Chapter 2 – There You Are

Author's Note: The Batch see another planet for the first time. :D

~ Amina Gila

Space is dark. Hunter always knew that, of course, but he's never been to space. He somehow didn't realize it was so dark. And so beautiful. The stars are millions of pinpricks of light dotting the inky blackness all around them.

Space is also empty. He somehow didn't realize how empty it was. He can't… feel anything. He's so used to being able to feel the planetary frequencies that he didn't realize what it would be like if he couldn't. It's terrifying, and his head throbs as he instinctively tries to sense something. But he pushes that discomfort away. He needs to take care of his squad first.

They're safely away from Kamino, and Hunter can't quite believe it. Of course, that means they now need to face the question of what now.

"Where can we go?" he asks, spinning his seat toward Tech. "What planets do we know?"

Well, they know about a lot of different planets. It was a part of their education, but they've never been off-world, and their practical knowledge is sorely limited. This isn't being a soldier. This is running away and trying to somehow fit into the civilian world. That isn't something they were trained for, and Hunter would be lying if he said he wasn't scared out of his mind. What if he gets it wrong? He's supposed to know what to do. What if –?

But this isn't something any of them know anything about. They'll have to figure it out together.

"That would be a short list," Tech answers, adjusting his googles and picking up his datapad. "We have heard much about Coruscant, but that would not be an ideal destination. We would undoubtedly be picked up and taken back to Kamino."

"Well, we can't let that happen," Omega asserts vehemently. "Do you have any friends who could help?"

Crosshair scoffs. "What friends?" he asks snidely.

"Well, what 'bout Echo?" Wrecker questions, and Hunter looks at him.

Echo. He hadn't even thought about Echo. He's the closest thing to a friend that they've ever had. They met him after his rescue from Skako Minor, when he was brought back to Kamino so the Kaminoans could study his modifications and help retrain him to be a soldier again. Omega helped Nala Se work with him, and they met him through her. He adored them, and he genuinely liked being around them, unlike most regs. They haven't seen or heard from him in a few months, after he went back to the 501st Legion and the Outer Rim Sieges began. Hunter misses him if he's being honest with himself.

"He is a reg and an ARC trooper," Tech reminds. "I am certain he will not be willing to help hide us anywhere. Besides, I doubt that he knows much more about civilian life than we do."

"We don't know anything," Hunter points out dryly.

"He was friends with his General," Crosshair adds. "I'm sure he's gotta know something."

Hunter shakes his head. "It's not safe. We don't know what happened to all the regs or why they turned on the Jedi, but we can't take any chances."

Wrecker deflates. "'Kay, then… what about Cut?"

"We've never met him." Crosshair folds his arms across his chest, his scowl growing. "He's a reg. He'll never help us."

"You may be correct, but he is a deserter, too," Tech tells him. "He may be able to help us disappear assuming he is still on Saleucami. Echo never met him, either. He only heard about him through Captain Rex."

"Well, we need to disappear, right?" Omega asks. "It can't hurt to at least go there."

Tech eyes the readouts on the dashboard. "Hunter?"

"We'll need… fuel, right?" Hunter follows Tech's gaze. They still have fuel, but they can't go randomly jumping all over the galaxy or they'll end up stranded in the worst place. "How many jumps can we make?"

"Two, or possibly three, depending on our destination," Tech answers.

"Alright, let's go to Saleucami."

He turns back to the front of the ship. "Wrecker, Crosshair, disable the transponder and scan for any other trackers."

"Yes, sir."

He doesn't need to look back to know that Crosshair gives him a two-fingered salute as he leaves the cockpit with Wrecker.

"We have no way of finding Cut," Tech says when they're gone, "but Saleucami is a farming world in the Outer Rim. I'm sure we can find a suitable homestead where we can settle down. Assuming that is what we wish to do."

"I want to explore," Omega admits, leaning against Hunter's seat. "I've been on Kamino my whole life. It's a big galaxy out there. But you're probably right. It's not safe for us. We look like kids. We need to hide somewhere so the Kaminoans can't find you."

