Chapter 2 - Unexpected Reunion
Author's Note: All hail the glorious planet of Cracca – okay I just misspelled Bracca and I am still traumatized.
WARNING: Crosshair being Dark
~ Rivana Rita
The face is blurred, but he sees it – a child. She's young, blonde curls falling across her face. "Hunter." The way she says his name – it's familiar. The voice is familiar. The flower-petal soft feel of it. She's important. He knows her. "I need you!"
Hunter blinks himself awake, still feeling empty and numb.
He doesn't know her. The voice is familiar, and the presence even more so, but he can't place it. He could swear he's seen her before, though. Maybe he should ask Tech because he always remembers things. Or Crosshair, maybe he –
Right.
Crosshair tried to kill him.
He's not here to ask.
He doesn't even want to get off his rack now, but he does. He barely has the energy to move.
Thoughts of his dream fade entirely once he gets up, and they exit hyperspace over Saleucami. That's when he senses a familiar flaming presence, brilliant as a star.
"Anakin's here," Hunter murmurs as Tech touches down.
(There's only three of them aboard. The ship is too empty. He feels so... lonely. Empty.)
Wrecker perks up instantly. "He's here?"
"Yeah," Hunter confirms, "I don't know how."
He's more focused on that while they go to the farm than anything else. They're here for Cut, though – they can find Anakin later.
"Where's Crosshair?" predictably, is virtually the first thing Cut inquires when he sees them.
Hunter sighs at the memory of the lightsaber pressed to his neck. "It's complicated."
"Sounds familiar," Cut replies as they sit around a table together. "Rex told us about the clone troopers turning against the Jedi."
He perks up a little at that. Anakin is on-planet, and... so is Rex? That must mean they were able to make it out of the chaos. "You've seen Rex?"
"Yeah, he just left," Cut nods to the doorway, "Said his General was comming him. Apparently, he survived."
His heart rate picks up a bit. Hunter knew they knew Rex – Cut had mentioned it when he and his brothers ended up here back in the war. (Being here is bringing up so many memories. Crosshair was here, and they weren't happy exactly – it was right after Umbara – but they were together.) "Where'd they go?" Hunter asks, "Do you know?"
"Didn't ask," Cut answers, "Rex warned us of the storm that's coming."
That doesn't sound good. Hunter has no idea what things are like in the galaxy. He's focused on trying to get his brothers out of danger, not paying attention to exactly what the dangers are.
"What does he believe is happening?" Tech inquires.
"He said the war is over, that we've failed," Cut answers, "That the Jedi are gone. What happens from here is something no one will know."
Yeah. Hunter knows that. If they failed, that means... he can't understand why the Chancellor would do this, or what's happening from here out. "I still find it hard to believe the Republic could have ordered this."
"From what I am seeing," Tech announces, looking up from his datapad, "There is no Republic left. It has been declared an Empire now."
He feels cold. The Republic is gone. Everything they fought for is gone. He just... needs some time to process, but that's not why he's here.
Shaeeah and Jek enter, and Wrecker instantly turns his attention to them, thankfully distracting him long enough to regain his bearings and focus.
"I came to ask," Hunter says once they've quieted down enough. "After what happened, we need somewhere to lay low. How did you manage to stay off the radar for so long?"
"You wanna know how to disappear? Put being a soldier behind you and make a new life for yourself."
That... sounds easier said than done.
**w**
Anakin is, surprisingly, waiting for them at the Marauder. He's sitting on the ramp, Rex at his side, Ahsoka pacing a short distance off.
"Hunter," Anakin greets, standing when he sees them, "It's – it's good to see you. I wasn't sure if you'd have made it out."
"We were uncertain if you would have made it," Tech replies.
"Yeah," Wrecker laughs, "Of course, you did." Anakin smiles, stepping up to him and Wrecker scoops him into a bone-crushing hug.
It makes Hunter feel a little less alone to have the three of them here. At least they're not the only Jedi who survived. Wrecker had stayed with the younglings he was with long enough to make sure they had someone to get them out before going back. He still put Hunter first. They both did, and – if they hadn't, he'd probably be dead now.
Anakin squeezes him back tightly, and Wrecker scoops up Rex, ignoring his yelp.
"So," Ahsoka says, appearing at her master's side, braid swinging, "Where were you when it happened?"
"The Temple," Hunter answers, "It was tense, but we made it out. Barely."
"I'm sorry," Anakin says, and Hunter wants to object to that, because it wasn't that they lost Crosshair. They just... did. He's not ready to think about what happened there. "Where's Crosshair?"
