The Bad Batch Crosshair - Tumblr Posts

I finished painting and building my new desk toothpick holder. I am disappointed that we didn’t get any Black series figures of the Season 3 stealth armor, so I had to make my own… plus, *spoiler* his hand comes off and is magnetized.

Crosshair has misophonia.

Week 6 - Battle Scars

Summer of Bad Batch | Crosshair x Omega x Hunter | Post-Tantiss Rescue on Pabu | SFW/Emotional One Shot | Warnings: PTSD, Nightmares, Flashbacks | 1159 words

Song inspiration - Midnight - Coldplay

“Omega,” Crosshair sits down on her bed. The moonlight poured through the window onto the bedspread she had kicked off. She lay asleep, but caught in a vivid nightmare. 

“No!” She screams in her sleep as her legs kick and her arms flail, “ Hunter!”

Crosshair waits until she stops moving, then brushes her hair off her face and tucks it behind her ear.

“Omega,” he tries again.

She opened her eyes slowly and props herself up on her elbow. 

“Crosshair?” She rubs her eyes.

“I’m here,” Crosshair began, but wasn’t sure what else to say.

“I was having a nightmare again, wasn’t I?” Omega sits up fully and buries her head into her hands.

“Mmhmm,” Crosshair nods. 

“Sometimes I just feel like the Empire is still after me. Or the Kaminoans.” She looks up from her hands and meets Crosshair’s eyes. His expression bore concern and worry for his sister. He looks off to the side and prepares his words.

“You’re safe now,” he states after much thought.

“But why don’t I feel safe?” Omega asks. 

The question catches Crosshair off-guard. He returns to look into Omega’s eyes as she searches for answers in his. 

“You usually have better answers than I do,” Crosshair shrugs, but Omega’s look of desperation endures. Crosshair sighs and begins rubbing his right forearm up to where his hand once was.

“Omega,” he exhales, “I also experience… nightmares,” he says like he didn’t want to admit it.

“You?” Omega was floored that one of her brothers also had fears that crept up at night.

“Mmhmm,” Crosshair grunts. “I’ll wake quickly, but the feelings linger. I remember the pain of torture, the feelings of failure, the fear of losing…” He went silent. Omega reaches out to comfort him. Her hand slides down his arm as she offers reassurance.

“I still fear losing you and the others.” Crosshair looks out the window to partially escape the conversation, “I’ll remember the way my heart sank when I missed shooting the tracker onto that ship that took you away from Pabu. Or turning around and watching the Marauder leave me on the platform on Kamino,” Crosshair continued. “But, I’ll wake up and remember you’re here, safe. Our brothers are here too. The nightmares aren’t real anymore… But the feelings are. It’s like what we experienced was too much to feel in the moment, so we keep feeling it until it fades.”

The Pabu wind enters the room and fills the air with a gentle ocean breeze. Crosshair inhales and sighs, relaxing into the moment a little more.

“These dreams serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come. What we’ve experienced is real, but our lives are different now. You’re safe now, Omega.” Crosshair continues and looks back up to Omega, finding her wiping a tear from her eye. Crosshair felt the inclination to pull her closer, but was hesitant. 

“You have battle scars too, little soldier,” he chuckles to deflect instead.

Omega wipes another tear, “You’re safe now too, Crosshair,” her voice breaks. 

She pulls his arm closer and wraps her arms around it, leaning her head on his shoulder. Crosshair looks surprised, but then pushes himself onto the bed with his back against the wall, accepting her affection. He tucks her hair behind her ear once more with his left hand then rests it on his leg while Omega softly relaxes into his presence. 

Crosshair looks out the window to the stars and gazes upward. He thinks about all the nights he had spent alone in a cell without windows in contrast to all the lively nights aboard the Marauder as a young soldier. He recalls Wrecker’s enormous laugh, Tech’s intellectual jabs, Echo’s swearing, and Hunter’s stubborn attitude. 

He smiles, remembering all of the good times they had. Like a bolt of lightning, the memory of Order 66 crushed the moment and his remembered joys scream to a wild halt: the flashbacks rush in. He remembers lining his scope up to shoot Hunter; shooting Wrecker; demanding the order to burn his brothers in a ship engine; Mayday’s pulse leaving his body; waking up on Tantiss; losing Omega.

Crosshair shakes his head as he feels his memories split his soul. His heart races. He feels the dissociation grip his consciousness and looks back at Omega for protection; her presence grounds him. 

I didn’t lose her, Crosshair thinks to himself as his hand jumps to find Omega’s hand wrapped around his arm. He lets the tension in his shoulders fall and breathes in and out deeply. He sits for a few moments more, letting his breath wash over him and holding Omega’s hand like a lifeline.

Omega’s grip around Crosshair’s arm loosens as she falls into a deeper sleep. She begins to drool on his arm. The unwanted sensation of her spit throws Crosshair back to the present.

He felt a little grossed out, but felt relieved to be pulled back into the moment so violently. 

Crosshair’s lips turn upward into a soft smile as he watches Omega sleep so comfortably next to him. He never would have guessed he could comfort anyone, much less a child. 

This is who I am, he thinks to himself.

Crosshair quietly stands and gently lays her head down onto her pillow. He tucks the blanket around her and closes the curtain to block the coming sun in hopes she could sleep in after a restless night. He slips out of her room and closes the door softly. 

“I thought I felt your eyes,” Crosshair whispers to Hunter once the door is sealed. Hunter leans against the wall just outside of Omega’s room.

“Is she all right?” Hunter inquires.

“She just had a nightmare,” Crosshair relayed. 

“I’m surprised you picked up on that before I did,” Hunter sighed, surprised that his instincts hadn’t brought him out of his deep sleep sooner to comfort Omega.

“I was already awake,” Crosshair shrugs. 

Hunter raised an eyebrow as he knew Crosshair could fall and stay asleep anywhere, even the battlefield. Hunter stayed silent, but continued to stare at Crosshair in disbelief.

“I had a nightmare too,” Crosshair embarrassedly admits. 

Hunter’s face relaxes and he places his hand on Crosshair’s shoulder. Crosshair looks down at Hunter’s hand.

“Well, Omega’s right. You’re safe now too,” Hunter echos. 

“Hmm,” Crosshair grunts a little in slight agreement. Hunter tightens his grip a little on Crosshair’s shoulder to gain his attention back. Crosshair looks up into Hunter’s eyes.

“I’m sorry I left you behind,” Hunter admits.

Crosshair’s eyes widen as he never expected to get an apology from his brother. He quickly darts his gaze away to process.

“Well, I did try to kill you,” Crosshair dryly jokes back.

“But you didn’t when you could have,” Hunter surmised.

“Hmm,” Crosshair grunts again. Hunter takes his hand off Crosshair’s shoulder and folds his arms. 

“Get some sleep, Hunter,” Crosshair begins to walk to his room, but turns halfway around in the hallway, “But, keep one eye open,” Crosshair chuckles.

__________________________________________________________

@summer-of-bad-batch @heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel

I really loved this! I’ve been thinking about it all day. My thoughts are a bit scattered; so sorry to serve up this microwaved meal after that incredible 5-course essay. 😅

I only have one thing to add with Crosshair’s arch that differs from Emerie; Crosshair is a soldier not only by design, but it’s who he identifies himself as. Emerie had a different identity with the Empire. She was a clone, but not a soldier.

To be a good soldier, you can’t question authority. For him to murder Lt. Nolan, he had to become what he never wanted to be, which was a bad soldier. Crosshair didn’t just defect and quit the Empire. He committed treason and murdered a superior. Cody disappeared; Crosshair made it clear he was through with being a soldier for the Empire by sealing it in blood.

It’s unfortunate Hemlock didn’t let him go. I’m sure Crosshair thought he would be killed for treason as he had killed/captured traitors; but he would rather die than continue to be a soldier for the Empire: and I think that is notable. He wanted to die and be left behind because his identity was erased.

I think Omega helped him realize his skills didn’t need to be used by the Republic or Empire. He could use his skills to protect her; and it’s enough for him to begin rebuilding his identity.

“I still don’t can’t tell what side you’re on,” he says to Ventress.

She replies with “My own.”

Had it crossed Crosshair’s mind that he didn’t need to serve a higher authority? That serving himself is good enough?

Crosshair hasn’t outright spoken against the Empire (yet (I hope we get a new show)), but it was clear he was ready to give up the only identity he had to be free of the Empire. I don’t think his redemption has come to fruition yet. He is in limbo.

I hope we get a new Clone Rebellion show that shows us where Crosshair went from here. What is his new self-proclaimed identity? Will he speak poorly of the Empire’s achievements?

Hot take:

Crosshair does not have the Imperial disillusionment and redemption arc of The Bad Batch

Emerie does.

Crosshair has an arc for sure yes but it's not that.

I was thinking about this scene:

and how it got right what this scene kinda didn't:

(It was so close but then bad writing decided to undercut the moment with a joke rip)

And I think it's really interesting that these characters who were more or less raised into the Empire/First Order and chose to leave it are all directly asked why.

But take a look at Crosshair's answers in comparison:

Different context for the asking, yes, but still, compare that to clones like Howzer, Cody, Slip and Cade who left or turned against the Empire because they knew what the Empire is doing is wrong and they weren't just going to blindly follow orders:

Crosshair - Loyalty, Purpose, and Survival

Crosshair didn't choose to join the Empire (though the show isn't very clear or consistent about how much control the inhibitor chips have) but he did, for whatever reason, choose to stay. By the end of S1 we know his chip has been removed and as he definitively says "This is who I am." There were likely still other influences on his decision, but listen to how he talks about the Empire in the S1 finale:

Hunter: Crosshair, I've seen what the Empire is doing. Occupying planets and silencing anyone who stands against them. You know it's not right. Crosshair: You still don’t see the bigger picture, but you will. Hunter: Can't you see they're using you?

Crosshair: We’re not like the regs, we never have been. We’re superior. The Empire can’t protect the galaxy without strength, this is what we were made for. Think of all we could do, together!

Crosshair: You all are meant for more than drifting through the galaxy. It’s time to stop running. Join the Empire, and you will have purpose again.

Hunter: They destroyed an entire city! Crosshair: They did what needed to be done. Kamino, regs, the Republic, that time is over. The Empire will control the entire galaxy, and I am going to be a part of it. Hunter: Don't fool yourself. All you'll ever be to them is a number.

He undeniably knows what the Empire is doing, but he does not care. In fact it sure sounds like he actually supports it and finds self-meaning in it. Hunter spends those episodes trying to convince him it's wrong, he doesn't change his mind. In the end they offer him an out and he doesn't take it.

Wrecker: You coming with us? Crosshair: None of this changes anything. Hunter: You offered us a chance, Crosshair. This is yours. Crosshair: I made my decision.

The next we see Crosshair in "The Solitary Clone" (S2:E3) he follows orders and shoots the Desix governor, right after Cody heartbreakingly tries to do what's right and find a peaceful solution.

