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hugmekenobi · 8 months

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S2: The Bad Batch (7)

Chapter Seven: Back to the Past

Gif by @jenstar1992-2

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: Going on a mission with Phee sees you travel back to a time you had been wanting to forget and of course, trouble manages to find you.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, swearing, my interpretation of how Nal Hutta is, brief moment of anxiety, reader having a dodgy past and being a bit shady/reckless (cause apparently I need to include flaws lol), beatings, injury descriptions (mentions of blood, stabbing, bruises, death), protective Hunter is a bit mean to Phee, hurt/comfort, fluff and feelings, light angst

Word Count: 7.3K

Author's notes: Tried to get the best of both worlds with the off show plot for this chapter so hope you enjoy! Excited to get to work on episode 8 now and thanks for all the support and patience!

“Hello, hello!”

You turned in the direction of the chipper voice and saw Phee waltz through the door.

“Phee!” Omega called out happily.

“Hey, kid!” She said with a wave before she made a beeline for you and Hunter. “How’s my favourite couple doing?”

“What do you want?” Hunter asked by way of answer.

“Straight to the point. That’s what I like about you, Bandana.” Phee charmed.

“What is it, Phee?” You asked again.

“I got word of a lead on-”

“Some sorta valuable, ancient artifact?” You and Hunter sussed.

Phee nodded. “I need some assistance following up. Was wondering if I could borrow you and Omega?”

“Yes!” Omega replied instantly but a sharp glance from Hunter told her she better hold off until she had official confirmation.

Your brow furrowed. “Why just us the two of us?”

“Typically, we do missions together.” Tech pointed out from the table you.

“Don’t worry, brown eyes. You’ll get your turn at some point.” She said.

Tech didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just focused his attention back to his datapad. He missed the smirks from his two brothers sitting across from him.

Phee now answered your question. “Figured it would be good for the kid to keep seeing new places and it’s a simple mission so little risk. And we made some progress back on Kaldar, let’s not lose that.” She left out that she wanted the time to also figure you and certain behaviours of yours out. There was something more to you that you that she needed to uncover.

“Okay.” You said hesitantly, still not fully satisfied with that answer but you sensed you weren’t going to get anything more.

Phee turned her attention back to the two of you. “What do ya say? I promise not to let either of your girls be hurt or led astray.” She told Hunter as a means to sweeten the deal.

Hunter focused his gaze on you. “If you want to go, you can go. I also have a feeling she won’t let you stay.”

Phee feigned a look of surprise.

You shrugged. “Gets me outta here for a little bit, I guess.”

“That’s the spirit.” Phee said with a roll of her eyes.

“And me? Please, Hunter?” Omega begged.

I’ll be an extra set of eyes, she’ll be alright.

Hunter sighed. He wasn’t thrilled by this by any means, but he had promised himself to give Phee a chance and you were going with them so that helped things a little. He nodded his permission.

Phee carefully observed you and Hunter. The two of you did it again. That secret, slightly above normal silent communication that seemed to go through you both with perfect understanding.

“Yes!” Omega whooped in victory before she gathered her stuff and darted towards the door.

“Where exactly are we going?” You queried.

“Nal Hutta.” Phee replied.

That made you pause but you covered it quickly. You heaved a sigh and pushed yourself up from your chair.

“Show some enthusiasm! This is going to be fun!” Phee said with a smile before she started to follow Omega out.

You made sure your armour and weapons were secure before you faced Hunter. You gave him a chaste kiss to the lips before his arms enveloped you in a hug.

“Be careful, yeah?” Hunter said as he released you.

“Hey, it’s me.” You said with an innocent grin.

“I know. That’s why I’m asking.” Hunter said, his tone light but the intent behind the words serious.

“I’ll be fine.” You said before you waved to the others and jogged to catch up with the other two.

“Nal Hutta, huh?” You repeated as you walked in the direction of her ship.

Phee cocked her head at you as she heard the slightly nervous way you spoke. “Yeah, not too rough for you, is it?”

You shot her a look. “No. There’s just… some people I’d rather not run into.”

“It’s a big place, the odds of that happening are low.”

“Tech gives much better estimations than you do.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure his sway on the more pessimistic side of things. That’s one thing you gotta learn about me, (Y/N), I like to look on the bright side.” She thumped your back. “Now, come on! We got a lead to hunt down.” She jogged to catch up with Omega.

You were yet to be convinced by that philosophy. But you’d allow her this opportunity. After all, it had been quite a few years since you’d been there. The odds had to be low… right?

Nal Hutta

“You know this place is not going to be glamorous.” You warned Omega as the ship touched down.

“How long did you live here for?” Omega asked. She’d seen the anxious look on your face the whole time the ship had been en-route and she knew that if she asked about it, you wouldn’t lie to her.

“A few months. It wasn’t my scene.” You replied briefly as you pushed up your hood and mask up as high as they could go just as the door opened.

It had not changed. The green and yellow tinge to the environment around you was just as off putting as it had been when you first smuggled yourself here.

It was hot.

It was humid.

You already felt a layer of filth settling on your exposed skin.

And the swamp rain had already started and the stench from said swamps made your nose wrinkle under your mask. You had forgotten how bad it was. You chuckled as you glanced down at Omega to see her hand over her nose. “Told ya. Just let it hit you for a few minutes and then it’ll be fine.”

Omega reluctantly lowered her hand.

“Where’s this lead, Phee?” You asked, adjusting your weapons.

“We won’t need those.” Phee said confidently. “My source is in the local watering hole.” She pointed over to the only bar in the area.

Of course, they are. You thought irritably to yourself. You almost wished your travels for this source would see you go into the swamplands because at least out there, the likelihood of running into someone who might recognise you would be minimal. Going to this bar significantly increased the risks for you.

“Did you come here?” Omega asked as the three of you headed towards the run-down bar.

You kept your sight low as the people you passed on the way over gave you all the once over. “Uh yeah, was a regular back in the day.”

“Really, here?” Phee said with surprise.

“It was a different time.” You said by way of justification.

“What brought you here in the first place?” Phee asked.

Omega glanced up at you, curious about the answer herself.

“Just had to get away.” You said airily.

“From what?” Phee pressed. “And what exactly did you do here anyway?”

The already thick air started to feel like it was settling in the back of your throat. You didn’t like that Phee kept pushing it. “It’s not really any of your business, okay?” You snapped.

Phee raised her hands and backed off. “Damn, okay. You can have your secrets.”

You took a breath. “I’m sorry I snapped. It’s just a period I don’t like to remember, that’s all.”

The rest of the walk was done in silence and when you came upon the rundown wooden door, you were filled with sudden flashbacks of meetings and drunken brawls you were set with the task of ending. You shook the memories away as you opened the door.

A low thrumming from a music box in the corner echoed over the voices and sounds of glasses clinking. You smiled fondly to yourself as Omega looked around in wonder and took in the various people and species that occupied the room. Bounty hunters, gangsters, people scraping by and more- Nal Hutta was the sorta place that attracted the people on the lower half of the scale.

Phee pointed to the bartender. “This shouldn’t take long. Take in the sights. I’ll be done soon.”

You nodded and led Omega over to one of the many dark corners of the cantina and kept a watchful eye over Phee as she talked to the bartender.

You were getting twitchy now. It looked like Phee was struggling with the bartender and each passing minute of their struggle was making your heartbeat that little bit faster.

“(Y/N)? Is that you?”

You brushed off the hand on your arm that was starting to face you. “Uh no. Sorry, you got the wrong person.” You grabbed Omega’s hand and started to move away but couldn’t stop him as he darted in front of you.

You stopped short and kept your eyes to the ground. “Sir, I’m just trying to get past.”

