing at the regs clustered around their table.  “You know we could destroy them.”

”You don’t even know what they’re playing,” Tech admonished.  He adjusted his goggles.  “Then again, the rules do appear to be exceedingly simple.  Throw the ball into the other team’s cup, they take a drink.  The more intoxicated they become, the less able they are to throw accurately at the other team’s cups. It’s basic enough for even the wildly intoxicated to grasp.  I suspect the wild intoxication is the point.”

”That sounds like a recipe for a fight to break out,” Hunter said, a dozen different incidents of fights they’d had with regs sober coming to mind.  “C’mon lads, forget them.  We’re celebrating kicking ass together, who needs the regs?” He raised his glass again.  “Wrecker!  You nailed Plan Forty-two.  That was one helluva bomb!”

Wrecker laughed, taking another swig.  “Yes it was!  I almost thought I wasn’t gonna have enough chargers ‘til Tech helped me rig those downed droids to blow.  That was awesome!”

”The ensuing explosion was nothing short of tremendous,” Tech agreed.  “Truly inspired!  I was happy to assist.”

”Well, what about Cross’s ricochet taking out half of ‘em before they even got going?” Wrecker said, clapping Crosshair hard between the shoulders.  Crosshair nearly choked on his toothpick and took another drink, his cheeks flushing faintly reddish.

”It was easy,” he said, but Hunter knew he was pleased.  

“Easy nothing.  It was one for the books,” Hunter said, and Crosshair gave him a faint, surprised grin.

”Don’t forget Hunter’s planning,” Tech mentioned.  “We’d never have gotten that trap laid without his enhanced senses.”

“All part of the job,” Hunter said warmly.  Huh.  He felt a little warm all over, come to think of it.  

Wrecker drained the last of his glass, and not to be outdone, Crosshair did the same with his.  “I don’t feel anything,” Wrecker said, disappointed.

”Me neither,” said Crosshair, though Hunter thought his voice sounded a little different, even accounting for the loud music.  His face looked more flushed, his cheeks uncharacteristically ruddy.  Tech was giving him an appraising look.

”It is not instantaneous,” Tech said.  “Perhaps you should give it a moment before —“

”Another round!” Wrecker said, getting up to his feet.  “C’mon, Cross, let’s try something different.”

”You’re on,” said Crosshair, following as Wrecker parted a way through the crowd with his massive shoulders.  

Hunter turned back to Tech.  “I have a bad feeling about this….”

---

Bad feeling?  What bad feeling? 

Hunter snaked an arm over Tech’s shoulders, gripping his arm hard.  “Ahhh, glad we came out tonight,” he said.  He felt pleasantly warm and more than a little giddy, and everything was just funny.  “Just a couple bad batchers out on the town!”

”You could hardly call Coruscant a town,” Tech corrected, his cheeks pink and his goggles slightly askew.  Instead of leaning away from Hunter’s hug, he completed it, his arm draped loosely around Hunter’s waist.  With his other hand he gesticulated dramatically.  “It is an ecumenopolis with the city structure covering all natural features entirely except for a sliver of the planet’s tallest peak, which has been preserved as a —“

”Tech, Tech, Tech,” Wrecker said, draining his second drink and then patting him on the shoulder.  “Drink more.  Smart less.”

”Shots?” Crosshair asked, elbowing a reg out of the way as he came back to the table.  He had four tiny glasses balanced in his hands, each filled with blazing layers of red and pink and yellow liquid.  “They call it a Kamino Sunrise.  79’s special.”  

“We are already exhibiting sufficient signs of intoxication,” Tech pointed out, letting go of Hunter.  He’d drawn the word sufficient out far longer than he needed to, enunciating each syllable.  He held out his hand, tapping his palm as he counted.  “Slurred speech, jovial attitudes, and an expansive broadening of our normal personalities.  Trying these shots may put us over the line from tipsy to — what do the regs call it — wasted.”

”Live a little, Tech,” said Crosshair.  He slammed the shots down on the table save one, a bit of liquid spilling over the rims.  “Come on.  We live or die like men.”

”What does that even mean?” Wrecker roared, laughing and swiping one of the glasses.  “Hurry up!”

“I am living!  But I am also not eager to completely obliterate my exceptional critical thinking skills,” Tech said defensively.  “However, in the interest of brotherly camaraderie, I will try this shot against my better judgment.”

Tech and Hunter picked up their shot glasses, and Hunter gave Tech a look of Well, here goes nothing.  They clinked their glasses together.

”To… to…what are we toasting this time?” Wrecker asked. 

“Uh….”  They stared around at each other, Crosshair nibbling his toothpick, Tech staring off into the distance, Hunter’s mind a complete blank.  He stifled a giggle.

”To Lula!” Wrecker announced.  

Hunter met his brothers’ eyes, and they nodded, roaring, “To Lula!’

They slugged back their drinks, and Hunter had time only to perceive burning sugar spicy sweet before he’d gulped the thing down.  A wobble passed through his legs almost instantly, traveling like a wave from his head down, making everything glow.

“Uh, Cross?  What was in these?”

“I dunno.  I’m not a barkeep,” Crosshair said, weaving slightly where he stood.  He caught sight of the regs at their table and grinned.  “C’mon.  Let’s get ‘em.”

---

The battle was fierce.

The regs had been less than welcoming.  But with Wrecker looming and cracking his knuckles, Crosshair glowering, and Hunter’s relaxed shrug to say you may as well make it easy on yourselves, the regs had relented and given them a go.  (Tech, for his part, had simply shaken his head and rolled his eyes at the whole idea.)

Hunter figured they were sorely regretting it now.  They’d added this round to their tab (hope we brought enough credits!), which had gone a long way towards the regs playing with them.  And like Tech had said, the game was easy.  But it turned out bouncing the ball before it landed in a cup meant the other team had to drink double.  So did calling which cup the ball was going to land in before tossing it.  Absurdly, the effects stacked if both things were accomplished.

Which made Crosshair even more deadly than usual.  

He sidled up to the table, toothpick jutting from his mouth, looming over the playing field like a vengeful Venator.  Hunter could swear one of the regs, a shiny by the looks of him, was actually shaking.  He nursed an ale, keeping watch on the situation.  Funny how the beer seemed to taste a lot better now than it had in the beginning.  He took another drink, grinning.

Crosshair was merciless, especially with Wrecker egging him on.  It was hard not to.  Hunter couldn’t help but whoop with both of them as Crosshair scored hit after hit.  Even Tech whistled once or twice, one of those shrieking whistles with two fingers hooked into his mouth.  

It was a massacre.  Occasionally the other team managed to land a shot, but they were pretty damn gone and they missed far more often than they succeeded.  The few times they did land a shot, Crosshair gamely took a drink each time.  He started slurring his calls, but his aim was as good as ever.

“Cup six, two bounces.”

“One bounce, spin off the rim of cup two, it’ll land in four.  Trust me.”

“Two bounces off the wall, back onto the table, it’ll hop into three --”

“Cup nine from ten feet back, come on, give me some room--”

The regs on the other end of the table groaned.  “Come on!  Someone else has gotta take a turn!  He’s cheating!”

Crosshair drew himself up to his full height, instantly incandescent with rage, his eyes snapping.  He spat his toothpick to the floor, raising his fists.  Oh kriff -- Hunter had time to think before he jumped out in front of his brother, pushing him back with a hand on his chest.  Crosshair staggered into Tech, who managed to catch him before he fell.

“No he’s not,” Hunter bellowed, whirling to face the regs.  He glared at them, showing his teeth.  He’d learned pretty early on with the skull tattoo it was a good way to scare people off, and two of the regs took a step back, sweating.  “But if you’re a bunch of cowards who can’t handle it when someone’s better than you --” He puffed out his chest, crossing his arms.

“Hey!” Wrecker cried, leaning heavily on Hunter’s shoulder.  “Hey Hunter.  Why can’t we all just -- just get along?”  He hiccuped, grabbing one of the cups off the table and taking a drink.  “These guys ain’t so bad.  They’re tiny.  And they suck at ale pong.  But maybe we should all be friends.”

Hunter snorted, looking up at his brother.  “Now I know you’re drunk.”

“Not drunk!  Just…” Wrecker searched for the word.

“Just drunk?” Tech supplied helpfully.

“Yeah!  That’s it, drunk!”

Hunter buried his face in his hands.

Crosshair shoved past him, jerking a finger at the regs.  “This isn’t over,” he snarled.  He went to lean a hand on the table but missed, and promptly crashed to the ground in a pile of long flailing legs.  The regs erupted in laughter.

Tech was bending down, helping Crosshair back up to his feet.  Wrecker let go of Hunter and leaned down, elbowing Tech out of the way and hauling Crosshair up so fast he nearly fell over again.  “Hey, little brother!” Wrecker said loudly.  “You all right?”

“I’m fine, I just -- I must’ve --” Crosshair slurred.  His face suddenly looked pale, and he gripped Wrecker’s arm hard.  “Ooh.  Dizzy.”

“Let’s get you to sit down,” Tech said.  “I tried to warn you.”

“Shut up, Tech --”

“Listen to him, Crosshair,” said Hunter.  “Don’t make me pull rank.”  Crosshair glared, but the fight was going out of him.

They shambled their way back to a free table.  Crosshair was very definitely wobbling.  Wrecker was steady, but he was loudly singing something ridiculous.  Some pop song from the bar?  Hunter focused, or tried to.  Everything was coming through muzzy and muted.  His senses had never been so dull in his life, and he wondered vaguely if this was what normal clones felt like all the time.  

Hunter pulled up a seat at the table, peering at Crosshair.  Wrecker was still humming off-key under his breath.  Tech had disappeared.  Where had he gone to?  Hunter pulled his gaze away from Crosshair, glassy-eyed and pale, and saw Tech over at the bar.  

“Oh he’d better not be getting another round,” Hunter muttered, thinking of Crosshair.  Although he felt fine, if a little wavy around the edges.  Maybe he’d get one more beer before they headed out, ride this feeling a little further…  Nah, that probably wasn’t the best move right now.

“See ya,” Wrecker said suddenly, getting to his feet and taking Crosshair with him.

“What?  Where are you going?” Hunter called after them.

“He’s gonna upchuck!” said Wrecker cheerfully, bustling a tilting Crosshair off into the crowd. “Wanna come?”

Hunter groaned, torn between following them and waiting for Tech.  He got to his feet, wending his way through the crowd until he found Tech at the bar, having an argument with the bartender.

“I’ve calculated our tab, and you have been wildly undercharging us!” Tech accused.  “It’s highly suspicious --”

“It’s half-price night!” the bartender protested.  “Don’t you remember me telling you when you came in?”

“No,” Hunter said.  He leaned in.  “Tech, what gives?  If they want to charge us less, who cares?”

Tech opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again.  He pursed his lips.  “Well.  I suppose it’s his prerogative.”  

“Look, we’d better settle up.  Whatever it is we owe you,” Hunter said heavily.  The bartender gave him a price and he paid it, wondering what was going on with the pricing, but not caring enough to find out.

“Have a good night guys, all right?” the bartender said.  “And here’s some water for the way home.  You’ll need it.”  He slid several bottles of water over to them and Tech and Hunter gathered them up.

“You just had to bring up math, didn’t you?” 

“It doesn’t make any sense.  There is no special, Hunter.  I saw others close their tabs at the normal rate.”

“Maybe he charges less for defective clones.  Credit error in our favor, right?”  

“It’s ridiculous, but -- Ah.  Where did Wrecker and Crosshair go?”

“I think Crosshair overdid it,” said Hunter.  “They’re off to the ‘fresher.  Let’s go find ‘em.”

They found Wrecker guarding the far stall in the busy restroom.  Crosshair was slumped against the wall of the stall, cradling the toilet with one arm.  

“Yikes,” said Hunter.

“I did warn you,” said Tech.

“He’s taking it like a champ,” said Wrecker proudly, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.  “Hey!  You guys brought another round?  I could go for somethin’ else!”

“It’s just water.  And you’re in the bathroom,” said Tech in disgust.

“Aww, man!”

Hunter crept into the stall, crouching beside Crosshair, who had leaned his head against the wall with his eyes closed.  The stall smelled of sick and sweat, nearly enough to turn his own stomach.  “Cross.  You all right?”

Crosshair cracked open one eye and glared blearily at him.  “At least no one had to hold my hair back,” he muttered. 

Hunter bristled.  “Oh, you are such a little --”  Then he grinned.  “Yeah, I think you’ll be all right.  Come on.  Ready to get out of here?”

Crosshair closed his eyes, wincing, then swallowed.  “Eurgh… another minute.”  

Hunter hurried out of the stall, slamming the door shut behind him.

---

They finally made it out twenty minutes later, after Crosshair swore he was done puking.  He was still wobbly on his feet but the glassy look in his eyes had faded.  Wrecker was steering him through the crowd, clearing a path with his vast arms.  Tech followed them, chattering to himself about inefficient business practices, while Hunter brought up the rear.  The crowd had started to thin out by now and it was noticeably less jam-packed and quieter.  Time to get a move on.

There was a lull in the music, and his ears pricked at a conversation carried through an empty pocket in the center of the room.  It was the bartender, talking to someone.  Hunter paused, listening, keeping his gaze averted so as not to alert the bartender he was being listened to.  

“Damn, I’m glad I followed my instinct with those ninety-nines.”

”What do you mean?”

”Well, they may have been defective, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know a shiny when I see one.  Gave ‘em the shiny special.”

“Isn’t that where you only serve ‘em half strength of what they ordered?”

“Yeah.  The brainy one almost figured it out, but the leader called him off.  Can you imagine how messed up those clones would have got if I’d let ‘em have the full-strength stuff?  Bunch of lightweights.”

”Kriff.”

”Yeah.  Poor bastards.  Shinies always overdo it.”

Hunter swallowed. They’d been drinking half of what they thought they had?  Crap.  That was embarrassing.  Shiny special, indeed.

He caught up to the others as they squeezed out through the front door and into the stale night air, finally free of the music that had been dully pounding in the background for hours.  Tech turned back to him.  “I’ve called a taxi.  Should be here in twenty.  I suggest we find a spot to sit down -- far from the edge of this platform, judging by the way our reflexes have been affected.”

“My reflexes are fine,” said Hunter, reaching for his knife to show off.  His hand hit fabric and he remembered he’d left his vibroblade with his armor back on the ship.  He gave Tech a flustered grin.  “Okay, fair point.”

They found a spot to sit against the wall, well away from the plummeting empty space at the edge of the platform.  For a moment, they were quiet, leaning back against the wall and sipping the water the bartender had sent them off with.  Hunter shook his head.  That clone had had their number, all right, as embarrassing it was to admit.  He wondered if he should tell the others, but he kept quiet, his senses slowly coming back to him.

Speeders whizzed by in the dark, flashes of multicolored lights zigging against the blue-black void and the neon across the shaft.  Their engines were bright little hums pressing against his eardrums.  He could feel their wind against his hair, the closest thing to real wind one could find this far down.  He watched them go, on and on, entranced.

Hunter looked over at his brothers.  They all looked drowsy, eyes heavy, faint smiles on their faces.  Tech yawned, leaning against him, head drifting to Hunter’s shoulder.  Hunter adjusted, making it easier for Tech to lean on him.  Beside Tech was Crosshair, his face slack and unfocused, his cheeks flushed, arm slung around Wrecker’s shoulders.  Wrecker was still humming, a cheery little nonsense tune.

“Not a bad night, lads, all in all,” said Hunter.

“It was certainly experimental.  We shall be better prepared next time.”

“You were over prepared!  I coulda kept going.”

“And we all might have blacked out if we’d tried to keep up with you.”

“Don’t fight,” Crosshair mumbled.  “Fun night.”

“Even if you puked your guts out!  Ha, good thing I got you in there in time.”  Wrecker looked way too pleased with himself.  Hunter would have gently smacked him if Tech wasn’t in the way, burrowing further into Hunter to get comfortable, his goggles digging into Hunter’s shoulder.

Crosshair shifted, giving Wrecker something like a hug.  “Wrecker, you’re the best,” he mumbled.  “Had to tell you.”

“Me?  Thanks, Crosshair!” Wrecker said, clearly delighted.

“Best… brother.  ‘Cept when you hog Lula.  Miss her,” Crosshair continued, closing his eyes, sounding half-asleep already.  “Best brother.  ‘Cept Tech.  Or Hunter.  Way better than those regs,” he rambled.

“I am clearly the best brother,” Tech announced, his face still jammed in Hunter’s sleeve.

“Nuh-uh!  He said I was the best first!”

“He said I was the best last,” Hunter countered.  “Beat that!”

“You are all… absurd.  Yes.  That is the word.”

“You’re just jealous!”

“All you… best.  Best brothers…”

“Aww, I think I like cuddly Cross!”

”I suggest we do not tell him of this in the morning.  He appears to have avoided alcohol poisoning, but not by much.  He may blackout and not remember.”

”Not tell him?  Are you kidding? I’m gonna tell him every day!”

Hunter chuckled to himself, taking a drink of his water and trying to get comfortable against the wall until their taxi came.  He watched the speeders zipping back and forth, his brothers arguing at his side, and he thought there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

---

Morning on the Havoc Marauder.

”Am I dead?”

”You are not dead.  You are merely hungover.”

”I think I’m dead.”

”Have some water.  Again, I must assure you, you are not dead.”

”Hunter, am I dead?”

”No.  Listen to Tech.  Drink some water.”

”But —“ 

“That’s an order.”

”Fine.  Also, I hate you both.”

”Sure.”

”I find that unlikely.”

”Wrecker.  Am I dead?”

”You better not be.  I’d be pissed.”

“Aw.  You’d miss me.”

”Yeah, I mean, probably.”

”I hate you too.”

”Love you, Crossie.”

”Don’t call me that — uggh.  My head…”

“Just take it easy, Crosshair.  It’s a while back to Kamino.  Sleep up, take your pain pills, and drink some water.  …lightweight.”

”I am not!”

The ship filled with laughter, and Crosshair took his pain pills, scowling fiercely enough to kill.

[jessiebanethedragon]

Good Soldiers

Empire!Crosshair x Reader

a/n: takes place after the events of the first episode so SPOLIERS

warnings: kissing, idk angst

Word count: 1749

The Green Visor stares at you menacingly. Even though it is not powered up, nor is it being worn at the moment. Having wrenched it off of the sharpshooter whilst clambering over him as Wrecker held him at bay. The scratches on your face, the busted lip and bruises littering you body are proof of the intense fight you’d been a part of. To say you were grieving might not be too much of an overstatement.

To be honest, all of you were grieving.

The damage the five of you had to do to Crosshair just to sedate him so that he couldn't hurt anyone else was enough to give you all nightmares for years to come. You did not feel like you were crying, crying implies you almost had control over the tears on your face. These ones started falling before you were conscious that they had started.

The rest of the batch only had an inkling of what the sniper meant to you. Their proximity to the two of you made hiding your feelings impossible, but to the exact degree, no one knew quite how deep these feelings went. They could see his eyes soften when he looked at you, the lingering touches and prideful smirks. They could see you bat your eyelashes at his scornful glare when you asked for something, and they could glance at a smile only reserved for their brother.

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Echo never heard the whispered ‘I love you's’ in his bunk, nor did they know that you knew how his ungloved hands felt on every part of your body. Rough on the surface and soft underneath, just like the sniper himself.

You clutch your necklace in your hands as you cry. Aggressively wringing the chain through your battered hands in hopes the pain grounds you. But it couldn’t deny the truth. Crosshair was no longer the man you loved.

He’d shot Wrecker, electro shocked Echo, busted Tech’s glasses, and even though Hunter said he was unscathed, he was twitching at every noise.

