Work Text:
Crosshair kept his scope aimed at the valley below him, watching his brothers’ backs as they made their way back from the Separatist supertank they’d just rigged to blow. He would know, Wrecker hadn’t stopped gushing about it over the comms. He kept a close eye on their backs as they retreated, moving stealthily among the rocky ridges and valleys that covered the planet.
So far so good. They were just approaching the ridge Crosshair lay on when a shadow flashed by the corner of his eye. He quickly glanced over, seeing nothing, then refocused on his team. He just missed seeing Hunter look up at the sky as his scope returned to watching the tank behind them.
“Crosshair, move!”
He pulled back to look at Hunter, who was pointing to the sky above him. He frowned and rolled over as a shadow appeared over him, getting larger. He cried out as sharp talons dug into his shoulder and pulled him off the ground.
His Firepuncher slipped from his fingers as pain shot through his arm. He grabbed at the foot holding him for leverage to bring his legs up to kick at whatever had him. A loud screech following his kicks to the feathered hide reminded him of Tech talking about a species of giant bird native to the planet when they got the mission. They lived in the mountains that lined the surface, and were a big reason why the planet was so dangerous for clone troopers, and so perfect for droid armies.
He swore when the talons dug in deeper as it rose into the sky, gritting his teeth as every flap of its wings pulled at his shoulder. The thought to grab his sidearm came to mind, but, assuming it could even pierce through the thick layer of feathers, he had a long way to fall if it dropped him there and then. He was already dizzyingly high up. He just had to hope his brothers had some kind of plan, he didn’t like the idea of hiking back down a mountain full of giant, man-eating birds.
A flash of light on the ground caught his eye, and he looked down to see his brothers on the ridge, Tech with his Firepuncher in hand. Crosshair knew his brother had excellent aim, but he was a very fast-moving target rapidly getting further away. Hunter stood next Tech, pointing as he aimed, presumably helping.
He braced when Tech fired, the grappling line shooting towards him. His heart dropped when he saw it losing speed as it arced through the sky. It wouldn’t make it. Desperate not to be taken out of the war by becoming bird food, Crosshair took hold of the foot holding him once again for leverage, ignoring the blood beginning to trail down his arm, and swung his legs up as the cable got close. He clenched his jaw so hard he thought he would crack a tooth as the wounds in his shoulder pulled at the movement, pain shooting though him.
He let out a breath and let himself relax a little when he felt the line hit his calf, the grappling device activating on contact and attaching itself. He looked back down at his brothers, flicking down his viewfinder to see better. He watched Tech hand the line to Wrecker, who stood ready behind him.
Crosshair cried out as Wrecker pulled on the line, causing the bird to screech and falter in the sky. He felt the wounds in his shoulder tear a little further, and he knew the dizziness he felt looking down wasn’t just from the height.
He tried to ignore it, focusing on his brothers, and making sure the bird’s talons didn’t tear through his shoulder completely as they were pulled back to the ground. He saw Hunter rush to a large boulder, presumably anchoring the end of the line to it. Tech still held his Firepuncher, watching through the scope.
He bit back another cry as the bird pulled against a particularly hard tug, and could have sworn he felt his shoulder get briefly pulled out of its socket. Spots were starting to invade his vision, but through them he could see the ground getting closer. His hand slipped from where it was gripping the taloned foot in an attempt to keep his shoulder stable, and he clumsily tried to bring it back up when the next pull from Wrecker hurt more than the last without the support. His legs dangled below him, and watching his brothers was becoming increasingly difficult, even as they got closer. He supposed he should be grateful to still be conscious at all between everything.
The bird let out another furious screech as it was slowly pulled to the ground. Crosshair closed his eyes against the wave of dizziness, feeling the line slacken as it swooped around to face the problems keeping it from stealing away its prize.
He heard a shot fired and felt weightless as the talons finally retracted from his shoulder. Wind rushed past him and he knew he was falling, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He let out a choked cry when he landed hard, pain shooting through his arm and back. Though, it wasn’t as hard as he should have landed, as he tumbled down a hill, quickly losing momentum until he was left sprawled in a heap at the bottom.