"He tried to kill Hunter," Wrecker says bluntly, his mood gone in a flash. It's such a jarring turn, it's almost enough to give him whiplash.
"It's worth noting the possibility that Crosshair's actions were influenced by his inhibitor chip," Tech interjects, and Hunter freezes, staring at him.
"His what?" he asks, confused.
"The regs turned on the Jedi because of their programming," Tech answers, like that answers something.
"What programming?" Hunter queries.
"It has been well documented that the Kaminaons inhibited the cognitive functions of clones to engineer them to follow orders without question."
"We sure don't," Wrecker objects.
"They manipulate preexisting aberrations in our DNA, resulting in your brute strength, Hunter's enhanced senses, and my exceptional mind. My guess is that we are mostly immune to the effects of the programming."
"They put inhibitor chips in us," Rex interjects, "They're meant to... control us. I wasn't sure if they would affect you or not. You're Jedi."
"They should still work, in theory," Anakin points out, "I'm assuming it was your mutations that kept you safe."
That means – it wasn't Crosshair's fault. Or, it might not have been. "He didn't feel like himself," Hunter admits, though he doesn't want to say more about it than that. That just makes him feel even worse than he already does. Crosshair wasn't himself, but they still left him. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't...
Hunter's not ready to think about that, and right now, it doesn't matter.
"What are you going to do?" he inquires, "Now that the Republic's gone?"
"The Order might be gone, but we're still Jedi," Anakin replies, "We're still figuring it out, but we're going to fight. That's all we've ever done or had."
"People still need our help," Ahsoka agrees, "We're not going to abandon them."
"What about you?" Anakin inquires, "I know the change must be... hard."
Hard is an understatement to what it is. He lost Crosshair. His brother. His – everything. His greatest fear has always been being away from them. He was afraid of it on Kamino.
None of the regs got to stick together. They never had squads until they were older. Hunter was – lucky he was able to grow up with his brothers. They all were. That was one of the things the regs hated them for most.
That never changed at the Temple. The way the Jedi always looked down on them when they saw them together, the way they... apparently, for Jedi, it's similar. They have clans, until they become padawans, after which they hardly see their friends or siblings again.
Hunter's worries about separation had faded after a while – he got used to it, and Anakin promised him there was nothing to worry about. He believed it. He... accepted it, moved on, didn't think there was anything that could ever come between them.
Maybe he shouldn't have. He should have seen... what happened to Crosshair. Should have stopped it. Helped him.
They shouldn't have left him, and no telling himself to stop dwelling on the past and what he can't change will make him stop thinking about it. Crosshair's alone now, and Hunter has no idea what's happening to him. What will happen to him now.
He – he hurt people, and Hunter knows how he is about that. Hunter has always done his best to avoid any and all situation where they might have to kill someone. There's almost always a way around it. Hunter knows how that feels. Now, Crosshair... has, and they're not with him to help. To make it better.
After Krell, it was only his brothers' constant presences that kept him together.
He's not ready to risk any of it again. Not ready to... make a decision. He just wants some time to breathe, and he thinks they all need a while to recover. "To tell the truth, I really don't know," Hunter admits, "Considering what's happening, I think it'd be best if we lay low for a little while."
Anakin nods a little. "I understand," he replies, "If that's what you think is best. You can stay here for a little while, until Cut leaves, as I suspect he will. Do you know where you will go after?"
"We'll find somewhere." Easier said than done, really.
If they're going to try to hide, to... stay out of sight, they're going to have to change... everything about themselves. They only have Jedi robes – those are the only clothes they've worn since Kamino. Yes, like Anakin said, they'll adapt to survive, but that sometimes means leaving behind things and pieces of themselves they don't want to.
... At least Wrecker got Lula. That's the most he can say.
"One more thing I thought you should know," Anakin adds quickly, "When Order 66 was given out, after what happened with Maul, we figured out who Sidious was. He's the Chancellor. That's why this is happening."
Anakin was close with Palpatine. No wonder he's radiating such feelings of betrayal and hurt, and a jumble of other things Hunter hasn't even tried thinking about. Anakin always seems fine. He can be hurt, of course, and he openly admits to his struggles, but he always seems so perfect.
"That would explain all of this," Tech supplies.
Yeah, it would and does.
There's so much to think about. To process. Anakin's right that staying here for a few days might be best.
They'll have to change everything about their lives again. It won't be the first time. Probably won't be the last, either.
**w**
Cut offers Hunter and Wrecker some civilian clothes, which he's grateful for. Tech usually stays at the ship, anyway, so they can make by until they find something else.
Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rex left, after Rex promised to find them a secure location they can remove their own chips – they're not fully certain how they could be affected, but that's not a risk Hunter's willing to take. Not after – after Crosshair.
None of them mention Crosshair, though Hunter knows he's lingering on the forefront of everyone's minds. It's... not something any of them can talk about. Some things hurt too much. He's used to having three of them around, not two, and he feels... empty. Crosshair's gentle presence is far away, unreachable, too shielded for Hunter to reach.
He's too afraid to try, but he can feel the darkness. The anger.
"If we are going to try to lay low," Tech says finally, when the three of them are alone and ready to actually think about it. "We will have to change our appearances."
"We don't really look like Jedi," Hunter points out, and he couldn't be more grateful of his decision to get a skull tattoo on his face, no matter how everyone acted about it. No one would think of him as Jedi. No one ever really... has. "Except our clothes, and your braid."
"That is what I was referring to," Tech replies.
Hunter really doesn't want to say it, but he knows he needs to. "Yeah," he agrees quietly, "You'll have to cut it off."
"That is not ideal, but it is a worthwhile sacrifice."
He's asking Hunter before doing it. Well, of course, he is, but that still – it makes him feel better. Makes him feel something. Crosshair's loss may not have been his own doing, but it's still dragging up a long string of questions that he's never asked himself before. Hunter never... wondered if his brothers were comfortable following him. If they... wanted something different. Else. Not until Crosshair.
"Yeah," Hunter agrees, sighing – he never thought he'd be able to Knight Tech the traditional way, but he still thought he'd get the chance to. He hoped the war would end before they had to worry about that. He never knew what it would mean if his brothers were Knighted – if they'd be away from each other, but that's not something any of them would ever accept. Tech is nine now, though. Hunter was eight. "You're more ready to be a Knight than I was."
"That is not true," Tech argues. "To say we are ready would mean we were ready to be on our own, which we are not."
That's true. He wants to be ready, feel ready for something, but that is a reality none of them will be ready to face. Will be able to face. But... that's something Crosshair is living. "Yeah," Hunter agrees again, tiredly, "I don't – I don't know what we are. I guess it doesn't really matter."
The next time he sees Tech, his padawan braid is gone. It hurts more than Hunter thought it would.
**w**
The Marauder is damaged on Saleucami – it ends up being a fight to get off-world. They crash-land on some moon – Tech insisted they were fine, which they were not, thank you very much –for repairs. A moon dragon steals the part, but Hunter gets it back, and they land on Pantora to refuel, and so Tech can scramble their signature.
The dreams keep coming. Every time he sleeps, he dreams, sees the girl's face and hears her calling him.
Every night, it seems brighter, more vivid. He doesn't know what it means.
Crosshair has only been gone a week, but it feels like a lifetime. Hunter has no idea what's happening to him, and he catches a fleeting sense of him in his dreams sometimes. Or he did tonight the first time.
"You alright?" Wrecker asks, climbing onto his rack next to him.
"I keep dreaming," Hunter sighs, "There's this girl, and she's calling me. She's familiar, but I don't think I've ever seen her before."
"That's weird," Wrecker supplies.
"Yeah," Hunter agrees. That he could swear he felt Crosshair there, lingering somewhere near her, he doesn't say. Wrecker doesn't need to know that. Hunter isn't ready to talk about him yet. He hates himself for overlooking all of it, for not trying harder.
"Well, what did she look like?" Tech asks.
"She had blonde hair," Hunter replies, envisioning her face again. "She... she's young. Maybe five. Or six. She must be older natborn terms. But it felt like she knew us." That's what he finds oddest. "She's wearing..." Actually, what she's wearing reminds him of Nala Se. Maybe it's just his imagination going wild, but he thinks there's something important about her.
"Well... maybe Anakin would know?" Wrecker suggests.
Maybe he's right. Maybe. But they can't always call Anakin whenever they're in trouble. Especially if they're laying low, they can't always afford to ask him for help all the time if Anakin is going to fight. As much as he hates to say it, they need to... keep a bit of distance. And Hunter isn't really willing to ask for help, anyway. "I don't think it's that important."
He wishes it could be. He can't get it out of his head.
(He – he wishes they had something to focus on. Someone to focus on. He wants to get Crosshair back, but there's no way to. Hunter feels lost for the first time in his life, adrift in the galaxy completely alone. Their whole lives, they've had someone else make decisions for them. They have never... been able to choose what to be or do. Maybe they had their own ways of doing things, but never what they did.)
**w**
They ended up going to Ord Mantell to meet up with a Jedi informant, who offered them some work, and if they're going to lay low somewhere, they'll have to have credits. Enough to get by with, which is what Hunter is hoping for. It feels a bit like a waste of their abilities, and Cid is grumpy about the dangers of Jedi, but they blend in well.