“Hey.” It was Tech, moving to crouch down to your level from where you sit on the floor of the Havoc Marauder.

“Can I see him?” You ask, sniffling up the tears in an effort to look more like the warrior the men know you to be.

“I don’t think you want to.” Tech says while scanning you over with the handheld medical-whats-it. Nothing serious is wrong, and yet at the same time, everything serious is wrong. “He’s still… restrained.” Tech explains slowly. “There hasn't been a change in his disposition yet.” the scanner beeps as it delivers its report.

“So you mean he’s still on a homicidal rage to kill us all.” You simplify bitterly.

“When you put it like that he sounds exactly the same as before the chip.” You try to manage a fake smile at that, but even with all your acting skills piled together the curve only makes it halfway. It drops so quickly when you hear the sound of struggle followed by an anger induced scream that sounds too familiar.

The havoc marauder does not have a set of barracks or prison cells so the only way to keep Crosshair safe from himself and to keep you safe from him was to magnetize a pair of cuffs to the metal of the bunks, three sets total, one for his hands and one for each foot. You shudder at how dangerous he really is, and how you never noticed.

You’re making your way into the bunk area before Tech can stop you and you rush through the doorway, wisps of hair surrounding your dirty face and heaving chest.

Through the glare, he grits his teeth. Sitting with his hands pinned above him to the metal frame of the second bunk. Forcing him to sit on the edge of Tech’s bed.

“You’re clever traitors, I'll give you that.” He says, words slithering out threateningly. The commotion that caught your attention has bought the other four into the doorway as well.

“Ohhhhh,” he taunts. “The cavalry has arrived hasn't it?” you blink. A lot. Because if you blink fast enough the image blurs enough so that it looks like the man you love. Gingerly you step towards him, ignoring the hand that reaches out to stop you. You sit yourself on the bunk opposite.

“Do you… do you recognize me?” You ask, still clutching your necklace. He shifts as best he can in the cuffs and doesn't answer. “Crosshair…” You whisper hopelessly.

“CT 9904.” He corrects. You raise an eyebrow, and decide to switch tactics.

“So CT 9904 what do you make of CT 9903, CT 9902, and CT 9901?” you gesture to Hunter, Wrecker and Tech respectively.

“Enemies to the empire.” He states,

“You can’t reason with him with the inhibitor chip still inside.” Tech chimes in, making you sigh and look away from the prisoner on the bed and back at your necklace.

“Do you recognize this?” You ask softly, holding it out to him. His eyes narrow as he looks at it - but stays silent.

It’s a tense moment, the rest of the batch also analyzing the rough gem wrapped in leather that you’ve been wearing for as long as any of them can remember. How Crosshair would have a connection to it, they’re only just realizing. He was never one for much romance, but this gift was different. Given to you on shore leave far away from prying eyes, and confirmation that even though you could never tell anyone, he’d always be yours. The necklace was confirmation of a secret relationship and the only public display of affection either of you could show.

“Crosshair.” you press desperately, “do you recognize this?” His breathing becomes a bit more laboured, more stressed, more like he's fighting something.

“Good soldiers follow orders. Good soldiers follow orders. Good-”

“Tech scan him again.” you demand watching as he begins to struggle against the bindings. Tech presses his way in the room.

“Hold his head for me,” he says before beginning a scan with a specialized tool that he's been young with for some time. You rest your hands on his face, one cupped behind and one so that you can rub calming circles on his cheek. It's the same way you used to hold him after missions that had gone less to plan.

“Good soldiers follow orders.” He says over and over as his eyes glaze over and become unfocused.

“Tech,” you say worriedly, desperately trying to coax Crosshair back to life and calm him down.

“Good soldiers follow orders.” He says with his head falling back, and you do your best to keep him supported.

“I’ve got it!” Tech shouts, looking at the left side of his temple. “Everyone out! I need to sedate him.” Your head flies up, you’re not keen to leave him, not when he's in this state.

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

“I can't leave him…”

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

“Wrecker get her out now!” Tech shouts and you feel arms like tree trunks around your middle and you can’t do more than wriggle as your hands slip from Crosshairs face as you're dragged out of the room.

It’s not too long later when Tech re-emerges but it feels like a lifetime to you. And before you can even get a word out he places a petri dish on the table, before leaving to go into the fresher. You rush back to find Crosshair laying on the floor, one hand still magnetized to the leg of one of the bunks. You doubt the cleanliness of the operation but if there's one thing the bad batch had in great supply it was Bacta and antibiotics.

There's a patch of shaven hair by his temple with a small bandage over it, and the drugs seem to be wearing off quickly because he's already shifting. You run a soft hand over his stubble. You’re scared to wake him, because if he wakes and it isn't the man you know under his eyes, you don’t know what you’ll do.

He groans, it's long and deep like the kind you're used to getting in the early hours of the morning when you get up to sneak him out of your bed and back into his bunk. Your name slips past his lips, and his eyes flutter open.

You’re ready to jump away, scared even though he's still bound. And you recoil when his arms reach for you and get stopped by the binder. He looks confused for a moment before his eyes meet the metal restraining him.

His eyes meet yours with tears falling from them.

“Crosshair?” you ask, “I need to know it’s you.”

“The necklace, I gave it to you.” He says, but you remain far from his grasp still. “It was the last day shore leave, at your-our place. We were in bed, the sun was rising, it was the first time I told you I loved you.” He says slowly, deliberately, in a soft voice he only uses around you. Unconsciously you move to him, his freehand wraps around your waist as he buries his face where your shoulder meets your neck. You pull him away only to press your lips to his in a kiss that’s a mess of tears, teeth and a need to be close to one another.

“I’m sorry.” He gasps when you break away the breath. “Maker, mesh’la i’m so sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter.” You tell him, unlocking the binder so he can hold you with both hands, before kissing him again, this time it is somehow more needy than the last, you can't get enough of Crosshair because now you know what it is like to lose him. Your hands reach under his empire blacks, partly because you want to burn every part of the empire to the ground and partly because you're desperate to properly feel him again. You feel his warm hands up your back as they go under your tunic and you keen into his touch.

Hunter clears his throat from the doorway.

“I was on my way to check on you.” He says after the two of you break away. “But it seems you two are getting on just fine.” Your face flushes bright red as Hunter turns away. “Good to have you back Crosshair.” Hunter says firmly.

Crosshair presses a kiss to your neck before smiling.

“Good to be back Sarge.”

[treesnutsandleaveswrites]

Left Behind

Pairing: The Bad Batch x Reader (Polyam)

Summary: After staying with Roland Durand, you make up with the team and head out on another mission

Warning: Angst, some fluff, ANGST, injury, Imperial!Crosshair at the end, mentions of shooting and violence, Bad Batch spoilers ig

Word Count: 2445

A/N: I’m kind of on a writing kick rn lol

pt xx, pt xxii

XXXXXXX

You woke up to the sun reaching your eye-line. It was an odd thing to wake up to. The sun barely shined into the flat Cid was letting the Batch borrow, and there was barely any sunlight on Kamino to wake you up either. You sat up in the bed and let the silk sheets pool around. If it wasn’t obvious already, you had stayed the night at Roland’s, deeming it a bit late to buy off a speeder and head back to Cid’s. Beeping came from the communicator of your armor, which made your heart skip a beat.

“Ah, kriff…” You muttered before getting up and grabbing it, “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Hunter asked with a hiss in his voice, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… I’m still in town.”

He sighed and you could basically hear him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, “Just… try to get back before the sun is at its highest point or else Echo is gonna reign hellfire on the city to find you.”

You nodded, “Yeah… got it.”

The communicator went dead as Roland walked in wearing a new set of clothes.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?”

You smiled while still looking at the communicator, tossing it slightly in your hands, “Like a baby…”

He observed your movements and his face fell, “Duty calls?”

You nodded, “I should go.”

“Alright… I’ll have a few of my guards escort you. Get ready, I’ll be waiting downstairs.”

“Okay…” You whispered as he walked out.

*******

You made your way out of the building and found a few guards waiting in a speeder.

“Where’s Roland?”

“Dealing with some business. He said to take you back to Cid’s.” One of them explained which caused you to nod and get into the speeder. It wasn’t long until the speeder pulled up in front of Cid’s parlor, where Hunter was talking with Echo and Wrecker. You hopped out of the speeder and waved them off before they pulled out and turned the corner.

“Ad’ika! There you are!” Wrecker grinned before picking you up into a tight hug.

“Hi, Wreck.” You smiled as he set you down and followed them inside.

Tech was sitting at the bar with Omega, showing her something on his datapad. He glanced up at you, then pulled out his blaster and aimed in your direction. The others had done so and were facing the threshold, which made you turn. Roland was standing there in one of his guard’s uniforms, holding the helmet under his arm.

“I’m not here to take your things again, don’t worry.” He said nonchalantly.

“Why are you here?” Cid wondered, leaning against the bar.

He didn’t bother to answer her as he turned his attention to you, “I had to see you were safe…”

You shook your head, “You shouldn’t be here…” You urged back into the threshold, “Please, go…”

“Lodestar…” He whispered, stopping your motions and holding your hands, “You’re welcome anytime, you know that?”

You nodded, not looking into his eyes, “I know…”

“Be careful.” He whispered, kissing your knuckles and leaving the parlor.

You stood in the threshold for a moment before making your way into the parlor.

“So you’re working for anyone now?” Cid asked maliciously.

“I didn’t do a job for him…”

“Well, then what the hell were you doing?”

“Nothing. If I did a job, I would’ve given the money to you.” You admitted, placing your helmet down.

“What did he want?”

“Nothing, he has no interest in your parlor anymore.” You murmured.

“If I catch you slipping up again, you’re out! I don’t care what these boys say!” Cid stated which caused you to nod. A hand was placed on your shoulder and you turned to see Tech.

“Darling-”

“You’re right…” You said plainly, “You shouldn’t trust me.”

“Lodestar-” Echo started.

“I… should have never left with you.”

“Don’t say that, ad’ika.” Wrecker pleaded.

“Cyare…” Hunter murmured, going up to you, “you’re struggling… with something many people struggle with. We aren’t gonna give up on you just like that…”

“Tech was drunk, and whether he likes it or not… he’s not always right.” Echo insisted.

“For once, I agree with that statement.” Tech remarked.

“Please, don’t go.” Omega whispered, “You’re our family. We need you.”

You looked at her for a moment before nodding. She hugged you tight and you hugged her back gently.

“Okay! Enough with the hugging! It’s hurting my eyes!” Cid groaned, “I guess you can stay in touch with Roland, be a double agent or somethin’.”

You smiled gently, but then Omega spoke up.

“What was with the hand kissing thing?”

“Yeah…” Hunter crossed his arms,”What was that?”

You rolled your eyes, “Nothing happened. I guess… he just has slight feelings?”

“Slight?! When we were held hostage, he couldn’t keep himself away from her!” Omega laughed.

“Omega!” You exclaimed.

“You can stay friends with him… but make sure he isn’t too comfortable.” Echo instructed.

“C’mon… you really think I’d give up the four of you for one of him? It’s gonna take more than sweet talk and a four course meal to get out of your hooks.” You crossed your arms. Wrecker laughed and scooped you into his arms.

“That’s our girl!”

All of you headed towards the Marauder and you looked around in confusion.

“Wrecker, where are you taking me?”

“Ah, we have a mission!”

“Seriously? Huh, I guess your enhancements help you recover from hangovers quicker…”

Wrecker set you down once you were all loaded into the ship.

*******

You were looking over some data on the computer while Omega was working on some wiring on Gonky and Hunter was sitting next to you, flipping his knife around.

“We’re being hailed.” Wrecker called out, “It’s from Rex!”

You all looked at each other before heading into the cockpit. Echo opened the transmission on the projector and you saw Rex in a large cloak.

“Hello, boys. Sorry to get right to it, but I could use your help.”

“What do you need, Captain?” Hunter wondered.

“I’ve received a distress signal from a clone trooper, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment to retrieve him.”

“You want us to recover a reg?”

“He’s an old friend, and he’s in trouble. I need you to get him out.”

“Out of what exactly?”

Beeping went off in the transmission, which caused Rex to get frantic, “Can’t talk right now. Sending you his signal. I’ll be in touch.” Then the transmission ended.

“What was that about?” asked Wrecker.

“The distress signal sent by CC-5576 is originating from Daro: a terrestrial planet in the Outer Rim with no known settlements or installations.

“What’s he doing all the way out there?” You wondered.

“Well, does it matter?” Echo asked.

“We’ve gone on missions before without intel, this is stretching it.”

“Rex wouldn’t ask us for help if it wasn’t urgent.” Echo insisted.

“Echo’s got a point.” Wrecker agreed.

“May I remind you that we are in the middle of a job for Cid. If we deviate, we will not be compensated. No money means no food.”

“Oh yeah, Tech’s got a point.” Wrecker said.

“But Rex’s friend is in trouble, that’s more important than getting paid.” Omega butted in.

“Well, the kids got a point.” Wrecker finalized, which caused you to chuckle.

Hunter hesitated before having a small staredown with Echo. He sighed gently, “Lodestar, what’s your say?”

You sat back, “I am ‘Lodestar the Liberator’… you already know my answer, love.”

Hunter nodded, “Fine. We’ll check things out.”

You all nodded in agreement and prepped for Daro.

*******

Tech landed the ship and you all trailed out, following Tech as he tracked the clone’s signal. You looked around, staying behind the group in case of any surprises.

“The signal is coming from here.” Tech announced, which caused Omega to go ahead and find the beacon connected to a large log.

“Found it!” She handed it to Tech.

“Where’s the reg?” Wrecker looked around. Hunter took off his helmet and looked at the ground. You crouched when you felt some uneven earth.

“Hunter… track marks.” You announced, “Fresh… maybe from last night or early this morning.”

“We’re too late… the reg’s been caught.” Hunter concluded, “He was running, then he got dragged this way.”

You all followed him as he moved further towards the mountain just nearby.

“There’s something here.” Hunter looked up at the mountain.

“You’re right. There’s something jamming my signal.”

“I thought you said there was nothing here!” Wrecker exclaimed.

“That data appears to be inaccurate.” Tech stated.

“Wrecker, you, Omega, and Lodestar head back to the ship.”

“I thought-” Omega started.

“Coming here was up for debate. This is not.” Hunter said sternly before turning to you, “I need you to help fly the ship just in case Wrecker needs to bring in heavy fire.”

You nodded and urged Omega to follow Wreck back to the Marauder. Before you went to join them, you grabbed Hunter’s helmet and bumped it with his gently.

“Be careful…”

He nodded before urging his brothers to the mountain. You watched them for a moment before heading back to the cruiser.

Omega paced in the shuttle while waiting for her brothers to come back. You were adjusting the scope on your helmet while Wrecker sat back in one of the chairs. “Meg… come here.” You called, which caused her to hesitate before she stood in front of you. You let out a small laugh and caressed her cheek, “Y’know who you remind me of?” “Who?” She asked grumpily.

“Me.” You smiled, “I was never allowed to go with the others on the field… they made sure I stayed on the ship.”

“They’ve been on so many missions, how could you stand it?”

“I trusted them and they trusted me… of course, I was worried, but they ended up coming back at the end…”

She groaned, “I’m a part of the team now! I should be a part of the action!”

“Dealing with bugs on Ord Mantell wasn’t action? Or co-piloting a shuttle?”

She sighed, “It was, but I want more!”

You chuckled, “You really are a clone at heart… always ready for the action.” You sighed and cupped her face, “But even clones your age need some preparation and training before going into big battles.”

“The clones who are younger than me look as old as Rex!”

You shook your head, “Patience, ‘Meg… there will be a time when you will lead them… right now, we wait.”

She sighed and nodded, going back to her pacing. You went back to cleaning up your armor as you all waited. Eventually, you were in the main part of the ship tending to D-5.

“Maybe let’s not leave you in the mount next time, D-5.”

“D-d-d-damaged?”

“It’s not bad, buddy. Your balance module is just out of place again, and you bent your antenna.”

You finished fixing him and set him next to Gonky, “Stay there, okay?”

“O-o-okay.”

You shook your head and spoke to yourself, “Why do I expect him to listen?”

You made your way into the cockpit, seeing Wrecker and Omega doing the same thing.

“How can you be so calm?” Omega burst at Wrecker.

“I’m recharging! I’ll be ready to go when they call!”

Suddenly, the comm channel opened, “Wrecker! Omega! Lodestar! Meet us at our location!”

Omega got into the pilot's seat with Wrecker, “We’re on our way!”

You stood behind them, hanging on to the back of the chairs.

“Focus, Omega! Stay steady!” You instructed.

“Got it! We are on approach!”

You headed towards the hatch and opened it, pulling out you blaster and stunning the troopers behind them.

“Meg! Get closer!” You called, hanging onto the threshold. Wrecker came to join you as you helped Tech and the other clone onto the ship. You heard an approaching ship.

“We’ve got incoming, 6 o’clock!” You called to Tech, who took over the ships controls.

“Wrecker, get on the gunner’s mount!” Tech ordered. You nodded to Wrecker as you shot at the incoming troopers. You hopped off the ship to help them fend off the attackers as the ship swooped out to avoid the airfighters.

“I said stay on the ship!” Hunter ordered.

“Well, do you want me to jump off the mountain and fly to them?!”

He shook his head as you helped Echo fight off some troopers.

“We’re coming back around! Be ready!” Tech announced on comms

The ship pulled up and Echo jumped onto the ship as you and Hunter shot at the troopers. You looked back to make sure he got on safe, getting hit in the arm in the process.

“Ah!” You were flung back by the blast, losing your balance.

“Lodestar!”

Tech maneuvered the ship to try and catch you, but to no avail, you were already off the platform. Hunter tried to jump for the edge of the ship to catch you, but he missed and he too fell down the cliff.

“Hunter! Lodestar!” Omega called, but Echo grabbed her and urged her into the ship.

As Hunter fell, he tried to dampen his fall by latching into the mountain with his knife, but it wouldn’t hold. He had landed just before a clearing and looked up to see where you fell.

“Lodestar!” He called, “Lodestar!”

“Multiple system failures, we can't take anymore hits!” Tech said on comms.

“Get the ship out of here! I have to find Lodestar and we’ll get back to you!”

“Negative, the odds of escape are not in your favor!”

“I’m not leaving her behind! Go Tech! That’s an order!”

He looked ahead, seeing a shuttle land multiple troopers approaching.

“No! Turn around!” Omega cried, “Hunter, tell them to come back! Order them to come back!”

“Sorry, kid… I can’t do that…” Hunter sighed before sheathing his dagger and surrendering to the troopers.

*******

Crosshair arrived with his squad and looked to the commanding officer who approached him.

“Commander, the other clones got away but we have their leader.”

“What about the other girl?”

“Troopers reported she fell off the cliff. She’s most likely dead.”

“And if she isn’t? That woman has connections all over the outer rim. Do you want the Pykes or the Hutts to be involved with our affairs?”

“N-no, sir.”

“My squad and I will find her with help from your troopers. Get a shuttle ready.” Crosshair ordered and watched as the commanding officer rushed off.

“Commander, do we really need the girl? Isn’t the leader enough?”

Crosshair sneered at his squad member, “Like I said. She has connections in the outer rim. She’s valuable. We aren’t leaving here without her.”

