Chapter 7 - Then I Opened My Eyes
Sleeping on the way to Tantiss is difficult, but Hunter insists they attempt to, anyway. It is a better use of time than Crosshair attempting to show Emerie how to use a crossbow. They have a blaster they could give her, but she preferred to stick to Omega's crossbow, just as Omega herself had picked up an energy bow long ago that she preferred over other weapons. It lasted with Crosshair growing increasingly frustrated, and Hunter called it off after Emerie nearly put a blaster hole through the wall mid-hyperspace.
The battle will be long and exhausting. They will need whatever rest they can get.
"We'll be exiting hyperspace soon," Hunter reports, rejoining them in the back.
"We will have to fly low to avoid scanners," Tech cautions.
"The base's scanners might detect us before we reach it," Emerie cautions. "The defenses are thorough."
"Then we'll detach from the science vessel's hull before then and infiltrate on foot," Hunter decides.
Crosshair lurches forward, expression tight and worried. "The jungle is deadly."
"There are creatures there," Emerie warns, "The base was located on Tantiss to ensure any escaped prisoners would be... stopped by either the hounds, or the creatures in the jungle."
"Well, Crosshair made it out before. It's a risk we're gonna have to take," Hunter replies.
"How's Echo gonna get off the ship?" Wrecker worries.
"That is of little concern," Tech reassures, "He will find a way, as he always does."
The alarm beeps up front.
"Get into position," Hunter orders, and he and Tech move for the controls. Wrecker, Crosshair, and Emerie settle in the back.
It has been a very long time since Tech has flown a ship into what is no doubt about to become a shootout. They detach from the science vessel, and Tech drops the shuttle down to avoid scanners, but a group of fighters are already flying in their direction.
"That is not standard formation," Tech warns, watching the fighters slowly approaching.
The fighters start shooting.
Tech twists the shuttle around, dropping them into a wild nose-dive.
"Then they're expecting us," Crosshair hisses from the back.
Tech is uncertain as to how, but it is not fully illogical to believe Hemlock may have been anticipating this since he and Emerie never returned.
Hunter's on the guns, firing back.
The shuttle jolts as a few shots glance off its wings. That is something that would take time to fix though this is not the Marauder. They have little need to keep and fix it. The Marauder is gone. This ship is not their home.
Just as his armor is not his own, and his body is not his own. All he has is his mind and his squad, and that is all they have ever needed. Soon, Omega will be home, and they will be able to put this life behind them forever.
"They'll activate the laser canons," Crosshair warns.
"That would have been information to share earlier," Tech informs, irked, spinning the ship aside, but not in time to avoid another hit, this time to the hull.
"The deflector shields are failing," Hunter warns. "Try to get us closer to the surface."
"That is what I am doing!" The guns on this shuttle provide very little cover fire – they are not movable, which is making it very hard to shoot at the pursuing shuttles. They are able to take down one of them as they crash but there's still more ships giving pursuit.
The shuttle is too out of control to land properly and when they're speeding right for the forest below, it is easy to see that there is no space for them to land in, regardless.
"We will not be able to land," Tech warns.
"Wrecker, prep the repel cables," Hunter calls.
Tech turns the ship on autopilot as they all run to the back, opening the ramp over the forest below.
"What do we do?" Emerie inquires, looking at Tech. She is untrained, but she is managing her fear significantly better than Omega did in her time at the beginning.
"We jump," Tech answers simply.
"Try not to hit anything on the way down," Hunter adds. "You roll when you reach the bottom. Like we do."
Emerie does not look eager in the slightest. It is hard to remember that she knows nothing of this kind of life.
They jump out together as soon as Hunter gives the order. Wrecker laughs despite the height. It is the first time Tech has heard that in a long time.
He could never forget the sound, but it is... still strange to hear again. It is good to see Wrecker has found at least some form of peace amidst the chaos. He has not forgotten himself entirely.
The air whips past across his armor as he slides down the line.
"Plan 99."
"Don't you do it, Tech!"
"No!"
The rush of air around him, the crashing of metal, the smoke. Breaking glass. The crushing weight of the metal bar on his body, pinning him into something. The jarring, burning agony in his back. Everything is burning. He needs – to call Hunter –
No. He is on Tantiss, not Eriadu, and that is not significantly better, but they are together, and he is not a prisoner. They will retrieve Omega, and return to Pabu, as intended, only – some months late.
Tech did not think of his own difficulties in landing until he stands, having rolled onto his right arm with more force than intended. Normally, it would have been fine, but it sends a sharp jab of pain jarring through it. His balance in the landing is a bit thrown off from his metal legs, too.