Cody: Tell me something, Crosshair. This new Empire, are we making the galaxy better? Crosshair: We’re soldiers, we do what needs to be done. Cody: You know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions, our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

After this (glorious!) conversation, Crosshair stays. Maybe this began to seed some doubts, but he actually smiles a few scenes later when Rampart assigns him another mission. It seems like for him it truly is as he said in S1:E1 (chip not enhanced yet but still influencing him enough for his brothers to notice he's acting strange):

Crosshair: Republic, Empire... what's the difference.

Crosshair: Orders are orders.

This unethical mission that finally pushed Cody over the edge does not change Crosshair's mind about the Empire, at least not enough for him to take action.

But what does?

Mayday: And here we are, the survivors. Combat troopers stuck babysitting cargo shipments. Crosshair: Mission’s a mission. Mayday: Yeah, I used to say the same thing.

Mayday: After all the clones have done, all we’ve sacrificed. We’re good soldiers, we followed orders. And for what?

This mission has nothing to do with how the fascist Empire treats the galaxy, it's about how they treat their soldiers. It's about how Mayday loyally fought and served his whole life and Lieutenant Nolan let him die

Lt Nolan: He served his purpose as a soldier of the Empire. Crosshair: You could have saved him! Lt Nolan: Perhaps you didn’t hear me, he is expendable, as are you.

Crosshair thought he could find purpose within the Empire, and Nolan shows him exactly what that will be.

His turning point is accompanied with this powerful visual of the ice vulture, a symbol (and threat) of death, and also set up within the episode a symbol of survival:

Mayday: Vicious creatures, but you have to admire ‘em. They find a way to survive.

This critical moment (that gives me chills, oof this episode is a masterpiece!) comes right after Nolan calls him expendable and directly threatens him:

Lt Nolan: And if you speak to me again with such disrespect I'll see to it you meet a similar fate, clone.

then Crosshair sees the vulture's shadow and turns to Mayday's dead body (ahh visual storytelling my beloved) then makes his decision:

Crosshair turns against the Empire not because he believes Hunter was right about this:

Hunter: I've seen what the Empire is doing ... You know it's not right.

but because he was right about this:

Hunter: All you'll ever be to them is a number.

Redemption (both in fiction and irl in my humble opinion) comes with making amends and reparations (which is why death 'redemptions' bother me so much but that's a rant for another time). Unlike Emerie, Crosshair never explicitly denounces the Empire or his own actions within it. He never says anything to specifically show if and how his views have changed from what he said on Kamino. He makes amends with his family (sending the warning message, helping Omega escape, making up with Hunter) but that's about it. The most we get in terms of acknowledgement is this:

Crosshair: I thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being a good soldier. Hunter: Nobody really understood what was happening back then. Crosshair: I’ve... done things. I’ve made mistakes. Hunter: I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better, and who knows there just might be hope for us yet.

Which is nice and all but it's more about them making up as brothers so it's way too excusing tbh ("no one knew what was happening back then" ummm? "The Empire will control the entire galaxy, and I am going to be a part of it" remember? And even if at first Crosshair was being controlled by the chip, the fact that he chose to stay after it was removed* means he condones and is therefore still accountable for those actions).

There's also a bit of self-destructive guilt:

Crosshair: Omega, don't risk anything for me. I belong in here.

Crosshair: Omega needs you both. So I’m doing this alone, it’s what I deserve. Hunter: Don’t even think about plan 99, Crosshair. Omega needs all of us.

(which thank you Hunter for pushing back on the death redemption bs and oh look is that a wrap up for the purpose thing?)

But there's no action taken on his part to make up for what he's done or to stand against the Empire (aside from the bare minimum of help with Tantiss, only after it became personally relevant, which like yeah he had trauma to deal with but still).

While I do think the implications/follow-up of Crosshair's turn should have been handled better in S3 (like rip Howzer! he deserved an apology, but that's a rant for another time), I don't necessarily** think this arc is a bad writing choice. It's just saying different things than we expect:

Maybe Crosshair's story is not about standing up against an unjust system, like we see with many other characters (who deserved more screen time but that's a rant for another timeeee). Maybe his story is about how even those who are loyal to the Empire, who actually believe in it, still suffer under and within it's rule. Not to garner sympathy, but to show that there is no winning.

Crosshair has another 'so what changed' convo in S3:E14 with Rampart, in which they draw parallels to each other:

Rampart: You used to believe good soldiers followed orders. Crosshair: Depends on who's giving them. The Empire betrayed us both. Rampart: And you think you can fight them? That's not you. You're like me, loyal to no one but yourself. Crosshair: I've changed.

(note how he says who's giving the orders, not what the orders are)

"Loyal to no one but yourself" describes Rampart much more than Crosshair, since we often saw Crosshair pride himself as a loyal soldier of the Empire whereas we saw Rampart abuse power to be self-serving within the Empire (like when he killed Wilco to save face). But they were both betrayed either way. Vice Admiral Rampart, snively Imperial opportunist through-and-through, shouts "I was following orders!" as he is arrested for the Empire's purposes.

Even Hemlock, the final boss immoral Imperial scientist, who has to be benefiting the most from this system, echoes the expendability idea:

Hemlock: What I am working on is beyond your understanding. Something so vital to the Empire it makes me indispensable.

Then there's CX-2, also set up as a parallel/foil to Crosshair (fight me), who in the end is discarded as no more than a weapon, a tool that served it's purpose, showing us what would have become of Crosshair if he had stayed.

There is no winning in the Empire. Loyalty is not rewarded, it "doesn't go both ways." Everyone has to fight for their value. Even high ranking individuals** who for a time benefit from the injustice, in the end are just pawns to be used up and cast aside at a whim for the Emperor's gain. Even people who are motivated by self-interest alone cannot survive within this system, the only viable option in this galaxy is to fight the Empire and dismantle that system. (unless you conveniently find a magically safe island to hide away on but that's a rAnT fOr AnOtHeR tImE)

Which brings us back to...

Emerie - Cooperation, Compassion, and Choice

(Okay this post has already gotten away from me but I still want to talk about her to show the contrasts.)

Emerie may not have been given a lot of screen time to really flesh out her development, but there is a lot that is pretty clearly implied with her:

Crosshair: They’ll never turn her [Omega] over. Hemlock: They don’t have a choice. She is a clone, and therefore Imperial property. *Camera cuts to an angle more centered on Emerie’s face*

Crosshair: Give me your access card! Emerie: It won’t get you outside!

Emerie: I tried to warn him what would happen if he did not cooperate with the Doctor.

Emerie: Prisoner? Omega, you are no such thing. It will take time to adjust, but you will acclimate. It is far safer in here than out there.

Emerie: You should go back to your room. Crosshair: You mean her cell?

Emerie: Why children? Hemlock: Children are easier to attain and more agreeable to the subjugations. They are unaware of why they are here and what they possess.

Emerie: They're children. Like I was... Was your plan to discard them too? Nala Se: The Empire will keep them in order to control them.

We don't know a lot about Emerie's background, but it's clear that she had a lot less choice than Crosshair and less opportunity or ability to leave. Unlike Crosshair, we never directly hear Emerie's views of the Empire (and she was most likely 'taken under Hemlock's wing' before the Empire even came to power), but lets look at how she talks about the Tantiss:

"Remain calm. Cooperate and you might survive."

"Don't make this worse, Crosshair! There is no escape!"

"All of us serve a purpose here."

"The Doctor will inform me, if it's necessary."

"It's best not to ask questions."

"Escape is not possible, Omega. This is for your own good."

She honestly does the best she can within the system she is also trapped in. She tries to help Crosshair, Omega, and the vault kids in the only way she knows how (warns Crosshair about the hounds and security, tries to protect Omega from Hemlock, tells Scorch his "actions were extreme" with Jax, insists on overseeing Bayrn's retrieval, double checks his m-count (to give him an out), and tries to find out where he came from). When she gives Omega, and later Eva, the doll, I think it shows just how little she really is able to do here (and it's kinda heartbreaking imo).

The framing of this shot especially (after Jax's escape attempt) visually shows how Emerie herself is trapped/imprisoned:

Despite the fact that very little of this is Emerie's fault, she has very little power and she is doing all she can, the narrative does not excuse her role in the Empire:

Nala Se: What will you do, Emerie? Emerie: There is nothing I can do. I don't have that kind of power. Nala Se: Don't you?

Emerie: I- I was doing my job. Echo: Yeah, I’ve heard that before. You’re a clone. How can you be part of this?

These fighting-the-Bystander-Effect conversations parallel these exchanges:

Hunter: We made a choice, and so did you. Crosshair: Soldiers follow orders. Hunter: Blind allegiance makes you a pawn.

Crosshair: We’re soldiers, we do what needs to be done. Cody: You know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions, our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

which did not change Crosshair's mind. And honestly, all respect to Echo's disappointed mom glare™ but I think it's clear Emerie had already made her decision, she just needed help to actually be able to do anything about it. When she stopped Echo, with her voice wavering on the verge of tears (ahhh v good voice acting), she clearly had no intention of turning him in. She's on her own in the Empire's most secure facility with very little resources, if she had tried anything on her own she most likely would have failed and been killed

Omega: Emerie, you don't have to do this. Emerie: (sigh) I’m sorry, but I do.

but as soon as she is enabled by an ally, she immediately turns around to help: giving information and getting Echo through security, helping the kids escape, and giving Omega the tablet that allows them to free the other clone prisoners.

Where Crosshair's turn is accompanied by the symbolic imagery of the ice vulture, Emerie's is the removal of her (literally rose-tinted!) glasses:

Symbolizing how she has shed her previous views/indoctrination that altered her perception of the Empire and blinded her to it's wrongs. It's disillusionment.

Emerie's story shows us that even those who are raised and indoctrinated into this system can, should, and will escape (with needed help). Even those who did not choose to be apart of the Empire and are not making the decisions still have the responsibility and ability to act on what they know is right.

Emerie, whose name means 'Home strength' 'Brave' and 'Powerful', and "reflects the importance of leadership and authority in the workplace".***

While Emerie is only in one more scene after her turn, so the wrap up is a bit rushed, she still very simply does what Crosshair does not:

Emerie: Because I was wrong about this place. And I'm trying to do the right thing.

Echo: I’m sure Senator Chuchi would find what you have to say very helpful for our cause. Emerie: I have a lot to make up for. I’d like to help out however I can.

She admits wrong, takes accountability, commits to making amends, and leaves with Echo to go take on the Empire (which hopefully we will get to actually see more of some day).

So, in short, she's showing us how redemption is done right!

---

Notes:

*Whether this writing choice was good/logical/in-character or not is another discussion entirely, but I'm going off of what we were given, what the show is presenting in the canon text and (reasonably inferred/intentional) subtext. Crosshair is pretty multifaceted and I could only touch on so much here. There's a lot of ways to interpret his character/choices, but I tried to avoid the realm of speculation or fanon explanations (even if they sometimes make more sense lol).