XXXXXXX

Taglist:

@darkangel4121 @lightning-wolffe @alucas528 @rintheemolion @shadowfoxey @butch-medusae @gabile18 @incandescentlywarm @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @spidercrush3

[ironmandeficiency]

trust throw

pairing: wrecker / reader

word count: 1077

summary: a mission gone awry leads to feelings being embraced.

a/n: i’m in the very tedious process of moving some of my c&m content to my main, enjoy what may become a clone influx depending on how quick i am w it. set pre-echo. no warnings to be found

neither of you really intended for your relationship to go beyond a simple camaraderie, what it always had been since you were folded into the ranks of the bad batch. the first instinct was to keep the clones at arm’s length, maintaining just enough friendliness to warrant trust on the battlefield and nothing more. growing attached never does good when either of you could die at any time, but the longer you were both alive and around each other, the harder it became to stomach it.

crosshair was far easier to be around than most usually think. his low standards for others left plenty of room for him to be pleasantly surprised when things go alright, so when the happier lilt in his voice makes it’s presence known, it’s always genuine.

wrecker, though? despite the fact he lets himself be read like a holonovel, it was like attempting to read one in a language you didn’t know. you had no idea how to talk to someone that was so open and honest, utterly devoid of any motives other than what he makes known. it was always “this means that” and “up means down” with most other people because not many people would trust a jedi so openly with their true feelings so brazenly.

but wrecker was different. more time spent with the animal loving pyro had him pouring his soul out to you right on the floor of the marauder. it was hard to not give him something back; you feared that if he gave too much that he’d soon have nothing left, and you refused to watch the light die in his eyes.

so you tried to repress everything you’d been taught since the crèche about emotions and vulnerability, starting to give pieces of yourself to wrecker and the guys. it worked wonders on missions, making your motley crew even more efficient. there was never a doubt whether someone would do what they said they would, would be where they said they would be.

this newfound trust — along with what had turned out to be a trap — prompted the first throwing. the five of you were surrounded and almost everyone wounded in some form or another. escaping to higher ground meant life or death. you figured the plan would be for you to use the force and move them before bringing yourself to safety, but wrecker had other ideas.

once hunter’s mapped out an escape route, wrecker snatches tech by his back plates and throws as hard as he can. you’d never seen this display of strength and are absolutely gobsmacked, but you have the sense to use the force to push him a little farther and soften the landing. he does the same for hunter and crosshair until it’s just you and him left.

he’s right beside you and starting to grab you by the modified armor you wore painted in the same slate grey the boys wore, but you moved from his reach the moment you felt him come towards you.

“let me throw you! you need to get with the others!”

“no! you won’t have a way to get to us!”

“i’ve got you for that, don’t i?”

there was something in his force signature alongside the trust and adoration. that something you didn’t have the experience to identify was rolling into you like the waves of kamino against tipoca city. it told you that he knew with every fiber of himself that you were gonna get him out of there in one piece.

when he goes to grab you again you shake your head, pointing to a small area of respite from the droid’s blaster fire. you’re there in seconds and you can tell he’s wondering what you’re about to do but isn’t questioning whatever you’re thinking of. your lightsaber is quickly put away as your hands reach for his, giving them a soft squeeze before moving them together. he gets the hint to lock his fingers and he realizes how exactly he’s going to launch you.

the blaster fire was now centered on your little respite and it would only be moments before they had you on the ground before them if you didn’t get out now. “on the count of three!” he nods quickly. “one, two, THREE!”

he put most of his strength behind that launch and you felt like you were flying. you turned your body towards him, back to your destination. the force wrapped around wrecker, bringing him into the air with you.

he didn’t struggle against the hold you had on him, seeming to take comfort in the presence instead of being worried. oddly enough, he seemed to enjoy it, especially after you brought him even to you with a wide grin. you knew heights were troubling to wrecker, so seeing him so carefree while midair was unexpected.

when asked about this moment, soaring through the air with his jedi while escaping from a seppie ambush, he’ll say that the only reason he wasn’t afraid of falling was because he knew you would catch him. he could feel your presence around him the entire time and nothing in him doubted that he was safe with you.

your recounting of the events that took place on that backwater planet have you reminiscent of the way he threw you, how you felt so free when soaring towards the rendezvous. it was nothing you’d felt before, nothing you thought you’d feel again until the next inevitable launching.

but then you’re back to the marauder and he collects you into his arms, holding you there as if you would be snatched away if he didn’t barricade you between them. he sinks to his knees with you and lets everything he’s feeling right then be known — the fear of losing you to the swarm in those final moments, the elation of feeling your force presence cocooning him like a soft blanket because that meant he had succeeded in protecting you, what he now told you was love with no words to be found.

and for the first time, you open yourself up the same as he did for you. showing yourself to someone else didn’t hurt the way your master had insisted it would. to you, it felt as if you were making a home in the arms of this clone, this man, this hero. if given the choice, you swear that you’d choose those arms over any temple.

canon clone taglist: @getdookuedon @obirain @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky @the-studious-porg @capricornrabies @catsnkooks @darthadeline @leias-left-hair-bun @olluea @fireghost-x @majorshiraharu @simping-for-fives @stardustsunrisekisses @captainrexstan @artemis61003 @jedi-mando @whovianwar @hornystarwarsbisexual @janebby @mackstrut

[itsclydebitches]

The Bad Batch: A Crosshair Analysis

Hello, Star Wars fandom! I have just completed watching—and loving—The Bad Batch, which you know means I now need to dump all my thoughts about the first season into the tumblr void. Specifically, thoughts on the complicated drama that is Crosshair. I have no doubt that the majority of what I’m about to say will be old news to anyone who watched the show when it came out (I’m slow...), but I’m writing it all out anyway. Largely for my own sanity enjoyment :D

I want to preface all of this by saying that the above is not an exaggeration. I love the show and I love the entire cast. My enjoyment in each of the characters is directly connected to my enjoyment of the season as a whole, which I say because I’m about to get pretty critical towards some of the characters’ choices and, to a lesser extent, the writing choices that surround those. Does this mean I secretly hate The Bad Batch? Quite the opposite. I’m invested, which is presumably just what Filoni wants. I’m just hoping that investment pays off. 

But enough of the disclaimers. Let’s start with the matter of the inhibitor chip. I’ve seen fans take some pretty hard stances on both sides: Crosshair is completely innocent because he’s definitely been under the chip’s control this whole time, no matter what he might say. Crosshair is completely guilty because he said the chip was removed a long time ago and he chose to do all this, no moral wiggle room allowed. However, the reality is that we don’t know enough to make a clear call either way. The audience, simply put, does not have all the necessary information. What we have instead is a couple of facts combined with claims that may or may not be reliable. Let’s lay them out:

Crosshair was definitely under the chip’s control at the start of the series.

He was able to resist it to a certain extent, resulting in a pressure to obey orders coupled with a primary loyalty to his squad. See: telling Hunter to follow the Empire’s commands—which includes killing kid Padawans—but not turning his team in as traitors when they did not. It’s an in-between space.

Crosshair’s chip was then amplified to an unknown extent. I’m never going to claim I’m a Star Wars aficionado—I’m a casual fan, friends. Please don’t yell at me over obscure lore lol—but within TBB’s canon, no one else is undergoing that experimentation. The effects of this are entirely unknown, which includes Crosshair’s free will, or lack thereof.

Crosshair then becomes a clear tool of the Empire, hunting down innocents, killing on a whim, the whole, evil shebang.

In “Reunion” he’s caught by the engine and suffers severe burns to his face. One leaves a scar that covers precisely the place where the chip would have been extracted.

Removing the chip leaves its own scar behind. If Crosshair’s was removed, we can’t see that scar due to the burn.

After these events Crosshair seems to mellow a bit. He does horrible things under the Empire’s orders—like shooting the senator—but is still loyal to his squad—killing his non-clone teammates to give TBB a chance, saving AZ and Omega, etc.

Crosshair claims that his chip has already been removed. However, Crosshair is arguably an unreliable source if he’s been lied to or if the chip is still there, encouraging him to manipulate the team.

Crosshair claims it was removed a long time ago, which is incredibly imprecise. As we can see from just some of the events listed above, precisely when the chip came out—if it came out—makes a huge difference.

Hunter realizes this and presses for clarification, but Crosshair dodges giving it. Again, a legitimate belief that it doesn’t matter, or evidence that he can’t say because something else is going on? We don’t know.

Hunter checks Crosshair’s head and finds the burn scar which proves… nothing. As stated above, they wouldn’t be able to see the surgery scar one way or another: its existence or its absence. It’s useless data, as Tech might say. I’ve seen a few fans claim that Hunter was also feeling for the chip with his enhanced senses, but 1. I didn’t catch any evidence of that in the scene and 2. Even if we assume Hunter did that anyway, the chips are notoriously hard to spot. Fives and AZ couldn’t find the chip at first when examining Tup. Ahsoka had to use the force to find it in Rex. TBB themselves couldn’t find it at first in Wrecker. If machinery consistently fails to find the chip on the first couple of tries—it’s meant to be a hidden implant, after all—why would we believe Hunter’s senses could pick it up instantly? Maybe he missed it, or maybe it wasn’t there at all. 

Crosshair appears to be struggling with a headache in the finale, just as he was at the beginning of the season and just like Wrecker was for the first half.

The point of listing all this out is to emphasize how ambiguous this whole situation is. I don’t want to use this post to argue one way or another about whether Crosshair’s chip is really out. I have my preferred theory (the chip’s still in, but only partially functional), but at the end of the day none of this is conclusive. The writing takes us in what I hope is deliberate circles. Crosshair says the chip is out? Crosshair is not a reliable source of information until we know if the chip is out. What other evidence is there that the chip is gone? A scar? We can’t see if there’s a scar. Hunter’s abilities? He only checked once for a canonically hard to find implant—if he actually checked at all. And why would the Empire want the chip out? Well, maybe it has to do with that push towards willing soldiers, but if that were the case, why leave Crosshair behind and have the “clones die together”? By that point he was one of the most willing, chip or not. Did they have to take it out because of the engine accident? Pure speculation. We just don’t know and THAT is the point I want to make.

Because it means the rest of the Bad Batch didn’t know either.

The core issue I have here is not whether the chip is in or out, or even how long it may have been in if it is out now. The issue is that TBB spent 99% of the first season believing that Crosshair was under the chip’s influence… and they didn’t try to do anything about that. They abandoned him. They left a man behind. Does this make them all horrible monsters? Of course not! This shit is complicated as hell, but I do think they made a very large mistake and that Crosshair has every right to be furious about it.

“But, Clyde, they couldn’t have gone back. It was too dangerous! Hunter had a duty to his whole team, not just Crosshair.” True enough and I’d buy this argument 100% if Hunter hadn’t spent the entire season throwing his team into dangerous, seemingly impossible situations to save other people. Crosshair became the exception, not a hard rule of something they had to avoid. They went back to Kamino for Omega, a kid they’d only had one lunch with, despite knowing how dangerous the Empire was. They went into the heart of an occupied planet to rescue not just a stranger, but one belonging to the Separatist government. They helped Sid when she asked and there was plenty of compassion for the criminal trying to take her place. Most significantly, there wasn’t the slightest hesitation to go rescue Hunter when he was under the Empire’s control, in precisely the same place. Every explanation I’ve seen fans come up with—Kamino is too fortified, they don’t know where Crosshair is, they can’t risk Omega being captured, etc.—also holds true for Hunter, yet there wasn’t a second of doubt about needing to at least try to help him. And his rescue was arguably far more dangerous given that TBB knew they were walking into a trap. Going after Crosshair would have at least had some element of surprise.

I think the problem with these justifications is most easily seen in “Rescue on Ryloth” and, later, “War-Mantle.” In the former, we do watch Hunter decide that going on a rescue mission is too much of a risk, only for Omega to talk him into considering it.

Hunter: “It’s a big galaxy. We can’t put ourselves on the line every time someone’s in trouble.”

Omega: “Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?”

Hunter: “It’s not worth the risk.”

Omega: “She’s trying to save her family, Hunter. I’d do the same for you.”

The arguments that sway him are ‘Soldiers should help people’ and ‘Soldiers should specifically help their family.’ So… what does that say about their feelings for Crosshair? They’re willing to put themselves on the line for the parents of a girl they met once at a drop site, but not their own brother? That’s the message the writing sends. “But, Clyde, the difference is that they had an advantage here. Hera’s knowledge of her home planet tipped the odds in their favor.” Yeah… and Crosshair is stationed on TBB’s home planet. Even more than them collectively having the same knowledge that Hera does, “Return to Kamino” reveals that Omega always had additional, insider knowledge of the base: she has access to a secret landing pad and the tunnels leading up into the city. That knowledge was given and used the second Hunter’s freedom was on the line, but it never once came up to use for Crosshair’s benefit. 

“War-Mantle’s” mission puts this problem in even sharper relief. Another claim I’ve seen a lot is that TBB only took risky rescue missions because they needed to be paid. The guys have got to eat after all. Yet Tech makes it clear that going after Gregor will lose them money. They’re meant to be on a mission for Sid and deviating for that won’t result in a payment. He explicitly says that if they decide to do this, they won’t eat. They do it anyway. No money, no intel, a huge risk “on a clone we don’t even know.” But that’s not what’s important, the show says. All that matters is that a brother is in trouble. This time it’s Echo pushing that message instead of Omega. When Hunter realizes that they’re about to try and infiltrate an entire facility and they don’t even know if this clone is still alive, Echo points out that they took that risk once before: for him. “If there’s a chance that trooper is being held against his will, we have to try and get him out.”

Yes! Exactly right! So why doesn’t that apply to Crosshair?

“Because he tried to kill them, Clyde!” No, that’s the easy, dismissive answer. A chipped Crosshair tried to kill them. AKA, a Crosshair entirely under the Empire’s control. The only difference between his enslavement and Gregor’s is that Gregor’s chains were physical while Crosshair’s were mental. And again, the point of everything at the start of this post is to show that no one knows when or even if that chip was removed. TBB definitely didn’t have any reason to suspect that Crosshair was working under his own power until Crosshair himself said as much. We might have been able to make that case at the start of the season, but “Battle Scars” removes any possible confusion. The entire team watched Rex reach for his blaster when he learned their chips were still in. The entire team watched Wrecker become a totally different person and attack them, just like Crosshair did. The entire team forgave him instantly and had their own chips removed. So why in the world didn’t anyone go, “Wow, Crosshair has a chip too. He was no more responsible for attacking us than Wrecker was. We need to try to get him out, no matter how hard that might be, just like we had to try for all these other people we’ve helped.”

But they didn’t. No one even considered rescuing Crosshair. They only went back for Hunter and, when they realized Crosshair was there too, they didn’t change their plans to try and rescue him as well. He’s treated as a particularly threatening inconvenience, not another team member in need of their help.

The problem I have with how this all went down is that the team treated Crosshair like an enemy despite all evidence to the contrary. Despite Omega outright saying that this isn’t his fault, it’s the chip, the group seems to decide that he’s gone crazy or something and that there’s nothing they can do. “It’s fine,” I thought. “They don’t really get what the chip is like yet. They don’t understand how thoroughly it controls someone.” But then “Battle Scars” arrives and Wrecker is treated with such compassion (which he deserves!) only for the group to continue acting like Crosshair is somehow different. It’s easy to say, “But Crosshair shot Wrecker” and ignore the easy pushback of, “and Wrecker nearly shot Omega.” Up until Crosshair’s own accusations and Omega’s ignored comments, TBB’s understanding of the chip’s influence and the lack of responsibility that accompanies mysteriously disappears when the show’s antagonist becomes the subject of conversation. This is seen most clearly in how Hunter tries to frame things during his talk with Crosshair:

“You tried to kill us. We didn’t have a choice.”

“Can’t you see that they’re using you? It’s that inhibitor chip in your head.”

“You really don’t get who we are, do you?”

Hunter mentions the chip, but he acts as if it’s Crosshair’s responsibility to overcome it: “Can’t you see…” Of course he can’t see, that’s the entire point of the chip, the thing he currently believes Crosshair still has stuck in his head. But Hunter and the others—with Omega as a wonderful exception—never seem to have accepted this like they did for Wrecker. When Crosshair “tried to kill us” it’s seen as a deliberate act that he chose, not something forced on him like with Wrecker. When Hunter talks about their ethics, he subconsciously separates the team from Crosshair: “You really don’t get who we are, do you?”, revealing a pretty ingrained divide between them. Even Wrecker gets in on the action, the one brother who truly understands how much the chip controls someone: “All that time, you didn’t even try to come back.” What part of he couldn’t try is not hitting home here? Again, for the purposes of this conversation it doesn’t matter whether Crosshair was chipped this whole time or not. The point is that TBB believed he was chipped… and yet still expected him to somehow, magically overcome that programming, writing him off when he failed to do that. He’s consistently held responsible for actions that they were told (and, through Wrecker, saw) were completely outside of his control. Even when we factor in his claim that the chip was removed, TBB has ignored all the evidence I listed at the start. No one, not even Omega, challenges this super vague and strange claim, or seeks out proof because they don’t want to believe that their brother could willingly do this. There’s just this... acceptance that of course Crosshair went bad. Why? Because he was an asshole sometimes? Taking it all as written, it doesn’t feel like the batch considered him a true part of the team. Certainly not like Wrecker or Hunter. As shown, the batch will go out of their way, risk anything, forgive anything, for them. They have a level of faith that was never shown to Crosshair. 

“Severe and unyielding,” Tech says and he’s absolutely right, but I’d seriously challenge this idea that any of the others would have automatically done better if the situations were reversed. It stood out to me that each batch member has a moment of doubt throughout the series, a brief glimpse into how they think the Empire isn’t that bad, at least when it comes to this particular thing. Basically, a moment that could lead to a very dangerous line of thinking without others to stomp it down. Wrecker announces that he’s happy working for whoever, provided they give him food and let him blow things up. Tech finds the chain codes to be an ingenious strategy and is clearly fascinated with their development. Hunter initially wants Omega to stay on Kamino, despite knowing that this Empire has already, systematically killed an entire group of people: the Jedi. Doesn’t matter. She’s still (supposedly) safer there than she would be running with the likes of them.

There’s absolutely no doubt that those three made the correct choice in defying the Empire, but I believe that their ability to make that choice is largely dependent on them having each other. They survive together, not apart, and it’s their unity that allows them to make the really hard calls, like setting out on their own and opposing such a formidable force. But if Tech’s chip had activated and he’d been left behind, would he have muscled through to escape somehow...or would he have gotten caught up in all the new technology the Empire offered him, succumbing to both his chip and the inevitability that if his squad no longer wanted him, why not stay? Would Wrecker have escaped, or been easily manipulated into a new life of exploding things? Would Hunter have been able to push through without his brothers, or would he have become devoted to a new team to lead? Obviously there’s no way to ever know, but it’s always easier to make the right decisions when you have support in doing so. Crosshair had no support. His team left him and yes, they had to in that specific moment, but the point is that they never came back. As far as we saw throughout the season, they never planned to come back. They all talk about loving the Crosshair who existed when life was easier, but they weren’t willing to fight for the Crosshair that most needed their help. When he says “You weren’t loyal to me,” he’s absolutely right. The same episode, “Return to Kamino,” gives Omega two powerful lines that the group rallies behind:

Omega: “[The danger] doesn’t matter. Saving Hunter is what matters.”

AZ: “You must leave.”

Omega: “Not without Hunter.”

The key word there is “Hunter.” Danger, stakes, risk, probability… none of that matters when Hunter needs help. Crosshair did not receive that same level of devotion.

Which creates a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. The group is upset that Crosshair isn’t rejoining them, but they fail to realize that he has no reason to trust them anymore. He’s not joining the Empire because he’s inherently evil and that’s that, end of discussion. He’s joining it because above all Crosshair wants a place to belong… and TBB has made it clear—unintentionally—that he does not belong with them. The horrible actions that Crosshair took under his own free will (theoretically) came after he realized that doing bad things while under the Empire’s control was, apparently, unforgivable. If it wasn’t, his team would have come back to rescue him. They could have at least tried. But they didn’t, so Crosshair is left with the conclusion that either what he did under the Empire’s control is something the group can’t forgive him for, or they can forgive that (like with Wrecker) and he’s the problem here. He’s the one not worth that effort.