Emerie lands with a yelp, rolling over and landing face first on the ground – she was attempting to copy them, but does not have the skill. The same had happened to Omega initially. She will learn, and she is not as small. It is significantly less dangerous.
Tech stumbles a little on his way over to Emerie, his shoulder and legs aching – the landing jarred the metal screwed into his bone, and it does not feel pleasant.
He reaches for Emerie's hand, as they often have done previously.
"Stay close," Hunter tells her, standing and looking around. All three of them are watching Tech and Emerie, actually. "Are you ready?"
She takes Tech's hand, the crossbow she borrowed awkwardly hooked to her belt. Emerie nods to Hunter, the same way any of them would have, and he looks to Wrecker and Crosshair.
"Waiting on you," Wrecker grunts, and they take off.
**w**
The trip through the forest is long. Tech brought them down a significant distance from the facility, which was a complication, but he had few other options. Emerie is growing exhausted, and they pause for a short break. Tech is aching all over, but finding Omega is what is important. That is not enough to stop them from pushing on, even if it is taking time. Tech has not been in action for a long time, and that is showing. He is almost surprised the same is not true about Crosshair.
They only encounter one of the animals once, and Tech throws a stun-grenade at it, which is enough to stall it until they successfully evade it.
Hunter pauses to ask Tech and Emerie if they'll make it – he appreciates the concern, but they will be fine. Emerie is in the same fierce agreement. Omega needs their help, and even Emerie is determined enough not to allow her exhaustion to stop her.
It is night when they finally arrive outside the facility.
Tech moves ahead to scout out, the way he always does. "The perimeter is heavily guarded," he reports, "Between their numbers and their hounds, I am uncertain how we can get through unnoticed."
"Told you we should've brought Batcher," Wrecker grumbles.
"One hound would be able to do very little against a dozen. We will need a diversion."
"Can't. Any type of diversion would give away our position, and a way to find the rest of us."
"Not if we use the creatures as a diversion."
Emerie starts, about to protest, but Crosshair beats her to it. "You want us to lure one of those creatures out here, and not get eaten?"
"Yes. It is a sound possibility."
"And a dangerous one, but we're out of options," Hunter agrees.
Crosshair rocks back with a groan. "You're both stupid."
"Do you have a better plan?" Teck asks. Crosshair's plans might be theoretical, but they frequently lack a complete view on reality – he already knows the answer to his question.
"What we need is reinforcements," Crosshair replies, "There's a nearby communications array. We can try to contact Rex."
"We do not need their help," Tech reminds, just as he had on Pabu. Crosshair has forgotten what it was like to be one of them, how it was to be solely dependent on their own squad, not that Tech could expect anything else. He has been gone for a long time, and they have all changed. He would not have survived if not for other people helping him. Not to discount his own abilities.
"Yeah, we've handled worse situations than this," Wrecker agrees.
Crosshair jerks forward. "I've been inside that mountain. I know what we're up against."
"Omega needs us," Hunter replies with the same gentleness he always used to, "And so do all of those clones and the other kids inside."
"Crosshair," Emerie interjects, "Tech and I have been in there, too. We know what we are fighting against, but Omega needs our help. I know it does not mean much coming from me. But I have heard about your squad. I know what you are capable of. Tech and Omega have told me much about you all. I know you are afraid. We all are, but we have a mission to finish. I... know I have a lot to make up for, and... for what it's worth, I am sorry for everything I did to you."
Crosshair sighs heavily, turning away.
Tech watches them uncertainly – he is not fully certain what she is referring to, but it is a conversation they will need to complete of their own.
"I know Tech," Emerie continues, "And I know you can figure this out. Omega always had faith you would find her."
A sudden, distant banging and the frantic barking of lurka hounds breaks them apart.
"Uh," Wrecker says, "What's goin' on?"
"Is that the diversion we're looking for?" Crosshair asks dryly, pointing up to where the door over one of the hangars is ripped clean off by a large, towering figure.
"Ah," Tech observes, watching, "It was not but I believe it will suit as such."
"Echo's handiwork, or Omega's?"
"Omega," Hunter and Wrecker chorus, on cue with Tech's "most likely Omega's."
"How could she have done that?" she inquires incredulously.
Wrecker laughs. "Let's ask when we see 'er!"
"If Omega's giving us a chance in, let's not waste it," Hunter urges, and they move.
**w**
Everything is burning when they enter the hangar. Tech scans it quickly, moving in the front alongside Hunter. Emerie is sticking close to him, and Wrecker and Crosshair are taking turns being in the back.
