Authors note~ so this is a sequel to my previous Star Wars story that I never actually finished ?. I've got really into the bad batch series and love the group dynamic. I've decided to mix this character into the group because I wrote her to be very similar to the bad batch.
Many years ago before the republic, before the war, before the Jedi were the peacekeepers of the universe, there were the Shadow Walkers...
The Shadow Walkers were the first line of defence for the galaxy but when the galaxy needed them most they vanished…
The Jedi took over as defenders and slowly the galaxy forgot about the shadow walkers. But one remained...
One day, as the war raged on between the light side and the dark, the Jedi council got word as to who and where the shadow walker was. So they sent Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to track her down on Tatooine. Turns out that Anakin knew the Shadow Walker and they were childhood friends. Her name is Valkyrie Petrova.
She returned to Coruscant with Anakin and Obi-Wan to be trained as a Jedi before joining them on the front lines in the war.
As time went on Valkyrie proved to be a great warrior much like Anakin and was given command of her own unit…Clone force 99.
They were together for a while before Valkyrie was called back to help other units.
This is what happened when they were reunited on the battlefields on Anaxes…
Location~ Anaxes
Valkyries P.O.V.
"The droids have overrun our main production facility. It won't be long before the Separatists take Anaxes, compromising our entire reserve fleet" I looked at the schematics in front of us and said
"Where have we gone wrong? What are we missing?" Before the fellow Jedi in the room could respond, Cody and Rex came into the room
"Pardon the interruption, Generals, but Rex here has a good theory on why we keep, uh... losing" Windu then said
"Please, Captain" Rex placed his helmet down on the table and spoke
"The droid army uses analytics to predict our strategy. The first time we use a tactic, it's very effective. The next, less so. In fact, the more we use a certain tactic, the less effective it becomes. They learn our tendencies and use that data against us. To counter them, we're constantly working out ways to vary our attack" Obi-wan then said
"But the losses we are experiencing on Anaxes are not commonplace"
"Exactly. The counter attacks are so specific, it's my strategy the droids know, my playbook" Cody then said
"My concern is that Rex is one of our best. If the droids can learn to defeat him, we may all be vulnerable." Anakin then said
"What do you propose?"
"Let Rex and me take a small squad behind enemy lines. There's a Separatist Cyber Center which relays all battlefield intel to their command ship. If we're going to find anything, it will be there" Windu hesitated for a second before saying
"If you think it will help turn this fight around, get going"
"Thank you, General" I took one look at the expression on Rex's face and said
"Rex, is there anything else?" He hesitated before saying
"No, General" Both he and Cody then swiftly left the command centre.
After Rex and Cody left the room, I turned to the masters and said
"I think I know the perfect men for this job. Cody has worked with them before and their mission record is flawless" Windu looked at me and said
"Who?"
"Clone force 99" Obi-Wan then said
"Your old unit?"
"Yes. Their methods are a little… unorthodox but they get the job done every single time. They have not lost a single battle or mission. Cody can vouch for them" The three of them shared a somewhat concerning look. Anakin then looked over to me; I gave him a brief pleading look causing him to say
"I trust Val and Rex. Obi-Wan trusts Cody. We have no other option; we are losing Anaxes. Maybe right now, we need something radical. I say go for it" Windu hesitated for a moment before saying
"Okay, Okay. Make the call, get them here and you will accompany them on this mission" I bowed my head slightly and said
"Thank you, Master Windu" I then swiftly left the room.
After leaving the command centre I found a quiet area on the base where there were no clones and faint noise from the compound. Once there, I took out my long-range com device and patched in the 99 frequency. Moments later my call was answered
"Well, I'll be… Long time no see Val" I smiled at the pair over hologram and said
"Good to see you too Hunter, Missed me?" Hunter sat back in his chair and said
"Always. And judging by your scenery, this isn't a social call"
"And you'd be right. Hunter, I need your help on Anaxes, the republic needs your help" Tech then spoke
"According to the clone intelligence, the battle for Anaxes is not going so well"
"As always Tech you're right. The tables have turned and the Sepes are regaining their hold on Anaxes. I need your help. Are you in or out?" Hunter thought about it for a moment before looking at Tech and saying
"Tech, how long will it take us to get to Anaxes?" He looked down at his monitors before replying
"Well that depends on how long Wrecker and Crosshair take with these Yalbecs"
"So…"
"And miss the chance to fight alongside our General again..." He was cut off by their ship shaking. I then said
"You boys okay?"