“The Empire will be fazing out clones next,” Hunter says. To which Crosshair responds, “Not the ones that matter.”

He wants to matter to someone and events show he no longer matters to his brothers. So why not stay with the Empire? I mean, we as the audience ABSOLUTELY know why not. Self-doubt and feelings of isolation aren’t excuses for joining the Super Evil Organization. Crosshair, if he is under his own control, is still 100% in the wrong for supporting them, no matter his reasons. So it’s not an excuse, but rather an explanation of that very human, flawed, fallible thinking. He needs to be useful. He needs to be wanted. Crosshair is an absolute dick to the regs and I have no doubt that a lot of that stems from the harassment TBB has experienced from them (with a side of his inflated ego), but I’d bet it’s also due to Crosshair’s intense desire to be valuable to someone. He keeps pointing out the regs’ supposed deficiencies because it highlights his own usefulness. When Crosshair fails to find Hera, the Admiral says that soon he’ll get someone who can, looking straight at Howzer at the door. It makes Crosshair seethe because his entire identity is based on being useful, yet no one seems to need him anymore. TBB seems to no longer want him. The Empire no longer wants clones. Now even regs are considered a better option than him, the “superior” soldier. Everywhere Crosshair turns he’s getting the message that he’s not wanted, but he’ll keep fighting to at least be needed in some capacity, no matter how small. Even if that means overlooking all the horrors the Empire commits.

“All you’ll ever be to [the Empire] is a number,” Hunter says and he’s absolutely right. But to TBB recently, Crosshair hasn’t even been that. He’s been nothing. Nobody worth coming back for. To his mind, at least being a number is something.

I hope that all of this resolves itself into a conclusion that is kind to each side (preferably without a Vader-style death redemption), especially given the still ambiguous state of the chip, but from a writing standpoint I’m admittedly a bit wary. We’re obviously meant to believe that the batch all love each other, but as established throughout this entirely too long post, this season did a terrible job imo of proving that they love Crosshair. Or, at least, proving that they love him as much as the others. If this was really meant to be just a matter of miscommunication, with Crosshair making terrible life choices because he only thinks he was abandoned, then we as the audience would have seen the batch trying and failing to get him out. Or at least establishing a very good reason why they couldn’t take that risk, hopefully with entirely different side-missions so the audience isn’t constantly going, “So you can risk everything for Gregor... but not Crosshair?” I’m VERY glad that Crosshair was allowed to air his grievances to the extent he did, but the end result of that—Hunter continually denying this, Omega walking away from him in their rooms, neither Tech nor Wrecker actually sticking up for him and acknowledging the chip’s influence during at least some of all this—is making things feel rather one-sided. It’s like we’re meant to take Crosshair at his word and accept that he’s this garden-variety antagonist who joins the Empire because yay being on the winning side… despite all these complications that clearly have a huge impact on how we read the situation. It doesn’t help that the show has already embraced an inconsistent manner of portraying chipped-clones. We know every clone has one, we know only a couple clones are aware of the chip’s existence (and can thus try to get it out), we know they enter a “Good soldiers follow orders” mindlessness once activated… yet towards the end we see a lot of side character clones thinking for themselves. Howzer decides that he’s no longer loyal to the Empire, giving a speech where a couple other clones throw down their weapons too. Gregor was arrested because he likewise realized how wrong this all was. But how is that possible? Do the chips completely control the clones, or not? Are these clones somehow exceptions? Are the chips beginning to fail? All of that has a bearing on how we read Crosshair—what were his own decisions, how much he was capable of overcoming the chip, whether that changed at all during certain points—but right now that remains really unclear.

It’s details like that which make me wonder if all these other questions will be answered. Will the story resolve all those ambiguous moments surrounding the chip, or brush them off with the belief that we should have just taken Crosshair at his equally ambiguous word? Will the story acknowledge Crosshair’s points through someone other than Crosshair, allowing it to exist as a legitimate criticism, rather than the presumed excuses of an antagonist? I’m… not sure. On the whole I’m very happy with TBB’s writing—despite what all this might imply lol. Until my brain picks over the season and discovers something else, my only other gripe is not allowing Omega to form a solid bond with Tech and Echo, instead putting all the focus on big brother!Wrecker and dad!Hunter. I think it’s a solid show that does a lot right, but I’m worried that, unless there’s a brilliant answer to all these questions and an intent to unpack both sides of the Hunter vs. Crosshair debate with respect—not just falling back on, “Well, Crosshair is with the Empire so everything he says is automatically bad and wrong” take—we’ve just gotten the setup for a somewhat messy, ethical story. For anyone here who also reads my RWBY metas, I’m pretty sure you’re not at all surprised that I’m invested in going, “Hey, you had one of the heroes suddenly become/join a dictatorship and do a lot of horrific things, but within a pretty complicated context. Can we please work through that carefully and with an acknowledgement of the nuance here, rather than throwing the ‘evil’ character to the proverbial wolves?”  

God knows TBB is leagues ahead of RWBY, but I hope things continue on in not just a good direction, but one that tackles the aspects of this situation that many fans—and Crosshair—have already pointed out. As much as I adore the cast—and I really, really do—it was discomforting to watch a found family show where 4/5th of that family so completely wrote off one of the members and crucially have, at least so far, refused to acknowledge that. I want complicated, flawed characters, but that’s only compelling when the storytelling admits to and grapples with those flaws. We have quite firmly established Crosshair’s flaws in Season One. I hope Season Two delves into the rest of the team’s too.

Aaaand with that meta-dump out of my system, I’m off to write TBB fic. Thanks for reading! :D

[wanderinginksplot]

If you're still taking requests, can I request either Echo or Tech with hurtReader + fluff? 👀

(your writing is amazing and it melts my heart sndnfjdjdb)

Hi, friend! Thank you for the compliment - you're so sweet! I went a little lighter on the fluff than I meant to, but this is what I ended up with. Thanks for the request! Enjoy!

Tech + Injured Reader + (Minor) Fluff

*WARNING: Slight mention of gore. Nothing graphic, but a head's up.*

Watching the Havoc Marauder touch down was a ritual you followed every time the Bad Batch went anywhere without you on board. Tech liked to believe he was an excellent pilot, but you were of the opinion that flying took more than encyclopedic knowledge of a ship’s internal systems. It took instinct, a feel for the ship’s personality, and a good bit of luck to fly in a war zone.

Tech disagreed vehemently, but you had been assigned to them for a reason. Even if he had found your belief in luck - okay, slight obsession with luck - to be ridiculous, Tech admitted that you were an excellent pilot. It hadn’t been enough for you to accompany them on their mission, but it was something.

The real problem was that the members of the Bad Batch were insanely protective of anything or anyone they saw as ‘theirs’. Privately, you thought it was because they hadn’t had any personal belongings on Kamino. And they definitely hadn't had friends outside of their group. Unfortunately for you, you were also considered ‘theirs’ now and the Batch could be… restrictive when they felt you could be in danger. And since you were assigned to help them fight a literal war, you were always in danger and they were always protective. Especially Tech. You had been dating in secret for a few weeks now - too short a time for anything serious, but Tech let you take absolutely zero chances.

“Sir, we need to get you inside,” one of the troopers on deck told you, his light touch to your arm pulling your attention away from scanning the star-littered space above the hangar bay. The trooper's regulation armor looked oddly plain to you, even with the medic's symbol and the touches of gray that told you he was a member of the Wolfpack.

“I’m sorry, what was your name again?” you asked, partially to stall and partially because your luck senses were tingling.

“That isn’t important right-”

“Please?” you asked again. It was another quirk of luck. If a trooper touched you, you needed to know their name or they ended up dying. Statistically, you knew that probably wasn’t true, but who really wanted to mess around with fate if they didn’t have to?

The trooper blew out a sigh that crackled his annoyance through the speakers of his helmet. “Curl, sir. We really should be-”

“I’m sorry, Curl,” you apologized, interrupting the poor medic again. “I got separated from my team and I need to see that they’re back okay before I can leave. Does that make sense?”

“What team isn’t back yet?” Curl asked, seeming concerned. “I thought Commander Wolffe said that everyone had checked back in?”

“I’m with the Ba- with Clone Force 99,” you told him, changing your explanation to use the group’s official name at the last minute. Professionalism never hurt anyone.

“You’re with the Bad Batch?” Curl asked, sounding impressed despite himself. Without waiting for an answer, he gave a curt nod and lifted his wrist toward the speakers of his helmet. “Sergeant Sinker, Medic Curl.”

“Sinker here,” a voice answered immediately.

“Do we have an ETA on Clone Force Nine-Nine?”

“Hold.”

“Copy.” Curl glanced at you and you nodded to show that you were following the conversation.

“Curl, bridge says they’re inbound, expected to hit the hangar in about a minute.”

“Copy,” Curl said again. “Thanks, Sarge.”

“I’d stand clear,” Sergeant Sinker warned. “The good pilot isn’t on.”

“Are you the good pilot?” Curl asked you. You swore you could hear a smile in his voice.

You smiled back and nodded. “That would be me.”

“Understood, I’ve got the good pilot with me,” Curl replied over his comlink. “We’re gonna spectate, make sure they don’t scratch the paint job.”

“There’s no reason to worry,” Sinker said consolingly. “The GAR stopped springing for paint two months ago. There’ll be none left on that ship.”

Curl laughed aloud at that, shaking his head.

“Cut the chatter,” a harsh voice reprimanded. “This is an official channel. Save your jokes for the clubs on the Triple Zero, Sergeant.”

“Yes sir, Commander,” Sinker agreed chipperly.

The Solidarity’s deck shuddered as the hyperdrive activated, ready to take off as soon as the Havoc Marauder landed, and you stumbled with the movement. Curl caught you - his grip uncomfortable given the harsh plastoid planes of his armor - and shook his head.

“We really need to get you inside, sir,” Curl said again, sounding reluctant but concerned. “You have an appointment in the medbay with me, and I’ll be very offended if you’re late.”

You were about to point out that he would be late, too, when the Marauder zoomed up and around the Solidarity, clearly following a path to land.

“Wait, they’re right there,” you protested. “Give ‘em ten seconds to land and a bit longer for me to gloat, then I’ll gladly go to the medbay.” Curl hesitated and you pressed your advantage. “I’ll be a model patient, Curl. No arguments, no debates, no complaining.”

“I never believe anyone when they say that,” Curl said dryly, “but I guess you’ll survive without treatment for a little while longer.”

“Thanks, Curl!” your enthusiasm was a little… off… but you blamed it on the pain you were finally beginning to feel.

Tech was flying, you knew that beyond a doubt. Not only was he the only person allowed to fly, but the landing performed by the small cruiser was proof that the wickedly intelligent trooper was behind the controls.

As soon as they had landed, Wrecker burst out of the side door. “Ha! Told ya we would make it back in one piece.”

“More luck than skill, that,” Crosshair countered sourly, slouching from the door as well with Hunter behind him.

“As I said multiple times, everything was under control,” Tech disagreed. He caught sight of you and started in your direction, eyes taking in the way Curl’s gloved hand was still gripping your bicep.

“There, you saw ‘em,” Curl muttered to you. “We really need to go now.”

“I beg your pardon, but where exactly are you trying to go?” Tech asked sharply, glancing between the two of you.

“Medbay,” Curl replied, slipping into the vocal brevity of a career soldier. “Your pilot was injured, but wouldn’t accept treatment until you had touched down.”

“Luck, you know,” you told Tech, who was already scanning your form with his goggled gaze. You smirked at him and shrugged off Curl, who seemed ready to tow you to the medbay himself. “Also, statistical likelihood be karked! I stayed in the ‘safest possible place’ like you told me and I’m the only one who ended up injured! You should listen to me from now on.”

“What?!”

“Injured?”

"How? Where?"

The rest of the Bad Batch had surrounded you and Curl in a moment, all asking different variations of the same question. Hunter’s voice cut through them all. “Trooper, why is she not in the medbay?”

Curl held up his hands as if despairing of the entire situation. “Sorry, Sergeant. Your pilot refused to leave until we saw your ship land. It would be a big help to me if you would just issue an order to report to the medbay so I can start treating the injuries.”

For all that he liked to take a laid-back approach to non-combat leadership, Hunter took the safety of his team seriously and you knew he was about to do as Curl had suggested.

“It’s not even that bad an injury,” you argued before Hunter could speak. “I just got hit with some debris."

You tugged up the rough, canvas-like material of the uniform pants you wore while you weren’t actively flying and showed them your lower leg. You were busy looking at the faces of the Batch rather than the injury, but you knew something was wrong when Tech swore. Tech never swore.

With a frown, you glanced down at your leg. Your mind refused to make too much sense of things, but you saw smears of crimson and a pale flash of something before the dizziness returned worse than ever.

Fortunately, Curl caught you before you could actually fall and Wrecker scooped you up a moment later. He was already muttering soothing nonsense as he lifted you, and it was almost enough to keep you from noticing the pain. “All right, here we are. Everything is fine. Just don’t puke on me.”

“Medbay,” Hunter ordered severely. “Now .”

“Yes, sir,” you agreed, your voice more weak than you liked.

“Finally,” Curl muttered.

“Tech, go with them,” you heard Hunter say from a rapidly growing distance.

There was a sound of jogging steps, but when you tried to look for Tech’s familiar face, the Solidarity leapt into hyperspace and you felt like you might actually pass out.

“What will treatment consist of?” Tech asked. He was trying to mask his worry by being professional, but you could hear a hint of it in his voice.

“Some stitches, probably an antibiotic shot since the debris was metallic, and a check of the nerves in the area of injury,” Curl answered easily. The lack of concern from the medic was comforting in a strange sort of way.

The silence hung for a few moments, interrupted only by the sound of everyone’s footsteps. Eventually, Tech admitted, “I should have been able to calculate the risks more closely. This never should have happened.”

“Aw, how were you supposed to know?” Wrecker asked loudly.

“That’s right,” Curl agreed. “This is war. Unexpected variables are the norm and there are no safe spots. My only advice is to take all of your people with you. After all, your pilot accepted the assignment to be part of your team. Trying to keep people out of the action never works. Take the lesson, learn from it, and make adjustments in the future. You don’t need to do anything more than that.”

“He’s right,” you agreed, the sentiment muffled against Wrecker’s broad chestplate. “Let me do my job and trust that I’ll do everything I can to keep us all out of danger.”

You blindly stuck your hand out behind Wrecker’s back, searching until you connected with Tech’s familiar fingers. His grip was hesitant but steady, and you gave his hand a squeeze of reassurance.

“It’s probably true,” Curl said, apparently backing you up. “Pain is like a truth serum. And with that gash… it’s probably the truth. Even if you did lie about being a perfect patient.”

You chuckled at that, despite the discomfort from your injury, and relaxed a bit as you felt Tech press a kiss to the back of your hand.

---

A/N - This chapter could realistically be called 'Ink will do anything to avoid using the y/n designation'. For those who are unfamiliar, Curl is my OC medic for the Wolfpack and you can read more featuring him in Just for Kix on my masterlist. As always, I'm still taking requests! Thanks again, Anon, for this idea and I'm sorry again about skimping on the fluff! If you want me to rewrite or expand on it, please feel free to let me know.

[clonecest-bin-account]

300 followers bingo - Bad Batch | Band AU

(A story about how the Bad Batch gained a new member)

It’s always been their dream, becoming famous, even if a certain asshole - coff coff, Crosshair, coff coff - likes to act like such childish thoughts are too low for him, and now… well, they haven’t exactly reached it yet, but they’re getting close, Hunter can feel it.

All four of them have always loved music, and they love playing in their band, with Crosshair on guitar, Tech on the keyboard, Wrecker on drums, and Hunter that guides them with his singing. They have been together since they were kids, playing with fake instruments, but as soon as they got old enough, they bought the real deal.

Sure, their music is a bit… particular, to say the least, since none of them has actually studied music - they’ve all learned to play on their own, without the need of a teacher - so it’s not exactly popular, but it’s fine like this: they wouldn’t stand out if they played the same exact shit everyone else plays, right?

 Things are moving up, although slowly, but progress is still progress.

Who would’ve thought that they would be able to find a few gigs around town? Apparently many locals are trying to get some experimental musicians in order to gain attention from the public, whom we know loves curiosities.

It’s their perfect occasion to show others what they’re capable of, getting the local crowd familiar with them and their style of music and publicizing their spotify account as well as their youtube channel, even though they mostly just put their covers there.

 … There’s still something missing to their music, though, something that they could easily fix if they find the right guy: one of the few critiques that they accept about what they produce, is that the baseline is quite weak, because it’s true.

Usually Tech takes care of it, along with Wrecker, but it’s obvious that a proper bassist would make things go way more smoothly.

 There’s only one problem: finding the bassist.

Hunter doesn’t think they’re particularly unlikable, just that they have a quite peculiar dynamic, and yet every time it seems like they’ve found the right one, they always leave in a matter of a couple of days. Oh well, he doesn’t blame them: it’s definitely harder to become famous when you insist on making experimental stuff, rather than following the trends, though where’s the fun in that, he has no idea.

 “We don’t need a bassist,” Crosshair said once.

“Just ‘cause you’re the reason most of them quit, doesn’t mean you have to be an ass about it!” Wrecker replies, but thankfully Tech’s interjection breaks up any potential argument between the two. God knows they have enough of them already.

“It has been proved that adding a base does make our music sound better,” he says, scratching his chin then. “We just need to find someone that gets along with us.”

“Maybe if we ditched Crosshair…”

“Hey!”

“Guys, c’mon,” Hunter intervenes, “there’s no need to fight.”

“Right… Sorry Hunter,” Wrecker mutters, while Crosshair says nothing, though he does lower his gaze.

At that point Hunter sighs, but he goes quickly back to a hopeful demeanor - after all, they all look up to him for guidance, he can’t falter.

“C’mon, let’s not lose hope. We’ll find someone…”

  Indeed, they do find someone.

 It happens almost causally: Crosshair’s browsing the internet, when he stumbles about one of those clickbait-y articles about a talented bassist who’s keeping playing even after losing his arm.

Despite the fact that he’s not expecting to find anything mind-blowing, Crosshair still decides to check the article out of curiosity.

What he finds is the same ol’ tear jerking story that makes him roll his eyes, not because of the story per se, but for how it’s framed. It makes him wonder if the bassist in question, Echo is his name - quite peculiar, it makes him wonder if it’s a stage name like his own is - has read the article beforehand and has approved of what has been written on it. With the way he appears in pictures, he seems humble and nice, so Crosshair doubts it.

Something catches Crosshair’s attention thought: apparently, despite his story, Echo plays solo, but not for personal choice. Just like them, he’s having a hard time finding someone willing to play with him.

At the end of the article, he finds a series of videos in which, he supposes, Echo plays. It’s like they’re taunting him, trying to get him to watch them.

Eh, what the hell, how much could it hurt to give them a peek?

 Well, color Crosshair impressed. He’s not a base expert, of course, but he has never heard someone play like this Echo does; he’s truly a natural. He’s so fast that it seems that he’s barely moving his fingers, to the point that it’s hard for Crosshair to follow each and every movement.

Holy shit, could he be…

“Hunter, come here! You gotta see this guy!”

 Echo manages to charm everyone.

“It’s him!” Wrecker exclaims. “He’s the one!”

“Yes, his addition would be very beneficial to us,” Tech agrees, eyes still peeled to the screen, watching rapt as Echo plays.

Crosshair turns to Hunter. “So? What do you think?”

“He’s good,” Hunter admits, “but I wonder if he’d be willing to give us a chance…”

“He seems nice enough,” Tech comments, but he too seems to share Hunter’s worry.