They haven't made it far before he hears noise. He misses the old scanners his former helmet used to have, but he doesn't need that to see that they have incoming stormtroopers. And in between them, there's... a group of the CX's.
Not just one.
There are four of them. Tech only has a moment to look at them, but it is enough to get a good assessment of the threats they pose.
The one from Pabu with blue on his armor is here, with his electrospear.
There's another similarly sized, larger-than-reg one, whose armor is entirely black, and he has some other type of electric weapon.
The third has green on his helmet and a blaster.
The last has red on his helmet and he's mid-withdrawing a vibrosword, longer than Wrecker's, from his back.
Tech ducks down behind one of the burning piles of debris to take cover next to his brothers.
"How many?" Wrecker asks.
"Too many," Crosshair replies.
"We can take 'em."
"We need to fall back," Crosshair objects.
"Crosshair –" Hunter starts.
"We have already come this far," Tech interjects. He has been waiting for the opportunity to see Tantiss burn for so long. This is what they came for. They are not stopping. "We have faced far worse odds before, and we are together now." This is the first mission they're doing together since Kaller. It feels fitting that the first mission they do together is to take down something of the Empire – what took them apart in the first place.
Tech throws some of their explosives to Wrecker, who much too gleefully throws them into the advancing stormtroopers. The blinding explosion rips through their ranks and Tech throws a smoke bomb at the stormtroopers as the survivors of the explosion start shooting at them.
Crosshair fires several explosives onto a torn part of what was once the ceiling above near where the stormtroopers are coming through and it explodes, crashing down over the entrance, blocking it off. Still, there are some inside, and the clone assassins duck through beneath it as it falls.
The Bad Batch move out from behind the debris, shooting back at the stormtroopers. Emerie's using the crossbow, and Tech is mildly impressed that she is able to hit several of the stormtroopers without much difficulty.
Tech can see the dark shapes moving through the smoke suddenly. The assassins are coming for them.
The one with the vibroswords lunges for them, and Hunter draws his own vibro blade, jumping him before he can get any closer.
Crosshair and Wrecker go for the blue and green ones the moment they come into view.
The black one comes into view through the smoke last. Emerie is first to react, hitting him in the chest several times with her crossbow. But... nothing happens. The armor isn't even sparking as it ought to be. It is as though the shots are being completely deflected and throwing one quick glance at Crosshair and Wrecker, who are trying to shoot down the other two assassins, it's enough to see that they're having the same luck.
Tech has the sudden realization that he knows what is happening – there is only one explanation for why none of their shots are penetrating through the armor.
His research.
He thought he had buried it. Hemlock should not have been able to find it in the short time he was gone, and certainly not found a way to use it, but he must have. There is no other explanation. But that means there is no way to take down the assassins merely by shooting at them. There are weak points in their armor, but that requires further analysis to pinpoint and alert his brothers of.
The black-helmeted assassin throws an electric weaponat them. It catches Emerie, who's still shooting at him, sending an electric pulse through her as she hits the floor. She is obviously unconscious, as she does not move to get up again. She will be alright, but she will still be minorly injured from it.
The anger that is rising inside of Tech is as expected.
He will not let any of his brothers or sisters come to harm here. The Empire has taken enough from them, and he will not stop until this entire facility is burning. He has been waiting for this since he came.
Wrecker jumps the electric-cuff assassin before he can throw another at them.
"We cannot penetrate their armor," Tech calls to the others. He would explain why but there is no time for that, especially not as the green-helmeted assassin fires at him. He rolls out of the way, shooting back a few times before tackling him.
A short distance off, he can see Hunter attempting to stab the red-visored assassin, but the blade just bounces off the armor. The red-visored assassin knocks him to the floor, nearly running him through but Hunter collects his knife fast enough to stop it. Tech knows Hunter will be able to handle him, though. He needs to focus on the green one – who kicks his blaster away before he can try to shoot at him again. But shooting him would have been a pointless endeavor seeing that the blaster shot would not penetrate, regardless. He has to find a different way of taking him down, and fast.
His armor is too hard to take a blow, and Tech is too injured to carry on a physical fight for an extended length of time.
The assassin rolls to his feet, and Tech stumbles upright, though far more unsteadily. He yanks off his helmet in a spur of the moment, throwing it in the assassin's face. At least it gives him a moment to balance himself again.
