3 rotations after the fall of Kamino
Vals. P. O. V
After everything that happened on Kamino, we found our way back to Ord Mantell. There were mixed opinions on the matter but at the end of the day, we all knew it was probably the safest place for us right now. There's been a very mixed batch of emotions between the group but that was to be expected, I mean they have all just lost their home. It took a lot of persuading but I convinced them to take some much-needed downtime to rest and recover. Cid was a nightmare to convince because as soon as we got back she wanted to send us out on a mission. Echo also called Rex to tell him about Kamino… He's on his way.
I'm currently sitting in one of the booths in Cid's parlour reading something off a data pad, that's resting against my knees, and nursing a killer headache. I used a lot of power back on Kamino and I'm really feeling the effects.
"Val?" I glanced up and saw Omega standing at the edge of the table. I put the datapad down and said
"Yeah kiddo?" she fiddled with her hands but didn't say anything. Knowing what she was trying to say, I sighed and moved so I sat on the edge of the bench. I put a finger under her chin, lifted her head and said
"Kiddo, I would do that same thing again if it meant you were safe"
"You could have died"
"Yeah… I could have" I smiled and continued
"Omega, As a Jedi we're taught to not have attachments and Jedi are taught that from a very young age. I didn't become a Jedi until I was much older. I can't switch off my attachments… You, Rex, Wrecker, Tech, Echo and Hunter are all I have left and I will protect that until my last breath. Do you understand?" she looked up at me with teary eyes and nodded. I smiled, pulled her into a hug and ran my hand through her hair while saying
"I love you, kid"
"I love you too. Thank you Valkyrie" When she pulled out of the hug I said
"Go have some fun" SHe smiled and then ran off.
I picked up the datapad and scooched back down the bench so my back was against the wall.
I only looked up the pad when someone sat beside me.
"So are you gonna tell me where the new scar came from?" It was Hunter.
I put the pad on the table and said
"No, because you'll just get pissed" He sighed and said
"I thought Rex had your back?" I sat up slightly and said
"He did, he does. He got me out. I'm here aren't I?" he met my gaze and said
"Did you black out again?"
"Yeah"
"Kyrie…" I cut him off by saying
"I know. I know. You needed help so…" I was cut off by Hunters Comms
"Hunter, Rex is here. We're on our way to the Parlour"
Hunter got out of the booth and held his hand out for me. I took it and let him pull me to my feet. He proceeded over to the bar with the others just as Echo's voice came through the comms
"Valkyrie, Rex knows about General Skywalker. Repeat Rex knows!" I looked down at my communicator before mumbling
"Crap" I looked up just as Rex entered the Parlour, I held my hand up and said
"Rex let me explain" Yeah he didn't give me the chance. His fist collided with my jaw seconds later.
As I stumbled backwards, Wrecker, Echo and Tech held Rex back as Hunter came over to me. I spat the blood in my mouth out as Rex said
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"I had m…" he cut me off by saying
"No. I want the truth. Tell me why?"
"Because you wouldn't have believed me"
"You don't know that" I swatted Hunter's hand away as I yelled
"YES, I DO!…" I took a shaky breath before continuing
"I know because I didn't want to believe it. I know how much you're hurting right now. But I told you the truth. Anakin is dead. Darth Vader murdered him in cold blood. Just as he did Padme and the Jedi younglings!" Rex straightened up in shock and said
"What?" I sighed before continuing
"Anakin led what was left of the 501st into the Jedi temple looking for Jedis. He slaughtered those left in the temple, including the younglings. Anakin is dead. My brother is gone!"
