The batch were hiding behind a boulder. Valerie was keeping an eye on the forest while Crosshair was watching the shuttles fly by and Hunter was administering a stim shot to Wrecker.
"Ow!" Wrecker let out a pained groan as Hunter injected him.
"Did you think wrestling that creature was a good idea?" Crosshair asked.
"At the time, yes." Wrecker retorted. Valerie shook her head. Even in times like these the boys will still bicker like the siblings they really are.
"The base is five klicks away." Hunter told the group. "Can you make it?" Hunter asked Wrecker and helped him up.
Wrecker scoffed. "Try and stop me." He still groaned.
"We should expect resistance once we enter the base." Valerie reminded them. Hunter nodded in agreement. He and Wrecker put their helmets on and continued to make their way to the base.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The alarms on Tantiss were still echoing throughout the facility. Emerie was standing over Echo who had plugged himself back into the machine.
"The longer this lockdown continues, the higher the chance you'll be discovered." Emerie informed Echo. "We need to move, now."
"Why can't I find any record of the vault Omega's held in?" Echo asked her.
"These databanks are heavily encrypted." Emerie said. "The vault is several levels down. Hemlock keeps it under heavy guard, but I can get you inside."
Echo unplugged from the computer and stood, facing her. "Why are you helping me?" He grabbed his helmet.
"Because I was wrong about this place." She said. "And... I'm trying to do the right thing."
Echo nodded and put his helmet on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Valerie and the batch ran up the hill. Hunter waved them further. A ship flew over them and the group hid against a tree. Wrecker groaned and Valerie put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Valerie whispered to him.
"He's gonna need another med patch." Crosshair pointed out.
"We're out." Hunter said.
Wrecker stood up. "I-I can make it." He continued forward. Valerie looked at the other two. They got up and ran after him. Valerie shook her head.
She paused. In the distance she felt the roar of a beast Valerie had not felt in a long time. She placed her hand on the ground and listened for another moment.
Whatever this creature was, seemed to be wreaking havoc in the base several levels below them. Valerie, for some reason, was rooting for the beast.
"The Zillo's loose in the containment level!"
Valerie smiled.
"Val, you coming?" Crosshair called for her and she looked on.
"Yes!" She responded and caught up to the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Echo followed slightly behind Emerie. They walked through a part of the facility Echo didn't find on the layout. More of those TK troopers stood guard while they made their way through. The two guards standing at the door moved out of the way and they walked through. Emerie plugged her chip into the door and it opened to a laser grid. The two of them stepped through and the grid powered on again.
"The kids who are held in here, where'd they come from?" Echo asked. The laser grids powered down one at a time and reactivated once they walked on by.
"The Empire used bounty hunters to retrieve them." Emerie said. "Their genetic material was required for certain medical testing. I didn't know about them until recently. I couldn't help them... until now."
YOU ARE READING
The Bad Batch Aftermath{TechxOC}
Fanfiction~Book two to Valerie's story~ What was only one mistake turned out to be the very thing that possibly saved her life. Newly appointed Jedi-Knight Valerie Ortis thinks her old way of life is over. She made a mistake and she knows that but that doesn'...