**History and political theory are not my area of expertise at all, so I have NO idea how well this aligns with real-world fascism stuff and therefore what implications this storytelling choice could have. I think the message of like 'if you think you could survive or gain power by doing what the Empire/fascist system wants you are wrong' could be good (like how everyone is actually harmed by the patriarchy type of a thing), but I hesitate bc maybe there are those who would benefit, since it's a hierarchal system, right? If anyone more knowledgeable than me has incite to share, by all means

Either way, I do think it works in-story and in-universe though. It's just in the execution. The main problem (even from a strictly theme/character arc stand point) is the lacking follow-up/consequences for Crosshair in S3. Like you gave your character accountability by removing the chip and I think that's great setup for an arc but you gotta follow through with that and actually hold him accountable!

***I'm always curious when clones have 'normal' names, like why did they chose the name Emerie of all things? So I looked it up. Idk how reliable sources are for name meanings so take it with a grain of salt but it's still fun. Fits pretty well, and clones names have definitely had significant meanings in the past (like how Rex and Jesse both mean 'king') so I'm pretty sure it was intentional.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my tedtalk

Week 2 - Comfort Zone

Summer of Bad Batch | Crosshair x Phee x Hunter x Omega | Post-Tantiss Rescue on Pabu | One Shot | 262 words

“I didn’t forget about you,” Phee smirked and slid a small package across the table to Crosshair. His right mechanical hand lifted a finger to stop it from falling into his lap.

“What’s this?” Crosshair slithered.

“Open it!” Phee instructed.

Crosshair sighed, picking up the small box with his mechanical hand. 

“Knife?” He motioned towards Hunter without taking his eyes off the mysterious package. Hunter tossed him the knife and Crosshair caught it by the handle using his peripheral vision. He gently sliced through the brown paper to find a leather-bound box. Crosshair studied the box, then found it to slide open like a matchbox, exposing a few hundred dark and smooth toothpicks. Crosshair’s expression shifted from guarded and confused to grateful. 

“How did you know?” Crosshair asked Phee as he put one of the luxury toothpicks between his lips.

“Guess,” Phee winked.

“Tech?” Crosshair shifted the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

Phee returned a soft nod to confirm. 

“What’s special about them?” Omega asked the room.

“These are from the trees in Kashyyyk. The wookies do not cut down trees, but when the trees have died from natural causes, they use the wood for creating items and luxuries. Tech had mentioned that these were Crosshair’s favorite, but it’s well-known to be a rare commodity,” Phee explained.

Crosshair studied the package again and inspected a few toothpicks, looking at the fine grain and dark brown coloring of the wood.

“I guess you are a liberator of… wonders,” he remarked. “Thank you,” Crosshair nodded towards Phee in gratitude. 

________________________________________________________

Taglist:

@heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel

@summer-of-bad-batch

The craziest thing about CX2 was how invested I became thinking that he was somebody. I thought he was Tech. I believed so hard that he would be significant because every clone is significant. They all have nicknames, unique modifications, language habits, etc.

But no clone is significant to the Empire.

CX2 had lots of quality screen time and was somehow likable. When he was killed in the finale like nobody, I was so let down! But, it made me realize how brilliant the writing was… Not only was I in denial about Tech and was actively carried through the stages of grieving, but I realized CX2 was the ultimate foil to Crosshair.

I think CX2 represents who Crosshair would have become if he stayed in the Empire, which was a nobody. He would have died insignificantly and nobody in the Empire would have mourned him, just as nobody mourned CX2.

Defective by nature, Crosshair was too unique to be a “nobody.”

Decided to illustrate my next long The Bad Batch fanfic. :)

Tonight’s offerings to The Bad Batch fandom 🖤

I’m about 25,000 words into my new fanfic and am having fun creating art to go along with it. :) not sure if this is a final drawing for it, but I had fun.

Attempting watercolors tonight… <3

Does Dave Filoni ever jump on here to see what obsession and madness he has inspired

Closure: I. Nightmares of Eriadu

Warnings: SFW Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, nightmares, family drama/trauma mentions

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Omega x Hunter x Phee

Word count: 3743

Authors Note: This is a sequel (read the first installment here) using the same fem!reader character and pre-existing relationship with Crosshair. But you don't need to read the first fanfic. This one might be better anyway. This story satisfies my personal needs for closure after The Bad Batch animated series ended. I don't want to give anything away, but this resolves my need for closure around Tech, Hunter's need of an arc, and more character building for Crosshair.

I've been writing it for the past several weeks and am multiple chapters ahead. I just wanted to begin posting it. :) I have some moody watercolors painted for some chapters too. I'll maybe retrofit some art too. I'll probably post it separate so nobody misses it. :) Please let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list. I mainly wrote this for my own entertainment, but who doesn't love it when others are around.<3 I hope you enjoy.

---------------------------------------------------------

Omega threw the ship’s thruster forward and jumped into hyperspace, narrowly escaping the blaster fire of a few short-range fighters.

“Well, that was fun,” she gasped in slight laughter.

Phee smiled and kicked back into her chair, “Fun indeed.”

Omega spun around in her chair to find you still lying on your back in the middle of the ship. You were exhausted and hadn’t even made it to the bunks before collapsing onto the floor. 

“Are you okay?” She called over to you. 

You lifted your head enough to make eye contact, smiled a little, and lifted your arm enough to signal a “thumbs-up” sign. 

She flashes her white teeth at you and returns a thumbs-up enthusiastically. Her hair had grown long over the years and swept across her face. She kept it tied up with a bright red tie, which was suspected to match Hunter’s bandana on purpose. Physically, Omega looked more and more like Hunter over the years, but had Wrecker’s enthusiasm for abrupt adventure, Echo’s drive for serving others, Crosshair’s tactical abilities, and Tech’s piloting skills and calculating mind.

Omega turned back to the ship’s pilot console and felt Phee’s eyes study her. 

“What is it?” Omega pleasantly inquires.

“You fly like Tech,” Phee shrugs.

“Well, he did teach me,” Omega banters back. 

“I know, but… There are a lot of little moments where I see him in you,” Phee continues. 

“Well, we do share the same genetic material—,” Omega starts.

“See, that’s something Tech would have said.”

Omega smiles back, “I wish he could see me fly now.”

“You have become an exceptional pilot,” Phee nods. “He would have been so proud of you.”

Listening in on their conversation, you smile as you remember young Omega’s piloting skills compared to her current set of skills. She was fast, smooth, calculated, and innovative. Deciding you had enough rest, you stood up in Phee’s ship and made your way to the front. 

“Well, look who decided to be with the living!” Phee prods at you.

You sit down and lean back into the chair behind Omega’s seat.

“Next time you two invite me for a ‘girl’s night out,’ you better tell me it’s actually a four day treasure hunt, nine star systems over, with limited rations and pre-existing enemies,” you relay.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Phee chuckles. Omega laughs with her. 

“You two are ridiculous,” you grunt as you pull your hat over your eyes. You hear Phee chuckle to herself, then turn from facing you to the lights of hyperspace.

“You and Crosshair were made for each other,” Phee comments after a small pause in conversation.

“You take that back,” you monotone sarcastically without moving from under your hat, but you felt your lips creep into a small smile at the thought of Crosshair.

“It must be nice,” she suggests happily and threads her fingers around the back of her neck and leans back placing her feet on the dashboard.

You stay silent as you knew Phee still had lingering feelings for the long-lost brother of Clone Force 99: Tech. From what you had heard between Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair, Phee was a great partner. You both equally wished you had known Tech and that you could tell him that he was not easily forgotten. 

“We’re coming up on Pabu,” Omega broke the silence as the ship was gently thrown out of hyperspace. 

Entering the atmosphere and pushing through the clouds, you lift the brim of your hat to spy the small island in the distance. You sigh a breath of relief as the island grows larger in view.

The spaceport had its usual morning-Pabu hustle with imported goods flying in and individuals leaving Pabu for jobs, vacation, and more. Phee’s ship touches down and the door unseals. Omega picks up her bag and dashes down the stairs in excitement to tell Hunter and Liana about the adventure away and the treasures found.

Phee continues to sit back in the chair lost in thought and unmoved. You rise from your chair and slink into Omega’s piloting seat.

“You okay?” You asked.

“I’ll be okay,” Phee sighed. “There are some treasures in life that you lose, but never forget.”

You knew her mind was still stuck on Tech. She gazed into the oceans of Pabu from the spaceport and let her eyes pool with tears.

“Listen, I’m going to step out of my bounds for a moment, but,” you breathe in deeply and close your eyes for a moment, “I know my way around Eriadu. I don’t think Hunter ever returned to search for Tech.”

“His remains won’t do anyone any good,” Phee looks over to you.

“I know,” you backpedaled. “But if he were– alive,”

“He never contacted us. He couldn’t be alive,” Phee interrupts. You could feel her frustration, so you held your silence.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize for bringing up the topic. 

Phee exhales and wipes her eyes. “I don’t know what’s worse, if he’s alive and didn’t want to contact us, or if he’s gone for good.”

You stood and placed your hand on her shoulder to offer support and to also stage your conversational exit. “Phee,” you began, “You need answers for closure. And you’re good at finding answers. It’s one thing to be afraid of what you’ll find… But if there’s one person to discover what happened, it’s you.”

“I know,” she taps your hand with hers and began to stand. 

“Why didn’t Hunter go back to look for him?” Phee asks.

You shrug, “He’s a soldier; they move on differently than you and I. And you and Hunter are probably right: Tech would have found a way to make contact.”

Phee nods with sadness in her eyes.

You and Phee exit the ship together and walk down the stairs to meet Clone Force 99.

Your pace quickened as Crosshair comes into view. His unshaven face, silver bedhead, and black attire led you to chuckle a little under your breath.

“Well, that was longer than a single rotation,” Crosshair jabs as you greet him with an embrace.

“I should have known better with the present company,” you roll your eyes a little remembering how Omega and Phee talked you into the trip.

“Mmhmm,” Crosshair grunts and as he holds you tighter before softly releasing you. 

“What did you do while I was gone?” You ask.

“I stayed in bed and shot holes in the ceiling,” he deadpans.

You could hear Hunter sigh at Crosshair’s comment. Looking over, you see him bury his head in his hands a little and rub his eyes. You turn back to Crosshair, smile, then stand on your toes to kiss his narrow lips. His hand slides up your back to cradle your head as he kisses you back.

“I missed you,” you smile. 

“And someone’s going to fix those holes in the roof,” Hunter invites himself into your conversation and takes a step towards you and Crosshair. He was so serious. 

Crosshair just stares at him; hardly blinking. He, too, was overly serious. He slides his hand to your back again and you lay your ear against his chest to look at Hunter.

“I’ll fix the roof,” you offer.

“No.” Crosshair rejects your offer and just stares at Hunter.

“I am not going to fix the roof, Crosshair,” Hunter continues to glare. “Not again.”

“Your relationship is so confusing,” you sigh and step back from Crosshair. You wink at him, “I’ll see you at the house, okay?”

