Redemption- A Short Story

Part 1

Solana had been with the team for a few months as their medic, observer, quartermaster. Whatever the team needed she was able to procure it one way or another. Sully had served with regular clones before so this assignment wasn't that different, except it was. She was more present with the small group of defective clones whereas with the regs, she just blended into the background. They didn't talk to her, and she didn't talk to them. She wasn't trained for combat like the rest of them. She had a blaster but wasn't a good shot. She had a vibroblade and it was mostly used to open ration packs. Therein lay the problem. She wasn't in tune with her surroundings. She had stepped on a mine and now Wrecker was working on disabling it before she blew herself and the others to pieces.
"I'm so sorry, guys. I should have been more careful," she was rambling. Her nerves were shot and if Wrecker couldn't disable the mine, then... she didn't want to think about that.
"Come on, don't think like that, ad'ika," Wrecker said. "I've almost got it disabled."
Crosshair was watching from a distance of course and his slithery voice was heard over the comms. "If you can't take care of yourself you shouldn't be on the battlefield."
"Actually, she is not on the battlefield and I would not think it was a requirement for her to take care of herself. She is a noncombatant and not trained as a trooper or soldier," Tech said.
"Less talking and more watching," Hunter said gruffly.
"It's going to be ok, Sully. And if Wrecker can't disable the mine, maybe you'll get matching legs like mine," Echo said with a chuckle.
"That's really not funny, Echo!" Sully shouted at him.
"What? Too soon? I have to find humor somehow."

"When we're done with this I'll take you on a date," Wrecker said.
"What? A date? A date with whom?" Sully asked incredulously.
"You, sweet cheeks. I figure now is as good a time as ever to tell you how I feel about ya," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
There was a beeping sound as a few lights sped up and Sully braced for the explosion.
She saw Wrecker's helmet crack under the pressure of the blast before he was engulfed in blue flames. Like insects stinging she felt the fire on her limbs, slowly crawling up her legs like dripping syrup, but in reverse. Her mouth was just starting to open in a scream when she sat up in bed, her right arm clenched to her chest. She heard the scream in her dream and she kept hearing it, not realizing it was her- she was screaming and awake in her bed.
"Shh! Ad'ika, you're ok!" Wrecker was kneeling by her bunk, his large hands holding her head as her eyes were wide with fright. Slowly, her scream stopped, her mouth closed, and she collapsed in exhaustion. Her chest was heaving, her limbs shivering, as Wrecker laid her back down, gently wiping the sweat from her face. "You're safe now. You're here with us, we're in a camp," Wrecker whispered to her. "Just breathe, slowly, in and out... in and out..." he cooed to her.
Her eyes were no longer wild in fright, and focused on his face, scarred and handsome. He wasn't wearing a shirt as it was deep in the night. Slowly, she reached her shaking left hand to her right, feeling the cold metal of her prosthetic with her fingers. She reached down to her legs and felt her thighs, stiff and numb, but still attached.
"Wrecker...," she called his name.
"I'm right here," he said.
"Wrecker, help me up," she pleaded.
He put a hand under her back as he helped her to a sitting position and then pulled the blankets off her legs. Thick pink and white scars mottled her skin from the tops of her thigh down to just below her knee, where her leg ended. The shiny metal glared at her in the dim light. There were more burn scars on her stomach too, but her shirt covered them. She methodically swung one leg down to touch her foot to the ground, and then the other leg followed.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"I need some water. And fresh air."
She stood with much effort and finally stood up straight. Wrecker held his arms out next to her body but not touching, just in case she lost her balance. She took a deep breath and took one small step forward with one leg, and when she tried the other leg, her strength gave out. Wrecker caught her in his arms and scooped her up, with one arm behind her back, and one under her scarred leg and prosthetic limb. Weakly, she laid her head on his warm chest, and pressed her eyes closed as a tear leaked out. He snagged a blanket and draped it over her legs as he carried her.
"None of that now. You aren't allowed to feel sorry for yourself," he said to her as he kissed her forehead.
"I should have done this sooner if I knew you were going to treat me like this," she said with a huff.
"You're still beautiful to me, injuries and all," he said softly.
He brought her out of the tent to a common area. Some logs were arranged around a fire pit, the fire slowly dying with enough embers to give some warmth.
He sat her down, resting against the logs, resting her between his legs. He brought out his canteen, opening it for her before passing it to her. She took a few sips of the icy cold water, the contrast in temperatures welcome to bring her back to reality.
"Was it the same dream?" Wrecker asked her.
She nodded her head.
"Did it end the same way?"
She nodded again.
He embraced her with his arms, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I'm not going anywhere, cyare."
She nuzzled her face under his chin, resting her cheek against his warm skin. She loved being held like this.

The landline had gone off. But Wrecker hadn't been there attempting to disable it or get injured in the process. The team had been on a jungle planet, making their way to a communications tower and they were all spread out. It was part of Sully's training in map reading and commands. She was by herself when the mine went off and she lost part of her right leg, up to her knee, and her right hand. It was a deceptive and evil mine. Instead of just an explosion, the accelerant was like a gel; it sprayed and coated the victim's body before it ignited. Her armor saved her despite the power of the explosion. One leg was destroyed while the rest of her body was badly burned. Tech and Echo were able to treat most of her wounds to stabilize her before they found a medical frigate. She wasn't a top priority when it came to triage care, so she didn't get put in bacta for her burns. A working prosthetic foot and hand were given to her along with some bacta cream and pain meds, and she was sent on her way. The Republic didn't want to invest any more money in "fixing" her up. She had been injured for about a week when Order 66 happened. Now she and the team were stuck, fleeing the Empire and living on the handouts of others. They were currently in a fledgling rebel camp, who in exchange for services rendered, would give what medical aid they could to Sully. Wrecker more often than not volunteered to stay behind to watch over her. The missions were more stealth related and Wrecker was useful by training other rebels about explosives.