“In that case, let’s just ask him,” Wrecker suggests. “Didn’t we do the same with the others too?”

“That’s true, it’s worth a shot…”

“C’mon,” Crosshair begins, “we’re all on the same page for once, let’s just do it.”

“Alright,” Hunter concedes, allowing himself to feel hopeful, though then he points at Tech. “But you’re the one writing the e-mail this time.”

Tech chuckles. “Leave it to me.”

  Dear Bad Batch,

I have been a fan of yours for quite some time. I find your take on music refreshing and courageous, which unfortunately isn’t something that I can say for many other artists of this time.

You can imagine how honored I’ve felt reading your e-mail! I’ve never seen myself as someone who can be all that inspiring, so I was surprised to read how much of an impression I’ve made on you.

That said, I would love to meet up and discuss about music and a potential collaboration. Actually, I’m looking forward to it.

Let me know whenever you’re free, and we can arrange something.

Best regards.

Echo.

  Echo’s response has been very quick, which has taken everyone by surprise.

As they read and reread the e-mail, almost as if they expect the text to change if they stare at it hard enough, they can’t help but to smile at each other.

In the end, Hunter has to admit it:

“Yes, guys. I think we’ve truly found the one.”

[gospelofme]

57 Thoughts I Had While Watching Part 2 of The Bad Batch Season Finale (Spoilers ahead!!)

I do like how Part 2 picks right up where Part 1 left off. I prefer that method since it makes it feel like one connected piece. Like how Rogue One ended where A New Hope kicks off.

Ya know, I wouldn’t mind the thunderstorms.

Okay the explosions are beautifully animated. The blues, the sparks, the orange flames. And I like how they’re realistically placed. So many shows with explosions don’t have them right close to the characters, even if they’re supposed to be all around them.

This episode is kinda darkly lit. Not like Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones.

Okay yeah, that clone reporting the destruction…thats some sadness there.

That inner alarm has me thinking “oh shit my flight has changed gates again hasn’t it!!”

Damn, imagine being unconscious and wake up in a flooding compartment with a droid and that one kid who took your place.

Okay how strong is that knife. I kinda expect it to break in half. Wrecker would

probably try to trade with Hunter after that.

The shot of the burning buildings on the water is so beautiful too. The reflections were well done.

About AZ being like “oh hey homie, you survived being blown up but now you’re drowning. And I’m watching while this literal child tries to move metal debris off of you.”

Okay Omega using her bow like that is genius. But please wee baby don’t hit Crosshair by accident. And the way the bolts underwater were animated. 🤌🏻🤌🏻

And Crosshair being all “wtf?!”

Dang Omega is so take charge here.

Okay the sprays of water from the door is so well done. And omg they just pop outta there lmao!!!! About how Omega is caught and they just let Crosshair slide on the floor.

Haha Crosshair being like “Hunter, you fucker did you break something?!”

I really wish it wasn’t so darkly lit, but it does bring a sense of realism. The power is out, so what we’re able to see is what the characters are able to see with flashlights. Plus I’m sure this would look different on my TV than iPad.

The music is so pretty, so emotional. Oh damn poor AZ.

Oh never mind. He’s good.

Crosshair quit being a poop and follow them please.

Echo and that smell lmao.

“Blind allegiance makes you a pawn. A real leader protects his squad.”

Huh. Interesting. But isn’t blind allegiance what the clones had in the Republic? Isn’t that what Clone Force 99 had in the Republic? At least mostly. Some clones didn’t have that obviously, like Cut.

Ooohh Crosshair’s expression when Hunter knocked his shoulder. That seemed like surprise. There is something to that.

Hmmmmmm I’m with Crosshair on that. Going through a glass tunnel with cracks in it hundreds of feet below the surface would be a no from me. Also, what about water pressure? Is that not a thing there? Like wouldn’t you get a massive headache traveling through that? Or maybe not….idk.

Oh fuck Wrecker letting Crosshair know what’s what. I do like that he’s finally expressing how he feels. I’ve always thought there was more of a brotherly relationship between Wrecker and Crosshair than Crosshair had with the others. And Wrecker has a point, Crosshair didn’t even try to come back to them. Of course that really isn’t a fair statement either I guess. Wrecker should remember how he couldn’t control what he did when his chip kicked on.

And Tech jumping in and saying that Crosshair has always been “severe and unyielding” is a good way to let us know a bit more of what’s normal behavior for Crosshair. I like how he’s reminded Wrecker that some things Crosshair can’t help due to just how he is (likely a byproduct of the enhancement experiments).

“Understanding you does not mean I agree with you.” Ugh if only more people had this mindset. Also, the whole “why are you defending me?” sounds like Tech doesn’t usually leap to Crosshair’s defense (even though that’s not what he’s doing here). Which further makes me think that the brotherly relationship that usually exists between team members (like Domino squad eventually, Rex/Echo/Fives/Kix/Jesse/Hardcase/Tup) doesn’t exist here between all the guys. It’s more sporadic. Crosshair seems to get along better with Wrecker (in their own way, teasing and their droid death counts) than he does with Tech.

Also perhaps they should not stop so often…ya know, just in case the tunnel implodes.

Oh nope nope nope. No underwater tubes and sea monsters for Bethany.

AZ is so peppy. Like he sounds so positive when relaying bad news. He sounds like the kinda droid that would be like “good news is you have great cholesterol, bad news is you have cancer. But yay no diabetes!”

Oh yeah I kinda forgot Hunter wasn’t with them they first got to the private lab. And oh damn, Omega is technically older than them. The whole accelerated aging thing is just so unfair.

Well we really couldn’t expect a glass tunnel to fully survive aerial bombardment. Better start swimming fuckers!!

Damn, someone find AZ a charger! I bet Tech has one for his datapad that boy is attached too. He seems like the type to never be without a phone charger. He also seems like the type to not want to share it because no one else in the squad treats their charge cords with respect.

Dad gum Crosshair, I didn’t hear you spouting off any bright ideas. Geez, who peed in your wheaties?!

Hunter takes things too personally?! Weren’t you being all Salty McSourpus over Hunter leaving your ass on Kamino for shooting at him and the others? Were you not taking that too personally? But kudos to Hunter for reminding him the Empire peaced the fuck out and left him to die on Kamino. Although…Crosshair does sound like he’s trying not to care about that. Like it does bother him but he’s acting like he don’t give a fuck.

“The Empire will control the entire Galaxy. And I’m going to be a part of it.” Uhm, sir…you’re currently in a secret lab at the bottom of the ocean with no means of escape right now. How do you plan to be a part of the Empire from down here? Like, are you going to establish the underwater branch of the Empire and assert the Emperor’s control over the sea critters?

Ugh Omega trying so hard to bond with Crosshair. Like the parallel between this scene and the holding cell scene. And her thinking she was wrong about the chip making him behave like a dick. Oh sweet baby, you’re not wrong. He still has that thing. But he has always been a dick per Tech’s words earlier. But she’s trying so hard to show him the similarities between them.

I’ve noticed Crosshair does a lot of pushing people away. Like he’s been doing that with Hunter and Omega this whole season. Speaking harshly to them both (although I think some of the things he says to Hunter, he’s always wanted to say). But I think it’s more that he wants to avoid disappointing them, so he shoves them away to prevent that feeling. Like perhaps he thinks he isn’t worthy to be around them, that they’ll be better off without him around.

Oh fuck, look at you contributing now Mr. I Am Going To Complain About Other People’s Ideas.

Did they have to draw straws to see who got their own pod and who had to team up with who? Like,

Hunter: “Someone has to go with Tech.”

Crosshair, Wrecker: “Not it!”

Echo: “not it, fuck I wasn’t fast enough.”

Oh the wee child is getting her own pod. Okay then.

Of course Hunter and Crosshair get doubled up. I bet they argue the whole time.

Crosshair: “stop breathing all the air!!”

Hunter: “stop standing on my foot!!”

Crosshair: “well it’s not my fault you have Sasquatch feet!”

Oh damn. Well bye Omega. It was nice knowing you. Crosshair probably has your eulogy already written.

Hm, so Tech never shared his datapad charge cord with AZ. Bummer.

Awww poor AZ. He was a good droid. We’ll remember how he OMG OMEGA WHAT THE FUCK?!!???

Again is water pressure not a thing in Star Wars?

Sweetie. He’s metal. You won’t be strong enough to pull him along with you.

Oh fuck Crosshair! Oh damn the look on his face is like “Hunter, get you ugly ass face out of my shot.” Oh damn, boy has got some good eyesight, I want a piece of that.

Bruh, that’s gotta hurt. You just saved the kid they all love and they got you at blaster point. Buuuuuut at the same time you haven’t expressed the most positive attitude towards said kid either. So maybe they have a good reason to think you’d shoot her? Still. Damn. That’s gotta hurt, since if it had been the good ol’ days they’d be like “nice shot buddy!”

Hunter looks more wary than upset honestly. Like he isn’t sure why Crosshair did that, but he’s not sure if Crosshair would want him expressing gratitude either. Hunter doesn’t seem to know how to treat him any more. Crosshair belittles him and speaks harshly to him, but then saves Omega. It’s almost like old Crosshair is still in there, knowing how attached the team is to Omega. Even if he does think she’s not in the safest environment with them.

Oh…omg what is this?! I just noticed, no rain on Kamino….AND SUNSHINE?! Like is that a fucking sunrise??!!?? Oh shit you guys there is symbolism here!!! Like a new start or something impossible has happened. Like there has never been sunshine on Kamino, it’s always stormed. Always. Always and forever it has done that. But after the destruction of Tipoca City, the rains cease and the sunshine comes out. Like….omg guys. It’s pretty!!

Interesting. Omega seems sad that a place she didn’t want to ever return to is gone. But I guess that’s probably the notion that she’s essentially homeless setting in. That the only home she’s had (before Clone Force 99) is gone.

Also, I have this theory that Ghost Fives probably travels with Echo, and he’d likely be like “good! Fuck that place. Killing Tup there and all. Bitches.”

Echo: “stfu Fives, she’s sad okay.”

Honestly I’m not surprised Crosshair refused their offer to come with them. He has his pride and I feel like he doesn’t want to admit aligning with the Empire was a mistake. That he was wrong and Hunter was right. Especially after being all Pro-Empire and talking about how they’re going to be what the Galaxy needs.

“Consider us even.” GIRL he admits it! He was saving YOU!! YOU! Not the dumb droid, YOU!!!!

His face says it all when they pull away. Like he regrets not going with them, but he can’t bring himself to stay with them. He’s really conflicted right now. He has programming in his head telling him one thing and another portion of his mind reminding him that Tech, Wrecker, Hunter, and even Echo care about him. That they’re a team. He even wanted them to join the Empire so they could all get back together. He does want to be with them, but it’s going to take time to get passed the war in his head.

Oh damn, Nala Se and some Commando buddies. Yeah there’s something up with her. She seems to have gained a lot out of this. Making herself more important than Lama Su and likely more important than the other scientists from Kamino. I wonder if this was her plan all along. It’s so hard to tell what Kaminoans are thinking because they don’t express emotions facially or even vocally.

I read a post somewhere about Nala Se doing childish science experiments. Like the baking soda/vinegar volcano. And now I can’t get the image out of my head of her teaching like a high school chemistry class where you get to do those classic science fair experiments. Things exploding, clones accidentally gassing each other at a table. Someone betting someone else 5 credits to drink a solution.

@leias-left-hair-bun @halzore @escapedthesarlacc @eyecandyeoz

[obwjam]

stowaway (bad batch x tiny)

this piece is titled: the bad batch s1e1 “aftermath” except instead of omega it’s a tiny who was a stowaway on their ship from kaller and they discover her on the way back to kamino and now they have to hide her from everyone

(bad batch spoilers included so if you care pls watch the ep before reading!)

———————————————————————

Truth be told, Jara was just as confused as the rest of them.

It was nothing atypical. Battle droids on one side, clones and Jedi on the other, all screaming and firing blasters and blowing everything to hell. Though tinies were often isolated from everything, the Clone War was the exception.

Which is why it was time for her to leave. Again.

She had already lost countless friends and family throughout her life with no massive conflict in her backyard. At this point, she just had to look out for herself; not to mention the horror stories of what happened to tinies when captured by the Separatists were at the forefront of her mind. So when she found an empty ship in the woods, she smuggled herself inside and went about observing the place. There were unopened rations and some rather awful-smelling clothes scattered about, which told her that this ship was definitely not abandoned or out of commission. There were no droids, either, so she had to assume it was a Republic ship. Perfect. Wherever it stopped at next, she would sneak off and see if she could find some other tinies to settle with for a while.

Just her luck that the clones who owned this ship were, well… these guys.

“Whatever’s happening here, I don’t like it.”

She gasped and ducked behind an object on the table when she heard the voice.

“Best not to worry about it until we get back home. Plotting coordinates now.”

She cautiously leaned out from behind the object to get a better look. There were five people -- clones, she inferred from the armor, but they didn’t really look alike at all. One with goggles was piloting the ship, while a bulky one with a big scar was slumped over in the chair adjacent to him. The other three were exchanging distressed looks between themselves and the floor.

“How long’s it gonna take?!” the bulky one groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. She flinched.

“Wrecker, please.” This one had long hair and a tattoo covering half his face. “Just relax a little.”

“Maybe you can relax, Hunter, but I wanna keep fightin’!” Okay. He was Hunter, and he was Wrecker. Not exactly the type of names you’d want to make enemies with.

“Hunter’s right. We could all use a breather after… well, after what just happened back there.” This one was pale and had a bunch of cybernetic attachments on his head. Ick.

“Hmph.” The last remaining clone, who had grey hair and a toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth, grunted in displeasure. Hunter didn’t seem to like that.

“Got somethin’ to say, Crosshair?” 

Crosshair folded his arms and didn’t say a word.

It was a fairly short, uneventful ride. The group mostly sat in silence, occasionally sharing a thought or two as they saw fit. There seemed to be a bit of tension, though, as Hunter and Crosshair kept exchanging pointed glances.

There was an uncomfortable lurch as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. Jara yelped and stumbled forward, but nobody noticed.

“We’re coming up on Kamino,” the pilot said. Hmm. Kamino. She had never heard of it.

“It’s good to be home,” Wrecker sighed from the passenger chair. “How long has it been?”

“One hundred and eighty rotations in a standard cycle…” the pilot started, and that was when Jara zoned out again. He sure had a penchant for droning on and on.

“You sure that padawan died when he fell?”

Her stomach dropped as she snapped back to attention. Wait, padawan? Died? Why did they need to make sure a Jedi was dead?

“Sure I’m sure. Why?”

“Well, usually when someone falls, you look down, not… across… uh, what is that?”

She froze. Even through the helmet, she knew Crosshair was staring right at her. She could tell because she couldn’t stop staring right back at him. Her mind told her to run, but her legs wouldn’t respond. She thought she was hidden -- only a little bit of her was poking out from behind the object she had settled down behind. But all it took was one passing glance for Crosshair to spot her. She was practically pinned down by his gaze as the others, minus the one piloting the ship, followed his stare to where she stood, shaking.

“What’s what? I don’t see anything,” Wrecker whined, standing up. She gulped. He was huge.

“There,” said the pale one, robotic arm pointing right at her. “Behind one of Tech’s… things.” Even through her terror, she managed to sniff a laugh. Tech is a ridiculous name.

Wrecker tilted his head and squinted, but it didn’t take long to find her. “Oh. Oh. Woah…”

“Don’t,” Hunter warned. He stuck his arm out in Wrecker’s direction as he inched closer to the strange, cowering girl in front of him. “We don’t know what it is.”

“What what is?” came the voice of Tech from the cockpit. He quickly set the ship to autopilot before excitedly bounding to where the other four were standing to see what was going on. “What are we looking at?”

“On the table,” Crosshair muttered. His piercing gaze didn’t waver for a moment. Her eyes flickered over to Tech, whose own eyes were wide as he finally saw her. He reached for his tablet and furiously began typing into it.

“It’s… it’s a tiny,” he said matter-of-factly. 

“Yeah, we can see it’s tiny,” Wrecker frowned.

“No, Wrecker,” Tech shook his head. “That’s what their species is called. They’re a… a race of miniature humanoid beings that inhabit thousands of planets across the galaxy.”

“Oh…” Wrecker was at a loss for words. Never in his entire life had he seen something so small. So vulnerable. He took a few cautious steps, and Hunter grimaced at the way she seemed to shrink back as he approached.

“Come on, Wrecker, don’t get too close.”

“Why not? I can barely see the little guy!”

“Girl.”

“What?”

“I… I think it’s a she,” Tech said, his goggles whirring as they analyzed her. 

“Does she speak basic?” the pale one asked. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, either.

“I’m… not sure. There’s not really too much data here… height ranges anywhere from two to five inches… there have been some documented cases of tinies living well over 100 years…”

“If they’re all over the galaxy, why have we never seen one before?” Hunter posited, trying to keep his voice low. She clenched her jaw every time one of them spoke.

“...And why is this one on our ship?” Crosshair asked pointedly, narrowing his eyes. Her stomach began to turn.

“Why don’t we just ask?” Wrecker proposed. Hunter and the pale one exchanged an uncomfortable glance, but Wrecker didn’t wait for permission. He closed the gap between him and the table and took a knee. 

Her grip tightened on the object as she craned her neck upward. Even when he leaned down, he still towered over her.

“What’s your name, little guy?” he practically yelled at her, making her wince and look away. 

“Wrecker, can’t you see she’s terrified?” Hunter groused. 

Crosshair rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel right about this “tiny” being on their ship. For all they knew, she was a Separatist spy. “Enough of this,” he grumbled. He lunged forward with an outstretched hand, ready to get to the bottom of his, but stopped short of her when she pulled out a weapon, pointing it at them with shaking hands.

“DON’T!” she yelled, stunning the five clones in front of her. They were not expecting to hear her voice, much less see her unsheathe a sword that had no chance of harming anyone. “I--I’m sorry, I--I just needed to get off Kaller, please, I wasn’t going to -- I wasn’t gonna take anything, I swear! Just -- just stay back!”

She couldn’t believe this. She had never been seen before. Not once in her entire life. And here she was, finally able to escape that wretched cold planet and start a new life, and now she was going to be caged and sold on the black market like every other tiny was when they were discovered. Or maybe these weird clones would keep her as a prize.

Hunter blinked. Her tiny little sword was adorable, and there was no way it would ever make a dent in any of them. But he at least admired her ability to stand her ground. He couldn’t blame her, either -- being stared down by five enhanced clones had to be nothing less than horrifying to someone so small.

“Hey, relax… we’re not gonna hurt you,” Hunter said calmly, holding up his hands. “We just want to know who you are and what you’re doing on our ship.”

It took her a moment to stabilize her breathing, but she was able to gather enough strength to wipe away the tears she barely even realized had formed in her eyes and fully take in the giant in front of her. He was certainly terrifying by virtue of the fact that he was leaning so close to her, but the curiosity in his eyes… the way his mouth hung slightly agape… the softness of his expression… he was just confused. It was the same look she was giving him.

“I… I--I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I just... I had nowhere else to go…”

“Were you running from the Seps?” the pale one chimed in. 

She shrugged. “I was running from the war.”

“Is Kaller your home planet?” Tech asked, popping into view behind Hunter. 

She shook her head. “I’ve been planet-hopping my whole life. I’ve just been on Kaller for a really long time. I’m not really sure where I’m from.”

“Hey, you never answered my question!” Wrecker cried, cutting off Tech, who was preparing to ask a follow-up question. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Jara,” she said, voice quavering. Wrecker’s eyes lit up when she spoke -- he was just happy she was addressing him. “I, uh. I know all your names,” she managed to say. “Except you.”

