Bad Batch Oneshots

Trauma

[⚠️ Brief description of a gory scene⚠️]

The Havoc Marauder drifted aimlessly through the depths of space, the bliss of slumber having overtaken its occupants. All except for one, that is.

Curled up in the co-pilot chair, Echo gazed through the transparisteel at the millions of stars that dotted the endless darkness of space. The period of time after a mission was his best—and often only—chance to reflect before the Batch moved on to something new. The mission on Raxus had bothered him long before they even touched down. Now that he was alone, the thoughts he had forcefully suppressed were beginning to resurface.

Beneath the turmoil festered frustration. Echo was not only frustrated with himself, but the Batch members as well. Hunter had watered down his concerns to a matter of politics without considering the trauma he'd experienced on Skako Minor. Tech had essentially told him that he was living up to his name, which he took as an insult. While their actions were considered harmless by their standards, Echo felt that they were quite the contrary.

He could only remember fragments of it all, mere pieces of a puzzle that could never be fully assembled. The Techno Union facility. Blinding lights. Pain. Blood. Metal. Constant fatigue. Darkness.

The floodgates were open. Everything came rushing back to him in full force. Every emotion, every feeling, every thought. It overwhelmed him to the point that he was scarcely aware of his present surroundings. In that moment, he was back on Skako Minor. The Skakoans loomed over him with blank, unforgiving gazes. Machinery hummed to life. An array of sharp instruments came from the darkness like a Republic cruiser emerging from hyperspace. He struggled, the wet squelch of blood against flesh filling his ears as what remained of his legs thrashed uselessly against the table. His heart felt as though it would punch a hole through his chest. They came closer and closer with their glinting knives and—

"Echo?"

Echo tensed, his heart nearly coming to a standstill. Hunter appeared in his peripheral vision, dressed in his usual blacks.

"Echo are you alright?"

Hunter's lips were moving, but Echo couldn't hear what he was saying over the sound of his own pulse drumming in his ears.

Finally, he managed to snap himself out of it with a brief head shake.

"Sorry." Echo said, forcing himself to relax. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Hunter frowned. He sat down in the pilot chair and spun around to face Echo. "You sure? You look like you've seen a ghost."

That could've been interpreted as a jab at how pale he was, but Echo knew that wasn't what Hunter had meant. "I'm just tired, that's all." He said. "What're you awake for? Everyone else is asleep."

"I could ask you the same thing." Hunter replied with a chuckle. Then, he sighed and ran a few fingers through his hair. "I wanted to apologize."

Echo raised a brow. "For what?"

"For how I acted earlier on Raxus." Hunter said. "I shouldn't have blown your concern off like that, especially when you had a very good reason to be concerned." He placed a hand on Echo's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Echo. I truly am."

A small smile slowly crept across Echo's features. He laid his hand on Hunter's arm. "Thank you. I.. I really appreciate it." He let go and turned back towards the stars.

"Want me to stay with you for a bit?"

"That would be nice."

"Alright."

Together, they watched the stars drift by like snowflakes on a dark winter night.