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“We can’t shake them!” Tech called from the pilot’s seat in the cockpit as the Havoc Marauder spun and weaved evasively, jostling everyone inside.
“Wrecker, take them out any day now!” Echo called from the copilot’s seat.
“I’m trying!” he called back from the gunner’s mount, firing into the group of pirate ships on their tail. They hadn’t taken kindly to the Bad Batch apparently stealing their job.
Omega braced herself against her seat as the ship shook. She saw Hunter do the same beside her.
“We’re hit! The ship can’t take much more!” Echo called out, “We need to land!”
“I am searching for somewhere suitable.”
“Well, search faster before the ship is scrap!” hissed Crosshair from his own seat.
The ship swung to the side as a pirate ship came close before exploding as Wrecker blasted it.
“The hyperdrive is damaged but we may be able to make a small jump. We will need to, to have the best chance of getting away.” The panel in front of Tech beeped. “I have located a system nearby we can go to.”
“Well, let’s go then!”
“I require assistance first. Crosshair, you’re closest, I need you to get to the hyperdrive and do exactly as I say, we only have one shot at this.”
Crosshair barely grumbled as he got up, his face set in determination and concern. He staggered as the ship swerved and shook again.
“Everyone, buckle in!” Echo called as Tech shouted instructions to Crosshair, “This is going to be a rough one!”
Omega saw Hunter look over to her, making sure she was secure. Omega checked herself over then nodded to him. Hunter seemed satisfied, though the worry never left his face.
They heard Wrecker shout from the gunner’s mount as he hit another ship.
The Marauder shuddered as Tech called out, “Hold on!”
The ship shot into hyperspace, shaking violently as blue streaks engulfed it. Omega heard a thud and a hissed curse as Crosshair lost his balance. She looked back worriedly but couldn’t see him over the seats.
As quickly as they entered, the ship shot out of hyperspace, a planet right in front of them. They were approaching fast, the ship’s computer blaring warnings and the ship itself shaking and shuddering as they entered the atmosphere. Tech and Echo did their best, but the landing still rocked Omega, her head whipping forwards and her hands flailing as she lost her grip on her harness.
The ship screeched and groaned as it slid along the ground before shuddering to a stop.
No one made a sound apart from panting breaths as the ship settled. Omega took a moment before looking up to see out the windshield. All she could see outside the ship was red foliage, some trees having helped stop the ship which now rested against them.
Omega heard a groan and looked over to see Hunter shaking his head and blinking.
“You okay, Hunter?”
He blinked over at her for a moment before nodding, “Yeah, I’m fine. You okay, Megs?”
“I’m fine.” Omega replied as she began to remove her harness. It got caught once but she managed to wrestle it off. Once she stood, she moved over to Hunter and looked him over, seeing no blood. He just seemed shaken and a little dazed.
Deeming Hunter okay, she looked over to the pilots’ seats. She hadn’t heard anything from her other brothers, and it was starting to worry her.
She made her way over to them, careful not to trip on anything. She reached Echo first and saw him slumped in his seat, slowly blinking awake. There was a small gash on his head from where it must have hit the control panel, but he seemed otherwise okay. That was until her assessment reached his legs. Part of the control panel had caved in, pinning one of his legs, and likely damaging it. She felt her brow crease with worry, they would need Wrecker to help get that off him. Hopefully he was okay and didn’t get too jostled in the gunner’s mount.
Echo winced as he blinked up at her, “You okay, Omega?” he mumbled.
“I’m fine, Echo, but you shouldn’t move until we get Wrecker down here. Your leg is pinned and I don’t want to damage it too much.”
Echo swore as he looked down at his leg, but nodded.
Omega moved on to Tech, who hadn’t moved yet. He lay with his head on the control panel, a larger gash than Echo’s bleeding onto it. She looked him over quickly before moving to sit him up. He gasped awake at the movement, crying out with pain. Omega quickly stopped and looked him over more closely.
She gasped as she realised his hand was pinned under him against the control panel. Some of his fingers were clearly bent the wrong way and she hated to think about the state of his wrist. She apologised and searched for the first aid kit they kept in the cockpit as he woke up a little more.