The pale one was taken aback. “Um. I-I’m Echo.”

“Echo,” she repeated. That was nothing like the other four names.

“If you just stumbled upon our ship, how do you know our names?” Crosshair asked, eyebrows raised as he dared to lean in closer. 

She let out a nervous laugh. “You-- you all said each other’s names in conversation. I just connected the dots.”

“Hm.” Crosshair wasn’t sure if he believed that.

“Lighten up, Crosshair,” Hunter grumbled. “She’s obviously not a threat.”

“That we know of.”

“Well actually, according to this data, tinies appear to be a peaceful, primitive people,” Tech said. “They have little to no means to inflict any meaningful damage upon us or anyone else.”

Jara scrunched her face up and glared at Tech. “Yeah, well, you don’t need to say it like that,” she mumbled. She was surprised when Hunter snickered.

“So you really came to our ship just to flee your planet?” Wrecker asked in a rare moment of calmness. He couldn’t stop staring at this tiny girl -- he was surprised she even managed to stay alive long enough to find someplace to hide. But now that she was here, well, he felt as if it was his responsibility to keep her safe. Even the smallest of creatures could be deadly to her.

“Yeah,” she said, taking a few shaky steps forward. “I--I just needed to get somewhere safe, that’s all. Maybe find some more tinies. I was going to leave right when you landed somewhere, honest.”

“Well, there certainly won’t be any tinies where we’re going,” Tech scoffed.

“...where are we going?” she dared to ask. 

“Kamino. Our home planet.”

“More like a factory than a home,” Hunter mumbled. Jara stiffened. That did not sound like a place she wanted to be.

“There is no we here,” Crosshair scolded, glancing around at his brothers. “There is no place for you there, tiny. It’s just the clones and the Kaminoans. You wouldn’t even survive the night.” He paused, taking in the looks of apprehension from everyone. “What? We’re not seriously going to take her with us, are we?”

Hunter grimaced and shot Jara a look that said sorry about him. After a few beats of uncomfortable silence, Tech spoke up.

“...maybe just until we get sent on another mission,” he said, uncharacteristically meek. “I mean, there are so many questions I want to ask. This could be our only chance to gather data.”

Jara rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

“What are we gonna do, Crosshair, make her stay on the ship? There’s nowhere else for her to go.”

“She should have never been here in the first place,” Crosshair mumbled, clearly outnumbered in his opinion. 

“But she is. And she was just trying to save herself,” Echo added. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I say we help her while we can.”

“Wrecker? What do you think?” Hunter asked, turning to the largest clone. He had been strangely quiet for the last few minutes.

“Huh? Uh, yeah, yeah. We should help,” he stumbled. “I don’t see anythin’ wrong with that.”

A loud beep echoed from the cockpit, prompting Tech to shoot up from his seat. “Strap in, boys. And, uh, girl. We’re coming in for a landing.”

Jara stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do, until a giant hand was placed at her side. She yelped.

“Climb on, kid,” said Hunter, fully aware of how spooked Jara looked. “I’ve gotta hide you somewhere.”

“She can hide with me,” Tech piped up from the front. “I have some space in my belt.”

“You okay with that?” Hunter asked. Jara’s glance shifted from Hunter’s face to his hand to Wrecker and back to Hunter. 

“Um. Sure,” she said weakly. “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“Nope!” Wrecker beamed. “Unless you want the entire clone army to know you’re here!”

“...The belt sounds wonderful.”

“Good.” Hunter stayed patient as Jara gathered up the courage to willingly climb onto a human hand. She took a few deep breaths and clenched her fists before shutting her eyes and leaping up to his palm in one try. Hunter sniffed a laugh.

“I’ll go slow,” he said, gently standing up and taking careful strides toward Tech. Jara tried her best to stay still, but Hunter could both feel her tension and her trembles. Once the ship was parked, Tech flipped open the flap to one of his belt pockets. Jara grabbed onto Hunter’s thumb when he lowered his hand down and hesitated for a brief moment before climbing into the pocket. Everyone was watching her, and she didn’t like it.

It was hard to hear what was going on outside, but as the group made their way through the hangar and back to their barrack, she was barely able to make out the words “Grievous”, “defeated” and “over”. Did that mean what she thought it meant?

Light flooded her vision once again when Tech’s giant hand snapped open the pocket. Without really thinking, he reached down and scooped her up, causing Jara to yelp and grab onto one of Tech’s fingers for dear life as she was pulled up at a breakneck speed.

“Oh. Sorry,” Tech blushed upon seeing her sickened face. The way she was clinging onto him was nothing short of adorable. “Guess that was a bit sudden.”

“A warning next time would be *hic* nice,” Jara groaned. “Oh, stars. This place smells worse than the ship.”

“Told you,” Crosshair grinned, nudging a sad-looking Wrecker. 

Echo leaned down. “You’ll get used to it.”

Jara gave a weak smile before turning her attention to Tech, who was beaming down at her. Sitting in his hand, she really had no choice but to endure his questions.

“So, goggles. What do you wanna know?” she asked, knowing such a question would make Tech explode. And it did. Even Hunter was starting to get sick of it after Tech had asked every question and written down every note he possibly could. 

“What about special skills? Do you have heightened agility, superb senses? Anything like that?”

Jara shrugged. “I mean, maybe. I dunno. I don’t really know what’s… normal.”

“Hmm…” Tech wrote her answer down word-for-word. “What if we tried--”

Across the room, Wrecker had finally lost it. “Ugh, can somebody shut him up?! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Of course you wouldn’t understand the importance of--”

“--I think he’s right, Tech,” Hunter jumped in. “You should give her a break.”

“And give us a break,” Crosshair mumbled to himself.

“I-it’s okay,” Jara interjected. The last thing she wanted was to become the center of another conflict. “You can ask me more stuff later. I don’t mind, really.”

“Later…” Tech repeated. “So, what? Are we going to keep you?” 

“Keep--keep me?” Jara gulped, her eyes flying wide.

“I think he means let you stay here with us for a little longer than a night,” Hunter said. “Right?” 

“Well, since we have to go to that meeting soon, and then who knows what we’ll be asked to do after, I just assumed she meant she would be staying with us for a while, considering there are multiple tests I need to run now. Not to mention all the questions I’ll surely have after that.” Tech paused, giving a look of hurt to the group. “I thought that was obvious?”

“Tech, come on, you’re freaking her out!” Echo cried. He was right. At the mere mention of the word test, Jara had tensed up again. “Can we even do that? Actually harbor a stowaway with us?”

“It’s definitely against regulations,” Hunter mused.

“...so we gotta do it, right?” Wrecker jumped in with a big grin. “I mean, come on! She has a tiny sword! That’s awesome!”

“Well, I guess that’s up to her,” Hunter smiled, turning his attention back to Jara. Her gaze was bouncing back and forth between all five clones, though it was obvious to Hunter that she was trying to avoid looking at Crosshair. “Whadda ya say? Do you wanna lay low with us for a while?”

“You really mean that?” she asked, overtly aware of the fact that this could be a trap. After all, it was clear one of them didn’t like her. But the others… Tech was overzealous, sure, but he was earnest in his curiosity and desire to simply know more about her. Echo was definitely reserved, but seemed to be just as concerned for her as the others. Wrecker was just a big ol’ kid. He seemed to like her just fine. And Hunter… well, Hunter couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He was rational. She knew he believed her story, however unbelievable it may be. 

Hunter nodded. “Yeah, I do. I can’t guarantee anything, but we’ll try and keep you safe until we can find you a better place to live. I should warn you, though. Our squad’s nothing but trouble. It might get dangerous.”

“The only thing I’ve ever known is danger,” she shrugged. “And I’ve stayed alive this long.”

Wrecker let out a bellowing laugh. Even though it shattered her eardrums, she couldn’t help but smile back. “Ha! I like her!”

Jara didn’t say it, but in that moment, everyone seemed to pick up on it. She liked them too.

[ace-oreos]

You must be so sick of alpha and Fordo asks but you’re latest fic has given me angst potential- maybe a one-shot with alpha working with the bad batch to find Fordo post order 66 an him just breaking at the seams when he finds his Vod because he thought he lost Frodo like he lost Sev. Tears and man hugs ensue

Oh I am NEVER sick of Alpha and Fordo asks - they’re such a fun chaotic duo to write for. :D Also, Alpha working with the Bad Batch is something I never knew I needed until I saw your ask and I would absolutely write something with all of them again. I cannot express how difficult it was to not go off on a tangent about Hunter.

In true Sev style, I chose Kashyyyk as the main location for this one. It’s just so useful for these kinds of things.

Also. Y’all. I did not realize until I was four pages into this that I forgot Echo. So uh... whoops?  😅 😂 With that in mind, let me warn you that this is WAY longer than the other fics. I have no idea what happened. I have no idea what I’m doing.

Also also, thank goodness for Wookiepedia lmao

Edit with tags: @dudewhynotthis @merspots @the-mandalorian-clone-lover @delta-the-mando (taglist is open!) 

“Captain.” The sergeant keeps his distance even now, face inscrutable as he surveys Alpha. 

“Alpha,” he corrects half-heartedly, more for the sergeant’s sake than his own. 

“Alpha,” Hunter amends. “We’ll be entering the Mid Rim soon - maybe an hour, hour and a half tops.”

“Good to know.” Alpha knows he sounds despondent at best, but he’s hit enough dead ends by now to know all too well this will likely be a fruitless endeavor. There’s nowhere in the galaxy safe from him - not when his brother’s life is hanging in balance.

But it’s a big galaxy, with little regard for individual yearning or emotion. Alpha can vow to upend the galaxy as much as he likes, but the fact is they’ve only so much time, and only so many resources, and...

And maybe Hunter picks up on that, in that way of his as he observes Alpha without further comment. The sergeant is as much his vod as anyone else Alpha has encountered. Still beyond him sometimes, a little too other for Alpha to ever fully mesh with him or his brothers, but he’s a good soldier. A good man. 

“We’ve always got room for another,” are Hunter’s parting words as he makes his way back to the cockpit. 

If you find out your brother was dead all along. 

Alpha doubts it was anything less than a genuine offer, but it isn’t the only route. Not until I’ve exhausted every other option. And even then....

It doesn’t do, to let himself become so intertwined with a brother until he isn’t entirely sure he knows who he is without the other. He’d tried, both for his brothers and for his own peace of mind, to put a stop to it before it went too far. And maybe that was Jango getting in his head more than Alpha ever should have allowed, but he’d thought it was the right thing to do.

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder...

________________________

“ - you know as well as I do we’ve been going in circles for weeks now - ”

“Yeah, you might’ve mentioned that once or twice…”

“You said it yourself - we’ll get ourselves killed if we aren’t careful.”

“So we’ll be careful.” Hunter’s voice holds a note of finality. “We can keep rehashing this conversation, or we can help a vod.”

Alpha doesn’t catch the muttered reply, but it’s hardly amenable, if Hunter��s sigh is anything to go by. He can’t blame them, really - Fordo isn’t their brother, and outside of combat they’ve little common ground. And it’s only natural for Crosshair to raise the questions none of them are yet ready to face. Alpha thinks he could learn to like the man, given time. 

He reigns in his thoughts before entering the cockpit. The least he can do is put on a rational front. This whole thing isn’t at all rational, but the Bad Batch seem to understand better than others. It runs deeper than brotherhood here, whatever it is, and Alpha is irrepressibly reminded of Fordo, somehow - 

(And osik, does that thought burn, dig under his skin to remind him once again that he failed, that should he redeem himself it will be not on his terms but likely an inconsequential whim of a galaxy that cares nothing for them or everything they’ve fought so hard to hold on to - )

“Y’know, I’m not sure we’ve ever been to Kashyyyk,” Wrecker muses. “That’s a first.”  If he’s trying to divert Alpha’s attention from Crosshair, it’s a skillful effort that almost takes Alpha aback. “‘Course, I only remember the fun parts,” he adds as an impish afterthought.

“Anything with explosives, you mean?” Alpha asks drily. 

Wrecker grins. “Something like that.”

You and Fordo would get along fine.

What leaves his mouth is, “I don’t suppose anyone has any relevant information about this place?”

Right on cue, Tech pipes up from his position alongside Crosshair. “Actually…”

Tech is just as much of an efficient distraction in his own right. It’s not exactly the height of strategy on Alpha’s part, but once again it redirects attention. He has no doubt Hunter sees right through it; still, the man has enough tact to refrain from commenting.

You understand, I think, Alpha decides, watching exasperation and amusement play across Hunter’s face in turns as his brothers’ bickering fills the cockpit. You would go to hell and back for them, wouldn’t you, Sergeant? 

Hunter casts him a wary glance. Alpha holds his gaze.

There’s too much we can’t say. It’s okay, vod - I think I’m starting to understand too.

________________________

Kashyyyk is dishearteningly vast, all sprawling jungles and endless island chains set on a swath of ocean that dissects the planet’s hemispheres. Getting in was no easy task, what with the Imperial blockade cutting off the planet from others in its sector. But Tech’s adroit piloting had come through, and they’d slipped past the blockade with little disturbance.

“You really think your buddy is here?” Crosshair asks dubiously, surveying the area with a distinct air of displeasure.

“I’ve seen the records,” Alpha says, as much to reassure himself as the other man. “The Empire’s tighter with the book-keeping, I’ll give them that. Fordo’s unit lost contact not long before Order Sixty-six went down. If they made it out, it would be on record somewhere.”

“And if they didn’t?”

Alpha battles his temper into submission before replying. “Then they would be confirmed KIA. But they’re still listed as missing as of two weeks ago.”

“Sounds like you’re leaving an awful lot to chance,” Crosshair opines. There isn’t malice in his voice so much as an unmistakable note of disapproval. “What’s your plan if it turns out they were just waiting for reinforcements and pulled out days ago? That leaves us here in the heart of Imperial occupation.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Alpha says grimly. “But if they lost comms before the order came through, then there’s a chance they aren’t with the Empire. Their main focus would be survival, not falling in line nice and neat like Palpatine expects.”

It’s clear there are a number of objections rising to the forefront of Crosshair’s mind, but the man keeps them to himself. There’s a conflict brewing there, Alpha knows, but that’s a matter to address at another time. 

“There’s an area south of here where all comm signals go dead,” Tech announces, tapping furiously at the device mounted on his vambrace. “According to intel, the Wookies call it the Black Forest.”

“Sounds inviting,” Hunter says. “What’s the deal with it?”

“A prison ship crashed there centuries ago,” Tech relays. “The Wookies believe it’s cursed, so they avoid it whenever possible. It’s possible Fordo and whoever was left were driven back by the Seps - or it was a desperate bid and he was banking on the droids not following somewhere they can’t maneuver well. But why cut himself off from allies…?”

“The forward operating base was set up in Kachirho,” Alpha muses aloud “There was another commando squad deployed here, but they were retasked shortly after Order Sixty-six. If Fordo’s here, I doubt he would hang around anywhere with high Imperial activity.”

If he were operating alone, the decision would be simple. But he has the welfare of four other men to consider now; one wrong move, and they’ll all end up on the business end of a blaster.

With that in mind, Alpha looks to Hunter. “Sergeant. What do you think?”

“It’s your call,” Hunter answers. “If you have reason to think your brother is hiding out here, then I think it’s worth taking a look. So long as we go careful, I don’t see why the Imperials should notice us.”

Wrecker’s chuckle fills the comms. “Famous last words.”

_________________________

For all that they have a reputation for being unorthodox - a reputation that is doubtless justly earned - the Bad Batch can pull off stealth pretty well, too. It comes as a bit of a surprise, if Alpha is being honest, but if nothing else the overarching threat of Hunter’s wrath is enough to keep them in line. 

“Keep an eye out for slavers,” Tech warns. “The whole planet has been a hotspot for them ever since the CIS first let them in.”

It’d be just our luck to run into slavers, Alpha thinks wryly. Individually they’re not much of a threat, but a group of Trandoshans spells trouble for anyone. Even without the training to back it up, their brutality can overpower even an ARC trooper. ‘Course, it’d be just like you to get into a mess like that, Fordo…

“We’ll be a bigger target if we travel as a group,” Hunter says. 

“If we split up we might as well ask for a death sentence,” Alpha cautions. Typically his first choice would be to operate alone, but between the slavers, the Imperials, and the remnants of the Separatist forces, he’s starting to think their strength might lie in numbers this time. 

Alpha mulls it over. Greater numbers means slower going. If we split up, we’ll be able to cover more ground. It’ll be risky, but - payoff is worth it. 

“We’ll move faster this way,” Hunter says, echoing Alpha’s thoughts. “Wrecker, Tech, you’re with me. Cross…” He fixes his brother with a stern stare. “Don’t do anything stupid. Alpha has my full permission to stop you by any means necessary.”

Alpha rewards the sergeant with a wolfish grin. “I’ll hold you to that.”

He can’t read Crosshair half as well as the others, but the sniper doesn’t appear altogether displeased. He merely shrugs when Alpha jerks his head towards the route they’ll be following, and trails after him without argument.

Silence lays thick over the jungle. There’s an odd rustle here and there, interspersed with faint growls from time to time, but progress is relatively smooth. Alpha takes pains to remain on guard; just because he can’t see a threat doesn’t mean they’re in the clear. 

Before long the silence is disconcerting. Given the planet’s Wookie population, there should be regular movement around them, or some sign of existence. But this stretch of the jungle is oddly lacking. 

“This doesn’t feel right,” Crosshair mutters. 

“Guess no one’s home,” Alpha answers absently, scrutizining the terrain. “Look - there’s no sign of a fight. Maybe no one was here to begin with.”

“Kachirho isn’t too far from here,” Crosshair points out. “You don’t think it’s a little odd that this path hasn’t been used at all?”

“It is,” Alpha allows, “but look at it this way. We’re traveling the way we’ve been trained to in this kind of setting. The Wookies probably have their own methods for getting around.”

“It’s still weird,” Crosshair decides. “And if your brother really was here, we’d have found evidence of that, too.”

He isn’t wrong, but it nonetheless stings to hear the man voice the doubtful thoughts that have been creeping up on Alpha. Still, we’ve come this far. What have we got to lose?

(More than he’s willing to surrender. But Crosshair doesn’t need to know that.)

“Let’s keep moving,” Alpha says, sharper than he intends. 

“Hang on,” Crosshair says suddenly. “Contact - ”

Alpha pivots in time to see a Trandoshan emerge from the surrounding foliage. The lizard is taller and more solid than he previously anticipated; instead of hitting it head-on like he initially planned, Alpha redirects in order to avoid being gutted on the lizard’s knife. 

He hears the shot and the telltale thump of the lizard falling to the ground. As Alpha picks himself up, Crosshair scans the area through the scope of his rifle. 

“Oh, shab,” the sniper hisses. 

It doesn’t take long for Alpha to locate the cause of Crosshair’s disgruntlement. A group of Trandoshans lurches towards them. Alpha does a rapid assessment: each lizard is packing some sort of ranged weapon - including slugthrowers, he notes unenthusiastically - and most are carrying an assortment of knives.

“Ideas?” Crosshair asks tersely. 

“They’ll just follow us if we run,” Alpha says. “It’ll save us trouble in the long run if we take them now.” 

“I can see why Hunter likes you,” Crosshair says, oddly nonchalant considering the circumstances, and fires. 

With Crosshair covering ranged attacks, Alpha elects the more up-close-and-personal option. The slavers have the advantage of size, but Trandoshans aren’t renowned for their intelligence. As long as he stays in motion the risk of having his throat slit is greatly reduced. 

Alpha targets a straggler first. He hits low, knocking the lizard off balance and sending it staggering into another. The other makes a grab for him, but Alpha is already ramming his vibroblade into the first slaver’s exposed neck. Using the limp body as a buffer, Alpha pushes against the other lizard, trying to force it onto its back foot. 