Crosshair and Hunter continue to stare each other down.

“… Okay?” You repeat.

“Fine,” Crosshair growls without taking his eyes off Hunter.

“What’s their problem?” Omega asks you.

“I’m not sure,” you scan the crowd, “Where’s Wrecker? Maybe he didn’t feed them while we were gone.”

Omega laughs at your joke, “That’s probably it.”

—----

Dropping your bag into Crosshair’s room, you look up at the ceiling. He shot more than just holes. At some point, the blaster holes turned into bigger holes and the entire roof was practically missing. You felt Crosshair approach behind you. 

“So that’s what four rotations of shooting the ceiling will get you?” You chuckle.

‘Uh-huh,” he looks up at his handy work. 

You narrow your eyebrows a little bit as you inspect the ceiling further.

“Problem?” Crosshair asks.

“I don’t want to be that girlfriend, but—,” you stop yourself as you never asked much of Crosshair. You wanted him to find a more productive hobby, but after all he’s been through, he did deserve to blow off some steam. It was just a ceiling anyway.

“What?” He prods.

“Why’d you stop at the ceiling?” you grin.

“I learned my lesson the last time I tried to shoot a live round into Wrecker’s bunk,” he says as he tosses himself into the bed.

“Where is Wrecker?” You ask.

“Off-world with Shep. Some kind of supply run,” Crosshair shrugs.

“What have you and Hunter been eating then?” You chuckle.

“Oh, you know… Soldier food,” he points to the end of his bed to the pile of ration bar wrappers. You pick up one of the wrappers and inspect it.

“Cross, these expired over three years ago,” you mutter.

“That would explain things,” Crosshair exhales.

“Are you okay?” You sit down at the end of the bed.

“Clearly,” he enthuses. The ceiling gave an audible crack and pieces fell onto Crosshair’s head and shoulders; his expression unchanging. You didn’t buy his answer, but knowing him, he wouldn’t talk much more, especially under pressure. You stood enough just to shuffle to his end of the bed and relax against the headboard, sitting on pieces from the ceiling. You took his hand and brought it to your lips.

“How was your trip with Phee and Omega?” Crosshair asks to change the subject.

“Confusing. It was nice of them to include me, but I don’t want to get into trouble like I used to,” you shrug. “They didn’t exactly tell me what was going on and when we arrived, we were already in a few gun fights with other pirates.”

“Did they get what they were after?” Crosshair narrows his eyes.

“I think so. They picked up a package, we fought over it, lost Phee’s ship, got it back, then flew home,” you close your eyes and rest your head on his shoulder. “I’m exhausted.”

“Hmm,” he faintly grunts in response. “I didn’t think you’d get tired of pirating missions.”

“And I didn’t think I’d come home to you shooting holes in the ceiling,” you reply, staring up into the gaping holes. You earned a soft smile from him as he peers up to inspect his work once more.

“True,” he chuckles. 

You and Crosshair stayed in bed watching the stars appear as the sun began to set, painting the sky pink and orange. Letting your hand trace up his hand, arm, chest, and to his face, you felt his scratchy, unshaven face. 

“Sorry, I haven’t shaved,” he apologizes and slips a toothpick between his lips.

“It’s not a bad look,” you comment. 

His silver hair, straight and unkempt, had grown a bit past a typical soldier’s cut everywhere but the scar on the right side of his skull. The sides and back were tapered and faded into the length, framing his jaw. Around his neck he wore a thin chain with engraved plates hanging just above his chest. 

He suddenly sighs sharply. 

“I —,” he starts. You don’t prod at him to continue, but instead start to run your fingers through his hair. “Stop,” he takes his hand to stop yours and he sits up taller, but still doesn’t look at you. 

“Sorry,” you apologize. He takes your hand and holds it in his lap. The silence washes over the moment.

“What’s wrong?” You re-engage with him.

“It’s nothing,” he shakes his head a little and looks back up into the stars. You knew something was up with him due to his lack of un-soldier-like appearance and the state of his ceiling, but now you felt concern trickle into your heart.

“Is it nothing?” You ask.

“I can’t sleep when you’re not here,” he admits through a wince.

“You’re not weak for that,” you assure him.

He sighs again and turns towards you. You pull on his shoulder, motioning him to lay down. He rests his head on your arm and the pillow beneath then closes his eyes. 

“The nightmares are back?” You whisper.

“They never left,” he sighs quietly. 

________

Crosshair had fallen asleep quickly. You took the toothpick from his lips and flicked it to the floor. Your eyes grew heavy too as the night sky had settled in. 

________

Eriadu’s summers were warm, temperate, and pleasant. The famous Tarkin compound was familiar as you had spent holidays there with your immediate and distant family. Your mother, Governor Tarkin’s sister, had married outside of the family to a lowly Imperial loyalist. While she was left out intentionally from her parent’s fortune, she was still included in familial gatherings. 

“Are you coming?” You looked up to see your older brother, Crix. His hand extended to you as you realized you may have fallen to the ground. Your clothes, hands, and knees were dirty. Looking into his eyes, you see they’re full of worry. You nod your head and reach for his hand. His hand feels cold. Inspecting it, you turn his hand over in your palm. Looking back up to his face, he vanishes.

“Crix?” You look around, but he’s gone. The silence of the forest overwhelms you as you sense something is wrong. The feeling of doom pools into your stomach, weighing you down. Each step further into the forest weighs heavier and heavier. The sky grows dark and the ground is black. The subtle asphyxiation quells your movement; you fall to your knees.

An old, brittle hand reaches out and grabs your shoulder. It’s nails, cut into your skin. You let out a scream, but no sound left your lips.

You wake, sitting up quickly as your heart races. You breathe in deeply like you hadn’t in some time. When was the last time I dreamt of Eriadu? You ask yourself. Crosshair snores and shuffles slightly in the bed. Your nightmare didn’t bother him in the slightest. You sigh a breath of relief. He was usually such a light sleeper.

The floor felt cold beneath your toes as you slipped out of the bed. The fresh air was a nice touch; maybe you wouldn’t fix the roof after all. Or at least not right away. You tip-toed to the back patio to watch the ocean waves curl into the shoreline. Opening the patio door, you were surprised to find Phee leaned against the railing looking out into the sky.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asks you without turning.

“Not really,” you responded. You sit down into the chair and put your feet up on the railing. 

“Nightmares?” She asks kindly.

“Of home, I guess,” you shrug. 

“Where’s home?” Phee sits down into the chair next to you.

“Here,” you realize out loud, “But no, I dreamt of a place my family would visit for holidays when I was a child,” you admit.

“And where’s that?” She continued to pull your teeth.

You bit your lip and shifted your jaw to the side, remembering your last conversation with her about Eriadu. You supposed that was why Eriadu was fresh on your mind.

“Eriadu,” you sigh. 

Phee’s eyebrow raises in response, “Oh.”

“I dreamt my brother Crix was in the forest there. I reached out to him, but he disappeared. I haven’t seen him in a few years. But he was the closest brother I had,” you explain. 

“Does he still live on Eriadu?” Phee asks.

“No,” you lament. “He hated it there; more than I did.” You chuckle a little remembering old conversations and shared expressions at the dinner table with your brother. 

“Where is he now?” Phee continues to lay on the questions.

“I don’t know,” you look to exchange your sorrowful expression. “He started chasing spice dreams to escape reality and then I defected from the Empire and my family; I lost track of him a bit after that.”

“Well, I like to believe that all dreams have meaning,” Phee marveled upwards to the sky again.

“You would,” you nod.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, sis,” Phee hesitated. “Since it’s fresh on your mind, would you want to come to Eriadu with me?”

Your heart jumped a little in your chest at the thought of seriously returning. It had been a few years since your last run in with your uncle, Governor Tarkin, but the Empire didn’t seem to care about your existence anymore. Surely someone would recognize you there. But, perhaps your soul had some unfinished business to attend to as you reflected on your dream once more.

“I’ll think about it,” you assure.

A small ship took off from the cave and accelerated into the atmosphere with a soft boom. 

“Was that Omega?” You asked Phee.

Phee nodded, “I figured she’d sneak off here soon.”

“She’s more of a soldier than Hunter wants to admit, isn’t she?” You sigh.

Phee stands and leans against the railing once again. She pulls her binoculars to study the entrance of the cave. “Batcher and Hunter saw her off.” “This house will turn into a mess without her here,” you chuckle. “Mmhmm,” Phee agreed, continuing to watch Hunter and Batcher walk home.

“Well, I’m going to turn in,” you announce as you stand from your chair.

“Think about what I said,” Phee turns to you. 

You give her a silent nod of acknowledgement and head back inside. Walking down the hallway, you pause just outside of Omega’s room. Of course she’d slip out while Wrecker was off-world, you think to yourself. 

Arriving at Crosshair’s door, you slowly enter the room. Feeling relief that he’s still asleep, you slide into the bed with him quietly. 

__________________________

The morning sun warmed Crosshair’s room quickly without the roof to shield. Moving your hands to block out the sun, you squinted around the room to find yourself alone. You shift and swing your legs off the bed to sit upright. You hear the door open.

“I decided I’ll fix the roof,” Crosshair mutters as he walks into the room slowly with his and your morning cups in hand. He was clean shaven again, but continued to leave his hair longer. 

“Did you sleep well?” You smile.

“Yes,” he sits down on the bed next to you and hands you your cup. “Did you?” He asks in return.

“Honestly, no. I got up a few hours into the night and–” You pause.

“I know Omega left,” Crosshair mutters.

“I’m sorry she didn’t say goodbye,” you mention.

“She did, in her own way,” Crosshair reaches into his pocket and pulls out his small money sac that usually had a few credits in it. “It’s empty,” he sighs. “She left a note saying she owes me.”

“You wouldn’t have let her go, would you have?” You ask.

Crosshair sighs, “She’s a better shot than I am these days. She’ll be fine. I’m surprised she didn’t wait until I was also off-world to sneak off.” Crosshair softly smiles as he puts his credit bag away. “But I suppose confrontation isn’t a strong suit of mine either.”

You nod and think back on Phee’s conversation last night. Your vanishing smile catches Crosshair’s attention.

“What else happened last night?” Crosshair furrows his eyebrows together.

“Phee asked me to go to Eriadu with her,” you say into your mug.

“Eriadu?” Crosshair lifts an eyebrow and leans forward into your space. “Why Eriadu?” 

“Well, my family. Some unanswered questions. And—” you pause, not sure how to explain your intentions.

“What?” Crosshair presses.

“Tech,” you lightly shrug and take a long drink from the mug. “She wants to…”

Crosshair moved your mug down from your lips. “What?” He insists.

“Phee is curious if Tech’s remains are there… Or if Tech is… There,” you manage to say hesitantly. 

Crosshair stays silent and drinks his caf alongside you. He turns to face the door and crosses his arms. 

“If he were alive, Tech would have sent us a message,” Crosshair informs you.

