A/N:

~ side note ~ I made up the time frames at random, for the battle and time skips. There's no significance to them whatsoever :) V.T. = V'hiina Time.

~ side note #2 ~ I hope I portrayed all the medical stuff correctly... and if I didn't, please feel free to let me know so I can correct the mistakes... research is so hard and exhausting these days idk why XD

Enjoy!

- Ella


(TODAY)

It was a bit drastic, what it would take for Talla to finally trust Crosshair with more than just his exceptional combat skills.

But looking back now, after everything that had happened between them since the moment they met, everyone including the Agent and the Sniper themselves admitted now it really couldn't have happened any other way, considering that a life-or-death situation is what it took for Crosshair in the first place... I guess it was only natural it'd have to be the same for Talla.

During the battle, Talla found her place at the forefront with Hunter, Tech and Wrecker plus Ahsoka, and it was in accordance with their agreement that Crosshair was not too far behind his former nemesis.

Not that SHE really needed HIS HELP though, the woman was practically a kriffing Jedi.


(V'hiina Prime - 2 Days Ago - Late Morning V.T.)

The Clone Agents highly unusual, superhuman agility didn't go unnoticed by Master Plo.

When the entire strike team skulked around the mine shaft before bursting in, Talla and Crosshair immediately noted the two vibrosword wielding, cortosis infused BX Commando Droids guarding the entrance that weren't there before. Obviously, the tactical droid running the mine realized their earlier snooping, no doubt the mines sensors still active despite the previous days' destruction.

You'd think it only be natural for one of the Jedi to handle the Commandos as opposed to an 'inexperienced clone trooper.'

Nope, Talla happily beat Ahsoka and Master Plo to the punch!

And because of her eagerness for some action Plo got to shrewdly observe this Special Agent Clone in action as she darted from their observation point, unexpectedly pulling out connected hilts strangely similar to lightsabers, and on each end extended purple sword blades into a vibro version of a saberstaff.

Plo's eyes narrowed in perturbed curiosity as he realized her weapon and her calculated technique not only highly mimicked Jedi lightsabers and lightsaber combat, but her aggressiveness... Plo noted that the whirlwind of her dual blades mimicked the style of the Jedi's very own Temple Guards, but that is where the similarities ended, her fighting style more like the aggressive seventh lightsaber form, Juyo. This type of form, though, was a highly contradictory style that was strongly frowned upon, and even the modified version was not known by many, those choosing to use it having a high risk of turning to the dark side.

But considering she wasn't a Jedi, let alone a fallen Jedi, then how did SHE learn such similar lightsaber combat?

Even despite these concerning Sith tendencies, her sword fighting style was unique in its own way because of her enhanced strength, thus rendering the two BX Commandos to mere sparking scrap piles within seconds after engaging them. So, Master Plo didn't start worrying then.

It was down in the mine when he did.

With the massive amounts of technology needed the mine cortosis, the tunnels weren't as cramped as regular ones, so the woman was able to do jumps, flips, and tricks with the skill, agility, and coordination of a Terrelian Jango Jumper! And it didn't look to be very taxing on her at first - by the stars, she looked to be having fun with it! At least, one could guess by her eagerness. Down in cortosis mines, organic beings had to wear external respirators/filtering systems due to the bad side effects of breathing the cortosis particles. It would quickly accumulate in their systems and cause hair loss, terrible sickness and eventually, well, death.

Now with enough practice, lots of sentient species had the capability of being as acrobatic as Talla was being... but to Master Plo's knowledge regular clone troopers never got said training. It seemed that whatever training she got was exclusive for an enhanced soldier like her, so fine-tuned that even like a Jedi, she could sense an attack before it came, blaster bolt or droid punch alike. Then seeing her disconnect her dual blades and deflect blaster bolts just like a Jedi, that is what really sent the alarms off in Plo's head, especially as she, for the rest of the battle, mimicked Lightsaber Combat Form V: Shien. By the Moons of Gozgo, Plo swore he was looking at the older, human version of Ahsoka! Who across the way was oblivious to the oddity of this all and was having fun as she always attempted to do on missions, something her Master taught her to make her less uneasy.

In the midst of all the calamity Plo Koon would swear on the graves of all his fallen men and Jedi comrades that he felt a ripple in the Force, and not a good one. Down here in the hot, muggy mines he felt an undeniable chill to the bone he couldn't explain.

To ease his mind for now he made another observation to tame the cold he felt - in all fairness the Clone Sergeant was pretty agile and handy with a blade himself, doing stunts one might consider unsafe and risky just for the sheer thrill of it all, so enhanced soldiers must have had a certain edge to them and gotten the special training for the high levels of skill they possessed.

Still, perhaps the Kel Dor Jedi Master would meditate about this later.

