Chapter Text
A few months later...
After a brief bout of downtime, the Bad Batch were given another mission and after that was completed, the missions just kept coming. For months, they were busy with mission after mission, taking them all throughout the galaxy for all sorts of different reasons. Though, true to form, they were successful with each one, keeping up with their reputation of having a one-hundred percent success rate.
Currently, they found themselves on yet another mission, dealing with a fleet of Droids that were attempting to overrun a village.
“Go, go, everyone into the cellars!” called out Kimber to the panicking townsfolk, rushing them towards the cellar entrance behind one of the buildings.
Echo was helping her corral the people and helping them down into the cellar.
“Hurry and get those people to safety,” they heard Hunter order over their helmet comms. “The Droids are almost here.”
“We’re doing our best, Sergeant!” Kimber replied.
Then they heard Tech speak up, “We’ve got a problem. I’m clocking about three tanks incoming along with the Droids.”
“That complicates things,” said Crosshair’s voice.
“We can’t hold back all the Droids and also deal with the tanks,” said Wrecker.
Kimber pressed a finger to the side of her helmet and suggested, “We’ve almost got everyone in. Hunter, Wrecker, Tech: if you three just let the Droids into the town, Echo, Crosshair and I can handle them while you three deal with the tanks.
“We’ll still have to get through the Droids first to reach the tanks,” stated Tech.
“Kimber’s right, though,” said Hunter. “It’s the only way we can take care of both. Echo, Kimber, Crosshair: you three hold off the Droids for as long as you can. Tech, Wrecker and I will take out those tanks and then double back to give you guys a hand.”
“Get ready because here they come!” cried Wrecker.
Before long, Kimber, Echo and Crosshair, who was up on the roof of a factory building nearby, could hear the sounds of blasterfire in the distance.
Just as the last of the people were getting towards the cellar, a woman ran up to Kimber and frantically cried, “My children! I can’t find my children!”
“Calm down, ma’am. Where did you last see them?” Kimber asked her.
“I left them at home so I could run some errands, but then the Droids showed up! I think they might still be there!” the woman exclaimed, her eyes darting back and forth over her shoulder.
Taking the woman by the shoulders, Kimber questioned, “Where is your house?”
The woman pointed in the direction of her home and said, “It’s over that way, a few streets down. It’s a house with a red door. Their names are Jaron and Shana.”
“All right, I’ll go find your kids. Get to the cellars, ma’am. Now, hurry!” She gave her a light push in the direction of the cellars just as Echo was jogging her direction. “We’ve got some missing kids. I’m going to go find them. Will you be okay?” she asked him.
Drawing a blaster, Echo replied, “I will be for now, but hurry back.”
Kimber nodded to him and then said over comms, “Crosshair, give Echo some extra cover fire. I have to find some missing kids.”
“No problem,” he said back.
With that, Kimber took off in the direction the woman had shown her, keeping her eyes out for a house with a red door. She could still hear the blasterfire of the Droids near the front of the town and hoped that they weren’t giving the other Clones too much trouble. Hopefully Echo and Crosshair would be able to hold them off all right until she got back.
Soon, she spotted the house with the red door and made her way towards it. She grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she heard the sound of a tank firing.
“Incoming!” she heard Tech’s voice call out on her comm.
Then she heard the explosion not too far away. Looks like the tanks were beginning to take fire on the city. Kimber had to act fast and find the kids. To speed things along, she took out her blaster and shot the handle off of the door, shoving it open with her shoulder and barging into the house.
“Jaron! Shana!” she called out, looking around for any sign of the kids. She moved throughout the rooms on the first floor of the house, calling out for the kids, but couldn’t find them. There was a set of stairs leading to another level, so she ran up the stairs so where she could see were some bedrooms. She cried out their names again, ducking into one room.
“In here!” she heard a voice cry.
It came from the next room. Kimber burst into the room and saw two human children; a boy and a girl huddled up on the floor on the other side of a bed. They appeared to be around the ages of five and eight, with the boy being the oldest. Seeing her come into the room, they both shrinked back towards the wall underneath a window, the boy, Jaron, holding onto his shaking sister, Shana.