“I know,” you nod. “It doesn’t make sense that he’d be alive. I don’t know what we’ll find, but Phee needs closure.” 

Crosshair sighs and stares into his black, undoctored caf, “We probably all do.” 

You and Crosshair continue to sip in silence for a few minutes. You could feel him mull his thoughts over. Even with you, he wasn’t the best talker, but you knew his internal dialog plagued him.

“Will you go with her?” Crosshair breaks the silence and studies your eyes.

“I don’t know,” you slowly elaborate, “It’s been years since I’ve been there, but I’d still be recognized. The only advantage I bring is that I know the planet well.”

“Hmm,” Crosshair takes another sip.

“Would you come with me?” You ask.

Crosshair sharply exhales and rolls his eyes, “You know how I just love unplanned adventures with pirates.”

“So you will?” You squint your eyes at him.

“I can hardly wait,” he sarcastically agrees and finishes his morning drink.

Chapter II: Going Home

++++++++++++++++++++++ taglist ++++++++ @heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel

I don’t have to work tomorrow. 🥹 Thinking I’ll work on my fic and make more Star Wars art.

Getting better with watercolor

II. Going Home

Closure Series

Warnings: SFW Romance between Crosshair x fem!reader, brotherly banter, adventure brewing, life on Pabu

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Hunter x Phee x Wrecker

Word count: 3508

Read Chapter I. Nightmares of Eriadu Read the Prequel Series

A few days later, you woke to the home smelling like baked goods again and the sound of Hunter and Crosshair fighting on the roof, again.

“Your work is sloppy!” Crosshair yells across the roof. “You’re the reason we’re up here fixing it again!” Hunter barks back. A loud thud hit the roof. You assume Hunter had thrown a hammer at Crosshair.

“If you hadn’t done such a terrible job fixing it the first time, I wouldn’t have disassembled it a second time!” Crosshair hisses back. 

Rolling your eyes, you stand up and walk out of the room to avoid hearing any more brotherly banter. You knew Wrecker was home based on how the home smelled, so you headed to the kitchen to check on him. 

You peer around the corner as Wrecker takes another sheet of baked goods from the oven. The entire room was stacked with baked goods, pastries, cakes, breakfast items, dinner items, and more.

“What’s all of this for?” You marvel at the towers of food.

“What’s, what?” Wrecker stands up quickly from behind a counter. You motion around to the stacks of cakes and baked goods, “What’s this?”

“Oh. Well, I miss the kid, so I guess I got a little carried away,” Wrecker says as he looks at the stacks of carbs around him. “But I guess the island might like a few things.”

“I don’t think anyone would pass up your food, Wrecker,” you assure. “Could I have some?” “Well, none of it will eat itself!” Wrecker smiles and hands you a plate of pancakes.

“How was your supply run with Shep?” You ask as you tear into a few pancakes.

“Uneventful, but I suppose that’s good,” he shrugs.

“You were probably hoping for some action, weren’t you?” You chattered.

“Yeah. I don’t seem to blow things up as often as I used to,” he sighs and starts to stir a new bucket of batter. “Life is a little slower these days, even if I’m still dragged along to be the muscle.”

“I think Crosshair and I are going to set out on an adventure with Phee here soon, would you want to come?” You ask, but hadn’t heard Crosshair enter the room.

“Well, now everyone will want to come,” Crosshair rolls his eyes.

“It might not be a bad thing,” you shrug.

“What wouldn’t be a bad thing?” Hunter asks as he enters the room.

“Just a small adventure, you know, to get our minds off things. Reset a bit,” you explain.

“You’re not selling it right,” Crosshair motions. 

“Oh no,” you said under your breath as you knew Crosshair would reveal your true intentions.

“She and Phee want to look for Tech on Eriadu,” he announces.

“You what?” Hunter says in shock and takes the half-bitten roll out of his mouth. 

You bit your lip and felt your shoulders come up to your ears. “In my defense, it was Phee’s idea.”

“And you were going to go without us?” Hunter presses.

“Not intentionally —” you start.

“But intentionally,” Crosshair butts in and eyes Hunter.

“What’s your problem with me?” Hunter squints at Crosshair and takes a step towards him. You take Crosshair’s hand as a preventative measure.

“Cross, I swear if you bring the roof up, I’m going to ask Wrecker to blow it up a third time,” you complain as you rub your forehead in frustration.

“I get to blow what up?” Wrecker exclaims as he looks up again from his baking activities. 

“Fine,” Crosshair sighs and relaxes his posture.

You turn back to Hunter, “Look, Phee will be back soon. We can ask her if she has any details together, but I think she's looking for closure. I agree with everyone, Tech would have established contact with you if he survived. We may be searching for nothing, but at least we’ll know after.”

Hunter studies your eyes and nods, “It might be good for all of us to return.”

Wrecker sits down at the table to join the conversation. He sighs from exhaustion and seems to shake the baking aura off to focus on matters at hand.

“I’d like to go,” he softly declares. “It never felt right leaving him. And we never got the chance to return properly.” 

Hunter nods in Wrecker's direction, “When does Phee get back?”

“Tonight,” you respond.

____

You and Clone Force 99 waited at the spaceport for Phee to arrive. Nightfall swept over the island as you followed the lit trail up to the port. After watching the skyline for a while, her ship descended from the stars. 

Phee’s gray and blue ship rests and steam releases from the air seal as the door opens.

“I didn’t expect a welcoming committee,” Phee jokes, her hands on her hips as she stands at the top of the stairs. 

“Phee,” Hunter cut to the chase, “Can we come with you to Eriadu?”

Phee eyes you, raises an eyebrow, and walks down the stairs, “You’re that bad at keeping secrets?”

“It wasn’t my secret to keep,” you say back. 

“Well, the more the merrier,” Phee nods. “We’ll prepare the ship in the morning,” 

Hunter nods back and turns to walk back to town, “Crosshair, you finish the roof.”

“Ugh,” Crosshair’s cute disdainful groan in response made you smile. 

The next morning, Crosshair applied the finishing touches to the roof, Wrecker packed Phee’s ship, Phee prepped the ship, while you and Hunter gathered remaining supplies from in-town. 

“Hunter, do we have a plan?” You ask him. 

“Not really. I was thinking we could covertly hike there from the city,” Hunter says as he picks out a few fruit for the ship. “Did you have any ideas? This was your mission first.”

“No,” you shook your head. “Honestly, the chills I felt the first time you told me Tech died outside of Tarkin’s compound haven’t left me.”

“Tell me something,” Hunter pauses his grocery efforts. “Do you really think Tech is dead?”

You bit your lip to focus on what you had heard from Tech’s sacrifice.

“Hunter,” you hesitate, “There are two things about the story that make me curious if he is still out there.”

“And what’s that?” He took a step closer to you and grew serious.

“Wrecker told me Hemlock only brought back the Tech’s goggles,” you mutter. 

“Mhmm,” Hunter affirms.

“And you told me that Hemlock would have brought you back to Tarkin’s compound because Tarkin wanted to question you personally about raiding his compound.”

“What are you getting at?” Hunter questions.

“I have a horrible feeling that Hemlock brought Tech to Tarkin for questioning before he had returned his goggles to you,” you nearly whisper.

“You’re saying you think Tarkin kept Tech imprisoned on Eriadu?!” Hunter exclaims. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Hunter’s voice grew louder.

You stood there in silence, feeling the guilt wash over.

“Tell me,” Hunter demands.

“Eriadu,” you hesitate. “I don’t exactly want to go back.”

“You and Crosshair are too much alike,” Hunter scowls and turns from you.

“Listen, it’s just a theory,” you look at the ground. “There’s opposing facts too. How would Tech have survived that fall?” Hunter’s shoulders relax, “That’s true.”

“And knowing what I know about Tech, he would have escaped that compound. Or he would have sent us a message. But he never made contact,” you shrug lightly.

Hunter sighs and places his hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry I got upset,” Hunter apologizes. “I guess there’s a lot we don’t know.”

“And that’s why we’re going,” you assure.

“I made some poor decisions that day as a leader,” Hunter confesses. “If Tech’s death is anyone’s fault, it is mine.”

“Omega told me Tech would have gone to look for Crosshair whether you approved of the mission or not,” you reply. “That’s oddly been a strength for Crosshair through the years.”

“Hmm,” Hunter nods and returns to his groceries. “I meant to ask you,” he pauses and picks up a few more pieces of fruit, “Why in Maker’s name is Crosshair shooting holes in the ceiling?”

“I’m just letting him do his thing,” you roll your eyes. “You know him, picking fights and picking his teeth are the only way he keeps his brain active when there’s no mission. Which… has been his life lately.”

“So that’s what his problem is?” Hunter chuckles. 

“I mean, it makes sense. For a soldier genetically designed to be a sniper, of course his cranial activity would keep him on edge constantly,” you laugh. “Honestly, you two have that in common. It makes sense that you and him butt heads so often.”

“Hmm, I suppose he isn’t guilty of being the only stubborn one,” Hunter notes. He inspects a few more pieces of fruit, places them in his bag, pays the merchant, and turns to you, “Thanks for keeping a close eye on him.”

“I’m surprised he isn’t sick of me yet,” you simper.

“Don’t think he could get sick of you,” Hunter alluded. “None of us had even considered he was a romantic until you turned up.”

_________

Piling into Phee’s ship, Hunter and Phee take the pilot and co-pilot seats. Wrecker sits behind Phee, and you and Crosshair lean against the computer near the door. He reaches for your hand and almost secretly holds it away from his brother’s eyes. You interlace your fingers with his. 

Phee gently takes off from the spaceport and pilots her ship to the sky. With a few smooth actions, she prepares to jump to hyperspace. 

“Are you okay?” Crosshair asks. You hadn’t noticed that your grip around his hand tightened. 

“I’m sorry,” you apologize as you lighten your grip. “I still have a hard time leaving Pabu.”

“I’m what keeps you safe, not that island,” Crosshair reminds you. 

“Right,” you surmise sarcastically.

“Let me at least pretend you need me,” he sighs. 

“I do need you,” you reassure. “You know I’m a good shot, but you know you’re better.”

“How touching,” Crosshair smiles a little, but you notice he’s a little off.

“Are you okay?” You let your voice drop just above a whisper. Suddenly, his prosthetic hand shakes a little in your grip. You feel your eyes widen and meet his equally surprised gaze. He stuffs the mechanical hand into his pocket, shuffles around you, and puts his opposite arm around you to pull you closer.

“I’m fine,” he whispers, but you knew he knew he wasn’t. He holds his breath for what feels like too long before sharply exhaling, “I’m afraid of what we’ll find… I – I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

You nod into his chest and tighten your embrace around him. You whisper, “Thanks for letting me in.”

“Only you,” Crosshair quietly notes.

“Are you two loving nerf herders going to help with the plan?” Hunter called from his seat.

You slide out of Crosshair’s embrace and wink at him before walking to the front of the ship.

