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The job went as smoothly as ever. They had gotten into the Separatist listening post, got any information it had gathered, and blew it up in the best explosion Wrecker had seen in a month. It almost brought a tear to his eye. Now, they were getting the hell out of there through the final waves of remaining droids. He saw Hunter and Tech beside him, blasting, slashing and smashing their way through the rain.
He laughed as he barrelled through three more droids, “Almost done here, Cross. I’m at 52.”
“58.” Wrecker looked up to where he knew Crosshair covered them on the ridge in disbelief.
“What? No way, I blew up the post and everything!”
He heard Crosshair chuckle over the com, “Better step up your game then, Wrecker. You’ll never top me at this rate.”
Wrecker charged through another small group of droids in response, hearing Crosshair continue to laugh at his frustration as he followed Tech and Hunter who had begun to get ahead of him.
He nearly slipped in the mud as he ducked away from a blaster shot, but quickly regained his footing and kept running. Soon, he was with his brothers on the ridge, Crosshair having gotten up to greet them as they stood there panting.
“Maybe next time Wrecker, though I wouldn’t count on it.” He said as he slung his Firepuncher over his shoulder.
Wrecker shoved him in response, laughing as his brother almost slipped in the mud, quickly grabbing Wrecker’s arm to steady himself before glaring up at him.
Hunter spoke up before they could get into a full brawl, “We need to head back to the ship quickly, I don’t like how unstable it feels out here.”
“Indeed, the rain is making the land in this whole area unstable. We can only hope that the ship is still there when we get there and that the hill it sits on hasn’t collapsed.” Tech jumped in, “While I would suggest waiting the weather out, it does not appear to be stopping any time soon. That and there does not seem to be anywhere safe to find shelter now that the only structure in the area is no longer there.”
Hunter nodded, “I’ll take point, Crosshair, keep an eye out for any shelter. I doubt we’ll need it, but just in case.”
Crosshair nodded and they set off towards the Marauder. It was a longer journey back than it was to the listening post thanks to the weather. They all nearly slipped multiple times on the journey, catching each other to avoid falling into the thick mud, which suctioned to their boots with every step.
Wrecker watched his brothers from the rear, ready to catch any of them if they started to slide down a hill or got stuck.
They were almost to the Marauder, Wrecker could see the hill it sat on, when Hunter stopped, looking at the ground then up at the hill they were walking along. There was no way to avoid them, the whole place was hills and valleys, and they were probably better off on the hills than in the valleys that were flash flooding.
Hunter turned back to his brothers quickly and shouted, “Mudslide! Get moving!” before he took off.
Wrecker followed his brothers closely, seeing the mudslide himself as it rolled rapidly down the hill towards them. He heard a yelp and saw Tech fall to the ground, feet sliding out from under him. Crosshair paused and moved back to help as Tech struggled to stand. Wrecker pushed him forward when he reached them, easily pulling Tech up and tugging him along as he got his feet under him again.
Wrecker heard Hunter cry out as he too fell. He hurried along to help him when he felt his own feet swept out from under him by a sudden rush of mud. He realised the mudslide had caught up to them as he was swept down the hill, seeing flashes of dark armour as the same thing happened to his brothers.
He felt rocks and branches slam into him, scratching up his armour. He was grateful he had his helmet on as his head submerged at some point. It didn’t help him breathe but it did keep mud and water out of his mouth and eyes.
After an eternity of nothing but mud, he felt himself slow to a stop.
His chest was beginning to hurt from a lack of air, and he knew he had to move. He didn’t feel like dying to some mud and he had to make sure his brothers were okay. He could handle being knocked around like that, his brothers, while tough in their own rights, couldn’t say the same.
He tried moving his limbs, the mud around his left arm and leg feeling easiest to move through, so he began digging in that direction, clawing at the mud and using anything solid he felt around to push himself up. His lungs were burning when he felt his hand finally break the surface. He probably wasn’t that deep, but the mud was thick and slippery, making his attempts at movement slow and clumsy.
Soon, his head breached the surface and he sucked in lungfuls of air, coughing as his lungs remained somewhat constricted by the mud around him. He saw the top of a large rock sticking out of the mud nearby and used it to pull himself the rest of the way out.
Wrecker sat there for a moment, catching his breath before he began quick scan of the area. He still panted for breath and his armour felt heavier with the mud and debris stuck in it, but he ignored it. He had to find his brothers.