“Our friend is over there, and we need to join her.” Omega added, doing her best to help you.

The man swore your voice was familiar. He stooped and finally caught a glimpse of your eyes as you tried to avoid his. “It is you!”

“You have the wrong person.” You insisted before you started pushed past him.

“I don’t think so.” He acted quickly and went to pull your coverings down.

You shoved him away, but he managed to hook a finger in your mask, and it fell.

“Well, I’ll be damned, we thought you were all dead. I know someone will be pretty pleased to hear you’re not. She was really pissed off, you know.”

Fuck fuck fuck. You thought repeatedly. You ignored and shouldered past him. You were out of time; word would travel fast now.

Omega followed your hurried footsteps. “(Y/N), what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later, Omega. We need to leave.” You replied hastily. There had been no point in pulling your mask back up, so Phee got a good look at the nervousness lingering behind your eyes as you approached her.

“Hey, you okay?” She asked.

“Do you have it?” You said instead. “We need to go. Now.”

“Well, we can’t yet. Someone is changing the terms of the deal.” Phee griped, crossing her arms in frustration.

“You want more money?” You guessed as you talked to the barkeeper.

He shrugged. “Information ain’t cheap.”

“The amount we agreed was-”

“Give her the data.” You interrupted Phee and kept your attention on him.

Phee and Omega observed you. Your manner had completely changed. You were distant and cold as you dealt with him.

The bartender guffawed and rested his arm on the bar counter. “Cute negotiation tactic but no. My price has gone up.”

You lazily rolled your eyes and within the blink of an eye, your vibroblade was pinning the lose fabric of his shirt to the wooden counter and you held his head on the counter, so he had little choice but to angle his eyes up at you.

A shocked Phee and Omega took half a step back.

“Here’s how this is going to go.” You whispered in his ear, your voice firm and intimidating. “You’re going to give her whatever it was you promised, for the original price, and you’ll get to keep your hand attached to your body. Okay?” You hoped the threat was enough, you weren’t wanting to descend back into the way you had acted here in previous times.

“No.” He grunted.

He was stubborn, you gave him that, so you tried another method. Riskier but was a way for everyone to leave unharmed. You channelled the Force and directed it towards his mind. “You will give her the information.”

“I will…” He trailed off and shook his head. “No. I won’t.”

You pushed harder and went again. “You will give her the information.”

“I will give…”

Omega deduced that his reaction was due to you using your Jedi abilities and she knew you wouldn’t be using them unless it was truly necessary, but she worried for you as she glanced at Phee. The woman was looking at you with a keen sense of interest.

You weren’t wanting to do this for a third time so you waited as you could sense his resistance was fading.

“I will give you the information.” He said finally, his voice hazy before he reached down and put the data card on the counter.

Phee picked it up and glanced between you and the barman. What the hell had she just watched?

“Pay him and let’s go.” You said emotionlessly as you sheathed your blade in your vambrace and turned to leave.

“You wanna tell me what that was?” Phee demanded as the three of you hustled out the cantina.

“What was what?” You deflected, avoiding her stare and nudging Omega in front of you.

“Nuh uh.” Phee grabbed the top of your arm. “You can’t just insist we leave, get the information from a man who was adamant about not revealing it, and then run out without saying how you did it and why we suddenly need to go.”

“Phee, you got the information you wanted. I don’t see what the big deal is. We need go.” You implored as you turned around to face her.

Any protest Phee was going to offer died on her lips as she caught sight of the crowd of people approaching.

“But we haven’t had the group reunion yet.” A sing song voice laced with venom called over to you.

You closed your eyes in despair and slowly turned on your heels to face the crew you had really wanted to avoid. The two Gamorreans were new but the two Trandoshans, three Twileks were from your time. Your eyes however focused in on the leader. She looked the same as she had when you’d left. Slim odds my ass. You thought to yourself. You stepped forward slightly, so Omega and Phee were more behind you.

“Hello, Vaya.” You said coolly.

“It’s been a long time, Two Knife.”

“I meant to come visit.” You lied, no warmth behind your words.

“Two Knife?” Omega repeated as she looked to you, but you didn’t turn to meet her eyes.

You cringed as you heard your old nickname leave the young girl’s mouth.

“For the two vibroblades she used when she was part of us. No blasters, only ever those knifes. I think she liked killing up close and personal.” Vaya taunted cruelly. “Though it looks like you traded one of them in. What happened? Grow a conscience in your time away?”

“Shut the fuck up.” You snarled.

Vaya sneered. “Oh, what’s the matter, (Y/N)? You didn’t tell your new…” She looked to your companions and gave a mocking laugh as she saw the child. “ ‘crew’ about your old friends?”

“Take it these were the people you were hoping to avoid?” Phee worked out as she saw the icy stares the two of you were giving each other.

“Friends is a generous term.” You said but you didn’t want her to keep talking. You didn’t want Omega knowing exactly what you had been a part of here. At least not from her. It had all been an act built from repressed anger, disappointment, and misery, but you were ashamed of what you’d become in your time here.

Vaya pretended to look wounded. “After all we achieved in this shithole. You want to forget it so eagerly? Then again, that would make sense. You stole from us and ran pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, well, finding out you were giving a cut of what we stole to the Separatists during the war wasn’t what I signed up for.”

“So, I take it you haven’t come to pay it back?” Vaya said with a glare.

You couldn’t help the laugh that left your mouth. “Nope. I am dead broke and, as hard as it might be for you to believe, I did not come here for you.”

Vaya’s lip curled into a nasty grin. “Then it’s just my lucky day.” With that, she clicked her fingers and her subordinates straightened up and cracked various bones in their body.

Omega, you, and Phee get back to the ship. I’ll meet you there.

“No, we’re not leaving you.” Omega hissed as she kept her bow activated.

Phee glanced down and the young girl and then to you. There it was again. That level of communication that was something more than just good team chemistry. She was sure you hadn’t spoken yet Omega seemed to know exactly what you had said. Plus, there was still that incident in the bar that she needed to follow up on. What were you?

You didn’t take your eyes of the group in front of you. Trust me. Please. “All this because of a little money I stole from you years ago? Can’t we just let bygones be bygones and no one gets hurt?” You reasoned with Vaya whilst Omega tugged on Phee’s arm and turned to go in the direction of the ship.

“You know our law here.” Was Vaya’s steely reply.

Yeah, you did, and it had been why you’d avoided this place like the plague after you’d left. Money was all anyone here cared about and they didn’t care who they hurt to get it. And… you’d been a key part in that for a while.

Phee hesitantly moved backwards. “(Y/N), you sure-”

“Get outta here.” You ordered firmly.

Phee didn’t like it, but you seemed determined and the last thing she wanted was Omega getting caught in any crossfire. She left you behind and ran back to the ship with Omega.

“After them.” Vaya signalled to the two Gamorreans.

Two quick stun shots from your blaster halted any movements from the two as they dropped to the ground. “You deal with me, or the next round leaves a more permanent outcome.” You said with a hard stare.

Vaya merely shrugged. “Fine by me. So long as the result is you dead in the ground.”

“Still got that lovely street demeanour.” You mumbled. “Same rules I take it?” You asked, already unholstering your blaster and tossing your vibroblade a safe distance away.

“It’s like you’ve never been away.” Vaya jeered before she took a step back and allowed her crew to advance towards you.

“Fucking hell.” You wheezed as you shoved the dead Trandoshan off your chest. His body flopped to the ground with his neck sticking out at an awkward angle. You didn’t want to kill him but when you found yourself on your back with his clawed hands squeezing your throat, you were left with little choice.