“Depends on what you need me to do, Hunter,” you deflect.

“We’re going to land just outside of Eriadu City,” Hunter points to a holomap.

“How will we get to the compound without being seen?” Wrecker asks.

“We walk,” Crosshair sighs.

Wrecker groans.

“If we get into a jam, we’re going to need a pick up,” you point out. 

“I’ll stay in the city close to the ship,” Phee insists.

“Phee — ” You start.

“No,” Phee points at you, “You know the terrain, and you three should be the first on-site, if we find anything,” Phee continues.

“It will be a long hike. The compound is very remote,” you add.

“We know,” Hunter was lost in a gaze at the map. “If we can follow this rail line,” he traces the holomap with his finger, “Then we can find our answers.”

“I’ll keep my comm close,” Phee vacillates. 

You look across the holomap into Phee’s eyes. Her mixed demeanor of determination and melancholy had you worried she wanted to say more. If Crosshair was lost in action, you wouldn’t want to stay with the ship. You’d want to be the one in the forest to find him.

“Will you be okay, Phee?” You ask. 

She turns to you and nods confidently. “I’ve heard great things about Eriadu’s past with pirates. I have some exploring to do,” she turns her expression into a smile.

“Stay safe,” you nod confidently back.

________________________ The ship’s airlock released and you descended the stairs into Eriadu City. The skyscrapers were abundant; the trees significantly larger than memory; the air smelled familiar.

“What’s wrong?” Crosshair asks you, seeing the bewilderment on your face.

“Nothing,” you look back at him and then to the sky once more. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve been here. Even the Republic didn’t have clones last time I was here.”

“Hmm,” he looks up with you and places a toothpick between his lips. 

“Well, where do we go from here?” Hunter looks at you. Displaying the holomap from your device, you trace a path to the city leading to the outskirts.

“We’ll start heading through the city and exit to the south,” you switch off the holomap and place it in your pocket. You inhale the air deeply once more to revel in its familiarity, then place your air-locking helmet on. “We’ll need to stay unnoticed.” Hunter opts to wrap his head in his scarf while keeping his helmet in a bag at his side. Wrecker and Crosshair dawn their helmets and conceal their weapons inconspicuously under their gray ponchos. You kept your blaster at your side, but would attempt to walk between the clones to be less seen. You turn back to the ship to wave Phee off, but she is nowhere to be seen. 

“Is Phee okay?” You ask Wrecker.

“I don’t know. She stayed on the ship,” he relays.

“Ready?” Hunter asks the team. You, Wrecker, and Crosshair give him a nod of approval. Setting off into the city, you stayed closest to Crosshair. You suspect nobody would recognize you in the helmet, but you remain cautious and vigilant. It was an old helmet after all with a bit of a galactic reputation. 

The city was still clean, but with Governor Tarkin’s influence in the Empire, the city was much more Imperial than you remembered. School children wore imperial uniforms, the city's walkway and buildings were monochrome, the speeders were limited in styles, and there was no artistic culture other than the large propaganda posters draping from the skyscrapers. The population however had boomed. 

“See anything familiar?” Crosshair asks.

“No, not really,” you respond while gazing. “Everything’s changed.”

Within two hours or so, the squad reached the edge of the city and started into the jungle. It would be at least a day's walk before you had reached the rail line to the Tarkin compound. 

“Tired yet?” Crosshair nudges Wrecker.

“Not even close,” he banters back with a strong sense of determination.

“What are we up against here in the forest?” Hunter asks you.

Now that you are outside of the public eye, you take your helmet off and run your hand through your hair. “The wildlife is mostly harmless. Nothing we can’t escape or kill.”

“Are there patrols in these forests?” Crosshair asks as he studies the hills through his scope.

“I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised. Tarkin has always been an important political figure on this planet, but now he is nearly indispensable to the Empire. I imagine they’d protect him at all costs and would have heightened security after that Saw Gerrera incident,” you explain. “Sorry for the limited intel,” you add.

“It’s okay. We surprisingly have more intel than last time,” Hunter sighs. “Let’s head in.”

________________________ Back at the ship, Phee leans back into the pilot's seat and ganders across the spaceport's hustle. The large city attracts merchants from all over the galaxy creating hundreds of daily imports and transactions. Phee sighs, stretches, and stands after a few hours of watching the inhabitants. 

She opens the doorway to her ship, slips on her leather satchel, and walks down the stairs into the crowds. Sealing and locking her ship, she doesn’t look back as she begins to walk. Passing various shops and businesses, Phee finds a bar and heads in. 

Approaching the bartending droid, she sits down on a bar stool and leans into the counter. 

“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” she instructs the droid as she points to a random alien across the room.

“Coming right up,” the droid chirps and pours her drink. She catches it as the droid slid it down the bar. She buries her head into her arm and breathes a bit. Reaching for her comm, she picks up her head a little.

“Hunter, what’s your status?” She says confidently.

“Nothing so far. We just made it out of the city,” Hunter reports back. “We’ll check in again soon.”

________________

“All right, now my feet are aching,” Wrecker complains a little. It had been hours of hiking and night would fall soon. “I could rest for a minute too,” you agree and find a rock to sit on.

“How much longer?” Wrecker asks.

You illuminate your holomap and find the rail line to still be a good distance from your current location.

“We’ve made good progress,” Hunter notes. “Should we set up camp now while there’s still daylight or trek through the night?” “Seeing that we haven’t confirmed patrols, setting up camp has its disadvantages,” Crosshair notes. “I feel like we’re being watched.” “I’ve been feeling it too,” Hunter nods. “Have you noticed anything?” He asks you.

You shake your head, “I’ve been nervous since arriving. I’m not sure if my instincts are reliable for this mission.” “Our risk for exposure only increases the closer we get to the compound,” Crosshair mentions.

“True,” Hunter agrees. “We should rest here while we can, but stay alert.”

You and Wrecker nod in agreement. Opening your sac, you pull out your small makeshift tent and begin to pitch it. Crosshair takes one end of the tent and begins setting it up.

“Did you forget your tent on purpose?” You tease him.

“Uh-huh,” he grunts while focusing on setting his side up. You smile at him and pause your work to catch his eye. He notices your gaze and gives you a soft smile back.

Wrecker takes out rations from his pack and begins heating them over a small fire Hunter made. Having finished your camp set up, you and Crosshair join Wrecker and Hunter around the fire. The sky begins to darken and the stars of Eriadu appear, catching your gaze.

“I used to make up stories about these constellations with my brothers,” you say.

“Any good stories?” Wrecker exults. 

“It’s all nonsense really. Crix made up a story about a force-sensitive rancor that terrorized villages of Eriadu,” you laugh. You point up to the sky with your finger, “That group of stars there, that’s the rancor. I think Crix called him Mirax the Destroyer.”

“What other stories do you know?” Hunter asks as he sets down his drink.

“Nothing else that I remember, actually. We never spent time learning what legends actually existed here,” you realize.

“Sounds like an Imperial thing to do,” Crosshair sighs.

“Yeah, I never thought about it like that,” you mutter.

“We’ll take the first watch,” Crosshair changes the subject quickly.

You nod in agreement, “Yeah, Hunter, get some good rest. I’ll be relying on your instincts while mine are a little whacked here.” “Fine,” he narrowly eyes you and Crosshair. “Just stay focused, you two.” Wrecker lets out a loud laugh and slaps Crosshair’s back while Crosshair rolls his eyes in response.

“Obviously, we’ll keep watch,” you groan.

Hunter stands and makes his way to the tent. Wrecker stretches and does the same. 

“Night, you two,” Wrecker laughs.

“Grow up, Wrecker,” Crosshair huffs. “Heh, never,” Wrecker booms back. He lifts the entrance to his tent and lays down inside, his feet sticking out the end. 

Letting the silence sit for a few moments after Hunter and Wrecker’s departure, you wait for Wrecker to begin snoring. After hearing Wrecker’s sounds of sleep echo throughout the camp, you turn your attention towards Crosshair. 

You run your hand up his chest and cradle his jaw in your fingertips, moving his lips closer to yours. He pulls you closer and kisses you slowly. With both hands, you tighten your grip around his poncho and let yourself fall back, pulling him onto you. Crosshair deepens the kiss, dancing his tongue with yours, and buries his hands in your hair. Your eyes close and you breathe him in.

He pulls back suddenly as you begin to say, “It’s been so long since we’ve had a moment to oursel–.”  You notice Crosshair’s attention is no longer on you. Tracing his gaze, you lean your head backwards to see what caught his attention. You didn’t need to look far.

Standing above you was a masked man, pointing his blaster right at you and Crosshair.

_____

Part III. Familiar Face

++++++++++++++++++++ taglist+ lemme know if you want to be added +++++++++++

@heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel @maniacalbooper

III. Familiar Face

Closure Series

SFW | Crosshair x fem!reader

I. Nightmares of Eriadu & II. Going Home

Warnings: SFW Romance between Crosshair x fem!reader, alcohol, blaster violence, grief, processing grief

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Hunter x Phee x Wrecker

Word Count: 4360

___________

Phee exits the bar a little buzzed, but more tired than under the influence. She makes her way back to the ship, listening to passerby conversations as she whisks by. The cold air, surprisingly soft on her cheeks, keeps her alert as her drink wears off with each step. Eriadu’s night life was bustling, but controlled. It seemed the inhabitants of the city enjoyed their leisure time, despite being on a planet with high Imperial standards. 

Phee turns a corner and heads through a crowded alley to return to the spaceport. Lightning shoots through her veins as she picks out a familiar laugh in the crowd. She spins trying to locate the sound, but cannot place where the laugh came from. 

“Now my mind is playing tricks on me,” she says as she returns her focus to the pathway ahead.

The familiar laughter sounds again, she stops in her tracks once more. She spies a crowd of mixed individuals and hears the laughter again. Each step closer, she found her heart racing faster and faster. Her body breaks a sweat and she feels her stomach press against her throat as her anxieties quell her breathing. She touches her forehead in hopes to regain her senses; wondering how her sensibility was so easily lost. She pushes through a few individuals and scans their faces.

Recognizing no one, she releases her held breath. Phee scans the crowd once more then turns to leave, but instead collides into a man trying to brush past her. The contents of her bag spill and she ducts to the ground to gather her things. The man crouches down with her and helps, handing her credits and random collection of treasures back. Phee looks up to see a man with a chiseled jawline and eyepatch. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he reports as he catches Phee’s gaze. “I don’t see very well without my helmet.”

Phee studied his cheekbones, hairline, and dark brown eye. Her eyes followed his neckline and down his arm, which was covered by a thick orange armor. The armor had seen some action, as it featured black scuffs and scratches. The armor plating enhanced his shoulder-width, making the man intimidating to stand near.

“Tech?” She vacillates. 

The man didn’t respond, but instead stood up impatiently. Phee rises from the ground to meet his eye once more. 

“You’re Tech, right?” She presses.

