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Hunter rolled his head on his neck, trying to work out the knot in his shoulder. They’d been waiting in an alleyway for a while, waiting for a contact to show up. There had been no sign for a while, but they’d been notified that they would be coming soon. Beside him, Wrecker bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, clearly restless. Next to him, Echo rested on the wall, arms crossed as he looked around aimlessly.
“You sure this is the right place?” he asked.
“We were informed of the area to be the 5th alleyway on the left.” Tech said, eyes glued to his datapad like usual. “It could be that the contact was momentarily delayed.”
“Or they never wanted to meet in the first place.” Echo replied.
“That is a possibility, albeit a low one if their reputation holds true.”
Echo rolled his eyes, tapping his foot impatiently.
“How much longer Huntah?” Wrecker whined.
“15 more minutes.” Hunter replied, pacifying Wrecker for now.
It was the first time in a while they had left Pabu, not since leaving to tell Cid they were done working for her. She didn’t take it well but couldn’t really do much anyway. They were completely content to settle into Pabu when Phee had told them of her being followed on some planets. A figure prowling around her ship when she went to refuel, but he had mysteriously stopped a few weeks ago.
“It’s too quiet.” She said, a concerned look on her face. “Either they got bored, or they got what they were looking for. Whatever it is, I’d feel better knowing about it...”
After she scouted around for more intel, someone had told her they had seen the figure and could talk more if she wanted, but it had to be out of sight. The batch had agreed to go in case they were dealing with something more serious. And the fact that they had asked to meet on an Imperial-controlled planet only cemented the concern. They had to leave Omega, who protested of course but they weren’t sure of who they were contacting, whether they were friend or foe.
Hunter snapped out of his thoughts as his hearing picked up two sets of footsteps coming their way. He signaled to his brothers to get ready, the rest of them immediately on alert. Hunter listened closely; the steps sounded small and light, but not hurried so they weren’t being followed. They rounded the corner and Hunter tensed, only to be met with two kids as they came to a short stop in front of him.
The batch stood, unsure of what to say. The older one, couldn’t have been more than 16, looked at him, an annoyed expression on her face as she looked him over.
“Not what you were expecting huh?” she remarked.
“You’re the contact?” Hunter asked warily.
She nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yeah that’s me. And I know I’m young for this kinda stuff. Let’s just get this over with.”
She held out her hand. “Eli. And this here is Jack, my sibling.” She gestured to the young kid on her right. They looked up at him, smiling and waved. He couldn’t be that much younger than Eli, but they were definitely related. The kid’s eyes widened as they looked over his shoulder, breaking away from their sister to run up to Wrecker.
“What’s your name?” He asked excitedly.
“I’m Wrecker! Nice to meet yah kid!” He replied, happy to respond to his enthusiasm.
Eli smirked. “Thought she’d like him. You guys the people I’m supposed to meet?”
Hunter’s attention turned back to her as the two continued to jabber on. “That’s us. You supposedly have intel on someone we’re looking for.”
“Yeah yeah. This for a friend of yours?” she asked, hands reaching down to search her pockets.
“Kind of.” Hunter replied.
“We were told about a suspicious figure and wanted to ensure that they were not a threat to-“ Tech would have continued before she cut him off.
“Yep got it. Anyway, the guy you’re looking for. Intimidating, creepy green armor? Gives you the sense that if you talk to him, he’ll stab you? She looked at Hunter expectantly.
“Uh..” Phee never gave them a description, only said she’d seen him slip out of sight a few times.
“Doesn’t matter. Here.” She handed him a small flat square, a signal tracker.
“He caught me staring and pressed me on info about your friend.” She said.
“Played the scared kid card and told him about how she visited a lot and I was just checking out her ship. Slipped it on when he wasn’t looking. Even modified a microphone into it so I could hear what he said. All I heard was him saying he’d jump back to give his report.”
Hunter turned the device in his hand. “Wait, what were you doing around out friend’s ship?”
“She’s a pirate. Thought she’d have a few things worth a bit of credits. Don’t worry, I started to focus on our little spy and fully stopped after the “chat” I had with him.”
“Has he found out about the tracker?” Echo asked, looking over Hunter’s shoulder at the device.
“Nope. I located two trackers in him during one of his scouts and calibrated it to match the two of them. It’ll take him a while to find it.”
Hunter nodded. “Thanks for the help kid.”
“Happy to help.” She replied, lifting two fingers to her head in a mock salute before beckoning her brother and telling him they were leaving. Wrecker and Jack both groaned but waved at each other as Jack walked back to Eli’s side.
Before they left, Echo stopped them.
“You’re not interested in whatever we find?” he asked. Eli shook her head.
“Then why’d you put a tracker on him in the first place?”
Eli looked down, an uneasy look crossing her face. She paused for a few moments before she answered.
“I dunno. I just…had a bad feeling about him. He seemed so robotic. Like every step he took wasn’t his, but an order that was made. And I’ve never seen anyone else like him on the planet. Or ever really.”
She looked up at Hunter, the worried look in her eyes evident.
“Whatever he’s doing, whoever he’s working for, it’s something more. More than just a bounty hunter scoping a target. They’re looking for something, someone. Why, I don’t know, and I get the feeling I shouldn’t try to find out. If you want to do me a favor, find out what it is and if it can be stopped. If it can, make sure to bring backup. He didn’t sound like he was working alone.”
Hunter was thrown off at the sudden serious tone but nodded slowly.
“Alright. We’ll look into it.”
Eli sighed, waving them a final goodbye before she took her brother’s hand and rushed off.
“That didn’t sound good.” Wrecker said, the tension from the short conversation still hanging in the air.
“Think we should get Rex involved?” Echo asked.
“From what Eli described; it is very likely that Phee was a potential key of information about whoever they were looking for. And whoever sent them obviously has resources and reasons to enlist a skilled hunter to enact this search. So yes, involving Rex is a good idea.” Tech stated.
Hunter turned the device in his hands, thinking about how serious the situation was becoming. Whatever they found, it was something big. Probably related to the Empire.
And an uneasy feeling in his gut told him it was related to them too.
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They crowded around a radio Tech found; it was plugged into the signal tracker to raise the volume of the incoming sound.
When they’d landed back on Pabu, they told Phee about their conversation. Echo notified Rex immediately, who came down to hear whatever was picked up.
Tech turned the device in his hands, adjusting his goggles as he looked closer at it.
“Fascinating. Impressive how she was able to modify the tracker to receive audio and broadcast it back over such a distance.”
“Well, you can take it apart and see how it works after we’ve listened to it.” Hunter picked it out of his hands and set it back down. Tech huffed and sat back in his seat. The tracker had passed through an area with heavy interference, and they were waiting for it to clear up.
“Is it done yet?” Omega asked, her head lying on the table.
The sound crackled, before clearing to loud and clear footsteps. They all tensed and leaned forward, Wrecker standing behind Hunter who sat next to the table. Omega sat up next to Tech, who was upright. Echo and Rex stood behind the radio, alert and listening for any other sound.
The footsteps continued, the hiss of a ship door opening and closing and then more footsteps as the person walked down what seemed to be a hallway. They made a stop as a door opened and shut behind them.
“Sir.” They started at the voice. It was a clone’s voice.
“CX-1. Anything to report?” A voice drawled out. Hunter’s jaw set. He didn’t like it. He sounded slimy, calculated. Like he was talking to a droid, not a person.
“Nothing sir. No sign of the intended targets and the pirate didn’t seem to have anything to indicate a connection. A local was found scouting the ship as well.”