"Oh you know, same old same o…" He was cut off by Wrecker
"We could use some help out here!" Before I got a chance to respond Hunter said
"We'll see you within an hour"
"Thank you, boys. See you soon" they cut off the transmission the second I finished talking.
I turned around and saw Cody walking over. I jumped off the wall I was sat on and said
"Well, we've got our squad"
"Clone force 99?"
"Clone force 99. Gather Rex, Jesse and Kix. We leave within the hour"
"Yes General"
Soon enough an hour had rolled by. I got notified when the Marauder entered the system and went to go join the others. As I approached the barracks I saw Jesse and Kix sitting outside. I just caught the end of their conversation
"I've heard mixed things about these guys" Kix replied
"They have a 100% success rate" Rex and Cody came out as Jesse said
"It's not that they win, it's how they win that worries me" I went to say something but was cut off the PA system
"Repeat, coming in hot on platform TT397"
"Clear the airfield!" I looked up only to see the Marauder coming in at high speed
"Clear the airfield!" Clones were knocked off their feet as the Marauder came in for it's landing.
We then began walking over to the ship whilst Rex spoke
"So why haven't I heard of this squad?" Cody replied
"Experimental unit Clone Force 99, they're defective clones with, uh... desirable mutations"
"99, eh? Nice touch" I then said
"They call themselves "The Bad Batch" Hunter was first to step off the ship, closely followed by Tech and Crosshair. And of course, bringing up the rear was Wrecker. Wrecker then took his helmet off and yelled
"The cavalry has arrived!"
As the team walked towards us Kix said
"These guys are clones? They don't look like clones to me" no one responded to him as I said
"Welcome to Anacreon Boys. Sergeant, good to see you again" I fist-bumped Hunter as he replied
"You too" I then looked back at the others and introduced Hunter
"This is Hunter" Hunter took his helmet off and said
"Sorry, we're later than anticipated. We were putting down an insurrection on Yalbec Prime when your comm came in. Had a few unforeseen... complications" Wrecker then pushed through the group, went up to Jesse and said.
"Ever fought a male Yalbec?"
"Um, no. Can't say I have"
"You're lucky. The only way to kill 'em is with one of these" he then proceeded to pull a large knife out from his boot.
With his helmet rested on his Hip, Hunter said
"That's right. Wrecker here cut off the Queen's stinger while she was still alive. That's why all those Yalbec males tried to eat us" Tech then stepped forward
"Uh, technically, they were trying to mate with us. And, for your information, the stinger of a Yalbec Queen is a delicacy on some planets" I then said
"That's Tech" Hunter then took over
"Yeah, he can fill your head with useless info for hours. Crosshair, on the other hand, he's not much of a conversationalist, but when you have to hit a precise target from ten klicks, Crosshair's your man" Hunter then nudged my shoulder and said
"So, what kind of "suicide mission" do you have for us this time?"
"Let's get going. We'll brief you on the way" we then jumped onto the republic transport behind us
As we were on the way to the drop zone, Crosshair kept looking at Jesse
"What are you looking at? "
"We don't usually work with "regs." Crosshair flicked a toothpick at Jesse
"Regs?" I placed my hand on Jesse's chest plate stopping him from advancing on Crosshair and said
"He's talking about regular clones, Jess. Don't take it personally alright?" I then turned to Crosshair and said
"And you. This ain't a solo Batcher mission, So any issues you've got with Regs, and I know you do, Keep 'em to yourself. We're all on the same team, so cut the attitude. Understand Cross?" He did a sarcastic salute and said
"Understood Val" Rex then said
"That's General Petrova!" I smirked, but before I could speak Hunter said
"Yeah about that… We haven't called Val, general in ages"
Rex then went to say something but was cut off by Cody.
