The Bad Batch: Oneshots

Not Another Day P2

     Hunter sucked in a sharp breath, holding it as he took a hesitant step toward the brother he thought he lost to the clouds on Eriadu, now drifting limply in a suspended tank. He looked so...broken. His skin, pale—almost rivaling Echo's, but not quite as washed out— against the green glow of lights shining down on him like a captive animal in a cage. It was clear as the water's surrounding Pabu that he was hanging onto life by a string. There were too many tubes winding around his body, their unknown purpose keeping him from drifting away. It was horrible.

I was saddened to learn of your friend's demise. What was his name? Oh yes, Tech?

Hemlock knew. He knew, and yet with a straight face and steady, cold calming, voice, had the audacity to speak Tech's name and toss his brother's goggles on the ground without a care in the galaxy. Hunter didn't even want to think about how he gotten possession of said goggles. Before, he assumed the doctor found them amongst the wreckage whilst searching for bodies, but now there was a possibility that the head scientist ripped them off his brother's barely functioning body before taking him to this hell hole, sticking him in a tank to prepare him for whatever cruel experiments he had planned...or in worse case, already had done. Hunter felt sick just thinking about it. Everything about Tantiss was inhumane. How someone could perform such tests on a living being was beyond him. He thought the Kaminoans were bad, but compared to Hemlock and his scientist's, they made the Kaminoans seem nurturing. Placing a hand on the cold glass, the sergeant stared up at the floating figure. His little brother was there, but gone at the same time.

Crosshair had never seen Hunter at such a loss for words. He half expected him to lash out in anger or at least say something, but no sound came from the sergeant. The sniper debated stepping in, urging his old leader to speed up the process, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. His own lungs struggled to refill with oxygen at the sight of Tech's body. Guilt swarmed his conscious after the moment sank in. Had he known Tech had been on Tantiss the whole time, he would have done something. Knowing that Tech may have faced the same torture as him made his blood boil.

"Hunter? Where are you?"

Both Hunter and Crosshair tore their gaze away from Tech as Echo's panicked voice filled the room. It seemed like time had paused upon their unintentional sickening discovery.

Hunter raised his wrist, the still present disbelief in his body now transferring into his tone. "Echo...you won't believe who we found."

"You can tell me when you're back on the Marauder. Hunter, you need to get out of there. The place won't be standing in the next seven minutes!"

Hunter froze, immediately bringing a gloved palm to his forehead.

Wrecker.

"Copy that. We'll be cutting it close."

Seven minutes.

Seven minutes to get Tech out of his glass prison. Seven minutes to get off the base. They could do it. They had to do it.

Hunter could feel the tension from Echo through the line. He could clearly picture the ARC's sagged shoulders and dejected frown at the perilous situation. After a second, he finally heard a short sigh. "I trust you to get everyone out of there in one piece...good luck, Hunter."

"Can he even be moved without...you know..." Crosshair asked, hesitating before touching any buttons what would release Tech from his life line.

"We have to try. I'm not making the same mistake of leaving our own behind again." He shot the sniper a solemn look.

Crosshair tensed. Those words echoed in his head more times than he would have liked to admit.

"Be prepared to catch and remove those tubes."