“Did they have anything to say?”
“Negative. The child just said the pirate was a regular visitor and no other useful information was given.”
The other voice sighed.
“Disappointing. I suppose that lead was a dead end. I guess we don’t have any other options now do we?”
They heard more footsteps as the two walked forward. So, it was true. They were looking for someone and had thought Phee could lead them there.
“Has he mentioned anything of note?” the voice asked.
“Nothing yet sir.” A female voice this time. Odd, she sounded kind of like a clone as well. “He hasn’t said a word during the interrogation.”
Another sigh.
“Another disappointment. But he is our only option at this point, so perhaps it’s time we try different methods hm?”
Another short few steps.
“That is of course, unless he has something he needs to say.”
“Do you, CT-9904?”
Everyone in the room froze.
Silence on the other end.
Hunter strained his ears to hear, trying to convince himself that he’d somehow misheard it. He could hear strained breaths, whoever was on the other end was trying to control their breathing.
“Nothing yet again. You must be proud of your silence. Not a word out of you since the time we’ve had you here. It’s quite impressive.”
There was a sound of something charging up.
“Except of course, for a few exceptions.”
An agonizing scream ripped out of the radio, the sound of sizzling flesh and electrical sparks just barely audible. Omega’s hands flew up to her mouth, Tech pulling her aside to cover her ears, his eyes never leaving the radio. Echo’s and Rex’s eyes widened, both standing shocked still. Wrecker shied back from the radio, as if the sound physically hurt him. Hunter sat still, numb even as the loud sound blared through his ears. The screaming lasted only a few moments, but they felt like hours. It stopped, replaced by ragged panting.
Crosshair. That scream belonged to Crosshair.
“But it even then,” the slimy voice returned, and Hunter’s hands balled into fists on his thighs. The numbness was gone, replaced with an anger that intensified the more he spoke.
“It is intriguing to see how much you can withstand. You have lasted the longest out of any other clone in Tantiss. Still nothing to say about the location of your brothers?”
More ragged panting from the radio, but no other sound came out. Hunter’s heart was in his throat. He continued to listen for anything from his brother. Instead, the voice continued.
“You know, it would be a shame to kill you. But it’s starting to look like you really don’t have anything of use. I might have to end up cutting you open and checking for myself.”
Hunter rose to his feet, pushing the chair back and slamming his fists on the table.
“Don’t you FUCKING DARE.” He snarled out. The man continued.
“Of course, there is the possibility that you do know something, and you’re just refusing to tell us. I wonder though, if your brothers have the same pain tolerance as you. I’m especially curious about your sister, Omega.”
Hunter’s blood ran cold at that. He looked over to her, hands still over her mouth as her wide eyes were glued onto the tracker, unable to speak.
“She is very vital to what I need, so it would speed things along if you could just tell me where they might be.”
More ragged panting, deeper and slower now.
The man hummed thoughtfully.
“Or maybe, there is the possibility that the reason you haven’t said anything is for your own good.” Hunter could hear the smile in his voice as he said it. As if he just found the answer he was looking for.
“I can assure you, I won’t kill you. I’ll find some use out of you if you can tell me where to find Omega.”
Silence for a moment.
Then, the sound of spitting, Hunter hearing the wet sound of it striking someone’s face. He felt a twinge of satisfaction.
“Fuck…You.” A voice rasped out.
Hunter’s breath hitched. Crosshair. He sounded hurt, like speaking was painful.
“Keep…. her…fucking name out of your mouth.”
“Hit a nerve have I? Anything else to say?”
“If you think…I’m doing this for my own sake….you’re wrong.” Crosshair said, panting between words.
“Anyone would make the same assumption.” He spoke. “Considering they left you behind. Which is strange as most clone behaviors indicate that they have intense loyalty to one another. But I suppose it makes sense considering your defective nature.”
Hunter’s hands clenched, regret washing over him to mix with the anger.
“Perhaps they will prove otherwise though. They could be planning to attack here. To come for you.”
“They wouldn’t. They don’t have a reason to.” Crosshair retorted quickly, as though to correct him again.
Hunter winced, feeling a jab in his chest at those words. Did he really think that?
It got worse with his next words.
“They shouldn’t, not for me.” He said softly after a moment, a pain in his voice that hurt Hunter almost as much as his screams did.
Why? Why shouldn’t they come for him?
“Hm. That is possible as well. Seeing as how they haven’t attacked yet.” He stepped aside.
“CX-1, please escort Crosshair to the examination room. Emerie, once he is in adequate health, I would like him to be moved to a separate room. With him being our only lead to Clone Force 99, it seems we will have to use more, intense methods to acquire information.”
“Yes, Professor Hemlock.” She replied.
The sound of someone walking away as another pair moved forward again, the sound of restraints being removed and small pained groans as Crosshair was lifted from wherever he was. Before any other sound continued, Wrecker reached out and turned down the radio, his hands shaking.
Silence filled the room as everyone processed what they heard. The Empire was looking for them, was looking for Omega. And they were torturing Crosshair for information.
Hunter’s mind raced. How long had he been there? What did they do to him?
Did he really believe that he was alone, that no one was coming, why continue to stay silent?
The pit in his stomach got deeper with each thought. Wrecker’s voice snapped him out of it.
“What’s the plan Hunter?” he said, his voice shaky.
Hunter took a moment.
“We find Crosshair, get him out however we can.”
His hands balled into fists once again and his lip curled as he spoke.
“And kill Hemlock.”
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Wrecker crouched low, following Hunter and the others as they snuck through the landing bay. They came to the exit, Tech opening it easily with his datapad. They continued further, eyes peeled for any incoming guards.
After what they had heard on the tracker, the batch had thrown themselves into preparing and searching for wherever Crosshair was. They couldn’t find anywhere named Tantiss, even with the few spies Rex had on the inside. It was too secretive of a place, and they were getting nowhere until the tracker had picked up sound again.
Hunter had tried to keep Omega out of the room, but she stubbornly refused to leave. “He’s my brother!” she argued, trying to squirm out of Hunter’s grip. “I have to know!”
“Kid, we have no idea what is going to play on that speaker.” Hunter countered. “I don’t want you to overhear anything like what happened last time.”
Before Omega could continue arguing, a voice played out over the speaker.
“-reports show little progress in the interrogation.” It was Emerie, the woman from last time. The two froze as they listened.
“No matter what we do to him, he refuses to break. It is...admirable. But I do have reason to believe that Crosshair does not contain any knowledge on the whereabouts of Clone Force 99.” She continued.
“But what I fear is that Hemlock knows as well. And simply wants to see how far he can go.” She murmured, her voice became concerned for a moment. The rest of them tensed at that. Now they had a time limit.
“Continuing, the outside sensors are in working order, with a few glitches in their range though. It seems under a certain frequency; life-forms can be able to slip by. That will have to be fixed, a repair droid should be sent to the lower left side of the landing bay.”
Footsteps came out as it seemed Emerie walked away, but her voice played again softer this time.
“Frequency is known to be within the 20-30 decibel range. Repair droid should be assigned in 3 weeks’ time.” She whispered, walking quickly to what sounded like another room.
Everyone listened hesitantly, what was she doing? Did she know about the tracker?
“Crosshair is being detained in room 066. A medbay temporarily fashioned into an interrogation chamber. He does not have much time before Hemlock does something irreversible.”
She knew. And she was helping them?
“If you want to make it far enough to reach him, I suggest you listen closely to what I am about to tell you and do not ask questions.”