She opened it beside her and pulled out a sling. It would have to do until someone could help splint his arm. He would need to see a medic as soon as possible so nothing healed wrong. She apologised again as she helped him sit up. He bit back a cry as she moved his arm into the sling and tied it around his neck. At least it was stabilised somewhat.
She looked up from where she was putting a bacta patch on his head wound when she heard Wrecker cry out in the back of the ship. Hunter was trying to free himself from his seat as she rushed past him, having to use his vibroblade to cut himself free.
Omega gasped when she saw what awaited her in the back.
Wrecker crouched over Crosshair, who lay unmoving on the ground against the wall, where he had clearly been thrown when the ship crashed. Wrecker was bleeding from the back of his head and he seemed to be avoiding using his left hand, holding it close to himself as his other hand rolled Crosshair carefully over.
She ran in and knelt beside him, quickly checking Crosshair’s breathing and pulse. She sighed in relief as she felt a shallow breath on her hand, though his pulse felt a little weak. He was bleeding profusely from a large gash over his eye, his right shoulder was dislocated, and she frowned worriedly as she felt that a few of his ribs were broken. Without a medscanner, she couldn’t tell if there was any more internal damage, they would just have to be careful. His neck didn’t seem to be broken, and from what she could tell his spine was fine, though it was hard to tell with him still unconscious.
Hunter had come in at some point, leaning heavily against the wall. Omega looked up at him and Wrecker, “You guys need to help Echo, he’s trapped in his seat. Then look for supplies and a safe way out, I’ve got Crosshair.”
Wrecker stood up and headed towards the cockpit, stumbling a little. Hunter frowned at her, “Are you sure?”
She nodded, “I’ll need help in a bit, but I can look after him for now until we’re ready to move him. Try to find something to move him on, we’ll need to carry him and I don’t want him jostled too much.”
Hunter nodded, and though he still seemed reluctant to leave his two youngest vode, turned to join Wrecker where he was talking to Echo. She trusted them to work it out as she focused back on Crosshair.
His breathing remained shallow and he still hadn’t stirred. She reached into the medkit and got out a bacta patch and bandages for his head. It would need stitches, but right now she just needed him well enough to move.
She pulled out a sling for his arm and checked over his ribs properly. She felt two broken on the left and four on the right. She winced as she felt them shift under her assessment. There was no way he would be moving on his own any time soon, and who knew if those pirates were still after them. She carefully wrapped his ribs and stabilised his arm as well as she could on her own.
She was just finishing up when she heard footsteps approach. She looked up to see Hunter, his worried frown ever present with his vode hurt. It deepened as he looked over Crosshair, before looking back to her.
“We can get out the main stairs, but there’s a bit of a drop, the ship is really leaning against those trees. Everyone got out and we have a makeshift stretcher ready. Is he ready to move?”
She nodded and moved away. She felt tears threatening to make an appearance as she watched Hunter gently pick Crosshair up. Crosshair’s brow furrowed slightly in pain, but he otherwise remained still. She picked up the medkit and followed Hunter out of the ship. She watched him carefully crouch down to hand Crosshair over to Wrecker before he helped her jump down, following closely behind.
She noticed Tech and Echo standing together talking. Tech had a bag slung over his shoulder and Echo leaned against a tree. His leg was clearly damaged but it was hard to tell with Omega’s untrained eye how badly. Wrecker settled Crosshair onto the makeshift stretcher they had made out of branches and some blankets pulled taut between them.
Hunter got the group’s attention, “We need to move, it looks like it’ll be getting dark soon and I doubt those pirates are willing to let this go that easily.”
“Indeed, there appears to be approximately two hours left until nightfall. Before we crashed, the ship’s scanners did say that this planet is inhabited and has minimal Imperial presence, so we should be able to find help, though I fear that will not happen today.” Tech spoke up.
Hunter nodded, “That’s fine, as long as we can find somewhere safe for tonight, get our bearings and put ourselves together as much possible. Then we can focus on finding help.”
Everyone nodded and Hunter began to lead the way away from the ship, taking the front of the stretcher while Wrecker took the back, stifling a wince. Omega stayed close behind him, medkit hefted over her shoulder. Tech and Echo took up the rear. It seemed like, while it was damaged, they had managed to lock Echo’s leg in place so he was able to walk, albeit awkwardly without his knee bending. The silence of the walk was broken only by Echo and Tech’s quiet conversation.