You hunched on all fours as you worked your way up to stand but you didn’t get very far. A hard kick was sent to your ribs, followed swiftly by one to your stomach. You rolled across the ground and retched before you were allowed to get to your feet. You swayed and pointlessly wiped away the blood running from your nose as you faced the two twileks and the lone trandoshan. One companion dead, the other unconscious on the ground.

As the two twileks stalked towards you, you called on the Force to give you that extra bit of strength you found yourself needing. “Four down, four to go.” You said to yourself before you raised your arms and let them come to you.

The two twilelks- one red skinned, one blue- started their attack first. They came at you from either side. You remembered these two and from what you recalled, they weren’t the brightest of the bunch and you only hoped that would remain true. As the red one made to strike you, but you ducked and instead his fist crunched into the nose of the second one who yelped in pain.

You kicked the red twilek in the groin which sent him crumbling to the ground and whipped round to face his friend. He was still nursing his hurt nose, so you easily dodged the aimless and distracted swing of his arm. One well-placed and strong hit of your elbow to his temple followed by a harsh punch to the underside of his jaw had him collapsing to the ground but it was after this you got yourself into a bit of trouble. You were sluggish and didn’t turn around quickly enough to stop the second twilek from grabbing the back of your neck.

The remaining red-skinned twilek hit the back of your knee and kept doing so when you didn’t immediately go down. Once you finally succumbed, he pinned your arms behind your back and the trandoshan got to work on punching your face.

It was a struggle to stay conscious as the assault continued and so you acted swiftly. When the next hit came, you tipped to the side and the punch wound up in the gut of your captor you let your hands go on instinct as he doubled over.

You forced yourself to stand up quickly and you faced your two foes once more. All of you were breathing heavily.

“Any chance you guys want to call it a day?” You tried, your jaw aching with the effort and the metallic taste of blood was filling your mouth and the back of your throat. You spat it out.

The answering growl and ‘fuck you’ gave you your answer.

“Alrighty then.” You sighed. Your best bet here was to use their weaknesses against them. Both were eager to be the one to deliver the final hit and that meant they were unfocused. You ducked, weaved, and parried their strikes for now. It was almost like you were dancing in a pattern to get them closer to each other whilst they were aiming for you.

One misplaced kick from the twilek combined with a perfectly timed dodge from you meant that the trandoshan got clipped in the thigh which caused his step to fumble as he got ready to set himself once more and that was your moment. You dashed round the back of the twilek and twisted his arm behind his back and used him as a shield when the trandoshan barley looked up and threw a powerful punch but rather than you sinking to the ground, it was his teammate.

You tutted and shook your head as you released the unconscious body. “Didn’t anybody teach you that you’re not supposed to punch out your own gang member?”

“I forgot how much shit came out of your mouth.” The trandoshan hissed.

You shrugged. “Keeps things entertaining.” With that you and the trandoshan went at it once more.

The two of you had been going at it for much longer that you would’ve liked.

You were able to punch his cheekbone but, at the same time, he sent a strong kick to the centre of your chest sent you sprawling on your back. You released a winded cough and as he stepped towards you, you swept your leg out and took his out from under him. He fell to the ground, and you took your chance. You groaned with the effort it took for you to climb across his chest, but you managed it. His fist skimmed across your jaw since you moved it away in the nick of time, so the resulting impact of the punch was lost. You lifted his head and smacked the back of it off the ground a few times before he too was left unconscious. You moved off him when you were sure he wasn’t going to come back around.

You were only allowed a moment of respite since you still had one more person to deal with. You braced a hand on your knee and heaved a few deep breaths. You spat some more blood out your mouth, stood and beckoned Vaya to come towards you.

Vaya snarled and ran at you, knife in hand.

You dodged the quick jabs of her knife, but you were sore and exhausted, your movements had grown slower. You didn’t quite manage to avoid the next swift, well-placed stab of her knife. It sliced through your side. You swallowed your shout of agony and stumbled backwards. You ignored the pain and sensation of warm blood dripping down your body. It would give Vaya too much power if she saw how badly she’d wounded you.

Vaya smirked. She hadn’t missed the way your face had contorted as she made contact with you. She studied her blade which was now dotted with your blood. “You’re getting sloppy.”

“You always were a cheat.” You said through laboured breaths.

“Give up now, and I promise I’ll make the rest of it quick.”

“Nah, this was all to give you a fair shot.” You taunted.

Vaya snarled and stalked towards you once more.

You studied her and when you saw the glance she sent towards your shoulder, and you grabbed her wrist and bent it back, so she was forced to drop the knife.

You caught the movement of her other fist that was aiming for your mouth. You blocked it and managed a punch of your own that met her cheekbone. You then landed a kick to her stomach which sent her reeling back.

She was pissed and, unlike you, had all her energy. You knew the longer this went on, the less likely it was that you would be the one walking away. You needed to get under her skin and make her lose focus, so you smirked as you saw the welt that was already swelling beneath her skin. “Knife strike followed by a punch to the mouth. It’s still the same but then again, you never were all that creative.”

Vaya cried out in frustration and charged towards you.

You knew what she was going to do. You let her tackle your waist and ignored the wave of agony it sent through your body as she repeatedly hit your open wound. You pushed the black spots encroaching on your vision away and kept your feet. You kneed her in the ribs which caused her to loosen her grip for a moment. You did it again and again until she let go and regrouped.

Vaya saw the weary and pained expression behind your eyes. Your heart wasn’t in this, and she could use that. She caught her breath back and ran at you again.

This time though, you couldn’t fight the pain it caused you and you weren’t able to stay standing. The two of you crashed to the ground. You felt her reaching out to the side and when you turned your head, you saw why- her knife was within her grasp. You made the rather unwise decision to headbutt her, an act that saw stars exploding behind your eyes due to the pain it caused your already injured face. It only dissuaded her for a second. You choked out a pained grunt as she placed her knee on your chest- limiting your movements- and managed to get her weapon back.

Vaya straddled your chest and brought the knife down towards you.

You blocked her descent with your forearm, but she continued to press down, and the sharp point of the knife was edging closer to your throat. You let the Force flow through you and found whatever reserves were left within you and pushed back- hard- and used your other hand to lift her elbow to the side. You could tell by the way the knife was moving away from you and the sheer frustration in her face that you were going to get out of this. You managed to get her half off you but the momentum you had caused meant you rolled too, and she kept it going.

The two of your struggled on the ground, the knife getting lost between you both and it was then you heard the sound of metal meeting flesh.

You weren’t sure how it happened, and you wished you had found a way to stop it.

You watched the fearful realisation in her eyes, and you glanced down. You pushed off her you and she fell to the side. You gingerly sat up and recoiled in horror as you saw her knife embedded in her own chest. “Vaya, I-”

“You always- always were the stronger one.” Vaya rasped.

You bowed your head. You didn’t want it to go like this. “I’m sorry.”

A pained laugh rattled from Vaya’s mouth. “You’ll- you’ll understand if I don’t feel like forgiving you right now.”

You released a low, sad laugh. “Can I help?”

“No, I’m-” Vaya coughed, and a trickle of blood left the corner of her mouth. “I’m done.”

You watched as the light left her eyes and her chest stopped moving. “I’m sorry.” You whispered sincerely before you gently lowered her eyelids. You had never wanted this.

You stood up and made to take a step but instantly felt your knees buckle as your beaten body finally let itself be feel all the aches and pains you were experiencing. You slouched to the ground. You finally pressed a hand into your side and hissed in discomfort. You lifted your shirt and examined the wound. It wasn’t as deep as you’d feared but it was no small cut either. You definitely needed medical attention. You released a shaky breath as you got to your feet. Your knee burned under your full weight so you had to accommodate your step accordingly as you weaved your way through the bodies, picked up your abandoned weapons and made your way back to the ship as quickly as your body would allow.