She told them two sets of numbers, one was coordinates to Wayland, where Tantiss was located and the other turned out to be the signal that allowed them to pass through the perimeter outside of the planet and kept them from being blasted to dust the moment they left hyperspace. Once they got there, Rex had taken his squad down to the holding cells to get reinforcements. He’d regroup with them once the alarms would go off.
Hunter held up a hand, they waited a few moments. Two guards came down the corridor. Hunter signaled him to move in. Wrecker nodded, stepping forward to grab the two men and shove them down. They turned to get a look at the assailant, beginning to shout but quickly feel silent, eyes widening in fear as they looked up at Wrecker. He was intimidating, his size towering over most people. Good. He knew how to use that.
“Where is my brother?” he spat, looking coldly on the two men. One of them pointed down to the left of the hallway, being rewarded with a stun blast. Another was given to the other guard as they passed, leaving the bodies behind.
Wrecker huffed anxiously as they came to another door and Tech crouched down to get it open. Echo placed a hand on his arm, reassuring him.
Omega wasn’t with them; they couldn’t risk her being taken by Hemlock for whatever he planned to do to her. Convincing her to stay behind was one of the hardest parts of this mission. He remembered how they’d argued with her.
“I can’t just stay here and let Crosshair be tortured!” she said. “I don’t care what Hemlock wants, he’s hurting my brother! I have to do something!”
“We can’t let him take you kid.” Echo said, his arms crossed and his voice firm. “Whatever he’s doing in there, you need to be as far away from it as possible. Especially if something goes wrong.”
Omega frowned angrily. “I can do this. It’s not the first time I’ve snuck into places like this, and you could use all the backup you can get.”
“We can’t risk it.” Hunter said. “You need to be here so you can be safe.” He crouched lower to her, softening his voice.
“Crosshair needs you. I know. But taking you in there is the last thing he would want for you.”
Omega looked down, her eyes shining with tears. Hunter put his hand on her shoulder.
“He’s in there because of me.” She sniffed. “It’s my fault. I have to do something.”
Hunter sighed, pulling her close. Her arms reached around to hug his waist. “No, no it’s not kid.”
“Besides,” Wrecker chimed in. “you need to be here to help welcome him to Pabu! Who else is gonna show him around huh?”
Omega looked up at Wrecker and smiled, pulling back to wipe her face. “Yeah. You’re right Wrecker. Just, please come back with him.”
“We will be returning in no time, with Crosshair safe and sound.” Tech reassured her.
“Promise.” Hunter said.
They continued to scour the halls, no sign of any more guards. Already on edge, the group pulled their weapons out and held them at the ready. They were starting to get closer, the doors now numbered.
Wrecker followed close behind Hunter; eyes trained on the corridor in front of him. He tried to keep his mind clear, but it kept being flooded with images of Crosshair being hurt, tortured. He cringed internally at the memory of Crosshair’s scream on the radio. He hoped he would never have to hear his brother scream like that again. He distracted himself by looking at the numbers on the doors, they were reaching the 50’s now.
They came to a sudden stop, checking the door. Room 066. This was it. Crosshair was in here.
Tech pushed in front, hands quickly flying to his pad to plug in the code. Wrecker’s hands twitched as they gripped his gun. He hoped Hemlock was in here, he was hoping he’d get to blast him in the face.
Just as Tech was about to finish, alarms went off blaring around them. Hunter recoiled, muttering a quick curse. They’d found Rex and the others. Which meant that they had to do this fast.
The door opened, Wrecker charging past into the room to see a few troopers standing next to a bacta tank. Crosshair was inside of it, unconscious as they monitored his vitals. Wrecker growled and used the moment of surprise to shoot down two of them. Hunter sprinted forward to finish off the third as he pulled his gun. Once it was clear, Wrecker ran up to the tank. He pressed his hands to it, taking a closer look at his brother.
He looked skinner than he’d last seen him, that day on Kamino. He must’ve not been eating much. Or they were starving him. Either option made his stomach turn. Wrecker’s eyes scanned his body, taking notice of the healing bruises on his chest and the burns and cuts on his stomach. He whined as he looked at his brother’s face, a large bruise around his left eye.
“Oh Crosshair…” he murmured.
“What’d they do to you?” He heard Hunter whisper next to him.
Crosshair’s eyes squinted, his body slightly shaking, then suddenly jerking. His hands twitched; a red light started blinking on his breathing apparatus.
“Tech?!” Wrecker shouted. “What’s happening? What’s wrong with him?!”
Tech was at the nearby terminal, hands flying across the screen.
“Hemlock’s remotely controlling the tank. He’s cutting off his oxygen supply and I cannot override it. If we do not get him out of there he’ll suffocate.” He said, his voice laced with thinly veiled panic.
Hunter immediately went to the top of the tank to try and pull it off. It didn’t budge. He pulled out his knife and tried to pry the lock off. Echo tried to help Tech override the tank controls. Crosshair continued to jerk, his hands now clawing at his throat as he tried to breathe. Wrecker had to do something. He had to get him out of there now.
Wrecker shouted to Hunter to stand back. He raised his fist and punched as hard as he could, large cracks webbing out from where he struck. The tank shook but stayed upright, water already started to leak out as he struck again, making two small holes. Hunter came around next him as he rammed his shoulder into the tank, finally shattering the glass.
Wrecker held out his arms as bacta came pouring out and splashed all over him, catching Crosshair’s body, the weight knocking him back. “Gotcha.” He said as he turned to place him on the floor and away from the flood that was now pouring out onto the floor. He sank to the floor, ripping off the breathing mask still affixed over his mouth.
Crosshair gasped, coughing as he gulped down breaths of fresh air. Wrecker cradled his shaking form in his arms, fighting the urge to press him close, not wanting to constrict his breathing or aggravate his wounds. Hunter was at his side, checking over for any cuts from the glass. Not finding any, he pressed his fingers to the left side of Crosshair’s neck to time his vitals when Crosshair hissed in pain and drew back. He turned his head towards Wrecker, giving him a good look at his neck. It was covered in track marks, some of them healed from the bacta but others were still red and sore.
“What the fuck did they do?” Hunter bit out.
“They injected him with some sort of drug.” Tech was now next to Hunter, assessing the wounds that weren’t entirely healed.
“Repeatedly from the looks of it. The records I managed to obtain before being locked out showed broken ribs and several lacerations applied to the back.” He turned Crosshair over to reveal long red cuts, partially healed but some were slightly bleeding. Tech pulled out gauze, gathered from the medbay. He began to dress his wounds when Crosshair groaned and shifted onto his back.
“Crosshair?” Wrecker breathed, watching as his brother’s eyes fluttered.
“m’cold. It’s so cold…” he coughed, shivering. “Why’s it so cold?”
“It’s ok Crosshair. We got yah.” Wrecker said. “You’re safe now.”
Crosshair’s eyes opened to look up blearily at the faces around him. His eyes landed on Hunter first, his eyes squinting.
“M-mayday?” he whispered, his words slurred from his half-conscious state. Hunter’s face twisted in confusion.
“No, it’s us Crosshair. Your brothers.” Wrecker said, leaning over into his view.
His eyes focused just enough to recognize Wrecker’s face, widening as he did.
“You-you came.” He rasped out. “You came for me.”
“Course we did.” Wrecker said, tears pricking at the back of his eyes. Stars, his brother looked so small. He lifted a hand to cup his cheek. “We’d never leave yah here.”
Crosshair’s eyes fluttered closed, his head slumping forward. Wrecker worriedly looked up at Tech.
