The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

A Sister's Battle

Emerie may not be the soldier her brothers are, but that won't stop her from fighting. She gets to choose who she is now, not Hemlock, and she won't be alone. Or, in which Emerie goes on her first mission with Echo and Rex.

"This is your first mission?" Rex asks.

Emerie nods. "It... is." At least, it's her first actual field mission that doesn't have anything to do with science. She got away from the Empire and Hemlock only weeks ago, and she came with Echo to the rebellion a bunch of her other brothers have formed.

She wants to do whatever she can to make up for what she did against so many of her brothers but now that she is here, she is suddenly... nervous. This is not what she was trained for, even if it was once the only thing she wanted – to not have to be the only one of all her siblings to be alone.

"You've done things like this before," Rex speaks up again after a pause, "Remember that and it shouldn't be any harder."

"I'm ready," Emerie says, even if it feels as though she is reassuring herself more than her older brother. It is strange to have an older brother whom she actually knows.

Her and Echo are near the same age and all the other siblings she knows well are younger than her. Technically, Omega may be her oldest, but she still feels younger.

"That's good," Rex replies, "But you know, nervousness on your first mission is understandable. Just remember that even if you weren't raised the same us, our training is still in our blood and that's something you have always shared with the rest of us."

It means a lot to hear that from him, when she's spent so long feeling like she's not one of them. "I used to wish I was trained with the rest of you, that I wouldn't just be... Nala Se's failed experiment," Emerie says, a little awkwardly, "But eventually, I realized I would never get the chance to be one of you. Or at least, that is what I thought."

Rex lays a hand on her shoulder. Those gestures of physical affection are still a bit strange to her. Omega held her hand a lot. But that was... about as much as she's known.

"You're one of us now, and you always were, even if you weren't with us," he replies, "The only difference is that now, you can fight for something you choose. That's what we can all do now."

"Is that not how it was during the Clone Wars?" Emerie inquires.

Rex's expression is distant. "We were made to fight for the Republic. That's still what I believe in. But no, that was not something we chose. It's what we always knew we were meant to do. This... it's different. Even if it's still hard to believe the war ended the way it did."

She should be focusing on the mission, but she has so many questions. "What was it like during the war? I never heard much about it. That was not my job."

"Back then, l fought with the Jedi," Rex replies. Theer's a longing there she does not fully understand. "My general was one of the greatest of the Jedi. He always took care of me and my brothers. He was one of the only natborns who went so out of his way to do that."

"There were people who did?" Emerie inquires, a bit surprised herself.

"There were. Just a few, and the only ones I knew who did was my General and Commander, but it was easier then than now, in many ways. At first, I thought an end to the war would mean an end to losing more of our brother but that part isn't truly any different now."

"Maybe it will be soon," Emerie offers. She can hope, at least. That's what they're trying to do now – fight enough to bring this to an end.

"Perhaps," Rex agrees, though she does not think he sounds like he entirely believes it, even if he isn't showing his doubts outwardly.