Phee and Omega took in your battered and bruised face as you limped towards them. You were clutching your side and there was a blood trail behind you.

“(Y/N)!” Omega cried anxiously as she and Phee ran towards you.

“I thought you had a handle on things?” Phee said as she reached for you.

You waved them both off and grimaced. “I did. Just-” You readjusted your stance and groaned in pain. “Just get- get back to Ord Mantell.” You kept one gloved hand on your side as you all boarded the ship.

You winced as you sat down and took the cloth from Omega and put it over your nose to stem the blood flow.

“Hunter is going to kill me.” Phee mumbled as she turned her worried gaze from you and got the ship in the air.

As Omega started to take off your armour and anxiously watched the way your eyes flickered, she wasn’t confident enough to tell her that he wouldn’t.

“AZ, we need you!” Omega shouted urgently as the three of you entered the parlour.

AZ dropped the tray of dirty glasses in his hand and whirred towards Cid’s room. “Bring her back here.”

The rest of the Batch jumped to their feet as they saw you slouched against Phee.

“What happened?!” Echo asked as he and his brothers hustled over to you.

Your only reply was a pained grunt.

“We ran into some lowlifes.” Phee explained for you as she strengthened her grip on you since she felt you lean into her more.

“Where’s Hunter?” Omega asked quickly.

“He’s out with Cid.” Tech replied, already halfway to the exit.

“Don’t-” You sucked air through your teeth in discomfort as Echo and Wrecker took over from Phee in supporting you. “Don’t bother him. Give me 20 minutes and I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Wrecker disagreed. “You know what he’d do to us if we didn’t tell him this?”

“I’ve been imagining a few scenarios.” Phee piped up.

“I’m going to be fine.” You protested through gritted teeth. You didn’t want to worry Hunter with something that in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t a big deal and would be sorted pretty quickly.

“I do not suggest we test the idea.” Tech advised before he slipped away as Echo and Wrecker began to lead you into the back room where AZ was setting up.

“What are you after, Goggles?” Cid asked roughly as she saw Tech sprint towards them.

Tech ignored her.

Hunter took in the look on his brother’s face and his muscles tensed. It was a rare sight to see Tech looking troubled. “What’s wrong, Tech?”

Tech caught his breath back. “It’s (Y/N), she’s hurt. She-”

Hunter didn’t wait to be told the rest. He just started running.

“Hunter, hold on. Don’t-”

The warning calls from all his brothers didn’t stop him. He made a beeline for Phee.

Phee saw both the fury and panic on Hunter’s face and that was a dangerous combination. She dashed around to the safety of the bar counter. “Hey hey hey. Let’s just talk.” She said but she couldn’t quite keep the fear at bay, so it came out her mouth very quickly.

Omega had paused for a moment to watch but she knew she’d be better off helping AZ treat you, so she left the main parlour.

Wrecker acted quickly and braced his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. He knew his brother wasn’t going to physically hurt Phee- it wasn’t his nature- but he couldn’t guarantee the words he would say would carry the same considerations.

“What. Happened. Out. There?” He spat angrily at her as he shoved Wrecker’s hand off him. He stopped his advance, however.

“Everything started off fine. We just-”

“Clearly it wasn’t. You told me they would be alright!” He couldn’t stop his voice from growing louder. He was too wound up and upset to think straight right now.

“We were. It was only at the end where-”

“I don’t care when it was! You said nothing was going to happen!”

“I-”

“I know you like to lie about your various adventures, but I didn’t think you would lie about ensuring the safety of my squad!”

“If you would just-”

“Guess you really are a pirate.”

“Look, I didn’t think anything would go wrong! I can’t control what she does! She has her own mind you know!”

That made Hunter pause. “What are you talking about?” He took a deep breath and relaxed his stance a bit.

“Oh, you’re letting me get a word in now?” Phee retorted.

“Don’t.” Hunter warned. “Just tell me what you mean.”

Phee sighed. “Look, overall things were fine. It was just at the end. She got all jittery about needing to leave so we did but then we ran into some people that she insisted she deal with herself. I wanted to help but the kid was there, and (Y/N) told us to go. And technically, she did handle them. She got away, didn’t she? She’s right here. It’s not my fault she felt the need to take on a whole gang of people by herself.”

“You-”

“Hunter, instead of focusing your attention on Phee, why don’t you go check on (Y/N)?” Tech interjected.

Phee shot him a look of gratitude.

Hunter’s jaw clenched before he gave Phee one last glare and hustled through to the back room.

He practically crashed through the door when a big enough gap opened and you hastily covered the wound on your side that AZ was beginning to tend to. You started to sit up. “I told them not to bother you.”

“I am not yet finished with my examination.” AZ said, indicating that you should lie back down.

“What happened?” Hunter asked, his voice tight as he struggled to keep the distress at seeing your bruised face. Your lip had split and there was a cut along the bridge of your nose. Not to mention the purple and blue welts that were scattered across your face, particularly your cheek, eye, and jaw.

“You should see the other guys.” You joked before you winced as AZ started to work on your stab wound.

“Believe me, I wish I could.” Hunter said with protective rage.

“I’m okay, Hunter.” You comforted as you patted the side of the bed in invitation.

“Are you okay?” He asked to Omega first.

Omega nodded as she cleaned the spots of blood from your face and took off you gloves to clean the scratches on your knuckles before applied the bacta to the various bruises on your face. “Not even a scratch. It was an interesting mission until it went a bit wrong.”

Hunter hung his head in relief before he took your hand and came to sit by the bed. “How’s it going, AZ?”

“The bruises on her face and ribs will heal quickly. Her knee will take longer but the treatment is the same- some bacta and rest. This wound on her side, however, is more concerning.”

“AZ, I thought we said not to mention the injury there.” You grumbled.

“Yes, AZ, what’s concerning about the injury on her side?” Hunter said, shooting you a look.

“The knife wound isn’t deep, closing it up will be a simple process, but the blade that inflicted it was unclean and there is subsequent dirt from whatever happened after the original wound occurred. I am worried about infection.”

“See, a ‘simple process’.” You said with a small smile.

“The ‘worried about infection’ part just didn’t reach your ears?” Hunter chastised.

“I’m choosing to not think about it. And looking out for your health. You know, you should be avoiding unnecessary stress.” You said breezily.

“Forget about my non-existent blood pressure issue. You were stabbed!” Hunter said, hanging his head in utter exasperation.

“Lightly.” You corrected with a slight smile.

Hunter breathed deeply. He wasn’t prepared to be calm about this yet.

You felt the distress that rippled through him. “Hunter, I promise I’m feeling much better.” You brought his hand to your chest and let him feel your heartbeat. “See? I’m right here.”

Slowly but surely and with each strong beat of your heart, Hunter started to feel himself relax. “Do you have enough supplies to clean it, AZ?”

“I do. The process will just carry a degree of discomfort.”

“Feel free to squeeze.” Hunter said softly as he kissed the back of your hand as he held it.

You gave him a grateful smile before you signalled for AZ to start.

“I have finished my treatment.” AZ declared.

“Thank you.” You said as the droid left the room. You sat up. Your still body ached but you figured that would be the norm for the next few hours at least. You accepted Hunter’s help to stand and practically fell into his arms as he didn’t give you much time to get oriented before he wrapped them around you.

“You know the idea of letting me just walk in and find you like this with no warning was a sure way to put me through unnecessary stress?” Hunter murmured into the top of your head.

“I know.” You admitted. “At the time, I thought it was the better route to go down.”