“Exhaustion. He’s passed out is all.” Tech said, breathing a small sigh of relief. “His wounds still need to be tended too.” He flicked his scanner down. “His ribs need to be wrapped as they haven’t fully healed.” He placed a bacta patch on the side of Crosshair’s neck. “We need to get him on the Marauder now.”
“Rex’s got most of the guards cleared out.” Echo said. “All we need to do is find Emerie and Hemlock.”
“Already done.” A voice said above them. Their heads snapped up, Wrecker protectively clutching Crosshair to see a woman standing at the door, datapad in her hand. “He’s making his way down to the landing bay.”
“How much time do we have before the Empire takes notice?” Hunter asked.
“Plenty. I’ve already set up a big enough distraction.” A large roar sounded through the facility as she said it. A look of surprise was shared between the brothers.
“You just take care of Hemlock, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
---
The batch ran through the halls, passing bodies of guards to follow the sounds of fighting to the landing bay. Wrecker carried Crosshair’s limp body close to his chest, “it’s alright, we’re almost there.” He whispered to his brother, trying to reassure the both of them. “Just hang in there.”
They’d just made it to the bay and had been sprinting across when Hunter spotted him. He stopped, face twisted in a scowl as he eyed Hemlock. He was staring back at them, a knowing smirk on his face. Despite the chaos around him, he acted as though he was still in control of everything. As though this was all a big game for him.
“Impressive. Very impressive.” He said, wringing his hand. “I had all but given up on the idea of you coming here, but I suppose I was correct in leaving your brother alive.”
Wrecker growled, gripping his brother tighter as Echo and Tech moved in front of him.
“You are not going to lay another finger on him.” Tech said, quiet fury lacing his voice.
“I know. His usefulness has served its course. All that’s left is to find your sister, and you will assist me greatly with that.” He stepped closer, the batch raising their guns to meet him.
“Not. another. step.” Hunter spoke, his tone threatening.
“Oh?” Hemlock asked, his arms now folded behind his back. Behind him, a commando crept up, battle ready. “Or what? What could you do right this moment to justify that threat?”
Hunter waited for a moment before aiming his gun to shoot at the commando behind Hemlock, who instinctively ducked. Hunter used this chance to leap forward, tackling all three of them down to the ground. Hemlock rolled away as Hunter pinned the commando, fighting to stay in control. Echo ran to help Hunter with the clone, while Tech kept his gun trained on Hemlock and fired at him.
Wrecker looked after him, then at Hunter who was managing to stab the commando with his knife with Echo holding him down. Deciding that they had this covered, he turned to Tech.
“Take this for a sec.” He pushed Crosshair into Tech’s arms, who hurriedly took him. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Getting the slimy bastard before he gets away.” He growled as he lifted a bomb from his belt and threw it straight at Hemlock, managing to strike him in the back and knock him down from the force of it. He only had a moment to look at the bomb before it went off, blasting him back.
He groaned, opening his eyes only to be lifted up and punched square in the jaw. He flew back onto the ground again, coughing as he tried to move.
“Oh no you don’t.” A voice snarled above him, grabbing his throat and pinning him against the wall. Hemlock scrabbled desperately at the large hand strangling him, struggling to form words. Wrecker stared at him, eyes ablaze with a cold fury.
He hadn’t felt this angry in a looong time.
“You.” He said, his voice low as he gripped his neck, “Will never touch my brother again.”
With that, he squeezed as tight as he could. Watching as Hemlock’s body continued to feebly squirm in his grip, then go lax. He didn’t let go until he felt the pulse in his neck slow to a stop, at which he let the body pathetically drop to the floor. He stared at it one last time, adrenaline and satisfaction coursing through him, then left to go back to his brothers.
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Crosshair recovered slowly at first, but it quickened when he woke up. Now he could move around without much issue, but he still wheezed and had to sit down if he moved too much though. When they’d landed back on Pabu, they scrambled to get him set up on a bed and finish dressing his wounds. Emerie briefed them on his condition before being put in bacta.
“His ribs were broken within the first few hours of interrogation.” She said, looking away as she recalled the uncomfortable sound his bones had made when they snapped. “After that, they moved on to shocking and slicing him open.”
Wrecker grumbled, scooting closer to his brother’s sleeping form. The others were upset too, a clear grimace on Hunter and Echo’s faces, Omega reaching a comforting hand to Crosshair’s arm. Tech’s face remained neutral for the most part, but Wrecker knew it was hurting him too. But they needed to know how hurt he’d been. What they’d done to him. What they let happen to him. Wrecker’s gut sank with guilt at that, but he forced himself to focus on Tech as he spoke.
“And the drug they gave him?” he asked, taking care to keep his tone level.
“Truth serum.” Emerie replied. At their confused faces, she continued.
“It doesn’t contain any actual chemicals that make the subject inclined to tell the truth. It is simply called that because of how little one can last during an interrogation while under its effects. Its real purpose is to cause as much pain as possible, moving through the bloodstream and targeting nerve endings. The damage is never permanent, easily reversable. But the pain is hard to forget.”
Tech lost his composure a bit at that, his face darkening. It darkened further as he looked over the formula for the drug.
“According to the chemicals used and the neuropathic tendency of the drug, the feeling within his systems would have been akin to a burning sensation all throughout his body.” He said, his voice steady.
“Yes. Many subjects described it as though their blood was on fire.” Emerie said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat at the memory.
Echo’s face formed into a scowl, Tech adopting a similar look as he stared at the datapad in his hands. Wrecker didn’t think he’d ever seen him so disgusted with a pad in his life. He would have chuckled if his heart wasn’t being twisted so hard right now. He reached out and squeezed his brother’s hand lightly. There was no response, but it made him feel better anyway.
His brother went through so much, all for their sake. They didn’t even know he’d defected from the Empire, and here he was refusing to break under torture to protect his brothers. He wanted to comfort him, let him know that he was safe now. That they wouldn’t let him be treated like that again.
He thought of something.
“Hey.” He said, getting everyone’s attention. “Do you know who Mayday is?” he asked
Emerie looked surprised at the question. Hunter nodded slowly.
“When we got him out of the tank,” he began, “he was out of it. Barely able to keep his eyes open.”
“When he saw me though, he recognized me. As someone else.” He rubbed the back of his neck at the memory.
“Called me Mayday.” He finished. Omega sat up. “Was he another prisoner in Tantiss?” she asked.
Wrecker perked up a bit at that. Maybe his brother had someone to comfort him in Tantiss. It would be better to know he wasn’t alone the whole time.
His heart sank again as Emerie explained.
“Not exactly. Before he was admitted to Tantiss, he was stationed at an Imperial outpost on Barton V. After an attack from a local band of insurgents, he and the only other surviving clone Maday were sent to regain the stolen supplies. They were both caught in an avalanche and severely injured.”
“According to the report, Crosshair had dragged Maday all the way back to base in the hopes of him being treated. But upon arrival, the commanding officer refused as Maday was of no use to them anymore. He succumbed to his wounds shortly afterward.”
Omega gasped softly. “Oh Crosshair…” she murmured.
“Karking monsters.” Echo growled; his organic hand clenched into a fist. “They went through all that, and they left him to die.”
“Crosshair agreed with that sentiment, as shortly afterwards he shot and killed the commanding officer.” Emerie replied.
Echo’s eyebrows raised at that, smiling slightly afterwards. Good riddance.
“It was then that Crosshair was admitted to Tantiss. Due to his injuries and severe hypothermia, he was put under medical care until he was fit enough to begin interrogation.” Emerie said.