He scanned the area until he saw a flash of red in the mud near the disappearing hole he had left when he pulled himself free. He let himself think for a second before jumping into the mud to his brother. He wiped away the mud to reveal Crosshair’s red pauldron poking up like a beacon. He quickly dug around his brother, revealing his head and upper body. He paused his digging to put his fingers under Crosshair’s helmet to feel for a pulse. He felt relief wash over him when he felt one beating strong.
“Cross! Hey, Cross!” He called as he continued to dig, hearing his little brother groan as he began to shift. He kept digging as Crosshair came back to himself. He reached down, hooked his hands under his arms and began to pull him out when he suddenly cried out in pain.
Wrecker stilled, keeping his hands under his arms as he caught his breath.
“My leg,” Crosshair breathed, “Something’s wrong with my leg.”
Wrecker looked down to check it out, but his legs were still mostly buried. If one was hurt, the mud would be pulling on it as he tried to pull him out.
“Sorry Cross, but I’ve got to get ya out of here. I’ll be quick, promise.”
Crosshair nodded.
Wrecker braced again for a moment before pulling once again. This time he didn’t stop when Crosshair cried out. Soon, his legs were free, and Wrecker dragged him carefully over to the rock, sitting him down with his leg outstretched. It was hard to tell what was wrong with his armour and all the mud in the way.
Wrecker went back to scanning for any sign of his remaining brothers as Crosshair settled.
He turned around when he heard fiddling to see Crosshair messing with his Firepuncher, attaching the cable attachment to it and pulling lengths of cable free. He looked around as he worked, keeping his eyes on the surrounding mud as his hands worked deftly.
He motioned for Wrecker to come over. He held out one end of the cable to Wrecker, who took it, confused.
Crosshair sighed and shook his head, “Tie that to yourself, di’kut. You shouldn’t be walking in this without an anchor, you’ll just get stuck or swept away again.”
Wrecker tied the cable to his belt, letting Crosshair fuss over it to make sure it was secure. He fidgeted as he stood there, looking out into the mud, he had to find Tech and Hunter. They had to be okay.
He gasped as he spotted a glimpse of white. It was a little further up the hill, the rain must have washed enough mud off for it to show. He pointed it out to Crosshair, who nodded and held the Firepuncher tightly as he let Wrecker take off.
He had to move carefully to make it up the hill, almost slipping several times, fresh mud caking his arms and chest.
Tech wasn’t too buried when Wrecker got to him. He was able to quickly dig his big brother free. He turned Tech over and felt his stomach flip with worry when as he realised his brother’s situation.
He was unconscious, but unlike Crosshair, showed no signs of waking. His goggles kept most of the mud out of his eyes, but they themselves were caked in it, the mud getting stuck in the gap in his helmet. Wrecker worried that some had gotten into the bottom of his helmet too, reaching to feel for a pulse as well as for any breaches.
He frowned when he realised Tech’s helmet had been knocked loose, the mud hiding the fact that the lower half of his face was vulnerable. His pulse was light and thready, and when Wrecker leaned close, he could hear that his shallow breaths wheezed a little as he struggled to breathe around the mud he had probably inhaled.
He carefully lifted Tech into his arms and made his way carefully down the hill. When he got to the rock he had left Crosshair on, he lay Tech down and pulled his helmet off. Crosshair took it from him and tucked it away as Wrecker checked Tech over.
His entire lower face was covered in mud. He opened his mouth and found it full of mud, gently scooping out what he could. Tech began to cough as he worked, and he gently rolled him onto the side and began pounding his back to help get the mud out of his lungs.
He eventually settled, going limp again.
“Give him here,” Crosshair said, “I saw Hunter down that way further. I can watch Tech.”
Wrecker looked to where Crosshair pointed, only seeing a half-fallen tree in that direction, but he trusted his brother implicitly. He gently lifted Tech and leaned him against Crosshair’s chest, keeping out of the way of his bad leg. Crosshair held Tech in place with one hand, holding their older brother upright so he could breathe, his other hand resting on the rifle still attached to Wrecker.
Wrecker gave Crosshair a nod, which he reciprocated, before heading down the hill.
He rushed this journey a little, hearing Crosshair swear behind him and feeling a tug at his belt as he slipped and slid a few meters before catching himself. He shouted an apology over his shoulder as he made it to the tree.
It leaned at almost 45 degrees, mud piled around one side from the mudslide. He found Hunter panting on the other side of it, spotting a nearby hole in the mud that was steadily refilling itself as the mud shifted. His oldest brother’s helmet was missing, mud and rain plastering his long hair to his face. He held his left arm to his heaving chest and Wrecker could see a watery trail of blood on his temple.