A beat of silence passed before Hunter spoke again. “I need you to be more careful, okay? We can joke all we like but when Tech said you were hurt…”

You pulled your head back to look at him.

“I can’t lose you.” He murmured as he brushed the backs of his fingers tenderly across your bruised face.

“You won’t.” You reassured him, your voice gentle.

“I could have. On more than one occasion and it’s not something I ever find myself prepared for.”

“Hunter…”

“I know the risks of what we do. I account for everything, or at least I try to, but the one thing that I always struggle to plan for is losing anyone here, especially you. If I-” He stopped before he tried again. “If I lost you, I think a part of me would die with you.”

You cupped his face and looked deep into his brown eyes. “Good thing that’s not going to happen.”

He swallowed thickly. He knew you both knew there were no guarantees in this galaxy but hearing you say it helped, nonetheless.

“It won’t.” You affirmed again. You wouldn’t let it. He and this squad were a source of light for you in the ever-growing darkness of this galaxy and if you didn’t have that, you dreaded to even think about what you would do. “I’ll stop being reckless and you avoid heights.” You said with a smile.

Hunter laughed. “Sounds like a decent plan.” He hugged you again.

“How much did you lay into Phee?” You asked with a knowing smile as you adjusted your head to glance at him.

“I was probably a bit harsh.” Hunter admitted on reflection.

“She told you I told them I’d handle it, right? She was actually following an order.”

“Yes.” Hunter grunted in displeasure. “When you’re 100% I’m going to come back and lecture you about that.”

You snorted out a laugh. “Come on, Sergeant. We got some apologies to make.”

As you hobbled into the main parlour with Hunter providing a helping hand, Phee dashed to hide behind Wrecker.

“What did you do?” You admonished with a playful punch to his arm.

Hunter winced at Phee’s reaction. “I’m sorry, Phee.” He said genuinely.

Phee peeked out from behind Wrecker. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I was scared and I took it out on you when I shouldn’t have.”

Phee fully emerged. She could tell he meant what he was saying but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a bit of fun first. “So, you’re sorry you yelled?”

“Yes.” Hunter nodded.

“And you’re sorry for not letting me get a chance to explain first?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re sorry you blamed me?”

“Yes.” He said again, not liking the direction Phee was taking this but he had it coming.

“And you’re sorry for implying that I would deliberately endanger your team?”

“Yes.” He squirmed.

“And you’re sorry for calling me a liar and a pirate?”

“Hunter.” You scolded.

“You were injured!” Hunter said awkwardly. He really had been an ass. “I didn’t know how badly; I just knew you were hurt and reacted with a bit more emotion that I should have. I’m sorry.” He said again.

Phee nodded appreciatively. “We’re cool, Bandana. You were worried for your girl, I get it. Just next time, take a moment before you jump down someone’s throat.”

Hunter dipped his head in acknowledgement.

“And Phee, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. I was careless and didn’t fully think about how a rather protective someone would react. I’m sorry for getting you into trouble.” You said earnestly.

“Don’t sweat it.” Phee said with a wave of her hand. “I just hope you left those other guys in a worst state cause you really don’t look too hot right now. Now, if you all would excuse me, I got some treasure to find.” She had decided to wait you out a bit longer, it wouldn’t be fair to try to figure out what your deal was with your current condition being what it was.

“Let us know what you find!” Omega called after her.

Phee grinned before she made her way out the parlour.

“Do the other guys look worse?” Wrecker asked.

“They will have to be in considerably worse shape if you look better.” Tech said simply, only realising how it sounded when all heads gave him the same pointed look.

You merely laughed. “Yes, Tech, they looked considerably worse. Some more than others.” You said to yourself quietly, regretfully.

“Alright!” Wrecker celebrated as he gave you a high five.

“Can you fill us in on what happened?” Echo asked.

“I did bring it on myself, it was from a time before I met you all. Believe or not, some secrets of my past before you all still remain. And this time, Omega isn’t going to reveal them.” You kidded as you all sat down, but you were nervous. You weren’t sure of the reaction you’d get. It was a dark, shameful part of your past where you’d just left the Order and had started doubting everything you’d thought you’d known and through that, you’d lost yourself for a while. “It was pretty soon after I left the Order…”

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @arctrooper69, @graciexmarvel, @flyingkangaroo, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @starwarsnerd111

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kleioscanvas · 1 year

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The Sun passes into the land of the dead through the Gates of Dusk, guarded by the demons Kaldar and Sinjota. Detail from a piece commissioned by Martin Heldson

#artists on tumblr #illustration #mythical creatures #glorantha #mythologyart #fantasy art #fantasy #fantasy creature

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laglegt · 2 months

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teygist tíminn ekkert áfram í þína átt?

ný er nóttin en mig dreymir sama draum

liggjum saman, allt er eins og það var

nema tárin sem þú spyrð mig hví ég felli

svara engu því þetta' ert ekki þú

margir dagar sem að týnast í tárum

tíminn líður en ég stend ennþá stjörf

sömu draumar sömu andlit sama þú

horfir á mig nýjum augum saknar ekki

geymdu mig í huga þínum

ég geymi þig í hjarta mínu

geymdu mig í huga þínum

ég geymi þig í hjarta mínu

(því þú gast ekki elskað mig

því þú gast ekki elskað)

gengur áfram horfir ekkert til baka

bara vinur sem að allt of mikið sá

allt var ósagt sem að núna þarf að segja

lít' í burtu, kaldar hendur, sakna' í hljóði

teygist tíminn ekkert áfram í þína átt?

geymdu mig í huga þínum

ég geymi þig í hjarta mínu

geymdu mig í huga þínum

ég geymi þig í hjarta mínu

teygist tíminn ekkert áfram í þína átt?

geymdu mig í huga þínum

ég geymi þig í hjarta mínu

geymdu mig í huga þínum

ég geymi þig í hjarta mínu

#25.2.2024 #tónlist #SoundCloud

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mwolf0epsilon · 1 year

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The Ghost in the War Machine

With the stakes of the Clone Wars increasing steadily overtime, the Techno Union had grown significantly more ambitious with their various projects and investments.

Some might say the guild's aspirations had outgrown them because, while their facade of neutrality might have fooled the Republic's Senate and the people they represented, it never quite fooled the GAR's soldiers nor the more attentive Jedi Generals. Especially not the ones that were more than a little acquainted with the machinations of Wat Tambor and his underling's work.

Keeping at the very top of their game wasn't easy with the likes of the 501st and 212th Battalions knowing fully well that the guild was not to be trusted (and more involved with the Separatist movement than they let on).

Naturally, Wat Tambor took it as a challenge of sorts.

Branched out a bit with the experiments and far off expedition he approved, and mostly kept the more classified projects as far away from view as possible to avoid incidents like the one that occurred in Nelvaan (making an actual public enemy out of Anakin Skywalker was a mistake he'd prefer to avoid). Whenever the opportunity presented itself, the Techno Union wasn't afraid to try something new.

And, upon stumbling across a rather peculiar little planet in the Kaldar Trinary system, opportunity for something more ambitious did present itself...

---[Continue Reading...]---

The legend of the Skara Nal was not one just known to treasure hunters and pirates alike. Many sentient species all across the galaxy have heard the stories of the Ancients, their mysterious culture, and their awesome treasures.

Wat Tambor had heard such stories himself. Was curious and inspired by beings of ancient times that could somehow invent technology that was leagues ahead of its own time. Felt like those were tales that one could learn for in the name of both progress and profit.

So, upon hearing about a rather incredible discovery one of the branches of the guild had made, he was more than a little excited to get his hands on a design that would inspire both awe and fear into the hearts of his allies and enemies alike:

The Skara Nal Walker

An incredible feat of automation that had (overtime), been confused to be some kind of ancient city holding a precious treasure, rather than what Wat Tambor actually knew it to be: A superweapon capable of mass destruction.