He is not in his best shape right now, but there is no time to wait, and he tries to hit him, though the assassin grabs his wrist. Tech twists around, but he can't break free. His eyes fall on the vibro blade sheath attached to the assassin's boot. He dives for it, catching the blade and yanking it out, driving the tip of the knife in between the joints of his armor.
The assassin gasps, blood is sweeping through the armor joint. Tech wrenches his arm away, but the assassin isn't down yet. The knife obviously went deep, but it still was not enough to take him down.
Tech is about to go for him again when a gunship flies past the hangar opening, firing at them. He and Hunter both have to scramble out of the way, but something explodes right near Hunter's feet, sending him flying. Some of the debris land on top of him.
"Hunter!" Wrecker yells, bolting for him, only for an electro-cuff to hit him, knocking him to the ground. He crushes it, ripping it off before it can electrocute him for more than a second, scrambling to his feet again.
The red-visored one throws a vibroblade at him, but Wrecker sidesteps him. Tech flicks up his blaster and shoots him in the face several times. It doesn't do much to hurt him, but it distracts him long enough for Wrecker to catch him and throw him aside, right before he hears Crosshair's strangled scream.
Spinning around, he sees that the assassin with the electrospear has him pinned on the floor, electrocuting him. Wrecker charges for him instead, yanking him off Crosshair by his neck and throwing him right through the side of an overturned gunship. He does not move to get up from the debris. Seeing as he went through the side of the gunship, it is debatable if he is even still alive.
The assassin Tech had been fighting picks up a blaster with his other arm and starts exchanging fire with Crosshair.
Tech turns to see where the red and black ones are – the red one is heading for Emerie. She's just starting to very slowly push herself up, reaching for her crossbow, only for the assassin to kick it out of the way, boot slamming down on her arm. His knife is only inches away from her, and Tech is momentarily expecting him to stab her while he has the opportunity, but for some reason, he refrains.
He is about to go for that one anyway when the black-helmeted assassin jumps him before he can sidestep. He throws Tech across the hangar into a debris pile, and the last thing he sees is an electro-cuff taking Crosshair down and the green-helmeted assassin shooting Wrecker before he loses consciousness.
**w**
Emerie knew there was a chance returning to Tantiss would not go well, but she did not fully expect it to end up with all of them being captured. She did not expect to awaken to the sight of the last of her brothers being taken down by the assassins.
She knew agreeing to go to Tantiss was likely going to mean confronting Hemlock again, but she didn't expect it to happen like this. She is not ready for this. She never will be.
She doesn't know what he's going to have done to her or what he'll say or – what he's going to do to her brothers. They could die and there's nothing she can do to stop it. She is restrained just as they are, as they're taken to that same room where she was once in when Hemlock tortured Crosshair in front of Tech.
She doesn't want to know why they're being taken here. This is going to end badly. Very badly.
Her heart is hammering as the CX's leave her cuffed to one of the machines alongside her brothers, all of whom are strapped down to them. None of their injuries are presently serious but that's definitely about to change. They would not be being kept alive and in this state unless Hemlock –
The sound of the door to the dimly lit room opening draws her gaze to it instantly and her blood runs cold. She knew this was about to happen. She knew it, but that does little to stop the fear growing inside of her when Hemlock steps into the room.
Hemlock who she betrayed after everything he did for her.
And who has hurt so many of her brothers and – and everything he has done on Tantiss.
But now that she's right here in his presence again, she does not know what to think anymore. She doesn't have the mental or emotional space to think at all right now – her head and wrist are throbbing, and her body aches all over. That with the knowledge of how entirely helpless she is – "I don't have that kind of power" – and how her brothers are helpless as well.
She knows this will go badly and there is nothing she can say or do that will make it better this time. Not – not like this. She's broken his rules before, and it was never pleasant, but... never this badly. She never betrayed him.
He looks distinctly satisfied as he looks around the room, at least until his gaze lands on her.
"Emerie, I am most disappointed in you," he says, approaching her.
She breathes in shallowly, unable to look up.
The words cut her sharply anyway. She has always tried to please him, to do what he wanted of her. She never had anything else.
"I see it was unwise of me to believe you were trustworthy," he goes on, "After all the years you spent at my side, I believed you were more committed to your work than this."
He trusted her. He trusted her, and she betrayed that. And then she remembers the vault and the – everything that's been done to her brothers.
"Those children," Emerie starts, daring to speak even if she... probably should not. That will not help, "They only wanted to go home." She had asked him right off if there weren't adults who could have worked as subjects, people who consented to it.
Not that any of her brothers consented to do what was being done to them, either.
"Imperial property," Hemlock had called them all. That's what Emerie is, too. That is what she always has been.