He carefully got into his line of sight, mirroring Hunter’s wince as his head shot up to look at him. His eyes were wide and a little hazy, but he focused on Wrecker quickly enough and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Wrecker, are you okay? Where are the others?”
Wrecker smiled gently before realising he still had his helmet on, smiling anyway. “They’re battered but okay. It’ll take more than a little mud to keep us down.”
Hunter gave a small smile of his own, his eyes closing briefly before opening again when he felt Wrecker’s hand on his shoulder.
“C’mon, Sarge, we gotta get back to em then figure out how to get back to the ship.”
Hunter nodded and let Wrecker help him up, leading him back up the hill to the rock with the rest of his brothers.
His breath caught a little at the sight of Tech still unmoving in Crosshair’s arms. Wrecker worried too at the lack of improvement. At least they were all still breathing.
With them all there, they began to discuss how to get to the ship. It was in sight, just another couple of hills away. In the end, they settled on Wrecker carrying Tech while Crosshair and Hunter supported each other. They all tied some cable to their belts, keeping them connected in case one of them fell.
Soon, they were moving once again through the mud and rain.
It took almost twice as long to travel that short distance than it had the first time, but soon they were safe in the Marauder, which had miraculously not slid down the hill they had left it on.
Wrecker gently placed Tech on a bunk as Hunter helped Crosshair settle onto the opposite one. He then hurried to the cockpit while Hunter looked after them.
As soon as he had them in hyperspace on autopilot to the nearest medcentre, he left his helmet on the copilot’s seat and headed back to the bunks. Hunter had propped Tech up with pillows, an oxygen mask over his face, which had been wiped clean of much of the mud covering it. He was working at removing Tech’s armour to check for injuries. Crosshair sat watching from his bunk, his scowl visible now that he had removed his helmet.
Crosshair glared at Wrecker as he sat next to the bunk and started removing Crosshair’s armour. He had clearly told Hunter to focus on Tech, but someone needed to check his leg. He took no offence to his brother’s ire, he knew he was just worried.
He hissed and swore as Wrecker tried to remove the armour from his injured leg. He gasped and called Hunter over when he found a piece of a tree branch sticking out of his calf.
Hunter came over, brow furrowed with worry as he saw the damage.
“Kriff, Crosshair.”
He scowled, “How was I supposed to know? All I knew was that my leg hurt and we needed to move.”
Hunter sighed, “I know Cross. Wrecker, Tech should be fine for now, let’s get this cleaned up.”
Crosshair hissed and growled as they cleaned his leg, Wrecker holding him down as Hunter pulled the piece out, then cleaned out the wound and checked to make sure nothing was left inside as well as he could with one hand. It was definitely infected already, he could see how red and angry the skin around it was. Crosshair was pale and shaking by the time Hunter finished applying a bacta patch and wrapping his leg.
Wrecker helped his brother out of the rest of his armour and into some fresh blacks as Hunter returned to Tech to do the same. He let Crosshair drift off when he finished, he was clearly exhausted, they all were, and he needed rest to fight the infection that was sure to be ravaging him soon enough.
He approached Hunter, helping him get Tech into fresh blacks. He let his brother sit for a moment before coaxing him to face him, letting him get at the blood on his temple.
Hunter winced as Wrecker’s prodding found the wound. It wasn’t too big, but he thoroughly cleaned it out, noting that it was red around the edges with infection too. He gently applied a bacta patch, then held out a hand.
Hunter sighed and begrudgingly placed his arm in Wrecker’s hand, wincing as he moved it. Wrecker grimaced at the swelling, a line of bruising down one side. They deduced that it was sprained and badly bruised. It looked like it had been slammed into the tree, Hunter was lucky it wasn’t broken.
He got Hunter to go use the fresher to shower and change, watching over their resting brothers until he returned, swapping places.
Wrecker yawned and stretched as he emerged from the fresher, feeling much better and lighter now that he was clean. Tech would hate to see what they put the poor drain through after just the two of them.
He saw Hunter slumped in his seat by Tech’s bedside, head resting on his good arm on the bunk.
Wrecker thought for just a moment before he pulled the mattress down off one of the top bunks and set to work making a little nest on the ground, covering the mattress with pillows and blankets. He then gently moved Hunter, knowing he was a light sleeper, but the exhaustion kept him undisturbed as Wrecker maneuvered him into the nest before settling in beside him. It was a tight squeeze with just the one mattress, but Hunter quickly tucked himself into Wrecker’s chest, lying half on top of him. Wrecker held him like he was Lula as he finally let himself rest.