This design (this incredible war machine) could completely change the order of things in favour of the Techno Union itself. With a Walker this powerful Wat Tambor could simply seize control of everything and everyone, and change the tides of war to better suit the Techno Union's needs. His needs.

All he'd need is to get his hands on the Skara Nal's blueprints and design, recreate it and its specs (with some alterations here and there), create a more complex form of processor to better control it with, trick the Techno Union's investors into funding the project itself, and then construct an ultimate weapon that he would then control.

Maybe an entire army of them.

And, with an army of superweapon Walkers at his disposal, who could possibly oppose him and the Techno Union in any meaningful way? No one. Absolutely no one.

Not even the Jedi, or Count Dooku and his shadowy master.

Time flies by...

The construction process of the prototype recreation of the Skara Nal is less than consistent, but the promises Wat Tambor makes about this mysterious project is more than a little tantalizing for the more power hungry members of the Separatist Council.

It's so very easy to tempt the Techno Union's most loyal investors with the prospect of power, that hiding his true intentions is ridiculously easy. Still, Tambor has to maintain a front of willingness to provide actual advantages for the Separatist army. Offer them something that'll keep their interests peaked, and their curious eyes off the project itself...

The answer is fairly easy, really... The Algorithm keeps Tench more than satisfied, so it's easy to lend its limited remote services until the time is right. However, everyone that's working on the Walker Project knows that (eventually) the Algorithm will be used for more than just data analysis and advisory tasks: It will be the brain of their superweapon.

The central processor that both keeps the Walker itself running in a seemingly commensalistic symbiotic relationship, and that can be more easily controlled than the original Skara Nal (which attacked its surroundings indiscriminately when not given any guidance).

Thus far the Algorithm had obeyed them well, so the Techno Union believed it would continue to do so once the Walker was fully operational and connected to its neural relay.

In theory the plan was quite brilliant.

By using a living being conditioned to obey orders directly transmitted into their brain, they could get the Walker to move more fluently and even react to situations in a more aware and intelligent manner. An ARC trooper that had been highly trained and aware of enemy strategies, would thusly be able to outsmart and outmaneuver the GAR's army with ease.

This would effectively protect the Algorithm itself (which was imperative to keep the Separatists on the Techno Union's side until the time was right to seize control of them), and also force the Algorithm to rely on the Walker for more effective life support (cryosleep had kept their asset alive, but it had certainly not maintained the body very well due to lack of nutrition and vitamins) as well as stability, via a string of pre-programmed code that would help it integrate itself with the Walker's systems.

In fact, the Walker had been redesigned to be able to "eat", store "digested nutrients" in a storage tank connected to it's "stomach", and overall mimic an actual living being in such a way that the entire machine would become like a second body for the Algorithm in an almost seamless transition from flesh to machine. The Algorithm would essentially become the Walker itself, and hopefully be conditioned to believe it had always been a weapon to be used by its new master

Wat Tambor believed he'd be the master of the galaxy's most complex, intelligent and powerful war machine ever known to any being, by fooling its "brain" into believing it had always been a machine with the sole purpose of obeying orders...

He was sorely mistaken.

The Algorithm may have been doing it's job as intended, but Echo had been fighting back as best he could the entire time. And he would soon be able to show just to what extent he'd be willing to go to try to free himself from both the Techno Union's and the Separatist's clutches alike...

Echo became more and more aware of himself the more tests were performed to see if the Walker could be effectively integrated with his neural network, and then subsequently began performing his own tests trying to figure out where he was exactly, and how to use the various systems he was connected to to his own advantage.

Tech and Rex's inquiry when the 501st and Clone Force 99 began investigating the Algorithm that was causing the GAR so many losses on Anaxes, was simply the nail in the Techno Union's coffin. Echo may have still been trapped but he was now aware of the fact someone was coming for him, and that he might be able to make himself mobile the next time Wat Tambor called for the Walker to be activated. Which he stupidly does in an attempt to use it against the invading party that has come to steal the Algorithm...

Needless to say, the moment the Walker is brought online, Echo is fully in control of it and goes on a rampage.

Enacting rage fueled revenge on the bastards that imprisoned and that tortured him should come as no surprise, and the fact the Techno Union ever hoped to be able to control him at all was idiotic on many levels. Especially since he held no loyalty towards them to begin with and was trying to escape their clutches since day 1.

The mild issues that come with his rampage, however, are that:

His rescue party has no idea he's inside the Walker currently raining hellfire upon its general surroundings;

He can't quite see who he's attacking because of the size discrepancy, so he's basically just trying to fry anything that so much as twitches;

The transmissions that Tech had been using to track him are now garbled because Echo is a little out of his senses;

It's certainly not a great first impression to this whole situation, and everyone's first instinct is to either flee or fight back... Which honestly doesn't help the rescue party not seem like another obstacle for Echo to decimate.

Thankfully both Tech and Rex connect the dots fairly quickly, and realize that the war machine currently trying to wipe them and the Techno Union off the face of the galaxy, is indeed being piloted by the imprisoned ARC they'd come to save. Getting him to calm down is a bit more difficult since he's in a bit of a state but, since they still have an open line of communication, they soon talk Echo out of attacking them.

Then comes the next big problem: How to get Echo out of Skako Minor while he's currently stuck inside a gigantic Walker that most definitely won't fit in their ship, and that they don't know how to open up...

Fortunately for everyone involved, this was an issue that the Techno Union itself had resolved, since they needed a means to transport the Walkers off planet once they constructed a sizeable army.

A sort of flight mode attachment was in the works, and the prototype was ready to be tested prior to the rescue mission interfering with the Techno Union's plans. All they would need to do is connect it to the Walker, and Echo would simply be able to follow them back to the base on Anaxes.

Which he does after fumbling a little (he may have been able to figure out how to use the weapons system on the fly, but that's because of the previous system tests that were performed prior to current events. The flight mode is completely new territory for him and the first attempts are probably very similar to Hardcase trying to figure out how to fly the Umbaran ships).

Here is where some major changes (besides the obvious) come about in terms of plot and what happens to Echo in general.

As soon as they land they try to disconnect Echo from the Walker, only to realize that any attempt to do so would kill him. The life support system is the only thing keeping him alive, and as such Echo is (for the time being) trapped inside of the Walker until the medical and engineering teams can find a way to safely disengage him from it.

Which, due to the ongoing war, isn't something they can do right now. Unfortunately there's just no way they can drop everything their doing just to help Echo. Something which distresses him and causes another near rampage (the Walker reacts to his distress by immediately engaging all weapons systems, and this is absolutely not a great way to get him in anyone's good graces).

The stress of the battles and the unpredictability of the war machine keeping Echo alive, make the GAR more than a little distrustful of him, and the dejected ARC trooper ends up locked away in a warehouse where he'll simply have to wait until he can be tended to.

He neither is able to help put an end to the Battle of Anaxes, nor joins Clone Force 99 because they too do not trust him in the slightest. The only few people who visit him are Rex, Jesse, Kix (before he ends up falling into Dooku's hands) and Cody. And, while they are hopeful that one day they'll be able to get him out of the Walker, Echo himself loses hope of that ever being a possibility.

The more time passes the more hopeless about his situation Echo feels, until one day he decides that the best course of actions is for him to simple disappear. Stop being a burden on the 501st's shoulders, and go somewhere where he'll be left alone and not endanger anyone...

And so he does. He waits for an opportunity and then engages his flight mode to leave the planet. It's not like anyone can really stop him anyway, nor do any of them want to try to shoot him down since Rex and Jesse would most certainly not be happy about it.

