Healer's Hands

The Deserter

Got some AI art for Althea, keep in mind however, that she wears a sleeveless shirt, but with the same color scheme. I might use my own art in the future, but this is what I got for now. Now, on with the show!~~~~~​

Althea froze at the sight of the woman. She had the rifle aimed directly at Hunter, who didn't flinch. Wrecker stood near the ramp, unsure of what to do. Tech looked up from his work, and Crosshair glared at the woman.

"I won't ask again." She said in a thick accent. "Who are you?"

Hunter put his hands up, as if he was calming a wild animal. "We're not here to hurt you, ma'am. Our ship crashed and we're trying to repair it."

The woman shifted the rifle in her hands. "You are clones?"

"Technically," said Tech. "Although our genetic mutations–"

"I don't care." She said. She put the rifle down, but ready to shoot at a moment's notice. "I don't want you on my land. Be gone as quickly as possible." She turned and left, disappearing into the brush.

"That went well." Said Crosshair. Althea could never tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Hunter turned around to address them.

"She obviously doesn't want us on her land, so we better get to work. Wrecker," Hunter turned to the taller clone. "I want you to help Tech with any heavy lifting. Crosshair, be on guard. We don't know who that woman was, or how long is too long. I'm going to try and contact the Republic to update them on our mission."

He began to walk up the ramp, and Althea looked up at him. "Is there anything you want me to do?" Anything to find her brother.

Hunter faltered. "Uh, no. Try and rest up. You're still injured, so take it easy." He walked up past her and into the ship.

Althea leaned her head on her hands, her elbows on her knees. She needed to do something to help. Maybe Tech could use some? No, she didn't know very much about mechanics, so she would probably only slow him down. And with her bad leg, she couldn't help Wrecker with the heavy lifting. Maybe she could keep watch with Crosshair? But he seemed so cold and distant, Althea wondered if he would shove her off the top of the Marauder from where he sat.

She figured Hunter was right, there was nothing she could do to help. He seemed so in charge. He must be the leader of their squad.

With nothing to do, Althea became bored quickly. She rummaged through her bag to find something to pass the time. Besides medicine, bandages, and a lot of salves, all she had was her journal and pens. But it was only for herbs. An idea popped into her head. Maybe she could wander around and see if she found any herbs. Surely Tech could help her identify them if she needed him to. Plus, she wouldn't wander far, just around the Marauder.

Having made her decision, Althea stood and walked into the bushes. She walked until a plant or bug caught her eye. A small insect zipped past her face and landed on a flower. Althea stopped to get a good look at it. It was shiny blue, with four, paper thin wings that caught the golden light. Althea took out her journal and pen and began to sketch it, making sure to capture the delicate wings.

She wasn't halfway done when the bug flew off, but she just closed her journal and walked after it. She wanted to draw it, then see if any of the Bad Batch had any information about it. She chased after until it landed again, this time staying still long enough for her to finish her sketch.

Althea added the final details on her art, then closed her journal. She looked up to see where she was, but the Marauder was nowhere in sight. Panic rose inside of her. She was on a strange planet, lost and alone.

Althea took a breath. Surely if she just walked in the direction she came from she would get back to the Marauder. Making her decision, she began to walk through the path the plowed through the bushes.