Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The End…

The blasterfire didn’t stop as Hunter and Omega dove for cover. Even as they both slammed behind a container and tried to catch their breath. The Marauder was only a few dozen yards away, but the Stormtroopers refused to let up their suppressive fire.

“Huntah, we are so close! I’ve got two more grenades, we can do it!” she said, looking over to him through her helmet’s visor.

“No.” Hunter pulled his helmet off and winced, white hair falling out of place as he leaned his head back against the crate. “I won’t, but you can.” he smiled sadly, pulling his hand away from the gaping wound at his side. Dark blood was steadily flowing from the wound and pooling where Hunter sat.

“No…no no no you’ll be okay!” Omega tore her helmet off and tried desperately to put more pressure on the wound.

Hunter gently gripped her hand with his free one. “Hey, Mega, shh it’s okay.” He gently cupped her cheek and pulled her forehead to his. “I’ve lived a long life, for a clone. You, though, you’re just starting. We’ve taught you everything we know. You…you’re our legacy now.”

He stared at her, proud of the young woman she had become, even as she shook her head, her long braids shaking with the motion.

“No, please. I can’t lose you too after everything.” Omega’s eyes were filled with tears.

“Omega,” Hunter said, using his stern sergeant’s voice on her. “You need to keep fighting, I’ll only slow you down. I can buy you time, and maybe finally take out that son of a bitch Hemlock.”

Omega still shook her head and looked away. “I…I won’t leave you behind.”

“We don’t have time, Omega.” Hunter countered as the blasterfire became more precise and the sound of marching boots increased. “I can give you time, but if I go with you, I'll slow you down. I’ll be damned if I'm the reason you get hurt or captured ever again.” His voice took on a dark color, memories of losing brothers and then Omega years ago coming back to the forefront of his mind.

“Please…”

“Omega. There is no time. I won’t let them take you.” He squeezed the back of her neck and sighed.

“Huntah…Dad. I don't want to leave you.” Omega sobbed, reaching up to take his hand.

“I won’t be far. Just marching on ahead. Let me clear the path for you.” Hunter smiled at her and pulled her close to press a kiss to her forehead. “Don't look back, Corporal.”

Omega nodded, tears in her eyes as she handed over the remaining smoke bombs and detonators.

Hunter offered his helmet to her which she took and hooked on her bag.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Omega. Stay safe. You know we'll be looking out for you.” Hunter smiled, tears in his eyes before he turned and prepped the smoke bombs, tossing them over their shelter.

As soon as the smoke filled the area, Hunter turned from Omega and bolted into the line of fire, shooting at the stormtroopers. He didn't need to see, he could hear and feel their boots and crackle of their comms as they began to panic. One by one, he took them out, dodging the red blaster fire and returning his own. He tossed one of the grenades to the side, the explosion taking out a squad of white armored stormtroopers.

He couldn't last, already slowing from pain and loss of blood. Caught again by another blaster Hunter fell to his knees and cried out in pain. His body’s rapid aging caught up with him even as he struggled to stand.

“CT-9901…impressive you have lasted as long as you have.” Hemlock purred as a trooper stripped the gun from Hunter's hand.

Hunter glared as he was hefted to his feet. “And you're still a slimy son of a Hutt. But you will never have Omega.” He pressed his hand to his side, waiting for the man to walk closer.

“I'm a patient man. I've waited this long and we already have made progress, she will bring the empire to true perfection.” Hemlock forced Hunter's chin up. “And you may still be of use.”

Hunter simply grinned, grabbing onto Hemlock as he dropped the safety switch. The grenade in his hand flashing as he shoved it in between their chests.

“You're right. I can give her freedom at last.”

“GRENADE -!”

Hunter took great pleasure in watching Dr. Royce Hemlock's face twisted in rage as they became red mist and the sound of the Marauder faded into nothing.