Rex began going off on one about how I should have told him but I couldn't focus on what he was saying. The pain in my head was getting worse. Hunter stepped away to try to calm him down as I turned and leaned against the table. I then mumbled
"Hunter…" He didn't hear me. I suddenly got dizzy, really dizzy. I pinched the bridge of my nose just as the lights in the parlour flicked slightly. That's when they started… The visions
I quickly caught up with Hunter. I ran up behind him and jumped on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he said
"Hello to you two" I jumped down and walked alongside him whilst saying
"Man I forgot how good it feels fighting alongside you guys" He nudged my shoulder and said
"We've missed you too, Val" As the Havoc Marauder came into view I said
"There she is. There's my ship" Hunter looked at me and said
"Your ship!?" I rolled my eyes, looked at him and said
"Oh come on. How much time and effort did I put into this ship to keep it at republic standards? This is my ship"
I opened my eyes and the room began to spin. I lifted my hand in front of my face and saw a blurry outline of my hand with what looked like fire flowing around it. I took a shaky breath and called out again
"Hunter!" Blood dripped onto my hand before everything went black…
Hunters P.O.V
"Rex, you need to calm down. Val kept this from you so you wouldn't get hu…"
"Hunter!" We all looked towards Val who was hunched over the table. She swayed slightly where she stood but when her head rolled to the side
"Valkyrie!" I surged forward and grabbed her before she could fall. She was completely slack in my arms as I lowered her to the floor. As Tech crouched beside me I noticed the amount of blood streaming from her nose. I looked at him and said
"Tech…" He cut me off by saying
"My scans are showing that her vitals are unstable…" He looked up as he continued
"And dropping" Rex quickly spoke
"We need to get her to Alderaan. As quickly as possible" I looked up at Wrecker and Echo before saying
"Get the ship ready. We'll be right behind you" They quickly ran off and took Omega with them.
I wasted no time scooping Val into my arms and heading out of the Parlour with Rex and Tech behind me. As we made our way to the ship I felt Val's hand tighten around my shoulder. I looked down and saw her bury her face against my chest plate. I adjusted my grip on her and said
"Stay with us"
Once on the ship I gently placed Val down on my bunk and we were in the air in seconds. I stepped back so Tech could hook her up to the portable monitors we had on board.
"Her vitals have come up but are still unstable and dangerously low" Rex then spoke
"I'm going to contact our allies on Alderaan. Give them the heads up" he then left. There was something about his voice, he was scared.
I then glanced up at Omega who was in her bunk. She's clutching Lula close to her chest and just staring at Val.
"Hunter?" Immediately looking over, I saw Val with her eyes partially open. Tech stepped aside so I could be next to her. I took her hand and said
"I'm here" She turned her head to face me and said
"I'm sorry"
"For what?" She took a deep breath and said
"I should have listened to you and got help sooner" I knew what she was trying to do. In her own way, she was trying to say Goodbye. I looked up at Omega and said
"Omega why don't you go see if Rex needs help sending out the transmission?" She nodded before jumping out of her bunk.
Once she was out of earshot moved to sit on the side of my bunk. My grip tightened on her hand and said
"Don't do that. You don't get to do this not like this"
"Hunter…"
"No. You're going to be fine, okay? We still need you. I still need you" She took a shaky breath as she said
"I'm… I'm scared. I don't want to die" Her vitals spiked again causing me to say
"Hey come here" I moved so my back was against the wall of the bunk and held her against my chest. Her vitals went back to what they were before as I said
"Look, I'm scared too but I'm not willing to give up on you so easily. So you fight with everything you have to stay with us"
"I'm so tired"
"Get some sleep. I'll wake you when we get to Alderaan" It didn't take long for her to fall asleep against my chest. I put my head back against the wall and closed my eyes for a split second…
1 hour later
I was woken by a gentle shake of my shoulder. Opening my eyes I was met by Tech voice
"Sorry to wake you but we're entering The Alderaan System" I nodded before gently moving Val so I could stand up. As I stretched and cracked my neck I said
"How's she doing Tech?" he looked at the monitors and said
"No change. They're still dangerously low" He then got up and I followed him through to the cockpit. Wrecker turned in his seat, smiled and said
"Look who woke up" I cracked my wrists and said
"How long was I out?" Omega answered
"About an hour"
I then looked at Rex and said
"Have you heard from your contact?"
"Yes. We have been given coordinates to land in a private where a medical team will be waiting"
"And you're sure we can trust this person? This is safe for Val?"
"Our contact is a very old friend of the Jedi and of clones. He can be trusted"
It wasn't long before we were coming into land…
As we began the landing sequence I went back through to the bunks to wake Valkyrie. I gently shook her shoulder and spoke gently
"Come on Kyrie, we're here" She groaned before turning her head away from me
"I know. The sooner we get you checked out, the sooner we know what's going on. So come on" I gently wrapped her arm around my shoulders before gently lifting her in my arms.