Wrecker looked over to his brother’s face again, it looked peaceful. Tech had given him a small sedative to eliminate any pain from his half-healed wounds. Wrecker reached over to rub the top of his head. It was kind of fuzzy, his hair starting to grow back. He sighed softly. Crosshair was safe now. He was with them, and Wrecker wanted to make sure he knew that he wasn’t alone anymore. But a part of him still ached, he felt it gnaw at him as he looked at his brother.
Would he still want to leave after all of this? Would he ever want to stay?
---
Wrecker was starting to think Crosshair wasn’t getting better anymore. Sure, he was healing physically, but it was obvious something was still wrong.
Crosshair spoke to them; he was okay enough to do that. And he talked to them like he used to. With snarky comments and sarcastic drawls. But not as much as he used to. Wrecker also noticed a tremor in his right hand. It would shake from time to time, Crosshair leering down angrily at it and shaking it hard to get it to stop. He would also unconsciously scratch at his neck, irritating the healing skin and threatening to open his sores again.
It reminded him of when they were cadets, when Crosshair would pick and pick at his nails until they bled, and they had to resort to slapping his hands or wrapping them in bandages to get him to stop. It made him worry, and when Crosshair ended up reopening a few sores, Tech decided to wrap bandages around his neck to keep him from messing with them further. Crosshair had scowled and argued that he didn’t need it. That he was fine and to leave him alone. Tech just looked at him hard and kept silent, wrapping the bandages around his neck anyway. Crosshair didn’t fight it much, other than complaining now and then.
But it wasn’t just that. When they were giving another checkup to Crosshair to track his progress, Tech had offered to give him a small anesthetic to help with the pain.
Crosshair took one look at the needle in his hand and instantly backed away, shaking and insisting that he was fine. He started breathing faster, curling in on himself while repeating no and obviously beginning to suffer a panic attack. It took them a few minutes to calm him down, Hunter having to hold his shoulders and look into his eyes to get him to focus on him and calm his breathing.
Tech kept every needle he had out of sight after that.
Omega was by his side constantly; she’d taken him around and showed him all over Pabu the moment he was ok enough to walk. He acted uninterested and pretended to ignore her company, but she stuck around and kept an eye on him. None of them believed his uncaring act, they knew how much he really cared about her. Whenever he thought they weren’t looking, he’d give her a rough pat on the head or a shared look now and then. It was always enough to make her smile.
But the few times Crosshair would be on his own, (rare as someone would always be around to keep Crosshair in their sights. The only time he would be alone was when he’d complain loudly about being watched like a probe droid.) Wrecker would find him sitting and staring into space, looking down at his hands as they shook violently. He’d snap out of it whenever Wrecker would tap him on the shoulder, slipping back into annoyance.
“Can’t you just leave me alone for once?” he’d always say.
His attitude was starting to frustrate them. Hunter especially. He tried a few times to talk to Crosshair, about the Empire or his condition. He never broached Tantiss itself obviously. Every time Crosshair would angrily refute him, telling him he didn’t want to talk about it.
Once, exasperated, Hunter had told him that they were just trying to see if he was ok. And that if he obviously didn’t want to talk to them or be around them, “then just tell us when you’re going to leave if that’s what you want.”
Crosshair was silent at that, shifting his gaze away from Hunter. For a moment, he looked hurt.
“I don’t know.” He replied, the words sounding bitter. “Just, just leave me alone. Please.”
Hunter softened at that, opening his mouth to apologize but thought better of it. He stopped trying to talk to Crosshair about the Empire after that, but still tried to talk to him. It seemed like everything was becoming almost normal. Wrecker was somewhat happy with that, everyone seemed comfortable, if a bit uneasy.
And then the nightmares began.
For the last couple of nights, one of them would wake up to hear Crosshair either pacing around the house or shifting in his bed. Hunter had heard him whimpering a few times, muttering nonsensical pleas. They began to take shifts every night, one of them staying up to help Crosshair get back to sleep. Echo would come into the room, pretending to be up because of the cold. Hunter would wait until he heard Crosshair lay back down, then walk in as if to check on him. If he was asleep, he’d gently rub his back.
Tech had the worst sleep schedule out of all of them, so most of the time he was already awake when Crosshair had a nightmare. He’d position himself in the kitchen with one of his datapads and act as though he didn’t see Crosshair as he walked through, keeping his eye on him as he walked aimlessly to calm himself down. Omega, though she only had done it once as they couldn’t let her stay up that late, had come in and sat next to Crosshair, whispering to him that it was ok, and he was safe now. Wrecker would do a mix of both Omega and Hunter; waiting until he calmed down enough to creep into his room and gently rub his head, telling him that he was here and that it was alright. He’d even left Lula on his bed one time, and she had yet to leave his room. He never acknowledged the nightmares, or their attempts to comfort him.
The worst though, was the one he had last night. And it was enough to convince Wrecker that something was really wrong with Crosshair.
He’d startled awake at hearing a strangled cry, something between a sob and a scream. He’d jumped out of bed and ran to Crosshair’s room. Echo, Hunter and Omega were already there, trying to calm him down. He was panting hard, eyes darting around and filled with tears. He was muttering repeatedly about someone being gone.
“Tech.” he choked out. “Where’s Tech? I-Is he...?”
At that moment, Tech had walked into the room. Upon seeing him, Crosshair froze then began to sob. He called out to him, and when Tech came close enough, he threw his arms around him and buried himself in his shoulder. He just clung to him and sobbed, harder than Wrecker had seen him over the past few weeks. He just kept saying he was sorry and that it was all his fault. Tech put his arms around him, not saying anything as he gently rubbed his back and let him cry. After he was done, he passed out right in his arms. Since it was 1:00 am, they let him sleep and went back to their rooms. They didn’t really talk about it, but they all knew it was a really bad nightmare, bordering on night terror.
It was why Wrecker was here now, in front of Crosshair’s room. It was noon now, and he hadn’t left his room all day. Wrecker took a deep breath, reminding himself that it was his brother. He was going to help him. He knocked on the door. “Crosshair?” he asked. No reply. “I’m coming in.” Still no reply. He put his hand on the door and turned the handle, stepping into his brother’s room.
--
It was relatively clean, not that Crosshair had much to fill it with. He sat upright, looking at him with a scowl before turning away.
“Get out.” He groaned. “I’m not in the mood.”
“I brought yah some food.” Wrecker said, holding out a sandwich as a peace offering. Crosshair looked at it, then rolled his eyes.
“Not hungry.” He remarked.
Wrecker huffed. Worth a shot. He closed the door behind him, setting the sandwich on the nightstand.
“Cross, you’re not getting rid of me that easy.” He spoke. Crossing his arms, he stood in the doorway and tried to look like Hunter whenever he was scolding them. It wasn’t working, considering how Crosshair frowned at him. Wrecker couldn’t help but notice the bags under his eyes, how he slumped slightly, the nightmares having kept him from getting the sleep he needed.
He sighed, letting his arms fall to his side. Time to rip the band-aid off.
“Crosshair,” he said. “Somethings wrong.”
“Oh, really?” Crosshair sarcastically replied. “What gave it away? I’m fine Wrecker. It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does!” Wrecker said. “You’re not fine, you’re not ok and you know it.”
Crosshair flinched slightly, turning away from him.
“Crosshair.” He tried again, gently. “You can’t keep ignoring this or acting like it doesn’t affect you. Whatever it is, it’s getting worse.”