Chapter Text

~~~/\ Is The Beginning /\~~~

Cid wasn't sure what to do with the strange armored clone that appeared passed out in her bar at first. Bolo and Ketch both denied seeing the clone appear. But both were able to help her quickly pull the commando into a back room with an extra bed and got him restrained.

While Cid waited for the man to wake, she went over all her contingencies in her mind. The clone definitely wasn't one of the standards she had seen plenty of times. He was too short after all. But he had commando class kartan armor and obviously had seen action. It didn't help narrow down the two options for what the man was doing there in her parlor, but she knew better what to expect at least.

She walked over to the desk and pulled out an expensive bottle of Antillean whiskey and a short tumbler. She quickly prepped her glass and poured herself a drink, sitting in her chair with a stun gun at the ready.  As much as she wanted to check her security cameras, she didn’t want to leave the man unsupervised, and definitely didn’t trust Bolo and Ketch to watch him.

If she were a younger woman she would almost find the stranger handsome. Almost. He had strong features, a wide nose and dark skin. The tattoo across half his face was intimidating, the skull motif followed with the skull on his shoulder pauldrons. A ragged, deep scar ran from one side of his neck to the other, like someone had tried and failed to slit his throat, and it healed poorly. Definitely a plus for the intimidation factor in Cid’s book.

His long dark hair was shaggy, and the brilliant streak of white at his forelock made him look a little older than he probably was.

Then again Cid had no idea how mammals aged.

She took a drink from her glass as the stranger began to stir.

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.” Cid said casually, leaning back and watching the soldier come to.

He opened his eyes and looked around the room curiously before spotting Cid and his eyes widened in what looked like recognition.

“Cid? I must be in hell.”

Cid furrowed her brows. “You know me, but I can’t say I know you.”  She leaned back in her chair and gripped her glass and stun gun tightly.

The man furrowed his brows as well, studying her face with the intensity of a hunter. “You really don’t recognize me…” he said as he looked at her.

Cid tried not to be intimidated. His eyes were sharp, and dark earthy brown. They seemed to hone in on every small twitch of her hand holding the stun gun and the glass. “Not at all. I only know you’re a clone, although far from standard from what I’ve seen.” She tried to stay as casual as possible, but she knew the dangers the man posed.

He attempted to sit up, only to grunt in surprise at the cuff keeping his right hand caught between the mattress and the wall. He shot Cid a glare, but it softened again as he observed her.

She didn't know what to think and she leaned back. “Do you blame me for taking precautions?”

“No…no I can't.” He said laying down and just watching her carefully.

“Good. Now as soon as I know a bit more about you, and why you showed up on the floor of my bar, we can see about taking the cuff off. So first thing’s first. Who are you?”

The clone frowned before shifting as if to get comfortable. “My name is Hunter. I’m part of Clone Force 99. We were an experimental special forces unit. I’m on the run from the Empire who are trying to capture-” his eyes got suddenly wide and he tried to sit up. “Where is Omega?!” he snapped at her, lips curling into a snarl.

Cid sat, unimpressed and unintimidated. “No idea who that is, Sleeping Beauty. Never heard of Clone Force 99, or of any Empire in my time. Unless you think the Zygarians are building their empire back up. The fact that you gave a name instead of a number makes things interesting, but I'm going to need that CT number for you to back up your statement.” She put her glass down on the desk, but didn’t move the aim of the stun gun.

“Why do you want my CT number?” Hunter asked.

“Because,” Cid sighed. “I have access to several data banks from the war about the clones. I like making sure that any clone who walks into my establishment; or in your case appears unconscious on the floor, isn’t someone who could bring trouble. I don’t want trouble with the Republic or Kamino.”

Hunter stared at Cid for a long moment, eyes widening. “The Republic? The Republic fell. The Empire took its place!” He repeated, voice raising with disbelief.

“Keep it down, Sleeping Beauty. Sure the war was hell, but only because there was a damn traitor for a chancellor controlling both sides.” Cid rolled her eyes and finally put the stun gun away. “Look. What's your CT number? If you’re running…” she said, lowering her voice. “I can get you somewhere safe. I’m not going to return anyone to any owner as long as I’m breathing. The Jedi were good to me in the War, helped me out. That they’re still fighting for the clone’s freedom is something I'll back up one hundred percent.”

Hunter stared and shook his head. “I don’t understand. Owners? And the Jedi are still alive?”

Cid frowned and reached forward to undo the cuff, noticing how the man flinched away but relaxed. “This has Jedi bantha-crap written all over it. I’ll call in a friend, see if she can help figure out what’s going on.”

“Is there any chance this friend of yours is named Phee Genoa?” He sat up fully and rubbed at his wrist for a moment. “CT-9901, that’s my number.”

Cid narrowed her eyes before nodding. “Definitely Jedi shit.” She pulled out a hydro and ration pack and handed it to Hunter. “Give me a second.”

Hunter sat and stared at the ration pack, and Cid kept an eye on him as she pulled up the database and searched his number. She also sent out a quick message to Phee, hoping she was nearby.