Just as he feels his opponent’s defense start to give, another three descend on him. Cursing, Alpha throws himself aside before they can hem him in. One of the slavers has enough presence of mind to bring his knife down on Alpha’s unprotected back; the force of the blow has him crashing to the ground. 

Alpha scrambles for a foothold, but one of the lizards seizes his leg in a vicelike grip. He writhes instinctively, kicking out with his other foot. He feels the impact more than sees it and wrenches himself free. 

Just as a third lizard fills the other’s place, there’s a crack from Crosshair’s rifle, and the lizard topples. Alpha springs to his feet to avoid being crushed by several hundred kilos of Trandoshan. The others are wary now, trying to divide their attention between him and Crosshair. 

Alpha doesn’t give them time to choose. This time he uses his blaster to put a round through the closest target. It’s not quite enough to put the lizard out of commission entirely, so he follows up with a quick succession of bolts. 

It’s not exactly an even match, but things aren’t going as badly as he first feared, Alpha thinks. No sooner does the thought cross his mind than his helmet flashes a warning. He turns to deflect the attack coming from behind, but he moves too late and steps directly into the strike. 

The slaver’s curved knife skids off Alpha’s breastplate and sinks into his bodysuit in the gap between the cuirass and the shoulder bell. Alpha manages to pull away, but not before the knife catches the underside of his arm and slices a gash halfway down his bicep.

A line of pain sears through his arm. There’s no doubt the Trandoshan cut deep into the muscle. That arm is effectively useless now; Alpha grimly switches his knife to the other hand. 

He doesn’t have eyes on Crosshair from his current position, but the rasping breaths and occasional curses over the comms suggest the sniper isn’t having an easy time of it either. Time to fall back and reassess.

“Let’s pull back. We might be able to lose them.” Alpha bites the inside of his cheek to suppress a hiss of pain when his wounded arm is jostled. “We can’t take them now, at any rate.”

“You might want to rethink that, alor’ad…”

Crosshair jerks his head to indicate the slavers pouring into the area. There’s a slim chance they’ll be able to slip by, but not without risking serious injury. Slowing down to accommodate a bad hit would mean certain death or capture.

Pinned down. Shabla brilliant. 

Alpha makes an effort to keep his rapidly rising alarm in check. “We’ll have to hold them off, then.”

“There’s no way,” Crosshair objects. “We’re outnumbered eight to one.”

Alpha sends a slaver sprawling rather than answer. He can see it as plainly as Crosshair, but he’s not going to lay down and die, not when his brother is still out there somewhere, not when there’s still a chance they could pull this off -

He hasn’t been this close in weeks and it isn’t his place to gamble anyone else’s life but his own, but even now he can’t bring himself to give in and he understands in a sudden flash of clarity that this is where he will always fail - because he has a foothold, now, and even though all logic points to turning back for once he can’t give in - 

An arm clamps around his neck. Alpha thrashes, trying to throw his attacker off, but now that he’s been caught off guard the lizard has an advantage. His vision begins to blur at the edges and he redoubles his efforts, fueled in no small part by panic at being unable to draw breath. 

He doesn’t know where Crosshair is anymore. He can hardly see beyond his own hands, scrabbling desperately at the arm locked around his neck. 

No sooner does his vision begin to fade than the crushing pressure on his neck abruptly loosens. Alpha hits the ground gracelessly, coughing violently as he tries to inhale. His breath rattles in his throat, but his vision gradually returns. 

He lurches to his feet and assumes a defensive stance as best he can. He’s lost track of how many slavers are still standing - too many is his best estimate.

But the man standing before him isn’t an enemy. He’s -

“Vod,” Fordo says softly. 

Alpha can only stare at his brother in stunned silence, momentarily deaf to the ongoing struggle around them. Fordo....

“Later,” his brother promises. 

______________________

“So how’d you end up running with them?” Fordo asks with a nod towards the Bad Batch. 

“It’s complicated,” Alpha says lightly. “Too much to unpack now, at any rate.”

Fordo laughs. He’s battered and weary, with something lurking in his gaze Alpha can’t quite decipher yet, but it’s Fordo, and that’s more than enough. 

“It’s quiet here,” Fordo remarks. “I like that.”

“‘S nice,” Alpha agrees. 

They’re still hovering just above the surface. Tentative. It’s not exactly what Alpha is accustomed to, but for Fordo’s sake he lets his brother take the lead. 

“Everything’s gone sideways, hasn’t it,” Fordo says suddenly. 

“It has,” Alpha admits. There’s no use pretending otherwise. “But we’ll find a way through.”

Fordo flashes a small smile. “You’re good at that.”

Alpha merely shrugs. There’s a thousand other things he wants to say, but he hasn’t the faintest clue where to begin. Finally he ventures carefully, “Y’know, for a while now I thought this mission did you in.”

Fordo lets out a long sigh. “I was starting to think it might, myself.”

“I…” Alpha breaks off, startled by the sudden pressure behind his eyes. It worsens when he tries to continue. “I don’t know what I would’ve - ”

He falters again. I care more than I should. I never should’ve let that happen, but even now I don’t know if I regret it.

“Alpha,” Fordo says softly, and pulls him into an embrace.

Alpha doesn’t know how much time passes before he finally disentangles himself from Fordo as gently as he can and scrubs at the hot trails on his face. He can’t quite bring himself to feel any shame over it. He’s never been given to such displays, but… Fordo is his vod. 

“So what’s the plan, alor’ad?” Fordo asks with a familiar note of mischief in his voice.

Alpha smiles despite himself. “It’s a big galaxy.”

“We’ve got time.”

“Yeah,” Alpha laughs. “We have time.”

[haloangel391]

Your Love Means More (Tech x Reader)

Hello everybody, this is my first ever fic so I’m sorry if it’s not the best, and kinda corny. I was inspired when going through my own pains and wanting someone to take care of me. Hope you all enjoy. Feedback is welcome!

Also I wanted to say thank you to @just-some-girl-92  for giving me the confidence to finally write my own story and for always being there when I want to talk about The Clone Wars.

Warnings: Is having a period a warning? I guess blood is a warning so... PG-13? Also there is a sexual reference, but nothing explicit. 

*Coruscant, night, your apartment*

You’re laying on your couch, clutching your stomach as another wave of cramps surges through your body. The room is completely dark, save for the glow of the holo you stopped trying to watch a few hours ago, the colorful pictures only creating a mild distraction from the pain you are going through. The hot water bottle that was across your stomach went cold a few hours ago, but you were too tired and in too much pain to get up and change it for what felt like the hundredth time that day. You sigh and close your eyes, trying to not let your disappointment get the better of you, but you don’t succeed.  

Today was supposed to be a great day. Your boyfriend was coming home from a two month mission today and you had the whole week planned. Unfortunately your body had other ideas this morning when you woke up covered in a small pool of blood, which led you to the position you were currently in. 

You squeezed your eyes shut again as another wave of pain shot through you. You were so focused on it that you didn’t notice your apartment door open, revealing your very concerned boyfriend.

ooo

Tech couldn’t sit still if his life depended on him. His knees bouncing with anticipation as The Bad Batch made their way back to Coruscant. Back to you. 

It had been two long months for Tech, and he wanted nothing more than to see you and hold you in his arms. 

Crosshair looked at his brother from across the room, his eyes had a far off look to them despite the fact he was working on a project in his hand. He knew exactly what he was thinking about. You. 

The whole Bad Batch knew about you and Tech, not from a lack of trying, but Tech wouldn’t stop talking about how sweet and wonderful and kind you were. It was nauseating. After watching his poor brother take the same gadget apart for the fourth time he knew it was time to intervene. 

“You’ve got to calm down Tech,” Crosshair said, “you this nervous around your girl?”

Tech was so focused on the piece in his had that he jumped at his brother’s sudden statement. He narrowed his eyes at him from across the room. “What do you mean?” Tech said, looking mildly confused now.

“Aw, leave the kid alone Cross,” Wrecker boomed from the next room, looking at his little brother with mischief in his eyes, “like you wouldn’t be daydreaming like that after not seeing your girl for two months,” Wrecker playfully punched his brothers arm, much to his displeasure. 

“I wouldn’t be so obvious about it,” Crosshair stated rubbing his now sore arm. Crosshair and Wrecker started bantering each other, but Tech was barely listening to them. He was thinking about you, obviously, but something was itching in the back of his mind about this day, something he should have remembered, and it was bothering him that he couldn’t think of what it was. 

He prided himself on knowing a lot of information for missions; research about the planet they were on, medical information incase of an emergency, cultures and customs of the people they might be interacting with. But he also prided himself in knowing a lot about you. 

Over the year you had known each other he learned a lot about you, what your favorite movies were, your favorite snacks, your childhood, your favorite things to listen to when you were happy and sad, all this information he could pull out of his head at a moment’s notice, which is why he was so anxious to get to you now. He knew something was important about this day, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. 

He was more than relieved when the Havoc Marauder touched down on the landing platform. He waisted no time in exiting the ship and making his way to you, not bothering to listen to the calls of his brothers back on the ship.

ooo

Tech made his way through the wet and crowded streets of Coruscant, his mind thinking of you, but for a whole other reason now. You weren’t picking up your comm. Perhaps you were just busy at work? His mind tried to put him at ease, but he knew that wasn’t right. Today was your day off, so he knew you would be home in your apartment. Tech picked up his pace a bit more as he headed towards your building trying not to let the panic overwhelm him.

He loved visiting your apartment, it was so different from the harsh environments he was constantly introduced to during the war. The inside always smelled like freshly baked goods and the string lights you had hanging from your ceiling created a beautiful, warm glow that made your whole face light up. But the thing he loved the most, was no matter the time he got back from a mission, you would always be waiting up for him, embracing him in a warm hug as soon as he entered your apartment door. 

So Tech was extremely confused and border line panic mode, when he opened the door and the whole apartment was cast in darkness. It was cold and silent except for a quite moan that he heard coming from the living room couch. 

Immediately Tech’s training kicked in and he scanned the room looking for any signs of danger. The glow from the holo illuminated the room a bit and it’s light finally hit your curled up form on the couch. Tech’s breath hitched when he saw the look of pain on your face and didn’t waste any time in coming over and kneeling in front of you.

“(Y/n)?! Love? What’s wrong?” He put his hands on your face to try and see if you would respond to him, but your eyes just remained squeezed shut. You shook your head, your breathing a bit ragged. 

He quickly scanned your body for any injuries but came up empty, which relieved him but he still couldn’t figure out why you were ---

Oh.

Tech’s eyes landed on the hot water bottle laying in your lap and everything suddenly clicked in to place. 

Your mensural cycle. 

That’s what he forgot. You were starting your period today.  

His shoulder’s visible relaxed as relief suddenly flooded his system. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead gently against yours trying to ground himself from his earlier panic. You weren’t in any danger. You were safe. You were ok. He kept chanting this in his head for a bit until he calmed down more, the hand on your face rubbing soothing circles on your cheek. Tech kept himself in this position for a bit until you finally opened your eyes.

ooo

You knew Tech was back home, but you couldn’t get up to greet him like you usually would. Which immediately made you feel guilty. He did so much for you and went through so much out there and you couldn’t get your stupid butt off the couch to greet him hello. Pathetic. 

When Tech made his way over to you and pressed his forehead against yours in a keldabe kiss, that’s when you lost it. 

You didn’t even realized you were crying until you felt Tech pull away and hold your face again with both hands. You opened your eyes and looked at your boyfriend through clouded vision, the concerned look in his eyes only made you cry harder, which naturally made Tech panic even more. 

“My love, does it hurt that bad? Do you need more medicine? Food? I could reheat your water bottle? I can make you that chocolate drink if you’d li---”

“I’m so sorry,” you blubbered, cutting him off mid ramble, through your choked sobs. “I’m so sorry Tech, I had the whole week planned with stuff for us to do, I-I got us tickets to the new museum exhibit tonight, a-and I was going to make your favorite dinner and I was reading this book online and it gave me an idea, so I bought something new for us to try-- but I can’t now because I’m bleeding and it’s gross and I just wanted to do something nice for you, you’re always so sweet and you deserve to be happy and relax and-- and I can’t stop crying.” 

You continued to sob, too embarrassed with your overdramatic outburst to look your boyfriend in the face. Were you aware you were crying for practically no reason? Yes. But your hormones wouldn’t let you see that. 

Your heard Tech tut and his hands left your face and encircled your body and brought you closer to him, so your head could rest on the spot between his neck and shoulder. He continued to hold you there while you cried, his strong arms keeping a firm and secure hold onto you while his hands rubbed soothing circles on your back. He rocked you both slightly back and fourth not saying anything except for a calming, shhh, or a quite, I’ve got you, whenever your tears picked up again. 

It wasn’t until you finally stopped crying that he finally spoke, “(Y/N), your love means more to me than any of those things. The fact that you went out of your way to try and make today special means a lot, even if you don’t feel well enough to do them, it’s the thought that counts. Besides you’ve seen me at my worst and taken care of me, I have no problem spending my time taking care of you.”

You sniffle some more before pulling away from him and wiping the tears from your face. The look on his face is not one of disappointment, which is what you’ve been dreaming of for the past few hours. No, he’s looking at you like you hold the answers to the universe. It’s so sweet you can’t help but give a small laugh, that sounds more like a hiccup. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” you whisper, looking at him fondly.  You lean towards him again and press a tender kiss to his lips which he immediately reciprocates, giving a quiet hum of contentment. 

You pull away after a while, his arms are still around you, but have switched to being stationed loosely around your waist, keeping you nice and close to him. 

You look down at his shoulder and you fail at stifling a small laugh, “sorry I got you wet,” you say with a giggle.

He looks down at the water marks on his armor, the tears making a nice clean trail down his dusty body. Tech makes a sound of indifference and shrugs his shoulders, “it needed cleaning, you just got the process started a bit sooner than I originally intended.”

You laugh at that. His face is breaking into a smile now too, taking pride in the fact that he was the one that made you laugh again after feeling so down on yourself. 

Tech never understood why you always put so much pressure on yourself, to him you were absolutely perfect. Any guy who would get upset over their girlfriend having a period was a karking idiot. 

You bring your hand to his cheek and swipe your thumb underneath his eye, coaxing him to close his eyes and lean his head into your hand. Your eyes widen when you realize there is now a streak left behind where you thumb was. You put your hands on his shoulders and lean back some more, finally taking a proper look at your boyfriend. He was FILTHY! Tech’s armor was caked in various amounts of mud, dust and debris, you don’t know how you didn’t notice it sooner.  

“Babe. Why are you so dirty? Did you fall in a mud pit?” You weren’t trying to make fun of him, honestly you weren’t, but you had never seen him come home looking like this.

He huffed and looked at you with slight annoyance, but you could tell it wasn’t directed at you. “For your information, I did not fall in a mud pit... Wrecker pushed me.” 

You eyes widened considerably at that. This new information did not surprise you one bit, you tried not to laugh at him, not wanting to hurt his pride any more than the incident apparently already did. Instead you leaned forward again and pressed a sweet kiss to his nose. His face scrunched up at that, but afterwards all annoyance seemed to melt from his face and you were met with that lopsided and dopy grin of his that you had come to know and love. 

“Why don’t you wash up in the fresher for a bit and relax?” you suggested. 

His shoulders relaxed a bit at the mention of the fresher, you could see the tiredness seeping onto his face. 

“Ok,” he says, taking your two hands in his and raising them to his lips for a quick kiss. “Do you need anything before I go in?”

You thought about that for a minute. The pain in your abdomen was still there, but it wasn’t as severe as it was before, in fact you were quite a bit hungry and your stomach chose that moment to make that known to your whole neighborhood. You blushed slightly looking down in embarrassment, but Tech just laughed. 

“How about I refill your hot water bottle and order from that place you like down the street? Hum? You can pick out a holo for us to watch too if you want.” You smiled sweetly to him at that and pecked his lips again. “Only if you promise to cuddle with me on the couch.”

He grins at you again and presses a kiss to your forehead before standing up, “I would have it no other way.”

ooo

An hour later you were fed, dosed up on a concoction of pain medication from your boyfriend that you really had to write down for later, and half way thru your favorite holo. Finally, you were starting to feel like a human being again. Your boyfriend had cocooned you in various soft blankets before taking his place behind you on the couch and letting you use his shoulder as the world’s best pillow. Tech had his arms draped protectively around you securing you against his warm body, which was doing far more good for your cramps than your small hot water bottle did. You were in heaven.

You looked away from the holo and up at him after a few more moments of quiet, thinking he had finally fallen asleep, but you are met with a look of confusion written on his face.

“Babe? What’s wrong,” you question from your place on his shoulder.

Ever the thinker, he looks down at you after another pause and speaks softly, “Before, you said you got something new for us to try? What is it? A new recipe?” 

Oh. My. Gosh. 

Was he joking? He must be, this wasn’t the first time you had bought something new for you both to try in the bedroom. You thought he was messing with you until you looked up at him again and were met with only soft, innocence eyes shining through his large glasses. You couldn’t help but chuckle at him and press a loving kiss to his cheek. 

“Well...” you say looking up at him thru hooded lashes. You leaned closer to him until your lips were reaching the shell of his ear, “It’s not a matter of something we could eat, as it is something we could put in our mouth.”

The choked noise and large blush overtaking his features had you laughing so hard your abdomen was now hurting for a whole other reason.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Can you do the NSFW alphabet for Hunter from the Bad Batch?

A/N: Please remember to REBLOG AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE THIS!!! I cannot emphasis enough that these take just as much time to create as drabbles or one-shots.  Give headcanons some love.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

He’s a mess.  His already heightened senses are in over drive and he’s not in a state to do anything accept lie there and breath.  It’s up to you to help clean the pair of you up. But, once he’s caught his breath, the man is the king of cuddles.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He loves your thighs.  He loves digging his fingers into your skin as you ride him.  And don’t even get him started on the way they clamp around his head as he eats you out.

For himself, he likes his nose.  Odd to say, but it’s true.  Partially it’s because it’s his sense of smell, but he’s just as proud of the way it looks.  I don’t know what else to say, he just likes it.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He’s a god damn mess when he cums.  Every time it hits him hard and loud, causing him to moan and shake as he just keeps cumming and cumming, dripping out of your cunt and onto his stomach and the sheets and everywhere else. 

He has no preference on where he cums, and is doesn’t really matter.  Either way, it’s a lot to clean up after.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He keeps a special bottle of your shampoo to smell when he knows it’ll be a long time before he sees you again.  It gets him hard like nothing else.  He and his hands have a lot of pleasant memories of that shampoo.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He’s had a couple of one night stands before meeting you, but nothing long term.  He has enough experience to understand his preferences and have a pretty good idea of what he’s doing.  But, he’s more than willing to learn from you.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

You riding him is his favorite thing in the world to him. He loves being able to watch your face contort with pleasure as you take his cock over and over again.  It’s the hottest sight in the world.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

You’re more likely to make a joke than he is.  He’s too caught up in the moment to say anything cohesive, really.  Which, that in itself can be pretty funny at times.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

He’s got a good deal of hair down there that he honestly doesn’t do much about rather than keep it clean.  It’s a preference thing.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He’s really good at reading your emotions and gets a feel for what you need and when.  If you need to vent out your frustrations with a good fuck, he’ll lay back and let you take what you want.  But, if you need something more, even a simple touch form him can convey everything he’s trying to say.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

As I’ve said, Hunter is a mess when he cums.  So, if he’s going to masturbate, he knows he has to wait until he can have some place completely private for at least an hour.  He likes to take him time and doesn’t need Crosshair giving him shit for jerking one off.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Light BDSM.  He likes a bit of pain to go with his pleasure.  It’s almost a way to keep in grounded in the moment rather than being completely overwhelmed by the sensations.  A bite on his neck, nails clawing at his back, a good slap to the face, and the digging strain of ties on his wrist all help.

