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What happens on Mount Tantiss, should stay on Mount Tantiss?
“Feeling alright in there Cross?”
Wrecker stepped into the small galley Crosshair had been sitting in for a while, pondering about well, life, the most recent happenings, the lot.
“Here. I think you need this."
Wrecker offered a mug to Crosshair, the sniper nodding his appreciation and taking a hefty swig from it only to be making a face as the liquid entered his mouth.
“This, is not caf.”
“Never said it was.” Wrecker chuckled and took one from his own mug, placing a rather large size bottle on the table of said stuff. “I raided Echo’s stash.”
Crosshair let a soft smile emerge on his lips. As leave to the powerhouse to know just the right thing to do at the right time. And this, was certainly what Crosshair needed right now. Something much stronger than caf.
A spell in silence fell over the space just for a moment, neither speaking, only sipping the potent stuff from their mugs.
“So, must’ve been hard… that reprogramming I mean. To ya know, become one of them.”
Wrecker wasn’t trying to be coy about it. They had all been surprised when Crosshair had blurted out the very fact that he knew about the shadows, the assassin clones and that he had even almost become one of them. Surprise!
But then again, Crosshair’s memory wasn’t what it used to be. The blurry darkness still present there, getting glimpses of things having happened to him while on Tantiss. Something Crosshair was clearly struggling with. Even if he had not told the others everything about what had happened, most of it, was still pretty much in the darkness.
“It… was.” Crosshair had tried to recollect more. As truth being told, there really wasn’t much he could remember. But when Rex had mentioned the assassin, something had simply clicked inside of him and he had immediately gone to defence mode.
“How much do you remember?” Hunter emerged to the galley, with Rex and Howzer in tow.
They all sat down, each given a mug and a fill, Wrecker playing the host.
“Not much.” Crosshair sat there staring into his mug, perhaps hoping he could find the hidden secrets in there somehow. “I… guess there was a memory wipe after the fact they found me too defective to continue with the programming. I remember a mission, or two, perhaps more…” Crosshair looked up and at all of them sitting there across from him. “I failed them all.”
They all looked at Crosshair, even Howzer, the empathy present in their eyes. Failing missions for any soldier was a bad thing on many levels. Always. But what Crosshair had gone through, the reconditioning was beyond anyone’s comprehension. They had all seen what the shadow clones could do, how they were. So different from any of them.
“I was kept in a lab in the beginning, when they started the process. To you know… change me. There were containers there, plenty of them. Filled with clones. I heard someone mention they were kept in stasis.”
“You mentioned there were others who failed too. What happened to them.” Rex asked, wanting to know everything of course, but trying to remain calm. As no good would come from trying to pressure Crosshair to remember. That much had become obvious.
“They were used as blood banks, just like I was in the end. Something to do with the M-count.”
“Yeah, that. I need to get to my contact on that one.” Rex had already sent out a ping, yet there was no answer so far.
“I… am sorry. There are bits and pieces coming to my mind, but nothing coherent.” Crosshair felt sorry as he too wanted to remember.
“It’s okay Crosshair. We understand.” Hunter quickly glanced at Rex and Howzer, sending a silent message for them not to pressure his sniper.
“About Tantiss. You are sure you don’t remember how to get there.” Howzer asked again, only this time he too was more calm, having to become to understand this was a different Crosshair from the one he had dealt with back on Ryloth.
“It’s top secret. Only a certain few know where it is exactly. I did not get the intel on that as I failed the programming.” Crosshair thought about the options for a moment. “But, the shuttle we crashed, on Lau. There could be something still there left even if the ship pretty much died upon the landing.”
“We should go and check it out.” Howzer was already off his seat, ready to pounce but Rex pulled him back. The younger Captain all too eager it seemed. But he too had gone through a lot, so it was understandable he alongside Rex were only too eager to get their brethren out.
“It’s in enemy’s occupied territory, Howzer.” Rex told him solemnly.
“What isn’t these days.” Wrecker commented then. “We’ve been in worse spots.”
“You’re right, it’s worth checking out.” Rex admitted. “But, we need a good solid plan.”
The option left hanging for now, as the other two left the galley, leaving Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair sitting there.
“We’re glad your back Cross. Just in case you did not realise that.” It wasn’t like Hunter had not told Crosshair that, perhaps not in those exact words but still, they had grown more comfortable in the short amount of time since the duo’s return.
“I.. am glad to hear that.” Crosshair contemplated a moment again. Something of a theme for him these days it seemed, and because of good reasons too. “I am glad it was Omega there, with me. Despite everything. She was the one who kept me sane.” He reviled then, something he was truly thankful for.
“Yeah. Well she surely has a knack for it.” Wrecker chuckled. “She can bring out the good in all of us.”
Crosshair nodded, Hunter too agreeing with a slight turn of his head. Omega really had changed them all. Even Crosshair.
“We talked, a lot. Well, Omega did most of the talking but, I got to know everything that happened to you while I was away… the grief I caused to all of you…” Crosshair’s voice broke, the last words almost a whisper.
Both Hunter and Wrecker realising what was happening, crowded the sniper, each of them placing an arm around him.
“Crosshair…. We cannot change the past. The only thing we can do now, is try to look forward to the future, work together for the betterment of us all… But most importantly, forgive ourselves.”
Crosshair could only nod. Hunter was right. There was no changing what had been done, but there was always a choice to make amends for past discretions.
A silent moment passed between the trio which wasn’t awkward, not any more. The truce, the reconciliation, the healing having slowly but surely begun.
After several moments having passed, the three batchers having huddled together in perfect silence, Crosshair broke it out of the blue.
“There is something else…” Crosshair looked shocked enough, perhaps scared even, something having popped into his memory suddenly. As he turned to look at the other two. “They reanimate dead troopers on Tantiss.”