CAPTIVE Chapter one - Know Nobody, a Walking Dead + Star Wars: The Bad Batch Crossover fanfic

Chapter One

Know Nobody

Ord Mantel was quiet as a grave as the sun rose into the sky. Several birds screeched and flew away as Wrecker dropped a metal crate of rations, "Wrecker, be careful!" Echo scolded, "SORRY…" the big clone drawled. The bad batch was restocking their supplies after receiving a rather hefty number of credits from Cid. "Hold on, I still have to make a few more repairs to the ship." Tech said before Echo darted up the ramp.

Not too long ago they had received a transmission from Rex saying something about a signal in Wild Space and that the Empire was trying to get there first. Cid didn't have any missions for them yet and her parlor was getting more reception than usual, so the batch decided to check out Rex's phantom signal. "How do we know this isn't a trap?" Wrecker drawled as Tech set the coordinates for the Marauder. Echo swiveled around in his chair, "Because Rex told us about it." He hissed and Wrecker shrunk.

"It appears that the signal is originating from a wormhole situated at the edge of the outer rim." Tech informed, "That is where we must go." Omega furrowed her brows, "Into a wormhole?" she asked worriedly, "If we are to complete this request, yes." Tech replied. "But that sounds so scary…" Omega said. "As a matter of fact, it is not as dangerous as it seems" Tech began, "It will be a bumpy ride, but we have a 99.8% chance of passing through the wormhole unscathed." At that Omega brightened up "Okay! When are we going?" she piped up excitedly. "Soon," Hunter replied from the cockpit's doorway.

Wrecker hauled the ration crate into the Marauder as Tech, Echo and Omega finished their repairs on the Marauder's engine system. "We're done!" the girl piped up as she gleefully bounded into the ship, Tech and Echo following shortly after.

The Marauder then lifted into the air at the hands of its skilled pilot, her occupants unaware of the living hell that had cast its curse of impending doom upon them.

Interlude

CT-9904 sat in the pilot's seat of the shuttle watching the rays of hyperspace fly by. Admiral Rampart had sent his squad on a mission to find the source of a mystery signal coming from a wormhole that had strangely not been noticed before. CT-9904 –

Crosshair!

CT-9904 blinked away the blur of exhaustion that crept up at the corners of his eyes. How long has it been since he last slept?

A sensor on the dash started beeping and flashing as the shuttle jumped out of hyperspace. CT-9904 –

CROSSHAIR!

CT-9904 could hear his squad gathering their gear as the wormhole came into view just as a familiar Omicron Class attack shuttle jumped into the area as well.

The traitors… CT-9904 thought, two birds with one stone…

THEY'RE YOUR BROTHERS!

They left me behind, CT-9904 argued back at the voice in his mind.

Your name is Crosshair! You know it is… WHY CAN'T YOU JUST WAKE UP?!

CT-9904 growled, slamming his fist down on the armrest of his chair as he took the flight controls of the ship. "Gear up." CT-9904 growled into the shuttle intercom, "We have company…"

But as he disengaged the autopilot, the voice's words spiraled around in his head…

Why can't you just wake up?

Interlude

"HOLD ON!"

Tech's warning was soon followed by the Marauder suddenly spinning through space, the onboard antigravity doing very little to combat the nauseating feeling of being trapped in a spinning vortex.

"TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH" Echo shrieked from the hold.

"WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE THE EMPIRE BLOW US UP?!" Tech snapped back in rage as he tried to focus.

The Imperial Shuttle chased them towards the wormhole as Tech did his best to avoid their shots, which unfortunately, was not enough.

Several warning alarms flashed on the console. The weapons systems were destroyed, life support is damaged and the hyperdrive was probably on fire.

Tech jammed the Marauder's accelerator to just get the last few kilometers into the wormhole. The alarms wailing reached a crescendo as the Marauder dove into the wormhole with Crosshair hot on their tail.

Interlude

The Imperial Shuttle flew out the opposite end of the wormhole at break neck speeds… straight into a pristine blue sky.

CT-9904 was shocked. How did they suddenly end up in an atmosphere? He pulled on the yolk to bring the shuttle around to find the wormhole

There was nothing but endless blue sky…

With his advanced eyesight, CT-9904 could see the Marauder in the distance, a trail of smoke following in its wake.

His head pounded.

KILL THEM…-

NO! THEY'RE YOUR BROTHERS!-

TRAITORS-

NO!-

KILL THEM, TRAITORS-

NO!

CT-9904 let out a growl as the voices fought in his head. Underestimating the speed he was going at, he shoved the yolk forward, sending the shuttle into a steep dive towards the Marauder.

CT-9904 barely had time to register the shuttle slamming into the Marauder.

Interlude

Everyone was thrown forwards as the imperial shuttle crashed into the Marauder.

"KRIFF!" Tech swore as the alarms blared at volumes that seemed impossible to reach. One look behind him and he saw Hunter seemingly having a sensory overload. Great.

The Marauder spiraled downwards as the power finally gave out. They were flying blind. Immediately, the slicer began his attempts to reboot the system just as Hunter passed out from a migraine.

Tech just managed to get the power back on and slow their descent just enough for them to crash without setting off the fuel tank in a fiery explosion. Tech's helmet smashed against the dash as the Marauder skidded across the ground before crashing into the side of a building. The sounds of birds, trickling water and a strange growling sound were the last things Tech remembered before his world went black.

Interlude

CT-9904 wrestled with the yolk as the shuttle flew out of control.

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LISTEN TO THAT CHIP!-

The chip is out-

IT'S NOT AND YOU KNOW IT!

CT-9904's head began to spin with the shuttle. He did not see where the Marauder went down as he too busy trying not to die. Pulling harshly on the yolk, CT-9904 brought the shuttle into a climb-

Only to see the side of a looming skyscraper rushing to greet him.

The shuttle plowed into the side of the building, stopping after penetrating a few meters in.

CT-9904 flew out of his seat upon impact, his helmet making harsh contact with the windshield and his world went dark.

WHY CAN'T YOU JUST WAKE UP?!

You're my brother too…

We still would've taken ya…