Crosshair scoffed. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“You’re losing sleep, and you’re not eating as much.” Crosshair cringed slightly at that. They’d noticed. Pretty quickly actually, what with the fact that they were watching him constantly.
“Your nightmares are getting really bad and we’re all worried about you. I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine.” Crosshair bit out, hands tensing around his arms.
“Acting like you are won’t make us see that.” He started towards the bed.
“Just tell me, even if it’s a little bit. You need to let it- “
“FINE. You want to know so badly?” Crosshair snarled. He whirled around to stare at Wrecker, anger flashing. Wrecker stopped.
“I’m sick of this. Sick of being followed around by you all like some stray dogs. Sick of being probed. Sick of being treated like I’m something made of glass. But most of all, I’m sick of you.” He growled, pointing a finger at Wrecker for emphasis.
“I don’t want to be around you, or Hunter or Tech or anyone! I just want to be left alone and the first chance I get, I’m blasting off this planet and never seeing any of you again.” He huffed, looking at Wrecker for his response.
After getting nothing, he scoffed. “There. Happy?”
Wrecker’s hands balled into fists. Crosshair looked away, expecting the harsh words that would surely follow his own.
“I don’t believe you.”
He looked back, startled. Wrecker was looking at him, an indescribable expression on his face.
“What?” Crosshair asked
“I said.” Wrecker moved closer.
“I don’t believe it. Any of it.”
Crosshair’s face morphed into one of indignation. “You think I’m lying to you? I told you! I gave you what you want! You asked me what I felt, and I said it!”
Wrecker shook his head.
“No, you said that to make me angry. To get me to leave and not talk to you anymore and let you stay in your own head.”
“To make me think what you want me to think.” he said softly.
Crosshair stared. He hadn’t expected to be found out, to be caught. It made him feel vulnerable. He hunched forward, looking away from Wrecker.
He walked forward, reaching the bed.
“Crosshair.” He refused to look at him. He couldn’t. He’d see right through him.
Wrecker crouched so they were at eye level.
“Cross.” He placed a hand on his arm, finally getting Crosshair to look at him.
“You’re hurting. Anyone can see that.” He lifted his hand up to his shoulder.
“I don’t want my brother to get hurt. I don’t like seeing him hurt.”
“I’m not going. I’m not leaving until I know what’s wrong. I’m not leaving you alone.”
Crosshair blinked, looking away as he felt his eyes begin to prickle. Fuck. He’d forgotten how blunt Wrecker was. How…attentive he could be. Memories of gentle hands and kind words resurfaced, threatening to bring more tears with them.
“Y-you shouldn’t.” he said, his voice wavering.
“Please Cross.” He looked at him with eyes full of worry, just wanting his brother to tell him what was wrong so he could fix it. So he could help him.
“Just let it out.”
Crosshair’s breath hitched.
“I don’t deserve it.” He whispered, barely audible.
“I don’t deserve any of it.”
Wrecker stayed silent, listening.
“Your attention, your care, anything really. Not after what I’ve done.”
Wrecker moved to sit on the bed beside him, placing a hand on his back.
“Yes, you do.” He spoke.
“No, I deserve nothing.” Crosshair insisted, trying to ignore the slowly building lump in his throat, wishing it could stop what was beginning to spill out.
“Everything I did, all of my actions deserve nothing but punishment.”
“Not everything.” Wrecker said. “You shouldn’t be punished for what you did to Mayday.” he said softly.
Crosshair shook, staring back at Wrecker, who guiltily looked away. “Emerie told us. You did everything you could to get him to safety, to save him.”
“And I failed.” Crosshair retorted bitterly.
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“Of course it was my fault!” Crosshair said harshly, his hands tightening on the covers.
“Everything is my fault. You coming to Tantiss, Mayday, almost dying on Kamino, Ryloth. I left you and joined the Empire! I killed innocent people. I tried to shoot a kid-I shot you for kriff’s sake!” he said angrily, the words tumbling out of him.
“Cross, most of those you had nothing to do with.” Wrecker countered. “And I’m not angry with you for shooting me anymore.”
Crosshair scoffed. “And the ones I did have something to do with?” he huffed, putting his face in his hands. “You can’t deny that Wrecker. You can’t forgive the fact that I hurt you.”
Wrecker paused; he moved to say something but was stopped by a harsh whisper.
“You can’t forgive me.”
Wrecker stared.
“Why?”
“Because I... I-shit.” Crosshair sniffed, trying to steady himself.
“You did what?” Wrecker asked softly.
“I lost.” Crosshair whispered; his lip quivered slightly. Wrecker turned his head confused.
“I lost myself. I couldn’t stop.” He kept going, the words pouring out as he confessed.
“A-After that order, I lost control. Everything, every part of me was moving without me. I couldn’t stop it. The only reason I was able to even fight it was because I got my head knocked against that tree. Even then, that voice.” He moved his hands to grip his head, fingers clutching short gray curls.
“It wouldn’t stop. Execute Order 66. Kill all Jedi, and those who disobeyed. The whole way back to Kamino, it kept whispering to me. It got even worse after Saw. Witnessing you blatantly disobey a direct order just made it worse. I was scared. Scared I’d lose control again, scared I’d hurt you.”
Crosshair began to shake, the memories returning. Those awful moments with no self-control, where he watched his own body take aim and fire at the padawan. How he screamed at himself stop, how he tried to ignore the words pounding in his head as they returned to Kamino after meeting Saw. Traitors. No. No they weren’t. They disobeyed direct orders. Those orders were to dispatch rebel insurgents, not murder innocent refugees. They must be executed. He didn’t notice Wrecker’s hand tightening, the realization he was coming to.
“The only way I could get it to be quiet, to fight it, was to leave. The farther I got from you, the less it spoke. But I could still feel it, tugging at me. Threating to take control at any moment. I just listened, trying to do what I could.”
“I was scared.” He chuckled bitterly. “Didn’t help that no one talked to me, except when they had to. I was only able to- “
“The chip.” Wrecker said.
Crosshair stopped.
Wrecker looked at him, shock evident in his face as the realization dawned on him.
“Your chip. It activated.”
Crosshair nodded.
“Is it still in there?”
“No.” Crosshair said. “I had it removed after Bracca.”
Wrecker’s eyes widened. Crosshair winced.
“I lied.”
Wrecker remained silent; Crosshair could feel his eyes on him as he was probably thinking about everything he had done.
He swallowed.
“All this time.” Wrecker whispered.
“That whole time, you had the chip in your head. You left because of it.”
Crosshair took a deep breath, bracing himself as he looked at his brother. Tears were in his eyes.
“Oh Crosshair. I’m so sorry.”
He pulled him into a hug, sniffling and trying not to cry.
Wait what? Why was he apologizing.
“Wrecker what-why are you- “
“You were all alone!” Wrecker said, his voice wet with tears.
“All alone in that blasted Empire, with only that stupid voice keeping you company! You couldn’t even tell us, not without hurting someone!”
“You-how would you know that?” Crosshair asked. He pulled back, looking at his brother’s now slightly red face. He had a feeling he knew the answer. The look he gave him just confirmed it.
“Your chip activated.” He breathed.
Wrecker nodded. “Bracca. I... I attacked Tech and just went on a rampage. I was about to get to Omega when Rex stunned me.” He looked down, the memory of being forced to watch as he ruthlessly attacked his brothers still hard to bear. He closed his eyes, shuddering internally as he remembered how close he had come to hurting Omega.
“Shit…Wrecker.” Crosshair raised his hand to place it on his shoulder, hesitating.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault!” Wrecker said. “You weren’t the one who activated it! If I hadn’t knocked my head around like an idiot, it probably never would have activated in the first place!”