It took a moment for the database to come back with the search results, which usually meant lots of similar numbers which she would run through depending on battalion number. But only one came back and it made Cid scowl.

“What is it?” Hunter asked.

“Are you missing some numbers? Because the only CT-9901 coming up is listed as decommissioned.” Cid watched as Hunter's eyes widened and he put the tray of picked rations aside.

“What?” He stood and came around the desk.

Cid gripped the hidden hold out blaster under her sweater, now wishing she had kept him cuffed to the bed. She cursed her soft heart in her mind.

“Says right here. Decommissioned. Kamino. 7956 C.R.C. a year and a half ago.” She motioned to the screen.

“Year and a half-no that’s not right, it’s 7977 C.R.C. I’m…”

Cid watched as he looked down at his hands and then his reflection on the screen. He touched the brilliant silver streak of hair as if taking notice of it for the first time. It was odd, really, seeing the man take his appearance in as if for the first time in his existence.

“You okay, Sleeping Beauty?” she asked.

“I…I died. I remember blowing myself up.” Hunter said, his eyes distant. “I was old. Omega was grown and I…we were cornered by the Empire and Hemlock ....”

“Take it easy. Rest a bit. My contact will be here in a few hours. I’m sure she can help figure out what exactly happened with you.” Cid motioned back to the bed, to which Hunter was obedient and sat back down on, hand stroking the silver in his hair and staring into the distance.

She turned back to the computer terminal, immediately relayed as much information to Phee and for her to get her ass to Ord Mantel as soon as possible. Cid then read as much information as she could about CT-9901 and Clone Force 99 from the databases she was connected to.

CT-9901 was a Sergeant of an elite squad of clones back in the war. He led three others who were specially trained to handle black ops and special missions. He had been decommissioned on Kamino after the war, but there were no additional notes as to why. When Cid pulled up a record photo, it matched the man who was sitting on the bed in her office. 

The silver streak of hair was a mutation, one apparently shared by another member of the group, CT-9904. That individual, whose name according to the file was Crosshair, had completely silver gray hair and a paler complexion than the Sergeant. The man was the group’s sniper, and his accolades for his skills were beyond impressive and well into legendary. Ten plus klick headshots of tactical droids. Ricochet shots that took out an entire legion of B-1 droids. Cid was beyond impressed, and not at all surprised when he was purchased after the war was over by a private individual. No doubt for security, but who knew.

The team’s slicer and intelligence expert was CT-9902, known as Tech. Just as tall as Crosshair, and immediately Cid knew that Phee would be wanting all the information on him. He was exactly her type. Tall, nerdy, but also very capable. The goggles he wore made his eyes large and according to the records he was possibly the most intelligent being the Kaminoans created. His IQ was off the charts for what Cid could understand, but there were notes on his incessant curiosity. Cid felt her scales crawl as she noticed he had also been sold, but to the Techno Union. No doubt he was being used for all of his intelligence to help the guild.

The final member was CT-9903, the imposing sapper and heavy weapons expert who was well over seven feet tall and was badly scarred on one side of his face. He was also ranked as one of the strongest clones of the former Grand Army of the Republic. Muscle density and chemical knowledge aside, notes on the file showed he had a high caloric intake and a previous injury left him blind and deaf on the left side of his head. Cid shook her head as she noticed he had been purchased after a high bidding war by a wealthy king who was known for his monthly bloody gladiatorial contests. Cid quickly made a note that Wrecker was probably dead.

She sat back and frowned, tapping her claws on the arm of her chair. She glanced around her screen and saw that Hunter had his head in his hands, staring at the floor. His posture was tense and Cid huffed before getting to her feet.

“Hey, Hunter.” she called, getting his attention. He looked up with wide eyes, looking young and very lost. “You look like you need a drink.”

“Heh, yeah. Yeah I could use a drink. Or twenty.” He laughed sadly.

Cid nodded and grabbed her bottle of whiskey and another glass to pour him a tumbler of it. “Here.” She offered him the glass and sat back down in the chair on the other side of her desk. “I found some information on your squad. Generally they were all sold after the war ended. Couple are probably alive, but…I’m not sure about the other one.”

“What about Omega?” he asked after downing half the glass.

“Didn’t find any information on them. Without a number it’ll be difficult, but I can look up what missions he was part of.”

“She. Omega is a girl. She was never on any missions. She was a cadet medical assistant to Nala Se, the head scientist for the cloning on Kamino.”

Cid’s eyes widened with every word and she swore under her breath. “They don’t keep records on individual cadets. Most of the cadets were sold in lots by the Kaminoans quickly so that they didn’t have to house and educate them.”

“And the Republic let them? The Jedi let them?!” Hunter cried.

“Jedi and the Senators that supported them lost their argument that Clones were classified as sentients against the general Senate in the reading of the current definition. It would have made droids also classified as sentients and well, let’s just say that it was a loud session with the arguments.