Back to the main characters, Crosshair hated this lightning rifle so kriffing much. The electricity bolts were not as precise as his Firepuncher nor did this have a scope, not that it was an issue for an exceptionable sniper like him, just was different and uncomfortable and he would have preferred being sure and comfortable down here in this volatile hell pit. He was fully capable doing close combat of course, but everyone had their preferences - Hunter preferred extremely close combat with his vibros which is why he was up there at the front. Wrecker liked creating the most chaos and ran for it at full force, blaster or not, close combat or not, and said man was laughing maniacally as he felt like a Sith Lord who could wield lightning with this cursed rifle. And Tech was a little calmer and more calculating but only because he wanted to create the most damage in less time, which gave him the most thrills.

But even Tech was admittedly peeved too, the forbidden explosives making this whole experience a bit dull, despite the fiery cyclone of death at their tails and hundreds of reinforced Super Battle Droids hailing a deluge of unending red blaster bolts at them. And because of all the pesky regs getting in the way, he couldn't risk using droid poppers to even the odds lest he take out some of their men along with them... not that he would have complained though, which was surprisingly dark for Tech.

Except buzzkill Commander Wolffe made sure to let them know he and the Jedi were in charge and that everyone was getting out of this hell pit alive because there'd be no shenanigans whatsoever.

... Blast it though, will all these pesky regs getting in the way it was hard for Crosshair to hold back his trigger-happy tendencies when he had such a clean shot of 'em too -

But he held back, and just stayed close behind Talla, who definitely noticed the shadow never giving her a chance to breathe.


(TODAY)

Down there in the mine, as the battle wore on into hour three, it had become undeniable that Talla and Crosshair worked amazingly together, once they developed their own groove that is...


(V'hiina Prime - 2 Days Ago - Early Afternoon V.T.)

Her enhanced strength and reinforced blades allowed Talla to slice through any droid with ease. That that didn't mean she got overwhelmed at times, with doing that and deflecting blasts, especially as time went on and more and more droids than they could have ever predicted came at them. And because of the type of fighting style needed to be used with her weapons of choice, Talla reached a point where she needed to take a breather behind a stray mining cart, and Crosshair of course knelt by her side and made sure nothing took advantage of her moment of tiredness.

This was when a trusty blaster was sorely missed to pick up the slack when her arms grew tired from hacking and punching droids to bits, so this was when her and Crosshair developed a system where they'd split the hard labor, in a way, because he was getting really antsy too without the usual freedom of fancy equipment that spiced things up like bombs or reflective disks or any of his Firepuncher rifle attachments or even his FIREPUNCHER RIFLE.

This short convo meant that Crosshair was told he didn't have to be right behind her at all times. Talla told him to do what he liked best - find a high vantage point and take things out from above, because being right behind her wasn't as effective as she was always in his way, and vice versa he was in hers too, and the Agent couldn't move as freely as she liked. Even with the lightning rifle, he could still be her eyes in the sky and have her back, just would have to look for those windows of opportunities a little harder so he as not to take her out to with the less precise electricity blast.

Liking this so much better than being her useless shadow, Crosshair did just what she suggested, using the systems of tracks lining the walls behind them for perches, which slid along carts full of dirt or minerals. His own agility allowed him to easily scale these elaborate tracks in record time, and scurry and hop from cart to cart or pieces of machinery for cover while he sniped for Talla down below to the best of his ability, which was pretty awesome, not gonna lie, considering the circumstances. Talla was impressed at the said agility he displayed that she'd never known the Sniper had in the first place, never seeing him do anything more than snipe since they started doing missions together.

And once they got the hang of building on each other's enhancements, they actually became the fastest and most destructive duo within the strike team, despite the limitations of fatigue and unfamiliar weaponry. Hearing Wrecker's shouts of despair as he noticed their handiwork was music to the Sniper's ears. Nothing made Crosshair feel better than winning the Droid Killing competitions.

And with Talla having to deflect then handle only half the droids shooting at her, not even that at times, they could take down wave any group of droids, B1 or B2 or BX, with nary a problem and with speed that rivaled the speed of the lightning he shot! With renewed energy she rushed these droids head on with leaps and bounds and flips, and Crosshair rushed to keep her rushing. There were times he took out droids in her path she didn't even register were coming yet, senses a bit out of whack with the breathing apparatus, or he took out others just to cut down the rate of bolts coming her way. Heck, one time she was halfway done with a droid, and he finished it off without warning by shooting the head, thus earning him a glare no doubt once she recovered from the violent flinch. He couldn't really tell with the helmet.

Another time, Crosshair was on the ground for reasons not memorable and he started to be closed in by a circle of five B2's when his kriffing gun jammed.

He began fervently shaking and hitting various parts of the gun while cursing profusely, the B2's cutting his line of sight from the team and Bad Batch members specifically, each unable to come to his rescue due to the distraction of droids and pesky regs. When out of his peripherals Crosshair picked up on each droid raise their right arms, the sniper knew pulling out his vibro now would do absolutely nothing, he'd most likely would not even get it out in time, and pressing his back against a wall the Sniper looked up saw his life flash before his covered widened eyes -

Then, in a flash Talla landed in front of him, for some reason Crosshair's mind yelled for him to 'DUCK,' and good thing he did hit the floor because just as the droids' guns were aimed and ready to fire, Talla gave a small hop, a twirl, and with a deadly tornado of purple blades the clankers heads were simultaneously slashed. Within seconds all crumbled to the ground in a sparky heap of junk as she elegantly landed into a crouch.

