Vals P.O.V.
"Valkyrie, Hunter… three Venators have entered the atmosphere and are descending on the city" I then said
"We're out of time. We gotta go… Like right now" Hunter got to his feet, put his blaster away and said
"Wrecker, grab Crosshair. He's coming with us… Where is the Marauder?" As Wrecker picked up Crosshair. I scratched my neck and said
"That's where things get a bit complicated" The facility then shook.
"Fill me in out the way. Let's move!"
Without a second hesitation, we ran back the way we came. Back towards the lift…
However, as we ran through the facility explosions rocked through the facility shaking everything around us. The cloning chambers fell and the rooms burned. Everything shook… Through all the destruction I yelled
"Hurry! Get to the lift!"
Exiting the facility onto the bridge we saw a Venator. Its guns were powering up. As a nearby section of the facility exploded Hunter yelled
"Back inside! Go!"
Running back through the facility Hunter yelled
"Go! Go! We need to find cover" A large explosion knocked all of us over. The facility then started moving. We all slid down the corridor but we got separated from Omega. Looking up, Omega was holding onto something. She then called out
"Hunter!" a door to the section she was in then started closing
"Omega…" Everything then faded…
"Hunter, do you copy?... Valkyrie? Tech? Echo? Is anyone there? Wrecker?"
CRASH!
The sudden sound of crashing metal brought me back into reality. My eyes snapped open and I gasped at the sudden jerk of my head. My eyes soon adjusted to the dull light and my senses soon normalised. Pushing myself up, I held the side of my head as Hunter's voice flooded my ears
"Yeah, kid. Are you okay?" groaning I looked round and made sure the others were okay before getting to my feet just as Omegas voice came over the comms
" Not really. The room is flooding. And Crosshair's stuck" Hunter spun round to Tech and said
"Get the door open, Tech" Tech scanned the datapad in his hands and said
"All compromised compartments are sealed to contain the flooding. I cannot override the protocols from here" I grabbed my sabre from my belt and said
"No, but we can. Wreck with me!" Wrecker and I immediately went to the door. He forced his vrbo-knife into the door and I did the same with my lightsaber.
Kaminoan steel is something else…
Cutting through it even with a lightsabre is a struggle. Using all the strength we had the door started. As water began leaking out Wreaker groaned
"Come on" I then mumbled
"Almost got it!" We pushed more on our weapons as I mumbled
"Los triforce comète" I felt my eyes shift briefly before a surge of power and strength flew through me. Water started pouring out of the gap and before we knew it Omega came flying out. Wrecker caught her and quickly passed her over the Echo. Wrecker and I held the door open just enough for Crosshair to come out. Resealing the door shut, we turned around just as Hunter stopped Crosshair with his boot.
Crosshair immediately got to his feet, glared at Hunter and said
"What have you done?" Hunter stepped towards him and said
"The Empire opened fire on the city. We weren't going to leave you behind" I stepped between the 2 with my hand flush against Hunter's chest plate and said
"Guys, We don't have time for this. This facility is going down. We need to get topside preferably before the entire structure submerges. Save the Alpha male stuff for later, yeah?" Hunter nodded at me before looking back at Crosshair and saying
"If you want to stay here and die, that's your call"
"Come on, Omega"
We started running back through the facility. We kept a tight formation and stayed relatively close together; Omega was huddled in the middle of us and Crosshair was bringing up the rear. As the facility shook again I yelled
"We need to find a way back to the lift, it's the only way back to the Marauder!" The building shifted slightly and things started sliding. We stopped just as Hunter grabbed Omega's arm and said
"Everyone hold on to something!"
" Whoa!" We then started falling. The structure near as damn it went vertical. We all scrambled to find something to hold on to. Unclipping my lightsabre from my belt I powered it up and gabbed it into the floor stopping me from falling
"Omega!"
I looked down just as AZI fell. Omega caught him but was struggling to hold herself up. Powering down my lightsabre I fell until I was level with Omega. Immediately powering up my sabre to stop myself from falling, I wrapped my arm around Omega's back and said
"I got ya' kid"
Eventually, the structure crashed flat and we all fell to the floor. I let go of Omega and powered down my lightsabre just as AZI woke up
"Omega, watch out! Oh, you are okay" As we stood up, Tech looked at his datapad and said
"I believe we have landed on the ocean floor. There is no way to calculate the damage accurately. Most of the facility must be…compromised" Hunter then said
"We need to get to a space that's more secure"
"Follow me" And so we did.