At least he doesn't have to be a leader alone. Knowing that Omega is here and that she'll help him keep them safe means a lot. It's hard to be a leader, but he grew up knowing that he would be. He trained for this responsibility. For as excited as he is to finally be off world, he's also filled with apprehension. This isn't something they trained for. This isn't a problem he can just shoot. This isn't a situation where any of his military training comes in useful. They were never trained for undercover missions which means they have zero knowledge or experience with civilian life.

"Ship's clear!" Wrecker reports as he and Crosshair come back to the cockpit.

"Tech?" Hunter looks at him, waiting for the all-clear.

"We're clear," he affirms. "Should I make the jump?"

Hunter nods at him wordlessly and turns to watch out the front viewport as Tech pulls the lever. He feels the jolt as they jump, white and blue swirls surrounding them.

"Woah," Wrecker breathes, leaning closer.

"It's beautiful," Omega agrees.

Hunter can hear her breathing, can hear all of them breathing. He can feel their hearts beating. He can sense their slightest movements. He can feel the vast emptiness of nothing outside the ship, and it hurts. It hurts. He didn't think it would hurt, but it does. It's throbbing dully through the back of his head, and he feels a wave of lightheadedness wash over him. Closing his eyes and counting down from ten does little to dispel it, and he crosses his arms, tucking his hands out of sight so no one can see them trembling. He feels like throwing up.

It's too quiet. Too empty.

"Tech, see what you can learn about Saleucami," he orders. Orders he can do. "Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, search the ship and figure out what inventory is aboard."

They split apart to do their assigned tasks, and he takes a moment to look around the ship. It's not that big, but it feels cozy somehow. It's just small enough for them. There are two sleeping racks that pull down from the wall, a tiny 'fresher, a passenger seating area, computer consoles, and a gunner's mount, among other things. Hm. Looks good actually. Maybe if they'd been sent out to the fronts, they would have had a ship like this one. Hunter would be happy to live on it.

He climbs into the gunner's mount, sitting on the chair, pulling his knees up, and wrapping his arms around himself, trembling as he tries not to focus on the sheer emptiness.

Omega finds him like that sometime later. "Hey, are you okay?" she murmurs, leaning on the back of his chair. He tilts his head back to look up at her, and they stare at each other upside down for a moment.

"It's too empty," he admits, turning away to stare at the blue and white swirls of hyperspace. He slides a hand through his hair, tugging lightly.

Omega's fingers land on his head, ruffling his curls. "No frequencies."

He shakes his head with a grimace, half-heartedly smacking her hand away and untying his bandana to smooth back the hair he messed up. It's slightly past his shoulder, and he knows he probably ought to cut it a little shorter, so it'll fit in a helmet, but it's not as if they have armor anyway. Crosshair embroidered the skull on the bandana – it was supposed to be their symbol when they finally got out there.

"Here," Omega murmurs, and he tilts his head so she can pull his hair back and retie his bandana. "Does contact help?"

"I dunno," he mutters. "M'fine. It's just…"

It hurts, but he doesn't want to tell her that.

"Wrecker," she calls, "c'mere a moment."

"Wait," he blurts out, feeling a flush creep into his cheeks, "I–"

"I should have thought about it sooner," she interrupts. "You've never been off world. Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine!"

"Yeah," Wrecker answers, and Hunter can feel the thump of his footsteps vibrating through the flooring as he stops at the bottom of the ladder.

Omega pulls back from him and climbs down. "Stay with Hunter," she tells him. "He'll say he's fine, but his senses are being affected by hyperspace. There's not enough stimulation."

A pause. "Oh! Yeah, I'll take care of 'im."

"I'm fine," Hunter repeats grumpily because he doesn't need them to take care of him. It's just a little discomfort. He's fine.

But they both ignore him, and Wrecker climbs into the gunner's mount. Despite his protests, he's scooped into a Wrecker-sized hug as Wrecker plops down on the chair and pulls him onto his lap. Hunter yelps way too loudly and flushes deeper when he hears the others all pause in their activities to look his way. But the warmth of Wrecker's body seeps into his, Wrecker's natural vibrations filtering into his senses, and he relaxes into the embrace, pressing his face against his little brother's shoulder to breathe in his scent.