(A/N: Idk... think of when Ahsoka sliced the heads off the Mandalorian's lol)

"Show off." Crosshair bantered, then sneered at his gun he stood and found it worked now as he disintegrated an incoming B1.

"You're welcome." Talla sassed up over her shoulder.

Later on, a haphazard blast knocked a sword from Talla's hand, and it was from a droid some pesky reg was sloppily take down. So, while deflecting a few incoming blasts with the one she still held the Agent did a somersault dive to retrieve it with blaster fire nipping at her heels. But she knew by now that the droids firing wouldn't have a chance to correct their positions because they weren't in existence by the time it computed in their stupid circuits for brains - Crosshair took care of it from his position up high with swift bolts of lightning aimed at their heads.

And for extra flare once Talla straightened and gave him a mock salute that actually meant she was extremely appreciative, he smirked underneath his helmet, shifted his gun to the right a bit and shot a bolt at the droid head a pesky reg was trying to finish off, the sniper getting a thrill watching the clone trooper jump back in surprise from almost DYING.

Talla's helmet didn't need to be off for Crosshair to know for sure this time that when she raised her head back up to his position, he got a deadpanned look that said, 'Really?'

He just mocked a salute back at her.

Though, shortly after she wasn't completely innocent from being immature herself, deciding to give a few regs jump scares when literally jumping in the middle of their personal scuffles with droids and finishing the jobs for them if they were 'taking too long,' thus adding more tallies to their teams droid count while the other three tried frantically catching up with some shenanigans of their own, thought up on the fly when Commander 'Buzzkill' Wolffe was momentarily preoccupied.


(TODAY)

Yet even all this wasn't enough for Talla to trust Crosshair fully because what was happening on this mission was nothing really different from the other ones. They still trusted each other's amazing levels of skill, only now they were sort of buddy-buddy, which made them way more effective and reliable and playful and real teammates that actually started acting like they were teammates.

This wasn't the life-or-death situation which would earn Crosshair her trust yet, it just further cemented her trust in his skills. It would take Crosshair doing something so completely and uncharacteristically selfless for Talla to trust him, to prove he really did have a heart as she still had her niggling doubts. It was hard to forget everything he'd put her through, the inhumane treatment rivaling the witchy long-neck from hell.

So, looking back everyone knew now it couldn't have happened any other way...


(V'hiina Prime - 2 Days Ago - Early Evening)

Sealed into the Droid Control Room, Tech started his project on hacking into the Tactical Droids software to find any information at all about other mining operations, since they'd destroyed all the cortosis droids thrown at them and had no need to shut down the army anymore. The unfortunate Tactical Droid in charge seemed to have an anxious tendency like Senator Amidala's protocol droid, C-3PO, because it had sicked all the droids available on them without rhyme or reason, then ducked under the console when they all blasted in and disintegrated his B1 helpers.

"Poor guy was shaken up by half the base under his command being blown to bits," Ahsoka judged correctly as Hunter held down the wriggling droid so Tech could begin his process. He kindly requested Talla's help, wanting to use this calm moment also as a teaching moment, but she found herself needing to sit down in a computer chair some ways away and with a sharp wince lightly massaged the sore area where the metal and flesh to her droid leg were connected. The hours of being on it and doing superhuman stunts had taken its toll.

Perhaps there was such a thing as too much flair?

Too preoccupied at the moment with a struggling droid pleading for its circuits to be spared, Hunter couldn't make sure she was okay, but since Crosshair chose to lean against the console in front of her with a silent sigh in relief as they all finally got a break, he clearly heard the distorted sharp intakes of pained breaths next to him, and lazily glanced down at the Agent. "What?" He ended up asking Talla, because judging by the sounds of discomfort she seemed to be in the same self-pity-party-boat as him, and he felt like complaining with someone to pass the time. The adrenaline rush from a battle was great as usual, but the stress and annoyance of having to make sure not to cause an explosion had sucked the energy right out of him. That, and his nonexistent social battery had somehow been thoroughly drained so frankly, he just wanted to go home. Even teasing the pesky regs had lost it's fun.

For kriff's sake, he really wanted a toothpick! Damn life support system though...

Not realizing he was there at first nor expecting him to ask why she was wincing, her helmeted head glanced up at him in surprise no doubt before focusing back on her leg, and she tried muttering light-heartedly, "Tech warned me beforehand that cybernetics ache in the cold, and that even when it kriffing hot they can also still hurt too from excessive use, but I'll be fine -"

"You want a shot of painkillers?" He interrupted knowingly, not wanting a repeat of when she was in the hospital and didn't say anything about her cybernetic leg pain. In the depths of his mind, he recalled Hunter mentioning at some point having to basically carry Talla back to her room that day himself and the other two went to the shooting range.

As per usual, Talla didn't want to be an inconvenience. "Nah, I'll be fine! Just need a minute to give the droid leg a break -"

Crosshair scoffed dismissively, and while she no doubt gave him another surprised look, perhaps even a hurt one, he pulled out from his empty hip holster a small box of medical supplies, carried around instead just in case Doctor Tech wasn't around, who also had one in an empty holster of his.