Wrecker pulled the door open and we walked in as Tech spoke
"Ironically, our old barracks is one of the few compartments habitable, albeit temporarily" This is not the room I remember. The room I've only seen once used to be full of old junk, old droid parts, and rubbish and there was a weird smell but this room is the complete opposite. I was just about to speak when Wrecker beat me to it
"This is our room? What happened to it?" Echo then said
"At least the smell's gone"
"Check it out. Our board's still here" He's right, on the wall was a carved-out scoreboard. All under the win column none under the loose column
Crosshair then broke his silence
"All those missions together and you threw it away" We all looked around as Hunter spoke
"We made a choice, and so did you"
"Soldiers follow orders"
"Blind allegiance makes you a pawn. A real leader protects his squad"
"Look where that's gotten you. They're all going to die here because of your failed leadership"
I grabbed Hunter's arm stopping him from advancing on Crosshair just as Omega spoke
"No, we're not. Look. We landed on the underwater tunnel. If we use it to reach the base post, we could get back to the Marauder" Tech went up beside her and said
"Accessing the tube will be… challenging" I shrugged and said
"Better than staying here" OMega looked back at us and said
"We have to try" Crosshair then spoke again
"She's calling the shots now?" I looked at him and said
"Omega knows this facility like the back of her hand. We got on the planet without you knowing thanks to her. So please if you have a better idea, we're all ears because I don't feel like dying today and right now that tunnel is our best option to get back to the Marauder" He looked at me and said
"Spoken like a true Jedi. Willing to risk everything and everyone for an uncertain strategy" I stepped towards him but was stopped when Hunter grabbed my arm. I glanced up at him before back at Crosshair and saying
"What happened to you Cross? What happened to make you become… This"
Before he could respond Tech spoke
"My scans indicate the tunnel is directly below this maintenance deck. With a precise weld to maintain an airtight seal, this might work" Crosshair folded his arms and said
"What do you mean, "might"?" He glanced up from his datapad and said
"Let's just say we're lucky to have something at our disposal that burns from 20,000 to 25,000 degrees" Hunter then turned to face me. I sighed before unclipping my lightsabre and saying
"Just show me where to cut" he scratched a circle into the floor before saying
"Just here should suffice" he stepped aside as I knelt on the floor. I held my sabre out and twisted a couple of dials as I mumbled
"Just need to adjust a couple… Maximum output… There that should do it" I lined it up and said
"Cover your eyes, this is gonna get bright" Igniting the lightsabre, sparks spattered around me as I cut through the thick metal. I could feel the two metals binding together as I dragged my sabre around.
Eventually, the sides met and I retracted my sabre. Standing up I clipped it onto my belt before kicking the metal making it fall into the tunnels below. Omega then said
"AZI, can you check it out?" He nodded before flying into the tunnel. A moment later AZI called up
"The tunnel is clear!" Hunter nudged my shoulder and said
"Ladies first" I nudged him back and said
"I hate you" He smiled and said
"Just jump" Deciding to ignore the sudden twinge in the back of my head I jumped down into the tunnel below. I was closely followed by Hunter, who caught Omega as she jumped. Next was Tech, then Wrecker. With Crosshair bringing up the rear.
As we walked through the tunnel Crosshair spoke
"We need to go back. There must be another way" Tech looked down at his datapad and said
"That would be unwise. I am afraid this is our best option" Wrecker pushed in front of Tech and said
"You done complaining? You know, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess"
"Something on your tiny mind, Wrecker?" We stopped and turned around just as Wrecker said
"All that time, you didn't even try to come back… We still would have taken ya" Tech then said
"Let it go, Wrecker. Crosshair has always been severe and unyielding. It is his nature. You cannot change that. He cannot change that" Wrecker turned and walked over to us just as Crosshair said to Tech
"Why are you defending me?"
"I am not. Understanding you does not mean that I agree with you"
A little while later Omega spoke up
"AZI, this doesn't look very safe"
"Barring any further complications, this enclosure remains a viable means of transport" I put my hand on her shoulder and said
"Let's keep moving. We're almost there" We began moving again but soon stopped when a loud roar echoed through the tunnels.
"What was that?" We turned towards the glass and as the guys angled their torches outside Omega said
"Uh, I think we got a problem" A large theropod creature then came into view. Omega then whispered
"AZI, these tunnels are protected, right?"
"Only when the power is operational…which it is not" We backed away slightly before the creature let out a loud roar. Hunter grabbed Omega's arm and yelled
"Run!"
