Chapter Text
Hunter sat in the pilot's seat, shoulders tense.
He held Tech’s goggles in his hand, thumb brushing over the sides as he stared endlessly at the shattered and cracked lenses.
“It was my fault.” He spoke, hearing the thrum of Wrecker's heartbeat and the gentle thud of his footsteps entering the room behind him.
“Keeping the squad safe was and always will be, above all else, my primary objective.”
Wrecker let out a small sigh before coming to sit in the chair next to him. Wrecker focused on Hunter, his words, and was all too quick to notice the glasses in his hands that he kept close to his lap.
“I failed…first Crosshair, and then Tech.” Hunter squeezed his eyes shut. They had been able to get Crosshair back, and despite everything he had done and the trust that needed to be rebuilt, they were all glad to have him back. Grateful that he decided to come home.
Tech hadn't had that option.
He had fallen an unimaginable height with a rail car following right above him. In their minds, there was no way he could have survived. In truth, they were only following the transmission's coordinates on a whim. One first and likely last string of hope that they may reunite with their lost brother.
Hunter thought back to Omega’s words when Hunter had first broken the news to her once she woke. She had cried and begged for them to go back. What if he was hurt and needed their help? She had said they couldn't just leave him like that. All before shouting that he wasn't gone, that he couldn't be. And breaking out in tears as the reality of it hit her all at once.
But…What if she–even in denial–had been right? What if he had survived and they did find him on this backwater planet? That would mean that he had needed their help. That they had left one of their brothers behind once again.That they had abandoned him and left him at the mercy of the empire.
Hemlock had retrieved Tech’s goggles from the crash site, what if he had found Tech too?
Hunter grit his teeth with a closed mouth. He tore his gaze from the goggles when he felt a hand over his.
Wrecker.
“Hunter…you can’t take all the blame for what happened…” Wrecker began in a murmur. “You shouldn't take any of it really..and…and neither should I.” Hunter hadn’t been the only one filled with guilt since Tech’s death. He may have been the one leading the mission, but Wrecker was the one who had first heard Tech order plan ninety-nine. Wrecker was the one who had watched the hesitation in his eyes, to the moment Tech made up his mind. W recker was the one who had screamed after him as he pulled his blaster from its holster and shot the cable. Wrecker was the one that watched as he fell beyond sight, into the clouds and unknown terrain below. Helpless to do anything before the tram sped off in the opposite direction.
Wrecker had felt just as guilty as Hunter had.
Gently, he took Tech’s goggles half in his hand. “Trust me I– I feel it too.” His face scrunched up in concentration as he searched for the right words. “If we’re talking blame I’m just as much to as you are.” He pulled at the goggles ever so slightly, and Hunter allowed him to take them from his grasp. “But we can’t hold onto what happened forever…Tech called plan ninety-nine to save us, and as much as I wish it had gone differently, that he had made it back onto that tram with us…” Wrecker trailed off, recalling all of his thoughts from the months following Tech’s death. All the “What If’s” and other ways it could have happened. Scenarios where Tech survived one way or another.
Now there was a chance that one of those scenarios could come true, and they were all on high alert. Feelings everyone had either thought they’d worked through, or one’s they had repressed. All resurfacing after witnessing the transmission.
“W- What I’m tryna say is…Dwelling on the past ain't going to bring him back, or make anything better for us…” He turned the goggles in his hands. Wrecker stood momentarily, putting Tech’s signature headwear over a hook placed just above the windshield.
Hunter watched him as he did so, eyes hesitating before turning from the lenses to Wrecker. “I know.” he relaxed his jaw, “I know. I just- If this turns out to be him I…”
“Yeah…yeah me too.” Hunter didn’t need to say it. Wrecker knew because he was thinking the same thing.
Neither of them knew what they would do or say if Tech truly was the one who hailed them. If he was alive and breathing and standing right in front of them. It’d be a dream come true.
Wrecker reached over, settling a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. He offered a wary smile. Hunter poorly attempted a smile back, and at the sight, Wrecker’s smile scrunched up and he shook his head lightly. With a blink, Hunter could see a gloss forming over Wrecker's eyes.