When he picked out the stimpack, Talla immediately gave a protest, always preferring capsules, but he cut her off again with a sharp tongue: "Don't be a baby, it's no different than when you get your ears pierced." Even so, her entire frame was rigid in anticipation for the experience that already made her hands feel numb despite her needle experience, and caused her to shrink away in fear, "Look, it's so fast you don't really feel it, alright?" He added with a microscopic amount of understanding and softness, knowing himself there was a difference between medically used needles and needles used to enhance appearances. It was a very small difference, but still a difference.

The understanding and softness he portrayed were nonexistent to the normal reg for instance, especially with the unique circumstances, but if a different person said this to Talla, she probably would have gone and said 'Bull.' Except in the depths of her mind she recalled Hunter saying once that Crosshair had the severest needle phobia out of all the brothers, and he didn't have to go into detail too say why, nor would he have out of respect for his brother's privacy. Talla had a few good guesses though. And since Crosshair himself said this shot wasn't that bad, knowing she needed to hear this from someone who also feared needles to the severity she did, knowing Hunter mentioned this at sone point to get them to be friends, Talla reluctantly nodded yet still trusted his, dare she say it, 'reassurances' above others.

Still, it was sheepishly asked if they would just go into a tunnel nearby that lead to a little cubby, a secluded place that would conceal her freak out from the others if it happened. Crosshair's helmet didn't have to be off for Talla to know he rolled his eyes in apparent annoyance, but she didn't sense any of that malice radiating off of him like usual and could only assume it was all for show. And the fact he didn't use this perfect opportunity to shamefully humiliate her in front of everyone over her needle phobia as opposed to several weeks ago in Nik's Parlor when he did embarrass her in front of everyone over her needle phobia, it showed his opinion on her really had changed and that made the corners of her lips lift slightly in glee and appreciation.

Crosshair allowed himself to be forced a ways into the dimly lit tunnel, Talla wanting to be absolutely certain her potential freak out wouldn't stand a chance of being heard, and this attempt at concealment would prove to be the fatal mistake that earned Crosshair her unwavering trust.

Talla had calculated a probable but vague doomsday prediction and ideally, they should have had more than half a day left before the fiery cyclone of death reached the mine. What Talla could have never foreseen was another unnatural natural disaster just happening to hit their exact location at exactly that moment.

Everyone startled when the dim lighting of the mines flickered, then the soldiers swayed and latched onto the nearest stable object as the floor, the walls, everything rumbled. Clouds of dust choked up the vicinity, and the metal beams supporting the tunnels were forced to shift from the minor earthquake. It wasn't strong enough to completely collapse the tunnels but with the weaker points in the structures, one being smack dab right above the entrance to the cubby, there was a resounding SNAP! as the beams were broken apart.

Then a groaning CREEEAAAK! as the beams bent against their will and fell to the ground, followed by a reverberating CLANG! which snapped the strike team out of their stupor and they all finally processed what was happening now and next - a rain of boulders was starting to cut off the entrance/exit from the cubby where they'd seen Cross and Tal go.

On instinct each side haphazardly darted across the trembling grounds towards the rock waterfall, only for them to jump back to stop from being crushed by falling boulders ranging in size from a womp rat to Wrecker.


(TODAY)

But knowing it couldn't have happened any other way, though, it didn't mean that the Bad Batch or Ahsoka liked the feeling of having the wind knocked out of them while just standing there, watching an avalanche of rocks put an impenetrable barrier between them and their respective brothers/friends.


(V'hiina Prime - 2 Days Ago - Midnight) ~ (Strike Team POV)

Once the worst of the rock-a-lanche was over and the dust settled, everyone was quick to pick out a small window of opportunity on the upper right corner of the rock wall, a hole big enough for both Crosshair and Talla to jump through one by one if they reached it in time. The Sergeant and Padawan wasted no time in scaling the wall of boulders to aid the duo if necessary, hoping they'd seen it too, and taking care not to slip on unsteady rocks that fell in their wake.

But just as they reached the top, Ahsoka felt a warning tingle in the Force and heeded to it, leaping backwards off the wall without warning and taking Hunter with her by the back of his chest plate, in just enough time for them to be saved from another crushing boulder that cut the size of the trapped duo's exit in half.

And before they could recover from the hard fall the little exit was blocked completely by another fallen rock. Next, a booming metal CLANG! sounded on the other side of the wall, loud enough to penetrate through and definitely concerning enough for Hunter to quickly stand, activate his helmet comm, and get a hold of the trapped Bad Batchers. "Cross - Tal - You there?" He felt a wave of nausea when there wasn't an immediate reply, then felt a crushing weight of dread which made it hard to breathe and talk as he reached out again. Next to him, Tech shared a pensive glance with Wrecker and Ahsoka did too but with Master Plo.