We took off running through the tunnel and the creature followed, ramming into the glass. Omega stumbled and landed on the glass. I jumped down and helped her up, forcing myself to ignore the new cracks in the glass. As we ran through the tunnel AZI spoke
"Restoring power should deter the creature. Try to stay alive!" AZI flew ahead whilst the rest of us ran. Stumbling slightly every time the creature rammed into the tunnel. Some water trickled in as the glass began to crack.
"KARK THIS!" I came to a skidding halt and faced the glass. Omega then shouted
"Valkyrie what are you doing!" I took a breath and held my hand out whilst saying
"Buying us some more time" Closing my eyes I reached out through the force to the creature's mind
'I am one with the force and the force is with me'. Connecting with the creature's mind, I could feel nothing but mindless destruction but despite all of that it calmed down slightly just enough for the power to come back online. Someone grabbing my hand snapped me out of my trace. I opened my eyes and saw Hunter holding my hand and dragging me along.
Climbing up to join the others, we just cleared the closing hatch as the creature outside bit down on the tunnel. Dropping down onto the closed platform AZI said
"It appears I have caused this structure's remaining power to short out. But you have survived the transit... This outcome is satisfactory" I put my head back against the wall and said
"Someone remind me why we brought the droid?
As we entered the lab once more Hunter looked around and said
"What is this place?" I answered
"Nala Se's private lab" Tech then spoke
"Omega says this is where our mutations were manipulated and enhanced" Crosshair looked at him before saying
"How would she know?"
"Because she was there. Omega was created before us. Technically, she is older than we are" A groan brought us back into the moment. We walked over to Omega just as she pointed out of the window and said
"That's gonna be a problem" Out of the window we saw the tunnel was crushed by a part of the fallen city. I put my forehead against the glass and said
"Omega don't say that…" she cut me off by saying
"That tunnel was the only way to the Marauder" Tech then said
"It would seem that, once again, we are trapped"
AZI then whirled and his eyes flashed slightly causing Omega to say
"AZI, what's wrong?"
"My battery cells are depleting. I apologise for the inconvenience" Echo looked down at his datapad and said
"Long-range comms are down, and our oxygen levels will be critical in a few hours" Crosshair then said
"This is what happens when you let a kid call the shots" Hunter looked at him and said
"That kid saved your life, unlike the Empire who left you for dead" Crosshair scoffed and said
"That's your problem, Hunter. You take things too personally"
"They destroyed an entire city"
"They did what needed to be done. Kamino, regs, the Republic… That time is over. The Empire will control the entire galaxy, and I am going to be a part of it. Hunter, you made the wrong choice"
"Don't fool yourself. All you'll ever be to them is a number"
I stepped away from the group as the pain in my head got worse… Placing a hand against my temple, I closed my eyes and felt my mind drifting
When I caught up with them halfway down the mountain I called out
"What the hell was that!?" the 4 of them stopped and all but Hunter turned to look at me. Instead, Hunter looked over his shoulder and said
"Everything we said was the truth. Captain Rex just can't seem to accept it" I walked over to him and said
"It's his friend Hunter! It's his Brother! You'd be in the same position if it was one of them!" Hunter looked back over to the other and gestured for them to carry on. Once they were out of earshot, He took his helmet off and turned around saying
"You said it yourself, Val, Echo was blown up at the citadel" I took a step towards him and said
"That's not the point. There is a chance, no matter how slim, that Echo is still alive" He took a step towards me so he was stood right in front of me and said
"That may be true, but Rex is losing himself in this and that's what's worrying"
"Hunter, If it was Tech or Wrecker or Crosshair you would do anything to bring them home and to make sure they're safe. Rex is just trying to do that for one of his brothers"
"You missed someone"
"What?"
"You're right, If I was in Rex's position I would do the same. But you missed someone off the list. I would do the same for Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair and you"
"Hunter…" He cut me off by putting his helmet back on and saying
"Come on, we've still got a mission to complete" nothing else was said as we made our way down the mountain into a dust storm.
Opening my eyes, I took a shaky breath and mumbled
"No… Not now. Not now!"
Hunters P. O. V.
I helped Echo lift a glass tube as he said
"These medical capsules are our way out of here. If our mass is evenly distributed, the buoyancy of these watertight chambers will bring us to the surface" Tech came up beside us and said
"Medical capsules have not been tested for such capabilities. We won't have directional control. How do we avoid the debris field out there?"
"The droid. He can do it" We then glanced back at Crosshair just as Omega looked at AZI and said
"AZI, can you guide us to the surface?"