Kimber removed her helmet to show them her face and told them, “It’s okay, your mother sent me. You’re not safe here.”
“We heard the Droids were coming. We didn’t know what to do and Mama wasn’t here and we got scared…,” explained the boy, Jaron, almost on the verge of tears.
Coming forward and crouching down in front of them, she told them gently, “It’s all right, you two. I’m going to get you out of here. Your mother is waiting for you in the town cellars. Come with me and I’ll take you to her.”
With fear still in their eyes, the two children nodded. Kimber put her helmet back on, helped them both up and sent them towards the door just as she heard another shot being fired from a tank close by. She looked out the window and saw it was coming their direction.
“Run!” she shouted at the kids, running up to them.
Right as she shoved them out the door into the hallway, the blast from the tank burst through the far wall behind her, destroying it, and the force of the blast sent Kimber flying into the closest wall. She hit the wall hard on her back and then landed on the floor with a thud, grunting in pain from the impact. She was definitely going to feel that in the morning. As much as she hurt at that moment, she couldn’t stay there. She had to help the kids. She forced herself up and raised her eyes, seeing the kids were getting off the floor of the hallway.
“Come on, let’s go!” she called to them, rushing over, scooping up Shana into her arms and taking Jaron by the hand, pulling him along as they darted down the stairs. Kimber heard Shana’s frightened whimpering as they continued to run. “It’s going to be okay, little one. Just hold tight to me.”
Shana then put her arms tightly around Kimber’s neck, burying her face in her shoulder.
The three of them dashed out of the house and onto the street, running as fast they could. Another house just a few yards away suddenly exploded as another tank blast was fired into it, making Jaron and Shana scream.
“What is taking the boys so long with those tanks?” Kimber wondered.
As they turned onto another street, they were met by a group of Droids a few feet away from them.
“Over there! Blast them!” exclaimed one of the battle Droids.
Kimber was quick and went back until they all found cover on the other side of the building as the Droids started firing.
“Blast it!” she cursed as she set Shana down beside her brother, who took her into his arms. That street was the only way to get back to the cellars. She withdrew her blaster, came out from behind the building and started firing at the Droids. She hit a couple of them, but there were too many firing back at her for her to stay out long. She moved back for a few seconds and then resumed blasting them. They were getting closer and soon, she’d be overrun. Kimber activated her comm. “Boys, I’ve got two young kids with me, but I’m blocked off two streets away from the cellars. I could use a hand over here.”
“I’ve got your location, Kimber. Hang on,” she heard Tech respond.
“Better hurry, sunshine. I can’t provide cover fire by myself for long,” then said Crosshair.
After taking a couple more shots, she replied, “I’ll get back when I can.” A blaster shot hit the corner right by her head and she flinched. “These Droids aren’t letting up.”
She peered once again around the corner just in time to see a grenade fly over the crowd of Droids into the middle of them and then blow up, destroying most of the Droids. Once she saw a good majority of them were gone, she jumped out in the open and blasted the remaining Droids, making them all drop one by one. Through the smoke on the other side, Tech emerged, blasting two more Droids himself.
“Thanks, Tech!” Kimber called out to him.
“I’ll take the children to safety. You go help Crosshair,” Tech replied.
Nodding, Kimber turned to the children and told them, ushering them forward, “Go with him, he’ll take you to your mother. Quickly now!”
Jaron and Shana ran over to Tech and he ran off with them.
After watching them leave, she took off towards the factory where she knew Crosshair was. There was a ladder on the side of the building that she climbed up to get to the roof. A couple of Droids spotted her climbing and shot at her, their shots coming close to her. Dodging one of the shots caused her to lose her footing and she was about to fall off the ladder. However, her descent was halted as she saw Crosshair appear over the edge of the roof and catch her by the wrist. With his help, she braced herself against the rung of the ladder and shot at the Droids firing at her, taking them both out, just as Crosshair hoisted her up onto the roof.