It was an agonizing thirty seconds of silence and several more calls before Cross snarkily, FINALLY answered, "You better have a brilliant plan to get us out of here, because we can't rig an explosion and Talla just snapped her favorite vibro trying to pry these emergency doors open by herself."

Hunter never thought he'd be so happy to hear Crosshair's sass, nor Talla's colorful and LOUD curses in the background that made several regs share looks of shock underneath their helmets no doubt at the vulgarity of her words, probably blushing too.

Tech was swift to man the console and begin tapping into the mine's network and stop the emergency protocol shutdowns; Wrecker did a few quick stretches in preparation for hauling two-ton boulders out of the way.

"You'll be out in no time." Hunter firmly promised them, confident in his squad's capabilities with seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them plus a little bit of luck, and as usual would enjoy watching the spectators standing around be stupefied as the Bad Batch did the impossible.


(TODAY)

Unfortunately, this impossible turned out to be too impossible, and the time wasted could have been used to spare some unpleasantries during the rescue.


(V'hiina Prime - 2 Days Ago - Midnight) ~ (Strike Team POV)

Once Wrecker started shifting away the boulders - much to the regs and Plo's astonishment - fissures started appearing on the roof, which dropped clouds of dust, then concerning pebbles were next, and then several deadly chunks thus making Wolffe yell at the enhanced clone to 'Hey, stop - STOP!' Once his attention was grabbed, Wrecker turned back towards the reg below him with confusion and annoyance. "If we try getting moving this wall out of the way, the entire tunnel will collapse!" Wolffe predicted, and Hunter's heart sank, but he wasn't going to start worrying yet.

Though the Sergeant did inform the trapped soldiers over the comm channel, "Never mind, it might be a while - hang tight."

"...Wonderful." Crosshair drawled before signing off.

The last thing Wrecker wanted to do was listen to a reg, but when he caught sight of the results from his earnest efforts, he could only hop down with a frustrated grunt while Plo calmly pulled Ahsoka aside for a private Jedi chat, "That's the only way to get 'em out though." Wrecker pointed out to the reg Commander with more blatant annoyance.

As Plo spoke quietly with his temporary padawan a little ways away, Wolffe said authoritatively. "Let's just take a moment to think things through instead of rushing in with half-baked plans - they've got enough oxygen to last a while, and we're not in any real danger from the destruction yet."

"But what if there's another earthquake?" Wrecker pointed out too with a little more concern, and for good reason, "Tech can suck info out of the clankers head on the ship, but we gotta get out of here now, just in case, right Sarge?"

He did agree with Wrecker's concern, but Hunter reluctantly had to agree with Wolffe's strategic thinking more, knowing Wrecker wouldn't take the word of a reg, "Wreck, I want them out now too, and I know we like rushing into the fights, but if we don't do this right the first time, it can get Cross and Tal and killed, and us too."

Then to everyone who wasn't a Bad Batchers' surprise, the mines systems whirred back to life, and everyone looked in the direction of Tech, who turned away from the monitor with his exposed eyes shining with pride. "Emergency procedures have been bypassed." He reported, a hint of smugness evident at the extremely short time it took.

"Well, that's great, but we still have the GIANT WALL that we can't take down without taking the whole kriffing mine down too, I guess." Wrecker huffed, crossing his arms moodily. "We never have these problems by ourselves, it's always with REGS we get into trouble like this!"

Wolffe's eyes turned to daggers beneath his helmet, and Ahsoka and Plo rejoined the circle of troopers with fierce determination at exactly the right time to prevent another fiasco like earlier. "We have an idea, but for it to work Crosshair and Talla have to be as far away from the wall as possible."

"Why?" Hunter queried unsurely.

She sensed his mistrust and hoped he would let them do their job as they allowed him and his squad to. "Master Plo and I are going to use the Force -"

Wrecker interrupted her with another huff, and expressed his mistrust more openly and animatedly with ahnd gestures. "'The Force?' Why's it gonna be different for you to move rocks with your mind then with me moving 'em with my hands?"

Talla's words echoed in Hunter's mind - 'Trust Ahsoka.' And he was willing to do anything to get them out by this point, his brother having a good point about another earthquake happening, especially with the instability happening all around the planet. "Wrecker, let's hear them out."

Like with Hunter earlier, no further words were needed, and Wrecker gave a firm nod, trusting his Sergeant.

With no more resistance, Ahsoka laid forth the plan to get the trapped soldiers out, and if Hunter thought the Bad Batch was risky when it came to plans, it was all thrown out the window when he heard this one. But he had no choice to accept or not accept when Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, even Ahsoka all tried and failed to make contact with the other side of the wall multiple times each, only met with deafening silence -

So next thing he knew, everyone was taking cover in secure locations while Ahsoka and Plo quickly got into Force-wielding positions or whatever it called. Even as they were all preparing for this crazy stunt there was no answer from the trapped duo, and Hunter had that terrible foreboding feeling weighing on his chest again.

From an inexperienced person's point of view, it just looked like Plo was reaching towards the heavens in a fervent prayer while Ahsoka made a stop signal with her palm facing towards the rock wall, both with their eyes slowly shutting in deep concentration. When they started to tremble, beads of sweat and deep wrinkles forming on their foreheads, an experienced person may have also thought they were going to have a nervous breakdown from whatever it was going on inside their minds.

