The Bad Batch - Mini Stories

A Father and His Son

Times passed by very slowly, watching the clock probably wasn't healthy and yet he found himself staring at it. Being the only one awake didn't help on the carrier full of cargo. He sighed for the millionth time as he pressed the buttons on the console but found he couldn't change anything due to the auto-pilot being on. 

Returning to the Empire was a mistake, he knew that but he knew one thing. Mayday was right, he should have listened to his ori'vod and yet he didn't. He now found himself and several others being shipped off somewhere where they were being put to work or so the empire called it. He could hear the others' shouts from beyond the cells but he knew one thing, he had been purposely put alone so isolation would kill him off. 

His hand tightened around his other hand as creaking from down the hallway alerted him to what was feeding time. He ignored the fact that the soldiers walked past his cell, he knew it was punishment but it wasn't the first time he had gone without food. It was becoming a normal daily thing now as he smirked to himself, he had spent the last four days carving a certain item into something else. 

"Wake up! Clones!" 

A yell brought his attention towards the hallway again, he heard the shouts from other clones. Turning his back on the cell door, he was aware of the soldiers stopping at his own only for the shields to drop and someone to be shoved into the room. 

"Fresh meat! Enjoy!" A soldier laughed, once he was sure they were gone. He whipped around only to gasp.

"Crosshair?" 

"Howzer?" 

"How long have you been alone?" Howzer asked, spotting the scratches on the wall. Some blood was amongst the scratches. 

"79 days" The robot tone has Howzer worried as he takes notice of the blood running down the marksman's arms.

"Why have they had you alone on this ship for 79 days? What did you do?" 

"I killed the Elite Squad and Rampart" Crosshair admitted, looking off towards the darkness in the cell. Howzer only frowned, "What about your brothers?" 

Crosshair shrugged, looking off to the side just as an explosion rocketed the ship. Howzer was startled hearing blasters and explosives, he moved to the side of the door covering the unresponsive marksman who kept staring at the dark spot in the cell. 

"This is it! Captain Howzers cell! Let's get a move on men!" 

Howzer frowned, recognizing that voice anywhere. The door was blasted open only revealed to be Corporal Echo and Captain Rex, the two smirked at him when Howzer lifted his arms away from his cellmate. Echo was in absolute shock seeing the former member of Clone Force 99. 

"What happened?" Echo demanded kneeling in front of Crosshair who had blood running down his hands from the scratches to the walls. 

"I don't know but they had him isolated for 79 days," Howzer said, waving his hand in front of Crosshairs face. 

"He has hardly said more than two sentences to me," Howzer added.

"Echo we got to go! Now!" Rex yelled, Echo nodded as he made a split decision. 

"Howzer, grab him. He's coming with" Echo ordered, Howzer nodded easily lifting Crosshair into his arms, the marksman hung limply. Not entirely there, seeing the marksman's face in the light showed both clones the damage both inside and out of pain that Crosshair had taken to himself. There was barely any hope left in the eyes of the marksman, the former youngest of clone force 99. 

"Rex! Let's go!" Echo yelled just as Crosshairs eyes shut, allowing the darkness time to send him to sleep. 

A constant beeping noise caught his hearing, it was quite disturbing and hitting the edge of his impatience.