"Here's the mission. Our target is this Cyber Center. It's the "brains" of the entire Separatist campaign here on Anaxes" Wrecker then spoke
"I could demolish that with one hand! Yeah!" You could hear the childlike excitement in his voice. Cody then said
"This isn't a demo job, Wrecker. It's strictly a retrieval operation" Rex was going to say something but was cut off by the pilot
"Incoming fire!" The gunship shook as flames erupted from the rear. Within seconds we were falling through the air
"We're going down!" Wrecker started laughing as we fell.
We then crashed on the surface of Anaxes. Wrecker pushed the door and staggered out with the others. Hunter held out his hand which I took graciously. He pulled me to my feet as Wrecker said
"We always get shot down when we travel with regs" Hunter went to say something but was cut off by Kix
"Cody! Help! He's trapped! We have to do something" Rex began moving towards the ship
"I'll get him" Hunter stopped him and said
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Captain. Wrecker, get him out" As Wrecker put his helmet on I said
"Alright, get back" As we stepped back, Jesse said
"This is ridiculous! He's gonna need help to get Cody out of there" Crosshair chuckled before saying
"He's gonna get the gunship out of there. Not Cody"
Wrecker moved over to the ship and cracked his neck before grabbing the bottom of the ship. He used all his strength to flip the ship. Once the ship was flipped over, wrecker picked up Cody and put him over his shoulder before walking away. As he walked away he simply said
"Boom" milliseconds later the ship blew up.
Wrecker carefully placed Cody on the floor and Kix was at his side in seconds. After checking Cody's injuries he said
"He has internal damage. I can cut the pain. But he needs help fast" I knelt down beside Cody and said
"My powers can help a bit" Crosshair then spoke
"We all need help…That blast gave away our position" we all looked around and saw a unit of droids heading our way. I stood up just as Hunter said
"I thought getting shot down gave away our position" Rex then said
"Everyone, find cover. We'll hold this position and let them come to us" Hunter briefly looked over at me as I said
"it's all yours" Hunter looked back at Rex and said
"I don't think so, Captain. That's not our style. We prefer going to them. Bad Batch! Plan 82, "Shockwave!"" The 4 of them then ran off. Rex looked at me and said
"Are you not going to help them!?" I folded my arms, smirked and said
"They don't need it"
The Bad Batch proceed to charge at the droids as Hunter said
"Let's get to work" One of the battle droids then yelled
"Blast them!" They opened fire on the 4 clones. Whilst firing on the droids, Tech took out his pad before turning to the others and saying
"45, mark 151" He was calculating the trajectory for the droid poppers. Hunter took out a droid popper, turned to Crosshair and repeated
"45, mark 151" He threw the droid popper, detonating in mid-air as Crosshair shoots it, disabling several droids. This continued
"75, mark 357"
"75, mark 357" One of the droids caught the popper and said
"What the-!" The popper was then blasted along with most of the platoon by Crosshair.
As an instinct, my hand made its way to my lightsabre ad multiple spider droids appeared
"Spider droids! Fan out!" The group spread out and took down the spider droids with ease. I let go of my sabre and said
"Somethings never change"
After the last droid exploded, The batch came back over to Rex saying
"That was some show you put on just now" Hunter took his helmet off and replied
"Just doing our job, Captain" I was going to go say something but stopped when Wrecker laughed I turned around to see he had a droid head in his hand, and he was waving it in front of Crosshair
"Hey, look, Crosshair, this little clanker likes you" he laughed again as Crosshair put a toothpick in his mouth and said
"Grow up, Wrecker" I just rolled my eyes and said
"We should move out before reinforcements arrive. Our position has been compromised"
Rex, Cody and I have sat away from the rest of the group. We had found a space in the trees that was covered enough to de used as a resting place. The best part about my powers is when I visit a new location, I get a rush of energy from all the life around me. I can feel the trees talking to each other, the animals hunting, I can hear the voices in the wind. I was snapped out of my trance when Jesse spoke
"So, I get what makes the other Batchers unique, but what's so special about Hunter?" Kix quickly replied
"He can put up with the other three" The pair sniggered as Tech said
"He was engineered with heightened senses. A place like the Cyber Center, Hunter can feel the electromagnetic frequencies from anywhere on the planet" Jesse then said
"And here I thought we were smart just using a holomap" Tech replied
"Well, maps can be wrong. Hunter never is"
Whilst the others were talking, I was using my powers to try and ease some of Cody's pain. When I moved my hands off his chest plate he grunted in pain. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder and said
"Hang in there, Cody" He just placed his head back and closed his eyes to save what little energy he has left. Rex then stood up and turned to the other whilst saying
"Listen up. We have to move out" Crosshair jumped off the tree stump he was sat on and said
"Commander Cody's in no position to move"
"Already called in Evac. Kix will stay with Cody until it arrives. I'm in charge now. And I've got a plan to get into that Cyber Center" Kix then came over to relieve me as Crosshair said
"If your plans are so good, why did Valkyrie have to call us in?" Jesse stepped forward and said
"You can't talk to Captain Rex like that!"
