Chapter Text
Chapter Text
If you asked Hunter a few years ago what would happen if the war would end, he wouldn’t be able to give you an answer. None of the clones could. They were bred for war, what would happen afterwards? War was everything they knew. From their first memory to the last. Every day, every breath, every experiment he and his brothers gone through, was for the sake of the war. If that would fall away, who where they?
The end of the war was abrupt. Without working chips, most of Clone Force 99 didn’t know what was going on. Only Crosshair had a slightly idea, but it wasn’t what Hunter liked. They served the Jedi for years. Even if they didn’t care much about the regs, they were still there brothers. They died for the Jedi, on their side. With the Jedi. Suddenly from one moment fighting on their side to killing them, it didn’t feel right for him. Even if the Jedi betrayed the republic, General Depa Billaba and her padawan Commander Caleb Dume were innocent. They were fighting on their side at the moment. Why should they be punished for the mistakes of other Jedi? Maybe General Billaba knew about the betrayal, but Commander Dume? He didn’t think a padawan would be informed of something like that. He didn’t really know the kid, but he liked him. Wrecker even more. And Wrecker had a good feeling of others. It was Wrecker that got them to be friends with Cody. Wrecker was the heart of their squad. Something a lot of clone squads missed. Yes, he sometimes had a tendency to go too far, but that was only for the safety of his brothers. If he liked you and cared about you, he would go through fire to protect you. And most of the times, he was right.
Wrecker didn’t get attached easy, but when he did, it was for a reason. Dume was special, that was clear from the moment they met the young commander and he asked them for help. That was the main reason Hunter refused to follow Order 66, specially against him. He didn’t knew the orders and didn’t want to go against his own judgment and morals. He knew the others were with him on that side. Everyone except Crosshair…
That brought them to the present. The end of the war was already a few months ago and a lot happened. They lost Crosshair because of his chip. They couldn’t get through him, but didn’t really understand the situation. Not even with Omega’s explanation. It took Rex to explain it better. The way Rex reacted when he figured out they still had their chips, it was not what they expected and it made it clear that the situation was far worse than they originally believed. Needing to fight against Wrecker didn’t make it much better but opened their eyes. The chip needed to be gone, sooner rather than later. But it made Hunter also think. All the times they met Crosshair after leaving the Empire. Was there anything they could do to help him? Couldn’t they just let Wrecker restrain Crosshair? Get the chip out? But it was difficult to find a safe place for them to remove the chips. It was probably safer for now to keep Crosshair where he was. But that didn’t mean they liked it. No one did and every time they saw Crosshair, the tension got worse and worse, even if they now finally understood what was going on with Crosshair. There was nothing to be done. Either he tried to kill them, or there were too many other troopers around him.
Even if these were thoughts that spun through Hunters mind, he didn’t really have time to think about it too much. Cid ordered them to go to the planet Lothal. Apparently someone hired Cid to find a very valuable treasure. Cid didn’t give much information about the treasure or the place it was hidden, something Hunter really didn’t like. They had little to no information, only that they were looking for a kind of jewel in the mountains of Lothal. They didn’t know what was so important about the jewel, they didn’t know if there would be a kind of security around the jewel. They weren’t even allowed to ask Phee Genoa for her help or opinion. She was the treasure hunter, not them. She had the experience in this kind of job. If Hunter got it his way, he would have refused this mission. Not enough information, too much at stake. Specially with Omega with them. but they owed Cid money, so there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Lothal itself was a planet the Batch never visited before. Not during the war, not after the war. They knew the planet was once part of the republic, but they didn’t know if they had allies anymore. Order 66 put a lot of people against the clones.
According to the information Tech was able to get was the planet full of rare resources that the Empire needed. Resources like Doomium, fuel and a lot more. Not to mention that it served as a vital hub for trade routes, so it wasn’t a surprise that the Empire grew their roots in the planet as soon as possible.
The presents of the Empire on the planet was troublesome. Hunter would like to avoid them as much as possible. He didn’t want to confront Crosshair again, or one of their other brothers. Sure, during the war, they weren’t a big fan of the rags. But a lot happened. Hunter could only hope for the best.
They were now prepairing to land on Lothal. In the middle of a big mountain forest. Far away from any village or city. From far, Hunter could smell the smoke caused by the empire, but it wasn’t something he had time to care about for now. He needed to focus on their mission.
“We're an estimated 1 click away from the coordinates Cid gave us, closer by the cliffs” Tech said, while opening the romp of the Marauder and walking outside. His data-pad was already scanning the surroundings while Hunter walked right behind him, followed by Omega and Echo with Wrecker as last.
The Mountain looked peaceful for now, but something wasn’t right. A feeling of danger crept across his back. Something was going on and he didn’t know what.
If Hunter got it his way, he would order Omega to stay with the Marauder, ready to depart on a moment notice. But he made Omega a promise that if she succeeded one of Echo’s training’s, she would be allowed to go with them at the next mission. She succeeded, even beyond Echo’s expectations. Also, Tech’s scans don’t seem to pick up any kind of danger. Maybe he was just tired. This was the third mission in a row they got from Cid.
“Wrecker, stay with the ship. Omega, stay with me”
The mountain forest was quiet, but not peaceful. And that was what made it uncomfortable. A forest is never so quiet. There is always a kind of sound. Birds flying above them, animals breaking branches of the trees while moving. Other animal sounds. Anything. No? It was like they were in a ghost forest. Even the wind seemed to keep his breath. Only the slightest movement in the leaves.
“What’s going on Tech?” Hunter asked, “Why is it so quiet?”
Tech was looking at the data-pad. “I have no idea Hunter, nothing seems to be amiss” Tech answered while looking around him.
“We are only a half click away from the coordinates. This way” Tech walked in the direction of the north, a little higher up the mountain. “According to my calculations, we should be close to a cave system that goes under ground. According to the little information Cid gave us, the treasure should be there. We need to keep an eye out for that”
“Good thing that Wrecker stayed behind” Omega said, from just behind him and walking a few steps faster so she could walk next to them.
“Indeed, his fear of closed spaces wouldn’t be the best match for the mission” Tech nodded while walking out of the forest area. Not much later, Tech stopped walking and moved some branches to expose an opening in the cave. Hunter put his hand on the stone walls of the cave and closed his eyes.
“I can’t feel anything inside the cave” said Hunter after a few minutes, what made Omega bite her lip.
“Isn't there usually wildlife in caves like this?” Omega asked and Hunter looked at the cave.
“Depends. Some caves are better homes than others. Also if there is a treasure, it's possible that people have set traps to keep the animals away.” Hunter answered, but he feared the answer wasn’t as easy.
Something about this part of Lothal wasn’t right and it had nothing to do with his enhancements. But there was only one way to figure out what’s going on.
“We’re going inside. Activate your night vision and flashlights and keep close” Hunter ordered and activated his own night vision, while walking into the cave with his blaster drawn.