Call It Freedom

Chapter 13 - Don't Know How to be so Close

Author's Note: Haha you thought things were bad for them already? :)

~ Amina Gila

Even though they're inside the Cruiser, Hunter's hearing still picked up the distant sound of blaster fire, and a cold feeling spreads through his gut. Scrappers? Or the Empire? This reminds him far too much of what happened on Ord Mantell, when he had been with Omega, and heard the sounds of a fight between Wrecker and the Imperial troops.

Not again. He can't go through that again.

"What's happening?" he demands over their comms.

"Scrappers," Crosshair answers. "We took care of them, but... Tech hit his head. He's a little concussed right now. We got him back to the Marauder."

Anxiety twists inside him. Not Tech. They need Tech, more than any of the others right now, especially with Echo's leg being damaged. Saying 'is he okay' seems stupid. He already knows the answer to that. He'll have to wait to assess the situation in person when he arrives, but...

"We ran into a bounty hunter," Hunter tells him, "I hit her, and she ran off. She was after Omega. Echo's leg is damaged though, or we'd have been back already."

The horrible sinking feeling in his gut only grows. He felt like this on Eriadu, too, right before everything spiraled and fell, and he – he doesn't know what to do now. First Shand. Now the scrappers. And with Tech and Echo both injured or damaged in some way, they'll be slowed down at the point in time when they can afford it least.

But they can't leave without getting their chips out – that's not even an option. Every moment they leave their chips in is a moment longer that they can lose Crosshair. Or Wrecker. It's another moment when their squad could be ripped apart entirely again, and Hunter can't – he can't go through that again.

"What now?" Crosshair questions, and Hunter tries to focus on his relief that his youngest brother is talking to him to offset the panic that's threatening to start up. He doesn't have time for panic right now, not here.

"I... I'm not sure," he admits, "We need to get our chips out, but staying here... it's risky."

There's some shuffling from Crosshair's end, a muffled curse, and then, "Tech insists he'll be fine with a stim shot."

It's definitely not ideal, not for a concussion, but it'll do in a pinch. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Give him one," Hunter replies, shifting Echo's weight. "What's the status of the Marauder?"

"Almost done," Crosshair answers. "Wrecker was just putting it back together."

They should have stayed together, Hunter realizes. The scrapper wouldn't have gotten to Tech, and Shand wouldn't have jumped them when she did if they'd been together. He should have known that, though. Splitting up has always meant bad things for them. Always. After losing Crosshair, it was pretty much just one thing after another, and everything continued to spiral downhill.

"Will he be okay?" Omega inquires, worried.

"Don't worry," Hunter assures her, "He's had worse." Much worse. He tries not to remember Eriadu, hanging thousands of feet above the ground, tries not to remember Tech's calm stoicism, the "plan 99" which brought his world crashing down.

When they finally get back, Tech is back at work, directing Wrecker to finish putting the last pieces of the Marauder together. Crosshair is watching them, helmet under one arm, aggressively chewing on a toothpick in a way that betrays his anxiety. He's nervous, but then, they all are now. Hunter gets Echo inside, and Tech goes after him to help him replace his leg.