The Bad Batch: Oneshots

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     The Marauder shook slightly as it jumped to hyperspace. The white blinding lights filled the cockpit as Hunter laid back, eyes closed, ready for a peaceful trip. After three long hours of constant roughhousing, Omega and Wrecker  finally exhausted themselves into a slumber. As much as the tired leader loved hearing the joyful sounds of their laughter fill the ship's hull, he took any opportunity given to rest in the rare temporal silence. The sergeant smiled to himself; the wave of fatigue taking over. Seconds before his mind was lost to sleep the hairs on his neck stood upon sensing a pair of eyes staring directly at him. Grimacing, he should have known the pleasant darkness awaiting him was almost too enticing. Without sparing a glance, he let out a tired grumble, refusing to move from his comfortable position.

"What is it, Tech?" Even with no vision, Hunter could tell his brother was caught off guard by the sudden acknowledgement.

"My apologies. I was unsure if you had succumbed to sleep or not."

Tech's voiced wavered slightly. If Hunter hadn't grown up with him his entire life, he wouldn't have noticed. It rarely happened, but when it did, he knew it was worth listening to. Sitting up in an upright position, Hunter gave Tech his full attention. The narrow downturn of his lips wasn't a good sign.

"What's wrong?"

"As of the moment, it is not a critical situation, but—"

"As of the moment? Tech, I swear..."

The clone in front adjusted his goggles—another nervous movement he kept since he was a cadet—and cleared his throat as his eyes met the usually placid grey ones of his older brother.

"Well, it appears I have misjudged the times between our last fuel runs." Tech's leg bounced up and down as he redirected his gaze to the Marauder's instruments. "In the next minutes, we will need to prepare for a crash landing. We shall be exiting hyperspace momentarily."

"We what!?" Hunter shot up, his voice carying through the ship with enough volume for Echo to enter groggily into the cockpit not a second later

"Hunter, what are you yelling about?" The ARC tossed an annoyed glare toward the one who woke him after finally persuading the two balls of energy to rest.

"How about you ask Tech why he didn't check the tank before we left Ord Mantell?" The sergeant crossed his arms in an unamused manner.

"Excuse me, what?" Echo copied a similar gesture as both men looked at the pilot.

"Either one of you could have double assured. This is not entirely my fault," Tech said with a defensive tone. "If I hadn't had my hands full with the damage Omega afflicted to the ship's exterior—"

"Blaming the kid?" Hunter raised an unimpressed brow, a scowl forming on his face.

Tech sucked in a sharp breath, suppressing the urge to produce an eye roll. "I am not. I am simply stating I was occupied with more urgent matters at the time. This mission was last minute, Hunter."

"Enough with the blame!" Echo cut between the two, turning toward Tech. "When will the—"

Red blaring lights interrupted the ARC. The cockpit filled with the sounds of earpiercing alams as the Marauder roughly tossed the crew off balance.

"Tech! Do something!" Echo regained his stance, quickly seating himself in the copilot's chair.

Tech's fingers frantically ran over a series of buttons, but nothing changed the ship's wild movements. "There is nothing more I can do. Prep the hold, this is going to be a rough landing!"

Hunter ran to the back of the ship, relieved to see Wrecker fastening Omega into the crash chairs. He made a mental note to add padding to Omega's harness as the seat was made for someone much larger than her.