He sighed, and just barely put his arms out to his sides. “C’mere,” Hunter said lowly.
Within a second, Wrecker leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his older brother. Hunter lifted an arm around Wrecker's back in response.
Wrecker did not move or tremble, but Hunter could hear how his heartbeat stuttered and his breaths hitched with short sniffles not far behind. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed in the embrace, but he didn’t mind. His brother needed him, and in fairness, he’d needed Wrecker too.
Trap or not, they will always take the risk for members of their squad. Their family.
“Crosshair?” Omega tried.
“What?” Crosshair turned in his spot in the tailgun’s seat.
Omega had invited him up once she had gotten bored of the cockpit, in which he denied until her persistent begging got the better of him and he hesitantly made his way up into the makeshift bedroom.
It was not the first time he had seen it, and he knew Wrecker was the one responsible. Though, if he wasn’t told he could have guessed it was him.
It was, however, his first time inside the space since he had parted ways with his brothers.
“Did you ever…” Omega shifted where she sat on the floor, cushions underneath and around her. She held Lula close to her chest. “ Do you ever think about him?” She asked shyly.
Crosshair’s breath hitched, but quickly exhaled in the form of a sigh. He sat in the chair stiff and uncomfortable. Though, more so because of the sudden mention of his late brother than the actual feeling of the chair itself.
He shifted.
“I…” Crosshair exhaled again. “I Do.” He admitted slowly.
Crosshair had heard the story in full, his team was hesitant at first, understandably. The wound of losing their brother was still fresh, and none of them wanted to repeat and relive it all over again. But Crosshair had a right to know what happened. And when he was informed of the full story, his heart practically shattered. To find out his brother was dead was one thing, but to find out it was on a mission meant to locate and rescue him …
The mission had been to locate and save Crosshair, and in the process, Tech died protecting the others.
It might as well have been Crosshair's fault.
In life, before the batch defected from the newfound empire, Crosshair and Tech were brothers. Are brothers. But he had treated him, and the rest of his team, so poorly since they left. Now Crosshair is back, he has a chance to make it right with Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo.
But Tech…Crosshair would never get a chance to apologize to him. To make amends. Or to know if Tech would even let him try.
He shook his head lightly.
Based on what he’s heard, Tech was the most insistent one on going on that mission. The mission was to bring Crosshair home . While he may give him the cold shoulder at first, Crosshair knew Tech wouldn't hate him. Wouldnt bear the same fury as Hunter. Hurt and betrayal, but not hate.
That is if he’d been here. If he’d seen him again.
“I miss him…” Omega broke the silence Crosshair hadn't realized had stretched across the room as he sank into his mind.
Crosshair turned the chair to face her. His arms repositioned from crossed to folding over each other as his hands rested over his upper arms.
“I…I do too.”
Silence washed over them again, though this time not as long. Omega spoke up again, in a hushed almost sunken tone of voice.
“You think…do you think it’s Tech? Could he…”
“Be alive?” Crosshair finished her sentence for her.
Omega nodded slowly, a frown fixed tightly to her face paired with scrunched-up eyes.
Crosshair didn’t want to lie to her, not to Omega. But even more so he didn’t want to see that look on her face get any more twisted or sad.
But he truly didn’t believe Tech was alive. He knew the empire, how sick and twisted they were, and he knew that the chance this was the empire heavily outweighed the chance it was their presumed dead brother.
Crosshair leaned back, head resting against the chair as he let his eyes wander across the lights of hyperspace.
“I don’t know.”
Not a lie, but not Crosshair's full truth. Echo had spoken his opinion, everything that came to his mind upon first notice of the transmission. And it had upset Omega.
Crosshair would say to his brothers, how he had no hope it could be Tech. Not in a million years would he believe him alive over such scarce communication.
But saying so now would do nothing but help dwindle what little light Omega had left, keeping her moving forward. Giving her hope.
Omega hummed quietly. That wasn’t quite the answer she was looking for, but it’s what she’d expect from Crosshair.