“I followed you to Bracca! If I had found you when your chip activated- “
“You didn’t know!”
“Neither did you!” Crosshair yelled.
There was a pause.
“You didn’t know either, about my chip.” Crosshair said. “And that’s my fault. Not the chip’s. Because I never told you and I lied to you.”
His breath hitched, the tears coming back.
“And you want to know why?”
“I lied to you, because I was so angry. You left me behind, on Kamino and I was angry at that. But it wasn’t your fault.” His hands shook as he tried to hold back.
“You didn’t know. And I made it worse by leaving. I didn’t want to hurt you, and I knew if I stayed there, I probably would. Kriff, I would have hurt Omega. I thought; that by putting distance between us, I could clear my head enough to find a way out. But it didn’t work. You thought I wanted to leave, so you left me. And afterwards, I thought that if you continued to think that, then you would probably stay away. But I was wrong. You came after me on Kamino, you found out about the chips and you wanted to help, but I was bitter. I was angry at how long it took for you to find out, how you thought-how you accepted that I would leave you behind and the only time you thought differently was when someone else told you otherwise!”
“And I made it worse. I lied, said I had it removed already just so I could hurt you, and it wasn’t even worth it.”
“I couldn’t even leave with you off of Kamino, no matter how badly I wanted to.” Wrecker blinked at that.
“Why not?” he asked.
“You wouldn’t trust me. After all that I did, what I told you. You’d never trust me. And I decided, that if you thought I was an enemy, a monster.” He sighed.
“Then why not become one?”
Wrecker flinched, eyes welling up with fresh tears.
“Cross, I’m so sorry.”
“I told you, it’s not your fault Wrecker-”
“No, it is! We didn’t stay! We could have listened, tried to stay. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t do anything! And when you said you were joining the Empire, we let you! We didn’t try to fight, we just left you!”
He sniffed. “You have every right to be angry with us. We left you behind.”
“And then-then you were taken to Tantiss. They did all that horrible stuff to you, and we didn’t know! You were in there for months!”
“Don’t blame yourself for that either! You couldn’t have possibly known about Tantiss, and don’t try to defend me either. I could have told you and yet again I didn’t because I knew it was necessary to keep you safe!”
“Was that the real reason?!” Wrecker asked him.
“Yes!” Crosshair answered firmly.
Wrecker stopped, his eyes searching Crosshairs. His brother had gone through all of that and continued to blame himself. He didn’t ask for help while he was with the Empire because he couldn’t. Not without giving himself and them away. He had tried to keep them safe and sure; it could have been done better, but he cared. Why couldn’t he see how much that mattered?
Wrecker continued to look at him. His gaze softened somewhat; it was true that Crosshair did it to keep them safe. He narrowed his eyes slightly; something told him that it wasn’t entirely true though. He said that he didn’t call them in Tantiss, could he have been able to? If he was, he probably would have warned them about Hemlock looking for Omega. He probably knew that they would ignore it and come looking for him anyway, like they did last time. He stopped as he made another realization. He knew that. He knew they would come to save him.
And he didn’t want to be saved.
Didn’t think he deserved to be saved.
He watched him scratch at the bandages around his neck, how he avoided looking him in the eye, clutching his shaking right hand to his chest. How he didn’t let himself be open, be vulnerable, because he didn’t think he should be. He had been like that since they were cadets, always frustrated with himself and how he could be better than he was now. Always too hard on himself whenever he failed at something
He hated himself. Took the blame for everything that went wrong that damned day on Kamino.
And he had nobody to tell him otherwise.
Wrecker reached out his arms, pulling his brother in for a hug. Trying his hardest to be gentle, to show him how he deserved this. He deserved comfort.
“Wrecker.” He spoke.
He didn’t move.
“Wrecker please.” Crosshair began squirming slightly.
“You deserve this.” He whispered.
“You deserve to be angry, to blame us. You deserve to be full, to be rested, to feel good. You deserve all of this. You deserve to be loved.”
He stopped moving. “Why?” Crosshair whispered, hurt clear in his voice.
“Not because of what you do, or who you are, but because you’re my brother.”
He pulled back, loosening his arms. He lifted his hands to hold his brother’s face.
“I love you so much Crosshair.”
“And I’m so sorry that I made you think that wasn’t true.”
Crosshair’s eyes filled with tears, spilling over onto his cheeks as he closed his eyes and leaned into Wrecker’s hands. Wrecker pulled their foreheads together, tears of his own trickling down his face as they formed a keldabe.
They stayed like that for a moment before Crosshair broke down. He threw himself forward and wrapped tightly around Wrecker, sobbing into his shoulder. Wrecker gladly returned it, hugging back as tight as he could without hurting him.
“I love you too.” Crosshair said between sobs.
Wrecker nuzzled closer, nodded to show he heard him.
“It hurts so much.” Crosshair whispered. “It never stopped, it only got worse at Tantiss.”
“I was ready to die there.” He wept. Wrecker nuzzling his face into his younger brother’s shoulder. “You were the only thing that kept me alive, dreams and memories of this.”
“I missed this. I missed you.”
“I missed you too Crossy.”
Crosshair smiled slightly. “I missed that. I missed everything while I was in the Empire. Tech’s incessant rambling, Echo’s nagging, Hunter bossing us around. I missed your hugs, how they made me feel safe. Like nothing could hurt me.”
“Nothing is going to hurt you Cross’ika. Not anymore.”
“Fuck.” Crosshair sobbed, his crying intensifying.
“What’s wrong? Did I do something?” Wrecker asked.
“No, it’s just-“Crosshair sniffed.
“I haven’t heard Mando’a in months.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll speak it so many times you’ll hear it in your sleep.” Wrecker reassured him. Crosshair laughed, oh how he missed that sound!
“I hope so. I was so alone in there; I wanted to call out to you really. But I had this…this dream.”
His hands tightened, twisting Wrecker’s shirt as he began to shake. His sobs started up again.
“What happened?” Wrecker asked tentatively.
“In it, I called out, sent a message just like I wanted. Plan 88. Go into hiding. Hemlock caught me and locked me back up, but I could see you. I could see you all in the Marauder when you got my message. You decided to try and find me, to rescue me because you knew somehow that I had defected from the Empire. And when you tried- “he cut himself off with another sob.
“Tech-“he tried again.
“He…he died. I saw it. He died to save you all and the whole reason he was in that situation was because of me.” At this point, Crosshair dissolved into tears and wailed, the grief and pain in his voice raw.
Wrecker moved his hand in circles on Crosshair’s back, comforting his brother as he broke.
“It was just a dream, Crossy.” He murmured as he soothed his brother.
“It felt so real.” He sniveled after he calmed down a bit, his body still shaking.
“I held his goggles, they were shattered. It was all I-we had left of him.”
Wrecker nodded. “Was this that bad dream you had last night?” He felt Crosshair nod his head against his shoulder.
“How many times have you had this dream?”
“A couple times. I don’t know how many. It never changes, always the same no matter what I do-“
“Okay okay. Easy. Easy.” Wrecker cooed as Crosshair began to sob again. He yawned.
Both of them were wrecked. His eyes were all puffy and ached from crying, his throat scratchy. Crosshair’s face was ruined, matching his delicate emotional state, but he’d managed to cry out most of it. They needed a break.
Wrecker began to shift, moving away from Crosshair who clung to him, whimpering softly into his shoulder, which was now soaked.