“On top of that, the contract that was negotiated by former Chancellor Palpatine through Count Dooku was iron clad in so much legal-eese that it was either the Republic take ownership of all 5.3 million clones that they denied sentience to, or allow the Kaminoans to retain ownership of them and do as they please.” Cid rubbed her forehead. “As far as I know the Jedi are still trying to push the Clone Rights Act through the senate. It’s been a busy kriffing year and a half.”

The silence following her brief history review for the end of the war and the chaos that would follow with the status of the Grand Army of the Republic was deafening. She looked at Hunter and realized his eyes were wide again and she was watching the man slowly spiral as he processed the information.

“Kriff.” Cid sighed and reached over to shake his shoulder. “Hey, Look if that kid is an assistant to Nala Se then most likely she wasn’t sold off. I can see about getting more information once Phee gets here.”

“I…I can’t lose them, I can’t lose my family again,” Hunter pleaded, staring down into his glass.

“And I’ll help you get them back,” the familiar voice of Phee Genoa was a welcome interruption as she opened the door of the office. Cid was not comfortable with the rather raw emotions.

“Phee, this is Hunter,  my Jedi problem.” Cid said, motioning to Hunter. “I’d introduce him to you but apparently he knows you.”

Hunter looked up and he smiled. “Gods it's good to see you again. Been too long and…and yet hasn’t happened.” His smile turned bitterly sad and he looked down. “You should be meeting all of us. Meeting Tech.”

“Whoo…yeah I see  what you mean,” Phee whispered to Cid before looking over Hunter. “Yeah, you definitely don’t belong here. Don’t look like any clone I've seen.”

“You should see my brothers.” Hunter whispered, before squeezing the glass of half drunk whiskey.

“How about I take that glass, then, sweetheart.” Phee said, smiling and plucking the glass from his hand. “And you take a nap.” she tapped him on the forehead and he fell over, out like a light. “Shit he was giving me a worse headache than when I drank with Hondo.”

“What’s your verdict?” Cid asked as she watched Phee carefully lay Hunter comfortably on the bed.

“He isn’t supposed to be here. His Force signature is all out of whack. He’s both older and younger than he looks.” Phee stood and watched him sleep.

Cid moved back around to her chair and leaned forward. “And? Have I shot myself in the tail already?”

“No, I don’t think so. If I knew he wouldn’t be discovered by the Kaminoans, I’d have him go to the Jedi temple to meet with the council. But Coruscant is not a safe place for clones.” Phee sat down in the guest chair and downed the rest of Hunter’s drink. “You pull up the records?”

“Yeah, not much to them aside from basic GAR records of action and who purchased them. One is probably already dead.” Cid said with a color of disappointment, eyes snapping to where Hunter was sound asleep. She turned on the holo screen for Phee to read the documents

“Have some faith, Cidarian.” Phee chirped as she quickly read the dossier on each of the clones. “Alright, good thing is I can probably get all the information on where the other three are, but Tech will be a difficult rescue.”

“That’s the one you're concerned about. Figured you’d have eyes for that one.” Cid muttered.

Phee simply smiled and shrugged. “Hunter here did say I should be meeting him. But, honestly out of the three, it’s the fact that he’s with the Techno Union that has me worried. The Kyoran Gladiator pits may be dangerous for the competitors but they’re well known. I can check in on the recent games and see if Wrecker is still around. His skills mean he’ll probably win more often than not. If he’s popular he’ll be on every betting board in the system.

“For Crosshair, I have a friend who can help track him down.”

“Please tell me it’s not the Shadow.” Cid hissed, rubbing her temples.

“Maybe.” Phee smirked. “Anyway, I can track them down. But it is absolutely fascinating that Hunter is somehow here. I am going to have to get in touch with my old Master, see if she can find anything in the records about temporal or reality jumping.”

“You really think he’s from another reality?”

“Maybe not completely. There’s plenty of stories about people appearing and disappearing in the galaxy, sometimes after they were killed before they were meant to. At least that’s what some of the stories I heard said. It’s possible he’s one of them. Someone who got a second chance.” Phee smiled.

“There…was someone else he was adamant about finding. Female clone cadet called Omega. Apparently she was the assistant to Nala Se on Kamino.” Cid explained. “Think your ex boyfriend can find her too?”

“Quinlan can find anyone, and if it’s a kid? He’ll double his efforts.” Phee tilted her head as she pulled the holo of Hunter into 3D space.

“What is it?” Cid asked, leaning forward as Phee rotated the now three dimensional holo.

“The scar on his neck. It isn't in this holo from the end of the war,” Phee explained, turning to look back at the slumbering clone. “And it's old enough to have been either fresh or on medical records, but nothing.”

Cid stood and looked at the scar that wrapped its way around the sleeping clone. She slowly realized it was caused by a sharp vibro knife, one that had been fully charged. There were small jagged lightning-like lines that branched across the edges. The wound would not be one any normal sentient would survive.

“How did he survive this?”

Phee joined her with a small frown. “I”m not sure. He has a long story to share when he’s ready.”