He squints like he can’t see well, and hands her a dropped ration bar, “I apologize: I do not know of anyone named ‘Tech,’” he informs. “I will be returning to my party now.” He brushes past Phee and enters back into the crowd. A tall, hairy individual slaps him on the back, “What a rush earlier, Captain Solomon!” 

“If you want to call nearly losing the freighter a ‘rush,’ then I suppose little phases you,” he engages back. Phee reaches for her comm and quietly speaks into it, “Come in, Hunter.” She waits for a response but hears nothing. “Hunter, Wrecker? Anyone.”

She can’t take her eyes off of him. Finding herself to have lost her words, Phee continues to stand in the midst of the bustling crowd dumbfounded, but studying his every move and word. She moves to lean against the alley wall and studies him from afar. 

He was commanding the conversation, leading, and yet, still couldn’t quite look anyone in the eye. Surprisingly, many couldn’t look him in the eyes either – probably due to the eyepatch and scaring – and it leveled the conversational playing field. 

______________________________________________ The blaster slightly quivers as the masked intruder appears nervous. You lay frozen underneath Crosshair, while he looks past the blaster and tries to meet the stranger’s gaze. You reach for your blaster with stealth.

“Easy now,” Crosshair speaks to the armed man. 

“Get off my sister, clone,” a voice from the helmet escapes. 

“Sister?” Crosshair rises to his knees, his hands up to surrender. Your hand freezes at your blaster’s hilt. With your other hand you rub your eyes then stand to meet the masked man’s eyes.

“Crix?” You say as you lower his blaster to the ground. Crosshair relaxes behind you.

The man takes off his helmet, revealing himself to be your brother Crix. It has been years since you’ve seen him. His hair, once shaggy and grown out, was cropped to a soldier's length. His eyes had a new intensity about them.

“What are you doing out here?” You ask him.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Crix grunts.

“I’m here on business,” you report. 

Crix’s expression shifted from intense to a confused look. “With clones?”

“Do you have a problem with that?” You fire off.

“I followed you from the city,” he sits down around the fire and places his blaster on the ground. “I thought you were their prisoner or something.” “I guess that could have been easy to believe,” you shrug.

“You’re really with them now?” Crix looks up at Crosshair. 

“Yes, for several years now,” you admit as you sit down around the fire once more and take Crosshair’s hand.

“So, why are you here? I thought you were dead,” Crix returns his marveled gaze back to you. 

“They lost a brother here near Uncle’s compound. We’re here to find anything there is to find,” you reveal. 

“Can we trust him?” Crosshair nudges you and whispers. 

You turn and nod, “We can.”

Turning your attention back to Crix, you ask “Why are you here?” “Work,” he shrugs. 

“You look different than when I saw you last. You’re healthier,” you falter.

“I’ve had some help. After some trouble with the Pikes and issues with the spice itself, I found my way back,” he shrugs again. “Uncle offered me a place to stay and a position in his guard.”

Crosshair’s hand trembles against yours: He couldn’t hide his fear of the situation. You questioned if you could trust Crix, but you shook off the thought.

You heard Hunter exit his tent and walk over to the fire.

“Who’s this?” He says.

“Crix, my brother,” you introduce.

“Brother?” Hunter asks. You could hear the worry in his voice.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” you swore.

Hunter sits down nervously. The fire continues to stir and crackle. 

“Well, I’m glad you had a change of heart,” Crix starts. “Are you also working for Uncle? I hadn’t heard anything, but then again, they never tell me anything.”

“What do you mean working for Unc — ” Hunter begins, but you punch his arm to shut him up.

“That was for burning my meal earlier,” you bark at Hunter. Hunter recognizes your act and falls silent. You sit up tall again and brush off your top. “Yes, Uncle knows I’m here with my Imperial unit to investigate the fallen,” you improvise.

Hunter returns his gaze to the fire realizing you had saved the squad from his close mistake. You feel his worry return; and then recognize the situation to be far more unsafe and your improvisation would likely make things worse.

Crix thinks you’re Imperial and working with clones. Doesn’t he know they’re decommissioned at this point? You think to yourself.

Crix looks at the clones and pauses, taking in their lack of soldier appearance and demeanor. He studies their face tattoos, messy hair, Hunter’s lack of armor, and returns to look at Crosshair and raises his eyebrow, “And you were… With this clone earlier.”

“I’ll do what I want,” you shrug. 

“And these clones are rather,” Crix hesitates.

“Say it,” you snake. You realize he was catching on.

“Old,” he admits and places a hand back on his blaster as your story suddenly felt fishy.

Hunter and Crosshair pull their weapons on him.

“Don’t even think about it,” Crosshair snaps.

“Old, but fast,” Hunter takes aim.

“Don’t,” you stand and motion them to lower their weapons. Instead, you hear Crosshair set his blaster to stun.

“I can’t do that,” Crosshair stands next to you. 

“You aren’t Imperial then, are you?” Crix looks crushed. “I — I don’t want to do what I have to.” He starts to move his hand towards his comm and raises his blaster.

Like lightning, you draw your blaster and stun him. “Then you won’t have to,” you sigh. Crix hits the ground and you feel your heart shatter.

His comm sounds, “Crix? Crix, what’s your status?” “Damn,” you kick dirt on Crix. “I should have stayed on the ship.” 

“They’ll come for him soon,” Crosshair put a hand on your shoulder. “We need to leave.”

“Wrecker!” Hunter calls to his tent as he darts towards his own. “Wrecker! We need to go!”

Wrecker’s tent shifts from side to side as he crawls out. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

You run to his tent to help him tear down.

“We’ve been compromised,” you admit.

“We were followed” Crosshair adds as he tears down the tent you never shared.

Camp was torn down quickly and you found yourself spending too much time slowly kicking the fire out. Your tears sizzled into the black charcoal. Crosshair calmly puts his arms around you.

“I’m sorry,” you say into his chest to hide your eyes. “You knew something was off and I didn’t listen.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Crosshair affirms. “But we have to go.”

“Do we call Phee for a pickup or continue into the forest?” Wrecker asks Hunter.

Hunter illuminates the holomap. 

“If we move fast, Phee can extract us from the midway point of the rail line,” Hunter says.

“It’s risky,” Crosshair mentions. “It’s likely he told someone we’re here before he made his approach,” he motions towards Crix.

“But we’re not coming back to Eriadu anytime soon,” Hunter sighs. “And – I’m done leaving our own behind.” Crosshair, caught off-guard by the comment, looks into Hunter’s eyes and exchanges a sorrowful expression. “Then we gotta move fast,” Wrecker stretches his quads out.

“Let’s go,” Hunter orders.

The squad begins running through the forest. Moving as quickly as you could, it would still take over an hour on foot to reach the intersection with the gondola line. You dig in and move quickly.

“Phee?” Hunter comms in. “Come in, Phee.”

“Hunter?” Phee exclaims. “Sorry I haven’t stayed in touch. I found something… Interesting.” 

Hunter slows his pace, “What do you mean interesting?” “I found a man that looks like Tech. But I haven’t confirmed if it’s him,” Phee informs.

“What do you mean, looks like Tech?” Hunter gasps for air as he continues to run.

“I mean, I called him Tech and he didn’t respond. But he looks like him, acts like him — sounds like him — ,“ Phee was interrupted.

“It could have been any clone,” Hunter blurts.

“No, I recognized him. It’s him. I can feel it,” Phee explains.

“Well, whether it’s him or not, this will need to wait,” Hunter mentions. “We’re going to need a pickup sooner than we thought.” “No, you’ll need to wait,” Phee indicates. “I’m going to put a tracker on his ship.”

“Phee, we’ve been compromised,” Hunter picks up his pace again. “Will you be at the extraction point or not?”

“I’ll be on my way, but I’m not letting him out of my sight until that tracker is placed,” Phee argues back. Hunter sighs heavily out of frustration, “Fine. Do what you want, then come pick us up at the midway point in the railway.”

“Well, this is going well,” Crosshair interjects.

“Move faster,” Hunter banters back.

________________________

Phee silently follows the pirate brigade back to their ship. It was a large cargo ship, built to sustain the large crew that followed the man they referred to as “Captain Solomon.” They file into their ship as Phee switches on her tracking device and magnetically seals it to the hull. 

“Now, don’t you go anywhere that I can’t follow,” she says as she looks up at the ship. She sneaks away to find her own ship.

________________________

“What is it?” Crosshair notices Hunter’s expression change and his pace slow.

“There are two speeders up ahead,” he gasps for air. “Plan 44.”

“Plan 44?” Wrecker says confused.

Hunter inhales deeply and tries to stand up straight again, “I’m getting too old for this.”

“What’s Plan 44?” Wrecker tries the room again.

“Just be ready if I miss my shot,” Crosshair sighs and fixes his scope on the incoming traffic. 

He side-eyes you quickly, “On my mark, throw a detonator into the air near that treeline.”

You grab a thermal detonator from your pack and switch it on. You hear the speeders approach. They hadn’t come into view, but Crosshair engaged.

“Throw it,” Crosshair instructs. You throw it high into the air and towards the speeders. Crosshair makes the shot and it explodes in the air, creating a loud, smoky diversion. 

“Get ready,” Hunter crouches and pulls out his gun. 

The first speeder exits the smoke cloud and Crosshair shoots its engine, causing it to explode instantaneously. The second speeder rams into the first, igniting its own engines. Crosshair shoots the engine anyway, causing a second explosion.

“Well, they’ll know we’re here now,” Crosshair looks at Hunter.

“Just keep moving,” Hunter begins to jog again and takes out his comm. “Phee, what’s your status?” 

“I’m leaving the spaceport now,” Phee reports back.

“This’ll be close,” Hunter sighs.

The railway in the sky comes into view as you summit a hill. 

“There it is,” Wrecker lifts his helmet to take in the view.

“We need to keep moving,” Crosshair reminds him.

The squad runs down the hill and continues towards the rail line. Hunter begins to look for the peak the rail connects to.

“That’s where we crashed,” he points and traces the line. “So, about there is where he would have landed.”

It was still a good distance out. The team continued to job through the forest on high-alert. Surprisingly, there weren’t any speeders to follow up.

“Did we destroy the patrol? And was that a standard patrol? Perhaps they didn’t know we were here,” you say.

“I don’t think we’re that lucky,” Crosshair pants.

“I guess we’ll see,” you try to keep some hope. 

After another twenty minutes of jogging, the rail line was just overhead.You knew Phee would arrive soon, leaving the team only a few minutes to find what they could. The ground beneath the rail was overgrown, rough with rocks, and damp from rainfall. Crosshair sighs as you knew his perfect eyesight offered no advantage in finding clues here. 

“Hunter!” Wrecker calls, “You’re gonna want to see this.” Hunter jogs over to Wrecker. You and Crosshair exchange glances and follow. Wrecker stands looking over a ditch in silence. With a sinking feeling, you and Crosshair climb the hill to look into the ravine with Wrecker. You felt yourself gasp at the view.

“It’s the rail car,” Crosshair nearly whispers.