Also, the fandom has decided he’s a sub and I’m not here to dispute that.  He loves nothing more than letting go and surrendering to you.  Tie him up, pin him down, make him eat you out until his jaw aches.  Just for a little while he’ll let someone else make the decisions.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

A bed.  Any bed, preferably in a room with a lock on the door.  He’s not that picky in terms of comfort.  He just doesn’t want to be interrupted and a bed at least gives you room to do whatever comes to mind.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

You addressing him as Sergeant Hunter in an authoritative tone does things to him, in particularly if it’s followed by an order. 

A close second it a nice good tug on his hair.  (He once accidentally let out a not so subtle moan in the middle of sparring.  He never heard the end of it.)

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Over-stimulation.  He’s already got to keep a close eye on his senses and while he is all about a bit of pain, over-stimulation can get too over-whelming.  You tried it once and it took him hours to finally calm down. 

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He loves giving, preferably with you riding his face into the sunset.  Those perfect thighs around his head while his nose is buried in your arousal is enough to get him off all on it’s own.  Add in your moans and a vice grip on his hair and he’s a lost man.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Fast and rough 9/10.  There’s a lot of pent up frustration and tension that is relieved during sex with Hunter.  If he wants to be sweet and romantic, he’s usually showing it outside of the bedroom.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

You’ve tried to once or twice in the cockpit of the Marauder, but it left him so blissed out you had to be the one to make excuses to Tech about how the cockpit is off limits for the next hour or so in order to buy Hunter time to recover.   So, quickies aren’t really an option.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He’s willing to try whatever you want, so long as you set clear rules and safe words.  You guys don’t want another over-stimulation incident.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Here’s the thing, the man’s recovery is insane so he can technically go for as many rounds as you can stand.  After you finish one round, the smells and sensations get him hard all over gain.  BUT, you have to be careful because it can leave him over spent easily. 

So, you guys usually stick to one, maybe two rounds.  But it’s some of the most intense rounds of sex you’ve ever had.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He doesn’t have any he uses just on himself, but the pair of you have a collection you use on each other; vibrator, strap on, handcuffs, that kind of thing.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Not really a teaser.  You can tease him, but the man is weak.  It takes maybe a minute of teasing him to have him begging for you.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

The man is LOUD, hence another reason a room with a locked door in preferred.  Lots of long moans and whines, with praises and pleads peppered in for good measure.  And when he cums? He screams.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

He can smell your arousal from ten feet away and it drives him crazy.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He’s got the average clone sized dick, which means a big, thick 8-in cock.  No, I will not be taking questions at this time.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Pretty average, all things considered.  He can go for a week or two without sex and he’ll be perfectly functional.  However, any longer than that and he’s about ready the burst the next time he sees you.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

It takes him a little while to fully calm down after sex.  But, once he’s caught his breath, he’s down for the count.  There has been more than one night you’ve had to clean him up while he’s dead sleep.

[jessiebanethedragon]

so i randomly thought about a fic with crosshair with his iconic line "you miss me? how touching" and im kinda shocked about how it doesnt exist! so i went to you to request this 👉👈 bcs you're one of my fav fic writers and i'd like to see it from you, no pressure though! bcs i know you dont exactly have all your hours to provide us with fan content :] <3

Hello! thank you so much for this request i’ve been in love with the idea for so long sorry it took me ages to get it written! anyways here it is! 

love ya oxoxox Jessie

Miss you (Crosshair x separatist!Reader)

You met Crosshair in a hurricane of cruses, punches and a bloody nose on his part. And from the glare he sent you way after Hunter had wrestled you into binders, you knew the mutual feeling of hatred was obvious. And of course, when the republic so graciously offered to help you make amends, in return for separatist intel and a forgoing of your prison sentence they put you back into the clutches of Clone Force 99. 

Crosshair could not stand you. With enough cheek and sass to rival his own, and looks that were infuriatingly good, the resident sniper had it out for you. 

But to be fair, you hated him as well. You hated how tall he was, how his deceivingly slim frame gave way to sturdy muscle that your hands had been over top of on a singular occasion that you couldn't get out of your head. 

“Tell me the layout again.” Sergeant Hunter demanded, standing over a disastrously incorrect map of a separatist base. 

“You’d be better off without a map at all!” Exclaimed throwing your hands up in defeat, “the weapons room is here, on the west side of the basement. Not on the east side of the top floor.” You went through the entire map again and again, in order for Hunter to relay it to Tech when him and Crosshair got  back from intel. 

“I still don't understand why we have to be out in the middle of nowhere.” Tech’s voice crackled through the comms. 

“Because She can’t be trusted.” Crosshair hissed. 

“She has been completely honest with us thus far.” Tech retorted, 

“She has a name” You called into your vambrace, 

“Fine, The separatist cannot be trusted.” Oh you could hear the smirk in his voice now. And the damn sniper wore it so well… 

“Ex-separatist.” Wrecker kindly pointed out in your defence. 

“Enough. All of you, Tech what's your status?” Hunter cut in, giving up on the holo-map completely. 

“Approaching the south entrance stand by.” You furred your brows, south, why did they go to the south. You distinctly remember telling them to go North… oh, oh shit. 

“Tech! Abort mission!” You said into your comm, grabbing your blaster and pack off of the walls of the ship. “Tech! Do not approach the south entrance. I repeat do not engage at the south entrance!” Why, Why did they never listen! You looked at Hunter and Wrecker who seemed unbothered. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Spitfire?” Wrecker asked teasingly, “South entrance is unguarded.” 

“According to your map, but according to me the south entrance is next to…” “The Barracks.” Hunter finished for you, before running into the cockpit shouting into his comms. You and Wrecker shared a look of panic. 

“Are you coming with me or not?”  You asked him, and his eyes darted to the cockpit where Hunter was currently firing up the engines and the ramp that was beginning to close. 

“I’ll meet you there Spitfire.” He promised, brothers come first, you could understand that. And even though you knew the Havoc Marauder could get there faster, something other than your brain told you that you had to go on foot. And so you threw yourself out of the rising ship, and onto the forest floor of a separatist planet. 

And that, well that brings us to the present situation, finding yourself once again in a pair of binders and your comrades nowhere to be found. In hindsight, trampoline through the undergrowth like a bantha on spice wasn't the best idea. But maybe you cared more for Clone  Force 99 than you’d like to admit. 

“Where are they?” Whorm Loathsom sneered, far too close for comfort. 

“The term ‘they’ is pretty ambiguous, could you perhaps speci-fy” your sentence was cut off as his clawed hand met your throat, your own hands fumbling at his face as you struggle for air. 

“I’ll ask you again, traitor. Where are the clones you’ve been travelling with?” Loathsom didn’t let up on his grasp, and the corners of your vision were beginning to blur. 

“At... your... mother’s.” You choked out, still trying to wriggle out of his grasp. His claws were beginning to cut into your skin, and you knew blacking out was imminent. 

“I don’t think you have the time for sarcasm.” He hissed, increasing the pressure causing you to flounder in his grasp. “Now, i’m giving you a chance for redemption here. Tell. me. Where. They. Are!” Maker, you realized, he’s going to do it, he’s actually going to kill you. And just as yours eyes fluttered closed and you began to black out, you hit the floor with a resounding thunk. Only to be pulled onto your feet again and into something familiarly solid. 

“Miss me?” Crosshairs voice was heaven layered honey over the sounds of wheezing and laboured breaths. 

“Crosshair?” You gasped up at him, his arms around your frame moving to pick you up. 

“How touching, you almost look pleased to see me.” You blinked repeatedly at his smirk, before wincing as he began to move. 

“Where?” He asked, setting you down again. You tried to speak again but your lungs were still working double time. “What did they do to you?” He whispered, “I should've been faster.” 

“Crosshair,” you tried again, essentially mewling into his chest, “I can’t…. Can’t” you were panicked, scared, trying to chase a breath you just couldn't catch. 

“I’m going to kill them. I’m going to kill them all.” He snarled, standing up again with you safely in his arms. Maybe Clone Force 99 cared for you more than you thought. 

Bed rest sucks, you decide about one day into Techs mandated recovery schedule. What sucks more is him and Hunter marching you back to you bunk every time you try to get up. So, naturally, you resort to sneaking around during the night when the self-proclaimed medics of the Bad Batch are asleep. 

You clutch a cup of some kind of herbal drink, Wrecker and Tech keep them by the box load so you figured they must be at least decent. But right now you’re wondering if you missed something because the stupid wet herb-flower bag thing keeps flopping around in the cup every time you try to take a sip. And the thing is way too hot, so you resort to blowing the steam away as it rises. 

“Shouldn't you be in bed?” Crosshairs voice comes from the doorway into the hull of the Marauder. 

“Miss me?” You ask, mimicking him from before, enjoying the irony. 

“Nope.” He says, popping the ‘p’. You scoff at your mug of hot herbal whatnot. “Wrecker was beside himself though.” 

“Was he?” You tease your sniper, and a part of you wonders when he went from being ‘the’ sniper to ‘your’ sniper. 

“Yeah, inconsolable in fact.” Crosshair moves from the doorway over to your spot  in the hull of the ship. 

“Really?” you arch an eyebrow, standing in an embarrassing attempt to meet his height. But he’s closer than you calculated and in your adjustment you fumble and find yourself against the wall. 

“Aw, little Spitfire’s all choked up, mind the pun.” Crosshair sneers at you, stepping firmly into your personal space. 

“I do in fact.” You retort, “mind the pun, i also mind you in my personal bubble.” You go to plant a hand on his chest to push him away, but he’s so solid. Maker, why is he so warm and firm under your hands. Why, oh why, does he have to feel so perfect to your palms. And in the three times you’ve now touched him, Crosshair’s starting to feel familiar. 

“You gonna push me or just cop a feel?” He raises an eyebrow, but you miss it under the blush on your cheeks and your gaze hits the floor. His hand comes to your chin, index finger underneath while the thumb caresses your cheek. 

“I didn't get to thank you… for coming back for me.” You’re not sure where this is coming from, but it happens anyways. 

“You’ve got a weird way of apologizing Spitfire,” He murmurs looking back to your hands in his chest, watching your eyes react as he moves his other hand to your hip. He smirks oh so proudly when you sigh and relax into his hands, and move yours to hold his face and lightly  scratch at the short hair on his neck. 

“Crosshair…” You exhale looking at him, and the energy between the two of you does the rest of the talking as he leans down to connect his lips to yours. 

Kissing Crosshair seems to contradict everything else about him. It’s slow and soft, he takes his time memorizing the feeling and shape of your lips of his. And with all the time he’s spent pushing you away, now he’s pulling you impossibly close. Your kiss is akin to the second half of your nickname. Crosshair is on fire, but he can't bring himself to care. For you, he tastes of a forest after rainfall, crisp with mist and peaceful. You don't want it to ever end, but the burning in your abused lungs forces you to pull away. Immediately he pulls your foreheads together, a Keldabe kiss, because it’s the best he can get as you both heave for air. 

“I did miss you. And I was worried.” He tells you, lips brushing against your own  as he speaks. 

“I know,” You say, pressing a second kiss to his lips where you can both feel the other smile. 

[ahsarah-tano]

Cadet Crosshair

Since the first time I watched The Bad Batch Arc in The Clone Wars, I’d always questioned why Crosshair had been so sour towards other troopers, or “regs” as he and the other batchers call them. Anyways, this is my hunch...

(By the way, I tried to make it look as if Crosshair was around 10 or 11 [more accurately being around 5 years old with their aging process], but I usually struggle with defining child-like features so forgive me on that one lol)

My thought is that Crosshair was constantly bullied for being different. I’d seen an episode of The Clone Wars where Boba Fett had infiltrated a Republic ship, trying to kill Mace Windu and in said episode, we got to see what clone cadets are like. I’ll admit, there are few who were respectful towards each other, but there were many who were not. They made fun of Boba when he said he couldn’t make his tour due to a broken arm (at that point Boba was still impersonating a cadet). So I could imagine that many weren’t so nice to Crosshair.

I can see why clone cadets could be jerks to one another. Bullying in an illness people catch from sad things that have happened in their lives, and clones don’t have it too good on Kamino, especially with the Kaminoans running their lives. They see the troopers as nothing more than property. Property that can be used and/or disposed off when necessary like some sort of enslavement. That’s why so many clones think so little of themselves and have a very low self-esteem, like when Sinker and Boost were telling Master Plo that they were “meant to be expendable” or when Hevy was telling 99 that they’re “just numbers.” And I can very well see that self-esteem issue being used as fuel to make fun of each other, especially since batchers like Crosshair made it easy.

I’ve read many fics (that I ADORE) about The Bad Batch and one of them included that Crosshair has been through many surgeries due to his keen eyesight and desirable skills (and the Kaminoans literally not giving a damn). I guess they wanted to see if they could make a discovery that could improve future troopers. It’s not exactly canon but I guess I like the angst so I kept that in mind with this drawing. That’s why I included the medical symbol on his uniform, to show that he’s constantly going in and out of the medical bay.

Speaking of his uniform, I made it gray instead of blue, for I figured that because he was different, he’d have a different outfit, like Omega, the young cadet from the Bad Batch trailer.

I’ve also read fics that stated that Crosshair has lighter skin and a slimmer build, which is kind of true if you look at him compared to other troopers. (Also not to mention that the troopers, not just Crosshair, were robbed of their beautiful melanin and white-washed in the show, but those are just my thoughts.) Could his build and skin have been an effect from the surgeries, or was he just born like that? I guess we’ll never know. I figured his build, skin color, and hair color were the main sources of his bullying. It also could have been because his fellow troops were severely jealous of his skills but who knows.

I refrained from including his tattoo because although I wanted to draw it, I figured that, like the Domino Squad, troopers don’t get tattoos or wear their own style of facial hair until they’ve graduated and I wanted to do the same for Crosshair.

While we’re on the topic of Crosshair...

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM IN THE TRAILER FOR THE BAD BATCH!?!?

I’m sorry but I’m so scared! Does he become the villain?! Do they kill him off the show?! They better not!!

I don’t know if I’m ready to see Crosshair become the bad guy, but I’d take that any day if it would mean he lives. Maybe he works with Cody? Or maybe I’m just freaking out for no reason and nothing bad happens to him? I don’t know but I NEED an answer!! May 4th can’t get here soon enough.

Anyways, enjoy this angst. :)

[athrivingpadawan]

This episode was so good!

First off, it’s crazy to think I’ve got followers on this account now--I originally joined Tumblr just to reblog a few things here and there, enjoy all the cool recipes and aesthetic posts, have my own little corner of the internet...then my inner nerd kicked in this past year and now I’m addicted! It’s been fun to join in with the rest of the Star Wars community on here, especially as The Bad Batch has come out and everyone’s put on their tinfoil hats to speculate about where it’s going. I’m grateful for all of you who have followed me, and for the discussions I’ve had with some of you about TBB. ^^

Now, heads up for spoilers if you haven’t seen the latest episode, because I do want to share my thoughts about it. And forgive me in advance, I’m a little tired, so a few of my thoughts might be messy: 

Alright, where do I even begin with War Mantle...like, jeez louise, that was insane. Like, Republic Commandos?? My dude Gregor??? I was not expecting them at all, and both were happy surprises! And getting to see Echo have more emotional moments--even leading the squad into taking on the mission to rescue Gregor--was wonderful. Especially when he reminds the guys that they stuck out their necks to rescue him on Skako Minor...He had so many great moments this episode, and I hope in the next one, we get to see him step up as a leader in place of Hunter, and possibly even have another reunion with Rex. 

Then there’s Kamino. Enough time has passed that project War Mantle has effectively taken over, and the clones are being successfully phased out. I just want to know where all the clones are going? Nala Se is evacuating a lot of them, but I’m honestly getting weird vibes about their future. After all, we only see three clones in Rebels, and there’s no hint that there are others out there. I’m definitely curious about where that is going, and how the writers will reveal what happened to the clones who make it off Kamino. And speaking of Nala Se, she’s always been a mysterious character, and I used to think she was on the side of the Empire, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve seen people on Reddit talking about how she really did care for the clones, but was protective of the inhibitor chip, because it was there as a failsafe. That she never really knew the true purpose of them. In this episode, she really does seem to care about what happens to the clones, even if she only sees them as projects, and wants nothing to do with Lama Su and his future plans. I have so many more thoughts on Nala Se, but I do think we’re leading up to her either sacrificing herself in some way, or even leading an uprising against the Empire. Because she did not seem excited about Rampart’s offer to her, and hasn’t said anything to agree with the Empire’s opinions against clones that I remember...

At the end of the episode, with Hunter, don’t get me started on how sad that was. One of the codes he lives by is not leaving any of the Batch behind. He followed it for Omega after finding out who she was. He’s been struggling the whole season with the guilt of leaving Crosshair to the Empire, to the point he’s been shoving it down and trying to avoid it. He broke his code, and that’s broken him. Then he gets captured, and orders his brothers to leave him. The code is shattered again, and it is gut wrenching. Then you’ve got that scene with Omega begging the others to not leave him, and for once, her desire to help falls flat on everyone’s ears. They have to follow their sergeant’s orders even though they don’t want to; they have to stay safe, for his sake. It goes back to the arguments on here about leaving Crosshair...how can you rescue your brother, if you die in the process of trying to save him? 

 As sad as this scene was, as a writer, I have to say how proud of it I am too.  The writing team did a fantastic job, in my opinion, setting up Omega specifically, to fail here. Even though Echo was the primary reason the group took on this mission, Omega’s altruism played a role in it. The past two episodes, her beautiful selflessness has led to success, securing the Batch a true ally in Cid, and possibly one in Roland down the road, because she stood up for him. However, while her selflessness (and to an extent, the purity of her young heart) is noble, it can easily be turned against her, resulting in her or others getting into trouble. At some point, it was bound to lead to a loss of some capacity for the group. Yes, she has helped the Batch to see things from a different perspective. After all, they haven’t exactly been all that altruistic since the fall of the Republic, so there was a good purpose in her pushing them in that way. She’s been giving them a purpose outside of simple survival. But now, Omega is getting a necessary dose of harsh, cold reality that will humble and mature her moving forward. I can imagine that next episode, she’s going to be feeling guilty, or angry in some way. The light in her eyes is going to be dimmer, and Omega is going to start becoming a different character, if the writers execute this well. 

It all reminds me of Ahsoka, in the early seasons of TCW. Y’all remember when she was super cocky and headstrong, and that was the most annoying part about her? Then it caused an entire fighter squadron’s deaths, because she wanted to do things her way? It led to her developing into a more collected, rational person, maturing her in ways lectures from Anakin never would have. Omega is luckily not this extreme, but her big flaw has been her naivety, her heroic little heart, and unfortunately, despite what Hunter and the others have been trying to tell her, she’s been determined to help as many people as she can. It’s overridden her ability to properly strategize, and see situations for what they really are. She has now learned, the hard way, what Hunter has been saying all along. 

Finally, the animation in this episode. I watch this show with my dad, and we’re both always in awe of how realistic it is. And this episode, is it even possible to say it’s been better than the others? Like the trees around Hunter when he’s fallen to the forest floor are so real, I thought they had tweaked a real photo. The sun shining through the leaves, the particle effects of the dirt, and the shadow effects are all perfect. It made me feel like I was watching a movie, and I hope that the animators get nominated for an award for it. They’ve done such a fantastic job this season, and continue to knock it out of the park each week. 

I’m sorry this was long...there was so much to love about this episode, and even more to think about. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the end of the season, and I’m excited to see what you guys thought of this episode!