Something's... wrong with Wrecker. Hunter can feel it, and it's scaring him.
He already lost Crosshair.
It often felt like Crosshair was their focus, his main focus, but Wrecker was second-youngest, and he's always needed Hunter just as much. Wrecker needs and – and deserves Hunter to focus on him, and he's trying. It might not feel the same – Wrecker is used to doing everything for Crosshair – but it's... something.
Or, at least Hunter tries to keep telling himself that.
Either way, the thought of something happening to Wrecker literally paralyzes him with fear. They already lost Crosshair. They can't lose anyone else.
Hunter can feel Wrecker's worry, and sometimes, he can see the knowing in his eye. Wrecker knows what's wrong. He just doesn't talk about it, and that's how Hunter knows, too. It's not something he's brave enough to mention, either.
He couldn't be more grateful than when Anakin finally contacts them again, telling them to rendezvous on Bracca.
Anakin catches his expression the moment he sees him – something about Wrecker and their situation must've shown – and his gaze darts to Wrecker in worry.
"Did something happen?" he asks quietly as they trapse through the wreckage. Probably, it's obvious enough with how Hunter can't stop mentally touching his brothers or pausing to look at them.
"Just worried," Hunter confesses.
"Maybe you're just getting soft," Crosshair's voice snarls in his mind, and he viciously shoves the memory away. It doesn't matter. (Yes, it does. He wants to know that Crosshair cared. That he didn't fail him. He wants to get him back, to know that he's safe.)
Anakin nods, like that's an answer enough. To him, it probably is.
If they're looking for... other weapons, ways to disguise themselves, this is a good place to.
"Do you know if they still have extra clone armor aboard?" Hunter asks Rex.
"I never looked," Rex replies.
On hindsight – "Well, it couldn't fit Wrecker, anyway."
They can pick up some blasters though.
Even with the six of them together, everything feels too quiet, too empty.
Wrecker is growing increasingly restless the closer they get to the medbay.
Hunter hovers close, and Wrecker grabs his hand, like that might actually be able to help, but Hunter can still appreciate the sentiment. (At least someone still believes in himself, even if he doesn't.)
"What happened to Crosshair wasn't your fault," Anakin says as Hunter watches, tense, and Tech gets the medical pod on and working.
Hunter glances at him, almost surprised by the bluntness, though he shouldn't be. Anakin is so open. Hunter doesn't think he could hide anything even if he tried. "I am his brother. I'm his..." He doesn't want to say master. That still makes him think of Krell.
Anakin squeezes his shoulder, and Hunter can't help leaning into it the slightest bit. It's warm, and Anakin has always been there to take care of him. Right now, he wants that more than anything, but if Hunter isn't the one responsible for his brothers, he doesn't know what he is. That's all he's ever been needed for – taking care of them. "You will not always be able to do it on your own, Hunter. Sometimes, you need to let others take care of you, too."
Hunter has no idea what he means by that. It's not something he... understands.
**w**
Going under is... strange. Hunter's been sedated before, but this is different. He feels like he's floating, like there's something pulling him in.
"I know who you are," a familiar bright voice says, "You're Crosshair."
"How do you know me?" Crosshair snarls back, and the image slowly drifts into focus. Kamino. The brilliant white light is something Hunter would recognize, anywhere.
The image shifts before she can answer. It shudders, darkening, and he sees flashes, fleeting images. He sees Crosshair. He sees the girl.
The surroundings are unclear when it settles again, but it's dimmer. Crosshair – dressed in black, and it looks so wrong on him that it hurts – is standing, facing her. His lightsaber blade is ignited and red. That hurts, too.
Her eyes are wide.
She's wearing a forehead-pendant thing that reminds Hunter of the one Nala Se used to wear, though it was such a long time ago, he couldn't say if the markings are identical. He's seen it before, but never so vividly.
"My mission is to find them," Crosshair says, voice silkily smooth enough that it makes Hunter's skin crawl. He only talks like that when he's about to react with violence. "And that's what you want. I don't see why that should be a problem."
"What does the Empire want with our brothers?" she demands. She sounds angry and terrified at once.
"What's it to you?" he snarks back, stalking forwards.
The girl backs away from him, eyes wide. "Crosshair, this isn't you!" she yells as he grabs her wrist. "It's your inhibitor chip!"
She knows about those, too, Hunter thinks numbly.
"Don't make this difficult," he snarls, "They aren't worth hurting for."