The planet they landed on appeared to be mostly grassland with large stretches of open fields occasionally broken by groups of the tall red trees that had caught the Marauder. The sun was low to the horizon when Hunter finally found a cave big enough to take shelter in. They waited outside for him to check it out before he deemed it safe and let them settle in.
Omega only allowed herself a moment of respite before she made sure Hunter was helping Tech splint his hand as she put a bacta patch on Echo’s head. Wrecker settled Crosshair down gently, then left in search of firewood and anything else of use. Omega worried about his hand, he was still refusing to use it much, but she would check him over later. If he resisted, she would sic Tech on him.
When Hunter was done helping Tech, she helped him check Crosshair over once again. Without a medscanner, they had to be thorough.
Although he still hadn’t woken up, Crosshair groaned and frowned as they touched and moved him. He seemed to be somewhat more aware, and it was progress, however little. Tech came to the same conclusions she had, including being worried about internal damage and a concussion. Even though he seemed to be getting there, they still couldn’t wake him up, so they let him lie there, moving him to be comfortable and keeping an eye on him.
By the time they finished, Wrecker had returned and Hunter had pulled out rations for everyone. They started a small fire as cold came with the dark, and ate quietly around it. Tech checked Wrecker over and determined that his wrist was sprained. Omega helped him wrap it firmly and he told him to let it rest as much as possible. Tech also checked her over and determined that she got away with a case of whiplash and was otherwise unharmed.
They organised watches and soon they each found a spot and got comfortable. Omega tucked herself beside Wrecker and closed her eyes.
When she woke up, it was still dark and she felt Wrecker snoring behind her. She looked towards the mouth of the cave and saw no one there on watch. She felt panic surge until she heard shuffling and looked above her to see Hunter laying Crosshair back down, a canteen sat beside them.
She watched Hunter head to the mouth of the cave and settle down to continue his watch, frowning as he wobbled a little on his feet. She quietly got up to join him.
“Did he drink anything?” she asked as she sat.
Hunter’s gaze continued to scan their surroundings, “Yeah, a little. He’ll be okay.” She wasn’t sure if he was telling her or himself the last part.
He looked over at her once he had finished his initial sweep, “Couldn’t sleep?”
She shook her head, “I slept a little, just woke up now.” Even though he likely already knew that. “You okay, Hunter?” She asked when he closed his eyes and rubbed his eye and temple.
“Doing better than the others. We’ll all be fine once we get out of here.”
Omega decided to ignore his nonanswer for now as he held out an arm and she tucked herself in beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her arm as he looked back out into the darkness.
They sat like that for a while before they heard a pained groan followed by painful sounding coughing. They both shot up and looked over to see Crosshair moving, writhing on the ground as the coughs shook him.
Hunter rushed over and gently pulled him upright to help him breathe. He coughed a few more times before groaning and sagging into him. Hunter shuffled to position himself behind Crosshair, leaning him back against his chest to keep him upright and motioning for Omega to come over.
Omega grabbed and medkit and crouched in front of them as Crosshair blinked blearily as the coughs slowed down. His eyes looked unfocused, and the light of the dying fire showed that one pupil was blown. He didn’t seem to register her approach, just leaned into Hunter as he blinked at the ground.
She waved her hand to try to get his attention and called out softly, “Crosshair.” It took a minute before he slowly lifted his head and blinked towards her, grimacing in pain. His eyes remained unfocused, and he didn’t seem to recognise her. She still smiled softly when he eventually focused on her, “Hey, vod’ika.”
Hunter frowned from behind him at his lack of response to Omega calling him that. Despite being older than them, she rarely called them that, although they never seemed to mind when she did. Crosshair always scowled light-heartedly before sniping back with something.
His lack of response now was concerning but sadly not surprising.
His gaze drifted from her, his eyes drooping. He shifted against Hunter and seemed to try to take a deeper breath, but his breath hitched and another coughing fit started. Hunter held him up and murmured reassurances to him until it stopped.