He still aches, pain pulsing dully in the back of his head from the lack of planetary energy fields, but it's easier to manage with Wrecker close. If he wasn't so embarrassed by his own weakness and if he wasn't far too old, he would request a cuddle pile. Buried between his brothers, their energies might be able to dull the void in his head where a planet is supposed to be.

"Good?" Wrecker asks, and Hunter wraps his arms around him, nodding against his shoulder.

"Better," he whispers shakily.

He doesn't quite remember falling asleep, but he must have because when Crosshair comes to report the inventory – some rations, a medkit, and an emergency stash of credits – he doesn't laugh at Hunter when he sees how he's trapped in Wrecker's lap which means he knows something. Omega must have said something to them. Of course, she did.

They come out of hyperspace not long later, and Hunter goes back to the cockpit to help Tech take the shuttle down to the surface.

"Saleucami only has one major town which contains a spaceport," Tech informs them as they head through the atmosphere. "Should I take us there?"

"Land outside it," Hunter tells him. "We don't want anyone to see us."

According to what they heard, the reg deserter, Cut, was living here. Whether or not they'll be able to find him is a whole other story, but at least they're on another planet. Time will tell how safe it is for them, but they're soldiers. How dangerous can it really be?

They land next to a cluster of trees, and Hunter tries to pretend he's not buzzing with excitement. The frequencies on Saleucami are different than they were on Kamino, but it fills his mind with information again, the headache reduced to a dull throb as he readjusts to a new place. He's the first off the ship when the ramp lowers. They've read about other planets, but they've never seen them, and he stands there, frozen, as the sun shines down on him. It's so often cloudy on Kamino. They rarely see the sun there.

It's so warm, so bright, and he tilts his head back as he sucks in a lungful of fresh air. It's not tinged with the hint of saltwater or chemical filtration like the air on Kamino always was. He takes a few steps further, feeling his boots sinking into the plants and dirt. He's never felt anything like it before. He can hear his brothers and Omega murmuring softly to each other, but he can't focus on them. He can't focus on anything other than what's all around him. He's never seen plants before, and here, the trees tower over them – and the ship.

The sky is so blue, and electricity pulses on the edge of his senses, a storm in the horizon.

"Wow," Omega breathes. "Are all planets like this?"

"Well, no," Tech answers. "There is a wide variety of planets and ecosystems throughout the galaxy. Many are uninhabitable for humans either because the atmosphere is unbreathable or because they conditions are inhospitable."

She's kneeling on the ground, digging her hands through the dirt, letting the particles fall through her fingers. "It's amazing."

Hunter tries to shake away his own feelings of awe, focusing on their next steps as he turns toward the spaceport. He can see it in the distance, and it shouldn't take long to walk there. "We need to find Cut," he says. "The Lawquane family. Maybe someone in town will know something."

"We getta go sightseeing?" Wrecker asks excitedly.

He wants to say yes. He wants to say yes so badly. "… No. It would be too risky. We'll stick out."

Tech's eyes widen, understanding. "Ah. Our clothing is distinctly of cadets, and that, coupled with our appearances, will be a dead giveaway to any clone troopers who may happen to be in the town."

Wrecker's shoulder slump, and he pouts.

"I don't look like the regs," Crosshair says, coming closer. "I can go."

"Take Tech with you," Hunter requests, "and Omega. See if you can find Cut and try to obtain clothing for us to wear. We'll need to be careful with credits. We don't have any way of getting more right now."

Crosshair smirks. "We can just take some."

Omega frowns. "But… isn't that stealing?"

"No, it's–" Hunter falters. "It's– it's borrowing. We need it more," he adds a little defensively.

"Get somethin' to eat, too!'

"When we get into the spaceport, I should be able to tap into the security network – if they have one – to locate the reg," Tech says. "Crosshair and Omega can handle the clothing – and food for Wrecker."