"Glad you could make it, partner," Crosshair said sarcastically as they both got down behind the parapet of the roof.
“Just had to be fashionably late, you know?” she replied, setting her rifle at the ready and firing at the Droids below. As she shot three Droids down in a row, she then said, “I’m going to beat you this time.”
He snickered, firing another shot. “In your dreams.”
Kimber smirked under her helmet and looked back to the street. She saw Echo helping Tech give cover for the two kids as they ran across the road to the other side where the cellars were. Hunter and Wrecker, having taken down the tanks, were now further up the street fighting the Droids, Wrecker blasting them with his big gun and Hunter cutting through each Droid with his vibroblade. Then she and Crosshair were the eyes in the sky as always, continuing to provide cover for all of them from up on the factory roof where they could see everything.
“There’s one coming up on Hunter,” Crosshair warned her.
“I’ve got him,” she stated right away, readjusting her aim.
Even from the distance away she was, Kimber was able to take out the Droid, protecting Hunter. He heard it drop behind him and looked her way. She gave him a two-fingered salute, indicating it was her. He gave her a salute back before backflipping over another Droid and slashing its head as he flew over it.
Things between her and Hunter as of late had been…different. They were on better friendly terms, at least and that was wonderful, but now, he was back to staying distant from her and she couldn’t figure out why. He had been that way since they had parted ways with the Koriena Force, Kimber’s all-women squad. Had one of them said something to him before that or was it just coincidence? Though, as she had reflected on it in recent months, their time had been swamped with missions. Things with the war were really picking up and they were needed on a more constant basis right now. It could be that Hunter didn’t want to really get into anything knowing they just might not have the time, but even still, what little time they did have, whether it was flying through hyperspace to a different planet or between missions, he just wasn’t speaking to her as much. They would talk, but their conversations would be short before he would get awkward and looked like he wanted to say more before relenting or walking away. There was something on his mind, she could feel it…she just couldn’t figure out what it could be exactly. However, she was determined to get it out of him eventually.
The Bad Batch kept fighting off the Droids coming into the town as one cohesive unit; one team. It felt as though they could do anything as long as they were all together. They all had each other’s backs and they individually fought in the way they knew best, knowing they had each other to rely on and that’s what made them successful.
Before long, the last of the Droids were taken down and the town was now safe. Wrecker, Echo and Tech started cleaning up all the Droid wreckage while Hunter went to the cellars to let out the townspeople. Kimber and Crosshair made their way down from the roof to join up with him. The people thanked them for saving their town, though Hunter did have to apologize for the few buildings that had been partially destroyed by the tank blasts. The people simply insisted that they would rebuild. Soon, the woman and the two children Kimber had rescued emerged from the cellar and they approached her.
“Thank you, miss, for rescuing my children,” she said with grateful tears.
“It was no problem, ma’am,” Kimber replied. Then she looked down at the two kids, crouched down in front of them, removed her helmet again and said with a warm smile, “You two were very brave today. Be proud of that. Take care of each other and your mom, okay?”
Jaron and Shana both nodded at her.
She stood back up, bowed her head to the mother and then the three of them walked away, making their way home.
Hunter came up beside her, sheathed his knife, took off his helmet, as well, and said to her, “Well done, Kimber.”
“Well done, indeed,” added Crosshair.
“Thanks, guys,” she said back. “Just doing what I do best: looking out for other people.”
“You do it well,” Hunter said, a soft look on his face.
The sweet look in his eyes made Kimber’s heart swell and she felt a warmth in her chest. She adored that look. There was no denying that her love for Hunter was still strong, even though currently, they were no longer together. Whatever happened next with them was all up to him now. She was determined to wait for him for as long as it took for him to come around or, if he decided against giving their relationship another try, then she would never be with another man again. There was no one else she’d want to be with; no one she would want to give her heart to.
Although…there was Jesse.