Crosshair mumbled something unintelligible as he sagged once again. Omega tried to get his attention again, but his eyes slid shut. She sighed in disappointment before she looked him over, checking his bandages and changing the ones on his head, glad to see the bleeding slowed, and replaced the bacta patch with a fresh one. She went to tell Hunter to lay him back down when something caught her eye. She frowned and looked closer to Crosshair’s mouth where she saw a glint of red on his lips.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked when he saw her expression.
“He’s bleeding, I think a rib must have pierced his lung from the moving and coughing.”
Hunter swore and shifted to rest Crosshair against a rock so he was still sitting up, shuffling around to see for himself. He looked over to Tech, seeming reluctant to wake him up but wanting him to help their youngest brother.
Omega put a hand on his arm, “Let him sleep, there’s not much more he could do anyway. We’ll just have to keep a closer eye on him to make sure it doesn’t get worse.”
Hunter looked back at Crosshair, then Tech, then back at her and nodded. He left her sitting by Crosshair as he returned to the cave mouth. She settled down to watch her brother, knowing there was no way she was getting back to sleep now.
There were no more complications during the night. Tech checked Crosshair over himself when he woke up, and as Omega predicted, there was little more he could do without proper equipment.
They quickly ate, drank and changed bandages. They then checked over the supplies they had gotten from the Marauder. They had the medkit, Hunter, Echo and Tech had their blasters, Hunter had his vibroblade, they had their armour, banged up as it was, and enough food and water for two more days.
Hunter left the cave to try to figure out which way to go, trying to get a feel for any electromagnetic disturbances nearby. He came back shortly with a direction. He suspected it was about a day away at the rate they were travelling. They quickly packed up their gear and headed out.
Omega watched Hunter closely as they travelled, seeing him hide a wince whenever they left the shade. He brought a hand to his head every now and then, and slyly caught himself on a tree whenever he staggered slightly.
After a few hours of travel, Hunter stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Wrecker asked.
Hunter looked up into the sky, then quickly scanned the area, “There’s a ship coming. Quickly, to the trees.” He pointed to the closest copse of trees and they all began the rush for cover.
Crosshair groaned as he was jostled even more as they picked up the pace. They reached the trees just as a ship whooshed overhead. It looked like one of the pirate ships. How had they found them so quickly?
They stayed still as the ship continued past them. As it disappeared from sight, Hunter growled with worry.
“That’s the direction of the ship, they’ll be on us any minute.”
“How long have we still got to go?” Echo asked from where he was leaning against a tree.
“About three hours.”
Echo pushed himself off the tree, “Better keep moving then. If they’re going to catch us either way, might as well get somewhere better strategically.”
Hunter nodded and they kept moving, a little faster than before, though not enough to exhaust themselves.
A while later, Hunter began looking behind them regularly. Omega knew he could hear them coming.
Soon they reached a larger wooded area, the trees thicker and taller than any Omega had ever seen. Wrecker could stand behind one and be completely covered.
Hunter was looking around when Echo cried out and ducked as a blaster shot flew past him. Tech caught him before he could fall as he lost his balance, then pulled the pair of them behind a tree. Omega helped Wrecker pull Crosshair behind another, leaning the stretcher against it, propping him up and keeping him fully covered. She looked across from them and saw Hunter behind his own tree, blaster out.
She watched as he peeked out and fired back at the pirates. She heard Tech and Echo do the same as the pirates shouted and called to each other. There only seemed to be two of them, a scouting party probably, the rest of them couldn’t be far behind.
She saw Hunter duck back as bark exploded from his tree as a blaster bolt hit it.
She heard a pirate scream in pain, before Hunter peeked back out and kept firing.
She shouted a warning as something landed between their trees. Hunter glanced down and jumped away. Wrecker turned and covered Omega and Crosshair as a grenade went off. She heard Wrecker hiss in pain as shrapnel showered them.
She heard another cry from the remaining pirate and it was quiet once again. The fight had been quick, but the danger wasn’t over yet. Once the others realised they didn’t come back, they would know where they were.
They all regrouped around Omega and Wrecker’s tree. She sighed with relief when she saw Crosshair seemed okay. Tech looked over Wrecker with concern as they came up behind him.
