Take Me Far That Road

Prologue

Author's Note: Y'all have NO IDEA how excited we are about this fic! It's been so much fun to plan and write, and really getting into the drama of Crosshair trying to reintegrate with his squad after being apart from them, albeit under different circumstances than in canon, has been incredible! :D I hope y'all enjoy this fic! ^-^

This was a gift request by HaltandCrowley13 on ao3, and it's for the square "stranded" on the Bad Batch Bingo. :)

Updates will be weekly! ;)

~ Amina Gila

Hunter spins his vibroblade around and around and around, hoping that the familiar motions will soothe him. They don't, but it distracts him, which is good enough. Omega wasn't supposed to still be with them – he wanted to leave her with Cut so she'd have a chance to be an actual kid and have a family who could take care of her. She wasn't supposed to nearly get kidnapped, either, but it's only further proof of how horribly underequipped they are to take care of her. But until they can make sure she'll be safe and find somewhere safe for her, she'll have to stay.

He doesn't want her to. It's not safe. They don't know how to take care of a kid. They can't even take care of each other.

The knife nearly falls from his hands at the thought, and he slides it back into its sheath with more force than is needed, staring stonily out the viewport as they approach Ord Mantell. Maybe this Cid will be able to find out the identity of the person who tried to take Omega on Pantora. And maybe they'll be able to take care of that so they can send her somewhere safe. She knows they don't want her to stay, and she doesn't like it, but what are they supposed to do??? Omega has to be safe, and the fact remains that she is not safe with them.

There's a beeping, and Tech glances over at it, brow furrowing. Hunter leans forward. "What is it?"

"We've received a transmission," Tech tells him, the frown obvious in his voice.

"Who's it from?" he asks because they shouldn't be getting messages, not after they fled from the Empire with Omega.

"Unknown," Tech answers, "But it's a request, marked urgent, that we rendezvous on a planet in the Outer Rim." He taps a few buttons, keeping one eye on where he's flying, trusting Echo to keep them steady. "It's a mining colony of some sort. Small and out of the way. There is no Imperial presence there that I know of."

Hunter exchanges an uneasy look with Wrecker. "Could it be the Empire?"

Tech shakes his head. "It is unlikely, though not impossible, I suppose."

"What if someone needs our help?" Omega asks.

Then they can take care of themselves, he wants to say but doesn't, not only because of the bitterness that would be audible in his voice. They can't even take care of themselves. It's stupid to think they can take care of someone else. Even Omega.

"It's probably a trap," Hunter says, ignoring the question entirely. "We need to find out who's after the kid." And that settles it.

***

It happens so suddenly, so fast, and the only warning Hunter had was the danger screaming in his head as he senses the incoming missile. But it's not coming toward them. "Crosshair!" Maybe it's him who screams the name, maybe it's one of the others, but none of it is enough to stop the explosion.

More droids are coming now – he can feel them, swarming closer, and they'll be outnumbered in minutes. There's too many of them. This was supposed to be a stealth mission. They were to retrieve intel from the Separatist datacenter on the planet – which they did. But something went wrong somehow, an alarm was triggered that shouldn't have been, and they need to fall back. But they can't. They –