For a long moment, he just lay there, gasping for breath. His shoulder throbbed, and he could feel his own blood, wet and sticky, as it soaked into his blacks and coated his armour. He tried to push himself upright, but slumped back to the ground when it sent pain through his body and his head spinning.
He heard voices approaching and blinked his eyes open when a hand landed on his good shoulder, unsure of when he’d closed them. The fuzzy forms of his brothers hovered around him. He heard their voices, but couldn’t bring himself to decipher their words.
He flinched away with a cry when Tech touched his bad shoulder to inspect it, causing him to quickly back off. Instead, he glanced over to Wrecker to say something. Suddenly, Wrecker was right above him. Crosshair could hear his rumbling voice as he was carefully scooped off the ground. He tensed and hissed with pain, but tried to relax into the familiar sound and feeling as Wrecker kept talking, resting his head against him. He couldn’t help the occasional hiss of pain as he was carried, though being carried by his brother was much nicer than being carried by a giant bird.
He blinked his eyes open when he was prodded again, finding himself on the Marauder. He looked over to see Hunter setting his helmet aside, before moving on to his pauldron. He tried to push his brother away, the pain worse every time he touched it. Hunter was saying something, but he didn’t care to listen. He was tired and sore, and he was almost eaten by a giant bird, could they not just leave him alone?
Wrecker appearing next to him made him pause with a blink. He felt him hold his trembling arms to the bed, keeping him still for Hunter to continue his attack. Crosshair groaned at the betrayal, maybe his brother was as bad as the bird. Especially when they teamed up on him. He shivered when his arm was exposed to the cool air of the ship.
Finally, Hunter and Wrecker backed off, though Hunter reached over, stroking a hand through his hair. Crosshair huffed out a sigh and relaxed into it.
He blinked slowly when Tech appeared at his side from wherever he had disappeared to. Shouldn’t he be flying the ship? Crosshair shuddered at the thought. He was more than happy to stay right where he was on the ground for just a little longer, even if that meant letting Tech poke at his sore shoulder.
A long whine escaped his throat when Tech began inspecting his shoulder. Wrecker’s voice rumbled in response. Crosshair mourned the loss of the hand in his hair now that Tech stood in the way, forcing Hunter to retreat. Tech said something, and he grumbled at the feeling of hands holding him down again. It wasn’t like he had the energy to do anything. All he wanted to do was sleep anyway, but all their poking and prodding was keeping him awake.
The sudden burning sting that came with cleaning a wound had him suddenly crying out, pulling at the hands that held him with renewed vigour. His eyes fluttered as the black spots swarmed in, claiming him for a moment before they flickered open again. He stared hazily up at the shape above him, until his vision focused and it turned into Hunter’s face. Hunter smiled when he saw his eyes focus on him.
“You’re doing good, Cross’ika. Just a little more, then you can rest.”
Hunter looked away when Tech said something. Crosshair saw him fiddling with some equipment. He refocused on Hunter when he looked back at him. “We got a hypo if you want it. Tech’s about to stitch you up.”
Crosshair thought for a moment. A hypo would have been great however long ago, but now his shoulder was starting to numb, any pain he felt just a dull throb. Hunter still looked at him, waiting for an answer, so he focused and shook his head, closing his eyes with a low groan when it sent the room spinning.
He felt something cold on his arm before a small prick, leaving something sitting uncomfortably in it. He was quickly distracted from that discomfort when Tech began prodding at his shoulder. Crosshair groaned at the feeling, but found that even that didn’t hurt as much as it had the previous times. There was the occasional sharp prick of a needle and the strange feeling of thread being pulled through skin, but the sharp pain from the wound itself only ever rose to a more persistent ache.
Morbid curiosity had him focused on the feeling of the stitches. He tried to count them, but his sluggish mind quickly lost count. Eventually, he just drifted as the encroaching darkness invaded his vision once more, though this time much more gradually. He let out a long sigh as the feeling of the stitches came to a stop, and he was finally left alone to sleep.