“Wrecker, although your armour blocked most of the shrapnel, some made it through the gaps and you have a piece stuck in your lower back.”
Wrecker winced as he shifted, “It’ll be fine Tech, just a scratch. We need to keep moving.”
Tech conceded, though he watched Wrecker closely to make sure the shrapnel wasn’t hindering him too much.
Within minutes, Hunter once again led them towards help. It didn’t take long this time for the pirates to find them. This sounded like the main group.
Following Hunter’s lead, who was helping Wrecker lift the stretcher to keep quiet and make less of an obvious path to follow, they made their way to a rocky outcrop surrounded by thick shrubbery. They laid low as the pirates approached. There was no way they could take out this many directly in their current state.
They stayed quiet as the pirates passed by, wielding blasters and rifles as they scanned the area. Omega held her breath as one came close enough for her to reach out and touch his boot.
It seemed like forever, but slowly, the pirates passed by, leaving them undetected.
There was a small groan, and Omega’s eyes widened and she scrambled as Crosshair broke into another coughing fit. She tried to get to him and put her hands over his mouth to quiet him. The thought that this would hurt him quickly pushed down by the need to hide and stay safe They could deal with the consequences later, as long as they were alive to face them.
The pirates nearby whipped around, rifles raised. Omega saw Echo and Hunter shift to raise their blasters.
Crosshair’s chest continued to seize with wheezing coughs as the pirates approached. She felt tears prick at her eyes as she watched her brothers prepare to fight.
Hunter fired the first shot, Echo and Wrecker following closely, Tech having given Wrecker his blaster so he could help Omega with Crosshair. Hunter dove to the side behind a tree as Wrecker dove forward towards their attackers. Echo stayed prone beside Tech in the shrubs, unable to get up with his leg.
Omega tried to listen out for her brothers as she and Tech looked after Crosshair. They gently lifted the stretcher, leaning it against a rock to sit him upright while he was still secured to it. His coughs ended in wheezes now, and even after it finished, he wheezed, seemingly unable to pull in a full breath.
She heard the pirates shout to each other, and Hunter cry out, but kept her focus on the situation in front of her and trusted her brothers to have it handled behind her.
Tech swore as he listened to Crosshair’s gasping breaths. His eyes remained closed, though his brow furrowed as he struggled to breathe, blood staining his lips.
“I believe he is experiencing a pneumothorax. We need to get the air out of his chest cavity to let his lung expand.” Tech began rattling off a list of what he needed as he removed Crosshair’s chestplate and cut away his blacks.
Omega winced at the dark bruising around her vod’s chest as she pulled the equipment out of the medkit. She unwound the bandages as Tech fiddled with some of the equipment. Omega winced at the length of the needle as Tech checked the valves he attached worked before lining it up with Crosshair’s chest.
Wrecker shouted and Echo swore beside them.
Omega held him still as Crosshair gasped and writhed weakly as Tech inserted the needle. He blinked blearily up at them as Tech held the needle in place and opened the valve.
Crosshair gasped as he breathed in a fuller breath. Not full by any means, but way better than the gasping wheezes. Tech held the needle steady as Omega gently wrapped it to hold it in place.
She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to see how the rest of her vode were doing. Only two pirates remained, though only two of her brothers remained too as Hunter leaned against a tree, curled into himself with his eyes scrunched closed and his hands clutching his head. She saw Wrecker swing at one of the pirates, wrestling him to the ground and knocking him out. The other was shot by Echo before he could back his buddy up.
Everyone breathed heavily as they took in what just happened.
Wrecker winced as he held his sprained wrist close and approached Hunter who stayed where he was. Omega looked back at Crosshair, who had his unfocused gaze on Tech as he spoke. Knowing he was in good hands, Omega rushed over to join Wrecker, medkit in tow. He was crouched in front of Hunter, speaking softly, a worried frown on his face.
Omega recognised the signs of sensory overload as soon as she got close. Hunter was tense and breathing heavily as his eyes stayed screwed tightly shut and he kept his hands pressed over his ears. She knew something was going on with him, there was no way he was the only one to walk away from that crash unharmed. She also noted the blaster wound he was curling around. This had probably been building up the whole time, and he didn’t tell anyone until getting shot had pushed him over the edge.