“I’m not going anywhere Cross’ika, don’t worry.” He reassured him. “Just making us more comfortable. I could use a nap.”
Crosshair nodded sleepily, shifting to curl up next to Wrecker as he rolled onto his side. He wrapped his brother’s smaller frame, smiling as they nestled closer together. Within a few minutes, Crosshair was out, his breathing evening out.
Wrecker rested his chin on top of his brother’s head, taking comfort in feeling his brother’s heartbeat against his own.
“I’ve gotcha vod’ika.” He whispered, placing a kiss into his hair.
“Sweet dreams.”
-----
Hunter crept into the house; it was silent. Wrecker had told them that he was going to talk to Crosshair, and everyone had decided to leave to give them some space, and to avoid any possible shouting. There was yelling, but a lot less than Hunter thought there would be. He couldn’t make out words, he didn’t want to be close enough to eavesdrop, but it sounded serious. He could hear the hurt in his brother’s voice, could hear him crying. He needed to check the damage.
“Is the coast clear?” Omega whispered behind him.
“Yeah but be careful not to-“he didn’t even finish his sentence before Omega breezed past him, quickly followed by Tech and Echo.
“Let them know we’re here.” He finished. Sighing, he followed the others.
“Hmm. Peaceful. Though I thought there would be more of a mess.” Echo remarked. He eyed the kitchen, evidence of Wrecker’s presence obvious by the small mess on the counter.
“We should be grateful that he did not attempt to make him soup.” Tech quipped, walking past him towards the hall.
“I hope it went well. Wrecker seemed really worried about Crosshair.” Omega said, leading the way as they all shuffled down the hall careful not to make much noise.
“We all are.” Hunter said. “Wrecker was the first to actually try to get him to open up. He’s always been the first to try.”
“He hasn’t always succeeded,” Tech said, “but Crosshair was always more passive and less distant whenever they spoke after a fight.”
“He’s always been delicate with him with these kinds of things, hasn’t he?” Echo said as they neared Crosshair’s room.
“More than any explosive.” Hunter replied. He reached for the door handle, pausing to listen. He heard two heartbeats, slowed. He heard snoring, so it was obvious that they had fallen asleep. Or at least Wrecker had. He quietly opened the door, looking around the room. The others poked their heads around.
They all collectively sighed as they saw the two peacefully asleep. Wrecker was lying on his back, Crosshair clutching onto him Wrecker as though he were a tree. His face was the most peaceful Hunter had seen in weeks. Wrecker had his arms around Crosshair as though he were snuggled up with Lula. He had a wonderfully soft smile, as though he knew everything was going to be all right.
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Crosshair wasn’t completely fine after that, but he was getting better every day.
He sat down with the batch and opened up more about Tantiss, what Hemlock had done to him. That was hard, as he had to explain why he had not contacted them, thus he ended up going into detail about his nightmare of Tech’s death. As it had turned out, in the dream he had seen him execute Plan 99 to save his brothers from falling to their deaths. And the dream always ended the same way; with Hemlock capturing Omega and leaving Hunter, Echo and Wrecker alone.
“That will not happen.” Tech had assured him. He held Crosshair in his arms as he cried softly.
“Even if such a thing came to pass, it would not be your fault. It was a decision I made of my own accord.” He pulled back as Crosshair looked at him, wiping his eyes.
“Besides, that series of events only happened because we were attempting to get you back. And since we have already done so, Plan 99 will not need to be enacted. And hopefully, never will.” He concluded.
Crosshair nodded, taking a deep breath.
“We’re always going to be there for you Crosshair.” Omega told him, sitting close by. “We’ll be here no matter what.”
“Kid’s right.” Hunter said. “We’ll be there to save your ass whenever you need it Cross’ika.”
Crosshair smirked at him.
“Hopefully, you won’t need to.” He spoke.
“So… you are still thinking leaving?” Echo asked, deciding to get the conversation over with.
Everyone in the room took a deep breath, it was going to come eventually.
“Actually,” Crosshair said hesitantly after a moment.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it vod?” Wrecker asked.
Crosshair took a breath to steady his nerves.
Just let it out.
“I know I’ve done things that aren’t really going to be forgotten. And we still have things that needs to be said, but I’ve been thinking about it.”
“I- Don’t want to leave.” he said hesitantly.
“I want to stay. With you.”
He looked at Hunter.
“If you’ll let me that is.”
Hunter didn’t waste a second.
“Yes. You can stay.”
There was a moment of stunned silence before the room turned into a giant mix of ecstatic shouting. Omega tackled Crosshair around the waist, knocking them both to the ground. Hunter laughed at the sight, Crosshair smiling at him before yanking him down to join him. The rest followed suit, with Wrecker wrapping them all up in one huge group hug.
Later, when the group had finished celebrating, Hunter took Crosshair out to the Marauder.
“And why are we out here?” Crosshair asked.
“Catch.” He simply said, throwing something at him. Crosshair caught it, turning it over to see it was his gun case.
“My guns…You kept them?” he asked, genuinely surprised.
“The armor too.” Hunter smiled, walking up the ramp.
“Though you’re probably going to have to rethink the design. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we have a bit of a theme going on.”
Crosshair scoffed, smirking as he joined him up the ramp.
“What, looking like you just walked out of a traffic zone? Seriously, teal and yellow? What are you, a starspeeder?”
“Hey, it was the kid’s idea!”
“Nice try Hunter, but you don’t have much of a grasp of color theory. Honestly, it’s a miracle you weren’t found by the Empire with those crappy outfits you call “disguises.”
The conversation continued into the ship, the two laughing the whole way.
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Wrecker bounded up behind Crosshair as he rubbed at his arm, scooping him into a hug.
“Wrecker!” Crosshair shouted. Wrecker giggled and set him down, smiling as he watched him grumble and brush himself off.
“Feeling good?” he asked.
Crosshair huffed. “Yes.”
“How’s the hand?”
Crosshair flexed his right hand, running his other over the compression glove that wrapped around his palm and all the way up his forearm. Tech had suggested it to help with the tremors in his hand and it was working so far. It didn’t get rid of them fully, it would be a long time before they would begin to fade, but it helped tremendously. He was able to shoot very well now, able to hold the gun steady for much longer than he normally would have. He wasn’t at his best, nothing practice couldn’t help.
“Hey guys!” Omega shouted, running up to them. “Shep says that there’s going to be a small festival at the tree tonight! Says its to celebrate good fortune.”
“Free food? Heck yeah!” Wrecker shouted.
“Is Phee going to be there?” Crosshair asked. He’d gotten along quite well with the pirate since they were properly introduced. He could see why Omega and the others liked her.
“Phee has stated that she is suspending her searches for artifacts for tonight, in lieu of tonight’s gathering.” Tech started, following behind Omega.
“Good. Perfect opportunity for you to ask her out.” Crosshair remarked, smiling at the startled expression on his face.
“Such a thing will not be necessary and if you mention a single word- “
“Cross stop antagonizing him. He’ll tell her when he’s ready.” Echo said, him and Hunter joining them as they walked through the town.
Crosshair put his hands up. “Just trying to help. Don’t get angry at me for trying to get him to see the obvious.”
“I do not understand what it is you find so fascinating about my relationship with Phee Genoa.” Tech muttered, retreating to his datapad.
“Lighten up Tech!” Wrecker said. “Oh, hey Echo, is Rex coming?”
Echo nodded. “Yup. Said he wanted to enjoy a bit of luxury before having to go back to wrangling Fireball around.” Wrecker cackled at that.
The six of them continued through the town, content and happy to be together at last.