She had inadvertently fallen for the ARC Trooper during her time away from the Bad Batch and at one point had thought that she could potentially see herself being happy with him…though perhaps in another universe where she had never met Hunter. Unfortunately, Jesse would only ever remind her of Hunter; her loyalty and love would always remain with the Sergeant and that wouldn’t be fair to Jesse. Knowing that, she kept her true feelings hidden from him for his own good and figured it was best for both of them to move on from each other.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Kimber started walking down the street, with Hunter and Crosshair following after her, to meet up with the other three Clones.
"Nothing like busting up some clankers! That never gets old," exclaimed Wrecker.
"Good thing or else you would've gotten tired of it long ago," Kimber said back, dusting off some debris from her shoulder.
"That would require him to get tired ever," Echo commented.
Crosshair then asked Kimber, "All right, how many did you get this time?"
"Eighteen," she answered.
He was silent for a moment.
"How many did you have?" she asked back, curious about his silence.
There was a sigh from him. "Sixteen."
She dropped her jaw in shock. "Are you serious? Did I actually beat you?"
"Looks like you did," said Hunter.
Kimber couldn't help but cheer and pump her fist in the air, joyful at her triumph. For the first time, she'd beaten Crosshair in their game of taking out Droids.
Crosshair gave her small, playful shove in response before saying, "It looks like I have nothing more to teach you, sunshine."
"You've been a great teacher, but you're not getting rid of me as a partner anytime soon," she said with a wink.
"How touching," he said.
“We’re the eyes in the sky, Crosshair. I’m not about to give that up. Not ever,” she declared proudly.
He shoved her arm again and droned out, “You’re getting sappy, knock it off.”
She enjoyed teasing the grumpy sniper she loved like a brother, so she responded by nudging him back with her shoulder and saying with a grin, “Oh you love it and you know it.”
Crosshair simply looked away and avoided the subject by putting a toothpick between his teeth.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for a break,” stated Wrecker, rubbing the back of his neck and shifting his head from side to side.
“Commander Cody did say this would most likely be our last mission for a little while,” said Tech.
“We should count ourselves lucky that we get breaks at all,” Kimber said in reply. “I don’t think Cody, Rex, their squads or really any of the regs ever get any downtime.”
Echo nodded in agreement. “That is a fair point,” he said.
They then reached the Marauder and let down the ramp so they could all get inside. Wrecker was the first one to enter the ship and called out in a singsong voice, “Oh, Gonky!” which meant he was going to do some lifting for a bit.
Gonky, the gonk Droid of the ship, made his standard gonk sound that almost sounded like he was saying “Oh no!”
Though, as they all filed in, their control system started beeping, signaling an incoming transmission. Tech went up to the console, activated the transmission and a hologram of Commander Cody appeared before them. They all straightened up ever so slightly at seeing the Marshal Commander..
“Hey boys. I’m sure my face is the last one you want to see right now,” he told them, “but I have to make this quick. I have one more mission for you. There’s been an attack on the Capital and we’re redirecting a lot of our forces back to Coruscant. Reinforcements were supposed to be heading to a system close to your location and I need you guys to go and help.”
“Which system?” inquired Hunter.
Cody replied, “The Kaller system. Jedi General Depa Billaba, her Padawan and Captain Grey are dealing with a Separatist occupation on the planet, but their forces are getting pushed back. They need aid as soon as possible. Think your squad can handle it?”
“I assume that’s a rhetorical question,” replied Tech with confidence.
Cody smirked. "I knew I could count on you boys. I'll send you the coordinates for the rendezvous point. The Padawan will meet you. Hopefully, this will be your last mission for a good while...if not entirely."
The last three words he spoke puzzled the Bad Batch and they all looked at each other curiously.
"Entirely? What do you mean?" Kimber asked.
The Commander spoke confidently, "There are a lot of pieces at play right now and the tide of the war seems to be shifting in our favor. If things continue this way...then it looks like the war might end sooner than we think."
Kimber's jaw fell slightly at his response. The war...was almost over? The thought had been so far from her mind that it was almost impossible for her to fathom the chance of it now being real. Then judging by the looks on the other Clones' faces, as well, it seemed they had similar thoughts.