Though the lack of collapsing tunnels and now trembling boulders showed exactly what was going on inside their minds, which was deep concentration on eliminating the obstacles between them and the people in need, and exerting all of their energy and then some to make it happen. What was really happening was the Master and Padawan were reaching out with the Force, one to literally hold the weight of the world (moon) on his shoulders (palms) through this invisible energy field, while the other used her less fine-tuned powers to reach out and form a hold onto the boulders before shifting them aside once the tunnel was sturdied.

Hunter may not have been a Force wielder, but even he felt a strange shift of something, possibly the energy, inside this room. A chill went down his spine at the sensation and sight that unfolded before him - Dust, pebbles, any physical matter as it wanted to fall from the unsupported roof or was just laying on the ground was bounced off the invisible force Kel Dor was surrounded by, floating away from him in a way that it literally felt things were happening in slow motion. The particles flew towards and around the area of the hidden soldiers in an elegant dance that captivated Hunter until he saw an even more impressive sight - this, but with boulders weighing a hundred times more than the Togruta padawan moving them.

Once she sensed Master Plo having a secure hold on the structure around them, after taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Ahsoka's eyes snapped open to reveal the fierce determination the blue orbs were ablaze with, and the only way Hunter could describe what he saw next was that she flung back her hand, took a few running steps forward, leapt, then thrust both hands towards the wall -

Yet the boulders seemed to repelled by an invisible energy from the other side! Within seconds the exit was clear since the boulders ricocheted away from it, and they may have been trembling but with gritted teeth Ahsoka used all the energy she had to maintain her control on them so the others could slip in and retrieve the soldiers.

Just when you think you've seen everything.

(A/N: idk, think Rey shifting the boulders in the way of the exit for the resistance in The Last Jedi... I thought it was kinda cool and wanted to have Ahsoka show that much power)

With the boulders now elevated in an unnatural asteroid field, the objective was remembered and Hunter's heart gave a painful twinge of fear when through the awe-inspiring maze he picked out two bodies sprawled out on the ground.

Without thinking about what might happen to him if Ahsoka lost control of the boulders he raced to the limp forms of his teammates, Tech and Wrecker naturally right behind him. At the yelled order of Wolffe to 'Just pick them up and let's go!' the trio didn't check right then and there when they knelt by their fallen teammates whether or not they were in fact still even breathing, just snatched them up. Crosshair over Wrecker's shoulder and Talla over Hunter's , they exited the cubby with half the speed as when they entered 'cause of the extra weight, and by some miracle clearing the unnatural asteroid field just as Ahsoka let out a gasp and lost control of the boulders, collapsing down onto one knee, before she could arrange them back into a wall.

No one had time to recover from the shock of the last minute as it was now a race against time and gravity to escape this Control Room and mine entirely through the emergency tunnel and lift Tech had smartly unblocked while at the console earlier.


(TODAY)

In that moment no one knew what happened within the short time between the last point of contact with Talla and Crosshair, then the weird cut off. It was only when they reached the Marauder in one piece and Hunter and Wrecker carefully laid the limp forms of their teammates onto the single hospital bed (a tight squeeze but drastic times call for drastic measures) that it was confirmed the soldiers were still alive - Thank the Force!


(Hyperspace- Yesterday - Early Morning) ~ (Strike Team POV)

Hunter could not sense any of their heartbeats beforehand because of the damn personal life support system, which messed with him a lot due to the mechanic sounds and the nearly nonexistent vibrations it caused that he could of course hear and feel. Yet he and his teammates and the Togruta padawan were forever thankful that at least Talla and Crosshair were here and were alive.

But they started celebrating too soon. The Wolfpacks designated medic, whom Plo and Wolffe insisted should check them over with his vast more experience, he ordered grimly after tossing aside a soldier's helmet, "Set a course for Kaliida, double time!" Wolffe and Plo obeyed when the Bad Batch didn't make a move to, frozen in fear and clearly not wanting to leave their sick teammates sides since one patient was alarmingly in critical condition.

That one in critical condition was Crosshair.

When the medic removed and tossed aside his life support, the sickly pale and almost blue tint to Crosshairs skin signaled that he was severely deoxygenated from not breathing, and the medic was quick to check and clear his airways first to see if that'd make a difference.

Considering the fact Crosshair stayed unconscious was definitely not a good sign, especially since soon after Talla shifted in her place with a distorted groan, and Doctor Tech was quick to be by her side and carefully remove the helmet.

Her dazed slowly eyes opened, and she started moving more but in confusion, not aware of her surroundings yet. She groaned in discomfort before the violent and wet coughing came. Those weren't good signs of being okay either but at least she wasn't unconscious anymore. Talla was a little flushed and somehow a little green at the same time but alert, while Crosshair still looked like a kriffing corpse.