She followed in suit of Crosshair, looking up at the zipping stars through the glass.
Echo had been in the hull for some time. Not too long after they entered hyperspace he decided to get some rest and seeing as Crosshair and Omega had retreated into the tailgun slash makeshift bedroom, he had the room somewhat to himself. He found himself sitting in one of two chairs positioned in front of the navi computer. Echo managed to doze off a few times, the quiet chatter of the team and the sound of machines humming was familiar and soothing.
He had been exhausted from a previous mission with Rex, He had gone to Pabu not only to help the batch fix their ship, but to also rest and recover and see Omega.
Echo stretched his upper body, phasing into a more slumped position. He drifted his attention to the screen before him.
“Huh.” He straightened his posture and pressed a few buttons on the panel.
They were mere minutes away from the planet.
Echo stood and walked into the cockpit, “Coming up pretty quick now.” He said while taking his place next to Hunter.
Hunter hummed in acknowledgment.
A groan filled the air as Wrecker woke up behind them, “Time to gear up?”
“Sure is.” Hunter turned to face him, “Go get the others.”
Wrecker nodded, fading into the back of the ship.
“We sure we wanna do this?” Echo faced Hunter. “It…it’s just been so long.” It was hard for Echo to believe Tech could be alive. He knew there was no point in asking, and he knew he’d still follow Hunter no matter what he said.
“Trust me I know.” Hunter took hold of the joysticks. “I’m sure. If there’s a chance, If there’s even the slightest chance…”
“Right then.” Echo flipped a few switches on the board as they were pulled out of hyperspace. “Let's go investigate.”
The others gathered supplies in the hull, preparing for the landing. The ship whirred as they approached the planet. Echo had located a small clearing on the planet shrouded by trees and wildlife, that upon scanning showed no ships or structures occupying the space.
Hunter steered the marauder through the planet's atmosphere and toward the landing zone.
“Comensing full planet scan. If anyone else is here, we’ll know,” Echo announced.
The ship landed with a small jostle, and with a hiss of the hydraulics the ship’s ramp unfolded. An earthy smell of rain and mud flooded the ship in seconds, the sky was cloudy and the planet was wet, but there was no rain.
Omega stood in the path of the exit, eager to step foot on the planet, she restrained herself knowing she should wait for her team before making any moves.
“Hunter, the scan picked something up.” Echo turned up and out of his seat, Hunter not far behind. They gathered in front of the navi computer.
“Here. Five clicks from here…” Echo pointed to a map on the screen of the surrounding area.
“It’s just one shuttle.” Hunter declared.
“From what we can see.” Crosshair interrupted. “There could be other ships masking their signals.”
“Maybe so, or maybe there is only one ship,” Echo said. “Either way, we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s the Empire yet, even if it’s just one shuttle. They could have backup in near space just waiting for a signal that we’ve arrived.”
“Let's hope not.” Hunter lifted a pack of supplies onto his back. “Whatever the case, We’ll be prepared. We’re treating this like any other mission. Echo, You stay here. You’re our getaway driver.”
Echo nodded, he’d like to be a part of the ground squad but he knows the sheer importance of having a quick way out if they run into trouble.
“The rest of you are coming with me, Hang back and try not to make much noise. Like I said before, we go in with stealth. If this is the Empire, they can’t know we were even here in the first place.”
Crosshair hummed equipping his helmet and then his rifle. Despite his mind thinking for sure this was the Empire, despite being so sure this was a trap, his heart began to race with the adrenaline of anticipation.
He hated it.
Wrecker, Omega, and Hunter all dawned their weapons and helmets.
Without another word, they exited the ship. Omega almost slipped on her first step and would have been face-first in the mud if it weren't for Wrecker.
“Careful” Wrecker murmured. Omega gave an awkward smile in response.
“Watch your step,” Hunter said. “I’m going ahead, keep at a distance.”
A nod from Wrecker, and their leader went to scout the path ahead.
With each passing step, each of their minds spun. Soon they’d know who was behind this mission.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Crosshair mumbled.