Then Cody ordered in conclusion, "Get to Kaller, assist General Billaba and report back to me as soon as you can. I'm counting on you."
"Understood, sir," replied Hunter with a nod.
After that, the transmission ended and Commander Cody disappeared.
Kimber was the first to speak, "Do you believe what Cody said about the war possibly ending soon? Could it really be true?"
"It's almost hard to believe. It's felt as though this war would never end," said Echo, a far-off look of astonishment in his own eyes.
She understood how her best friend had to be feeling. After all of the things he'd suffered in the war, he had every right to wish it would end. He'd gone through enough and yet continued to fight because he was a true and loyal soldier. If anyone deserved respite after the war, it was definitely him.
"Don't get your hopes up just yet," said Crosshair in reply to the both of them. "We need to finish the mission first."
Tech was already in the pilot's seat putting in the coordinates for Kaller when Hunter came up and asked him, "Will it take long for us to get to Kaller?"
"Not at all. Once we make the jump, we should be there in no time," Tech answered him.
"Good, then let's go," said Hunter.
With the Sergeant's go-ahead, Tech powered up the ship, took them up into space and then made the jump into hyperspace, on their way to Kaller.
Before long, they made it to the snowy forest planet of Kaller. However, as they flew towards the location Cody had sent them, they saw a younger male Jedi being cornered by a group of battle Droids.
"Looks like we found the little Jedi," Wrecker pointed out.
"Get us down low, Tech, so we can help," Hunter ordered.
Tech steered the ship down towards where they could see the skirmish while Hunter lowered the ramp and the rest of the squad made ready to jump from the ship. At his call, they each leapt from the Marauder down to the snowy ground. With weapons drawn, they fired at the battle Droids, catching the Jedi Padawan by surprise.
"Who are you guys?" the boy asked as he continued deflecting blaster shots.
"We're your reinforcements, kid," Hunter told him, coming up beside him.
"Just six of you? Aren't there supposed to be more?" the Padawan questioned.
Hearing that, Kimber replied, "Plans have changed, but you don't need more. We can handle this."
The boy was startled for a brief second before taking out a couple more Droids. "You're a girl? I thought Clones were all men?" he inquired, looking her way.
As she kept firing her blasters, she told him quickly, "Not a Clone. Long story. Focus!"
Wrecker was going around just smashing Droids with his fists while Echo blasted them and, on occasion, used his scomp arm and stabbed them with it. A minute later, Tech had landed the ship and joined back up with the squad, using his own electric stun grenades on the Droids and taking them out of commission. Before long, they were all dealt with and the area was covered in disassembled, smoking Droid remains.
Deactivating his lightsaber, the Padawan looked around, wide-eyed in awe of what he'd just witnessed. "Whoa...! You guys are amazing!" he cried.
"Not the first time we've heard that," stated Tech, walking over to them along with the others.
"I guess maybe we won't need more Clones. You guys are pretty good on your own," said the boy.
Wrecker laughed boisterously. "That's why they sent us!" he cried.
"What's your name?" Echo asked the Padawan.
With a grin, the boy answered, "My name is Caleb. I was sent to meet you and bring you to my master."
After introducing everyone else to Caleb, Hunter went on to ask, "What's the situation?"
Caleb pointed off in the distance to his right. "They're just down the hill that way." Then he pointed to the left. "The Droids are coming from that way. A big group of them along with some tanks. We were getting hit pretty hard."
Hunter got a cocky grin on his face and looked around to the others. "We know exactly what to do," he declared.
"Oh yeah!" Wrecker exclaimed.
Resting one of her blasters on her shoulder, Kimber smirked back at Hunter and asked in reply, "What are we waiting for?"
Hunter looked to Caleb and said, "Head back to your master, kid. Leave the rest to us." After the kid dashed off, he looked around to the others and stated, "All right, Bad Batch. It's go time. We've got one more mission. Let's give it all we got."