Hunter nods. "Sounds good. Wrecker and I will stay with the ship. Lay low. Don't draw attention to yourselves." He gives Crosshair a pointed look. His baby brother looks away with a huff.

He wants to go. He wants to go so badly, but he's not stupid. He knows that even though his hair is long and not cut to regulation, his face is too similar to the regs to be mistaken. Wrecker, though his hair is lighter like Tech's, also looks too much like the regs to pass as a natborn. But Tech and Crosshair look different enough that the regs who see them shouldn't notice. And Omega is a girl. No one knows about her. She'll be safe.

Crosshair tries to figure out how to conceal a blaster on himself since he can't carry it openly, but he gives up when he realizes it won't fit.

"Here," Hunter says, passing him his knife. "I don't want you going unarmed. Only use it if you need to."

"Ugh. We need weapons," Crosshair grumbles. "What kinda soldiers are we if we don't even have proper blasters? Or armor?"

Hunter makes a face. "Yeah, I'll add that to our list for next."

Of course, they aren't actual soldiers anymore, but it's the spirit of it.

He and Wrecker sit on the ramp of their new shuttle, watching as their siblings walk away toward the town. They're lucky that they have comms, so at least they can contact each other if something comes up.

"'M don't like this," mutters Wrecker, and Hunter leans against him to offer comfort.

"Yeah, me either."

It feels too quiet and lonely all of a sudden. The four of them have pretty much been together since they came out of their tubes. It's weird to be away from Kamino, and it's even weirder to not be together. Hunter doesn't like it. He doesn't like it at all.

Wrecker drops his head onto Hunter's shoulder and wraps an arm around him to drag him closer. "Can we explore when they get back?"

Hunter ruffles his short hair. "Yep. Nothing else to do here anyway."

Exploring sounds good, but first, they'll have to wait for the others to get back.

They wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And Hunter is starting to get anxious. Wrecker has given up sitting still a long time ago and is currently trying to climb onto the top of the shuttle while Hunter paces back and forth. He trusts Tech to contact him if they need help, but the gnawing need to comm them and see if they're okay is growing stronger and stronger. He needs to know that they're okay. He needs it almost more than he needs to breathe, and he can't understand or explain why he feels this way. It's stupid. He's not a kid. He doesn't need to have his brothers in his line of sight for him to be relaxed. It was never a problem on Kamino.

(But of course, on Kamino, there wasn't such a strong risk of someone trying to snatch one of them.)

"D'you think they're okay?" Wrecker asks for the tenth time, and Hunter's headache rachets up a notch.

"Uh huh," he answers unconvincingly, just as he has the past nine times. "Gathering intel isn't an easy process," he tries explaining. "Tech is probably being thorough." He believed it the first few times, but now, he's just worried. He doesn't want to comm them, though, in case they're in the middle of something delicate.

Wrecker balances precariously on the top of the ship with a whoop of joy. "I made it!"

"Don't fall," Hunter warns, but he still grins at him. Wrecker's mood is contagious, and he's so delighted at his accomplishment that Hunter can't help but feel positive, too.

He turns, and his eyes widen. "They're coming!" he calls, squinting at the horizon. "… In a hurry."

Ah well. It was probably too much to hope that they wouldn't cause a problem here.

Hunter taps his comm. "Status?"

"We had a minor altercation with a couple shop owners," Tech answers breathlessly. "I recommend leaving."

"On it."

He races up the ramp, leaving Wrecker to get down from the shuttle on his own as he slides into the pilot's seat and fires up the engines. Figures. They've never been able to go anywhere without trouble following hot on their heels. It's not their fault they end up at the center of so many arguments. It's not. It's not their fault people don't like them.

"Wrecker," Hunter yells, "are they being chased?"

"Uh… I don't think so?"

Yeah, not taking any chances then.

Hunter waits until he hears the rest of his squad board the shuttle and close the ramp before he lifts off from the ground. Tech slides into the co-pilot's seat, panting heavily.

"I have obtained a general idea of where the Lawquane farm is."

"We'll land nearby," Hunter answers. Doing recon is important, and they can't take any chances. "Where to?"

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