"Says who?..." I turned around just as Wrecker grabbed Jesse and picked him up
"Whoa!" Rex made a move towards Wrecker
"Put him down!" Crosshair pushed him back whilst saying
"Stay out of it"
"Hey! Watch it!" I sighed and made eye contact with Hunter as Tech tried to defuse the situation
"Uh, guys, come on" Hunter simply made a gesture to the group with a smirk on his face.
I rolled my eyes before saying
"Wrecker, drop him. Now…"
"Aw" Once Jesse was put down I continued
"Guys, come on! We're all fighting for the same thing, right?" I just got a bunch of grunts and sighs in response. I then placed my hands on my hips and said
"All right then. Let's cut the chatter and finish what we started. For Commander Cody" Hunter then stepped in
"Okay. Let's gear up and move out" I then looked over at him and say
"Oh, now you feel like talking" He just shrugged in response. Crosshair then folded his arms and said
"Oh no, mom and dad are fighting again" Hunter and I looked at him and yelled
"Shut up Crosshair!"
As dawn broke on Anaxes, we arrived at an impasse. There was an outpost station blocking the quickest way to the cyber centre. Hunter and I were moving ahead of the group but soon enough they joined us crouched amongst the tree. Hunter looked at Rex and said
"Not our primary target. It's an outpost" Rex then looked at me and said
"Should we take it?" I then said
"Probably easier than going around" Hunter then said
"All right, what are your orders? We pick them off from the tree line one-by-one?" I then looked at Rex and said
"Actually Rex I was going to let you take the lead"
"Okay, I was thinking we'd take a page from your book. Rush them head-on" I smiled as I looked over at Hunter. He chuckled and said
"I like your style"
It was Crosshair that took the first shot
"Oh-oh! Clones! Get them! When the first droid fell we jumped out from our positions and fought the remaining droids. As we were fighting the droids Hunter took out his knife and said
"Just like Kessel all over again" I sliced the head off a droid as I replied
"You and I remember Kessel very differently" The droids outside were destroyed easily so we all piled onto the lift platform and went to the main observation post. As we got up top one of the droids spoke
"Hey! You're not authorized…" He didn't finish his sentence as Jesse blasted a hole through his chest. There weren't many droids up here either so destroying them was easy.
After I pulled my lightsaber out from the last battle droid, Wrecker said
"Is it over already? Aw, man!" Hunter then turned to Rex and said
"Not bad. For a reg" I then pointed out the window and said
"All right, there it is, The Cyber Center. " Tech went over to a panel and said
"It looks like the Cyber Center itself has minimal guards, about 30 droids. Oh... Wait. Wait! I got a massive signal coming in. A whole platoon of droids is headed this way" I looked at Hunter and said
"Someone's noticed your handiwork back at the crash site"
"Seems that way" Rex then looked at Tech and said
"Make sure you keep an eye on those incoming Separatist forces. I want to know when they reach this outpost"
"You got it, Cap" I then saw some speeder bikes on the ground so I said
"Alright boys, We've gotta move swiftly. We'll grab those speeder bikes and flank them from the back" Crosshair then said
"I thought he was in charge" He motioned over to Rex. I put my sabres away and said
"Sorry Rex force of habit"
"Don't worry about it. Alright boys you heard the general. Let's go" and that's what we did…
Soon enough we arrived at our desired target. The Cyber centre. When we arrived we had split up into teams, Crosshair went to go find a good advantage point as instructed. Tech, Hunter and Wreck went round the left side of the cyber centre to advance from that direction. Whilst Jesse, Rex and I took up positions at the right side.
"Do you know what's going on?"
"Maybe it's another drill…" Rex and Jesse tackled and shot the two droids of the perimeter making it easier for us to get closer. We then couched down by a large bolder and had a full view of the front of the cyber centre. Rex then spoke down his comm
"Is everyone in position?"
"Affirmative"
"Affirmative" Tech then said
"Cap, you wanted to know when those Separatist forces breached the outpost... Well, they're getting there just about now" I then pressed the comm in my ear and said
"Alright boys, we've got one shot at this. Let's make it count"
As I took the two lightsabres off my belt we heard the voice of the one and only Admiral Trench
"Put all droids on alert. An attack is coming"
"An attack is coming? When…" Crosshair then took a shot, taking the head off the droid then. Jesse, Rex and I then made our move.
"All units to the front door!" More battle droids then appeared. Looks like the plan is going well. My sabre fighting technique is a lot more fluid than other Jedis but hats just because I need to be free to use my powers at the same time.
Speaking of my powers, I sent a fireball at some droids at the doors to the cyber centre opened.
"What the-!" Hunter then drove his knife through the droid as another one said
"Hey, where did you come from-?!" This time I used the force to crush the droid. Jesse, Rex and I went over to join Hunter and Wrecker. As we continued to fight the droids Rex said
"What took you so long Wrecker?" Wrecker replied
"Hey, this is a "delicate operation."" You could hear the sarcasm in his voice. I then through a large chunk of rock at the droids using my powers and said
"Better get in there Rex, get what we came for"
"Yes General" He then ran inside.
More and more droids showed up and we were struggling to keep them at bay. Hunter then said down his commlink
"Crosshair, we're gonna need a lift!" Moments later Crosshair replied
"Not gonna be a problem" As more droids turned up we were backed into the Cyber Centre. I then said
"We need to leave!"
We retreated back to the command room Rex and Tech were in. Hunter entered the room first and said
"We're going. Rex, let's go" Rex didn't move. I entered the room as Hunter said
""Rex, now!" I near as damn it had to pull him away from the holotable as I said
"Rex we gotta go and we gotta go now" He just nodded and grabbed his helmet As we left the room, I caught the end of the transmission
"CT-1409"
Back in the corridor the I had connected both my lightsabres together ready to throw. Before I did, I gave Hunter a side look. A look he has seen many times before; It basically means get back...After a slight whistle from Hunter, the Bad Batchers quickly evacuated the hall and took Rex and Jesse with them. Once the hall had been evacuated, I swung my arm back and whipped my lightsabre around letting it go once it was out in front of me. The lightsabre spun around and sliced multiple Super battle droids in half. Using the force my sabre returned to my hand. I separated the two sabres before turning and running out of the building.
As I exited the building Crosshair had pulled up in a speeder. I jumped in front of the group and deflected the blaster fire as Hunter said
"Look who joined the party" I smiled slightly and said
"Shut up and get on the speeder" I heard him snigger as he got on the speeder. Once everyone was on board, I jumped and did a backflip onto the speeder. Once I landed, Wrecker said
"Show off" the 5 of them shot at the droids as I turned to Crosshair and said
"Anytime now Cross"
"Yes General" Within seconds we were on our way.
As we flew back to the republic base, Tech sat down next to Rex and asked
"That number, Cap, what did it mean?"
"CT-1409... That was Echo's number. He's alive" I ran my hand through my shoulder-length hair and said
"Things just got a lot more complicated. This is going to be fun to explain to the council" I then looked at Hunter and said
"Looks like I'm gonna need you, boys, to stick around for a bit longer" He folded his arms and said
"We'll stay until the mission's done. You know that"