Just as Rex said, there was a medical team at the bottom of the ramp alongside someone we didn't recognise. I hesitantly placed Val down on the gurney as the unknown man came up beside her. He looked at her and said
"This has escalated faster than anticipated. You should have contacted me sooner" she just groaned in response.
"Let's get her inside" Val was quickly taken inside. We went to follow but were stopped when the man spoke
"Once she is settled in a room, you can see her. Please let us replenish your supplies and use this time to rest yourselves. We might even be able to make repairs on your ship. It looks like it's been through a lot" I then spoke
"Who are you?" Rex stepped forward and said
"Hunter, this is Senator Bail Organa. Senator, this is Wrecker, Echo, Tech, Hunter and Omega also known as Clone Force 99"
It was some time before we could see Valkyrie again and then the wait was agonising. When we were allowed to see her again she was set up in a room with monitors surrounding her and multiple medication bags hooked up. She was lying in the bed with her eyes closed, her skin and lips were so pale.
We quietly entered the room but when the door closed behind Wrecker she opened her eyes, smiled and said
"Hey guys" Echo spoke first
"You're looking better"
"Feeling it. Head still hurts and so does everything else when I move but I mean I'm awake and…" She gestured to the monitors beside her and said
"Things seemed to have stabilised" I stood at her bedside as Omega spoke
"So when are you being let out?" Val's face dropped slightly. Already knowing the answer, I placed my hand on Val's shoulder and said
"Omega, Val is going to have to stay here for a little while"
Vals P. O. V
Omega's face dropped at Hunter's words before she said
"Wait, we can't just leave! What if you get caught by the Empire?" I looked at Hunter for a second before I started to push myself up to a sitting position. Almost immediately he helped me knowing I was going to struggle.
"Omega come here" She sat beside me on the bed as I reached for the sabre on the table beside me
"A Jedi's lightsaber is their life and at the centre of that…" I opened my sabre and took out the crystal at the centre before continuing
"The Kyber Crystal. Without that this lightsaber is useless. So…" I put my sabre down and picked up Omega's hand. I placed the crystal in her hand and said
"I'm going to come back for that. Keep it safe for me, yeah?"
"Promise?"
"I promise and I don't break my promises" She then gently wrapped her arms around my neck trying so hard not to hurt me but it still hurt.
It must have shown on my face that I was in pain because Echo said
"Come on Omega, let's go back to the ship" Before she pulled away I mouthed 'Thank you' to Echo. He just smiled in response. The three of them then headed back over to the ship.
When they were out of earshot Tech said
"You have extensive injuries. The chances of yo…" Hunter cut him off
"Tech, go back to the ship" Tech quickly turned and headed back to the ship. As he did, Rex came out and said
"Hunter, we need to go too. We'll draw more attention to us and her if we stay" Hunter hesitated to leave causing Rex to say
"I'll give you a minute"
Hunter sat on the side of the bed as Rex left. The door closed and I took one look at Hunter's face, placed my hand on his leg and said
"I'm gonna be fine" he placed his hand on top of mine and said
"Tech was right, whatever's going on is severe…" I cut him off
"That's why I'm here. I was promised medical help under the radar"
"If the empire finds you…"
"They won't"
"But if they do…You just promised Omega that you were coming back. Don't break that promise"
"I don't plan on it" he then held onto my hand properly and said
"How will you find us?" I shrugged and said
"I always do" I sat up in the bed as best I could before wrapping my arms around him. I buried my head in the crock of his neck and said
"I'm going to be fine Hunter"
"You'd better be" he then pulled back from the hug and pressed his forehead against mine.
After a couple of minutes, he said
"I better get going"
"Okay," it then went quiet. We were just sitting there looking at each other until he spoke
"but just in case" I don't think anyone could have predicted what he would do next.
Before I knew it his hands were either side of my face and his lips were pressed against mine. My hands rested on his elbows as I kissed back almost immediately. He pulled away first and rested his forehead against mine, It took me a second to snap back into reality but when I did, I smiled and said
"That was.." He cut me off by saying
"Late"
"Damn right" he smiled before mumbling
"I gotta go" I nodded against his forehead and said
"I'll find you. As soon as I can. I'll find you"
"You always do…" he kissed me again before getting up and headed for the door.
"Hunter" he stopped and looked over as I continued
"Stay out of trouble" he let out a huffed laugh and said
"Trouble? Us? I don't know what you mean?"