The Bad Batch: Oneshots

Crash

"Brace for impact!" Tech frantically pressed some buttons, but not getting a reading from the ship.

Echo quickly strapped Omega into the over-sized seat. They would need to change that soon to fit her better, but until then they could only hope that it would keep her safe.

"Tech, I thought you said that you fixed the engine problem!" Hunter held tightly onto the co-pilot seat.

"Now is not the time to debate this, Hunter," the genius snapped back, trying to pull the ship upward to make it more leveled.

When they broke through the clouds it became clearer, even in the night. There were lakes spotted around the land and from the looks of it, they would be crashing in one.

"I don't think we'll need breathers. It shouldn't be too hard to land, but it won't go smoothly." Tech called back so the others could hear him, though not sounding completely sure.

"AGH! I hate crashing." He heard Wrecker complain.

Echo wasn't too fond of the thought of swimming either, on the account of his cybernetics would surely be short circuiting for a while.

"Three, two.." The lights started flashing red and the warning alarm set off, sending out an ear piercing scream.

An important thought then hit Hunter. "Wait! Omega, do you know how to swim?" The end of his sentence didn't make it out as the impact of the Havoc Marauder hit the water, causing the loose items inside to get thrown around.

Tech pressed a button, slamming the doors to the cockpit shut so no further damage could be done to the controls.

Unfortunately in the back, Gonky ended up getting tossed sideways at the wall. The weight of the droid was enough to activate the doors.

"Uh, that's not good." Wrecker immediately started to remove his harness as water flooded into the back of the ship.

Echo did the same and reached over to unfasten Omega's but found it empty. He frantically looked around hoping to see her clinging to something.

"Where's the kid?" Wrecker whispered, not wanting to worry Hunter quite yet. The Marauder was tilted downward, leaving it possible for a young child to easily fall through the large seat straps made for a grown man.

Echo frustratingly swam around checking everywhere he could think of, but still no sign of her. If she was hurt, he would never be able to forgive himself.

"I don't know. You think she could have-" He stopped when he saw a shadow in the water from just outside the Marauder go down. "What was that?" 

Echo pushed off the seat to get a closer look, instantly splashing back when the thing grabbed his arm.

"E-Echo. It's just me," the voice of a child stuttered, releasing his flesh arm.

"Omega," he sighed in relief, "What were you doing out there?" He allowed her to take hold of him again to give her a break from treading.

"My seat was too big and I slipped out of it just as the water rushed in." She recalled. "I don't mind though, I like swimming," she said, smiling up at him.

"Yeah, next time stay close. I thought you drowned or something." he hoisted her up to Wrecker, who being larger, was able to stand above the water with more height.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Omega said sincerely.

" It's okay kid, just don't tell Hunter we lost track of you for a second." Wrecker knew they would both get in trouble, but seeing as she was okay, it didn't really need to be brought up.

Omega giggled, giving him a thumbs up just as the cockpit doors opened slightly.

"Echo, Wrecker, Omega, are you okay?" Hunter peered through the crack, relieved to see all three of them in what seemed like perfect condition.

"All good here." Echo nodded, followed by a grunt from Wrecker and a wave from Omega.

"That's great," Tech's voice said after. "Wrecker, if you were to give the ship a push back upright and continue to do so, I believe we can make it to shore."

Wrecker groaned, mumbling how his armor made it hard to swim and do things at the same time.

The next day, there was a lot of work to be done. The modified Omicron-class attack shuttle was totaled, but Tech wasn't willing to give up on it yet. After a few hours of work, the batch took a break, grateful to have rations that weren't soaked.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Hunter asked, taking a bite out of his nutrient bar.

"Approximately four days to a week. I can get her running again just enough to where we can leave the atmosphere," Tech answered. "I know of an inhabited moon in an adequate distance from here, but until then, we appear to be stranded."

"Stranded, eh?" Echo adjusted his mechanical hand once again. There wasn't much on the planet aside from bodies of water and the strip of land they were on. With the ship being out of order, activities to do were low.

"Tech, do any animals live in this lake?" Echo questioned.

"Not any dangerous ones. Water creatures known to these particular waters only eat the bacteria growing in it, such as algae."

Echo glanced over at Omega who was wringing out her trooper doll.

"Hey Omega, once you're finished with that, how bout going for a swim?"