“Come on,” Hunter jumps into the ditch to investigate. The squad follows.

“Wrecker, get this open,” Hunter points at the door as the open ends of the rail had been consumed by nature.

“On it,” Wrecker stretches and grabs the inside of the door jam and forces it open. The cart was empty and intact.

“He may be under it,” Hunter realizes.

“On it,” Wrecker returns to the exterior and begins lifting the cart. It hardly budges due to the tree limbs and roots that had grown through it. You crouch down and look through the crevice that Wrecker created from lifting it.

“Can you see anything?” Hunter asks.

You click your flashlight on and investigate. It’s dark underneath, but even with the flashlight, nothing of importance stuck out.

“We’ll have to lift this entire car up if we’re to tell if anything is here,” you report back.

“We can anchor the car to Phee’s ship,” Crosshair suggests.

You hear a ship in the distance and get up from the ground. “I think I hear her coming,” you say.

“That’s not Phee,” Crosshair cautions as he sees the incoming vessel. 

“Uh oh,” Wrecker looks upward.

“Shit,” you could see the Imperial vessel headed your way. 

“Hide. They knew they’d find us here,” Crosshair says.

“I agree,” Hunter nods. 

Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker brush past you heading further into the trees. You stayed staring upwards, begging your legs to move. 

“Come on!” You hear Crosshair yell. You take a step back, then another. 

But you were too slow; there was no escape.

The Imperial ship lands just ahead of you beside the rail car. You addressed the nervous, sinking feeling you had felt since you arrived on Eriadu: your uncle Governor Tarkin was home.

Tarkin slinks down the ship’s ramp, standing tall; his hands positioned behind his back as he likely rehearsed in front of mirrors. His silver hair slicked back, eyes focused, and clothes freshly pressed. Crix follows behind him, his head down as he was afraid to meet your eyes. You draw your blaster as you eye the rest of Tarkin’s guard exits the ship.

“Welcome home,” Tarkin calls to you.

“Where’s your Jedi pet?” You snark back, referring to his dear Lord Vader.

“Attending other duties,” he scoffs and looks at his nails. “No, I’m afraid you won’t escape today.”

“Just watch me,” you threaten effortlessly.

“Crix, take her into custody,” Tarkin motions Crix forward. “Guard, look for the old clones.” Crix walks towards you and takes your hand to place into a cuff. “Guess you should have killed me when you had the chance,” he whispers close to your ear.

“You don’t have to do this,” you sigh. “You have a choice.”

Crix takes your other hand and places it into the cuff, but doesn’t lock either side. 

“You were always braver than me,” he squeezes your hands softly. 

The blaster fire erupts from the treeline as Clone Force 99 engages with Tarkin’s guard. You turn to see one of his guard members blast into the air from one of Wrecker’s explosions, followed up by an onslaught of blaster fire from Hunter and Crosshair.

“Uncle should have brought back up,” you smile.

You hear Phee’s ship in the distance; time was running out to search for Tech; but you felt relief. You look at Governor Tarkin, who was taking out his comm device. You pulled your blaster and fired a shot at him, knocking his comm unit from his hand. You switch to stun and approach him, shooting multiple stun blasts his way. One finally hits and sinks him to the ground. You walk over to him with Crix and begin to drag Tarkin into his shuttle. 

“Do you ever just want to kill him?” Crix bluntly asks as you and him heave Tarkin’s body up the ramp.

“Yeah, I’ve had that thought cross my mind,” you admit. “But family is family, even if they hate you.”

“I wish he saw it that way,” Crix sighs. “He really hates you. It doesn’t make sense to him that you’re happy without the Empire… Without the family.”

“Will you come with us?” You propose.

Crix shook his head, “Maybe it’s not a bad thing for the both of us if I stay.”

You nod without the energy to fight him on it, “I still have your back, Crix, should you ever need me.”

“Go,” Crix smiles softly at you. “I have your back too.”

“I’ll see you around then,” you give your brother a hug, then exit the shuttle. The ramp closes with a cloud of air as the door seals.

Crix pilots the shuttle and lifts off towards the compound.

“Will he send reinforcements?” Hunter asks you as the team walks to your side.

“I don’t think so,” you watched Crix fly off. “Crix i’s playing both sides now.”

Phee’s ship comes into view and hovers above the trees. The squad meets at the railcar and prepares to lift it.

“Phee, send down a line. We’re going to move the railcar from the ground,” Hunter asks.

“Are we going to run into trouble? I just saw a shuttle leave,” Phee answers back unnerved.

“I think I just added a new crime to my Imperial record,” you respond, “But I think we’ll be okay for a little bit.”

Phee’s cables from the ship begin to descend to the ground. “A new crime?” Crosshair lightly grins.

“I stunned Tarkin,” you shrug.

“That must have felt marvelous,” he chuckles as he grabs one of the cables and attaches it to the frame of the car. Hunter grabs the second and attaches it to the opposite end. Everyone stands back from the car.

“Lift off slightly, Phee,” Hunter instructs.

With a terrible noise of scraping metal, the railcar begins to lift from the ground as Phee propels upward carefully. Branches snap, the Earth slightly rumbles, and the railcar floats above ground as Phee moves it off to the side. 

“Phee, set it down there.,” Hunter comms again.

Phee sets the railcar down a few hundred feet away from the squad. Wrecker and Crosshair run to remove the cables, then Phee lands her ship near the treeline. She runs from the cockpit and descends the stairs to join you.

The squad runs to where the car lifted from and investigates. The ground was soft, but there was nothing remarkable about it. You maintain a respectful demeanor as you search for bones or ripped clothing. There was nothing. Not even Tech’s legendary data pad could be found.

“Well, if he was here, he isn’t now,” Wrecker observes audibly. “The car would have crushed him unless he had moved from its path somehow.”

“Could he have?” Hunter asks him, knowing Wrecker and Omega watched him fall.

“I don’t know,” Wrecker shrugs, “If it was me, I don’t think I could have avoided it. He severed the car’s connection to the rail, but not his connection to the car.”

“So where’s his line?” Phee surmised.

The group turns towards the railcar once more. Wrecker jumps on top to inspect. He kneels down and in a victorious pose, holds Tech’s anchor point above his head. 

“Found it!” Wrecker exclaims. He begins to wind it around his elbow and wrist, but finds the end of the line to be severed.

“He or something severed it,” Crosshair resounds.

“He could be anywhere then,” Hunter looks around.

You sharply exhaled upon realizing you’d never find him.

“What?” Crosshair turns to you.

“Nobody could have survived that fall,” you mutter as you gaze upwards to the rail line. “If he wasn’t underneath the car, then…” You wince as you resumed, “He was eaten by the scavenging creatures in the woods. Or worse, collected by the Empire.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Phee confidently joins in. “I just saw him.”

Your eyebrows immediately furrow and you, Wrecker, and Crosshair look to Phee in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Wrecker asks.

“Phee, you could have seen anyone,” Hunter sighs, “I think I see Tech all the time.”

“No,” Phee stood her ground. “I placed a tracker on his ship, next stop —- “ She looked at her datapad and turned the screen to face you and the team, “Agomar.”

“That’s not far from here,” Wrecker looks at Hunter. 

“Hunter, you need to see him for yourself,” Phee places her hands on her hips.

“Phee,” Hunter begins, but finds himself speechless as he couldn’t extinguish her loving flame. 

Her eyes grew intense; you couldn’t say “no.” You knew Phee wouldn’t make this up, so you made the first move.

“I, for one, am sick of this planet, so let's go,” you breathe as you walk towards her ship. Crosshair follows close. “I’m buying everyone a drink on Agomar.”

“Fine,” Hunter sighs and turns to Phee, “We’ll go to Agomar with you, but don’t get your hopes up.” He pauses and takes in the surroundings of Eriadu once more, “He’s gone, Phee.”

______________

You climb the ship’s stairs and head straight to a bunk to lay down. You pull off your helmet and let it fall to the floor as you collapse into the bunk. Your head was spinning and you couldn’t tell if it was the lack of sleep or food causing it. Or perhaps your sudden nausea was from seeing your brother for the first time in years. Maybe it was surviving yet another interaction with your Uncle. You turn into the ship’s wall in hopes of finding some peace as the others piled into the ship. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder slide down your arm and slender body climb into the bunk with you. Crosshair presses a short kiss into the nape of your neck and holds you close. He speaks low and quietly to you.

“You okay?” He asks.

“I’m just… Processing,” you say as you take his hand into yours and hold it close to your chest. “Are you okay?” You return the question.

“Hmmm,” you hear him grimace. You turn in his embrace to hold him tighter. “I’m – also processing.”

Letting your arms sweep over and under his neck, you pull him close as he rolls you on top of him. You pull one arm out from under his head to lay on his chest and rest your chin on. He looks at you so softly, then leans back into the pillow to close his eyes.

“The last time I saw Tech, he left me on Kamino,” he hesitates. “I’ve felt his absence for a long time, but…” He breathes in deeply and exhales with control. “Seeing that car – I felt his death.”

“I’m so sorry you lost him, Crosshair,” you try to console or at least let him know you’re listening.

“Tech always understood me, even when he didn’t agree with me,” Crosshair opens his eyes and chuckles for a moment before the somber expression overtakes him again. He shuts his eyes again and furrows his eyebrows, “I miss him.”

“Do you need to be alone?” You ask, trying to gauge Crosshair’s mood.

“No, don’t go,” he holds you tighter. You lay your head down on his chest and let your arms sweep and drape to his sides. You lay there in silence, knowing neither of you would sleep well as waking nightmares of family, alive and dead, plagued your minds.

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++++++++++++++++++++ taglist+ lemme know if you want to be added +++++++++++

@heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel @maniacalbooper

well your not wrong Lol

1) This is Wrecker and Crosshair

2) I will not be taking any questions

Also I would like a sitcom of the batch pre order 66 so I can get the full backstory behind “I don't even see any blood this time, that's progress”

Also, Crosshair stands with an Imperial Shuttle while the others stand with the Maurader. And Wrecker and Omega stand closer to Crosshair, while Hunter is further back perhaps symbolizing that Hunter will take longer to forgive Crosshair than the others.

I love the attention to detail. Two islands of light. Crosshair on one, the others on the other. They perfectly displayed the huge gap that was created in the first season by Cross. Now he needs to regain the trust of his brothers after almost a year of living apart. From now on, the arc of Crosshair's correction begins in the eyes of the rest of the squad, his rehabilitation begins now and it is not known how soon he will be able to become a full-fledged part of this family again. When they trust him again and accept him as their own.

Omega will most likely help him with this. She was generally a ray of light, a supportive sister who you want to protect. She's the only one who believed in Cross, who trusts him even after all this time. Now that her brother has stopped listening to his demons and has begun his redemption, she must help him become Clone 99 again.

I sincerely hope that his story will not end with his death, otherwise we have already lost one.

TBB Season 3: Episode 5 SPOILERS

Crosshair and Hunter be like in the this episode: