A/N: You can thank Cuthalion97 for the next two chapters (and On Your Knees, though I forgot to mention it then.). Zavalim originally didn't have much of a role in SaR, but they gave me some ideas on Zavalim's development and motivation. :D
Wrecker glared at the flimsy chain holding him to the pole. He could break it with no effort, he knew, but didn't dare. He lifted his head, forcing the glare off his face.
The lead pirate, a Besalisk Wrecker had heard called Ketter, was watching him with a sneer on his craggy face. He deliberately thumbed the control in his hand, either a warning or simply taunting.
Wrecker turned his head away. Ketter had already reacted several times to Wrecker's glares by pressing said control, shocking Wrecker.
And Hunter.
Wrecker angled his body to look at Hunter. Wrecker barely felt the shocks himself, but Hunter was incredibly pale and his breathing was doing the clicking thing that usually meant it was time to evacuate.
Wrecker looked past Hunter, to the boulders where two Weequay stood guard. Getting up the hill surrounding most of the camp would leave them exposed for too long, but going over the boulders would give Wrecker a few seconds to find a safe place for Hunter.
If Wrecker could get the both of them free and uncollared before Ketter could respond. Which would be impossible when Wrecker couldn't reach Hunter.
Wrecker swung his glare across the whole camp, landing on Zavalim.
Zavalim didn't taunt like Ketter did, but silently met Wrecker's gaze with a challenge in his big orange eyes. And while the pirates ignored Hunter, Zavalim sometimes just stared at Hunter calculatingly. If it hadn't been for Zavalim's threat, Wrecker would have taken his chances with running a long time ago.
Wrecker snorted and looked away, but kept Zavalim in the corner of his good eye. Ketter might be the pirates' leader, but Wrecker sensed Zavalim was much more dangerous.
Behind him, Hunter took a long, wheezing breath. His exhale was more like a cough, then his breathing steadied.
"Hunter?" Wrecker breathed, trying to not move his lips too much.
"Still alive," Hunter grunted. "What happened?"
"Ship crashed. Pirates. You know the drill."
Hunter huffed. "The others?"
"No sign of them yet."
Wrecker heard Hunter's breath catch. He warned quietly, "Don't move. Leader's got us shock collared."
"Great."
Hunter fell quiet, his breathing going odd again. Wrecker remembered that he was on his stomach, the worst position when he was recovering from electric shocks.
"Get on your side," Wrecker whispered, since Hunter sometimes forgot while waking up.
"Hk. Not moving yet," Hunter said, his voice softer. "Don't want -hk- them to know."
Wrecker smiled. Right, let the pirates think he was still unconscious. It wasn't much of an advantage, but they weren't in any position to be picky.
"Something funny?" Zavalim growled.
Wrecker grinned at him. "I dunno, is it, furface?"
Zavalim snarled and took a step closer.
"Zavalim!" Ketter barked. "Get up to your post."
Zavalim didn't move for a long moment, then he turned and casually put his blaster onto a clip on his back.
"Alright… Captain."
Zavalim threw a sarcastic salute that satisfied Ketter enough to ignore him. Wrecker resisted rolling his eyes, since the Besalisk would probably notice that. Zavalim fitted his helmet -a ridged, metal thing with a long nose piece- over his ears, then turned and walked up the hill and out of sight.
Wrecker looked back at Ketter, who was ignoring his captives in favor of grumbling about Zavalim and someone not showing up on time. Ketter walked away, leaving Wrecker and Hunter in peace again.
"Don't get in -hk- …in a fight," Hunter murmured.
"Could have used the distraction," Wrecker muttered back.
Hunter grunted, then fell silent. Well, except for his wheezing.
Wrecker knew Hunter wasn't going to be able to fight or run when it came time to escape, no matter what Hunter thought. And they'd have to make a move soon, Wrecker thought as he scanned the darkening woods at the top of the hill. Soon, it would be too dark to navigate the unfamiliar woods.
Wrecker's eye was caught by a flash of silver. He looked toward the source, and it took all of his willpower to not react.
Tech was at the top of the hill, his helmet barely visible. When he saw Wrecker watching, he made a slight waving motion, then a series of signals.
Wrecker scowled. Tech knew he could never remember the signals!
"He brought help," Hunter murmured. "Hk. Some regs, I guess."
"Regs?" Wrecker repeated quietly. "Did he hit his head in the crash?"
"It's -hk- possible."
Wrecker huffed, but if the regs hadn't hurt Tech, then he supposed they were better than the band of pirates. And with the distraction, Wrecker could focus on getting Hunter-
Wait! Ketter wouldn't be interested in a fair fight; once Tech and the regs moved in, Ketter would shock Wrecker and Hunter to force them to stop!
Wrecker quickly swept one hand upright, palm out. He winced at the rattle of his binders, but a quick check showed the pirates hadn't noticed.
Wrecker tried to remember the sign for "remote," to warn Tech about Ketter's remote, but came up blank. He wondered if they even had a sign for shock collars, anyway. He just needed something close. Maybe if he mimed pressing a trigger, Tech would understand. Except if it meant something completely different, Tech would take it literally. He just needed a sign that was close…
Bomb. Bombs had trigger remotes, and Tech would be looking for a trigger. Plus, "bomb" was one sign Wrecker never forgot.
Keeping an eye on the pirates, Wrecker mimed an explosion with his hands. He followed this by pointing at Ketter quickly. Last, Wrecker made a sort of finger gun with his right hand -pinky folded in, three middle fingers pointed out, and thumb moving up and down- against his left wrist.
Tech didn't move for a moment, then he vanished so abruptly, it was like the forest had sucked him in. Wrecker turned his attention back to the pirates. None of them had noticed his signals.
Ketter hadn't put the remote away, probably expecting Wrecker to make a move at any second. Wrecker hoped Tech had seen it, otherwise Tech might have come to the conclusion that Ketter and Hunter had a bomb on them.
…maybe he should have gone with miming pressing a button. But Wrecker didn't know what it could mean; for all he knew, he'd have been telling Tech to bring the Marauder. Which would be a great idea… except for the collars.
Wrecker resisted the urge to pound his head on the post. He didn't do strategy, he just punched, shot, and blew things up until the problem was gone.
But not knowing what Tech and the regs had planned was worse than trying to come up with a plan on his own. Especially when the minutes ticked on and Wrecker could feel Hunter getting more and more tired with the efforts of remaining alert.
Wrecker shifted, legs tensing. From behind, Hunter stirred and gave a quiet command.
"Hk- Wait."
"For what?" Wrecker muttered.
A second later, Ketter roared.
The unexpectedness made Wrecker jump. He looked quickly toward the roar and saw the Besalisk clutching one of his hands. At his feet, the remote laid with a hole through the center.
A howl tore through the forest. Some sort of signal, as two regs appeared where Tech had been, aiming high and firing in unison.
Wrecker twisted in time to see one Weequay lurch and fall backwards off the boulder. The second dropped to his side, clutching a blaster burn on one shoulder. He jerked back and went limp, felled by a silent sniper bolt.
"Attack, you idiots!" Ketter roared.
Wrecker turned back. Ketter held blasters in his three good hands, firing at the regs at the top of the hill, forcing them back to the ground.
From both sides of the hill, white armor burst into view and charged down the slope. Pirates snatched up weapons and armor and took cover behind tents to fire. Clones dodged to the other side of tents and crates. In seconds, the camp was alive with blaster fire.
Wrecker broke free with hardly a thought and a quick yank of his arms. He spun around and snapped Hunter's collar in half.
"Hunter?" Wrecker said, turning Hunter onto his side.
"I'm -hk- fine," said Hunter, shaking with what Wrecker hoped was just adrenaline. "Get these binders off!"
Wrecker reached for the binders, then pain shot up his left arm. He grabbed it, feeling burned flesh, just a graze. He spun with a growl.
Ketter had two blasters pointed in opposite directions, and the third pointed at Wrecker. He glared at Wrecker with bared teeth.
Wrecker just grinned. With no binders to hold him and Ketter's remote broken, they were on even ground. Even without armor or a blaster, Wrecker knew he could take the Besalisk on. He stood slowly.
Ketter's glare lessened, and he actually took a step back. He spun all three blasters toward Wrecker.
Before either could move, bolts tore into Ketter's armor. He stumbled back with a roar, clumsily returning fire to the three clones who burst out of hiding.
Wrecker blinked. He knew that armor. It was Wolfpack! He howled in laughter. The pirates were so, so dead.
One of the clones peeled off from the group and jogged up to Wrecker, "I see you're just fine. How's Hunter?"
Recognizing the medic symbol on the clone's pauldron, Wrecker told Whisky, "Not good."
"I'm fine," Hunter said, struggling into an upright position.
Whisky's helmet moved in a way that Wrecker knew to be an eye roll. He grabbed a second blaster from his belt and gave it to Wrecker.
"Watch my back and-"
Whisky broke off with a grunt and lurching step forward as a bolt struck his armor. He spun and shot, hitting a Rodian in the side. Wrecker quickly lifted his blaster and finished the pirate off.
Two Rodians darted halfway to the fallen Rodian, then dodged behind a crate. Wrecker and Whisky fired at them, but they ducked too quickly out of sight. Whisky started to turn to Hunter, but the Rodians returned fire, and he had to go on the defensive.
"Just a moment, Hunter," Whisky said calmly.
Hunter huffed. "I'm not going anywhere."
Wrecker looked for someone to help with the Rodians so they could get Hunter out, but everyone was occupied. Ketter and Wolffe -the only other reg with markings Wrecker recognized- were moving quickly through the camp, oblivious to the other fighters as they exchanged fire. Tech and the two regs were stuck at the far end of the camp, cut off by a Trandoshan and two humans.
Whisky lifted his comm. "Hey, Wrecker and I are pinned down back here. Could use a little help."
"We're a bit busy," someone returned shortly.
"Tech, gimme a head count," Whisky said.
"No casualties on our side, except Howl took a shot to his shoulder and Wolffe to a leg. Four of the pirates are down -the Weequays, a Rodian, and one human- but the Lasat is still unaccounted for."
Whisky hissed, "Traj, where's Zavalim?"
Silence answered him.
"Sharp, do you have eyes on Traj?" Whisky asked.
There was a brief silence, then a muttered, "Oh, boy."
"What?"
"Traj's perch is gone."
"We've kept all the pirates here, though!" someone said.
"Zavalim's been missing since the start," Whisky said, a note of urgency emerging in his voice.
"Yeah, he left before Tech showed up." Wrecker ducked a bolt from one of the Rodians. "We're making enough noise. Maybe he bolted."
"No, he wouldn't," the medic said, backing cautiously up. "He's waiting somewhere…"
"Wrecker!" Hunter suddenly shouted. "Behind the- gaah!"
Hunter's ragged shout sent a bolt of terror down Wrecker's spine. He spun to see Hunter writhing against the post, his shout turning into a gurgle. Standing over him was Zavalim, the sparking tip of his spear-blaster in Hunter's side.
A/N: ...ahem.
The sign that Wrecker uses for Hunter is a combination of the signs "hunt" and "sergeant." I think each of them would have a designated sign, though Hunter's the only one that I've decided on a sign for sure.