"Barring any extraneous complications, I should be able to complete the task"
"Won't that be dangerous?"
"Your safety and well-being is my primary mission objective."
The remaining lights in the room then flickered
"Tech?" Tech looked down at his datapad and said
"My scans aren't showing any indications of this structure being compromised any more than it already is" Val then spoke
"It's not the lab" We turned to look at her and she had her back to us. I stepped towards her and said
"Kyrie?" She turned around holding her hand out in front of her. Blood was streaming from her nose and her hand was shaking. She was also breathing heavily as she said
"It was me" I moved so I stood in front of her before gently reaching out for her hand. As I took her shaky hand in mine she said
"The power I used in the tunnel…" I cut her off by saying
"Hey, just breathe. We're all getting out of this and then we'll get you that help, Yeah?" she took a shaky breath before nodding. She then closed her eyes for a second and her hand stopped trembling. I let go of her hand just as Crosshair spoke
"What's wrong with her?" Val then spoke
"Like you even care… Come on let's just get this done and get out of here" and that's what we did.
As we finished lining up the capsules Wrecker said
"I barely fit in this thing!" Echo looked at him and said
"Quit complaining. At least you're not doubled up" Echo and Tech were sharing a tube. I was sharing with Crosshair. Wrecker, Omega and Val all had their tubes. I looked over at Omega who was securing the last of the explosives just as she said
"How's your charge holding up?"
"I have accessed my reserve power. We must hurry" She ran back over, holding up the detonator she said
"The explosives are set"
"All right. Seal 'em up" And so we all got in our tubes and sealed them shut.
I looked over at Omega and nodded. She detonated the explosive and the glass shattered, pulling us out into the ocean.
When we broke through the surface of the water. As soon as the capsule opened I sat up and did a head count. Tech, Echo, Wrecker, Crosshair and Valkyrie but no Omega…
Without a second hesitation, I pulled out my comm and called Omega
" Omega? What's happening?"
"I got caught on some debris. It's okay. AZI's got me" A couple of minutes later Val spoke
"Somethings wrong she should be up here by now… Omega what's going on?!"
"I'm going after AZI!" I immediately pulled comm up and yelled
"Omega, don't!"
"I don't see her" I stood up and said
"I'm going in."
As I stood up there was a splash sound from behind me. I turned and saw Val wasn't in her pod
"Valkyrie!" All we could see was a bright light fading into the murky water.
Something behind me then clicked.
I turned around and saw Crosshair holding his rifle pointed at me…
I closed my eyes as he pulled the trigger but when nothing happened I reopened them and saw a cable going from his gun into the water.
I turned and looked into crosshairs eyes as the cable retracted…
It didn't take long for a hand to break through the water and grab onto the side of my pod. Omega was then pushed out of the water followed by Val. I grabbed Omega and pulled her and AZI up into the pod pulling her against my chest
" I've got ya" As Omega coughed up some water I looked at Val. She had blood running down her face and a couple of scrapes on her arms from the debris below. She also looked exhausted. She looked across my shoulder at Crosshair and mumbled
"Thanks" I looked around and saw the others with their guns pointed at Crosshair.
He sighed before throwing his rifle at Wrecker. He sat back down and replied
"Don't mention it… ever" Wrecker put the rifle down and outstretched his hand for Val
"Valky, come here"
She took a breath before letting go of my pod and swimming over to Wrecker. He pulled her from the water effortlessly. She sunk down into the pod with a pained groan as Tech spoke
"I have a visual on the Marauder. I suggest we start paddling"
As we slowly made our way towards the platform I glanced over at Val and saw her cradling a trembling hand against her chest…
Vals P.O.V
Once we finally reached the landing pad I immediately turned towards the ship but soon stopped when I realised I was going alone. I turned around and saw the others standing at the edge of the platform looking out towards the burning structure of their home. I sighed before making my way over to them.
I stood beside Hunter and said
"I'm sorry guys. Whether you liked it or not Kamino was your home" Omega then spoke up
"It's… All gone" Echo then spoke
"We should leave before the Empire's scouts show up" Wrecker picked up AZI before looking at Crosshair and saying
"Are you coming with us?" Crosshair hesitated for a moment before folding his arms and saying
"None of this changes anything" Hunter stepped towards him and said
"You offered us a chance, Crosshair. This is yours"
"I made my decision"
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies" Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Echo then turned and headed back to the ship. I didn't move because Omega stopped.
Crosshair looked at her and mumbled
"What?"