Rex is forced to watch his little brother be torn away from his side once more, only this time it's by Echo's choice.

And he simply watches it happen because he can't bring himself to force Echo to stay. Not when the alternative is clearly not ideal for his well being in the long run...

He can only hope wherever he goes that his vod'ika will be safe.

There's really not much time to dwell on it anyway. The Siege of Mandalore eventually takes up all of his time, and then Order 66 happens (which gives way to so many new problems he has to solve, as well as some close calls with the Empire) and he's thrown for a loop.

Rex only really has time to think about Echo again when, during an attempt to track him down to warn him about the Empire, he ends up reuniting with the ARC in a rather... Err... Awkward manner...

The planet Echo chose to exile himself to was apparently inhabited, and the locals had begun worshiping him as some kind of deity... Which means he occasionally gets live sacrifices (which he simply releases and leads somewhere safe away from the people that sacrificed them to begin with because YIKES that is not a safe environment).

One stealth mission to recover Rex's gear later (and a lot of swearing to never tell about this to anyone ever), the two catch up on recent events and decide to team up to help save their brothers from the Empire's clutches.

Should be easy enough when Echo can provide both the manpower and transportation needed to carry and protect their brothers (bare in mind the Walker was built from the inside out and has maintenance shafts, fully operational oxygen supply, decompression and gravity control modules, and even a hyperdrive to go with the flight mode), and Echo can also pick up on remote transmissions and transmit remotely himself. The Walker is a remarkable feat of technology that would most definitely be an asset to Rex and Echo's mission.

And it's not just the two of them that realize this...

Someone else has been looking into classified GAR data and taken a great interest in the supposed superweapon that the 501st and Clone Force 99 recovered from Seperatist control prior to Order 66 going live. And they would very much like to get rid of what is effectively listed in the files as "just a very smart droid" that'd give the Empire an edge if they ever got their hands on it.

It's not every day that a ghost goes out of his way to track and attempt to hunt down another ghost...

Not that Fives, who's been in hiding and out of the loop for a while, knows that Echo is the weapon he's seeking to destroy...

#Eps Draws:#star wars #the clone wars #the bad batch #Ghost in the War Machine AU #arc trooper echo #captain rex #told you I had another one of these in the works :)#and it comes with a bit of a surprise at the end too

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housebaylor · 1 year

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#ilona andrews #polls #I'm probably missing some siblings

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silverwings22 · 1 year

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I'll Follow You: Tech One-Shot

I think I can collectively say we all suffered enough after the season 2 finale. So, in honor of that suffering: I wrote this. It's just a quick one shot, but if it goes over well I might cook up a full length fic for Tech.

Context: Shiani is a race a friend and I made up based on some DND sketches we saw. She's a Kaminoan siren, her people live under the sea of Kamino and avoid the long-necks because they'd probably experiment on them. She can shape shift from full 8 tentacles to 4 and 2 legs, and her singing is Force-laden and hypnotic if she wants it to be.

Bonus comic at the end of the song.

I'll Follow You

The first time he'd ever invited her on the ship was just like this. Plasma hailing down around them, his brothers all yelling, and Omega looking terrified. That had been on Kamino, her home planet, the day that Crosshair had shot at them the first time.

She'd only wanted to see him, and hauled herself out of the sea in the midst of the raging Kaminoan storms to slip into the hangar and wait. She hadn't known about the Empire, or the inhibitor chips then. She'd just been a cheerful Kaminoan siren, all tentacles and bright eyes, wanting to see the man in the goggles who had taught her broken Basic and said he liked her voice.

He was the first good thing she'd ever seen from the surface, made by the long-necks that had forced her people deep below the waves long ago. She guessed they had to do something right every once in a while.

She'd fallen in love with their creation. Tech was everything that made her brave about the surface, so when he'd spotted her hiding behind a crate when he'd been running to the Havoc Marauder, her oversized teal eyes wide with terror and the normally purplish hue of her skin gone nearly white, he'd thrown out his hand and yelled her name.

"Shiani!"

That was how she'd joined the Bad Batch.

Life on the run hadn't been easy, between the Empire and raising Omega. They'd nearly died so many times. But every time, they'd pulled through. She'd seen him do amazing things with his brilliant mind.

She could catalog the moments like the chrono counting down of what had made her fall in love with him. And him, with her.

"It is only a broken leg, Shiani. I will be fine."

"Tech hurt. Shiani take care of him until better."

"You are inordinately stubborn… but thank you."

He'd scared her on Serreno. She answered with care.

"Tech! Tech! Tech!"

"Whole crowd cheering for Tech. Shiani happy."

"Why is that?"

"Everybody see how great Tech is. Like Shiani sees."

She'd surprised him on Safa Toma. He'd answered with a blush.

"Phee very nice to you."

"She is being polite. We did almost get killed on that mission to the Kaldar Trinary system."

"That not it. She like Tech…"

"Shiani, you look upset. Your skin is losing pigmentation. What is the matter?"

"No laugh at Shiani? Promise?"

"I would not dream of it. Unless you are making a joke."

"No joke. Shiani… jealous. Shiani not want Phee to like Tech. Not like that. Shiani like Tech… no. Shiani love Tech. With all three hearts."

"Did you say three- wait. You love me?"

"It okay if Tech not-"

She'd confessed to him in hyperspace. He answered with a kiss.

That had been that. Afternoons in the cockpit talking, nights spent in his bunk curled in each other's arms (and tentacles), and missions taking fire back to back built a bond that couldn't be taken away. Shiani would follow Tech anywhere in this galaxy, from Coruscant to Pabu. And she had.

That was why, right now, they were dangling from a dart line attached to the back end of a rail car. She'd followed him to reset the power to the rail line, and Imperial V-wings had shot them off the top. Now the second carriage above them was tearing loose, with his brothers and sister inside.

"Any shift in weight will cause both carriages to fall." Tech looked up. Shiani was tucked against his side, clinging. "You must sever the connection hinge, Wrecker!"

"Not until you're both up here! Tell him, Shiani!"

Tech looked at her. Shiani blinked her big eyes, a clear membrane under her lids flicking across them and pushing away an involuntary tear. "... no time, Tech." She whispered. "They all fall, if train breaks."

"I know." He glanced up again, doing mental gymnastics to try to figure out how to save her, if he couldn't save himself. "You are agile and relatively light. If you jump as I sever the hinge, you could reach the first carriage with your-"

"Shiani not leave Tech." She shook her head.

"I have calculated the odds of survival, cyar'ika. They are extremely low… to the point of non-existent. If you do not leave me, you will die." He knew she wouldn't, but he had to try. He loved Shiani, and he couldn't bear the idea that he'd brought her off of Kamino just for her to die next to him for that love. "Please, Shiani…"

Shiani looked up. Wrecker was frozen, panicked and waiting for Tech to give him a solution. Omega was about to cry. "Shiani not afraid to die." She whispered. "Just afraid… to live without Tech." Her arms, around his waist, loosened ever so slightly and she pulled his blaster from his hip. "Tell Shiani what to do."

"Are you sure?" He swallowed hard.

"Where Tech go, Shiani go. Follow you anywhere… even down."

He put his hand over hers, guiding the blaster up. "The connection hinge. Right there." His voice was shaking when he looked up again. "Wrecker. Plan 99."

This shouldn't have been the end. They should have been able to pull this off, find Crosshair and run away to Pabu where she could spend the rest of her life playing in the waves and sitting on the stone railings where she'd playfully steal his goggles until he kissed her.

"Don't you do it, Tech!"