(TODAY)

Everyone who wasn't a Bad Batcher was confused at why Crosshair was unresponsive with the medic starting up the CPR routine while on the other side of the bed Talla was sitting up with the aid of Tech, clutching onto his chest piece, coughing then desperately wheezing in the sweet air that didn't come through a tube. His teammates on the other hand, untrained in medical stuff, could only helplessly watch and hope that she wouldn't be the only one who had a chance for a full recovery.

Hunter still knew though that the chances for CPR working were not very high, especially for a person in Crosshairs condition and they didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. For a bystander who performed CPR the survival rates already started in the single digits and dwindled down to mere fractions as time dragged on. Trained medics were a hair better, but not by much, and anyone with higher levels of skills the odds of this technique working were still not great. What Crosshair really needed was a bacta tank and strong medications or antibiotics, but there wasn't any of that now, so CPR was needed to revive him if he wasn't too far gone before the medic could treat him with what they had on hand.

So the oldest brother allowed Wrecker to grasp his upper arm in fear as they waited... and waited... and waited...


(Hyperspace - Yesterday - Early Morning) ~ (Strike Team POV)

By some miracle, the medic eventually got a cough from Crosshair, then several more that cleared his airway of mucus, which was mixed with the dark particles of toxic cortosis dust that somehow entered his system. That coughing fit was followed by the ironically sweet sound of him taking in rapid and shallow breaths, and Wrecker gave Hunter a happy squeeze and shake that kriffing hurt but he was so relieved to care! The fact he was conscious now was good right?

Then Crosshair looked green in the face. Then came the puking, thankfully into a trashcan. Then when he finished heaving up the few contents of his stomach and then some, he collapsed back onto the mattress and clutched his chest which hurt like a kriffing bitch! Trying to make sense of what was happening the Sniper's glazed eyes opened while he took in more hoarse gasps, to which the medic helped him out by whipping out a breathing mask hanging nearby and attaching it onto his face while the closest brother to him - Tech - spoke out to him, and told him everything was fine and to not fight off the help when he flinched.

He was in no position to fight off to be honest, but it was a force of habit when it came to treating Crosshair for any and all injuries. Dazed and confused and lethargic and in excruciating pain he even couldn't try moving to ease it, and wasn't able to register the blue gridded light of the bioscan going over his body as everyone anxiously waited for some answers.

At that moment Talla's erratic breaths took a turn for the better and calmed down to a nice, steady pace, so Doctor Tech held her at arm's length to start asking her some questions, first and foremost: "How are you feeling?"

Head hanging and body swaying and eyes unfocused, it took a few beats before the question processed through her visibly sluggish mind. She finally mumbled how her head hurt... then that she didn't feel so good, to which Tech had a split second to snatch another small waste bin by the bed and shove it under her, so that he wouldn't get a disgusting mess on the floor and on HIMSELF to clean up later.

While she heaved up the contents of her stomach, feeling terrible aches and pains all over from the unusual sickness plaguing her, results from Crosshair's scan beeped up, and it revealed he had acute cortosis poisoning.

"How?" Tech demanded, this not computing in his own mind - Crosshair had a fully functional life support system, and Tech was certain of this because he'd meticulously checked them all before they donned them on. Though, considering him and Talla's conditions, they both most likely both had cases of cortosis poisoning

Able to function somewhat again, Hunter looked curiously down at the helmet previously tossed by his feet. Uneasy, he stooped down and picked up, and it was finally noticed that one of the tubes that connected Crosshair's helmet to the oxygen tank was gone, so his system was actually in fact not functional. Upon further inspection, it was next revealed that wasn't actually gone, but now attached to Talla's helmet, which Ahsoka was now examining with a 'furrowed brow'.

How they knew it was Crosshair's - he had painted his charcoal black before the mission, like Hunter did his red, Wrecker did his red and black while Tech and Talla opted to leave theirs plain white.

And now there was a recollection, as Tech remembered that he had snagged an object of interest on the ground by Talla's unconscious form and shoved it into his other holster, and it all came rushing back as too why it was interesting in the first place - it was originally Talla's tube connection, but there was damage to it. It had been sliced into somehow.

There were a few moments of tense silence while people put two and two together, the medic starting to hook Crosshair up to various life support systems. He barked an order for someone to find a makeshift bed for the Agent since she was stable and in his way now. He got results faster than he anticipated as no one had seen Wrecker leave, and he suddenly popped back in carrying three crates that he spread a foam mat on top of, after depositing them onto the floor several feet away from the bed. To aid in settling Talla on her new bed, Tech wordlessly took out and tossed the damaged tube to Hunter, who now had Ahsoka at his side, and they both studied the missing piece to the puzzle and shared a look that mirrored similar baffled thought patterns.


(TODAY)

Crosshair had it out for Talla since the moment they met, and he expressed how he wanted her gone very openly and very graphically. Would it make sense that when they were finally away from prying eyes that he'd cut Talla's breathing tube so she'd suffocate to death from the deadly minerals permeating the air, then graciously sacrifice his own life by replacing her destroyed tube with one of his good ones so she'd live, and he'd most likely die?

No, it didn't make sense, because would be totally insane on his part.

