The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

Febuwhump Day Twenty Nine: Not Allowed To Die

Author's Note: Hunter's having a very rough time, both in this fic and in canon. xP

~ Amina Gila

Hunter hadn't wanted to go on the mission to Serenno in the first place. It doesn't feel fair that he has to deal with the fallout, too – but that's just what he always does. Take care of his squad. It doesn't matter if there's no one to take care of him, does it?

Hunter angles the Marauder upwards, taking off Serenno as fast as its engines will carry it. His heart is still pounding. That was close. So close.

And now the Empire knows about them. They'll be after them. Crosshair – stop.

Something's wrong. He can feel it. It's just – a knowing.

He waits until they're in hyperspace, headed back for Ord Mantell, to go to the back and check on his siblings. They got separated, and Hunter has no idea what happened to the other three when they were apart. It was such a close call. He thought – well, he'd been afraid they wouldn't make it back to the Marauder, that somebody would end up dead.

Tech is breathing unevenly, hand rubbing on his leg, and – something about his energy flow is off. Hunter can feel it.

"Is everyone alright?" he asks, hands clenching, heart pounding.

"Tech broke his leg in the landing," Echo replies, "Despite the... complications, we made it out fine." It's been a while since one of them was hurt. And Tech – of course, it was Tech. Both of them would've protected Omega, taken the damage for her, but Tech has been... different since Kamino. Since Crosshair.

Hunter's constantly, obsessively afraid of how far that will go someday.

But Tech was hurt, and he's very, very rarely injured. He doesn't do most of the fighting. That's for Hunter and Wrecker, and – and now Echo, too.

Not Tech – he's the one who always does the... everything mechanical related. He's often out of the fight. Not always, but –

But he was injured, and this is Tech, and Hunter can't stop asking himself what's going to be next.

"Kid?" Hunter asks – he does a double-take of her, but she looks fine. Uninjured.

"Echo and I are fine," she promises, though her smile looks more forced than real. She's holding something though – another toy? Not one he's seen before.

"What's that?" Hunter asks her once Echo's set about to scanning and treating Tech's leg – the fracture isn't that bad, all things considered, but Hunter's far more concerned about the... other things that this could lead to.

He's afraid of the implications.

He and his brothers have broken limbs all the time. It's no big deal. It's the – recklessness that worries him.

"Somebody gave it to me," she answers, "We met an old man. He helped us."

Hunter glances up at Echo questioningly who shrugs.

"He was a Separatist. Civilian. Apparently, they were hurt worse in the war than we knew."

Hunter nods to him – he'd guessed that, after seeing Serenno, but it doesn't really matter. Not that it doesn't, but it's not his reason for concern. "I can take it to the back, if you want," Hunter offers.

"Sure," Omega says, passing it to him. It's not a... well, Hunter doesn't know anything about toys, except balls or the snuggle-shaped ones. This isn't either.