She opened the medkit and rummaged for something to help. She frowned when she couldn’t find any earplugs. She kept searching, she knew they needed to restock their supplies, but she was sure they still had some spares in there somewhere. She finally found them and looked up to give them to Hunter.
Wrecker had pulled Hunter’s bandanna over his eyes, careful not to touch him too much. He smiled in thanks when Omega offered him the earplugs, holding one in his bad hand as he used his good one to give the other to Hunter. She gave Wrecker a bacta patch for the blaster wound, if he was able to get Hunter to cooperate long enough to get it on.
Knowing that was all she could do for now, she headed back over to the others. Tech had helped Echo sit up, who was now keeping watch from on top of a rock, and was back with Crosshair who was still miraculously awake.
She went over and helped him with concussion protocol. It wasn’t entirely necessary, Crosshair was clearly concussed and very disoriented, but it gave them something to do and focus on until they were ready to move again.
Omega sighed as Crosshair failed to answer another question, muttering incoherently as his eyes drooped. She sat back to let him rest, Tech doing the same as they heard Wrecker come over to them.
Hunter clung to Wrecker’s arm as they approached, unable to see or hear, and clearly uncomfortable with the touch, but understanding that they needed to move.
Tech and Omega took over pulling Crosshair along as Hunter kept close to Wrecker. Echo stayed alert at the back, blaster ready in case any more pirates decided to join the hunt. Tech led them along, having been paying attention to their journey and figured out where approximately Hunter was leading them.
Within the next hour, Omega felt a wave of relief as they spotted a town in the distance. This seemed to ignite a new wave of energy in all of them as they picked up the pace and reached the town quickly.
They were greeted kindly and quickly led to the town’s medical centre. Crosshair was taken away and the others were examined as they waited. Tech shortly followed Crosshair as he was led away to have his broken bones reset and properly cast.
Wrecker and Omega were treated quickly and they helped the medics with Hunter as he fought against the sensory assault their care brought.
Eventually, they were put in a private room, left quiet and dark for Hunter who was curled up on the bed the furthest from the door. Someone was called in to look at Echo’s leg, and he now sat legless on a bed. Omega curled up on the bunk next to him as Wrecker tried to sleep. She fidgeted as Echo wrapped an arm around her and held her close.
Her mind raced as they waited for Tech and Crosshair to get back. They had told the medics about the pirates and they assured them that the town would be on high alert, but she couldn’t help but worry. What if they hadn’t gotten them all? What if they just led them here and the people here got hurt because of them? What if they weren’t fast enough and Crosshair was dying?
She was pulled from her thoughts by Echo squeezing her. She looked up to see him looking down at her.
“We made it, Omega. We’ll be okay now. Soon they’ll give us Tech and Cross back, we’ll rest up, get the Marauder fixed, and be on our way.”
She sniffed doubtfully.
He huffed, “Tech is never giving up on that ship, she’ll fly again.” He gave her another squeeze, looking up when the door opened and Tech was led in. Echo smiled, “Speaking of.”
Tech looked over them all as he walked in, arm now in a proper cast. His eyes had the slight haze of strong painkillers, but he had clearly been stubborn enough to insist he walk, much to the chagrin of the two nurses hovering behind him. Satisfied with what he saw, he walked over and sat on the nearest bed. The nurses checked him over before leaving, closing the door behind them. He gave Echo and Omega a nod and slowly dozed off.
About an hour later, the door opened again and Omega perked up, startling a dozing Echo, as a bed was wheeled in, Crosshair unconscious on it. His wounds had been properly wrapped, and he had an oxygen mask over his face. The medics assured her that the mask could come off in a few hours, once he had properly stabilised, and that he was just sleeping off the sedatives. They would be coming in to check on him every hour.
Omega settled back against Echo, looking at her brothers around her. Wrecker was still asleep on his bed. Tech had awoken to see Crosshair return, looking him over himself before settling back down to sleep properly. Hunter even shifted, uncovering his eyes to squint over at his vode, reassuring himself that they were all still there, that they all made it. Omega watched him pull the bandanna back down and settle down to sleep.
Omega wriggled against Echo, hearing him chuckle as she got comfortable against him and settled down to sleep for a week.