"Yes, they are!" she yells back at him, defiant and angry. "They're our brothers!"
"Hunter!" She didn't speak, because he didn't see her say it, but he still heard the echo of his name in her mind, calling him. Crying for him.
He jolts back to consciousness, gasping.
"You're awake!" Wrecker exclaims gleefully, scooping him into a hug. Hunter doesn't even have the energy to grumble about it. He's exhausted, and his head feels fuzzy from whatever sedatives that was, or maybe it's from the surgery. It'll take a while to click back, and until then, well, he'll be stumbling around in a half sluggish state and hopefully not get anyone else killed.
"Yeah," Hunter grumbles, face pressed against his little brother's chest, "I'm awake." It's Tech's turn now.
"You okay?" Wrecker asks, pulling back, expression worried.
Hunter sighs, trying to force the dreams from mind, but they stubbornly stay. Crosshair was hurting her. She's just a child. "I dreamed again. More... vivid than usual."
"Are you sure it's a dream?" Anakin queries, turning to them.
"What do you mean?"
"It could have been a vision," Anakin points out, "Your... specific connection to the Force does imply it could be a gift you have."
He... didn't know that, but there's a lot of things Hunter doesn't know about being a Jedi. That child – whoever she is – was hurting. Being hurt. By Crosshair. She needs them, but he doesn't know what he could do.
"What've you been seeing?" Rex inquires, and he and Ahsoka approach them.
"I don't even know who she is," Hunter admits. Our brothers, she had said, but that doesn't make any sense. Who's the plural in that? "I've never seen her before, but there is something important about her."
"Perhaps you don't remember her," Anakin suggests, "Or she will be important to you in future."
Hunter can't imagine either, but something about it whispers with rightness in the Force. "Maybe," he sighs. He doesn't tell them the rest. Doesn't tell them about Crosshair, even if he should. He doesn't know how.
**w**
Hunter's growing increasingly tense as they head back to the Marauder. They collected a good amount of weaponry, which Wrecker was unreasonably gleeful about. That Crosshair wasn't there to laugh at him for it just makes it hurt, though.
Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rex are heading back to their own ship already.
Wrecker shudders as they enter the Marauder, Gonky beeping in greeting. "Does anyone else think somethin's wrong?" he asks.
"Yes," Tech replies, "I sense something amyss."
"Tech, check our comm channel," Hunter requests. Doesn't know why, but he thinks something is...
Their comm beeps, right on cue.
The Force feels tense. Hunter's freezing.
"It's Crosshair's comm channel," Tech says quietly.
Oh, Force. "Answer," he requests, though he doesn't want to.
Tech settles into the pilot seat, and Hunter grips the back of his chair hard enough that his knuckles turn white.
There is no bracing himself for this. There's only doing it and trying to recover afterwards.
He's definitely not ready to see the hologram, of Crosshair dressed in the same black uniform that he was wearing in Hunter's dream, and the lightsaber pressed to the little girl's neck. Hunter thinks she's crying. It's a hologram though, so it's hard to tell.
"Clone Force 99," he purrs, "I'm here to offer you an ultimatum."
"Whatever it is, the answer's no," Wrecker snarls, jerking forwards, rage and hurt pouring into the Force in waves. Hunter feels it as his heartbeat spikes with his anger.
"I doubt that," Crosshair hisses, "Unless you'd prefer I cut your sister's head off."
"What sister?" Tech demands, "We do not have any."
"Or, so the Kaminoans told us," Crosshair replies, "I came back to Kamino. She came right to me. She's been looking for you for a long time." His tone makes Hunter's skin crawl. He's furious. He means what he's saying. He's going to hurt her. "She's loyal," Crosshair continues, "More than you ever have been."
"What do you want, Crosshair?" Hunter demands, because he can't just listen to this.
"Come here to Kamino," Crosshair tells him bluntly, "Turn yourselves over to Imperial custody, and I'll let Omega live."
Omega. That's her name. Somehow, hearing that makes her even more meaningful. Our brothers, she had said, and Hunter knows he's not lying. He wishes he was. Probably, that's what Crosshair's point was.
"And before you turn this into a rescue operation," Crosshair continues, "This is Kamino. You don't have a chance. I'll give you two rotations." He cuts the transmission before any of them can react.
"What do we do?" Wrecker asks helplessly, turning to Hunter.
He knows the answer. He doesn't like it. He's terrified to, but Crosshair had his blade pressed to Hunter's neck once, and he knows exactly how terrifying it was. Omega's a child. She doesn't deserve this. "We have to go," Hunter says, "Omega is our sister. She belongs with us."
He just hopes this isn't the wrong choice.
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