The Bad Batch Short Stories

A Promise

A desolate planet sitting far on the outer rim covered in rock and dirt. Only inhabited by the empire. A large base sat in the middle of the harsh environment. It was windy. The wind kicked up dirt and sand creating an endless cloud of cover over the base. Storm troopers scouting below in rotation carefully checking every corner. A large wall surrounded the complex. Every 4 klicks of wall there was a watch tower. Crosshair and Omega managed to climb one of the towers and sit atop it waiting for orders.
"Rex? We are in position." Omega said on her com.
"Stand by overwatch. Let us know if you see anything."
"Copy that."
She took a seat on top of the watch tower and scanned the area, but the weather made it hard to see.
"Hopefully this new helmet will block out the sand." Omega said.
"I've dealt with worse." Crosshair said.
He thought back to the time Mayday and him were up against a rock huddled together for warmth as the snow punched their bodies. He made a fist and grunted remoresfully.  Omega looked over at him. She couldn't see past his helmet but he looked distracted.
"You ok?"
Crosshair looked up at her relaxed but with guilt in his voice.
"Omega, theres...something I should've told you a long time ago." He said.
"Um. Ok."
"Theres....not a day that goes by that I don't think of all of the bad decisions I've made in the past."
"Crosshair, can we talk about this later? We're on a mission." Omega whispered.
"No. I-I need to get this off my chest." Crosshair said taking of his helmet. The sand hit his face, but he stared at Omega. Guilt drenched his face. She saw that this was important and gave him her full attention. She took off her helmet and pulled a hood over her head to block out the sand. Then scooted closer next to him. She reached behind and pulled Crosshair's hood over so that he was covered too.
"What is it?" She asked.
"I never apologized to any of you after what happened. I couldn't see that we were pawns for the empire. Expendable, but valuable. I....apologize for not believing in you or the others. I was a fool."
"Crosshair. You're not a fool." Omega began explaining. "You thought what you were doing was right at the time and I don't blame you. You were a soldier for a long time. Its hard to see clearly when you belong to an empire that doesn't care about you."
"Even still. I let down my squad. Turned by back on you even after you saved my life."
"I mean, there were times where we saw you as more of an enemy than our brother, but that doesn't mean we never cared about you or resented you. We relied on eachother to make sure we were all going in the right direction. That's why we need you Crosshair. You're our brother and we all need to be going in the same direction. The past is the past and the other guys forgive you. I forgive you." She said putting a hand on his shoulder."
Crosshair looked up at her hopeful and put his hand over hers. She smiled at him. He managed to grin a bit.
"Just wait Crosshair. After this mission we don't have to be soldiers anymore. Rex will have what he needs for the Rebel army and we can live on Pabu together."
"But we will always be soldiers Omega. That's what we were made for."
"Who says you have to be a soldier? All of this fighting. Its what almost got Tech killed and when have we ever followed orders?"
"Heh. I guess you're right."
"*gasp* Look!" Omega exclaimed pointing to the field down below.
A high class imperial shuttle landed. A few troops marched down the ramp. Crosshair aimed his gun down at the ramp. Through the scope he could see a figure walking down the ramp. He pushed his com button.
"Tarkin just landed."
"Tarkin?" Rex exclaimed over the com channel. "What's he doing here?"
Omega pressed her com button.
"Maybe he's here to inspect the weapons."
"Unlikely. Tarkin has lieutenants for that. Something's not right, but it doesn't matter. Our window is closing." Rex said. "Tech, do you have those weapon systems down yet."
"Almost." Tech began. "Just need a bit more time to recalibrate the alarm systems so I can deactivate the-"
"Teeech!" Hunter said annoyed."
"Right. Here we go. Weapons systems are down. You're clear to move in Rex."