"Thank you for saving AZI"
"Consider us even" She hesitated before saying
"You're still their brother, Crosshair. You're my brother too" She then ran back to the ship.
After I saw the Omega was back on the ship, I said
"You know that there's a high possibility that the empire will kill you if they come back here" I turned and looked at Crosshair. He couldn't look at me. I walked over to him and said
"Cross, I know what it's like to feel betrayed by those you consider family…" he looked up at me just as Hunter yelled
"Val, let's go!"
I briefly looked back at him before looking back at Cross. I then took a small datapad from my pocket and threw it at Cross.
"Don't make the same mistake I did, Crosshair. Don't turn your back on family" he looked down at the datapad and the picture on it. It was a photo from the time I travelled with the bad batch way back when. I then started walking away from Cross whilst saying
"If you change your mind…" he cut me off
"I know how to get in touch...Valkyrie" I turned around and met his eyes as he said
"Thank you"
As I started climbing the steps of the ship, I turned back to Crosshair once more and said
"Call us even" The door then closed and we were soon in hyperspace.
As we travelled through Hyperspace, Hunter took it upon himself to sit me down and clean the scraps across my arms. My hands weren't trembling so much anymore but you could feel the tremble when holding my hands. As he gently cleaned the finally wound on my arm he said
"What did you mean when you told Crosshair not to make the same mistakes you did?" I looked up at him and then around at the group for a second before saying
"There's something you should know"
"What?" I took my arm back as I said
"It's the truth behind the war" Echo then said
"What do you mean?" I stood up and walked to a place where I could see everyone.
I then held my lightsaber and said
"All of it was a lie. Palpatine was playing both sides. He was behind the production of clones. Order 66 was his plan all along. He's the sith lord" Omega then said
"What's that got to do with family?" Echo looked at me and simply said
"General Skywalker…" I looked down and said
"Palpatine… He manipulated Anakin from the start. Dooku didn't know but, Anakin was being groomed to become Palpatine's apprentice from the moment he join the order" Wrecker then said
"You said he was dead?"
"And he is. The boy I grew up with on Tatooine is dead. He became Palpatine's new apprentice and I turned my back on him… I keep thinking that maybe there was something I could have done to save him, to stop order 66 from happening, to stop Padme from dying, To stop all of this. If I was there…" Hunter cut me off by putting his hand on my shoulder and saying
"Hey, You can't change the past but you can fight to change the future" I reached up and held his hand that was on my shoulder as Omega got up from her chair.
She came over and wrapped her arms around my waist whilst saying
"You're the first and last of your kind. You're like us. We're your family" Tech then said
"I never thought of it like that. Perhaps that's why we got on so well when you were with us during the war" Echo then said
"Does Rex know about General Skywalker?" I placed my hand free hand in Omega's hair as I said
"No. I couldn't bring myself to tell him. Rex admired Anakin, this will break him and it will kill her…"
I stopped when I realised what I said. Wrecker then said
"Her who?" I scrunched my face up before muttering
"Damn" Hunter leg go of my hand and Omega unwrapped herself from my waist and Wrecker said
"Someone said something she shouldn't have" You could hear the smirk in his voice.
I didn't open my eyes as I ran my hands through my damp hair while saying
"Chances of you forgetting that?" Hunter replied
"None"
"Chances of you not bringing it up with Rex if I don't tell you" Hunter again
"None" I opened my eyes and looked over at him. He was leant up against the wall with a smirk on his face. I smirked back and said
"I hate you"
"Not the first time you've said that and probably wont be the last so spill. Who is she?"
I hesitated for a second before saying
"Ahsoka Tano. Former Padawan to Anakin and former Jedi. She left the order a couple of years ago. Stuff happened and she was brought back into the war during it's final days. She was on the cruiser with us when Order 66 was activated. She helped me get Rex back and she saved my life" Omega then said
"Wait, you can just leave the Jedi Order? I didn't know you could do that"
"You can… Sort of. It was… complicated circumstances"
I then took a deep breath and looked at them, smiled and said
"Look, why don't you guys get some sleep. It's been a long few days. I'll watch the helm" Wrecker got up and said
"Don't have to tell me twice" He then started walking to bunks with Omega close behind. Echo and Tech hesitated for a second before getting up and going to their bunks. I then moved to sit in the chair Tech was just sitting in.
As I sat down I said
"You don't have to stay Hunter" He sat down in the chair beside me and said
"I know but I want to" It then fell silent. I waited a couple of minutes before leaning back in my chair and saying
"Thank you" A couple of minutes later he replied
"No problem"