So, there wasn't anything else to think but... Crosshair knew he'd likely die from sacrificing a part to his life support system, and still gave it up anyways, to save the woman who he had hated since the day they met.


(Hyperspace - Yesterday - Early Morning) ~ (Strike Team POV)

When they voiced this theory, Wrecker had to ask after gingerly laying the tired woman on her new bed, "But what if Talla, like -" He cupped a hand around his mouth, as if it'd help aid in him sounding quieter while he 'whispered': "What if she actually stole it from Cross?" He peered over his shoulder anxiously, but relaxed when he saw Talla had conked out already and returned to his usual booming voice, "It'd be kinda easy, right, because she's stronger than him?" He pretty much assumed it was the question of the millennium everyone else was thinking.

Except Tech, after attaching a breathing apparatus of her own to Talla's face twisted with discomfort, he of course negated this fear with his profound knowledge. "That is an unlikely theory." Everyone except the working medic turned to him expectantly, and he adjusted the goggles as he calmly approached his brothers and the padawan, the brainiacs eyes giving away his unease over the situation as they gleamed with worry. He whipped out his datapad. "The entire reason we wore these life support systems was so that no cortosis particles would enter our systems as it is highly potent toxin and would immediately inflame our lungs and airway and also increase mucus production, all of this cutting off any sort of breathable air from entering their lungs if it were present -"

He was about to go on another tangent, yet in a moment of clarity Hunter didn't cut him off even though it secretly overwhelmed him. Face devoid of any emotion as he held it together for his younger brothers, his left hand shot up a hand to stop Wrecker saying, 'Stop talkin' in circles and just give it to us straight, Tech!'

Tech was thankfully oblivious to Hunter's interference, not needing hurt feeling on top of all this. "Considering they were in a confined space it is unlikely there was any breathable air at all to sustain her and our helmets do not filter rare toxins such as cortosis, and if she was suddenly without any sort of clean oxygen supply in a confined space like that cubby, she would have started to choke and suffered rapid weakening of her body due to the symptoms of incredible sickness that even mild cortosis poisoning will give, more so with someone with enhanced senses such as her -"

While Tech listed off the different sickness symptoms, Hunter fought a grimace as he dared to look at Talla's face fully displaying her suffering, her forehead puckered, a layer of sheen sweat coating her face and no doubt her body underneath which must be stifling with that body glove, breathing not as steady as it should be and not always happening through her nose, her heart rate was not ideal either...

By the Force, how much was she suffering despite being asleep?

"So no," Hunter shifted his worried eyes back to Tech when the signs for the TECH-TALK end were clearly evident, "She could not have stolen Crosshair's tube - he would have easily defended himself from the weakened opponent. The only logical conclusion is that Crosshair made a split-second decision to sacrifice his own equipment, and since the average human can hold their breath for thirty to ninety seconds without too much of an issue, he most likely did so before taking off his tube then while switching out hers as swiftly as possible to ensure he'd be able to somewhat maintain control of his bodily functions while saving her life before succumbing to the effects of cortosis poisoning himself.""

"Well, that's a relief, I guess." Ahsoka sighed, setting Talla's helmet on a table by the wall behind her.

Not looking up from typing away on his datapad, Tech replied with a touch of darkness, "Not a very big one though." Referring to his severely injured and sick brother who was unconscious again, and the only person he'd ever felt truly listened to him practically in the same boat as Crosshair.

Ahsoka's compassion made her place a reassuring hand up on Tech's rigid shoulder, which he tensed even more from but she pressed on anyways, "Hey, at least they're both alive -"

"Yeah, barely." Wrecker interrupted with equal despair, just more vocally and he wasnt shy about showing how nervous he was, crossing his arms together as if to keep himself and his emotions together.

Her other hand was placed on his forearm, and this brother didn't tense. Instead, he responded favorably to it. "... for now." She halfway agreed after some hesitation, "Listen, I've heard of the Kaliida Medcenter's accomplishments in the war, and it's the best place for troopers to get treated. And yeah, from my understanding the Kaminoans may be a bit... 'rough' with their patients -"

"Ha!" Wrecker scoffed bitterly.

Ashoka expected no less. "- but at least Talla and Crosshair will be receiving the best care available for them in the galaxy."


(TODAY)

What Ahsoka didn't know about was the veiled threats for termination the long-necks always found a way to slip into a conversation or a lesson and so forth. If Crosshair didn't make a full recovery within a short period of time and perform at the high level he had before this accident, setting the bar jaw-droppingly high day in and day out, well, the Bad Batch knew what they'd have to do next.

Blow the kriffing long-necks off the face of the planet - or in this case, space medical station.

Considering Talla had passed out again from exhaustion, and Crosshair was in and out of unconsciousness as the medic treated the symptoms he could, they wouldn't get answers for what happened behind that wall until one of them was coherent again. Thankfully, Kaliida was only a few short hours away, at least Ahsoka was appreciative anyways. The Bad Batch though, it was only a couple of hours before they're teammates lives were put in the hands of the cruel Kaminoans.

~ END OF PART 1 OF... the ending chapters of this arc ig ️~