But she had the chance to at least be more than an experiment because of him and look what she did with that?
"They are test subjects," Hemlock replies curtly, coldly, "You are well aware there is no room for this kind of emotion in science. You had the chance to accomplish so much with your work, and yet you chose to waste it for nothing. Your betrayal will be dealt with."
What does that mean? What is he going to do? She does not want to know but there is no way out of this. Not yet at least.
The object she managed to sneak with her when the CX's took her – presently shoved up her sleeve – is enough to get the cuffs off. If she will even have the chance to do it. But the thought of trying to resist again is so much harder facing him now, when all the questions she had in the first place are rushing back to the surface.
Hemlock finally turns away from her, and it only takes her a moment to realize what he is about to do, especially when she sees that Hunter is stirring.
He is going to hurt them, and she can't – She cannot accept that as right for any reason. But – but – That does not change that she betrayed him, and she would have been discarded long ago as an experiment if not for him.
But Hemlock is discarding her, too, just as Tech said he would. She tried so hard. She did so much to please him, to be something to him. She hurt her brothers. She hurt Omega. Tech. Crosshair. All of her family, just in the hopes of meaning something to him, but in the end, she will always be nothing.
The machine Hunter's strapped too activates as soon as he's awake, electrocuting his head.
All she can do is listen to his strangled screams, remembering when that was Crosshair and Hemlock had put her in charge of that. She hurt him because he told her too – not that there was much else she could have done then, and even if she tried to make it... easier, it does not change that she hurt him.
She might not know Hunter well yet, but it still hurts to hear him and there is nothing she can do to stop it.
It is a long time before he finally stops it. Tech is starting to stir now.
"CT-9904 resisted my conditioning in the past," Hemlock muses, looking between Hunter and Tech, "But I have perfected my method. If you all survive, you will make fine operatives. And if not, well, there's no shortage of clones to test on next."
He will kill them if this does not work, just as he has so many in the past. Emerie will be unable to do anything to help, just as she had been afraid of on Tantiss for so long. That is why she hesitated to help Tech – she knew there was a high chance even if she could make things better, it might also get worse.
"I don't have that kind of power."
"Don't you?"
"We'll survive," Hunter throws back, though he is breathing hard, "But you won't."
"Your conditioning will not work on my mind," Tech speaks up, shifting against the restraints.
Hemlock turns toward him, expression distinctly smug. "I have kept you alive for this purpose all this time. Your mind may have been useful in the lab. The speed that you solved the issue with the armor – " What armor? Emerie has no idea what he is referring to, but she does not know the details of what Tech's work entailed. " - was impressive, but I always intended you for thispurpose once you were healed."
All this time and he only intended to turn Tech into an operative as well? Emerie does not know anything of what was done to the others, but they seem almost mindless. And he was going to do the same to her twin brother?
He would say they all have a purpose, and Emerie is uncertain if that is something she believes, or another thing he has repeated enough times she believes it. It is so hard to think of her mind separate from his, but she does know that she will not allow her family to be hurt. Tech did not give up after months of being here alone, and neither did Omega. She will not give up on them, either.
Echo will be coming for them – he is still inside, and as far as she knows, Hemlock is not presently aware of his presence. That gives them something of an advantage. She will not stop trying as long as she is alive too.
She wants to make a move, but she can't. She would never stand a chance, not with Hemlock right here.
She has no idea how long it has been when she hears the sound of distant blaster fire, right before the door far below bursts open. She can't see properly from here, but the sound and flashes of blaster shots suddenly fill the room.
Echo is here. It has to be him, and he must have help.
Hemlock turns away sharply and this is the moment she has been waiting for. She may still be afraid, but she has to do this. It is the only chance her brothers have of escaping.
Neither Hunter or Tech are good condition by now, with how long they have been electrocuted but this is the chance she has been waiting for.
The CX is entirely black armor is watching them, so she will have to make this fast. She wiggles her wrists around a bit until she's able to get her hand into just the right position, picking the lock.
The cuffs come free quietly and she waits just a moment until she is certain she is not being watched to slide soundlessly to her feet. She could go to Tech first, but he isn't in fighting condition. He would tell her to do what's strategic.
She goes to Wrecker's side first, hands fumbling as she tries to get the cuffs off.
They are being controlled by a machine, and it is easy to figure out how to open the mechanism, but just as she finishes getting one of his arms free, the slightest noise catches her attention, and she looks up sharply to see the CX walking right toward her.
BLOOPERS:
"Ie'rmia eorprty," Hmelock
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