"When have we ever followed orders?" His finger twitched on Shiani's, and she pulled the trigger. It reminded her, oddly, of a holo movie they'd watched together that ended in a human wedding where the bride and groom cut the cake together.

Wedding is love. So is dying.

The hinge broke, and for a moment they were weightless, then Tech let go of the gun and wrapped both arms tightly around Shiani's waist. She hugged him back, and they went crashing towards the earth below.

She pressed her forehead against Tech’s helmet, waiting for the end of their lives. It was a long way down, there was a moment of silence before the end. "Tech."

"Yes, my dear?" He met her eyes through his visor, and he was glad she could see some snippet of his face. Maybe it would comfort her, in the way hers comforted him.

"Glad Tech took Shiani off Kamino." She smiled, even though she was afraid and the ground was getting closer.

"If I had known you would perish with me, I would not have." His grip shifted, cupping the back of her head and pressing her just a little bit closer. The tentacles on her head suction cupped to his vambrace. "I am sorry."

"No be sorry. Shiani happy to follow. Shiani love Tech with all three hearts." She squished her lips to the helmet, and it was good enough for her when fate caught them and they crashed at high speed into a lake.

The impact had knocked her out, but Shiani came awake when a piece of falling train car hit her back. She blinked, gills heaving on her sides under her shirt and chestplate Tech had made her.

Tech?! Where Tech?!

If she wasn't dead, maybe he-

A flash of white armor was being pushed towards the bottom by more debris, and if it pinned him he'd drown. Shiani's legs split into her full eight tentacles, boots and pants shoved off as she took off at full speed to grab the nearest limp limb and drag Tech out of the way. Bubbles were coming out of a damaged helmet seal, but that meant his lungs were working. She hit the bottom and shoved upward, dragging Tech by the ankle towards the surface.

He even caught her pants on his gear pack as they ascended.

She hauled him to the shore desperately, looking around. It didn't do much good to save him if they got shot… but there were no Imperials yet. She slithered to a sandy shoreline and pulled Tech up.

He was limp, and she had to make herself remember that she needed to be gentle with his neck as she fumbled his helmet off and dumped the water out. "Tech? Tech?"

His goggles were broken, blood coming up from several cuts on his face. She yanked them off to see better, putting her head on his chest to listen. "Water in lungs… many broken things." She mumbled, more to herself than the unconscious man. "No worry, Tech. Shiani get us to safe place…"

She supported Tech's neck and spine with her extra limbs and tied her pants around her waist for now. "Tech always says… gotta wear pants." Talking to herself made her feel slightly better, since he wasn't awake to scold her.

She had to get him out of here, but she had to cover her trail. Hunter had taught her and Omega the basics of tracking… they'd look for footprints.

No feet, no footprints. That was a start. But moving on land with limbs meant for water was slow, and there was no time…

"Tree. Shiani… move in tree. Swing like moon-yos. That smart, right Tech? Yeah, Shiani brain not full of bubbles." She hauled herself to the nearest tree, shooting a tentacle up to pull them into the air. The mountain edges were close, there had to be a cave she could hide them in while she figured out how badly he was hurt. And how badly she was, when the adrenaline wore off.

She swung through the trees, keeping her finned ear close to Tech's mouth.

Keep breathing. Shiani got you.

Tech hurt in places he hadn’t been sure he had places. Awareness was fleeting and disoriented, and it took him more than a few minutes to get his bearings.

He was sure he was dead, but that didn't explain the pain. If he were dead, his nerves would be non-functional. Unless the idea of Hell was real, and his behavior was being punished..

He was laying on something flat, his hips and shoulders strapped to it. He was stripped to his grays, under a shock blanket, with something warm and smooth tucked close to him. There was a soft humming coming from it, musical and carrying a vibrato he could feell in his chest cavity. He’d heard that humming before, when he broke his leg on Serenno. “... Sh-shiani?”

“Tech.” The humming stopped. “Tech awake.”

If she was here, he couldn't possibly be in Hell. There was no way she'd been damned, not his sweet siren. So somehow, he was alive despite the probability.

He tried to turn his head to look at her, but realized there was a strap around his head too, holding it to whatever he was laying on. His left arm was killing him, but the right was able to move up enough to touch the strap.

Shiani scrunched her flat nose, displeased. “No touch.”

“What am I strapped to?” Tech winced when his fingers brushed the lacerations on his cheeks and bridge of his nose.

“Board from Tech gear bag. Blue one.” She sat up from where she’d been tucked close to his side under the shock blanket, trying to keep him warm. “Tech said… support back and neck. Shiani remember.” Her fingers stroked carefully across the sides of his neck, humming again as she seemed to be searching for something. “Neck okay now. Was hurt.” She explained before unstrapping his head. “Try turning? Go slow.”

Tech nodded, carefully stretching his neck left and right to make sure he had range of motion. “How long has it been since we fell?”

Shiani squirmed. “Nine rotations. Tech sleep the whole time.”

He squinted at her as she checked down his sides, which were still tender and bruised but with surprisingly less broken bones. “Where are my glasses?”

“Broke. Shiani leave them by crash sight, they cut Tech’s face.” She explained as she worked her way down his body.

“What are you doing?” He blinked as she lightly squeezed his hips.

“Check for broken back and pelvis. Was all broke when Shiani bring Tech here.” She explained. “Been singing for days, keep Tech alive.”

"Singing?" He blinked, managing to crane his head down. He was black and blue all over, which explained the pain, but when she finally released him from his own collapsible backboard he was surprised he didn't hurt more.

"Siren song heal." She whispered. "Can sit up? Shiani need see."

Tech let her help him upright and she checked over his limbs and ribs. He had to squint at her face, making out how drawn and pale she was only when she got close to his. "When was the last time you slept?" His arms were both bandaged, she'd used his own bacta and gauze to tend him. "I should be more injured. Did you do this?"

"Shiani fix. Tech was broken, but Shiani sing and put bacta. Shiani keep safe. Protect Tech." She gestured around the cave.

She'd pulled broken tree limbs around the entrance to disguise it, and his gear bag was open and rifled through. She'd set out medical supplies, used the broken dartline they'd fallen from to make a clothesline to hang their wet articles, and had been clearly eating handfuls of his stash of instant caf grounds to stay awake in the light of his emergency lantern.

He smiled faintly and rubbed his face, wincing again at the cuts. "You are remarkable."

"Just love Tech." She curled back beside him, in a spare pair of his boxers and her crop top that was wrinkled and dirty. Gentle suction cups stuck to his waist when she twined her tentacles around him. "Come lay on Shiani. Tech need sleep, Shiani sing some more. Bruises better soon. Bones were hard, bruise easier."

Tech had little resistance to the way she pulled him to her narrow chest, her aquadynamic figure comfortable to rest on. His cheek squished lightly to her sternum and she ran pointed, dark aubergine nails through his hair tenderly. "You need to sleep too, my dear…"

She ignored him, cuddling close and pulling the shock blanket over them both. "Tech first. Shiani follow."

"We will… have to find a way off the planet." He mumbled. "The Marauder will be long gone…"

"Yes. Brothers get away with baby Omega." She nodded. "But… without Tech, and without tracker on bad doctor ship… they not know how to find Crosshair. He stuck like Tech and Shiani."

Tech's eyes widened. "That is brilliant… we can-"

"No idea now Tech. You sleep. We plan when Tech better." She kissed his forehead. "Shh. Just listen."

Tech nodded and cuddled closer, exhausted, as she whispered a song that made her entire being vibrate and soothed the majority of his aches. Her Basic was clumsy, but he loved the sound of her voice.

"Shiani follow Tech."

#clone trooper tech #tech bad batch #the bad batch #clone force 99 #orginal character

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